Good afternoon and welcome to ESPNF1's live coverage of qualifying for the Brazilian Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel attempts to set a new record for pole positions in a season this afternoon, but there's a number of drivers in with a chance of stopping him

There's a threat of rain this afternoon, but as it stands it's clear and sunny as it was for FP3, so the times from this morning are a good indicator of who the challengers will be. Vettel was fastest, but it was another very close session with 0.162s separating the top four

We still have thunder storms forecast for the area, though, so a rain-affected session can't be ruled out. Of course, we all remember what that did to the grid for last year...

Now, if you want to get in touch with us here during the session you can do, either via email using the link above or by sending us a message on Twitter @ESPNF1_live

One issue to look out for during Q1 is the issue of traffic. It's the second shortest lap on the calendar so drivers may have some trouble finding space towards the end of the session

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It's also worth keeping an eye on Lotus at the back of the grid. It has a new rear wing that is designed to move it closer to the midfield in qualifying due to a more effective DRS. Coupled with the short lap, it could well be the closest that Lotus gets to a spot in Q2

It's humid at the circuit and the sky is looking darker over the city. It's dry for now but Pastor Maldonado has just been told there may be some rain during the session

Eager to get a lap time in, Trulli, Kovalainen and Buemi are at the end of the pit lane waiting already

Q1 is underway, and both Virgins follow those three out on to the track

It's immediately a busy track with only Vettel, Webber, Alonso, Massa, Schumacher and Ricciardo yet to go out. Still sunny but plenty of clouds around

Only seeing medium tyre runs at the moment, with Buemi quickest early on

Vettel's race engineer tells him there is a threat of rain and that he needs to manage the traffic to get a lap in early

Hamilton quickest on a 1:13.876, 0.2s quicker than Button. Only Massa yet to go out

Webber goes second and Petrov fourth with their early laps. Vettel had a slow one but is much quicker this time round

Vettel with a big lockup in to turn one but he goes 0.2s quicker than Hamilton

Webber told that the threat of rain is easing over the radio as Hamilton improves but stays second

Schumacher struggling to get the Mercedes to turn in to Bico de Pato, locking up and wrestling with the car

Good lap from Ricciardo puts him above both Virgins and Liuzzi at present, as Button goes quickest from Webber

Maldonado in the drop zone at the moment, 0.1s slower than team-mate Barrichello in 17th, and 0.8s quicker than Kovalainen

Trulli not on soft tyres, and he keeps locking up to the right handers. He improves to 19th, just 0.2s away from Barrichello in 17th

Vettel and Massa still lapping, as Massa goes eighth; a second off the pace

Kovalainen on softs and going quicker than his team-mate ...

Kovalainen goes 19th just 0.014s slower than Maldonado. The Lotus seems slow in the final sector

Trulli improves up to 17th ahead of both Williams cars, although neither Barrichello nor Maldonado have put on soft tyres yet

We've tended to see the second flying lap on soft tyres being the quicker one. Drivers set a time, then ease off for a slow lap and go again

Senna goes 10th on a 1:14.458

Maldonado now on a soft tyre lap, as is Barrichello

Maldonado up to 14th with a 1:14.625

Di Resta goes fourth on softs

Barrichello goes ninth with a 1:14.117, Buemi in the drop zone now

Buemi didn't get to do a timed lap in FP3 this morning due to a hydraulic problem, so it's not really that surprising he's struggling

Kobayashi in 16th and he's on soft tyres, but he stays put

Buemi goes up to 16th ahead of Kobayashi. Maldonado now in the drop zone

Maldonado can't improve and needs another run

Mike Gascoyne on Twitter: "Heavy shower coming in now, will not be before the end of the session but soon"

Maldonado pits, so he is out

The chequered flag falls, only Trulli still on a lap

A good effort from Trulli but he stays 20th. Kovalainen improved in 19th and was only 0.5s behind Koabayashi and a spot in Q2

Good final lap from Liuzzi too puts him above Ricciardo and both Virgins

So dropping out after Q1 are (in order) Maldonado, Kovalainen, Trulli, Liuzzi, Ricciardo, d'Ambrosio and Glock. Good work from HRT beating both Virgin cars

It could be an intresting Q2 if that rain sets in soon. The humidity is up at 64% at present

Ferrari (InsideFerrari) on Twitter: "The nearest shower is at 2.5 km, without any movement but may suddenly extend towards the track, said Meteo France"

Stephen emails in to say "How much would we love to see Vettel and Alonso in the same car!"

