Barring a major catastrophe today's race appears to belong to one man, though there are two others out there clearly in a position to give him a good run.

The man is Lewis Hamilton, who starts from pole position for the third time this year, while Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg are the two drivers most likely to give him a hard time.

While some are claiming that it was Barrichello's accident that gave Hamilton pole position, a quick look at the fuel loads reveals that as one of the heaviest runners - certainly at the front of the pack - the 2008 champion had around half-a-second in hand. That said, Vettel might well have sprung a surprise.

The McLarens have looked good all weekend, certainly Hamilton, and the late crash in Monza tells us that the reigning champion is as feisty as ever.

Vettel needs a good result in order to give his championship hopes a boost while Rosberg - for many the moral winner here is 2008 - surely deserves something after what has been a very, very strong season. Providing one forgets about Monza.

Jenson Button, after a dreadful qualifying session, will be hoping to be dealt another 'get out of jail' card today, having already watched his teammate incur a five place grid penalty. However, while his rivals have missed numerous open goals in recent weeks, surely Vettel has to close the championship gap by at least 6 points today.

That said, we have had three red flags thus far this weekend and therefore it is safe to say that there is every likelihood of a Safety Car this afternoon, though hopefully not in a vain attempt to secure a seat for next season or to keep a team in the sport.

As ever, the most likely time we'll have a serious incident is on the first lap, and Button - who is starting from twelfth - will be only too aware. That said, so too will his championship rival and teammate, who, following his grid penalty, starts from tenth.

Providing there are no reliability issues, other than Hamilton, Vettel and Rosberg, Webber should be able to pick up some points today, assuming he doesn't get taken out by the pursuing pack at the start, while Alonso, Kubica and Glock could also add to their tally.

After the excitement of Spa and Monza, Force India have come back to earth with a rude awakening, though it is interesting to note that Tonio Liuzzi has adopted a strategy not entirely dissimilar to Fernando Alonso's from last year. No doubt Max Mosley will be watching to see if Sutil crashes at Turn 17 on the fourteenth lap.

After the scandal of last year, and considering the amount of work the Singaporeans have put into this, F1 owes them a great race, though sadly, it is unlikely they'll get it, for this, like most street circuits, doesn't show F1 in a good light. If you'll forgive the obvious pun.

An hour before the start, it is revealed that Nick Heidfeld, who qualified eighth, will start from the pitlane after his car was found to be underweight. Investigating the reason for the weight discrepancy BMW found that incorrect ballast weights had been fitted to the car.

Having reported the discovery to the FIA, and the German having been demoted to the back of the grid, the team opted to change the engine and gearbox in the car. This is the German's ninth engine of the season.