Amazing Races Formula 1 Rewind

ENGINES FIRE UP

FORMULA ONE THEME TUNE

BACKGROUND CHEERING

UPBEAT MUSIC

Hello and welcome to F1 Rewinds

from the Donington Museum at Donington Park,

with the globe's favourite commentator, Mr Murray Walker,

the voice of Formula One.

And today we're simply talking about amazing races.

So, let's start in 1996

and really, that year,

it was all about the Williams, wasn't it?

Yes, Williams dominated the season.

Michael Schumacher was completing his first season with Ferrari,

but Williams led, I think they won 11 races during the whole year

and it was quite clear that the championship was going to be decided

between Damon Hill,

who had finished second to Michael Schumacher

in the previous two years,

and amazingly, Damon Hill's rookie team-mate,

the French-Canadian, Jacques Villeneuve,

who'd left American racing, come to Formula One,

been an absolute sensation in his first season

and had one Grand Prix, and could be winning the world championship.

Um, Damon Hill took the lead,

but Jacques Villeneuve had a problem

halfway through the race, roughly halfway through the race,

the problem being that one of his rear wheels came off!

That is a problem.

Which finished the race for him,

finished the championship for him,

but enabled Damon Hill, not to coast home,

but to drive home and win the World Championship,

something that his father, Graham, had done.

And so Damon became the only world champion son

of a world champion father.

It was a very, very emotional occasion for him, Suzi,

and it was certainly a very emotional occasion for me.

Well, I think we all remember your commentary at the end there

and it was a great race. Here it is, then...

1996, Japan.

ENGINES WHINING

It's hard to imagine

a more nerve-racking climax to this Formula One season

and hard to imagine also the kind of demands it was making on Damon Hill.

For the last three weeks, he'd known he needed

just one single championship point

from this Japanese Grand Prix

to make absolutely certain of the title.

He was also very conscious of the manner

in which his team-mate and championship rival,

Jacques Villeneuve, had reeled in

his big mid-season championship lead.

Villeneuve couldn't be beaten in yesterday's qualifying,

although Damon Hill, in the last seconds of the session,

managed to get alongside him on the front row

and that meant that Hill had been on the front row

for every Grand Prix this season.

An all-Williams front row then

for the ninth time this season. Schumacher and Berger on row two,

Hakkinen and Irvine on row three,

and a fine qualifying performance from Heinz-Harald Frentzen,

alongside David Coulthard on row four.

Coulthard stalled a McLaren, so the first start was aborted.

The tension was unbearable as they came to the line for the second time

with Coulthard having to start from the back of the grid.

The Japanese Grand Prix described by Tony Jardine,

Jonathan Palmer and Murray Walker.

MURRAY WALKER: Villeneuve on the right. Hill is on the left.

The lights go out and the Japanese Grand Prix is...go!

And it is go this time

and a brilliant start by Damon Hill

and Villeneuve has been passed.

So, a terrible start for Jacques Villeneuve

and Damon Hill is in front, but remember,

and I'm not trying to be a Jeremiah,

but Damon Hill did exactly this at Monza

and out goes Jean Alesi.

I don't know what the problem was in terms of somebody hitting him,

but Jean Alesi is the first retirement in Japan.

Now, here's Alesi, this surely must be Alesi here.

Look out for a car, there he is on the right-hand side,

we didn't see how that started, but a big impact there,

Alesi probably got...

on a bit of a wheel-banging session with somebody.

Yes, Alesi was ninth on the grid.

He may well have had a tangle either with Martin Brundle

or with Heinz-Harald Frentzen,

who were respectively behind and in front of him.

And there is Jacques Villeneuve and he's down in sixth position.

So, he really has got it all to do

and Damon Hill now is ahead of Gerhard Berger,

so it's Williams leading, Benetton second, Hakkinen is in third place

and we're riding with Jacques Villeneuve now.

We're now going to see what Villeneuve can do.

If there's anybody out there that can show us what determination

in a great car can do,

he knows that somehow he's got to try and get back up in front.

Damon has got to play it very cool indeed,

as Gerhard Berger comes right up alongside him

and goes over the kerb at the chicane, he was having a go there.

Damon Hill rebuffed him,

but at the same time kept the Williams clear of the Benetton

and look at the gap, he's pulled out as a result of Berger

running over the kerb and that's given Mika Hakkinen

the opportunity to close up a bit on the Benetton.

Hill goes around, turn one,

this is a 155mph corner on the entry.

That is Gerhard Berger.

Look at his wing! Look at his front wing!

Gerhard Berger has got a wing problem.

He's going to have to come in and change the nose

and this is going to make things even better for Damon Hill.

Let's have a look. there goes Berger up the inside,

he tried that from a long way behind

and it looked a bit of a half-hearted measure,

that really was going to try and capitalise on the point I made

and that's the fact that Hill was going to be very, very cautious,

should that kind of thing happen. Into the pits comes Gerhard Berger,

up to second goes Hakkinen,

third goes Schumacher, fourth goes Irvine, fifth goes Villeneuve,

sixth is Martin Brundle.

Things looking very, very good indeed

and it does look as if after all, Damon

has got a very good chance of going out with a wonderful victory.

Oh, watch it, Jonathan! We've all said that.

And again, Villeneuve has a look

and this time, is he going through? Yes!

Eddie Irvine defers to Jacques Villeneuve,

who at last, from his point of view as he comes through on lap 12,

has got past that roadblock in front of him,

the V10 Ferrari of Eddie Irvine

and we can expect Jacques Villeneuve now to pull away from Irvine,

he's in...Villeneuve, therefore, is up into fourth position,

three seconds behind Michael Schumacher.

Here's how it was done.

So, he's up the inside, closing, breaking,

pulling 3.5G right down to 30mph,

locks the right front wheel momentarily.

Watch him running wide, he can't stop the car quite early enough,

but just tucks it in to get to the apex.

Beautifully executed manoeuvre.

Villeneuve, as I suspected, is absolutely flying.

He's now nearly a second faster than Damon Hill.

And now, Villeneuve driving out of his skin,

has closed right up on Michael Schumacher

and comes in, ideally placed now.

