Raikkonen and Alonso on the podium at the end of the Brazilian GP

Alonso's third place behind the Finn and Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa in Brazil was not good enough for him to complete a title hat-trick.

"I said many times whoever has more points at the last race deserves the championship," Alonso told BBC 5live.

"It has been up and down for everybody but now, on the last day, Kimi deserves the title."

Raikkonen's win at Interlagos was his sixth of the season and gave him a points total of 110, one more than McLaren pair Lewis Hamilton and Alonso - with Hamilton runner-up in the final standings because of a higher number of second place finishes.

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"In the first two or three laps I was keeping pace with them [Ferraris] and I was extremely optimistic at that point," said Alonso.

"But obviously they were taking care of their tyres in the first couple of laps and when they pushed [harder] I was not able to keep pace with them.

"It was the same as in China - I was keeping third position with fingers crossed and [hoping] maybe one of the Ferraris would have a problem and I could take second place.

"But it didn't happen - there was nothing we could do."

Second place would have been good enough for Alonso to retain his title but he came home more than 57 seconds behind Raikkonen and 55 behind Massa.

The Spaniard played down his problems with team-mate Hamilton and McLaren boss Ron Dennis, which made the headlines for much of the season.

"In all jobs you have ups and downs, you have better moments and bad moments," he said.

"This year I had some difficulties with the team, it's not a secret, but at the end we tried to work together as hard as we could and arrived for the last race fighting for the championship.

"In the end, I finished third in the drivers' championship, one point behind the world champion.

"I had a fantastic car - a very competitive car - and even though we've had a tough season, I have great memories from this season, and four victories, so I feel comfortable."