2009 Monaco Grand Prix Race day in Monte Carlo

The grid is just a sea of people at present. The cars are almost invisible as the grid is full of mechanics, guests and visitors.

The pits are now closed with 15 minutes to go before the formation lap.

The Brawn team are also cooling the pole-sitting car, blasting dry ice through the radiators.

Kazuki Nakajima starts from tenth place on the grid this afternoon. He looks concentrated as he sips from his drinks bottle.

Mark Webber and Jenson Button are staying close to their cars on the grid. Both have a damp towel round their neck to keep cool in the 26 degree heat.

Many of the drivers have now arrived on the dummy grid. They now go through their final pre-race routine. Some will wander off the grid for a comfort break, others will stay close to their cars.

The track temperature is 39 Celsius in today's bright sunshine.

FIA president Max Mosley heads out to survey a busy grid.

Bernie Ecclestone is leading the official VIP party towards the grid. Among them, Star Wars creator George Lucas, and double world champion Mika Hakkinen, who is on the grid with his son, Hugo.

Lewis Hamilton pulls up at the back of the 20 car grid. The world champion starts from the back on a light fuel load after that crash in qualifying yesterday.

The tyre warmers come off the number 22 Brawn and Button is wheeled out into the pitlane by his mechanics. Super-soft tyres for Jenson's lap to the grid.

The incredible noise of Formula 1 engines on full song reverberates from the buildings as the cars head around.

Polesitter Jenson Button is sitting in the Brawn in his garage. The mechanics are ready to send him out in the next minute or two.

The pits are now open. The drivers begin to slowly roll out of their garages and join the racetrack.

The mechanics are heading out with their trolleys of equipment to prepare the grid. It is always busy on the narrow front straight as the throng of guests, reporters and photographers mingle with the teams.

The pitlane will open in 10 minutes for the cars to make their way around to the grid.

The crowds are moving towards their positions in the sunshine, ahead of the first view of the cars today.

Fuel

The fuel weights show the Brawn pair of Button and Barrichello have the heaviest cars in the top eight, meaning Button's fourth pole of the season was indeed a special lap from the championship leader.

Kimi Raikkonen got the best out of his Ferrari for an impressive second, but he - and team-mate Massa - will pit a couple of laps before the Brawn duo so must try to snatch the advantage into Ste Devote off the start. Even though the Ferrari has KERS, the short run to the first corner is not really enough time to take advantage of the boost, so Raikkonen needs a quick launch to challenge Button in to the first corner.

Sebastian Vettel has a very light Red Bull for what was clearly a gamble to take pole and lead from the front. The German encountered a heavily-fuelled Nakajima in the Williams on his final shot in Q3 and will start fourth with a very compromised strategy.

Nakajima is the first heavy car on the grid in tenth, giving the second Williams a lot of flexibility should the safety car be deployed, which is, as ever here, quite likely and the biggest threat to the two-stop runners.

The McLaren team have put a light fuel load in Hamilton's McLaren. This doesn't look like a great strategy now he is starting form the back after a gearbox change and the world champion is likely to be stuck behind heavy cars all afternoon.

The following list shows the weight of each driver's car before it heads to the grid for today's grand prix: Pos Driver Weight (kg.) 1. Jenson Button 647.5 2. Kimi Raikkonen 644.0 3. Rubens Barrichello 648.0 4. Sebastian Vettel 631.5 5. Felipe Massa 643.5 6. Nico Rosberg 642.0 7. Heikki Kovalainen 644.0 8. Mark Webber 646.5 9. Fernando Alonso 654.0 10. Kazuki Nakajima 668.0 11. Sebastien Buemi 670.0* 12. Nelson Piquet 673.1* 13. Giancarlo Fisichella 693.0* 14. Sebastien Bourdais 699.5* 15. Adrian Sutil 670.0* 16. Lewis Hamilton 645.5* 17. Nick Heidfeld 680.0* 18. Robert Kubica 696.0* 19. Jarno Trulli 688.3* 20. Timo Glock 700.8* * declared weight

Behind the scenes, the debate over cost cutting continues in Monaco. AUTOSPORT has the latest news from the paddock:

Mosley: Cost cap solution in sight

The final track action of the morning took place a short time ago - the Formula 1 drivers' parade.

The traditional Formula 1 truck meandered its way through the streets of Monte Carlo, as the drivers chatted and waved to the spectators in the grandstands around the circuit. As every year, the highlight of the parade is the rather amusing sight of the large flatbed truck negotiating its way round the Loews hairpin in one wide swoop.

With the parade over, thoughts now turn to main event of the day - the 67th Grand Prix de Monaco.

