Latest positions after 22 of 67 laps:
1.
Bourdais (Toro Rosso)
2. Piquet (Renault)
3. Vettel (Toro Rosso)
4. Alonso (Renault)
5. Kubica (BMW Sauber)
6. Raikkonen (Ferrari)
7. Webber (Red Bull)
LATEST ACTION (all times BST)
To get involved use 606 or text us your views & comments on 81111. (Not all contributions can be used) By Sarah Holt
Lap 22: Trulli pits from Man City 2-3 Liverpool ...
Ferrari fastest in first practice ...
Still a long way to go - Hamilton ...
Britain's Lewis Hamilton wins German Grand Prix ... the lead leaving Bourdais and his Toro Rosso to take over the lead in this most topsy-turvy of races.
Lap 19: Massa comes in to serve his penalty. Meanwhile, an over-excited voice on the Renault radio tells Alonso to "sprint like hell" to stay ahead of Kubica, who is looming behind him in sixth place. Apparently, the BMW Sauber man is fuelled for four laps longer than the Spaniard.
Lap 18: Race leader Alonso comes in to the pits leaving Trulli in charge at the front - that will please the home Toyota fans. Massa comes back in for another pair of soft tyres and fuel BUT not to serve his penalty.
Lap 17: Some important news just in. Hamilton receives a drive through penalty for forcing Raikkonen wide at the start while Massa is also handed a penalty for his collision with Massa on lap two. Well, well, well. Meanwhile, Kubica and Raikkonen return to the pits to see Alonso assume the lead. Hamilton comes in to serve his penalty.
Lap 12: Uh-oh. The race stewards ominously announce that they are investigating Raikkonen, Massa and Hamilton, presumably for incidents at the start and the overtaking move on lap two between Massa and title rival Hamilton.
Lap nine: Raikkonen cleanly overtakes Trulli's Toyota to move up to fourth. The Ferrari man said he wanted the win today and right now he's 4.7 secs behind leader Kubica. Hamilton may be running back in 17th now but he's nipping along at a decent pace despite being fuelled up to the hilt.
Sutil joins Coulthard and Glock back in the garages as his Force India comes to a halt handily near the pit lane.
Lap five: Many apologies for the delay in updating you but what an absolutely bizarre start to the Japanese Grand Prix. After a terrible start and incident with Massa, Hamilton has fallen backwards from pole to 18th place.
The world championship leader has an awful lot to do if he is to get back in the race and the McLaren strategists must really think on their feet here. Meanwhile, Raikkonen sets the new fastest lap in fifth place.
Lap two: Hamilton tries to overtake Massa at the hairpin and does get past his Ferrari - but not for long. The two cars make contact and Hamilton spins and stalls on the track. What a disaster! The Englishman returns to the pits and takes on some new tyres and a glug of fuel.
Lap one: What a start in Fuji. Raikkonen tries to squeeze past Hamilton at the start but ends up being pushed wide in a chaotic start to the race. Coulthard and Nakajima collide and peel off onto the grass. Coulthard's race is run. In the resulting melee Hamilton falls back to sixth as Kubica takes the lead. More soon...
0532: Off we go as polesitter leads off the Japanese Grand Prix.
0530: The cars peel away from the grid to warm up their tyres on the formation lap. Looks like Massa is starting on the soft tyres with most of the other frontrunners starting on the harder options. Hmmm interesting.
0529: "My heart says Lewis for the win today. The voices in my head say Raikonnen."
Flamefox1989 on 606
0526: Weather update: no rain is forecast to fall during the race. Temperatures are a quite lowly 22C.
0525: I'm no Beth Ditto when it comes to the gossip but there are a couple of rumours milling about the paddock in Japan. First up, McLaren's partners Mercedes are being lined up to supply engines for Force India from next season. Nothing has been confirmed yet but McLaren boss RD said: "Some form of colloboration will emerge over the next few days."
After axing Canada, scheming F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone is already thinking about his next calendar changes. Reports say he's planning to add an Indian Grand Prix to the schedule in 2009 with a race in Russia to follow soon afterwards. He's ruled out any more night races for now though.
0522: The grid begins to clear as the home Toyota fans go, um, crazy in the stands. Lots and lots of flag waving and jumping up and down around a man dressed up in a giant Jarno Trulli head. No sign of a Timo Glock though - unless a large teddy bear represents the cuddly German.
0516: A hush falls in Fuji as the Japan national anthem is sung rather pleasantly by a lady in a floaty, white dress; described by BBC 5 Live's David Croft as a "meringue".
0511: The skies look pretty overcast and, well, grey in Fuji. McLaren boss Ron Dennis tells BBC 5 Live's Holly Samos he reckons the gloomy conditions could favour McLaren because they will be able to get their tyre temperature up to speed quicker than Ferrari. Asked whether he has any last-minute advice for Hamilton he says: "It's his lead - he knows what to do."
0505: "If Hamilton goes all out, he can win the race and pretty much knock the stuffing out of the title race. However, if he plays safe that's when his mind is gonna start playing tricks on him."
Villeneuve27Alesi on 606 Join the debate
0500: Ahh the noise of F1 engines first thing in the morning. The cars hurtle out of the garages and take to the Fuji Speedway to practice their starts as they wend their way to the grid.
0450: At the risk of being a merchant of doom - and of repeating myself - it's still worth looking back at exactly how last season panned out post Japan. Hamilton controlled a wet race in Fuji perfectly to take the chequered flag and extend his championship lead by 12 points.
But a mistake and retirement in China and gearbox problems for Hamilton in Brazil saw Raikkonen claw back a 17-point deficit and steal the title.
With Hamilton leading the 2008 title race by seven points from Massa, McLaren are adopting a more cautious approach during the run-in - or what the team's tongue-twisting chief exec Martin Whitmarsh describes as a "necessarily more risk-averse" strategy.
Hamilton isn't one to hold back though.
"I'm going out for the win that's for sure - it's in my nature," he says. "But I think I'm a bit wiser and I'm definitely looking to the championship and not just this race. I think a one-two for the team is well overdue, so that would be fantastic."
Team-mate Kovalainen starts in third and it's likely the friendly Finn might well have to set about the task of holding up Massa.
Nonetheless, he reckons: "My target is not to help Lewis and certainly I have no instructions from anyone in the team. [McLaren boss] Ron (Dennis) has told me to drive as I want to - but I want Lewis to win the drivers' championship. He needs to do his job and I'll try to score maximum points for the team."
0445: Yawning... morning fellow early risers, I trust your Formula One alarms did their job? Now then, there's no time to hit the snooze button because the Japanese Grand Prix gets under way in less than an hour.
Lewis Hamilton is on pole while title rival Felipe Massa is back in fifth with defending world champion Kimi Raikkonen, Heikki Kovalainen and Fernando Alonso sandwiched in between the main protagonists.
With just three races left to go, all the ingredients are in the mixer for a cracking race under the shadow of Mount Fuji. Let's get to it then.
(BBC)
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