Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa scored a phenomenal one-two in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix on the outskirts of Sao Paulo for the Finn to clinch the 2007 World Drivers' Championship by one tiny point.

Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa scored a phenomenal one-two in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix on the outskirts of Sao Paulo for the Finn to clinch the 2007 World Drivers' Championship by one tiny point. It was a cliff-hanging race, dominated by the Ferraris but their ultimate fate would be decided by the positions of their two championship rivals at McLaren Mercedes. While they were chased home by Fernando Alonso, championship leader Lewis Hamilton lost places on the first lap, and then slipped to the back of the field as he was slowed by a gear shift problem which he was able to rectify eventually to finish seventh, a point behind Raikkonen.

On a hot day, with the track temperature reaching a record 64 degrees, and an ambient of 34 degrees, the circuit was packed with eager spectators. The start was crucial, as Massa took off into the lead and Raikkonen drove around the outside of Hamilton in the first corner. Into turn two, Hamilton's teammate Alonso passed his rival and slipped into third place, but Hamilton, trying to fight back, braked on the outside of the corner at the end of the first straight, locked up his brakes, and slid wide, eventually rejoining in eighth place.

Now began a fight back, quickly overtaking Jarno Trulli and then latching onto the tail of a group comprising the two BMWs and Weber in fourth place. As the two Ferraris began to pull away from Alonso, Hamilton moved up to sixth ahead of Heidfeld, while a lap later Kubica overtook Webber. But Hamilton had slowed drastically. He lost 28s on this lap as he tried to find gears, then was told how to re-set the electronic gearshift system by radio, eventually getting back up to speed and crossing the line in 18th place.

At the front, Massa and Raikkonen were reigning supreme, their advantage over Alonso in third place standing at 8.9s after 14 laps, the Spaniard slowly pulling away from Kubica in fourth place. Webber suddenly pulled out of fifth place on lap 15 when the car stopped, promoting a battle between Trulli and Nico Rosberg to fifth and sixth. The first pit stops came on lap 19 when Kubica pitted, while Massa came in on lap 20, Raikkonen next time round, and Alonso on lap 22. Heidfeld, however, stayed out until lap 25. The gap had grown between the two Ferrari drivers and would peak at 3.7s on lap 28, while the gap to Alonso grew to 12s - and now began to grow faster. At half distance, Hamilton had reached ninth place before making a second stop. Fourth placed Kubica made his second stop on lap 38 which promoted Trulli to fourth place. By now, Alonso was 30s behind Raikkonen.

Crucially, on lap 44, Massa lost most of his 2.8s lead to Raikkonen when he had a moment down at turn four and slid wide, suspecting there may have been oil there. He was able to pull away again over the next few laps, but he only had a 1.4s lead when he pitted for the second time on lap 50. Raikkonen, however, stayed out for a further three laps, and when he came in after several quick laps, he emerged just ahead of his team mate. Raikkonen pulled away to 3.4s, but then the pair settled into a rhythm which they held to the chequered flag. Behind them, Alonso was 45s away, and not that much ahead of the BMW pair of Heidfeld and Kubica, having a tremendous battle with Nico Rosberg. In the end, it was Rosberg who finished fourth from the BMW pair. Next up was Hamilton in seventh place

Raikkonen crossed the line a delighted winner, his sixth victory of the season and in his first year with Ferrari. Only Juan-Manuel Fangio had won the title with Formula One's oldest and most famous team in his rookie year with the team. Massa was a popular second, while Alonso a philosophical third, clearly acknowledging the superior pace of Ferrari on this important day. Late in the evening, however, there were reports that there was a fuel discrepancy with the BMW Sauber and Williams cars, which had finished fourth, fifth and sixth. As this is written we await further details.

Kimi Raikkonen thus won the Brazilian Grand Prix to take the Drivers' World Championship title, the first of his career and the fifteenth for Ferrari in Formula 1. This was win number 201 from 758 Grands Prix entered by Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, the fifteenth from 122 race starts for Kimi. The Scuderia's number of wins in this race is now nine.

Jean Todt: "A dream that it seemed would be impossible to come true was transformed into reality at the end of a race which the drivers and the team managed superbly, which is self evident from looking at the details of the race. We had to get a one-two and then see what our main competitors could do. We needed a "helping hand" from others, both those in the running for the title as well as those out of the running to bring home both titles. And yes, because not only have we taken the Drivers' title with Kimi, but we also numerically confirmed the Constructors' title that we acquired after the decision of the FIA World Council back on 13 September. Two titles, nine wins, four one-two finishes, nine pole positions, twelve fastest race laps: these are exceptional figures in a season which included some difficult moments, but in which we never gave up the fight. Today was our reward for all this work. I wish to congratulate Kimi and thank Felipe, who again today demonstrated his loyalty to Ferrari: without his help, we would have not reached this result."

Kimi Raikkonen: "It is very difficult for me to explain in words what I am feeling at the moment: it is an incredible emotion. I want to thank the team for everything they have done this year. Even when we went through some difficult times and it looked as though there was no way to fight back, we never gave up and this work produced its reward today. Thanks also to my parents, to my wife Jenni and everyone who believed in me. I have achieved what I have been after for a long time. Now everything else will be an extra. Today, Felipe's help was vital and he was amazing. We had to get a one-two and then see what the others did. This time, things went our way and the unexpected did happen. This has been a very nice year for me during which I have enjoyed Formula 1 like never before. In Ferrari, I have found a great family and I am proud to have won the title with them."

Felipe Massa: "Today is a great day for the team and for Kimi, who has won the Drivers' title. Of course I would have liked to have won my home race again this year, but I am happy to have helped my team-mate, who was the only one of us still in with a chance of taking the title. I am proud to have done it for Ferrari who believed in me even when I was not in Formula 1. It is thanks to the people in Maranello that I am here and it is with them that I have grown as a driver and as a man. After everything that has happened this year, both on and off the track, today it is great to be able to celebrate two world titles. Today I had a fantastic car and I could have gone even quicker on track than I did. I also want to thank all our partners for all their support."

Luca Baldisserri: "We needed a perfect race and we produced one. However, even that on its own would not have been enough and we needed a little help from the others. Our two drivers were fantastic and the car was up to their level. This result is a dream and we were so keen to win it on the race track. It confirms we are a fantastic group."

Race details: Kimi Raikkonen: 1st 1:28.15.270 71 laps chassis 262; Felipe Massa: 2nd + 1.493 71 laps chassis 263; Weather: air temperature 33/35 °C, track temperature 52/53 °C, sunny.