In our preamble to our Chinese Grand Prix report, we suggested that, for Ferrari, it would be case of damage limitation. Considering the weather conditions and the clear superiority of the Michelins, it appeared that Fernando Alonso and Renault would take full advantage.

As we now know, this wasn't to be the case.

Therefore, looking ahead to today's race it would easy to say that Ferrari has it in the bag, and that Renault has it all to do. Certainly, the pace of the Ferraris on Saturday was astounding, while the fact that the Renaults line up behind the Toyotas - the famous mobile chicanes - will not help the French cause.

Rain on Saturday evening, and a fair amount of cloud this morning, will have given Renault some hope, but this gave way to much brighter conditions as the day progressed, with only an outside chance of rain during the race.

Being its home race, Toyota, after a relatively disappointing season, had to pull something out of the bag here, in order to justify the vast sums the company has invested in its F1 programme. However, one can discount Ralf and Jarno as potential race winners, for the cars were running extra light merely in an attempt to get them as far up the grid as possible, and thereby please the people that pay the bills. That said, the two Japanese cars, especially in the opening stages, can have a say in the outcome of today's race, and possibly the championship, as Alonso has to get past them if he is to take the fight to Schumacher and Ferrari.

As for Ferrari, as we said, they were devastating all day yesterday, and the Bridgestones looked superb. However, there is speculation that the tyres being used here are susceptible to graining.

This isn't merely about the Drivers' Championship however, the Constructors' Championship is also up for grabs, which makes today's clash all the more important.

McLaren has every reason to be bitterly disappointed with its qualifying performance, and, barring a miracle, we are unlikely to see either of the Woking cars challenging here. On the other hand, Honda looked good, and it is not impossible that the Japanese team could produce something special for its home race.

Following yesterday's qualifying session there was another outburst from the Renault camp, with Flavio Briatore accusing Massa of deliberately blocking Alonso. There is no doubt that there is a certain amount of 'bad blood' between the French and Italian teams, though one cannot help that much of this is for the benefit of the media, after all nothing attracts the punters like a 'grudge match'. Then again, these two teams are fighting over two very prestigious titles, therefore the kitchen can be expected to get a little hot from time to time.

With title fight(s) so close, we should be in for a great race on what is a classic circuit, though, sadly, this is the last F1 race that Suzuka will host for the foreseeable future. Let's just hope for a good clean fight, with no controversy.

As for the rest, well as we said, Honda looks good, while BMW continues to impress, and even WilliamsF1 is showing signs of improvement. Therefore, behind the titanic clash up front we can expect a great fight for the remaining points.