Sebastian Vettel can achieve anything he wants

Sebastian Vettel is the youngest man to win two Formula One world titles

Sebastian Vettel is just 24.

Yet already he is a double Formula One world champion and there really are no limits to his potential.

He is in a great car, no doubt, and his Red Bull has been largely untouchable all season, but what has been made clear time and time again is that Vettel is in that car for a reason.

He has mastered the car and couldn't have done much more with it.

His car is the best on the grid but there have been many times this season where it was more than beatable.

Mark Webber is fourth in the drivers' standings in the sister car and that shows the Red Bull may not have been as domineering as some think. Perhaps it was the extra five or ten per cent Vettel can drag out of it which has made all the difference.

The German has dominated the season - proved by the fact he has clinched the drivers' title with four races still to go - and deserves all the praise.

Vettel's Red Bull has led the way all season

He is well on the way to legendary status and is on course to break all manner of records.

Vettel just seems to have a thirst for winning that some others don't have.

He wants the records. He wants to go down in history.

He revels in getting pole positions, winning races, setting fastest laps and just generally getting his name all over the record books.

It's all a far cry from the Sebastian Vettel of 2010, who was quite erratic and only clinched the title in dramatic circumstances in the last race of the season.

He was nicknamed the 'Crash Kid' and his potential was written off by some, but perhaps the signs of his greatness have always been there.

He made his Formula One debut in 2007 at just 19 for BMW as a replacement driver, becoming the youngest driver ever to score a point in the sport at the United States Grand Prix.

Vettel then moved to Toro Rosso, minnows of Formula One, and scored many points in the latter part of the 2007 season before becoming the youngest ever F1 race winner in 2008 with victory at the Italian Grand Prix. That team have not even come close to replicating that since he left to join sister team Red Bull in 2009.

Vettel produced one of Formula One's great shocks to win a race with Toro Rosso

A few dodgy moves and non-finishes in the middle part of last season were all it took for some to forget all that, but this kid was always destined for the top and is now fulfilling his potential in a car which matches his ability.

It's impossible to tell if he is truly the best driver though, as all cars are of course not equal, but he is certainly one of them.

Could he go on and break Michael Schumacher's record of seven world titles? It's a real possibility.

At just 24, time is on his side and with his fellow German Schumacher still competing in his 40s, that suggests Vettel may have the best part of 20 more years to get the five more world titles that would bring him level with Schumacher. That is a scary prospect for his rivals.

Vettel may have dominated the season, but in truth Formula One is much more competitive than it was when Schumacher was at his best.

This season is likely to be a one-off in terms of one man dominating but it would be a major surprise if Vettel was not in serious contention to win a third straight crown next year.

Vettel may have won the championship at a canter but this season has not all been about him.

Jenson Button has had a superb year at McLaren - so much so that he looks like beating teammate Lewis Hamilton in the standings - while Fernando Alonso again got the best out of his Ferrari.

Button has been steady all season and looks good for second, but most observers would still say Alonso is the best driver in Formula One, perhaps just pipping Vettel.

Both are now on two world titles so it promises to be a titanic tussle next season and one all F1 fans will look forward to.

Button has outperformed teammate Hamilton this season

As for Hamilton, he has had a wretched year and surely cannot wait for it to end.

He has got into a rut and can't get out of it so it will be interesting to see how he fares in the remainder of this season.

Hamilton's aggressiveness is what makes him so great so he shouldn't change his style too much, but he needs to strike a better balance between attacking and being sensible if he is to ever add to his one world title.

Vettel is already on two titles and it is frightening to think of how many he could win.

Winning seems to breed contempt and many have never warmed to Vettel because of this, but slowly people are starting to admire him for the superb driver that he is.

His appearance on Top Gear earlier this year was a masterstroke as it showed British fans that he was in fact a likeable, down-to-earth guy, and his performances on the track will have endeared him to many race fans.

Vettel is a phenomenon and is in a dream car, so he really could go on to achieve anything over the next 10, 15, maybe 20 years.

For the rest, the message is simple: catch him if you can.