NEWS AND REACTION TO COME...
news....news..... Massa has been promoted to seventh after Bourdais was penalised 25 seconds and will now be classified 12th.
1. Alonso (Renault) - 10
2. Kubica (BMW) - 8
3. Raikkonen (Ferrari) - 6
Fantastic race - and very exciting, though Massa may not see it that way. Hamilton won;t be happy with 10th but once he realises that Massa got only one point, he'll know it's been a good day.
lap 67 - Alonso is cruising now and will win... and he does....Kubica has held off Raikkonen for second, but only just. Piquet makes fourth ahead of Trulli with Bourdais and Vettel picking up points behind, while Massa picks up a solitary point for eighth.
lap 64 - Massa passes Webber and is in the points...
lap 62 - Piquet falls behind Trulli after a mistake. Alonso now 12 seconds in the lead - he looks safe.
lap 59 - Massa passes Heidfeld and is up to 9th... though he has a second stewards' investigation pending over the Bourdais incident (see lap 50).
lap 57/58 - Kubica may have seen off Raikkonen, or maybe the Finn is just holding off for one last push. Massa still 10th, Hamilton 12th - so there's a chance of one or two points... but at the moment both Toro Rossos look solid (6th and 7th) with Webber's Red Bull hanging on to 8th.
lap 51/52 - Kimi has a sniff but Kubica blocks brilliantly - but can he do it another 15/16 times? One lap later, and Kubica forces Kimi onto the gravel as they go toe to toe - spellbinding stuff and reminiscent of the 70s and Arnoux/Villeneuve!
In the meantime, Piquet has pitted and is now 4th, ahead of Jarno Trulli.
lap 50 - Massa and Bourdais collide! Not a great race (again) for the Brazilian.... and it was clearly his fault, as Bourdais was just coming out of the pitlane and he just didn;t see him. Both continue though only Massa spun. Kubica holding off a charging Raikkonen for second place - it's easily the best battle on the track.
lap 47/48 - Kimi has a 30 second lead and is about to pit...he then rejoins just a car length or so behind Kubica - so close. It was not a great stop, though it was better than Massa's in Singapore...on the road, Trulli leads by less than a second from Piquet, with Bourdais third.
lap 46 - Kubica is 22 seconds ahead of Alonso - that can't possibly be enough after he pits. The Pole pits and comes out in 7th - behind Vettel, who is just behind Alonso. It's up to Raikkonen now if anyone is to deny a second Alonso win in a row.
lap 44/45 - ALONSO PITS! So Kubica has roughly 4-5 laps to get well clear of the Spaniard if he is to have the remotest hope of winning on the track. Alonso rejoins in 6th. Raikkonen starting to move now and sets fastest lap in pursuit of Kubica - contrary to what I said in the last post. Ooops.
lap 40 - Now Massa is beginning to push - he takes Webber for 10th and is looking solidly at some championship points. As for the lead, Alonso's Renault is now 13 seconds clear of Kubica's BMW. Raikkonen in third but strangely muted.
lap 34 - a quiet period... Hamilton remains seven seconds behind Massa in 13th despite both of them flying around the track. Alonso currently lapping half a second quicker than Kubica.
lap 29/30 - Almost halfway through, and the positions beginning to settlle down. Interestingly perhaps, if Kubica were to win and Massa/Hamilton fail to score, he would become a (very) outside possibility for the title, as he'd be just 12 points behind Hamilton and five behind Massa. Webber finally pits from 4th, lifting Trulli up a place, which will give the home crowd something to cheer.
lap 28 - Piquet finally pits -and emerges in front of Bourdais though the Frenchman battles back to take 6th. So the 'real' positions are now Alonso, then Kubica seven seconds behind, then Kimi a further four seconds behind.
lap 27 - Nelsinho now 11 seconds in front of Alonso - he must pit soon, surely? Kubica third, Kimi 4th, followed by Webber, Trulli, and the Toro Rossos.
