Carlos Sainz is not happy with the speed of the safety car.

"We need it to go faster, otherwise it will be chaos," he says.

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 live

Fernando Alonso lost a couple of places, he couldn't get any power then it all got a bit tight. Romain Grosjean made his mistake in turn three, Carlos Sainz slipped off the road. Alonso and Sainz both went wide.

Kevin Magnussen got loose, Romain Grosjean didn't brake and pointing backwards he floored the throttle and there was smoke pouring into everyone else. Hulkenberg got through, but had his left rear ripped off. Pierre Gasly was on the inside, next to Hulkenberg and that is a big hit into Grosjean.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

"I tried the outside, Kevin lost it a bit (in front of me), and then I had dirty air and that was it."

Why he kept the wheels spinning so much is a mystery.

The huge cloud of smoke from Grosjean's spinning tyres made it harder for everyone to see. He collected Hulkenberg and Gasly as he spun back across to the inside on the exit of Turn Three.

Image source, Getty Images

That's poor from Romain Grosjean. He's had a very scrappy weekend and that just tops it off.

"Sorry guys," he says. "Kevin lost it a bit. I got dirty air and that's it."

Pierre Gasly's Toro Rosso has also come to a stop. He got caught up in the aftermath of that Romain Grosjean crash.

"Massive crash, massive crash," he reports. "A Haas spun."

Jack Nicholls
Radio 5 live Formula 1 commentator

An absolutely horrible accident as Grosjean spun back across the track.

Nico Hulkenberg climbs out of his car and across the track back to base. I can't see his face, but I am sure he is absolutely fuming at the way his race was ended so early on.

Disaster for Romain Grosjean! He loses his Haas at the first corner, spins and smacks into Nico Hulkenberg's Renault.

Safety car out.

Image source, F1 Twitter

Image source, F1 twitter

LIGHTS OUT!

Smooth sailing for Lewis Hamilton as he gets away cleanly and holds the lead into the first corner BUT Sebastian Vettel has got the jump on Valtteri Bottas.

Image source, F1 Twitter

Everyone takes up their position on the grid. No dramas.

All eyes on the lights...

The clock has just hit 3:10pm in Spain so off go the cars on the formation lap.

Lewis Hamilton is told by his race engineer: "Just seen spots of rain here but there is nothing threatening on the radar."

Might be a few more umbrellas popping up in the stands this afternoon. There's an 80% chance of showers during the race.

ShogunNoire: If we ignore the top three teams, the rest of the field looks really unpredictable and mixed. It highlights the advantage that the three leading teams have over everyone else.

Andrew Hardy: Sitting on the banking overlooking the end of the pit straight. It's sunny but the rain clouds are coming. Buying a brolly!

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

It is make or break down the run to the first corner. Twenty four of the last 27 races here have been won from the front row, that tells you how difficult it is to overtake here.

BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

Commentary is live now on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra. Tune in via this page.

Bob McFeil: What makes this such a great start to the season is the battles. At the top is closer than ever and the midfield is so packed- this leads to exciting racing, strategies and drama. And now...

Austin RayShawn: For this season to be like when Leicester won the Premiership, Force India would need to win a race. Poor comparison.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Strategy? Well, if it rains all this will go out of the window, although the forecast at the moment is that it won’t. If it’s dry, Pirelli says the quickest projected strategy is a two-stop, starting on the super-soft and then running two sets of softs. But teams don’t agree and most will be trying to one stop - hence the overwhelming desire of those in the top 10 to start on the soft.

But it’s even more of an unknown than unusual as this is the first race on the newly resurfaced Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, which is very different from before. It used to be brutal on tyres; now that is not so much the case. But still, despite eight days of testing here, no one is quite sure going into the race how the tyres will react - not least because they have been changed since testing, with a thinner tread depth to prevent blistering.

Image source, Getty Images

Not long now until lights out and the drivers have gathered at the end of the grid for the national anthem.