Sebastian Vettel proud of eight consecutive wins at US GP

Sebastian Vettel is "proud" of becoming the first driver to win eight consecutive races in a single season.

The Red Bull driver broke a record held by Michael Schumacher and Alberto Ascari with victory in the US GP.

"Numbers do not make me jump in the car but we realised we had done it and it makes you very proud," Vettel said.

"You realise what it means to look back at those names. People look back and talk about certain drivers. One day people might talk about our time."

The German has won every race since Formula 1 returned from its summer break at the Belgian Grand Prix at the end of August.

He said the achievement, which he described as "incredible" would not fully sink in until Monday morning.

"It's always the day after usually you feel invincible - don't get me wrong," said Vettel, who tied up his fourth consecutive title in India three races ago.

"It is great feeling. You have a grin on your face, unless you have a hangover. It is nice feeling, Sunday things happen very quick and it is bit harder to realise.

"It is one of those records that was not meant to be broken ever and it's very difficult to understand we actually did it.

"It is down to team effort. Everyone is willing to push. This morning at eight o'clock the car was in pieces - we had the gearbox on the floor we had some concern about reliability and the guys were trying to fix it and it ran fine in the race.

"Since the summer break I don't know what we have all done, but we need to remember for future years should we require a little bit more than just good performance.

"As a sportsman you know not every day is supposed to be a good day, you will have ups and downs.

"The points when you are at the low they hurt a lot more than when you are on the high.

"I keep saying there is no guarantee for the next race, for the next race and equally for the year after. We had a phenomenal run that last five years. You never know what is coming next. You have to enjoy today and look forward to tomorrow."

Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said: "When we reflect what we have achieved it is quite remarkable, the levels Sebastian has reached, the accuracy and consistency he has driven with is quite astounding.

"He was pretty emotional at the end of the race because he has beaten a record of one of his idols, who it seemed unlikely that kind of record would be beaten.

"To win eight consecutive races, to have won every race since July [when Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian Grand Prix] is mind-blowing, especially against the quality of opposition we're up against. It'll take a little while for it to sink in with the whole team."