Sebastian Vettel made Formula One history by chalking up an eighth successive victory in a single season after taking the chequered flag at the United States Grand Prix.
Having equalled the 2004 feat of Michael Schumacher a fortnight ago in Abu Dhabi, Vettel made the record his own with another comfortable run at Austin's Circuit of the Americas. A further triumph in Brazil next Sunday would equal Alberto Ascari's all-time record of nine straight wins, set in 1952/53, and Schumacher's victory haul for one season of 13.
Behind Vettel, Romain Grosjean equalled the best result of his F1 career in claiming the runner-up spot, coming under attack from Red Bull's Mark Webber late on, but with his tyres giving way the Australian had to settle for third.
Vettel ultimately cruised to his record win, delighting the fans by performing doughnuts at the top of the back straight, and after delivering an emotional message over the radio.
Told he was a record-breaker again, Vettel said: "I'm speechless." He was able to add: "We have to remember these days. There's no guarantee they will be forever. We have incredible team spirit. I'm so proud of you guys. I love you."
Going into the summer break there was the threat of an intriguing fight to the finish involving four, potentially five, drivers but, following the three-week August holiday, Vettel and Red Bull have been in a class of their own, aided in part by the change in rules due to come into force for 2014.
With significant resources required for the 1.6-litre turbo-charged V6 engines that replace the current 2.4-litre V8s, teams made a call to focus their money and ideas on next year's cars.
Red Bull, by their own admission, continued to develop this year's RB9 to the detriment of the RB10 as they were expecting far more of a challenge that simply has not materialised.
That has, in turn, led to no-one holding a candle to Vettel and the Milton Keynes-based marque, and the sizzling run of success that has resulted in the 26-year-old German claiming another record.
Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton came home fourth, with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso fifth on a weekend when he has battled with headaches and back pain following his incident in Abu Dhabi. Paul Di Resta was 16th while his Force India team-mate Adrian Sutil crashed into a barrier on lap one after clipping Williams' Pastor Maldonado.
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