It's time for that oh-so-important hour, the qualifying hour. Suzuka always offers up a surprise or two, and with the weather preparing to throw everything it has at the track, there's no knowing what's going to happen over the next three sessions - if they even happen at all!

Weather update

More rain, it seems. Yesterday, there was talk of sandbags being used at various locations around the circuit to try and ward off any errant water. I wonder if today's weather can be held off in a similar manner.

One to watch

Schumacher has admitted he is pleased with his, and more importantly his car's, performance this week so far, and he's hoping for good things from qualifying today as well.

I have always loved Suzuka and particularly the first sector which is cool and demanding at the same time. If you get it right, you enjoy it big time. I'm pleased with our practice today as the car looks better than I had expected here and I didn't face any real issues. So now we hope for a clean qualifying tomorrow where we will try to achieve as much as we can.

- Michael Schumacher

It's looking more and more likely that Schumacher will keep his seat at Mercedes for the 2011 season, and I'm sure the team have already turned their attention to next year's car, but Michael will want to bring his relatively subdued season to a better close.

Predictions please

Who will get the coveted pole position? Will the weather affect things? Will we see some big names drop out early? Will any of the slower teams scrape through into the second session?