The British Grand Prix - Qualifying Formula 1

This is how it looks from the sky. Both as you expect there are clouds

in the sky and some rain around but that is the new look at Silverstone.

That is impressive and so is the packed Grandstand for the start of

the British Grand Prix weekend. 70 years ago this place was full of

World War Two bombers. And the aerobatic display happening just

above, creating a great atmosphere. And these two men have seen a lot

as commentators and as fans. You have seen this place changed a lot.

What do you think of the wing? think it is amazing. We had to have

that to get the extension to the contract, that was what we needed

to do for the fans. I think the facility is amazing. No question

that the facility was necessary for what the teams and the media need.

But the great atmosphere has not been lost. And the fans are ready

for this, they have been queuing up in the last couple of days and

hopefully they will be rewarded with a classic British Grand Prix.

Was there a need to compete with the likes of Singapore? Absolutely,

it is the home of motor-racing world wide. Abu Dhabi, none of

these circuits can ever replicate the atmosphere. Just coming in here,

but people with a genuine passion for the sport. That is special and

you will not repeat that anywhere in my opinion. It is fantastic to

be back home for the British Grand Prix. Formula 1 was born here 60

years ago. And the atmosphere has They have come in their droves.

They can build an impressive building and also the sun comes out

for them on cue. Damon Hill is with us. How has your weekend been so

far? It was quite stressful, but successful? Very successful. It has

been brilliant. There are bound to be a few teething problems. The

terrain is a bit different but it is fantastic and we have got a long

contract for the Grand Prix going forward. It must be your best

moment? Well driving is what I started out doing and ended up

being involved somehow in developing Britain's premier

motorsport venue. It has been a very interesting experience and it

shows you how much work goes into the organising of this event.

your son was ever going to drive in the future of what advice would you

give him? I seem to be a bit out of date as far as he is concerned! It

is a fantastic thing to be a racing driver and to race in front of your

home crowd. To do that at a British Grand Prix, it is a dream for any

British driver. If you wanted to give him some tips, just show him

this footage from 1994! I do try to remind him occasionally! But he's

doing brilliantly. It is not easy having a father and grandfather who

was a champion. Chris, does it bring back memories? I think you

get to the stage where you forget that you did it. Looking back at

those images, it seems amazing to me that that is actually me doing

that. I had a go last weekend at Goodwood and I was terrified! But

there you go. Nigel Mansell has never actually officially retired!

I keep expecting him to make a comeback. You never know. We all

know what it is like to have an interfering father as a team

principal. What I do like? I'm very mindful. I don't want to get myself

into this situation where I am applying pressure on Josh. This is

quite a common thing these days but it did not used to be like that. In

the old days drivers used to go to be a racing driver against the

wishes of their parents. Now it seems to be a semi- managerial role.

But I have got advice and I tried to do it at arm's length. This is

just the first step on a big phase of redevelopment at Silverstone but

it does seem to be already successful. So congratulations. We

all want a successful weekend, as do the fans. Everyone hoping for a

weekend more akin to Turkey or Canada rather than what we saw in

the balance here a few weeks ago. But Valencia was just perfect for

the defending world champion. And they're off. Wherever going up

Jensen Button, at great over take from him. Michael Exits the pits.

It looked like he crossed the white line as well. Mark Webber has had

the difficult lap. Showing his Maldonado appearing to come from

Petrov and Kobayashi, no points for that one, I would imagine. We have

said it before, it Mark Webber did not have bad luck, he would not

have any luck at all. An utterly dominant performance yet again from

Sebastian Vettel. I love that little skip at the end. Let's go

for a walk and give everyone at home the chance to get to know

these new surroundings. The fans had again turned out in their

droves. Sebastian said after that last wind he did not even know what

the points situation was. But in case he is watching, we can show

him. It is 77 points of the difference. Do you buy that, and

surely he would no? May be at that moment he was not to in the

calculation, but he is a man who likes the statistics. He will

remember every single thing that he has done this season. He will

certainly no good gap in the points. He is just trying to give himself

that comfort zone. Don't believe a word of it. David, you drove in a

period of dominance, Michael Schumacher or winning races. This

season has one -- has gone on for 18 weeks. How do you keep

motivation if the same guy keeps on winning? You have to build it

across at season. Sebastian statistically has a bigger lead now

than any driver in the history of the Championship. But there is a

lot of racing still to be done. There will be more twists and turns,

that is for sure. Fernando Alonso has said this has to be the weekend

than if anyone other than Sebastian has to get their hands on the title,

it will have to be here. We will soon be running out of races.

know how astute Fernando is. This time last year he was 46 points

behind and he pulled it back. With the changes, the engines, the

defuse a system, it could positively affect Ferrari. So he

will be hoping that this is the turn around for him. One thing that

could cause the turn around are the changes that the sports governing

body have made. They have tried to restrict the exhaust gases coming

into the underside of the cars. But this has caused a lot of

consternation and a couple of the team principals had a set to in one

of the press conferences. But there has been annual ruling this morning.

Ted Kravitz can explain. This is an exhaust blender future. The teams

take hot exhaust gases from the engine and feed it down this

channel to put it into the car which creates low pressure beneath

the carp and effectively sucked sit down on to the ground. The gas

comes through the diffuser and creates downforce. That was fine

when the driver was on throttle but in the middle of the corner, off

the throttle, no exhaust gases were created and the car lost downforce.

