Michael Schumacher wins the Japanese GP ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya. Coulthard finishes third and secures second in the Drivers' Championship. Hakkinen is 4th ahead of Rubens Barrichello and Ralf Schumacher.
Button is 7th ahead of Trulli, Heidfeld and Villeneuve.
Amazingly there are only 5 retirements with Fisichella, de la Rosa, Enge, Irvine, Alesi and Raikkonen.

Final Lap: Michael leads Montoya by 5.185 seconds

Lap 52: The gap between Michael and Juan Pablo remains around 5 seconds.

Lap 51: Order - M Schumacher, Montoya, Coulthard, Hakkinen, Barrichello, R Schumacher.

Lap 50: Villeneuve fighting with Trulli spins and loses a position to Heidfeld.

Lap 50: Ralf Schumacher catching Barrichello in 5th.

Lap 49: Coulthard passes Hakkinen. Hakkinen looks like he has a problem.

Lap 49: Montoya is going through traffic and so is Michael.

Lap 49: Fisichella retires.

Lap 48: Michael leads Montoya by 5.1 seconds.

Lap 47: Montoya continues shrinking the gap to Michael.

Lap 46: So far we have only 3 retirements. Pretty amazing!

Lap 45: Behind the top 6 - Fisichella, Button, Trulli and Villeneuve make the top 10.

Lap 44: Montoya is reducing the gap to Michael but it is too late unless Michael has a problem.

Lap 43: Michael Schumacher increases the gap to Montoya to 8 seconds.

Lap 42: Order - M Schumacher, Montoya, Hakkinen, Coulthard, Barrichello, R Schumacher.

Lap 42: Barrichello makes his 3rd pit stop. Hakkinen takes 3rd.

Lap 40: Michael Schumacher leads Montoya by 5 seconds.

Lap 40: Coulthard pits. Ralf Schumacher pits.

Lap 39: Hakkinen pits.

Lap 38: Montoya pits. He rejoins behind Michael Schumacher.

Lap 38: Williams pit crew in the pit lane. Possibly for Montoya.

Lap 38: Montoya is going through traffic.

Lap 37: Montoya takes the lead.

Lap 36: Michael Schumacher in the pits. 9 seconds. He rejoins behind Hakkinen.

Lap 35: Michael Schumacher is going through traffic and the gap drops to Montoya.  

Lap 33: Michael Schumacher still leads Montoya by around 6 seconds. 

Lap 32: Barrichello manages to pass Ralf Schumacher for 5th.

Lap 31: Order - M Schumacher, Montoya, Hakkinen, Coulthard, R Schumacher and Barrichello.

Lap 30: Michael leads Montoya by 5.2 seconds. Ralf under investigation for crossing the white line on the pit exit.

Lap 29: Ralf Schumacher gets ahead of Barrichello on the pit exit and he might have crossed the white line.

Lap 29: Long pit for Barrichello, they might have changed his strategy to a 2 stopper.

Lap 29: Barrichello pits for his second stop. Ralf pits to take his penalty.

Lap 29: Retirements: Irvine, Raikkonen and Alesi.

Lap 28: Ralf Schumacher gets a 10 second stop and go for cutting a chicane.

Lap 27: Michael Schumacher leads Montoya by 6.3 seconds.

Lap 26: Order - M Schumacher, Montoya, Barrichello, R Schumacher, Coulthard and Hakkinen.

Lap 26: Irvine retires in the pits.  

Lap 25: Michael Schumacher is now back in the lead ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya. 

Lap 24: Hakkinen pits.7.6 seconds.

Lap 24: Hakkinen leads ahead of Michael Schumacher. Montoya in 3rd ahead of Barrichello.

Lap 23: Coulthard pits.

Lap 23: Ralf Schumacher pits and Mika Hakkinen takes the lead!

Lap 22: Michael Schumacher still unable to pass Hakkinen. Ralf Schumacher to pit next lap.

Lap 22: Order - R Schumacher, Hakkinen, M Schumacher, Coulthard, Montoya, Barrichello.

