For a full wrap of the race, check out Giles Richards’ report from Albert Park.
Advantage Sebastian, but in the grand scheme of things not a great deal of harm done for Lewis. The blow may have been psychological more than anything else given how long he’s got to overcome the points difference.
After a lusty rendition of the Italian anthem by the Ferrari crew the trophy is presented. Another one for his crowded mantelpiece.
Thanks very much for joining us today, we’ll see you live for the Chinese GP on April 9. Stay tuned to our F1 coverage for all the post race reaction to Vettel’s victory.
This is Vettel’s first win in Melbourne since 2011, and he went on to win the title in a landslide that year. That day Hamilton finished second as well, leaving the odd man out from the podium that day one podium wonder Vitaly Petrov.
He’s got 19 races to go to win the title (Vettel that is, don’t fancy Petrov’s chances) and the next step will be the Chinese Grand Prix in a fortnight.
A nicer looking run down of the finishing order courtesy of Renault.
Final timing screen for the #AusGP.
— Renault Sport F1 (@RenaultSportF1) March 26, 2017
And congrats to in-car radio star #SebVettel for his win! pic.twitter.com/C4vXErHKAO
Health and safety goes out the window as spectators begin running onto the track while cars are still coming in to the pits. Not sure that was a planned fan experience innovation.
The final finishing order:
1) Vettel
2) Hamilton
3) Bottas
4) Raikkonen
5) Verstappen
6) Massa
7) Perez
8) Sainz
9) Kvyat
10) Ocon
11) Hulkenberg
12) Giovinazzi
13) Vandoorne
Retirees - Alonso, Magnussen, Stroll, Ricciardo, Ericsson, Palmer, Grosjean
Vettel wins!
Lap 57 - Vettel gets around the final lap unscathed to win in Australia. The grandstand rises to applaud as he crosses the line to win in Australia. Advantage Ferrari in 2017.
Lap 56 - It’s 10.5 seconds for Vettel. Now Verstappen is asking his garage what the fastest lap is so he can have a go, and they sensibly reply “too fast”.
At the same time Bottas, then Raikkonen nab the new fastest lap.
Lap 55 - Looks like our top five is set now.
1) Vettel
2) Hamilton
3) Bottas
4) Raikkonen
5) Verstappen
With Massa the only other man on the lead lap.
Meanwhile Kvyat has been asked to nurse the car through to the end, and responded by asking who now had the fastest lap and what it was. That’s the sort of devil may care attitude the new owners of F1 will love.
Lap 54 - Verstappen can still see Raikkonen in front of him, going around roughly 1.3 seconds behind him for the entire lap. He’s probably too far away now, losing time in the early turns of the next lap.
Lap 53 - Vettel puts an exclamation mark on his day by nicking the fastest lap from Kvyat immediately.
Meanwhile Alonso has retired, leaving the battle for 10th to Ocon and Hulkenberg.
Lap 52 - It’s all red at the front, with Vettel merrily going about his business with a comfortable lead. Doesn’t look like much chance of a Bottas attack on Hamilton now.
Kvyat has just set the fastest lap of the race.
Lap 51 - The battle for the last point has become a three-way fight, with Alonso in front of Ocon and now with Hulkenberg preying on them as well. Ocon goes in front! Hulkenberg nicks past Alonso as well.
Confirmed suspension failure for Magnussen. Roll the ‘Haas of Pain’ headlines.
Lap 50 - Kevin Magnussen retires, and surprisingly Kvyat comes into the pits. He had the last scheduled stop, and now what we expect is the last unscheduled one.
The gap at the front is 8.4, and a further 1.9 from Hamilton to Bottas. The top six are all on the first lap, ending with Massa.
Lap 49 - It might not be all over for the Hamilton vs Bottas contest yet. The gap is back down to two seconds. Surely you don’t have a go at the star performer in your first day on the job. Hope he does though.
Lap 48 - Looks like Bottas is comfortable for a podium finish here. Hamilton continues to motor around roughly seven seconds behind the leader.
