The 21-year-old German followed his debut pole with a maiden race win, crossing the line by sinking his head into his hands as he perhaps could not believe what has been an astonishing weekend.

Aged just 21 years and 74 days, and in only his 22nd grand prix for the Toro Rosso team, Vettel beat the previous record set by Fernando Alonso at the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2003 by almost a year.

Behind the young hero, the title contenders endured a frantic race, with Felipe Massa sixth in his Ferrari and drivers’ leader Lewis Hamilton seventh for McLaren, with the gap now just one point between the duo.