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!