Sebastian Vettel has become the youngest triple champion in Formula One history after finishing sixth in the final round in Brazil.
The 25-year-old German, who was involved in an opening lap collision, made light of the damage to his Red Bull car as he fought through the field in a dramatic race run in treacherous rain-swept conditions at the Interlagos circuit.
Vettel's only title rival, two-time champion Spaniard Fernnando Alonso, finished a fine second after a courageous drive for Ferrari, but it was not enough to overhaul a pre-race 13-points deficit as his German rival won the crown by just three points.
The race was littered with accidents and incidents with Jenson Button winning for McLaren.
Vettel becomes only the third driver in Formula One history to win three successive titles, equalling the feats of the great Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio and his own childhood idol Michael Schumacher, who finished seventh for Mercedes in his final race before retiring.
Alonso's Ferrari teammate, local hero Brazilian Felipe Massa, drove brilliantly to finish third ahead of Australian Mark Webber in the second Red Bull and German Nico Hulkenberg of Force India.
