German Formula One driver Sebastian Vettel has won the 2013 World Championship, taking the Indian Grand Prix for the fourth time.
Closest rival Fernando Alonso failed to finish second or better, handing Vettel the crown.
Vettel has also won six races in a row and eight out of the last 10.
His victory was by a margin of more than 20 seconds, with his biggest rival for the win, Mark Webber, forced to retire.
Webber was again unlucky as an alternator problem ruined his day.
Vettel should be thanking Adrian Newey for these World Championships. His tightly-designed machines have given Vettel an unstoppable car over the past four seasons.
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso may claim to be the best driver, but Vettel is still taking the crowns.
Lewis Hamilton has also shown signs and could well challenge next year with the new engine rules and regulations. Formula One are going to turbo charged V6s and Mercedes have been working on it since January.
At just 26 years old, Vettel is the youngest driver ever to win four World Championships and could be well on his way to breaking Michael Schumacher’s record of seven.
The next record up the road for Vettel is Schumacher’s 91 race victories.
This may take a few seasons yet, but if Red Bull continues to produce cars like this, Vettel will get there.
The scariest part of the whole thing is Vettel is still just 26 and can win races for the next 10 years.
Other four time World Champions include Alain Prost and Juan Manuel Fangio.
Fangio is known for having a 47 percent win record throughout his stellar career. This is still the greatest percentage of any driver and will most likely be the record Vettel struggles to break.
Fangio also won his fifth crown when he was 46 years of age, 20 years older than Vettel.
Prost is most notably known for his epic battles with the great Ayrton Senna in the 80s and 90s. He won his championships on multiple teams, including McLaren and Williams.
Vettel has won all his with Red Bull racing.
Vettel will retire a champion, but he still no Ayrton Senna.
Senna remains the greatest Formula One driver of them all. His poise and ability to deliver in the almost impossible was his greatest trait. When it rained, he came into his own.
In 1988, Senna and Prost won every single one of the 16 races, bar one – the Italian grand prix, won by Gerhard Berger in the Ferrari.
The team was dominant and so were the drivers.
Senna beat Prost by three points and it remains one of the greatest rivalries of all time.
Senna also has one of the most famous quotes in motorsport history:
“If you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver.”
Senna’s philosophy was if there is the tiniest of gaps, you go for it.
He even parked his car on Sky Sports commentator Martin Brundle’s head during a Formula 3 race in 1983.
But Vettel has never had a rivalry like Prost. Sure Alonso and Hamilton have challenged but, apart from last year, Vettel has won quite easily.
Red Bull is just so dominant that when Alonso was asked what he wanted for his birthday this year, he asked for Vettel’s car.
Until Vettel wins in a car which is clearly not the best on the grid, he will not get the respect he actually deserves. This is sad because he is a great driver.
So, until the end of Vettel’s career, we can’t judge him against the best.
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