2009 Brazilian Grand Prix Race day at Interlagos

Lap 1: The five red lights go out and we are racing in Brazil!

The front couple of rows are now in position. The field is forming up neatly behind Rubens Barrichello.

Stand by for action ...

Vettel is warned about his engine temperatures. He certainly had some radiator dramas in the lead up to the race.

Barrichello winds up the pace and brings the field down towards the grid.

Barrichello leads the pack through the twisty infield section as the formation lap continues in front of an enthusiastic crowd.

Kimi Raikkonen is gambling on the softer tyre to help his KERS-assisted launch.

Rubens Barrichello immediately starts weaving from side to side to generate some heat in the medium compound tyre.

The harder tyre is a popular choice as there is a risk of trouble with the soft rubber due to the lack of grip after recent rain.

The formation lap begins at Interlagos. All 20 drivers leave the grid without problem.

The harder tryres are the choice of front row men Barrichello and Webber.

The engines begin to fire with a minute to go before the formation lap.

Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button will pull up to their grid slots and face a nightmare right in front of them.

Inexperienced racers Kamui Kobayashi, Jaime Alguersuari and Romain Grosjean are all directly ahead of the two title contenders.

The safety car roars around the circuit, preparing for the start.

The formation lap is just five minutes away. Barrichello needs to get the jump to ensure a good early stint, while Vettel and Button must stay out of trouble.

The atmosphere is incredible on the grid with the vocal fans so close to the line up of cars.

The track temperature is 31 Celsius as the sun again breaks through the clouds. The ambient is a warm 27 degrees.

The Brazilian national anthem rings out over the Interlagos public address system. Will the Paulistas be hearing it again in celebration of a Barrichello win?

Hasty repairs are taking place around the radiator of Vettel's car where that part was ejected on his lap to the grid.

The sun briefly comes out again as the clouds continue to build over the circuit. It will be several minutes yet before the patches of blue sky completely disappear.

Although there is no imminent threat of rain, the teams are prepared with wet tyres on the grid. A heavy shower struck the grid last year.

There are still one or two small patches of blue sky around, but these are rapidly disappearing.

The sky is clouding over above the circuit and conditions are beginning to turn overcast.

Jenson Button joins the grid line-up on the grid in his Brawn.

Rubens Barrichello brings his Brawn to the pole position starting slot. The crowd cheers him to the rafters as he climbs out of the car.

Vettel has pitted the Red Bull and the team are looking over the car to see what that problem was.

Replays show that something fell off Vettel's Red Bull as he braked at Juncao on his out lap to the grid.

The crowd at Descida do Lago go wild for Barrichello as he continues his lap of the circuit.

Rubens Barrichello practices a start at the pit exit and heads onto his lap to the grid.

Heikki Kovalainen is the first man out of this pits with super-soft tyres on his McLaren.

The pitlane is now open for the drivers to make their way around to the grid.

Jenson Button

Jenson Button holds the advantage in the drivers' title race heading into this afternoon's grand prix and is the only man who can be crowned champion today.

Rubens Barrichello needs to score five points more than his team-mate to force a showdown in Abu Dhabi and yesterday's qualifying result has certainly given the home hero every chance. Even if Button doesn't recover into the points, Barrichello needs to finish in the top four.

Sebastian Vettel's championship hopes took a major blow in qualifying yesterday as the Red Bull driver really needs to win to keep his title hopes alive. Second would be enough, if Button fails to score, but the young German will need a spectacular performance today to remain in the hunt from 15th on the grid.

Clearly, if Barrichello and Vettel fail to finish the race today, Button is automatically champion.

Red Bull

Both championships could be decided this afternoon, but the one that is most likely is the constructors' title race, in favour of Brawn GP. The Brackley-based team have scored a massive 156 points and with two races to go, have a 36.5 point lead over Red Bull.

With 36 points on offer for a pair of one-two finishes, team boss Ross Brawn knows that his two drivers only need to score one point for eighth place between them to secure the title - even if Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber somehow finish first and second.

The pitlane will open in 15 minutes' time, allowing the drivers to bring their cars onto the track for the first time today.

With so much rain over the past couple of days, they will be confronted with a racing surface that has absolutely no Formula 1 rubber laid down on it.

