The grid is forming up and the Virgins at the back complete it. Charlie Whiting turns on the five lights...

We'll try and keep you in touch with the situation in the battle for fifth/sxith/seventh in the constructors' championship too, with the closest battle between Sauber and Toro Rosso for seventh

We're away on the formation lap, still in bright sunshine

The tyre covers come off and the grid clears for the formation lap. Every driver is on the soft tyre, maybe expecting rain and therefore not having to run the slower compound

That rain is 2km away according to Mercedes, but if it will hit the circuit is anyone's guess. We could even get a situation where it starts raining immediately after the race starts

The wind is picking up and a nice wide shot has just shown a big black cloud that appears to be depositing rain nearby...

A few drivers to look out for today after impressive qualifying performances yesterday: Nico Rosberg was second quickest in Q2 and very competitive, Bruno Senna starts 9th and Rubens Barrichello 12th. The home drivers will really be looking to impress, especially as it may be Barrichello's final grand prix

Mercedes sums up the situation very well right now: "Very hot and sunny on the grid but there is rain in the area... the engineers are keeping a close eye on the radar!"

I must admit it's really hard to second guess the weather at the moment. Nobody on the grid seems to know what is likely to happen as they prepare in bright sunshine. Some teams say it will rain in five minutes, Force India says a completely dry race, other forecasts say showers popping up all around the circuit and could easily hit...your guess is as good as mine.

Mike Gascoyne on Twitter: "Rain expected in 5 mins now"

One such email has come in from Ahmad who says: "I'm out of explanations. Why in your opinion schumi is a 0.5 - 1 second slower than nico? I've always heard of some issues hitting schumi's car in qualifying but its strange that it always happen to him rather than rosberg! And I dont think schumi is a second slower than anyone on the same car!"

Well this weekend Ahmad Schumacher needed to save tyres after using an extra set in Q2, so he didn't set a time in Q3. Rosberg was very fast in the sceond part of qualifying but he was still half a second slower in the final part, which was all down to tyre temperatures, so a big portion of that time difference could be because Schumacher didn't get his tyres working as well as Rosberg.

There's just under half an hour to go to lights out at Interlagos, and if you want to get your predictions in for the race then you can do so either by emailing us using the link above or via Twitter @ESPNF1_live

It's still dry at the moment though, and a little earlier Nelson Piquet drove his championship-winning 1981 Brabham BT49C around the circuit

© Sutton Images

Ferrari doing a good job with its weather watch: "The nearest shower is at 11km in the north but without any movement towards us. Few drops already possible due to the present clouds."

For those who may have missed qualifying yesterday, Sebastian Vettel secured a record-breaking 15th pole position of the season. His lap was a special one, in what was a closely contested session.

The main focus today is on the skies, as rain is forecast. At the moment it is dry at the circuit, but we expect heavy rain before the start of the race and further showers during the grand prix. The latest tweet from Ferrari (InsideFerrari) says: "Showers are developing, around the circuit at the moment. Others may develop nearer or on the track. Due to actual clouds, already few drops, said Meteo France at 1pm."

Welcome to ESPNF1's coverage of the final race of the 2011 season: the Brazilian Grand Prix. It may be one of the latest finishes to a Formula One season, and the titles may have been long since decided, but you'll miss the racing when it's gone. So get comfortable and enjoy the next 71 laps

Lap 1

Vettel with a strong start, Webber holds off Button and Alonso jumps Hamilton for fourth. Massa up to sixth and Schumacher back to 11th

Kovalainen with a good start up to 15th too. Vettel leads by 1.1s immediately as Schumacher passes di Resta for 10th in to turn one

Lap 2

Vettel has bolted, he's already over two seconds clear at the front. Webber has Button and Alonso close behind. Barrichello with a poor start down to 18th

Lap 3

DRS is now enabled, but Vettel is well clear of that already. Barrichello passes Kovalainen for 17th, while Kobayashi passes Buemi for 13th

Lap 4

Vettel is pegged by Webber on that last lap, but Button can't match the pace and has Alonso all over the back of him

Lap 5

Alonso uses DRS but can't try and find a way past Button in to turn four. Still bright sunshine, by the way

Vettel extends his lead to 2.8s

Lap 6

Schumacher close behind Senna, with Sutil doing well to hang on to Rosberg

Vettel and Webber running on their own pace at the front at present, over half a second quicker than anyone else. Button in third already 6.6s off the lead

