Will history repeat itself... ten years ago in Japan, Michael Schumacher registered his ninth win of the season for Benetton with team-mate Johnny Herbert in third place giving the team, driven by a Renault engines, their first constructors title.

Damon Hill was leading while Schumacher pitted, then a light Japanese drizzle sent the Englishman for a rapid nose job, speeding in the pit lane amid strong rumours that Frank Williams was fed-up with Hill's drive.

Jean Alesi was in a solid second place but a drive-shaft had to spoil the Ferrari run. Mika Hakkinen (McLaren) was second behind Schumacher and in front of Herbert. The other top six positions went to Eddie Irvine (Jordan), Olivier Panis (Ligier) and Mika Salo (Tyrell). Local heroes Taki Inoue (Footwork Hart) finished 12 but Aguri Suzuki did not start due to a qualifying accident.

And did you know...

...that of 748 Formula One races that have been held since 1950, nine had to be ended prematurely due to rain?

The first time was in 1950, when the Indianapolis 500 was still part of the F1 World Championship. The winner, John Parsons, saw the chequered flag after 354 miles. The most recent was the 1997 Monaco Grand Prix, which saw Michael Schumacher win after 62 of 78 laps.

Japan GP

The Suzuka circuit, built in 1962 as a test track for Honda motorcycles, has hosted grands prix since 1987.

Japan's first F1 race was held at the Mount Fuji circuit in 1976. Briton James Hunt finished third to win the World Championship. Mario Andretti won the race.

Formula One did not return to Japan for 10 years after the 1977 Mount Fuji Grand Prix in which two spectators were killed when Gilles Villeneuve's Ferrari crashed off the track after tangling with Ronnie Peterson's six-wheeled Tyrrell.

Shaped in a figure of eight, the Suzuka circuit offers long fast corners, 310kph straights and short testing curves. The course is technically challenging and usually produces the highest average engine speed over a lap.