Storming Vettel blows title race wide open

Defending world champion Sebastian Vettel threw the battle for this year's Formula One title wide open on Sunday when he cruised to a supreme victory in the Japanese Grand Prix.

The 25-year-old German, who won in Singapore only two weeks ago, became the first man this year to score back-to-back wins as he slashed Fernando Alonso's championship lead to just four points with five races left.

Alonso, of Ferrari, was eliminated from Sunday's contest when he was hit by rival Finn Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus at the first corner and suffered a puncture. The fuming Spaniard refused to speak to media afterwards.

Despite the carnage behind him Vettel was left out in front, on his own, and raced to a luxurious triumph, the 24th of his career, a feat that drew him level with the legendary Argentine Juan-Manuel Fangio in the record books.

"Woo-hoo! Yes baby, Yes baby... unbelievable!" screamed Vettel over his team radio on his slowing-down lap, after taking a big step forward in his pursuit of a third consecutive world title.
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He came home comfortably clear of Alonso's Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa with local hero Kamui Kobayashi third for Sauber, a result that made him only the third Japanese driver to score a podium finish in Formula One.

Massa's podium finish was his first in 35 races since the 2010 Korean Grand Prix, a feat that may help retain his seat in 2013 -- but was overshadowed by the huge roar from the capacity crowd that greeted Kobayashi's finish.

Jenson Button finished fourth for McLaren ahead of his Mercedes-bound team-mate Lewis Hamilton, with Raikkonen sixth behind the two Britons.

Nico Hulkenberg of Force India came home seventh ahead of Pastor Maldonado of Williams and Australians Mark Webber of Red Bull, who was involved in the first corner accidents after starting second, and Daniel Ricciardo of Toro Rosso.

Retirement-bound seven-time champion Michael Schumacher, 43, finished 11th, just failing to score a point after starting from the back of the grid for Mercedes.

On a warm and dry day with a track temperature of 32 degrees Celsius (90 Fahrenheit), Vettel made a perfect start and drew clear of the pack -- but behind him, it was mayhem.

Kobayashi, inspired by his bid to become the first Japanese driver to claim a home podium finish since Aguri Suzuki in 1991, shot forward to snatch second as the lights went out while the luckless Alonso was heading towards elimination.

In a thunderous burst of collisions, similar to the start of last month's Belgian race, both Alonso and Nico Rosberg of Mercedes were knocked out as innocent victims of collisions while Webber was also forced off the circuit, but recovered.

Re-runs of the action showed that Raikkonen rammed into Alonso and punctured his left rear tyre, in a bitterly frustrating incident for the Spaniard.

Webber was shunted by Romain Grosjean of Lotus and Rosberg was the victim of a similar assault from Williams' Bruno Senna. Both offending drivers were given drive-through penalties.

When the safety car withdrew after three laps Vettel streaked away in front followed by Massa and Sauber's Sergio Perez, who will replace Hamilton at McLaren next year and raced with great vim before making a mistake and spinning out.

By lap 15, Vettel held a large 11-second lead ahead of Massa, Perez and Hamilton before the leaders began their pit-stops.

Then the German, revelling in the performance of his Red Bull car, simply romped away from the field. By lap 33 he was 15 seconds clear of Massa with Kobayashi third and the two McLaren men, led by Button, in pursuit.

Button closed to conjure up the prospect, for McLaren, of a podium finish, but Kobayashi, inspired by his fans, held on to enjoy the finest afternoon of his Formula One career and boost his own hopes of staying with Sauber next season.

USA on front foot at Medinah

Davis Love's two major champions and Keegan Bradley made up for Tiger Woods' struggles as the United States took a 5-3 lead on the first day of the Ryder Cup.

After the morning foursomes had been tied 2-2, Masters winner Bubba Watson - whipping up the crowd even before he hit a shot - and shock US Open winner Webb Simpson led a fourball charge.

On a Medinah course set up for low scoring they birdied eight of the first 10 holes to be six up on Scot Paul Lawrie and Swede Peter Hanson, like them omitted from the opening session.

A pumped-up Bradley then continued his earlier form to put himself and Phil Mickelson, with nine appearances in the match now America's most capped player in history, four up after eight holes against world number one Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell. He had contributed four of their six birdies.

