Abu Dhabi: Sebastian Vettel helped his Red Bull team prove they can now dominate on every kind of track with an impressive victory at Monza that moved him a giant step closer to defending his title.

The reigning champion squad had never previously finished on the podium at high-speed Monza, but Vettel — who claimed his maiden GP win here driving for minnows Toro Rosso in the rain-lashed 2008 race — banished that statistic with the same ruthless efficiency as he has so many others these past two seasons.

The brilliant 24-year-old German lost the lead to the fast-starting Ferrari of Fernando Alonso on the long drag to the first corner, but reclaimed it with a breathtaking move around the outside of the 190mph Curva Grande on the fifth lap.

He then immediately made his escape and controlled the race expertly from the front to increase his 2011 win tally to eight and his career total to 18.

Last year's protagonists for victory at Monza, Jenson Button and Alonso, battled for second place this time and it was the McLaren driver who emerged on top, having overcome a poor start that left him down in seventh place in the early stages.

Alonso's third place ensured the crucial Ferrari presence on the podium in front of the usual sea of tifosi and moved him up to second in the championship standings, albeit a massive 112 points behind Vettel.

Given the right combination of results, Vettel could now potentially seal the title at the next grand prix in Singapore.

Singapore

Vettel rammed home his advantage with a dominant performance in Singapore — but Button's second-placed finish ensured the German would need one more point to wrap up the title.

Vettel's showing at Marina Bay — earning him his ninth victory — was arguably the most commanding of his remarkable season.

His performance over 61 gruelling laps under the lights demonstrated exactly why he has proved in a different class this year and become just the third man after Nigel Mansell and Michael Schumacher to win nine or more grands prix in a single campaign.

He carried his stellar qualifying pace into the race and built large leads over Button either side of a mid-race safety car phase.

Ironically the pace car was pressed into service because of a spectacular exit from the race for Schumacher following a collision with Sergio Perez. Yet, while it wiped out what was a near 20s lead at the time, Vettel was typically unperturbed at the restart and sprinted away once more before easing up in the closing stages while navigating chronic traffic to win by an unrepresentative 1.7s from a hard-charging Button.

Mark Webber overcame his bad start and two stints behind Alonso's slower Ferrari to claim the final podium place for Red Bull.