Sebastian Vettel gets grid boost ahead of Japan Grand Prix

Finally, some good news for Sebastian Vettel. He will not be sent down the grid at Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix after Ferrari confirmed his gearbox has survived his post-race collision in Malaysia.

The news keeps the world championship alive, as the German tries to reel in Lewis Hamilton’s 34-point lead over the closing five rounds.

The diagnosis comes as a special relief to Vettel considering Ferrari’s disastrous last few weeks – the two red cars took each other out on the first lap in Singapore before both Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen suffered engine problems over the Malaysian weekend.

The rear left wheel of the Ferrari was left completely ruined and bent upwards over the car

Then came Vettel’s collision with Lance Stroll’s Williams on their cool-down lap, raising the possibility of the five-place grid penalty that comes for replacing a gearbox short of its six-race cycle.

Such a punishment would have done nothing for the moods of either Vettel or Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne, who has criticised his team’s fumbling form.

The four-time world champion (centre) won’t receive a grid penalty in Japan

‘Both Ferraris could have won in Malaysia,’ said Marchionne. ‘That’s a fact. It could have been the same in Singapore. That’s another fact. It is also a fact that we’ve got some issues with our engines because we have a young team. But also because the quality of the components is not at the right level.

‘We are intervening. We are working on the quality department and making some organisational changes. These kinds of problems during the race make us angry.’