Auto Racing

SAO PAULO (AP)-- Sebastian Vettel found himself spinning around on the track just after the start, watching helplessly as other cars whizzed past him. His Formula One title hopes seemed to be drifting away with them.

It was only the start of Vettel's problems Sunday in what he called the toughest race of his career. But he overcame all of them and came away with the only prize that mattered - his third straight championship title.

Vettel shook off a first-lap crash and other difficulties to finish sixth at the Brazilian Grand Prix, good enough to protect his lead over challenger Fernando Alonso and become F1's youngest three-time champion at age 25.

"Everything that could go wrong went wrong," he said.

Jenson Button of McLaren won the race at Interlagos, with Alonso second and Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa third. Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, F1's most successful driver, finished seventh in his final race after 19 seasons.

But they were all overshadowed by Vettel, who had to overcome a poor start, the early crash, a damaged car, a broken radio, a botched pit stop and pouring rain.

"Just look at the stuff that went wrong. It was for sure the toughest race," Vettel said. "We kept believing. It was never game over."

Vettel appeared in big trouble after he was bumped shortly after the start and spun. He dropped to last place before he could turn his car around and begin a difficult pursuit. But he steadily worked his way up the field despite a slightly damaged car and no radio communication.

"You are the man, you are a triple world champion," a team official told Vettel on the radio after he crossed the line, without being able to listen to the driver's response.

Vettel is the first driver with three titles in a row since Schumacher won five straight from 2000-04. The only other driver to win at least three consecutive championships was Juan Manuel Fangio from 1954-57.

"It's difficult to find the right words," Vettel said. "It's unbelievable. I'm still full of adrenaline. It was an incredible race."

Schumacher was the first to congratulate Vettel, having just bid his own farewell to the sport. Minutes before the race, he lapped the track with a flag with the words "Thank You." He used the radio to thank the mechanics and engineers he has worked with as well as his fans watching on TV.

The 43-year-old German is retiring for the second time after struggling in his return with Mercedes. He had ended his career after the 2006 season and managed only one podium finish after retuning in 2010, at the European GP in July.

Schumacher is leaving F1 with numbers unmatched by any other driver. He retires with the most wins (91), pole positions (68), fastest laps (77) and most podium finishes (155).

Vettel needed to finish fourth or better to clinch the title regardless of Alonso's result. The Spaniard would have a chance to overtake the German only by finishing on the podium. He looked to have the advantage after a superb start and a chaotic first lap, but in the end couldn't erase Vettel's 13-point lead in the standings.

Lewis Hamilton was leading in his final race with McLaren when Nico Hulkenberg crashed into him while trying to pass on a slippery track with 17 laps to go. Hamilton received a standing ovation from his McLaren team when returning to the garage.

"Mixed emotions, but I'm happy," he said.

While the race was filled with drama and potentially title-deciding swings, it had an anticlimactic finish behind the safety car after Paul Di Resta crashed just before the final lap. That meant Vettel could simply cruise safely toward the title.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- Sebastian Vettel showed why he doesn't have to start at the front of the grid to compete for podium finishes - an ability that kept him on track for a third straight championship title.

Vettel's lead in the standings looked to be in danger at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday when he was forced to start in the pit lane behind the rest of the field due to fuel irregularities in qualifying. But the two-time defending champion bumped and zigzagged his way up the grid to finish third, just one place behind main rival Fernando Alonso of Ferrari. Kimi Raikkonen won the crash-filled race.

Vettel leads Alonso by 10 points with two races remaining, and could potentially clinch the title at the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, on Nov. 18.

After the setback in qualifying, Red Bull seemed to be focusing on Mark Webber, who was second and looked to be in a good position to win the race. But the Australian dropped to fifth after a bad start, then collided with Pastor Maldonado before crashing out on the 39th lap after colliding with Lotus' Romain Grosjean.

It was left to Vettel, who collided with Bruno Senna and Ferrari's Felipe Massa on his way up the order. Even after pitting and dropping from 13th to 21st, the German kept pushing until he passed McLaren's Jenson Button to retain his lead in the drivers' championship.

