The Belgian Grand Prix - Practice 1 Formula 1


The Belgian Grand Prix - Practice 1

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incredible first half of the season, the second half should be even more

:00:09.:01:13.

dramatic. What a fabulous place to welcome it back. Spa is one of the

:01:14.:01:18.

most iconic circuits on the calendar, in fact anywhere on the

:01:19.:01:24.

world, and drivers and fans and occasional television presenters

:01:25.:01:27.

absolutely love coming here. What makes this place so special? It is

:01:28.:01:32.

one of the most natural circuits. It follows the contours. It is an

:01:33.:01:38.

attacking circuit and every single driver likes a circuit that rewards

:01:39.:01:45.

a certain attacking mentality. The teams and drivers head off to relax

:01:46.:01:50.

for three weeks and we turn up at Spa and there are two new drivers

:01:51.:01:56.

making their debuts. Alexander Rossi is in the Marussia for Max Chilton.

:01:57.:02:11.

Kobayashi, There were a fuel rumours going around that he would be

:02:12.:02:18.

swapped out of Caterham. A difficult task for him because he has never

:02:19.:02:26.

driven a modern Formula One car. Alexander Rossi, he was the Caterham

:02:27.:02:33.

test driver and now he has switched to Marussia and now he is suddenly

:02:34.:02:43.

in the seat of... He was not prepared for sitting outcome he was

:02:44.:02:49.

prepared for driving this weekend. We have seen some incredible battles

:02:50.:02:52.

between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. It was left in quite a

:02:53.:03:02.

controversial way after the last race. I think they just turn down

:03:03.:03:08.

the flame on that fire a little. Without doubt those two are going to

:03:09.:03:12.

get into more situations this year because they are so close in the

:03:13.:03:16.

championship and so close in performance on track. Sunday

:03:17.:03:21.

afternoon it could get close again. It is so close, just 11 points

:03:22.:03:26.

separate Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers'

:03:27.:03:30.

Championship. Daniel Ricciardo has got two wins, that means he is in

:03:31.:03:35.

third place. Fernando Alonso's impressive win in Hungary sees the

:03:36.:03:41.

Spaniard move up to fourth place. Jenson Button is having a tough year

:03:42.:03:46.

in the McLaren. And Kimi Raikkonen is not even in the top ten, he is

:03:47.:03:52.

languishing down in 12th place. No prizes for guessing who leads the

:03:53.:03:55.

way in the Constructors' Championship. In commentary today we

:03:56.:04:10.

have Ben Edwards and Tony. Then, it is a big push now for all the teams.

:04:11.:04:15.

They have recharged. Now the hard work starts because it is intense

:04:16.:04:19.

from now until the end of the season. It is, and what a fabulous

:04:20.:04:27.

place this is to come. A championship to be resolved between

:04:28.:04:31.

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. There is so much else to look

:04:32.:04:34.

forward to, not just the battle between those two? Indeed, there is

:04:35.:04:39.

the Constructors' Championship battle going on between Ferrari and

:04:40.:04:42.

Williams. Further down you have got Force India battling McLaren. There

:04:43.:04:51.

is plenty going on. Lots to look forward to as we get ready for this

:04:52.:04:56.

first practice session. You can get involved from the comfort of your

:04:57.:05:01.

own home, leave your comments on the Facebook page or get in touch on

:05:02.:05:05.

Twitter. We are heading to the pit lane. COMMENTATOR: Immediately we

:05:06.:05:11.

have got some beautiful shots of this Spa-Francorchamps circuit and

:05:12.:05:18.

the first cars heading down towards the pit lane. It looks like the

:05:19.:05:22.

Caterham 's will be first down to the circuit. The regular driver for

:05:23.:05:26.

Caterham going out onto the circuit but behind him is Andre Lotterer,

:05:27.:05:50.

who makes his Formula One debut. All the Formula One factories had to

:05:51.:05:57.

shutdown but now they are well on the way to bringing this new nose

:05:58.:06:02.

section. It is part of what they hope will get them ahead of Marussia

:06:03.:06:07.

in the Constructors' Championship. You often get four seasons in one

:06:08.:06:11.

day in Spa and you might get rain, you don't know what you're going to

:06:12.:06:16.

get. It might represent an opportunity for that team. Andre

:06:17.:06:20.

Lotterer, what can we tell you about him? He is a three times winner of

:06:21.:06:32.

Le Mans. In his early years he was very successful in the junior

:06:33.:06:38.

categories. He raised in addition F3 -- in British F3 and he was seventh

:06:39.:06:45.

in that championship. He never actually raised in Formula One but

:06:46.:06:48.

he does have quite a lot of current single seater experience from Japan,

:06:49.:06:56.

doesn't he? Indeed, he has been racing in the main single seater

:06:57.:07:00.

category in Japan. He was doing that as long ago as 2004. He has been

:07:01.:07:05.

driving single seater is so it will not be a shock to the system. With

:07:06.:07:10.

his Audi experience, he has experience of fairly complex

:07:11.:07:15.

technical systems on that car, so I think he is well placed. Andre

:07:16.:07:20.

Lotterer, we will be keeping a close eye on him. And Alexander Rossi. But

:07:21.:07:26.

we're now looking at Felipe Massa in the Williams. Valtteri Bottas was

:07:27.:07:29.

out with the two Caterham 's. There is quite a lot of expectation

:07:30.:07:42.

on Williams this weekend. They have had an incredibly successful season

:07:43.:07:45.

by the standards of certainly last year and indeed the last couple of

:07:46.:07:49.

years, much more likely Williams of old. This weekend people are

:07:50.:07:54.

expecting them to perhaps be Mercedes's closest challengers. The

:07:55.:08:00.

car has proved to be very quick in a straight line and you have got a lot

:08:01.:08:06.

of flat out running here. In between the first corner and the top of the

:08:07.:08:10.

straight it is something like 23 or 25 seconds flat out and open. Then

:08:11.:08:17.

you have a very big sector three as well. I think Williams reckon

:08:18.:08:20.

you have a very big sector three as really charge for a win. That tends

:08:21.:08:25.

to count fall of the Mercedes powered cars. Force India could be

:08:26.:08:32.

in good shape here. Force India is a team that has a pretty good record

:08:33.:08:37.

at Spa anyway. It does. That is where we had -- they had a slightly

:08:38.:08:45.

different car design philosophy. Going back to Williams, that car is

:08:46.:08:50.

very slippery. We have seen the high straight line speed all year. That

:08:51.:08:55.

in particular is why they are favoured, but it will help anyone

:08:56.:08:59.

with a Mercedes engine. Nico Hulkenberg is about to go out in his

:09:00.:09:05.

Force India on the medium compound tyre. The medium and the soft

:09:06.:09:10.

available from Pirelli. Nico Hulkenberg is a bit concerned that

:09:11.:09:13.

they may see some of the repetition of the problems they had at

:09:14.:09:17.

Silverstone, where they found the car was very affected by breeze and

:09:18.:09:21.

strong winds. The wind is not as strong at the moment. It is not as

:09:22.:09:37.

blowy as it can be sometimes. We had a wet qualifying session here last

:09:38.:09:41.

year although a dry race. Nico Rosberg missed out in that session,

:09:42.:09:46.

you miss timed it a bit in terms of getting the best available lap at

:09:47.:09:54.

the best available time. For a while we had an amazing situation with

:09:55.:09:58.

Paul di Resta in pole position because he had chosen the best

:09:59.:10:02.

tyres, and then all of a sudden the slick tyres worked out. You don't

:10:03.:10:09.

know what you're going to get here. Kamui Kobayashi recently dropped by

:10:10.:10:17.

Caterham, he was on the front row. We have adult source of things

:10:18.:10:22.

happening here at Spa. It looks as though we are in for some dry

:10:23.:10:30.

weather today, perhaps rain on Saturday and then probably dry on

:10:31.:10:33.

Sunday but it is very difficult to predict here. The weather forecast

:10:34.:10:39.

will tell you some things but it is very specific to the place itself.

:10:40.:10:46.

Pastor Maldonado seems to be doing a couple of laps and so does Romain

:10:47.:10:51.

Grosjean. They have gone out quickly for their second installation lap.

:10:52.:10:55.

The Lotuses did not have a great time out last time out in Hungary.

:10:56.:11:07.

Maldonado yet to score any points in this year's championship. Looking

:11:08.:11:12.

there at Kevin Magnussen. He raced here in the past in the junior

:11:13.:11:17.

categories. He has raised here in the Renault 3.5 series, one of the

:11:18.:11:24.

levels just below. That green tape around the back of the Force India,

:11:25.:11:28.

some of that is looking at the rear airflow. Kevin Magnussen has had

:11:29.:11:34.

success here before. He has also won in Formula Three here at Spa in the

:11:35.:11:39.

past. He has the experience of the circuit and now he just has to dial

:11:40.:11:41.

past. He has the experience of the himself in in a Formula One car. He

:11:42.:11:45.

and Jenson Button but of course relishing the prospect of stretching

:11:46.:11:53.

the legs of the McLarens here. Jenson Button heading straight back

:11:54.:11:58.

into the pits. They have both completed their installation laps.

:11:59.:12:02.

It all goes quiet for a moment or two. James Alison, he is the

:12:03.:12:10.

technical boss at Ferrari. He will be at the press conference this

:12:11.:12:14.

afternoon. Can Ferrari make progress? There is another man in

:12:15.:12:18.

the news but perhaps not for the right reasons as far as he is

:12:19.:12:24.

concerned, Jean-Eric Vergne knows that he will not be driving for Toro

:12:25.:12:29.

Rosso next year because we have had the announcement that Max

:12:30.:12:33.

