Marussia Formula One driver Jules Bianchi has been taken to hospital and is unconscious following an accident during the Japanese Grand Prix.

The race was red-flagged with nine laps to go after Bianchi went off at Turn 7, where Sauber's Adrian Sutil had crashed earlier.

The Sauber was being recovered by a crane when Bianchi went off.

Sutil said Bianchi's car had hit the crane.

Sunday's race took place in heavy rain. The first nine laps were run behind a safety car and it started to rain heavily again near the end of the race.

FIA Press officer Matteo Bonciani said: "The driver is not conscious, he has been sent to the hospital by ambulance because the helicopter cannot go in these conditions."

Lewis Hamilton won a rain-shortened Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday, claiming his third straight Formula One win and widening his lead over teammate Nico Rosberg in the race for the drivers' championship.

With Hamilton leading Rosberg, a red flag came out on the 47th of 53 laps due to a crash involving Marussia driver Jules Bianchi. Race officials elected not to re-start the race and Hamilton was declared the winner. Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel finished third.

"Once I was able to get past Nico I was just able to enjoy the ride," Hamilton said. "It was a great result for the team but obviously I am very concerned about Bianchi right now."

Hamilton now leads Rosberg by 10 points with four races remaining.

The rain also disrupted the early stages of the race, with the first nine laps run behind the safety car. After things settled down and the race begun, Hamilton did everything possible to gain on his teammate, who started from pole.

Rosberg held the lead until the 29th lap where Hamilton got a better run onto the pit straight and blasted around the outside of Rosberg into Turn 1 to take the lead for good.

"I had a lot more pace than Nico," Hamilton said. "It's not an easy circuit to follow on. But I was able to get close and with DRS was able to get side-by-side and put it in there."

The race started as scheduled but with the rain getting stronger, the drivers could only complete two cautious laps behind the safety car.

After a 10-minute delay, the race re-started behind the safety car, but Fernando Alonso's Ferrari ground to a halt with a technical problem. The Spaniard returned to his garage and threw up his arms in frustration as his day was done.