2009 Hungarian Grand Prix Race day at the Hungaroring

Lap 1: The five red lights go out and we are racing at the Hungaroring!

The first six rows are in place. The rest are moving into their grid slots.

We await the lights ...

The front cars are rounding the final corner onto the pit straight. The rest are forming up behind Alonso.

Sebastian Vettel has interestingly opted for the harder option for his first stint. That may cost him some pace off the grid.

Fernando is getting on with it quickly as he leads them down towards Turn 13.

Fernando Alonso leads the pack past the Turn 4 accident point and round to the top of the circuit.

The formation lap is underway at the Hungaroring. All 19 cars leave the grid without problem.

So who needs to do what on lap one? Well, Alonso clearly needs to get out front or his strategy is toast. Both McLarens need to make the best of their KERS button to propel them towards the front, and the Red Bulls need a great start to make sure they aren't swamped.

We could have five cars arriving at Turn 1 together here.

The super-soft tyres are the choice of the leading contenders.

The engines fire with a minute to go.

The track temperature is 43 Celsius in the afternoon sunshine.

We are just five minutes away from the formation lap at the Hungaroring.

The cooling fans are removed from the sidepods of Jaime Alguersuari's Toro Rosso. At least the Spaniard will have everything happen ahead of him in the opening stages, rather than need to worry about cars approaching from behind.

A packed crowd on the spectator banks is eagerly anticipating the race as the sun comes out. On the grid, the girls are beginning to clear away, leaving the stars of the show down there with the team personnel.

The drivers are now getting their equipment ready to move towards their cars.

Overhead, some light cloud has drifted over the circuit for the time being. This will cool the track temperature somewhat as we await the start of the race.

The crowd rise for the Hungarian national anthem, as it rings out over the circuit's public address system.

The pitane is now closed, with 15 minutes to go before the start.

The Ferrrari mechanics have gathered on the grid with a message of best wishes for Felipe Massa on their pitboard.

Rubens Barrichello tours through the pits on the harder Bridgestone tyre. The Brazilian has a sizable fuel load in his Brawn so can afford to use up some fuel getting a feel for his repaired car.

Fernando Alonso rounds the final corner slowly in his Renault before being pushed by his mechanics to the coveted pole position slot.

Jenson Button is another man testing the super-soft rubber as he heads to the start/finish area.

Newcomer Jaime Alguersuari is making his tour to the grid ahead of his maiden start.

Robert Kubica climbs out of his BMW from a disappointing 18th on the grid. He has a lot of support here from nearby Poland.

Kimi Raikkonen pulls out of the garage in the sole Ferrari and heads around to his seventh-place grid slot.

Lewis Hamilton rolls out of the McLaren garage for a reconnaissance lap on super-soft rubber.

Kazuki Nakajima is one of the first drivers to head out for a tour to the grid.

The pits are now open for the cars to make their way around to the grid.

In five minutes' time, the pitlane will open, allowing the 19 drivers to come out onto the track for the first time today, and quickly check over their cars ahead of the 70-lap race.

The drivers will perform radio checks, ensure that the car is functioning properly and get a feel for the track conditions.

Fuel

The car weights show that Fernando Alonso and his Renault team deployed an aggressive fuel strategy to grab their first pole of the season.

Fernando is due to stop around eight laps earlier than the pair of Red Bulls behind him and it is likely that he will slip down the order after such an early stop. "We will try (to win) but being honest and realistic, our target is to get some good points," said the Spaniard after the session.

The Red Bulls of Vettel and Webber are in a very good position, with stops planned around lap 18 and the flexibility to adjust their plans based on track position. However, the worry for the championship challengers must be the brace of KERS-equipped cars immediately behind them on the grid.

A chotic start is likely and the outcome of the race will hinge on how far Hamilton, Kovalainen and Raikkonen can leap up the order when they deploy their boost into the first corner.

Nico Rosberg qualified extremely well, with plenty of fuel in his Williams and should score well again today. Jenson Button has work to do from eighth, after a disrupted qualifying effort, and the championship leader will be looking for damage limitation with his heavy fuel load. The Briton needs to stay out of trouble at the first corner but may profit from any collisions in the opening scramble.

