FUJI, Japan: Renault's Fernando Alonso stormed to his second win in a row at a wild Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, while McLaren's championship leader Lewis Hamilton plunged from first to last and failed to score.
Hamilton finished in 12th after starting on pole, with Ferrari's Felipe Massa battling to eighth - later promoted to seventh - to close the gap on the Briton to five points with two races left.
The Formula One title rivals both received drive-through penalties, Hamilton for cutting across Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari and causing mayhem behind him in a mad dash to the first corner.
Massa, who survived several scrapes during the race, was similarly penalized after the Brazilian collided with Hamilton on lap two, spinning the McLaren and leaving the Briton in 18th.
"I made a mistake at the first corner and I paid for it," Hamilton told reporters. "Then Felipe hit me off. I left room on the apex of turn 11 but he hit me pretty hard.
Hamilton, who won in Japan last year before allowing Raikkonen to make up a 17 point deficit over the final two races to take the title, said his championship hopes had not suffered serious damage.
"I don't think it makes any difference," he said. "I'm already getting over it. We're going to make sure we win the last two races - not at any cost, but we plan on winning."
BMW-Sauber's Robert Kubica finished second to boost the Pole's outside chances of the championship, while Raikkonen's third place ended his title defense.
Massa picked up what could be a crucial extra point after stewards penalized Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais for a tangle with the Brazilian as his Toro Rosso emerged from the pits on lap 51.
"He just hit me coming out of the box (pits)," said Massa. "It was completely wrong. It could have been better in terms of points but we can't leave here saying it was a disaster."
Hamilton has 84 points with Massa on 79. Kubica has 72 with races in China and Brazil remaining.
Raikkonen, who started alongside Hamilton on the front row, earned Ferrari six points, lifting them back above McLaren in the constructors' race. Ferrari have 142 to McLaren's 135.
Renault's Brazilian rookie Nelson Piquet finished fourth with Toyota's Jarno Trulli taking fifth at the Japanese team's home circuit.
Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel, a winner in Italy last month, was promoted to sixth while Australian Mark Webber moved up to eighth for Red Bull.
Source: China Daily/Agencies
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