Vettel crowned F1s youngest ever champ

Sebastian Vettel became F1's youngest ever champion,as Ferrari's Alonso messed up his chances.

Sebastian Vettel became Formula Ones youngest ever champion on Sunday,taking advantage of Fernando Alonsos disappointing performance to clinch the title with a win at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The 23-year-old Vettel is six months younger than Lewis Hamilton was when he won the title in 2008.

The German Red Bull driver started the race from pole position but needed to make up 15 points on Alonso,who led the championship but failed to secure the title for a second straight race. While Vettel had a fairly trouble-free race,Alonso finished seventh after Ferrari made an ill-advised decision to pit early and the Spaniard got stuck behind Nico Rosberg and Vitaly Petrov for nearly 40 laps.

Vettels title comes after Red Bull dominated the field in qualifying sessions all season,but often failed to convert its unrivaled speed into race victories because of reliability problems and driver errors. It has been an incredible journey,to lead the championship after the last race is unbelievable, Vettel said. Its been extremely intense and a tough season mentally.

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Alonso,who started third from the grid,ended up four points behind Vettel in the final standings. It was a tough race,a difficult race, Alonso said. We lost one position in the start and (in) the first safety car period Petrov and Rosberg came in.

Vettel said he had a few nervous moments after crossing the finish line,while he waited to see whether Alonso could climb up to fourth place on the last lap – which would have given the Spaniard the title. But the celebrations could finally start when he received the message he was hoping for.

Weltmeister! Vettels team screamed over the car radio after Rosberg crossed the line in fourth place,using the German word for world champion. Unbelievable! Thank you, Vettel replied,barely able to speak because of the emotion,as Red Bull engineers and crew threw themselves into each others arms. To be honest I didnt know anything, Vettel said,explaining that he had no idea what the situation was behind him during the last 10 laps due to a glitch on the race radio.

Alonso couldnt hide his disappointment,shaking his fist angrily as he pulled up alongside Petrov when they glided over the line. Next year,well try again, Alonso said.

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Red Bulls Mark Webber of Australia came in behind Alonso and finished third overall,14 points back from his teammate Vettel.

Final Drivers Standings

1. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 2. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 3. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 4. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) 5. Jenson Button (McLaren) 6. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 7. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 8. Robert Kubica (Renault) 9. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) 10. Rubens Barrichello (Williams).

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