Last week, Sebastian Vettel became F1′s youngest double world champ in Japan, and the team celebrated the occasion in a big way, which made the German “tipsy” in his own words. But there was no sign of hangover as Vettel stormed to victory at the Yeongam circuit in typical dominant style.

The champ stole the lead from pole man Lewis Hamilton (first time a non Red Bull was on pole this season) on lap 1, and never looked back. He didn’t really need to, even with the safety car called into action. The McLaren man, under fire recently, drove a good and incident free race to finish second, defending well from Mark Webber, who had to settle for third.

The battle, which spanned for quite a distance, was a good, fair fight, and was also one of the highlights of the race. The other notable moments were when Vitaly Petrov’s Lotus Renault GP car arrowed into Michael Schumacher’s rear on lap 17.

Another was when Fernando Alonso said “I give up, I give up” on the team radio in the final stages of the race. That’s very unlikely for the Spaniard, and the message (in English) could have been Fernando playing mind games, or a decoy. He certainly didn’t look the part on track, had good pace throughout, and was even the fastest man at a point.

McLaren’s man on form Jenson Button had a quiet race, and the Suzuka winner finished fourth, ahead of Alonso and Felipe Massa. Toro Rosso will leave Korea a happy team as Jaime Alguersuari finished seventh and Seb Buemi was ninth, sandwiching Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg in eighth. Paul di Resta took the final point for Force India.

The points collected by Vettel and Webber in Korea is enough to seal the Constructor’s championship for Red Bull Racing, who have now won it back-to-back. They have an unassailable 588 points from McLaren’s 418 and Ferrari’s 310. A double double for Vettel and RBR then – others will hope to stop them from doing a hattrick next year.

At the back, Team Lotus’ Heikki Kovalainen finished in 14th, ahead of two Saubers and his teammate Jarno Trulli. The Tan Sri Tony Fernandes owned team, which should be called Caterham next season, will be happy to beat two midfielders today.

The next race is the inaugural Indian GP, two weeks from now.

Yesterday was the day that 24-year old Sebastian Vettel created history by becoming the youngest ever double world champion, finishing on the podium in Suzuka when all he needed was just one point. You would have thought that he’d be happy with third but no, the man was disappointed he didn’t win!

“I was as hungry as I ever have been and going for victory, throwing the car around and trying everything to get close to the guys again. I would have loved the race to continue a little bit longer but that’s why it was a bit shocking when I crossed the line; that’s it, full of adrenaline, charged to get back to them and then all of a sudden, chequered flag.

“Then it was time to realise that we had won the championship and we can take a little bit of time, which I think we will have tonight together,” Vettel said.

“Obviously a lot of people have been quite confident on that but I think one of the important things was that we didn’t allow ourselves to drift away on it too much. Everything we did this year, everything we achieved, we achieved as a team. It’s not just us on the track it’s the guys in the factory pushing very hard as well.

“We set ourselves the target to win the championship this year, to achieve it by Japan already with more races to go is difficult to put in words. It will take time, it’s as confusing as the first one. I’m sure we have a little bit more time tonight within the team and the rest of the season,” the German added.

On what went through his mind after seeing the chequered flag, Vettel said: “I tell you what I never imagined that I would win my second world championship and Michael (Schumacher) drives past me doing this (makes a gesture with his hand). That’s really weird because when I was a little boy he was already F1 world champion.

“So that imagination was far out of sight. It’s those small things that make it really, really special. I have a lot of good memories back then and today. I feel in a way quite fortunate and blessed to be able to experience all that.

“We had so many fans today, I saw so many excited people during the drivers’ parade, to see the grandstands were full. That’s really one of the last thoughts that I have before I put my helmet on.

“Life for me and I think all the drivers doesn’t get much better than this. Sunny days, a lot fans, everyone excited to see what you do. I think that is what life is about. To wrap up the championship here, which has been the ultimate target this year, is difficult to put in words. It’s more than fantastic,” he exclaimed.

Well done! Now, to be the youngest triple world champion, back-to-back!