Lap 47 - Vettel has 1st covered, Hamilton has survived the Bottas challenge, and Verstappen hasn’t got into a position to have a go at Raikkonen yet. We’re in a holding pattern with 10 laps left.
In the battle for 10th Esteban Ocon is right on the tail of Alonso in the McLaren for what would be his first career point.
Lap 46 - Only bad luck or inattention can cost Vettel now. And I don’t fancy there’s any danger of the latter. Hamilton’s now got 2.5 seconds on Bottas and looks to be successfully turning back that challenge.
Lap 45 - Hamilton reports his power is dropping in and out. Meanwhile Verstappen is - as Australians would say - “fanging it” in his quest to catch Raikkonen. The gap is now less than two seconds.
Kvyat has gone past Sainz into eight and is now looking at Perez.
Lap 44 - Verstappen is 2.2 behind Raikkonen in the battle for fourth. The only teams with two cars in the top 10 are Ferrari, Mercedes and Toro Rosso.
Lap 43 - Bottas is within 1.5 seconds now, and the grandstand finish for second is on. Meanwhile Lance Stroll’s debut is over. Fortunately he ends in the pits rather than around the track so he’s not subject to endless puns about his surname.
Lap 42 - All eyes are on the Mercedes battle now. Vettel seemingly has this race won, we’re all just hoping that the teammates end up in close proximity.
Meanwhile Lance Stroll takes a run down an exit road, then a detour across the kitty litter.
Updated
Lap 41 - It’s down to 2.5 seconds between Hamilton and Bottas.
Meanwhile, Renault strike a welcome blow against banter.
The Hulk is still P12 & chasing down Esteban/Fernando. Meanwhile we're telling ourselves very sternly NOT to RT the angry Toto meme.#AusGP
— Renault Sport F1 (@RenaultSportF1) March 26, 2017
Lap 40 - Verstappen is closing rapidly on Raikkonen, just four seconds behind now. At the front Vettel leads by eight seconds.
Down field the rookies Stroll and Giovinazzi are still going, as is Vandoorne. They’re currently occupying 13th to 15th.
Lap 39 - Kvyat is holding ninth after his stop, with Alonso the lsat man in the points.
The current top 10:
1) Vettel
2) Hamilton
3) Bottas
4) Raikkonen
5) Verstappen
6) Massa
7) Perez
8) Sainz
9) Kvyat
10) Alonso
Lap 38 - The gap is down to 2.8 seconds with 19 laps left. Now Lewis will have to worry about the gap growing at the front and shrinking at the rear.
Lap 37 - The gap between Hamilton and Bottas is still hovering around three seconds, and if the Finn can get close enough he might liven up the dying stages of the race by having a ping at Lewis if he’s allowed to.
Lap 36 - The lead is expanding, and Kvyat has finally ended his marathon first stint.
Pit stop for @kvyatofficial @pirellisport ultrasoft 🔚
— Toro Rosso (@ToroRossoSpy) March 26, 2017
supersoft 🔛#AusGP pic.twitter.com/gKgdRpsiad
Lap 35 - Mercedes are happy with ‘plan A’ for Hamilton as they’re comfortable that the tyres will hold up until the end of the race. He’s 7.4 seconds behind the leader.
Lap 34 - Kvyat still hasn’t stopped, running sixth for now. Hamilton is only 3.8 seconds in front of Bottas, and he’s not making ground on Vettel.
Lap 33 - It’s hard to see how the title could be won by anyone other than Vettel or Hamilton this year. They’re a cut above everyone else. Today is looks like advantage Ferrari unless there’s some sort of mechanical debacle but it’s promising to be an exciting season.
Lap 32 - If you’re not a Mercedes fan it’s hard to argue Paul’s point here. The last thing we wanted was another season where they ran away with the title. The gap is now 5.5 seconds at the front.
@Adam_Woolcock I really want Lewis to be champion again, but a Vettel/Ferrari win today would be great - give Mercedes a challenge!#AusGP
— Paul Waggott (@paultwaggott) March 26, 2017
Lap 31 - Hamilton is pulling away from third placed Bottas, but he’s continuing to fall behind Vettel. The gap is now 6.2.
