Formula 1: Brazilian GP Overview

Vettel celebrates making it three from three with
Adrian Newey and Christian Horner

The historic Interlagos circuit is one steeped in history; many titles have come to a thrilling conclusion here since it's début back in the 1970's. Most recently, we have seen current drivers such as Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button all wrap up their respective titles here in dramatic fashion. 

Overnight, in the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel joined shot himself into Formula One's history books. He drove a storming race, that at times looked desperate, to finish 6th and clinch his third successive Drivers World Championship around Interlagos. 

Sebastian Vettel was caught in a tangle with Bruno
Senna on Lap 1.

In a wild race that see-sawed incessantly, Vettel was made to fight from the off. A poor start from the German put him back in the pack and then when he tangled with Williams' Bruno Senna at turn 4, Vettel was left at the back and with it all to do. His car took a heavy knock, the brunt of both Senna and Sergio Perez's Sauber whacking Seb's Red Bull. He was lucky his afternoon did not end on the spot. As it was, he left to work his way up from last.

At the front, a trio of drivers took turns leading the race before a tangle between two of them ended their hopes of victory. Leading from the off, McLaren's Lewis Hamilton looked strong in the damp and changeable conditions but he wasn't left alone by team-mate Jenson Button. Joining them was a Nico Hulkenberg in his Force India Mercedes who like the two McLaren's was revelling in the slippery conditions.

For a vast majority of the race it looked as though the three of them would complete the podium, the ultimate victory going to whoever could keep their car on track through the rivers of rain water. Jenson and Nico kept their slick tyres on during the early rain showers giving them a vast lead as everyone else switched over to intermediate tyres and back again. This lead was eradicated on Lap 23 however when the Safety Car was dispatched to clear copious amounts of debris and carbon fibre that littered the track. On Lap 31, back under racing and dry tyre conditions, Lewis worked his way past Jenson for second before darting past Nico for the lead.

It was all about to unravel for the Briton however; On Lap 54, Hulkenberg attempted a pass on Lewis for the lead of the race, only to lose grip on the back end of his car coming into the first corner and clatter into the side of the McLaren, breaking Hamilton's front suspension and earning himself a drive through penalty. It was a disappointing end to the afternoon for both drivers. Nico had wasted a great opportunity at taking his first career win whilst Lewis was heartbroken not to finish his last race with McLaren; it was an ill-fitting end both Lewis' race and season.

All of this action promoted his team-mate Jenson Button into the lead. From here, Jenson duly lead the rest of the race and won for third time in 2012. The main focus however, was set squarely on the title permutations between Vettel and Alonso.

A weary Fernando Alonso rues another
 missed Drivers' title

Fernando Alonso once again did a fantastic job of salvaging something from the carnage around him. From seventh on the grid, the determined Spaniard worked his way up onto the podium, performing a fantastic double overtake on Mark Webber and Felipe Massa along the way. His afternoon wasn't by any means flawless; too often did he run wide at Turn 1, handing positions to rivals. In the end though, second place was not enough for Fernando. He finished a mere three points adrift of Vettel, who only collected eight points for finishing sixth.

Alonso however can be immensely proud of his achievements this season; he has no doubt driven like a champ all year and, some would say, is more deserving of the final accolade than Seb. He has come immensely close to winning in a car that had consistently been third or fourth fastest, making his attempts near godlike.

For Vettel, he yet again salvaged a good finish from a dire situation early on. Much like he did in Abu Dhabi, he benefited from some others ahead of him tripping over each other, but the end result is the same nonetheless; he came home in 6th, close enough to Alonso to secure his third successive title, making him only the third driver in history to do so after Fangio and Schumacher.

A fittingly chaotic end then to a season that has barely paused for breath since it kicked off in Australia, the Brazilian Grand Prix of 2012 will go down as a classic title showdown, alongside those from '64, '76, '86, '94, '97 and '08. Stay tuned to my blog in the coming two weeks for my multi-parted 2012 Season Review! In the meantime, thanks for reading!