He only needed one point from the Japanese GP, but Sebastian Vettel scored 15 with a third placed finish, making him the 2011 Formula 1 champion and the youngest ever double world champion. He now has an unassailable 324 points over closest challenger Jenson Button’s 210, with four races remaining. The McLaren man on form won at Suzuka, his third win this season. Fernando Alonso came in second for Ferrari.

Vettel’s ability to wrap up his title in Japan was never in doubt – he started from pole and was the winner in Suzuka for the past two years. The 24-year old German has won nine times this season out of 15 races so far, and his lowest finish was fourth place in his home race. The fact that he needed only one more point with four races to go underlines his dominance this season – no one can catch the man!

He wasn’t just lying around to do the bare minimum, that’s for certain. Jenson, who was beaten to pole by just 0.009 sec yesterday, made a good start, but Vettel defended the lead strongly, pushing the Brit to the grass. It warranted an investigation, but no penalty was given by the stewards. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton jumped into second, a position he held until lap 7, when he pitted due to a puncture.

After the first round of stops, Hamilton was fourth behind Alonso. The fast charging Button got closer to Vettel, but only jumped the champ after the second round of stops. Later, a clash between Massa and Hamilton (again!) forced the safety car out of the paddock, but that didn’t affect Button. The next round of stops saw Alonso jump Vettel after the former stayed out longer. After some initial challenge, Vettel wisely settled for third.

Behind them, Mark Webber was fourth, followed by Hamilton and Michael Schumacher, the Mercedes GP Petronas man beating ex teammate Massa, who for some, doesn’t really have what it takes to be a Ferrari driver. Eighth and ninth went to Sauber’s Sergio Perez and Lotus Renault GP’s Vitaly Petrov, making the two-stop strategy work. Nico Rosberg did a good job to take the final point from the last row.

Further back, Team Lotus’ Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli finished in their usual 18th and 19th positions ahead of the Virgins and HRTs.

Double world champion Vettel is sometimes called “The New Schumacher”. Maybe he isn’t, maybe he’ll be better than Schumi and break the older man’s records. He has time on his side, after all. Congrats Seb!

Team Lotus and Renault Sport F1 have confirmed that their existing engine deal is to be extended for a further year, taking it to the end of 2013, which will also be the end of the V8 engine era in the sport. Both parties aim to continue working together when the new engine regulations (V6 turbo, read about it here) come into force.

Renault Sport F1, which currently also provides engines to champs Red Bull and Lotus Renault GP, and Red Bull Technology will also provide the Malaysian owned squad with KERS systems for the first time for the duration of the agreement. The current T128 does not have the power boost system.

“They are both passionate, dedicated teams of people with whom we have a growing relationship that is creating a number of exciting opportunities for us for the future. They share our vision for where we want to take our team, and we are very proud to have their power pushing us forward,” said Team Lotus boss Tony Fernandes.

“Not only will we be able to build on everything we have learnt through working with Renault and Red Bull Technology in 2011, but we will now have the added benefit of KERS for next year, which really is a major step forward for our team. We have done the very best job we can this year but without that extra power we are always competing on a different level to the teams ahead, so to give our drivers that boost is a key element of helping us catch the cars ahead, and compete with them when we do so,” he added.

Reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel has collected yet another win in the 2011 Formula 1 World Championship, bringing him even closer to his second world title. The Red Bull ace who has been having a phenomenal season this year was the first driver to cross the finish line under the beautiful night sky at the Singapore GP.

The German who started the 61-lap race around the breathtaking Marina Bay street circuit from pole position finished the race ahead of fellow World Champion Jenson Button from McLaren and team mate Mark Webber. Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was fourth while fifth was taken up by Lewis Hamilton of McLaren. Force India’s Paul di Resta was sixth. Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg was seventh followed by Adrian Sutil from Force India, Felipe Massa from Ferrari and Sauber’s Sergio Perez in tenth.

Lotus Renault struggled today as Bruno Senna and Vitaly Petrov only managed 15th and 17th respectively. Both drivers sandwiched Team Lotus’ Heikki Kovalainen as team mate Jarno Trulli joined Michael Schumacher and Timo Glock in the retirement’s list.

