Michael Schumacher, who needed to win the final race of his great career to keep alive his title chance, had a punctured tire less than 10 laps into the race and dropped out of contention early. The seven-time champion finished fourth, and drove into retirement.

Massa, Schumacher's Ferrari teammate, won the race from the pole in front of an adoring home crowd at Interlagos.

Honda's Jenson Button was third.

Schumacher's problem made things easier for Alonso, who started in fourth place but moved up to second halfway through the 71-lap race.

Schumacher jumped from 10th to seventh on the first lap, but a flat left-rear tire entering the ninth lap shattered his chances of victory.

He had just passed sixth-placed Giancarlo Fisichella on the outside of turn 1 when the tire blew, forcing him to slowly return to the pits.

He changed tires and returned to the track in 18th place, more than a minute behind race leader Massa and out of contention barely 15 minutes into the race.

The problem opened the way for Alonso's second consecutive title at the Brazilian GP. He entered the race needing to finish eighth or better to secure the championship. Last year, he became F1's youngest champion by finishing third.