Sebastian Vettel can count his lucky stars as mid-race drama involving Haas helped the German take an expected victory at the Australian GP on Sunday.The Ferrari driver found himself in a bit of a predicament as Lewis Hamilton and teammate Kimi Raikkonen duelled it out in the first half of the race.But the decision to stay out longer than the two drivers ahead during the pit-stop phase reaped the ultimate reward as loose wheels on both Haas' exiting the pits required a Virtual Safety Car to clear the latter of Romain Grosjean off the circuit.The chance to box himself for fresh rubber while the rest were lapping slowly, saw what would normally be a far less than adequate 12-second lead become enough to come out just ahead of the world champion.After that, two mistakes by Hamilton in his Mercedes staved off any potential fight to the finish and allowed Vettel to do what he did last year by overhauling the Silver Arrows to take the first win of the year.That was the main story in Melbourne but it was far from the only one as the new Formula 1 season got off to an eventful start at Albert Park, so here's five more.

1. Ferrari & Red Bull a match on race pace for Mercedes

After Saturday's qualifying session, which saw Hamilton blitz the field to take pole, many were right to be concerned that in the race the Briton would just run away and hide.

That is certainly not how it turned out, however, with the two Ferraris shadowing the Briton throughout the first stint when typically he would indeed pull away.

It suggests a repeat of last year is on the cards with the German manufacturer dominant over a single lap thanks to their "party" engine mode but much more susceptible when the lights go out on a Sunday.

Though Red Bull spent much of the race Down Under following gearboxes, the pace of Daniel Ricciardo late on behind Raikkonen also indicates that when racing each other, a three-way duel is on the cards.

2. Haas more than capable of spoiling the party

Before their disastrous ending within just two laps, Haas had proven that when given the chance, they can very much wreck the races of those ahead of them.

The surprise leaders of the midfield at the opening race, Kevin Magnussen and Romain Grosjean were doing an excellent job of keeping the Red Bulls at bay before both had to retire with loose wheels after their pit-stops.

The distraught look on the mechanics told you everything as a chance for big points in a very competitive battle for fourth in the constructor's championship went up in smoke.

 Their performance in Australia has been very promising though as they give McLaren and Renault plenty to think about.

3. Alonso remains ever the opportunist

If there's one thing we can be sure of, Fernando Alonso always knows how to maximise each and every race he takes part in.

Sunday in Melbourne was no different as the Spaniard was another big benefactor of the mid-race VSC to jump up ahead of Verstappen, who endured a miserable afternoon, to claim fifth for McLaren.

Much like Vettel, there is some controversy as to how the double world champion was able to gain so much time compared to others, with Renault particularly upset.

But after the troubled tests and tricky qualifying, it was great to see Alonso back where he belongs racing with the big names.

4. Bottas fortunate after midfield struggle

One expected story from the Grand Prix was the recovery of Valtteri Bottas through the field after starting P15 after his crash in qualifying.

In a race which did see more overtakes than a year ago, however, it wasn't the Finn in his seemingly superior Mercedes doing too many of them.

The Silver Arrow is known to be far less efficient when following other cars and it showed with Bottas struggling to pass Force India's, albeit with the same engine.

Instead it was the VSC which saved some of his blushes, eventually finishing eighth but on the long flight back to Europe, Valtteri will be keen to put Australia behind him.

5. Same old Honda?

After promising so much following a successful pre-season,Toro Rosso with new engine partner Honda came back to earth with a bump at the first race weekend.

The junior Red Bull team had looked in a solid midfield position but when it mattered even, Brendon Hartley was last of the 15 finishers and Pierre Gasly retired with a suspected engine problem.

Despite all the positive words coming from Red Bull and Honda, Australia was an unfortunate reminder of the work that's still to be done.

Final Australian GP results: