2009 German Grand Prix Race day at the Nurburgring

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

The cars hit the track after a three-week lay-off, and we have the potential for an excellent German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.

The race itself starts at 12:00 GMT, but before then we will review Saturday's action at the circuit incase you missed it, take a look at this morning's support races as well as updating the latest weather situation, and also analyse the fuel weights and what they mean for the first stint of the race.

The anticipated band of wet weather arrived in the Eifel Mountains at dawn this morning and soaked the circuit for several hours.

The rain cleared away at 09:30 local time and the track slowly began to dry out as the support races took place. Following behind the main band we've had a couple of further light showers, but generally the weather is improving at the circuit as a hole in the weather develops.

We have a dry track as our coverage begins today, but low cloud and very cool temperatures will make for tricky racing conditions, and at the very least it will be on a green racetrack and low grip - especially in the early laps.

The maximum temperature this afternoon will only reach 18 degrees Celsius, with a cool breeze coming from the west.

Mark Webber

The weather dominated qualifying in the Eifel Mountains yesterday and it was Mark Webber who made the best of the variable conditions to come through and take a brilliant pole position in the Red Bull Renault.

Light showers changed the Nurburgring from a racetrack into a skating rink as the drivers battled to keep their cars on the road while trying to set the best possible lap time.

Timo Glock was the main casualty of a hectic first period of qualifying. In the final few minutes the German was unable to find an error-free lap in the Toyota and he could not improve on 19th position. He would join Kubica, Buemi, Fisichella and Bourdais on the sidelines.

The second phase was a very busy affair, with improvements in time coming with every lap the drivers completed. At the end of 15 minutes it was Fernando Alonso who surprisingly found himself on the sidelines while Renault team-mate Piquet sailed through to the final shootout. Heidfeld, Nakajima, Trulli and Rosberg joined Alonso in the media throng, while the ten who progressed fought for the best places on the starting grid.

After a slow start, the final period became a familiar Brawn GP versus Red Bull battle. Mark Webber flew round the 5.148 km track in 1m32.230s and neither team-mate Vettel or the Brawn pair could match him.

Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen put in great performances in an improved McLaren to fill row three, and the top ten was completed by Sutil, Massa, Raikkonen and Nelson Piquet.

Webber secures maiden Formula 1 pole

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 Sebastian Vettel win his home grand prix and close down the points gap to Jenson Button, or will Mark Webber convert his maiden pole position into a maiden victory?

• McLaren have aerodynamic upgrades this weekend on the MP4-24. Is Lewis Hamilton on for a possible podium this afternoon?

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.

Vitaly Petrov

Nico Hulkenberg delighted the crowd by storming through to win the GP2 sprint race earlier this morning - chalking up an impressive feature and sprint race double to take the championship lead on home soil.

The race was action-packed, with the track slowly drying from the early morning rain. Hulkenberg started eighth on the reverse grid and immediately started to move up the order - aided by Lucas di Grassi eliminating himself and polesitter Sergio Perez at the first corner.

Hulkenberg eventually caught up with early leader Vitaly Petrov, who was handed a drive-through penalty for a minor clash with di Grassi off the start. The Russian went on to finish fourth, ahead of team-mate Romain Grosjean who battled through the field impressively from 22nd to fifth. Ocean's Alvaro Parente and DAMS' Kamui Kobayashi completed the podium.

Hulkenberg completes double win

The Porsche Supercup provided another home win for the crowd as young German Rene Rast triumphed in the 14-lap race.

Championship leader Jeroen Bleekemolen got the best start from second on the grid and led around the inside of the first corner. Rast was soon challenging and pulled off an excellent move for the lead in the Mercedes Arena - with the displaced Bleekemolen also falling behind Stefan Rosina as they left the opening complex of corners.

The podium trio remained Rast from Rosina and Bleekemolen to the flag, while former champion Patrick Huisman fought through to fourth from 13th on the grid in the best of the action.

Bleekemolen's consistency keeps him well on course for a second successive title, with Rast now second in the points race, ahead of Huisman.

The final piece of pre-race entertainment on track this morning to keep the cold crowd amused was their first chance today to see the Formula 1 stars tour around the circuit slowly for the drivers' parade.

The large crowd at the track cheered to the rafters as the drivers made their way around the circuit in a fleet of road cars - giving plenty of support to home drivers Sebastian Vettel, Nico Rosberg, Nick Heidfeld, Adrian Sutil and Timo Glock.

With the parade over a short time ago, the drivers are now back in their team hospitality units, finishing off their preparations for the race.

The following shows the weight of each car, fuelled for the first stint of today's grand prix: Pos Driver Weight (kg) 1. Webber Red Bull-Renault 661.0 2. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 647.0 3. Button Brawn-Mercedes 644.0 4. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 661.0 5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 654.5 6. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 664.0 7. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 678.5 8. Massa Ferrari 673.5 9. Raikkonen Ferrari 674.0 10. Piquet Renault 676.0 11. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber 681.0* 12. Alonso Renault 668.2* 13. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 683.6* 14. Trulli Toyota 683.7* 15. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 689.6* 16. Kubica BMW-Sauber 673.5* 17. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 674.5* 18. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 662.5* 19. Glock Toyota 662.3* 20. Bourdais Toro Rosso-Ferrari 689.5* * declared weight

Fuel

The fuel weights show Mark Webber put in an excellent lap to take his first career pole. Fuelled identically to Sebastian Vettel, the Australian was over two tenths quicker than his team-mate and is well-placed to take his first win this afternoon.

