2011 Brazilian Grand Prix The Brazilian Grand Prix

Lap 3: Petrov is into 12th and Kobayashi has passed Buemi for 13th place. Perez is 15th with Kovalainen 16th and Alguersuari down in 17th.

Lap 3: Vettel's lead is a huge 2.2 seconds after a fastest second lap, with Button and Alonso now close behind Webber in the fight for second.

Lap 3: Button now has Alonso all over the back of his McLaren, while Hamilton continues to tail the Spaniard after losing out at the first corner.

Lap 2: Schumacher slices up the inside of di Resta and takes the position at Turn 1, then fends off a retaliation attempt by the Scot into Turn 4.

Lap 2: Massa has made a good start and runs sixth with Rosberg seventh, Sutil eighth, Senna ninth, di Resta 10th and Schumacher 11th.

Lap 2: Vettel storms away to a 1.1 second lead over Webber at the end of the first lap.

Lap 1: So Alonso was again the big winner off the start, demoting Hamilton to fifth and taking fourth in his Ferrari.

Lap 1: Through the middle part of the first lap it is Vettel from Webber, Button, Alonso and Hamilton.

Lap 1: Vettel gets away very well but Webber and Button are side by side into Turn 1. Webber holds second from the Briton.

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

The front few rows are in position now with the rest forming up nicely. We await the lights ...

Vettel slows the field down to bunch them all up, before taking up his pole position starting slot.

Round Juncao they come and up the hill towards the starting grid.

Vettel now brings the pack round the tight infield section, before dropping downhill through Mergulho.

He rounds the Curva do Sol and starts the charge down the back straight and all 24 cars have got away.

Soft tyres are the choice of the entire field for the first stint.

The formation lap begins at Interlagos and Vettel leads the pack away from the grid.

The engines fire with a minute to the formation lap.

Vettel looks calm and collected on the grid, as he waits until the last possible moment to put his driving gloves on.

Schumacher is told on the Mercedes team radio that the chance of rain in the next 20 minutes has actually reduced.

The track remains dry for now, with teams now wheeling huge numbers of wet tyres off the grid.

Track temperature is up at 46 degrees Celsius as the drivers make their final preparations ahead of the race start.

There are just five minutes to go until the formation lap begins at Interlagos.

A single DRS zone is available this afternoon, with the wing able to open on the back straight from the Curva do Sol to Descida do Lago.

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Alonso is once again fifth on the grid in his Ferrari and is one to watch off the start after some rapid launches this season.

The McLaren pair start on the second row, with the team hoping a straight-line speed advantage can take the fight to the Red Bulls today.

A packed crowd at Interlagos rises to fervently sing the Brazilian national anthem, as it is played out over the 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.

Sebastian Vettel has stepped out of his car after taking up the pole position slot.

Here's how the final grid of 2011 will line up: Pos Driver Team 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 3. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 7. Felipe Massa Ferrari 8. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 9. Bruno Senna Renault 10. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 11. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 12. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 13. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 14. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 15. Vitaly Petrov Renault 16. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 17. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 18. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 20. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 21. Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 22. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 23. Jerome d'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 24. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth

Alonso's Ferrari arrives on a tense grid, with teams preparing for rain to fall at any time.

Massa, wearing a special helmet to celebrate his 100th Ferrari start, makes his way through the twisting middle of the lap and to the grid.

A sunny start to the day has gradually turned overcast and clouds have been threatening for the last hour. Convection has built up across areas to the south and east of Sao Paulo and showers are expected this afternoon, although the sun is holding on in short spells.

With a lot of cloud cover, air temperature is down on the peak values from Friday and Saturday, with a maximum of 24 degrees Celsius and a moderate southerly wind.

Here's how things stand in the points, heading into the final race of 2011: World Championship standings, round 18: Drivers: Constructors: 1. Vettel 374 1. Red Bull-Renault 607 2. Button 255 2. McLaren-Mercedes 482 3. Alonso 245 3. Ferrari 353 4. Webber 233 4. Mercedes 159 5. Hamilton 227 5. Renault 72 6. Massa 108 6. Force India-Mercedes 57 7. Rosberg 83 7. Sauber-Ferrari 42 8. Schumacher 76 8. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 41

Massa and Alonso head out of the Ferrari garage for their laps to the grid.

Nico Rosberg rolls down the pitlane and onto the track, to check out the condition of his Mercedes before the start of the race.