Formula 1 Live

67/67 Button retires on the final lap.

67/67 Kovalainen takes the best result of his career in second with Raikkonen third. Massa passes Kubica into the last corner for sixth. The pair swapped places three times on the last lap.

67/67 HAMILTON WINS IN JAPAN!!!!! A SENSATIONAL WIN FOR THE BRIT!!!! HIS FINEST WIN WITHOUT A DOUBT AND HE NOW LEADS THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BY 12 POINTS FROM ALONSO!!!!!

67/67 RAIKKONEN ALMOST GETS KOVALAINEN INTO FOUR. THEY WERE SO CLOSE TO CONTACT!!!!

67/67 HAMILTON STARTS HIS FINAL LAP!!!!!

66/67 Kubica then is sixth, Massa seventh and Tonio Liuzzi eighth.

66/67 Heidfeld retires at the pit entry. His engine has given way.

66/67 Just a though, the top three all honed their skills in British Formula Renault. Hamilton was the 2003 champion, Raikkonen the 2000 victor and Kovalainen a race-winner in 2001. Good news for Simon North and his gang.

65/67 What a turnaround this will mark for Kovalainen. Remember how Flavio Briatore panned his debut. He'd look a fool not to re-sign the Finn now.

64/67 Hamilton has backed off, but is still as quick as those behind him.

63/67 HUGE SLIDE FROM KOVALAINEN COMING INTO TURN FIVE, that allows Raikkonen to close in a little, but he's struggling to get within a second of his countryman.

62/67 Hamilton is absolutely streaking it home. 13 seconds ahead now on what has been by far the most impressive weekend of his short Formula One career. Can you really believe this is his rookie season?

61/67 Raikkonen goes off again, this time exiting turn one. My goodness is he pushing! He's just not losing any time though. The gap to Kovalainen remains 1.8 seconds.

61/67 Barrichello pits from seventh. A splash and dash for him and that loses him the chance of a points finsih. Massa is now back in the points behind Kubica.

60/67 Nico Rosberg has now retired with electrical failure.

59/67 Here's an interesting thought. There's eight laps to go and 12 minutes on the clock remaining. Will it be a two-hour race of a 67-lapper?

58/67 MASSA PITS FROM THIRD!!!! He takes on fuel and tyres and that lets his team-mate up onto the podium. At the moment he would trail Hamilton by 17 points in the championship.

58/67 RAIKKONEN GOES OFF AT THE SAME CORNER, but he stays on the track.

57/67 PERFECT!!! RAIKKONEN USES A MUCH WIDER LINE THROUGH TURN THREE AND DIVES DOWN THE INSIDE OF COULTHARD FOR FOURTH AT TURN FOUR FOR FOURTHE PLACE.

56/67 Remember Hamilton would be 19 points ahead of him with 20 available from the final two races if things finish as they are. Massa may be third, but he started the race needing to beat Hamilton to remain in with a shout of the title.

56/67 Raikkonen is experimenting with his lines into turn four. He's trying to suss out the grip for an attempt on Coulthard next time around I'll bet.

55/67 Davidson is out of the race. There looks to be some damage to the right side of his Super Aguri, so a crash looks the most likely reason for his retirement.

54/67 Hamilton is now over six seconds ahead at the front and Raikkonen can still do nothing about Coulthard. Massa is not helping matters either. He needs to pass Kovalainen and Hamilton to help his team-mate.

54/67 Barrichello is in eighth place and incredibly, if he finishes there it will be his first points finish of the year.

53/67 It's impossible to put into words just how well Hamilton is driving. Remember how ragged he was at the Nurburgring? How has he honed his wet weather driving so quickly? Stunning, just stunning.

52/67 This is a crucial lap. We will now see full points awarded if the race is red flagged.

51/67 Raikkonen took 1.2 secons out of Coulthard on the last lap and is now only a second behind.

51/67 Hamilton is driving really superbly. 1.6 seconds quicker than Kovalainen and his lead is now in execess of four seconds.

50/67 RAIKKONEN HAS MADE UP TWO MORE PLACES ON THAT LAP. He's passed Heidfeld and Fisichella and is up to fifth. That's crucial and means he's back in the title fight. Sixth is the minimum he needs with Hamilton leading.

49/67 Spin for Rosberg. He drops from 11th to 18th and last.

49/67 Massa can't quite make it by Kovalainen into turn one. Ferrari need him to go banzi and beat Hamilton to limit the McLaren man's points.

