Raikkonen title confirmed

Kimi Raikkonen was finally confirmed as Formula One world champion for 2007 more than six hours after the conclusion of the Brazilian Grand Prix.

A suspicion of doubt had been cast over Raikkonen's title triumph as race stewards investigated BMW Sauber and Williams for a breach of technical regulations regarding fuel temperatures.

However, after a three-hour hearing, the stewards chose to impose no penalty on either team, ensuring Raikkonen could celebrate the first F1 title of his career.

Under the regulations, no fuel on board the car may be more than 10 degrees centigrade below ambient temperature, and in initial findings there was a clear discrepancy.

If Williams and BMW Sauber had been found guilty, Nico Rosberg, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld - who finished fourth, fifth and sixth respectively - could have been stripped of their points.

That would have promoted Lewis Hamilton up to fourth, and would have given the 22-year-old the crown in his rookie year.

But the race result stands, with Raikkonen's victory at the end of the 71-lap race in Interlagos guaranteeing him the title by just a point from Hamilton and McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso.

The 26-year-old Spaniard could only finish third, while Hamilton had to settle for seventh after a gearbox glitch on lap eight relegated him from sixth to 18th at the time.

In their findings, the stewards declared: "There must be sufficient doubt as to both the temperature of the fuel actually on board the car and also as to the true ambient temperature as to render it inappropriate to impose a penalty."