October 23, 2007	Tuesday	Shawwal 10, 1428

SAO PAULO, Oct 22: Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen seized his first Formula One title by a single point and against the odds on Sunday after a stirring victory in Brazil that shattered Lewis Hamilton’s dreams.

The Finn’s unexpected title triumph, leading Brazilian team-mate Felipe Massa in a one-two finish, ended 22-year-old Briton Hamilton’s bid to become the youngest champion in his debut season with McLaren.

Hamilton finished seventh while team mate and double world champion Fernando Alonso, in what may prove to be his last race for McLaren, was third and 57 seconds behind the winner.

Raikkonen, the third Finnish Formula One world champion after Keke Rosberg (1982) and Mika Hakkinen (1998 and 1999), ended the season with 110 points to Hamilton and Alonso’s 109.

Hamilton is runner-up on second places.

“We were not in the strongest of positions but we always believed we could recover,” said the ‘Iceman’, after his sixth win of the year.

“Even in the bad times, everyone was sticking together, and we didn’t give up...I think we had perfect teamwork.”

Hamilton, who had started the race as title favourite with a four-point lead over Alonso and an advantage of seven to Raikkonen, endured a nightmare afternoon in the Interlagos sunshine.

Starting on the front row, he had dropped to eighth at the end of the first lap after running wide as Alonso forced his way through and Ferrari settled into a one-two pattern with Massa leading from pole.

The Briton then slowed dramatically eight laps later and plunged to 18th place, leaving him fighting a desperate rearguard battle to claw his way back into the points.

Alonso, his hopes of becoming the first driver since 1957 to win back-to-back titles with different teams hanging by a thread, could not match the Ferraris’ searing pace.

Massa, who had led for most of the first 50 laps, was overtaken by Raikkonen as expected during the second round of pitstops to hand the Finn the title-clinching win.

Germany’s Nico Rosberg was fourth for Williams with Poland’s Robert Kubica fifth for BMW Sauber and his team mate Nick Heidfeld sixth.

Italy’s Jarno Trulli took the final point for Toyota.

Raikkonen, usually impassive on the podium, showed rare emotion after one of Formula One’s great comebacks.

The Finn, runner-up in 2003 and 2005, had been 17 points behind Hamilton with two races remaining and was the outsider in the first three-way title showdown since 1986.

Raikkonen’s triumph brought the curtain down on one of the most controversial seasons in Formula One history and handed Ferrari the drivers’ title in addition to the constructors’ championship.

McLaren would have won that title had they not been stripped of all their points for a spying controversy as well as being docked 15 for a pole position furore in August.

Raikkonen’s joy, in his first season with Ferrari after joining from McLaren as successor to retired seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, left his former team still chasing their first title since 1999.

While McLaren had led the drivers’ championship since the second race of the season, Raikkonen won the first and last to emerge on top.

Results:

1. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari one hour 28 minutes 15.270 seconds; 2. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari +00:01.493; 3. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren 00:57.019; 4. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams–Toyota 01:02.848; 5. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 01:10.957; 6. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 01:11.317; 7. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 1 lap; 8. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 1 lap; 9. David Coulthard (Britain) RedBull–Renault 1 lap; 10. Kazuki Nakajima (Japan) Williams–Toyota 1 lap; 11. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Toyota 1 lap; 12. Takuma Sato (Japan) Super Aguri–Honda 2 laps; 13. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Toro Rosso–Ferrari 2 laps; 14. Anthony Davidson (Britain) Super Aguri–Honda 3 laps.

Retired: Adrian Sutil (Germany) Spyker–Ferrari 28 laps; Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda 31 laps; Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) Renault 36 laps; Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Toro Rosso–Ferrari 37 laps; Jenson Button (Britain) Honda 51 laps; Mark Webber (Australia) RedBull–Renault 57 laps; Sakon Yamamoto (Japan) Spyker–Ferrari 69 laps; Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Renault 69 laps

Final standings:

Drivers: 1. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari 110 points; 2. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) McLaren 109; 3. Fernando Alonso (Spain) McLaren 109; 4. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari 94; 5. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 61; 6. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 39; 7. Heikki Kovalainen (Finland) Renault 30; 8. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Renault 21; 9. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams 20; 10. David Coulthard (Britain) Red Bull 14; 11. Alexander Wurz (Austria) Williams 13; 12. Mark Webber (Australia) Red Bull 10; 13. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 8; 14. Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Toro Rosso 6; 15. Jenson Button (Britain) Honda 6; 16. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Toyota 5; 17. Takuma Sato (Japan) Super Aguri 4; 18. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Toro Rosso 3; 19. Adrian Sutil (Germany) Spyker 1; 20. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda 0; 21. Scott Speed (US) Toro Rosso 0; 22. Kazuki Nakajima (Japan) Williams 0; 23. Anthony Davidson (Britain) Super Aguri 0; 24. Sakon Yamamoto (Japan) Spyker 0; 25. Christijan Albers (Netherlands) 0.

Constructors: 1. Ferrari 204 points; 2. BMW Sauber 101; 3. Renault 51; 4. Williams–Toyota 33; 5. RedBull–Renault 24; 6. Toyota 13; 7. Toro Rosso–Ferrari 8; 8. Honda 6; 9. Super Aguri–Honda 4; 10. Spyker–Ferrari 1.—Reuters