Three times World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb has closed to within four points of Marcus Grönholm after clinching a third consecutive Tour de Corse victory.

The Frenchman won nine of the 15 special stages to finish 23.7 seconds ahead of Grönholm’s Ford Focus. Dani Sordo finished a further 20 seconds behind.

It was Loeb’s seventh victory in 13 rallies and if the Frenchman continues his winning success by taking victory in the next three rally events, Loeb would retain his title.

In order for Grönholm to keep his title ambitions alive, he must finish ahead of the Citroen in the remaining events in this year’s competitive World Rally Championship.

The next rally will take place in Japan at the end of the month.

Sébastien Loeb has cut into Marcus Grönholm’s championship lead to six points with a crucial victory in the Rallye de Catalunya.

The reigning World Rally Champion led for the majority of the rally event. His Citroen team-mate, Dani Sordo, also scored points away from Grönholm by finishing second.

“This is important for the championship,” said Loeb. “I hope we can do the same results on the tarmac rallies to come, and then for the rest we will see.”

The next event in the WRC will be Corsica, a tarmac event similar to Catalunya. Championship leader Grönholm will be determined to finish on a high note after losing time on the first few stages in Spain.

“I lost 34 seconds in the wet on Friday,” the Finn said. “I was not confident to drive with the hard slick, I was too careful. Now we hope for better luck in Corsica. I was second there last year, and hopefully we can do the same, at least.”

With only four events left, the Finn must score points consistently with top podium finishes if he wants to win this year’s title. For Loeb, he can continue his charge by winning events to close down the gap. It’s game on for the Frenchman!

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton started the day with a 12-point advantage, but ended it with a trip into the gravel which resulted in two of his title contenders – Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso – to draw closer in the world championship as the season reaches its dramatic finale in Brazil with three drivers aiming for the ultimate prize in Formula One.

With Raikkonen winning the Chinese Grand Prix and Alonso finishing in second, Hamilton now leads the standings by four over his McLaren team-mate and seven over the Ferrari driver. The race in Shanghai was a disaster for the British Formula One rookie and perhaps, dented his confidence in taking the title for himself.

Hamilton had earlier dominated the wet opening stages of the 56-lap race, but stayed out too long on extremely worn intermediates tyres. The team left the decision too late for Lewis to change his worn-out Bridgestones and when he did enter the pit lane, ran wide and was breached in the gravel. The engineers and McLaren team boss Ron Dennis was left helpless as the championship leader was forced out of the race.

Until that dramatic moment, Lewis looked on course to clinch the drivers’ title in China… The race began well for the championship leader, as rain before the start meant all the drivers opted for the standard wet-weather tyres from Bridgestone. Lewis made a perfect getaway from pole position to lead into the first corner and was comfortably pulling away from the rest – as much as one second per lap quicker.

By lap 15, the race leader made his first schedule pit stop taking on more fuel but without a change of tyres. This handed the lead to Raikkonen, who made his own stop four laps later. Hamilton was now pushing hard in his McLaren-Mercedes determined to retake his race lead but in do so, exceeded the tyre wear on his intermediates Bridgestones… Further back, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso were locked in a private battle for third. At this stage of the Chinese Grand Prix, all four drivers were running their original tyres through their pit stops.

The expected rain shower held off and as the track began to dry out, some drivers (in particular Alex Wurz in the Williams) decided to take a gamble and change back onto the dry-weather ‘groove’ tyres. It worked and was now lapping much faster than the race leaders. But with another shower forecast, the top teams were unwilling to risk a premature tyre change…

As Hamilton began to suffer badly with tyre wear, Rakkionen was closing right behind in a matter of seconds. The McLaren was sliding around all over the place, struggling for grip. Lewis tried in vain to defend his race lead from the gripper Ferrari but on lap 28, Kimi slipped by when Lewis ran wide into Turn 8.

