BBC Radio 5 live

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner speaking to BBC Radio 5 live: "We need a bit of luck but we are on the second row with two great drivers so we've got to have a chance.

"Our car is super quick in the corners but with the extra down force in these cars this year effectively the straights have become longer.

"We have not been able to accelerate and are giving away a bit of straight line speed.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Image source, Getty Images

Daniel Ricciardo has out-qualified team-mate Max Verstappen for the first time since Austria back in early July, ending a record that was beginning not to look that great for the genial Australian, even if the gaps have generally been tiny. But his bigger concern was the one-second gap to the front, which he said was “quite a bit”.

He added: “Before the weekend, I thought it would be around more six tenths, half a second, but after the morning we were a bit off the pace. I don't think we could have done anything better. Max and I tried difference downforce settings and we still ended up with more or less the same lap times so I don't think we left half a second anywhere.”

Ricciardo is running lower downforce in the hope it will help him attack and defend in the race and one of them should end up on the podium. After Verstappen’s win in Malaysia, Ricciardo will be super-determined it’s him. “I'm happy to have that in the race now knowing I'll have a bit more straight-line speed to keep my elbows out,” he said.

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Just some Formula 1 world champions. Chillin.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Image source, Getty Images

Kimi Raikkonen bemoaned his final practice accident at Degner Two as he qualified sixth, which becomes 10th after the penalty for the gearbox that needed replacing.

“The biggest issue was very limited running because of the issue this morning,” he said.

“At a place like this where you have to get it right to be able to go fast in the first sector, you pay a big price.”

Still, if you compare his and Bottas’ performances, it does not look great for Raikkonen. Where Bottas, who also crashed in P3, was just over 0.3secs off Lewis Hamilton, Raikkonen was 0.7secs off Vettel.

It's hot at Suzuka and that's already a cause for concern for Lewis Hamilton.

He reports that it felt like his tyres were overheating when he went round the circuit to the grid a little earlier.

Mark Gallagher
BBC Radio 5 live Formula 1 analyst

One of the fascinating things are the penalties. It means we have this duel between Hamilton and Vettel.

Vettel will be giving everything. He knows that if he wants to have any opportunity in his championship challenge he needs to do it right now.

Jeremiah Kariuki: Vettel to end barren run? Not sure. Not when Hamilton is on a track that favours he is pace. Only a mistake or problem will help.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Fernando Alonso was talking about how happy he was not to be getting an engine upgrade for this race, as it meant he avoided a grid penalty and he wanted to give the Japanese fans of McLaren-Honda something back after three difficult years, in this the partnership’s last home race.

How ironic, then, that Honda should discover a hydraulic leak in his engine late on Friday that meant a change to a new one, and a 35-place grid penalty - and that there was not even an upgraded engine to salve the pain. Honda F1 boss Yusuke Hasegawa said he was “very ashamed, especially because we did not have an engine failure. We had some hydraulic leakage which we can change if we find out with enough time but we couldn’t so that’s why we needed to change the engine. So that’s very frustrating.”

Alonso qualified 10th, knocking team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne out of the top 10, but racing director Eric Boullier said that was actually the best possible outcome, because it meant the Belgian could start on fresh tyres, which is strategically advantageous compared to those ahead of him. Alonso is resigned to a “tough race from the back - it will be difficult to follow. We know we need some speed on the straight to overtake, which we don’t have.”

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Not exactly a fond farewell to Suzuka for the McLaren-Honda partnership.

They've not scored a point at the circuit since they started working together in 2015 and Fernando Alonso will have a job on to snatch a top 10 finish from the back of the grid.

Stoffel Vandoorne could, however. He starts from ninth and has been in impressive form recently with back-to-back seventh place finishes.

Build up is LIVE now on BBC Radio 5 live and online. Tune in.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Image source, Getty Images

Valtteri Bottas needed a good weekend in Japan after a difficult run of races since the summer break, in all of which he has been miles off team-mate Lewis Hamilton. The pace has been much better all weekend, but when he crashed in final practice at Spoon, and damaged his gearbox, he dashed his hopes of a front row slot. But to qualify just 0.332secs adrift of his team-mate after missing half of P3 and doing only three-quarters of a lap on super-soft tyres was a strong achievement.

Being the self-critical type, however, Bottas wanted more. “Qualifying was improving lap by lap and in the end it ended up getting there and it was not that far off in the end,” he said. “It would have been nice to start on the front row but maybe in two weeks. I feel it is not enough. I feel I should be closer. I wanted to be on pole. P3 was promising so I am not too happy about 0.3secs.”

The Finn starts on the soft tyre, so will run longer in the first stint than Hamilton and Vettel. Mercedes are bound to try to use him as a spoiler for Vettel if the opportunity arises.

Peter Wanyonyi: Lovely, cool Sunday evening in the Waikato. Hoping Lewis Hamilton and Vettel give us some great racing action!

Dommy_Arwasa: Given the consistency and reliability of the car, @LewisHamilton @MercedesAMGF1 can be in a league of their own.

The pitlane is open and the drivers are away to the grid.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Image source, Getty Images

Sebastian Vettel knows what’s at stake in this race.

“We want to win,” he said after qualifying third fastest and taking a place on the front row after Valtteri Bottas’s penalty.

“I think we have the package and car. Usually Sundays we are a bit stronger but there have been Sundays where Mercedes was stronger than us so I can’t give you prediction. Given it could get warmer and that can change the balance of the car, hopefully it helps us.”

Hamilton is ready for a battle.

“The Ferrari is going to be strong tomorrow. I anticipate a little bit more hopefully a little bit more like Spa, where Ferrari is going be right on us and potentially a little bit quicker so strategy and how I look after the tyre is going to be key. But I am ready, I’m game and I am on it.”

He was asked how aggressive he expected Vettel to be off the start. “I don’t know,” he said. “He won’t be more aggressive than me.”

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Sebastian Vettel has the most Japanese GP wins out of the current drivers with four and if he wins today he will end a long wait for Ferrari.

They have not won at Suzuka since Michael Schumacher’s final Japanese Grand Prix win in 2004.

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Yes! The DRS hat guys are back.

Lewis Hamilton has a certain Sir Mo Farah in his corner today. Will we see some sort of Hamilton-Mo-bot mash-up on the podium?

"So awesome catching up with this guy. Hope to see @lewishamilton on the podium later!!! Yeeezzzz!!!" Farah said on Instagram.

Paul Towning: Still in Singapore been here since the race, can't quite bring myself to go back to the UK.