So what the teams have been doing is to open the throttle in the

middle of the corner giving the driver consistent Darren forced off

the throttle. That led to the rough engine sound we had been hearing

lately. The Sports rule-makers had decided that the practice had got

out of hand and they banned it. But in doing so they allowed the

Mercedes to do a small amount of the exhaust blowing because

Mercedes said that is just how their engines work. The other teams

were furious. Where is this going to end? It would be down to

complying with the technical regulations. It would be impossible

to accept a Clear and specific handicap. We are not doing what we

were doing and we have taken quite a big performance hit. McLaren have

lacked downforce all season. So how will they balance the car when they

lose that rear downforce? We will take front downforce. We have

developed this car around the diffuser. So to not have it

suddenly off throttle, that is a Any opportunity you can get in

Formula 1, you cannot turn it down, at least not at the stage I'm in in

my career. That's why am delighted Red Bull and Hispania Racing have

come to a deal. I will not look too far ahead. Hopefully I will be on

Finally, two teams have made big plans for the future. The famous

pairing of Williams Renault is back in F1 next season. And Virgin

Racing will be using some McLaren know how to try to get off the back

of the grid. So, the teams at the back are looking to the future. The

teams at the front are not looking any further than this weekend. The

latest news is that this morning, there was a meeting of the

technical work group, to try to work out where they stand on this

diffusers scenario. They had a meeting, they have now emerged from

that meeting. Let's find out the latest, with Ted Kravitz and

Christian Horner. Give us the latest, what's the outcome of the

technical working group meeting? We're trying to find a solution. It

is in nobody's interest to have the lack of clarity which currently

exists. Charlie made an offer. Red Bull has also offered a concession

this weekend. That is to run as we are. We need all the teams to agree

to move on and put this behind us. Hopefully we're not far away from

achieving that. So that means you will run with a bit more exhaust

blowing? Here, no. So that will mean you have one arm behind your

back, as far as you're concerned, this weekend? At the moment, in our

opinion, we're running a disadvantaged system, compared with

other engine manufacturers. We're trying to find a solution to put

this episode behind us. The most simplistic thing would be to go

back to exactly where we worked in the weeks ago. So, to sum it up,

you're prepared to take that hit this weekend? Yes. We're here in

the pit lane, and you can see how busy it is all around us. These

fans have not turned up to talk about blown diffusers, and what

percentage of exhaust gases you can run. But it is important to get

this sorted out. It is unsavoury that we're talking about this

during the race weekend. There was a directive from the FIA while the

cars were on track! I find it confusing, and I'm supposed to know

what's going on in this business. In my day, you could not change the

rules during the season. I wish we had adhered to that. This may seem

like a clarification, but this is not clarification, this is, for me,

blatantly giving an advantage to Ferrari, because they do not have

this system. The only way you can make regulation changes during the

year was on the grounds of safety, and there's nothing about this

which suggests it is anything to do with safety. It is just about the

exploitation of aerodynamics in a way which was not done in the past.

As you heard from Christian Horner, it looks like for this weekend, Red

Bull will be slightly handicapped. We will wait and see what that

means when the cars come out for qualifying in about half an hour.

Amongst the 100,000 people here today will be the very nervous di

Resta family. Finally, Paul is racing in a Formula 1 race at his

home Grand Prix. We thought we would send someone sensible and

trustworthy, with greater experience around here, to find out.

Sadly, that man is also a bit of a mischief-maker. It is amazing how

close it is to the circuit? We will not be wasting any money on a taxi.

You're young and fit, and I need the exercise. This is this sign,

welcome to the British Grand Prix, I used to cross and this. You can

see your picture, David. I think I was about the same age as you are

now. You can see how much I have aged. We have got a few of your

fans here. A photo of the back of your head! Has anyone got a

question for Paul? No idea, when you're a rookie. Are you enjoying

it? Yes, it is everything I have ever dreamed of doing. Not

everybody gets the opportunity. need to get you over here. We're

and a pressure for a time, so we have got to get you over to the

paddock. Hop on. I've just got to go to the paddock, I've got Mr

Coulthard in the cab. Who said Grand Prix racing is glamorous?

Have you ever been in a truck before? I have not been in a truck

for a long time. My family business is transport, so I kind of grow up

in this position in a truck. This is where we spend our family

I think we may have to walk the last part. Kenya droppers at the

Gate, because we do not want to use up Paul's energy. You're the only

former one driver to arrive at Silverstone in a truck. Thank you

very much. Well driven. We will send your CV into Force India. We

seem to be missing something. They're very expensive, these Grand

Prix drivers. One big advantage of driving for one of the winning

teams is that you do not have such a long walk down the paddock. So,

if nothing else, that has got to be your motivation. I can see your

team in injured. We wish you luck for the weekend. -- your team

manager. We got him delivered back, where only a minute late. That

struck was a bit slow. Entirely the truck driver's fault,

wasn't it? He genuinely did not expect us to ever a lift with him.

He was in trouble with his boss. It was interesting to see how relaxed

Paul who are, it is only his 9th Grand Prix. You would think the

pressure was immense, but he seems so grounded. This is his car behind

us. One piece of advice for him? You have got to just attack the

track like any other racetrack. If you consider the fact that your

family is here, there are a lot of British fans wanting you to do well,

it just adds pressure. He has just got to do exactly what he has been

doing, and finish ahead of Adrian Sutil again. Which is pretty much

what he has been doing so far, only out-qualified by his teammate twice

so far. Over to Eddie. I have never seen so much involvement and

excitement. I just happened to meet this lovely Hannah Benn. Where are

you from? I'm from Leipzig in Germany but I live in London. I

love it here, it is my first time but it is really gorgeous. You're

probably a or Vettel fan. I am. Who couldn't be? Something tells me

that lady is probably not camping out this weekend. Everybody says,

and it is totally true, the British marshals are the best in the world.

