European GP qualifying as it happened

That's just about it from me today. Thanks for your company and contributions. I'll be back at 11:45 BST to get you warmed up for round eight of the Formula 1 World Championship on Valencia's street circuit. Jake and the boys will be on BBC One and BBC One HD from 12:10 with the lights going out at 13:00. Can anyone stop Sebastian Vettel? You'll have to join me on Sunday to find out. Until then, it's good afternoon from me. See ya.

Lee McKenzie will bring you Inside F1 on the BBC News channel and this very website at 18:45 BST and also keep an eye on bbc.co.uk/f1 for the qualifying highlights plus reaction from today's events.

Here's Andrew Benson's qualifying report which gives you a nice overview and here's the top three's press conference which has been clipped up by our multimedia team.

But if this season has taught us anything, it's that anything can happen. Strategy will play a massive part in the race and the hot conditions should play into the hands of the Lotuses who are always quicker on race day. The Ferraris, particularly in the hands of Fernando Alonso, should figure, too.

So it's all looking rather good for Sebastian Vettel, who is now third equal on the sport's all-time pole positions list, joining legends Jim Clark and Alain Prost, after securing his 33rd career pole positions. If he gets through the first two corners unscathed, and then pulls out a gap before the DRS kicks in, catching him will be very, very tough.

McLaren team boss Martin Whitmarsh says he doesn't think he can be "too dissatisfied" with Lewis Hamilton's front row grid slot and is hopeful Jenson Button can have a good race from ninth.

"You've got to get everything right, it's so competitive," he said. "For Jenson, it isn't as bad as it looks. What he did in practice this morning [where he finished fastest] and Q2 [he finished sixth] was incredibly strong. He didn't quite get it altogether in Q3 but I think he knows that he's back in the right place in terms of competitiveness. He's a great racer and I think he can come through in the race."

Could we have a post-qualifying penalty on our hands? It seems Nico Rosberg is unhappy with Lewis Hamilton's antics in qualifying. Rosberg says "it was possible to do better" and added: "Lewis was slowing down at the last corner and I arrived with full speed and all of a sudden he was there. There's a rule in place for that. You're not allowed to do that. That ruined it a bit for me. But I think it is possible to overtake and the strategy will be interesting."

Ferrari were as shocked as anyone as both cars failed to make Q3. "It's very tight," said Felipe Massa. "I think that is the worst thing, one tenth would have changed everything. We decide to go out on new mediums straight away [in Q2] and maybe that was not the right thing. It's very frustrating starting in a not so good position."

Sergio Perez looked strong in final practice this morning, but the Mexican, who has scored two podiums this season, struggled in qualifying and will start 15th. "[I was] expecting quite a lot more," he said. "We did some changes after this morning, which was looking competitive [for us], and they did not help us a lot. The race is tomorrow and hopefully we can have a good race."

Remarkably, Sebastian Vettel was 0.324 seconds clear of Lewis Hamilton in second which was the biggest gap we've seen up front all weekend. Six tenths covered second down to 10th which suggests it will be close further back. The question is whether anyone can jump Vettel at the start and stop him scampering off into the distance.

Could this be the end of an unpredictable run of race results and the start of another period of Sebastian Vettel domination? The fans and the field will certainly hope not.

Williams driver Pastor Maldonado, who will start third: "I think we've been working so hard. The car was quite quick yesterday. We were struggling a bit with the option tyres. We were a bit confused. The car didn't feel the same as with the prime tyres. For qualifying, we understand [the issue] a bit better and here we are. I think we did a good job. Williams are getting better. I'm happy for my country and it's a great opportunity to get on the podium and fight for a good result."

More from Hamilton: "Looking at the grid, because it's so hot the Lotuses look massively competitive - they'll be ones to watch out for tomorrow, and Ferrari look quick on their long runs."

McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton, who starts second: "I expected to be lot further back because we struggled all weekend with the set-up. Going from P3 into qualifying, we had to make a guess with the set-up. It seemed to work OK. The guys did a great job to get me a gap, and the car felt pretty good but I think the gap is quite big here."

More from Vettel: "In final qualifying, I knew going at the end [of the session], if the track comes in a little more, it should be good enough to have a look at pole. In the end it was a surprising gap. The boys have been working hard in the garage and at the factory to bring new parts. They seem to work. I'm looking forward to race tomorrow."

