2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Race day at Yas Marina

Sebastian Vettel leaves the Red Bull garage and is on his lap to the grid.

The pitlane is now open for drivers to make their way around to the grid. The track will be open for 15 minutes and drivers will make one or more reconnaissance laps to the grid during this time.

They will want to check important basic functions such as the team radio, throttle, brakes, gearbox and engine settings. They may also play around with the front wing level from inside the cockpit.

Any driver not on the grid with 15 minutes to go will be required to start this afternoon's race from the pitlane.

Barrichello could seal sixth for Williams today

Barrichello could seal sixth for Williams today © LAT
While the watching world will understandably be heavily focused on the four-way scrap for the driver's title, there are two other important battles to consider in today's race.

Williams has relentlessly closed down a large points deficit to Force India in a developing battle for sixth in the constructor's championship and Nico Hulkenberg's fine performance at Interlagos last weekend moved the Grove-based outfit ahead by a single point.

Rubens Barrichello has driven very well this season and has scored the bulk of the points. The Brazilian is seventh on the grid and the most likely of the four drivers from these two teams to score today. Force India must stop the rot before it is too late, but Adrian Sutil is 13th with his team-mate Tonio Liuzzi three places further back in 16th.

At the rear of the field Lotus Racing, Virgin Racing and HRT will battle it out today for the coveted 10th place in the constructors standings, with millions in prize and travel money on offer. Lotus holds the position, following Heikki Kovalainen's 12th place finish at the Japanese Grand Prix.

For Virgin and HRT, the target for today is very simple. They must finish 11th or higher with any of their cars to wrestle the position - or Lotus Racing boss Tony Fernandes and his team will be celebrating a sizeable windfall and a big boost to its 2011 campaign.

We continue our look through the field for today's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with another tight midfield scrap. Michael Schumacher is eighth on the grid and out-qualified Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg by just 0.073s, so another hard-fought race is expected between the pair. Vitaly Petrov will be in prime position to pick up any pieces from 10th and Robert Kubica will aim to put his poor performance yesterday behind him early on by getting past his team-mate to join the Mercedes squabble.

Adrian Sutil starts the race from 13th and needs to make good early progress to help Force India's points position. The German should benefit from the clean side of the circuit and could force his way past Kamui Kobayashi off the line.

Toro Rosso drivers Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi are set for a long and difficult race from 17th and 18th on the grid. Liuzzi, Hulkenberg and Heidfeld start immediately ahead of them and are likely to have better race pace. This could leave the Toro Rosso duo in a lonely position off the back of the main group, but also well ahead of the new teams.

Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen once again put Lotus at the head of the new teams' race. Timo Glock starts 21st for Virgin Racing and is the only likely candidate to give the T127s a hard time over the race distance. Lucas di Grassi qualified a whole second slower than Trulli in 22nd and could fall away, while Senna and Klien will need to drive the wheels of their HRTs to remain in touch.

Hamilton has been on strong form this weekend

Hamilton has been on strong form this weekend © Sutton
The front three rows of the grid are where the final twists and turns of this fascinating title campaign will play out, and the intensity will be set to maximum as the grid lines up for the decisive race.

Vettel will once again lead the pack around the formation lap and, thanks to the potent race pace of the RB6, is a likely winner if he is still leading by the end of the first lap.

Hamilton starts from the dirty side of the grid and will be looking to emulate the launch that Sergio Perez pulled off in yesterday's GP2 race to out-drag the polesitter to the first corner - taking the inside line and the lead. The 2008 champion must win to have any chance of the title, so won't be holding back if there is any chance to move forwards.

Points leader Fernando Alonso has the most to lose in an opening lap skirmish so is likely to be cautious - knowing that a broken front wing or a cut tyre could end his title hopes on the spot. Nevertheless, the Spaniard is well-placed to wrap up his third crown today after an impressive final qualifying lap.

Button, the first man out of contention, could act as spoiler-in-chief, particularly for Mark Webber, whose disastrous qualifying effort puts his title campaign on the back foot. The Australian must pass Alonso this afternoon to have a chance of overhauling the Spaniard's points advantage so he needs to clear Button quickly, which could be a tough task at a circuit where the McLaren is working well.

Massa and Barrichello make up a Brazilian supporting cast to the title battle and are well-placed to get in on the action, particularly on the opening lap as the cars funnel into the chicane at Turn 5.

