Welcome to our live coverage of the Japanese Grand Prix from Suzuka!

Jenson Button is just edged into fourth, but it's hard to begrudge Kobayashi and Sauber this moment - it's Japan's first F1 podium since 1990!

SEBASTIAN VETTEL WINS THE JAPANESE GP AND CLOSES TO WITHIN FOUR POINTS OF FERNANDO ALONSO! Second place for Felipe Massa, and Kamui Kobayashi claims his first F1 podium finish in front of a delirious home crowd!

Last lap! Vettel on course for victory but all eyes on Kobayashi and Button - the McLaren now in DRS range but has he left it too late?

The Japanese crowd roar Kobayashi on as he keeps Button at bay. He's on course for his first Formula One podium.

Jenson Button posts the fastest first sector time of the race, a 34.6. Maybe this thing is not over yet. He needs to get within a second to take advantage of DRS.

Drive-through penalty for Vitaly Petrov - he is guilty of ignoring blue flags.

Incredibly, Felipe Massa has not been on a Formula One podium since October 2010 in Korea. He is set for second place.

Kobayashi has responded to the challenge from Button, and put in a strong lap of 1:36.847. The gap is back up to 1.8 seconds and Button may have to settle for fourth here.

New fastest lap for Vettel - 1:36.466. That's just showing off.

Jenson Button is 1.6 seconds behind Kobayashi and closing slowly. How Button would love a podium finish at one of his favourite tracks.

Petrov takes his Caterham on an unscheduled trip over the grass. He gets back on to the tarmac and appears to have got away with that one.

Remember, Alonso's retirement on the open corner has opened this title race right up - Vettel will be just four points behind the Spaniard if he completes the job here.

Vettel's gap is steady at 18 seconds at the front of the pack. Meanwhile, Webber is trying to nurse his tyres through to the finish. He's ninth.

A change of position down the field as Bruno Senna bests Grosjean to take P14.

That's the end of Charles Pic's race. He has retired with mechanical trouble. The Marussia man was running 20th and last.

Nico Hulkenberg could be about to give Kimi Raikkonen a problem - he is closing on the sixth-placed Finn with every split time - 1.3 seconds the difference for the moment.

Michael Schumacher pits from ninth but stays on soft tyres - he's hoping to climb into the points.

A perfect pit stop from Red Bull, just 2.6 seconds, Sebastian Vettel comes back out in the lead (on hard tyres) and that is game over unless the German literally falls asleep at the wheel. Which he won't.

Massa pits - and comes out on hard tyres, perhaps surprisingly. I guess Ferrari think he has enough of a gap on Kobayashi to play it safe with harder rubber.

Button is about to pit - his crew tell him to give it "everything you've got" on the in-lap... but he cannot get out in front of Kobayashi.