2010 European Grand Prix Race day at Valencia

Fans enjoy the Valencia sunshine

Fans enjoy the Valencia sunshine © 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.

• Can the Red Bull drivers avoid contact, stay reliable and secure a one-two this afternoon?

• How will Fernando Alonso get on at his second home event of the season? The Ferrari driver was mighty in practice but struggled with his set of super-soft tyres at the end of qualifying.

• Will Mercedes drivers Rosberg and Schumacher stay clear of trouble in the early stages of the race to bring both cars home in the points?

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.

It's another great day for racing around the harbour in Valencia, with almost clear skies and strong sunshine beating down on the circuit since dawn.

We expect less in the way of patchy cloud than we saw yesterday and therefore temperatures should pick up slightly. A maximum ambient of 28 Celsius is expected and we could see around 47 degrees down on the track surface, although the ever-resent sea breeze will be in effect.

Vettel grabbed his fourth pole of the year

Vettel grabbed his fourth pole of the year © Sutton
Red Bull returned to front-running ways with Sebastian Vettel leading home Mark Webber at the end of a sensational qualifying session yesterday to lockout the front row for the first time in three races.

The first period is always a case these days of who will join the six cars from the three new teams on the sidelines. Sauber and Toro Rosso fought hard to avoid Formula 1's 'wooden spoon' and for a time even Michael Schumacher was mired in the dogfight to avoid 18th place. Eventually the die was cast for Kamui Kobayashi and the Japanese driver failed to make the cut for the second event in succession.

Schumacher, having escaped elimination in part one, was struggling with some braking issues. These could not be cured in the short time available between phases one and two, so a run to 15th place was perhaps expected. But joining him would be team-mate Nico Rosberg, cementing the team's worst qualifying result of the season. Both Force Indias were also out - a slightly surprising effort given the team's strong practice form.

With both teams struggling, it was Williams and Renault that gained, with all four cars making the shootout. For a time, it looked like Robert Kubica would be a real factor in the front-end reckoning, but ultimately the track was left for Webber and Vettel to square up to eachother.

The Australian grabbed the advantage on the first of two runs, but Vettel hit back as all ten runners chose super-soft tyres with a blinding 1m37.587s. Webber's response was mighty but at the line he was slower by just 0.075 seconds.

Lewis Hamilton produced a great first effort to head row two with home hero Fernando Alonso in fourth, ahead of Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa in fifth. Kubica rounded out the top six after struggling to get the best from the softer tyres.

Vettel leads all-Red Bull front row

Valencia

Valencia © Sutton
Hello everyone and welcome to AUTOSPORT Live for the ninth round in the 2010 FIA Formula 1 world championship.

The Juan Carlos I marina at Valencia in Spain welcomes the sport for only the third time for the European Grand Prix, with many predicting a close, but ultimately processional race - something that would halt a run of brilliantly entertaining races so far this season.

Many teams have updated packages this weekend in an effort to keep up with the championship-leading form of McLaren, and for Red Bull Racing it's a case of so far, so good with a front row lockout. Ferrari is much closer to the pace of the two top teams here and Robert Kubica has used Renault's exhaust driven diffuser to great effect. The pole is in the hunt for a podium this afternoon.

The race itself begins at 12:00 GMT, but before then we will set the scene by reviewing yesterday's qualifying session, update you on today's weather conditions and support card activity, and focus on some of the major talking points heading into the race.