Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes Sebastian Vettel will soon have to be viewed in the same light as Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher.
Vettel is potentially a week away from winning his fourth successive Formula One world title after another cruise in Korea.
Despite two safety car periods, Vettel managed to keep his rivals at bay again to claim his third straight win at the Korea International Circuit, fourth in a row this season and 34th of his F1 career.
Closest title rival Fernando Alonso could do no better than sixth in his Ferrari, meaning there is now a 77-point gap between the Spaniard and the German.
Should Vettel win in Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix and Alonso is ninth or worse, the former will again be cracking open the title-winning champagne.
That will put Vettel in the same bracket as Fangio and Schumacher, the only other drivers to claim four consecutive champion- ships, with the latter the record holder with five in a row.
Asked whether Vettel was one of the best drivers of all time, Horner said: “He has to be right up there he has to be.
“The level he is performing at is unbelievable in many respects. What has been really impressive is he has continued to grow and improve as he has gained more experience, and to have won the ratio of races he has is remarkable.”
Suggested to Horner that down the years people will look back and put Vettel in the same bracket as Fangio and Schumacher, Horner replied: “Should he achieve winning four titles in a row they will have to.”
Neither Horner nor Vettel are celebrating yet, however, even though it is now only a formality the fourth title will be won.
After leading for all but one lap of the race for a win that leaves him on the brink of greatness, Vettel said: “I’m trying not to think about it (the title), to be honest.
“Even though it looks very good for us, there is still a chance for Fernando, so we have to stay on top of our game.
Typically, Vettel controlled the race from start to finish, even with the appearance of the two safety cars. The first followed a tyre blow-out involving McLaren’s Sergio Perez which scattered debris all over the circuit.
The second came after Webber’s car caught fire after the oil radiator was speared by Adrian Sutil’s spinning Force India, sending plumes of black smoke into the air.
Come the flag, Vettel beat Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean into second and third, with Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg fourth ahead of Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes and Alonso, with Jenson Button eighth for McLaren.
Paul Di Resta failed to score a point for the sixth successive race after a spin sent him into a barrier. Marussia’s Max Chilton was 17th and last.