RBR hopeful of overhauling Williams

Despite seeing a certain eight points for second place slip through their fingers when Mark Webber was shunted out of the Fuji race, David Coulthard's fourth place has left them just five points adrift of Williams.

And Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner says the team are now focused on trying to close down on their Grove-based rivals.

"We've closed in," Horner told autosport.com. "We are within striking distance. We are five points behind although we should have been ahead with two races to go. There is everything to play for.

"The performance this weekend has genuinely been pretty respectable and I just feel sorry for Mark that having battled with illness and driven such a fantastic race he got nothing."

Horner said he was confident that Webber would pick himself up from the deep disappointment of being tipped out of the race by Toro Rosso's Sebastian Vettel.

"Mark is a tough lad, and he has done nothing but surprise me all year," said Horner. "For me he is probably one of the most under rated drivers in F1, and Japan was another demonstration of his ability.

"Any retirement at that stage would hurt. It was a podium and even a chance of a win. They don't come along very often and you have to grab them when you can."