MELBOURNE: Seba­stian Vettel jumped onto the podium at the Australian Grand Prix and held up his right index finger, celebrating the end of Ferrari’s Formula One drought and a break in the Mercedes dominance.

It was back to No 1 for Ferrari, at least after one race to open the season.

Ferrari hadn’t won an F1 GP since Vettel’s victory in Singapore in September 2015, and so his unrestrained joy on Sunday signaled renewed confidence from him.

“For now, we’re just over the moon,” four-time world champion Vettel said after out-manoeuvring Lewis Hamilton and the world champion Mercedes team.

“It’s been a great day for us. The team has been working so hard at the track as much as back at the factory. It’s a great feeling.”

“Grazie mille,” he added, a nod to the Italian manufacturer, “you can’t say much more.”

With regulations designed to make the 2017 F1 cars faster wider tires, greater aerodynamics, bigger fuel loads and increased downforce Vettel’s victory underlined the huge leap in performance made by the glamour team, whose cars showed impressive pace and reliability in winter testing.

“It’s good to know we have a great car but it’s just the beginning ... with new regulations, a new generation of cars,” Vettel said. “Mercedes have a great engine and a great car the last couple of years we’re the ones who’ve had to catch up. Whatever happens this year, the race today doesn’t hurt.”

Vettel finished in 1 hour, 24 minutes and 11.672 seconds, with a 9.9 second gap to Hamilton, with the Briton’s new team-mate, Valtteri Bottas, finishing third on a glorious afternoon at Albert Park.

For the first time in the V6 turbo hybrid era, which started in 2014, there is a non-Mercedes driver at the top of the championship standings.

The victory was the German four-time world champion’s fourth for Ferrari and his 43rd career win.

“I was not entirely happy with my start, there was a bit of wheel spin, but I was trying to keep the pressure on to give the message that we are here to fight,” Vettel said. “There was a bit of luck that Lewis came out in traffic.”

For the second year running, Hamilton started on pole position and placed second. Last year, he lost to then Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg, who went on to edge him for the world championship before retiring.

Ferrari got the better of Mercedes in the sole round of tyre changes which ultimately decided the race.

Hamilton’s early stop meant he rejoined behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen which allowed Vettel to open up a decisive gap at the head of the field.

Vettel was able to pit much later and gradually build up his lead as Hamilton drove conservatively on older tyres to ensure he finished the race.

“A big congratulations to Ferrari and Sebastian,” Hamilton said. “In the race, I struggled with the tyres. I had to stop very early and I got stuck behind one of the Red Bulls, but that’s just the way it goes.

“This shows we’ve got a real race on our hands this season and it’s a challenge we will relish. It’s going to be great for the fans.”

Vettel’s 2007 championship-winning team mate Kimi Raikkonen finished fourth, with Verstappen fifth ahead of Brazilian Felipe Massa in the Williams.

Australia’s big hope Daniel Ricciardo had a heartbreaking day with gear box problems ending his race on the 29th lap after he was forced to start from pit lane when his Red Bull car broke down on the warm-up lap.

Force India enjoyed a strong race, with Sergio Perez coming seventh and French newcomer Esteban Ocon also in the points after running 10th, finishing either side of Toro Rosso drivers Carlos Sainz and Daniil Kvyat.

Reliability problems were rife in other teams, however, with seven cars failing to finish, including McLaren’s twice champion Fernando Alonso and Williams’ Canadian debutant Lance Stroll.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2017