Last man on track is Kevin Magnussen in 16th. Out are Grosjean, Palmer, Ericsson and Ricciardo.
Lap 30 - It’s Vettel by 6.1 over Hamilton, with Bottas third and a Raikkonen vs Verstappen battle brewing for fourth.
Updated
Lap 29 - Our top 10
1) Vettel
2) Hamilton
3) Bottas
4) Raikkonen
5) Verstappen
6) Kvyat
7) Massa
8) Perez
9) Sainz
10) Alonso
No safety car for Ricciardo by the looks of it.
Lap 28 - Ricciardo’s horror weekend continues, off the track and out of the race with what looks like a drive train problem. Hamilton would be desperate for a safety car.
Lap 27 - Savage! Lewis is 5.9 seconds down now. It’s Vettel’s race to lose.
No complaint about anything from Lewis on lap 27. His radio must be broken. #AusGP
— Grand Prix Diary (@GrandPrixDiary) March 26, 2017
Lap 26 - Hamilton is reporting that he doesn’t have much grip left, and he’s 2.7 seconds behind. He’s got Bottas a further 1.5 seconds behind him.
Raikkonen is in, handing his teammate the race lead approaching halfway.
Lap 25 - A clearly frustrated Hamilton reports that “there’s not much left in these tyres”, and Vettel is starting to pull away from him.
Bottas is in, allowing Raikkonen to take the lead and Vettel to go into second. Verstappen is in too, great news for Lewis.
Updated
Lap 24 - Verstappen is in the middle of Vettel and Hamilton, with Max having a speculative look a Vettel. He doesn’t try anything and that’s great news for Ferrari.
Bottas and Raikkonen lead, but they won’t for long. Meanwhile the 25th year celebrations of Sauber are soured as Ericsson pulls off to the side of the road and retires.
Lap 23 - We get the old artistic slow mo replay of Magnussen running wide off the track. He’s ok to continue. Vettel is now past Stroll and attacking Hulkenberg but pits at the end of the lap. He’s in and out in lightning speed and Vettel is out in front!
Lap 22 - Vettel is coming up to Lance Stroll, but instead of bringing him into the pits they’ve decided to leave him out. Meanwhile Verstappen reports that he’s starting to struggle with his rear tyres.
Lap 21 - Hamilton is still 0.5 behind Verstappen. His garage is telling him that he needs get past Max, to wish Lewis replies “I don’t know how you expect me to do that”. He’s still the only one of the top five to have pitted.
Lap 20 - Hamilton is 0.7 seconds behind Verstappen and catching him quickly. He’ll be hoping Max pulls into the pits, but otherwise might need to have a go at him to get around and keep moving.
Down field we see Perez take Carlos Sainz for eighth with an aggressive passing move.
Lap 19 - Hamilton’s come out flying when he’s in clean air and sets the fastest lap, but he’s now about to have to get around Verstappen or wait for him to put. Meanwhile Vettel is plowing on at the front without coming in.
Lap 18 - Hamilton is down to 5th, behind Verstappen and Raikkonen. The gap is 9.3 seconds at the front.
Updated
Lap 17 - Lewis pits first, he’s out without any major dramas but comes out into heavy traffic. It’s Vettel by nine seconds over Bottas.
Elsewhere Palmer joins the ranks of the retirees.
Lap 16 - The gap is now less than a second, here comes Vettel in a hurry.
Lap 15 - Lewis just can’t shake Vettel. A lot is going to depend on the stops as the gap is down to 1.3. Meanwhile Palmer is continuing to battle his car down the grid, he’s currently running 16th.
Lap 14 - As the broadcasters concentrate on the high profile Stroll vs Giovinazzi battle for 14th we’ve got big problems for Roman Grosjean. He’s into the pits with smoke coming from everywhere and has left the car. A great qualifying performance unfortunately wasted while he was still running high in the points. Alonso will be vaulted in the top 10.
