Welcome to final practice for the German Grand Prix.

We've had more rain overnight so any rubber that was put down in yesterday's free practice has been washed away.

Alonso was the quickest man on Friday with a time of 1:16.265 and he was in a bouyant mood after practice. However, the Red Bulls are not far behind and we suspect they weren't on full-attack yesterday.

It's even harder to tell what McLaren are up to. They've decided to stick with their blown diffuser but yesterday Hamilton, who crashed out and had very limited running, was seventh fastest and Button only 15th.

Team boss Whitmarsh said that Button was running heavy fuel loads all session but many in the paddock are a little sceptical and beleive McLaren are just plain slow this weekend.

We will learn a lot more about the pecking order in this session as long as it stays dry. The track is damp in places but that should all be burned off when the cars get out there.

Having said that it is now spitting with rain ... again. Not good for the teams.

Lotus confirms everyone's worst fears: "People covering up in the grandstands - rain's coming in..."

The air temp is 19C at the moment, which isn't too cold considering its still quite early in the morning and the sun isn't out yet.

So if the rain does stop we could see the track dry quite quickly, possibly in time for qualifying. Although I think I will stop making weather forecasts as they are nearly almost always wrong.

HRT do have a weather forecast based on actual science rather than looking at the sky and they say rain will continue for the next 15 minutes.

Jarno Trulli is the first driver out on track and there is still a dryish line out there. Button is also out on intermediates for his installation lap.

There are big puddles down at turns eight and nine. And Sutil loses the rear in turn 11, proving it is still wet down there.

Rosberg is going out on a brand new set of wet tyres.

Hamilton is slipping and sliding his way through the stadium complex and returns to the pits having completed his installation lap.

All the drivers have now completed an installation lap.

Schumacher is moving very slowly on his out lap and then dives into the pits.

Rosberg is out on track cruising around, possibly running a test on the F-duct that was causing Mercedes problems yesterday.

Force India reports: "Rain heavy through turn eight"

Virgin asks: "Radar saying 5-10 minute showers. Should we wait or go and scrub a set of extremes?"

Lotus is preparing for a wet qualifying: "Will srub in some full wets and inters in case we need them for qualifying"

Trulli heads out to scrub a set of extreme wets. He's the only driver out on track at the moment.

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Vettel is heading out on intermediate tyres and, interestingly enough, the old spec front wing that Webber was forced to race at Silverstone.

Di Grassi tip toes into the turn six chicane, it's very slippy down there and he's on extreme wets.

Di Grassi has clocked the first competitive lap time although its not actually that competitive: a 1:37.406.

Vettel beats that with a 1:29.911.

Rishi asks: "The Red Bull Issue from a few months ago (regarding adjustable ride height) has died out. Does anybody know how Red Bull manages to stay off the ground even with heavy fuel loads, or do all the teams know the techniques?"

Everybody now beleives it has more to do with the blown diffuser and constantly feeding exhaust gases into it, even when the driver is not on the throttle. Ferrari is testing a similar system this weekend. I think the truth is that there are a whole number of things, known and unknown, that makes the Red Bull fast on low fuel.

Rosberg is out on full wets and makes a mistake and runs wide at turn two.

Sutil appears to have a problem and is crawling down towards turn eight. He says over the radio that he has lost drive. He will try and coast back to the pit lane but I don't think he will be able to make it. It's also pretty dangerous.

Sutil says he suspects the clutch is finished.

Anne and Andy ask: "Is there much of a crowd considering the weather?"

Yes, a huge crowd considering the conditions. These Germans are very devoted to their F1.

Sutil just about makes it back to the pits and the Force India crew will go down to meet him.

The track is drying at the moment but everybody is still out on either inters or full wets.

Muffadal asks: "What do you mean by "scrub" a set of wet tyres for Quali?"

It basically means put a single lap on that set of tyres. When the tyres are brand new they have a sheen on top and oils within them that actually makes it more slippery. Once that sheen is broken and the tyres have some heat put through them - by a single lap - they actually offer more grip.

Vettel's best time is a 1:24.988 and the track is definitely drying at the moment. Liuzzi is the next fastest driver with a 1:25.882.

Alonso is still out on track but is about 2.350 off the pace - possibly due to running a heavier fuel load.

