2011 Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix

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

The cars slowly form up behind Vettel and it is a long hold for the polesitter. We await the lights ...

A power steering problem for Button would give the McLaren man a very difficult afternoon around here.

Vettel brings the RB7 onto pole position but the HRTs aren't even at La Rascasse yet.

Button tells his team that his steering feels "really heavy".

There is a large gap between the top three and the rest of the pack, as Vettel rounds Anthony Noghes and heads towards the grid.

As ever, the DRS will be disabled during the first two racing laps.

Through the tunnel and out onto the waterfront, Vettel guides his Red Bull round towards the completion of the lap.

No problems on the grid and Vettel leads the pack round Casino Square towards the Mirabeau.

After having his Q3 time deleted, Hamilton is rolling the strategy dice by starting on the harder tyres.

The formation lap begins at Monaco and polesitter Sebastian Vettel leads the field of 23 away from the start line.

The engines fire with a minute to the formation lap.

Down the field, Jaime Alguersuari is also slightly out of position, and will be looking to get past the Lotus duo in the early stages.

Lewis Hamilton will be one to watch at the start from ninth. His first target will be Pastor Maldonado's Williams.

All 23 cars made it to the grid without problem and track temperature is up at 42 degrees Celsius.

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

A lot of work has been carried out on Michael Schumacher's car since he arrived on the grid. The German will start from fifth today.

Safety car

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.

• Who will get the jump off the line and into Ste. Devote? You have to think that we will see a more exciting early phase of the race if Button manages to snatch the lead.

• The safety car has not featured in any of the five races thus far in the 2011 campaign. Will we see the Mercedes used today?

• How many do you think will be classified at the end of the race?

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.

The grid is slowly clearing, leaving the mechanics working to get the drivers comfortable in their cars.

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Drivers begin to return to the grid after taking a break from the chaotic throng surrounding the cars.

The crowd around the principality rises to respect the Monaco national anthem, as it plays out over the public address system.

The pits are now closed. Any driver not on the grid by now, will be required to start behind the rest of the field.

McLaren chairman Ron Dennis is among the crowd surrounding the team's cars on the grid.

Tyres

So far this week, F1's strategists have been somewhat surprised by the relatively low tyre degradation from the softest end of Pirelli's compound range.

One stop is even being considered as a viable strategy in some teams, although most feel two changes of rubber will be the quickest way to make the flag. The big worry is traffic, with early stoppers desperately hoping they don't feed out of the pits into a train of slower cars.

The harder tyre looks to provide the best compromise between speed and durability, so look for the front runners switching to the prime compound after completing the first stint on the super soft rubber used in qualifying.

The safety car is yet to intervene in an F1 race this season, despite extensive use in chaotic support events. An untimely deployment could ruin even the perfect strategy, so expect to see a dramatic rush for the pitlane if it does emerge today.

Cars are now in place on the confined grid, which as ever here is bustling with VIP guests.

Here is the grid line-up for today's race: Pos Driver Team 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 5. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 8. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 9. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes * 10. Vitaly Petrov Renault 11. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 12. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 13. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 14. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 15. Nick Heidfeld Renault 16. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 17. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 18. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 19. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 20. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 21. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 22. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 23. Tonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth * Q3 time deleted for cutting the chicane

Conditions are brilliant once again, with clear skies and strong sunshine to round off a perfect Monaco weekend.

Air temperature has reached the maximum of 24 Celsius and with just a light breeze from the south, that should translate into a track temperature of around 42 degrees.

Lewis Hamilton passes through the pitlane and back out onto the circuit to begin a second tour.

Here's a reminder of the standings after five rounds: World Championship standings, round 5: Drivers: Constructors: 1. Vettel 118 1. Red Bull-Renault 185 2. Hamilton 77 2. McLaren-Mercedes 138 3. Webber 67 3. Ferrari 75 4. Button 61 4. Renault 46 5. Alonso 51 5. Mercedes 40 6. Rosberg 26 6. Sauber-Ferrari 11

Most of the drivers are already heading out for a lap around the circuit, feeling out the grip levels that may have changed overnight.

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

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Hello everyone and welcome to AUTOSPORT live for coverage of round six in the 2011 FIA Formula 1 world championship - the Monaco Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel came through a difficult qualifying session yesterday to claim the 20th pole of his career ahead of Jenson Button and Mark Webber, but all eyes were on Sauber's Sergio Perez in the final segment, as he suffered a horrifying crash at the chicane that brought back memories of Karl Wendlinger in 1994.

Thankfully, the Mexican emerged largely unscathed from the incident, but the FIA doctors have sensibly prevented him from taking part in today's race, leaving Kamui Kobayashi as the team's sole representative this afternoon.

Lewis Hamilton will start from a lowly ninth position on the grid after a disappointing performance in qualifying. Disrupted by the red flags, he couldn't get a good lap together - but worse was to come. His Q3 time was later deleted by the FIA stewards, as he had missed the chicane on his only flying lap.

Neither HRT driver took part in qualifying. Tonio Liuzzi crashed in final practice and Narain Karthikeyan suffered a suspension problem, but both have been allowed to start by the FIA as they had posted satisfactory lap times in practice.