Today, it is their chance to be here at the British Grand Prix, and

they have got a new recruit. This is Thruxton, the fastest circuit in

England. When it goes wrong here, it goes very wrong. It is not only

the driver's risking their lives for the love of motor sport. Spare

a thought for the men and women in orange, standing in the line of

fire. High time for me to man up and join the volunteers to be a

marshal for the day and stand side- by-side with the unsung heroes who

make motorsport tick. I have not been disclosed to a circuit when

the racing is going on, ever. I'm quite excited, actually. The most

important thing, whilst we're here on post, always watch the oncoming

traffic. Watch out! I barely saw Jason Plato as he lost control and

crashed right in front of me. Now, I know him very well, you know him

very well, but this isn't it time to talk to a driver. I'll tell you

what they need to do. That is not on. I could have hit that. That

kills people, that does. I will speak to the supervisor. I did not

expect to be doing manual labour as well. That's all part and parcel of

it. Next, I was seconded to Church, one of the fastest corners in the

UK. I find myself naturally leaning back. You do, yes. We have not got

any protection! You have, you've got a tyre wall. This was pure

adrenalin. Are you not tempted just to look over? No. We are starting

the race? Yes. I'm very proud when Right, they're all away cleanly,

and we've got to go. At the next race, I was allowed on the grid to

fulfil a boyhood dream. Are you Susan's standing on a live motor

racing circuit, at the start. The last race of the day, and events

Rescue three scramble, start line. Every marshal on the grey will be

called into action. Thankfully, everyone was OK, and we started the

clear-up. The racing was able to resume. All in a day's work. I was

President of the British motor racing Marshal's Club for some

years, and you could not be doing a better thing. Because the British

marshals are the best in the world, the best trained, so enthusiastic,

they do it all with their own money, to the extent that British marshals

are asked to go to places like the Monaco Grand Prix and one of the

others. And of course, a big thank you to

all of the marshals involved at Silverstone this weekend. It is

important that we shine a light on the great work done by these guys.

Without them, motor racing would not exist. And they are absolute

fans as well. But they care about the safety not just of the drivers,

but also of the people who turn up. They do an unbelievable job. We see

them in Singapore, all over the world. They are absolutely state-

of-the-art, these marshals. That should be the next thing the three

of us do. But as we saw, you have got to be a fireman, engineer and

sometimes counsellor to the drivers. Yes, we could see Jason after the

incident, brushing away the marshal. I would always suggest to a marshal,

approach with caution a racing driver who has just crashed.

Whatever it is you need to ask him about medical issues, I would just

give it a minute. We are now outside probably the busiest garage

at the weekend, this is the McLaren garage. Jenson Button has not had

the best of times at the British Grand Prix, never made it onto the

podium. He would love to change that this weekend. 100,000 fans all

hoping for some British success. But these days, being a racing

driver, as David will testify, it is more than just about driving a

And action. How are you doing? I am the stylist

to date. You are running the show. And you are here to help? I am not.

We'd never know what we're going to do before we turn up, which is

actually quite good. We had to put all this together, I was the

photographer. Lewis decided that he was not going to be an assistant to

Jensen Button. That is a bit like the way that they race. He helped

pick out all the clothes and he definitely has a strong feminine

side in real life! I am good to go with that one. He he had a keen eye

for the make-up and the shoes and all that stuff. I think Jensen

Button had an alarmingly foreign knowledge of women's clothing.

Exactly how I imagined it. That were receipt -- that worries me,

you being my team-mate. I it really do like photography. They knew what

they wanted from the off, which is great. It looks terrible! Show her

at the posts. It is a little bit naughty. Lewis chose this one.

me just get a picture of it. When I was watching Ayrton Senna in those

days they did not have this but now there is a lot more of a commercial

aspect to it. Your head is in the shot! We had to do than Alice in

Wonderland posed with a plastic rabbit next to me!

These guys have got vision. I think it is really cool. Not that -- not

bad for my first photo-shoot. What a lovely pose for Jensen

Button. I guess he would like to be posing on the podium. Let's Talk

about British drivers at McLaren. We saw them getting along famously.

Is it better than even McLaren could have expected? They have

distinct personalities but I think they gel together and enjoy a week

each other's company. But they have an huge determination to beat their

team-mate, that is clear. But they don't work well together.

Nevertheless, we do see that in the past there has been a number one

and number two. McLaren have been going for 30 years in his current

guise. So 30 years ago they had his first victory here. They had many

great drivers together so they understand how to get the best out

of two highly motivated drivers. There always able to put some

cooling water on any little tensions that arise. One tension

that has not been diluted is this situation with that will they stay

or will they go? Why does Lewis not just come out and say that he's not

going to leave? That is the manager's job to get the most out

of his financial and contractual decisions. Commercially there will

always try to squeeze the maximum out of it. The driver has to Trust

his manager. Eddie knows all about doing that! I have a slight concern.

Lewis is managed by a team that seemed to know a lot about movies

and pop-music but I'm trying to figure out what they actually know

about motor-racing and world champions. My guess is that in my

opinion they should appoint someone who has actually ate huge knowledge

of Formula 1 to assist him. thing is to get the best contract

that you can buy the other thing is livestock management within the

Pavett. How do you get the best out yourself to deliver the maximum in

that car every time. But if they did leave McLaren they would not

get the chance to wear the kind of overalls that I think Leevan

Yearwood be impressed by. Nice and colourful. It is colourful and it

is a good marketing tool. The person who thought this up, it is

well conceived. We used to do all kinds of things which snakes and

animals on the front of the Jordan car. But this is remarkable, they

are doing it for charity and it really is a worthwhile thing.

known that you would like that. But one man scratching his head would

be Stirling Moss. They did not wear outfits like that in his day. And

you may have heard that he has finally hung up his racing gloves.

