Follow all the action as it happened in Brazil here:

Lewis Hamilton's dream of becoming the first driver to win the Formula One world championship in his debut season ended in disappointment in Brazil this afternoon.

Hamilton, who made a disastrous start, could only finish seventh, with the world title going to Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, who drove an immaculate race to emerge the victor at Interlagos. Fernando Alonso was third and Hamilton, his McLaren team-mate, a distant seventh. The Finn finished the season with 110 points, one more than the two McLaren drivers, who had dominated for the majority of the season but been unable to deliver when it really mattered.

Hamilton's race was run in the early stages, the 22-year-old a victim of his own inexperience. Starting second on the grid, the young Briton was overtaken within seconds of the light going green first by Ferrari's Raikkonen and then Alonso, his two rivals for the world title.

Understandably panicked, he tried to retake his team-mate around the outside of turn four and locked the front wheels, skidding off the track and having to rejoin the race in eighth.

Having fought his way up to sixth, his engine started to cut out on lap seven of 71 and he was overtaken by a host of cars, dropping down to 18th some 40 seconds behind the leaders. It later emerged the problem was with the gearbox and had been concerning Hamilton's mechanics before the start.

All the title contenders pitted once at just after quarter distance, Hamilton being the last to do so, on lap 21, changing his tyres for the softest compound possible - a risky strategy - and adding enough fuel for only a further 15 laps.

The McLaren driver, generally faultless for the majority of this season, again showed his inexperience on lap 29, pushing his way past Rubens Barrichello on the inside of a tight hairpin, the Brazilian sensibly giving way rather than cut in and take the world championship leader out. Hamilton pitted twice more, for fresh tyres and more fuel, but he was unable to make an impact or reach the the fifth position he needed to take the world title.

Hamilton had taken a four-point lead over Alonso into the final grand prix at Interlagos, with Raikkonen a further three points adrift of the Spaniard, the first time in 21 years there had been a three-way battle for the world title at this ultimate stage of the season.

Hamilton will be regretting he spurned the chance to wrap things up in China a fortnight ago when he spun into a gravel trap and was forced to withdraw for the first time in his career.

Even so, the man from Stevenage claimed going into this grand prix that there was less pressure on him and that he was determined to finish the job. He may be regretting those words after losing his head at the start. England could certainly have done with a lift after defeats for the rugby and football teams over the past four days, but Hamilton went on to complete an unwanted hat-trick.