Go! Go! Go!published at 19:03 British Summer Time 12 June 2016
LIGHTS OUT!
What a start by Sebastian Vettel as he nips straight on the outside of the Mercedes' and into the lead!
Summary
Hamilton wins, Vettel 2nd, Bottas 3rd
Vettel overtakes both Mercedes with sensational start
Rosberg recovers to fifth after puncture and spin
Rosberg bangs wheels at start after Hamilton move
Button, Palmer & Massa out
Go! Go! Go!published at 19:03 British Summer Time 12 June 2016
Postpublished at 19:03 British Summer Time 12 June 2016
Postpublished at 19:03 British Summer Time 12 June 2016
The last few stragglers just get off the grid in time as the cars come round to take up their positions...
Postpublished at 19:02 British Summer Time 12 June 2016
Tom Clarkson
BBC Radio 5 live commentatorLewis Hamilton still wants perfection and he still wants to utterly dominate his rivals.
'Risk of rain increases as race goes on'published at 19:02 British Summer Time 12 June 2016
Can Ricciardo win?published at 19:01 British Summer Time 12 June 2016
Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who could have won both the previous races in Spain and Monaco, starts fourth today.
He told BBC Radio 5 live's Tom Clarkson: "With the amount of the drizzle at the moment, it's not heavy enough to change the track.. If the weather really sets in, it's going to make things interesting."
Can he win today?
"I think so, yes."
Image source, Getty ImagesPostpublished at 19:01 British Summer Time 12 June 2016
Penelope Cruz takes the opportunity for a quick snap as she watches the drivers head off on the formation lap.
Cruz controlpublished at 19:00 British Summer Time 12 June 2016
Postpublished at 19:00 British Summer Time 12 June 2016
Tom Clarkson
BBC Radio 5 live commentatorIf it stays dry, the biggest issue for the teams and the drivers is the wind. That's going to make the cars a little more unstable under braking.
Chance of light showerspublished at 18:59 British Summer Time 12 June 2016
'Pressure has switched to Rosberg'published at 18:58 British Summer Time 12 June 2016
Tom Clarkson
BBC Radio 5 live commentatorOne of the reasons that Lewis Hamilton has remained so relaxed and benign is that he still knew he had the inherent pace. Monaco last time out, bam, an emphatic victory - not only with great pace but guile too. He might now think he is on a roll. The pressure has gone from being on him a bit to now being on Nico Rosberg. Rosberg has to prove this afternoon that he has lost none of his speed.
Image source, Getty ImagesTHE GRIDpublished at 18:58 British Summer Time 12 June 2016
We're mere minutes away from go time. Here's a reminder of the grid:
1) Hamilton 2) Rosberg 3) Vettel 4) Ricciardo 5) Verstappen 6) Raikkonen 7) Bottas 8) Massa 9) Hulkenberg 10) Alonso
11) Perez 12) Button 13) Gutierrez 14) Grosjean 15) Kvyat 16) Palmer 17) Wehrlein 18) Ericsson 19) Nasr 20) Sainz 21) Haryanto
Postpublished at 18:57 British Summer Time 12 June 2016
Postpublished at 18:56 British Summer Time 12 June 2016
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writerIf it’s a mixed, wet/dry race, strategy will be all over the place, as usual. If it’s dry, though, it could still be the same. Teams agree that it is either a one or a two-stop race. But which one? "You can do a one-stop, no problem," said Williams head of performance Rob Smedley. "The question is whether it’s quicker." Smedley suspects most "will try to eke out a one-stop" if it’s dry. That would mean a forced start on the ultra-soft for the top 10, and then a switch to the soft, which everyone must use at least once if the race is entirely dry. For those outside the top 10, super-soft/soft is an option.
As for a two-stop, take your pick out of ultra-soft/ultra-soft/soft and ultra-soft/super-soft/soft, or variations thereof if you’re not in the top 10. In other words, pretty much anything could happen.
A three-stop is unlikely - it’s not slow, but it requires negotiating too much traffic for many to want to try it.
Postpublished at 18:54 British Summer Time 12 June 2016
Postpublished at 18:54 British Summer Time 12 June 2016
Image source, RexBrollies up, ponchos, cagoules and macs on.
Five minutes until lights out.
Postpublished at 18:51 British Summer Time 12 June 2016
Tom Clarkson
BBC Radio 5 live commentatorWe had an incredibly tight qualifying session yesterday - the top four, nothing to separate them. And Ferrari and Red Bull think they will be even closer in the race. All to play for this afternoon.
Close race ahead - Rosbergpublished at 18:51 British Summer Time 12 June 2016
Nico Rosberg is the championship leader and is 24 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
"It was close between a whole bunch of us yesterday," said Rosberg of qualifying.
"It will be a tight battle with Lewis and the guys behind us - the Ferrari and the two Red Bulls."
Start key for Hamilton?published at 18:50 British Summer Time 12 June 2016
Andrew Benson
Chief F1 writerIn F1, impressions form quickly, and take a long time to fade, and often they are formed without looking too closely at the reality. One that has taken hold this season is that Lewis Hamilton has a problem with his starts. This is founded on the first two races of the season when, yes, he did have relatively poor starts. Since then, though, he has been consistently good off the line, an area on which the driver has much more influence this year following rule changes restricting the help he can get. Losing the lead in Spain, for example, was not to do with his start - in fact, it was marginally faster than team-mate Nico Rosberg’s - and everything to do with Rosberg getting a tow on what is one of the longest runs to Turn One of the season, followed by a decisive overtaking move around the outside.
In Montreal, it is a relatively short run down to the tricky bottle-neck of Turn One/Two. "The last couple of races the starts have been relatively good," Hamilton said. "I am pretty confident we are going to be good."
Online commentary live nowpublished at 18:47 British Summer Time 12 June 2016
Jack Nicholls and company is LIVE now online with commentary from Montreal. Listen via this page or the BBC Sport app.