If today's race is half as controversial and incident filled as yesterday's qualifying session we could be in for a thriller.

Then again, if today's race is even a fraction as entertaining as Mott the Hoople were at Hammersmith on Friday then F1 will have gone a long way in terms of redeeming itself in terms of the tedium of Singapore.

Of course, F1 wouldn't be F1 without a bit of controversy and confusion, and in today's case it is the grid line up.

With five drivers penalised not to mention penalties for gearbox changes and drivers needing new chassis, nobody has a clue with each source appearing to have its own version of how the grid will line up. Thankfully, just over an hour before the race Bob Constanduros provides the definitive version.

The big news is that Timo Glock will miss today's race following his crash during qualifying yesterday. There is no serious damage to the German's leg but he has been advised to rest. Under FIA rules the team is not able to bring in reserve driver Kamui Kobayashi because he didn't take part in yesterday's free practice session, which kind of makes the reserve driver thing a bit redundant.

An hour before the race, the air temperature is 24, and the track temperature is 41, the sky is blue though humidity still a bit sticky at 51 per cent.

After the grid reshuffle Button's hopes of taking the title today take a bit of a knock, the Briton being demoted to tenth. His main championship rival, teammate Rubens Barrichello, starts from sixth while outsider Vettel start from pole after producing a devastating performance yesterday.

Interestingly, Vettel and Button are on the same fuel load with Barrichello only a lap or two lighter.

A number of drivers either crashed out or went off yesterday, a combination of ride height, unforgiving kerbs and much smaller run offs that they have got used to. Already a number of drivers have blasted the track as dangerous while the rest of us are simply glad to get away from the likes of Valencia and Singapore.

In terms of today's race, almost anything can happen and probably will, though if pushed to make a prediction we'd plump for Vettel, providing his car and engine hold up. Other than that, Hamilton has to be a good bet, as do Barrichello and even Raikkonen, however, we have a sneaking feeling that Rosberg could do something a bit special.

That said, Suzuka, as fans of a certain vintage - though not going back as far as Mott the Hoople - will be aware that Suzuka has history, therefore anything can happen here today and probably will.

Kimi Raikkonen is a previous winner here, as are Fernando Alonso and Rubens Barrichello, while Lewis Hamilton is one of several drivers, including Sebastian Vettel, who have never raced here before.

Trulli is running very light and should be quick to get away at the start. However, Hamilton and Raikkonen have KERS at their disposal and are on the clean side of the track as is Vettel.

Tyre options are hard (prime) and soft (option) with the softer rubber proving the quicker but less durable. Then again, with Friday's sessions blighted by the weather and yesterday's qualifying session, in particular, constantly interrupted by incidents, we go into this race with a lot of questions unanswered.