Sebastian Vettel wins the 2018 Australian GP

Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel has won the opening round of the 2018 Formula 1 season held in Melbourne, Australia. The reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes came second with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen in third position. 

Hamilton started from pole closely followed by the two Ferraris. Just as the front runners started to pit, Haas' Kevin Magnussen had to retire from 4th place due to an improperly secured wheel nut. In the next lap, his team mate Romain Grosjean was forced to park his Haas on the side of the track for the same reason. This brought out the Virtual Safety Car (VSC) which effectively neutralised the race. By this time, Hamilton and Raikkonen had pitted, but Vettel had stayed out and was in the lead. Ferrari's call to keep Vettel out paid off when he pitted under the VSC and came out ahead of Hamilton. Despite having DRS, Hamilton was unable to pass the Ferrari, while Kimi held off Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo who had started in 8th place following a 3-place grid penalty. The Australian finished in fourth place. 

The Renault powered McLaren of Fernando Alonso also benefited from pitting during the VSC and eventually finished 5th. Max Verstappen who started in fourth place behind Vettel lost a few places after a 360-degree spin. He recovered to finish in 6th place. Nico Hulkenberg came in 7th for Renault ahead of Valtteri Bottas in the second Mercedes. Bottas started from 15th on the grid after a crash during qualifying. Stoffel Vandoorne's McLaren-Renault took the checkered flag in 9th, while Carlos Sainz grabbed the single championship point available for Renault in 10th.

The second round of the 2018 Formula 1 world championship will be held in Bahrain on April 8, 2018.

World Drivers' Championship standings:

Sebastian Vettel - 25

Lewis Hamilton - 18

Kimi Raikkonen - 15

World Constructors' Championship standings:

Ferrari - 40

Mercedes - 22

Red Bull - 20