Vettel Wins Formula 1 opener in Australia

It was an epic opener to the 2017 season in the Formula 1 with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel taking the spoils.

Below is the report from Autosport.

Sebastian Vettel defeated Lewis Hamilton in a gripping Australian Grand Prix to kick off Formula 1's new era with a superb victory for Ferrari.

The German jumped poleman Hamilton in the pitstops then comfortably led home the Mercedes driver, who just kept new team-mate Valtteri Bottas at arm's length in third.

Hamilton made a strong start from pole position, but Vettel kept him in sight throughout the opening stint and closed to within a second before Hamilton dived into the pits on lap 17.

The Briton still had the upper hand when he emerged, but the pendulum swung towards Vettel when Hamilton got bottled up behind Max Verstappen's Red Bull.

The Dutchman's defence cost Hamilton dear when Vettel emerged in front of both when he stopped on lap 23.

Vettel then bolted, extended his lead to almost 10 seconds before Hamilton made inroads late on - then fell back to 9.975s behind at the flag.

Bottas caught his team-mate after a disappointing first stint left him a dozen seconds in arrears, but ended up settling for a third, a second behind.

Full report in the link below.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/128656/vettel-beats-hamilton-to-australian-gp-win

Image courtesy of Autosport.