After two long weeks of voting, and an epic final that was so close it rivalled the Brazilian Grand Prix of 2008, Fernando Alonso has claimed victory in the inaugural Sidepodcast Character Cup.

Facing stiff competition from opponent Sebastian Vettel, Fernando sealed his position as the current Formula 1 driver with the most character by one single vote, and said vote was cast in the very last minute of the poll.

There were plenty of other close calls, and interesting matchups along the way, so let's take a closer look at the stats.

Alonso's journey to victory

Fernando had to get past both his replacement at Renault, and a former teammate from the French brigade, as he saw off both Kovalainen and Fisichella with relative ease. By the time we reached the semi-finals, the Spaniard came up against Robert Kubica, who looked to be a challenge. Although Kubica was popular in the comments, Alonso's fiery attitude saw him overcome the Pole, and his place in the final was booked.

Throughout the competition, it seemed as though Vettel was one of the most popular drivers out there, and the slim margin of victory for Fernando proves that really, the title belongs to the pair of them. However, there can only be one winner, and our Fernie can claim his Sidepodcast victory with pride.

Too close to call

The final wasn't the only close matchup throughout the competition though, with one other poll also ending just one vote apart. Vettel was again involved, as he faced his semi-final competitor, Kimi Räikkönen. These two swung opinion in the comments back and forth until the deadline was upon them.

The previous round saw Vettel in a matchup that was probably a little close to home, as he and Mark Webber became the only pair of current teammates to face off in the competition. It was a relatively easy victory for the young German, and if this has any bearing on how the 2009 season is going to go, Webber should be a little bit worried.

Surprise results

From the very beginning, when the first poll went live, I predicted a Hamilton / Massa finish. I figured that anything lacking from their character would be made up for by the fact we have talked of little else for the last six months. I couldn't have been more wrong. The pair of them went out, in separate competitions, in the first round. Hamilton was knocked out by the unlikely winner of Trulli, whilst Massa fell foul of Fisichella. Neither of those, mind you, made it past the second round.

Statistical evidence

• Total votes cast: 1,665
• Lowest voted poll: Rosberg v Piquet (71)
• Highest voted poll: Trulli v Hamilton (164)
• Closest vote: Vettel v Räikkönen / Vettel v Alonso - (1 vote)
• Largest split: Vettel v Sutil - (75 votes)

Thank you to each and every person who took the time and effort to cast a vote. 1,665 clicks is many, many more than we were expecting. We're not sure where we're going with this next, but there are other characters to be found in the world of F1, I wonder who else we could pitch against one and other?