49/67 We're racing again.....

48/67 Safety car in on this lap.

47/67 So that puts Kovalainen up to second and on course for Renault's first podium of the year and the best of his career. Massa, despite all his earlier problems, is now third, and Raikkonen is seventh.

46/67 DISASTER FOR TORO ROSSO AND RED BULL. WEBBER OUT WHEN HE WAS STARING AT HIS BEST EVER RESULT, VETTEL OUT WHILE ODDS ON FOR TORO ROSSO'S FIRST PODIUM!!!!!

46/67 WEBBER IS OUT AND HIS REAR WHEEL IS HANGING OFF!!!!!!!! VETTEL HIT HIM AND BROKE HIS OWN LEFT FRONT.

45/67 Alonso says he simply aquaplaned off the track.

44/67 Liuzzi pits, as do Sutil and Sato. That puts Raikkonen up to ninth, but he needs better. At this rate he will drop to 23 points behind Hamilton, which will end his title hopes.

44/67 Kovalainen, Massa, Coulthard and Fisichella round out the points.

44/67 Behind him though it's a topsy-turvy top ten. Webber is second and on course for the best result of his career, same goes for third place Vettel and fourth place Liuzzi. Hold on... Toro Rossos third and fourth? Can this really be happening?

44/67 So Hamilton leads and will extend his championship lead to 12 points over Alonso if things stay as they are.

43/67 So remember, the race can be declared with full points awarded after 51 laps. And with the rain getting heavier by the second, will it go green again? We haven't a clue.

42/67 Safety car is out!!!

42/67 ALONSO IS OUT!!!!!!!!!!! HE'S HIT THE WALL INTO TURN FOUR AND RIPPED THE LEFT SIDE OFF HIS CAR!!!!! IS THIS THE MOST CRUCIAL MOMENT OF THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!!!!!

41/67 Yamamoto spins from midfield. He re-joins though.

40/67 FISICHELLA PITS FROM THE LEAD. AND RAIKKONEN IS IN TOO FOR A NEW SET OF TYRES.

39/67 Kubica gets a drive-through penalty for the incident with Hamilton.

39/67 Raikkonen is now up to fifth, one spot ahead of Alonso, but he's struggling in the deeper water and Alonso is closing in.

39/67 Kovalainen pits from the lead and Coulthard follows him in from third. THAT GIVES FISICHELLA THE LEAD FROM HAMILTON!!!

38/67 And the rain is coming down harder than ever. Raikkonen is seventh and closing down on Vettel by around three tenths a lap. He is 2.6 seconds behind the German. Alonso is eighth.

37/67 KOVALAINEN IS THE NEW LEADER!!! Is that the first time a Renault has led since Alonso left them last year? AND IT'S A ONE-TWO WITH FISICHELLA SECOND. Coulthard is third, Hamilton fourth and Webber and Vettel behind.

36/67 WEBBER PITS FROM THE LEAD... and he emerges just behind Hamilton. Amazing speed from the Australian. He made up 25 seconds on the McLaren in just eight laps!!!!

36/67 FISICHELLA AND COULTHARD BOTH GO PAST HAMILTON!!!! He went really wide at turn three. That's how. Hamilton down to fifth.

35/67 Heidfeld pits and Raikkonen is now in the points. It all goes wrong for McLaren in two laps.

35/67 Alonso re-gains the track, but that's a few places lost.

35/67 Vettel has a go for Alonso's eighth place... HE HITS THE WORLD CHAMPION AND ALONSO SPINS!!!!! Raikkonen passes him.

34/67 THEY COLLIDE IN THE COMPLEX. HAMILTON AND KUBICA BOTH SPIN AND KOVALAINEN PASSES BOTH OF THEM TO GO SECOND. Hamilton drops to fourth and is now behind the Pole. Kubica looked to have made the move but then just understeered into his rival.

34/67 Kubica has just taken 1.7 seconds out of second place man Hamilton. Can he pass him?

34/67 HEIDFELD GETS SEVENTH PLACE FROM ALONSO AT TURN ONE!!!! We didn't expect that. He's now 14 seconds behind Hamilton.

33/67 MARK WEBBER IS THE NEW LEADER!!!! A triumph for eurosport.com's resident Formula One blogger. He will have to stop pretty soon, but you'd never know that he's already been sick in his helmet this afternoon.