The day before, the championship leader spoke about the Ferrari’s characteristic of being kinder to its Bridgestones in long race stints and that proved crucial. Lewis was simply struggling for grip everywhere, hanging on for his second schedule stop on lap 31. When the time came, it was the prelude to disaster. As he came into the pits, Hamilton slid wide on the entry left-hander and ran into the gravel bed at low speed. He could not find enough traction to get out and despite urging the track marshals to assist him by giving the car a push, the championship leader was forced to give up and retire from a Formula One race for the first time…

His race was over and this handed the crucial lifeline for his main championship rivals Raikkonen and Alonso. And after making their pit stops to dry tyres, the pair went on to finish in the top two positions.

Kimi Raikkonen’s victory was his fifth this season and the team’s 200th Grand Prix overall. His team-mate Felipe Massa finished in third place but effectively is now out of the championship running after two poor races in Asia (the Brazilian finished in sixth at Fuji last weekend).

As for Fernando Alonso, his ‘miracle’ came true as his main championship rival was forced out of the race. But it remains a tall order for the Spaniard to win his third drivers’ title in Brazil. He will need to win the Interlagos race with Lewis in third to take the championship, so a repeat of Hamilton’s misfortune will be needed in order for Alonso to take the ultimate win.

Finishing in fourth went to Sebastian Vettel in the Scuderia Toro Rosso. The German made up for his Fuji gaffe though he was lucky to make his single-stop strategy work as far as the timing of the change in weather conditions was concerned but nevertheless, this was a fine performance by Vettel even after he started the race in the low end of the grid after impeding another driver during qualifying… His team-mate, Vitantonio Liuzzi, finished in sixth meant Toro Rosso scored big points in China.

Honda’s Jenson Button drove another impressive race to finish between the Toro Rosso pair with fifth. At one stage, Jenson even set the fastest lap times after switching to the softer-compound-dry weather tyres at the crucial stage.

Behind Liuzzi, BMW-Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld took seventh position after losing out when the track conditions changed. The German was less than a second behind the Italian’s Toro Rosso. Team-mate Robert Kubica actually led the race at one point during the Chinese Grand Prix when Raikkonen and Alonso made their final stops, but was forced into a late retirement with hydraulic failure. Thus the final point went to Red Bull Racing and David Coulthard. The Scot just managed to hold off Heikki Kovalainen’s Renault all the way to the chequered flag.

The next round of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship will be the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos. This bumpy circuit will set the scene for a three-way fight between the top three drivers in this dramatic season of F1 racing. Hamilton has 107 points, but Alonso is now up to 103 and Raikkonen 100. Not since 1986, when outsider Alain Prost beat favourites Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet, have three drivers fought it out to the last round. It should be a nail-biting race between the young Formula One rookie, the two-time champion and the ‘Iceman’. Who will win? Roll on Brazil!

Chinese Grand Prix result – 56 laps

1. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1h37:58.395s
2. ALONSO McLaren +9.8s
3. MASSA Ferrari +12.8s
4. VETTEL Toro Rosso +53.5s
5. BUTTON Honda +1m08.6s
6. LIUZZI Toro Rosso +1m13.6s
7. HEIDFELD BMW +1m14.2s
8. COULTHARD Red Bull +1m20.7s
9. KOVALAINEN Renault +1m21.1s
10. WEBBER Red Bull +1m24.6s
11. FISICHELLA Renault +1m26.6s
12. WURZ Williams +1 lap
13. TRULLI Toyota +1 lap
14. SATO Super Aguri +1 lap
15. BARRICHELLO Honda +1 lap
16. ROSBERG Williams +2 laps
17. YAMAMOTO Spyker +3 laps
R. KUBICA BMW +23 laps
R. HAMILTON McLaren +26 laps
R. SCHUMACHER Toyota +31 laps
R. SUTIL Spyker +32 laps
R. DAVIDSON Super Aguri +45 laps

Fastest lap: MASSA 1:37.454

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton moved himself a step closer to winning this season’s world championship by taking his sixth pole position in sensational style at the Chinese Grand Prix. His main championship rival and team-mate Fernando Alonso will start the all-important race in Shanghai in fourth.

