Reverend
October 12th, 2008, 18:26 PM
Renault's Fernando Alonso took a superb victory in the Japanese Grand Prix as title rivals Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa collided in a dramatic race.
Hamilton made a poor start, ran off the road at the first corner and was tipped into a spin by Massa on lap two.
Both were given penalties for different incidents but Massa recovered to take seventh and cut Hamilton's lead to five points with two races left.
Hamilton, his car damaged by Massa, was 12th and out of the points.
Massa finished eighth on the road, but was promoted to seventh when Toro Rosso's Sebastien Bourdais was penalised 25 seconds, demoting him to 12th, for a collision with the Brazilian on lap 51.
Hamilton is still in a strong position but the Englishman will have to cut out the mistakes that have characterised his season if he is not to lose the championship for the second year in a row.
"What can I say? it was a bad day, I'll move on to next week ," said Hamilton.
"I went wide at turn one, it was a mistake, and then Felipe hit me off, I went on the inside and he broke left and hit me pretty hard."
Massa is not Hamilton's only title rival. BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica is 12 points off the lead and cannot be ruled out.
"Twelve points behind the leader with two races to go - anything can happen," Kubica said.
Japanese Grand Prix Result:
1. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault
2. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari
4. Nelson Piquet (Brz) Renault
5. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota
6. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari
7. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari
8. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
Championship standings:
1. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 84 pts
2. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 79
3. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 72
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 63
5. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 56
6. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 51
7. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 48
8. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 30
Constructors' Championship:
1. Ferrari 142 pts
2. McLaren-Mercedes 135
3. BMW Sauber 128
4. Renault 66
5. Toyota 50
[i]BBC Sport (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7665745.stm)
Hamilton made a poor start, ran off the road at the first corner and was tipped into a spin by Massa on lap two.
Both were given penalties for different incidents but Massa recovered to take seventh and cut Hamilton's lead to five points with two races left.
Hamilton, his car damaged by Massa, was 12th and out of the points.
Massa finished eighth on the road, but was promoted to seventh when Toro Rosso's Sebastien Bourdais was penalised 25 seconds, demoting him to 12th, for a collision with the Brazilian on lap 51.
Hamilton is still in a strong position but the Englishman will have to cut out the mistakes that have characterised his season if he is not to lose the championship for the second year in a row.
"What can I say? it was a bad day, I'll move on to next week ," said Hamilton.
"I went wide at turn one, it was a mistake, and then Felipe hit me off, I went on the inside and he broke left and hit me pretty hard."
Massa is not Hamilton's only title rival. BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica is 12 points off the lead and cannot be ruled out.
"Twelve points behind the leader with two races to go - anything can happen," Kubica said.
Japanese Grand Prix Result:
1. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault
2. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari
4. Nelson Piquet (Brz) Renault
5. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota
6. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari
7. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari
8. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull-Renault
Championship standings:
1. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 84 pts
2. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 79
3. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 72
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 63
5. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 56
6. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 51
7. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 48
8. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari 30
Constructors' Championship:
1. Ferrari 142 pts
2. McLaren-Mercedes 135
3. BMW Sauber 128
4. Renault 66
5. Toyota 50
[i]BBC Sport (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7665745.stm)