Throughout winter testing Ferrari appeared to be threatening Mercedes dominance in 2017.
No-one really knew the true picture however until the teams arrived in Australia for the opening round of the Formula One World Championship.
It appeared throughout the weekend that there could well be the reality that three-time Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes could be going head-to-head with four-time Formula One World Champion Sebastian Vettel this season.
It’s a dream scenario, the two most successful drivers of their generation battling for another championship.
Hamilton had the outright pace to claim pole position, but seemingly didn’t have the tyre wear and his early pit-stop handed the race victory to Ferrari, their first since 2015 and only Vettel’s fourth since moving from Red Bull Racing.
‘I would say for the first time she [Gina – his 2017 Ferrari] was fantastic! Hopefully this is the beginning of a big love affair! (Laughs) Today felt very exceptional ? especially after the difficult 2016 season, and a hard winter when a lot of heart and soul from all of us going into this car. The long nights and hard work were finally rewarded. Vettel told formula1.com.
‘Of course it [pit-stop strategy] was key. After the start we understood that this wasn’t going to be a walk in the park but the overall pace was good and that triggered our hopes. I was able to keep up the pressure on Lewis ? and he pitted first with the risk of getting into traffic, and that is what happened. Of course that played into our hands. But the most important thing was our pace was good ? and the tyres lasted. That is why I was able to stay in front!
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