Third place might have been second were it not for a rare KERS glitch, but another podium was a great result for Lewis Hamilton and McLaren at Suzuka. It puts Hamilton within two points of Kimi Raikkonen for fifth place in the drivers’ table, and the team within two of Ferrari for third in the constructors’.

Sebastian Vettel came to Suzuka knowing he had to go for broke if he was to keep his title hopes alive. He delivered in style, staying cool in a hectic qualifying to put his Red Bull on pole, and then leading from lights to flag for ten points.

Felipe Massa has taken another step towards his Formula One comeback after Ferrari won approval from the FIA for him to test in an older car. Massa fractured his skull in a qualifying crash at July’s Hungarian Grand Prix and is now back in training ahead of his planned return at next March’s season-opening Bahrain race…

It was just the result he needed to keep the world championship open. Two races to go and still three drivers in the hunt for the title – it couldn’t get better. Sebastian Vettel, by winning Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, was able to reduce the gap to leader Jenson Button by nine points so that he is now 16 behind the Briton, and only two behind Rubens Barichello

Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel brought his world championship hopes alive again with a superb victory in Japan on Sunday afternoon, winning as he pleased and leading Jarno Trulli’s Toyota home by 4.8s despite a late safety car intervention. Lewis Hamilton was third for McLaren, another 1.5s adrift, after losing out to Trulli in the second pit stops

Toyota confirmed on Sunday morning that Timo Glock will not take part in the Japanese Grand Prix following his high-speed crash in qualifying Glock went off into the tyre wall after losing control of his TF109 in Suzuka’s final turn during Q2 and was taken to a hospital in Yokkaichi.

While Fuji Speedway proved a popular venue with teams, drivers and media there is no mistaking the feeling here that Suzuka, with a track layout that McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton described as ‘the best I have ever driven’ is the spiritual home of the Japanese Grand Prix. The huge modifications to the old cramped paddock have been very well received, and the atmosphere of wellbeing was tangible…

Lack of dry road running time thanks to the rain on Friday, and the trickiness of several corners, notably Degner One and Two, conspired to make qualifying one of the most chaotic sessions in recent memory, with Toro Rosso team mates Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari, Toyota’s Timo Glock and McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen all suffering accidents and then Brawn GP’s Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, Force India’s Adrian Sutil and Renault’s Fernando Alonso, all receiving five grid-place penalties for ignoring yellow flags…

He said that he will fight until the last breath for the title. Saturday at Suzuka was the first chance to show that he really meant it and, with bravura, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel demonstrated that he really has not given up on the championship yet.

After giving everyone a reminder of his speed and talent in Monza, in Singapore Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi struggled for pace compared to team mate Adrian Sutil. In Suzuka things have gone from bad to worse, but with Liuzzi the latest to succumb to the flu-like bug sweeping through the paddock, he was expecting a tough time. The young Italian is now hoping to feel better for the race on Sunday and is dying to show that he’s in the car for good reason…