Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel won the
Japanese Grand Prix from the pole on Sunday to close within four points of
Formula One championship leader Fernando Alonso, who crashed out of the race at
the first turn. wholesale cheap
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Vettel, who also won the last race in Singapore, is
now within sight of a third straight title - something only previously
accomplished by Juan-Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher - with five races
left.
''It was an important step today,'' Vettel
said. ''There is still a long way to go. I don't know what happened behind me
today but Alonso was very unlucky. We never know what is going to happen in the
next race so it was important to take points today.''
Alonso's Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa was
second, 20.6 seconds behind Vettel for his first podium finish since Korea in 2010,
a performance that should boost his chances of staying with the team.
Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi delighted the home
fans by taking third place - holding off a late challenge from McLaren's Jenson
Button - for his first-ever F1 podium. He became the first Japanese driver on a
podium here since 1990.
The race got off to a rocky start with a
series of collisions in the first corner. Alonso made contact with the Lotus of
Kimi Raikkonen and appeared to sustain a punctured tire, fishtailing off the
track and the car stalled, leaving a disconsolate Alonso to trudge back to the
pits.
Also on the first turn, Lotus' Romain
Grosjean rammed into the Red Bull of Mark Webber, sending the Australian to the
back of the pack after starting from second. Grosjean was given a drive-through
penalty for causing the collision, and in light of his suspension for a race
for doing the same in Belgium,
the Frenchman may face disciplinary action again.
Also in the first corner, Mercedes' Nico
Rosberg came together with Williams' Bruno Senna, ending the German's race.
Vettel avoided all the trouble behind him
at the first turn, and quickly established a comfortable lead.
Massa overtook Kobayashi after the first set of pit stops and managed to
close the gap slightly, but Vettel maintained a strong lead to the checkered
flag.
Vettel blocked Alonso during the final
moments of qualifying on Saturday when the Ferrari driver was arriving at the
chicane. Race officials reviewed the incident and reprimanded Vettel but
allowed him to keep the pole. That decision may have been a factor in Alonso's
aggressive start.
Sauber driver Sergio Perez's day came to an
end when he spun off the track on the 19th lap trying to pass Lewis Hamilton at
the hairpin turn. Perez will replace Hamilton
next season at McLaren as the Briton moves to Mercedes.
With the winner decided early on, the focus
for many of the fans became third place where Kobayashi was battling it out
with Button, who won here last year.
Kobayashi, who started third, prevailed by
half a second to become the first Japanese driver since Aguri Suzuki in 1990 to
celebrate on the podium in front of the home crowd.
Hamilton finished in fifth, 20 seconds behind Button, and in front of a pack
of cars fighting out the lower-point positions. Raikkonen took sixth ahead of
Force India's
Nico Hulkenberg, with Pastor Maldonado of Williams eighth and Webber recovering
for ninth. Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo held off Michael Schumacher of
Mercedes to take the last point. cheap
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In the drivers' championship, Alonso and
Vettel look like they'll be fighting it out for the title. Raikkonen is 33
points behind Vettel in third and five points in front of Hamilton. Webber and Button are 59 and 63
points off the lead, respectively.
Red Bull extended its lead in the
constructors' championship to 42 points ahead of McLaren, with Ferrari another
20 points back.
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