A quick trawl of the web, several hours after yesterday's qualifying session, revealed a thread on a well-known forum: "Is Hamilton overrated?"

We talk of the reigning GP2 Series Champion, who, having led his illustrious teammate in Melbourne, has qualified fourth in only his second Grand Prix.

There are times when one wonder what exactly races fans expect of drivers.

The fact is that Hamilton is one of several drivers who could find himself standing atop the podium at Sepang later this afternoon.

Whilst attention is focussed on Massa, Alonso and Raikkonen, let's not forget Lewis - and please, don't for an instant think that Pitpass is about to follow the same route as all the other (British-based) media. The fact is that the young Englishman is one of the 'gang of four' that looks to set F1 this season, at least in the early races.

While BMW qualified fifth and seventh, split by Nico Rosberg, with the Toyotas (and Webber) also making it into the top ten, let's not forget the time difference between the best and the rest.

While we are fully aware of the different strategies regarding fuel loads and tyres, the fact is that at this point in the season Ferrari and McLaren rule.

Behind the 'gang of four', we have the BMWs, Williams, Toyotas and Red Bull. However, the two teams that will be worth watching this afternoon are Renault and Honda.

The Japanese team, despite whatever else might be said, is in crisis, and it is not a quick fix solution. Regular readers will be aware that Pitpass has been warning of this for some time. Those of you who are not regular readers, should check out a couple of recent articles from 'Helios' - that's after you've done some sort of penance for your sins (not visiting Pitpass regularly).

As for Renault, it's hard to know where it's going wrong. We've heard some stories, and sadly, based on what we've seen (thus far) this weekend we're beginning to believe them.

As ever, there is the threat of a sudden tropical storm this afternoon, which should add to the mix, plus of course there is the intriguing battle between the Super Aguris and Toro Rossos, who could well have Honda joining in the fun. We haven't included Spyker because the Dutch team is clearly struggling at this stage in the season. Perhaps missing the recent test here wasn't such a good idea after all.

As the cars make their way to the grid we can confirm that contrary to previous reports David Coulthard will not suffer a grid penalty. Yes, he did have an engine change, and yes it was before qualifying, however, it was the direct result of his retirement in Australia. Fact is, the statement regarding the (engine) changes to the Scot's car was misinterpreted.

The other interesting thing ahead of this afternoon's race is that Kimi Raikkonen appears to think he has a problem with his car. As he made his way to the grid he was repeatedly told (over the radio): "You do not have a gearbox problem, your gearbox is fine". The emphasis on the word 'not' indicating that the Finn think otherwise.