Sebastian Vettel kept alive his challenge for the Formula One drivers’ world championship yesterday when he led his Red Bull team-mate and title rival Mark Webber home in the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Their one-two triumph confirmed the Red Bull team as the 2010 constructors’ champions, but left the drivers’ title race wide open with both drivers still fighting to take the crown from leading Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso.

Alonso finished a steady third in front of Lewis Hamilton who was fourth ahead of last year’s champion and McLaren team-mate Jenson Button.

“An incredible day and I am feeling very proud now for the team,” said Vettel afterwards.

“It was not easy, but once I took the lead I could control the race and look after my tyres for those final laps after the Safety Car.

“It is fantastic to get a one-two and now I have to shake off these other guys in the other championship.”

Alonso said: “I lost my chance to challenge these guys at the start when it took me some time to catch them and I lost 12 seconds.”

Nico Rosberg came home sixth for Mercedes ahead of his team-mate Michael Schumacher and another German Nico Hulkenberg, who had started from his maiden pole position for the Williams team.

Robert Kubica was ninth for Renault and Kamui Kobayashi 10th for Sauber on a rare racing day in Brazil when the drivers title was not resolved. It will now be decided in the final race of the year in Abu Dhabi next Sunday.

Alonso will fly in for that event with 246 points, a lead of eight points at the head of the championship ahead of Webber on 238 and the rapid Vettel on 231.

Hamilton has just 222 points in fourth and needs a near-miraculous set of results in the final race to grab the title while Button, on 199, has now had to concede he cannot keep his crown.

In the constructors’ title race, Red Bull have 469 points and second-placed McLaren have 421, a position that delighted the Milton Keynes based team and their paddock supporters.

Earlier, the paddock was buzzing with the news of Button’s escape from an armed gang on Saturday evening as the sun rose ahead of the 71-laps race.

When the lights went out, 23-year-old German rookie Hulkenberg in his Williams made a decent getaway from pole but could not resist the surge inside him of compatriot Vettel, also 23, in his Red Bull.

Vettel swept through at the Senna ‘S’ and was soon followed by Webber who dummied ‘the Hulk’ sweetly to gain second place at the Curva do Sol.

This put the warring Red Bull men, reminded by team chief Christian Horner to “behave” before the start, in a one-two formation at the top.

Behind them, Alonso attacked Hamilton for fourth and after a few bids to pass found his way through on lap two when the 2008 champion made an unforced error.

Hulkenberg, having been passed so easily by the Red Bulls, put up stiffer resistance to Alonso and the Spaniard did not find a way past him for third place until lap seven.

By lap 41, Webber was within 2.4 seconds of Vettel and clearly ready for a scrap.

All three of the leading drivers knew that the running order favoured Alonso if it remained unchanged, but that a Webber win would swing the prospects towards the Australian for the final race of the season.

Red Bull though had declared ahead of the race that there were no team orders and that their ­drivers were free to compete ­sensibly.

Brazilian GP

1. Vettel (Red Bull) - 1:33:11.803
2. Webber (Red Bull) at 4.243
3. Alonso (Ferrari) - 6.807
4. Hamilton (McLaren) - 14.634
5. Button (McLaren) - 15.593
6. Rosberg (Mercedes) - 35.320
7. Schumacher (Mercedes) - 43.456
8. Hulkenberg (Williams) - 1 lap
9. Kubica (Renault) - 1 lap
10. Kobayashi (Sauber) - 1 lap
11. Alguersuari (T. Rosso) - 1 lap
12. Sutil (Force India) 1 lap
13. Buemi (T. Rosso) 1 lap
14. Barrichello (Williams) - 1 lap
15. Massa (Ferrari) - 1 lap
16. Petrov (Renault) - 1 lap
17. Heidfeld (Sauber) - 1 lap
18. Kovalainen (Lotus) - 2 laps
19. Trulli (Lotus) - 2 laps
20. Glock (Virgin) - 2 laps
21. Senna (Hispania) - 2 laps
22. Klien (Hispania) - 6 laps

Standings

Drivers
1. Alonso 246 points, 2. Webber 238, 3. Vettel 231, 4. Hamilton 222, 5. Button 199, 6. Massa 143, 7. Rosberg 130, 8. Kubica 126, 9. Schumacher 72, 10. Barrichello 47, 11. Sutil 47, 12. Kobayashi 32, 13. Hulkenberg 22, 14. Liuzzi 21, 15. Petrov 19, 16. Buemi 8, 17. De la Rosa 6, 18. Heidfeld 6, 19. Alguersuari 3.

Constructors
1. Red Bull 469 points (champions), 2. McLaren 421, 3. Ferrari 389, 4. Mercedes 202, 5. Renault 145, 6. Williams 69, 7. Force India 68, 8. Sauber 44, 9. Toro Rosso 11.

Final Race
Abu Dhabi, Nov. 14.