McLaren team boss Ron Dennis said there was no question Lewis Hamilton deserved the world championship after his heart-stopping last-gasp triumph at Interlagos.
Watch Dennis talking to Steve Rider
Hamilton beat Felipe Massa by one point thanks to a final corner pass on Timo Glock, which put the British star back into the crucial fifth place he required to take the crown.
The result made 23-year-old Hamilton the youngest ever world champion, and saw him win the title at only the second attempt.
Having backed Lewis's career since his teenage karting years, Dennis said this was a proud and emotional moment for McLaren.
"We're really pleased for the team and delighted for Lewis," Ron told ITV Sport's Steve Rider.
"He's very special – he's not just won a world championship, he's the youngest ever world champion.
"And he's done it so well, every statistic over the last two years, he's beaten, and he's still finished this season with more points than any other driver over the last two years.
"He deserved to win the world championship."
Dennis said that McLaren had taken a deliberately cautious approach to the rain-affected race, focusing on the crucial fifth position.
"It was a really difficult race," he said.
"We saw the Ferraris and [Fernando] Alonso go away, we didn't want to race with them, so we had fourth and fifth to play with."
Hamilton looked set for fourth until the rain returned and he pitted for intermediate tyres with five laps to go.
But that cost him a position as Glock chose to remain out on dries, and he then lost another place when Sebastian Vettel slipped past as the lapped Robert Kubica barged past them both.
"Who would've thought Glock would've stayed out on dry tyres?" said Dennis.
"We were just looking at it in the last two laps – do we fight for the position with Vettel or do we let him go?
"How's it going to happen?
"Boy, I tell you, that was one hell of a call."