Vettel Becomes Youngest F1 Triple Champion in History, but Alonso Proves He's a Winner Too SÃO PAULO - There could not have been a more suspenseful end to the 2012 Formula One season than that of the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday. And no matter who a fan might have been rooting for, how would it be possible to say that either of the two finalists Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull or Fernando Alonso of Ferrari merited the title more than the other - each vying to become the youngest three-time winner in Formula One history? Both drivers this year, right to the final lap of the final race, were exemplary. And Sunday's race was a perfect reflection of that. Vettel finished only sixth, and Alonso finished second, but Vettel had more points before the race, so took the title. As he said afterwards, "Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong." A lesser driver might have cracked on that first lap when Bruno Senna in the Williams collided with Vettel and Vettel spun around and had to start from the back of the pack, while Alonso was right up there at the front. Alonso, for his part, qualified only eighth, and started seventh after another driver was pushed back through a penalty, and despite the rain turning the track into a slippery skating rink, Alonso held on to the end and finished second. Had Vettel been a little farther back, Alonso would have taken that third title. But Vettel has now set the bar very high, becoming the youngest triple champion at age 25, and taking the record from Ayrton Senna, who was 31 when he became the youngest triple champion in 1991. Alonso is just a couple of months younger than Senna was. Both drivers today showed not only how great they are on the track, but how big-hearted and wise they are as men. After a few minutes of looking stunned and disappointed, Alonso perked up and spoke in an optimistic, cool-headed manner about how he had done the best he could. "It was by far the best season of my career, and I will remember 2012 like some kind of a dream season," said Alonso. I didn't win the title, but I won so much respect from everybody. That he did. To achieve what he did with a Ferrari that was far from the best car of the season - the McLaren and the Red Bull were better - has done his reputation as much good as the title would have. Really. And in a long post-race press conference, Vettel also showed the size of his humanity as he expressed himself in long and deep, reflective manner, making clear what his personal values are as a champion. You do this job not because you care what is written on the check at the end of the month. You do this job because you love Formula One, you love motorsport," Vettel said. I said to the guys yesterday, 'Am I nervous? If I wasn't I would fail.' It is what we need every time. Today we have many of these occasions where you have to be present or it goes wrong. "People try to lift you up when everything goes right and they try to knock you down when they go badly," he said. You just have to remain yourself, you are never as good as they say or as bad as they say. And of the support from his team, he said: "Imagine you walk into your office and everyone gives you without saying a single word that everything will be all right. It only helps you to be stronger. Jenson Button won the race for McLaren Mercedes, creating a kind of bookend of victories to his season, as the British driver also won the season opening Australian Grand Prix.