But he can still put on that famous leather helmet and take a trip down

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 46 seconds

Very nice. So here we are, this is one of the biggest tests of a

Formula 1 car in the world. How was it impure des? What was hard for as

is hard for them. So many drivers leapt Silverstone because it has a

lovely flow to it. And in my day there was a lack of downforce

compared to the modern cars. Back then we did not even know what

downforce was so we did not miss it. We have just done did down and

stopped here. At this point you stand on the brakes. I'd bet you

had a few tasty overtakes just here? There is a great place just

at the end of the straight. If the car looks a bit out of control, it

slows the others up anyway. Here we are on the newest piece of tarmac

around the new Silverstone win. Just looking behind, we can see the

right hand of Abbey. Last year in qualifying Sebastian Vettel took

that flat at 255 kilometres an hour. If you had your way it would be the

same circuit as in 1950. But it is important to make changes. Do you

think they have managed to keep the integrity of the Silverstone?

think so. I think the modern drivers are at right. If the car

drivers like it is well that is the thing. If how does the old car

cope? Tremendous. She feels really good, I tell you.

What a guy. He never won here but he won twice at Aintree. Martin

Whitmarsh from McLaren has joined us. We want to talk about this

weekend but we first have to discuss blown Duff users, and

incredibly exciting subject but central to Formula 1 at the moment.

What has been decided for this weekend? Are all the cars running

the same thing? The answer is I think everyone will be running the

same thing. There is a limit to the extent which the throttles can be

opened. But inevitably when you change the regulations even before

qualifying then there will be winners and losers. The drivers on

the front row today will probably be pleased with the outcome and

Ferrari look happier than others coming out of the meeting. Those

who fought back well feel that they had been disadvantaged. We have had

very little man in to change the fundamentals so it is difficult for

the drivers. It is a real change -- will shame that we are in this

situation. Red Bull think they're running at a disadvantage. What

does it do for McLaren? I could answer that better after

qualifying! But we are not particularly happy. We're

frantically adjusting the car. Not just the exhaust settings but how

we put on the brakes, the style of the brakes. The whole balance of

the car has changed. It sounds small but some people will be lucky

and some not. It is all unsavoury, washing dirty linen in public. You

are brought in the F-duct and you're allowed to continue with it

for the season. How has this happened? I personally feel we have

had blown deaf users now for 18 months and the proper thing would

be to let it run to the end of the year. But clearly that is not what

has happened. We have stumbled from one change to another so it does

confuse people and it is not satisfactory. Formula 1 can do a

better job than this. We need to do it better in future. Qualifying

coming up, help is your basic practice here? Could there be a

British victory? Intrudes we do not know. The factors we have just been

talking about, it is that detail that makes the difference. We have

not run as we were going to run in qualifying. The brakes are being

changed, behold dynamics of the card. The engineers and the drivers

between them have either done a good job and got lucky, otherwise

they will be deeply unhappy. That is a real shame. Hopefully we will

come out of it OK, but I'm not convinced. But it could play into

your hands, Europe race pace during the season has been better than on

Saturday. Reno we have to work on qualifying pace. It is a challenge

for as at the moment this close to the qualifying session, we are

changing the car. Well you had better make your way to the pit.

And David, to the commentary box. Not long now until the start of

qualifying. One man has dominated qualifying - Sebastian Vettel. We

have seen his new helmet for the season. This is a great idea.

not believe how intricate it is. It is minute detail. The links he has

gone to do this is extraordinary. I love what he is doing here. That is

his Helmut for this weekend, adorned with the engineers from

this side of the garage. Red Bull have said that they're handicapped,

and they have been so quick in qualifying. It is all full of

intrigue. I have seen it time and again. It is a pity it is being

done in such a public arena and in the middle of the season. So let's

hope it does no big disadvantage to anybody. I'm pretty sure it will

not disadvantage Red Bull so much that they fall out in qualifying.

It is time for due one for the British Grand Prix with David

speedy Silverstone for round nine of this year's Championship. The

second longest circuit of the year. It includes six very fast corners,

which challenged the drivers in the extreme. This is the new and

reposition and rather spectacular track. Three sectors as always.

Those other sectors which we will refer to when we talk about sector

times during qualifying. It is dry at the moment, 26 degrees on the

track. 61% humidity. But this is the driest we have seen the track

so far. A lot of teams and drivers will be thoroughly relieved about

that. It has been thoroughly interesting this weekend to watch

the teams fighting each other over what they can and can't do with

their throttles in the corners, and how it affects the race cars on

track. We will try to explain that as the qualifying session unfolds.

Four British drivers have won the British Grand Prix here at

Silverstone at least twice. And one of them has finally made it up into

the commentary box, David Coulthard. David, it is unprecedented for me

that the teams are coming out of the meeting just minutes before

qualifying starts. How will they be able to load whatever software or

parts on to the car which they need for qualifying? Well, it is

incredible. I'm not sure we were able to get to the bottom of it

with Martin Whitmarsh just earlier on. They can do the programming, of

course they can, that is what they have got the clever engineers for.

But it is the actual effect on the car. It is all about guesswork.