The Brawn pair have the lightest cars in the top ten and will certainly have a fight on their hands to challenge the Red Bulls today.

The McLarens of Hamilton and Kovalanen also put in a much-improved qualifying performance and will be the cars to watch off the start as they deploy the KERS boost into the first corner.

Adrian Sutil was arguably the star of qualifying and he lines up seventh this afternoon in a heavy Force India - out qualifying both, lighter, Ferraris.

The midfield drivers were clearly thinking of having a flexible fuel load in the event of rain this afternoon but the drier-than-expected outlook may prove unhelpful - unless a shower does reach the circuit at a critical point.

The local weather radar shows that there is no immediate threat of rain over the circuit, but showers are developing in Belgium to the left of the screen.

The race is still at risk of an occasional light shower at this time, but at the moment the sun is trying to break through the holes in the cloud base.

The pitlane will open in ten minutes, releasing the cars for a reconnaissance lap to the grid.

Team strategists will be working overtime right now, and paying close attention to the Formula 1 rain radar as the showers come in from the west.

Tyres

The track has now fully dried after the heavy rain early this morning. However, the rain and subsequent support racing on wet tyres will have reduced the layer of Formula 1 rubber on the track surface.

As ever, the teams will have to use both compounds of dry tyre at some point in the race - unless wet tyres become necessary to deal with a stray shower.

The harder tyre option has proven difficult to use this weekend due to the cold ambient temperatures and the super soft rubber has been the most useful - quickly giving good grip and holding on well over a series of laps.

With the green track conditions this afternoon, the teams will have to carefully consider their plans for running each tyre - particularly if there is a risk of the softer option graining in the early stages before rubber goes down again throughout the race.

The pitlane is now open for the cars to make their way onto the circuit. The drivers will try to evaluate the track conditions on the lap around to the grid.

When they come out they are going to find a track with little grip - much like a Friday morning-type condition when they normally start running.

Polesitter Mark Webber pulls his Red Bull out of the garage and heads around to the front of the grid.

Nick Heidfeld is trying the harder tyres on his BMW as he coasts around to the assembled throng on the pit straight.

Sebastian Vettel is also sampling the grip levels on the harder rubber as he approaches the grid.

For those of you hoping for a dry race the news is getting better by the minute. There has been a significant reduction in the frequency of showers on the local radar in the last few minutes.

The showers are fizzling out although some scattered showers do remain out to the west, but the threat of rain is now decreasing.

Rubens Barrichello has opted for the softer tyre for his reconnaissance lap. He pulls to a stop at the back of the grid, waiting for his Brawn team to push him through the crowd to the front.

Fernando Alonso is taking advantage of his grid slot out of the top ten by running through the pits and on to a second exploratory lap. Surprisingly, Heikki Kovalainen also tours through the pits, using up some of his fuel for another lap to the grid.

Jenson Button reports to Ross Brawn on the grid that he could feel the car moving around a little at the rear, but overall the grip level is reasonably good.

Meantime, Sebastian Vettel is seeking advice from Bridgestone regarding the tyres and likelihood of graining during the race.

The on-site weather radar shows no rain anywhere near the circuit and things are actually quite sunny, with the track warmer than any other stage of the weekend.

The pitlane is now closed, meaning that no further reconnaissance laps will be possible before the start.

The German national anthem 'Deutschland Uber Alles' rings out over the Nurburgring, sung today by Daniel Schumacher.

The drivers begin to get their equipment together and move towards their cars with ten minutes to go before the formation lap.

Adrian Sutil puts on his helmet. He is in for an interesting race from an excellent seventh on the grid.

Down at the 16th position grid slot, Robert Kubica is preparing for the race. His earpiece for the pit-to-car radio is being fitted by BMW Sauber trainer Josef Leberer.

The track temperature is up to 32 Celsius in the sunshine, which will certainly help the Brawn team get more speed out of their tyres.

There are five minutes to go until the cars roll away to signal the start of the formation lap.

Our final radar check before the start of the race: the latest images show that there will be no significant rain for at least 45 minutes.

The teams have now fitted their final choice of tyres, with the decision made difficult by the green track and increased temperature.

There are 19 cars down there on the grid, ready for the start of the formation lap.

One driver will start the race from the pitlane. Timo Glock had originally qualified 19th, but he was subsequently given a three-place grid penalty for holding up Fernando Alonso during the session.

Toyota this morning announced that they would start the German from the pitlane.

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

The super-soft tyre is the choice of the front runners.

The formation lap begins at the Nurburgring. The 19 cars leave the grid without problem, as Toyota get Glock's car ready in the pitlane.

Adrain Sutil is one of the few drivers going for the harder tyres for the first stint.

Mark Webber will have all the pressure, but the knowledge that he is heavier than his immediate opposition. He leads the pack round the Mercedes Arena and down the hill towards Dunlop.

Tyre strategy and grip level will be critical in the early stages of the race. The field now blast down towards the NGK Chicane towards the end of the lap.

Mark Webber round the final corner and drives towards his grid slot. He stops and the field of 19 begin to form up behind him.

We await the start ...

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

Lap 1: Webber gets away well and Barrichello is right with him, but here comes Hamilton! Barrichello gets the lead and Webber holds second from Lewis at Turn 1.