Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

There has been a bit of controversy in recent races about perceived inconsistency of policing of caution zones in qualifying - particularly as Nico Rosberg got away with setting pole in Hungary while double waved yellow flags were out, but Sergio Perez got a grid penalty for setting his fastest time in the same circumstances in Singapore. The rules have been clarified on this for this weekend. Governing body the FIA has said that “it must be clear [a driver] has not attempted to set a meaningful lap time - for practical purposes this means the driver should abandon the lap”. That should sort it out.

Image source, EPA

Two former drivers celebrate their birthday today. 

Jean-Denis Deletraz turns 53. The Swiss driver only raced in three grand prix - retiring twice and a 15th place finish. 

Image source, Getty Images

21 years Deletraz's senior is Jean-Pierre Jabouille. The two-time race winner turns 74.

Image source, Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton is the qualifying king in Malaysia. He is bidding for his fourth pole position while his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg is yet to really put it together on a Saturday. Will he get it right today?

Having never heard this song, you prompted me to go and check it out. I had some funny looks in the office and I've now got the lyrics stuck in my head.

Totally worth it.

Mercedes can wrap up the constructors' championship this weekend, but boss Toto Wolff doesn't want his team to be viewed as some sort of evil overlord because of their dominance. 

"People cheer for the underdog," he said. "We would love to be the underdog, we don't want to be the Empire, we like to be Jedis and we hope we can be perceived like this.

"However if you win every week, it is clear you get less credit."

Max Verstappen managed to split the Mercedes in final practice, do you fancy him to secure his first pole position in Malaysia? Lewis Hamilton has looked strong so far this weekend, is he back to his best?

Let us know what you expect to see in qualifying via #bbcf1,, external text in on 81111 (UK only) or post a comment on the BBC Sport Facebook page.

Image source, EPA

We had some great responses to our F1 pub names this morning but before we move on, I liked this late entry:

Chris Russel: Webberspoons (sorry Mark!)

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

Alonso said on Friday that as a result of his grid penalty, which puts him at the back, he would take only minimal part in qualifying - just enough to do a lap to qualify him for the race before parking up, because he will be at the back of the grid anyway. 

However, he was optimistic team-mate Jenson Button - who was off Alonso’s pace most of Friday and then lost a chance to get closer on his qualifying run when he was blocked by Kevin Magnussen’s Renault - can get into the top 10. 

Don't expect to see much of Fernando Alonso in qualifying. Whatever he does, he'll be starting up from the back of the grid after racking up grid penalties amounting to 45 places.

In fact, he plans on spending most of it watching TV.

"Qualifying will be very short for me," he said. 

"I'll do just one timed lap, to get within 107 percent of the pole time and then I'll watch the rest of the action on TV. That way I'll save as many new tyres as possible for the race to attack from start to finish."  

Image source, Getty Images

So a club of two should become a club of three tomorrow.

Only Rubens Barrichello (322) and Michael Schumacher (306) have started more races than Jenson Button.  

Image source, McLaren

All being well Jenson Button will start the 300th grand prix of his career tomorrow, and that prompted us to fire up the vote machine to ask what was his greatest race?

Make your choice now on the right side of this screen (desktop) or click on vote tab. Need to be quick, the vote closes at 09:30 BST.

BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

It's just under one hour until qualifying gets under way and live audio commentary will once again be on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra and online, starting at 09:55 BST.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer

Lewis Hamilton appeared to be stamping his authority on the Malaysian GP with a stunning lap time in final practice.

The world champion was 0.619 seconds quicker than Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg as the teams prepared for qualifying, which starts at 10:00 BST.

The margin was even bigger after each had done one lap on soft tyres - 0.859secs - but Rosberg improved on a second lap.

Red Bull's Max Verstappen split the Mercedes, 0.445secs behind Hamilton.

Read Andrew's full final practice report here.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff wants his all-conquering team to be seen as Jedis rather than the Empire - good rather than evil.

Lewis Hamilton certainly looked every bit the Jedi master in final practice earlier today, but there was a disturbance in the force as Max Verstappen split the Mercedes.

Will he strike again in qualifying?

Image source, Getty Images

Excellent work with your F1 pub names. 

We're going to take a little breather before qualifying so I'll leave you with Andrew Benson's final practice report here and we'll be back at 09:00 BST.

See you then!

David Boughton: F1 pubs name you say. The Button Barstool, The Castrol Arms.  

Ian Trucker: F1 pub names, The Prancing Horse.

Dan: 'Haas and Hounds' or 'King Lewis I'.

11) Perez 12) Button 13) Gutierrez 14) Palmer 15) Grosjean 16) Magnussen 17) Kvyat 18) Ericsson 19) Nasr 20) Ocon 21) Wehrlein 22) Alonso

Image source, Rex Features