We said ahead of yesterday's qualifying session that it was too close to call, and the same pretty much goes for today's race.

With Captain No Grip lamenting all the usual problems, who would have thought that Jenson would put together a string of perfect laps, thereby taking pole - his first for McLaren - and silencing the idiots who only twenty-four hours earlier were bemoaning the fact that he wouldn't yet agree to play support to his teammate's title challenge.

Then there were the performances of Kamui Kobayashi, Pastor Maldonado and Sergio Perez.

OK, the Venezuelan was subsequently penalised for hindering Hulkenberg in Q1 but it was a pretty impressive performance nonetheless.

As much as Kamui, Pastor and Sergio delighted, Kimi Raikkonen disappointed, as did Romain Grosjean and Lewis Hamilton, while for Alonso it was business as usual. In Mark Webber's case, the Australian was hampered by the penalty meted out following his gearbox change.

It is unlikely that the weather will play a major role today, Friday's washout having given way to sunshine. However, this is Spa, in the heart of the Ardennes, and as we know from experience things can change here very quickly.

Also, let's not forget that despite the safety crusade of recent years, Spa remains a circuit one must treat with total respect. Anyone who watched yesterday's GP2 race will be fully aware just how unforgiving this track can be.

Unlike most of the circuits on the contemporary calendar, overtaking is not only possible at Spa, the circuit encourages it. While the DRS zone on the run up to Les Combes will see plenty of action there are also many other points on this wonderful track where drivers can mix it.

One of these is La Source, however, over the years the hairpin has been the scene of some major incidents. While we all remember the carnage of 1998, think back just twelve months to the first lap moment that saw Bruno Senna wipe out all the good work he'd done the previous day.

Of course, one cannot mention Spa without thinking of Michael Schumacher who today contests his three-hundredth Grand Prix, only the second driver to reach the milestone figure. It was at Spa that the seven-time champion made his F1 debut, way back in 1991, taking his maiden win at the same circuit one year later. While it is unlikely that we will see a podium from him today it would be good to see him in the points.

Usually, when starting from the front, and no doubt fired up by those 'support your teammate' calls, Button is strong and we expect that to be the case today. While the Saubers should be good, especially if tyre wear is a problem in the closing stages, one cannot help but feel that the biggest threat will comes from Raikkonen and Alonso.