F1 GP Australia: Vettel wins, Ferrari on the podium also with Raikkonen

It begins in the name of Ferrari need Sebastian Vettel the season of F1 2018. The German from the Red team won the Australian GP in front of Mercedes di Lewis Hamilton and his teammate Kimi Raikkonen, thanks to an excellent strategy in the garage of the prancing horse and the prophetic intervention of the VSC, for the stop of Grosjean's Haas. Behind the leading trio there Red Bull di Ricciardo, and an excellent fifth place for the, finally rediscovered, McLaren di Alonso. Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Vandoorne and Sainz complete the top ten positions.

News – No rain at Albert Park, when the track lights go out and the Australian GP gets underway. The top ten are all on new ultrasoft tyre, red for the two Red Bulls. Hamilton gets off to a good start and maintains the lead, with Raikkonen defending himself from his teammate and Verstappen. However, Kevin Magnussen's Haas started off really well, overtaking Red Bull. On the first lap: Hamilton, Kimi, Vettel, Magnussen, Verstappen, Grosjean, Hulkenberg, Ricciardo, Sainz, Alonso and Vandoorne. First pit stop for Hartley, who switches from supersoft to soft. After the first laps, Hamilton has a lead of 1.3s over Raikkonen. Vettel is immediately behind, with Magnussen fourth, almost 4 tenths from the top. Ricciardo and Hulkenberg are fighting for seventh position. On lap 6 Sirotkin's Williams retired, and shortly afterwards also Ericsson's Sauber. Bottas, starting from the middle of the field, comes close to Ocon, taking 13th place from him. Verstappen is the protagonist of a semi-spin, which causes him to lose two positions to the detriment of Grosjean and his teammate. After the first ten laps: Hamilton, Kimi, Vettel, Magnussen, Grosjean, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Verstappen, Sainz, Alonso and Vandoorne. So Perez, Bottas, Ocon, Stroll, Gasly, Leclerc and Hartley.

On lap 15 Gasly's STR13 retired, with power unit problems for him. On lap 19 Raikkonen stopped in the pits and fitted the soft compound, returning to third position. Hamilton follows him on the next lap, returning to the track between the two Reds. Verstappen is also Pitta. On lap 23 Magnussen's Haas slows down, and three laps later the same fate befalls his teammate. What a misfortune for the American team! It seems that for both there was a problem with fixing the left rear during the pit stop.

The VSC enters the scene and Vettel takes advantage of it for the pit stop. Strategy that rewards the Ferrari men, given that Ferrari returns ahead of Mercedes, taking the lead of the race. Meanwhile, the safety car arrived on the track. Vettel is ahead of Hamilton, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Alonso, Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Vandoorne, Bottas and Sainz. All pilots made at least one stop. The top ten are on the soft tyre, except Vandoorne and Bottas on the supersoft. Hamilton is closing in on Vettel as the laps tick by separating the German from the checkered flag. With ten laps to go: Vettel, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Alonso, Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Vandoorne and Sainz. Mercedes is getting closer and closer to Ferrari, but Hamilton blocks and goes wide, once again losing ground to Vettel, who can thus breathe for a moment.

With five laps to go, Vettel flies to victory ahead of Hamilton, Raikkonen, Ricciardo, Alonso, Verstappen, Hulkenberg, Bottas, Vandoorne and Sainz. Mercedes has a sudden collapse in performance: Hamilton seems to have some problems. From the pits they talk about the tyres, but in reality the Brit is struggling with the settings of the single-seater on the steering wheel of his W09.

But time is up now. The checkered flag waves over Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari, which goes on to win the Australian GP ahead of Hamilton and Raikkonen.

F1 GP Australia – Race times and results