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Defending drivers world champion Fernando Alonso celebrated like a man possessed yesterday after he moved within a point of retaining his title by winning the Japanese Grand Prix.

But on a day of joy for the Renault driver, who took full advantage when Michael Schumacher's Ferrari suffered an engine failure, there was sadness for his teammate Italian Giancarlo Fisichella.

Fisichella, who finished third behind second-placed Brazilian Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari, could not avoid weeping on the victors' rostrum, following the death on Thursday of his best friend.

This, he said, as he dedicated his race result to him, had reminded him of the precious value of life - a worthy comment on a day when Schumacher's dream of an unprecedented eighth title was virtually ended and put into perspective.

Alonso, who had performed a bizarre victory jig and danced a pirouette after the race, refused to admit he had one hand on his second drivers' crown.

"Anything can happen, the same in Brazil, who knows - we have to go there and play safe and we have to finish the race," said the Spaniard.

The 25-year-old Renault driver trailed the German for 36 laps of the 53-laps contest before taking the lead when the retirement-bound seven-times champion Schumacher was forced to retire with an engine failure for the first time this year.

Alonso went on to cruise to an unexpected victory and now requires just one point in the final race of the season, in Brazil in a fortnight, to clinch his second championship.

It was his first victory in eight races since the Canadian Grand Prix in June, his seventh win this year and the 15th of his career.

"It was fun for me early on when I passed Ralf (Schumacher)," said Alonso.

"The car performance later, after the first pit stop, was really good and then after Michael's problem the race was very good for us.

"When the gap behind Michael was only around 5.8 or 5.9 or six seconds, I thought it was possible to win the race. Why not? I thought.

"Then it was completely a surprise when I saw what happened to Michael. Ferrari don't have many mechanical problems, so that was a big surprise for me.

"It is so good for the team, to have our confidence back, and we have waited a long time for this. In Hungary, I thought we would win and in China, but we never finished the job. The taste of victory is even better because of this.

"But the races are long and you know you have to finish. These points are important, but as we all expected the championship will not be decided until the last race, in Brazil."

Alonso now leads Schumacher by 10 points in the drivers' standings and they are level on seven wins apiece this season.

Schumacher can only claim an unprecedented eighth crown if he wins and Alonso fails to score a point in Sao Paulo.

Massa said he had suffered a puncture in the early part of the race and that this caused him to stop earlier than expected, an incident that also wrecked Ferrari's strategy of using Massa to run ahead of Alonso and slow him down.

"I think I might have won the race otherwise after what happened to Michael," said Massa. "Now we have to go to Brazil and we must do our best."

Fisichella praised the Renault team and said he had wept and felt very emotional because of the death of his best friendm who he did not name, on Thursday.

"He was my very best friend so this was not an easy race for me at all, mentally or psychologically," he said.

The result lifted Renault back on top of the constructors' championship.

Briton Jenson Button in a Honda finished fourth ahead of Finn Kimi Raikkonen in a McLaren, Italian Jarno Trulli in a Toyota and his teammate German Ralf Schumacher, who was seventh.

German Nick Heidfeld, in a BMW Sauber, finished eighth.

Title conceded

Seven-times world champion Schumacher conceded this year's title race is over and handed the crown to rival Fernando Alonso.

The retiring German said Alonso, the defending champion, is in a virtually unbeatable position and therefore he will go to the final race of the season in Brazil aiming only to help Ferrari lift the constructors' championship.

"The drivers' title for me is finished, but we go to Brazil to win the constructors'," said Schumacher after an engine failure gifted victory to Alonso in the Japanese Grand Prix.

It was his first engine failure in more than six years.

"Our team is great: the boys are the best I know. I'm very satisfied with all our mechanics and engineers in Ferrari. That's racing," he said.

"You win and lose together. Today we all tried hard, we were first but lost the engine. That's Formula One. I'm not very disappointed. Life and racing is like this.

"We must be very proud of the work we've done, because in Canada we were 25 points behind, and neither you or others thought we'd come back. Now we are here, nine points behind in the constructors'."

Schumacher is 10 points behind Alonso and can only take the title if the Spaniard fails to score a point in Brazil and he wins the final race.

"First of all we'll fight for the constructors' title in Brazil. We can also fight for the drivers', but we're 10 points behind," said Schumacher.

"I don't want to think of a race I must win with the other not finishing. I don't like that," he added.

Despite Schumacher facing the facts, Ferrari refused to give up hopes of a miraculous recovery in Brazil.

"Obviously we're very disappointed. Michael had his situation under control, but then Felipe (Massa) suffered from a rear tyre puncture, and then this engine failure happened," said the team's technical director Ross Brawn.

"Things just didn't quite work out today, but we're in this position now for all sorts of reasons.

"We didn't have a great start to the season, then Fernando lost his engine in Monza and so on, so really, it's a combination of things. But it is not over yet. It's a long shot, but we're definitely not giving up."

(China Daily October 9, 2006)