Sebastian Vettel continues to set Formula 1 records and claimed another in 2012 in becoming the youngest three-times World Champion.
The German has become the dominant driver in F1 - just six seasons after making his race debut.
He started as BMW Sauber's test driver from the 2006 Turkish Grand Prix onwards and started his first race for the German team at the 2007 United States Grand Prix as stand-in for the injured Robert Kubica.
That weekend saw Vettel set his first F1 record when, aged 19, he became the youngest driver to score World Championship points, finishing in eighth place.
Vettel briefly returned to his test-driver role but soon signed for Toro Rosso and made his race debut for them at the 2007 Hungarian GP.
He remained with Toro Rosso in 2008 and pulled off a remarkable win in the wet at the Italian Grand Prix - a victory that landed him a Red Bull race seat for the 2009 season.
Vettel backed up Red Bull's faith with an impressive run, bagging four race victories and mounting a late challenge for the drivers' title before losing out to Jenson Button.
2010 proved a different story for the German. Vettel demonstrated an impressive turn of pace from the start, but he also made mistakes and the title was still very much in the balance going into the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.
However, Vettel claimed pole position, the race win and also became F1's youngest World Champion at Yas Marina after rivals Fernando Alonso and Webber both got stuck in the pack after making early pit stops. It was the only time he had led the standings all season.
The German really came into his own in 2011 by dominating the field in the highly-impressive RB7. The year started with back-to-back pole positions and victories - a run that quickly grew into a string of nine successive podium finishes, six of which were wins.
Vettel eventually claimed 11 wins, a record 15 poles and secured his second drivers' title with four races to spare. He also became the youngest double World Champion and the youngest back-to-back title winner.
He extended the run further in 2012 but it was far from a walkover, particularly during the first half of the season. Vettel was always there or thereabouts and won in Bahrain, but the advantage he and his team had enjoyed the previous year was gone.
It was a different matter during the title run-in, though. Updates to the RB8 proved successful and Vettel fully exploited them, with four straight victories enabling him overhaul Alonso once again.
Now standing alongside Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher in winning three straight titles, Vettel has both the time and the talent on his side to win more.