If the Williams team can get an absolutely super stop,

Michael Schumacher could be up against it when he comes in.

Now, let's watch very carefully.

Up go the hands when the...

That's...there was a bit of delay there.

That was not an ideal stop from Jacques Villeneuve's point of view.

And he rejoins the pit,

as coming through towards us is Gerhard Berger.

Now, Berger is in tenth position,

so, Jacques Villeneuve has rejoined in 11th place,

that's not the end of the world, of course

and out of the race has gone Pedro Diniz.

Villeneuve was slow. Why was he slow? Tony Jardine.

As far as I could see the pit stop went extremely well,

well-ordered, well-structured, well-disciplined,

but when it was over,

Villeneuve was actually held by the pit crew,

the lollipop stayed down for an agonising extra couple of seconds,

because one of the Jordans, Barrichello's Jordan,

was coming down the pit lane at the same time, so they held him on.

Well, while Tony Jardine was talking,

you saw Jacques Villeneuve there

make an absolutely stupefying passing move on Gerhard Berger.

And now, Villeneuve is up behind Olivier Panis,

who is in seventh place.

So, Villeneuve has really got the bit between his teeth.

We're on lap 16 in this 52-lap race.

Hill is leading Hakkinen by over five seconds,

Schumacher is seven seconds behind Hill,

Schumacher in third place,

Irvine is fourth, Brundle is fifth, Frentzen is sixth,

Panis is seventh,

Villeneuve, that we are riding with, is in eighth place.

He's not going to be there very much longer,

because although that Mugen V10 engine in front of him

has got colossal grunt, Villeneuve is the better driver

and he proves it by passing Olivier Panis,

as he had previously passed Gerhard Berger.

Great stuff.

That's Damon Hill.

And...

Oh, this is not good!

11 seconds.

Whatever, that's not good.

He had to wait for Eddie Irvine coming in ahead of him

and you can see Damon Hill on the left

and there is Michael Schumacher,

and there behind is Mika Hakkinen and that is in fourth place.

Jacques Villeneuve. Wow.

Now things are really, really getting hearty in Japan.

Tony Jardine has got news for us.

We've just heard from Ann Bradshaw in the Williams pit

that Jacques Villeneuve has a left rear puncture,

so problems for Jacques Villeneuve and his championship challenge.

And that is going to bring him down.

Of course, he is currently in fourth position,

he's 14 - nearly 15 - seconds ahead of Eddie Irvine,

but coming in and losing time, going into the pit lane,

stopping for some ten seconds also to get that left,

that new rear wheel and tyre on and he's coming into the pit lane now

and then having to speed up now.

I'm going to watch for Eddie Irvine to go through in fifth position

as you watch Jacques Villeneuve coming through the pit lane now.

He's just opposite me.

And Michael Schumacher is in the pit lane and so is Mika Hakkinen.

And there is...

one of the Arrows going past me,

as out goes Mika Hakkinen

and I still haven't seen Eddie Irvine go by.

Well...

that has made things phenomenally difficult for Jacques Villeneuve,

who's coming out of the pit lane as I talk to you.

You can see for yourself as he rejoins the track

and coming towards him in the background...

is Martin Brundle.

And here is Damon Hill, race leader,

25 seconds ahead of Michael Schumacher.

He wants a cool, calm, collected, controlled pit stop,

four new tyres and wheels,

the right amount of fuel, which is premeasured

and that looked like an absolutely immaculate stop for me,

as Michael Schumacher here comes out

and Damon Hill is going to rejoin, is he? Just in front of the Ferrari?

Yes, he is!

Damon Hill, lap 35,

rejoins in the lead, ahead of Michael Schumacher.

So, if any hope that the Ferrari team

was that they would be able to pass Damon Hill in the pits,

it has been destroyed

and on lap 36,

with Villeneuve now the fastest man on the track as we join him,

a new fastest lap, 1:44.4,

3.4 seconds outside the all-time lap record of Nigel Mansell.

And that is... Villeneuve! It's Villeneuve!

Jacques Villeneuve is out of the race.

Damon Hill is the World Champion of 1996.

Wheel off Villeneuve. We'll see what happened,

but whatever it was, has denied him the World Championship.

Frank Williams looking his normally impassive self,

but Damon Hill is the World Champion of 1996.

He doesn't even have to finish the race.

If he failed to finish the race,

he would still be nine World Championship points

ahead of Jacques Villeneuve

and Tony Jardine knows what happened.

Villeneuve had radioed in just before it happened

and he said he felt the wheel loosening up.

He didn't say it had fallen off, but he felt the wheel loosening up.

There is a replay. We're going to see what happened.

He felt the wheel loosening up

and the result of it was he ran wide and wider,

the wheel goes past him

into the gravel trap.

Fortunately, it's hit...it goes over, over...into the crowd!

Oh, my goodness. I do hope nobody was hurt with that.

But back to Jacques Villeneuve.

No words of mine can overemphasise

what a brilliant season this young Canadian has had.

So, on lap 40 in this 52-lap race,

Hill leads Schumacher by just under three seconds,

knowing that he's just got to pace himself to finish.

And he'll ideally now want to win this race.

He knows he's won the world championship. He will want

to go out on the highest possible high by beating Michael Schumacher.

And that's Andy Irvine spun off there.

Irvine, who was right there alongside Gerhard Berger.

Maybe they've had a coming together.

It looks like Irvine is out of the race. Here's the replay.

Irvine turns in. Berger is trying to get through on the inside.

Irvine keeps his line.

He's pushed out of the way and spun by Gerhard Berger,

who drives across the apex.

I'm always reluctant to ascribe responsibility,

but, Jonathan, I'm sure you'll be delighted to do so.

Well, I must say, I think Eddie Irvine did all he could.

He understeered but then he came across.

He was going to stay in the middle of the road.

It looked like Berger was just too committed,

too fast on the approach there,

and just had too much speed to keep it tight.

Williams have asked us to point out, incidentally,

that when Jacques Villeneuve came in, complaining of a rear puncture,

the inspection afterwards by his engineer

revealed no puncture whatsoever.

There is speculation here that's that was the start of the problems

with the rear hub. That's what they're thinking at the moment.

