Lewis Hamilton has revealed he is braced for a tougher rivalry with Sebastian Vettel than Nico Rosberg in what he believes will be the "best against the best" battling it out for this year's Formula One crown.

It is four-time champion Vettel who holds the early advantage after a resurgent Ferrari delivered on their pre-season form to beat Hamilton's Mercedes and win the opening race of the new season in Australia on Sunday.

Vettel finished the best part of 10 seconds clear of Hamilton as Ferrari, who failed to win a single race last year, became the first team other than Mercedes to win the opening round of a season since 2013.

The 2017 Formula 1 grid Show all 20 1 /20 The 2017 Formula 1 grid The 2017 Formula 1 grid Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari Vettel finished fourth last season and will hope improvements to the team's 1.6-litre V6 will help him back onto the podium. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari The experienced Finn largely underperformed last season. At 37, could be his final season racing for a top team. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Sergio Perez, Force India Perez retains the drive he has held since 2014. Force India again use the Mercedes-AMG engine. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Esteban Ocon, Force India The talented 20-year-old raced in 9 Grand Prix for Manor last season and earns a call-up to a much more competitive team. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Romain Grosjean, Haas Haas had a very good season last year, finishing 8th with their Ferrari engine. Grosjean will look to improve on his 13th place finish. AFP/Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Kevin Magnussen, Haas The Dane moves from Renault to Haas. Struggled last season. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Stoffel Vandoorne, McLaren The talented Belgian, who scored a world championship point in the unfamiliar MP4-31 last year, replaces Jenson Button at McLaren. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Fernando Alonso, McLaren The youngest double champion of all-time remains at McLaren for the 2017 season, despite a well publicised approach from Mercedes. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes The team - and driver - to beat since the infamous V6 rule changes came into place in 2014. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes Bottas replaces world champion Nico Rosberg at Mercedes, Will push Hamilton all the way this campaign. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Adrian Newey has completely redesigned the RB13 for the 2017 season and Ricciardo will be hopeful of bettering last year's 3rd place finish. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Max Verstappen, Red Bull There will be plenty of attention on Verstappen as he completes his first full season at Red Bull. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Nico Hulkenberg, Renault Hulkenberg moves to the team from Force India, replacing Kevin Magnussen. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Jolyon Palmer, Renault The Brit came under pressure last year for a disappointing 18th-place finish. Will be hopeful of improvement. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Marcus Ericsson, Sauber Sauber were poor last season and were plagued by retirements. Ericsson nevertheless remains with the team for a third campaign. AFP/Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Pascal Wehrlein, Sauber The 22-year-old wins a drive at Sauber, moving from Manor Racing. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso Resigned to Toro Rosso after plenty of speculation; will be desperate to show he shouldn't have been replaced by Verstappen at Red Bull. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso Now in his third season with the team. Toro Rosso this year return to a Renault engine. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Lance Stroll, Williams 18-year-old rookie. Stroll's first appearance in the car didn't inspire confidence, he spun the car in testing. Getty The 2017 Formula 1 grid Felipe Massa, Williams Heroically returns to the team after Bottas departed for Mercedes. One of the most experienced drivers on the grid. Getty

The 29-year-old German and Hamilton - three years his senior - are considered as the two finest drivers of their generation, and while Rosberg ended his long-running losing streak to Hamilton last year, he was never viewed as being in the same league.

And in what could be viewed as a subtle barb at Rosberg, who watched Albert Park's season opener from his lounge in Monte Carlo, Hamilton concurred.

"Definitely," he replied when asked if he was anticipating a greater challenge from Vettel than Rosberg. "This year you are seeing the best against the best with the best drivers at the top.

"It would be great if we had Fernando Alonso up there, too, but it doesn't look like that will happen any time soon.

"At least we have a great driver in Sebastian winning four titles after his incredible surge into Formula One and he will continue to be a force for many years to come.

"I am really grateful to have that fight with him, against Ferrari which is the next best team, and there is a top driver there, too. It has been a privilege to be racing in an era with him and finally we are in a period of time when we can actually have a real race."

Vettel was equally complimentary. "I have great respect [for Hamilton]," the German added. "He has proven to be one of the quickest drivers on the grid and I would love to have a close battle. It is a lot of fun to race for victories and a lot of fun to race against the best.

"Right now it looks like we have equal machinery and I hope it stays that way."

Vettel finished 10 seconds clear of Hamilton (Getty)

Formula One will hope it does, too. After three years of Mercedes dominance, Vettel triumphing at a sun-bathed Albert Park, in front of a near 100,000 crowd, is precisely what the sport and its new owners Liberty Media will have desired.

Hamilton appeared to be in charge after nailing the start and beating Vettel on the relatively short run down to turn one. Vettel kept Hamilton honest but as the Briton slowly began to eke out a lead over his rival, the result appeared a formality.

But when Hamilton pitted for fresh tyres at the end of lap 17 he rejoined behind Max Verstappen.

It was the worst-possible scenario for the triple world champion, who could not find a way round the 19-year-old Red Bull driver. Vettel stopped six laps later and emerged with Verstappen, and crucially Hamilton, behind him. Hamilton never came close to catching him.

"I could have won the race today but for some certain things we may have done better," Hamilton added. "I gave it everything I could and you can't win them all.

"It is going to be a close race this season but I truly believe we can beat them."

Hamilton's new team-mate Valtteri Bottas finished third while home favourite Daniel Ricciardo started two laps down after he got stuck in sixth gear en route to the grid before stopping with a mechanical issue midway through.

"Let's get the f*** out of here," a deflated Ricciardo said over the radio.