How is Mercedes management viewing Sunday’s inevitable duel between Rosberg and Hamilton?

Toto Wolff, Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “Today’s was another session that shows what is so good about their rivalry: in Singapore, Nico was the one with the advantage; in Sepang, Lewis had the upper hand; and now it’s so closely matched.

“They just keep pushing each other to new heights every week and pushing the limits of what the car can do.

“Looking ahead to tomorrow, we know it will be a close race. The gaps are getting smaller at the end of the season, like we expected, and with Vettel’s grid penalty, both Red Bulls will be very close on track – as well as Kimi starting from P3. Their long runs were extremely competitive yesterday, so it will be a tough race and important to take our opportunities. The weather could also play its part, so we will need to prepare diligently and execute our race plan perfectly.”

Paddy Lowe, Executive Director (Technical) was non-committal: “It was a terrifically close competition for pole between Lewis and Nico. Just 0.013 splitting the two of them when it came down to the final run in Q3. Lewis had the initial advantage with the first run at the start of the final session but it was Nico who took pole position in the last few seconds. It was very tense because it was also very close with Red Bull and Ferrari, all six cars crossing within 0.400 seconds of each other.

“We’re very happy to claim a 10th front row lockout of the season at this track, one of the most iconic of the entire Formula One season. We’re looking forward to the race tomorrow, where the most difficult job still has to be done.”

The Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday at Suzuka Circuit marks the last of a three-race stretch through the Far East.

The layout of Suzuka is a figure-eight (or for the pedantic, figure-of-eight), and it’s the only track on the 21-race Formula One schedule with such a configuration. A bridge over the straight that links turns nine (Degner 2) and 10 is a signature of the track, with drivers nearing 330 kph (205 mph) as they go across the bridge through turn 15 – better known as 130R – so named because of its 130-metre radius.

The first sector of the track caters to a car’s aerodynamic efficiency, while the second sector rewards horsepower. The entire course features every kind of corner, and its relatively old asphalt surface provides a high level of grip.

The stout amount of grip combined with high lateral loads through the corners accelerates tyre wear which is why for the second successive week Pirelli has brought the three strongest tyres in its line-up – the P Zero Orange hard, the P Zero White medium and the P Zero Yellow soft.

Daniel Ricciardo picked up his first win of the year in a thrilling Malaysian Grand Prix.

The smiling Australian led home his team mate Max Verstappen to take Red Bull Racing’s first one-two finish since the final race of the 2013 season. Ricciardo and Verstappen were going wheel-to-wheel for second place when Lewis Hamilton’s engine blew up dramatically, moving the Red Bull Racing duo into the top positions.

Mercedes were looking to secure the Constructors’ Championship in Malaysia but a maximum points haul for Red Bull Racing ensures the battle continues on to the next race. Nico Rosberg meanwhile extended his Drivers’ Championship lead which seemed unthinkable when he was facing the wrong way into turn one after contact with Sebastian Vettel.

But the German’s third place and Hamilton’s retirement means he now leads the standings by 23 points.

With Singapore’s Marina Bay Street Circuit growing ever smaller in Formula One’s mirrors, the industry turns its sights to Sepang International Circuit, the purpose-built Formula One race track outside Malaysia’s capital city of Kuala Lumpur.

Constructed in an astonishing 14 months, Sepang was the first Formula One track noted designer Herman Tilke built from scratch. When the 5.543 km (3.444 mile), 15-turn circuit opened on 9 March 1999 it was considered revolutionary, with modern facilities and a unique design.

Two massive straights bookended by tight corners are signatures of the track. It’s a twisting layout that challenges the drivers and their engineers. The track’s width encourages numerous overtaking opportunities, but the incredible speed that can be attained on the straights is actually restricted by the fast, flowing corners as teams sacrifice outright speed for aerodynamic grip and balance.

This places extremely high loads on the tyres. Heavy braking increases the load, as drivers spend 17 per cent of their lap under braking. Add an abrasive track surface and high ambient temperatures and you get a cauldron of punishment for the four tyres carrying the driver and the car beneath him.

It’s why Pirelli has brought the hardest tyre compounds in its range to Malaysia – the P Zero Orange hard, the P Zero White medium and the P Zero Yellow soft – a combination that was last seen in early July for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit.

But with weather often impacting practice, qualifying and the race, expect to see Pirelli’s Cinturato Blue full wet tyre and Cinturato Green intermediate tyre at some point during the race weekend.

Torrential rain storms are a frequent occurrence at the Malaysian Grand Prix as its tropical environment and mid-afternoon start time conspire for unwieldly conditions. This was especially evident in 2009 when the race was forced to end after only 31 laps as rain inundated the track. This prompted the FIA to award half points to the drivers participating, the first time half points had been awarded since the 14-lap Australian Grand Prix in 1991.