Ranking Sebastian Vettel's Top 5 Formula 1 Races for Red Bull

After six seasons, four world championships, bundles of pole positions and race wins and plenty of broken records, Sebastian Vettel completed his final race for Red Bull Racing at last month's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.  

Less than a week after one of the most dominant driver-team partnerships in Formula One history was brought to an end, the German was found at the Fiorano circuit in Italy, familiarising himself with Ferrari ahead of his switch to the Prancing Horse in 2015.

It was proof that F1 rarely stops for reflection, yet Vettel still found the time to visit Red Bull's headquarters on Tuesday to pay tribute to the company that helped him on his way to greatness.

Addressing the team's employees, the 27-year-old, as per Red Bull's official website, said:

"

What we've achieved, the work that's gone in. So much passion, so much dedication. It will always stay in my heart. Big, big thank you to everyone. In the end we had the better car because we were the better team. Thank you really doesn't really describe enough what I feel.

There's a lot of happy memories from this place that I'm holding onto. It's been a great journey and I've very grateful for what all of you did for me.

"

There will, indeed, be plenty of happy memories, but what will Vettel remember most fondly from his time with Red Bull?

We've attempted to pinpoint his five greatest races for the team here, with our choices based on the significance, the excitement and the sheer dominance of F1's most formidable alliance.

Honourable Mentions

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Vettel's victory in the wet 2009 Chinese Grand Prix was his first of 38 for Red Bull and the team's debut win in Formula One.

The 2010 Korean Grand Prix, meanwhile, was a significant event in the German's maiden title-winning campaign.

It was a race which he managed expertly in torrential conditions and would have won had he not suffered an engine failure in the latter stages. His reaction to such a crushing disappointment, however, signified a rise in maturity which helped him win the next two races and claim the 2010 title less than a month later.

The German withstood great pressure from Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button to win the 2011 Monaco Grand Prix, while his wins at Spa and Monza later that season were as sensational as they were surprising given Red Bull's historical struggles at the circuits.

He won the 2011 and 2012 Indian grands prix after leading every single lap, while his win in the 2013 Japanese Grand Prix—his fourth at Suzuka—came after an intense battle with Mark Webber and Romain Grosjean.

5. 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix (1st)

Outrageous. Immoral. Wrong.

But great.

Vettel's decision to defy Red Bull's team orders and pass team-mate Mark Webber for victory in the 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix was the single most controversial moment in F1's recent history.

Although the German was the subject of widespread condemnation for denying the popular Australian a win—he was mercilessly booed during podium ceremonies throughout the remainder of the campaign—it highlighted Vettel's state of mind as a three-time world champion.

His will to win and his desire to extend his greatness was such that he would not allow anyone—not even his own colleagues and superiors—to contain him.

It might have been the second grand prix of the year, but it was clear from Malaysia that nobody would deny him a fourth straight title.

4. 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix (6th)

Vettel should have been beaten to the title in the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix.

A highly cautious start, on the back of a nervy qualifying performance, almost resulted in disaster after just four corners when the Red Bull driver was collected by the Williams of Bruno Senna.

With his car damaged at the rear and pointing the wrong way, the German might have allowed his head to drop and reflected on his two consecutive world championships with the feeling that all good things must come to an end.

It had the opposite effect, however, as Vettel went into attack mode in a bid to salvage his race and his season.

His aggression, despite being on dry tyres as rain began to fall on the Interlagos circuit, was not to be underestimated, allowing Vettel to join the back of the pack at the end of Lap 1 and reach sixth by the eighth lap.

Despite encountering a few more twists and turns as the race progressed, the speed of Vettel's recovery laid the foundations for a sixth-place finish, which was good enough to pip Alonso to the title, his third in succession, by three points. 

3. 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (1st)

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Ahead of the 2010 season finale, Vettel was very much an outsider, trailing championship leader Fernando Alonso by 15 points.

With his Red Bull team-mate, Mark Webber, only eight behind the Alonso, the four-way championship fight—which also included Lewis Hamilton—was widely regarded as a two-horse race.

Ferrari certainly seemed to be under that assumption when they made one of the most disastrous strategic decisions in Formula One history, pitting Alonso to cover the threat of Webber, who had struggled for pace throughout the weekend.

Although he emerged ahead of the Australian, Alonso found himself stuck in seventh place, unable to make his way past Renault's Vitaly Petrov—who was one of several early stoppers under safety car conditions—before the chequered flag.

In contrast, Vettel simply drove his race as normal, converting pole position into a relatively comfortable victory. 

His underdog status undoubtedly aided his cause, but the German displayed an immense amount of composure in the most important race of his career and was rewarded with the title.

Alonso was left to take his frustration out on Petrov as an emotional Vettel became the youngest ever world champion at the age of 23.

2. 2013 Singapore Grand Prix (1st)

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The Singapore Grand Prix of 2013 was the peak of Vettel's four-year spell of dominance.

A winner at the Marina Bay street circuit in 2011 and '12, the German was in a class of his own in last year's event.

Having tussled with Nico Rosberg for the lead at the start, the Red Bull pulled away from the pack at a vast rate of knots, but its true pace advantage was only made clear after a safety car period at the midway point of the grand prix.

As per BBC Sport's Andrew Benson, Vettel established a gap of 3.2 seconds within a single lap of the restart, with his lead extended to 22 seconds after just 10 laps.

His performance was so mighty that it led to former F1 team owner Giancarlo Minardi speculating via his personal website (h/t motorsport.com) that Vettel's RB9 was benefiting from a technology akin to traction control.

Minardi's claims were, of course, unfounded, but proved just how faultless Vettel was under Singapore's night sky.

1. 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (3rd)

Vettel had just qualified in third place for the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix when his RB8 slowed to a halt in the final sector.

Stood beside his motionless car, the German knew what was coming having seen Lewis Hamilton's McLaren excluded from qualifying for failing to reach parc ferme in Spain only months earlier.

Disqualified from the session for effectively running out of fuel, Vettel's 13-point lead over Fernando Alonso at the top of the drivers' standings suddenly became very vulnerable indeed, with Red Bull forced into damage limitation mode on race day.

After electing to start from the pit lane—allowing the team to prime his car for overtaking—Vettel produced a passing masterclass in the grand prix, intelligently and efficiently disposing of his peers to finish an incredible third, just one place behind Alonso.

Two timely safety car periods helped him on his way, of course, but his charge through the field to reach the podium cemented the greatness of a driver whose capabilities in wheel-to-wheel combat had previously been called into question.

It was the day that Vettel became the complete racing driver.