Fernando Alonso has made history today by becoming the youngest ever Formula One champion as his third place finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix was enough to secure the 2005 title.
The Renault driver, 24, only needed to finish on the podium to secure his first championship and he duly delivered.
Juan Pablo Montoya, who won in Brazil last year, led home McLaren's first one-two for five years but it was not enough to rescue team-mate Kimi Raikkonen's title hopes.
Alonso steered clear of trouble to finish third, securing him a place in the Formula One record books as the first Spaniard to win the championship.
Alonso, who started his Formula One career at backmarkers Minardi in 2001, had led from pole position but Montoya swept past early in the race to be followed soon after by Raikkonen.
Outgoing world champion Michael Schumacher has been forced to take a back seat this season as Formula One's young guns did battle for the right to succeed the great German.
Schumacher at least had something to celebrate in Sao Paulo today with fourth place, his best result since Hungary in July, which ended a three-race points drought.
The Ferrari driver's pit stop strategy helped him demote Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella to fifth place, contributing to the Anglo-French team losing their lead in the constructors' championship. McLaren have taken over at the top with a two-point lead.
Jenson Button's remarkable run for BAR-Honda continued with his eighth consecutive points-scoring finish, although the Englishman could only manage seventh despite starting fourth.
Button lost sixth place to Rubens Barrichello late in the race while Ralf Schumacher took eighth for Toyota.
At the start, Alonso led from pole position but the racing was interrupted after a clash further down the order.
Red Bull's David Coulthard hit Antonio Pizzonia, whose car bounced into Williams team-mate Mark Webber, pitching all three drivers into retirement.
That clash brought out the safety car for a lap and when racing resumed Montoya quickly set about attacking Alonso.
He closed in the first chicane before pulling alongside on the run to Subida do Lago corner and edging ahead under braking.
Fisichella also made progress at the restart, muscling past Schumacher's Ferrari for fourth place.
Alonso's pole position came courtesy of a much lighter fuel load than his McLaren rivals, a move confirmed when he became the first of the front runners to pit on lap 22.
His short first stint cost the Spaniard, who dropped down to third behind Raikkonen when the order settled down after the first round of stops.
His Renault team-mate Fisichella also pitted early and suffered a similar fate, slipping behind Schumacher in the scrap for fourth.
Takuma Sato briefly held a top-eight spot midway through the race courtesy of his unconventional one-stop strategy.
Sato's pit stop on lap 37 lifted Button up to sixth but he came under attack from Barrichello, who will be his BAR team-mate next season.
The Brazilian forced his way ahead in turn one on lap 44, going wheel to wheel with Button before getting a faster exit to power clear.
Alonso safely negotiated the final round of pit stops while Raikkonen just missed out on leapfrogging Montoya for the lead, coming up less than a second short.
With the title fight lost, Raikkonen settled for second as Montoya wrapped up his second consecutive win at Interlagos but it was Alonso who had the biggest smile on the podium.
