2010 Brazilian Grand Prix Race day at Interlagos

Lap 1: It's a clean start further back and all 23 drivers that took the lights are still running.

Lap 1: Through the middle section of the lap it is Vettel from Webber, Hulkenberg Hamilton and Alonso.

Lap 1: Vettel is up alongside Hulkenberg and he takes the lead for Red Bull at the Senna S ahead of the Williams.

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

The front few rows are now in position but Button is only just pulling into his 11th place grid slot.

Hulkenberg slows it down as he moves towards pole position, with the field quite strung out behind him.

The drivers are working hard to generate tyre temperature as Hulkenberg drops downhill through Mergulho and up again towards Juncao.

Down the back straight and Hulkenberg is setting a decent pace as they head towards Ferrardura.

The formation begins at Interlagos and Hulkenberg leads the field away from the dummy grid from pole position.

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

Nico Hulkenberg nods to confirm that he understands the latest piece of advice being given to him over the team radio.

Conditions remain fine and mainly sunny over the circuit with just a few patchy clouds around and we are set for a hot and intense 71-lap race.

The atmosphere is electric as the clock ticks down with just five minutes to go before the formation lap at Interlagos.

Sebastian Vettel carefully puts on his helmet as he contemplates the challenge of beating Alonso, Webber and Hamilton.

Felipe Massa is receiving last minute advice on the grid from his race engineer Rob Smedley as he gets ready for the race.

Two-time world champion Emerson Fittipaldi chats with Bernie Ecclestone down on the grid.

The public address announcer continues whipping the crowd in the main grandstand into a frenzy, with some of the spectators having been in their positions for many hours now.

The asphalt is up to a scorching 51 Celsius - coupled with the lack of rubber on the surface could mean a challenge for the super-soft tyre

Klien's HRT is recovered to the pitlane with a tractor but his chances of taking the start are slim.

The Brazilian national anthem rings out over the Interlagos public address system and the Paulistas rise in unison.

The pitlane is now closed. Any driver not on the grid by now will have to start the race from the pitlane, after the rest of the field has taken the start.

Championship leader Alonso calmly chats with Italian TV ahead of a crucial afternoon.

Christian Klien is walking down the pitlane having seemingly abandoned his HRT car out on track.

The track temperature is over 50 Celsius in warm sunshine this afternoon.

Vettel is pushed towards second place on the grid by the Red Bull mechanics.

Mark Webber pulls up to the third position starting slot, having completed his reconnaissance lap.

Polesitter Nico Hulkenberg is now on the circuit and makes his way round to the grid. He has never led a Formula 1 race.

Vettel rolls out onto the racetrack to find out how good the balance is. The German starts from the front row this afternoon.

Lewis Hamilton tours through the pitlane before queuing up behind Alonso for a practice start.

Both Ferrari drivers are heading around for multiple laps to the grid.

Something of a queue forms at the end of the pitlane exit road as a number of drivers make a practice start.

Championship leader Fernando Alonso is ready to head out in his Ferrari.

Sebastian Vettel puts his helmet on as he gets ready to go out and check over the track conditions.

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.

Can Hulkenberg hang on up front?

Can Hulkenberg hang on up front? © LAT
Nico Hulkenberg's name was on everyone's lips yesterday at the end of that amazing qualifying session, and today he will lead the field round on the formation lap with one main question ringing in his ears - how long can I keep the championship contenders behind me?

The young German need look no further than his team-mate Rubens Barrichello, who enjoyed a similar experience by taking a shock pole at the Belgian Grand Prix in 1994. The next day Barrichello made a good start off the line in the Jordan but lost out on the run to Les Combes as Michael Schumacher buzzed round the outside of him in the Benetton.

One plus point for Hulkenberg going into the race is that he is using a relatively fresh engine. Patrick Head confirmed yesterday that the power unit installed in the back of the German's car has only raced the first few hundred metres of the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka four weeks ago, while Barrichello starts his home race with a fresh motor - the last of his eight-per-season allocation.

