Lewis Hamilton says he wa꧅s in "disbelief" when he saw Ferrari Formula 1 rival emerge from the pit lane in the lead under the Vi🐷rtual Safety Car in a move that ultimately decided Sunday's Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.

Hamilton led the early part of the race from pole position before pitting on Lap 20 in a bid to💧 cover second-placed Kimi Raikkonen, with Ferrari opting to keep Vettel out and extend h🍸is first stint.

Vettel struck lucky when a Virtual Safety Car was called on Lap 26 after Romain Grosjean stopped at Turn 2, allowing him to💝 pit and emerge in the le🐭ad after an alleged software glitch caused Hamilton to slow down too much due to an incorrect time delta.

Despite pu⛄tting pressure on Vettel through the second half of the race to try and recover the lead, Hamilton ultimately lost out to Vettel by five seco😼nds at the chequered flag as his F1 title defence started in muted fashion.

"I really still don’t no♎w understand what’s happened. I did everything I believe that 𒆙I was supposed to do," Hamilton said after the race.

"The Safety Car came out and then I was coming down the straight and all of a sudden, really l⛎ast minute I was told the Ferrari was coming out. I didn’t🥂 know the Ferrari was in.

"I think 𒆙[I felt] just disbelief was really from that moment until the end, just disbelief. I was hungry to try and recover from whatever the scenario, whether it was a mistake or not. I was risking it, but I could have lost all the points.

"💟Eventually I think I made the sensible choice. It’s a long, long way in the championship and it’s not all won in one race. That’s what I’m trying to♏ focus on."