Pictures From Japanese GP

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 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. Massa is not Hamilton's only title rival. BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica who finished second in Japan is 12 points off the lead and cannot be ruled out.

The chaos among the drivers of the leading teams left Kubica in the lead but he lost it to Alonso when the Spaniard made his first pit stop a lap later than the Pole. Alonso said he asked the team to get him out in front of Kubica but doing so meant he had four laps' less fuel than the BMW for the middle stint of the race. It was one of the Spaniard's greatest races and secured him and Renault an unexpected second win in a row.

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pic 1: Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, F1 2008
pic 2: Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, F1 2008

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pic 1: Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, F1 2008
pic 2: Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, F1 2008

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pic 1: Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, F1 2008
pic 2: Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, F1 2008

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pic 1: Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, F1 2008
pic 2: Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, F1 2008

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pic 1: Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, F1 2008
pic 2: Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, F1 2008

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pic 1: Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, F1 2008
pic 2: Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, F1 2008

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pic 1: Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, F1 2008
pic 2: Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, F1 2008

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pic 1: Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, F1 2008
pic 2: Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway in Oyama, F1 2008