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen had dominated the race weekend with the quickest time in all the sessions until Q3. The Finn will start the Chinese Grand Prix alongside Lewis Hamilton in second position ahead of his Scuderia team-mate Felipe Massa.

It seems that Raikkonen was on course to take pole position, as the ‘Iceman’ was the fastest driver around the Shanghai International Circuit. It looked unlikely for Hamilton to challenge the Finn for the top spot but the 22-year-old Brit relishes the opportunity with a sublime and perfect lap that astounded the Formula One fans and paddock alike. His time of one minute, 35.908 seconds was a tenth quicker than Kimi but a full two-thirds of a second faster than Fernando!

Poor old Fernando Alonso. The two-time world champion now faces a difficult race no thanks to his low fourth grid position. The Spaniard definitely needs a miracle in order to retain his championship title, but judging by his team-mate’s speed and determination, Hamilton could become the youngest Formula One world champion in the history of the sport on Sunday.

To win the world championship, Lewis Hamilton has to finish the race in front of his McLaren team-mate in any of the top five race positions. He has to score at least two points to take the drivers’ title, no matter if Ferrari takes the race victory. For Kimi Raikkonen, he has to go for the win itself (nothing else will do!) and hope that Lewis finishes outside the top eight. As for Felipe Massa, the Brazilian has to win both this race in China and the finale in Brazil, with none of the three drivers scoring any points… A tall order for Massa.

Behind the usual four drivers in the two top teams came David Coulthard. It was a nice surprise to see the Scot in fifth – his best qualifying performance this season – as Nick Heidfeld usually occupies this grid position. His Red Bull Racing team-mate Mark Webber could only manage seventh, just a half a second behind.

Splitting between the Red Bull pair was Ralf Schumacher. The Toyota driver continued his strong practice form by taking sixth position, seven places ahead of his team-mate Jarno Trulli, who got knocked out in Q2. The German will be starting his penultimate race for the team and will be looking to score some points to end his disappointing season with a positive note.

Shuffle down from their customary third-row grid slots came the BMW-Saubers of Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica – who were eighth and ninth respectively. Why a lack of pace? Maybe the BMWs are running a heavy fuel load for the race? It seem more likely that the team encounter a technical problem when setting up the cars in Friday’s opening practice sessions, hence they failure to make an impact in qualifying…

And completing the top ten is Jenson Button in the Honda. The Brit will be determined to score some points for the team after a strong performance in qualifying. He easily out-qualified his team-mate Rubens Barrichello, who struggled in P16.

So will fate be in store for Lewis Carl Hamilton on Sunday? Can the British star achieve his dream by winning the FIA Formula One World Championship this year? Only 56 demanding laps around the 5.451-kilometre Shanghai International Circuit can provide the answers. And with the news that a major storm is closing in on race day, it could be an exciting and dramatic Chinese Grand Prix.

Chinese Grand Prix starting grid

1. HAMILTON McLaren 1:35.908
2. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1:36.044
3. MASSA Ferrari 1:36.221
4. ALONSO McLaren 1:36.576
5. COULTHARD Red Bull 1:37.619
6. SCHUMACHER Toyota 1:38.013
7. WEBBER Red Bull 1:38.153
8. HEIDFELD BMW 1:38.455
9. KUBICA BMW 1:38.472
10. BUTTON Honda 1:39.285
11. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1:36.862
12. TRULLI Toyota 1:36.959
13. KOVALAINEN Renault 1:36.991
14. DAVIDSON Super Aguri 1:37.247
15. ROSBERG Williams 1:37.483
16. BARRICHELLO Honda 1:37.251
17. VETTEL Toro Rosso 1:36.891*
18. FISICHELLA Renault 1:37.290
19. WURZ Williams 1:37.456
20. SATO Super Aguri 1:38.218
21. SUTIL Spyker 1:38.668
22. YAMAMOTO Spyker 1:39.336

* Relegated five places for impeding another driver

McLaren’s star Lewis Hamilton is edging closer to his dream result of winning this season’s drivers’ title after an awesome display of wet weather driving in the rain-drenched Japanese Grand Prix.

