Vettel wins Japan GP, beats Webber to finish

Suzuka: Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel edged out teammate Mark Webber on Sunday to win the Japanese Grand Prix and move closer to the Formula One championship lead.

Vettel started from pole position at the Suzuka circuit and led for most of the race to defend his Japanese GP title and pressure driver's championship leader Webber.

"It was an incredible day with qualifying in the morning and the win in the afternoon," Vettel said. "It seems like this track was drawn for us. I had a good start which is obviously the key."

Ferrari's Felipe Alonso finished third to remain in contention for the driver's title.

With three races remaining, Webber leads the championship standings with 220 points, ahead of Vettel and Alonso with 206. Alonso is in second place because he has won more races this season.

McLaren's Jenson Button was fourth, followed by teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Vettel crossed the finish line 0.9 seconds ahead of Webber and 2.7 seconds ahead of Alonso.

The win is Vettel's third of the season after Valencia and Malaysia.

The race got off to a chaotic start with four drivers — Vitaly Petrov, Felipe Massa, Nico Hulkenberg and Vitantonio Liuzzi — all going out before the first turn had been completed.

Petrov swerved across the track and smashed into the retaining wall before the pack even arrived at the first turn

Massa tried to move up the inside of the pack and gain position at turn one but he lost control on the grass and went out at the opening corner, taking Liuzzi with him.

Robert Kubica, who started from third on the grid, went out on the second lap when he lost a wheel while in second position. That put the Red Bulls back into first and second.

"It was a bit lucky for us when Robert had the wheel come off," Webber said. "It was virtually impossible for me to overtake Sebastian after that."

Virgin driver Lucas Di Grassi lost control of his car during the installation lap. His car was severely damaged and he didn't start the race.

The next race is scheduled for October 24 in South Korea, but there are concerns the track may not be ready. A final decision on the Korean GP venue will be made at the start of next week when FIA race director Charlie Whiting is set to complete a pre-race safety inspection.