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Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel came out on top after a thrilling Japanese Grand Prix but just missed out on clinching the
Formula One world title for the fourth year in a row.
Vettel won an absorbing game of cat-and-mouse with team-mate Mark Webber and Lotus's Romain Grosjean to win his fifth race in a row, the sport's longest victory streak in nearly a decade.
It was very different from the dominant performances which have taken Vettel to the verge of joining Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio as only the third driver to win four straight world championships.
Despite front wing damage after a scrape with Lewis Hamilton at the outset, Vettel reeled in the departing Webber as well as Romain Grosjean, who took third after a flying start.
But Fernando Alonso's fourth place means Vettel's celebrations are on ice at least until India in two weeks, when he is expected to seal the title with another three races left on the schedule.
Vettel now holds a 90-point lead over Ferrari's Alonso with 100 available from the last four races.
Fifth place in India will get the job done for Vettel, even if Alonso wins.
The race was preceded by a minute's silence for former reserve driver Maria de Villota, who died in Spain last week a year after a serious crash in testing.
