Fernando Alonso won Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix for a victory that was almost a sideshow to a breathless race that provided another twist in the title fight.

While the rejuvenated Spaniard made it back-to-back wins in his Renault, the race's history of season-defining incidents between title rivals gained a new chapter when Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa tangled in a memorable second-lap collision.

Both leading drivers received pit drive-through penalties before Hamilton finished out of the points for McLaren and Massa came in seventh following a post-race stewards' decision that elevated him from eighth.

That meant Hamilton's championship lead was cut from seven points to five with two races remaining. BMW's Robert Kubica, who finished second, continued to sneak up on the pair and is 12 points off the lead.

The drama began from the green light. Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen _ starting second on the grid _ got the better of pole-sitter Hamilton and was set to get through the opening corner first.

But Hamilton, eager to take back the lead, went into the bend too quickly on hard tires in cool conditions, taking him off the track and forcing Raikkonen to do the same.

Pushed down to sixth, Hamilton attempted to fight back on turn 10 of the second lap, passing Massa and forcing the Ferrari driver wide.

Massa trailed into turn 11 with two wheels off the road, went over the curbing and collided with Hamilton, putting the Briton into a spin as Massa continued.

"I was outside and then he pushed me a little bit close to the gravel," Massa said. "I had two wheels on the gravel and he closed out and we touched. Because I was on the gravel I couldn't do anything as we touched and that's it."

A Ferrari crew member punched the air in delight as it appeared Massa was set to trim or maybe erase Hamilton's title lead.

But his joy was short-lived since race stewards soon announced both drivers had to serve pit drive-through penalties: Massa for the collision and Hamilton for the opening corner.

After their penalties, Massa and Hamilton were 14th and 15th respectively and the interest centered on whether they could fight back into the points.

Massa did, passing Red Bull's Mark Webber in another hair-raising maneuver that almost forced the Ferrari driver into the wall along pit lane.

That appeared to have given Massa eighth and a single point, but he was promoted to seventh by a post-race stewards' ruling that imposed a 25-second penalty on initial sixth-place finisher Sebastien Bourdais of Toro Rosso for a collision with Massa on the 50th lap.

Massa was critical of Hamilton's behavior on the first corner.

"It was a big casino out there," Massa said. "It was pretty optimistic for him, especially if you consider the championship."

McLaren team principal Ron Dennis said he was surprised Hamilton was penalized for the first corner, but the driver himself remained optimistic.

"I've only lost two points to Felipe in the drivers' championship, so it's definitely not over," Hamilton said. "Now I'll forget today ever happened and move forward." Continued...