The index finger wagged, just like old times. Yet a celebration which once symbolised Sebastian Vettel's dreary domination of Formula One now felt like a welcome signal that fears of a predictable, doom-laden season had been emphatically allayed.
With a flash of brilliance of scintillating speed, Vettel and Ferrari in an instant lifted the cloud the sport has been under by winning yesterday's Malaysian Grand Prix. The tears flowed for Vettel as he began the long journey to emulating his hero, Michael Schumacher, while the sighs of relief were almost audible around the paddock. We have a championship on our hands.
It was not easy to determine the biggest winner after a thrilling, tension-filled race: Vettel, Ferrari, or Formula One? After all the misery of Melbourne, when Mercedes crushed the entire field, this was a well-timed riposte to the gloom. Perhaps the rules are fine just as they are.
In the last year or so, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes have not been used not used to settling for second best. Paddy Lowe, the team's technical boss, seemed somewhat shell-shocked when tasked with explaining how their advantage has been obliterated so quickly. The inquest will be swift.
But this was a day to celebrate the resurgence of Vettel and Ferrari, winning their first race since 2013. Both Hamilton and his team-mate Nico Rosberg, who took second and third, had been top spinning Ferrari's chances all weekend. Even they did not expect to be beaten fair and square.
It was a victory to stir the emotions and the elation for many in Sepang was palpable, although not for Fernando Alonso, who must be wondering why an earth he left Ferrari for McLaren, who failed to finish yesterday.
We have not heard Vettel celebrate so wildly in a long time, since the 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix in fact, the last of his record nine victories in a row. "Forza Ferrari! Forza Ferrari!", the 27-year-old screamed over the radio. Once out of the car, he jumped up in the air, waving the Ferrari flag in jubilation, before the finger pointing made its return.
"I'm going to get p***** tonight," he joked on the podium. Given the circumstances, he can be forgiven the expletive. He was written off following a dismal 2014, downgraded well beyond his 40 wins and four championships. Those doubters were made to choke on their morning cornflakes after watching this superb display.
With tears in his eyes, Vettel went on: "I'm speechless. Last year was not a good year for me. Obviously a big change over the winter and the welcome the team gave me was fantastic. I remember when the gate opened in Maranello it was like a dream coming true. The last time I was there was as a young kid watching Michael over the fence driving around in the Ferrari, and now I'm driving that very red car. It's incredible."
There was plenty emotion too for the rest of the team, who have been down in the doldrums for years. Around their famous factory in Maranello, there are pictures of the great names in their glittering history, bearing down on the current generation.
"When we are not successful everyone can feel cowed by that," admitted James Allison, their transformative technical director, a Brit and Cambridge graduate too. "Those things are pressures that we soak up and when the pressure is released by a day like this, boy, does that feel good." Comparisons are already being made between the 47-year-old and Ross Brawn, the man who won so many titles at Ferrari and is the architect of Mercedes' domination.
From the start, Vettel was on electric form. Starting second, he squeezed Rosberg into the wall, a signal of intent. An early safety car, brought out on lap four by the blundering Marcus Ericsson, gave
Vettel a chance to stretch his legs. While the Mercedes pitted and were forced to negotiate traffic, he stayed out, building an advantage.
Through the stops, he maintained a sizeable lead, overtaking Hamilton and Rosberg along the way. To universal amazement, by half distance Vettel was in prime position. Hamilton sounded increasingly agitated, the fraught radio messages piling up.
The frustration was building. Mercedes, who had won the last eight races, are not used to being pushed like this. A private exchange was inadvertently broadcast to Hamilton, prompting another tetchy reply. The team said Hamilton would catch Vettel in the closing stages but the win was never on. Vettel was gone, the undisputed driver of the day.
Max Verstappen deserves honourable mention, finishing seventh and becoming the youngest points scorer in F1's history, at 17 years and 180 days.
Behind the Dutchman and his Toro Rosso team-mate, it was humiliation for Red Bull, the senior team no less. McLaren were awful too, neither car making it to the finish for the first time in a decade.
They had long left the stage by the time Vettel took the chequered flag, beating Hamilton by 8.3 seconds. Vettel and Ferrari are back. Formula One is all the better for it.