Sebastian Vettel continues to add his name to the record books, winning Abu Dhabi for his seventh consecutive grand prix in dominant form to tie Michael Schumacher’s record, set in 2004.

He was followed by teammate Mark Webber in second and Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg in third.

With two races remaining, the win puts the German in position to tie his countryman’s mark of 13 wins in a season, also set in 2004.

Starting second on the grid behind Webber, Vettel sped past and held off a challenge from Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes into turn one. Hamilton was pinched off in the first corner by Vettel, while teammate Rosberg went around the outside of Webber for second position.

In typical form, the Red Bull driver easily disposed his opponents for a 2.4-second lead by lap three. By lap 11, he extended his lead by over 8 seconds.

After the rest of the field took their first round of pit stops, Vettel came into the pits on lap 15, 26 seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Felipe Massa. The massive gap allowed him to retain the lead on his exit by 6 seconds.

Putting it into perspective, Vettel’s 1:46.0 lap times were 1.7 seconds ahead of his closest competition.

On lap 20, Webber used his KERS to take second from Rosberg, holding it through the second stint of the race, the Red Bull car staying consistently faster than the Mercedes on the Pirelli medium tires.

Rosberg’s third-place and Hamilton’s seventh-place finishes were crucial in maintaining second place for a small 11-point lead over Ferrari in the constructor’s standings. The Mercedes duo gained 21 points while the Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Massa gained 14 points. Alonso was lucky to finish the race after coming out of the pits on lap 46, eclipsing Jean Eric Vergne on the outside and running off track before jumping the curb and staying ahead. The stewards decided the dicey move did not warrant a penalty after the race.

The points finish also allowed Ferrari to surpass McLaren in consecutive points finishes at 65 races, dating back to the German Grand Prix in 2010.

Lotus’s performance over the weekend was highlighted only by Romain Grosjean’s performance, the French driver finishing fourth for 12 points after starting in sixth. His teammate Kimi Raikkonen meanwhile had a weekend to forget. After heated radio talks during last week’s Indian Grand Prix and growing tension from not being paid this season, Raikkonen threatened to sit out the remaining three races. He qualified fifth but was dropped to the back of the grid after failing a flexible floor test. When the race went green, he failed to make it past turn one due to suspension damage after a collision with Caterham’s Giedo van der Garde, and left for the hotel immediately thereafter.

Paul di Resta provided one of the biggest race highlights when he finished a strong fifth place after holding off a late charge by Hamilton. It is the Briton’s second best finish after placing fourth earlier in the season at Bahrian.

Vettel’s performance ties his personal best for 11 wins in a season, which he set in 2011. Schumacher is the only driver to record more wins in a season than the young German.

Already crowned the youngest four-time world champion, Vettel extended his lead over Alonso, 347 points to 217. With his fifth place finish, Alonso also stretched his lead over Raikkonen, who stays at 183 points and in the sights of Lewis Hamilton, just eight points back.

The series will travel overseas for its final two races at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin Texas on November 18 before the season finale in Sao Paolo, Brazil on November 24.

RACE RESULTS