Vettel jumps Hamilton to start 2018 with a win

Sebastian Vettel beat a pole-sitting Lewis Hamilton to Australian Grand Prix victory for the second year in a row to strike first blood in the 2018 Formula 1 championship race. The world champion had looked dominant all weekend, but Ferrari outfoxed Mercedes to seal victory in the pit lane.

Hamilton lost out under a virtual safety car brought out by Ferrari's customers Haas - the Scuderia reacting sharply to pit Vettel as Hamilton was cruising under speed restrictions.

The Mercedes team soon admitted fault over the radio as Hamilton demanded answers, Pete Bonnington reporting: "We thought we were safe, but there's obviously something wrong."

After seeing Hamilton take pole position by six tenths of a second, 'wiping the smile' off Vettel's face in the process, the German had suggested he and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen would be the ones celebrating come race day.

Hamilton had looked untouchable after getting away cleanly off the line, but the race hinged on Haas' failure to attach wheels properly to both Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean's cars - the latter's retirement prompting the crucial safety-car period.

A frustrated Hamilton was unable to react, locking up in Vettel's dirty air before eventually letting his rival go.

Ferrari ended a fine race with two men on the podium, Raikkonen holding off Daniel Ricciardo's charge from eighth of the grid and preventing the Australian from taking his first home podium.

TOP 10

Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) + 5.036 seconds
Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) + 6.309secs
Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) + 7.069secs
Fernando Alonso (McLaren) + 27.886secs
Max Verstappen (Red Bull) + 28.945secs
Nico Hulkenberg (Renault) +32.671secs
Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) + 34.339secs
Stoffel Vandoorne (McLaren) + 34.921secs
Carlos Sainz Jr (Renault) + 45.722secs

GOOD DAY

McLaren's pre-season switch to Renault power was backed up by Fernando Alonso taking fifth, comfortably holding off Max Verstappen, who had a race to forget as he spun while chasing Magnussen early on and then found the veteran too wide to get around. Maybe McLaren's boasts about their chassis were right after all!

And your #F1DriverOfTheDay is...

Yep, it’s @alo_oficial ????#F1 #AusGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/Ej5Jv1WY9C — Formula 1 (@F1) March 25, 2018

BAD DAY

Mercedes' strategy team didn't have a good one, but it was worse for Haas' pit-lane crew. Two failures to attach a wheel in the space of two laps turned a potential fourth-sixth into a double DNF. An absolute shocker.

WHAT DID WE LEARN?

• The top three really are evenly matched this year. Hamilton couldn't drive off down the road quite like he used to, which proved key.
• The Honda positivity needs scaling back. Both Pierre Gasly and Brendon Hartley struggled badly. More work is needed before Red Bull think about winning titles with that engine!