So this is what a 'conventional qualifying session' brings. The way things have ebbed and flowed over the last couple of days has prompted even Michael Schumacher to suggest that things are not quite as clear cut as they seemed in Australia.

The sad thing was that without a track that might have got quicker, the session actually seemed a little disappointing. We're used to building up to a bit of a climax as the session nears its end, but that didn't quite happen. Instead, we just had Rubens Barrichello doing a grand job to pip Ralf Schumacher, but that's not quite the same as Michael doing his last minute charge.

But the status quo has been established. We know that there are three big teams and the rest can scrabble over the back end of the top ten. When we're looking at the first six, however, we can't seem to expect anything more than the occasional infiltration. Otherwise, it has been confirmed that Ferrari, Williams and McLaren are likely to fill those places.

Who, one might ask, will be ahead? Well, on current form, it is going to be Ferrari, but you can't expect that everywhere. Ferrari might enjoy virtual exclusivity with Bridgestone, but then when Michelin get it right, then they're going to be at the back of the queue. Having said that, McLaren haven't exactly had it easy this weekend, and when it comes to straightline speed, they are certainly not at the front end.

This is how it read, going down Sepang's long straight: Michael and Montoya at 308kph; Ralf at 307; de la Rosa and Salo at 306(Irvine at 299 incidentally); Barrichello at 305; McNish, Coulthard and Raikkonen at 304. Neither McLaren particularly quick, then. And they were at the back of the top six. My spies tell me not to expect much change in that; we'll be watching in Brazil, for instance, when they have that long uphill haul at the end of the lap.

Meanwhile, one also wonders how the ebbs and swings of tyre performance have worked - although we partially covered that yesterday. We saw McLaren on top for a while but in the end, Bridgestone only have Ferrari as their representatives.

Meanwhile, it all adds to the tension between those top teams. Yesterday, we saw an extraordinary stand-off between McLaren's Canadian tyreman Steve Cooke(also known as Tatts) and a Ferrari aerodynamicist. It was briefly seen on TV, but on another channel it was much longer, with Cooke objecting to the Ferrari man seeing too much of the McLaren. Cooke stood right in front of him, attempting to stare him out. It has to be said that McLaren are the most paranoid of all teams; heavens, they even wash their tyres behind screens in case someone sees what numbers the tyres carry and works out who is using what.

It's all so much rubbish. I remember Williams covering the pedal area at the front of their cars for the whole of the 1992 season only for Riccardo Patrese to crashed into the back Gerhard Berger as he was coming into the pits at Estoril. The car leaped into the air and crashed back onto the track, sliding down the track and coming to rest just in front of the Ferrari pit, without its pedal box cover! Williams could do nothing about it. Ferrari mechanics were taking pictures with box Brownies, instamatics, everything they could lay their hands on.

But Frank Williams pointed out last year that this is not a form of spying that is appreciated, talking of seeing million pound secrets walking down the pit lane. We're going to see more of this, of course, it's probably the tip of the iceberg. But let me merely add that the self-same Frank Williams has apparently just hired a Ferrari aerodynamicist - which is a much easier way of getting million pound secrets to walk.

What a hotbed of gossip and intrigue the paddock is, however. Ron Dennis has had a little pop at some of his fellow team principals, having admitted that top teams - or the 'haves' - have made concessions to the poorer ones - or the 'have-nots' - in proposals to be recommended to the Formula One Commission in Paris next week. However, Ron's not really happy about it, as some of the so-called 'have-nots' have such luxuries as yachts and private jets. Certainly private jets and 'have-nots' seem strange bedfellows to me. And having laughingly jested in Japan last year that Eddie Jordan puts some of the money that comes into his team straight into his pocket, one can only assume that he was taking a pop at his fellow team owner.