Michael Schumacher celebrated a historic sixth World Championship after surviving a double scare at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka this morning.
The German finished eighth but was certain of taking the drivers' title after Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello deservedly triumphed to deny second-placed Kimi Raikkonen the victory he needed.
Schumacher's success by two points enabled him to break the record of five titles he shared with Juan Manuel Fangio and he also became the first man since the Argentine in 1957 to win the championship four years in succession.
But the 34-year-old had an anxious 53-lap race after being relegated to last early on following a collision with BAR's Japanese driver Takuma Sato in his first grand prix for 12 months.
Schumacher, who went into the race nine points ahead of Raikkonen, later had a collision with the Williams of his brother Ralf after a fierce scrap for track position.
The 34-year-old would have been guaranteed the title anyway thanks to Barrichello's seventh career victory by 11 seconds from Raikkonen, whose McLaren team-mate David Coulthard finished third.
It was a double celebration for Ferrari as they clinched the Constructors' Championship for the fifth year in succession.
Jenson Button finished his first season in style with an excellent fourth place for BAR with Renault's Jarno Trulli fifth and Sato sixth while Toyota's Cristiano da Matta was seventh.
Brit Justin Wilson and Ralph Firman brought their rookie seasons to a close with 13th and 14th places respectively for Jaguar Racing and Jordan. The duo must now wait to see if they will be retained by their teams for 2004.