Damon Hill, starting his last lap in Japan,

and now is the time to say that we are seeing history made,

because Damon Hill is the son of the great Graham Hill,

the world champion of 1962 and 1965,

and never before in the history of Formula One Grand Prix racing

has the son of a world champion become world champion himself.

Damon Hill has already done that

even if he doesn't complete the lap that he's on

as he goes round turn seven, up to the unique crossover at Suzuka,

which makes this circuit the way it is.

And there are the teams in their blue and white

London Rowing Club caps, matching the helmet of Damon Hill,

which matches the helmet of his great father, Graham Hill.

This is going to be a mighty emotional

occasion for a lot of people, not the least of whom is myself.

And Damon Hill will be concentrating in the cockpit there.

But when he comes out of it, his arms will go up,

the helmet will come off.

That is his wife Georgie.

She's seen her husband become world champion.

Now she's seeing him win the Japanese Grand Prix,

because he is almost home.

This is something that many people

didn't think could possibly happen today.

They thought Damon would drive a cautious race,

but he fought from second on the grid.

He passed Jacques Villeneuve, he took the lead, he stayed there

and Damon Hill exits the chicane and wins the Japanese Grand Prix.

And I've got to stop because I've got a lump in my throat.

Michael Schumacher passes Damon Hill, but too late.

Damon Hill wins in Japan.

And he started this race nine points ahead of Jacques Villeneuve.

The record will show that Damon Hill won the championship 19 points

ahead of Jacques Villeneuve.

NATIONAL ANTHEM PLAYS

CHEERING Forgive us, please,

in Australia, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand,

everywhere else that's watching this,

if we feel very emotional, because that's our boy.

Damon Hill, world champion - what about that?

It's just so fantastic. I can't tell you, Murray.

I was driving along and I could hear you in my head - "Jacques out,

"Murray's off."

And it was quite a difficult job to concentrate after

I heard that Jacques was out.

But I wanted to win the race

because I knew that was the best way to finish.

Damon, I'm so happy for you.

Not just because you're world champion,

not just because you won the race, but because of the way you won it

and the way you took the lead from the grid

by passing Jacques Villeneuve.

Well, I said I wanted to get ahead and that was the best

way of ensuring that I won the championship. The best form

of defence is attack, so I made a good start,

which I was pleased about.

And once I was in front I was determined to stay there.

Wow, what a fabulous day that was for Damon and all his family.

And very honest commentary from you, Murray, if I might say.

Suzi, I've had the privilege of seeing Damon grow up.

I've known his double world champion father, Graham, who'd

actually been in the commentary box with me on several occasions.

So it was very emotional for me when Damon won.

And I remember that as he crossed the line, it all welled up

and I said, and "I've got to stop now because

"I've got a lump in my throat."

And it really was true.

And I wondered how Damon felt after that,

because he was out of Williams, wasn't he?

He'd won the world championship for them but no drive.

It's well nigh beyond belief that having achieved

world championship in 1996,

he did so with the knowledge that he had already been

fired by Williams

because he'd had a not

so good season, by their very high standards, in 1995.

And Frank Williams made the decision that he was going to replace

Damon Hill with Heinz-Harald Frentzen,

a decision I ever wonder if he's regretted.

Well, they had three world champions in succession, didn't they?

That's right. Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost and now Damon Hill.

OK, let's move forward now to a race that a lot of people still say

is one of the favourite races - Canada 2011.

Certainly the longest race of all time.

Four hours, four minutes and 39.5 seconds of drama.

Why was it that long?

Basically, because the weather was absolutely terrible,

as a result of which, they actually stopped the race for two

whole hours and then started up again.

And all sorts of things happened.

But the amazing thing was that Jenson Button won the race

notwithstanding the fact that he had six pit stops, took a penalty,

he had a puncture, he drove into his team-mate and he passed

Sebastian Vettel halfway through the last lap to win the race.

It was real Boy's Own Paper stuff. It's really was, wasn't it?

And with the duration, when they looked at his average speed,

it was just 46.5mph and he won the Grand Prix.

The slowest Grand Prix since 1906 probably! Let's take a look.

There you see confirmation - the race will start behind the safety car.

And the red lights are used as a countdown now to the start procedure.

Vettel starts on pole from Alonso.

Massa third, Webber fourth.

So Red Bull, Ferrari, Ferrari, Red Bull at the front of the grid.

Hamilton and Rosberg fifth and sixth.

Button seventh, Schumacher eight.

So McLaren and Mercedes-Benz two by two there.

Alguersuari starts at the end of the pit lane

and he will be sitting there an awful long time.

He put a full wet set-up on the car,

but if he's starting at the back...

and at least with the safety car situation...

The race starts now.

There is no formation lap.

No rain at the moment and this looks like we're gearing up here.

Vettell can control the pace now. The safety car is out the way

so he dictates the pace from this point on. And he's gone early.

He's gone early but Alonso's gone with him.

There's no overtaking until they get to the first safety car line,

which is there. And that is why a Alonso fancied a bit of a look.

And Vettel's gone too deep into the corner.

Alonso is right behind him still.

So they could overtake into that final corner. And Vettell moves out.

But so does Alonso. Alonso goes to the right.

Vettell has the turning point in the corner, though.

And behind we've got a McLaren.

And he's touched! Webber is round.

Mark Webber. And that's Lewis Hamilton.

So Mark Webber keeps the engine running.

He'll fall almost to the back of the field.

And it was Hamilton getting right up the inside of him.

He's always in the wars, is Lewis.

This is a replay, on board with Lewis Hamilton.

So Mark Webber... Gave him space. You're absolutely right.

He gave him space and then Lewis just understeered into him.

Michael getting off the braking,

off the rubber on the way into that corner, but has a bit of a moment

to lose Hamilton, who will be well positioned.

As he comes out of the chicane in the rundown to turn ten.

We saw him in the previous lap look down the outside of Michael.

Let's see if he tries the same line again.

Michael goes to the inside.

Once again, Lewis gets wide, and Michael comes across.

You can see he's pushed Lewis wide. Lewis will lose out to Button.

Webber and Hamilton under investigation for that first corner.

