What with the ongoing espionage/sabotage saga, and now the furore that has broken out as a result of the incident during qualifying, it comes as no surprise to hear that some long-time F1 fans are growing heartily sick of the sport.

Overnight, and this morning, we have received e-mails from fans around the world expressing their dismay at the direction the sport is taking.

Sadly, we are unable to argue, as we at Pitpass are equally concerned.

In the days leading up to the Hungary event we are constantly reminded how vital pole position is, since overtaking is nigh impossible. Without resorting to mentioning Nigel Mansell's stunning move on Ayrton Senna in 1989, one only had to watch this morning's GP2 race to see that this is utter codswallop - to put it mildly.

It is not the circuit that makes overtaking difficult at the Hungaroring, it is the current F1 regulations. Be it the rules regarding diffuser design, aero grip as opposed to mechanical, the two-race engine nonsense or merely the current points system… contemporary F1 has made racing at the Hungaroring what it is, a parade, with most of the excitement originating off-track rather than on.

The events of the last twelve hours, in particular, leave a bitter taste in the mouth, and regrettably it is unlikely that we are going to get a race capable of washing the taste away.

We could go into the usual preamble regarding fuel loads, tyre strategy, the high risk of an incident at the 'notorious' first corner and so on, but in many respects this race has been tainted. In all honesty, the best thing for the sport right now would be for someone outside the 'big four' to win today, possibly Nick Heidfeld, or maybe Rosberg or Kubica.

At the moment F1 is showing itself in the worst possible light, and though we have grown used to the Machiavellian plotting, the chicanery, and backstabbing, recently events have got out entirely of hand.

Bernie Ecclestone is forever wondering why football is so popular, why F1 doesn't appeal to the masses. Hopefully - though we doubt it - the events of the last couple of weeks will give him a clue. Yes, football is tainted, much like any other business posing as sport, however, when the whistle blows the game begins.

At this point in time, with the McLaren espionage saga hanging over the sport, we don't know what direction the championship will be taking, far less what the standings will be after today's race, since the Woking team is appealing the stewards decision to exclude them from the points today.

It was predicted that today's race would be hit by rain, giving Jenson Button cause to believe that he might repeat his 2006 feat. However, despite the bright sunshine, the soaring temperatures, there's a big black cloud hanging over the circuit and it's going to take something pretty special to make it move away.

As the field prepares to head off on the parade lap, the air temperature is 28 degrees C, while the track temperature is 43 degrees. It is sunny and hot, however, like yesterday there is a strong breeze hitting some parts of the 2.722 mile circuit.

Hamilton leads the field way on the warm-up lap. All 22 are starting from the grid, nobody opting to start from the pitlane. Virtually everyone is one the hard(er) option, as opposed to the supersoft, which we will refer to as soft.