Vettel robs Alonso of last record

Given his stunning consistency this season, Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel surprised no one in Japan on Sunday when he clinched his second world championship, with a full four races still to run in the 2011 season. By doing so he robbed Spain's Fernando Alonso of his last remaining record: that of youngest driver to win two Formula 1 titles.

The victor at Suzuka was McLaren's Jenson Button, the Briton undoubtedly a candidate for second-best driver of the season this year, while Fernando Alonso managed second place in his Ferrari. Vettel completed the podium, with third, while his team mate Mark Webber crossed the line in fourth place. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton could only manage fifth place, after having yet another on-track tangle with Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

The young German - Vettel is still just 24 - was overwhelmed with emotion as he crossed the line, but he still took the time to spare some words for his competitors during the post-race press conference.

"Congratulations to Jenson, congratulations to Fernando," he said. "I think today we saw that it is extremely tight. Tighter than maybe sometimes it looked this year. In the end, the top four cars were within not even 10 seconds and it is great to know that it is so tight but that we can come so strong out of it."

Sunday's result left Vettel with a points haul of 324, meaning that none of the other drivers can mathematically catch him before the season's end.

There is, however, still a race on for the next place in the championship, with Button currently second with 210 points, and Alonso just eight points behind in third. With 194 points, Mark Webber can also fight for the second-place spot, as can Lewis Hamilton, with 178.

Despite having failed once again to relive his championship-winning glory of 2005 and 2006, Fernando Alonso put a positive spin on Sunday's racing.

"It was a fun race," said the Asturian, who had started from fifth on the grid. "At the start we did not overtake any cars, then there was a lot of tyre degradation. We had the pace today to fight with McLaren and Red Bull Racing. It's fantastic [to be on the] podium, it is a good thing for the team after difficult races where we were not so competitive. This podium means a lot to the team and is a big motivation."

The other Spanish driver on the Formula 1 grid, Jaime Alguersuari, had another dismal day, losing three places at the very start of the race. He did, however, manage to mount something of a comeback, but in the end finished where he had started, in 15th.