Sebastian Vettel needed a quiet afternoon at Interlagos to become a triple world champion. Within four corners he was pointing the wrong way, with his title rival running up front.
Formula 1 returns to Interlagos on 8 November. This is the story of one of the wildest title deciders the circuit has seen.
Thirteen points and one race
The 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix on 25 November was the 20th and final round of the season. Vettel led Ferrari's Fernando Alonso by 13 points.
The sums favoured the Red Bull driver. Even a win for Alonso would only be enough if Vettel finished fifth or lower.
McLaren locked out the front row, with Lewis Hamilton on pole from Jenson Button. Vettel qualified fourth, and Alonso started seventh after Pastor Maldonado's grid penalty.
A spin on the first lap
Light rain fell about 10 minutes before the start, but every team began on slick tyres. Vettel made a poor getaway and dropped to seventh.
At turn 4 he tangled with Williams' Bruno Senna. Vettel spun, and Senna was pushed into Sergio Pérez's Sauber.
The Red Bull carried on with a damaged left sidepod, but Vettel was now 22nd.
The fight back
Vettel began to pick his way through the field, and by the safety car on lap 23 he was fifth, one place behind Alonso.
The race kept twisting. At the restart on lap 29, Kamui Kobayashi took fifth from him. When the rain returned, Vettel's radio had failed, so Red Bull were not ready for his pit stop for intermediate tyres and he lost more time.
Up front, Hamilton led until lap 54, when Nico Hülkenberg slid into him and ended his race. Button took the lead and never gave it back.
Three points in the end
Vettel's decisive move came when he passed Michael Schumacher for sixth. Schumacher, in the last race of his career, finished seventh.
Paul di Resta crashed on the main straight near the end, and the race finished behind the safety car. Button won by 2.754 seconds from Alonso, with Felipe Massa third.
Sixth place was enough. Vettel finished the season on 281 points to Alonso's 278 and, at 25, became the youngest triple champion in Formula 1 history.
Race it on Late Brake
Interlagos is one of six real circuits in Late Brake. Set the AI rivals loose on the opening lap, try not to get caught out at turn 4 the way Vettel did, then chase the medal times or race online against friends in the free browser game.
Sources: 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, 2026 Formula One World Championship (Wikipedia)