If you took the smart option of actually sleeping in the night you might be unaware of the news that Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene has said four-time champion Sebastian Vettel needs to "earn" his place at the team beyond next season. 

It's a claim that has raised a few eyebrows in the paddock, but what do you think?

Should Vettel be able to live off the reputation built on four world titles at Red Bull, or should he be judged solely on what he has achieved with the Scuderia?

We've a vote running on this page and you can also air your views via #bbcf1.

Japanese F1 fans are known for their quirkiness but these two spectators have taken it to a new level...

Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button full-sized head masks anyone?!  

I'm worried about Alonso to be honest. He doesn't look well.

Image source, Jenson Button Instagram

Nico Rosberg has been in tip-top form so far at Suzuka. 

Three sessions, three fastest times. 

But of course qualifying is what counts, and the Mercedes driver will be kicking himself if he fails to convert his promise into pole.

Qualifying starts at 07:00 BST. 

Stay tuned for plenty of chat and whimsy between now and then.

Top in all three practice sessions so far.

Twenty-three points up in the title race with five races to go. 

A first world title in touching distance.

Stay focused. Stay calm. Stay in front.

Image source, Getty Images

OK, time to park this live page for a little while. 

We'll be back in around 45 minutes or so -  just enough time for me to study this picture and decide once and for all whether I'd look good in white jeans. 

Image source, Getty Images

Anders Johansson: Does Ferrari deserve him? 

Nadia Costa: Arrivabene has to earn his place next season 

Rod Peel: Vettel had the best car with RB he has not shown any real talent with Ferrari

Looks like that late rush on the soft tyres caught some drivers out.

Both Vertstappen and Raikkonen came on the radio to colourfully complain about traffic, and while we didn't see what happened to Hamilton on his first lap on the soft tyre it would seem he aborted after traffic or a mistake.

Ricciardo gets the Red Bull up to second place. That's the Australian's first clean quali run on the soft tyre this weekend after being forced to back off on his flier yesterday.

He's 0.302 down on Rosberg, then it's Vettel and Verstappen.

Nico Rosberg duly sets the fastest time of the weekend so far with a 1:32.092 on the soft.

Team-mate Hamilton didn't get a clean lap on his quali sim and falls a second back.

Right, qualifying simulation runs coming up with seven minutes left. 

This should tell us a bit more. Obviously a very different track to Friday and the drivers will need to push.

It's still as you were at the top, with Rosberg ahead of Hamilton after their runs on the medium tyre earlier.  

Then it's the Ferrari Raikkonen, the Red Bulls of Ricciardo and Verstappen and the Haas of Gutierrez.

Image source, Getty Images

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer at Suzuka

After Lewis Hamilton’s engine failure in Malaysia, many of his fans took to social media to suggest there was a conspiracy against him this year - fuelled, perhaps, by his misinterpreted comments that he felt “someone or something” did not want him to win the title. Mercedes executive director (technical) Paddy Lowe offered a robust - not to say withering - riposte on Friday. “I can’t agree with you that the driver hinted there was sabotage,” he said to a question in the official news conference. “Lewis has been very clear, certainly with us, that that’s completely out of the question. Anybody with an ounce of intelligence analysing the situation would realise that the prospect of us designing a system that would cause a big end to fail at that precise point in the race… If we were that good we would win everything and control everything at every point. 

"We’ve had other failures in the year that are very unfortunate and if we were good enough to arrange such sabotage we wouldn’t have any failures. It’s a very tough business Formula 1. The engineering is operating right at the boundary of performance and things do go wrong. The complexity is incredible and trying to engineer something to happen on purpose on a car… It’s similar to when people say to us: ‘You favour one driver over another’ and the idea that we might give better equipment to one driver or another. If we’ve invented something that makes our car quicker of course we want it on both cars, because we want to win the race. We never hold back or would ever even contemplate it, even if we could engineer it, which we couldn’t. Anyone intelligent could work that.”

Returning to the story Andrew Benson brought you earlier about Ferrari's team boss saying four-time champion Sebastian Vettel will have to earn his place at the team beyond next season.

Arrivabene's comments, made to Italian television, came at the end of a week in which Vettel has been heavily criticised in the Italian media following his involvement in a first-corner crash at the Malaysian Grand Prix last weekend.

We're keen to get your views on this. We have a vote running on this page, asking if you think Vettel is the man to lead the Ferrari challenge. 

Read Andrew's story for the full lowdown before casting your vote.

And don't forget if you want to comment further on this or any F1 topic, you can reach us via #bbcf1.

Rosberg's run on the medium tyres sees him go fastest with a 1:33.230. Team-mate Hamilton does likewise and goes 0.054secs slower.

Tiny margins, but Rosberg - as yesterday - is staying ahead.