Following his sixth win of the season at the Italian Grand Prix, it's fair to say that - barring the most extraordinary of circumstances - Sebastian Vettel being crowned Formula One champion for a fourth time in succession is now a mere matter of time.
Monza, the track on the calendar at which downforce matters least, was the last chance for Vettel's rivals to claw back any meaningful ground on the German before the Asian flyaway races. They failed, with Vettel's lead extending to 53 points after a commanding victory, and now it's hard to see how he can be stopped.
Not even the most vociferous cheers from the tifosi were enough to allow Fernando Alonso any chance of reaching the top step of the podium. By the time the Spaniard took second place from a compliant Felipe Massa at the start of lap eight, Vettel, who streaked away from pole position untroubled, was already the better part of five seconds down the road.
The Red Bull driver proceeded to stretch his advantage, which had grown to ten seconds by half-distance. With the expected rain failing to materialise, by this stage Vettel's 32nd career victory was never in doubt. His final winning margin of five and half seconds doesn't do justice to the extent to which the champion-elect dominated the race.
Alonso was thus forced to be content with the runner-up spot, with the second Red Bull of Mark Webber right on his tail in the closing stages but unable to pass. Having started alongside Vettel on the front row, the Aussie slipped behind the fast-starting Massa on the run to the first corner, before being demoted another place by Alonso at the Roggia chicane on the third lap.
Webber was nonetheless able to re-pass Massa during the pit-stop phase to take the final step on the podium at his last ever Grand Prix in Europe. Massa meanwhile brought the second Ferrari home in fourth, but whether that result will be enough to keep the Brazilian in contention to remain at the Scuderia next season is another matter.
Conversely, Nico Hulkenberg's storming drive to fifth place will have done his chances of being promoted to a Ferrari seat no harm at all. The German stunned the paddock by qualifying his Sauber up in third place and, after falling behind the two Ferraris at the start, kept his namesake Nico Rosberg frustrated for the entire race.
Behind Rosberg finished Daniel Ricciardo, taking full advantage of the Toro Rosso's straight line speed to match his best ever F1 result with seventh, with Romain Grosjean and Lewis Hamilton breathing down his neck at the finish.
Hamilton in particular had an eventful afternoon after floor damage during qualifying left him a lowly 12th on the grid. The Brit had been planning to do a long first stint on prime tyres, but made an early pit-stop on lap 13 after picking up a slow puncture whilst stuck behind the other Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne in the early stages.
By the time the remainder of the field had made their stops, Hamilton had risen to fifth, but fell back to 13th after making a second stop 15 laps from the finish. From there, on much fresher rubber than the cars around him, the Mercedes driver was able to fight his way up to ninth after a series of typically bold passing moves.
Among the cars Hamilton overtook were the two McLarens of Jenson Button and Sergio Perez, who had to be content with tenth and twelfth places, and Kimi Raikkonen, who was forced to pit on the first lap for a fresh front wing after making contact with Perez.
Raikkonen was among the fastest cars on the circuit in clean air, climbing to fifth after the cars ahead pitted, but was unable to make the same incisive progress as Hamilton after his second stop at mid-distance. The Finn finished in eleventh, out of the points for a second straight race.
Esteban Gutierrez put in one of his better performances of his short career to finish thirteenth, ahead of the Williams cars of Pastor Maldonado and Valtteri Bottas, though Adrian Sutil had been running one place ahead of the Mexican when Force India elected to retire the car one lap from home.
Things didn't go any better for Paul Di Resta, who became the first casualty of the race after misjudging his braking at the Roggia chicane on the first lap and slamming into the back of Grosjean's car, though the Frenchman continued unhindered.
The only other retirement was Vergne, who pulled over with transmission failure on lap 15 whilst running ninth.
With Vettel all but certain to clinch this year's title, it's a good time to reflect on the overwhelming success he and his Red Bull team have enjoyed over the past four seasons.
Barring the first half of 2009, when Brawn GP wrong-footed their rivals with their double diffuser, Red Bull have produced by far the most consistent package of the current rules cycle. That however shouldn't detract from the magnitude of Vettel's achievements, who has made the absolute best use of the tools at his disposal and seen off stiff opposition from the other side of the Red Bull garage.
Whilst it hasn't made for scintillating viewing on occasions, not least of all today, you can't help but feel a certain admiration for Vettel, regardless of whether or not you count yourself among the 26-year-old's fans. After all, you can't blame him for the inability of the other teams to match the amazing benchmark set by the boys at Milton Keynes.
Nevertheless, next year gives Red Bull's rivals a chance to rectify this situation, and perhaps Ferrari, McLaren, Lotus or Mercedes will emerge as the dominant force instead. But, whoever is doing the lion's share of the winning, we shouldn't begrudge them their success.
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