Verstappen, currently 16 but he will be 17 by next championship, he will

:12:34.:12:36.

be driving for Toro Rosso next season. Jean-Eric Vergne has had a

:12:37.:12:43.

pretty solid time. Do you see him getting a driver in Formula One? I

:12:44.:12:48.

think it will be quite difficult to him. He has had an opportunity here

:12:49.:12:52.

and he has done OK, but is he going to get a seat in a frontrunning

:12:53.:12:57.

team? Now he probably isn't. Is he in a position to bring finance to

:12:58.:13:02.

one of the poorly funded teams? I don't think he is. So it will be

:13:03.:13:08.

tough for him, I think. We will have to wait and see. He's determined to

:13:09.:13:12.

make sure to show us that he has got the ability. He has the remainder of

:13:13.:13:17.

the season in which to do that. We mentioned Andre Lotterer who is

:13:18.:13:21.

driving for Caterham, and Alexander Rossi is driving for Marussia this

:13:22.:13:24.

weekend in place of the British driver Max Chilton. That was all

:13:25.:13:28.

very last minute and we are catching up with the news. A few moments

:13:29.:13:33.

before the session began, Tom Clarkson spoke to Alexander Rossi

:13:34.:13:38.

about it. Today is a good day for you? Absolutely. Things came about

:13:39.:13:44.

quite quickly and I think everyone is a bit surprised but I'm so

:13:45.:13:47.

grateful for the opportunity and I can't wait to get started. When did

:13:48.:13:53.

you first hear about this? Very late yesterday evening. Now it has

:13:54.:14:02.

expanded a bit I guess you could say and I'm doing the race, it is what I

:14:03.:14:06.

have worked for full kind of all my life. America has been crying out

:14:07.:14:11.

for a Formula One driver for many years, you are the first driver to

:14:12.:14:17.

drive one of these since Scott speed. How has the reaction been at

:14:18.:14:23.

home? I think it has been very good. We have a lot of work to do

:14:24.:14:30.

and we haven't all arrived yet, so I will just take this and grasp it

:14:31.:14:33.

with both hands and see what happens in the future. What are the

:14:34.:14:39.

objectives? We have seen you driving for a different team in a different

:14:40.:14:44.

series. What can you achieve here? I will just have to take it

:14:45.:14:47.

step-by-step and not get overwhelmed with all the intricacies. I will

:14:48.:14:54.

expand on that come this afternoon and then I had of Sunday. Will we

:14:55.:15:04.

see you in the car in Monza? I have absolutely no idea! Alexander Rossi

:15:05.:15:17.

there. The first American to drive in Formula One over a full weekend

:15:18.:15:23.

since 2007, when Scott speed was the last to do so. You have to go along

:15:24.:15:28.

way since an American driver scored a podium. Not that I think he will

:15:29.:15:32.

do that in a Marussia, but you have to go back to Monza 1993 when Marco

:15:33.:15:46.

Andretti was on the podium. He is up against Jules Bianchi, who is highly

:15:47.:15:48.

rated by Ferrari. He always seems against Jules Bianchi, who is highly

:15:49.:16:03.

very controlled and an excited about any situation that arises. It's a

:16:04.:16:15.

tough ask for him. He's a tall fellow, getting himself comfortable

:16:16.:16:21.

in that car, then he's got to take on Bianchi. A big ask. We have just

:16:22.:16:30.

heard some breaking news, Max Chilton will be back in the car and

:16:31.:16:37.

racing this weekend. There he is. We have just heard that news. We gather

:16:38.:16:43.

he will be in the car. What is that going to do to Alexander Rossi, who

:16:44.:16:52.

has just psyched himself up, looking forward to a weekend in the car, and

:16:53.:16:57.

now it looks like it will be the usual driver after all? He'll have

:16:58.:17:01.

to go out with no fuel, fresh tyres and do a lap. It's all changed very

:17:02.:17:07.

quickly. It must have been a long night for Marussia management.

:17:08.:17:11.

Hopefully we will night for Marussia management.

:17:12.:17:14.

soon. That is the latest we are hearing. We have some of your

:17:15.:17:19.

comments coming in, a little bit of quiet time as the cars are prepared

:17:20.:17:24.

from their initial installation laps. Many of you bringing up the

:17:25.:17:28.

other subject about drivers which has caught everybody's attention. It

:17:29.:17:47.

is all about Max the, currently 16, he'll be 17 next year. What are our

:17:48.:17:53.

thoughts on him joining Formula One? It's remarkable to see a driver

:17:54.:17:56.

quite so young getting this opportunity. You say 17, surely it

:17:57.:18:07.

is too young, but I don't think it is. I think it depends on the

:18:08.:18:12.

individual. He's got some incredibly good genes, Max Verstappen, as well

:18:13.:18:16.

as his father being a Formula One driver, back in the 90s, his mother

:18:17.:18:26.

is a very accomplished cart driver. I mean, world-class level. There is

:18:27.:18:32.

a race in Italy, named after a pro-guy who killed himself when he

:18:33.:18:39.

was 14, karting, and a lot of people do that. And his mother won that in

:18:40.:18:49.

1995. Fantastic jeans. You couldn't do any better than that. His karting

:18:50.:18:56.

record is sensational. If you can mess out of those championships

:18:57.:19:00.

where it can go awfully wrong, things like GP to, you do. If

:19:01.:19:07.

somebody comes along and says, do you want to drive Formula One? Then

:19:08.:19:12.

you say yes. That's understandable. Jenson Button, who you are watching

:19:13.:19:16.

here, he was talking about it yesterday, he said when he got his

:19:17.:19:20.

chance he was not ready, he was too young, he was 20 when he had his

:19:21.:19:24.

opportunity. Yet when you get a chance like that, and he was urged

:19:25.:19:30.

by his father to go for it, initially he said to Frank

:19:31.:19:32.

Williams, I don't think I'm ready. John Button said, bring him back and

:19:33.:19:42.

tell him you are! Things have changed a bit. It's not as physical

:19:43.:19:51.

as it was ten years ago. There was more downforce. If you had asked me

:19:52.:19:56.

if a 17-year-old was ready ten years ago, I would have said no. But I

:19:57.:20:02.

don't see any reason why not. Through the famous Eau Rouge corner,

:20:03.:20:08.

with Jenson Button. It could be a bit more of a challenge this year.

:20:09.:20:13.

Let's get down to the pits. Lots to think about with the various

:20:14.:20:14.

different drivers we are mentioning. Max Verstappen is not

:20:15.:20:21.

driving this weekend. The drivers out this morning are Alexander

:20:22.:20:24.

Rossi, although we gather we might not see much more about him. As a

:20:25.:20:30.

team-mate of yours, and we know he will do the whole weekend, what are

:20:31.:20:36.

they trying to get out of it and what might the team benefit from?

:20:37.:20:42.

There were rumours of a change, Kobe as she had been talking about it a

:20:43.:20:46.

couple of Grand Prixs ago. It's a little bit of a surprise that it

:20:47.:21:11.

came in the form of Andre Lotterer. In some ways it's a little bit

:21:12.:21:15.

easier, coming back in this particular direction. He is just

:21:16.:21:18.

pulling his visor down and he's about to go on his first run. For

:21:19.:21:23.

him, a big smile on his face. He thought he was going to be a Grand

:21:24.:21:27.

Prix driver about 12 years ago, in 2002. Back then it didn't quite

:21:28.:21:41.

happen, but now he's back in Spa. He is that little bit older, 32, but

:21:42.:21:46.

the same age you were when you were racing for Toyota, is that right? I

:21:47.:21:52.

think it's a perfect age to start your Grand Prix career! Is not

:21:53.:21:56.

looking to necessarily change his career path. But the opportunity

:21:57.:22:02.

arose. When the opportunity arises, a Formula One team phones you up and

:22:03.:22:06.

says are you interested in doing it, you grab it with both hands.

:22:07.:22:14.

He's got an established career, I would expect that to continue. This

:22:15.:22:21.

is a chance to get out in a Grand Prix and fulfil a dream in a lot of

:22:22.:22:28.

ways. He grew up in Belgium, near to a Formula One circuit in the 70s.

:22:29.:22:39.

That's where he grew up, even though Andre Lotterer is German, he has a

:22:40.:22:49.

lot of association with Belgium. I think in terms of the team, they are

:22:50.:23:00.

looking for a safe pair of hands but also a different direction. I think

:23:01.:23:03.

he will surprise a few people. It will be a tough job, not having

:23:04.:23:08.

driven a Formula One car before, this latter that he is out on now.

:23:09.:23:11.

But he has strengthened the mentality and he has good technical

:23:12.:23:15.

expertise. I think he will equip himself really well. Will be

:23:16.:23:20.

fascinating to see how he gets on. Yesterday, Tom Clarkson managed to

:23:21.:23:24.

catch up with him in the usual round of chatting to drivers that we get

:23:25.:23:28.

an opportunity to on a Thursday. He asked him how this deal with

:23:29.:23:43.

Caterham came together. They are trying to freshen things up, and I

:23:44.:23:47.

think it was the best time to do. I raced for him in 2009, in private,

:23:48.:23:53.

with Audi. It enabled me to become an Audi works driver straight

:23:54.:23:59.

afterwards. I have a good relationship, I am really thankful

:24:00.:24:03.

to Caterham to give me the opportunity and Audi for giving me

:24:04.:24:07.

the freedom. It is a dream come true, but also is not an easy task,

:24:08.:24:11.

something like this, in the middle of the season, with no experience.

:24:12.:24:17.

Andre Lotterer, on track at the moment. Also on track is Nico

:24:18.:24:20.

Rosberg, beginning to set the timing screens alive with a fast-paced

:24:21.:24:25.

sector. Kevin Magnussen has just gone quickest of all at the moment,

:24:26.:24:30.

for McLaren. Hamilton is currently second-fastest, 1:50 3.5. Daniel

:24:31.:24:40.

Riccardo, race winner last time out. Sergio Perez is sixth. Rosberg is

:24:41.:25:00.

seventh. Then I'll -- Daniil Kvyat is ten.

:25:01.:25:06.

