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Two-times world champion Fernando Alonso admitted he was stunned after claiming his second successive victory by winning an incident-packed Japanese Grand Prix.
As the main championship protagonists licked their wounds on a day of errors, collisions and penalties, the Spaniard steered his Renault home just two weeks after winning in Singapore for his 21st career triumph.
“It is so difficult to believe, to win, back to back victories, it is hard to believe,” he said. “The team has done such a great job with the car.”
Alonso took full advantage of a bad day for title rivals Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa as he came home 5.2 seconds clear of second placed Pole Robert Kubica of BMW Sauber.
Defending drivers world champion Kimi Raikkonen finished third for Ferrari.
“I made a decent start and when the others went off I was able to go through behind Robert (Kubica) and then I had a really great second stint that won me the race,” said Alonso.
“It is a great feeling to win again and to have back-to-back victories is really good for the team. It is very nice.”
Alonso, the champion in 2005 and 2006 for Renault before departing for an inglorious season with McLaren last year, has yet to agree a deal for next season, but is likely to stay with the French team.
Brazil’s Nelson Piquet was fourth in the second Renault ahead of Italian Jarno Trulli of Toyota and the Toro Rosso of Germany’s Sebastian Vettel.
Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais was hit with a 25 second penalty after the race for running Massa off the track, relegating him to tenth from sixth.
It was good news for Massa who was bumped up to seventh from eighth.
Championship leader Hamilton failed to score a point for McLaren after a poor start from pole position and some impetuous moves which cost him dearly.
These saw him overrun the first corner and go off the track together with Raikkonen, who outpaced him off the grid at the start, and later hit by Massa’s Ferrari as he attempted to pass him.
Hamilton was given a drive-through penalty for his part in the first corner melee and Massa was given the same punishment for ramming Hamilton into a spin in the second incident.
Hamilton eventually finished 12th.
“I didn’t hit anything, but he did,” said Hamilton of the incidents. “But that’s the way it goes.”
Massa also struggled through a day of collisions, errors and penalties on his way to finishing seventh to claim two points.
This reduced Hamilton’s championship lead to five points with two races left in China and Brazil. Hamilton has 84 points and Massa 79.
“On a day like this you have to hold your hands up and say you made a mistake,” said Hamilton.
“That is what I did and I paid for it. Now I have to keep my head up and just keep going.
“I don’t think it has had any effect on the championship so for me it has been a damage limitation day. I am focussing on winning the next two races now.”
In the constructors’ championship, Ferrari jumped back in front with a seven points lead over McLaren. Ferrari have 142 and McLaren 135.
Hamilton’s McLaren teammate, Finn Heikki Kovalainen, retired with a blown engine in the early stages when he was running well.
“These things can happen,” said Kovalainen. “I saw some bits coming out of the car and I knew it was over. It is a pity.”
Asked about his view of the first corner controversy, involving Hamilton and Raikkonen, a move that allowed Kubica and Alonso to take the lead ahead of Kovalainen, the Finn said he saw nothing wrong.
“Obviously Kimi got a good start and I think my start was very good as well, Lewis’s wasn’t quite as good. Kimi initially jumped Lewis and then I think Lewis was trying to fight back,” he said.
“They both went a bit deep and I also went a bit deep. I don’t know… I thought it was just a normal first corner.”
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