But there were no bold statements on race day as he struggled to take a point and his team mate Charles Leclerc laboured to an eighth-place finish.
Ferrari's Carlos Sainz won the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday in a triumphant return two weeks after appendicitis surgery as Red Bull's World champion Max Verstappen suffered his first retirement in two years.
Seven-times World champion Lewis Hamilton, Formula One's most successful driver of all time, will race for Ferrari from 2025.
Formula One champions Mercedes unveiled black-liveried cars for the 2020 season on Monday as part of a public pledge to further improve diversity within the team and the world of motorsport. Mercedes have traditionally raced in silver throughout their time in Formula One but will switch to black and have 'End Racism' emblazoned on the halo of both cars.
Alfa Romeo's Kimi Raikkonen will return to Formula 1 action for the Russian Grand Prix at Sochi which is scheduled to be held from September 24-26.
Ferrari carry burden of history and expectation as they unveil 2022 car.
This year marks the first that two quadruple champions are competing in the same season and their battle to see who joins Argentine legend Juan Manuel Fangio in second place on the all-time list with five titles promises to light up the series.
Nick Heidfeld joined the Mercedes Formula One team as test and reserve driver on Thursday, completing a trio of Germans in a line-up led by Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg.
McLaren Mercedes launched its new car for the 2010 season on Friday. The MP4-25 will be driven by Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, the reigning world champion having joined the British squad from Brawn GP, with which he won the title last year.
Hamilton's flying lap of one minute 22.188 seconds set a new record at Albert Park but was only 0.268 seconds in front of German Vettel, offering the tantalising prospect of a competitive championship after three years of domination by the Silver Arrows.
"To say it was a difficult weekend for the team would be somewhat of an understatement," McLaren boss Ron Dennis said.
The Finn was a mere 0.006 of a second quicker than the five times world champion as the two Silver Arrows once again locked out the front row of the grid on a cloudy afternoon at Silverstone.
Lewis Hamilton emphasised his loyalty to Mercedes while leaving open the possibility that he might one day be tempted to race for Formula One glamour team Ferrari.
Hamilton is seven points clear of Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas after five of the 21 races.
While Valtteri Bottas claimed a dominant win for Mercedes and his team mate Lewis Hamilton held off Red Bull's Max Verstappen for second, Ferrari's drivers were left scrambling for minor points in a sobering start for the Scuderia.
'The most important thing, I think, is really about finishing races and analysing and making sure you get as many race points as you can, of course'
The German driver joined Mercedes from Williams in 2010 and has won 19 Grands Prix for the team, including five this year. He has helped Mercedes to the manufacturers' title for the last two seasons.
Black Lives Matter was stenciled onto NFL fields and NBA courts. Athletes raised fists and took the knee.
Starting second behind pole-sitter Hamilton, Bottas got the jump on the Briton during a typically messy start at Albert Park and ended up cruising to his fourth win by some 20.80 seconds after delaying a tyre-change.
Four times Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel hopes Ferrari can become the strongest challengers to Mercedes this season after failing to win a race last year.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the French Grand Prix on Saturday with Mercedes team mate Valtteri Bottas alongside him on the front row.
Lewis Hamilton led a Mercedes 1-2 at the top of the timesheets for the first free practice session at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Friday, while McLaren's hopes of a clean start were tempered by reliability issues.
Finland's Valtteri Bottas took his first Formula One pole position at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Saturday with a sizzling lap that ended Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton's bid for a seventh in a row.
The Briton lapped the Albert Park circuit in a searing one minute and 21.164 seconds to cross the line 0.664 seconds clear of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Saturday ahead of Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg as the Silver Arrows continued to underline their dominance.
Valtteri Bottas won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday and retook the Formula One lead from team mate Lewis Hamilton after a fourth successive one-two finish for Mercedes.
Ferrari showed impressive pace during pre-season testing and are considered the team most likely to dethrone Mercedes.
'McLaren car is 100 percent ready'
The gap between Mercedes and the rest has narrowed and Ferrari "have something up their sleeve" at this week's season-opening Australian Grand Prix, according to champion Lewis Hamilton.
'It's still a long way to go and I know I lost some points today but I was fast and on form and I will make sure I bring that out to Suzuka to fight back'
Vettel came out on top, giving Ferrari their first pole position since 2012 with a masterful lap around the floodlit Singaporean track.
Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel battle to match the late Argentine's 1950s feat of five world championships.
Mercedes opened their Formula One season by dominating practice at the Australian Grand Prix on Friday, with Nico Rosberg edging his world champion team mate Lewis Hamilton in both sessions at Albert Park.
My strongest emotion right now is deep gratitude to everybody who supported me to make that dream happen
Hockenheim will host this year's German Grand Prix in July instead of alternating with the Nuerburgring, Formula One's commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone told Reuters on Thursday.
Lewis Hamilton has dismissed criticism from former Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg as the product of someone seeking "headlines".
Germany's Nico Rosberg won the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday to end team mate Lewis Hamilton's run of five successive victories and cut the Briton's championship lead to 17 points with one race remaining.
Lewis Hamilton spent the off-season crisscrossing the globe to party with A-list celebrities but Formula One's reigning champion is adamant there will be no hangover when he returns to work at this week's season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Three rookies are set to make their race debuts and Azarbaijan will make it's Formula One debut even as Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg pose to challenge odds on favourite Lewis Hamilton.
The regulations have not changed significantly but there are always details that can be improved, new ways of packaging the whole. And teams will want to know who has done something different.
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