A revised section, we have seen a lot of incident there. 1:53.1, a

:25:07.:25:17.

very fast lap time. We had a damp session last year. No real

:25:18.:25:23.

comparison with that. It's a couple of years since we had a dry first

:25:24.:25:27.

practice. We are seeing quicker times today than we have recently. A

:25:28.:25:33.

bit of tyre smoke in the background. Fernando Alonso, a great second

:25:34.:25:39.

place last time. A superb drive, a typical Fernando Alonso drive. How

:25:40.:25:43.

he managed to conserve his tyres at the end of the Grand Prix, coming

:25:44.:25:48.

under a huge amount of pressure from Hamilton and Rosberg in the last

:25:49.:25:49.

lap. As you say, typical of the season he

:25:50.:25:58.

has had. He's driving as well as ever, in spite of being in a

:25:59.:26:01.

has had. He's driving as well as which has no realistic hope of

:26:02.:26:04.

getting the kind of results he wants. He's only had two podiums all

:26:05.:26:09.

year. So, it's not the kind of car he was hoping for from Ferrari. But

:26:10.:26:14.

it hasn't told his passion for racing. I actually thought he was

:26:15.:26:21.

going to hold on and win it in Hungary. Never had a win here,

:26:22.:26:26.

though, a surprising aspect to his career. He's never had pole

:26:27.:26:32.

position, never won. Had a strong second to Sebastian Vettel, not in

:26:33.:26:36.

terms of closeness, but in terms of a big result of the time. But it's a

:26:37.:26:45.

funny miss from his CV. Yes, it is a drivers' track, you would expect him

:26:46.:26:48.

to excel. His team-mate, Kimi Raikkonen, has won here four times.

:26:49.:26:54.

It will be interesting to see if he can get on top of Fernando this

:26:55.:26:56.

weekend. Let's look at the lap time. can get on top of Fernando this

:26:57.:27:01.

Only 11th at this stage. All of the teams are on slightly different

:27:02.:27:04.

programmes in this early part of first practice. We don't always get

:27:05.:27:08.

a clear understanding of who is quickest. Paul McGuinness, asking

:27:09.:27:21.

the question, using the hashtag #bbcf1. What are your thoughts on

:27:22.:27:26.

the hybrid cars coming here for the first time? At a technical question,

:27:27.:27:31.

when it comes to the race. If they use their hybrid boost coming out of

:27:32.:27:36.

La Source, then they will reach Eau Rouge with a very high velocity.

:27:37.:27:40.

Then they will probably have to lift. But they don't have the

:27:41.:27:44.

capability to boost all around the circuit. A lot of them might be

:27:45.:27:47.

saving some of that, so they can take Eau Rouge a little bit more

:27:48.:27:53.

flat out, if not flat out. Then they can use the boost later in the lap.

:27:54.:27:57.

In qualifying, I think it will be flat out. I don't think it will be

:27:58.:28:01.

flat at the end of the race, but when the fuel load comes off, it

:28:02.:28:07.

could be again. We will listen to the on-board. We are on board with

:28:08.:28:11.

Fernando Alonso as he comes through the corner, towards the bottom end

:28:12.:28:14.

of the track, through the right-hand and then the Paul Frere corner. In

:28:15.:28:23.

fact, nearly 70% of this track is taken with the foot hard on the

:28:24.:28:28.

throttle. Just watch him up through here and let's listen as well. Onto

:28:29.:28:45.

the brakes hard, a big regenerative part for the electrical systems, the

:28:46.:28:48.

hybrid part getting a big boost of energy under heavy braking to give

:28:49.:28:52.

him more acceleration. He goes fastest, 1:51.9. Rosberg beats that

:28:53.:28:58.

straightaway, with 1.57 .7. Bottas gets into third place with

:28:59.:29:11.

the Williams. Again, Mercedes power showing well. The Ferrari engine is

:29:12.:29:14.

looking reasonably promising at this point. Ferrari, battling strongly

:29:15.:29:18.

with Williams. Alonso point. Ferrari, battling strongly

:29:19.:29:21.

I'm not sure quite what has occurred. He is on the slip road, as

:29:22.:29:31.

they come up through Eau Rouge. It's virtually where the second pit

:29:32.:29:36.

excerpts from. Maybe there was some mechanical problem or technical

:29:37.:29:41.

problem with the car? Still running, he is obviously hoping he can get it

:29:42.:29:46.

back towards the pit lane. Going at a reduced pace at the moment.

:29:47.:29:50.

Second-fastest in this session. We are yet to see Raikkonen do a

:29:51.:29:54.

particularly representative lap. Rather strange? I was wondering if

:29:55.:29:58.

we were hearing strange noises, it sounded very deep. He came from La

:29:59.:30:03.

Source. This is where something would have gone wrong. You can see

:30:04.:30:08.

the old pit on the left. He dives into the old pit exit. Very sudden.

:30:09.:30:15.

Let's ride on board so we get the sound as well.

:30:16.:30:26.

Can you hear that deep noise? Very quick. Whether he got a radio

:30:27.:30:33.

message to say slowdown, there is something wrong, very peculiar. I

:30:34.:30:38.

know that journey has been watching in that area, we will be hearing

:30:39.:30:43.

from her in the second practice. She saw that and said it was very

:30:44.:30:46.

strange, standing on the outside. They were wondering what he was up

:30:47.:30:51.

to as well. Maybe we will get a take on that in a little while. Alonso is

:30:52.:30:55.

slowly making his way back towards the pets. -- pits. Struggling to

:30:56.:31:04.

getting to grips with the car. He has never driven the Marussia

:31:05.:31:09.

before. He's done it for Caterham, but he's got a task to completely

:31:10.:31:19.

learn about the Marussia. I wonder if he knows if he will be driving

:31:20.:31:30.

later? Talking to Jenson Button yesterday, there have been opinions

:31:31.:31:35.

passed that all the instruction we get from the pits to the car is

:31:36.:31:39.

perhaps taking a bit of the ora away from the drivers and going forward

:31:40.:31:43.

it might be better if we looked at banning those transmissions. I said

:31:44.:31:50.

to Jensen would that make a difference? He said to right, a

:31:51.:31:53.

driver would not be able to finish a race, the way things are at the

:31:54.:32:00.

moment! That is right, not easy at all. Stripped and crazy steer. Good

:32:01.:32:06.

gap behind. -- Romain Grosjean in the Lotus. This

:32:07.:32:17.

is another track that will presumably be a challenge for Lotus.

:32:18.:32:22.

They have had a tough time in recent Grand Prix. They scored some points

:32:23.:32:27.

thanks to Romain Grosjean in the earlier part of the year. In Monaco

:32:28.:32:31.

and Spain he managed to get a couple of eighth places but nothing much

:32:32.:32:37.

has happened, in recent races he has had a string of finishing outside

:32:38.:32:40.

the points, or several non-finishes, I think about five

:32:41.:32:43.

non-finishes this year. A tough season for Lotus generally. It has.

:32:44.:32:49.

You mentioned his eighth place finish in Barcelona, but there he

:32:50.:32:57.

qualified the car of faith. People have said for years that Barcelona

:32:58.:33:02.

is a good reflection of a chassis. They clearly haven't got the car

:33:03.:33:09.

sorted though. It is a real shame for Roman Grosjean and Pastor

:33:10.:33:12.

Maldonado, who is yet to score any points in this year's series.

:33:13.:33:18.

Hamilton going in to the bus stop there, that looked like a slightly

:33:19.:33:22.

odd one. He came off the brake very quickly. There is room to do that

:33:23.:33:27.

and the last thing they want to do is put a big flat spot on their

:33:28.:33:31.

tyres at this early stage. Let's see how it looks from the on-board view.

:33:32.:33:37.

It is actually the rear that locked up. That caught him out in Austria,

:33:38.:33:44.

when he spun in qualifying. That was one of a sequence of nullifying

:33:45.:33:47.

sessions that have gone wrong for him. Despite everybody generally

:33:48.:33:56.

reckoning that Lewis is the quicker driver over one lap, Nico has

:33:57.:34:05.

qualified better. Very similar on Rosberg's car. Again it was the back

:34:06.:34:11.

end I was a bit loose. An Fernando Alonso and stopping at the bottom

:34:12.:34:17.

and then starting again, apparently he felt something more on the

:34:18.:34:22.

engines and on the gearbox. Lifted off and stopped and then had a

:34:23.:34:26.

little check and made sure it was OK to bring it back. We are in the

:34:27.:34:31.

situation where we only have five engines, five systems, so they want

:34:32.:34:35.

to be very clear that driving does not do any extra damage. They have

:34:36.:34:39.

now taken the engine cover off and they are working in and around the

:34:40.:34:44.

back of the car now. Fernando Alonso is now just getting out of his

:34:45.:34:48.

cockpit. I think this is going to be a minute or two. There was a bit of

:34:49.:34:55.

smoke from the back of the South heading in. The development driver

:34:56.:35:02.

is in in place of Gutierrez this morning. - the back of the Sauber. A

:35:03.:35:14.

few of your comments coming in. If you're watching the repeat, there is

:35:15.:35:19.

no point in sending us messages! Graham says, is it reasonable when

:35:20.:35:23.

looking at the whole Marussia situation, to mess professional

:35:24.:35:26.

drivers around as appears to be going on with Rossi and Chilton?

:35:27.:35:34.

Basic respect lacking in my opinion". I think there is properly

:35:35.:35:38.

a lot going on that we don't know about, at Marussia. I don't think

:35:39.:35:42.

they are just trying to mess the drivers around, mess with their

:35:43.:35:47.

heads. Officially yesterday it was contractual issues, some money

:35:48.:35:50.

involved as well. Who knows what is really going on. Perhaps we will

:35:51.:35:54.

find out more from Graham later on. With Max Verstappen joining Toro

:35:55.:36:03.

Rosso, where does that leave Jean-Eric Vergne? That is the

:36:04.:36:12.

question. There aren't really many options out there in Formula One. A

:36:13.:36:16.

lot of the driver market is resting on what happens at McLaren. What do

:36:17.:36:22.

you see happening there? We have obviously got Honda coming in there

:36:23.:36:26.

as the new engine partner. It will be interesting to see whether they

:36:27.:36:29.

think they should retain Jenson Button for his experience and the

:36:30.:36:33.

fact that he is a world champion, and he brings so much to that team.

:36:34.:36:38.

Do they retain him and Kevin Magnussen? Do they bring in another

:36:39.:36:43.

driver? Possibly someone like Valtteri Bottas. You might think why

:36:44.:36:46.

would he want to leave Williams and go to what at the moment is an

:36:47.:36:50.

unknown quantity, but he would be paid well. He is young, he has got

:36:51.:36:55.

time. Let's see whether something like that is a possibility. Romain

:36:56.:37:00.

Grosjean could be on the market. He has a good relationship with Eric

:37:01.:37:04.