British Formula 3 champion Oliver Turvey fought off a race-long challenge from Adrian Zaugg to claim victory for Carlin Motorsport in the Formula Renault 3.5 series race this morning.

The 25-lap encounter began with a clash on the first lap, bringing out the safety car. Following the clean-up, Turvey held his nerve to beat the South African by just over six-tenths of a second.

The field of 26 included some prominent young stars on display in front of the Formula 1 teams. Jaime Alguersuari, Christian Van Der Drift and Adrian Valles battled throughout the event, finishing in sixth, seventh and eighth places. Greg Mansell came home 14th, and Red Bull Racing reserve driver Brendon Hartley wound up 17th.

Grosjean's crashed GP2 car

The GP2 Series raced on Friday and Saturday in Monaco, with Frenchman Romain Grosjean dominating the first race.

Karun Chandhok was on course to win the sprint yesterday afternoon but his car stopped with a broken drive shaft, bringing out the safety car and handing the lead and ultimately the win to Pastor Maldonado.

After the restart, Grosjean got into a spat with Andi Zuber on the run out of the harbourside chicane. This lead to inevitable contact - spectacularly pitching Grosjean's car into the debris fencing at Tabac. The championship leader was lucky to escape without injury and the race was stopped with two laps remaining.

Richard Westbrook won this morning's first support race, the Porsche Supercup. The Briton led from pole to the flag, despite pressure throughout from second-place finisher Rene Rast.

Championship leader Jeroen Bleekemolen held off a pack of Stefan Rosina and Andrea Belicchi to finish third in a processional race around the tight streets.

Westbrook's two wins in succession close the gap on Bleekemolen in the championship chase and the series' last two champions are set to be title rivals throughout the summer.

Monaco

Motor racing enthusiasts love to debate and discuss the main points of the day, and the live forum at the bottom of the screen is your chance to let everyone know your thoughts on the action as it unfolds at the circuit.

• Can Kimi Raikkonen beat Jenson Button to Sainte Devote at the start?

• Is the race at the back going to provide more entertainment than at the front? We have Force Indias ahead of Toyotas, BMWs and one McLaren on the grid. A large train of cars could develop quickly this afternoon, with Jarno Trulli at the back of the snake rather than leading it for a change.

• Can Nico Rosberg race as well as he practices in today's 78-lap encounter and finally score some decent points for Williams? The team have often performed very well in the free practice sessions, but failed to produce when it counts. Can they turn their fortunes around today?

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 would like to join the debate.

The weather is glorious in the principality today, and we have had clear skies almost since dawn. The best has been saved for last this weekend, with temperatures set to climb to 27 or possibly 28 degrees in strong sunshine and the asphalt rising to well over 40 Celsius during the race.

Lewis Hamilton's day went from bad to worse after qualifying. His McLaren team found damage to the gearbox of the crashed MP4-24, forcing them to change the unit. The five-place grid penalty puts Hamilton right to the back of the field.

Hamilton to start from back of grid

Monaco qualifying

Championship leader Jenson Button gave Brawn their fourth pole position of the season yesterday, at the end of a scintillating qualifying session that had incidents from the word go.

Felipe Massa sent Ferrari hearts aflutter on his lap out of the pits as he lost control of the F60 in the middle of the Piscine. He gently glanced the barrier, and had to pit for a new nose.

The Brazilian recovered to make it through the first part of qualifying, but Lewis Hamilton was less fortunate. The British driver had been in stunning form all weekend, but one small mistake approaching the Mirabeau was all it took to lose the back end of the McLaren and slide sideways into the barrier, damaging his MP4-24.

While Hamilton slipped down the order following a brief red flag period, the Toyota and BMW teams endured a nightmare session. Neither team could find any pace from their cars, so the first period of qualifying concluded with five drivers eliminated - accounting for 11 Formula 1 wins between them - in an astounding start to the session.

The problems for the big names allowed smaller teams to shine. Force India and Toro Rosso sent their cars through to the second round, but predictably they filled four of the next five places, along with Nelson Piquet.

Up front, Ferrari threw down the challenge to Brawn as the top ten fought over the best places on the grid. Kimi Raikkonen came round to complete his second run, and for a moment it looked like we may just have a Ferrari back at the front. Jenson Button had to dig deep, and his response was a fantastic 1:14.902 to grab the pole and start today's race with a clear track in front of him.

Button beats Raikkonen to Monaco pole

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

The early-season rounds of the campaign have taken place on wide open tracks with plenty of space, but today the drivers will really feel the pinch as they try to negotiate their way round the harbour, the tunnel and the famous buildings of Monte Carlo.

It's the Monaco Grand Prix, and fans the world over are ready for one of the great spectacles in motorsport.