2011 Spanish Grand Prix The Spanish Grand Prix
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Lap 7: Just over two seconds cover the top four, meaning the first man to pit could potentially undercut the leader.
Lap 6: Buemi is losing ground to Button rather quickly. He is in 10th with Perez, Alguersuari, Maldonado and di Resta all close behind him.
Lap 6: Petrov is somewhat on his own in a solid fifth, with Schumacher starting to form a train of Rosberg, Massa and the newly-released Button.
Lap 6: Button has passed Buemi for ninth into Turn 5. Buemi is now beginning to hold up several cars behind him.
Lap 5: Alonso's lead is 0.8s but Vettel is too far back to make a DRS pass this time. Webber and Hamilton are right with the lead group.
Lap 5: Nick Heidfeld has made good progress in the opening stages. He is up to 17th and chasing the two Lotus T128s.
Lap 5: Schumacher also got a great launch, slicing past several cars through the opening corners. He is now sixth, chased by Rosberg and Massa.
Lap 4: Replays show Alonso following Vettel off the start before diving for the lead as the Red Bull pair squabbled for position.
Lap 4: Replays of the start show that Button took a cautious line on the outside and the front-runners sailed past him into the first corner.
Lap 4: Kovalainen has lost out to his team-mate Trulli in the early stages and they run in 15th and 16th.
Lap 3: Big movers: Button down to 10th, Schumacher up to sixth, Buemi up to ninth and Maldonado has lost four places in 13th.
Lap 3: Vettel sets the fastest second lap and is right on the gearbox of the leading Ferrari.
Lap 2: Kobayashi is into the pits at the end of the first lap with a puncture. He takes on hard tyres and is away at the rear of the field.
Lap 2: DRS will become available on the next lap for the blast down the long main straight.
Lap 2: Alonso charges into the second lap with a 0.7 second lead over the Red Bull pair.
Lap 2: Button has made a terrible start and has slid down the order to 10th on the opening lap.
Lap 1: Around Campsa for the first time it is the rapid-starting Alonso from Vettel, Webber, Hamilton and Petrov. The crowd are delighted!
Lap 1: The crowd goes nuts as Alonso gets the inside to lead from the Red Bulls. No contact in the first corners.
Lap 1: Webber gets a solid start but covers Vettel and that lets home hero Alonso through to a sensational lead at Turn 1.
Lap 1: The five lights go out and we are racing in Spain!
All 24 cars are in position. We await the lights ...
The front three rows are in position and the field is taking a long time to form up behind them.
Webber slows the pack down to bunch them up. He then makes his way towards pole position.
The leading cars come through Turn 10 and head towards the slower section of corners towards the end of the lap.
The noise rises as Webber winds his way through Turn 6 and starts the climb towards Campsa corner.
Heidfeld has a fresh set of hard tyres on his Renault and is a man to watch from the back of the grid.
Schumacher has chosen the softer tyre for his first stint.
The formation lap begins and Mark Webber leads the field away from the grid.
The engines fire with a minute to the formation lap.
Polesitter Mark Webber is leaving his gloves off until the last possible moment.
AUTOSPORT understands Vettel's KERS issue in qualifying yesterday was a water cooling problem that led to it automatically shuting down.
Nick Heidfeld gives a thumbs up to his race engineer, to signal that he is good to go and up for a long fight from the back of the grid.
Air temperature has exceeded expectations, rising to 27 Celsius, while the track surface is currently 32 degrees.
Alonso is getting seated in his Ferrari, with the home hero starting from his best grid slot of the season in fourth.
There are just five minutes to go until the formation lap begins at the Circuit de Catalunya.
Many of the drivers are keeping cool with damp or even ice-packed towels wrapped round their necks, as temperatures continue to climb.
Vettel tells the BBC that his KERS "should be fine" after repairs overnight to the Red Bull system.
The safety car is yet to see action in an F1 race this year but has been regularly deployed so far this weekend in crash-prone support races
Maldonado
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.
• What will happen at Turn 1? Vettel will of course want to assert himself as 'the main man' in the team, but Webber cannot afford to give up track position at the start.
• Assuming the two RB7s make it to the end of the race, who is your bet to complete the podium this afternoon? Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button are set to battle it out.
• Pastor Maldonado produced a great lap to qualify ninth. Can he get Williams on the board with a top 10 finish?
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 last 10 grands prix here have been won from pole, but the 2011 formula gives the best possible chance of that run being broken today.
By: Emlyn Hughes, Geoff Creighton
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