32/67 VETTEL PITS FROM THE LEAD IN HIS TORO ROSSO!!! 10.1 seconds is a good stop and he certainly looks a good shout for points today. He emerges right in front of Kimi Raikkonen in ninth place.

32/67 GREAT MOVE FROM KUBICA AT TURN ONE. The Polish driver nails Kovalainen for fourth place.

31/67 Webber is second and Hamilton now third.

31/67 Incidentally, and i apologise for my over-enthusiasm... SEBASTIAN VETTEL LEADS!!! A TORO ROSSO LEADS A GRAND PRIX FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!!

30/67 Fisichella slides wide at turn one... KOVALAINEN BREEZES BY FOR FIFTH... and Kubica for sixth... and Coulthard for seventh at turn four.

29/67 Alonso had a major slide at the complex. It lost him at least two seconds.

28/67 Hamilton pits from the lead. 11.6 seconds.... HE GETS OUT AHEAD OF FISICHELLA!!!! HE'S MILES AHEAD OF FISICHELLA!!!!

28/67 Raikkonen breezes by Sutil for tenth down the main straight.

27/67 ALONSO PITS FROM SECOND PLACE!!! He should re-gain fourth, ahead of Fisichella. 11.9 seconds ought to get him to the end of the race... He is eighth, behind Coulthard.

27/67 The McLarens are looking great. Both drivers are in the 1:28s while nobody else has been better than a 1:30.3 fo far.

26/67 Vettel is lapping quicker than he has managed before, but he is now 15 seconds behind Hamilton.

25/67 He's right on the tail of 11th place Ralf Schumacher though.... AND HE NAILS THE TOYOTA AT TURN SIX!!!!!

25/67 Raikkonen has passed Davidson and taken advantage of Button's stop to move up to 12th. He's 40 seconds off the lead though.

24/67 Button pits from fifth for a new nose and fuel.

23/67 SATO LEAVES THE PITS WITH HIS CAR ON FIRE!!!!!! IT CAME FROM THE FUEL FLAP!!!! AMAZING!!! THE RAIN PUTS IT OUT!!!

23/67 Sato has also lost his. He pits for a new one.

23/67 Jenson Button, unbelievably, is still maintaining fifth place on the track despite losing his front wing against Heidfeld.

22/67 Sebastian Vettel is up in an amazing third place in his Toro Rosso. He is lapping two seconds slower than the McLarens but is fuelled much heavier.

21/67 Massa takes his drive-through penalty... and goes off at turn one before re-gaining. A rotten start to his race.

21/67 Hamilton completes the lap 1.2 seconds ahead of Alonso. Raikkonen is 14th, 23 seconds off the front.

20/67 WURZ AND MASSA ARE OFF!!!! Wurz lost his Williams miles before turn one and hit Massa, who was already turning in while the Austrian was on the grass. Massa regains after a spin.

20/67 BIG PROBLEM FOR HEIDFELD AT TURN ONE. HE LOSES FOUR PLACES. He has something that looks like Jenson Button's front wing attached to the rear of his BMW Sauber.

20/67 Over the line and it's Hamilton from Alonso as we start racing in anger!!!!!!!!!!!!

19/67 We're off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

19/67 The safety car will come in at the end of this lap... finally.

18/67 Barrichello pits, as does Sato, as does Trulli.

18/67 MASSA IS GIVEN A DRIVE-THROUGH PENALTY!!! It sounds more dramatic than it is. With no word on how much longer the safety car will be out for the stewards will have to let him take it in the next few laps, which will lose him nothing as he was virtually last anyway.

18/67 Liuzzi whizzes past the McLarens!!! That's a procedural thing though. He was officially a lap down as he started from the pit-lane under safety car conditions.

17/67 Massa is being investigated, say the race stewards. Is that for passing Heidfeld after his spin?

16/67 Wurz makes his pit-stop. 8 seconds.

16/67 Of course, if the race goes green then the two Ferraris will be much heavier on fuel than the McLarens, but it won't make as much of a difference in these conditions.

16/67 The crucial point now is that if the safety car stays out for the rest of the race, McLaren will still have to pit at some point, and drop behind Ferrari.

15/67 Massa now pits. 7.7 seconds and Ferrari are playing exactly the same strategy game with him as with Raikkonen.

14/67 Raikkonen pits again and gets a full tank. Ferrari must have worked out that if the safety car stays out all afternoon, he can make it to the end now on that much fuel. That could be a masterstroke, even though he will still shake out behind Liuzzi and Yamamoto.

