Hamilton gives champion advice to Button

Lewis Hamilton has warned Jenson Button to expect the unexpected after taking up the mantle as the new Formula One world champion.

Vettel closes gap on Button in Japan

• Vettel wins from pole with Lewis Hamilton third• Button finishes eighth but stays 14 points clearJenson Button's slow march towards the world title took another step closer to completion in Japan, despite Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel winning from pole. Button, finishing down in eighth, saw his lead cut by a point, but remains 14 clear with just two races to go.Vettel kept alive his outside chance of winning the drivers' championship, moving to within 16 points of Button. The German crossed the line ahead of Jarno Trulli's Toyota with Lewis Hamilton in third for McLaren.Vettel's third win of the season helped to close the gap at the top, but Button's Brawn team-mate, Rubens Barrichello, remains the Briton's closest challenger having crossed the line a place ahead in seventh.Brawn could have wrapped up the constructors' title, but were denied after the safety car was brought on to the track with five laps to go. Button, however, was unhappy with Williams' Nico Rosberg, for allegedly setting his fastest sector time while drivers were under restrictions – an issue the race stewards were looking in to.As things stand, Brawn will need just half a point more to claim the crown when the teams move on to Brazil in two weeks' time, while Button could secure his first world title merely by keeping pace with Barrichello and Vettel.Race standings1 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 01:28:20.443; 2 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 01:28:25.243; 3 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 01:28:26.843; 4 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 01:28:28.343; 5 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 01:28:29.143; 6 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 01:28:29.943; 7 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 01:28:31.043; 8 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 01:28:31.843; 9 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 01:28:32.143; 10 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 01:28:33.443; 11 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 01:28:34.143; 12 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Ferrari 01:28:34.943; 13 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 01:28:35.343; 14 Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Force India 01:28:36.143; 15 Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 01:28:38.343Not Classified: 16 Romain Grosjean (Fra) Renault +1 lap; 17 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull +2 laps; 18 Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Scuderia Toro Rosso +10 laps; 19 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso +42 lapsDNS: 20 Timo Glock (Ger) ToyotaWorld championship standings1 Jenson Button (Gbr) Brawn GP 85.0pts; 2 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Brawn GP 71.0; 3 Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 69.0; 4 Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 51.5; 5 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 45.0; 6 Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 43.0; 7 Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 34.5; 8 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 30.5; 9 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 26.0; 10 Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 24.0; 11 Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 22.0; 12 Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 22.0; 13 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 15.0; 14 Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 9.0; 15 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Ferrari 8.0; 16 Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 5.0; 17 Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Scuderia Toro Rosso 3.0; 18 Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Scuderia Toro Rosso 2.0; six drivers on zero pointsFormula OneSebastian VettelJenson ButtonRed BullBrawnMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Massa claim 'shocks' Hamilton

• Hamilton says there were plenty of 'what ifs' throughout season• McLaren driver believes he had a 'fair battle' with MassaLewis Hamilton today rejected Felipe Massa's claim that the Brazilian had been robbed of the 2008 world championship. Speaking after the first day of practice for tomorrow's Japanese grand prix, Hamilton said he was "a bit surprised and shocked" by Massa's suggestion that Renault's fixing of last year's Singapore grand prix had cost the Ferrari driver a victory that would have given him the title."First, I should say that it's good to hear that Felipe is recovering well and that he's back to his normal self and feeling good," said Hamilton, referring to Massa's recovery from the head injuries he suffered during qualifying for the Hungarian grand prix. "I think all we can say is that it was a tough season, things happened and there were lots and lots of 'what ifs' throughout the season. I believe that we had quite a fair battle throughout and I've always found him to be a fair driver. So I'm a bit surprised and shocked to hear him say that, to be honest."Massa was leading the Singapore race when Nelson Piquet Jr's deliberate crash brought out a safety car and triggered the sequence of events that eventually allowed Piquet's Renault team-mate, Fernando Alonso, to triumph. Massa joined the majority of the field by stopping to refuel under the safety car but a botched pit stop by Ferrari cost him any chance of a points finish. Massa lost the world title by a single point."Everything that happened was robbery but nothing has happened [in terms of] the race. The result didn't change. This is not right," Massa said in an interview with Globo television in Brazil. "The robbery changed the championship. I lost [the title] by one point."Meanwhile the battle for the 2009 championship continues tomorrow at Suzuka as Jenson Button leads his Brawn GP team-mate, Rubens Barrichello, by 15 points with three races remaining. Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull has an outside chance but Button only needs to score five more points than Barrichello to become the second Englishman in succession to win the title. Button and the rest of the field were hampered by wet conditions which limited track time yesterday."I feel sorry for the fans at Suzuka today," said Button. "But, unfortunately, we can't get any useful information in these conditions with so much water on the track. We spent the morning session working on the balance of the car with the wet and intermediate tyres to ensure that we are prepared if the same wet weather does continue over the weekend. It was important to achieve some running and it feels good to be back at Suzuka. This is a great drivers' track, so hopefully we'll get some dry running on Saturday."Hamilton was more frustrated than most since this is the world champion's first visit to Suzuka, the only figure-of-eight track in Formula One."I love the track, it's the best I've ever driven," said Hamilton. "I had a great time today, even though it was wet. We weren't supposed to be running in the second session in the afternoon, but I couldn't help it. I had to go out and have a little bit of fun. I've always wanted to drive here from the very early stages, from when I was watching F1 as a boy and I noticed this circuit then. There is such great history here. This was the one track I hadn't been to and I enjoyed my first couple of laps here this morning."It's a bit tricky for the drivers that haven't been here before. Even though we've driven it today in the wet, it's completely different in the dry. Tomorrow will be a serious challenge to see who is quickest at getting on the ball."Formula OneLewis HamiltonFelipe MassaRenaultMcLarenFerrariMotor sportguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Hamilton eases to victory as rivals fall by wayside

He said he wanted redemption after crashing on the last lap of the Italian Grand Prix in Monza two weeks ago and in Singapore Lewis Hamilton earned it with a crushing victory for the McLaren-Mercedes team.

McLaren driver Hamilton wins Singapore GP

Lewis Hamilton produced a masterful drive to win Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix ahead of Timo Glock and Fernando Alonso as Jenson Button got more points on the board to shore up his championship lead.

Hamilton wins under lights in Singapore

Lewis Hamilton led from start to finish to capture his second victory of the season at the Singapore Grand Prix today.