Boullier, racing director. Lots of questions about what McLaren want to

:37:05.:37:09.

do. Once they make their moves everything else will settle into

:37:10.:37:14.

place? Yes. Talking about Jean-Eric Vergne, there is often criticism of

:37:15.:37:18.

the Red Bull driver programme for running these guys for a couple of

:37:19.:37:21.

years and then leaving them high and dry, but the man who runs that

:37:22.:37:26.

programme has a different view. He says we have given the guy is an

:37:27.:37:31.

opportunity. Jean-Eric Vergne will have had two seasons. They are

:37:32.:37:34.

looking for the next great thing, the next world champion. It is not

:37:35.:37:38.

their job to look after drivers for the next ten years. They have had an

:37:39.:37:42.

opportunity, they have built a market value, and who knows, he

:37:43.:37:48.

could be earning 300,000 a year driving a sports car. He has had an

:37:49.:37:54.

opportunity, so that is what they say about that. The Red Bull driver

:37:55.:37:59.

programme is looking good when you look at what Daniel Ricciardo has

:38:00.:38:04.

achieved. It certainly is but interestingly when Daniel Ricciardo

:38:05.:38:06.

was signed, and we spoke to him about his move to Red Bull, a lot of

:38:07.:38:11.

people were saying why did they not choose Jean-Eric Vergne? On Saturday

:38:12.:38:15.

it seemed that Jean-Eric Vergne was strong and on Sundays, they were

:38:16.:38:18.

almost evenly matched but there wasn't much in it. In fact Jean-Eric

:38:19.:38:27.

Vergne was leading an points in the Drivers' Championship until the end

:38:28.:38:31.

of last season, actually finishing ahead of Daniel Ricciardo. If he had

:38:32.:38:34.

been given the opportunity at Red Bull, would he have been as good as

:38:35.:38:39.

Daniel Ricciardo? Who knows. Trevor, who owns and runs the team, said

:38:40.:38:44.

there was nothing between Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo. Who

:38:45.:38:47.

knows if it is just the opportunity you are given. Now you have got

:38:48.:38:51.

Jean-Eric Vergne who was battling and seemed on an even par with

:38:52.:38:57.

Daniel Ricciardo adds Toro Rosso, now he has got no job for next

:38:58.:39:06.

season. We will see if anyone calls takes Jean-Eric Vergne under their

:39:07.:39:10.

wing. We have had a pause as the first set of tyres has been used and

:39:11.:39:13.

we are now beginning to see a bit of track action once again. Pastor

:39:14.:39:18.

Maldonado out on circuit in the Lotus. Let's have a chance to catch

:39:19.:39:21.

up with some of the comments that the drivers were making yesterday,

:39:22.:39:27.

as they prepare to race here at Spa. Lewis Hamilton coming into this race

:39:28.:39:31.

second in the championship, still battling away with his team-mate

:39:32.:39:36.

Nico Rosberg. The gap very realistic. Always enjoyed driving at

:39:37.:39:45.

Spa. We asked him if he thought -- what he thought about the challenge

:39:46.:39:51.

of driving here. It is a real question to think about, we get a

:39:52.:39:57.

real downforce here. The tyres are harder and have less grip, so I

:39:58.:40:02.

don't know if it will be flat out this year. Every year I have come

:40:03.:40:06.

here, I have always set myself the challenge of the first lap being

:40:07.:40:12.

flat through that corner. I don't think this year I will try doing it

:40:13.:40:19.

flat, I will build up to its! Is a lap here, it is really about, like

:40:20.:40:27.

one at Monaco, it is about using all the road. You have to have a really

:40:28.:40:37.

good balance here. You have a couple of high-speed corners and you need

:40:38.:40:41.

some traction, but otherwise you need to make sure you optimise your

:40:42.:40:49.

aero package and then being on it. Lewis Hamilton speaking yesterday

:40:50.:40:52.

and relishing the opportunity to drive here again at Spa. Rosberg

:40:53.:40:59.

currently fastest, Alonzo second. Hamilton himself eighth quickest at

:41:00.:41:04.

this stage, head of Jenson Button and Daniel Ricciardo. Quite a few of

:41:05.:41:07.

you asking the question about these driving changes we are talking about

:41:08.:41:11.

and the fact that Alexander Rossi is in the Marussia, maybe Max Chilton

:41:12.:41:16.

will be back in it later, and of course Andre Lotterer has taken over

:41:17.:41:21.

from Kamui Kobayashi. The roles say that teams can be permitted to use

:41:22.:41:25.

for drivers during a season and changes may be made any time

:41:26.:41:30.

for drivers during a season and the start of qualifying and

:41:31.:41:35.

practice, provided any change proposed before 4pm on the day of

:41:36.:41:39.

the scrutineering receives clearance from the stewards. You are allowed

:41:40.:41:48.

to change drivers at an event. Once someone is in for qualifying that is

:41:49.:41:52.

it, but you can change your drivers on Friday, like we have seen between

:41:53.:41:55.

sessions one and two with the test drivers. We are with the team

:41:56.:42:02.

principal of Red Bull, Christian Horner. Are you feeling recharged

:42:03.:42:08.

and relax, are the team in a good shape now? Yes, I think it is a

:42:09.:42:14.

great break for everyone, everyone has come back relax and recharge and

:42:15.:42:19.

ready for the eight races ahead. Daniel is having a great season, two

:42:20.:42:24.

wins. A lovely way to go into that summer break. Yes, the best way to

:42:25.:42:31.

sign off, with a win. Daniel had an incredible Grand Prix and it was

:42:32.:42:35.

great to get the win. The challenge now is that this circuit is a lot

:42:36.:42:38.

different, so it will be an interesting weekend. We know that

:42:39.:42:47.

this is where Sebastien started that incredible run. What is his

:42:48.:42:51.

mentality like at the moment because no one likes to be beaten,

:42:52.:42:55.

especially by his team-mate, and Daniel is doing an impressive job.

:42:56.:43:00.

He is doing an oppressive job but Sebastien has been plagued by bad

:43:01.:43:04.

luck. His qualifying performances have really stepped up a gear and he

:43:05.:43:07.

is finding a balance with the car that he can work with, and I think

:43:08.:43:12.

he is really set for a strong second half of the year and we should see

:43:13.:43:21.

Sebastien back at his best. Do you think you have the card to take it

:43:22.:43:25.

to Mercedes in the second half of the season? Not in the next two

:43:26.:43:30.

races. I think they will be damage limitation. Singapore has to

:43:31.:43:36.

represent a good opportunity for us and the rest is after that. We are

:43:37.:43:42.

working hard to trying close down and the rest is after that. We are

:43:43.:43:46.

the deficit and get as close to Mercedes as we can. Give us your

:43:47.:43:51.

thoughts on Max Verstappen. Do you get involved in those sorts of

:43:52.:43:59.

discussions? Not really. It was obviously an aggressive decision but

:44:00.:44:01.

he has completely merited his position. He is an extraordinary

:44:02.:44:07.

talent. What he has done since coming into Formula Three this year

:44:08.:44:11.

has been exceptional. What we have seen with Daniil Kvyat is that he

:44:12.:44:14.

jumped in Formula One doesn't seem to be so hard for the younger

:44:15.:44:18.

generation any more. Whether that is because the cars are too easy to

:44:19.:44:23.

drive or whatever reason, but we're seeing performances such as from

:44:24.:44:26.

Daniel, that the youngsters really can get it in -- get in and cut it

:44:27.:44:33.

with the best. A shame for Jean-Eric Vergne but he has done a tremendous

:44:34.:44:37.

job over the next three years and hopefully that will be enough to get

:44:38.:44:43.

him a drive somewhere else. We are riding with Pastor Maldonado on

:44:44.:44:47.

circuit, what I can tell you that we are joined by the Marussia pit wall

:44:48.:44:53.

by the sporting director of Marussia, Graham, great to have you

:44:54.:44:57.

with us. Tell us what on earth is going on! Max Chilton out, Alexander

:44:58.:45:02.

Rossi in, and now we gather Max Chilton, will he be in for the rest

:45:03.:45:06.

of the weekend? Good morning. Good to be with you. Yes, these things

:45:07.:45:15.

happen. The driver's job is to be flexible. They are both professional

:45:16.:45:22.

drivers, Max and Alex. They will take this in their stride. It is a

:45:23.:45:27.

reflection of how the industry has to work, sometimes. Surely it is

:45:28.:45:36.

unusual for a driver to sign up for a season, and not be in the car, how

:45:37.:45:42.

did that come about? Well, I can't go into too much detail on the

:45:43.:45:49.

individual incidents, but, at the end of the day, we are running a

:45:50.:45:55.

Formula One team here and there is a large number of commercial

:45:56.:46:02.

agreements that are interlinked. Sometimes, just happens we reach a

:46:03.:46:07.

stage that, for contractual reasons, it's not appropriate for a driver to

:46:08.:46:13.

be in the car. We reached that stage and we talk that action. Equally,

:46:14.:46:21.

things tend to change as well. There was a change in circumstance and,

:46:22.:46:26.

under the rules of Formula One, you just request a change with the

:46:27.:46:31.

stewards and that was granted. But, you know, Alex is our reserve

:46:32.:46:40.

driver. He is there to help the team. He's there to be there and

:46:41.:46:47.

ready when incidents like this happen. I have to say, in the short

:46:48.:46:51.

time that Alex has been with us, I am thoroughly impressed with him.

:46:52.:46:58.

He's a tremendous guy, he's done a fantastic job working with the

:46:59.:47:01.

engineers, even though this is the first time he has been in the car.

:47:02.:47:04.

He's a really tremendous first time he has been in the car.

:47:05.:47:07.

the team and we are really happy to have him on board. I'm sure he will

:47:08.:47:13.

get his chance. We have the US Grand Prix still coming up on the calendar

:47:14.:47:17.

later this year, so presumably there are some opportunities around that

:47:18.:47:22.

with you and Alex? It's a great chance for him to get seat time,

:47:23.:47:28.

getting time in a Formula One car is incredibly difficult in the current

:47:29.:47:36.

era. A great opportunity, and helps build for his career in future.

:47:37.:47:41.

