Footage from Vettel`s own car appears to show he failed to respect three yellow-colored ‘no overtaking’ lights on the side of the circuit as he roared past Toro Rosso stablemate Jean-Eric Vergne in the rain and another yellow light in his cockpit.

The lightest punishment Vettel could receive is a 20-second penalty, which would put him back from sixth to eighth in the race, thereby losing the world championship by a single point as opposed to winning it by three.

Ferrari are said to be evaluating footage of the incident, the Daily Mirror reports.

Alonso posted a cryptic message in Spanish which said: “I don’t believe in miracles. I make my miracles out of correct rules.”

Various sources claim he is pushing Ferrari to lodge an official protest. The Spaniard finished second to Jenson Button in Sunday’s final round of the world championship outside Sao Paulo but Vettel recovered from crashing out to battle back to sixth.

It was a hat-trick of titles for the 25-year-old German, who had come into the last race of the season with a 13-point over Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and pipped his closest rival by just 3 points.

Red Bull’s Vettel had 281 points after the 20th and final round while Alonso, who drove splendidly to finish second at the race had 278.

Vettel overcame a horrendous start, where he endured a lap 1 accident which pushed him to back of the grid, to finish a superb sixth and become only third driver in F1 history to won three consecutive drivers title.

Vettel erased record of legendary Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna, who had become the youngest triple champion at the age of 31 years and 227 days. Senna, who died in an accident during the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994.

Senna won the drivers’ championship in 1988, 1990, 1991.

Vettel, who had a very strong second half with four straight wins — Singapore, Japan, Korea and India.

Alonso needed a miracle of sorts to pip Vettel to the title and it almost happened but for a great drive by Vettel he had to content with runners-up finish.

Ferrari had a fantastic season-end with both the drivers on the podium as Felipe Massa was third, followed by Mark Webber ahead of Sahara Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg.

It was a an unfortunate last race for Hamilton with McLaren as he crashed out after leading the race, following a contact with Nico Hulkenberg in lap 49.

The race also marked the second retirement for seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, who finished seventh after qualifying in 14th place.

The 43-year-old German had joined Mercedes in 2010, having first retired in 2006 with Ferrari.

His second stint has not been quite successful as he failed to win a single race in three seasons in deep contrast to his record 91-race victories in first stint, which began in 1991.

Behind Schumacher was Jean-Eric Vergne, Kamui Kobayashi and Kimi Raikkonen, who finished third in drivers standing with 207 points.

It was great a chance for Hulkenberg to end his association with Sahara Force India with a podium finish but his over ambitious overtaking move in lap 49 not only ended Hamilton’s race but also got him a drive-through penalty, which cost him four places.

The young German had snatched lead from Hamilton in as early as lap 19 in the 71-lap race.

Vettel could not have more disastrous start as he was hit from back by Bruno Senna which damaged his car and left him at the back of the pack.

Pole sitter Hamilton held his position from McLaren teammate Button, who was locked in a good battle with Massa.

“We had a board meeting in India after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the board has approved a 50 million pound capital investment programme for the team,” he said in a preview for Sunday’s season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix.

“We are going to invest heavily in new technology and give more tools to our design team to try and move further up the grid.”

Liquor and aviation tycoon Mallya is principal of the British-based team that he co-owns with the Sahara Group, who have a 42.5 percent stake.

Force India are seventh overall on 99 points, 25 behind sixth-placed Sauber and 23 ahead of Williams in eighth, and are almost certain to stay in that position now unless they or Williams have an astonishing result on Sunday.

They finished sixth last year, but with only 69 points, and their current tally is the most they have managed since Mallya bought the struggling Spyker (previously Jordan) team in 2007.

“Every year we’ve demonstrated that we’ve gone up the ladder,” said Mallya. “And we’ve taken fairly significant steps, not just baby steps. Given the tools that we have, which are mostly of the Jordan era, we have done exceptionally well.”

Sahara invested $100 million in Force India when they bought into the team in October 2011 and Mallya has said the money would be paid in three tranches over three years with the final instalment due in 2013.

Hamilton passed Vettel`s Red Bull 16 laps from the end to win a race-long battle with the German and claim victory in the first US Grand Prix since 2007.

