Vettel win gives Toro Rosso wings

LONDON, England (CNN) -- When Sebastian Vettel crossed the finish line at Monza, the Formula One history books had to be rewritten.

Not only did the 21-year-old take his first win, he also became the sport's youngest winner. But it was hugely significant for the German's team too.

Toro Rosso had taken not so much as a podium before since joining the grid in 2006 and operate on a fraction of the budget of F1's biggest names.

Toro Rosso's forerunners were Minardi -- F1's perennial backmarkers and everyone's favorite underdogs -- and many of their 168 staff at the team's factory in Faenza have worked there since the Minardi days.

On an afternoon of firsts, Toro Rosso, which means Red Bull in Italian, became the first non-Ferrari Italian team to win a grand prix since 1957.

Afterwards, an emotional Vettel was well aware of what it meant for an unheralded Italian outfit, powered by a Ferrari engine, to win their first race at the historic Monza circuit.

"This is very special, very unique for all the team. I think they will never forget this day as well as I won't," he said.

"Compared to BMW or McLaren-Mercedes or Ferrari we haven't got that amount on manpower at home in the factory.

"Obviously we get a lot of help from [UK-based] Red Bull technology but still we have about 160 people working in Faenza and everyone today feels very special and can feel very special. I am one of them.

"Now we can be proud of ourselves, celebrating a victory. It is great and I feel extremely happy."

The future of Toro Rosso is still up in the air after being put up for sale earlier in the season by Dietrich Mateschitz, the billionaire boss of the Red Bull energy drink, which sponsors both teams.

Toro Rosso co-owner Gerhard Berger said that discussions over a sale were ongoing, but preferred to focus on what his young charger and team achieved at a wet Monza.

"Sebastian proved he can win races," Berger told Autosport.com. "But he is going to win world championships. He is very good.

"It's an unbelievable feeling. We've been extremely lucky to have the support of Red Bull for the basics of the car -- it helps a lot. We have been building a nice little team."

The future of Toro Rosso is not Vettel's concern as he has already inked a deal with Red Bull Racing to take the retiring David Coulthard's place alongside Mark Webber for 2009.

But the last few races have seen Red Bull, with a far larger budget, outshone by Toro Rosso, who also had Sebastien Bourdais qualify fourth in Italy before he stalled on the grid.

Vettel, though, is adamant he has made the right choice in the long-term.

"I am going to race for Red Bull Racing, but I don't see that it's a step backwards," he said.

"Obviously now we have probably been stronger in the last couple of races, we have been stronger than they were but there's no secret, I think the package is similar.

"As a driver your target is always to be with the most competitive team possible and, over the past couple of years, Red Bull Racing has proved it has great potential, so this is a good move for me."