Behind them Justin Rose and Martin Kaymer trailed by two to Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar after six, but Woods - perhaps lucky not to be dropped for the first time after a defeat to Rose and Ian Poulter full of wild shots and missed putts - and Steve Stricker were level at the same point against Westwood and Belgian debutant Nicolas Colsaerts.

Earlier in the day McIlroy and McDowell hit back from a lengthy rules debate to win on the last green against Jim Furyk and last weekend's £7million man Brandt Snedeker.

But after Europe had led in all four games two hours into the eagerly-awaited clash, the Northern Irishmen's victory followed the first-ever foursomes defeat for both Luke Donald - playing in the city that has been his home for the last 15 years - and Sergio Garcia.

After six successive wins in the format for Donald and eight wins and a half for Garcia since he made his debut in 1999, they went down 4&3 to Mickelson and Bradley.

Westwood and Francesco Molinari were beaten 3&2 by Zach Johnson and Jason Dufner, another of American captain Love's rookies, but then Rose and Poulter won 2&1, Poulter producing a key putt on the 16th that was greeted by his now trademark "Come On" roar - and a long, cold stare from Woods.

All four 24 players were used on the first day, but Love had resisted what must have been a temptation to bench Woods.

"He considered changing, for sure," he admitted. "But I had some good inside information and thought that once they (Woods and Stricker) started better-ball they would get back on their games."

The early dispute had been over whether McDowell could take relief from a sprinkler head by the second green.

It would have meant McIlroy putting rather than chipping, but with Furyk stepping in and believing it should not be given a second opinion for called for.

"We've been friends a long time," Furyk said at one point to McDowell, but the American also then called for calm when a few boos rang out.

McIlroy was eventually told to chip, lost the hole, but he and McDowell then had four birdies in a row - the first of them the result of a genius chip by the 23-year-old from over the fourth green.

From three down with six to go - Furyk had incurred a penalty on the long 10th when his ball move as he prepared to chip - the Americans fought back to level, only for Snedeker to hit a simply dreadful drive down the last.

There was still work to be done when McDowell hit into the bunker short of the green, but his partner splashed out to five feet and the 2010 match-winner made no mistake.

McDowell told his American girlfriend Kristin, attending her first match: "Welcome to the Ryder Cup - hope you enjoyed yourself.

"That match to me just personifies it. You're playing against two very gutsy players who clawed their way back.

"But we had stacked our team with this finish in mind. I wanted Rory hitting the tee shots on 16 and 18 and our strategy paid off."

McIlroy added: "Fortunately for us, Brandt didn't hit the best of tee shots on the last."

McDowell may have shown nerves of steel to win the cup back at Celtic Manor, but they had affected him when he was called on to hit the first tee shot.

It clipped a tree barely 100 yards off the tee, but Furyk also went badly left to emphasise what stage-fright can do to even the most experienced players.

Poulter took his cup record to nine wins in 12 games, but two of the three defeats had come against Woods and he said: "I never wanted wanted to have another one".

Woods hit a spectator on the head for the second day running and he and Stricker were three over par when they lost, easily the worst scoring of the session.

They have now lost their last three games together 6&5 (to Westwood and Donald in Wales), 7&6 (to Adam Scott and KJ Choi at last year's Presidents Cup) and now 2&1, but they had a chance to make amends.

Westwood had not played well alongside Molinari, though, and his tee shot into the water on the driveable 15th - McDowell had done the same - contributed to their downfall.

Johnson and Dufner won when their opponents three-putted the next.

Donald said of the defeat for him and Garcia, who were looking to make it five out of five together: "We played solid. They just played a little better."

Watson and Simpson could not make it a record-breaking margin of victory - that stands at 7&5 in foursomes - but 5&4 did them nicely and put the Americans ahead in the match.

McIlroy and McDowell were three down with six to go, Rose and Kaymer had the same deficit at the turn, but an inspired Colsaerts took himself and Westwood two-up with eight holes remaining.

He holed from 22 feet for his fifth birdie on the ninth, then made a five-foot eagle putt at the 578-yard next.

Woods won the 11th with a birdie, but Colsaerts made the gap two again with an 18-footer for a two at the difficult 13th. He had already notched six birdies and an eagle.

McIlroy's birdie won the 14th and Rose's 25-foot putt at the 12th narrowed the European deficit there to two as well.