His main championship rival, team-mate Fernando Alonso, crashed out after aquaplaned into the tyre wall on the approach to Turn 6 on lap 42. The Spaniard had earlier suffered a spin losing him track position as well as colliding into Sebastian Vettel’s Toro Rosso into the first corner…

With Lewis winning the wet Fuji race, Alonso now faces a difficult challenge of sustaining his championship honours over his British rookie, who is now leading the standings with 12 points. If Hamilton finishes ahead of his Spanish team-mate in the following Grand Prix at Shanghai next weekend, he will become world champion of 2007.

Renault’s Heikki Kovalainen finished in his career-best position of second, followed by the determining Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari. The ‘Iceman’ had earlier fallen to the rear of the field in the first part of this dramatic Grand Prix.

With the treacherous wet conditions at the Fuji Speedway, the first 19 laps of the race were run behind the Safety Car due to the appalling visibility. Even though the whole Formula One field were instructed by race control to start on extreme wet tyres, the Ferraris were both fitted with intermediates, forcing Kimi Raikkonen and team-mate Felipe Massa to make necessary pit-stops during the caution period.

How come the Ferraris were starting the Grand Prix on intermediates despite everyone else was on the extreme wet Bridgestone tyres? Team boss Jean Todt claims he didn’t receive an email from Charlie Whiting, the race director. But everyone else got the message…

So it was hardly a surprise to see Raikkonen and Massa struggling in the soaking wet conditions. Massa even had a spin under the Safety Car! The track wasn’t suitable for the shallow-grooved intermediates so when Ferrari brought in both drivers for the right tyres, the pair returned back on circuit at the rear end of the field…

Meanwhile at the front, the two silver cars were leading the field but the race still wasn’t under way. It looked like the Japanese Grand Prix would become a parade of racing cars travelling slowly behind the Safety Car… But when the race officials decided to assess the conditions by allowing Tonio Liuzzi, who was a lap down, to unlap himself and catch up to the back of the racing pack, it was then the lap time from the Toro Rosso driver became significant enough for Charlie Whiting to let the racing commence.

The Safety Car came in at the end of lap 19 and the race resume with Lewis Hamilton leading Fernando Alonso. Behind, there was chaos as Nick Heidfeld was hit from behind by Honda’s Jenson Button. In addition, Alex Wurz lost control of his Williams under braking into Turn 1 which resulted in the Austrian colliding into the back of Massa, who went into another spin!

Button, amazingly continue his race without a front wing and was setting reasonable times. But after a few laps, the Honda driver was forced to come into the pits to repair the damage.

In the mean time, Lewis Hamilton was pulling away from his McLaren team-mate at a steady rate – thanks to the clear road and relatively good visibility. It was at this period of the race that Alonso was struggling to keep up and after his pit-stop, the Spaniard fell ever further behind his main championship rival. In fact, he lost vital track positions after taking on more fuel and it certainly didn’t help when he collided with Sebastian Vettel’s Toro Rosso some time later…

Speaking of Sebastian Vettel, the young German was driving a superb race. He actually led a couple of laps when the McLarens were in the pits and it would have been a wonderful result for the team to finish on the podium. But alas, he made a rookie mistake when he crashed into Mark Webber’s Red Bull during the second Safety Car period… Webber was furious as he was heading for a podium and that incident cost both Toro Rosso and Red Bull Racing a chance of scoring big points in Fuji.

Why was the Safety Car out on track again? Well, it was called out as Fernando Alonso suffered heavy damage after losing control in his McLaren on the wet surface. His shunt could be the deciding factor in this year’s world championship and it was a shame for the Spaniard as he was recovering from his earlier pit-stop.

