2011 Belgian Grand Prix The Belgian Grand Prix

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Williams counters Petrov's forecast and expects no rain during the race.

Button

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Hazy sunshine is trying to break through the cloud base, but with little success so far. Vitaly Petrov expects some drizzle in the second half of the race.

Tense times on the grid as the leading teams worry about how the tyres will perform this afternoon, along with that slight chance of rain.

A large crowd gathered around Spa rises to respect the Belgian national anthem, as it plays out over the circuit's public address system.

The pitlane is now closed. Any car not on the grid by now will have to start today's 44-lap event from the pitlane exit.

Vettel

With a chronic lack of dry weather running so far this weekend, teams are facing a step into the unknown on tyre performance, even if the rain does stay away.

After running a lengthy stint in the final qualifying segment, those making the top 10 shootout - completed on a cold and green track surface - have heavily degraded rubbrer compared to a normal weekend. Forced to start the race on the exact tyres used in Q3, leading drivers could be heavily compromised by badly damaged rubber from the final part of the knockout session.

Controversy spread across the Spa paddock this morning as some teams - Red Bull in particular - lobbied to have the front tyres, blistered yesterday, replaced, leading Pirelli to bring additional rubber into the circuit. The FIA has since denied that request, meaning Q3 drivers will be on compromised tyres from the start today.

Teams have little data to feed their complex strategy models, so consensus varies on the best way to approach the race. At least two stops will be needed if it stays dry, with teams reacting on the fly to the level of degradation observed. Using all three sets of soft rubber is theoretically faster, but little is known about the durability of the tyres here after such rain-compromised practice sessions.

Teams' request for new tyres for Belgian Grand Prix denied

Bernie Ecclestone is on the grid today after flying in from daughter Petra's wedding in Rome.

Jenson Button is pushed into his lowly 13th grid slot, but has a lot of potential to move forwards with his gentle use of the Pirelli rubber

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

Petrov is the next man to arrive on the grid, with the Renault pushed into 10th place by his mechanics.

Polesitter Sebastian Vettel arrives at the front of the grid. Webber is also pushed towards the second row.

Here's a reminder of the standings just after the half-way point of the season: World Championship standings, round 11: Drivers: Constructors: 1. Vettel 234 1. Red Bull-Renault 383 2. Webber 149 2. McLaren-Mercedes 280 3. Hamilton 146 3. Ferrari 215 4. Alonso 145 4. Mercedes 80 5. Button 134 5. Renault 66 6. Massa 70 6. Sauber-Ferrari 35

FIA president Jean Todt is patrolling the pitlane as the cars rush past him, through the pitlane and back out onto the circuit.

Weather

A sunny start over Wallonia this morning was very welcome following two days of cloud and rain and the track surface was completely dry by the end of the GP2 sprint race.

Since then, sunny intervals have continued, but a bank of cloud and light rain is building to the west and the southern edge of this band may clip Spa, heightening today's drama still further.

Temperatures are cool with a maximum of just 17 degrees Celsius expected with a stiff 20 kmh breeze blowing from the south-west.

The pitlane is now open for the drivers to make their reconnaissance laps to the grid.