"Yes, it's hard enough to find your way once through the field but we did it twice today," Vettel said. "Quite difficult with some guys, little easier with other guys. But the most important thing was that the pace was there and we were in a very strong position.

"It was a big chance to lose out a lot today, but we didn't lose anything, so I'm very happy. The guys are pushing 100 per cent. I feel very happy they're all behind me and I try to do my best for them. I think we have two more races ahead of us; we're in the best possible position, so I think we're looking forward to the next race - a new grand prix, a new challenge."

Team Principal Christian Horner praised Vettel for bouncing back after being penalized Saturday for his car stopping at the end of qualifying. Race stewards ruled he had insufficient fuel to be tested as required by the FIA.

"After the problems of yesterday, it was a remarkable comeback from Sebastian to finish on the podium," Horner said. "He drove an unbelievable race today and his final move on Jenson was quite exceptional. To go from pit lane to podium was something we could only dream of before the race."

The big loser appeared to be Ferrari, which was unable to take full advantage of Vettel's problems - picking up only three points in the title chase.

"It's true that with Sebastian last, there was an opportunity to reduce the gap more significantly," Alonso said. "But it's equally true that our performance and our grid position could have seen us lose points in this grand prix. ... Let's hope we can put in a good result in an important country like the United States. Tonight I go to sleep thinking the glass is half full, rather than half empty.

Randy Bernard stepped down as CEO of IndyCar on Sunday, bringing an end to a three-year reign that was disrupted this season by several attempts by team owners to have him ousted as head of the series.

The decision was announced following an executive session conducted by teleconference Sunday by the 11-member Indianapolis Motor Speedway board of directors.

Jeff Belskus, the president of IMS and president and CEO of Hulman & Co., will step in as interim CEO of the IndyCar Series. Bernard, who has two years remaining on the contract he signed when he joined IndyCar in 2010, will stay on in an advisory position.

The decision was immediately criticized by Roger Penske, the most powerful owner in open-wheel racing.

"I'm very disappointed in this decision; the board continues to show poor judgment. There is no future plan," Penske said. "The series had momentum. New cars, new engines and new race formats, all brought about by Randy.

"No business can run with a senior management change every two years."

Both the IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway are owned by the Hulman-George family, which holds four spots on the 11-member IMS board and four spots on the 10-member Hulman & Co. board.

The decision for Bernard to step down was made by the IMS board, which felt a "mutual separation" was the only way to stop speculation over his job security.

Belskus, in a telephone interview Sunday night with The Associated Press during the final portion of the board meeting, gave few details about the split.

"Both parties agree that it's time to move forward separately, it's an amicable separation and Randy is going to stay on in an advisory capacity," Belskus said.

But IndyCar is coming off arguably its best season in series history. Bernard introduced the first new car in nine years this season, and the on-track product was perhaps the best in auto racing.

IndyCar had eight different winners, its first American champion since 2006 in Ryan Hunter-Reay, and Chevrolet won the engine manufacturer title in its return to the series after a six-year absence. Pressed how it was in IndyCar's "best interest" to part with a CEO who brought such positives to the series and was popular with fans, Belskus gave no answer.

"I'm not going to comment," he said.

It's been that kind of a month for IndyCar, which has been plagued by rumors of owner-led coups against Bernard all season. It reached a fevered pitch in the last month as series founder Tony George attempted to reclaim control with an offer to purchase the series from Hulman & Co.

It's long been believed that George, who was stripped of power in 2009 by his mother and three sisters, has been leading the charge to oust Bernard, who was hired in 2010 to re-energize the series.

Hulman & Co. has insisted George's offer was never entertained and IndyCar is not for sale. But George stepped down from the board nine days ago, citing a conflict of interest in holding a seat while trying to purchase the series.

It did nothing to quiet the uncertainty surrounding Bernard, who has worked for more than a year amid uncertain job security because he could never secure any sort of public support from the board of directors or the Hulman-George family.