lap 25 - Bourdais pits and re-emerges in 7th - only Piquet still out who hasn't pitted. When all's done Alonso will lead from Kubica and Raikkonen. Word is that Kubica has fuel for 4 more laps than Alonso.. Hamilton and Massa now 13th and 14th.
lap 24 - Vettel pits, Bourdais still out. The German come out alongside compatriot Nick Heidfeld, who always seems to sneak up into 3rd or 4th without anyone noticing. Alonso in third heads Kubica and Raikkonen among the already-stopped drivers.
lap 22 - Kovalainen has a problem and is mooching around slowly before retiring. Trulli leads from Bourdais but now pits - leaving the Frenchman in the lead. Boy, haven't heard those words since Olivier Panis at Monaco back in 1929. Bourdais from, um, Piquet, with Vettel third. Toro Rosso are the new Ferrari!
lap 18 - Both Ferrari drivers are in the pits - and Massa has also been given a drive through penalty, which would put him back not far from the likes of Hamilton. all this of course is great for Lewis, as he can drive at 25mph like an old granny for the rest of the season wants as long as Massa doesn't get points. Massa goes back out in 9th place (but did he actually serve his penalty yet?) and with a whopping load of fuel - who knows, it could be a masterstroke...Kubica and Alonso both pit, leaving Trulli's Toyota in the lead.
lap 16 - Hamilton 16th, just approaching poor Jenson Button. Kubica now 1.4 seconds ahead of Alonso. Hamilton looks like he's been given a drive through penalty for his move on Massa.
lap 14 - the top six are very tightly bunched. If there was a pace car at some point, as in Singapore, it would play into Hamilton's hands and he'd have a chance. Otherwise, it's hard to see him getting more than a point or two at best.
lap 12 /13- Just seen the incident again. Massa went off the track before blocking Hamilton - could cost him if he's found to have been a naughty boy. Then again, he is driving a Ferrari.... Alonso now less than a second behind Kubica with Kovalainen pushing hard behind the Spaniard.
lap 11 - Apparently there are incidents under inestigation involving cars 1, 2 and 22 - that's the two Ferraris and Hamilton. Could hardly be more high profile!
lap 10 - as it stands, Massa would onlny chip two more points into Hamilton's lead... but its early days yet...
lap 8 - 1.8 seconds the lead now. Raikkonen passes Trulli to go 4th now. Massa is 12 seconds - and six cars - off the lead.
lap 5 - It's worth going back to that start and giving big thumbs up to Kubica - moving up from 6th to 1st - and Alonso who leapt from 4th to 2nd.
lap 4: Kubica still in front - Glock pits after that shunt on lap one. The locals will surely be well miffed that Nakajima looks like bringing up the rear.
lap 3: Two second for Kubica now over Alonso. What's happened to the title duel? Maybe the stewards might want to take a look at that one - it looks like Lewis may have been hard done by there. Kovalainen 3rd, Trulli is 4th, Raikonnen 5th, Bourdais 6th. Massa now 7th. Hamilton down to 18th - but he's done races through the field before...
lap 2 - Oh no! Hamilton and Massa duelling for fifth place - they clash and Lewis spins off. Classic case of Hamilton driving aggressively and trying to win a place early on, but Massa was having none of it. Hamilton pits.
lap 1 - green lights on, amazing start, Kubica gets away brilliantly and shuts out Massa and Raikkonen - Hamilton doesn't get a great start but makes it through the melee. Coultahrd and Nakajima have a prang. Kubica leads from Alonso with Kovalainen third.
5:30 - on the warm-up lap now - only a minute to go.
Lewis Hamilton took a magnificent pole position yesterday and could today take a massive, massive step towards ensuring he leaves Japan with one hand on the F1 World Championship. With a seven point lead over Felipe Massa, he knows that while he can't clinch the title at Fuji, he could be as many as seventeen points clear with just twenty points on offer at the final two races in China and Brazil.
