FORMULA 1 Live

- Assuming that Massa is not docked his World Championship point, he moves six behind Hamilton with two races to come in China and Brazil. Kubica is right back in the hunt, another six further back.

0' Hamilton finishes in 12th. You can see the final results on the left-hand side of the screen.

0' Piquet with a great drive for fourth despite a late error, with Trulli fifth, Bourdais sixth, Vettel seventh and Massa taking a point in eighth.

0' BMW Sauber's Kubica second with Raikkonen of Ferrari also on the podium.

0' ALONSO COMES HOME FOR THAT VICTORY!!! He is chuffed to be back among the race wins after spending the majority of the season in an uncompetitive car.

1' He allows Hamilton to remain ahead of him as they meet on track, although there is a lap between them. A nice touch as the Briton hares off, but he isn't going to catch anyone.

2' Alonso easing home for a second straight win.

3' Massa passes the Australian for eighth and a possible point!! However his wheels were technically off track and so he could be hit with another penalty... no word on that yet though, of course - just me thinking out loud.

4' Massa still on the tail of Webber, but unable to pass for now.

5' Piquet made a mistake and has, as a result, fallen off the pace of Raikkonen.

7' As the race enters its final stage, it looks like this: Alonso, Kubica, Raikkonen, Piquet, Trulli, Bourdais, Vettel, Webber, Massa, Heidfeld, Rosberg, Hamilton, Barrichello, Button and Nakajima.

9' Massa shoots past Heidfeld for ninth. He is going all out for a point here and closing already on Webber. He may be penalised post-race, remember, for that Bourdais incident.

10' Piquet is not only comfortable, but quicker than the cars ahead of him - his team are telling him to try and pass Raikkonen!

12' Piquet comfortable in fourth ahead of Trulli and Bourdais - Massa has pitted and has lost places, at least for now.

13' The Massa-Bourdais incident will be investigated after the race. Bourdais could not have moved anywhere as he was on the inside of the track so surely they cannot hit him with a penalty...

14' For the second time in two laps Raikkonen has a go at Kubica, but the Pole stands his ground and forces the Finn off the track... he swoops back on and prepares for a another try.

15' Piquet comes in for a clean stop.

17' MASSA SPINS OUT!! He pulled alongside Bourdais as the Frenchman left the pits, and didn't give him any room - and paid the penalty. He is still on the tarmac though and drags it round and back into the race. He didn't lose any places.

17' Piquet leads the grand prix but has to stop again - it doesn't look like he's one-stopping.

18' Hamilton not making any headway, at least not like Massa. If the latter scores points it will throw the title race wide open.

19' The fuel rig again not coming out cleanly - the lollipop cannot help with that - and he rejoins just behind the BMW man.

20' Raikkonen preparing to come in. He has been catching Kubica in net terms and has a chance of coming out in front of him...

21' Massa eighth, enough for a point in the World Championship.

22' The fearless Raikkonen who has set 10 fastest laps in races this season is back - he has done it again, at least for now... he brings out this kind of form in certain stints but never seems to do it over a whole race.

24' Alonso back out into sixth. It may not be easy for Kubica, temporarily first, as he is struggling with the suspension. Raikkonen suddenly catching him on all sectors of the track...

25' Hamilton takes a place from Barrichello as Alonso comes in.

26' That stop, quite clean for Lewis, will be his last today - assuming that he can finish the race without further incidents.

27' Heidfeld comes in for a pit-stop as Hamilton also prepares to pit. Massa past Webber and 10th!! Maybe I spoke too soon.

28' There is still time yet for Felipe to pull out a point or two with a top-eight finish, but it is a big ask.

29' BMW are preparing to welcome someone into the pits. Massa 11th after leaving Barrichello in his dust.

31' Alonso looking untouchable in first, pulling away from Kubica who should be content with second. He would be right back in with a shot at the title if he can see it out. Now that would be a title shock to blow away Raikkonen's surprise win last year.

32' The cars are sporting a green stripe on their tyres as a gesture of support for environmentally-friendly racing. Which is nice. I'm not sure all those fumes are doing the Japanese air much good, but there you go.

34' Hamilton passes English compatriot Button's Honda and begins to focus on Massa, eight seconds ahead.

35' Alonso lapping better than Raikkonen and Renault are telling the twice world champion that Kubica is his main rival in this race. If the top two in the drivers' standings do not score here and seven points remain between them, the Pole will only be five points behind second-placed Massa.

36' Alonso nine seconds ahead of Kubica, who is in turn comfortable ahead of Raikkonen.

38' Massa has passed Button for 12th while Hamilton, who is tearing around the track, remains 14th.

