1. Alonso (McLaren) 1:15.726

2. Hamilton (McLaren) 1:15.905

3. Massa (Ferrari) 1:15.967

4. Fisichella (Renault) 1:16.285

5. Rosberg (Williams) 1:16.439

6. Webber (Red Bull) 1:16.784

7. Heidfeld (Sauber) 1:16.832

By Sarah Holt

1400: Alonso takes pole for the first time this season, as McLaren wrap up a one-two on the Monaco grid. Hamilton, who has never lost a race in Monaco, has given himself a great chance to target his first Grand Prix win.

1358: Hamilton is out looking for a flying lap but has a bit of a slide and gets caught up in traffic on the middle sector. It proves costly as Alonso pips him with a time of 1:15.726.

1356: There are four minutes left in qualifying and, as it stands, Hamilton will be on pole. A few spots of rain caused panic in the pits but it has dried up again now - the only question does the track have any more pace in it?

1352: Hamilton is looking for his first pole position in Monaco and he is back out there trying to set a fastest lap. Alonso closes in on Hamilton's lead but loses time in his final sector and the Briton holds on to provisional pole.

1349: The drivers are whizzing round the Monte Carlo streets to try and burn off some fuel but Hamilton still sneaks in a decent lap first of 1:15.905.

1344: The cars are ready and waiting but Coulthard will not take part in the third part of qualifying after being penalised for not letting Kovanlainen pass.

The Scot is pretty cross as he gets out of his car and the penalty means Button takes part in the top-10 shootout in his stead.

"Coulthard was lining up to start a final flying lap and was going slowly but he didn't bargain that Kovalainen was coming to the end of a flying lap and he chopped him up."
BBC Five Live analyst Maurice Hamilton

1342: The news is that the race officials will investigate both Kovalainen and Coulthard after the Scot appeared to block Kovalainen.

1338: We're down to the top 10 down and here are those that did not make the cut: Raikkonen, Kovalainen, Trulli, Liuzzi, Wurz and Jenson Button (Honda).

1336: Kovalainen is stuck behind Coulthard as the Finn desperately tries to get into the top 10. Coulthard was on an out-lap in his Red Bull and he is a bit ungentlemanly as he does not let Kovalainen pass him.

1334: So here's the six drivers who are sitting, not very pretty, in the bottom six. Raikkonen, Jarno Trulli (Toyota), Alexander Wurz (Williams), Liuzzi (Toro Rosso), Heikki Kovalainen (Renault) and Webber (Red Bull).

1333: Frantic work is going on in the Ferrari garage on Raikkonen' car but it is not looking good.

1330: Alonso sets the pace with a time of 1:15.431 meanwhile Raikkonen is languishing in the pits after he appeared to damage his steering.

1325: Ferrari duo Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa both come out qickly but Raikkonen comes to a standstill just round the corner at Rascasse. His car lays across the track at a 45 degree angle and soon Massa gets caught up and rolls alongside him. Problems again for Ferrari.

1323: Here we go again for the second elimination round of qualifying with Nico Rosberg first out this time.

1320: "Hamilton is sending out the message that his crash on Thursday did not bother him."
BBC Five Live analyst Maurice Hamilton

1315: Hamilton continues to boss the top of the field in Monte Carlo but here are those floundering at the bottom of the field who are all eliminated: Christijan Albers (Spyker), Takuma Sato (Super Aguri), Ralf Schumacher (Toyota), Adrian Sutil (Spyker), Scott Speed (Toro Rosso) and Anthony Davidson (Super Aguri).

1313: After his heroics in final practice, Adrian Sutil is down in the drop zone along with Spyker team-mate Christijan Albers. Meanwhile Coulthard climbs up to eighth after a determined lap in his hometown.

1311: David Coulthard has gone out on the harder tyres for a do-or-die lap as he is stranded down in the bottom six - all of whom face elimination.

1309: Hamilton is back in the pits now after laying down a flying lap of 1:16.234. Ahh I spoke too soon, the young Briton is back out again and lays down another marker to the field with a lap of 1:15.685.

1307: The McLarens show their speed as first Alonso sets the fastest lap, only to be immediately overhauled by Hamilton, who clocks 1:16.924.

1305: All the drivers apart from Nick Heidfeld and Ralf Schumacher are out of the garages now.

"It is going to get faster all the way through this qualifying period."
BBC Five Live analyst Maurice Hamilton

1300: The green light is on and Britain's Jenson Button is first out onto the track as the drivers try and take advantage of the drier conditions and set a decent lap.

1259: The drivers are all sitting in their cars ready for the first spell of qualifying. The rain has stopped too.

1251: McLaren's world champion Alonso appears striding on the track ready for qualifying but who's that behind him?

Looming behind the Spaniard and reaching round to give him a pat on the shoulder is seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher.

Schumacher caused controversy in Monaco last season when he slowed down and blocked the track during qualifying, causing Alonso to be held up. The Ferrari driver was stripped of pole and demoted to last on the grid.

1248: Uh-oh, spoke to soon. The rain has started failing quite significantly now and the umbrellas are out.

1240: With 20 minutes left before the first spell of qualifying, the rain has dried up in Monte Carlo, but there is still a chance it could return during the battle for grid positions.

The rain means that there is less grip out there on the track, which could lead to more missed corners and turns.

Pre-race:

Qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix is usually played out under brilliant blue skies and sunshine - but not this time.

The winding Monte Carlo street circuit has been made even more hazardous by blustery showers, which could make qualifying more of a lottery.

Spyker's Adrian Sutil was the surprise fastest driver in final practice, but his best time of one minute, 36.612 seconds was almost 16 seconds slower than Fernando's Alonso's leading time on Thursday.

Britain's Lewis Hamilton was third fastest in Saturday's practice session, which will be a relief after he slammed into the barrier two days before.

The 22-year-old McLaren rookie leads the world championship by two points from team-mate Fernando Alonso and will be looking for his first pole in Monaco.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa, winner of the last two Grands Prix, will be out to stop him as he is on the hunt for his fourth straight pole in Monte Carlo.

And here are the rules of qualifying again:

After the first 15-minute session, the slowest six cars will be eliminated. Six more cars will then be eliminated during a second spell and then the remaining top 10 cars will battle it out for the grid positions.

Results from final practice, Monaco: