Drought and claims early parity with Mercedes

to have a race on our hands, which we are very happy to have.”

Mercedes have rarely been challenged in collecting the past three F1 constructors’ championships, and providing the past three individual world champions.

But last night’s season-opener around Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit evidenced the revival of the famed Ferrari team, though Vettel remained wary.

“We are at the top in this grand prix but that is a small achievement,” he said. “If you look who we are up against, Mercedes have been phenomenal in the last couple of years . . . they will be the ones to beat.”

Local hope Ricciardo lamented a lousy weekend for his Red Bull Racing team.

The 27-year-old crashed in qualifying, copped a grid penalty, started the race from pit lane, then his car stopped on lap 29 of the 57-lap race due to engine failure.

“It has been a long week . . . I feel like crap but I feel for the fans,” Ricciardo said. “It’s just not how we would have liked the opener to go, especially at home.”

Ricciardo’s crash in Saturday night’s qualifying meant he was slated to start from 10th on the grid but overnight repairs to his car included a new gearbox, incurring a five-spot slide to 15th spot.

Then, during a procession lap, his car got stuck in sixth gear — the problem couldn’t be fixed in time for him to start on the grid.

Instead, Ricciardo began from the pits — when he finally got on the track, his rivals had already completed two laps.

Then, halfway through the race, his car’s engine shut down.

“If I’m going to look on the bright side . . . maybe we can learn something from his race and look forward,” Ricciardo said.

Mercedes driver Valtteri Bottas completed the podium, with Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen fourth and Ricciardo’s Red Bull teammate Max Verstappen fifth.