Ferrari team-mate Massa goes fastest with a 1:24.542 on intermediate tyres.

JD asks: "Do you think the weather this weekend at Hockenheim, giving little real running, and the fact Lewis knocked all four corners off his wagon yesterday and only got a few laps in, will seriously compromise his weekend?"

It certainly won't help, that was why Button was out doing so many laps yesterday, to make up for the testing time lost by Hamilton putting his car in the wall. Hamilton has only been out for one installation lap so McLaren clearly aren't that worried about the car at the moment. If it continues to dry, expect everyone to come out in the final 20 minutes or so.

Liuzzi says a 90% of the track is dry but it is still wet at some corners - like turn six, eight and nine.

For those asking, a lot of the big name drivers like Webber and Hamilton are waiting for conditions to improve. As far as I can tell there is nothing wrong with their cars. Lap times are meaningless at the moment as drivers are going quicker on everly lap as the track dries.

Arash asks: "Hi guys, just wondering if there is any prediction of rain for qualifying session?"

To be honest we're struggling to predict the weather in the next 15 minutes, let alone the next three hours! I think rain is likely and a lot of the teams are preparing for a wet session.

Sutil's car is up on jacks and won't be out again for the rest of this session.

De la Rosa is told that his next run will be on slick tyres, suggesting we might see a whole load of cars exiting the pits in a minute. But de la Rosa replies: "Let's not be the first ones out on prime tyres."

Buemi is out on the hard slick tyres and looks like he is getting plenty of grip in the stadium section.

Yamamoto loses control of his HRT at the damp turn six. He is on hard slick tyres.

Hulkenberg is now out on slicks as is Vettel, Hamilton and Webber. They are all heading out now as Buemi sets the fastest time so far this session with a 1:21.369.

Klaas asks: "For what I can see Sauber still hasn't got a lot of sponsors, or at least a big name that backs them (apart from BurgerKing a few races ago). Isn't this becoming dangerous for the future of the team?"

Good point. They are now actually running a scheme called C1, where individuals or comapnies can buy corporate hospitality with the team and then, if they choose and at an extra cost, they can put sponsors on the car. It's not ideal and is not as lucrative as a proper sponsor but it is providing some cash flow.

Webber is now fastest on hard dry tyres with a 1:20.360. But we are still four seconds off Alonso's time of yesterday.

Unbelievable, the sun is poking through the clouds. Expect times to tumble over the next 15 minutes.

Vettel is still in the garage but we don't think there is a problem.

Massa is now fastest with a 1:19.798. But Webber smashes that with a 1:18.675.

Hamilton is lapping some way off the pace but I suspect he is catching up on some of the heavy-fuel running he missed yesterday.

Dave asks: "Does Senna have a problem with his car?"

He's only completed one lap and is till in the garage so I suspect he does. Can't say for certain.

Massa now fastest with a 1:18.030 and Hamilton blows my theory out the water with a 1:17.600.

Alonso and Vettel are now out on soft tyres so expect some quick lap times. Although Alonso aborts his first lap and rolls straight through the pits.

Frantic action in the pits as Webber, Hamilton and Button make last minute changes and bolt on a set of soft tyres.

Vettel fastest with a 1:16.915 and is beaten immediately by Alonso with a 1:16.805. But we believe these times are being set on the soft tyres from yesterday not a fresh set.

Hamilton is back out on track as Webber sets the fastest lap on soft tyres with a 1:16.568

Vettel pumps in a 1:16.087 and Alonso can't match him on his latest lap.

Button was on a good lap but had to back off due to traffic.

Hamilton is second fastest with a 1:16.207. He's just 0.120 off Vettel.

Webber is the first to break into the 1:15s with a 1:15.983

Alonso is now quickest with a 1:15.934. He's just 0.049 up on Webber.

Webber is on a very fast lap now... and sets a time of 1:15.708 with a very brave and bold final sector.

Vettel sets a stunning lap with a 1:15.103, we haven't seen anything like that so far this session. Alonso just gets within 0.284 so it's still quite competive.

Button only manages 13th fastest while Hamilton is in sixth. So it looks like the fight is between Red Bull and Ferrari but we won't know for sure until qualifying this afternoon. Make sure you join us, it should be a very exciting session.