This is a prototype business, you're doing things which have

never been done before. As soon as they roll-out of the pit lane, and

a parc ferme, they cannot make changes to the car. So they will be

hoping that they're legal as they get into the final stages of the

race. There is that. I think this is unique, so the FIA may take a

slightly different approach this weekend. That said, it is the only

thing which could go wrong, somebody physically typing in the

wrong number. The rest of it is all about hardware. Talking about great

unknowns, with the wet track on Friday, and changeable conditions

this morning, what do you think the drivers and teams know about this

racetrack? This has happened so many times at Silverstone, you get

changeable conditions. The surface does not really work that tyre that

hard. It is big, open air, affected by the wind. Throw in the fact that

this is the first time we have come here with Pirelli tyres, and many

other things. That driver is going out into a journey of discovery. He

does not know exactly what the car will do when he gets down to

Village Corner. It will all be about who can be the most creative

driver when it comes to qualify. had done thousands of laps of

testing, but these cars have not been around here since last year's

Grand Prix. That's a very good point. In Monaco, you need track

time to build up confidence. Silverstone is at the other end of

the extreme in terms of speed, but you do need track time. You're

going through some of the corners at massive speeds. Your favourite

Corner? Becketts, it is unbelievable. We're just a few

seconds away from the first part of qualifying. We have 20 minutes to

lose seven drivers. And qualifying begins. The cars stream out on to

the racetrack, a lot of activity very early in the session,

confirming what we have just been talking about. Grey skies, you do

not know if it is going to rain. Also, they do not know their cars,

so there will be more running happening at this stage of the

session from the top teams. Let's here from Ted Kravitz. The other

reason they're going out so soon is because they're being told that

there is a chance of rain in 10 minutes. There is a big, heavy

cloud above the pit straight. We do believe on the diffuser question

that they're all running now in the configuration in which they ran in

the practice session at 10 o'clock this morning. I think the Renault

engined cars have lost out, that means Lotus and Red Bull, among

others. I think Mercedes have gained, because they can steal fire

four cylinders. It is all about KERS harvesting of energy, it is

about gearshift, so many other knock-on effects. It seems to me

that Ferrari, who have been very, very quiet on all of this, have

gone a long in the slipstream of Mercedes Benz, probably Ross Brawn,

and they seem very happy about it. What do you think, David? I would

not want to play poker with Martin Whitmarsh. His face was not a happy

face. If you're telling me they're gaining from running the Mercedes

engine, then why was he standing there like that? I think it is the

Mercedes team as much as anything who have gained. Mercedes have a

different throttle system to the Renault-engined teams. It is

curious that we have heard nothing from Ferrari. They're just saying,

whatever they choose to do, we will go along with it - which is not

normally how it is. John Todd, president of the FIA, very much

active around the paddock here at Silverstone. There used to be

rumours when he was running Ferrari that rule changes were made which

would be favourable to Ferrari. I wonder what the conspiracy theories

will be this weekend. We cannot see any of the parts on the car, you

can hear them being much cleaner in the slow corners. You do not get

that clattering sound from the exhaust. But putting all of that

aside, this is about maximising this magnificent racetrack. So many

challenges around here to get the perfect lap in. You can be the

bravest, the best driver through corners like Copse and Becketts and

still waste a couple of tenths of a second on braking. Of course, the

stop watch is running all the time. One of the challenges at

Silverstone is, you only use that brakes for 10% of the lap.

Unusually, as we walked down the pit wall before coming up here, you

could see teams putting on brake tape, they were desperately trying

to get heat into the brakes. course, they do not brake for turn

one. RADIO: light rain in Copse.

Sebastien Vettel being told that there's already precipitation down

at Copse Corner. That used to be the old turn one. Remember, all

this does is to establish which seven drivers will will be losing

from the first section of They will have to go again,

racetrack. They know they have got to get out there and deliver time.

They have gone out on the softer tyre, you can see the yellow

banding. DAVID COULTHARD: This is the worst

nightmare for the drivers, it is the perfect conditions for having a

slightly shaken up grid. If it starts to read a more heavily, of

course, they will be fixed into the course, they will be fixed into the

positions they have achieved so far. This is a bit like going out for

qualifying on a Friday morning when you have just rocked up to the

venue. There has been so much rain. There has been no rubber going down

from the other formulas. So, it really is an adventure. That's a

good point. Normally you would be putting a nice coating of Pirelli

rubber onto the track, preparing the track, but we did not have that

on Friday. It was wet. And the session before this was the Porsche

Super Cup, but they were running Michelin tyres, so they're

effectively picking up whatever rubber was put down by the Porsches.

The track is a living, evolving thing. Sebastien Vettel goes over

the line in not a particularly fast time. He's looking for a hat-trick

of pole positions here. We have got a yellow flag, we will keep an eye

out for that. We're on board with Lewis Hamilton. He has done his

personal best in the first sector. Alonso's flying for Ferrari also in

the first sector. And that's Alonso, off the racetrack. It tends to be a

bit more firm out there, and he is using that very well. Do you think

he will have damage underneath the car? Well, it looked like there

were some fairly big stones in that gravel. If he has damaged the

underside of the car... Here, we are on board. He rides the kerb,

gets on the power. Actually, you can see, he's just lost grip

completely coming out of Brooklands. He has made a correction, and once

he has done that, he is on a wet track. He has gone straight into

the gravel at Luffield. What a strange incident that was. I have

never seen a cargo off before in Formula 1. -- I have never seen a

car go off there before in Formula 1. Now, going down the Hangar

Straight,km livers and sight. He was on the throttle nice and early

there. Yes, he went down to fourth That's to or three seconds slower

than we expected. Clearly, the track is not in its prime condition.

