Jubilant Alonso on brink of second F1 title

Renault's Fernando Alonso had a second successive Formula One title in his grasp yesterday after Michael Schumacher's hopes went up in smoke at the Japanese GP. The 25-year-old punched the air in delight and then cruised to victory as his Ferrari rival pulled over with a blown engine 17 laps from the end of a race he had dominated.

Fernando Alonso is now 10 points clear and needing only one more from the final race in Brazil to be sure of retaining the crown he won last year.

Schumacher had hoped to end his career with an unprecedented and remarkable eighth title after being 25 points behind the reigning champion in June.

Alonso has 126 points to the Ferrari great's 116 and Renault stretched their lead over the Italian glamour team to nine points. Both men have seven wins each, meaning that the only way that Schumacher can walk away from Formula One on top is by winning in Brazil while Alonso fails to score a point.

Until the fateful plume of smoke, the most successful driver the sport appeared to have taken the upper hand in a knife-edge championship battle.

Winner of five of the preceding seven races, he slipped easily past obliging Brazilian team-mate Felipe Massa on the third lap and was cruising to a predictable 92nd career victory.

The engine failure was his first in a race since the French Grand Prix of 2000, although he did suffer one this year in practice in Malaysia, and his first retirement since he crashed in Australia in April.

"It's a complete surprise so the taste of victory is even better," said Alonso, who still refused to take anything for granted after an afternoon that defied all prediction in handing him a 16th career win.

"The championship will be decided in Brazil," he added.

"You never know what can happen. The same thing can happen in Brazil and you lose everything."

Schumacher climbed out of his car, waved to the crowd and then waited calmly for marshals to unlock an exit gate before walking slowly back to the pits, where he hugged team boss Jean Todt and technical director Ross Brawn.

"I've digested it already," he said. "There aren't any more chances left.

"We accomplished so much together. I think we can be proud and satisfied and just because it didn't work out here doesn't mean it's the end of the world."

Alonso, who had complained about feeling lonely and abandoned by his team earlier in the week, did a victory jig as he stepped out of the car and leaped over the barriers to embrace his mechanics.

"These 10 points are a little present that God gave to us," he declared.

Massa finished second, 16.1 seconds behind, after starting on pole position with Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella, in tears on the podium, in third place.

"Psychologically this has been a hard weekend for me," he said. "My best friend ever Tonino (Visciani) died last Thursday... I just want to dedicate this podium to him and to say 'ciao'."

Alonso had started in fifth place but he threw caution to the wind when the lights went out, taking a big risk in roaring past the Toyota of Italian Jarno Trulli into turn two as the Ferraris led the field.

He then overtook Ralf Schumacher's Toyota for third place on lap 13 as Massa pitted and came out ahead of the Brazilian after his own first stop two laps later.

Briton Jenson Button finished fourth at his Honda team's home circuit with McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen fifth. Trulli was sixth, ahead of Ralf Schumacher, and Germany's Nick Heidfeld took the final point for BMW Sauber.

The race was also a farewell to Suzuka, which faces an uncertain Formula One future after the Toyota-owned Fuji circuit takes over the Japanese Grand Prix from 2007.