On Friday afternoon we saw that rear tyres were graining up quite badly during practice on some cars. A similar situation is likely for the early laps of the race, creating a headache for the race engineers, although the slight increase in temperature today will be welcome news.

Conditions are beginning to change in the skies above Interlagos.

The early morning sunshine is disappearing as clouds build up in the Sao Paulo region.

Showers are expected later, but it is too close to call whether the rain will fall before the end of the race.

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Outside the top ten is a mouthwatering mix of strategies. Kobayashi, Alguersuari and Grosjean will certainly have to look out for challenges from behind as several expected front-runners look to recover from disastrous qualifying performances. Such a mix-up of the grid could certainly lead to some great racing this afternoon.

Jenson Button lines up 14th and has a lot to do to even score points today. He will be hoping to clear the heavier Grosjean in the early stages and needs to quickly work up the order to prevent Barrichello taking a major chunk out of his points lead. The title leader is of course in a dangerous part of the grid, heading into an opening complex of corners where first-lap collisions are frequent.

Sebastian Vettel has opted for a heavy strategy, presumably in the hope of rain. The Red Bull has been quick here in the dry but the young German needs a remarkable race to stay in title contention.

The McLaren pair of Kovalainen and Hamilton will be fascinating to watch, with both opting for a lighter strategy in an attempt to make early progress. KERS should help them line up overtaking moves along the main straight, although the system is difficult to fully charge during the race.

Fuel

Rubens Barrichello delighted the home crowd with pole on Saturday and looks to be in a straight fight with Mark Webber for the win this afternoon.

Webber is well-placed to deny the Brazilian an emotional home win as he lines up on the front row with a couple of laps more fuel than Barrichello. The Australian has looked on top form all weekend and is certainly in with a good chance of taking his second win.

The front row men will hope rain holds off as sporadic showers are likely to cause chaos and favour heavier cars from behind.

The fuel loads are quite similar across the top eight. Stuil again qualified brilliantly in the Force India, which remains extremely quick on straight line speed. It was also a great effort from Buemi in the Toro Rosso, who will be looking for a points finish in the improving STR5.

The danger man in this area of the grid is clearly Kimi Raikkonen in the KERS-shod Ferrari, giving the Finn an assisted launch off the start, helping challenge those ahead, and a boost up the hill from Juncao to line up overtaking moves into the first corner.

Kazuki Nakajima has a good chance of his first points of the year from ninth, with his additional fuel load carrying him several laps further than his rivals, and a little more flexibility in case of a shower.

The following shows the weight of each car, fuelled for the first stint of today's grand prix: Pos Driver Weight (kg) 1. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 650.5 2. Webber Red Bull-Renault 656.0 3. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 656.5 4. Trulli Toyota 658.5 5. Raikkonen Ferrari 651.5 6. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 659.0 7. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 657.0 8. Kubica BMW-Sauber 656.0 9. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 664.0 10. Alonso Renault 652.0 11. Kobayashi Toyota 671.5 12. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 671.5 13. Grosjean Renault 677.2 14. Button Brawn-Mercedes 672.0 15. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 683.5 16. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 656.5 17. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 661.0 18. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber 650.5 19. Fisichella Ferrari 683.5 20. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 680.0 * * Five-place grid penalty for gearbox change

Motor racing enthusiasts love to debate and discuss the action on track, and the live forum at the bottom of the screen is your chance to let everyone know your thoughts on events as they unfold at the circuit.

• Can Rubens Barrichello win today's 71-lap race and heap more pressure on Brawn team-mate Jenson Button?

• What can Sebastian Vettel do from 15th on the grid? He really needs to make the podium to have any chance in the title battle.

• The theme of the weekend has of course been the weather. Have you had enough of the rain this weekend?

Tell the world what you think.

Click the SHOW LIVE FORUM link in the red bar at the bottom of your browser window if you'd like to join the debate.

The drivers' parade has just ended, with the competitors getting a warm reception from the massive crowd as they toured the circuit on a flat-bed truck.

The crowd's vocal support was clearly in favour of title contender Rubens Barrichello, who starts from pole this afternoon.