Sebastian Vettel shatters multiple records with historic F1 win

You are Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa, heading to the 2008 Italian Grand Prix, locked in a fierce fight for the F1 world title, after a controversial penalty last time out. 

Hamilton had been stripped of his Belgian GP win after a stewards' penalty, with Massa inheriting the win to reduce Hamilton's points lead to just two, as Massa faced the biggest test of the season: the Tifosi at Monza.

The only problem was that a dreadful weather forecast lay in store, with Saturday and Sunday set to be wet. Very wet. 

Enter one Sebastian Vettel, a rookie in his first full season for Red Bull's junior team, Toro Rosso, or, once upon a time, Minardi. 

Vettel's season had begun to pick up the pace with points in five of the previous eight races, after four straight DNFs and a 17th to start the season. He had also shown his wet weather prowess with a fifth-place in Monaco, but on the flip-side, had been eliminated in a first lap collision at Silverstone. 

But as Massa and Hamilton fluffed their lines with sixth and a lowly 15th on the grid, Vettel truly announced himself in the most stunning way possible. 

Here's Seb

Vettel bagged a maiden career pole and, to this day, remains the youngest ever grand prix pole-sitter at 21 years, two months, 11 days, although Kimi Antonelli broke this for the 2025 Miami GP Sprint race.

But Helmut Marko's first true protege was not expected to stay there.

Heikki Kovalainen in the second McLaren was second on the grid and the smart money on Saturday evening was that the Finn would claim a second F1 win and Vettel's balloon would be burst. 

Even better for Red Bull's second team, effectively running the 2007 RB3 repainted in Toro Rosso colours, Sebastien Bourdais was fourth on the grid.

But then the race started, behind the safety car, as Bourdais's afternoon was effectively over after a problem on the grid, with a rolling start getting the 53 laps underway.

Vettel quickly answered as to whether he could weather the weather, pulling six seconds on Kovalainen in eight laps, and that was the last anyone saw of him that afternoon. 

Records smashed

In the end, Vettel would win by 12.5s from Kovalainen as Robert Kubica charged from 11th to nab a podium, with the average age being 23 years, 11 months and 16 days. 

That was a record in itself until the Max Verstappen-Pierre Gasly-Carlos Sainz rostrum at the 2019 Brazilian GP of 23 years, eight months, 13 days. 

But Vettel had announced himself. 

The world took notice of the then-youngest-ever driver to win a grand prix, in what was effectively a Minardi, and to this day, Vettel remains the second-youngest driver to claim P1, no prizes for guessing who took that record...

Whilst Vettel basked in the glory of his win, another unique record was set, one that only he holds.

Ferrari engines have, as of the 2025 Italian GP, won 249 grands prix, but the works Ferrari team have won 248. 

Vettel's victory, with a customer Ferrari engine in the back, is the only time in the history of F1 where a non-works Ferrari-powered car has won a grand prix. 

As for Massa and Hamilton, they trailed home sixth and seventh to reduce Hamilton's points lead to one heading for the 800th world championship grand prix, F1's first-ever night race in Singapore. 

And that wouldn't prove to be controversial and still rumbling on to this day, at all...