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel, who starts on pole position for the third successive season: "We had one shot there at the end which turned out to be a very good lap. Q1 and Q2 were not to our liking. We were struggling to find the balance we did have in practice. It was a good recovery. We had to put a second set of options in Q2. It was the right call because I don't think my first lap was good enough."

The drivers have dived into the top three press conference. Here's what they had to say...

Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso, who will start 11th: "Not reaching Q3 is a little sad for us but it is the way it was today, unfortunately we were not fast enough, but the race is tomorrow and hopefully we can score some good points even starting 11th and we see what the positions are at the end. We were two tenths away from pole position so you need a bit of luck. Maybe today, we weren't on the lucky side."

A downcast Jenson Button, who will start ninth: "The last run in qualifying, I had a massive amount of front locking, I just couldn't slow the car down. I couldn't stop locking my fronts. We're in Valencia, not a lot happens here in the race. You can't overtake round here. The way the tyres seem to hold on for most people, I dont think it will be the most exciting race."

Sebastian Vettel and Pastor Maldonado are all smiles as they have their photo taken after finishing in the top three. Lewis Hamilton is less pleased despite finishing second. I suspect the 2008 world champion will be scratching his scalp wondering how Vettel managed to pull out such a gap to him.

Force India driver Paul di Resta, who will start 10th: "I hold my hands up. I locked a wheel into Turn 17. I made a mistake. The car had a lot of potential. It's a bit gutting but you have to be on the edge to maximise the potential. Turn 17 caught me out last year and it's caught me out again. I'll take the positives from it, though."

The Lotus challenge failed to materialise, but Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen will still start a strong fourth and fifth respectively. Nico Rosberg, Kamui Kobayashi, Nico Hulkenberg, Jenson Button and Paul di Resta complete the top 10.

Lewis Hamilton will start on the second row to continue his good form in qualifying with Pastor Maldonado producing an absolute stunner to go third.

Sebastian Vettel is an absolute machine. He goes three tenths quicker than anyone else. Simply stunning. The German only did one run but he hooked up all three sectors perfectly. Can the McLaren's beat him?

Paul di Resta is up on everyone else after the first two sectors, but loses a bunch of time in the final sector and finishes seventh fastest. His Force India team-mate Nico Hulkenberg does a better job and goes fourth.

Pastor Maldonado goes quickest. What? What is going on?

Romain Grosjean goes purple in the first sector, but loses almost three tenths in the second sector with a mistake, but he recovers in the third sector to go quickest of all, one tenth quicker than anyone else. Stunning stuff from the Frenchman.

No sign of Sebastian Vettel yet, but as I type the team are taking off the tyre blankets, dropping the car off the jacks and readying the car for an exit.

Romain Grosjean is out there now on a set of new soft tyres. Can the Frenchman get the first pole position of his career after setting the pace in Q2?

Pastor Maldonado heads out of his lap, but gets it all wrong at the final corner and is forced back into the pits. He gets a fresh set of soft tyres and then heads straight back out.

Lewis Hamilton goes second quickest, but he's beaten by his team-mate Jenson Button. That'll be frustrating for the 2008 world champion after his team-mate copied all his settings to get on top of his recent struggles.

Kimi Raikkonen sets the initial pace with a 1:38.966, but that's beaten almost immediately by Nico Rosberg who goes three tenths faster despite a big lock-up at the final corner.

Kimi Raikkonen and Pastor Maldonado are out nice and early in this final part of qualifying.

Red Bull driver Mark Webber, who starts 19th: "We had no DRS so it makes it very difficult. The lap time wasn't too bad without DRS but it doesn't help. It's a big hit for us."

Fernando Alonso was only two tenths off the pace set by leader Romain Grosjean, and he still didn't finish in the top 10. It's just so close here.

It was a stunning performance from Heikki Kovalainen who has beaten not one but two Toro Rossos. "I think today was genuine performance," said Kovalainen. "Here, everybody is performing at their maximum levels. It's not like Monte Carlo. I hope this is a genuine trend. We've got new parts this weekend and their working, but we shouldn't rave about it too much."

*ROMAIN GROSJEAN FINISHES FASTEST IN THE SECOND PART OF QUALIFYING FOR THE EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX*

An absolute nightmare for Ferrari as both their drivers get knocked out of qualifying at the race where their boss has turned up. The dismay on president Luca di Montezemelo is clear to see. That is one unhappy man. Felipe Massa sheepishly walks past him in the garage, drops off his helmet and slaps on a cap before disappearing out the back.

