Both McLarens limp back to the pits to get sorted. It takes the team a while to wriggle off Carlos Sainz's nose but they do so eventually and they head back out just as the track goes green again.

Jolyon Palmer
Former Renault driver on BBC Radio 5 live

Daniil Kvyat collected one of the McLarens and then he went straight into the other McLaren. The safety car is deployed.

Ooof! Big shunt on the first lap as Daniil Kvyat clatters into one McLaren and rebounds into the other.

The virtual safety car is deployed as marshals scurry onto the track to deal with the debris.

Cracking start by Lewis Hamilton as he zips away off the line and pinches first place from Valtteri Bottas before the first corner!

Image source, Getty Images

LIGHTS OUT.

Eh? What's happening here? Max Verstappen and Robert Kubica spin as they warms up the tyres.

It's only a minor bit of drama as they soon right themselves and take their place on the grid.

Here we go...

The clock strikes 07:10 and right on cue the cars are away on the formation lap.

You voted for Jenson Button's win in Canada, 2011.

In 999 grand prix, this was the race that really did have it all.

Jenson Button took a stunning victory in a dramatic, rain-affected Canadian Grand Prix by passing Sebastian Vettel on the last lap of an absorbing race.

A two-hour rain suspension, five safety cars, two collisions for the winner and six visits to the pits - one of them a drive-through penalty.

Button's progress from 21st after 40 laps to first after 70 was an absolutely staggering feat.

Starting seventh in a race begun under the safety car in wet conditions, he squeezed McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton into the pit wall as they entered lap nine and the two cars collided, spraying debris over the track. The incident prompted Button to shout memorably over team radio: "What is he doing?"

You chose wisely.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Radio 5 Live

Wow, where's the time gone this morning? We're mere minutes away from lights out.

Commentary is under way on BBC Radio 5 live. Tune in.

In the 15 Chinese grands prix, nine of them have been won from pole.

In six of those nine races, Mercedes have had pole position, and won in five of them. Mercedes start again from pole so can they do it again?

In two of the six drivers to win not from pole, Michael Schumacher in 2006, and Daniel Ricciardo in 2018 both won from sixth place on the grid.

So on that basis either Pierre Gasly or Valtteri Bottas have a better chance of winning today.

Image source, Getty Images

Plenty of Sebastian Vettel fans in the stands today, will that support help power him to a first win - or even a first podium - of the season? He really needs to get off the mark soon, otherwise the pressure might start to tell.

Also, the way the flag in the picture below has distorted Seb's face is freaking me out a bit.

Image source, Getty Images

Valtteri Bottas, who starts on pole, is sounding pretty confident of nailing a good start.

"It is ultimately about the getaway but I know the line so let's see," he tells Sky Sports.

Just 10 minutes to go until lights out...

Image source, Getty Images

The ruffling of Nico Rosberg's jacket on Sky Sports suggests there is a bit of wind in the air.

That could prove problematic for some of the drivers on the main straight.

The drivers are going through their usual pre-race routines - for Lewis Hamilton that's whizzing along the paddock on a scooter, for others , like George Russell, it's about sitting up against the barriers, looking focused and looking pretty sharp too.

It's pretty overcast in China, but that's not stopping George from sporting the shades.

Andrew Benson
BBC Sport’s chief F1 writer

Strategy? The numbers say one stop, and that’s always what the teams will push for if it looks possible. Official Pirelli data says that it’s quicker to start on softs but the top three teams obviously don’t agree because they have all gone for the mediums. Either way, the first stint length does not look that different at about 18 laps or so.

Lewis Hamilton is the only front-runner to have a new set of softs available at some point if he wants it, but the other top drivers all have a new set of mediums that he doesn’t. A pit stop takes about 23 seconds.

Image source, Reuters