Updated: Vettel has the last laugh

He has long been Bernie Ecclestone's blue-eyed blue boy, and now the baby-faced Sebastian Vettel, who has a penchant for English comedy, is Formula One world champion.

In doing so, Vettel completes an astonishing run of firsts that ensure he and hero Michael Schumacher possess virtually every record in F1.

Vettel's accomplishments are naturally all age-based, but who is to say that in becoming the youngest world champion in F1's history at 23 years and 135 days he cannot go on to surpass Schumacher's feats that many believe are unreachable.

His astonishing title triumph, beating Lewis Hamilton's age best in 2008 by 166 days, is the culmination of a sequence that started off in 2006 when he became the youngest to drive at a Grand Prix event when he competed in practice for the Turkish Grand Prix.

Subsequently, he has since gone on to become the youngest to score points; to lead a Formula One race; to qualify on pole; to win a grand prix, and to score victories with two different teams.

So it is fitting he should now be the youngest world champion, and in doing so that is almost certain to have yielded another first - taking the title without having previously led the championship all season.

That is proof, if it were ever needed, of such an exhaustive season being a marathon and not a sprint, with Vettel having made a dash for the line over the closing stages, outpacing Fernando Alonso and Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber.

In many respects it is a title that looked like it was never going to happen, not given the wretched misfortune suffered by Vettel in the opening two races.

Leading both in Bahrain and Australia, Vettel was dogged by a spark plug failure in the former and wheel issue in the latter, resulting in only 12 points when he should have brought home a maximum 50.

Primarily, what occurred in those two grands prix set the tone for Vettel as it appeared as if it was going to be one of those years, full of promise, but ultimately failing to deliver.

On pole position 10 times this year, he has only managed to take the chequered flag on five occasions, a wretched statistic that has undermined his championship ambitions and underlined why he failed to win his debut title far earlier in the year.

Instead, the whole season through he has found himself trailing at various stages Hamilton, Jenson Button, Webber and Alonso.

For a time it also appeared as if mistakes would prove costly, such as in Hungary when he incurred a drive-through penalty for falling too far behind the safety car, and again in Belgium when he spun in the wet, spearing into the side of Button.

In Hungary, in particular, Vettel's normally infectious smile took on a more sinister grimace, and you could sense he was beginning to lose his grip on his composure, as well as his championship hopes.

That was also due to the war raging behind the scenes with Webber, with the first public indicator something was fundamentally awry with their relationship when they crashed into one another in Turkey.

Vettel has since had to weather accusations of bias from Webber, and there may be a grain of truth to them given Helmet Marko, team advisor and right-hand man to owner Dietrich Mateschitz, has made no secret of the fact Vettel is his man.

That was not only brought home to roost by his criticism of Webber for the accident in Turkey, but again when he expressed his delight at Vettel's victory in Japan.

That prompted a sharp retort from Ann Neal, Webber's partner, as she was forced to tell Marko to calm himself as he jumped and down for joy.

To the day they exit the sport, Red Bull will forever insist there has been no favouritism, that they have played fair and square.

Taking them at their word, there can be no doubting Vettel's talent as he is brave, dynamic, fearless, and despite the mistakes, it has to be remembered he is still young, so there is plenty of scope for learning.

Providing he does not exhaust his passion and enthusiasm for the sport, two of the characteristics that mark him out from some of his peers, today could be the day that has set Vettel on the road to greatness.

Ahead of him are Schumacher's seven world titles and 91 grands prix victories to conquer, milestones that will undoubtedly seem light years away right now for Vettel.

But he is young, has time on his side, and given the right car in the years to come, who is to say the seemingly unbeatable cannot be beaten.

F1 supremo Ecclestone, for one, will no doubt be supporting the kid he has long had a soft spot for.