“That was amazing guys. That was wicked. Thank you so much, great pit stop,” Hamilton told his team over the radio. “We definitely deserved that one, guys, we definitely did, thank you.”

Vettel`s second place was not enough to win the title outright but saw him extend his lead over his closest challenger, Ferrari`s Fernando Alonso, to 13 points as the Spaniard finished third.

The advantage means that even if Alonso wins the season finale in Brazil Nov 25, Vettel could seal the title with a fourth-place finish.

“It was a close fight with Lewis,” Vettel said in televised comments. “He had one chance and he took it.”

Red Bull secured their third straight constructors title, reflecting the pace advantage their car has had for most of the year.

“It`s fantastic,” Red Bull principal Christian Horner said of his team`s third title.

“We`ve joined a list of illustrious names, I think there`s only three other teams that have done it in the history of the sport.”

Alonso`s teammate Felipe Massa was fourth with McLaren`s Jenson Button fifth after battling other cars throughout the race.

The Lotus pair of Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean were sixth and seventh, with Nico Hulkenberg eighth for Force India and Williams teammates Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna taking the last two points positions.

There was controversy even before the race started, as Ferrari deliberately gave Massa a grid penalty for an illegal gearbox change to elevate Alonso a place at the start, putting him on the grippier side of the grid.

As his rivals pointed to the luck that helped him race from starting in the pit lane to a remarkable podium finish that enabled him to keep hold of a 10-points lead in this year`s title race, Horner described his 25-year-old driver`s effort as “phenomenal”.

“I think it was one of the best [races] of his career. I think he really went for it and to go from the pit lane to the podium, it was phenomenal,” ”Leaving the track on Saturday, when we were faced with starting from the pit lane, because we knew we wanted to change some things, then I really thought if we could sneak into the top 10 and score a point… That would be a great result,” he added. Horner said that the German’s effort to finish third in Sunday`s race proved he could get the results, which he sets his sights on. “It is not that easy to overtake around here so maybe we could get an eighth or a ninth… that was the most we hoped for,” he said.

“But I went to see Seb before the race and he said, “I will see you on the podium“. He was absolutely convinced going into the race that he could get great result. He is just amazing!” Horner added.

It was 5th pole position of the season for Vettel, whose 3 consecutive wins have propelled him to the top of the table in the drivers’ standings.

Vettel’s flying lap of 1:25.283 in Q3 secured him the pole, his 35th in the career and he will be joined on the front row by team-mate Mark Webber, who was just 0.34s behind.

It’s extremely good result for Vettel since his closest rival in the drivers’ classification Fernando Alonso, who is just six points behind at 209, will start the race from fifth position behind the two McLaren cars.

Lewis Hamilton (1:25.544) was third, followed by Jenson Button (1:25.659).

Alonso’s fastest lap came in 1:25.773, which was good enough only for the fifth position. His team-mate Felipe Massa, who was excellent in the last two races, can continue his resurgence from the sixth position.

Kimi Raikkonen took his Lotus car in the seventh position ahead of Sergio Perez of Sauber. Williams’ Pastor Maldonado and Mercdes’ Nico Rosberg, who did not set time in Q3, fill in the fifth row.

Sahara Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg will start 12th on the grid behind Lotus’ Romain Grosjean, who missed the top-10 shootout only for the 2nd time in the season. John di Resta was way behind in 16th position, which is his worst qualifying result of the calendar so far.

Bruno Senna of Williams was 13th followed by Michael Schumacher in the second Mercedes and behind him was Toro Rosso’s Daniel Ricciardo.

Japanese Kamyui Kobayashi was 17th, followed by Jean Eric Vergne and Vitaly Petrov.

India’s Narain Karthikeyan, who had finished 17th last year, qualified in the 23rd position behind Hispania temmate Pedro De la Rosa.

Caterham’s Heikki Kovalienen, who was 20th, had crashed in the last lap of the Q1 after slipping to the gravel on turn 11. His car, which was stuck, had to be lifted from the gravel to the pits.

Charles Pic will be last man on the grid while his teammate Timo Glock was 21st.

Battalions of artists, gardeners, techniques and masons are busy giving last minute touches to the showpiece motor racing event south-east of Delhi, where the moneyed world of Formula One contrasts with a backdrop of rural poverty, bullock carts and bicycles.