Lap 21: Montoya rejoins behind Coulthard and ahead of Barrichello.

Lap 21: Montoya in the pits. Ralf Schumacher takes the lead.

Lap 21: Williams pit crew ready.

Lap 21: Michael Schumacher in 4th trying to overtake Hakkinen in 3rd without success.

Lap 20: Both Montoya and Ralf Schumacher are going through backmarkers.

Lap 20: Order - Montoya, R Schumacher, Hakkinen, M Schumacher, Coulthard and Barrichello.

Lap 19: Of the leaders only Ferrari have stopped. It looks like they are on a different strategy.

Lap 19: Montoya leads Ralf Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen.

Lap 18: Michael Schumacher in the pits. 8.8 seconds and rejoins behind Hakkinen.

Lap 18: Ferrari ready for Michael Schumacher.

Lap 17: Order - M Schumacher, Montoya, R Schumacher, Hakkinen, Coulthard and Barrichello.

Lap 16: Trulli stays ahead of Fisichella. Panis pits.

Lap 16: Fisichella and Trulli both pit from 7th and 8th.

Lap 15: Barrichello pits, he might be on a 3 stopper. 7.2 seconds and rejoins in 9th.

Lap 15: Ferrari mechanics in the pits.

Lap 14: Behind the top 6, it is Trulli, Fisichella, Button, Irvine, Villeneuve, Heidfeld, de la Rosa and Verstappen.

Lap 13: Montoya increases the lead to Barrichello to 1.9 seconds.

Lap 12: Order - M Schumacher, Montoya, Barrichello, R Schumacher, Hakkinen, Coulthard.

Lap 11: Montoya is starting to close the gap to Michael. It is down to 10.562 seconds.

Lap 10: Montoya sets the fastest lap so far with a 1:37.551.

Lap 9: Barrichello seems unable to attack Montoya any more. The gap is now 1.7 seconds.

Lap 9: Retirements so far: Raikkonen and Alesi.

Lap 8: Michael Schumacher still leads by 11.4 seconds. Barrichello is third.

Lap 7: Order - M Schumacher, Montoya, Barrichello, R Schumacher, Hakkinen, Coulthard.

Lap 6: Raikkonen makes a mistake and spins and Alesi behind him collects him.

Lap 6: Alesi is OK. 

Lap 6: Raikkonen is OK but his car is completely damaged.

Lap 6: Big crash between Alesi and Raikkonen.

Lap 5: Order - M Schumacher, Montoya, Barrichello, R Schumacher, Hakkinen, Coulthard.

Lap 4: Michael Schumacher leads by 8.9 seconds over Montoya.

Lap 2: Fisichella spins and drops back to 9th. He was 5th.

Lap 2: Barrichello tries to overtake Montoya but is still in 3rd.

Lap 1: Barrichello overtakes Ralf Schumacher. He looks like he is on a 2 stopper.

Race start: Michael Schumacher leads ahead of Montoya and Ralf Schumacher. Barrichello, Fisichella and Hakkinen makes the top 6.

Lights ...

The cars are back on the grid.

Alex Yoong (22nd) will start from the pit lane.

Enrique Bernoldi has stalled (from 20th)

Formation lap underway.

This will be Jean Alesi's final race in Formula 1. Mika Hakkinen's last before his break Formation lap in 2 minutes.

There are a number of fights in both Championships, Coulthard - Barrichello for 2nd, Barrichello - Ralf for 3rd. BAR - Jordan for 4th, Jaguar - Benetton for 7th. Formation lap in 5 minutes.

Tyres are expected to play a significant role in today's race. The Michelin teams may be opting for a single stop strategy while the Bridgestone runners are expected to be stopping twice. Formation lap in 10 minutes.

Welcome to the last race of the season. Michael Schumacher starts from Pole after dominating the Qualifying session. Montoya is second with Ralf Schumacher in 3rd ahead of Hakkinen, Fisichella and Coulthard. Formation lap in 15 minutes.

Formation lap starting at 2:30 PM local time. It is overcast with an air temperature of 24 degrees.