2010 Monaco Grand Prix Race day in Monaco

Bruno Senna is among those on a lap to the grid quite early in the HRT. He starts today from 22nd position.

Cars stream out of the pitlane including Massa's Ferrari and Hamilton in the McLaren.

The pitlane is now open for the the drivers to make their way around to the grid.

During the next 15 minutes, they have several jobs to undertake. Support races earlier this morning will have changed the grip levels, so each driver will want to quickly ascertain how hard he can push when it comes to the early laps of the race.

They will also check basic functions such the gearbox, drinks bottle and the all-important team radio.

The pitlane closes at 11:45 GMT. Any car not on the grid by then will be required to start from the pits, giving Alonso a playmate.

Soft tyres could be fragile here

Soft tyres could be fragile here © Sutton
The top ten drivers will be starting on the set of super-soft tyres used in qualifying yesterday and their engineers will no doubt be concerned about how long Bridgestone's softest tyre will hold up.

Things were getting tricky for all but race winner Jenson Button last year on the softer tyres, so a relatively early stop will be planned to switch to the harder rubber.

Those in the second half of the field may try starting on the harder tyre, running longer than the cars in front before making the mandatory switch to soft tyres when track grip has improved.

Safety car interventions will also be on the mind of race engineers throughout the field. If the big Mercedes is deployed, it opens up the possibility of some strategy tricks - even the option of diving into the pits twice to put in a single lap on the soft tyres.

Alonso is the man to watch from the back

Alonso is the man to watch from the back © Sutton
Continuing our look at the starting positions, we turn attention to the second half of the field. Obviously Alonso springs to mind instantly for some early entertainment.

As we mentioned earlier, Hamilton wasn't able to produce the Monaco magic last year, but Alonso does have a slight chance of scoring points when you look at the drivers ahead of him.

The six new team drivers should prove to be easy pickings for the Spaniard, but after that he also has in sight four drivers who are making their Monaco debut in the big class - Alguersuari, Kobayashi, Petrov and Hulkenberg.

Each could be prone to rookie mistakes and a safety car or two during the race could really boost Alonso's chances of scoring a top eight finish.

Back in 2006, Michael Schumacher managed fifth from the back of the grid and was only 1.6 seconds away from David Coulthard's third-place Red Bull.

Kubica could spoil the Red Bull party

Kubica could spoil the Red Bull party © Sutton
The run to Ste Devote will be key to the outcome of the race, as we take a look at the front end of the grid.

If Mark Webber ends up with a clear track ahead of him going up the hill on the first lap, then the Australian has a golden opportunity to build a lead with Kubica possibly holding up others behind him in the early stages. Red Bull's dominant form make the team clear title favourites and Webber will be very keen to gain the upper hand in the points battle over team-mate Vettel.

But if Kubica - who is on sensational form here, extracting the most from a car that is normally slower than all those around him - hooks up a brilliant start then we could be set for a really entertaining first stint of the race - just as we had in 2002 - with the field stacking up and jostling for position behind him.

The drivers behind the front row pair will certainly be hoping that Kubica manages to get past Webber to keep them close to the lead battle, giving a chance for positions to change at the pitstops.

Further down, Barrichello and Liuzzi qualified very well yesterday and could pick up the pieces from any first lap tangles. However, if lap one is clean then these two have points positions to defend against the likes of Hulkenberg and Sutil.

Alonso's chances were dented by his Saturday crash

Alonso's chances were ruined by his Saturday crash © Sutton
For two years running, the driver that has looked untouchable round the houses on Thursday and set for pole position has crashed on Saturday, ending their hopes of victory in dramatic fashion.

Last year, Lewis Hamilton was the man to beat going into qualifying. He was supreme in all three practice sessions and was a strong tip for pole heading into the knockout session.

But, just minutes into the first phase, he lost control approaching the Mirabeau corner, rear-ending his McLaren into the armco barriers. His session was over there and then, leaving him to start in a lowly 20th position. His aggressive strategy in the race failed to pay off and he spent much of the afternoon stuck in traffic, eventually finishing out of the points in 12th position.

This year a similar situation has ruined Alonso's weekend. Fastest in both Thursday practice sessions, he was clearly the top dog going into Saturday morning practice. But the Massenet shunt and the broken F10 chassis left him with no chance to qualify. A start from the pitlane beckons and one can only wonder how far he can move forward in the race today.

Here's how the grid will line up this afternoon: Pos Driver Team 1. Webber Red Bull-Renault 2. Kubica Renault 3. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 4. Massa Ferrari 5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 6. Rosberg Mercedes 7. Schumacher Mercedes 8. Button McLaren-Mercedes 9. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 10. Liuzzi Force India-Mercedes 11. Hulkenberg Williams-Cosworth 12. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 13. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 14. Petrov Renault 15. de la Rosa Sauber-Ferrari 16. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 17. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 18. Kovalainen Lotus-Cosworth 19. Trulli Lotus-Cosworth 20. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 21. di Grassi Virgin-Cosworth 22. Senna HRT-Cosworth 23. Chandhok HRT-Cosworth 24. Alonso Ferrari * * Pitlane start due to change of chassis

The final piece of pre-race action took place a short time ago, as the traditional drivers' parade weaved its way through the streets of the principality.