Will Lewis Hamilton get another drive-through penalty?

What do you think? Well, I think in that case, there's no question.

The McLarens touched! That is...

Well, Lewis Hamilton obviously with suspension damage, puncture.

I'd be surprised if he makes it round back into the pits,

but the problem in those conditions

is Jenson Button can't see in his mirrors.

There's so much spray coming off the front axle that any visibility

you have is just cancelled.

This is just incredible.

Lewis just seems to be touching with Mark, touching with Michael.

Well, almost touching with Michael,

and then getting together with his team-mate.

Will there be a safety car? It's a suspension broken, isn't it?

No, it's just a wheel rim, isn't it?

It looks like he went against the pit wall.

Let's hear what Jenson thought.

'What was he doing?'

I think he was trying to pass you, Jenson.

But Jenson, obviously as you say,

you can see nothing out of those mirrors. They're about...

Safety car out. Safety car is out.

I would imagine because of the debris on the pit straight.

Button in the pits. He's coming in under safety car.

Jenson Button coming in, maybe for checks on his car to get the replay.

So Lewis comes off the last chicane much, much faster.

Jenson is making his way on what is the normal line.

It was the merest of touches, wasn't it, actually?

Well, Lewis will say "He should have seen me coming."

He was slow off the corner. Intermediate tyres, were they not?

Going on the McLaren there.

So Button, then, the first man on to the inters.

Here's another replay of the contact.

He's right up in behind there, probably employing kerbs.

Then at that point, when he committed, the gap just reduced.

There'll be an interesting debate between the drivers as to who

was in the right and who was in the wrong.

Safety car is in this lap.

How do you judge whether you're going to catch

the safety car or not? There it is.

It's a really tough one, but he's got it right this time.

Alonso is not as close,

as long as he slows down at the right point for the corner.

Alonso is not challenging quite...

Michael Schumacher trying to come up the inside of Nico Rosberg

and gets away with it. Yeah, but pointless to do that.

He's not allowed to overtake until the start-finish line.

He can overtake on that first safety car line, for sure.

Red Bull leads Ferrari, Ferrari, then the two Mercedes of Rosberg

and Michael Schumacher.

Button 12th and under investigation.

A drive-through penalty for car four - Jenson Button -

who is just in front of Paul di Resta -

sorry Sutil, there.

In fact, that was.

He's past di Resta somewhere, so it was di Resta.

So, Button has really made some gains in this lap, but he's got

a drive-through penalty for this safety-car speed-limit issue.

That means that... What will that cost him?

About 20 seconds to just cruise through the pit lane.

He's got to do it within three laps.

Yeah, it'll be less than that, Martin.

About 12 seconds it'll cost him. It's the time through the pit lane.

That will bring him back out...

Well, probably down in about 16th place, I would imagine.

Maybe even further down than that.

Yeah, so Jenson is doing 62mph as they're

doing about 180 down the pit straight. It's a long run.

It's a very unusual pit lane here where you feed into turn two,

not into the first corner.

He goes around the outside, slots in very nicely.

Look how hard it's raining, David.

It is now, yeah.

Surely Jenson is going to start struggling now.

You've got heavy spray coming up, and some aquaplaning.

We've got a safety car out.

So safety car is deployed. Haven't seen any incidents at the moment.

Fernando Alonso pitting under the safety car, so he's first to blink.

Going back to wets, presumably. Yeah, indeed he will.

But this is working out pretty well for Sebastian Vettel.

Button does indeed pit. Well, that was short-lived.

So by not reacting too quickly, Vettel

and Massa, Kobayashi up front, it's all worked out beautifully for them.

There's so much water. You cannot restart the race like this.

For the first car, it is already too dangerous.

For the car behind, he doesn't see anything.

Blind he goes into the water,

aquaplanes and smashes the car.

So it is a red-flag situation. The race is effectively suspended.

They're not allowed to go in the pit lane,

otherwise they'll take a penalty.

The cars can be worked on on the grid.

They have to go to pole position and line up in race order

when they get underway.

That's a total red-flag period of two hours and four minutes.

The safety car, then, has pulled away.

We are back in racing conditions here on the Ile Notre Dame

in the St Lawrence Seaway on the outskirts of Montreal.

So Vettel then takes over and becomes the safety car, effectively

controlling the pace of the pack, got them all backed up at the hip.

It's so easy to run into another driver in those circumstances

while you're trying to keep your tyres and brakes warm.

Vettel's bolted. He's going for it.

He doesn't want Kobayashi anywhere near him

as they arrive at the first safety car line.

Massa is closer to Kobayashi. Spray not too bad.

Petrov on the right-hand side of the track for Renault.

He's fighting off Paul di Resta who is down the outside.

Massa so close to Kobayashi.

So a long wait for the safety car to get out of the way.

Now the drivers are saying the track is so dry

I'd like a set of intermediates, please, as Button pits as well.

Another string of them -

Heidfeld, di Resta, Button,

de la Rosa, Alguersuari, Maldonado fancy the other tyres as well.

Off Button goes down the pit lane.

We've got a Ferrari off.

Fernando Alonso's beached the Ferrari.

Where is that? That's the second chicane.

Yeah, it's in turn three, I think. Am I seeing that correctly?

I think that's... Yeah, that's exit of three, four.

Yeah, three and four. Safety car has been deployed -

our favourite car of the day gets another look in to this race.

Button's got a puncture. Yeah, left-front.

I wonder if there was contact.

They shouldn't have been so close on the road, should they?

Button, McLaren's...

Vettel has pitted.

I wonder if Jenson Button

and Fernando Alonso got together somewhere.

Vettel again making the best of some free space at the front.

It just all keeps falling into place for Red Bull.

Let's have look at this. Yes, it was Button up the inside of Alonso.

Alonso didn't want to yield. Contact.

That's Jenson's second contact of the afternoon.

Jenson up the inside of Fernando.

Fernando says you're not coming through there,

and Jenson says well, you watch this.

I am coming through.

We're going to have to call that a racing incident.

The McLaren of Button is in the pits.

It's four pit stops and a drive-through for Button

for exceeding the speed limit behind the safety car early on.

Safety car will come in this lap.

