Lights out in Melbourne and Formula One got just the start it needed after concerns over the new regulations introduced for the 2017 season were at least partially settled when Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari finally ended three years of Mercedes dominance with a race win they truly deserved. They had to fight for it, and since more competition was one of the intended purposes of the new formula, that too can be considered a success. Vettel saw off Lewis Hamilton – who finished 9.9 seconds behind the German in second – and his Mercedes team-mate, Valtteri Bottas, who was third. Albert Park is a street circuit and thus difficult to read too much into in terms of the season as a whole, but that one team at least have proved they can take the battle to Mercedes on merit is as much as F1 can have hoped from the season-opener. What everyone wanted to see this season was a fight and Australia served up a fine opening round. Ferrari were rightly celebratory. It is Vettel's first win since he took the flag at Singapore in 2015, which was also the last victory for the Scuderia. He has only won here once before, in 2011, when he went on to take the title with Red Bull, and it is his 43rd career victory. Vettel had made a storming start here last year, scything up the middle between the two Mercedes to take the lead through the first corner and should have gone on to victory, but his team picked the wrong tyre strategy after the red flag caused by Fernando Alonso's huge accident and then did not win a race all season. This year they are off to a perfect start after calling this one to perfection and executing everything without a hitch to ensure the German could make the most of his chance. Hamilton warned that he had poor grip on the grid and had a bad start here last year, dropping from pole to sixth, but eventually recovering to second behind his former team-mate Nico Rosberg. It was the first of four poor getaways – including Bahrain, Italy and Japan – that would prove almost as costly in his battle for the championship as the mechanical problems that also beset his car but this year. Poor grip or otherwise, he opened his new campaign with an inch perfect launch – well clear of Vettel by the time they reached the first corner. Under the new regulations, with the new cars, the Mercedes was not able to disappear into the middle distance within a few laps, as they have so often in the past three years. Vettel in fact was able to keep Hamilton in sight, 0.7 down after five laps, but crucially not struggling in the wake of the Mercedes – running well and with stable balance that augurs well for following and potentially passing this season. The German was able to maintain the gap at just over one and a half seconds by lap 10. He held it there with comfort, matching Hamilton's pace and not allowing him to make off until Hamilton pitted for a set of the soft tyres on lap 17, having been complaining of a lack of grip from his ultrasoft rubber. It was earlier than expected. He was the first of the leaders to do so and he rejoined behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen, which immediately cost him time – between two-tenths and five-tenths a sector. The team pointed out he needed to pass the Dutch driver to which a clearly frustrated Hamilton replied: "How do you expect me to do that?" and "There is no way I can get past this guy." Hamilton had warned on several occasions before the season began that he believed overtaking would prove difficult with the new formula, because of the dirty air created by the focus on aero, and it appeared he was experiencing the very issue he had predicted. Bringing him in just to return him to the track behind Verstappen was not ideal but it appears the team had no choice, as he was losing grip. It was to prove crucial and Ferrari – who could see opportunity they had – seized it. They kept Vettel out until lap 23, pitted and returned him to the track ahead of both Verstappen and Hamilton, to the obvious displeasure of the Mercedes executive director Toto Wolff in the garage. Vettel had taken the soft tyres and made the most of his position, quickly putting 2.3 seconds on Verstappen until he too pitted on lap 25. By then the German had a 5.8 second lead over Hamilton. Hamilton's team told him they were switching to "plan B" then changed their minds in what was a highly unusual move for a Mercedes outfit, one that seemed to be struggling to think as fast or as calmly as they have been able when dictating races from the front. This was something Vettel was used to enjoying during his four championship-winning years with Red Bull, and was once again able to do as he put over 10 seconds on Hamilton by lap 43. Indeed at this point Bottas was catching Hamilton in third, right as Hamilton pointed out he had "power dropping in and out". Whatever plan Mercedes were working to, there was nothing that could be done about Vettel out front. He was comfortable in the lead and took the flag 9.9 seconds clear of Hamilton, who was one and a half seconds ahead of Bottas. The second Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen was fourth, 22 seconds back from the winner. Max Verstappen was fifth in the Red Bull. Their expected challenge has yet to materialise. Felipe Massa, back from his brief retirement, was sixth, with the Force India of Sergio Pérez in seventh, the Toro Rossos of Carlos Sainz Jr and Daniil Kvyat in eighth and ninth respectively and the second Force India of Esteban Ocon in tenth. Australian Daniel Ricciardo was to start from 15th on the grid when Red Bull had to change his gear box after his accident in qualifying, and incurred a five-place penalty but then suffered a sensor issue on the gearbox on the formation lap that brought his car to a halt. The car made it back to the pits and his team went to work on it, finally getting him out on track. By the time they did so he was already a lap down, however a weekend he and the huge numbers of Aussie fans here will want to forget ended ignominiously when the car stopped on lap 28, with an engine failure. "My car's done," he said, but his luck can only improve this season. Fernando Alonso retired his McLaren on lap 53 after a difficult time in testing with the Honda power unit but his team-mate at least finished, albeit two laps down on the leaders. "It was quite mad in a positive way when I was coming back to the pits with people running on the track," Vettel said afterwards. "Thank you. It was unbelievable." "There is a long long way ahead but for now we are over the moon. It has been a hard winter, and an incredible race today," Vettel said. "I was a bit nervous at the start and Lewis was better, then I had to take care of Valtteri in turn one, then I had to keep the pressure on, to get the message that we are here and we are here to fight." "Big congratulations to Ferrari and Sebastian," Hamilton said. "In the race we struggled with the tyres. I had to stop early because I ran out of grip." Unsurprised by his team's podium finish, Bottas added: "We've worked really hard to be ready and everything went smoothly, but we need to work harder to beat the red guys."
