Image source, MErcedes

And they are away for the formation lap.

All of the front runners have the red-banded super-soft tyres, with just Fernando Alonso, Nico Hulkenberg, Will Stevens, Valtteri Bottas and Roberto Merhi opting for softs.

1) Lewis Hamilton 2) Nico Rosberg 3) Sebastian Vettel 4) Daniel Ricciardo 5) Daniil Kvyat 6) Kimi Raikkonen 7) Sergio Perez 8) Pastor Maldonado 9) Max Verstappen 10) Jenson Button

11) Nico Hulkenberg 12) Felipe Massa 13) Fernando Alonso 14) Felipe Nasr 15) Romain Grosjean 16) Valtteri Bottas 17) Marcus Ericsson 18) Will Stevens 19) Roberto Merhi

* Carlos Sainz starts from the pit lane

Image source, Sauber

Sauber F1 Team: No grid girls but boys here at the Monaco GP.

Image source, Red Bull

Red Bull: Absolutely marbles on the pit straight behind us. Full focus on turn one for the Bulls!

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Monaco

Image source, Getty Images

"Word on the street in F1 is that there is a bit of tension between Bernie Ecclestone and Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene.

"Ecclestone, it is said, is unhappy about Arrivabene sticking his nose in and being critical of various areas Ecclestone controls, such as the restriction of paddock passes.

"On Sunday, in an interview with the F1 website, Ecclestone gave a little hint of this. It was suggested to him that Arrivabene was 'quite a character', to which Ecclestone replied: 'Only for himself and not for Formula 1.'"

Image source, Formula 1

Last celeb shot then before we crack on with the racing. Michael Fassbender. Quality actor, but I still haven't forgiven you for Prometheus Michael...

Allan McNish
BBC Radio 5 live analyst in Monaco

"Lewis Hamilton delivered it perfectly in qualifying. He was exceptional. Nico Rosberg, meanwhile, is on the back foot mentally as much as the fact he is second on the grid."

Image source, Getty Images

There was just .342s between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg's fastest laps in qualifying, could we be in for one of the closest fought battles in Monaco Grand Prix history?

The smallest winning margin came in 1992 when Ayrton Senna beat Nigel Mansell by just 0.215s.

Image source, AFP

As is the norm in Monaco, plenty of yachts have rolled up in the harbour packed with fans. It is a sell out in Monaco and you can tell. A great atmosphere as the sun shines down now on the circuit.

Just under 12 minutes until lights out.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Monaco

Image source, Getty Images

"Arguably the best section of one of the world's great race tracks has been altered this season, with amendments to the Tabac-Swimming Pool section. Tabac has been slowed by bringing the outside guardrail in by 1.5m, while the daunting fast left-right of Swimming Pool One has been made faster. McLaren's Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso said the challenge of the track remained, but not everyone is so sanguine.

"Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo said: 'Tabac is still tricky. It's a bit tighter so it's a little bit slower, maybe 10km/h, but it still requires a little bit of testicles. Swimming Pool, unfortunately, we were just full (throttle) now in qualifying. You still had to close your breath a bit but it's a bit too straight. You straight-line the second apex a bit too much. I think the second kerb should be a bit more to the left so we have to weave our way around it. We don't really exit close to the wall on the exit of the Swimming Pool. You have to sort of drive the car out there rather than the kerb washing it out there. That's made it a little bit easier, which is something I don't like.'"

Image source, Claude Paris

The celebrities continue to pop up in Monaco. Reality television is not my strong point so a a colleague has kindly informed me that this is Kendall Jenner, Kim Kardashian's sister.

Lewis Hamilton: "I want to be pointing towards the corner, [at the start] right?" Team: "Just don't go over the pit exit, because that is a bit slippery."

Image source, Luke Reddy

"Lewis Hamilton has always wanted to be the Master of Monaco in the image of his hero Ayrton Senna and yesterday, at the ninth attempt, he claimed the most prestigious pole in motor racing," reads the Mail on Sunday.

"Yes, he won thrillingly in the wet in 2008 from third on the grid but for years he has kicked himself about the little mistakes which kept him off pole.

"History tells us that the man who starts on pole in this race goes on to win and 10 of the last 11 races have gone to that pattern."

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Monaco

"It has been a poor weekend for Williams, struggling with a lack of low-speed downforce and therefore unable to get the tyres into the correct operating window.

"As a result, Felipe Massa qualified 14th, with Valttier Bottas 17th, although both will move up as a result of penalties - Massa by two places and Bottas by one. Head of performance Rob Smedley said he was 'reasonably confident' the problems were 'Monaco-specific'."

Image source, Williams

Williams: Valtteri Bottas is locked and loaded and ready to go.

Image source, McLaren

McLaren: Time to fire-up and head to the grid. Less than 30 minutes to lights out.

There's a couple of presumably important ladies walking through the paddock because they have what would appear to be security close by and a group of four staff forming a sort of human barrier around them as they walk. Not seen that before.

Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writer in Monaco

"A bit of insider potential news for you. Renault, as is well known, is considering its future strategy in F1 - whether to continue with Red Bull beyond the end of its contract next season, buy a team and become a manufacturer outfit again or pull out altogether.

"There are increasing rumours that the French company is heading towards buying back Lotus - which they sold at the end of 2009 to the Genii Capital investment group.

"One insider even said he thought this was already 'a done deal'. This is coming from good sources, but Renault will only say it is concentrating on improving its engine and that no decisions regarding future strategy have been made."

Image source, The Sun

"Lewis Hamilton used his Jedi-like powers to become a Phantom Menace to his rival Nico Rosberg," reads The Sun on Sunday.

It's not the only Star Wars pun the paper uses in a piece which draws reference to the film's director George Lucas (right) being in Monaco to take in the event.

Hamilton is himself making a foray into the movie world as he stars in Zoolander 2 alongside Ben Stiller later this year.