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7th
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Sebastian Vettel made good use of championship leader Fernando Alonso's retirement, by taking the maximum number of points available: 25.
Vettel started from pole and was helped at the start by first corner incidents, once more involving hot-headed Romain Grosjean. The Frenchman took Australian Mark Webber out of contention.
Alonso was taken out by Kimi Raikkonen, the two banging wheels ultimately led to the Spaniard's second consecutive lap one retirement.
Felipe Massa, in the second Ferrari, came through from 10th on the grid to pick up his first podium since Korea 2010, partially helped by misfortunes to others. Nevertheless, he managed to beat both local hero Kamui Kobayashi and last year's winner Jenson Button.
Kobayashi crossed the line third to pick up his first career podium. Button hounded him until the finish line, which he crossed fourth.
Nico Rosberg was also another victim of the chain reaction triggered by Grosjean. For his action, the reigning GP2 champ was punished by a 10-second stop/go penalty.
Lewis Hamilton's race, highlighted by a duel with his replacement at McLaren Sergio Perez, quietly ended in fifth, behind his teammate. Perez was his own victim as he spun trying to pass the Briton.
Despite a tormented start, Kimi Raikkonen brought his Lotus home sixth, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, Pastor Maldonado and a recovering Mark Webber. Daniel Ricciardo made it two Australians in the top 10, denying Michael Schumacher, in 11th place, the last point available.
Alonso's lead in the championship standings is now down to just four points.
Race results* - Japanese Grand Prix (Suzuka)
1 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 53 laps 1.28'56"242
2 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F2012) - 20"639
3 - Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 24"538
4 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 25"098
5 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 46"490
6 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E20-Renault) - 50"424
7 - Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 51"159
8 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW34-Renault) - 52"364
9 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 54"675
10 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1'06"919
11 - Michael Schumacher (Mercedes MGP W03) - 1'07"769
12 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1'23"400
13 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1'28"600
14 - Bruno Senna (Williams FW34-Renault) - 1'28"700
15 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E20-Renault) - 1 lap
16 - Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1 lap
17 - Timo Glock (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1 lap
18 - Vitaly Petrov (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1 lap
19 - Pedro De La Rosa (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1 lap
Fastest lap of the race: Sebastian Vettel 1'35"774
Retirements
Lap 1 - Nico Rosberg
Lap 1 - Fernando Alonso
Lap 20 - Sergio Perez
Lap 35 - Narain Karthikeyan
Lap 40 - Charles Pic
Drivers' championship
1.Alonso 194; 2.Vettel 190; 3.Raikkonen 157; 4.Hamilton 152; 5.Webber 135; 6.Button 131; 7.Rosberg 93; 8.Grosjean 82; 9.Massa 69; 10.Perez 65; 11.Kobayashi 50; 12.Di Resta 44; 13.Schumacher 43; 14.Hulkenberg 37; 15.Maldonado 33; 16.Senna 25; 17.Vergne 8; 18.Ricciardo 7.
Construtors' championship
1.Red Bull-Renault 325; 2.McLaren-Mercedes 283; 3.Ferrari 263; 4.Lotus-Renault 239; 5.Mercedes 136; 6.Sauber-Ferrari 115; 7.Force India-Mercedes 81; 8.Williams-Renault 58; 9.Toro Rosso-Ferrari 15.
*Unofficial results
Vettel started from pole and was helped at the start by first corner incidents, once more involving hot-headed Romain Grosjean. The Frenchman took Australian Mark Webber out of contention.
Alonso was taken out by Kimi Raikkonen, the two banging wheels ultimately led to the Spaniard's second consecutive lap one retirement.
Felipe Massa, in the second Ferrari, came through from 10th on the grid to pick up his first podium since Korea 2010, partially helped by misfortunes to others. Nevertheless, he managed to beat both local hero Kamui Kobayashi and last year's winner Jenson Button.
Kobayashi crossed the line third to pick up his first career podium. Button hounded him until the finish line, which he crossed fourth.
Nico Rosberg was also another victim of the chain reaction triggered by Grosjean. For his action, the reigning GP2 champ was punished by a 10-second stop/go penalty.
Lewis Hamilton's race, highlighted by a duel with his replacement at McLaren Sergio Perez, quietly ended in fifth, behind his teammate. Perez was his own victim as he spun trying to pass the Briton.
Despite a tormented start, Kimi Raikkonen brought his Lotus home sixth, ahead of Nico Hulkenberg, Pastor Maldonado and a recovering Mark Webber. Daniel Ricciardo made it two Australians in the top 10, denying Michael Schumacher, in 11th place, the last point available.
Alonso's lead in the championship standings is now down to just four points.
Race results* - Japanese Grand Prix (Suzuka)
1 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 53 laps 1.28'56"242
2 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari F2012) - 20"639
3 - Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber C31-Ferrari) - 24"538
4 - Jenson Button (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 25"098
5 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/27-Mercedes) - 46"490
6 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus E20-Renault) - 50"424
7 - Nico Hulkenberg (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 51"159
8 - Pastor Maldonado (Williams FW34-Renault) - 52"364
9 - Mark Webber (Red Bull RB8-Renault) - 54"675
10 - Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1'06"919
11 - Michael Schumacher (Mercedes MGP W03) - 1'07"769
12 - Paul Di Resta (Force India VJM05-Mercedes) - 1'23"400
13 - Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso STR7-Ferrari) - 1'28"600
14 - Bruno Senna (Williams FW34-Renault) - 1'28"700
15 - Romain Grosjean (Lotus E20-Renault) - 1 lap
16 - Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1 lap
17 - Timo Glock (Marussia MR01-Cosworth) - 1 lap
18 - Vitaly Petrov (Caterham CT01-Renault) - 1 lap
19 - Pedro De La Rosa (HRT F112-Cosworth) - 1 lap
Fastest lap of the race: Sebastian Vettel 1'35"774
Retirements
Lap 1 - Nico Rosberg
Lap 1 - Fernando Alonso
Lap 20 - Sergio Perez
Lap 35 - Narain Karthikeyan
Lap 40 - Charles Pic
Drivers' championship
1.Alonso 194; 2.Vettel 190; 3.Raikkonen 157; 4.Hamilton 152; 5.Webber 135; 6.Button 131; 7.Rosberg 93; 8.Grosjean 82; 9.Massa 69; 10.Perez 65; 11.Kobayashi 50; 12.Di Resta 44; 13.Schumacher 43; 14.Hulkenberg 37; 15.Maldonado 33; 16.Senna 25; 17.Vergne 8; 18.Ricciardo 7.
Construtors' championship
1.Red Bull-Renault 325; 2.McLaren-Mercedes 283; 3.Ferrari 263; 4.Lotus-Renault 239; 5.Mercedes 136; 6.Sauber-Ferrari 115; 7.Force India-Mercedes 81; 8.Williams-Renault 58; 9.Toro Rosso-Ferrari 15.
*Unofficial results