If nothing else, the 0.007s advantage pole-mal Lewis Hamilton enjoyed over teammate Nico Rosberg in Q3 yesterday led to some (fairly) amusing headlines.

However, other than that superb lap from the Briton, who looked to have messed up at the very first corner, kudos also to Daniel Ricciardo who for a time looked as if had done enough to grab the prized grid slot.

All weekend we have seen that it is tight here, very tight, and when it really mattered we saw just how tight it is, with the top nine covered by just 0.569s.

Ignoring the possibility of the two main protagonists taking one another out at the first corner, the fact is that we are set for a real thriller, and for once Mercedes doesn't look to have it sewn up.

From FP1 the Red Bulls have been threatening but so too have the Ferraris, hard to believe following the debacle that was Monza. Fernando Alonso starts from fifth while, but for a software problem on his final run teammate Kimi Raikkonen - who was quickest in Q1 - might be starting higher up the grid than seventh.

Other than the Mercedes, Red Bulls and Ferraris, the other team clearly in the mix is Williams, with Felipe Massa, despite his unease with the balance of his car, looking to build on his Monza form.

The Toto Rosso duo has been thereabouts also, admittedly almost a second off the pace of the leading group.

The drivers, team bosses and engineers readily admit that this is one of - if not the - most demanding races on the calendar and therefore we can expect those demands to take their toll be it mechanical stress or brain fade.

Adding another element to this race is the new ban on radio certain radio communications which appears to have the experts as confused as we are. To add to the confusion, in its infinite wisdom yesterday FOM was broadcasting radio communications made whilst the cars were in their garages suggesting that drivers were still receiving (banned) instructions whilst on track.

Safety Cars have become the norm here so we can expect one at some stage or another, this in a race which already runs perilously close to the two-hour limit.

Being a street track and with the added element of breakdowns and the resultant safety car anything can - and probably will - happen. However, whilst we focus on the leaders, and in particular the fight for the title, let's not forget the importance of the battle behind where drivers are still seeking rides for next year and teams lok to the prize fund for their very survival.

McLaren has been disappointing here this weekend and though it is looking ahead to Honda's return in 2015 will not want to suffer the indignity of losing out to Force India in the constructor standings. Likewise Ferrari losing out to Williams, which in F1 terms is the Lazarus of 2014.

One team that really needs a point or three is Sauber whilst Lotus also needs a decent result.

Tyres are soft and supersoft. A three-stop strategy looks set to be most likely. Considering the high probability of the safety car especially at the beginning of the race, we are likely to see drivers start on the supersoft, change to supersoft again on lap 20, supersoft again on lap 36 and then finish the race on the soft from lap 51. On paper, this should result in a cumulative race time that is around 10 seconds quicker than the fastest two-stopper (start on supersoft, change to supersoft again on lap 22 and soft on lap 44). Fact is, there is historically 100% probability of a safety car in Singapore, and this will clearly have a significant effect on strategy.

There are two DRS zones. The first detection zone is 230m before Turn Five and the first activation point 50m after the same corner. The second detection point is 80m before the apex of Turn 22 and the activation point 45m after the apex of Turn 23.

The race here has never been wet indeed, we cannot remember a wet session. While much of this is said to be down to 'cloud seeding', fact is there was a very heavy downpour just minutes after the end of yesterday's session and we cannot believe even weather technologists can be that accurate.

An hour before the race it is hazy, mostly from the fires over Indonesia. As on Thursday, there will probably be health warnings. Hardly Monaco.

The pitlane opens and one by one the drivers make their way on to the track.

There's a late scare for Rosberg who appears to have a gearbox, or possibly software, issue. On his practice start he really struggled to get away leaving lots of rubber in the pitlane. On the grid an engineer tells Niki Lauda that the team has changed Rosberg's steering wheel and is now checking the data.

Told that the Mercedes duo have been told that whoever is leading in the first corner has the advantage and must not be challenged, Vettel says that he hopes he can overtake the pair of them, take the lead and they accept that he is the leader.