Jenson Button is way out back at the moment.

Vettel bolts once more Kobayashi asleep once more, but Massa is not.

Massa is right with him.

To remind you, when they get to the safety car line,

they can start doing some overtaking.

But Kobayashi has laid it up on the brakes.

Heidfeld looking pretty punchy behind Massa, as well.

Lots of action going on down the field, but once again, it's the

world champion and the championship leader, Sebastian Vettel,

who clears the line.

Jenson Button has just about caught the back of the snake

as he crosses the line.

Webber well out of shape on the outside.

Michael Schumacher then at turn 11 just cruises past Mark Webber.

Too hot on the throttle.

Michael Schumacher takes over sixth place there from Mark Webber.

Di Resta up the inside.

Damaged front wing.

Paul, you've broken the front wing there.

This is Massa side by side with Kobayashi for second place.

Michael Schumacher looks like he's gone past the pair of them.

Lots of action. Absolutely wild oversteer there.

Schumacher has passed Massa and Kobayashi.

Schumacher absolutely flying. Brilliant driving.

This is where it all went wrong for Kobayashi -

he's gone wide in turn eight, contact there with Massa.

Michael Schumacher sneaks up the inside

while they're busy watching each other and takes second place.

Not much that Kobayashi could do other than get back on the track.

That just allows Michael the momentum.

He would have been grinning inside that helmet.

Wunderbar. Yeah.

That then is Button, who presumably has just pitted for slicks.

That's Jenson's sixth trip through the pits today,

five times to change his tyres.

We've got a damaged nose front wing there of Felipe Massa,

as Mark Webber goes through and is setting fastest sector

after fastest sector, cars off all over the place,

as they're trying to find grip on their tyres.

The race leader pits for a fresh set of super-soft tyres.

Here we are on the exit of turn seven. He gets out on the water.

Of course, on the slick tyres, he's just aquaplaned.

That was him trying to get past.

He's broken his front wing.

It's like none of these guys know where their front wing is.

Oh. Right. There's a surprise.

Thankfully there's plenty of run off down there.

He parks it nicely out the way, so I don't expect any safety car

unless there's some debris on the track.

It's Nick Heidfeld. He got on the throttle.

He got so much grip from that Renault in the slow corners.

He just plain ran into the back of him.

That was a little bit scary, but thankfully

one of the areas on the track where there is a run-off area.

Massively frustrating for the Renault guys,

because they were looking for a good result here this weekend.

But once again we're back with a battle with

Mark Webber, Michael Schumacher.

But can he get off line to go past?

Look at Button catching them like crazy.

He's P4 now.

Button on a 20.2.

He's two seconds quicker than the leader, Vettel.

Bit of traffic ahead of him with d'Ambrosio in the Virgin.

Jenson has got to tiptoe so carefully off the racing

line as they see the yellow flags so easy to pick up a puncture.

It is. Normally that would be enough for them

to throw a safety car for fear of...

And we have. We've got a safety car out.

Sebastian Vettel leads the restart for the fourth time this afternoon.

DRS is not enabled at this time Schumacher down the outside.

Yellow flags waving for some reason -

presumably because the safety car was still in range,

but green flags now.

Away they go.

Button has cleared the back marker.

Webber again all over the back of Michael Schumacher.

This is going to be a titanic scrap, isn't it?

We saw Michael, was it last year?

Where he just knocked the front wing... Mark Webber misses a corner.

Oh! He's nearly lost it.

Webber... Button sails past him, somehow finding enough grip.

Mark Webber pushing his luck.

Yellow flags waving in turn one,

but Button had the move done well before then.

Webber drops back to fourth place. Vettel leads Schumacher by 3.8

from Jenson Button.

Webber got in too hot, took the escape road,

did not gain a place, but nearly dropped it through the exit.

Jenson said, "I'll have some of that, thank you. I'm out of here."

Now it's Jenson chasing down Michael Schumacher.

If he's within one second as he exits this corner,

that line now, he gets the advantage of the rear wing.

It'll pop open when they go over this next line.

Surely he's got a great chance of coasting past whilst

Schumacher is looking in his mirror.

Button goes the long way round. Is he ahead of him? Yes, he is!

Button up into second place. He's got the pass done.

Look at the difference in the speed

when you've got DRS in the slipstream.

Button is absolutely flying.

He's 1.3 seconds quicker halfway around the current lap.

Vettel is going to really have to show us what he's got now.

Vettel's done a personal best -

first and second sector.

He's miles slower than that man -

second place, Jenson Button -

who loves these conditions.

Vettel watching in the mirror, the rear wing close.

In the background, Schumacher defending hard

against Webber.

Schumacher defending incredibly hard. Webber's through.

Webber's through.

Can he keep it on the road this time? He does indeed.

Schumacher drops down to fourth place.

I think he came across the run-off area.

Schumacher fourth, Webber third, Button -

a new fastest lap of the race, 1:17.5.

The gap down to 1.3.

Schumacher there once again without the rear wing and without...

He did go across the escape road, actually, but he does not have

to yield anything on that one, he lost a place anyway.

What's the gap as they go over the line?

Vettel lead as he goes into the final lap by 0.9 of a second.

Button, a 1:16.9 - the new fastest lap of the race.

Jenson Button driving for his life, driving for the victory.

Has Vettel got what it takes to hold him off?

What else is happening - they're coming up in a pack of five cars.

Remember Monaco, what happened there? They're coming up on Trulli

and a whole pack of cars which are going five-seconds-a-lap slower.

So look out for them just in front of them.

I think Vettel has gone wide. He's gone wide!

He turned in too late! Button leads the Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel turned in with his tyres just touching the water.

It's the final lap of the Grand Prix.

Jenson Button, after an awful afternoon with so many things

going wrong for him, leads this amazing Canadian Grand Prix.

He set the fastest first sector of the Grand Prix

while he was doing it. We see Vettel finally cracking.

He's made a mistake.

He is still going to finish second.

That means he has never been outside the top two this year.

But Sebastian Vettel finally shows he's human

because of the pressure that this man, Jenson Button, put on him.

All sorts going off in the final chicane here,

but they're out of Button's way. Lots of traffic.

