SUZUKA, Japan (AFP) - World champion Michael Schumacher returned to winning ways here when he stormed to a record-equalling victory for Ferrari in the Japanese Grand Prix.
Fears of devastation from Typhoon Ma-on caused qualifying to be postponed here Saturday. But the storm missed the circuit and left Schumacher free to stage his own whirlwind display under blue skies on race day.
The German driver tore apart the opposition to take a unique one-day double as he claimed his 13th victory of the season, having secured his eighth pole position of the year earlier in the day.
And his victory gave world champions Ferrari a record-equalling 15th win of the season to leave them needing one more victory, in the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix, to break the record they hold jointly with McLaren.
"It was pretty clear to us that we would have a strong race pace. I was pretty confident we could do it after getting the pole position," Schumacher said.
Schumacher led every lap on his way to ending a personal lean spell of three races without a win. He enjoyed a double celebration as his brother Ralf claimed his first podium of the season with second for Williams-BMW.
Ralf said: "The car worked well and the team did a great job. We had the right strategy for us and it has been a good weekend."
Briton Jenson Button finished third to take his tenth podium of the season for BAR-Honda after using a two-stop strategy to prevent his Japanese team-mate Takuma Sato from claiming a popular podium finish in front of his home fans.
"I went for the two-stop because it worked very well at the last race and I'm used to driving the car when it is pretty heavy," Button said.
"It went well, but compared to these two (the Schumachers) we were quite a way off in the end."
Sato finished fourth, just ahead of Spanish Renault driver Fernando Alonso, to enable BAR to extend their lead over Renault in the chase for second place in the world championship to 16 points with 18 remaining.
Finn Kimi Raikkonen claimed sixth place for McLaren-Mercedes with Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya seventh in the second Williams and Italian Sauber driver Giancarlo Fisichella rounding out the points scorers in eighth.
Schumacher made a clean getaway from pole and sprinted into the first corner to leave his brother Ralf trailing behind as Button got the better of Sato off the line to claim third.
Schumacher's team-mate Rubens Barrichello started down in 15th after a poor qualifying session. He gained just one place at the start and failed to make his expected progress through the field.
German Jordan driver Timo Glock had a minor spin and continued at the Degner Curve on lap 38. But Barrichello and Scot David Coulthard, of McLaren, were not so lucky and both retired one lap later after a collision.