Lap 7

Vettel leads by 3.2s, with Button, Hamilton and Alonso just 1.4s apart

Lap 8

The laps ticking over quickly, as you were at the front. Schumacher yet to find a way past Senna and Sutil closing in on Rosberg for seventh

Lap 9

Schumacher may be hustling Senna, but di Resta is within striking distance if he makes a mistake, and Petrov is hanging on there too

Lap 10

Contact between Schumacher and Senna, Senna was defending the inside line and Schumacher turned in on him. Left rear puncture for Schumacher who tumbles down the field

Lap 11

That incident is under investigation, and di Resta is now all over the back of him.

Alonso close behind Button in to turn four, he gets a better exit and then drives clean around the outside of him in to turn six! A brilliant move from Alonso

Lap 12

Schumacher pits and rejoins between Alonso and Button. Hamilton all over the back of his team-mate now as Schumacher lets the pair through

Lap 13

Senna pits but doesn't change his front wing. Schumacher is last now, while Alonso is 1.2s ahead of Button

Lap 14

Alonso is 10s off the lead but matching pace. That pace may change though, as Vettel has a gearbox problem and is told not to use full revs in second gear. Webber takes 0.3s out of him on that lap

Lap 15

Sutil pits from eighth and rejoinse behind Barrichello in 14th place

Lap 16

Another 0.3s taken out of Vettel's lead on that lap. 2.6s the gap, as Button pits from fourth. Looks like a three-stop race at the moment, no sign of rain

Button rejoins in seventh ahead of di Resta. He may be looking for the undercut, while Petrov has jumped Senna in the pit stops

Lap 17

Alonso and Hamilton pit at the same time, Button comes round and remains behind Alonso but ahead of his team-mate

Vettel told to short shift in second and third gear. That gearbox problem could be getting worse and worse. He pits

Lap 18

Webber's lap times have dropped off slightly as his tyres go off. He pits but it could be close with Vettel

Senna has been given a drive-through penalty for causing a collision

Lap 19

Webber rejoins behind Vettel comfortably. His lap times on worn tyres were too slow. The McLaren pair are struggling to keep pace with Alonso, who has closed up on Webber a lot. He's 3.5s behind

Lap 20

Massa leads at the moment but is yet to pit. Vettel is 1.4s behind, while Hamilton sets the fastest lap

Sutil passes Perez for 8th on the start/finish straight, and he's ahead of Rosberg who passes Alguersuari for 9th in to turn one

Lap 21

Massa defends the inside line against Vettel but Vettel has DRS and drives clean around the outside on the run down to turn four. Massa will need to pit, and he does at the end of the lap

Lap 22

Webber with the fastest lap, 0.5s quicker than Vettel and the gap is now 2.8s. The top six are covered by just 11.6s now and closing up as Vettel struggles with his gearbox issue

Lap 23

Trulli is 16th having not stopped. He's behind Barrichello. Glock retires without a left rear tyre which left the car in the pit lane. Fortunately he parks it safely and the tyre ran down until marshals moved it

Lap 24

Vettel with the fastest lap, and he may have sorted his problem now as he extends his lead back out to 2.7s

Lap 25

Button matching lead pace. I spoke too soon about Vettel's problem; he receives a message saying it is a "serious gearbox problem" and he still needs to short shift between gears two and three

Lap 26

This is Webber's race to win now as he closes the gap to 2.3s

Lap 27

Senna with a potential problem as he shifts up twice in turn three and loses a spot to Maldonado. On board the second time around and the same problem befalls him. Slow in sector one

Lap 28

Vettel's lead is down to 1.4s as Webber, and he's told to short shift ever corner of every lap. The response is "I will fall behind" as he is going to allow Webber through easily due to the problem

Lap 29

Maldonado is in the wall on the outside of turn seven, he's facing the wrong way too. Maldonado is out of the car.