You can see tiny little splattering some rain. A massive amount of and

a spear on the exit of Becketts. -- understeer. Understeer, that is a

Barrichello is up into second place. Maldonado is absolutely flying for

Williams. Massa goes over the line. He is fastest with that. Maldonado

goes fastest on those soft tyres. The times will keep tumbling.

Michael Schumacher only makes eighth position, though. Vettel in

the background getting pretty close to the leading time. Lewis Hamilton,

then. He goes past the old pits into Copse. You know that they're

not absolutely getting a grip they normally expect yet. These cars are

fuelled longer than you would normally use in qualifying. They're

doing several laps here, so every lap, you're burning of a lap of

fuel, which would gain you a tenth of the second. But the track

Lewis Hamilton has got the hard tyres on, as he goes over in sixth

place. The same for Jenson Button, such as not wasting a set of the

What we are looking for, it is all about the 7th drivers who will turn

into spectators and be the first of the midfield could get it wrong.

Heikki Kovalainen has got the Lotus in in 16th place. So the told

Rossouw cars would be the ones to drop out. And the new boy, Daniel

avocado. He is in 24th place at the moment. Mark wherever it goes

fastest, the man who was Supreme here in the race last year. He has

looked good in every session this weekend, wet or dry. He goes to the

front of the queue. Down in the danger zone, Mickey Harte felt. He

is currently behind Heikki Kovalainen. It looks like we are at

the only ones on the first time lap. In these conditions you want to get

an extra lap or two in before you go to refuel. Absolutely, you want

to make sure you have a reserve of fuel. Because there is also the

uncertainty over the weather. or a yellow flag sign at the top of

the screen. We will find out who that was. But some years about

Fernando Alonso. Yes after it all a bit stones and pebbles in his

diaries, he put in at a time that was good enough for effect.

sorts of pieces of carbon fibre underneath. Classics Silverstone

whether. The front runners have decided they can get through

without risking a set of soft tyres. It would be a shock for the Tote

Rossouw team if they dropped out of The Torro Rosso Guys are not going

to be able to do faster times now with these conditions. So unless

something remarkable happens in the next six minutes, that will be them

in the bottom seven. They were happy with their performance in

practice but that will not do them much good unless it is the down for

tomorrow. The big winner of course is a Heikki Kovalainen in the lotus,

going through to the second part of qualifying. Really outperforming

his car, as we have seen so often. McLaren have sent both Lewis

Hamilton and Jensen Button out on the soft tyres. They have seen it

was raining. Not quite sure what they are doing. Maybe it is a

software check? Not about ultimate lap time? Silverstone is such a

wide open space that you have to be out on track before or you can get

in a flying lap. If we have a wet qualifying session, they have got

plenty of tyres any way for at the Grand Prix tomorrow. I was just

wondering what the reason it might be for them going out on the soft

tyres is if they have perhaps reprogrammed to something on the

software. Are they perhaps checking something with the Billown diffuser.

That is a very good. Because they are at the ball bring their cars

through the weekend. I have never seen Christian Horner looking so

unhappy on camera. They have been changing the rules between practice

sessions, for goodness sake. When did that last happen? I do not

recall having that during my career except for safety grounds. That was

all on the basis of slowing down the cars. I agreed with heel, those

where fundamental changes. But we knew look of those before we came

There are already fixes in place for last year. Give them back a

throttle cable and appear shift, that is what I say! The good old

days, Martin! When you mention the noise of these cars, in first

practice this morning we could hear the noise, the emotion. And that is

why we need loud Formula 1 engines. You need to be able to hear that

emotion, it is like a rock concert when they take to the track.

Absolutely right. But this is all about qualifying one, so let us

remember that. R Alguersuari, Ricky Ardboe, out of qualifying. The

remaining drivers go through today the second part of qualifying. Then

we found out which Concepts are working well. This situation with

full-throttle is not new. They call it engine braking and that is

adjusted to avoid locking the rear axles, that is something we has

been doing for a long time. The driver would have just that to get

the maximum performance from the car. If you can't really eat

minimise that braking zone then you gain a lot of lap time. Only 8% of

the lap is spent on the brake pedal here. One of the difficulties with

this track is getting energy into the KERS system. It does not affect

them of course if they are doing a flying lap. But with this change of

conditions, and throwing in the rain, then it becomes difficult to

recharge your battery packs. What do you read about going with the

soft tyres? At think it was a case of whether you had a clear lap and

Europcar was able to get the tyres working in a single lap. I think it

is early days. Radio: it is going to get worse so we go straight away

for flying laps. Interesting about going out on intermediate tyres, it

has completely stopped raining now. It must presumably still be raining

out the back. So the session has finished. The chequered flag is alt.

And it is now beginning to dry quite rapidly. Mark Webber was the

fastest man out there. The McLaren boys in a 7th and 11th. Paul di

Resta et in 15th. Buemi, blog, it Daniel Ricciardo, they take no

further part in qualifying. The fans are pretty happy that the

rain has disappeared for the time being. And some of the teams as

well. It is working in the dry here at Silverstone as far as Red Bull

is concerned. But McLaren always planned to go out and when the rain

came they did not change their plan and that is why we saw them on the

soft tyres in the rain. I am flabbergasted, I'm really need to

ask what was going on there. I'm at a loss to understand why you would

even think about putting on soft tyres in a situation like that.

are outside the Hispania racing team and hopefully we can speak to

Daniel Ricciardo in a few minutes. He is a hot prospect for the future

and is finally in Formula 1. Two men they are far more experienced

both struggled in possession, Fernando Alonso and Filipe Massa.

