Sebastian Vettel got his 2017 F1 season off to the perfect start with victory at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
The Ferrari driver began from second on the Albert Park grid but kept pace with early race leader Lewis Hamilton before surging ahead when the Briton was held up in traffic after exiting the pit lane on lap 17.
That enabled Vettel to build up a healthy lead and saw him return to the track just in front of Hamilton when he made his own pit stop eight laps later.
Vettel then made the most of the clear track in front of him.
Hamilton’s Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas completed the podium standings as he finished third ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari.
Max Verstappen was fifth and the only Red Bull driver to finish after his Australian teammate Daniel Ricciardo experienced a frustrating afternoon that saw him suffer an engine failure.
An earlier problem meant Ricciardo was forced to start the race from the pit lane.
Felipe Massa of Williams claimed sixth position ahead of Force India’s Sergio Perez.
The final points positions were snapped up by Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat in the Toro Rossos and Esteban Ocon in the second Force India.
F1 power shift?
A fresh challenge was expected from Vettel and Ferrari this year after three seasons of Mercedes dominance.
The Italian manufacturer looked to have adapted well to rule changes over the course of pre-season testing that have made the cars faster than ever before.
In truth, Vettel never looked like giving up the lead once he had pinched it from Hamilton. He eventually went on to finish fully 9.975 seconds ahead of his closest rival.
While Hamilton may have won two of the last three drivers championship titles, he said earlier this week that Ferrari was the favorite in 2017.
Many thought those comments were little more than mind games after Hamilton claimed pole Saturday. But he seemed concerned with his car’s performance throughout Sunday’s race.
Even before being overtaken and backed up he was complaining over team radio of a lack of grip.
Later in the race, he reported “power dropping in and out.”
His mood when speaking on the podium later was magnanimous but he repeated his frustrations about the car.
“A big congratulations to Ferrari and Sebastian, we struggled with the tires and had to stop early as I was suffering with grip,” Hamilton said.
Vettel’s victory marked his second career win at the Australian GP and Ferrari’s first race win since the four-time-world champion triumphed at the 2015 Singapore GP.
“The support for us around the circuit was incredible, especially in the last sector,” a visibly delighted Vettel said when addressing fans from atop the podium.
Yet when asked if a title challenge was now on the cards, he was more coy.
“That is a long way ahead. For now we are just over the moon at the start we have made here today,” Vettel said.