Michael Schumacher misses the apex of the final corner which will have lost him some time and goes 12th quickest. That's not enough and he's out of qualifying.

Sebastian Vettel leaves it late, but clocks a 1:38.5 to go third quickest overall. That should do the job. Grosjean, Massa and Schumacher are in the drop zone here. Tense times.

The clock is ticking away and Felipe Massa just misses out on the top 0, just 0.08 off 10th place and only two tenths away from the leader. It's just so ruddy close at the moment.

Michael Schumacher, Bruno Senna, Sergio Perez, Felipe Massa, Pastor Maldonado, Daniel Ricciardo and Heikki Kovalainen are currently in the drop zone.

Paul di Resta sets the fastest middle sector of all on his way to the second fastest time, 0.015 seconds off the pace set by leader Nico Rosberg. That should be enough to get him into the top 10.

Fernando Alonso sets personal bests in all three sectors to go sixth fastest overall, two tenths of a second off the pace.

The top seven are separated by just two tenths of a second. Crikey, it's close. Fernando Alonso has headed out on a set of soft tyres. Felipe Massa has just been pushed back into the garage where I suspect the team will do the same.

Jenson Button has slotted in third, one place behind Kimi Raikkonen, but half a tenth quicker than McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton who is fourth. Sebastian Vettel goes sixth quickest before heading back to the pits for a fresh set of boots.

Bruno Senna, Fernando Alonso, Sergio Perez, Felipe Massa, Pastor Maldonado, Daniel Ricciardo and Heikki Kovalainen are currently in the drop zone. Both Ferraris did their laps on the harder medium tyres, so there is certainly more time there when they get the softs on.

Paul di Resta takes his turn at the top of the timesheets, dipping into the 1:38.922 in his Force India, but that is beaten by Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi and then Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes. Michael Schumacher has a wobble at Turn 12 and is forced to back out of that lap.

Fernando Alonso is out on medium tyres and really wringing the neck of that Ferrari. His first timed lap is a 1:39.245 to go quickest.

BBC F1 technical analyst Gary Anderson thinks drivers will need to get down into the 1:39.1s to get into the top 10. Only five drivers managed that in Q1.

Pastor Maldonado and Fernando Alonso are the first two men out on track...

So Mark Webber will start down in 19th on a track which he admits he doesn't like. It's hard to overtake, too, so Sunday is set to be a very long afternoon for the Australian.

Here's how they finished 1-17:

Maldonado, Di Resta, Hulkenberg, Rosberg, Hamilton, Perez, Massa, Alonso, Schumacher, Senna, Raikkonen, Grosjean, Button, Vettel, Kobayashi, Ricciardo and Kovalainen

*PASTOR MALDONADO FINISHES FASTEST IN THE FIRST PART OF QUALIFYING FOR THE EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX*

"Yes! This is what I'm talking about," said Heikki Kovalainen on the team radio when he's told he has made it into Q2. Great stuff from the Finn. He's driving the wheels of the Caterham.

An incredible lap from Heikki Kovalainen who gets into Q2 in 17th place, knocking Jean-Eric Vergne in the Toro Rosso into the drop zone and out of qualifying.

Red Bull's Mark Webber has one more lap to try and get through to Q2, but it looks like he's backed out which means the Australian will take no further part in this qualifying session. Unbelievable scenes.

Paul di Resta has gone quickest on the soft tyre, but moments later Pastor Maldonado takes top spot in the Williams. Nico Hulkenberg is third, ahead of Nico Rosberg.

Mark Webber has fallen into the drop zone. Worrying times for the Australian.

Looks like the top four - Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher - are content with their laps as they're staying in their garages.

Bruno Senna, Heikki Kovalainen, Vitaly Petrov, Charles Pic, Pedro de la Rosa, Narain Karthikeyan are in the drop zone with the absent Timo Glock.

Mark Webber goes 16th, 1.262 seconds off the pace on the softer tyres. "He certainly wouldn't have expected to be eight tenths slower than Sebastian who was on the harder tyre," said BBC F1 co-commentator David Coulthard.

Both Force Indias have headed out on the soft tyres, which suggests they're not confident of getting through. Nico Hulkenberg is 11th, two places behind Paul di Resta.

The top 12 are currently separated by just one second. This close season continues. Sebastian Vettel's first proper flyer puts him sixth fastest, five tenths of the pace.

Mark Webber has gone out on a set of soft tyres. He's sacrificed a set of those grippier tyres to make sure he gets into Q2. That'll hamper him later on in the session.