The intriguing thing is many think that these will changes may have

been designed to favour Ferrari. There were certainly struggling

with their car. Fernando Alonso was lucky to go through the gravel like

that. Historically usually that cannot happen. To be able to

continue is surprising to me and is probably a good sign for this new

Silverstone circuit. They must have designed gravelled that it is

possible to drive through. What does it like for a Daniel

Ricciardo? His first ever qualifying session for Formula 1.

It was interesting. The weather has made it an little more difficult.

It would have been nice to get another run me the option tyres.

But it was OK. I cannot expect too much at this stage. A long list of

great world champions from your country. Are you the next one? The

next Australian world champion? is too early to ask that question!

But that is my long-term goal and that is the big dream. It is

definitely part of the green bean year in Formula 1. What is the

short term goal? Took us through the pinking between joining a team

like Hispania? Arguably the slowest team in the sport at the moment.

I'm quite fortunate to have the opportunity to race in Formula 1,

and sooner than I expected. It is great that Red Bull and Hispania

have come to an agreement and let me drive in the last 10 races. It

is good for me to get the experience and learn what it takes

and set a good foundation for hopefully along career in Formula 1.

I am fortunate with my team-mate who has a lot of experience. I have

got him to learn from. When we saw you racing with the juniors, where

do you see your future? Potentially at Red Bull? That would be nice. It

is a nice seat up there. I think a few people have compared me to

Sebastian Vettel. I do not really know where that stands. But for me

it is just to go out there and do as much as I can. It is definitely

a good person to learn from. He is a bit of a role model when I was

younger. So I have some good people I can't learn from and use them as

a benchmark. I will try to be myself at the end of the day, but

there are some classic guys out there I can take a leaf from.

Although the places to start, this generates incredible crowds. What

is it like to drive around in these Silverstone has always been a great

circuit for me. I do not live too far from here. It is a second home.

It is not Australia, but it is probably the second best on the

list for me. The fans always come out, they're here early in the

morning. It is lovely to have such a good atmosphere. Welcome to BBC

London News. A ride in Formula 1. Thank you very much. One of the big

stories in that session would be Heikki Kovalainen, making it

through to the second part of qualifying. Yes, good news for them

indeed. Other news this week, Hispania getting new investors,

Virgin Racing tying up with McLaren on a technical liaison, as Force

India do. And the Williams team MARTIN BRUNDLE: I was listening to

some team radio there. Right now, we are in to qualifying two. 15

minutes, and we're looking for the top 10 to go into the shoot-out.

That looked like a set of dry tyres to me, David. I don't normally

argue, but I am, it is a set of intermediates. It is surprising,

from where we are looking, the track does not look two. But

there's no harm, I guess, in doing a nice lap. They have got 14

minutes available here. Heidfeld has gone out on soft tyres. Both

Mercedes out on intermediates. They have only got four sets of these

intermediate tyres for the whole weekend, including Friday practice.

And they have used one set all ready. They cannot afford to burn a

set of those up. DAVID COULTHARD: Yes, the drivers

are just getting a view of the track, it will not do any harm to

just go through those apexes and take-off the release agent which is

on the new tyres. It always makes it a bit slippery for the first

couple of corners, when you go out on a damp track. So these will end

up being a perfectly prepared set of tyres. Is that were they're just

doing, then? We have still got more than 30 minutes to go, and you have

got to try and keep one eye on the weather. You can see, it is

actually very wet down at the exit of Copse.

Do you think Jenson is out on intermediate tyres as well? This

looks to me like it is right in the middle. It is a challenging one.

is indeed, because down where we are, near the new pit complex, it

is dry enough for slicks. We saw the Red Bull coming through Copse

and struggling with the amount of water on the track. So, they do

have a bit of time before having to make that critical decision, but at

the moment, I would say, go for slicks to maximise this end of the

track, and then just tiptoe through Copse Corner. Fernando Alonso has

gone out on intermediate tyres as well. I agree with you, David, it

looks like it should be slicks to me, but we are not out there.

TED KRAVITZ: no risk from the top teams at the moment. They know they

will only have to do the one run on the soft tyres later to get through

to the next round of qualifying. think everyone's just getting a

little look at it right now. Interesting point from Ted - nobody

wants to take risks on such a high- speed circuit, nobody wants to get

caught out of position in qualifying. You need to get

yourself running as near to the front as possible. It is a track

where if you do make a mistake on the high-speed corners, you will

almost certainly slam it into the barriers. That is why we love these

traditional racetracks. Nick Maldonado goes quicker, he loves

these conditions. He seems to be very comfortable out there. He was

second quickest in the first part of qualifying. The Williams is not

having any difficulty getting heat into those tyres, clearly. Even on

Still, they're using the DRS. They can use it whenever they want in

qualifying, but only in one place in the race, that's out of turn

four, into the new complex. This is Vettel on the dry tyres.

The times will be tumbling, as they find grip and confidence and belief

that these cars will stick, as you turn into a Corner like this, at

190mph. We saw Lewis Hamilton getting well out of the way coming

through Woodcote. Did not want to get any accusation of getting in

the way of Sebastien Vettel. But they are having to tiptoe all the

way through that section. Now, we Schumacher has pitted, as has Lewis

Hamilton. Presumably they will be going for a set of dry tyres. I did

a test in Spain, and I went out on a set of intermediates on a bone

dry track, and was six seconds slower. Kobayashi goes fastest. But

it changes immediately, as Mark Webber goes fastest. The times are

really beginning to come down now. We expect to see something in the 1

minute 30s. That is if it is a bone dry track.

