2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Lap 1: Vettel is recovering back to the circuit with a right rear puncture.

Lap 1: But amazingly Vettel is off the road out of shot at Turn 2!

Lap 1: Vettel gets a good start and leads Hamilton and then Button into Turn 1.

Lap 1: The five red lights go out and we are racing at Yas Marina!

The front few rows are in position and the field is forming up well. Standby for blast off. We await the lights ...

Round the final corner and Vettel heads for the grid. He does a couple of burnouts on his way to pole position.

The pack begins to wind its way through the Yas Hotel section and Vettel begins to slow them down to keep the bunch tight.

Senna and Kobayashi are also attempting an early stint on Pirelli's medium compound rubber.

Vettel leads them down the long back straight towards Turn 8 as they weave from side to side in an effort to keep up tyre temperature.

Di Resta has the harder tyres on his car as the Force India team try another strategy gamble with the Scot.

All 24 cars have left the grid and they begin to settle in for what we hope will be an exciting race today.

The formation lap begins at Yas Marina. Vettel answers the call and leads the field of 24 away from the dummy grid.

The engines fire with a minute to the formation lap.

A final blast of cool air is pumped towards Alonso's cockpit, keeping him as cool as possible.

Mark Webber is sitting aboard his RB7, gloves resting on the front of the cockpit, waiting until the last moment to put them on.

Track temperature has cooled to 31 degrees Celsius, as the drivers go through their final preparations ahead of this evening's 55-lap race.

There is just five minutes to go until the formation lap begins at Yas Island.

The FIA has extended first DRS zone overnight, allowing even more distance to drag alongside a car down the long back straight.

Two DRS zones are available, allowing the chasing driver's wing to open down both of the long straights in the first half of the lap.

Hopes are high for DRS to improve the chances of overtaking around this venue, which has suffered from processional events in the past.

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Brazilian footballing legend Ronaldo is on the grid, sampling the atmosphere at Yas Marina before the race.

Sebastian Vettel makes his way back towards the grid, with a damp towel draped round his neck to keep body temperature down.

The spectators rise in unison to respect the United Arab Emirates national anthem, as it rings out around Yas Marina's public address system.

The pitlane is now closed. Any driver not on the grid by now will have to start from the pit exit, once the field has taken the lights.

An atmosphere of calm on the grid, with today's strategy relatively straightforward and no chance of rain here.

As the sun begins to lower in the sky, the drivers have stepped out of their cars to keep cool ahead of the start.

Here's how the grid will line up this evening: THE GRID Pos Driver Team 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 4. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 9. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 10. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 11. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 12. Vitaly Petrov Renault 13. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 14. Bruno Senna Renault 15. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Roosso-Ferrari 16. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 17. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 18. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 19. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 20. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 21. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 22. Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 23. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth * 24. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth * * 10-place penalty for use of ninth engine

Weather conditions are once again fine and dry with strong sunshine throughout the day and temperatures rising to 27 degrees Celsius.

Sunset is due around 19 laps into this evening's race and then the artificial lighting system will take over as darkness descends over the 5.554km circuit, while a light westerly breeze will continue to blow.

Lewis Hamilton is making his way around the circuit to take up second place on the grid.

Michael Schumacher makes his way round to take up eighth position.

Today's polesitter Sebastian Vettel is en route to the grid. He will be desperate to keep the McLaren pair behind him in the opening laps.

Here's how the points add up heading into the penultimate race of 2011: World Championship standings, round 17: Drivers: Constructors: 1. Vettel 374 1. Red Bull-Renault 595 2. Button 240 2. McLaren-Mercedes 442 3. Alonso 227 3. Ferrari 325 4. Webber 221 4. Mercedes 145 5. Hamilton 202 5. Renault 72 6. Massa 98 6. Force India-Mercedes 51 7. Rosberg 75 7. Sauber-Ferrari 41 8. Schumacher 70 8. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 41

Many cars heading for a single lap to the grid today, with no position to make a practice start from the unique underground pit exit.

The pitlane is now open, allowing drivers to join the track and check over the basic functions of their cars before the start of the race.