Here's how the grid will line up for the final race of the year: Pos Driver Car 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 3. Alonso Ferrari 4. Button McLaren-Mercedes 5. Webber Red Bull-Renault 6. Massa Ferrari 7. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 8. Schumacher Mercedes 9. Rosberg Mercedes 10. Petrov Renault 11. Kubica Renault 12. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 13. Sutil Force India-Ferrari 14. Heidfeld Sauber-Ferrari 15. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 16. Liuzzi Force India-Ferrari 17. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 18. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 19. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 20. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 21. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 22. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 23. Senna Hispania-Cosworth 24. Klien Hispania-Cosworth

AUTOSPORT Awards

The AUTOSPORT Awards will be presented next month © LAT
This may be the final race of the Formula 1 season, but it is not the end of the fun here on AUTOSPORT Live.

Next month, the great and the good of British and world motor racing will gather together at the Grosvenor House Hotel in central London for the AUTOSPORT Awards, celebrating the outstanding achievements and moments of the year.

Join us on Sunday December 5th for a great evening of exclusive live coverage as the Awards are presented and the McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award winner is announced.

The AUTOSPORT Awards

The driver's parade took place a short time ago as the four championship contenders faced each other for the first time today. The truck slowly moved round the circuit to the cheers of the fans in the grandstands.

There will also be many cheers across Europe today, with thousands of fans packed into the town squares at Oviedo in Spain and at Maranello in Italy, while many Grand Prix parties are taking place across Germany.

Prior to the parade came the end-of-season driver's photograph. The four contenders shrugged off the pressure with smiles and even the odd joke before the world's snappers, before heading back to the lavish team hospitality units to focus on the race ahead.

Fans are ready for the title decider

Fans are ready for the title decider © Sutton
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.

• Who will get the best start off the line in the race to Turn 1?

• How and where can Jenson Button affect the race?

• And finally the big one. Who will be the 2010 FIA Formula 1 world champion?

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.

Keep up to speed with our minute-by-minute commentary on the move with the AUTOSPORT app.

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David Valescchi won the final GP2 race of the year

David Valescchi won the final GP2 race of the year © LAT
David Valescchi was the surprise victor in this morning's supporting GP2 race thanks to a great start from fourth on the the grid.

Polesitter Josef Kral bogged down and made a poor getaway and Lius Razia ran wide, allowing Valescchi to get the run on Romain Grosjean to take the lead at the exit of Turn 2.

From then on the iSport driver held off a spirited attack from Razia to take his first GP2 victory for over two years.

Yesterday's winner Sergio Perez failed to finish after an over-aggressive move on Sam Bird, while series champion Pastor Maldonado again failed to score points on what is likely to be his final outing of his lengthy 71-race GP2 career.

Valsecchi claims first win in two years

Weather conditions have remained fine and dry since the end of qualifying yesterday evening.

This morning dawned clear and temperatures quickly rose, but over the last couple of hours towering clouds have built up around Yas Marina and the rain radar has picked up on several developing showers across the UAE.

It remains dry for the moment at the circuit, with temperatures reaching the maximum of 30 degrees Celsius.

Any short shower between now and the end of the race would be great news for the fans but extremely bad news for the drivers. A short, sharp shower on Friday soaked the circuit before the start of free practice and, while the track dried out very quickly in the heat, the grip level was subsequently atrocious given the cleaning chemicals on the track surface after several days of intense sweeping.

Four men, one title

Four men, one title - decided this weekend © LAT 11:42 Fernando Alonso left Interlagos last weekend with a useful eight-point advantage in the drivers' championship from Mark Webber, but Sebastian Vettel's victory in Brazil and pole position yesterday puts him right back in the frame.

One stand-out scenario reigns over every other possible permutation; if Alonso finishes first or second then he will be celebrating his third world title tonight, while on the flip side Lewis Hamilton must win the race and hope that Alonso is outside the top 10 - with the Red Bulls also in trouble - to have any hope of snatching his second championship from the jaws of defeat.

The Red Bull drivers have many possible outcomes surrounding them. If Vettel wins the race and Alonso is fifth or lower then he wins the title, but equally if he is leading on the last lap with Webber second and Alonso third, then the young German is likely to move aside to hand the championship to his team-mate.

