Lewis Hamilton took a huge stride towards becoming
Formula One world champion in his rookie season after keeping his head where others lost theirs in treacherous conditions at Fuji Speedway.
The rain that blighted qualifying continued into raceday, causing concern for the organisers and stewards before the decision was taken to start the 67-lap event behind the safety car. Even then, however, the call was not met with universal approval, with radio traffic between drivers and teams suggesting that consensus was for the race to be halted - or even abandoned.
FIA delegate Charlie Whiting stuck to his guns, however, and, for 19 laps, the field toured around behind Bernd Maylander's Mercedes.
The reduced pace did not mean that there was a dearth of intrigue, however, with
Ferrari's
Felipe Massa spinning off on lap two. The incident highlighted the fact that the Scuderia had been the only team to opt for
Bridgestone's 'intermediate' wet weather tyres, despite Whiting having issued an edict insisting that all eleven operations
had to utilise the 'extreme wet' option. Ferrari claimed not to have received the message - apparently the only organisation, broadcasters and so on included, not to do so - but was made to pit for the required rubber, dropping both Massa and
Kimi Raikkonen to the tail of the snake.
Even with the deeper cut tyres fitted, the conditions proved tricky, with Raikkonen, pushing to catch up to the field, spinning at turn ten. The Finn resumed undamaged, but the rotation prompted further calls from concerned drivers, many of who reported not being able to see the safety light of the car in front because of the amount of spray being thrown up.
