MELBOURNE – Mercedes’ three-year domination of Formula One looked on shaky ground on Sunday as the Silver Arrows’ confidence was rocked by Ferrari’s pace and a Sebastian Vettel victory in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Bookmakers had pole-sitter Lewis Hamilton as a heavy favourite to win at Albert Park but the Briton finished runner-up, nearly 10 seconds behind Vettel after complaining of poor grip on the lakeside circuit.
Hamilton’s frustrations were shared in the team garage, where Mercedes motorsport head Toto Wolff pounded his fist on a desk in rage after Vettel snuck in front of the Briton when rejoining the race from a pit-stop.
The German then burned away for a dominant win that has raised hopes of a genuine challenge to a Mercedes team that have swept the drivers’ and constructors’ championships for the last three years running.
Three-times champion Hamilton had declared Ferrari the “quickest” after winter testing, and his forecast of a title fight with the Italian glamour team appeared right on the mark.
“I don’t lie. And I’m not really good at bluffing or playing poker,” Hamilton said.
“I didn’t know how quick they were going to be in the race. The pace they showed in testing was true, and today their speed in that first stint on ultra soft tyres was fantastic.
“My real strength wasn’t until right at the end of the race, but it was far too late by then.”
Wolff was also convinced Ferrari had the quicker car, and saw testing times ahead for a team that have largely raced themselves for three years.
“Some you win, some you lose, and today, the Ferrari was the quicker car. And it put us under pressure straight from the beginning, and that’s how we lost it,” said the Austrian.
“It’s going to be very close, there are no big margins between the teams and also between our two teammates. It’s going to be a more stressful season than in the past, but personality-building.”
Lewis Hamilton leads Sebastian Vettel and the rest of the field at the start of the Australian Grand Prix, but Vettel claimed victory in the end. Photo: Jason Reed, Reuters
Valtteri Bottas, who took champion Nico Rosberg’s vacant seat following the German’s shock retirement last season, was third on his Mercedes debut, but the focused Finn was hardly jumping for joy.
“I struggled quite a lot with the ultra soft tyres, I felt I was sliding around, missing some front and rear grip,” he said at the post-race media conference.
“It wasn’t a disaster, but I will have my points that I will take.
“I think it’s going to be a big challenge. We need to work really hard if we want to beat (Ferrari). They were quicker today, no doubt.”