An emotional Sebastian Vettel struggled to contain his delight after his “dream” victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix yesterday.

Vettel grew up idolising his fellow German Michael Schumacher, who won five of his seven Formula One titles with Ferrari, and went some small way to emulating him by securing victory for the Italian team at Sepang in only his second race for them after a frustrating final year at Red Bull in 2014.

The win was no fluke either as the four-time champion finished 8.5 seconds clear of 2014 championship winner Lewis Hamilton, whose Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg was a further four seconds back.

Vettel was reduced to tears as the German and Italian anthems played and he later said: “This feels incredible.
“When I was on the podium, to look down and see the guys, it was an incredible atmosphere.

“I can only recall from the victories Fernando (Alonso) had with Ferrari and recall especially the victories Michael celebrated with the team — I think there were one or two! — it’s incredible.

“To become part of that team is something special. It makes me very happy, obviously.

“Last year was tough, with this the first win for more than a year now. I definitely missed it, not just the champagne, but the top step in particular.”