2017 F1 Australian Grand Prix, Round 1 race – Vettel wins after extending first stint, Hamilton second

The 2017 season opener at Melbourne’s Albert Park ran for 57 laps. Hamilton held the lead from pole position with Vettel close behind. Ferrari turned that early pursuit into victory through a longer opening stint and its track position after the pit stops.

Hamilton pitted first on lap 17 and emerged behind Verstappen, where his progress was delayed. Vettel stayed out and made his only stop on lap 23, rejoining ahead of Hamilton. Ferrari thereby retained the lead and won the race in 1 hour 24 minutes 11.672 seconds.

Hamilton finished second, 9.975 seconds behind, while Bottas took third on his Mercedes debut, 11.250 seconds adrift. Räikkönen was fourth and Verstappen fifth. Ferrari and Mercedes occupied the top four places, with Red Bull outside podium contention.

It was Ferrari’s first victory since the 2015 Singapore Grand Prix. Vettel scored 25 points, Hamilton 18 and Bottas 15. Ferrari led the constructors’ standings with 37 points to Mercedes’ 33, with the season opener establishing the leaders in both the drivers’ and constructors’ standings.

Massa finished sixth and Pérez seventh. Toro Rosso’s Sainz and Kvyat took eighth and ninth, while Ocon scored his first Formula 1 point in tenth. Giovinazzi replaced the injured Wehrlein for his first Grand Prix and finished 12th. Vandoorne brought a McLaren home in 13th.

Alonso retired with a suspension problem after completing 50 laps. Magnussen, Stroll, Ricciardo, Ericsson, Palmer and Grosjean also retired. Ricciardo suffered a car problem before the start, joined the race late and retired after completing 25 laps, enduring setbacks in both qualifying and the race.

The race covered 57 laps and had 13 finishers. Vettel secured victory through his extended first stint and track position after the pit stops, while Hamilton’s progress on fresh tyres was held up by Verstappen. The different traffic they encountered after their first stops was decisive in the season opener.

The table below gives Formula 1’s official final classification, with lap counts and times recorded in finishing order. Vettel’s personal fastest lap was 1:26.638. Alonso and six other drivers retired before completing the full distance, with their lap counts shown in the table. Points were awarded only to the top ten, and Giovinazzi finished his debut race outside the points.