Mercedes will bounce back, insists Wolff

................................... J P Spencer .............. J Haynes (17) I Jardine 9-7 .................................................. T Eaves (53) J Tuite 9-7 (D) ...................... J F Egan (17) T Dascombe 9-4 ..................... R Kingscote (14) A Balding 9-0 (BF) .................. D Probert (6) P Evans 8-13 (CD) ............................... A Mullen (226) M Channon 8-13 ................... Rob Hornby (36) P Evans 8-12 (C) .................................. S Levey (24) B Ellison 8-11 ...................... Ben Robinson (7) BETTING: 7-4 Revel, 5 Dark Destroyer, 7 Bazwind, 8 Hidden Stash, Sidewinder, 10 Justice Frederick, Mia Cara, 12 Lightoller, 25 Others.

13-8fav Always prominent, led over 2f out, edged right inside final furlong, ran on well, won at Kempton 1m 3yo hcp 0-70 (5) pol in Jan beating Pobbles by 1 1/2l, 8 ran. 5-2fav Tracked leader, led going well over 2f out, ridden clear over 1f out, ran on well, won at Kempton 7f mdn stks (5) pol in Feb beating Tricorn by 1 1/4l, 12 ran.

7-1 Made all, clear 2f out, ridden inside final furlong, stayed on, driven out, won at Wolverhampton 1m 1f 3yo hcp 0-75 (5) in Feb beating Hochfeld by nk, 7 ran. 7-4fav Chased leaders on inside, pushed along halfway, ridden and edged left over 1f out, nearly snatched 2nd, no chance with winner, 3rd of 4, 3 1/2l behind Peachey Carnehan at Wolverhampton 6f 3yo stks 0-70 (5). 16-1 Tracked leaders, effort inside final furlong, stayed on, 3rd of 11, 1 1/2l behind Gilgamesh at Wolverhampton 7f hcp 0-85 (4). 50-1 Raced wide, tracked leader, merged with far side group over 2f out in rear, weakened over 1f out, last of 5, 17l behind Dreamfield at Newmarket 7f 2yo stk (2) gs in Oct.

6-1 Close up in 4th, pushed along and headway to chase winner entering final 2f, edged left and no impression final furlong, 2nd of 4, 1 3/4l behind Alemaratalyoum at Newcastle 7f Stakes (3yo) (5). 11-2 Prominent, not clear run entering final furlong, kept on same pace, 3rd of 9, 2l behind Sky Gypsy at Pontefract 5f 2yo mdn (4) gd in Aug. 66-1 Always in rear, last of 11, 14l behind Gilgamesh at Wolverhampton 7f hcp 0-85 (4).

25-1 Steadied start, held up and behind, never on terms, 6th of 7, 17l behind Tricorn at Newcastle 1m 3yo hcp 0-75 (5).

2-1fav Led 1f, remained prominent, led again well over 1f out, hard ridden approaching final furlong, ran on well, won at Wolverhampton 1m 4f hcap 0-70 (5) beating What Usain by 2l, 11 ran.

7-1 Broke well, took keen hold and soon settled tracking leaders, 2nd going well over 1f out, led 1f out, ridden clear inside final furlong, stayed on well, won at Wolverhampton 1m 6f hcp 0-60 (6) beating Surround Sound by 2l, 11 ran. 15-8fav Tracked leader, pushed along and led narrowly 2f out, ridden and headed inside final furlong, no extra, 4th of 6, 4l behind Ayr Of Elegance at Lingfield 2m hcp 0-75 (5) pol. 5-1 Held up, ridden over 1f out, kept on final furlong, never nearer, 4th of 8, 3 1/2l behind Rowlestone Lass at Chelmsford City 1m 5f app fls hcp 0-75 (5) pol.

20-1 Steadied start, held up in rear, ridden over 1f out, never nearer, 6th of 10, 7l behind Midtech Star at Wolverhampton 1m 6f hcp 0-85 (4). LEWIS HAMILTON’S Mercedes team insist they will come back stronger from their defeat to Ferrari at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Mercedes have dominated Formula One for the past three years, but Sebastian Vettel’s comfortable victory would appear to suggest that their stranglehold on the sport may be over.

Four-time champion Vettel finished 10 seconds clear of Hamilton at Albert Park, which marked the first time a team other than Mercedes has won the first grand prix of the season since 2013.

It could be argued that it is just what the sport needed after three consecutive years of Hamilton versus Nico Rosberg – the reigning champion who watched Sunday’s race unfold from his lounge in Monaco.

“It is personality-building,” admitted Mercedes boss Toto Wolff as he reflected on Vettel’s victory.

“You lose some and you win some.

“We have been very fortunate in the last three years that we have won most of them. Now it is about accepting that Ferrari beat us.

“I would much rather win than lose, but it is part of Formula One and we have had an exceptional run in the last three years.

“We always said this was an outlier and we cannot expect this to continue forever. We did not have a great testing and we did not have a great Sunday, but we will leave no stone unturned in order to win. We will come out stronger.”

Mercedes arrived in Melbourne in a new era for the sport - following sweeping changes to the technical rulebook - in the belief that Ferrari held the advantage after an encouraging pre-season for the famous Italian team.

But a practice double for Hamilton - followed up by securing pole position - gave them hope that they would extend their winning run which stood at 51 from the last 59 races heading into Sunday’s grand prix. It was not to be.

“Even if we won all those races and it looked like it was easy or it was clear it wasn’t,” Wolff added.

“We were always sceptical whether it was good enough and we always tried to look at the negatives in everything we did and look at the worst-case scenario and that is why we always considered Red Bull or Ferrari to be real competitors.

“Fighting against Ferrari is something that is exciting.

“It is something that is exciting for the fans and a new challenge for us.”

Television footage cut to a furious Wolff thumping his fist on a desk inside the Mercedes garage after Vettel emerged ahead of Hamilton following the only round of pit stops.

“I need to work on my emotions during the race,” Wolff said before joking: “I will talk to someone professionally about it.”