Vettel kicks-off new season with a win

FerrariFerrariItaly, 1947 > present233 models
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's strategy in the pitstops was decisive to take the first victory of the season. And although Hamilton held on to his lead in the first 17 laps Vettel jumped to the front in the first visit to the pits. He never let go of it until the checkered flag.

 

Vettel was the first to come in on lap 17 and Hamilton had the clock on his side until he got blocked by Max Verstappen's Red BullRed BullAustria, 2004 > present12 models
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. The Brit lost decisive seconds behind the Dutch and would eventually leave the pits behind Vettel on lap 23. The German increased his lead up to 10 seconds in the second stint and finished the race with a 9.975 seconds margin to Hamilton.

 

Although things didn't go very well for him in the first part of the race Valtteri Bottas managed to recover and grab the lower step of the podium in his first race with MercedesMercedes-BenzGermany, 1924 > present197 models
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. He crossed the finish line with just one second gap to his team-mate.

 

Kimi Raikkonen started the new season with a very calm race. He finished fourth and was only put to the test in the last laps when Max Verstappen threatened his position. The Red BullRed BullAustria, 2004 > present12 models
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driver was on super-softs when he attacked the Finn but was unable to overtake the Ferrari driver.

 

Coming back from retirement, Felipe Massa brought his Williams FW40Williams FW40United Kingdom, 2017 > 2017 to sixth position. Sergio Perez finished in seventh for Force IndiaForce IndiaIndia, 2007 > present8 models
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. The Mexican driver passed the two Toro RossoToro RossoItaly, 2006 > present10 models
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's to secure his position on the finish line, ahead of Carlos Sainz Jr and Daniil Kvyat. 

 

The Russian driver from Toro Rosso finished ahead of Esteban Ocon, who earned his first ever F1 point with Force IndiaForce IndiaIndia, 2007 > present8 models
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. The French driver took 10th place from McLarenMcLarenUnited Kingdom, 1963 > present92 models
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's Fernando Alonso, who ended up retiring from the race.

 

 

Results Australian Grand Prix 2017

POS	DRIVER	CAR	TIME	LAPS
1	Sebastian Vettel	Ferrari	1h24m11.672s	57
2	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	9.975s	57
3	Valtteri Bottas	Mercedes	11.250s	57
4	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari	22.393s	57
5	Max Verstappen	Red Bull	28.827s	57
6	Felipe Massa	Williams	1m23.386s	57
7	Sergio Perez	Force India	1 Lap	56
8	Carlos Sainz	Toro Rosso	1 Lap	56
9	Daniil Kvyat	Toro Rosso	1 Lap	56
10	Esteban Ocon	Force India	1 Lap	56
11	Nico Hulkenberg	Renault	1 Lap	56
12	Antonio Giovinazzi	Sauber	2 Laps	55
13	Stoffel Vandoorne	McLaren	2 Laps	55
-	Fernando Alonso	McLaren	Floor	50
-	Kevin Magnussen	Haas	Puncture	46
-	Lance Stroll	Williams	Brakes	40
-	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull	Power Unit	25
-	Marcus Ericsson	Sauber	Collision	21
-	Jolyon Palmer	Renault	Brakes	15
-	Romain Grosjean	Haas	Water leak	13
-	Pascal Wehrlein	Sauber	Withdrawn	0