Sebastian Vettel is new F1 champion after triumph in Abu Dhabi
Title favourite Fernando Alonso threw away the crown with an early pit stop that left him trailing in traffic. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was the only driver to come close to challenging Vettel during the race.
But his hopes were dashed when he was held up by dogged Renault ace Robert Kubica.
And that left Vettel to ease ahead with his reliable Red Bull performing brilliantly to see him home, becoming F1's youngest ever champion. Crossing the finishing line, he broke down in tears and told his team, "Thank you boys. Unbelievable".
After the race, he added, "It has been an incredible season both physically and mentally. I always believed in my team, my car and myself. I tried to do anything to avoid contact and just do my best and win the race”.
He continued, "The car was phenomenal today. It was a dream. Lewis getting out behind Kubica was obviously crucial. For the last 10 laps until I crossed the line I didn't know what was happening. It's amazing".
Red Bull team principal, Christian Horner said, "It's the first time he has led the world championship and he's done it at the end of the year. I'm so proud of the team. It's an amazing feeling to be double world champions".
German legend Michael Schumacher paid tribute to his fellow countryman Vettel. He said, "I'm quite happy for him and we're friends. He has had his ups and downs this season. Well done to him and his team, he deserves it. He's a fantastic talent".
Ironically, it was Jenson Button (out of the world championship title fight), who made the best progress from the start. The Brit flew off the line to get ahead of Alonso into the first corner.
Mark Webber, struggling in fifth, took an early pit stop in a bid to solve problems with his rear tyres. Alonso followed suit and came out ahead of him with Ferrari then pitting Felipe Massa, hoping to release him ahead of Webber to slow the Aussie down.
But the plan backfired when Massa rejoined the race behind Webber. Both Alonso and Webber had a mountain of traffic to get through if they were to challenge for both the race and the title.
As they pushed though, mistakes kept occurring with both taking minor detours off the track and they fell even further behind.
At the front, Vettel remained a couple of seconds ahead of Hamilton after both made their first stops.
But crucially for Hamilton, Kubica and Kamui Kobayashi were between the pair and held up the McLaren man in his pursuit.
After seeing off Kobayashi with ease, Kubica became a huge problem for McLaren, allowing Vettel to stretch his lead to over 10 seconds.
And by the time leader Button made his first pit stop on lap 38, Hamilton was out of contention, despite still being third. That left Vettel to speed ahead of the pack with only a technical problem being able to prevent him from glory.
Alonso's title dream faded fast as he failed to get past Vitaly Petrov's Renault.
The Spaniard, who had a 15-point lead over Vettel before the race, was paying the price for following Webber into the pits earlier in the race. Kubica, still ahead of Hamilton, finally pitted on lap 47 and remained ahead of team-mate Petrov and Alonso.
The Ferrari star needed to pass both of them and Nico Rosberg in the final seven laps to snatch the title from Vettel's grasp. But it was never likely to happen and Vettel cruised to the World title with ease, sealing a driver's and constructor's double
for Red Bull.
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