Hamilton is 1.5 seconds in front.
Lap 13 - Hamilton accepts the challenge from Vettel by setting a new fastest lap, restoring a 1.9 second gap at the front.
Felipe Massa is doing well, running sixth in the Williams.
Lap 12 - Jolyon Palmer is having problem in the Renault, unable to get up speed. It doesn’t look good for his future in this race.
The Magnussen/Ericsson clash has been cleared by the stewards. No further action required.
Lap 11 - It’s 1.8 seconds at the front, with Bottas a further 5.4 seconds behind in third. He’s just under five seconds in front of Raikkonen.
Lap 10 - Vandoorne has been in to the pits with a loss of power, and the team has effectively restarted the car to get him going again. He’s still well down the field. Hamilton is continuing to extend his lead, up to 1.9 seconds but he’s battling his car and Vettel is sitting comfortably behind him waiting to pounce.
Lap 9 - Vettel’s just set the fastest lap of the race but even with Hamilton’s grip problems he’s not making much ground on the lead. The first pit stop will be crucial.
Updated
Lap 8 - No change in the top 10, with Alonso the first man out of the points just over three seconds behind Kvyat. Ricciardo is still a lap behind Magnussen in 20th. The lead at the front is now 1.7 seconds.
Lap 7 - It’s now 1.6 seconds at the front, with Bottas about 1.3 seconds further back behind Vettel.
Lap 6 - It remains advantage Lewis, he’s pulled out of DRS range and is gently building his lead.
Lap 5 - Now Lewis has opened a reasonable gap at the front, with a 1.1 second advantage.
Down the field Stroll’s golden start has come unstuck, having to pit for a tyre change which has dropped him back down to the end of the field.
Lap 4 - Hamilton reports that he’s struggling for grip, and he’s unable to pull too far away from Vettel. The lead is just 0.8, and there’s none of the procession mode stuff we saw so often from Mercedes last year.
Meanwhile there’s a steward’s enquiry into the Magnussen vs Ericsson coming together on the opening lap. They’re the last two on track other than Ricciardo.
Lap 3 - A look at our top 10 so far:
1) Hamilton
2) Vettel (0.6 behind)
3) Bottas (1.9 behind)
4) Raikkonen
5) Verstappen
6) Massa
7) Grosjean
8) Sainz
9) Perez
10) Kvyat
Lap 2 - Ricciardo comes out of the pit lane two laps down, and wearing ultra soft tyres. Hamilton remains .1 in front of Vettel.
Lap 1 - Hamilton leads from Vettel, Bottas and Raikkonen. Everyone who started is still going but with Magnussen limping back to the pits. Lance Stroll was one of the big gainers, jumping to 14th in his first F1 lap.
Lights out!
Hamilton gets out well and takes the lead into the first corner and it looks like everyone’s made it through the first turn unscathed.
But Ericsson and Magnussen have only made it to turn three and they’re off! Magnussen has a puncture.
Updated
And we’re ready to go again (this time we mean it).
Updated
Correction, we are NOT ready to go. The start has been aborted and the cars are taking an extra formation lap. Great news for Ricciardo, as he gets an extra couple of minutes to fix the car.
It looks like Nico Hulkenberg has entered the wrong spot on the grid which has caused the aborted start. Oops. We’re now down to 57 laps for the race.
The air temperature is 24 degrees, and the track is 36. We are ready to go!
The formation lap is on. We’re almost ready to roll in Melbourne. Will the new start procedure cause chaos on its debut?
Ricciardo is still in his car in the garage as the team works to get him started from the pitlane. They’re rapidly running out of time to put him on the track with enough distance to the rest of the field to give him a chance of points. Everyone else has made it through the lap and to the grid unscathed.
Ricciardo is back in the car. If he was cheery at the idea of running through the field from 15th he’ll have a great time doing it from 20th. Watch out backmarkers, if he gets a start he’s going to be in a hurry to start making his way through the field.
