2013 Canadian Grand Prix The Canadian Grand Prix

Lap 3: Behind the leaders, Bottas is sixth and now leading a large train consisting of Vergne, Sutil, Ricciardo, Raikkonen and Hulkenberg.

Lap 3: Webber is within DRS range of Rosberg's Mercedes but the German's car is quick down the straights.

Lap 3: DRS is now enabled.

Lap 3: Vettel clocks the fastest lap as he pulls 2.8 seconds clear of Hamilton in these early stages.

Lap 3: Massa is down in 14th and immediately challenging Maldonado. A good pass round the outside there for the Brazilian and he takes the place.

Lap 2: Not the best first lap from Bottas but he now runs sixth on the road.

Lap 2: The young Finn was drilled at the start but is now beginning to hold his own. It's clean behind the leaders, although Hulkenberg misses the final chicane and is forced to straight-line it.

Lap 2: Alonso takes over fifth place by breezing past Bottas on the straight, even without DRS.

Lap 1: Bottas is now coming under serious pressure from Alonso as they race down the back straight.

Lap 1: Down to the hairpin for the first time it is Vettel from Hamilton, Rosberg, Webber and Bottas, with the rookie squeezed out early.

Lap 1: Vettel gets a good start and leads into Turn 1 with the two Mercedes behind him, then Webber and Bottas.

The rest of the field is forming up nicely. Watch Bottas at the start. Are you ready? We await the lights...

Round the final chicane and the polesitter heads down to the grid. He does a couple of quick burnouts and stops at his marks.

Down to the Casino Hairpin and Vettel makes the turn homeward and starts to bunch up the field a little behind him.

Di Resta, Grosjean and the Marussia pair have opted to start on the harder tyres.

Vettel takes the pack through the chicane at Turns 3 and 4 and winds his way through the end of the first sector.

After a wet qualifying session, teams appear to have gone for super-soft rubber in the free choice of starting tyres.

The formation lap begins at Montreal. Vettel answers the call and leads the field of 22 away from the grid.

The engines fire with a minute to the formation lap.

Claire Williams stated earlier today that if Bottas manages to bring the car home in the points, he will end up in the Olympic rowing strip.

Valtteri Bottas is handily placed in a superb third position on the grid, alongside Monaco GP winner Nico Rosberg.

Sebastian Vettel starts today's 70-lap encounter from pole position. Lewis Hamilton will race him on the short run to Turn 1.

Just five minutes remaining until the formation lap begins at Montreal. Track temperature has climbed to 29 degrees Celsius.

The long back straight is particularly suited to the car chasing on DRS, with the chance for a further scrap across the line into Turn 1.

Two DRS zones at this circuit this year, providing opportunities for attack and counter-moves.

Showers have developed to the east of Montreal but nothing over the circuit - yet - and it remains dry and sunny. A threat of showers remains in place for the race.

Drivers starting to make their final preparations now as the busy grid begins to clear.

Alonso

Teams head into the race under-prepared on tyre strategy, after rain and support shunts made a big dent in the evaluation of Pirelli's medium and super-soft rubber.

A dry day puts Vettel in a strong position to lead from the front, with little to suggest that Mercedes has resolved its tyre woes, despite the recent testing saga.

Alonso set a strong race pace in simulations of Friday afternoon, but starts sixth, boxed behind several drivers likely to encounter tyre issues.

However, one factor for those out of position could be the DRS, with the blast down the long back straight likely to open up plenty overtaking opportunities.

This circuit has a history of significant tyre degradation, with Pirelli's entire multi-stop philosophy modeled on the fascinating Bridgestone-supplied event here in 2010. Two stops looks to be a likely strategy this afternoon.

A packed crowd on the Ile Notre Dame rises to respect the Canadian national anthem 'Oh Canada', as it is played out over the public address.

The pitlane has now closed. Any driver not on their way to the grid by now will have to start the race from the pit exit and will only be released once the rest of the pack has taken the start.

This is also a circuit with a strong chance of the safety car becoming involved and teams need to be ready to react with a pitstop.

Plenty for the strategists to think about this afternoon, with little tyre performance data available for heavy cars on this washed surface

With several penalties applied, here's how the grid will line-up: 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 2. Lewis Hamilton Mercedes 3. Valtteri Bottas Williams-Renault 4. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 7. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 8. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 9. Nico Hulkenberg Sauber-Ferrari 10. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 11. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 12. Sergio Perez McLaren-Mercedes 13. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 14. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 15. Esteban Gutierrez Sauber-Ferrari 16. Felipe Massa Ferrari 17. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 18. Charles Pic Caterham-Renault 19. Jules Bianchi Marussia-Cosworth 20. Max Chilton Marussia-Cosworth 21. Giedo van der Garde Caterham-Renault 22. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault

Fans

Conditions have improved greatly over the dreary, damp weather of the last few days. It is dry, much warmer and there have been some sunny periods in the hours leading up to the race.

But the problem is, it may be getting too warm too quickly. The sudden temperature increase is causing clouds to bubble up and the development of sharp showers is a possibility this afternoon.

At the moment, there are no showers developing close to the circuit on the radar, but conditions could change quickly during the course of the race. Air temperature could reach 23 degrees Celsius, while there is a moderate westerly wind.

Sebastian Vettel has made it to the grid with yet another helmet colour scheme change, as he reverts away from the red-topped lid he was using over the past couple of days. He climbs out of the car.

Raikkonen heads around to the grid, trying the medium compound on his Lotus. The Finn has a long shot at a one-stop plan today.

Here's how the standings look after Monaco: World Championship standings, round 6: Drivers: Constructors: 1. Vettel 107 1. Red Bull-Renault 164 2. Raikkonen 86 2. Ferrari 123 3. Alonso 78 3. Lotus-Renault 112 4. Hamilton 62 4. Mercedes 109 5. Webber 57 5. Force India-Mercedes 44 6. Rosberg 47 6. McLaren-Mercedes 37 7. Massa 45 7. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 12 8. Di Resta 28 8. Sauber-Ferrari 5

But two drivers were penalised after qualifying by the stewards for not lining up correctly at the end of the pitlane, when Felipe Massa had brought out the red flags for a crash at Turn 3.

Raikkonen and Ricciardo given grid penalties

So with Bottas out of position and the likes of Kimi Raikkonen, Jenson Button and Felipe Massa starting down the field, we are guaranteed a lot of on-track action during this afternoon's 70-lap encounter.

Vettel is on his way to the grid. Exiting the Casino Hairpin, he slows down completely then gives a burst of acceleration.