Once the debris was cleared away, the race restarted and Hamilton continued to lead from the front. The British driver was driving brilliantly at the point of the race despite a lack of knowledge of racing in the wet. Lewis even survived a scary moment when he was hit from behind by Robert Kubica’s BMW-Sauber, which resulted in both cars spinning. But luckily, Lewis kept the engine running, rejoined back on track and went onto win the race. As for Kubica, he was given a drive-through penalty for the racing incident.

Behind the victorious Lewis Hamilton was Renault’s Heikki Kovalainen, who was driving his best-ever race of the season. His fellow countrymen Kimi Raikkonen, who was driving the wheels off his Ferrari, pushed the Finn all the way to the chequered flag

Finishing in fourth was David Coulthard in the Red Bull. The Scottish driver was racing with a special Colin McRae-themed helmet as a tribute to the late World Rally Champion. It certainly helped Coulthard’s luck in the wet conditions as he recorded yet another points finish for his team.

Giancarlo Fisichella finished fifth after a so-so race in the Renault, while Nick Heidfeld lost sixth position when his BMW-Sauber began to misfire and was forced to retire just two laps from home.

That position went to Ferrari’s Felipe Massa, who drove a storming race from the back. The Brazilian even had an exciting wheel-to-wheel battle with Kubica on the final lap that was reminiscent of Dijon 1979 and the battle between Gilles Villeneuve and Rene Arnoux.

And finishing in the last remaining championship point was Toni Liuzzi. After starting the race in the pit-lane, the Italian scored Toro Rosso’s first points of the season. But race stewards decided to penalise the driver for overtaking under yellow flags. So it was Spyker that scored its first point of the season instead, courtesy of another strong drive from Adrian Sutil.

Hamilton’s fourth Grand Prix victory means he leads the title chase with 107 points to Alonso’s static 95, while Raikkonen is now up to 90 points. Massa, on 80, is now officially out of the title chase with two races remaining.

The next race follows immediately at Shanghai for the penultimate race of this exciting season. Lewis Hamilton’s dream of winning the title in his first season of becoming a Formula One driver is only a week away. Can he do it? It certainly looks like it judging by his commanding drive here at Fuji.

Revised Japanese Grand Prix result – 67 laps

1. HAMILTON McLaren 2h00m34.579s
2. KOVALAINEN Renault +8.4s
3. RAIKKONEN Ferrari +9.5s
4. COULTHARD Red Bull +20.3s
5. FISICHELLA Renault +38.9s
6. MASSA Ferrari +49.0s
7. KUBICA BMW +49.3s
8. SUTIL Spyker +1m00.1s*
9. LIUZZI Toro Rosso +1m20.6s*
10. BARRICHELLO Honda +1m28.3s
11. BUTTON Honda +1 lap
12. YAMAMOTO Spyker +1 lap
13. TRULLI Toyota +1 lap
14. HEIDFELD BMW +2 laps
15. SATO Super Aguri +2 laps
R. SCHUMACHER Toyota +12 laps
R. DAVIDSON Super Aguri +13 laps
R. ROSBERG Williams +18 laps
R. VETTEL Toro Rosso +21 laps
R. WEBBER Red Bull +22 laps
R. ALONSO McLaren +26 laps
R. WURZ Williams +48 laps

Fastest lap: HAMILTON 1m28.193s (lap 27)

* Liuzzi given 25s penalty, promoting Sutil to 8th

As the Formula One season approaches its dramatic climax with three critical races for the four championship contenders, it was McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton who managed to rise to the occasion with a stunning lap in the final moments of qualifying to steal pole position away from team-mate Fernando Alonso.

Initially, the whole session was subject to delay as the appalling wet weather conditions around Mount Fuji fail to improve after the race organisers forced the abandonment of third practice due to fog. It seem that the qualifying hour was heading the same way – with fears it might be put on hold until Saturday evening or at worst, Sunday morning – but in the event, the conditions were deemed acceptable and qualifying took place on schedule.