14/67 Maybe it's just the racer in me, but I wish they'd just release the pack. Even if half the field crash on the first lap, you just pull the safety car back out.

13/67 In comes Sakon Yamamoto from 20th. Again a tank full of fuel. He has trouble getting away but is now heading back to the track.

12/67 Jarno Trulli goes over the line two places behind where he was. He had a spin at turn six. That's why.

11/67 Liuzzi pits. Toro Rosso fill him to the brim with fuel. That's a great move. He was last anyway and maybe can get to the end of the race with that. If everyone else has to stop at some point, then he could end up leading this race if we stay behind the safety car.

10/67 We're at the point now where if the race was abandoned, half-points would be awarded, much like they were in Monaco 1984 or Australia 1991. We need to get to lap 51 for full points to be awarded.

9/67 It is getting worse. Jarno Trulli tells Toyota that he almost smashed into the back of David Coulthard.

8/67 Ralf Schumacher agrees. He tells his Toyota team over the radio: "It's complete madness staying out here."

7/67 No sign of the rain relenting or of the safety car coming in. Come on guys, you may as well stop the race as keep the safety car out. We all came to see a race here, and we're prepared to wait another hour if it means we get action rather than a procession.

6/67 Raikkonen has a spin at turn one. That's actually quite clever. He's dropping back from the pack and then flooring it and testing the limits. He'd better not test them too hard though. Those run-off areas are vast, but they do still have edges... and walls.

6/67 How Ferrari must be wishing that Michael Schumacher was in one of their cars today. He'd show Fernando and Lewis a thing or too. Conditions are very reminiscent of Spain 1996, a rain he absolutely dominated.

6/67 There is even a precedent to stop the race here. Conditions are no better than at the Nurburgring, and they stopped that one. The drainage on this Fuji circuit seems to be a bit better than that in Germany though.

5/67 This safety car period is crucial. If it stays out for another six or seven laps then maybe these drivers can all make it to the flag on one stop.

5/67 The Ferrari stops have allowed Jenson Button to come up to fourth. I had a funny feeling for he and Barrichello before the race started. Even Fisichella. Let's see how it all pans out.

4/67 The conditions, if it were possible, are actually getting worse!

3/67 Now Raikkonen pits for the same reason. He was on inters too. It's McLarens first and second and their chief title rivals at the tail end of the field. Not what either Ferrari driver needed.

2/67 End of lap two and Massa pits for full wets. 6.4 seconds is a quick stop, but it drops him to the back of the pack.

2/67 That's strange. Charlie Whiting told all the drivers to start on wets behind the safety car. Have they broken the rules here?

2/67 MASSA SPINS AT TURN FOUR!!!!! We've heard he is on intermediate tyres but that has not paid off. He loses a place to Heidfeld but re-passes him as he is allowed to do so.

1/67 We're hearing Liuzzi has changed from dry to wet settings in the pits.

1/67 No overtaking of course. The drivers will all have to wait for the safety car to pull in for that. All this is good news for Lewis Hamilton of course.

1/67 THE RACE GETS UNDERWAY. As we are starting under the safety car this counts as the first lap of the race. There is no formation lap.

0/67 Vitantonio Liuzzi will start the race from the pit-lane in his Toro Rosso, rather than from 14th on the grid.

0/67 Could this even turn out to be a two-hour race rather than a 67-lapper? We haven't had one since Monaco 1997, a race shortened by 16 laps to suit the needs of the timeslot.

0/67 It's confirmed from the FIA race stewards. We will start behind the safety car.

05:20 Not withstanding Hamilton's pole lap, the stars of qualifying were Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel, sixth and ninth with the Brit in a season's best position and Vettel getting Toro Rosso's best grid spot of their history.

05:19 It's a 67-lap race today, but will we have a standing start or will FIA race director Charlie Whiting err on the side of caution and get the ball rolling behind the safety car?

05:16 A good omen for polesitter Lewis Hamilton perhaps. The last time this race was held here in 1977 a British driver - James Hunt - won the race in a McLaren, and a year earlier he was crowned world champion here in a race even wetter than this one is looking likely to be.

05:15 IT IS ABSOLUTELY POURING WITH RAIN!!!!!! And I'm not talking about the kind of levels it was in qualifying. This is far worse.

05:00 Good morning and welcome to Fuji and to the Japanese Grand Prix. We'll be underway from 05:30 UK time.