Minded that Sebastian Vettel can be aggressive at the start of races - and all points in between - Lewis Hamilton had the perfect response yesterday. "He won't be any more aggressive than I am," grinned the Briton.

However, in many ways, Hamilton doesn't need to rise to the bait, with a 34 point lead and five races remaining - including today's - it is Vettel who has his back to the wall, it is Vettel who has all the work to do.

That said, having been the hunter for much of the season, Hamilton will not want to cut the German any slack especially now their positions are reversed.

Both drivers love this track, and what better arena for the two to go head to head, and with Bottas demoted following his gearbox penalty, Hamilton and Vettel effectively form the front row.

Both will be looking to the weather gods today, not so much in terms of rain, which would certainly please the Force India duo, but temperatures; with the Ferrari excelling in warmer conditions - being the Latin beast that it is - and the Mercedes preferring it to be cool, like its northern Europe homeland.

As the sun shines down from an azure blue sky, the early signs are that the gods favour the German.

Indeed, with an eye on the weather, in terms of the start, might we point Sebastian to Aesop's fable about the sun and the wind, and the bet as to which of them could get a traveller to remove his coat.

Those infamous grid penalties mean that once again few drivers are starting where they actually qualified, a knock-on effect being that the likes of Bottas and Raikkonen are starting behind the Red Bulls, the Mercedes driver in the precarious position of being caught between the Pink Panthers.

Suzuka rarely disappoints, over the years it has provided some iconic and breathtaking moments, as it is a circuit the drivers love, a circuit that allows them to prove themselves.

There have been no overnight surprises, other than the fact that just a couple of hours after qualifying Renault announced that this will be Jolyon Palmer's final race, as Carlos Sainz makes an early switch to the French team and Daniil Kvyat replaces him at Toro Rosso.

It's terribly sad for the Briton, and while he has had his fair share of bad luck with reliability and so on, let's not forget that not once this year has he out-qualified his teammate.

With an eye on Palmer's departure, what better time for a couple of other drivers to show they are worthy of a 2018 seat, we're talking Pascal Wehrlein... and, of course, Felipe Massa.

The conditions mean the Red Bull is unlikely to bother the two title contenders, providing everyone gets through the start and those first few corner without any silliness.

Again, the midfield should provide the thrills, with McLaren looking strong this weekend and possibly able to put pressure on Haas. The American team has been disappointing this weekend, as has Toro Rosso, though with all the driver changes one can possibly understand.

The sunshine has once again brought out the very best in those wonderful Japanese fans, who help make this one of the most enjoyable races on the calendar.

As for tyres: "We would expect two pit stops for most drivers," says Pirelli's Mario Isola, "as this is one of the circuits that takes the most energy out of the tyres of the entire year.

"Already we've seen some tactics in qualifying," he continues, "with two of the drivers carrying grid penalties opting to start on the soft tyres. This should allow them to gain track position by running a longer first stint than their direct rivals.

"Last weekend in Malaysia proved that, with the right strategy, it's still possible to get a good result even starting from the back."

The pitlane opens, and one by one the drivers head out. With thirty minutes before the start, the air temperature is 26 degrees, while the track temperature is 43 degrees. Not as warm as last week at Sepang.

On his way to the grid Hamilton says he feels his fronts are overheating and wonders if some more pressure can be taken out. Not sure if he's referring to the pressure in the tyres or from inside himself. Elsewhere, Niki Lauda admits: "I'm worried".

Mind you, Vettel doesn't look entirely confident, the German looking unusually concerned, as do several of his crew members. Indeed, a late issue with a spark plug is detected and work continues until just before the warm-up lap.

Elsewhere, the Renault crew line up to bid farewell to Palmer, let's hope they've given him a car that can go the distance.

A late drink for The Iceman, who appears to be feeling the heat.

All are starting on the supersofts, bar Bottas, Raikkonen, Hulkenberg, Ericsson, Wehrlein, Palmer and Sainz who are on softs.

The crowd is really up for it, almost everyone appearing to have a paper chequered flag, which they are all waving enthusiastically.

The grid forms... Alonso the last to take his place.

They're away and Hamilton wastes no time in moving across the track to cover his title rival. As they head into T1, the Red Bulls jostle for position while Ocon slips in behind.

Verstappen gets ahead of Ricciardo on the inside in T1, while further back Vandoorne runs wide.

In the Esses, Ocon gets ahead of Ricciardo who appears to be struggling as Bottas holds off Perez

Sainz is off and in the gravel. I'm really sorry guys," he says, "It's my fault. "Never mind," he is told. "Sad to close the race like this."

Meanwhile, Verstappen nails Vettel at the hairpin, the German appearing to be caught asleep.

Raikkonen runs wide in Spoon ah he goes head to head with Hulkenberg, the German having the inside line. The Finn loses a whole load of positions as he rejoins the track.

At the end of lap 1, it's: Hamilton, Verstappen, Vettel Ocon, Ricciardo, Bottas, Perez, Massa, Hulkenberg and Magnussen.

Vettel appears to have a problem however, passed (with ease) by Verstappen, he has now lost out to Ocon, Ricciardo and Bottas in quick succession as they all sweep by on the run to T1 at the start of the second lap.

The Safety Car is deployed as Sainz' car is removed from the track after the Spaniard's issue. A disappointing 'final' outing for the Spaniard at Toro Rosso.

Vandoorne reports that he was hit by a Ferrari (Raikkonen) at the start.

The Safety Car pulls off at the end of lap 3.

Check out our Sunday gallery from Suzuka, here.