Sebastian Vettel held off world champion Lewis Hamilton to win Formula One’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on Sunday.

It was the German’s 48th Grand Prix win in his 200th race. Hamilton finished second and Kimi Raikkonen third.

‘Obviously, we were a little bit lucky today,’ Vettel said at the victory ceremony. ‘Lewis did a great lap yesterday and deserved pole and he drove a very good race, controlling in the beginning.

‘We got a bit lucky but we will take it. We’re not yet where we want to be, I don’t quite feel the car, but it gives us a good start, good wind and fresh motivation.’

Silver Arrows chief Toto Wolff said a software glitch had cost Hamilton victory.

‘We were trying to build enough of a gap to Raikkonen to avoid the undercut and we were trying to have enough gap to the Haas to have the Safety Car gap.

‘Everything was under control. We took a bit of a risk of putting Lewis on a soft [tyre] to go to the end, but it was the only choice to avoid Kimi jumping us. The pace was good.

‘Then we calculated the VSC gap which was needed [if one was activated]. Our computer said 15 seconds was the necessary time in order to jump us.

‘The drivers oscillate within one second in the delta. Then suddenly the cameras showed us the pit exit. Sebastian came out in front of us. The software or system we have been using for five years just gave us the wrong number.

‘Lewis did nothing wrong. It was down to a software bug or an algorithm that was simply wrong.’