Former Formula 1 driver Mark Webber is predicting that former Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel will claim the opening victory of the 2017 season in Melbourne this weekend.
Webber, now a pundit for Channel 4's coverage of F1, concedes that Ferrari's strong testing performances often fail to translate into a strong season, however this year he believes their pace is genuine and therefore reckons Vettel will win a tight fight at the front.
"Ferrari have been very good at performing when the grandstands are empty in pre-season," said the Australian. "Then the season starts, the Italian influence comes into play and they get panicky and do wacky stuff.
"[But] I think Vettel will win [in Melbourne]," he predicted. "In previous seasons Lewis has been more comfortable with the car than he is this time. The Mercedes has been more dominant at this point previously.
"Ferrari had a great pre-season and are ahead of where we expected them to be. Red Bull are there too so it will be really close. Those top-three teams are going to be on a pretty similar level."
Webber believes fans are set for a "fascinating" season as there is very little to split the top three teams.
"The jury's out on that Renault engine in the Red Bull lasting the course of the season. That's the only bit I'm worried about for them and it's hard for me to pick between Ferrari and Mercedes. It's going to be fascinating."
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