Vitaly Petrov, Charles Pic, Pedro de la Rosa, Narain Karthikeyan, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber are currently in the drop zone along with Timo Glock, who isn't running.

It's all change as Lewis Hamilton goes quickest with a 1:39.169 with a purple final sector. Felipe Massa matches Hamilton in the first two sectors but loses three tenths in the final sector to go second, just ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso. Let's not forget Massa has form here having won the race in 2008.

Sebastian Vettel has headed out on track for the first time this session. Lewis Hamilton's first lap is in the 1:53s, so I suspect he found traffic. There will be more to come from the Brit. His team-mate Jenson Button goes second fastest in the McLaren.

Kimi Raikkonen has slotted his Lotus into second ahead of Paul Di Resta, Romain Grosjean and Sergio Perez. Less than a tenth separates the top three. No sign of Sebastian Vettel yet. He's the only man - other than Timo Glock who isn't taking part - who has yet to go out onto the circuit.

Felipe Massa is the first man into the 1:39.634 to go quickest but his Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso has a big moment, sliding his car through a corner before backing off and saving those tyres for another flyer.

Daniel Ricciardo is the first man across the line and the Australian clocks 1:40.707 to go fastest. Pastor Maldonado makes a mistake at Turn 2, locking the front right, to ruin that lap. Sergio Perez does exactly the same thing moments later.

Good news for Mark Webber fans. He's in the car and giving the thumbs up. The Australian missed most of third practice with a brake problem so he'll be keen to get out asap and get some laps under his belt.

The top teams will want to try and get through to Q2 on medium tyres so they can save a set of the softs for later on. Pastor Maldonado, Daniel Ricciardo and Charles Pic are the first three drivers out on track...

Fernando Alonso looks pretty relaxed in the Ferrari garage. He pulls up a pew at the back of the garage and rolls his earplug in his hands before carefully placing them in his ears.

Ferrari have tweeted to say their president Luca di Montezemolo met with Bernie Ecclestone, the FIA and FOTA this morning to "discuss priorities on cost reduction".

Marussia say no decision has been made about whether Glock will start the race. The German is an experienced driver so BBC F1 co-commentator David Coulthard expects the FIA to give him special dispensation to race if he is well enough to do so.

BBC F1 pit lane reporter Lee McKenzie reports that Timo Glock has been struggling with a stomach bug. He cancelled his media commitments on Friday and McKenzie adds that he didn't look very well when she saw him at breakfast this morning. The German, who has the lap record here, tried to do some laps in third practice but he didn't feel any better and has decided not to take part in qualifying.

Just 25 minutes until qualifying starts - here's how it will work. The one-hour session will be split into three. The first - Q1 - will last 20 minutes and see the entire field set a flying lap. The slowest seven will be knocked out. The second session - Q2 - is 15 minutes and will see another seven hit the showers early. That leaves 10 to fight it out for pole in a fast and furious 10-minute session.

Sauber driver Sergio Perez, who finished third last time out in Canada: "We're definitely close [to a win]. We need to get everything really perfect to win a race, but I think it is possible. It can happen this year."

Super stuff from Kamui Kobayashi who says that the first thing he does when he comes to Valencia is drink some locally sourced orange juice. "I woke up this morning and the first thing I get at breakfast is orange juice," said the Sauber driver. "I love Valencia orange juice, I love it." Bernie should sort some of the orange stuff for the podium if the Japanese driver makes it up there on Sunday.

Worrying scenes for Mark Webber fans. The Australian's Red Bull is still up on the jacks and in pieces as the team battle to sort a brake problem. Following his big crash here a couple of years ago, when he launched his car off the back of Heikki Kovalainen's Lotus, brakes are certainly one thing he doesn't want going wrong...

There's hardly a cloud in the sky at Valencia, with air temperatures hitting a toasty 25C and track temperature at 38C. The pit lane is packed full of guests who are keen to get a glimpse of their cars and their heroes. It's one of the few opportunities during a weekend when people who have the right pass get to come up close and personal with the stars of the show.

I informed you earlier that there would be third practice video highlights, but I'm afraid that won't be the case. Fear not, though as in just under four minutes, Jake, DC and EJ will be on your screens on BBC One and BBC One HD. I can tell you Jake and DC are in matching pink shirts with EJ going for an understated pale blue number.

Jenson Button was the pace-setter in third and final practice, but it was Sebastian Vettel who lit up the timescreens right at the end of the session before a mistake ruined his lap. The German has been on pole here for the last two years and led 113 of the last 114 laps on his way to a double victory.