The speculation was suffocating last week, and Bernard and an IMS spokesman both denied a report Friday that Bernard had been fired. It led driver Graham Rahal, one of the most recognizable names in the series, to plead for some sanity Friday afternoon.

"Come on people either keep Randy or fire him but this is foolish and embarrassing for this sport," he posted on Twitter.

After two days of silence and Bernard in apparent limbo, the IMS board called an emergency teleconference Sunday to figure out a solution.

In a statement, Bernard specifically thanked Josie George, who brought him to IndyCar and said the series is "better poised for success than it has been in many years.

"I have developed a passion for the sport of IndyCar," he said in the statement. "As IndyCar fans, we need to unify behind the sport in order to move it to the next level, and I look forward to providing input and being part of that unified voice along the way."

It's not clear what's next for the troubled series.

"Well, I have been named interim CEO," Belskus told AP. "We're going to conduct a search. We haven't established a specific timeline for a permanent replacement. It's all part of a planning process that we'll address."

It didn't sound very promising to Zak Brown, founder and CEO of the motorsports marketing agency Just Marketing International, and the man many believed would run IndyCar under George's offer to buy the series. Brown has said he has no interest in running IndyCar.

"It all appears a bit strange and kneejerk to me," Brown said Sunday night. "I don't understand why Jeff Belskus hasn't communicated a longer-term plan. Unless there isn't one, which as CEO, I hope he has. The industry needs to know the plan."

So do the weary fans, who seemed overwhelmingly in support of Bernard and had been threatening for weeks via social media to turn their backs on the series for good if George regained control or Bernard was let go.

Belskus said he's unsure what reaction will be to Bernard's departure.

"It is change and we recognize that different people deal with change differently, and with people differently," he said.

Engaging and energetic, Bernard had bold ideas in his attempt to revitalize a racing series clinging for relevancy outside of the Indianapolis 500.

But Bernard was stymied by a combination of his own missteps, the same old drama and dysfunction that weakened open-wheel racing and allowed NASCAR to surpass it as the top racing series in America, and the massive mess left behind by George.

And even if Bernard had been flawless at his job, it likely still wouldn't have been enough.

George wanted his series back and wanted Bernard gone, and even if he couldn't make it happen, Bernard couldn't find enough allies in a paddock that ran through CEO's at a comical rate before George formed IndyCar.

Plus, it's been a rough 13 months for Bernard, whose tenure was rocked by the death of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon in the 2011 season finale.

Wheldon was only in the race as part of a $5 million promotion Bernard had devised as a means to close the season with a bang and build momentum for what was expected to be a breakthrough 2012 for IndyCar. Wheldon's death paralyzed IndyCar for months, and took a heavy emotional toll on Bernard, who after 15 years with The Professional Bull Riders was unaccustomed to the inherent dangers of auto racing.

And Bernard, who maybe was naive to just how political the IndyCar paddock can be, found himself putting out fire after fire every time he turned around this year. Team owners appeared to begin turning on him following a meeting at Long Beach in April in which they complained about the cost of replacement parts and a series ruling in the "Turbogate" scandal that allowed Honda to make a change to its engine.

Rumors swirled during the entire buildup to the Indianapolis 500 of an owner-led attempt to have him fired. Bernard confirmed the plot in an ill-timed tweet two days after the race, removing all focus from what many believed had been one of the most exciting 500s in years.

Although talk of Bernard losing his job quieted after the tweet, the board of directors - which failed to offer him any support during the attacks following Wheldon's death - still remained silent about his job security.

By August, there was talk of the George-led effort to buy the series.

That his job status was even in question was puzzling to outsiders, who point to years of instability and dysfunction in American open-wheel racing. Bernard had been brought in specifically tasked with cleaning up 14 years of disaster left behind after George had hemorrhaged family money for years on IndyCar.

Bernard was supposed to stop the bleeding, and immediately slashed the budget. He worked toward dramatically cutting losses that reportedly averaged high eight figures under George's watch to mid-to-low seven figures for Bernard.

More important, he dramatically improved the product.

