Sebastian Vettel has won his third Formula 1 World Championship title in a row at a rain-soaked Brazilian Grand Prix.

The Red Bull driver finished sixth which was enough to beat runner up Fernando Alonso by three points.

His achievement means that he joins greats of the sport such as Aryton Senna, Niki Lauda, Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart and Nelson Piquet on three world titles - and at just 25, Vettel is the youngest to reach this landmark.

He is also one of only three drivers to have won three World Championships in a row alongside Michael Schumacher and the late great Juan Manuel Fangio.

Topsy-turvy

A topsy-turvy race affected by torrential rain at Interlagos was won by McLaren's Jenson Button who finished ahead of Ferrari's Alonso.

With Vettel finishing sixth, the Spaniard needed to win but despite fighting onto the podium from eight on the grid, victory was a step too far.

Alonso did benefit from Lewis Hamilton - who was making his final appearance for McLaren - who collided with Nico Hulkenburg in the slippery conditions.

His team-mate Felipe Massa also let him through into second when he had been running third. At that point Alonso was leading the championship temporarily as Vettel was down in seventh.

But then a Formula 1 legend made one telling contribution to the sport that he dominated for so long.

Seven-time champion Michael Schumacher was running just ahead of Vettel and he moved aside to allow his compatriot into the sixth place that would secure the title.

Vettel finished the season 281 points with Alonso agonisingly close on 278.

Result

1 Jenson Button - McLaren

2 Fernando Alonso - Ferrari

3 Felipe Massa - Ferrari

4 Mark Webber - Red Bull

5 Nico Hulkenburg - Force India

6 Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull

7 Michael Schumacher - Mercedes

8 Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso

9 Kamui Kobayashi - Sauber

10 Kimi Raikkonen - Lotus