I hope you've rested well during that short break. I've stuffed myself with butter biscuits, crisps and two mugs of tea - certainly not the fuel of champions but they did the job.

The time for messing around is over. Things are about to get serious. It's time for European Grand Prix qualifying in sun-kissed Valencia.

Here's Andrew Benson's third practice report. I'm off for a quick break before returning to my keyboard at 12:00 BST. Jake and the boys will be live on BBC One at 12:10 with qualifying starting at 13:00. Catch ya in a bit.

After all that, I have to say Sebastian Vettel looks odds on favourite to get his third successive pole position in Valencia with the Lotuses of Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen looking racy as do this weekend's surprise package of Force India and their two charges Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta. Their strong pace means a couple of big names are set to miss out on Q2. Watch this space...

And here's 13-24:

13) Vettel 14) Senna 15) Rosberg 16) Vergne 17) Ricciardo 18) Kovalainen 19) Webber 20) Petrov 21) De la Rosa 22) Pic 23) Karthikeyan 24) Glock

So here's how they finished: 1-12

1) Button 2) Grosjean 3) Raikkonen 4) Hulkenberg 5) Di Resta 6) Perez 7) Schumacher 8) Hamilton 9) Massa 10) Maldonado 11) Kobayashi 12) Alonso

Well no one expected that did they? Jenson Button on top spot after three miserable races and one not so inspiring practice session on Friday. I'm not overly confident he'll stay there in qualifying, but it's encouraging nonetheless.

Sebastian Vettel gets it all wrong at Turn Two, locking his front right tyre and scurrying off into the escape road area, before recovering back onto the track. That's his soft tyre lap ruined, but the German still looks mighty quick here.

Fernando Alonso gets traffic on his lap, while Lewis Hamilton makes a small mistake on his. Alonso stays 13th, but Hamilton improves to seventh, six tenths off the pace.

The Force Indias continue their good form here, with Nico Hulkenberg going fourth fastest, one place ahead of team-mate Paul Di Resta.

Fernando Alonso is pushing seriously hard out there, perhaps a bit too hard as he locks the right front and is forced off into the run-off. He rejoins right in from of Sergio Perez which certainly won't please the Mexican.

Kimi Raikkonen is out on track doing his soft tyre run and he goes second quickest, one tenth slower than his Lotus team-mate Romain Grosjean. Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso have headed out on the soft option tyre, so let's see what they can do...

Lewis Hamilton is running eighth with McLaren team-mate Jenson Button in 10th. Both are around one second off the pace. Felipe Massa is outpacing his Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso at the minute with two tenths separating them. Nico Rosberg is 11th, three tenths and two places ahead of Mercedes team-mate Michael Schumacher.

Long faces in the Red Bull garage as Mark Webber's car is in pieces. The Australian is down in 18th and doesn't look like he'll be getting out for the rest of this session as the team battle to work out what's wrong.

Nice stuff from Kamui Kobayashi. He clocks a 1:39.562 on the medium tyres to go fourth fastest overall. That's only two tenths off Sebastian Vettel's fastest time on the same tyres.

Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg team radio: "The wind is the same strength it was yesterday, so just think about that for braking points."

Oh Pedro. The Spaniard spins the car at he final corner and slides across the track. Unlike Friday, he keeps his HRT out of the barriers which will be a relief to his mechanics who up awake until the wee hours of this morning fixing it.

Force India's Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta are down in 11th and 12th respectively, but they were absolutely flying on Friday. Admittedly, they've only completed laps on scrubbed mediums so there's sure to be more pace from them...

Romain Grosjean is our new leader, setting a blistering pace on the soft tyre to go quickest of all by 0.779 seconds.

Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso team radio: "We need to clear all these photographers, cameras, or they will be here the entire weekend."

Talking of Force India, we've just spotted Adrian Sutil, who was given an 18-month suspended sentence for nightclub fracas in China last year, in his former team's hospitality unit. The German raced for the team for six years and is keen to make a comeback into the sport so I suspect he'll be having a few meetings this weekend.

Bang. Sebastian Vettel has arrived. The Red Bull driver slaps in a 1:39.448 to go three tenths quicker than anyone else. Sensational stuff from the German and very worrying got everyone else.

BBC Radio 5 live pit lane reporter Jennie Gow reports the reason why Mercedes were here so late last night was because they were changing a wiring loom on Nico Rosberg's car.