Webber is right behind Vettel now

Lap 30

Vettel lets Webber through in to turn one, backing off on the inside to make it clear. Webber leads, and Alonso is 8.9s off the lead unable to match the pace

Lap 31

Button and Hamilton still running close together, and replays show Hamilton lapped Schumacher in to the yellow flag zone where Maldonado's car is. Schumacher let him through though and Hamilton gestured to make that clear

Lap 32

Button pits for the medium tyre, allowing Hamilton up to fourth. He's 6.4s behind Alonso, while Button rejoins behind Massa in sixth place. Sutil also pits from seventh

Lap 33

Webber has opened up a two second gap now with a lap time 0.5s quicker than the Vettel, Alonso and Hamilton who all match pace

Lap 34

The Red Bull forecast says rain is expected in ten minutes for ten minutes. Webber with the fastest lap and a second quicker than Alonso in third. Hamilton pits for softs and rejoins about two seconds behind Button but on the quicker tyre

Button on the medium tyre is currently quicker than Alonso in third

Lap 35

Webber's lead is up to 2,3s. Button is 2.2s behind Massa with Hamilton 2.1s behind. Vettel is told of potential rain and Red Bull says it wants to go "as long as possible on these tyres"

Lap 36

Alonso puts on soft tyres as he pits and remains in third just ahead of Massa

Perez spins at Bico de Pato but is fine to continue

Lap 37

Kovalainen with what looks like a plastic bag on his front wing, while Senna is missing fourth gear

Lap 38

Hamilton is told that he too has a gearbox problem and that there is nothing he can do to help but "keep driving". A good lap from Alonso who has pulled 4s clear of Massa, who has Button right behind him

Lap 39

Webber pits from the lead and puts on soft tyres. If it's going to rain it will be in the next few minutes according to the forecast.

Button uses DRS to cruise around the outside of Massa in to Descida do Lago

Lap 40

Vettel pits from what was the lead, he puts on softs and Webber retains a comfortable lead

Button's pace is good on the medium tyre, and he doesn't have to stop agan if the tyres will last. Massa has Hamilton right behind him now

Lap 41

Webber pulls his lead out to 3.7s with the fastest lap of the race

Lap 42

Alonso is now less than seven seconds behind Vettel in second place, and Button is matching pace too. Massa v Hamilton on track once again, and Massa defends well in to Descida do Lago after Hamilton uses the DRS

Lap 43

Conny asks: "Is there any visual of rain coming?" - Just some dark clouds Conny, but they have been around the circuit all day

Webber leads by 4.6s as Vettel responds to pull away from Alonso. Hamilton is getting very held up by Massa right now and he's over 5 seconds behind Button

Lap 44

Hamilton seems to be struggling out of Juncao, and can't get close enough to Massa in to turn one

Lap 45

Hamilton pits for medium tyres to try and jump Massa, and he rejoins just behind Sutil

Lap 46

Massa pits too for the medium tyre, his second stop, and it's very close but he retains position. Sutil pits and drops back to seventh

Lap 47

Vettel matching Webber's pace for fastest lap, but then is told his problem is still "serious" and his objective is to finish ahead of Alonso

Lap 48

Hamilton's gearbox gives up and he has to pull over out of Curva do Sol. He shifted up to sixth and the gearbox went in to neutral

Lap 49

Sutil is close behind Rosberg in the battle for sixth, he passes him along the outside of the start-finish straight, but Rosberg hangs on and dives up the inside in to turn one. Great defence

Lap 50

Same thing happens next time around, but Sutil shuts the door early and holds position. That's him back up to sixth. Rosberg is on a similar strategy to di Resta who is now less than ten seconds behind

Lap 51

Vettel is now 6 seconds behind Webber but pulling away from Alonso. 11.2s ahead of the Ferrari

Lap 52

Button pits for more medium tyres, and he is slow pulling away. He is racing Massa for fifth now

Lap 53

Vettel managing pace well, he's still pulling away from Alonso

Lap 54

Barrichello and Perez close together for 13th, with the Williams ahead. di Resta still 9.3s behind Rosberg, and one more retiremend ahead could hand Force India fifth in the constructors' championship. As things stand it will be four points behind Renault

Lap 55

Webber extends his lead to 7 seconds as Alonso pits for medium tyres. He'll hope that he can get them to work otherwise Button may be in with a chance of catching him. Ferrari has regularly struggled to get the harder compound to work

Lap 56

Button is five seconds behind Alonso, and told he can do qualifying laps until the end of the race on these tyres. That immediately brings the fastest lap from Button and he closes the gap to 4.6s

Lap 57

I was wrong that Button is racing Massa - he's 14s clear of that Ferrari - but he's now only 3.8s behind Alonso

Lap 58

Button is so much quicker in the middle sector, and Alonso can't get the medium tyres to work for him. The gap is down to 2.9s now

Lap 59

Webber pits for the hard tyre, and will look to ease his car home. Button now just the one second behind Alonso...

