Vettel the star in Suzuka

Sebastian Vettel won the Japanese Grand Prix to close the gap on championship leader Jenson Button, who finished eighth.

Brawn GP duo finish seventh and eighth to close in on constructors' title

Sebastian Vettel cruised to victory in the Japanese Grand Prix to close the gap on Jenson Button in the title race to 16 points. The German led right through from pole to the chequered flag, crossing the line 4.8 seconds clear to claim his third win of the 2009 season. Jarno Trulli, the only Toyota running in the race after Timo Glock was ruled out following a smash in qualifying, finished second ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Button could only finish eighth, his Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello just in front of him in seventh, meaning the Brazilian now trails by 14 points in the standings with two rounds to go.

Flying Vettel

Neither of the duo came close to denying Vettel, though. While his Red Bull didn't quite have wings, it certainly flew around the Suzuka track all weekend. Having qualified fastest in an incident-packed session on the Saturday, the 22-year-old never looked in danger of being beaten. Not even the deployment of the saftey car following a spectacular crash involving Jaime Alguersuari on lap 45 could stop him securing victory. Unable to ever get close enough to challenge Vettel, Trulli and Hamilton instead became involved in a battle for second, the latter eventually losing out after a problem with his KERS-enhanced McLaren in the closing stages. While the late yellow flag didn't make much of a difference to the podium it did set up a thrilling finale to see who would finish in the top eight. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen claimed fourth place ahead of the Williams of Nico Rosberg after the German driver escaped punishment over an alleged safety car infringement. A time penalty would have led to Brawn GP securing the constructors' title (they only need half-a-point) but the battle for the drivers' crown looks set to go right down to the wire again. Starting from 10th on the grid, Button found himself stuck in traffic before a mistake by Adrian Sutil, who was involved in a shunt with the McLaren of Heikki Kovalainen, allowed him to move into the points. But just as he seemed to be gaining on those in front of him the yellow flag was waved, and he eventually had to hold off a charging Robert Kubica over the final four laps just to make sure he ended up with anything at all.

Main rival

Barrichello, his main rival in the standings, was only just in front of him, though, and the Brazilian will hope he can finish much higher on home soil in two weeks' time at Interlagos. Only two cars, both Torro Rossos, failed to finish - Alguersuari's race ending when he hit an advertising barrier on the inside of 130R. By that time team-mate Sebastien Buemi had already retired, his race lasting just 11 laps. Mark Webber's miserable weekend in the Far East concluded when he had to make no fewer than five pit stops due to a number of issues with his Red Bull. The Australian had been forced to start the race at the back of the grid having sat out qualifying following a crash in practice and then twice had to come into the pits in the opening laps. He eventually finished in 17th place. Results
01 S. Vettel Red Bull 1:28:20.443
02 J. Trulli Toyota + 4.877
03 L. Hamilton McLaren + 6.472
04 K. Räikkönen Ferrari + 7.940
05 N. Rosberg Williams + 8.793
06 N. Heidfeld BMW + 9.509
07 R. Barrichello Brawn GP + 10.641
08 J. Button Brawn GP + 11.474
09 R. Kubica BMW + 11.777
10 F. Alonso Renault + 13.065
11 H. Kovalainen McLaren + 13.735
12 G. Fisichella Ferrari + 14.596
13 A. Sutil Force India F1 + 14.959
14 V. Liuzzi Force India F1 + 15.734
15 K. Nakajima Williams + 18.973
16 R. Grosjean Renault + 1 lap(s)
17 M. Webber Red Bull + 2 lap(s)
Did not finish
18 J. Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso + 10 lap(s)
19 S. Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso + 42 lap(s)