As usual, all eyes were on the hairpin as the flatbed HGV made its way down the hill towards the slowest and tightest corner in grand prix racing. Once again the driver skillfully made it round the 180 degree left-hander without any trouble.

Down by the harbour the fans watched on as the parade finished opposite the Rascasse cafe. The drivers then made their way back to the team hospitality units to mentally prepare themselves for a long afternoon ahead.

Red Bull-backed Daniel Ricciardo stormed to victory in this morning's round of the Formula Renault 3.5 series in Monaco. The Australian fended off Mikhail Aleshin at Ste Devote from the start and quickly built up a commanding lead. The Russian did close that gap in the last few laps, but it was too little, too late and Ricciardo celebrated an impressive win in front of the Formula 1 fraternity.

Spainard Albert Costa took the final podium place while the other Red Bull junior driver, Brendon Hartley, stormed through from eighth on the grid to finish fourth. Though ragged at times, Hartley's dispatch of Filip Salaquarda, Sten Pentus and Alexander Rossi - who crashed out late in the race under pressure from Hartley - provided much of the entertainment in an otherwise processional affair.

Rast led home the Supercup field

Rast led home the Supercup field © Sutton
Rene Rast converted pole position into a momentous win as he took the flag in the latest round of the Porsche Supercup earlier this morning

While championship leader Jeroen Bleekemolen qualified a disappointing ninth, brother Sebastiaan was a promising third on the grid. Unfortunately, both he and second place starter Sascha Maassen were judged to have jumped the start, promoting a fast-starting Nick Tandy and fellow Brit Sean Edwards in to the top three.

The stewards intervention continued later in the race as both Edwards and Sebastiaan Bleekemolen picked up penalties for cutting the circuit. Both fell back, leaving Jaap van Lagen to take the final podium place from Stefan Rosina, Alessandro Zampedri and Jeroen Bleekemolen.

The Porsche Supercup now takes another lengthy break before returning to the support bill around the streets of Valencia in late June.

Fans on the hillside in Monaco

Fans on the hillside in Monaco © 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 win the Monaco Grand Prix? Does anyone outside the top three on the grid have a chance?

• Jenson Button could lose the championship lead today if he doesn't finish on the podium. Can the Briton get onto the rostrum and protect his points lead from eighth on the grid?

• How will Fernando Alonso get on, starting from the pitlane? Do you think he can make 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.

Following three days of forecasts giving a risk of showers in the afternoon, we finally have no such threat and a dry race to look forward to.

Conditions have become a little more cloudy in the last hour, but we expect the length sunny periods to come back as we move towards the race start.

We could see the warmest day out of the four today, with a top temperature of 22 degrees expected.

Webber stormed to a second successive pole

Webber stormed to a second successive pole © Sutton
Mark Webber claimed back-to-back pole positions yesterday with a great lap round the Monte Carlo streets, but the performance of the day went to his front-row starting rival, Robert Kubica.

The final battle for pole was intriguing and extremely enjoyable, but headlines had been created well before the shootout thanks to Fernando Alonso.

The Spaniard, lying second in the world championship, threw away his chances of victory in the final practice session on Saturday morning in the Massenet barriers. It was an intense moment as he climbed out of the battered Ferrari F10. During the break between sessions, the mechanics realised that the chassis was damaged and, with no spare cars allowed in the regulations these days, it quickly became clear that Alonso wouldn't be able to qualify.

Alonso concedes race chances very slim

With the double world champion out of the picture, the elimination list for Q1 became very predictable - although Heikki Kovalainen did give it a really good shot in a bid to take Lotus into Q2 for only the second time.

The second phase was the usual tight affair. Jenson Button was the man to watch as he struggled with his McLaren MP4-25. Eventually the Briton secured his place in the final ten-minute shootout, but Hulkenberg, Sutil, Buemi, Petrov, De la Rosa, Kobayashi and Alguersuari all failed to make the cut.

Rubens Barrichello and Tonio Liuzzi did make the showdown, but could do little against the might of the top teams, so ninth and tenth was predictable for the pair.

Up front, Kubica pounded round and round as he used the full ten minutes to get his tyres up to temperature and set a succession of fast laps. But suddenly both Red Bull drivers came to the fore. Webber was on sensational form, pipping the Pole in the dying moments with 1m13.826s. Vettel wound up third, with Massa fourth, Hamilton fifth and a very disappointed Nico Rosberg in sixth place.

Webber flies to Monaco GP pole

Race day in Monaco

Race day in Monaco © Sutton
Hello everyone and welcome to AUTOSPORT Live for coverage of round six of the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

Just one week on from Mark Webber's dominant victory at Montmelo, the sport has travelled 490 km along the Mediterranean coastline to the jewel in the crown - the 68th Grand Prix De Monaco.

We have a fantastic grid line-up for today's race. Neutrals watching on will hope that Robert Kubica can take the lead off the start, because that would encourage a close battle and bunching of cars at the front, certainly in the early stages.

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.