Jap GP - Race weekend recap - Vettel

When you are attempting to become only the third driver in history to win three consecutive Formula One World Champions, you pray for a perfect weekend.

Only Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher have ever won three world championships in a row, Fangio achieved it in 1956 when he clinched his fourth world championship, whilst Schumacher did it in 2002 taking his fifth title.

The Japanese Grand Prix could go a long way to add Sebastian Vettel to that elite group of drivers who have won three on the spin, whilst the German would become the first driver to ever win his first three titles in three years in Formula One and in doing so would become the youngest ever three-time F1 World champion.

Pushing all the way to the last Red Bull have come up with a new design around the rear wing and that development alongside the brilliance of Vettel left everyone else chasing for scraps.

He took pole position in stunning style and the German couldn't be happier with the car.

“It was good we got the time on the first run, with the yellow flags coming out later. We had a phenomenal balance in the car and I had the feeling we could go with the track today. We only needed one run in every session, which doesn’t happen all the time, but it’s very enjoyable around here when the car works how you wish, especially on low fuel and fresh tyres. It’s very special. He told formula1.com on Saturday evening.

It was ominous news for everyone else and as predicted Vettel drove away from the starting grid and straight on to the chequered flag with no dramas all afternoon.

To make it the perfect weekend, championship leader Fernando Alonso was forced to retire on the opening lap, which meant that Vettel's 25 points the race win, meant that Alonso now holds a short lead in the title picture of just 4 points.

After the race he said: It’s been a fantastic weekend. Yesterday’s qualifying was perfect and today again, the balance of the car was amazing. We didn’t change too much at the stops; it just seemed to work fantastically well. I’m very happy, the guys have been pushing very hard and even though we didn’t have major upgrades here, it still seemed to come together and the balance was there - and that’s what made the difference today. It’s a shame for Alonso, it’s not something you hope for and it could happen to us at the next race. We’ve seen this year there are a lot of up and downs and things change quickly - we have to keep our heads down and take it step by step.”