Instead of having the smile wiped off his face, Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel has had the last laugh by leaving an upstaged Lewis Hamilton in "disbelief" with an upset Australian Grand Prix victory in Melbourne on Sunday.
Vettel made the most of a mid-race virtual safety car to pit and emerge in front of a stunned Hamilton of Mercedes before holding his nerve to claim a second straight Albert Park triumph in the Formula One season opener.
Vettel sealed his third overall win in Australia, finishing more than five seconds ahead of fellow four-time world champion Hamilton with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen third.
Australia's Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull equalled his best Melbourne result with fourth after battling back from eighth following a grid penalty.
Overwhelming favourite Hamilton added extra spice to his epic rivalry with Vettel when he admitted he wanted to wipe the smile off the German's face after setting a lap record to claim a seventh pole position in Melbourne on Saturday.
But by the end of the 58-lap season opener, Vettel was sporting a cheeky grin on top of the podium after his virtual safety car move.
"Needless to say we got a bit lucky with the timing of the safety car but there were other races last year where it went the other way - it worked for us this time," Vettel said.
"It was the key to the win no doubt.
"We are not where we want to be yet but it's a good start."
Vettel inherited the race lead after Hamilton and second-placed Raikkonen followed each other into the pits to fit faster soft tyres by lap 20.
Hamilton returned to the track in second behind Vettel.
Accidental leader Vettel then pitted during a virtual safety car period when Romain Grosjean's Haas came to a stop after turn two on lap 25, and remarkably still emerged ahead of Hamilton with almost a second lead.
Mercedes blamed a computer software glitch for not warning them that Vettel had pitted.
"Even now I don't really understand what happened - I did everything I believed I was supposed to do," a gutted Hamilton said.
"The safety car came out and I was coming down the straight and at the last minute I was told the Ferrari was coming out - I didn't even know the Ferrari was in.
"I think it was just disbelief from that moment until the end."
The stage is now set for a titanic battle never before seen in F1.
This year marks the first time in F1 history two four-time world champions go head to head in a season.
The race is now on to see who will equal Argentine great Juan Manuel Fangio's five world titles.
Only Michael Schumacher (seven) has won more.
Mercedes have won four straight drivers' and constructors' championships.
And it seemed like the season opener was Hamilton's to lose but no one told Vettel.
The German is now hoping to earn F1's most successful team Ferrari's first world drivers' title since 2007.
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