Image source, Getty Images

And the marshals were even getting in on the act yesterday in qualifying, donning these Halloween masks. The mind boggles.

Image source, Reuters

There are plenty of reasons why the Japanese Grand Prix is a special event - and one of those is the fans. If it's not sensational home-made hats, with cardboard cars on top, it's full-on Samurai costumes showing their undying love for a team, in this case Ferrari. The love this sport like no other.

If you're attending the Japanese Grand Prix, chances are you're going to be spending the whole day at the track because of the venue's remote location. But organisers have realised that and kindly provided you with plenty to do.

As well as the racetrack, there is the Kur Garden hot springs, gyms, golf courses, tennis courts, bowling alleys, several hotels and restaurants and of course the the Motopia theme park with the entrance fee included in your ticket. Now that's some package.

Mathematically, everyone from Lewis Hamilton in first down to Valtteri Bottas in sixth can win the drivers' title but realistically, it's a battle between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

In the constructors' championship, there's a chance Mercedes could win the title today if results go their way but even if it doesn't happen it's a case of when, rather than if.

They lead Red Bull by 174 points with 258 remaining.

Image source, EPA

Venue: Suzuka Circuit length: 5.807km Laps: 53 Race distance: 307.471km Lap record: 1min 31.540secs (Kimi Raikkonen, 2005) Number of corners: 18 (8 left/10 right)

2013 pole position: Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1min 30.915secs 2013 winner: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 2013 fastest lap: Mark Webber 1min 34.587secs

No of safety cars deployed since 2009: 5 Average lap speed: 237kph Full throttle per lap: 66% Gear changes per lap: 40

Image source, Mercedes

Mercedes:, external Something tells us this Mercedes Benz might be a little busy today!

Image source, EPA

Suzuka is owned by Honda and was built back in 1962 as a test track for the Japanese manufacturer's road cars and motorbikes.

The layout is one of the best, so it's no surprise that F1 came calling in 1987 and since then it has hosted 13 title-deciding races.

Image source, Force India

Force India:, external We're confident the changes made to the VJM07 will help us in this rainy weather.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

"Lewis Hamilton went to Suzuka determined to finally win at a track he, like all other drivers, adores. And through practice he did seem to have a potentially decisive speed advantage over Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg. But things began to unravel at the end of Saturday morning, when Hamilton crashed at Turn One at the start of his final low-tanks run on the softer medium tyres - his qualifying practice, essentially.

"Despite that, he was fastest in Q1, but despite feeling oversteer in the car he said he felt he could drive around it, so left the set-up alone. Then he ran wide in Spoon Curve on his final lap and, with Rosberg faster on their first runs, his chance of pole was gone. No wonder he was in one of his low-energy, monosyllabic moods afterwards."

The rain is here! But how heavy will it get? And could we be in for a shock result? Is this the day Caterham take advantage and finally score their first point? Will Kamui Kobayashi be on the podium?! OK, maybe I'm getting carried away, but with the predicted weather, anything could happen!

So fire over your ultimate shock top-threes, with reasons why, and we'll publish the best ones. You can have your say using the #bbcf1 hashtag, by texting 81111 (UK only) or by leaving a comment on the BBC Sport Facebook, external and Google+, external pages.

You can watch highlights of qualifying here - or save time and simply check out the grid here.

1) Nico Rosberg 2) Lewis Hamilton 3) Valtteri Bottas 4) Felipe Massa 5) Fernando Alonso 6) Daniel Ricciardo 7) Kevin Magnussen 8) Jenson Button 9) Sebastian Vettel 10) Kimi Raikkonen

11) Sergio Perez 12) Daniil Kvyat 13) Nico Hulkenberg 14) Adrian Sutil 15) Esteban Gutierrez 16) Romain Grosjean

17) Marcus Ericsson 18) Jules Bianchi 19) Kamui Kobayashi 20) Jean-Eric Vergne* 21) Max Chilton 22) Pastor Maldonado*

*Pastor Maldonado and Jean-Eric Vergne handed 10-place grid penalties for using up their allocation of five engines and then taking a sixth.

James:, external Waking up this early on a Sunday morning can only mean one thing... F1 time, hope it's worth getting up for!!

Matthew Bonson:, external Wet in Japan. Definitely makes things interesting. More than enough reason to wake up bleary eyed for.

James Weir:, external Good morning everyone. Up nice & early again to watch the Japanese GP, this is either very dedicated or completely nuts!

On a circuit where overtaking is tricky and with torrential rain set to make visibility difficult, pole position is comfortably the best place to start.

Nico Rosberg will start from that slot for the eighth time this season, with Lewis Hamilton alongside.

The Williams of Valtteri Bottas and Felipe Massa are lurking behind on the second row ready to pick up the pieces if it gets tasty at Turn One.

Image source, Getty Images

Welcome to the Land of the Rising Sun for the Japanese Grand Prix, round 15 of the Formula 1 World Championship which this year has turned into a two-horse race contained in the same stable.

Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 world champion, finds himself in an intense fight with childhood friend and Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg.

The Briton holds a slender three-point lead in the title race with five races remaining, having spent most of the season chasing the German.

He regained the lead last time out in Singapore after his second win on the bounce, but start's the today's race on the back-foot after a crash in third practice hampered his preparations for qualifying and he ultimately lost pole to Rosberg.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

"It has been a momentous weekend in Suzuka, with the confirmation that Sebastian Vettel is leaving Red Bull at the end of the season, and the impending confirmation of his move to Ferrari and also, we believe Fernando Alonso's to McLaren. But now there is another question waiting to be answered - will there even be a Japanese Grand Prix?

"The race will be wet, that much the forecasts agree on. But how wet? It rained overnight in Suzuka and has been raining for much of the day. That rain is a foretaste of something much worse to hit Japan - super typhoon Phanfone - and it is expected to get heavier through the afternoon. Will it be so wet that the race cannot go ahead?"

Image source, Getty Images

Morning! Enjoy your lie-in? After a midnight alarm followed by a 1am buzzer, this morning's 5am start felt like a treat. But hey, who needs sleep anyway when we've got the prospect of a Formula 1 race on one of the few great circuits on the planet, eh?

Image source, PA

We British are familiar with wet weather. We get drenched in the stuff most days and spend a ridiculous amount of time talking about it.

But we don't often have to deal with typhoons like the one that is on course to hit Suzuka.

The eye of the typhoon Phanfone is set to hit Formula 1's only figure-of-eight circuit, located 50km southwest of Nagoya, Japan's third largest city on Monday.

But while on route, it brings with it torrential rain, destructive winds and the threat of flooding and landslides in time for today's race.

Perfect conditions for a Formula 1 race, then. Oh, hang on....