Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso has admitted that Ferrari simply did not possess the raw pace to catch the Red Bulls and Lotus of Romain Grosjean in the Japanese Grand Prix, and that the championship race is now over.
According to Sky Sports, having trailed Nico Hulkenberg for much of the 53 laps after moving past team-mate Felipe Massa, Alonso was eventually able to pass the Sauber with seven laps remaining to cement his position at the top of F1's all-time points-scoring chart ahead of Michael Schumacher.
Alonso said he was happy to have got the points record but the championship race was now over.
He said that even if Vettel does not finish all the remaining races, he needed to win nearly all, so it was only a matter of time before the Red Bull driver became champion.
He said that the top three were too strong for the team and even without the traffic, the podium was already settled after the first couple of laps.
Technical chief Pat Fry confirmed that for the last four races, the team would evaluate if it were worth bringing some improvements to motivate the drivers and teams over the closing stages of the championship.
