Inside the Buddh International Circuit, Adrian Newey, his donnish dome shimmering in the Greater Noida sunshine, is the centre of almost papal reverence. He has not merely beaten his rivals but routed them. Before Sunday's Indian Grand Prix, Red Bull's chief technical officer stands on the verge of becoming the first designer to win 10 drivers' and 10 constructors' world championships.

But Newey is more concerned that the world of Formula One should rejoice in the achievements of Sebastian Vettel, who just has to finish in the top five here to confirm his fourth world title in as many years. It is something the German has failed to do only once – at Silverstone – this season and he topped the standings after Friday's practice sessions.

Yet much of F1 – its vast audiences, its teams and even its drivers – seems churlishly reluctant to embrace the German as one of the sport's all-time greats. "I'm surprised, to be perfectly honest," Newey says. "There seems to be some elements that are hostile to him. I think he's up there with the best of all time. Who do you consider the best of all time? It has to be Jim Clark, Ayrton Senna, [Juan Manel] Fangio, maybe, but he's way before my time, so I can't really comment. Seb's well on the way to being part of that very select few."

Newey, F1's blue-sky thinker, looks almost out of place. The BIC track houses, the sport's most anonymous paddock, and Red Bull are based in Team Building 02, between Ferrari and the offices of the FIA, the governing body. But there is nothing anonymous about the tall, gaunt figure of Newey, the pole-sitter among car designers.

"I don't know whether it's jealousy or what it is but it [the lack of recognition for Vettel] is certainly not deserved. For me, Seb is one of the all-time greats. To be an all-time great you've got to have won two or more championships. He's already ticked that box.

"Then I think it's about the way you behave, go about your business. And Seb's very professional. Despite his youth, all the success he's had over the last few years hasn't gone to his head or changed him at all. He's still very humble. He's a really good guy.

"There is a bit of the jealousy thing. Maybe Sebastian lost a bit of popularity after what happened in Malaysia this year." That was when Vettel revealed his ruthlessness by defying team orders to overtake his team-mate and race leader Mark Webber to steal his first win of the season.

Newey adds: "I think what people forget there is that there had been a bit of needle between Mark and Seb, unfortunately. And a racing driver will be a racing driver. Seb's adrenalin was up, he saw the chance of a win and he went for it."

Newey feels it may be some years before Vettel is recognised as the great driver he undoubtedly is. "These things take time. People have an inertia when it comes to changing their views quickly. But I would be amazed if people don't view him as one of the all-time greats in years to come."

Newey picks out two performances in Abu Dhabi to highlight the qualities of his star driver. "I would say Abu Dhabi in 2010 for simply keeping his head and getting pole position. It was a must-win and he didn't know whether it would be enough to win the championship. But he went out and got on with the job.

"Then there was last year at the same track. After the frustrations with qualifying, to come through and finish on the podium was a pretty amazing drive. This year all of his drives have been strong. You can't single out one from the other because they've all been very measured. In his most recent drive in Japan he was patient when he needed to be patient, yet the speed with which he dealt with Romain Grosjean was text-book."

The essence of Vettel's greatness, according to Newey, is his intelligence. "The top drivers that I've been lucky enough to work with all share that ability to be able to drive and mentally process at the same time. Then they go away and reflect on it, constantly. Every time Seb steps out of the car he's learned something new which he will then apply at the next outing. He very rarely makes the same mistake twice."

Perhaps Vettel, whose contract with Red Bull expires at the end of 2015, has to win with another team – Ferrari are the likeliest – before he gets the recognition he is due.

Michael Schumacher won his first two titles with Benetton – like Red Bull hardly a team with a strong motor racing tradition – before moving to Ferrari, where he won not just championships but immortality.

Newey, unlike Vettel, has already been admitted to the pantheon. He became a multiple world champion winner at Willams, then McLaren, but his greatest achievement has been creating the epoch of Red Bull.

"To get involved with Red Bull more or less from the start, and be involved with how we develop the team, gives me a paternal feeling. It's been a great journey, taking the team from the ashes of Jaguar to where it is today, as the new kids on the block. We've managed to do something."

Newey is responsible for making F1 something of a procession in recent weeks – Vettel has won the last five races. "But I don't feel guilty," he says, smiling. He is aware, though, that Red Bull's astonishing hegemony is finite. He says: "The one thing you can definitely say is that history dictates that no one team retains dominance for a really long period. Even the Ferrari dominance lasted for five seasons. So statistics are starting to build against us."

He will be 55 on Boxing Day and though he will remain at Red Bull next year he wants a new challenge, such as getting involved with sailing in the form of the America's Cup.

"The formula of man and machine is an exciting one to work in, which is why thoughts about the America's Cup have come about. Where else is there a big budget sporting blend of man and machine and competition? The America's Cup is the only big alternative."

Newey was sacked from his first trackside engineering job after his driver asked for him to be replaced after running out of fuel – a fuel leak, not Newey, was the problem. He has come a long way. Now he hopes that Vettel, too, can complete his journey to the summit of the sport.