Also, it's a very useful for us to have his feedback. I'm sure Alex

:47:42.:47:50.

will have a lot more opportunities. Can you tell us any more about the

:47:51.:47:55.

plan for the next few races? Are we likely to see Max Chilton in the car

:47:56.:48:05.

for those races? The plan, as ever, is stability. We operate a really

:48:06.:48:09.

good racing team. If you allow me to say so myself! I can say that,

:48:10.:48:15.

because I don't do all of the work. We have a couple of hundred

:48:16.:48:19.

employees on track who do a tremendous job. One of our roles is

:48:20.:48:27.

to provide planning and stability for the team. That is obviously what

:48:28.:48:34.

we want to see, moving forward. In reality, the people that lose out on

:48:35.:48:38.

these occasions, ultimately, are the fans. They want their drivers and

:48:39.:48:44.

everything else there. We do everything we possibly can to do

:48:45.:48:50.

that. The fans are the most important aspect of Formula One.

:48:51.:48:54.

That side of it is really important. The drivers themselves

:48:55.:48:57.

are professionals, based take this kind of thing in their stride. We

:48:58.:49:06.

just hope, moving forward, we will have the ability to build on the

:49:07.:49:12.

season so far which, for others, has been pretty good so far. -- for us.

:49:13.:49:20.

Hello, it's Tony. A quick question, you are protecting your ninth place

:49:21.:49:23.

in the Constructors' Championship. Are you looking at Spa as being one

:49:24.:49:31.

of those races were it could go pear shaped, where you have to have your

:49:32.:49:35.

experienced guys out there to protect against that? Hi, Tony.

:49:36.:49:41.

That's a good question. All three of our drivers are very young, and they

:49:42.:49:47.

make me feel very old, but they are very experienced. Alex has driven

:49:48.:49:56.

here for six or seven seasons. We have a good range of experience. Spa

:49:57.:50:06.

is a fabulous racetrack and it throws up some opportunities. We are

:50:07.:50:10.

keen to try to protect our position in the Championship as much as we

:50:11.:50:14.

can. It's one of those circuit that can throw up an opportunity. The

:50:15.:50:20.

weather can be incredibly unpredictable. We just want to make

:50:21.:50:23.

sure that we do everything we can to make sure our drivers have got the

:50:24.:50:28.

opportunity, if it arises, to try to grab something and help the position

:50:29.:50:34.

that the team has got. Thanks very much for joining us. You manage that

:50:35.:50:43.

last year by getting your guys into Q2. It seems to have been a rocky

:50:44.:50:47.

weekend so far, but we look forward to speaking to you again. So, riding

:50:48.:50:53.

on board the Lotus at the moment of Romain Grosjean. Only three cars on

:50:54.:50:59.

track currently, 19 sitting in the pets. Andre Lotterer getting a few

:51:00.:51:06.

more laps under his belt in the Caterham. His team-mate, Marcus

:51:07.:51:11.

Ericsson, is just up the road. Ericsson is currently the faster of

:51:12.:51:18.

the two. There is a little bit of a gap between them, but you would

:51:19.:51:25.

expect that at the moment. Alan, I think you have news on Ferrari? Yes,

:51:26.:51:31.

both cars, two of the ones in the pits. On Kimi Raikkonen and's side,

:51:32.:51:35.

they have changed the front discs and pads, only on the front axle. He

:51:36.:51:40.

felt he didn't have the feel and consistency. You have to carry speed

:51:41.:51:51.

to the apex, has the right wheel has a tendency to lock. Also into the

:51:52.:51:55.

chicane, the last corner of the circuit. We know he has a particular

:51:56.:51:59.

sensitivity to that area, especially with the Ferrari this year. So they

:52:00.:52:09.

are changing the discs and the pads. Alonso, they don't seem to

:52:10.:52:17.

have concerns and they are appearing for him to go back out. I think it

:52:18.:52:20.

will be another ten minutes before we see him out on circuit. He's

:52:21.:52:24.

sitting at the back of the garage with a big smile on his face. Kimi

:52:25.:52:28.

Raikkonen and had some brake problems when he was

:52:29.:52:34.

Raikkonen and had some brake Lotus. It ended the amazing sequence

:52:35.:52:40.

he was on. Andre Lotterer has just gone across the line. He goes

:52:41.:52:45.

quicker than Ericsson with that lap. In fact, Ericsson has spun in

:52:46.:52:50.

front of him. Marcus Ericsson, not putting in quite... Well, he was

:52:51.:52:56.

building up to a quick lap and he lost it at the hairpin just in front

:52:57.:53:01.

of his team-mate. But no major dramas. Lewis Hamilton was coming

:53:02.:53:07.

out of the pits. He might have just touched the grass as he was on the

:53:08.:53:12.

brakes. No damage done, he's going to continue. At this stage of the

:53:13.:53:18.

practice session, with 40 minutes to go, Rosberg on top, Alonso second,

:53:19.:53:25.

Bottas third, then Magnussen and Vettel. Peres, then Hamilton.

:53:26.:53:37.

Grosjean is ninth, Button is 10th. Raikkonen is 14. Felipe Massa is 15.

:53:38.:54:07.

So by Ashley is ahead of Hito -- Van Der Garde. One viewer asks if it

:54:08.:54:21.

hinders... RADIO: Understood. The comment from Coster was exactly the

:54:22.:54:26.

same as you, for your information. Well, the tyres, the same as the

:54:27.:54:33.

first run, whatever that is, something with Lotus is not going

:54:34.:54:37.

quite right. It is typical for the driver that has to step out, any

:54:38.:54:42.

mileage over the weekend is so crucial. Although this first

:54:43.:54:45.

practice session, teams are often testing new pieces on the car, they

:54:46.:54:49.

might not even run them over the weekend. Every lap helps the driver

:54:50.:54:55.

get his eye in? Particularly on a place like this. You want to get

:54:56.:55:01.

them into a flowing rhythm. Its high-speed, you need confidence on

:55:02.:55:07.

the brakes. That increases the whole time you get in the car. Here, as

:55:08.:55:16.

much as anywhere, you want that sit time. Kevin Magnussen is the highest

:55:17.:55:29.

speed. We are open to 207 mph. There will be seeing higher speeds than

:55:30.:55:34.

that, I'm sure. Very high-speed here and every lap does indeed count.

:55:35.:55:41.

Some questions on Jenson Button, Mr Snowdonia says, any news on his seat

:55:42.:55:46.

for next season? Not really, still waiting to see if a deal is done.

:55:47.:55:50.

Jonathan Foster says, now we are halfway through the season, with

:55:51.:55:54.

Hamilton stuck behind his team-mate, will he be willing to take more

:55:55.:55:58.

risks? I think he's always willing to take risks. I think that is his

:55:59.:56:02.

default. He's always willing to go for it and raise hard. Let's listen

:56:03.:56:08.

again. OK. Yes, something with the rear. Too risky, something at the

:56:09.:56:18.

rear, to carry on, presumably, he is coming into the pit. He's always

:56:19.:56:33.

good to take risks, sometimes conversely, his team-mate takes less

:56:34.:56:41.

risks? Sometimes you think, is he going to put a banker lap on second?

:56:42.:56:47.

He wasn't interested, he was going for pole, locked up and ended up

:56:48.:56:51.

ninth. That is the way he rides, winning or nothing. Always flat out.

:56:52.:56:57.

You saw that in Hungary, the move that he did, there he is on track,

:56:58.:57:03.

when he got past Jean-Eric Vergne, it was something that Rosberg can

:57:04.:57:08.

manage to do. He got stuck behind Vergne for a good part of that race.

:57:09.:57:12.

It was a risky manoeuvre, but he pulled it off. Is all Grosjean do

:57:13.:57:22.

that and get penalised, when Felipe Massa pushed it wide. It was a

:57:23.:57:30.

beautiful manoeuvre. You can really see the confidence in Lewis

:57:31.:57:33.

Hamilton, coming into the weekend. If you look on the BBC Formula One

:57:34.:57:37.

website, his latest column is also talking about the fact that he have

:57:38.:57:42.

those problems leading after the summer break. He had a car breakdown

:57:43.:57:47.

on him a couple of times. He allowed his team-mate to go on and take pole

:57:48.:57:52.

position. He made a mistake in Austria. Despite all of that, he's

:57:53.:57:56.

only 11 points behind Nico Rosberg. That's not a big difference. He

:57:57.:58:01.

seems to have really gained energy from that. That's what he is saying

:58:02.:58:05.

in his column, it has boosted him. Despite the setbacks, he is right in

:58:06.:58:10.

the hunt. He believes he's going to have another run similar to the one

:58:11.:58:16.

he had of the year. -- at the start of the year. Definitely. All to play

:58:17.:58:23.

for in the race for the World Championship. Behind them, as you

:58:24.:58:28.

mentioned earlier, Daniel Riccardo, and Fernando Alonso, they are

:58:29.:58:32.

fighting over the place. You can see Sebastian Vettel coming through Eau

:58:33.:58:38.

Rouge. Top of the hill, doing 297.1 kilometres per hour. Last year,

:58:39.:58:42.

Sebastian Vettel, by being quick that part of the tracks, took the

:58:43.:58:46.

advantage from Lewis Hamilton on the first lap. He was flat out to the

:58:47.:58:54.

very opening lap. Vettel blew past him on the first lap and we didn't

:58:55.:59:00.

see him again. Something wrong with the up shift, second to third, third

:59:01.:59:08.

to fourth. On his car again. He's got Mark Webber's, hasn't he? I

:59:09.:59:15.

think he has. He was making that point at the press Conference

:59:16.:59:18.

yesterday. A mistake as he comes through the second apex of Pouhon.

:59:19.:59:29.

One of the most dramatic corners on this track. Interestingly, one of

:59:30.:59:33.

the comments that we had, saying, I'm courageous Bath for the first

:59:34.:59:39.

time on Sunday, where should I stand for the best view? I can tell you,

:59:40.:59:43.

the outside of Pouhon, where Sebastian Vettel almost went off,

:59:44.:59:49.

that's a good place. Wherever you go, bring your umbrella! And maybe

:59:50.:59:54.

some thermal underwear. It's been very chilly. Just put a wheel on the

:59:55.:00:05.

kerb, and it was maybe a bit slippery. But no problems to gather

:00:06.:00:09.

it back together. The point I was going to make, we went into the

:00:10.:00:16.

summer break anticipating a close end to the season. Then Sebastian

:00:17.:00:23.

