In recent weeks, there has been heated discussion between members of the petrolhead fraternity about the extent of Sebastian Vettel's gifts.

Sir Jackie Stewart offered his opinion that the 25-year-old German could not yet be considered a great driver, while other commentators derided the Red Bull competitor as being inferior to Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton among the present participants in the pit and paddock.

Yet, on the evidence of Vettel's tremendous display at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where he finished third despite suffering all manner of travails and tribulations, perhaps it is time to accord him some genuine respect.

Lesser individuals would have been bothered and bewildered at having to start the race from the pit lane, as Vettel was forced to do following his disqualification from Saturday's qualifying for not having enough fuel left in the car to provide a sample. At a stroke, Alonso was gifted an opportunity to make serious inroads into his rival's 13-point world title lead.

In the event, Vettel was masterful in the most trying of circumstances, oblivious to the basic mistakes, perpetrated by his employers, and the mayhem which erupted at regular intervals at the Yas Marina circuit.

Yes, Vettel was fortunate to emerge unscathed from a collision with Bruno Senna, which damaged his front wing, and, on another afternoon, he could have paid a heavier price for misjudging the pace of Daniel Ricciardo's Toro Rosso in his slipstream, a lapse which forced him to take evasive action and smash into a trackside marker board.

Yet, in many respects, his response to these mishaps merely accentuated why he remains favourite to collect his third world crown later this month. Vettel was iceberg-cool in negotiating his way through his traffic, not only once, but twice. And while he was assisted by the intervention of the safety car towards the climax of the action, he was also the architect of yet another podium finish, combining perseverance with a killer instinct.

In these latter stages, he attempted repeatedly to overtake Jenson Button, conscious that Alonso was putting eventual winner Kimi Raikkonen under serious pressure. For a prolonged period, Button repelled Vettel's charge, deploying his DRS when required, and it appeared that the German might have to settle for fourth position and possibly be pegged back to level on points with Alonso.

However, Vettel bided his time and continued to nag away at Button's resolve until an opportunity presented itself. In a trice, he passed the Briton around the outside into Turn 11 and probably sealed the championship in the process. It was a masterful, pincer movement, executed with breathtaking clarity and vision.

At the end, Vettel was both relieved and clearly delighted at how his difficulties had evaporated. "I had a messy start, so I had to go full attack or nothing. But it was a nice fight with Jenson. It was a thrilling GP, very nice, up and down for us."

As analyses went, it was short on technical insight or zingy one-liners. Behind closed doors, Vettel will doubtless be demanding that the Red Bull team pulls out its finger in the next brace of events. But, ultimately, he proved that, even when his car was languishing at the rear of the field, he was still in control of the situation.

Very, very impressive.