Max Verstappen to the top, then Valtteri Bottas in second, then Lewis Hamilton in third. Times in the books.

Image source, Getty Images

Right, take three. Ten more minutes. Get a lap time on the board, any time and it could get you through. Only seven have a time in the books. Neither Mercedes, nor the Red Bull of Max Verstappen or the Renault of Daniel Ricciardo have so far.

"Definitely gusty out there," says Lewis Hamilton.

Image source, Getty Images

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 live

To stop qualifying right now would be a bit premature.

Right, that's two crashes in less than five minutes on the track. The wind is still strong.

If qualifying does not happen, we will revert back to how they finished at the end of second practice, which would mean Valtteri Bottas on pole and Lewis Hamilton alongside him.

Jennie Gow
BBC Radio 5 live pit-lane reporter

A lot of damage on that car. Rear wing has gone, the floor is in trouble and there is some white wispy smoke coming from the back. The front wing has gone. Good they got the car back, how long can they let this session go on for?

quixoiticgeek: Let's hope Russell doesn't bin it too, building one car in four hours is going to be a tough ask. Doing both is next to impossible!

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 live

That will be him done for qualifying but at least he can get back to the garage. It will be a gear box for him. A different accident to Kubica. That's an oversteer he couldn't correct with the wind behind him. He was very scruffy before he got to the exit.

In exactly the same spot. Kevin Magnussen joins Robert Kubica in the wall, at the final corner.

The rear wing is done, floor damage. He locks up, big smoke from the wheels, he spins it round and backwards is in the wall.

And we're back. No times from anyone yet.

And another...

Ricciardo (probably): "So how you enjoying Suzuka mate?"

Car hat man: "My neck hurts, I've not been able to eat all day and I've not been able to see anything in hours."

Image source, F1

While we've got no action. Here's the content you want to see. The best hats from the locals on day one.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer at Suzuka

Image source, Reuters

What feels like it’s been one of the most intense Grand Prix weekends for a very long time is about to end in frenetic fashion. Suzuka dodged the worst of the monstrous tropical storm Typhoon Hagibis, but still the Formula 1 fraternity was forced to spend Saturday holed up in hotels, waiting for it to pass. The rain has moved on and it’s a beautiful sunny day, but the wind is still very strong and gusting, which will make life difficult for the drivers out on track.

Meanwhile, Mercedes are poised on the brink of history. Score 14 points more than Ferrari today and they will become constructors’ champions for the sixth time in a row. Even more importantly, in terms of the historical record, they could also lock down the drivers’ title by ensuring no driver from another team can catch Lewis Hamilton. The Briton cannot quite seal the title for himself today, but he can ensure no-one other than Valtteri Bottas can catch him - and that could secure Mercedes’ sixth consecutive drivers’ and constructors’ title double, an achievement that has never been done before, and therefore make them officially the most successful team in history.

Doing this depends on Hamilton’s results versus Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel. So long as Hamilton does not lose more than three points to Leclerc, six to Verstappen and 24 to Vettel, he cannot any longer be caught by any of them - only by Valtteri Bottas. It could be a landmark few hours coming up.

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 live

It is a really poor crash from Robert Kubica, every time we saw it, it just looks more and more still to crash there. He has gone wide. You can't drop a wheel there.

It is gusty, but I didn't see any sign of Kubica fighting it.

Understeer, understeer, grass, wall, bang!

Will they get him back out? Unlikely. I think it was a poor mistake from Kubica and he may pay the price.

Chris Doherty: Three-hour sleep done prior to qualy, another quick sleep before the race. I reckon Mercedes lock out and 1-2 in the race.

Amit Mandalia: The red flag is going to affect all the preparations for everyone with the limited time between qualy and the race now.

Jennie Gow
BBC Radio 5 live pit-lane reporter

Exactly what the teams feared, I've spoken to many teams and they said the last thing you want is the driver to have a big crash. They will have three hours to get this car rebuilt and that is a very small amount of time.

They are in trouble now, the team have to work very hard.

"You OK, Robert."

"I'm OK, but it's a ******* joke," says Kubica.

Maybe the wind has caught him out.

Two minutes into the day and we've got a red flag.

This is a really, really bad time to smash into the wall.

Robert Kubica, within minutes, has mangled his Williams. He looks OK and gets out of the car.

Right, a day later than normal, but here is qualifying. Eighteen minutes, everyone out there, top 15 advance, bottom five take a long hard look in the mirror thinking about their life decisions.

Image source, Getty Images

These F1 guys are a talented lot. Whether it is building model cars, or juggling like Daniel Ricciardo....