It's a decent 1:40.1 which is good enough for eighth, 0.380 seconds off the pace. Still waiting to see his Ferrari team-mate Fernando Alonso who is sat in the garage and the only driver who has yet to set a time.

Felipe Massa's engineer Rob Smedley tells his charge that most drivers are doing their best timed lap on their third or fourth lap. The Brazilian has just started his first flying lap of the day. Let's see what he can do...

Sebastian Vettel, Friday's pace-setter, goes third quickest, but his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber is down in 12th. We've yet to see a timed lap from either Ferrari, though.

Lewis Hamilton is the first man to lock-up at Turn Two - and based on Friday's two sessions, he won't be the last. Up front, Kimi Raikkonen hooks his lap up nicely, setting the fastest middle sector of all, to go quickest with a 1:39.796.

Everyone out on track is on the white trimmed medium tyre, so expect the times to come down when they give the yellow-lined soft tyre a go a bit later in the session.

Nico Hulkenberg, who was second in second practice on Friday, clocks 1:45.302 on his first tour. I suspect he'll go a lot faster than that as this session progresses...

Lewis Hamilton's first flying lap is pretty good, two tenths shy of Romain Grosjean. Kimi Raikkonen gets a bit held up by a Force India on his flyer, but still goes second, 0.080 seconds off the pace.

Romain Grosjean is the first man to set a flying lap and it's decent - a 1:40.136, around eight tenths slower than pace-setter Sebastian Vettel managed on Friday.

The silence on track is shattered by Romain Grosjean who fires up his black and gold Lotus and blasts onto track for an out-lap. The Frenchman is definitely in with a shout of pole today if they can get their car set-up properly for a one-lap shoot-out.

Lots of work going on in the Mercedes garage with both Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg out of their cars and hanging out at the back of the garage speaking to their respective engineers. Schumacher was tipped to win Sunday's race by Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery, but the German's not so sure.

Lewis Hamilton, who finished 14th fastest in second practice on Friday, is the last man out to complete an install lap but all goes well and he comes back in and jumps out so the mechanics can get to work on the car.

BBC Radio 5 live pit lane reporter Jennie Gow reports that Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo is in town this weekend, making a rare appearance in the F1 paddock. The Ferrari chief has always got something to say, so we'll keep an ear to the ground...

Plenty of activity early doors as Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher, Mark Webber and Kimi Raikkonen coast out of the garage to explore the confines of this 5.419km street circuit and see if anything has changed since Friday.

Teams will focus on making final tweaks to their machines ahead of qualifying - which begins at 13:00 - in this final hour of running.

So third and final practice gets under way in just five minutes time. Hopefully, the live video should have appeared in the module above now. Click play and you'll hear Jonathan Legard and Jaime Alguersuari chewing the fat in preparation for the final session.

As a result, the race attracts plenty of fans. The grandstands are pretty packed this year, largely with Spanish fans decked out in red to support their man Fernando Alonso but there are a few gaps which you could put down to the tough economic climate. That said, there are still a fair few more fortunate spectators who find themselves perched up on sun-kissed balconies, relaxing in a swimming pool on a roof-top terrace or sipping champagne in one of the hospitality tents.

Even if the track is less than ideal for racing, the location can't be faulted. The 25-turn temporary circuit sits in a beautiful port, formerly used by the America's Cup boat race, which is packed full of yachts much like Monaco. Head south and you've got miles of lush, silky, sand. Head north and you'll find the city's arts and science sector which sits at the bottom of a garden which was constructed in the former river bed of the Turia river.

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to final practice and qualifying for the European Grand Prix in the medieval city of Valencia. The 5.419km street circuit has had its doubters as the four races to be held at the venue have been less than spectacular. But this season is different, folks. We've had seven different winners in seven races. And even if Sebastian Vettel - race winner here for the last two years - topped the times on Friday, the top 10 were separated by just 0.6 seconds.

But rather than sulking and feebly licking their wounds, Adrian Newey and his design team locked themselves away and put the finishing touches to a huge rear-end update package which they unleashed in Friday practice in Valencia. The results were ominous as reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel finished second in first practice, ahead of team-mate Mark Webber, before going even faster and topping second practice. Can the German convert that speed into his third pole position of the season? We're about to find out...

Red Bull were well beaten by McLaren, Lotus and Sauber last time out in Canada, with Lewis Hamilton taking victory and Sebastian Vettel down in fourth - the third successive race the German had failed to make the podium...