Showdown at Suzuka

Team tactics and the contests for the minor championship positions are both likely to interfere with Eddie Irvine and Mika Hakkinen's battle for the drivers' crown.

Ferrari played the team game very effectively in the Malaysian Grand Prix, using Michael Schumacher to hold up Hakkinen while Irvine won the race. A similar situation is likely to be seen in Japan.

The advantage could therefore lie with Ferrari. Schumacher won this race in 1995 and 1997 and is always quick at Suzuka, while Irvine's years in Japanese Formula 3000 have given him some extremely useful 'local knowledge' of the challenging circuit.

He could have won his first Grand Prix at the venue in 1997, but chose to hand victory to Schumacher to aid the German's title bid.

Although Hakkinen also excels at Suzuka, claiming his first title with victory there last season, his McLaren team-mate David Coulthard is unlikely to be as effective in the back-up role as Schumacher will be for Ferrari. Coulthard has never truly shone at Suzuka, his distant third place in 1998 being the only time the Scot has scored points in Japan.

Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen is also likely to have an influence on the outcome. Mugen Honda are planning to go all-out for victory in their home race, giving Jordan an up-rated engine in a bid to put Frentzen, another Suzuka specialist, on pole position. He could easily prove a 'fly-in-the-ointment' for the title contenders.

There is also the battle for fourth in the constructors' standings between Stewart and Williams. The former is now just three points ahead and Jackie Stewart would dearly love to hang onto the position as his team metamorphoses into the new Jaguar outfit for 2000.

Suzuka's long straights should favour Stewart's ultra-powerful Ford V10 engine, but Williams' Ralf Schumacher is yet another man who spent time in the Japanese F3000 series and should fly at Suzuka as a result.

Another contender could be BAR's Jacques Villeneuve. The team is desperate to score at least one point before the end of their first season, and their Canadian number one driver has shown well in Japan in the past.

With so many people with so many points to prove, it won't be plain-sailing for Irvine and Hakkinen. It is hard to see how the Japanese Grand Prix could be anything less than incredible.