SAO PAULO, Nov 2: Lewis Hamilton of McLaren became Formula One’s youngest champion after overtaking on the final turn of the last lap to finish fifth in the Brazilian Grand Prix and capture the title by one point.

Felipe Massa of Ferrari won on Sunday in front of his home crowd, but it wasn’t enough to erase the seven-point lead Hamilton held entering the season-ending race.

Hamilton needed to finish fifth or better to win the title at age 23, and he did just that after overtaking Toyota’s Timo Glock in the last lap. Fernando Alonso had won the 2005 title for Renault at age 24.

Hamilton fell to sixth place after being overtaken by Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Vettel with two laps to go, but the Briton recovered to move up one spot and finish the season with 98 points, one more than Massa.

Alonso was second for Renault at the 4.3-kilometre Interlagos track, and Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari took third.

Hamilton, the first British F1 champion since Damon Hill in 1996, was sixth until the final turn but Glock’s car was still on dry tyres. That forced him to slow in the pouring rain, allowing Hamilton to make his move.

For a few moments, it wasn’t clear whether Hamilton or Massa had won the championship with both pit teams celebrating.

Massa, who started from the pole position and was trying to become the first Brazilian champion to win the F1 title since Ayrton Senna in 1991, wept profusely on the podium.

Cautious from the start, Hamilton avoided the problems that cost him the title in Brazil last year, putting together a consistent run.—AP