The cars outside the top ten are mainly fuelled for a traditional two-stop, with Rubens Barrichello clearly hoping the Brawn will be gentle on its tyres as he challenges with a mammoth one-stop fuel load. Both Force India drivers are also looking at a one-stop strategy, and will be trying to make good progress in the middle of 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. Alonso Renault 637.5 2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 655.0 3. Webber Red Bull-Renault 652.0 4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 650.5 5. Rosberg Williams-Toyota 654.0 6. Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 655.5 7. Raikkonen Ferrari 651.5 8. Button Brawn-Mercedes 664.5 9. Nakajima Williams-Toyota 658.0 10. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 671.5 11. Trulli Toyota 671.3 12. Barrichello Brawn-Mercedes 689.0 13. Glock Toyota 679.2 14. Piquet Renault 667.7 15. Heidfeld BMW-Sauber 658.0 16. Fisichella Force India-Mercedes 680.5 17. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 683.5 18. Kubica BMW-Sauber 666.0 19. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 675.5

The final piece in the morning support jigsaw took place a short time ago, when the drivers emerged from the pits for the traditional parade round the circuit.

With this being as close to a home race as possible for Pole Robert Kubica, much of the support was reserved for him as the flags waved and the airhorns blew.

The 19 drivers are now back in the team hospitality units, preparing for the race.

Rene Rast scored a lights to flag victory in the final support race of the day - the Porsche Supercup. The young German drove superbly to record his third win in succession, despite pressure throughout from second-place finisher Jan Seyffarth.

Championship leader Jeroen Bleekemolen held of a frantic pack to finish third, from Stefan Rosina, Damien Faulkner and Siso Cunill.

Bleekemolen's consistent string of podium finishes still leaves him well on course to claim the title, with Rast's recent form cementing his position as the closest championship callenger, albeit a long way behind with only three rounds of the series remaining.

iSport’s Giedo van der Garde scored his maiden GP2 Series win in a eventful sprint race at the Hungaroring. The Dutchman was pressured all the way by Super Nova’s Luca Filippi, but hung on to the lead throughout, despite a late restart after a safety car intervention while gravel was cleared from the circuit.

Championship contenders Lucas di Grassi and Romain Grosjean finished thrid and fourth after Javier Villa dropped to fifth with a late spin. Alvaro Parente took the final point in sixth.

Van der Garde scores first GP2 win

A packed support programme this morning started with the second races of the weekend for the International Formula Master and Formula BMW Europe championships.

Russian Sergey Afanasiev took the Master win after beating pole position starter Erik Janis off the start, while Dane Michael Christensen took his third BMW win of the season.

Afanasiev returns to top step in IFM

Fans

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.

• Will Alonso hold the lead at Turn 1 and make use of his light load to bolt away in the early stages of the race?

• What can Lewis Hamilton do from fourth on the grid with his magic KERS button?

• The Brawns are on a points-salvaging mission today. Where will Button and Barrichello finish?

• Will Jaime Alguersuari complete the job and see the chequered flag in his first grand prix?

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.

One aspect of the weekend that thankfully has been trouble-free is the weather.

Scorching conditions on Friday were followed by the predicted rain early on Saturday morning, with the promise of conditions improving steadily through the remainder of the weekend.

That has come to pass, and today the Hungaroring has basked in the sunshine, with temperatures up slightly from yesterday's values. The top temperature today will be around 26 degrees Celsius, and with prolonged sunshine we can expect the track temperature to approach the 45 Celsius mark.

The strong breeze that has been evident all weekend will continue, from the west, making driving conditions consistent - if a little tricky.

Jaime Alguersuari

19-year-old Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari will create history today, when he becomes the youngest ever driver to take part in a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

The British Formula 3 champion learned the circuit and the STR4 simultaneously on Friday, and drove very well in tough conditions. Yesterday he delivered another strong showing both in final practice and then in qualifying itself.

Today, however, he will face the most difficult challenge - that of keeping the car on the island and then dealing with the leaders coming round to lap him. Expect Jaime to leap out of the way when the likes of Alonso and the Red Bulls come through.

Hopefully, Alguersuari will keep his concentration in a long, hot race and bring the car home to cap a wonderful debut in the sport.

Massa crash scene

Obviously, everyone's thoughts over the last 24 hours have been with Felipe Massa. The Ferrari driver was hospitalised following a freak accident when part of Rubens Barrichello's rear suspension broke and the third damper spring bounced down the track, hitting Massa's helmet around four seconds later with devastating consequences.

Massa stable, airlifted to hospital

A few hours after qualifying had been completed, Massa underwent a successful operation on a skull fracture and this morning he remains in stable condition at a Budapest hospital.

Massa remains stable following surgery

Clearly, Massa won't take part in the race today and 19 drivers will start this afternoon's Hungarian Grand Prix, with the cars behind his grid slot each moving up one place. We wish him a safe and speedy recovery.