F1 on this day: Alonso becomes youngest champion

Fernando Alonso will go down as one of the most talented and successful drivers in the history of Formula One, and it was on 25 September 13 years ago when he claimed the first of his two world championships with a third-place finish in Brazil.

Throughout the 2005 season, Alonso's main rival for the championship was Kimi Raikkonen of McLaren, who had won the same amount of races as the Spaniard up until the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Alonso had the advantage due to his consistency in points gained, and went into the race knowing third would be enough for the title. It came at the expense of Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher.

At the time of his success, Alonso said:

"The final laps seemed to take forever. and it took a while for it to sink in once I came to a stop. I won the championship with maybe not the best car, so I am proud of what I did.

"The fact that I have taken over the title from Michael Schumacher is a bonus. I came from a country with no tradition in F1. I had to fight my way alone. I have only had the help of two or three people in my career, no more."

Schumacher, when reflecting on the loss, surprisingly claimed that he was "not sad to lose the world title after all this time."

Often extremely competitive, Schumacher's comments led to some figures within the sport questioning whether the record title winner was ready to head off into the sunset and retire. The German would not retire for some time, but there would be no more world championships after Alonso's 2005 victory.

As with any record, they are made to be broken, and Alonso becoming the youngest driver to win the title has been usurped not once, but twice since, with both Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel claiming the championship at a younger age.

The Spaniard, meanwhile, has announced his departure from Formula One in order to pursue his goal of winning the motorsport 'triple crown' which includes wins at the Monaco GP, the Indianapolis 500, and Le Mans.