2012 European Grand Prix The European Grand Prix

The formation lap begins and Vettel answers the call. He leads the field away from the grid.

The engines fire with a minute to the formation lap.

Initial indications are that Schumacher, Perez, Vergne and Webber will be starting on the medium compound rubber.

Maldonado takes a sip from an extra drinks bottle, taking on the final millilitres of liquid before this hot and tough race gets underway.

Just five minutes remaining until the formation lap begins at Valencia.

Track temperature is a roasting 45c as final preparations continue on the grid.

Tyres

Teams face the challenge of racing Pirelli's medium and soft compound tyres today, competing on a very smooth surface that is aggressive on the rubber and baking in the hot Mediterranean sunshine.

Two stops looks like the best strategy bet, however an extremely short pitlane means three changes of tyres can't be ruled out if drivers are struggling to keep the rubber alive.

Lotus is once again tipped for strong race pace after posting ultra-consistent times in Friday practice, with the team's potential boosted by good grid positions and today's high temperatures.

One DRS zone available here, with the gap detected just before the swing bridge, allowing the chasing driver's wing to open down to Turn 12.

Here's how the grid will line up today: Driver Team/Car 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 3. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 4. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 5. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 6. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 7. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 8. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 9. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 10. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 11. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 12. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 13. Felipe Massa Ferrari 14. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 15. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 16. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 17. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 18. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 19. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 20. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 21. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 22. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 23. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth

Weather conditions are warm and dry with plenty of sunshine for this afternoon's encounter. It will be a tough race for the drivers, with air temperature up to 30 degrees and a maximum track surface reading approaching 48 Celsius.

A light easterly breeze will do little to cool down the drivers or spectators as the afternoon wears on.

Down to 23 cars on the grid today, with Marussia's Timo Glock ruled out while he recovers from an intestinal infection:

Glock to miss Valencia race through illness

Here's how things stand after seven races:World Championship standings, round 7: Drivers: Constructors: 1. Hamilton 88 1. Red Bull-Renault 164 2. Alonso 86 2. McLaren-Mercedes 133 3. Vettel 85 3. Lotus-Renault 108 4. Webber 79 4. Ferrari 97 5. Rosberg 67 5. Mercedes 69 6. Raikkonen 55 6. Sauber-Ferrari 58 7. Grosjean 53 7. Williams-Renault 44 8. Button 45 8. Force India-Mercedes 28

Vettel, Valencia 2012

Hello everyone and welcome to AUTOSPORT Live for coverage of round eight in the 2012 FIA Formula 1 world championship - the European Grand Prix from Valencia.

Sebastian Vettel claimed the 33rd pole position of his career yesterday with a sensational 1m38.086s lap to put daylight between himself and fellow front row starter Lewis Hamilton. The grid is tightly packed behind the German, with the next eight cars covered by less than six-tenths of a second.

Spanish Grand Prix winner Pastor Maldonado is a sensational third, with Romain Grosjean fourth and looking to extend the run of different winners at the beginning of a season to eight. Then we have the other Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen and Nico Rosberg on the third row of the grid.

Other notables down the field include Jenson Button in ninth, Fernando Alonso racing in front of his home crowd from 11th, Michael Schumacher 12th and Felipe Massa edged out to a lowly 13th despite ending Q2 just 0.291s down on the fastest time.

The field has been closer than ever this weekend and there is a chance of an entertaining fight to the end of today's 57-lap race.