Alonso wins as Hamilton lead is cut

Fernando Alonso secured his second successive Formula One victory after winning the Japanese Grand Prix today while world championship leader Lewis Hamilton failed to finished inside the points.

The Renault driver, starting fourth on the grid, followed up his victory in Singapore with another win but a disastrous start for Hamilton meant the McLaren driver could only manage 12th.

Hamilton's title rival Felipe Massa cut the gap at the top of the driver standings to six points after finishing eighth.

BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica claimed second place while Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen finished third.

Alonso's team-mate Nelson Piquet took fourth place while Jarno Trulli ensured Fuji Speedway circuit owners Toyota had a pleasing finish by claiming fifth.

Toro Rosso pair Sebastien Bourdais and Sebastian Vettel were sixth and seventh respectively with Massa eighth.

Massa was later promoted to seventh place following a stewards' inquiry.

Red Bull's Mark Webber and BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld completed the top 10.

Honda's Jenson Button finished 14th while David Coulthard's race was brought to an abrupt end the Red Bull driver crashed early on.

"It is difficult to believe," said Alonso. "The Singapore win was completely unexpected and we won again today."

In contrast to last year's race, conditions were dry today with just overcast skies above Fuji Speedway.

The race got off to a frenetic start as Coulthard's session came to an
almost immediate end when the Scot crashed heavily.

Hamilton led at turn one but was too quick into the first corner and consequently dropped places.

Then disaster struck for the 23-year-old when he spun following contact with Massa and had to enter the pits.

Kubica moved top of the field ahead of Alonso and Hamilton's team-mate Heikki Kovalainen by the fifth lap while Raikkonen, who had started the race second on the grid, had dropped to fifth by lap six.

Toyota's Timo Glock returned to the pits in the following lap before retiring from the race.

Kubica remained at the front of the pack by lap 10 with a gap of 1.8 seconds over Alonso while Massa was seventh and Hamilton 16th.

Force India's Adrian Sutil, who had climbed to 10th from 19th, became another casualty of the race when he had to retire with a punctured tyre.

Hamilton was then given a drive-through penalty by stewards for forcing another car off the track while Massa was also hit with the same penalty for his collision with the young Briton.

There was additional disappointment for McLaren when Kovalainen's race came to an end after he pulled to the side of the track when smoke began emanating from the back of his car.

Hamilton admitted his aggressive approach to the first corner was risky.

"Yeah," he said, before admitting in hindsight he would have done it differently.

"Of course. You can always look back and with you did something but I made a mistake and paid for it.

"That sort of thing happens, you've just got to keep your head up and keep going."

Hamilton indicated he was unhappy with the drive-through penalty.

He told ITV1: "We (he and Massa) both got the same penalty – I didn't hit anybody but he did. I guess that's the name of the game."

The Briton remains confident about his title chances.

"I don't think it makes any difference, I lost one point today but I guess it's damage limitation. We'll move onto next week and make sure we win the next two races.

"We plan on winning. Not at any cost, but we plan on winning."

Hamilton entered the pits on lap 18 for his drive-through penalty while Massa followed suit soon after.

Upon rejoining the race, Hamilton was 15th by lap 22 while Alonso was showing significant pace and climbed to second by lap 26 before taking the lead when his team-mate Piquet entered the pits.

Giancarlo Fisichella was then out of the race after problems with his car forced him back into the pits.

Having made another pit stop in lap 43 Hamilton rejoined the race before overtaking Honda's Rubens Barrichello to move into 12th spot.

However, Massa was showing real pace as he climbed into the points three laps later and then set the fastest time in lap 50 with a time of one minute 18.963 seconds.

But the Brazilian then made contact with Bourdais in the following lap causing him to spin before recovering.

Massa was 10th by lap 54 but once again set a new fastest time three
laps later and then passed Nick Heidfeld for ninth.

Piquet dropped out of the chase for second leaving Kubica and Raikkonen to battle it out while Alonso was comfortably in first place.

Massa managed to squeeze inside of Webber to ensure eighth place while Kubica came out on top for the battle for second, leaving Alonso to secure a stunning victory.

With two races remaining the two-time world champion admitted his two successive victories give him confidence of further podium finishes.

"I don't know what to say," said Alonso. "My head says yes as the feeling I have now is that we can do anything.

"Who knows maybe podiums are possible now."

Kubica, meanwhile, was delighted to secure second on the podium to keep himself still in the hunt for the world championship.

"Qualifying was crucial. I managed do to get a good result. Finishing second is a very good result for the team.

"It is difficult at the moment as everyone is pushing."

Massa was promoted to seventh place after stewards hit Sebastien Bourdais with a penalty.

The Toro Rosso driver was hit with a 25-second time penalty after he was deemed to have caused a collision with Massa late in the race.

Massa attempted to pass Bourdais around the outside as the latter rejoined the race following his second pitstop but the two made contact causing the Ferrari driver to spin.

Consequently, Bourdais has dropped from sixth to 10th behind Sebastian Vettel, Massa, Mark Webber and Nick Heidfeld.

Crucially it means Massa picks up two points for the race and is now just five points behind world championship leader Lewis Hamilton with two races remaining.