Vettel won all other races. I am sure Lewis Hamilton is hoping that

:00:24.:00:27.

is what he's going to do this year. It's quite possible. There he is,

:00:28.:00:32.

also running wide. Through the same corner. Through Pouhon. Maybe he is

:00:33.:00:37.

just checking the limits. Jenson Button has put in a better lap a

:00:38.:00:40.

moment ago. He's gone for fastest ahead of team-mate. Rosberg and

:00:41.:00:44.

Hamilton are one and two. Magnussen and Bottas. -- Alonso. It

:00:45.:01:05.

is probably one of the most tricky corners right now in Spa because of

:01:06.:01:10.

technology improvements. It is most likely not flat out this year but

:01:11.:01:12.

this is a downhill left-hand and likely not flat out this year but

:01:13.:01:19.

slightly adverse camber. You have two attack into the first apex of

:01:20.:01:27.

it. You need to carry a lot of momentum in that first part. The

:01:28.:01:36.

Astroturf is what caught out Sebastian Vettel. Once you get on

:01:37.:01:41.

that you are highly loaded and the car immediately loses grip. The best

:01:42.:01:47.

thing then is just to abort the corner, as we saw Lewis Hamilton do,

:01:48.:01:54.

and Sebastian Vettel, and survive to fight another day. For me that is

:01:55.:02:01.

one of the key corners at Spa. Nico found a lot of time in the last

:02:02.:02:06.

chicane, probably aware of that. Also turn ten, Nico slower in,

:02:07.:02:14.

faster out. A bit more information being given to Lewis Hamilton.

:02:15.:02:19.

Hamilton quite wide out of the previous left-hander there. Let's

:02:20.:02:23.

watch him into the left-hander, this long, sweeping left-hander. Again he

:02:24.:02:29.

gets into the Astroturf and again he runs wide. That lost him the grip

:02:30.:02:36.

that he was looking for and he basically had to bail out of the

:02:37.:02:42.

corner from that point on. Nonetheless I think Lewis Hamilton

:02:43.:02:44.

will be thoroughly looking forward to this weekend. 2008, he actually

:02:45.:02:50.

won this race on the road, the year that he won the championship. He

:02:51.:02:56.

then picked up a 25 second penalty. A lot of people felt it was a very

:02:57.:03:01.

unfair penalty that he was given. They sell felt it was a bit of

:03:02.:03:07.

creativity. It was Felipe Massa who may have put it on that occasion. He

:03:08.:03:14.

had a dice with Kimi Raikkonen, a big battle. Kimi Raikkonen lead in

:03:15.:03:18.

the early stages and then we got the rain and it made life difficult, and

:03:19.:03:26.

Lewis cut the chicane. It was a classic race. Felipe Massa came

:03:27.:03:29.

through to take the victory on that occasion. Lewis is one of the

:03:30.:03:33.

drivers on the grid that has won this race in the past, his victory

:03:34.:03:38.

coming in 2010, along with the likes of Kimi Raikkonen, Jenson Button,

:03:39.:03:49.

one time a winner. Pole position for Jenson Button here in 2012, his only

:03:50.:03:56.

pole position while he has been at McLaren since his World Championship

:03:57.:04:00.

winning year of 2009, which seems pretty amazing. That was against

:04:01.:04:04.

Lewis Hamilton in the same car, wasn't it? It was, and it was the

:04:05.:04:22.

two eating episode as well. -- the tweeting episode. The team were very

:04:23.:04:27.

unhappy about that! The tweeting thing, what it was about, there were

:04:28.:04:33.

three very distinct sections to this circuit. You can set it with

:04:34.:04:39.

slightly higher drag, for sector two, which is the one with the

:04:40.:04:43.

twists and turns. That is one of the things to think about here. Yes,

:04:44.:04:48.

that is the compromise. He got the wrong compromise. He wanted to know

:04:49.:04:57.

it was not his skill that had caused the problem. Someone said to him,

:04:58.:05:03.

can you tweet as the car setup as well please? ! That is a replay of

:05:04.:05:13.

Felipe Massa. The car looking a bit difficult to drive at the moment. We

:05:14.:05:23.

know the Williams has a fairly low drag setup. Jenson Button currently

:05:24.:05:30.

fourth fastest in this session. Andre Lotterer still quicker than

:05:31.:05:36.

his team-mate Marcus Ericsson. Alexander Rossi has gone 20th. He

:05:37.:05:41.

has moved ahead of the two Caterhams in the Marussia. If you

:05:42.:05:48.

missed the early part, it has been all change at Mauritius this

:05:49.:05:52.

weekend, a bit of musical chairs going on. Max Chilton, who we

:05:53.:05:57.

thought was going to change, has gone. -- we thought was going to

:05:58.:06:03.

drive. Alexander Rossi is doing this morning's session but we gather that

:06:04.:06:08.

Max Chilton will be back in the car this afternoon. This is a key

:06:09.:06:15.

braking area for Ferrari. Not a major driver and yet so rates back

:06:16.:06:20.

up across the line. That moves him up to fifth place now, a couple of

:06:21.:06:26.

places behind team-mate Fernando Alonso. Generally Kimi Raikkonen has

:06:27.:06:31.

been happier with the car in the last couple of events. He got his

:06:32.:06:36.

best result of the season last time out in Hungary, only a sixth place,

:06:37.:06:40.

but still his best result of the season. It is perhaps a little

:06:41.:06:46.

indicator that Kimi Raikkonen is feeling at home back at Ferrari. He

:06:47.:06:51.

said he was looking forward to the second part of the season, it

:06:52.:06:54.

certainly couldn't be any worse than the first. He just sort of stopped

:06:55.:07:03.

talking at that point! He was amused when he was asked about the fact

:07:04.:07:08.

that with Max Verstappen coming in next year that he had raced against

:07:09.:07:12.

his father, and how did he feel about that? We did get a big smile

:07:13.:07:22.

from Kimi Raikkonen about that! Kimi Raikkonen the only driver on the

:07:23.:07:26.

grid born in the 1970s. 1979 he was born. Now we have got drivers who

:07:27.:07:35.

are being born in the late 1990s! It is scary, isn't it? It makes us feel

:07:36.:07:43.

old. Grant Campbell, thank you for contacting us. He says is Kimi

:07:44.:07:48.

Raikkonen's position under scrutiny for next year? He has had a pretty

:07:49.:07:56.

torrid time, hasn't he? If that doesn't improve, they can't go

:07:57.:08:00.

forward with that. But they have already paid him off early once,

:08:01.:08:02.

when they took Fernando already paid him off early once,

:08:03.:08:08.

do that again would be a huge slice...

:08:09.:08:11.

It would be tricky, wouldn't it? You would think that Kimi Raikkonen and

:08:12.:08:18.

Fernando Alonso is still a pretty impressive driver line-up. But

:08:19.:08:27.

question to you here, Stephan writes in and says does Max Verstappen's

:08:28.:08:34.

age reflect on these of Formula One cartons to drive -- cars to drive

:08:35.:08:40.

now? -- the easiness to drive. They are certainly easier to drive

:08:41.:08:49.

now than they were ten years ago. There is much less downforce now so

:08:50.:08:53.

in the corners, if you just look at the qualifying pace and the race

:08:54.:08:56.

pace, it is so much slower, so therefore physically it is a lot

:08:57.:09:04.

easier. Mentally he has been brought up with this complexity of car in

:09:05.:09:08.

mind, so you testing he will be doing between now and the race next

:09:09.:09:12.

year will be with that mindset. I think he will be prepared that way

:09:13.:09:16.

but what I think he will struggle with is the constants of Formula

:09:17.:09:20.

One. When you start at the beginning of the year until you get that break

:09:21.:09:25.

we have just had, you are on the treadmill. The Dutch fans will be

:09:26.:09:31.

going nuts about it. That whole interest, suddenly he goes from

:09:32.:09:34.

being a 16-year-old kid to a household name in his own nation. I

:09:35.:09:39.

think that will be the hardest thing for Max Verstappen to get used to.

:09:40.:09:44.

You did an interview with Max Verstappen which we will be showing

:09:45.:09:48.

an BBC television over the weekend, how did you find him? I was very

:09:49.:09:53.

impressed by him. I was not sure what to expect. He is not a young

:09:54.:09:57.

driver who I have worked with before. We talk about carts and

:09:58.:10:05.

cars, but he only got in a single seater car

:10:06.:10:06.

cars, but he only got in a single he had only driven karts. By the end

:10:07.:10:18.

of the interview I felt I could push him like I would a normal Formula

:10:19.:10:22.

One driver. You didn't come across as being young and immature. He said

:10:23.:10:27.

his father retired from Formula One racing purely to almost groom him

:10:28.:10:31.

and create him as the next Formula One driver, which I felt was really

:10:32.:10:36.

interesting. He said that whilst his father had been losing a lot of

:10:37.:10:39.

sleep over the last few weeks, when it came down to contracts, he was

:10:40.:10:45.

very relaxed! He was sleeping right up until the alarm, he told us! He

:10:46.:10:50.

was very engaging and a wise head on young shoulders. Fascinating and we

:10:51.:10:56.

will be able to see that interview on BBC1 tomorrow. It will be

:10:57.:10:59.

fascinating to see how he comes across. Jos Verstappen come at his

:11:00.:11:13.

father, you know a lot about his career. It started early in Formula

:11:14.:11:23.

One. He was shot into Formula One is initially as a test driver but after

:11:24.:11:27.

an accident for a regular driver at Benetton, he was suddenly a race

:11:28.:11:34.

driver. He came up and did a very impressive arrows test. On the back

:11:35.:11:39.

of that, he attracted the attention of Flavio Briatore and he was put in

:11:40.:11:43.

the Benetton team, that was when it was Michael Schumacher's team. The

:11:44.:11:50.

combination of circumstances did not work out for the best for Jos. Quite

:11:51.:11:56.

a quick guy, an instinctive racer, and I don't think he got the

:11:57.:12:00.

opportunities that his ability deserved. I was looking back over

:12:01.:12:04.

his career yesterday and reminding myself of a few things, and he

:12:05.:12:12.

replaced Jan Magnussen, when he was not delivering one season, and Jos

:12:13.:12:20.

did not do much better that year. It didn't do either of them any

:12:21.:12:25.

favours, that, really. Now Max will be racing in Formula One. A comment

:12:26.:12:31.

says I can't get my head around Verstappen. I am 17 and I do some

:12:32.:12:42.

karting occasionally, he is 16 and he has already signed for Formula

:12:43.:12:49.

