2011 Malaysian Grand Prix The Malaysian Grand Prix

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

Sebastian Vettel arrives at his pole position slot on the grid.

Many cars are passing through the pits for an additional lap to the grid so the drivers can feel out the track conditions.

Heavy showers hit the Sepang circuit very early this morning, but the track dried out quickly in such high temperatures.

Since then, it has remained overcast with threatening skies and there is a high chance of another storm in the next couple of hours. The local radar shows a large band of storm cells and they are closing in on the circuit.

These storms are trending westwards all the time and it is very likely that we will see the incredible action that comes with a transition from dry to wet during the race.

Temperatures are still high, with a maximum ambient of 31 degrees, while the cloud cover will keep the track surface cool today.

The pitlane is now open for the drivers to head around to the grid.

Malaysia

Hello everyone and welcome to AUTOSPORT Live for coverage of round two of the 2011 FIA Formula 1 world championship - the Malaysian Grand Prix from the Sepang F1 Circuit.

Championship leader Sebastian Vettel grabbed a sensational pole position yesterday to deny Lewis Hamilton in a close and exciting qualifying session, with Mark Webber and Jenson Button in close attendance.

But the most positive news to come from the session was the gap between the top four drivers - 0.330 seconds. This sets us up for what should be a tense battle in the dry, but of course rain is likely and chaos is usually guaranteed when the afternoon storms occur.

Anything could happen this afternoon from great racing to red flags. All will be revealed over the next two-and-a-half hours as the Malaysian Grand Prix blasts off with a full 24-car grid.