As soon as the start lights went off, all drivers charged to Turn 1 and everyone managed to keep their noses clean with no drama whatsoever. Vettel enjoyed a good start while Webber dropped to fourth from second. McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton had better starts as he dropped down to seventh after starting from fourth. Just moments after the start, the night race picked up its first casualty as Daniel Ricciardo broke his front wing. Nevertheless the HRT driver pitted and continued racing.

By Lap 6, Vettel was running in first and increasing his lead from Button, Alonso, Webber, Massa, Rosberg, Hamilton, Schumacher and the two Force India drivers Adrian Sutil and di Resta. Soon drivers started to make their first scheduled stops and the race moved on with minor yellow flags and few incidents including a retirement by Virgin’s Timo Glock when he spun into the barriers at Turn 18.

Moments after both Hamilton and Massa made their stops, both drivers suffered from contact as Hamilton tried to make a move on Massa. That incident resulted in a broken front wing for Hamilton and a rear puncture for Massa. Both drivers had to pit again and that easily dropped them down the grid. A while later, Hamilton received a drive through penalty from the race stewards which pushed him back further.

As Vettel crossed the line on Lap 29, it was Button, Webber, Alonso, di Resta, Sutil, Rosberg, Perez, Schumacher and Hamilton who made up the top ten. A lap later, just when you thought the Safety Car would not be deployed this time around, Schumacher’s Mercedes racer ‘flew’ into the air after his front left tyre came into contact with Sergio Perez’ right rear tyre. The Sauber driver managed to continue racing but Schumacher crashed into the barriers and the SLS was deployed.

After the Safety Car was pulled back in at about Lap 33, Vettel managed to maintain his lead ahead of Button, Webber, Alonso, di Resta, Rosberg, Sutil, Hamilton, Perez and Massa. The Safety Car benefited drivers such as Hamilton who was placed right back into the top eight following his accident and his subsequent penalty. The champion gave a good show as he was carrying out some hair raising overtaking moves.

With five laps remaining, Vettel’s gap against Button was reducing as the latter was able to set faster lap times and the former had to deal with back markers. With three laps to go, the gap was 3.7 seconds but with one lap remaining the gap increased to 5.6 seconds as Button lost a lot time negotiating traffic. The Brit couldn’t do much and Vettel who drove a smooth and clean race crossed the finish line in first.

In the championship standings, Vettel now has 309 points while Jenson Button is second with 185 points, just one point ahead of Fernando Alonso. Red Bull is 491 points strong while McLaren lies second with 353 points and Ferrari in third with 268 points. You can safely expected Vettel and Red Bull to clinch both titles this season but the battle still remains for second place in the Driver’s Championship between Button and Alonso. More will be revealed on 9th October at the Japanese GP.

Click here for the full results.

Lotus Renault GP’s season started very well, with two podiums in the first two races and 60 points collected in the first seven races. However, they’ve only added 10 more points in the following six races, which is quite a slump in form. The Enstone based team brought some updates to Monza though, and coupled with the replacing of Nick Heidfeld with Bruno Senna, the team believes it has turned the corner.

The next race, which is the Singapore night race this weekend, will see LRGP fit in the second phase of updates to build on the Monza pack, but technical director James Allison is still apprehensive despite the general mood.

“Monaco and Hungary were not good races for us and Singapore shares some characteristics of these two circuits. We feel we have improved things since then and we have a bit more to deliver for Singapore itself, but it is fair to say that I am apprehensive,” he said.

“However, if we do have a good race then we will be set for good performances in the five races that follow, as we will then have shown improved performance on three very different tracks.”

On the team’s Monza pace, he had this to say. “While far from stunning, it was at least respectable. For two races in a row our car has looked a little more on the pace than in the previous grands prix, and this reinforces our belief that we are heading back in the right direction.”

Allison also thinks that the young Senna is doing great. “Several promising F1 careers have foundered on the rocks of a mid-season introduction in recent year. Under the current F1 rules Bruno has had no meaningful chance to get up to speed in the car away from the pressures of the GP weekend. He had just one session in the R31 pre-season, and he has impressed all of us with the way that he has seized his opportunity first at Spa and again at Monza.”