The three-way showdown has ended most unexpectedly. Kimi Raikkonen is world champion. IVAN LIM and ERNEST LUIS discuss the race and look back at one of the most interesting Formula One seasons in recent memory

IVAN: In the end, the least likely of three possible scenarios played out. Kimi Raikkonen is the new Formula One World Champion, a long awaited title for possibly the fastest driver in the world.

ERNEST: What a Finnish finish! I've been revived by a Formula One race since Ayrton Senna died in 1994, bless his soul. Because since then, I'd been sleepwalking through the years, failing to find that extra edge that the pinnacle of motor racing is supposed to give its fans.

IVAN: What a race indeed. You knew from the 'off' that it was going to be nail biting to the last lap - when Raikkonen passed Lewis Hamilton on the first lap. It's just so amazing that we didn't know how the three-way fight would end up right till the closing stages when Raikkonen led, Alonso was stuck in third behind the Ferraris and Hamilton couldn't gain another position from seventh. Even then you worried that some mechanical failure would spoil the race.

ERNEST: If anyone dares say that Hamilton deserved to be world champion ahead of Raikkonen and Alonso, they're surely biased. The big picture is this: Raikkonen finished the world championship with 110 points, one ahead of Hamilton and Alonso. He had six Grand Prix wins, two more than Hamilton. So I'd say Raikkonen won the 2007 F1 title, more so than declaring that Hamilton actually lost it.

IVAN: Indeed. What was to me impressive was the teamwork of the two Ferrari drivers. At the start, Felipe Massa cut into Hamilton's path, blocking the McLaren rookie and allowing Raikkonen to overtake Hamilton. At the post-race conference, I had the sneaky suspicion that Alonso was less disappointed about not winning then relieved that Hamilton wasn't world champion. Did you think Raikkonen's team-mate Massa helped him win this race and this championship?

ERNEST: Here's my take on the start. Hamilton may have been distracted by Massa's move, or was waiting to see how Raikkonen would attack Massa after going past him. Enough for Alonso to actually sneak round the outside of him as they entered the second part of the Senna S turn at the first corner. That meant Hamilton was sleeping!
As for Massa and Raikkonen, well, team orders are no longer allowed in F1. So the best way to mask this is via the pit strategy. But you have to admit that those flying two or three laps that Raikkonen pulled off when Massa went in for his second stop would have been enough to beat Massa any other day. We are after all, talking about the man I think is F1's fastest driver since Mika Hakkinen and Senna.

IVAN: True. I felt Raikkonen won it fair and square and I thought it was nice of him to have celebrated with his team-mate right after the race. Did you feel that Hamilton, for all his promise and talent, lost because of his inexperience?

ERNEST: Hamilton may have had gear electronics problems later on, but the truth is when it mattered, he botched his start, tried to compensate, but saw it backfire, before his machine started to play some tricks on him. He needed to finish fifth to pip Raikkonen to the title, but for that to happen, Nico Rosberg and Robert Kubica - overtaking each other over and over for fourth and fifth - needed to take each other out of the race. But in any case, let's remember that Hamilton - at 22 - has only raced 17 F1 GPs. And with four wins so far in his first year in F1, can you blame him for looking nervous before the race start? I would have wet my pants.

IVAN: The Ferraris were always looking strong in this race, and while Raikkonen may have won the first three-way fight, I'm sure he, Alonso and Hamilton will continue to battle it out over the years. Hamilton's second-placed finish isn't a bad result for a rookie, but how he'd wish he had won it in his first season. He may go on to break many records, but winning the world championship as a rookie is one record he will never set.

ERNEST: Yup, it really is almost like a repeat of the 1986 F1 season, when Englishman Nigel Mansell led his bickering Brazilian team-mate Nelson Piquet on points going into the final race, with Frenchman Alain Prost lurking behind, only for Mansell to see his tyres exploding in the race, letting Prost win ahead of Piquet. Our prediction came right, Ivan.

IVAN: Yes it seemed like a joke when we first discussed it. I can't believe it actually happened. I think millions of Ferrari fans can't believe it either. So in the end, the English treble (football/rugby/F1) has come to nothing. I feel absolutely gutted for my English friends.

