While finishing first on its own did not ensure Vettel would win the title, team tactics at Red Bull of bringing team mate Mark Webber in early for new tyres and a change of strategy although effectively ending the Australian’s own title bid, played right into the hands of the young German.

It was Ferrari’s response to the early pitting of Webber, in choosing to cover the move by bringing their own title favourite Fernando Alonso in, that was surprising and ultimately cost both drivers dearly.

One could be forgiven for thinking it was the best team tactic of the season by Red Bull, a huge bluff that caught Ferrari off guard and their needless response in following suit would have put a huge smile on the faces of the Red Bull team.

Of course it would be wrong to make that assumption as both drivers should have had the pace and experience to put themselves back into contention during the race, despite being compromised by their teams when rejoining the race behind a string of cars that had already made their own pit stops on a track renowned for its lack of overtaking.

So it was left to Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button to try and spoil the party for Red Bull and for a while in the race it looked as though one or the other might just be able to pull something out of the bag.

But as he has proved all season, Vettel is a tough driver to beat and so long as his car is running it is a safe bet that he will win the race.

For the other contenders, Hamilton, Button and Alonso will have more chances to add to their own titles in the future, but you can’t help but feel for Webber, the oldest of the group who may never have a better chance of claiming a title.

I feel that the fastest, most consistent driver over the season eventually got his just rewards in winning the title, but I also feel that Webber has been treated as second best, if that, by the Red Bull team throughout.

Williams driver Nico Hulkenberg who was the surprise pole sitter at Interlagos, was soon overtaken by the drivers competing for this years title and as expected it was Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso who led the rest for most of the race.

While Lewis Hamilton kept his name in the frame for the championship his chances of winning his second world title this year will rely on the top three drivers failing to finish the race in Abu Dhabi.

Which is more than can be said for his McLaren team mate Jenson Button, whose fifth place on Sunday effectively rules him out of the title hunt and dreams of back to back titles.

Looking ahead to Abu Dhabi this coming weekend, Ferrari driver Alonso leads the way with 246 championship points, with Red Bull’s Mark Webber on 238 and Vettel 231. Outsider Lewis Hamilton has amassed 222 points.

Alonso has said that he is 100% confident of claiming the title in Abu Dhabi, knowing that if he finishes second in the final race of the year it will be enough to secure his third world championship.

Should Vettel win the last race Alonso will only have to finish in the top four places, so you would imagine the perfect result for Red Bull would be for Webber to win the race and effectively the championship by being followed home by his team mate Vettel, relegating Alonso to a maximum third place finish.

There is bound to be a lot of pressure on both teams on Saturday as the limited overtaking possibilities in Abu Dhabi will mean that each of the drivers will drive the wheels of their cars to get on pole position, but even that will count for nothing if they are unable to capitalise on that in the race.

With both Hamilton and Button out of the hunt I imagine most British fans will be rooting for Mark Webber on Sunday, many feel he has been treated a s a second driver to Vettel despite team boss Christian Horner saying otherwise and it would be a great to see the Australian have the last laugh.

Vettel and co will have other opportunities in the future, but for Webber you can’t help feeling this maybe his final chance to claim the ultimate prize in F1.

Kamui Kobayashi

Kamui Kobayashi will make his full-time debut next season after it was confirmed that he will be driving for the Sauber F1 Team in 2010.

The Japanese driver drove as a replacement for the injured Toyota’s Timo Glock at the Brazilian Grand Prix of 2009, where he finished the race in tenth place and was later promoted to ninth.  After Glock was declared unfit for the following Abu Dhabi round of the championship, Kobayashi once again stepped into his shoes and took an impressive sixth place as he crossed the line, scoring his first championship points in only his second race.

The 23-year-old was expected to be given a full-time drive for the Toyota team in the 2010 championship until the teams withdrawal from the Formula One series.

Kobayashi said;

“Ever since the start of my career I have dreamed of racing in F1.  Now this dream has come true. I am very happy that my two races in 2009 have earned me a cockpit place.

I will do my very best for Peter Sauber’s team and I am proud to be able to carry on flying the Japanese flag in F1.”

Sebastien Buemi - Toro Rosso 2009

It has now been confirmed by the Toro Rosso team, that Sebastien Buemi will be given a second season with them after signing his contract for 2010.