Bernard this year introduced the new car and brought in multiple engine manufacturers. He cleaned up the grid last year with harsh league scrutiny on Milka Duno, who had sponsorship to get a ride but was not skilled enough to be on the track, and that in part contributed to parity this season throughout the field.

Bernard also removed Brian Barnhart from his longtime role as head of race control following a controversial 2011 season in which it was clear Barnhart had lost the trust of the paddock. He also developed the "Road to Indy" ladder system, a development program meant to keep young drivers in IndyCar.

This season, Bernard was able to save Milwaukee from dropping off the IndyCar schedule - albeit in a sweetheart deal for first-time promoter Michael Andretti - but Bernard also got Andretti to step in and rescue the endangered Labor Day weekend event at Baltimore. He also brought IndyCar back to Fontana, Calif., this season for the first time since 2005, and announced last month that IndyCar will race in 2013 at Pocono after a 23-year absence.

Bernard announced the return of the "The Triple Crown" promotion, an IndyCar tradition last done in 1989, the last time the series visited Pocono. He's also been in talks with Phoenix and Michigan, two other traditional IndyCar tracks, about returning to the series for the 2014 season.

Although he received mixed reviews for his 2013 schedule announced earlier this month, few understood his reasoning for creating doubleheaders or a long summer-stretch of racing. Saddled with a tough television package he inherited from George, Bernard strung together six consecutive weeks of racing through the summer to get five dates on ABC, including a prime-time Saturday night event at Texas Motor Speedway.

And because IndyCar has so little shoulder programming and cable partner NBC Sports does not often air qualifying live, Bernard viewed doubleheaders as a way to get the series on television more often.

Alas, none of his gains were ever lauded the way his missteps were jeered.

The cancellation of an August race in China was a reported $7 million hit to his budget - one of the reasons speculated he fell out of favor with the board. And Bernard's desire for engine competition led him to ignore all red flags and welcome Lotus into to the series. The manufacturer was an embarrassing disaster from start to finish.

Montreal, QC– At a time when he needed it the most, Lewis Hamilton drove his McLaren-Mercedes to victory at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve.  It was only fitting for Hamilton to win as he became the seventh different winner in the first seven races of the F1 season.  The Canadian Grand Prix victory has catapulted Hamilton to the top of the driver’s championship race by two points over Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and three up on Red Bull Racing’s Sebastien Vettel.

The Canadian Grand Prix became a race of strategy as both Alonso and Vettel mistakenly attempted a one-stop strategy which would come back to bite them in the final 10 laps of the scheduled 70 as they eventually lost traction leading Hamilton to cruise right by.  Not only would they lose places to the victor, but the costly pit strategies gave Lotus-Renault’s Romain Grosjean and Sauber’s Sergio Perez podium finishes, respectively finishing second and third. 

The pole-position winner Vettel would finish fourth, followed by Alonso in fifth.  

Rounding out the driver’s taking points from the race from sixth to tenth would be Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg, Red Bull Racing’s Mark Webber, Lotus-Renault’s Kimi Raikkonen, Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi, and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa.

This was Hamilton’s third victory in Montreal and the scene of his first F1 win back in 2007. “This is where I won my first Grand Prix. I knew it would be tough, but I loved every single minute and I’m really grateful,” Hamilton said. “The feeling inside is like an explosion, it’s incredible.” Hamilton exuded a feeling of utter happiness with a touch of relief.

It was all smiles for Grosjean who passed Vettel on lap 62 and Alonso on lap 67 for his best F1 finish on a track that he never raced on before, but was apparently his favourite to play on the F1 X-Box game. ”It’s more bumpy than on the X-Box while sitting on the sofa,” Grosjean joked.

The Canadian Grand Prix sustained the parity of the 2012 F1 campaign and delighted the large crowd that was estimated at more than 100,000.  With the driver’s championship so tight after seven races, it’s anyone’s guess who will come out on top at the end of the year.  It’s safe to say that no one can complain that a team is too dominant, which has plagued F1 throughout the years.