A lot of people would love to see that Stephen, but unfortunately I can't see it happening any time soon

We're underway in Q2. 15 minutes to to get through in to the top ten shootout, and every car is straight out on track in case that rain materialises

Sutil first to set a time, with di Resta following him. Sutil's time is a 1:13.276 on soft tyres and di Resta does a 1:13.584

Radar says no rain for 30 minutes, but I don't think it can be trusted!

Only Schumacher yet to complete a flying lap. Vettel quickest from Rosberg, Button, Webber and Hamilton. Senna with a good lap for eighth ahead of Massa and di Resta

Hamilton on a quicker lap second time around, and he goes fourth on a 1:12.811

Vettel's headline time is a 1:12.446

Rosberg with a 1:12.569 - that's a very impressive lap. Schumacher is 11th and over a second slower

The drop zone at present as everyone pits: Schumacher, Alguersuari, Buemi, Kobayashi, Petrov, Barrichello and Perez

With the chances of rain receding, everyone is waiting to go out for a late second run

Sutil, Alguersuari and Buemi head out with five minutes to go

Massa comes out for a second run, as Alguersuari improves but stays 12th

Top six comfortable and staying in the pits, Alguersuari has pitted too so he's definitely out

Massa backs off after a mistake in the Curva do Sol

Schumacher 11th at present and needs to improve...

Schumacher just goes 10th, he's in for now, he has time for one more lap but he's backed off

Buemi radios in with "a loss of power". So his running is done too

Senna with a good first sector, he backs off though as di Resta hasn't improved

Petrov goes 15th, so Barrichello the last man who could get in to the top ten

Barrichello backs off, so he has given it up. Out go: di Resta, Barrichello, Alguersuari, Buemi, Petrov, Kobayashi and Perez

Great laps from Rosberg in second, Sutil in seventh and Senna in ninth. The difference between Massa and Senna was 0.009s

Senna was so impressive in that session, he was 0.7s quicker than Petrov. But Rosberg was just mighty to go a second quicker than Schumacher. No idea where that lap came from

Williams said that Barrichello's tyres gave up on his final lap, but at least he has shown the team his raw pace compared to Maldonado

Q3 is a minute away...who's your prediction for pole position? I'm going with Webber sneaking it. Mainly because I don't want to be boring and say Vettel. But, you know...

Rosberg is first man out at the start of the session, soon followed by Hamilton

Rosberg with a slow middle sector, but Hamilton winds up with a quick first sector

Massa, Schumacher, Sutil and Senna appear to be waiting for one run (or none) after having used so many soft tyres already

Hamilton backs off too on his first lap

They're winding up for quicker laps on the second run, but Vettel goes quickest with a 1:12.268

That's the quickest lap we've seen all weekend from Vettel. Button goes second on a 1:12.613

Webber up to second with a 1:12.518, with Alonso fourth on 1:12.821 and Hamilton fifth on a 1:12.906

Rosberg is wheeled back in to the garage as Sutil joins the track. He has it all to himself

Ray emails in to ask if Vettel can break 1m12s. I can't see him doing that to be honest Ray, that was a very quick lap and it's such a short circuit that it's tough to find big chunks of time

Three minutes to go, and only Sutil on a lap right now. Vettel has rejoined the track

Sutil 0.2s slower than Rosberg, while Schumacher heads out on medium tyres. Could be a different strategy there for Mercedes

All 10 cars on track now, with Senna out on the soft tyres as well

Vettel going quicker on this lap...

What did I say about breaking 1m12s? Amazing lap, a 1:11.918 from Vettel

Alonso goes third

Button goes second

Webber with a 1:12.099 up to second

Hamilton can only go fourth, while Rosberg didn't improve

Rosberg still outqualified Massa though, and Sutil took eighth ahead of Senna and Schumacher

That's a new record for Vettel, his 15th pole position of the year putting him ahead of Nigel Mansell for the most pole positions in a single season, and it was another remarkable lap that ultimately no-one else had an answer to

So, an all-Red Bull front row (I wasn't too far off with my Webber prediction), and an all-McLaren second row with Button ahead of Hamilton. Alonso and Rosberg share row three ahead of Massa, Sutil, Senna and Schumacher - who didn't set a time

Well, that concludes the final qualifying session of the 2011 season, and it's pretty apt that it's Sebastian Vettel on pole position once again. Of course we've seen two weeks ago that it doesn't necessarily mean he'll walk away with the race. Add in the fact that the pole sitter hasn't won the race in Brazil for the last two years, and you've got plenty of incentives to join us for the race. Before that, though, make sure you stick with ESPNF1.com for all the reaction to today's qualifying. Bye for now