Kimi Raikkonen became...

Kimi Raikkonen became the first driver since Juan Manuel Fangio 51 years ago to win the world championship in his first season with Ferrari.

The Finn took victory in the Brazilian GP to cap an astonishing comeback, after being 26 points behind Lewis Hamilton seven races in.

And the 28-year-old admitted that after five years at McLaren, his first at Ferrari has been the happiest of his career. He said: “I have such a good time with this team. I enjoy F1 much more now than last year. I have much better feelings than any other year.”

After missing out on the title in 2003 and 2005, he said: “This year was looking like it was going to be one of those again, but it was a good job by us to come back and we did it in the end. I know that this hurts for Lewis, because you’ve been working for a whole year and when you lose it, it’s not a nice feeling.” Hamilton, who finished runner-up in his rookie season, went wide at the start after making a mistake while racing Fernando Alonso. He then had a gearbox problem that lost him the best part of a lap when his car got stuck in neutral.

After the race, he said: “Obviously I am pretty disappointed, having led for so much of the season and then not winning the championship.”

There was, however, a glimmer of hope for Hamilton when stewards said that the BMWs and Williams that finished ahead of him had illegally cooled fuel, which could have given them a performance advantage.

Although stewards didn’t punish the teams, McLaren said it would appeal the decision. But with a lack of evidence, the teams are more likely to be fined rather than lose points.