Jenson Button may have won the Japanese GP, however, the McLaren driver concedes the glory belongs to Sebastian Vettel, who clinched his second World title.
Heading into Sunday's 53-lap grand prix, Button was the only man standing between Vettel and the Drivers' Championship. But with the Red Bull racer needing just one point even Button's victory could not prevent him from sealing the crown.
"I think it should be Seb who we talk about because this guy has done a good job this year," Button said. "However hard we tried we have not been able to touch him all year, so congratulations.
"He has really proven himself this year. I think last year he had some great drives but he was pretty inconsistent and had more incidents than I expected him to have, considering he won the World Championship.
"But this year, he has been exceptional this year. He is doing a great job, and you don't win a Championship without a great car. But he is doing what is asked of him from the team.
"He is driving very well. I haven't really spent that much time racing wheel-to-wheel this year, and I don't think many people have. The only real time was in Hungary, maybe once or twice before, but this year he seems a lot calmer.
"My memory goes back to Spa last year when we had our little incident. But since then he has been driving very well and, to finish every race on the podium except for one, is very impressive. You cannot do it without a great car, but he has done exactly the job he was asked to do."
But despite not being able to hold Vettel at bay, Button did his part on Sunday, claiming the win in the country that he says is his second home as his girlfriend Jessica hails from Japan.
"This circuit is very special to all of us. We love this place so to get a victory here in front of such an amazing Japanese crowd really does mean a lot, and we put a good show on for the fans.
"The fans are so supportive, we tried to do a bit to help them and plant a little memory in their minds."
The Brit beat Fernando Alonso by 1.160s with Vettel less than a second behind the Ferrari driver. He added: "It is good to see three different cars within three seconds, it shows how competitive F1 is at the moment.
"I need to say a big thanks to the team for the improvements we had over the last few races and today they were impeccable, congratulations to them."
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Button wins the race, Seb takes the title