Buemi out-qualified his team-mate Sebastien Bourdais in his first race in Formula One at the Australian Grand Prix of 2009, finishing the race in eighth place, which later became seventh after Lewis Hamilton was disqualified.

In the third race of the season at the Chinese Grand Prix, he again finished in eighth position despite starting the race from tenth on the grid.  Things were relatively quite for a period as the rookie driver struggled to handle the pace but all that changed again at the Brazilian Grand Prix where he achieved seventh.

At the final round of the 2009 season in Abu Dhabi, he again scored eighth position and was awarded a drive for the team in the 2010 season.

It is expected that the Swiss driver will be joined by Jaime Alguersuari, who joined the team midway through the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix, where after qualifying in last place due to a mechanical problem he ended the race one place ahead of Buemi.

nico rosberg last race for williams

Nico Rosberg has confirmed that Sunday’s race at Abu Dhabi will be his last for current team Williams, although he refused to comment on where he would be driving in next years F1 Championship.

The 24 year old German driver who has spent his five year Formula 1 career with the Williams team said it feels a bit strange knowing that Abu Dhabi will be his final race for the team and spoke in glowing terms of the support he has been given over the years.

“They’re the only team, I’ve worked with. Frank Williams, especially,  Adam Parr,  Sam Michael,  Patrick Head have really supported my career over these years and I’d like to say a very big thank you to them. There’s no reason why they can’t be as good as this year next year. But I’m not sure they can win races at the moment, and I would like to win races. It’s been a good season because the team gave me a good car it was an opportunity to raise my share value and to find a winning car for next year.”

Rosberg is being tipped by many to make a move to this years World Championship winning constructor Brawn GP in a swap that will see Rubens Barrichello moving in the opposite direction and racing for Williams next year.

Timo Glock - Toyota 2009

The Toyota team have announced that Timo Glock will not be taking part in the Brazilian Grand Prix after suffering a cracked vertebra in an accident in the qualifying session of the last round of the Formula One championship at Suzuka.

It was initially thought that Glock’s only injury was the cut he suffered to the back of his leg but after undergoing further tests in Germany the more serious injury was discovered, ruling him out of the next race. No decision has yet been made to whether the Toyota driver will return for the seasons finale at Abu Dhabi.

Team president  John Howett said;

“Obviously, everyone in the team is very disappointed and feels for Timo.  We wish him a very speedy recovery. Based on the initial diagnosis, we fully expected Timo to return in Brazil but, unfortunately, a different injury has been revealed which prevents that. He will remain in Germany to recover and we hope he can recuperate in time for Abu Dhabi, although at this stage the situation is not clear.

Kamui Kobayashi will be making his debut for the team at the Interlagos circuit this weekend, despite never having driven on the track before.  After finishing in sixteenth place in this seasons GP2 series, the Japanese driver is looking forward to his first F1 race and said;

“A few days ago I wasn’t even expecting to be racing this weekend so it’s impossible to set any targets.  I just want to do myself proud and complete the race without any problems; anything after that is a bonus.”

Australia has now been chosen as the second round, allowing the race to begin at 5pm to fit in with the television broadcasters who favour racing in ‘twilight’ rather than the dark.  However, the Singapore round will still be under full floodlights when it takes place in late September.

Although as yet no contract has been signed, the Canadian Grand Prix has been pencilled in for the 13 June, if the contract fails again this year the Turkey Grand Prix will be held later to compensate.

South Korea is a new circuit on the calendar, set to take place in mid-October with the final round being held in Brazil as usual but it will be held in November.

Here is the calendar;

Australia          March 28
Malaysia           April 4
China              April 18
Spain              May 9
Monaco             May 23
Turkey             May 30
Canada*            June 13
Europe (Valencia)  June 27
Great Britain      July 11
Germany            July 25
Hungary            August 1
Belgium            August 29
Italy              September 12
Singapore          September 26
Japan              October 3
Korea              October 17
Abu Dhabi          October 31
Brazil             November 14

*Subject to the completion of contract negotiations with Formula One Management. If these are not completed then the Turkish Grand Prix will be moved to 6 June.

Note: The race in Australia will start at 1700 local time, in Malaysia at 1600 local time, in Singapore at 2000 local time, and in Abu Dhabi at 1700 local time.