Michael Schumacher says it was fate Lewis Hamilton won the world title but warned him Felipe Massa will be a big threat again next year.

The Briton pipped his Ferrari rival to the crown by one point on Sunday after a dramatic race in Brazil where Hamilton claimed the fifth place he needed, overtaking Timo Glock on the final lap.

Schumacher (below), who won five of his seven titles with Ferrari before retiring in 2006, was stunned by the outcome.

"I have never seen anything like this, not as a racer and not as a spectator - you can probably only say it was fate," said the German.

"What a finale. But Felipe can leave that race with his head up. He will for sure attack again next year. With this performance, Felipe surely has convinced all the doubters about his driving skills. I congratulate Lewis and send very warm greetings to Felipe and all our guys in the team."

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo warned that the championship was only on loan to the McLaren driver.

"Lewis will have No1 on his car but he can rest assured of one thing, we'll be doing our very best to put it back on a Ferrari," he said.

However, Hamilton's dad, Anthony, insisted the 23-year-old will learn from several highprofile mistakes made this year and come back stronger next year.

Hamilton's most notable errors came in Canada, when he ran into the back of Raikkonen in the pit lane, and Japan, where he was punished for a was a reckless first-corner move on the Finn.

But Hamilton Snr said: "Things are sent to try you and you have to overcome those if you want to be a champion. I don't think Lewis has made the same mistake twice and that's the plan. You learn and move forward."