 Complete the following phrase:  For the second year in a row, Hamilton decided not to exercise his prerogative as reigning World Champion to bear the number 1 on his car, and would instead race with his career number 44. In pre-season testing, Mercedes covered the most distance in testing, almost and once again looked to be favourites for both the Drivers and Constructors championships. At the season opener in Australia, Hamilton qualified on pole. After a poor start, he recovered to finish second behind Rosberg. In the second race of the season in Bahrain, Hamilton again qualified on pole. In the race however, Hamilton was crashed into on the first lap by Bottas, for which Bottas was handed a drive-through penalty, before recovering to finish the race in third behind Rosberg and Räikkönen. In 