Alonso and Renault take World F1 title

Montoya steadily eased away to a four second lead before the final round of stops, but the conservative Alonso was still in attendance in third place and with a 16s margin over Michael, was hardly threatened. Fisichella wasn’t far behind Michael, but not threatening him, while there was a big gap to Button and Barrichello, the Ferrari getting past to huge Brazilian cheers on lap 44.

The next round of stops began on lap 48 with the two Renaults, followed by Barrichello on lap 50. Montoya and Michael came in on lap 54, but it wasn’t until lap 59 that Raikkonen came in. He rejoined just behind teammate Montoya but Alonso was still there in third place, 22s behind Raikkonen, 17s ahead of Michael, so that nothing had changed among the front runners. Fisichella remained fifth, with a large margin over Barrichello who kept his lead over Button to the flag, the BAR driver being lapped and only just ahead of Ralf Schumacher at the end.

Third place behind Montoya and Raikkonen was enough to give Fernando Alonso the World Championship, the youngest ever champion and the first from Spain.

Michael Schumacher is now fourth in the championship, on equal points with Juan Pablo Montoya while Barrichello is seventh, equal with Ralf Schumacher. In the Constructors’ series, McLaren-Mercedes’ one-two gave them a two point lead in the series, with Ferrari now third, 17 points clear of Toyota with two races to go.

Juan Pablo Montoya, McLaren-Mercedes, first place: "That was a lot of fun. I had a really good fight with Kimi and it was definitely not easy keeping him behind. He came especially close after the second pitstop but not close enough. I got past Fernando at the first corner when the Safety Car came in and then managed to maintain the lead for the rest of the race but it was tough. It's great to win in Brazil for the second time in a row particularly as a lot of Colombian fans come here to support me. I'm so pleased for everybody in the team who have worked so hard that we finally got the one-two which has been so close a number of times this year. I think we definitely deserve the Constructors' Championship and I can't wait for the last two races. Also well done to Fernando."

Kimi Räikkönen, McLaren-Mercedes, second place: "Congratulations to Fernando but he better be prepared for me and the team to fight him hard for the rest of the season and next year. Today's race was quite difficult and my car was not easy to drive. I carried a bit more fuel than Juan Pablo but I still was not able to get past him in the pitstops and he drove a good race. Of course I'm disappointed that my fight for the Drivers' World Championship is over but we sort of knew it was going happen. I will now focus on winning the Constructors' title for the team and go flat out for the last two races."

Ron Dennis, McLaren-Mercedes,Team Principal: "A phenomenal and well disciplined race by both Juan Pablo and Kimi. Our strategy meant that our actual qualifying performance was masked as we were running with a lot of fuel. We are delighted to be in the lead of the Constructors' World Championship but are disappointed not to be able to challenge for the Drivers' during the last two races. However today's performance makes us confident that we are in a position to end the season on a high. Apologies to Kimi and Juan Pablo for the missed opportunities this season. Congratulations to Fernando and I'm sure he will be worthy World Champion. Now he has to raise his game as he faces a significant challenge to beat us in the remaining races."

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: "A perfect double win and a great achievement by both our drivers and the entire team which put us in the lead of the Constructors' World Championship. Our strategy worked well and gave us the opportunity to use our strong technical package to the maximum. Congratulations to Fernando and Renault for winning the Drivers' World Championship he and Renault deserve it."

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