Sebastian Vettel achieves extraordinary feat on marathon debut

Sebastian Vettel delivered typical metronomic consistency akin to his Formula 1 days to beat an "ambitious" target he set himself for his marathon debut.

The four-time F1 champion competed in Sunday's London Marathon, won in a world-record time of one hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds by Kenyan athlete Sabastian Sawe, as the sub-two-hour barrier was breached for the first time in history.

Racing for two charities, the Grand Prix Trust and the Brain & Spine Foundation, Vettel dipped under his three-hour target by 52 seconds, posting 2:59:08. Initially setting off with F1 presenter Tom Clarkson, the latter completed the 26 miles in 3:58:51.

"It felt very long, but it was my first time, so I didn't know what to expect," said speaking to BBC Sport. "But it's been amazing how many people there were next to the course, and how happy everyone is, so it's a really great experience."

Describing himself as "very happy" that he finished, the former Red Bull and Ferrari driver produced astonishing equal split times around the course at various stages that echoed his days in F1 when he was ticking off the laps in a grand prix.

Reflecting further on his debut, Vettel said: "I have always wanted to do a marathon. I've obviously always kept fit and done a lot of running, cycling, so I thought it’s about time.

"I set myself an ambitious goal, which I managed to achieve. I wanted to be just below three hours, which I did, so I’m very happy with that.

"But even more so happy that I finished, and having lived the experience, I can only recommend for people to sign up and try to do it."

Vettel and Clarkson also smashed their £5,000 charity target, with the total climbing towards £10,000.