Welcome to what must surely be one of the busiest days in Formula One history. A day that may decide not only some of the final standings in both championships, but which could also have an impact on the way Grands Prix weekends are run from now on.

For some time, certain people within the sport have been calling for tow-day race weekends - now, thanks to Mother nature - we will get to see whether the concept works, as will have qualifying and the race on the same day.

First off, we have pre-qualifying, which, as ever, will see the cars go out in the order in which they finished the previous Grand Prix, in this case China. Consequently, Rubens Barrichello is first out, followed by Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen.

As the Brazilian prepares to go out for his warm-up lap, the air temperature is 24 degrees C, while the track temperature is 23 degrees. And it's dry! At least it's not raining, though the track is still a little damp in patches following overnight rain.

That said, the drivers have had no dry running this weekend, and therefore have had to set up the cars and make the correct tyre compound choice based on guess work and simulations. Consequently, we have an interesting day in prospect.

At 09:00 precisely, Barrichello heads out of his garage and begins his warm-up lap, he's running on intermediates. At the first split the Brazilian posts 34.9s, followed by a 45.2 at the second. He crosses the line at 1:41.001, 10s off last year's pole time.

Jenson Button is next out, the BAR driver registers 35.0 at the first split. At the second split he posts 45.7, going on to complete the lap in 1:41.423, having gone quickest in the final sector.

Kimi Raikkonen is third out, the Finn completing the first sector in 35.3, he's already almost half-a-second down on Barrichello. He makes up ground in the second sector, posting 45.4, eventually crossing the line at 1:41.517, to go third.

Fernando Alonso is next out, in the Renault. At the first split the Spaniard posts 35.5, he too is already well down on the Ferrari, which of course is on Bridgestones, which favour these conditions. At the second split the Michelin-shod runner posts 45.8, but goes quickest in the final sector to cross the line at 1:42.056, which puts him fourth.

Juan Pablo Montoya is next out in the WilliamsF1. At the first split the Colombian posts 35.7, followed by a 47.1 at the second - he's lost a whole load of time. At the line it's 1:44.370, he's over 3s off the pace.

Local hero Takuma Sato is next out, the crowd erupts. Rising to the occasion, the Japanese youngster is quickest in the first sector, posting a stunning 34.4s. He loses a little ground in the second sector - posting 45.3 - but goes quickest again in the final sector, crossing the line at 1:40.135, that's 0.866 quicker than Barrichello. The partisan crowd goes wild.

Giancarlo Fisichella is next out, like Barrichello, he's on Bridgestones. At the first split it's 34.8, he's down on Sato but up on Barrichello. He goes quickest in the second sector, posting 44.4, where Sato lost time. At the line it's 1:40.151, he goes second, just 0.016s down on the BAR driver.

Teammate Felipe Massa is next out, what can he do? At 35.0s he only marginally off the pace in the first sector. At the second split it's 45.3, he's still in touch. At the line it's 1:41.707, he goes sixth, not too bad for a guy who had so little track time on Friday, having spun off in both sessions.

David Coulthard is next out, the Scot still seeking a drive for next season. At the first split the McLaren driver posts 35.0s, followed by a 45.4 at the second. At the line it's 1:41.126, which puts him fourth, ahead of Button and Raikkonen.

Mark Webber is next, his penultimate outing for Jaguar, indeed the penultimate race weekend for the Milton Keynes outfit. At the first split it's 33.9s, he's quickest, by half-a-second! That said, he loses ground in the second sector, posting 44.7, but still crosses the line at 1:39.170, to go quickest by 0.965s. Great stuff from the Australian.

Jacques Villeneuve is next out, his second race for Renault. At the first split it's 35.s, he's about level with teammate Alonso. At the second split it's 45.4, he makes up a little ground. At the line it's 1:41.857, which puts him ninth, just 0.2s ahead of his Renault teammate.

Michael Schumacher is next out, the German keep to make amends for his Chinese debacle. He's quickest in the first sector, posting 33.4, that's half-a-second up on Webber. He's quickest again the second sector, taking a further 0.3s out of the Australian's time. At the line it's 1:38.397, he goes quickest by 0.773. Simply amazing.

Fellow German Nick Heidfeld is next out. At the first split the Jordan driver posts 35.1, which puts him level with the McLarens. He loses a lot of time in the second sector, posting 45.8, finally crossing the line at 1:42.434 to go twelfth, ahead of Montoya.

Olivier Panis is next out, the Frenchman making his final Grand Prix appearance today. At the first split he posts 34.4, which puts him about fourth in the times. At the second split it's 44.7, he's still in touch with the pace-setters. At the line it's 1:40.029, which puts him third. A great performance from Olivier, especially as it's Toyota's home race.