Vettel: “This victory is for Jules”

Bianchi was part of the Ferrari setup, and tested its F1 cars on 10 occasions, and before the race a minute’s silence was held with his family present at the front of the grid.

“Incredible day, but I think this victory is for Jules,” said Vettel. “We know that it has been an incredibly tough week.

“I think for all of us it is very difficult, so this one is for him, and especially all the people at Ferrari and all the Ferrari fans. We know he would have been a part of the team and part of our family. C'est pour Jules."

An "emotional victory"

Vettel also equalled Ayrton Senna’s 41 Grand Prix victories with his second win of 2015 for Ferrari.

“It is definitely one of the most emotional wins,” added Vettel. “If you recap the week we’ve gone through it’s hard to find the right words.

"For those who were on the grid in Suzuka, and on the grid today, Jules will always remain a part of us when we jump in the car and race. I think we all did the race today for him, racing hearts-out from the beginning until the end."

Speaking about the race, Vettel admitted the safety car – required to clear up debris from Nico Hulkenberg’s shattered front wing – was a hindrance after he’d built up a solid lead over teammate Kimi Raikkonen and the opposition.

“There was definitely from our point of view no need for that,” he said. “Made it more interesting, we had a great start, crucial to get in lead straight away, the car was difficult but great to drive.

“We showed great pace so thank you very much to the team for the recovery since Friday, today it came together and despite the safety car we managed to win – this one is for the team too.”