Vettel the Australian GP opportunist

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) seemed well on his way to winning the Australian GP after dominating qualifying. The four-time world champion retained his pole advantage in the first part of the race until a Virtual Safety Car allowed him to Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) to take orders.

While the Haas VF-18 were in the Top 5, Kevin Magnussen et Romain Grosjean abandoned just after their first stop due to a wheel fixing problem encountered on both cars. It was this interruption of the race which allowed Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari) to take the lead before the race director finally decided to call the safety car.

Sebastian Vettel signs his 48th victory in F1, his third in Melbourne and his second in a row, ahead of his British rival like last year. The German also signs his 100th podium in the discipline.

The start of the season was successful for Scuderia Ferrari as Kimi Räikkönen completed the podium. The Finn was Lewis Hamilton's most threatening opponent at the start of the race, but the 2007 world champion was disadvantaged by the interruption.

Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull) ranks at the foot of the podium while Fernando Alonso offers a promising Top 5 to McLaren, a result he had not obtained since the 2016 US GP in Austin (Texas). The local driver and the Asturian took advantage of a mistake Max Verstappen (Red Bull) spun in the first laps. The Dutchman must therefore be satisfied with a sixth place, finishing in front Nico Hulkenberg (Renault).

Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) was only able to move up to eighth place after starting from 15th position after receiving a five-place penalty following his crash in qualifying which required a gearbox change.

The Top 10 is completed by Stoffel Vandoorne, who places the second McLaren in the points, and Carlos Sainz Jr (Renault), which allows Losange to see all its engines finish in the points. The Force India of Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon finished in 11th and 12th place. Charles Leclerc (Sauber) finished his first Grand Prix in 13th place, preceding Lance stroll (Williams) and Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso).

Marcus Ericsson (Sauber) was the first to retire, victim of a power steering problem. Sergey Sirotkin (Williams) did not see the finish of his first Grand Prix due to a brake problem. Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso) was only able to cover around fifteen laps before encountering an engine problem.

Discover the analysis of the Australian Grand Prix carried out by our special correspondents in issue 2158 of AUTOhebdo, available from Monday evening in digital version on all platforms, and from this Wednesday on newsstands.