Felipe Massa's deficit to F1 world championship leader Lewis Hamilton shrank by a further point in the hour after the Japanese Grand Prix, when race stewards decided to penalise Sebastien Bourdais for a collision with the Brazilian.

While it appeared that Massa could have been equally to blame for the incident, which occurred as Bourdais rejoined from his final pit-stop at the same time as Massa approached turn one, the Ferrari was the one to spin, costing the Brazilian vital seconds if not places.

Bourdais went on to finish sixth in the race at Fuji, while Massa continued his recovery from a second lap clash with Hamilton that cost him a drive-thru' penalty by catching and passing Red Bull's Mark Webber for eighth in the final few laps.

With the Bourdais-Massa incident due to reviewed by the stewards after the race, however, there was always the possibility that the result could change, but few - except the most hardened cynics - expected it to go Ferrari's way. Bourdais, however, was slapped with a 25-second penalty that drops him to tenth place, promoting team-mate Sebastian Vettel to sixth, Massa to seventh and Webber back to eighth.

The alteration also sees Massa close to within five points of Hamilton in the overall standings after the Briton failed to score. Hamilton endured a scrappy race, starting with an ill-judged attempt to retake the lead from Kimi Raikkonen at the first corner and then continuing when he was spun to the back of the pack by Massa on lap two. The Briton eventually finished twelfth.