Lap 60

Vettel pits and Webber regains the lead. A bit of a slow stop for Vettel who will get hampered by his gearbox heavily in the pit lane. Button is in the DRS zone but can't pass Alonso i n to Descida do Lago

Lap 61

Button has a look in to turn one but isn't close enough. Nor is he able to use the DRS to get by... can Alonso hold on for the final ten laps?

Lap 62

Button and Alonso side by side along the pit straight, but he cleverly ducks inside to get a better run out of turn three and use the DRS to pass around the outside before Descida do Lago. Cleaver driving and Button up to third. Answered my question quickly on that one

Lap 63

Vettel runs wide through Descida do Lago, and loses some time. Button is now hunting down Vettel and the gao us 11 seconds. Button took 0.6s out of him on that lap, so might not have enough laps left to catch him

Lap 64

Di Resta has the gap to Rosberg down to 6.9s for seventh place. Petrov is 2.6s ahead of Alguersuari for 10th so if those places change there will be one point between Renault and Force India

Lap 65

Tonio Liuzzi and his Chalky Helmet has come to a rest on the outside of Descida do Sol

Lap 66

Button has the gap down to 9.4s, he's not quite a second a lap quicker and is running out of time. But will Vettel's gearbox hold on?

Lap 67

Button has the gap down to nine seconds with five laps to go, he won't be able to do it with the traffic ahead of him to. Rosberg also stabilising his seventh position

Lap 68

Massa is the man in fifth place, but he is 26s behind his team-mate Alonso in fifth

Lap 69

Red Bull's radar now saying no rain in these closing three laps. Hardly a surprise as it is clear sunshine. Alonso complains that his rear wing didn't work on the last lap

Lap 70

Massa lets Barrichello through to unlap himself for 14th place. Schumacher is catching the Williams too

Lap 71

Webber completes the fastest lap as he starts the final one. He's 13s ahead of Vettel with Button a further 8s back

And Webber cruises round with another fastest lap to win the Brazilian Grand Prix. A good drive from Webber who was so much quicker than everyone else, even though Vettel had that gearbox issue. Vettel is second ahead of Button, who has to stop his car immediately after turn one

Quite subdued response from Webber to his congratulations from the team. He just replies with "Yep, cheers guys". Only Alonso in fourth and Massa in fifth finish on the same lap. Sutil is a strong sixth ahead of Rosberg and di Resta. Kobayashi is ninth to keep Sauber ahead of Toro Rosso and Petrov is tenth to ensure Renault just hold on to fifth in the constructor's championship.

Vettel congratulates Webber on his victory as soon as he is out of the car. Webber was definitely on the sort of form that saw him come so close to the title last year

So, as the drivers head off to do their media duties and celebrate the end of the season, we must bid you farewell too. Thank you very much for joining us throughout the season, stay with ESPNF1.com for all the reaction. Congratulations to Mark Webber today, Sebastian Vettel for the whole season and Red Bull for its dominant campaign. We'll see you again in 2012 to find out if anyone can knock the team off its perch.

Christian Horner tells the BBC that the team didn't expect Vettel's gearbox to last past half distance, which puts his drive in to perspective too. We've just heard a bit of radio from Vettel mid-race, when he says "I feel like Senna in 91". On that occasion Senna also had to nurse a gearbox issue with a manual gearbox and had to be helped from the car at the end such was the pain he was in. Of course, he won the race too.

That's Webber's first victory since the Hungarian Grand Prix last year, and fully deserved. Impressive control from Vettel to nurse the car home, and a strong final stint from Button secures another podium. Button finishes as runner-up while Webber beats Alonso to third by a point

Webber spins before raising his trophy aloft. More congratulations from Vettel, and Webber seems to be warming up a bit now - a big smile as he sprays the champagne

Button congratulates Webber before stepping out on the podium, and Webber says "we're going home together aren't we?" Apparently Webber has a party lined up for the flight back...

As Massa returns to the pit lane he entertains the crowd with some burnouts and donuts. Good to see, because he'll probably get in trouble for that!