A close-up look at the finishing line kicks off our photo gallery offering for Saturday's final practice and qualifying sessions at the 15th race of the season, the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka
Renault's Fernando Alonso signs an autograph for a fan on Saturday morning, the Spaniard won the last Grand Prix held at Suzuka in 2006 and he also triumphed in last year's Japanese GP which was held at the Fuji circuit
Brawn's Jenson Button pulls out of the pits for final practice, the Englishman will win the drivers' championship if he scores five more points than Barrichello in Japan
Red Bull's Mark Webber crashes into a tyre wall at the Degner curve late on in final practice - a costly mistake for the Australian because it means his car needs a new chassis and he is out of qualifying
Webber's Red Bull team-mate Sebastian Vettel takes to the famous Suzuka figure-of-eight shaped track for final practice - he needs to finish on the podium to maintain his faint drivers' championship chances
Webber holds his head in his hands after his off at Degner, his Red Bull was expected to thrive on the medium downforce Suzuka track with its mix of high and low-speed corners, but he will struggle from the back of the grid
Webber's crash could also have ramifications for the constructors' championship, Red Bull need to score at least seven points more than Brawn this weekend to stay in the hunt - that looks a big ask now
Webber is one of five drivers to crash on Saturday. Toro Rosso's Spanish teenager Jaime Alguersuari finds the same tyre wall as the Australian, bringing out the first of two red flags during the second phase of qualifying
Alguersuari escapes injury, but Toyota's Timo Glock is not so fortunate. The German, who crashes out on the final turn, suffers a leg injury and is stretchered into an ambulance and taken to hospital
Glock's Totoya car is lifted from the scene by cranes as qualifying is halted for more than 10 minutes
When the session resumes, there is still time for Sebastien Buemi to find the tyre wall at the exit of Spoon. Amid the chaos, Renault's Ferrari-bound Alonso fails to make it into the top-10 shoot-out
The pole position shoot-out is only minutes old when Heikki Kovalainen, like Webber and Alguersuari, falls fouls of the treacherous Degner section
The red flag disruption means many drivers only have time for one hot lap. Championship can only manage seventh quickest and is later demoted to 12th. He will start two places behind closest rival Rubens Barrichello
Vettel keeps his title hopes alive by storming to pole in a time of one minute 32.160 seconds. He will share the front row with the Toyota of Jarno Trulli
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