It has been thirty years since Formula One raced at the Fuji Speedway – scene of James Hunt winning his only drivers title. The Toyota-owned race track is a stark contrast to Suzuka, as this re-profile circuit offers a good chance of overtaking thanks to that mile-long start/finish straight.

As ever, qualifying is essential for drivers looking to score points and Lewis Hamilton not only manage to beat his main championship rivals in the session, but also gain physiological advantage over Alonso with his fifth pole position of the year. The British rookie has won from this top grid position three times and if Hamilton manages to win at Fuji on race day, he will extend his slim championship lead as we head into the final two races of the season.

McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso looked to be the driver to start in the top spot after setting the pace with a lap time of one minute, 25. 438 seconds. But right at the end of Q3, Hamilton banged in an amazing do-or-die lap time of one minute, 25. 368 seconds to grab pole position and head another McLaren front row.

The Ferraris were left trailing with Kimi Raikkonen in third (one minute, 25.516 seconds) and team-mate Felipe Massa fourth (one minute, 25.765 seconds). The performance between the F2007 and the MP4-22 should be fascinating as it’s still to close to call on who has the advantage on race day. The lap times between the four drivers in the top two cars are separate by a matter of tenths of a second.

Behind the usual suspects is Nick Heidfeld in the BMW-Sauber, who continues his impressive consistence in the F1.07 by again out-qualifying his team-mate Robert Kubica (the Polish driver will start in ninth).

Williams-Toyota’s Nico Rosberg originally qualified in sixth but due to an engine change in Friday’s practice session, the German will drop back ten places on the grid. This promoted Jenson Button in the Honda, who was sublime in the wet conditions. The British driver achieved his best-ever starting position after a year-long of frustration in the Earth-livery Honda. He was significantly quicker than team-mate Rubens Barrichello – a driver who is exceptionally good in the wet – and yet, the Brazilian struggled with P17.

Row four goes to the Red Bull drivers of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, with the latter arguably the star of the qualifying session. The German rookie was extremely impressive in the slippery conditions, and by qualifying in eighth he earns the Toro Rosso squad their first-ever top ten start in Formula One.

Rounding out the top ten is Kubica in the second BMW-Sauber with Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella. As for the Japanese drivers racing in their home Grand Prix, it was a day of disappointment for Takuma Sato and Sakon Yamamoto in the Super Aguri and Spyker respectively. Sato lacked pace in the wet conditions and got knocked out in Q1 (will start in P21), meanwhile Yamamoto will start his home race last thanks to Ralf Schumacher colliding into him in the Toyota…

The weather forecast remains unsettled for Sunday, and at this moment in time the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji has the look of one of those races in which anything could happen.

Japanese Grand Prix grid

1. HAMILTON McLaren 1:25.368
2. ALONSO McLaren 1:25.438
3. RAIKKONEN Ferrari 1:25.516
4. MASSA Ferrari 1:25.765
5. HEIDFELD BMW 1:26.505
6. BUTTON Honda 1:26.913
7. WEBBER Red Bull 1:26.914
8. VETTEL Toro Rosso 1:26.973
9. KUBICA BMW 1:27.225
10. FISICHELLA Renault 1:26.033
11. KOVALAINEN Renault 1:26.232
12. COULTHARD Red Bull 1:26.247
13. TRULLI Toyota 1:26.253
14. LIUZZI Toro Rosso 1:26.948
15. SCHUMACHER Toyota 1:27.191
16. ROSBERG Williams 1:26.728*
17. BARRICHELLO Honda 1:27.323
18. WURZ Williams 1:27.454
19. DAVIDSON Super Aguri 1:27.564
20. SUTIL Spyker 1:28.628
21. SATO Super Aguri 1:28.792
22. YAMAMOTO Spyker 1:29.668

*Drops ten places due to an engine change penalty