In international Formula One motor racing, who won the 2017 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix held at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne, starting the season with a victory for his team?

Introduction / Context:
The Australian Grand Prix is traditionally the season opener for the Formula 1 World Championship and often sets the tone for the entire year. The 2017 Australian Grand Prix, held at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, was particularly important because it showed whether Mercedes would continue its dominance or if Ferrari could mount a serious challenge. Knowing who won this race is a classic sports current affairs question that often appears in competitive exams focused on general knowledge and international sports events.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The race in question is the 2017 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.
• The venue was the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne, Australia.
• The options list four well known Formula 1 drivers from that era.
• We assume the question refers to the official race winner as recorded by Formula 1.

Concept / Approach:
To answer this question, we rely on factual recall from sports current affairs and official Formula 1 records. Formula 1 events have clearly documented results, and the winner of each Grand Prix is widely reported in sports news, official championship standings, and statistical yearbooks. The approach is simply to match the correct driver with the specific race and year mentioned in the question, while understanding that other listed drivers may have finished on the podium but not necessarily in first place.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify that the event is the 2017 Australian Grand Prix, the first race of the 2017 Formula 1 season. Step 2: Recall that Sebastian Vettel, driving for Ferrari, won this race, breaking a long winless streak for the team. Step 3: Recognise that Lewis Hamilton started from pole position but finished second, while Valtteri Bottas finished third. Step 4: Note that Kimi Raikkonen, also a Ferrari driver, did not win the race and therefore cannot be the correct answer. Step 5: Conclude that among the given options, Sebastian Vettel is the correct winner of the 2017 Australian Grand Prix.

Verification / Alternative check:
One way to verify this is to cross check multiple sources such as the official Formula 1 website, reputable sports news reports from early 2017, and season summary tables. All of these consistently list Sebastian Vettel as the winner of the Australian Grand Prix in 2017, with Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas completing the podium. This consistency across independent and authoritative references confirms that the selection of Sebastian Vettel is accurate and not based on guesswork or confusion with another season.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Lewis Hamilton: He started the race from pole position but finished second behind Sebastian Vettel, so he is not the winner of the event.
Valtteri Bottas: He drove for Mercedes and did finish on the podium, but he secured third place, not the top step.
Kimi Raikkonen: Although he is a Ferrari driver and a world champion, he did not win the 2017 Australian Grand Prix, so choosing him would be factually incorrect.

Common Pitfalls:
A frequent mistake is to assume that Lewis Hamilton won most of the early races because of Mercedes dominance in that era and therefore automatically pick his name whenever a Grand Prix from those years is mentioned. Another pitfall is mixing up different seasons, as Sebastian Vettel also won the Australian Grand Prix in another year, which may confuse learners who do not pay attention to the specific date. It is important to read the year carefully and remember that this race marked an important Ferrari comeback in 2017.

Final Answer:
The 2017 Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix held at Melbourne was won by Sebastian Vettel driving for Ferrari.