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SUZUKA, Japan: Sebastian Vettel kept alive his bid for this year's world championship on Sunday when he won the Japanese Grand Prix with an impeccable drive from pole position.
The 22-year-old German, in his Red Bull, raced clear at the start to deliver a dazzling lights-to-flag victory in a largely processional race in dry conditions at the challenging Suzuka circuit.
He won comfortably ahead of veteran Italian Jarno Trulli, in a Toyota, and third-placed outgoing world champion Briton Lewis Hamilton of McLaren Mercedes.
World championship leader Briton Jenson Button finished eighth, one place behind his Brawn GP team-mate Brazilian Rubens Barrichello, an outcome that did nothing to resolve this year's title scrap.
Button had required a five points advantage over Barrichello to lift the title, but in the end saw his lead trimmed again.
With two races remaining this year, in Brazil and Abu Dhabi, Button has 85 points, Barrichello 71 and Vettel 69.
Brawn, meanwhile, now need just one point to take the constructors championship ahead of Red Bull.
Finn Kimi Raikkonen finished fourth for Ferrari ahead of German Nico Rosberg, fifth for Williams, with German Nick Heidfeld sixth for BMW Sauber.
Vettel's win was his first since the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in June, his third this year and the fourth of his career.
"Fantastic, fantastic, thank you. P1. This our day," he screamed on the team radio after winning.
After a confused morning during which a revised grid was issued with Barrichello sixth and Button 10th - both having had five-place grid penalties - the build-up was tense.
But the weather was good: dry and sunny.
German Timo Glock was unfit to drive for Toyota after gashing his leg when he crashed in Saturday's qualifying session.
When the lights went out, Vettel made a flying start from pole and streaked clear while Hamilton passed Trulli for second. Button slipped back a place to 11th.
Button was forced to fight for places and after being passed by Giancarlo Fisichella, he regained that spot and on lap four passed Robert Kubica to take 10th.
Vettel was in a world of his own in the early laps and by lap 10 was 3.3 seconds clear of Hamilton with Trulli third.
Button was struggling but was handed a lucky break on lap 14 when Adrian Sutil tried to pass Heikki Kovalainen at the chicane and, when they collided, spun.
It was a perfect invitation to Button and he managed to pass both men for eighth, a points position.
Vettel's lead was so comfortable he was able to stay out for two laps longer than expected as he conserved fuel before the first round of pit stops which saw some reshuffling of the field.
All this meant that Button climbed to sixth for a spell before the second stops began.
For Button, all that mattered was that he was unlikely to pass the distant Vettel and was running behind his chief rival Barrichello.
After his second stop on lap 42, of the 53, Button was soon back in eighth again with Barrichello seventh before a huge accident involving Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari who speared off into the barriers at turn 15 in his Toro Rosso.
This caused the introduction of the safety car.
The severe damage to the tyre wall caused a lengthy delay and left most observers working on their calculators to see if the world title would be resolved if the result was as the positions stood.
The short answer was that nothing was over and both driver and constructors championship battles go on to the Brazilian Grand Prix.
After four laps behind the safety car, the field produced a dramatic rush to the finish but with no more incidents to upset the order.
- AFP/yb
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