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Oscar Piastri will start in third and he spoke to Sky Sports about the start: "I don't really know, I've not really looked at the other side, my side looks OK, a little bit wet still but I think it will be pretty even for everybody."

Jennie Gow
F1 pit-lane reporter

The track is still wet especially in Sector One where it takes longer to dry, but the rest of the track is looking a little bit drier and will continue to dry as they do formation laps.

Ian Fergusson
BBC weather forecaster

It's 15 minutes to race start at a cloudy Suzuka, where air temp is 14.3C & the track 20.5C. Wind from ESE. Overnight rain cleared gradually this morning, leaving a drying track & a few light showers still in the area. FIA official risk of rain: 20%.

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Despite the rain overnight and this morning at Suzuka, the marshals are still spraying the grass alongside the circuit with water to try to avoid any further grass fires.

Alice Powell
British racing driver on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri should work together and not hinder each other at the start.

They have got the added benefit that the two of them are up there against the one lone Red Bull [Max Verstappen].

We know how punchy Charles Leclerc and George Russell can be at the start so they've got to keep an eye of those mirrors as well.

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McLaren's Lando Norris will start in second, he told Sky Sports: "At the minute it's looking a bit drier, I think it's still meant to rain a little bit so if it's anything like the Australian Grand Prix I'm sure the fans will love it but quite stressful for us inside the car, but I'm excited for today."

On the tarmac drying on the resurfaced areas of the track: "I think it's something we have to figure out, it's something we don't have much [data], we can see the television and see what maybe other series have experienced.

"That's part of our job is to go and see on the laps to grid what it's like, is it grippier or slipperier, is it going to hurt the tyres more or is it going to warm them up?

"There's a lot of stuff we don't have the answers to at the minute and we have to find out. Laps to grid are very important to us to get as much understanding as possible before the race starts."

Everyone is lined up on the grid because it is time for the Japanese national anthem.

As ever, the Japanese fans are looking fantastic with their colourful and creative outfits.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Max Verstappen became this year’s fourth different polesitter from four qualifying sessions, joining Lando Norris (Australia), Lewis Hamilton (China Sprint), and Oscar Piastri (China GP).

Image source, Getty Images

Lando Norris looked like securing pole position for the second time this season until Max Verstappen surprised all.

Nevertheless, the British driver is confident of doing well today as he looks to get his second win this year.

"The team have done a great job this weekend and I feel that I got everything out of the car [in qualifying]," he said.

"The final lap felt strong because I was on the limit. It’s going to be an exciting race, we’re both starting up at the front and the weather conditions are looking mixed. Max is going to put up a good fight, but we’ve been here before and I’m looking forward to it."

Jennie Gow
F1 pit-lane reporter

It's dry enough for slicks, we were thinking they could go out on intermediates but everyone has gone out on slicks so hopefully not too much of a drama out there.

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Ferrari have not won in Japan since Michael Schumacher triumphed in 2004.

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Ferrari has made its worst start to a season in 14 years and qualifying didn't go to plan for Lewis Hamilton yesterday as he finished eighth.

"It was a challenging Saturday for us," he said.

"We made some changes to the car ahead of qualifying which, unfortunately, didn’t deliver the improvements we were aiming for. The car felt more balanced in the earlier stages, but I experienced significant understeer in Q3 which led to a couple of small mistakes that cost us.

"This result isn’t a true reflection of the car’s potential. There’s performance to be found and the team has been working incredibly hard behind the scenes. We’ll analyse the data and do everything we can to come back stronger in the race."

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It is the sort of debut he will have dreamed about.

Yuki Tsunoda is racing for Red Bull for the first time in front of his home fans at today's Japanese Grand Prix.

But alongside the sense of pride there will likely also be feelings of uncertainty and pressure on the 24-year-old, after he was promoted to replace Liam Lawson just two races into the season.

So what does it feel like to come in and replace a driver when the season has got under way? Read more here.

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Yuki Tsunoda will start his first race for Red Bull in P14, he told Sky Sports: "I'm feeling ready, yesterday was yesterday and today is today. The conditions are different from previous days, this will be the first time in the rain in the Red Bull so that will be new as well but I'm excited.

"I'm learning quite fast and I think there's a potential and I feel confident in the car and that's the most important thing. There is lots of room for me to improve even more than yesterday."

Isack Hadjar has not been 100% comfortable in his Racing Bulls car this weekend, with a painful seatbelt issue causing him issues in yesterday's qualifying and he's just reported issues with his seat moving as the cars head off to the grid.

BBC Radio 5 Live

Commentary of the race will be available across BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app, with build-up getting under way at 05:30 BST.

You can also listen via most smart speakers. All you need to do is say "ask BBC Sounds to play the Japanese Grand Prix".

Andrew Benson
BBC F1 correspondent at Suzuka

Image source, Getty Images

Overnight rain has hopefully removed the threat of the grass fires that punctuated practice and qualifying, but it has produced a whole range of other complications.

The weather has dried up but there is still the threat of rain around and it’s uncertain whether the track will be ready for slick tyres at the start. The laps to the grid give the drivers the opportunity to sense the best option.

If it’s wet, the two different surfaces throw up problems. The new asphalt in sector one retains water for much longer than the old asphalt on the rest of the track and that might force drivers to stay on intermediates longer than is necessary in terms of sectors two and three. And that will lead to problems with longevity of the rubber.

If it’s dry, it will be a medium-hard one-stop strategy and McLaren should have a pace advantage over Max Verstappen, but possibly not enough to pass him, as overtaking is tough around Suzuka. Whoever leads has a big advantage because following is tough around the many long, fast corners. A pit stop takes about 22-23 seconds and 13 seconds under the safety car.

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There was some birthday cake being shared around the McLaren hospitality area earlier today as Oscar Piastri celebrates his 24th birthday today.

He is looking to become just the third driver to win on his birthday after James Hunt (Netherlands 1976) and Jean Alesi (Canada 1995).

"I'll try to make myself another member of that club," Piastri told Sky Sports.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Pole-sitter Max Verstappen said before the race: "It's always really nice, yesterday was really enjoyable for us, just a lot of fun to be driving here in general and in qualifying. I'm excited for the day ahead and hopefully we can have a strong result today."

On potentially winning in front of this crowd with the Honda livery: "It would mean a lot but we have to stay realistic, it's going to be a tough fight to try and stay in the lead anyway, but we will try our best and have fun out there."

On the gameplan: "Just try and do our own race and use the strengths of the car and see how far we get."