2011 Chinese Grand Prix The Chinese Grand Prix

Lap 3: Di Resta is up to a fine seventh with Force India team-mate Sutil tailing him. Schumacher is ninth, Alguersuari 10th and Kobayashi 11th.

Lap 2: Petrov launches into Turn 14 and locks up heavily. He sails wide, losing ninth to Schumacher. Alguersuari and Kobayashi also sneak through.

Lap 2: Button leads into lap two by 1.3 seconds from team-mate Hamilton as Vettel looks to fight back from his slow getaway in third.

Lap 1: Schumacher has made a solid start and is up to 10th but Webber has had another difficult start. He is only 17th as the first lap continues.

Lap 1: Into the middle part of the lap it is Button from Hamilton, the slow-starting Vettel and a scrap between Rosberg, Massa and Alonso.

Lap 1: Vettel drops the hammer but he gets a poor start! He is engulfed by both McLarens into Turns 1 and 2.

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

Vettel brings the Red Bull to a stop and the front few rows are forming up nicely. We await the lights ...

Meantime, the HRT duo are only now rounding Turn 14.

Round the final corner and Vettel begins to slow the pace down to bring the field close in behind him.

Vettel rounds Turn 13 and begins the long run down the back straight.

Webber is told on the team radio that several drivers immediately ahead of him on the grid are starting on the soft compound tyre.

Red Bull believe Webber's KERS is working today, at least for the start, but he has a lot to do from down in 18th.

Mark Webber gets away from 18th position as Vettel leads the pack through Turn 7.

Hamilton's car appears to be up and running, with the earlier problem resolved.

The formation lap begins at Shanghai and polesitter Sebastian Vettel leads the field of 24 away from the grid.

The engines fire with a minute to the formation lap.

A large crowd has filled the grandstands on the pit straight and into Turn 1 in the last hour or so. Suddenly it looks packed.

Hamilton's car is fully re-assembled, and the team will now be hoping it fires up on command at the minute-to-go mark.

All 24 made it to the grid - eventually - and we are primed for an electrifying start. Webber stares straight ahead as he gets into race mode.

The formation lap for the Chinese Grand Prix is now just five minutes away.

McLaren has told the BBC that the air filter was flooded with fuel on Hamilton's car, meaning the engine was unable to start.

Tyres

Two stops looks to be the most likely strategy this afternoon, with tyre degradation nothing like that of Malaysia thanks to a very different track surface and lower temperatures.

Drivers with fresh rubber remaining from their six sets of tyres allocated for qualifying and the race may be at an advantage if they can stop before on-track rivals and get in a flying lap when the rubber is at its best. Hamilton has a set of fresh soft tyres in the McLaren garage after only making one Q3 attempt, while Webber has all his soft Pirellis left following his early elimination.

With several high-speed corners at this circuit and warmer conditions today, it might be a struggle to make just one pitstop - even for outfits like Sauber and Toro Rosso that have proven to be relatively easy on their Pirellis.

Three stops are even a possibility for some drivers with the warmer temperatures today.

Work continues on Hamilton's car as the team rush to wrap up repairs to the McLaren.

Fans

Motor racing fans 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.

• The big question is whether one or both McLarens can get ahead of Vettel at the start. Do you think this holds the key to an exciting race?

• Alguersuari, di Resta and Buemi all put in superb qualifying performances to start inside the top 10. Can they stay there?

• Schumacher, Barrichello, Heidfeld and Webber all start down the field. How many from this group will come through to score points today?

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.

Hamilton's car is pushed through the crowds on the grid.

The McLaren team will now have some time to finish its work on Hamilton's car once he arrives on the grid.

The spectators in the main grandstand rise in unison to respect the Chinese national anthem, as it is played out over the public address system.

Hamilton makes it out of the pitlane with seconds to spare.

The pitlane has closed. Any car not out of the lane by now will be required to start today's 56-lap race from the pitlane, after the field has left the grid.

The bodywork is flung on Hamilton's car and the team is trying to get it out of the pitlane in the next 30 seconds.

Hamilton's McLaren is fired up but the airbox and bodywork are all removed with just two minutes until the pitlane closes.

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

The work is becoming increasingly more frantic in the McLaren garage as the team rushes to try and fix Hamilton's car before the pits close.

A problem appears to have cropped up on Hamilton's car and the mechanics are working under the engine cover in his garage.

Vettel arrives on the grid and is pushed towards pole position.

Following two days of dull and uninspiring weather, the sun finally appeared this morning, lifting everyone's spirits ahead of the race.

There will be some light patches of cloud around towards the end of the event, but it should remain sunny for the duration and this will raise track temperatures to over 30 degrees. The wind source has switched round to a southerly since the end of qualifying and the warmer air source has helped air temperature up to this afternoon's maximum of 19 Celsius, although the breeze will be light.

Hamilton leaves the McLaren garage for the trip around to his third place grid slot.

Mark Webber is already on the grid. The Australian faces a difficult race today from 18th place.

Polesitter Sebastian Vettel heads out on what he hopes is a positive afternoon.