In reality, Hulkenberg is likely to be passed by the championship contenders as the race unfolds, but with both drivers having strong grid positions the Williams team can look forward to taking sixth in the constructor's championship away from Force India with a strong haul points today.

Bruno Senna races at Interlagos for the first time

Bruno Senna races at Interlagos for the first time © Sutton
Our look through the field of 24 continues with Nico Rosberg, who starts the race from the inside of row seven. The Mercedes driver has been on good form recently and will look to make up places early on. However, he is faced with a nightmare scenario on the first lap and will have to deal with Kobayashi and Alguersuari who surround him on the grid.

Tonio Liuzzi starts from 16th position and also has a hard afternoon in front of him as he attempts to stay with the Sauber and Toro Rosso drivers. Indeed, he is likely to face an early attack from Sebastien Buemi who is 19th on the grid, thanks to his five place grid penalty.

Adrian Sutil as another driver who is mired towards the back of the field, following his grid penalty collected at the Korean Grand Prix two weeks ago. The Force India driver starts on row 11 and will have to dispatch four of the six cars belonging to the new teams in the early stages of the race. The car has lacked pace this weekend as the team falls behind in the development race, and it may take a while for the German to work his way through the second group.

Bruno Senna starts last on the grid for his first event at home and he will feel all the emotion of the past today. His uncle won twice here - in 1991 and 1993 - and sent the home crowd wild with celebration. Things are a little different now and just seeing the chequered flag would be a positive result for Bruno this afternoon.

Hamilton needs to close the points gap

Hamilton needs to close the points gap © LAT
Hulkenberg's dominant pole position in tricky conditions yesterday provided considerable surprise - not least to the championship contenders, who find themselves sandwiched between Williams drivers for what could be a frantic opening few corners.

The undulating funnel into the Senna S has claimed many victims over the years and - with the title on the line - the leading contenders will be particularly keen to avoid ending their race, and title campaign, within seconds of the lights going out.

On Friday's evidence, Red Bull has the pace to win this afternoon and Hulkenberg will probably struggle to hold off the fastest cars in the field. The tricky part for the Milton Keynes-based team is of course getting its cars home in one piece and any on-track fireworks between Vettel and Webber.

Hamilton and Alonso don't have their team-mates to either help or hinder, with the former desperately needing to take major points out of the championship leader to keep his title hopes alive going to Abu Dhabi.

Alonso may have to settle for damage limitation this afternoon if the Red Bull duo make their race pace count, and the Ferrari man knows that failure to finish would be a serious blow to his campaign. Nevertheless, he could lift his third crown today if his rivals fail to finish ahead.

Jenson Button has Barrichello, Kubica, Schumacher, Massa and Petrov ahead on the grid before he can even get to the championship contenders. In dry conditions, the win he needs today looks highly unlikely, meaning he is set to bow out of the title race at the end of what has been a very difficult weekend for the Briton.

Here's how the grid will line up this afternoon: Pos Driver 1. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 3. Webber Red Bull-Renault 4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 5. Alonso Ferrari 6. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 7. Kubica Renault 8. Schumacher Mercedes 9. Massa Ferrari 10. Petrov Renault 11. Button McLaren-Mercedes 12. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 13. Rosberg Mercedes 14. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 15. Heidfeld Sauber-Ferrari 16. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 17. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 18. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 19. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari * 20. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 21. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 22. Sutil Force India-Mercedes * 23. Klien HRT-Cosworth 24. Senna HRT-Cosworth ** * Five-place grid penalty for causing a collision in Korea ** Five-place grid penalty for gearbox change

The driver's parade took place a short time ago in the hot sunshine and the patriotic Sao Paulo crowd cheered the field of 24 as they were driven round the circuit on the back of a truck.

Most support was reserved for local hero Barrichello with audible chants of 'Ru-bin-ho, Ru-bin-ho", but Massa, di Grassi and Bruno Senna were also given a rapturous reception as the beat of the samba drums continued and the crowd worked itself up ahead of the race.

With the parade over, the drivers slowly made their way back into the team hospitality units to focus on the 71 laps of combat that lie ahead.