2009 Chinese Grand Prix Race day at Shanghai International Circuit

Down on the grid, the traditional pre-race display by local performers is taking place.

The track surface remains wet from the continuing showers.

Trackside notes:

• Timo Glock will start in 19th position after a gearbox failure in final practice. The Toyota driver qualified a disappointing 14th and falls to almost the back of the grid due to his five-place gearbox penalty.

• Despite qualifying first and thrid, the Red Bull drivers had limited running on Saturday due to driveshaft rubber boot problems. The team will be hoping any work they have done overnight to solve the issue sees them through to the end of the race without the boots being damaged.

Wet tyres

The list of car weights shows that front-row men Vettel and Alonso, along with Mark Webber in the other Red Bull, have opted for an aggressive strategy, presumably with the intention of running a short first stint on the fragile super-soft rubber.

However, today's rain will be a great concern to those men as they have little flexibility in their strategy to stop for appropriate wet tyres as conditions change. The fact that wet tyres will be needed today is also a disadvantage, as it means the use of both dry tyre options will no longer be mandatory.

The Brawn pair of Barrichello and Button are well-placed, with more fuel on board than the front row starters and a very quick car.

Kimi Raikkonen, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Buemi all have a much longer strategy in mind from the bottom half of the top ten and that could certainly pay off if the conditions keep changing.

Heikki Kovalainen and Nelson Piquet have a massive fuel load in their cars and that could also work well on a day of rain chaos.

The following list shows the weight of each car at the start of today's race. Pos. Driver Car weight 1. Vettel 644.0kg 2. Alonso 637.0kg 3. Webber 646.5kg 4. Barrichello 661.0kg 5. Button 659.0kg 6. Trulli 664.5kg 7. Rosberg 650.5kg 8. Raikkonen 673.5kg 9. Hamilton 679.0kg 10. Buemi 673.0kg 11. Heidfeld 679.0kg 12. Kovalainen 697.0kg 13. Massa 690.0kg 14. Nakajima 682.7kg 15. Bourdais 690.0kg 16. Piquet 697.9kg 17. Kubica 659.0kg 18. Sutil 648.0kg 19. Glock 652.0kg 20. Fisichella 679.5kg

Weather update. Conditions remain overcast with the rain falling a little harder over the circuit right now.

We have been monitoring the Chinese rainfall radar throughout the course of the day, and further rain behind these showers looks certain for the next few hours.

A good crowd has filled the main grandstand today, with the early arrivals being treated to support race action prior to today's main event.

First up was the Aston Martin Asia Cup race for 10 laps. Sri Lankan Dilantha Malagamuwa took victory in Saturday's opening round of the 2009 AMAC series by just six-tenths of a second for Dilango Racing, edging out Mark Williamson.

Next it was latest round of the Porsche Carrera Cup Asia - also holding their first round of the season this weekend at the Chinese Grand Prix. Reigning PCC Asia champion Darryl O'Young is aiming to build on his spectacular Macau victory last October and retain the title for Team Jebsen.

In the last few minutes, the fans have caught a glimpse of their idols as the Formula 1 drivers' parade rounded the circuit slowly in the rain.

Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel put a marker down to the rest of the field yesterday in qualifying to claim the second pole position of his Formula 1 career.

The day began with astonishment in the final practice session, as Nico Rosberg left the track entering the pitlane at the end of his installation lap. No damage was done to the Williams FW31, and the German duly responded in the best possible way by posting 1:36.133 in the dying moments to top the session, ahead of Jarno Trulli and Lewis Hamilton.

Rosberg fastest in final China practice

Vettel's charge to pole was remarkable in the afternoon. In the second period of qualifying he left it very late, setting only one timed lap to put him top of the pile. Minutes later he blew everyone away by performing the same trick in the shootout, snatching the pole from team-mate Mark Webber, before Fernando Alonso bagged a spot on the front row alongside Vettel in his recently modified Renault R29.

The joy wasn't spread throughout the field. Robert Kubica, Heikki Kovalainen, Nick Heidfeld and Felipe Massa all suffered in qualifying, and they will start outside the top ten this afternoon.

Vettel gives Red Bull first F1 pole

AUTOSPORT forum members are invited to join the fun throughout the race, offering thoughts and opinions as the event unfolds.

• How will the rain affect things this afternoon?
• Are you pleased at the outcome of the weather, or did the sport need a dry race today?
• Will the safety car make an appearance during the race today?

Tell everyone 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.

This morning dawned cloudy but dry in Shanghai. Soon, however, the clouds rolled in, turning the skies overcast. By 11 o'clock the first spots of moisture were evident.

Since then, conditions have deteriorated, with rain falling in the last hour. The track surface is wet as we begin our coverage this afternoon, with further rain expected during the course of the race.

Temperatures will remain warm thanks to a strong south-westerly wind with a maximum of 21 degrees Celsius. Track temperatures will suffer today in the damp conditions, failing to reach anywhere near the high thirties we saw yesterday.

Hello and welcome to AUTOSPORT Live for round three of the 2009 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

The sport continues its far-east opening to the season, with the Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix from the 5.451 km Shanghai International Circuit.