Lewis Hamilton is confident he has got what it takes to win the Formula One world championship despite Sebastian Vettel romping to victory at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Vettel and Ferrari underlined their impressive pre-season performance with a fine display in Melbourne to lay claim to the early title initiative after the first round of the new campaign.
Hamilton started from the front but failed to convert his pole position into a victory after he was leapfrogged by Vettel at the first and only round of pit stops.
Mercedes headed into the Albert Park season opener having won 51 of the last 59 races. But Vettel's victory will provide Ferrari with hope that they can clinch their first title in a decade and finally bring an end to Mercedes' long-running dominance of the sport.
For Hamilton, however, he still believes he can go on to win a fourth championship this year despite the early title setback.
"I wouldn't say I'm happy," Hamilton, 32, said. "But all things in perspective, to see where we have come from, with massive rule changes and to come here and be battling so close for a win and missing out marginally, there are a lot of things to be proud of.
"We could have won the race, but for some certain things we may have done better. 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."
Ferrari failed to register a single victory during a torrid campaign last year. But the Italian team impressed in testing and looked strong for much of the weekend here, too.
Vettel, the four-time champion, was a worthy winner. It marked his first victory since the Singapore Grand Prix back in 2015.
However, the 29-year-old German insists Hamilton's Mercedes team remain the class of the field.
"It's good to hit some lows and go through difficult periods even though it pretty much sucks," said Vettel as he reflected on the turmoil of last season.
"If you look race-by-race it's not great, but seeing what happens in the background is important. I think people always kept the belief and, as I said, the last six months have been very calm.
"Now it peaks and we are at the top of this grand prix but that's a small achievement. If you look at who we are up against, Mercedes has been phenomenal for the last few years. They will be the ones to beat but for sure I'm just happy and we take this win as a team."
Source: PA