Jenson Button into the pit straight. He wins a brilliant race.

It's a sensational drive for Button. What a victory.

Vettel limps home in second place.

He'll be angry with himself, it's unlike him.

Brilliant, Jenson. Absolutely brilliant.

I think we've been in every position in that race,

but we finished where it mattered.

Fantastic. Great job, mate.

JENSON LAUGHS

Guys! That was a hell of a race.

A hell of a race. Thank you so much. Fantastic win.

We deserved that for the race we've had. Thank you, guys, so much.

It's been a long time coming.

Well, hard work for Jenson Button, but it certainly paid off, didn't it?

What it proved was that if you keep pressuring the bloke in front,

he may make a mistake. That was Jenson's real hope.

He really maintained that pressure on Sebastian Vettel,

who made what turned out to be a fatal error,

from the point of view of winning the race.

He just moved a bit to the side and boom, Jenson was through,

took the lead, won the race, absolutely brilliant.

He's always such a popular winner, Jenson, isn't he?

Well, rightly so, cos he's such a popular bloke.

He's a lovely bloke, one of the nicest people there's ever

been in Formula One in my opinion.

He very richly deserved the win.

Let's move forward, now, to Bahrain 2014.

This was really all about the Mercedes boys.

We'd had a Nico Rosberg win at the opener in Australia.

Lewis had won the second race in Malaysia.

But this one really did set up their rivalry, didn't it?

It's worth remembering that 2014 was the first year of a new formula -

the hybrid formula,

where we've got these very, very complicated power units.

Mercedes were in their fifth year

of trying to come good in Formula One.

My goodness, it was the season they turned out to dominate.

But what really impressed me about Bahrain was it demonstrated

what a great driver Nico Rosberg is.

There had been some doubts in the past about just how good he was,

we'd seen him race against Michael Schumacher

and beat the great German, but now he fought every inch of the way,

constantly trying to get past Lewis Hamilton.

He never actually quite succeeded.

But if trying was the name of the game,

he would have won.

It was an absolutely brilliant race

which had us on the edge of our seats

and restored a lot of people's faith in Formula One.

Yes, because a lot of people at that time had been having a bit of a go,

including Luca di Montezemolo who, at the time,

was president at Ferrari.

Who said that Formula One now was taxi-driving.

Pfft! There wasn't any taxi-driving in Bahrain, was there?

It was belting wheel-to-wheel action. Let's have a look.

So, let's take a look, then, at the grid.

It is Nico Rosberg with back-to-back poles in Bahrain,

and Hamilton alongside him for his 60th front-row start.

Bottas and Perez both matching their best-ever grid positions,

both of them looking for a first podium.

Raikkonen lines up in fifth place, with Jenson Button,

his best grid position this year, alongside.

Felipe Massa in the second Williams,

his best starting spot of the year too.

Magnussen starting in the same place as he did in Malaysia.

Then Alonso in ninth place,

then Sebastian Vettel in tenth. That's quite some fifth row.

Hulkenberg starts behind them,

Daniil Kvyat, the Russian in 12.

Then it's Daniel Ricciardo with his penalty,

but potentially a fast car,

and Jean-Eric Vergne who lines up next.

Who's going to blaze to glory in the desert night?

We're about to find out.

Lights out! Away we go.

Who's it going to be off the front row?

Rosberg trying to cover, Hamilton up on the inside.

Bottas making a good start.

Hamilton's got a good start

and he's going to lead, I think, into the first corner.

What a crucial getaway for Lewis Hamilton,

as Massa makes an excellent start.

Massa is the first of the two Williams.

He's gone past Perez, riding on board here with Jenson Button.

Now, look, the battle up front.

Rosberg trying to come round the outside of Lewis Hamilton!

Oh, they almost touch!

We just lose sight of them for a moment

but they both managed to get away with it, Hamilton in front.

It's so crucial to have that lead advantage.

Question for you. If Rosberg had had somebody else on his inside,

would he be more aggressive coming across here?

You've got to not treat your team-mate any differently.

The rules of combat are you don't make contact with any car.

You can damage your own.

You can see there, Nico Rosberg just being driven off the track

by Lewis Hamilton. He's saying, "We may be old karting buddies

"but I want this Grand Prix and I want this championship",

so gloves are off. Now, here he goes for the outside.

This is a place where some guys have been able to overtake,

but Lewis says, "Yeah, I'm using all the road, Nico. Forget it!

"This is my corner."

'So, remember, Nico, we have the alternative strategy

'which we'll be going for, which means you need to go longer

'on this first stint, looking after the tyres.'

I wonder if they're going to do different strategies

between the two cars, or whether they'll both follow the same.

We'll have to wait and see exactly. Hamilton has the advantage.

Perez on Massa, so these two are fighting for third place now.

And Felipe Massa... Bottas has very little grip left.

There's no answer, I don't think,

and Perez is going to take the place. He does.

Up into third place goes Sergio Perez for Force India.

Oh, and pulling over is Adrian Sutil.

It's been a miserable weekend...

He's missing something on his rear tyre.

There's no marking on that left rear.

So has he rubbed up against something before...pitting?

That's unusual. Was there contact here?

Let's take a look. He's dicing with Jules Bianchi.

Side by side...

This is where the yellow line's going to disappear.

That was a great spot, David! Absolutely brilliant.

Bianchi and Sutil came together.

I have a five-year-old. I do a lot of colouring in!

Take another look at... Oh, my goodness!

Was that after? That was after. Yeah.

Look at this! Side by side.

You're looking at the battle. Rosberg's got past Lewis Hamilton...

No, he hasn't! Hamilton retakes it. Wonderful racing up front

between the two Mercedes team-mates.

Not only did he retake it,

that is the equivalent of a slap in the face

as he cut across the front wing of Rosberg.

'Warn him. That was not on!'

I couldn't interpret that. He said, "Warn him. That was not on." OK.

But what we have to say is, "Thank you, Mercedes Grand Prix,

"for allowing your men to go wheel-to-wheel."

Down the inside into turn one,

Lewis gives him the corner

and sets it up to do the cutback, which he does do,

and then it's the fact he squeezed across the front of Rosberg.

