Sebastian Vettel claimed his third Formula 1 World Championship in a row, making him the youngest driver to achieve the mark, and only the third to do it consecutively.
His championship title didn’t come easy however - the final round at the Interlagos circuit kept to tradition as one of the most challenging and surprising races on the calendar.
Going into the race, Vettel led Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso by 13 points, meaning that Alonso had to place on the podium for any chance at the title. With an Alonso win, Vettel needed to place fourth. If Alonso finished second, Vettel needed to place in the top seven, or in the top nine if he placed third.
While it didn’t seem difficult given Vettel’s four wins and podium finish in the last five races, the challenging weather conditions provided a climactic finish to one of F1’s most unforgiving seasons.
Starting from fourth behind teammate Mark Webber, and directly in front of Alonso’s teammate Felipe Massa, Vettel started slow off the line and was immediately pushed down into seventh between turns two and three. Alonso jumped from seventh to fifth, while Massa slotted behind pole sitter Lewis Hamilton, who was starting his last race with the McLaren team.
Down the straight going into turn four, Vettel’s season appeared to take a turn for the worse, when Bruno Senna’s Williams cut inside of the Red Bull, causing Vettel to spin out and roll backwards in the middle of the track. Senna’s car then jumped over the rear wheel of Vettel, launching him airborne and taking out Sergio Perez’s Sauber in the process.
With the championship appearing to be in Alonso’s hands, Vettel spun his car around, and after his team confirmed the data looked ok, he pushed from last place to put some of the fastest laps in the race.
The incident saw Alonso slip into the much-needed third position behind Hamilton and teammate Jenson Button, until on lap five, where he overshot turn one on the wet track, allowing the Force India of Nico Hulkenberg by.
Combined with the changing weather conditions, debris on the track resulted in the safety car between laps 26 and 30.
Afterwards, with the field tight and Button in the lead, Hulkenberg and Hamilton battled for second until lap 55. Hulkenberg made a quick move to the inside on turn one, but lost his rear end on the wet track, slamming into Hamilton and forcing him to retire. Hulkenberg was given a drive-through penalty, which moved him down to fifth, and Massa and Alonso up to second and third.
Vettel meanwhile, pitted twice between laps 55 and 56 due to an incorrect tire choice which saw him put on slicks then come in the next lap for intermediates. That put him out of the points and in danger of losing the title.
As wet weather began to fall, a number of drivers were forced to pit, and Vettel drove up into seventh, behind fellow German Michael Schumacher. Only needing to maintain his position, Vettel passed Schumacher after the seven-time world champ let him through in his final race to ensure a title victory.
Alonso had passed Massa for second, but a crash from Paul di Resta brought out the safety car until the end of the race, ensuring victory for Button, and the title for Vettel.
Button’s pace through the rain, and his ability to combat the wet weather in slicks allowed him to take the win in dominant fashion. He closes out the season with his third win, including the season opener, and the Belgian Grand Prix mid-season.
Vettel meanwhile, celebrated a sixth place finish that saw him beat Alonso by just three points. His ability to perform despite his first lap incident was impressive to say the least, especially considering his team’s tire miscalculation on lap 55.
The victory caps a strong season for Red Bull Racing, which also took their third constructors’ championship in as many years.
Speaking on the the difficulties of the race, Vettel said in an FiA transcript that he never doubted ending the race with the championship.
"I think everything that could go wrong went wrong. As a matter of fact, though, I think we always kept believing. With the damage on the car, losing radio, in these conditions, when communication is so crucial, stopping just a lap too early, not having the tyres ready because communication wasn't there. Where do you start, really? I think you guys had your show and we had to really fight until the end."
He went on to thank his team for their tireless efforts throughout the season which resulted in his third-straight championship.
"I don't know what to say. We are in Sao Paulo here, the place where Ayrton Senna was born and came from and the place where he was buried. To come here and win the Championship for the third time, I don't really know what to say. I have to say a big thanks to everyone in the team. Of course, this sounds like a bit of a standard phrase. Sometimes we get criticised for bringing up standard phrases like that but I really feel that as one of the guys in the team, I don't feel more important or less important. Of course I know I'm driving the car and of course I know that if I turn right in a straightline I hit the wall and that's it. It's pretty easy in that regard, but I really feel as one of them. What we achieved today is not what happened today in the race. It's what we've been working for since I really joined the team."
The final race of the 2012 season sees a number of changes for next year, with many driver moves, and some who are still uncertain.
It marks the 306th and final race for seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher. Leaving the Mercedes team, McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton will take his seat beside Nico Rosberg. Sauber’s Sergio Perez will move over to McLaren, while Esteban Gutierrez will take his place alongside Nico Hulkenberg, who leaves Force India.
That leaves current Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi without a seat, and Force India has not confirmed a driver to partner Paul di Resta. Charles Pic moves from Marussia to Caterham, while Bruno Senna is still searching for a drive after Williams confirmed Pastor Maldonado and the promotion of test driver Valterri Bottas. The HRT team is unconfirmed for 2013 after financial troubles put the team in dire straights in the final two races this season. As a result, it could be the final time we see Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan in Formula 1.
Photo: Charles Coates / LAT Photographic
