Rubens Barrichello and Sebastian Vettel are not ready to concede the world championship to Jenson Button, but with just three races to go the Briton is close to wrapping up the title.
Barrichello dropped a point to his Brawn GP team-mate at the Singapore Grand Prix, finishing sixth to Button's fifth, and while Red Bull's Vettel came fourth, an error almost certainly blew his slim chances of catching up.
Vettel was battling with eventual winner Lewis Hamilton for the lead when he pitted on lap 39. He exited too quickly and incurred a drive-through penalty that killed any hope he had of victory.
The young German, tipped by many to be a dominant player for years to come, admitted his mistake was costly but is refusing to give up despite being 25 points adrift of Button with only 30 points now available.
Button has 84 points to Barrichello's 69 and Vettel's 59, with Australian Mark Webber fourth on 51.5.
The Formula One circus moves to Japan this week and then onto Brazil before ending the season in Abu Dhabi.
