Four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel has won the Australian Grand Prix for Ferrari to dash Mercedes’ hopes of extending their dominance into a fourth successive season of Formula One.
The German cruised to his 43rd race victory with a 9.9 second gap to Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, with the Briton’s new team mate, Valtteri Bottas, finishing third.
It was Vettel’s fourth win for Ferrari and his first since the Singapore Grand Prix in September 2015.
That win in Singapore was also the last time Ferrari had topped the podium.
Vettel’s victory at Albert Park underlined the huge leap in performance made by the team, who were encouraged by their cars’ pace and reliability in winter testing.
