Alonso wins in Fuji as Hamilton sees title lead cut
Sunday, 12 Oct 2008 19:24
Hamilton lost first place at the opening corner and never recovered
Fernando Alonso has claimed a second successive grand prix victory for Renault in an action-packed race at the Fuji circuit in Japan.
The Spaniard capitalised on mistakes by the front-runners to claim top place on the podium ahead of BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
Drivers' world championship leader Lewis Hamilton could only finish in 12th place after a disastrous opening two laps that saw him earn a drive-through penalty and spin.
Hamilton's main rival Felipe Massa was the man who sent the McLaren driver off the race track and he also received a drive-through penalty.
Although that also affected his race the Ferrari driver managed to work his way up to eighth place. He was later awarded seventh place after stewards ruled Sebastien Bourdais had collided with Massa when they went wheel to wheel towards the end of the race.
Hamilton's woes began on the start line, after he struggled to get away and did not leave himself enough space as he broke late into turn one.
In trying to defend his position against Raikkonen he pushed both cars off line and ended up in sixth place behind Massa.
Midway through the second lap Hamilton tried to pass the Brazilian into a chicane. This time Massa out-braked himself and as he rejoined the racing line tagged Hamilton – sending the Briton into a spin.
At the front of the race Kubica was leading heading into the first round of pit stops with Alonso second. However, Renault short-fuelled the Spaniard to allow him to get out ahead of the Pole.
That meant Alonso's middle stint was a lot shorter than Kubica's but with a lighter fuel load he was able to create a 25-second lead between himself and the second laced man.
Kubica had to fend off Raikkonen in the latter stages, as the Finn finally got into the race, but although the Ferrari was able to catch the BMW he was unable to find enough speed to get past.
Hamilton's lead in the world championship is now down to five points with two races remaining.