On the back cover of the programme for the 1993 Belgian Grand Prix, was an advert for Marlboro cigarettes.

The picture didn't feature a cowboy or a cool looking guy whose lifestyle we might aspire to. No, instead it featured a picture of Ayrton Senna in the cockpit of his Marlboro McLaren Ford.

Deep in thought, his eyes closed and hands firmly together as if in prayer, above the Brazilian were the words… "Let it rain, let it rain". It didn't, but the Brazilian still brought an uncompetitive car home in fourth almost 100s behind race winner Damon Hill.

One imagines that this scene, or something pretty similar, has been echoed in various hotel rooms, motor homes and cockpits this morning.

On the podium in Austin last week we had Lewis, Seb and Fernando in Stetsons, who's to say that at least one of them wasn't wearing native American head dress last night, calling on the rain gods and dancing around their hotel rooms?

Heading into the race today the title contenders insist that it's like any other, just another race. Poppycock! It's the title decider, and either Seb or Fernando will become the youngest three-time champion in the sport's history. That alone makes it special.

It's a pretty special day for Lewis also as he bids farewell to a team that he's been involved with for almost fifteen years. At Mercedes, Michael bids farewell to F1 for the second time, while Kamui, Bruno, Heikki, Vitaly, Narain and Pedro also look set to be heading off to pastures new. Indeed, at HRT, it is said that the operation will grind to a halt within the next twenty-four hours.

As if that isn't enough, it looks as though F1 is saying goodbye to F1 doc Gary Hartstein, the man who stepped into Sid Watkins very large shoes to find they fitted him perfectly.

It's been a great season, especially the opening stages as the teams struggled to fully understand the 2012 Pirelli rubber. Then there's been Fernando's mastery in a car he flattered to deceive, not forgetting the fight back from Seb, and that amazing streak that saw him re-enter the championship fight with a vengeance.

But for poor reliability, the mistakes of other and a few of his own, what might Lewis have been able to achieve, while Kimi proves that there is life after retirement.

With this in mind, after a cracking season, let's hope we get a race that lives up to the occasion, a race that sends us into the winter relishing the resumption of hostilities next March.

On the face of it, the title is Seb's to lose. With a 13 point advantage, Fernando must finish on the podium with his German rival finishing as low down the order as possible depending on which step the Spaniard makes it to.