Good guy Roman Grosjean, gives Haas their best ever qualifying position and then warns a cameraman mid-interview that he was about to walk into somebody.
Kvyat’s car is confirmed fixed. There won’t be any problems getting him on track.
Updated
Having said that, Red Bull is not conceding defeat yet. Watch this space.
Daniel stops on track with an electrical issue. 😫 Car back and Team pushing to get the #RB13 fixed to start from the pit lane. #AusGP pic.twitter.com/c2He5wMB8G
— Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) March 26, 2017
Updated
That’s it for Dan unfortunately, the first man out of this year’s race before it begins. We’ll have 19 starters in approximately 10 minutes.
Heartbreak for @danielricciardo
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 26, 2017
His home race is over before it starts as he suffers technical problems on his way to the grid #AusGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/l2AuhmaKRX
Now Kvyat has had an extinguisher go off in his car, leaving his mechanics scrambling to get that fixed before business begins. An unwelcome flashback to two years ago when he didn’t make the starting grid due to mechanical problems.
Our grid, pending a probable DNS for Ricciardo.
1- Hamilton (Mercedes)
2 - Vettel (Ferrari)
3 - Bottas (Mercedes)
4 - Raikkonen (Ferrari)
5 - Verstappen (Red Bull)
6 - Grosjean (Haas)
7 - Massa (Williams)
8 - Sainz (Toro Rosso)
9 - Kvyat (Toro Rosso)
10 - Perez (Force India)
11 - Hulkenberg (Renault)
12 - Alonso (McLaren)
13 - Ocon (Force India)
14 - Ericsson (Sauber)
15* - Ricciardo (Red Bull)
16 - Giovinazzi (Sauber)
17 - Magnussen (Haas)
18 - Vandoorne (McLaren)
19 - Palmer (Renault)
20 - Stroll (Williams)
DRAMA! Daniel Ricciardo has pulled over on track with gearbox issues. It could be the end of his day 20 minutes before the race begins.
Here’s our lineup for today. In any group photo there’s always one person caught not looking at the camera, and today the honour goes to Nico Hulkenberg.
📢 "Ladies and gentlemen, the #F1 Class of 2017" 📸#AusGP #F1isBack #F1DownUnder 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/LgTdwP2ZJs
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 26, 2017
If you haven’t picked through Giles Richards’ team-by-team look at the new season now would be a great time.
The key personnel change for 2017 is Valtteri Bottas replacing Rosberg at Mercedes, a clear number two to Hamilton.
We’ve also got rookies, with 18-year-old Canadian Lance Stroll starting from the back of the grid in his first start for Williams. Italian Antonio Giovinazzi with drive his first race for Sauber today, replacing the injured Pascal Wehrlein.
Over at McLaren, Stoffel Vandoorne is effectively a rookie too after having one previous GP start.
The big news today is that Daniel Ricciardo’s hopes of an elusive home victory have been dealt a blow. He’d already qualified 10th, and has now been handed a five spot grid penalty due to an unscheduled gearbox change. The change was required after his crash in qualifying, and now means he’ll have to get in front of 14 other men if he wants to pull off a famous win.
In typical Ricciardo fashion he’s taking the news stoically.
RIC: "It's not perfect [grid penalty]. But it's more motivation to cut through the field and give the fans something to cheer about" #AusGP pic.twitter.com/tRgTbxRZTx
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 26, 2017
Good morning, afternoon or night depending on where you are. Welcome to a sunny Melbourne, where we’re heading towards a top temperature of 28 degrees with no rain expected. The race will commence at 4pm local time.
We begin the 2017 season with new owners of the circuit, without a defending world champion, a number of rule changes to promote faster cars and several rookie drivers on the grid. But the more things change the more they stay the same, and when the lights go down this afternoon it’ll be old foes Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel on the front row.
I’ll be online until the presentations are concluded (you never know what will happen between the first car crossing the line and the trophies being handed out), and you can get in contact with your views via email or tweet me @adam_woolcock.
Adam will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s the latest from Giles Richards at Albert Park.
Updated
