Ferrari driver Felipe Massa has revealed that winning the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday was a childhood dream come true.
Much of the focus during the final race of the tournament was on the fight between Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher for the world title.
And Massa took full advantage by sweeping to victory on his hometown circuit for only the second victory of his Formula One career.
'I've achieved the goal of my life at Interlagos,' Massa said on GloboEsporte.com.
'There is no bigger emotion than winning at home.
'To win the world championship is one goal and that would be marvellous, but winning the Brazilian GP was my dream when I was a child and I have achieved it.'
Massa's margin of victory over Alonso - who retained his world title following his second-placed finish - was more than 18-and-a-half seconds, but although he was comfortably ahead, the 25-year-old admitted the final lap felt like an eternity.
'The (chequered) flag wasn't coming and the last lap lasted far too long,' he said.
'I had a lot of things in my head. I looked at the crowd and imagined how they would be when the chequered flag came.'
Massa finished third in the drivers championship this season, despite playing second fiddle to Ferrari team-mate Schumacher all season.
Next year, he will have a new colleague in Kimi Raikkonen, and Massa expects the team dynamic to change.
'Up to now, I have been the second driver at Ferrari. Now, this will change,' he said.
'Schumacher, who is a genius of the sport, has retired and it's time to fight for the first place.
'To have a year's experience with Ferrari helps a lot, but the most important thing is to win early in the season and that's what I will do.
'But I am also sure that Kimi will be fully backed by the team, as he is a great driver.'
Massa - the first Brazilian to win on home soil since the late Ayrton Senna in 1993 - was welcomed by Luiz Inacio Da Silva, the country's president, on Tuesday morning.
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