We're going to see it from Nico's point of view.

He goes down the inside, now look for Lewis appearing on the right.

As he does, he has to take avoiding action.

That's what's upset Nico.

That was close to contact.

Toto Wolff and Paddy Lowe both looking a little worried.

This is another replay of that. The DRS was in operation...

In fact, this is now.

He's having another go. He's locked up a little bit.

Has be got in front this time? Yes? No?

Hamilton can't fend him off this time! Rosberg's got him!

He has got past him.

So Rosberg takes the lead,

but will he have the run down towards turn four?

He moves to the inside now.

Over the dirt, over the dust!

Hamilton will try and go round the outside

and try and come back on the exit.

Wow! This is amazing racing between the two Mercedes team-mates!

Side by side! Hamilton retakes the place!

He retakes the lead at the Bahrain Grand Prix

and there is nothing to choose between them!

That's how hungry they both are. This is brilliant.

This is brilliant, brilliant stuff.

Hamilton still in front of Nico Rosberg,

but Rosberg throwing everything at him,

but he'd just gone on the dirt and that probably was why

he didn't quite have the grip at the next corner,

and the driver having to think about so many different things

in a battle like this, and still trying to look after their tyres.

But they are 35 seconds ahead of anyone else.

They don't have to worry about being caught by their opposition.

Hamilton will be in this lap. OK.

So the first pit stop. This is crucial.

Every 100th of a second on this pit stop could make a difference.

That's a lovely, lovely stop for Lewis Hamilton.

He's on his way once again.

He's now got the new tyres so he'll be very fast on this next lap.

2.7-second stop.

'So using DRS, push hard now for two laps. Push hard for two laps,

'then we go to alternative strategy.'

So, he's going for the other tyre. Wow.

This is really going to be interesting.

We won't know how this works out

until towards the end of the Grand Prix.

Rosberg coming in on this lap.

So is he going to be switching onto the medium compounds?

Let's take a look.

It is indeed.

So a completely different strategy there for Rosberg.

He puts the harder tyre on early in the race

and that's going to make life very exciting.

Two-tenths slower on the pit stop.

Hamilton will be ahead. Let's just watch them as they come out.

There's Hamilton on the right.

Now the gap has opened up but they're on different strategies.

He's got a great run here, Hulkenberg, and Massa knows it.

Both Mercedes-powered and Hulkenberg goes to the inside.

Almost over the white line, but just holds it. He'll lose momentum.

Watch Perez. Yeah, Perez could get him here.

They're going to go side by side, team-mates battle again

and this time it's Perez who gets past Hulkenberg

because Hulkenberg tried so hard to get past the Williams.

Oh, Daniel Ricciardo in full DRS and locks up!

He's locked up and, meanwhile,

there's an attack on Massa from Perez.

Perez now going to have a little look at getting alongside him

And Hulkenberg right behind. Side by side, Perez with Massa.

Side by side through turn five and he's done it!

Wow, Sergio Perez driving out of his skin here this weekend

and Hulkenberg's got the chance to nip past the Williams, as well.

But Sergio Perez fought for every inch.

Look for the cut back. He does, indeed.

Hulkenberg. Does he have the power

to out-drive the Williams like the Ferrari?

He's on the outside as they come down to turn nine.

Good, clean racing from both guys there and Hulkenberg

also gets past the Williams.

Gets on it sideways on the exit though and that cost him speed

and Massa's going to be able to come back at him here as they

come down towards turn 11.

He's going to try going down the inside.

But Hulkenberg can just fend him off.

Who said this was taxi-driving?

This is racing!

Now, this is the replay of Perez and how he got past Massa.

Well, a move he's made work for him so many times on this circuit.

He just straightens the car as much as possible on the exit of four

and he gets a massive drive off through five

into that high-speed chicane.

'OK, Lewis, we're safe on fuel so no more lift and coast.

'No more lift and coast.

'I heard you, man, I'm looking after my tyres.'

And Hamilton being very cautious. He knows he's still in a race.

Oh, we've got a shunt!

That's a Sauber and a Lotus going around the outside.

It must be Gutierrez cos Sutil out of the race earlier on.

This might be a safety car, Ben. They're not going to push that away.

No, that must surely be a safety car.

Only the second time in Bahrain race history

that we would have a safety car.

Look at the top, the camera's gone off the top, so he's gone over.

Yeah, the car has flipped, I would suggest.

Let's take a look and see what happened.

Was he exiting the pits there? Oh, he was on the outside.

And the other car was coming out and they just didn't see each other.

Yes, that's right.

'Whoa, what was that!'

He didn't even know it was there. It was Pastor Maldonado.

Oh, my goodness!

Meanwhile, Hamilton and Rosberg have taken their stops.

And the safety car is out.

'Nico, it's Paddy here.

'There are about ten laps left to race,

'can we just make sure we bring both cars home?

'OK.'

OK, well, same message to both drivers as a team boss.

As an engineer, you can do no more than ask them to play nice.

Yeah, but they didn't actually say hold station,

They just said bring the cars home. Does that mean they can go racing?

Of course it does. Good.

The safety car will be coming in this lap and we will be in

for a ten-lap sprint

to decide the outcome of the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix.

Hamilton on the harder of the two tyres

and look at how he's opening the gap to the safety car.

He wants to make the break. Rosberg on the softer tyre.

The two Force Indias behind. Away he goes, Lewis Hamilton!

Gets on the gas, slides his way through the last corner,

chased immediately by Nico Rosberg.

They've both been told to keep these cars in one piece

and get them to the chequered flag. In the background,

you can also see the two Force Indias side by side,

charging for it. Hulkenberg coming down the outside of his team-mate.

Perez trying to turn in him. Oh, and Perez squeezes him out,

very aggressively. Button will feel that.

He'll be trying to take advantage,

but he's got his own problems with Vettel behind.

The two Mercedes are side-by-side.

Once again, Hamilton and Rosberg.

Rosberg trying to go around the outside. Can he do it?

No, Hamilton will shut the door on Rosberg

as he did in the earlier part of the Grand Prix.

But Rosberg with the softer tyre, Perez still in third place.

Hulkenberg in fourth.

