Storm brewing in Sepang

as Sunday morning dawned overcast and full of foreboding.
The clouds above the circuit were black and heavy with rain and stretched
all the way to the horizon.

Everyone can live with a wet race or a dry race but this delicate balance
between both is causing the paddock tacticians massive headaches - and is a
recipe for a repeat of the Nurburgring chaos that saw all four title
challengers miss the podium and Johnny Herbert romp to an unexpected
victory.

The local weathermen at Sepang forecast rain and thunderstorms from 2 o'clock - exactly the time the penultimate round of the world championship
is due to start.

Ferrari and McLaren are set for game of cat and mouse with the Maranello
men opting, like the rest of the grid, with the softer tyres which will
work better in wet/dry conditions.

McLaren's championship leader Mika Hakkinen, who starts fourth, is the only
one to have opted for the harder Bridgestones in the hope that one less
pitstop will get him ahead of Eddie Irvine, who starts two places ahead of
him and second on an all-Ferrari front row.

But McLaren has a foot in both camps with David Coulthard having opted at
the last minute in qualifying to go with the rest of the field and use the
softer tyre.

Locals say it has rained between 2pm and 4pm for all but one of the last 37
days.