Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel could be just one race away from becoming Formula One's youngest double world champion after winning Sunday's Italian Grand Prix. There are several ways in which the 24-year-old German (born July 3, 1987) can win his second successive title in Singapore on Sept. 25. He now has 284 points and is 112 clear of Ferrari's Fernando Alonso (172) with 150 still to be won. McLaren's Jenson Button is a further five back and level on 167 points with Vettel's Australian teammate Mark Webber. McLaren's Lewis Hamilton has 158 points. The scoring system is 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 so, firstly, Vettel must finish on the podium even if none of the other contenders score. Otherwise, the championship remains open until Japan on Oct. 9. That should not be too great a challenge for a driver who has won eight times this season and only once in 13 races finished outside the top three. Last year he finished second in Singapore, behind Alonso. In 2009, he was fourth with Hamilton winning. If Vettel wins in Singapore, the only men who can stop him winning the title there and then are Webber, Alonso, Button and Hamilton. If Alonso finishes on the podium, the title remains open for two weeks more at least. If Vettel wins, with Alonso off the podium, then Button or Webber must finish second to deny the German the satisfaction of claiming the crown in Singapore. Red Bull has had two one-two finishes this year, while Button has managed two wins and two second places. A second place could be enough for the reigning champion if Alonso is eighth or lower, Button and Webber are out of the top four and Hamilton does not win. Third place can also do it for Vettel if Alonso is no higher than ninth, Button and Weber out of the top six and Hamilton out of the top two. Even if Vettel, who has spent much of the championship refusing to analyze the figures, were to go on holiday until the penultimate race of the season, he would still be leading the standings. “I'm contracted to do all the races, so maybe you need a word with (team boss) Christian (Horner),” he smiled when a reporter suggested he might like to do just that. “I think it's wrong to plan before something happens,” he added. “It would be wrong for you to plan what you would do with a million dollars if you won the lottery tomorrow. First you have to win, then you worry about what you do with your winnings.” The difference in Vettel's case being of course that not only does he already have several million dollars, he and everyone else already knows that the title is won. Nobody in Formula One has ever won eight races in a season and not been champion. Nobody has ever blown a lead of such magnitude and Vettel's closest rivals know it is over. “Six races to go, so obviously the championship is impossible, not mathematically but we are no longer in contention,” said Alonso. “I think we are all battling for second place now,” added Webber after his first retirement in 15 races.