Button in fifth place, then Vettel and Ricciardo.

All of them. You can see the leaders just up ahead.

To give them that extra spice to see what

they can get out of this Grand Prix.

Ricciardo isn't just going to sit behind his team-mate.

Vettel's got a chance here of getting past Jenson Button.

Ten-second stop and go for Maldonado. Button's wide.

Yeah, he's made a mistake.

Vettel's through.

Can Button come back at him?

He will be kicking himself

but another chance for Ricciardo, as well.

Button loses his place.

He's down to sixth place now with Ricciardo chasing after him

as meanwhile, Perez holds on to third.

And Ricciardo sweeps past Button, as well.

The DRS is indeed open but he's just a little bit too far back,

certainly on this lap, to have ago.

Once again, Hamilton is quicker in that sector.

A full tenth faster than his team-mate.

And that might be the saving position this afternoon

as Ricciardo comes on his team-mate.

Yeah, Ricciardo down the inside of Vettel

and he's going to make the move stick, I think.

Daniel Ricciardo passes the four-times world champion,

his team-mate, and takes that place.

He's into fifth.

Just gone past our commentary position and I can tell you,

Rosberg didn't look quite close enough to challenge on this lap.

There you are, onboard, he is having a go!

He's going from a long way back.

And Rosberg going side-by-side with Hamilton,

once again, but Hamilton just able to fend him off,

but it's not over yet.

He's got a good exit here.

They run up towards turn four.

He'll move to the outside.

He's tried this several times and Hamilton has hung him out to dry.

He's going to try it again.

Hamilton will again squeeze him over the white line.

Oh, my goodness! Don't touch! They're so close!

But, again, they get away with it.

And they were told to bring the cars back in one piece.

If they carry on like this, that might not happen!

Rosberg still on the charge, here. He's on the better tyre.

They have the same car. He's got a lot of anger in that belly.

I don't see how Hamilton could hold this for the remaining laps.

Still, amazing watching him drive,

because there, he was just flicking the brake balance,

changing the brake balance between corners.

I know we see that so often,

but when they're in the middle of a dice like that -

the control, the thought processes that are going on here...

Now, he's going to have a look at the inside,

but no, that's the other DRS zone.

It's a tough place to overtake. It is possible, but not easy.

They're doing this wheel-to-wheel racing

and they're going three seconds a lap quicker than the opposition.

They have a 14-second gap, already!

This is the first time we've really seen them in race conditions.

They have to go flat out, because they are racing each other

and they are, as you say, three seconds faster than Perez.

Expect to see Rosberg with the DRS having a go again,

down into turn one.

Is he going to try another strategy?

Leave Hamilton alone into one and try and get the run clean into four?

Here we go. The DRS is open. Just five laps to go.

Rosberg has got to find something different to do here.

Hamilton defends. Oh, he's down the inside, but he's too deep this time.

Surely, he still gets it into the corner -

and Hamilton cuts back again.

Oh, well - Hamilton read that beautifully!

He's such an instinctive racer, but again,

he's going to have to defend here,

because Rosberg's got the outside line.

Now, can he come back on the exit?

Hamilton's not going to let him do that, I don't think.

This is wonderful. How is he doing this?

How is he keeping Rosberg behind?

There's confrontation between these two drivers,

who have known each other for so long.

Ricciardo - now, did he make a move on Hulkenberg? Let's just see.

Hulkenberg's been struggling and I think Ricardo's made the move

and he's into fourth place - yes, he is.

Out of the points now, with Jenson Button in 11th. He's going slowly.

He's going very slowly.

Jenson Button in 11th - he was, but he's dropped to 13th already,

as Grosjean has gone past

and he's coming to a halt, I think.

So, we've lost both McLarens.

My goodness, what a long time it has been

since two McLarens failed to finish,

although it did happen here in Bahrain in the past,

when both cars went out on the same day,

but it's very, very unusual in modern Formula One.

Massa now goes on the attack, with Sebastian Vettel,

who goes a little bit too deep into turn one.

But there's no way through, just yet.

Well, he'll have the run as they come through three

on their way down to four.

Vettel's going to have to go defensive. Oh, look at that!

He's on the sand, he's in the dust and he goes down the inside

and Massa has got past!

Sebastian Vettel will come back at him on the exit.

Superior grip and he is able to retake it. Read that perfectly.

Squeezed Massa as much as he could.

Massa didn't give it up for one moment.

And this is fantastic racing here, this afternoon. Remarkable.

Everyone said the new rules would turn it into an economy drive.

We have not seen that at all today.

We have seen drivers going for it hard, trying to overtake,

overtaking, being rebuffed.

And now, Alonso catching up the two Williams,

which have really not shown the pace

in this latter part of the Grand Prix that we were expecting.

And in comes Button, into retirement.

What a sad way to end his 250th Grand Prix.

But I can tell you that Lewis Hamilton

is on the penultimate straight.

He's coming up towards the last two corners

and I think that Lewis Hamilton has done enough,

despite the best attempts of Rosberg.

Lewis Hamilton wins the Bahrain Grand Prix!

It's a one-two finish for Mercedes, once again.

Back-to-back victories within a week for Lewis Hamilton.

His first win in Bahrain and his 24th career victory,

to match Juan Manuel Fangio.

Sergio Perez brings Force India a podium finish.

Fantastic for them!

The last time they did that -

the only time they did that - was 2009.

Absolutely breathtaking stuff, wasn't it?

And what's interesting about those two, of course,

is that they've been friends for such a long time.

They were karting together as children.

They know each other inside out,

but here they are, going for one prize.

Only one of them could win. It's no wonder they fell out, is it?

No, it's no wonder they fell out,

with the pressures that applied to both of them.

But happily, the friendship seems to have continued.

But it's a very interesting situation,

because on the one hand, you've got Lewis the racer

and on the other hand, you've got Nico the thinker.

Sometimes, one attribute takes precedence,

sometimes, the other attribute takes precedence.

But whichever one takes precedence, it's great for us.

It certainly does. It always gives us something to talk about, doesn't it?

That's just about all we've got time for on today's show,

so it's goodbye from him...

..and it's goodbye from her. LAUGHTER

See you next time!