T

he Drivers’ Championship has been decided and Sebastian Vettel is the youngest consecutive winner in the history of Formula 1.

 That’s all very well, but where does it leave us fans?

With four races still to go, the obvious remaining highlight is the debut of the Indian Grand Prix – truly a landmark event in the sport’s ever expanding list of milestones. But next up is Korea, a race we’ve seen before and seemingly with nothing riding on the outcome. That however is not quite true.

Firstly there’s the small matter of the Constructors’ Championship. Personally, I pay far more attention to the drivers but the engineers, CEOs and designers take team scores very seriously.

I can’t really pretend there’s much to get excited about however. Red Bull have all but got the whole thing wrapped up and despite Mark Webber’s anemic season, could seal the honors this weekend at the Korea International Circuit.

Beyond that, however, the midfield battle between Force India and Sauber, and whether one of the bottom three teams can manage to get a point will provide some interest. Amid all of this though, I shall be closely watching the fascinating disintegration of Lewis Hamilton: From superstar driver to crash kid dummy.

While a propensity to crash into other drivers (and frequently Felipe Massa) is eminently reversible (Sebastian Vettel has shown us that), far more watchable is Hamilton’s demise from McLaren’s number 1 driver. Hamilton has been McLaren’s golden boy since arriving in Formula 1 and even saw off the challenge of double world champion Fernando Alonso when the Spaniard came to invade his turf.

But the likeable, diligent and more savvy Jenson Button has quietly forged a lead over Hamilton in the Drivers’ Championship, one that could see him get the notional number 1 red top on his vehicle next season — the ultimate slap in the face for the man who was world champion with McLaren in 2008.

Jenson is currently 32 points ahead of Hamilton. Should Button fail to finish in Korea and Hamilton win, there will still be a 7-point gap with three races to go.

But Button has driven superbly since the Hungarian Grand Prix, stepping on the podium in all five races.

He’s consistently close to race-winning pace as the Japan Grand Prix showed and with Vettel likely to help the team concentrate on next year now, Button’s season-end could spell yet more misery for his increasingly unsettled