The Formula One World Championship just came to a finish after an absolutely astounding Brazilian Grand Prix.
There was rain. There were crashes. There was unpredictability at every turn. And in the end, the championship went to Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel over Fernando Alonso by a scant three points.
We didn't think Brazil could be better than last week's United States Grand Prix in Austin, TX. Not only was it better, it was one of the best Grand Prix races ever.
Drama began on the first lap. Heading down into turn four, points leader Vettel was tagged by Bruno Senna, which spun him around and sent him to last place.
The championship was in Alonso's grasp.
But over the course of the next 71 laps, the championship traded hands between the two rivals about 53 times. The rain, which is always the great equalizer, brought talent to the fore. On slick tires in damp conditions, Nico Hulkenberg of the rarely celebrated Sahara Force India team did a superb job leading the race and looked like he could be the ninth different winner this year.
But it didn't last. A pass on Lewis Hamilton went awry, putting Hamilton out of the race (his final for McLaren) and earning Hulkenberg a penalty that he probably didn't deserve (my opinion).
Jenson Button came to the fore, with Alonso about 20 seconds behind. But through great strategy and just as great driving, the Red Bull of Vettel had managed to get from last up to sixth place. That's where he needed to be to win the championship.
And that's where he stayed. At 25 years old, Vettel became the youngest triple world champion, and joined Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher (who ran his final Formula One race today) as the only drivers to score a hat trick of wins.
But the star of the season had to be Fernando Alonso. He took the Ferrari, a car that could barely get out of its own way at the beginning of the season, grabbed it by the scruff, gave it the beans, and got to second in the championship.
If he has a good car next year, he'll be unstoppable.
But for now, Vettel is the man of the moment and Red Bull is the team to beat. Huge congratulations!
FULL RESULTS
1. Jenson Button, McLaren-Mercedes
2. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari
3. Felipe Massa, Ferrari
4. Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing-Renault
5. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India-Mercedes
6. Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing-Renault
7. Michael Schumacher, Mercedes
8. Jean-Eric Vergne, STR-Ferrari
9. Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber-Ferrari
10. Kimi Räikkönen, Lotus-Renault
11. Vitaly Petrov, Caterham-Renault
12. Charles Pic, Marussia-Cosworth
13. Daniel RicciArdo, STR-Ferrari
14. Heikki Kovalainen, Caterham-Renault
15. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
16. Timo Glock, Marussia-Cosworth
17. Pedro de la Rosa, HRT-Cosworth
18. Narain Karthikeyan, HRT-Cosworth
19. Paul di Resta, Force India-Mercedes
Ret. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren-Mercedes
Ret. Romain Grosjean, Lotus-Renault
Ret. Pastor Maldonado, Williams-Renault
Ret. Bruno Senna, Williams-Renault
Ret. Sergio Perez, Sauber-Ferrari