One! A lots of young people must be thinking you are too late to get

:12:50.:12:54.

into Formula One, but it is not the only way, is it? Andre Lotterer is

:12:55.:13:03.

debuting at 32 this weekend. Damon Hill was 31 when he died viewed.

:13:04.:13:08.

Four years later he won the World Championship. You never know what

:13:09.:13:16.

can happen. Max Verstappen is such a talent, there has been a bit of a

:13:17.:13:21.

squabble to get his signature on a bit of paper. What can Red Bull

:13:22.:13:23.

offer that Mercedes can't? Probably bit of paper. What can Red Bull

:13:24.:13:27.

a race seat. I imagine that is what drove that. No major changes in the

:13:28.:13:37.

order, was the first and Hamilton second. This is what Hamilton did a

:13:38.:13:42.

moment ago, a little lock up forcing him wide and he cut the corner. He

:13:43.:13:48.

missed the ramps that are there to prevent cars making any advantage

:13:49.:13:49.

going through that section. Alan, we could hear you marching

:13:50.:14:04.

along somewhere when we were talking to you last time, where have you

:14:05.:14:07.

managed to get to and what are you seeing? Have we got Alan? Not just

:14:08.:14:24.

yet. We will have to try again. Some problems for Kimi Raikkonen I think.

:14:25.:14:30.

Some temperature related problems. He is being asked to come back

:14:31.:14:35.

towards the pits very slowly. Not having a trouble-free time of it.

:14:36.:14:41.

Interestingly, Spa is probably the hardest circuit in terms of tight

:14:42.:14:47.

corners and heartbreaking, -- and hard braking. It is a tough

:14:48.:15:02.

circuit, this one. A lot of tricks that they played to try and get the

:15:03.:15:17.

most out of the cars. Let's see what he had to say yesterday, following

:15:18.:15:23.

that second place finish in Hungary and what it might predict for the

:15:24.:15:28.

rest of the season. Well, we finished good in Hungary, and we

:15:29.:15:45.

know it is going to be tough, especially with the dried and the

:15:46.:15:56.

speed, important for the lap time. That will probably favour Williams,

:15:57.:16:04.

our main competitors. We have to defend, damage and notation for the

:16:05.:16:09.

next two races and then attack. It has been rocking backwards and

:16:10.:16:12.

forwards. They managed to snatch it away from Ferrari after the German

:16:13.:16:16.

Grand Prix. Alonso retook third for Ferrari. Millions of dollars are for

:16:17.:16:20.

grabs in the difference between third, fourth and fifth in the

:16:21.:16:25.

Constructors' Championship. I think it means more difference for

:16:26.:16:35.

Williams and Ferrari. They need Felipe Massa delivering the

:16:36.:16:46.

consistency we have seen. He's had three first lap eliminations this

:16:47.:16:52.

season. They need him to be scoring. He scored some decent points last

:16:53.:16:56.

time. He finished fifth in Hungary. Bottas was out of luck in the timing

:16:57.:16:58.

of the safety car and then when they had a slow pit stop. Everything

:16:59.:17:01.

counted against him. You are right, we're waiting for Felipe Massa's

:17:02.:17:11.

first podium of the year. Lee spoke to Felipe Massa and talked about his

:17:12.:17:18.

hopes for the season, and his new relationship with Williams, which is

:17:19.:17:20.

really burgeoning. It's lovely to see them back on form again. With a

:17:21.:17:24.

driver like Felipe Massa, who has the experience to help them through

:17:25.:17:30.

the next section? It's a good line-up they have got, and if they

:17:31.:17:35.

can it will be good for them. They are no-nonsense guys. Felipe Massa

:17:36.:17:40.

has been around, he's got a lot of experience. A lot of people feel

:17:41.:17:47.

that Williams have their best chance here this weekend. They were strong

:17:48.:17:54.

in Austria but this is another track that should suit them. Let's see

:17:55.:17:59.

what they said yesterday to calm about it being one of their best

:18:00.:18:03.

chances. I hope we can be really competitive here, I hope we can have

:18:04.:18:13.

a great race. If we have the chance to win it will be an incredible

:18:14.:18:18.

feeling. Everybody talks about the straight-line advantage of Williams,

:18:19.:18:26.

you were fastest through the speed track in Hungary. Sector two could

:18:27.:18:33.

be difficult. Just give us your thoughts about getting the most out

:18:34.:18:34.

of a lap. I think it is maybe one where we suffering a little bit

:18:35.:18:36.

compared to previously. Maybe the car can be competitive anyway in

:18:37.:18:41.

sector two for whatever reason. We have a car that was competitive in

:18:42.:18:46.

Silverstone as well. We need to believe, we need to see how the car

:18:47.:18:52.

will behave tomorrow and also Saturday, in qualifying. So, Felipe

:18:53.:18:57.

Massa, they are not showing particular form in practice one, but

:18:58.:19:00.

that has been quite common in recent events. That is nothing different to

:19:01.:19:04.

what they have been doing in recent events. We are talking about

:19:05.:19:11.

favourites to watch, one viewer says the pit and start and finish

:19:12.:19:19.

straight are good to watch from. You were watching, what did you see? It

:19:20.:19:24.

is unfortunate that you could not hear me, I was in one of the nicest

:19:25.:19:29.

places you could watch Formula One. The bottom of Eau Rouge. They flush

:19:30.:19:34.

left, through the compression and up the hill to the right. The Williams,

:19:35.:19:38.

we just heard from Felipe Massa, he seemed to take it with a big lift,

:19:39.:19:45.

and then powered up the hill. That's the best way to do it. If you are

:19:46.:19:50.

going to lift, you left early. On the other side, the Marussia was

:19:51.:19:54.

flat out. It probably arrived about 15 kilometres per hour slower than

:19:55.:20:00.

stop Kimi Raikkonen did not look that stable. He looked a bit

:20:01.:20:06.

tentative. That's interesting. I guess the Marussia would be

:20:07.:20:13.

Bianchi. He's only a fraction slower than Maldonado. He's still quicker

:20:14.:20:24.

than Van der Garde. Alexander Rossi is quicker, and Andre Lotterer makes

:20:25.:20:34.

his debut in Formula One. We are watching another driver that has not

:20:35.:20:40.

had a chance to do much racing. Van der Garde. Perhaps another driver to

:20:41.:20:46.

think of, another Dutch driver. A lot of interest in the Netherlands.

:20:47.:20:55.

Especially now Max Verstappen has been announced. His sister is only

:20:56.:21:04.

just behind as well. She is racing in carts. She tried when she was

:21:05.:21:07.

eight and was eight and wasn't that interested, but they are going to

:21:08.:21:16.

have another go. Obviously a racing family, very much in their genes.

:21:17.:21:23.

He will be appearing in Austin and he may be doing a couple more. We

:21:24.:21:31.

saw that last year, being brought into do some of the morning practice

:21:32.:21:35.

sessions. A bit of slow motion action of Van der Garde and the

:21:36.:21:42.

Sauber. They have been beginning to make some progress, but they are yet

:21:43.:21:46.

to score any points in the World Championship. They have that task.

:21:47.:21:50.

They are still being beaten by Marussia in the construction points.

:21:51.:21:53.

This is a race where you have to think, you could have rain,

:21:54.:22:08.

Gutierrez and Sutil have been good in the wet. We knew he was good, but

:22:09.:22:16.

to win two Grand Prix in the last five, in a car that everybody knows

:22:17.:22:20.

is not the best car out there, it has been stunning. What has been

:22:21.:22:23.

impressive, apart from the outright pace, it is how composed he is in

:22:24.:22:31.

racing situations. It has been commented on by Alonzo, Hamilton. He

:22:32.:22:33.

does everything right. He is great in wheel-to-wheel combat. Star of

:22:34.:22:46.

the year for me. He has been in several. The move in Hungary, very

:22:47.:22:52.

decisive, on better tyres than Fernando Alonso by that late stage

:22:53.:22:56.

of the race. But there was never going to be any doubt. Once he was

:22:57.:23:00.

in second place he was going for the win. Some drivers get there and

:23:01.:23:08.

can't make the move, he does it straightaway. Perhaps not expected.

:23:09.:23:15.

It was Vergne that seemed to be the better racer, the more aggressive at

:23:16.:23:22.

overtaking, the guy who lost fewer places on the opening lap? But

:23:23.:23:25.

overtaking, the guy who lost fewer they've put that behind them now? To

:23:26.:23:29.

an extent, it was Daniel qualifying higher up

:23:30.:23:30.

an extent, it was Daniel qualifying have been and then going backwards,

:23:31.:23:33.

which did not help him. But you are right. At the time the decision was

:23:34.:23:47.

made, he had a couple of races were Jean-Eric Vergne had outperformed

:23:48.:23:53.

him. Force India have had great results in the past. That remarkable

:23:54.:23:58.

second place in 2009, eaten by Kimi Raikkonen, but a fantastic

:23:59.:24:04.

performance plan. -- eaten. Struggled, because he moved to

:24:05.:24:09.

