At one stage, albeit very briefly, we seriously considered whether there was some sort of conspiracy at work, the sort Glen 'Crompo' Crompton revels in.

Although F1 doesn't do politics, the sport is under considerable pressure in terms of the Russian Grand Prix. Therefore, what better excuse to abandon the race than for Bernie to have to tell the organisers, and his old pal Vladimir Putin, that Typhoon Phanfon (a made-up name if ever we heard one – had meant the 'circus' couldn't leave Japan in time to get set up in Sochi... the F1 equivalent of 'the dog ate the bill'.

Anyway, all that aside, in terms of today's race all bet are off.

While the full force of said typhoon has yet to be felt, the storm after the calm, so to speak, began several hours ago as rain began to fall on Suzuka and pretty much everywhere else.

Consequently the grid and all that running on Friday and Saturday pretty much counts for nothing with all running in the dry and not a hint, to our knowledge, of a wet set-up, though Red Bull is understood to have added some extra wing.

Remember, the typhoon is ongoing and still approaching the circuit, indeed the region, and things will only get more difficult.

The FIA was willing to move the race forward by a couple of hours, but promoter, asnd circuit owner, Honda said no, fearing that this would result in having tp make refunds to race goers.

A worst case scenario would see the race start behind the Safety Car, the field continuing on its way behind the Mercedes, the one driven by Bernd Maylander, until it is deemed safe enough to release the hounds. An even worse case scenario could see the race stopped after just two laps at which stage half-points would be available.

While there is a time limit on the race, which would allow for it to be stopped and then resumed when conditions improve, this is compromised by the fading light... it was dark by 17:30 yesterday.

Of course, such conditions totally level the playing field, in terms of the cars, but sort the men from the boys in terms of drivers. One driver who is sure to relish the conditions is Sebastian Vettel, who probably has his best chance of the season. Then again, countryman Nico Hulkenberg is no slouch in the wet either.

Then again, let's not forget Lewis, Jenson, Kimi or Fernando, to name just the champions

The drivers' parade, which saw the drivers ferried around the circuit in open top cars (natch!), was held in lashing rain, all said drivers looking thoroughly miserable... their waves to the crowd half-hearted but about as much as they could manage under the circumstances.

As the pitlane opens the rain has eased off a little, but it won't last for long indeed, meteorologists are predicting two further very heavy downpours. One by one the drivers head out... all are on full wets.

As Button complains of a total lack of vision, Perez goes off twice, once at Spoon. However, Ricciardo feels inters will suffice. That said, the rain is now increasing in intensity. There is standing water on various parts of the track, even one or two little streams.

Race control confirms that the race will start behind the Safety Car.

Great to see that despite the conditions, the enthusiasm of the fans hasn't been dampened.

As the field prepares to head off behind the Safety Car the air temperature is 19 degrees C, while the track temperature is 23 degrees.

The Safety Car heads off... the field follows. Game on.

"It is much wetter than before, Hamilton is told, "you need to be careful." "The safety car needs to go faster," is the response.

As the field completes the first lap, fans can be seen applauding.