The constructors' championship is already settled in favour of Red Bull, and there is unlikely to be a switch between McLaren and Ferrari for the runner-up spot. Mercedes GP and Renault are cemented in a lonely fourth and fifth, but a battle royal has been raging throughout the second half of the season for sixth, with Williams overhauling Force India last weekend at Interlagos thanks to the efforts of Nico Hulkenberg. World Championship standings, round 18: Drivers: Constructors: 1. Alonso 246 1. Red Bull-Renault 469 2. Webber 238 2. McLaren-Mercedes 421 3. Vettel 231 3. Ferrari 389 4. Hamilton 222 4. Mercedes 202 5. Button 199 5. Renault 145 6. Massa 143 6. Williams-Cosworth 69 7. Rosberg 130 7. Force India-Mercedes 68 8. Kubica 126 8. Sauber-Ferrari 44 9. Schumacher 72 9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 11 10. Barrichello 47

Glock was too fast in the pitlane

Glock was too fast in the pitlane © LAT
Over the last few races, the stewards room has become the place to be on Saturday after the conclusion of qualifying, with many on track altercations being investigated and subsequently punished. But surprisingly, the panel had little to discuss yesterday as the drivers did their best to not get in eachother's way:

• Timo Glock was caught speeding in the pitlane in the first two minutes of final practice. The German clocked 62.4 km/h and was later fined €600.

• Later in the same session Kamui Kobayashi exceeded the 60 km/h pitlane limit by just 1.5 km/h. The Japanese driver received a €400 fine for his efforts.

• Race director Charlie Whiting referred an incident during qualifying between Felipe Massa and Rubens Barrichello to the stewards. Having listened to the drivers explanations of what happened at Turns 6 and 7, the panel decided to take no further action.

• After an informal review of events, the stewards also decided that the misunderstanding between Lewis Hamilton and Massa over track position in Q2 did not even require an investigation.

Vettel secured his 10th pole of the year

Vettel secured his 10th pole of the year © Sutton
Sebastian Vettel did his chances of claiming a first world championship no harm at all with a stunning pole position at Yas Marina yesterday, as Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber struggled to a disappointing fifth place.

The qualifying hour began with the first period where one 'unlucky loser' usually joins the six drivers from the three new teams to the sport this year on the sidelines. Toro Rosso drivers Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari fought a private battle over the coveted 17th position and this time it was the young Spaniard who won the duel with the late lap to eliminate Buemi.

Typically we see a surprise or two during the second period and the trend continued this weekend as Robert Kubica failed to make the cut for the first time in 22 races. The Pole fell one-tenth of a second short of Michael Schumacher's target time in 10th place and was therefore eliminated along with Kobayashi, Sutil, Heidfeld, Hulkenberg, Liuzzi and Alguersuari.

Meanwhile, the four championship contenders had progressed through the first two periods without any problems whatsoever. But now they would square up to each other in the first major battle of the weekend.

The McLaren and Ferrari drivers quickly exited the pits at the green light to begin the standard two runs on super-soft tyres, but surprisingly Red Bull drivers Webber and Vettel waited. As the first few minutes of the session ticked on, it quickly became clear that the Milton Keynes-based team had changed its strategy and would perform just one run of consecutive timed laps. Both drivers worked on getting their tyres up to temperature and the German duly took over at the front, but there was drama behind him on the road as Webber struggled to find the necessary grip and was unable to plant his RB6 at the front of the grid.

Lewis Hamilton grabbed a sensational front row start and championship leader Alonso secured third, with the knowledge that he would start from the clean side of the circuit. Jenson Button then upset Webber's day even further by clinching fourth with his last lap, as the Australian failed to respond yet again.

Behind them, Felipe Massa did all he could to take sixth with Rubens Barrichello an extremely positive seventh. Michael Schumacher was eighth on his first visit to Yas Mariana, just ahead of Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg. Vitaly Petrov rounded out a tantalising top 10.

Vettel takes crucial Abu Dhabi pole

Turn 1 is the next title battleground

Turn 1 is the next title battleground © Sutton
Hello everyone and welcome to AUTOSPORT Live for the final battle in the 2010 FIA Formula 1 world championship - the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix from Yas Island.

There hasn't been a situation like this in sixty years - four men have the opportunity to become world champion today at the final race of the season. All the preparation and work to find that last hundredth of a second comes down to this moment, and for Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso the pressure on as their team, fans and a nation's support will be brought to bear over the course of 55 hotly-contested laps around the dusty 5.554 km Yas Marina circuit.

A new world champion will be crowned in just over three hours from now as Jenson Button relinquishes the title. But the Briton may yet have a say in the destination of the silverware - he being the only driver to split the big four in qualifying.

The tension is rising and the shootout will begin at 13:00 GMT, but before then we will set the scene with a review of yesterday's qualifying session, look over the championship permutations and update you on the latest weather on what is a great day in the sport's history.