SUZUKA, Oct 8: Renault's Fernando Alonso had a second successive Formula One title in his grasp on Sunday after Michael Schumacher's hopes went up in smoke at the Japanese Grand Prix.

The 25-year-old Spaniard punched the air in delight and then cruised to a stunning victory as his Ferrari rival pulled over with a blown engine 17 laps from the end of a race he had dominated.

Alonso is now 10 points clear, and needing only one more from the final race in Brazil to be sure of retaining the crown he won last year.

Schumacher, who had hoped to end his career with an unprecedented and remarkable eighth title after being 25 points behind the reigning champion in June, recognised that the dream was effectively over.

“To be honest, I don't think there's any chance left for the championship,” Schumacher told Germany's RTL television.

While Alonso has 126 points to the Ferrari great's 116, Renault stretched their lead over the Italian glamour team to nine points.

Both men have seven wins each, meaning that the only way that Schumacher can walk away from Formula One on top is by winning in Brazil while Alonso fails to score a point.

Until the fateful plume of smoke, the most successful driver the sport has ever seen appeared to have taken the upper hand in a knife-edge championship battle. Winner of five of the preceding seven races, he slipped easily past obliging Brazilian team mate Felipe Massa on the third lap and was cruising to a predictable 92nd career victory.

The race was also a farewell to Suzuka, which faces an uncertain Formula One future after the Toyota-owned Fuji circuit takes over the Japanese GP from 2007.

Race classification: 1. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault 1:23:53.413; 2. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Ferrari +00:16.151; 3. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Renault 00:23.953; 4. Jenson Button (Britain) Honda 00:34.101; 5. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) McLaren 00:43.596; 6. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Toyota 00:46.717; 7. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Toyota 00:48.869; 8. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) BMW Sauber 01:16.095; 9. Robert Kubica (Poland) BMW Sauber 01:16.932; 10. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Williams-Cosworth 1 lap; 11. Pedro de la Rosa (Spain) McLaren 1 lap; 12. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Honda 1 lap; 13. Robert Doornbos (Netherlands) RedBull-Ferrari 1 lap; 14. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Italy) Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1 lap; 15. Takuma Sato (Japan) Super Aguri-Honda 1 lap; 16. Tiago Monteiro (Portugal) MF1-Toyota 2 laps; 17. Sakon Yamamoto (Japan) Super Aguri-Honda 3 laps.

Fastest Lap: Fernando Alonso, 1:32.676, lap 14.—Reuters