Sebastian Vettel makes in eight in a row

For the eighth straight time Vettel took the chequered flag, doing so with consummate ease in front of a buzzing crowd at the United States Grand Prix.

Vettel has now surpassed Michael Schumacher's feat of seven in a row in one campaign, and next week in Brazil can equal Alberto Ascari's all-time mark of nine consecutive wins set in 1952-53.

Following the win, and ahead of producing another beautiful ring of doughnuts for the third straight race in his Red Bull by way of celebration, Vettel delivered a poignant message over the team radio.

Told he was a record-breaker again by team principal Christian Horner, Vettel initially said: "I'm speechless!"

But as a man not prone to being silent for too long, Vettel added: "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."

After taking the champagne on the podium, Vettel was again reflective as he assessed the enormity of his achievement.

"It's incredible," said Vettel when pressed on the matter.

"It's very difficult to find the right words. It's one of those records you never expect to be beaten.

"I didn't answer the question (about beating the record) in the last couple of days because at the end of the day what makes me jump in the car is not a certain number.

"Certainly today, when you've realised you've done it, it makes you very proud at that moment.

"It's very difficult for all of us to realise what it actually means.

"When you look back at all of those names who had similar records of outstanding performances in the past, it's impossible to understand.

"People look back and they talk about that time, and about certain drivers.

"One day people might look back and talk about us, our time and what we have done as a team."

Vettel ultimately cruised to the line, beating Lotus' Romain Grosjean by 6.2secs, with Mark Webber settling for third as a late shot to get by the Frenchman failed as his Pirelli tyres started to fall away.

Whilst there may not be a title race any more, with Vettel clinching his fourth in a row nearly a month ago, what he is achieving is still of the highest calibre.

Going into the summer break there was the threat of an intriguing fight to the finish between 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.

Nevertheless, to do what Vettel and Red Bull have done for eight straight grands prix still has to be applauded.

Hailing the team on the whole, Vettel said: "I said on the team radio the spirit is fantastic, everybody is just happy to turn up, give it everything.

"Yes, we have a phenomenal car, reliable, but it's the mindset we have going in, trying to give it everything we have, not miss a single step and after a race think we could have done more.

"People tend to forget every single weekend is a challenge on its own, so for eight weekends, to have such an incredible run is very difficult."

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.

Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg almost claimed Alonso's scalp on the final lap, but was sixth, with Mexico's Sergio Perez seventh at the end of a week when he was axed by McLaren.

In eighth, Valtteri Bottas collected four points for Williams - his first for the team in his debut campaign - quadrupling their haul for the season.

Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and McLaren's Jenson Button completed the top 10, the latter after passing Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo at turn one on the penultimate lap.

Paul Di Resta was 16th in his Force India, whilst team-mate Adrian Sutil crashed into a barrier on lap one after clipping Williams' Pastor Maldonado.