Yesterday saw the unveiling of a multi-million-pound Enzo Ferrari car as the star attraction at the Grampian Transport Museum just outside Aberdeen.

And even for those of us who don't believe F1 is the greatest show on earth, or that Jeremy Clarkson should be the next Prime Minister, there is something transcendent about the elegance of this iconic vehicle, one of only 400 ever created, and the only example of its kind in Scotland.

Ferrari's name still evokes many of the qualities associated with the Grand Prix milieu; glamour, bravado and le beau monde. Yet there was a sense around F1's pit and paddock that the team were at best treading water, at worst slipping perilously close to irrelevance, as Mercedes and Red Bull dominated the action where it mattered in Bernie Ecclestone's empire. All of which made it doubly satisfying that Sebastian Vettel should end the Maranello-based organisation's drought with a decisive victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix which was every bit as convincing as it was a genuine surprise.

Vettel is one of the most gifted performers in his sport, but even so, there were reservations over his switch from Red Bull, with some knowledgeable observers questioning whether it owed more to sentiment and a desire to follow the trail of his hero Michael Schumacher rather than hard-headed realism. After all, Ferrari were in the doldrums throughout last season and only managed two podiums on their trek across the globe, which constituted the team's worst campaign for over 20 years. In comparison to Mercedes, who hadn't been beaten by anybody since last July's Hungarian GP, the Italian giants seemed to be off the pace and there was little indication of any seismic shift when Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg engaged in another of their own private battles in Australia just a fortnight ago.

But Vettel shares some of the single-minded drive and tenacity of his compatriot and idol, who was responsible for a major transformation at Ferrari in the 1990s and it isn't beyond the realms of possibility that the bold Seb will drag them up to their former glories in the months and years ahead. Nobody should get carried away with the notion that Mercedes and Hamilton are still not massive favourites to maintain the momentum which swept them to the world title in 2014; yesterday was the petrolhead equivalent of a bad day at the office for the English star and his back-up cast, who made mistakes with their tyre changes, were outfoxed and out-gunned by their rivals, and Hamilton's irritation at the fashion in which events unfolded suggests there won't be any repeat next time around. Yet, for those who feared he and Rosberg might simply indulge in a fresh processional march to their goal, the re-emergence of Ferrari and Vettel was something precious to behold.

It was the 40th GP win of his career, leaving him just one short of the late Ayrton Senna, and Vettel has time on his side to add substantially to his tally. But, perhaps the display of Kimi Raikkonen, who finished fourth, oblivious to suffering a series of problems, was equally important in demonstrating that advances are being implemented at Ferrari. He appeared out of sorts in qualifying only 11th on Saturday, and lost the best part of a whole lap after sustaining a puncture at the outset of the race. One suspects that 12 months ago, these privations would have left him out of the points, but Raikkonen rallied in adversity, and gradually, inexorably clawed his way back into contention, before recording the best possible result in the circumstances.

Sometimes, Formula One induces narcolepsy, even among its admirers. But here was hope that 2015 won't turn into a meandering Mercedes stroll. And if Vettel can build on this outcome in the future, he knows all about defeating Hamilton in the psychological stakes.