39' Scot Coulthard, with only two races to come in his racing career after that early crash: "Into turn one I was trying to go down inside of Bourdais and naturally he came back in towards the apex and there was a bit of bumping and grinding. We accelerated out and into turn two - it was probably the suspension that went and I flew into the barrier. It'll be a new chassis for the next race."

40' Piquet sixth after his long first stint, but fifth in real terms as Webber is still to come in.

41' Massa 13th ahead of Hamilton, who is catching quickly as his rival is stuck behind Button. Neither looking likely to snatch a point at present.

42' Piquet leads the race for now. Behind him Alonso is the 'true' leader ahead of Kubica, Raikkonen, Webber - who hasn't stopped - Trulli, Bourdais and Vettel.

45' Alonso third now behind Bourdais and team-mate Piquet - neither of them have stopped. When they do the Spaniard will take over the lead of this grand prix, and he has earned it.

46' Singapore hero Alonso again doing well, sitting pretty in fourth after pitting first of anyone. He will come out in the top three when everyone has pitted.

47' Kova said that the gears stopped working then the engine and everything else. "I think it was an engine failure. The car has been reliable but sometimes these things happen - metal flying from the exhaust is never a good sign."

48' The cars are coming in, leaving Trulli in first for the moment - he passes Hamilton, who has to shift over when the blue flags are waved at him.

50' It is all going wrong for Woking outfit McLaren, who were dumped out of the constructors' championship last season over the spying saga. Before this race they held a single-point advantage over Ferrari - the only good news is that penalty for Massa.

51' Massa issued a drive-through penalty for that incident with Hamilton at turn 11... that will hurt him today. Hamilton also has to serve a drive-through penalty for forcing Raikkonen off the track into the opening corner.

52' Kovalainen out of the race!! The Finn chugs his McLaren off the tarmac as smoke pours from his vehicle. He emerges from the car and holds his arms out in a gesture of frustration.

53' The lower half of the field from ninth: Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber, Nick Heidfeld, Rubens Barrichello, Giancarlo Fisichella, Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button, Hamilton and Nakajima.

54' Timo Glock, who pulled into the pits early on to surprise his team - needing some new tyres - is out of the GP. Glock: "I drove over some stuff and it was a bit loose on the rear and I lost it on the kerb. I got launched in the air and when I landed I hit something."

55' There is plenty of debris on the track, which would account for Sutil's blowout. It makes for some seriously competitive racing.

56' The stewards are investigating 'incidents': for that read the first corner mayhem and also the Massa-Hamilton touch.

57' Massa currently in the points - he'd pick up two for his present position. That would put him five behind Hamilton in the title stakes with two races to come. Massa will make up places from here though, surely...

58' Eurosport blogger Nelson Piquet Jr is sitting in eighth after making up places from 12th on the starting grid.

59' Force India's Adrian Sutil loses control and wrecks his car without endangering himself.

60' Raikkonen with a clean pass at the turn 10 hairpin to leave Trulli in his wake.

62' The race stewards may want to look at that again. Massa cut the corner slightly to make up the ground on Lewis.

64' Sebastien Bourdais is sixth ahead of Massa... Jarno Trulli of Toyota has worked his way up into fourth ahead of Raikkonen after the Massa-Hamilton incident.

65' Hamilton comes in for some new tyres as we take another look at the race start... Hamilton went too eagerly into the first corner and took Raikkonen and Kova off the track into the run-off area with him.

66' HAMILTON SPUN OUT BY MASSA!!! The Brazilian came over a corner narrowly and touches the back of the McLaren, turning him around... he has to wait until the rest of the field have passed before he can go on!!

66' The Japanese comes into the pits as McLaren's other driver Heikki Kovalainen settles into third behind the front two. Raikkonen fourth, Massa fifth.

67' At the first corner Red Bull driver David Coulthard flies off and into the tyre barrier, but he's okay - the car's not though and he is out. Williams man Kazuki Nakajima also caught up in that one but able to continue...

67' BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica leads the grand prix from Fernando Alonso of Renault!!

67' WHAT A START!! Hamilton slow off the line and overtaken by Raikkonen, but the McLaren man rudely pushes him out wide to take it back!!

05:33 AND WE'RE GO GO GO!!!

05:30 The formation lap begins in the shadow of Mount Fuji as Briton Hamilton looks to take himself to the brink of a maiden World Championship.

- Lewis Hamilton is on pole ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, while leading championship contender Felipe Massa starts in a lowly fifth.

- Welcome to eurosport.yahoo.co.uk's LIVE text coverage of the Japanese Grand Prix from Fuji.