Hamilton closes in on F1 title after win in wet Japan

Sep 30, 2007, 7:04 GMT

British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton of McLaren Mercedes races behind the Safety Car after the Start of the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix 30 September 2007 at the Fuji Speedway near Gotemba about 100 kilometers west of Tokyo, Japan. The first 19 laps took place behind the safety car due to the adverse rainy conditions. Hamilton eventuall won the race. EPA/GERO BRELOER

Fuji, Japan - Lewis Hamilton of Britain won a wet and turbulent Japanese Formula One Grand Prix on Sunday and took a big step towards the world title as his McLaren-Mercedes team-mate Fernando Alonso crashed out.

The first 19 laps took place behind the safety car due to the adverse conditions. It came out again for five laps after Alonso spun

off and crashed in the 42nd lap, sending debris all over the track.

Hamilton, 22, survived a collision with Polish BMW driver Robert Kubica to win the chaotic race from Finnish Renault driver Heikki Kovalainen and Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen.

Hamilton takes 107 points into the final two races of his sensational debut season in China and Brazil and can wrap up the title next Sunday in Shanghai.

The two-time defending champion Alonso has 95 points and Raikkonen has 90 after fighting from the back of the field due to a risky Ferrari tyre choice ahead of the race.

The rain briefly stopped, but set in again four minutes ahead of the warmup lap, prompting race stewards to start the action behind the safety car.

The stewards also ordered teams to use so-called 'heavy wets' (tyres), but Ferrari appeared to use intermediates early on.

Ferrari had to switch after the warm-up lap because the rubbers could not deal with the water on the track. As a result, Raikkonen and Massa dropped to the end after initially being third and fourth on the grid.

Drivers complained about awful conditions, but the weather got slightly better to allow a proper start in the 20th lap, with Hamilton handily keeping the lead from Alonso and only relinquishing it later on when he had to refuel.

That saw German Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Vettel in front for a while, and Kovalainen also held first place at times.

Hamilton finally was back on top once the others also made their pit stops, but had a major scare in the 34th lap when Kubica drove into him in a dare-devil overtaking effort, for which the Pole was punished with a drive-through penalty.

Alonso had his own collision with Vettel before seemingly losing control in the 42nd lap and crashing into a wall, the incident possibly the culmination of his ill-fated Mclaren season.

This incident could have decided the championship in Hamilton's favour as the Brit made no mistake to finally win in 2 hours 34.579 seconds for the 67 laps of 305.721 kilometres.

Red Bull driver Mark Webber of Australia and Vettel appeared to be in command for team-best second and third-place finishes, but a bizarre collision during the second safety car phase damaged both cars beyond repair.

Red Bull later said that Webber was suffering from food poisoning and was sick in the car, but it was not known immediately whether that led to the collision.

Kovalainen and Raikkonen eventually completed the podium, with David Coulthard (Red Bull), Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault), Massa, Kubica and Vitantonio Liuzzi (Toro Rosso).