ERNEST: Actually, maybe we should call it the English 'Treble Joke'? What is it about the English? They are so self-deprecating that it makes for superb world-famous humour and wit, but somehow, it seems as if this nation was collectively and secretly fearing the worst, and transferring all that negative energy across the globe to Sao Paulo, to their young man there.

IVAN: Yes, I think the negative energy from the English must have jammed Hamilton's gearbox!

ERNEST: Anyway, I thought Raikkonen was destined to win, and he did. But really, Hamilton's the real reason why I was even talking about F1 this year. Yes, the McLaren spy scandals, the bickering with Alonso, the track action, more overtaking, were all there. But Hamilton's mixed-race background, his story, his threat, have made the difference. I even forgot Michael Schumacher this year! Hamilton is just a very followable F1 driver, like Senna was.

IVAN: He's an excellent ambassador for the sport and coming so close to winning the drivers title just demonstrates his talent and enormous potential. Things are looking good for F1.

ERNEST: The main pull this year has been the Hamilton-Alonso rivalry. Not seen since the days of Senna and Prost from 1988 to 1990. Schumacher saw Mika Hakkinen retire too early in his case by the end of the 1990s. But for Prost, he'll probably think that what Hamilton and Alonso have done to each other so far, is the Facebook equivalent of nudging and poking each other on track. I mean, they never did try to run each other off the track or crash into each other to be world champion.

IVAN: While there's a lot more racing in F1 now, I'm quite glad they don't delberately take each other out. But all the drama seems to go off-track now.

ERNEST: On the rivalry factor, do you think Massa can add to "F1's Fantastic Four" in next year's title race? Or will Alonso lose out if he does go crying back to Renault, as has been suspected?

IVAN: Massa, I suspect, will continue to challenge for a podium place in every race. He did win three races this year. If Alonso moves to Renault, he'll only strengthen the team. I felt Renault missed him terribly this year.

ERNEST: I've actually found Alonso to be a whiny champion who expects all to lie down and move aside for him, especially since last year. So he can often irritate fans with his demands heard on the pit radio in races. But he still is someone special, and really, you need someone like that, right? In a real rivalry, someone needs to be the bad guy.

IVAN: He's the most grouchy winner I've seen, he's always scowling, but a personality like him makes for interesting drama.

ERNEST: So if Hamilton's the Good, Alonso's the Bad...what roles do Raikkonen and Massa play? They're not exactly that ugly right?

IVAN: Raikkonen lives up to his billing as the Iceman, while Massa looks more like Mr Nice Guy. No, I wouldn't call them ugly.

ERNEST: Or is Hamilton the 'Devil in Disguise', behind that clean-cut boy-next-door exterior?

IVAN: I've no idea what the devil looks like, disguised or not, but he could well be Alonso's personal devil for many more races to come.

ERNEST: Okay, it's a bit too early now. But of the trio of Raikkonen, Hamilton and Alonso, who do you think is the most likely to go on and become a real F1 legend, as opposed to being a world champion?

IVAN: Raikkonen has finally won the world title after years of promise and a couple of near-misses. Alonso has already proven his worth. But I think Hamilton has the longest runway among the three. He's already up there with the best, and he can only get better.

ERNEST: Alonso has the racecraft like Schumacher did, and certainly the ability to adapt straight away to a new car, like he did this year with McLaren. Raikkonen? It remains to be seen if he can continue to be motivated for longer than his Finnish predecessor Hakkinen did. But of the three, Hamilton displays this simmering obsession beneath the surface, something I haven't seen since Schuey came on the scene. That's the difference.

IVAN: Absolutely. What's exciting for me is that while Schumacher was almost always clearly the best driver on track for the greater part of his career, these three appear more evenly matched.

ERNEST: So Ivan, before I go for my pit-stop 'prata breakfast', let me ask you. What would it take for Hamilton and McLaren to win the drivers and team titles respectively next year?

IVAN: Perhaps getting a replacement for Alonso. Someone who's less quarrelsome and more of a team player! The McLaren drivers' bickering didn't help their cause.

ERNEST: What if they switch Steve McClaren over for Ron Dennis. One team boss for the other? Can you picture the scenario?

IVAN: Easy. England will win the World Cup. McClaren's McLaren-Mercedes will have two back-markers as drivers unable to adapt to any kind of surface.

ERNEST: Till 2008...and of course the Singapore Grand Prix then, this is Ernest Luis not Lewis Hamilton...signing off.