It was drama right from the start as the five red lights went off to mark the beginning of the 2018 season of Formula One in Australia.

World champion Lewis Hamilton continued from where he left off during qualifying on Saturday as he headed the pack from pole position, leading the race.

It seemed the Brit had proceedings all under control even after he pitted from the lead with the Ferrari duo in pursuit.

However, it was the situation with Romain Grosjean and his Haas vehicle, when the Frenchman had to come to a halt due to a pit stop error, resulting in a loose wheel, that turned the luck of Mercedes and Hamilton for the worse.

The incident with Grosjean brought out the virtual safety car, while Ferrari immediately called in Vettel, who had been running longer in the ultra-soft tyres till then, and the move paid huge dividends.

With no speed limit in the pits, the German took full advantage of it as he rejoined the race gaining two places, which left the reigning champion lost for words and seeking answers from his team in the Mercedes garage.

The 33-year-old went all-out almost till the end in order to try and overtake Vettel during the closing stages of the race, but ultimately had to be pragmatic in his approach for long term benefits.

Shortly after the conclusion of the race, Hamilton said: “Statistically I believe this is the hardest circuit to overtake on.

“You need something like a 1.8-second advantage or something crazy like that to be able to pass someone.

“Obviously, he had the fresher tyres. I was as close as I could be but the aerodynamics make it very tricky whenever I was getting that little bit closer.

“He looked like he was struggling. I don’t know but he was able to hold on.”

With nearly 10 laps remaining, the gap between the two heavyweights was down within two seconds, yet Hamilton had to back off during the penultimate laps to preserve the engine.

The four-time world champion added: “I was trying to keep the pressure on because I saw a couple of mistakes appearing at some points and when I got close I then also had a lock-up and went wide.

“Also the engine temps were too high and the engineer says this one needs to do seven races so I started to think towards the end it was just better to live to fight another day and make sure that the engine is in good health for the next races.”

The margin between the duo was five seconds by the time the chequered flag waved at the end of lap 58, with a phenomenal outing for both Vettel and the Italian outfit.

The rivalry between the Mercedes and Ferrari aces resumes in Bahrain on April 8.