Ferrari and could not get on with the Ferrari at all, but a team that

:24:10.:24:18.

delivers strong results. In the Jordan days, Rubens barrack LO made

:24:19.:24:29.

their first place. They had a poor Hungary. Nico Hulkenberg was the

:24:30.:24:41.

only non-finish of his season so far and it was his mistake because he

:24:42.:24:44.

drove into his team-mate. Then Peres went off in an incident where he

:24:45.:24:46.

crashed against the pit wall. Not a good weekend for them? They have

:24:47.:24:48.

only taken 11 points from the last races. They could have done without

:24:49.:24:55.

that. They had been scoring consistently good points over the

:24:56.:24:58.

last three races. So, that has hurt them a bit. There will be looking to

:24:59.:25:05.

put that right. McLaren missed a trick. They are still a point

:25:06.:25:11.

behind. If they had not gone for the tyre choice, it was all very

:25:12.:25:20.

strange, they had a real chance to move ahead. A Laurel and Hardy

:25:21.:25:28.

moment. The team boss at Sauber, that you saw a moment ago, they are

:25:29.:25:35.

still waiting for the start of the season. Qipco, we will look. A lack

:25:36.:25:57.

of power or power steering? Just power, power. I thought he said

:25:58.:26:03.

power steering as well. He has problems with power steering as

:26:04.:26:08.

well. Some of your comments are coming in, right of Sebastian Vettel

:26:09.:26:14.

at your peril, I reckon he will destroy Ricardo in the Asian races,

:26:15.:26:23.

barring any problems. You say that, but we have fewer Asian races. He's

:26:24.:26:27.

always dominated some of those events, but they are not on the

:26:28.:26:33.

calendar this weekend. But Singapore is always a great race for Sebastian

:26:34.:26:36.

Vettel and they know they should be more competitive there. I don't

:26:37.:26:41.

think he will destroy him anyway. He has the genuine pace. It might be

:26:42.:26:47.

close, but I don't see them reversing. There is a gap of 43

:26:48.:26:56.

points between Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel. I don't think

:26:57.:26:59.

anybody would have thought that going into the season. Magnussen,

:27:00.:27:07.

maybe a little bit wider over the kerb, but I don't think anything

:27:08.:27:13.

went wrong. He clipped the gravel with the rear wheel. The load was

:27:14.:27:18.

off the car by then so he got away with it. Lewis Hamilton, through Eau

:27:19.:27:26.

Rouge. That is a scary place to suffer a moment. The cars in pretty

:27:27.:27:34.

much full compression. Pretty much just as well they have power

:27:35.:27:38.

steering nowadays. Look at that, a fabulous shot. That gives you some

:27:39.:27:41.

idea of the loading going through the car. In the old days, a snap

:27:42.:27:46.

like that would have been incredibly difficult. The drivers were talking

:27:47.:27:50.

yesterday about how physically hardly older cars used to be. I'm

:27:51.:27:53.

not sure you would have got away with that. I don't think you would

:27:54.:27:57.

have got that back. Jenson Button getting upset, I'm not sure who got

:27:58.:28:00.

have got that back. Jenson Button in his way. I was talking to our

:28:01.:28:04.

very own David Coulthard yesterday. He said when he was test driver for

:28:05.:28:08.

Williams and had to drive Nigel Mansell's setup with the small

:28:09.:28:12.

steering wheel he used to use, he could not adjust the line once he

:28:13.:28:16.

was into a quick corner, with the downforce and heavy steering they

:28:17.:28:19.

had, there was no way he could change direction. I remember seeing

:28:20.:28:28.

a horrifying shunt in 1993, when they still had active ride. A

:28:29.:28:34.

warning light in the cockpit came on if there was an active failure. It

:28:35.:28:39.

came on when he was in compression, the car sat down on the deck and he

:28:40.:28:42.

had the most enormous accident. He said had it been first race of the

:28:43.:28:45.

season he probably would not have survived. He said his neck was a

:28:46.:28:51.

stronger with the mileage. I saw him two weeks later and his eyes were

:28:52.:28:52.

still bloodshot, both eyes. Sebastian Vettel having a good look

:28:53.:29:01.

around his car. Six minutes to go. It has been a fairly quiet session

:29:02.:29:05.

in terms of the number of laps. It is a long lap, which may have some

:29:06.:29:11.

bearing. Engine mileage is key. We do think Sebastian Vettel may well

:29:12.:29:15.

have had to change an element of his engine soon. Could incur a ten place

:29:16.:29:21.

penalty when he does. They have five power units to use during the

:29:22.:29:25.

season. Each individual element counts towards that. If you change

:29:26.:29:30.

the internal combustion engine or the turbocharger, once you have used

:29:31.:29:33.

five of those separate elements and move onto the sixth of any of them,

:29:34.:29:38.

you get a ten place grid penalty. Quite a few drivers are in that

:29:39.:29:43.

zone. You can still keep going back to one you have used and you don't

:29:44.:29:47.

get a penalty, as soon as you go to number six, a new version that has

:29:48.:29:51.

been used, you'll start getting penalties. Alan, I think you know

:29:52.:29:56.

more this? One other factor is the number of miles the teams have done

:29:57.:30:00.

this year. McLaren have done the most number of miles in all of the

:30:01.:30:06.

sessions combined. As we go into the second part of the Championship, I

:30:07.:30:09.

think this will be much more of a factor. You have a 25% difference

:30:10.:30:17.

between McLaren's number of miles and the Caterham, which shows the

:30:18.:30:20.

reliability problems they have had. I do think that Red Bull, with the

:30:21.:30:24.

reliability issues they have had to the early part, and the Renault

:30:25.:30:31.

engines, this is going to be gay key factor as we moving -- this is great

:30:32.:30:38.

to be a key factor as we move into the end of the Championships. Saw

:30:39.:30:47.

the other teams, Lotus team for example, they are close to incurring

:30:48.:30:51.

penalties. A couple of quick collapse from Andre Lotterer and

:30:52.:31:01.

Marcus Ericsson. Andre Lotterer was quicker than his team-mate. But

:31:02.:31:05.

they've done 20 laps on these tyres, so it is unlikely they will improve

:31:06.:31:09.

the lap time at this stage. I imagine that as part of the reason

:31:10.:31:13.

why we have not seen many laps being set by some of the drivers. They

:31:14.:31:18.

can't get much more life out of these medium compound tyres. In the

:31:19.:31:22.

second session we will see the first use of the softer tyre to see what

:31:23.:31:26.

the difference will be. Currently, the fastest time is 1:51.577. No

:31:27.:31:38.

improvement on that last lap. He is still 22nd slowest.

:31:39.:31:45.

Alonso, keeping Ferrari in the hunt. Raikkonen showing reasonable

:31:46.:31:50.

promise, although his lap time is quite a lot slower. The Red Bulls

:31:51.:32:01.

are a little lower down. This was always going to be a more difficult

:32:02.:32:05.

track, but don't count them out yet. They will be fighting. If there are

:32:06.:32:10.

changeable conditions you can imagine Red Bull would be eager to

:32:11.:32:12.

take full advantage. Watching Rosberg year, let's just

:32:13.:32:23.

see him as he comes through the last part of the lap. Down towards the

:32:24.:32:30.

bus stop. We saw some braking problems here earlier from both

:32:31.:32:34.

Mercedes, a bit unstable on the braking. Now things looking a lot

:32:35.:32:44.

more controlled. 1.56.8. He is carrying a bit more fuel now and

:32:45.:32:48.

those tyres are well past their best. The hairpin where we have seen

:32:49.:32:55.

so many incidents in the past. It is a factor here that getting around

:32:56.:32:59.

the first corner, as we have seen most recently in 2012 when Romain

:33:00.:33:13.

Grosjean made contact with Hamilton and launched over Alonso, it is not

:33:14.:34:16.

an easy first corner, one of the trickiest probably in Formula One.

:34:17.:34:20.

You could hear that scraping sound, the bottom of the car being

:34:21.:34:30.

compressed into the road surface. The plank at the bottom of the car,

:34:31.:34:35.

there to take the impact. You could hear the blocks touching the

:34:36.:34:40.

surface. Michael Schumacher was disqualified here for wearing that

:34:41.:34:50.

excessively. The contact it is making with the road has to be

:34:51.:34:53.

assessed all of the time. Another great corner here. But looks to be

:34:54.:35:06.

the last chicane now. When they say the biggest loss, it has probably a

:35:07.:35:11.

few hundredths of a second, they are so evenly matched. The chequered

:35:12.:35:15.

flag is out on the session. We have seen the first hour and a half

:35:16.:35:20.

completed here at Spa without any major dramas. One or two little

:35:21.:35:26.

dramas. An unusual place to be suffering oversteer. It cost him

:35:27.:35:33.

time as well. Maybe indicating the tyres are well past their best. We

:35:34.:35:40.

will see that from the helicopter view as well. It's going to be a lap

:35:41.:35:49.

time that is quite a lot slower than he achieved earlier on. We're

:35:50.:36:03.

presuming they are running the same fuel set-ups, I think Lewis Hamilton

:36:04.:36:29.

will be quite happy with that. I think they run a bit less fuel.

:36:30.:36:36.

Let's quickly run think they run a bit less fuel.

:36:37.:36:43.

times. Hamilton and Rosberg the think they run a bit less fuel.

:36:44.:37:07.

two. Lotterer was 21st and faster than his team-mate Marcus Ericsson.

:37:08.:37:24.

That has been the first practice session. We were just looking at the

:37:25.:37:34.

Ferrari. A difficult session blighted by a lot of technical

:37:35.:37:40.

problems. They have had a few technical problems but Ferrari are a

:37:41.:37:55.

and he thought it was going to be a good circuit. Also, compared to

:37:56.:38:01.

Williams, one of their strongest competitors. It will be good in

:38:02.:38:04.

terms of straight-line speed, but it will be good in terms of

:38:05.:38:06.

straight-line speed, but it's determined by if they can be

:38:07.:38:09.

flat-out through Eau Rouge. If they can't, it harms the length of the

:38:10.:38:14.

big long straight and their capability to extract the low drag

:38:15.:38:20.

from the car. I spoke to Felipe Massa yesterday, he is desperate to

:38:21.:38:24.

get his first podium. Bottas has had three. He's really keen for that

:38:25.:38:30.

pole position. You can see Rosberg topping the time sheets. A good day

:38:31.:38:39.

for Button. Peres is ahead of Hulkenberg. It isn't a surprise, if

:38:40.:38:49.

you go back to Canada, the Mercedes runners were at the front and the

:38:50.:38:52.

other guys will be struggling behind them. A good day for Andre Lotterer

:38:53.:38:57.

as well. Will Max Chilton be back in? We think so. Join us on BBC Two.

:38:58.:39:01.

We will see you later. MUSIC: "Black Skinhead"

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