Askari Zaidi, the main spokesperson for the Buddh International Circuit that has brought the glamour event to India, said the shortcomings from maiden Indian Grand Prix last year were being plugged – including planting of thousands of trees and huge tracts of grass to make the track less dusty.

“We are fully geared up to hold the second edition of formula one car race here and as you can see, this circuit is far more greener, there are whole lot of plantations done around the circuit and all other facilities have also been perked up and we are very excited.

“We hope that the people who are going to come and see the races will be very pleased with this whole experience,” Zaidi said. The circuit itself has 16 corners with cars hitting a maximum speed of 315 km/hour. Average lap speed last year was around 206 km/hour. The 1.12km straight is one of the longest on the calendar.

Last year, Ferrari driver Felipe Massa had crashed during the qualifying after overshooting one of the kerbs and had asked the organizers to have another look at it. Zaidi said they have incorporated the drivers’ suggestions and made the necessary changes.

Indian Grand Prix 2012 Schedule

In the buildup to the second edition of the race on October 28, motorsport fans will get the opportunity to watch the world’s top F1 drivers in warm-up mode.

The first practice session is scheduled for 10am on October 26, with the second session to run from 2pm to 3:30pm. On October 27, the final practice session will be held from 11am to noon, followed by The qualifying for the main event will at 2pm. The Indian GP will kick start at 3pm the next day.

Friday, October 26: JK Racing Asia Series (practice): 08:45-09:15; F1 first practice: 10:00-11:30; MRF challenge (practice): 12:00-12:30; F1 Paddock Club (pit lane walk) 12:35-13:45; F1 second practice: 14:00-15:30; F1 press conference: 16:00-17:00; MRF challenge (Qualifying): 16:00-16:30; Marshall Pit Lane Walk : 17:45

Saturday, October 27: JK Asia Racing Series (Qualifying): 09:15-09:45; F1 Paddock Club (pit lane walk): 09:50-10:40; F1 third practice: 11:00-12:00; MRF Championship 1st Race (10 Laps or 25 Mins): 12:25-12:55; F1 Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk: 13:00-13:45; F1 Qualifying: 14:00; JK Asia Racing Series 1st Race (10 Laps or 25 Mins): 15:30-16:00

Sunday, October 28: F1 Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk: 10:00-10:50; MRF Championship 2nd Race (10 Laps or 25 Mins): 11:00-11:30; JK Asia Racing Series 2nd Race (10 Laps or 25 Mins): 12:00-12:30; F1 Paddock Club Pit Lane Walk: 12:35-14:15; F1 drivers grid parade: 13:30; F1 starting grid presentation: 13:40-14:15; national anthem: 14:46; Grand Prix: 15:00

This new program will keep the users updated on latest action on the F1 circuit including race results, standings, schedule and latest news.

This program will have quizzes and prizes, trivia and information on latest from Airtel on its host of Formula One related initiatives.

The displays remaining days to the upcoming races, shows the top three drivers as per the latest season ranking, and results of the last race with position, driver, timings etc. The app also displays current driver and constructor standings. Clicking on the driver or team’s name will open the profile of the driver/team.

The app also offers complete schedule of the 2012 season. Clicking on any circuit will open the circuit profile containing info on the number of races held, number of laps, lap length etc.

For the Indian Grand Prix, users will also get trivia and information about the Buddh International Circuit along with a link leading the user to the Bookmyshow page to buy tickets.

Bharti Airtel is the title sponsor of the forthcoming 2012 Formula 1 Airtel Indian Grand Prix and also has a Race Partnership with the Mercedes AMG Pertronas Formula One team for the same.

This is Vettel’s 3rd win of the current season.

Vettel, who also won the previous race in Singapore, is within sight of a 3rd straight title, with 5 races to go. Alonso`s Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa was 2nd, 20.6 a few seconds behind Vettel for his 1st podium finish since Korea in 2010.

Sauber`s Kamui Kobayashi took 3rd place for his first-ever podium finish and become the 1st Japanese driver on a podium here since 1990.

The race got off to a tumultuous start with a series of collisions in the first corner sequence, ending Alonso`s race.