Vettel makes Formula 1 history with third straight championship

SAO PAULO - The Associated Press

Sebastian Vettel and fellow RedBull members celebrate the German superstar’s third World Championship at the Interlagos circuit in Brazil. AFP photo

Sebastian Vettel found himself spinning around on the track just after the start, watching helplessly as other cars whizzed past him. His Formula One title hopes seemed to be drifting away with them.

It was only the start of Vettel’s problems on Nov. 25 in what he called the toughest race of his career. But he overcame all of them and walked away with the only prize that mattered - his third straight championship title.

Vettel shook off a first-lap crash and other difficulties to finish sixth at the Brazilian GP, good enough to protect his lead over challenger Fernando Alonso and become F1’s youngest three-time champion at age 25.

“It’s very difficult to find the right words, especially after the race today,” he said. “Everything that could go wrong went wrong.”

Jenson Button of McLaren won the race at Interlagos, with Alonso second and Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa third. Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, F1’s most successful driver, finished seventh in his final race after 19 seasons. But they were all overshadowed by Vettel, who had to overcome a poor start, the early crash, a damaged car, a broken radio, a botched pit stop and pouring rain to capture the championship title.

“Just look at the stuff that went wrong. It was for sure the toughest race,” Vettel said. “We kept believing. It was never game over.”

Vettel appeared to be in trouble when he was bumped shortly after the start and spun. He dropped to last place before he could turn his car around and begin a difficult pursuit. But he steadily worked his way up the field despite a slightly damaged car and no radio communication.

“You are the man, you are a triple world champion,” a team official told Vettel on the radio after he crossed the line.

Vettel is the first driver with three titles in a row since Schumacher won five straight from 2000-04. The only other driver to win at least three consecutive championships was Juan Manuel Fangio from 1954-57.

“It’s unbelievable,” Vettel said. “It’s still full of adrenaline. Incredible race today.”

Vettel needed to finish fourth or better to clinch the title regardless of Alonso’s result. The Spaniard, who needed to finish on the podium to have a chance of overtaking Vettel, looked to have the advantage after a superb start and a chaotic first lap, but in the end couldn’t erase Vettel’s 13-point lead in the standings.

It rained on and off throughout the race, making conditions difficult and forcing drivers to come in and out of the pits several times.

Alonso briefly had the title in his hands again after more rain fell with 14 laps to go. Red Bull lost time while putting the wet tires on Vettel’s car, dropping him to 11th place while Alonso moved into third.
But after all cars pitted, Vettel was back in sixth place. Alonso moved to second after passing Massa, but he needed Vettel to drop a few more spots to take the title.

Vettel got off to a slow start this season, winning once in the first 13 races, but he eventually picked up the pace with Red Bull and won four straight beginning in Singapore GP to get back in contention.