DAVID COULTHARD: Track conditions here, we have not had a proper dry

run for any of these drivers. So we could see the times tumbling at the

end of this session. Absolutely right. We could see the first big

surprise of the day. Sutil has just gone fastest. Very slow in the

first sector from Vettel, that's Only seven minutes remaining.

Several top drivers in the drop zone at the moment. Five of them

have done no laps. Seven minutes remaining. And it is one minute 45

to get out of the pit lane and get around before the chequered flag

drops. This is going to get very interesting and very busy indeed.

Fernando Alonso, we have already seen him barging through the gravel

traps and the service roads in the first part of qualifying. We have

not got any sector times for him yet. A little sprinkle of rain

would spoil a few drivers' ambitions this weekend. We only

have three cars currently on track, with six and a half minutes to go.

That will suddenly change. We will see all of the cars about jockeying

for position. They will be trying to make sure that they do not get

blocked by anyone. That was the new camera shot. Here's the old pit

straight, where they have started this Grand Prix for 61 years. It

will be different tomorrow. It looks like it is drying out a bit

Fernando Alonso, lifting off at Copse, that would normally be taken

in seventh gear. He is just taking a look on the soft tyres. At one

sounded like a motorbike going through there, how gentle he was

being with opening the throttle, going through Stowe. He will let it

go now, because this is where the time starts. Alonso sets about

doing a representative time. He's only in a dingy at the moment. And

The end of the pit lane is unrestricted on speed. Lewis

Hamilton now also starting his first fast lap. Ted... It is three

laps for all of them now. All six top cars around the soft tyre now.

But Webber well up there on the soft tyres. Many of the teams are

expecting Mark Webber to benefit from the changes. People think

Vettel was benefiting from the weird things the engine was doing

when lifting the throttle. That's an interesting concept, we will

debate that later on. We will see if it does indeed benefit Mark

Webber. We have 15 of the 17 cars on track at the moment. Sutil is

not out yet. It is going to be last man over the line, that's the

critical thing now. DAVID COULTHARD: Yes, there is no

question that the times will be tumbling. The last few minutes of

this part of qualifying are absolutely critical. If any of what

you would expect to be the regular top 10 runners make any mistake or

get out of position, then they will not get through. Have you ever

known 15 minutes to go so fast? this is the worst nightmare for the

drivers, changing conditions in qualifying. They want to have

stable conditions so that they can extract every last bit of

performance out of the car, a known quantity. Right now, every Corner

is a journey of discovery. And what we want is the fast drivers at the

back of the grid tomorrow for the best race! All 17 cars out there as

expected. Michael Schumacher does that. This is not for grid

positions, this is just to sort out who will be in the top 10 shoot-out.

Button has just gone over the line. It is all about timing your lap to

be last man over the line. Webber's the fastest man in the middle

sector. Maldonado has gone fourth. Ted tells us that McLaren have

fuelled for three laps. That's the sensible thing to do - keep running

Rosberg just dipping his left hand tyres into the water of Farm corner.

Hamilton still up in it fifth-place. Nico Rosberg up there and all of a

sudden Barrichello out of the action. Paul di Resta rap is about

to start what will be his only flying lap. He has actually

finished that one in 6th place just ahead of Maldonado. Schumacher in

the top 10 at the moment. Who will get over at the line just before at

the flag drops? The driver is beginning to find the confidence

they need to keep the throttle nailed to the floor up in these

spectacular corners. You can see the heat haze. Kobayashi his 5th at

the moment. Hill can get the lap completed? There is so much action

to come. Just 15 seconds before at the flag drops. Who is likely to

get thrown there and get that time in? That part of the track is

remarkably clear. It is Alonso, Maldonado and Rosberg, at these

times will be their final times there. Michael Schumacher...

Hamilton has pitted. Pressure bear for him. Jensen Button is the 14th.

Club is now the final quarter of the lap. MS Jensen Button and makes

it. Michael Schumacher will take no further part in qualifying. Paul di

Resta are just squeezes in as Des Maldonado. Mickey Harte felt only

managing 16th. Let's see who the top 10 are not including this man,

Michael Schumacher in full stop -- I think he will be a thoroughly

disappointed with that. It is Massa who has emerged from that chaos to

be part of it. Ferried in that session was Fernando Alonso. --

there it. Paul di Resta has out qualified his team-mate Adrian

Sutil in his seven out of 10 qualifying races. Situations like

this are constantly changing and we have seen how badly it can affect

people. It was all of that for Michael Schumacher. He just did not

get it together. Rubens Barrichello it starts 15th on the grid. Also

struggling in dodgy conditions. But one man made it work. Heikki

Kovalainen. 17th on the grid is not bad. It is better than we were

expecting. The car has been functioning well and the work

continues. Today the conditions where they bring us a little. We

have to do that every time. much is going on between Europe and

you're engineers with these changeable conditions? It is hard

to work out what to do. It is. You want to get out on the dry tyres as

much as possible. So at the beginning when it was dry we

thought, let's go out and then it the second time I went out, it

rained. How are you now going to drag Team Lotus, because you seem

to be leading the team, how are you going to drag them into the middle

group? There are many things to improve on. I involved myself a lot

in these kind of discussions. We had great people in the team and I

think most of their designers and engineers do not yet have the up-

to-date facilities and the capacity to do what the guy is in other

teams are doing. It will take time but I'm remained patient, keeping

my focus and making sure I am in shape 100% every time. It will just

take some time. Some people seem to be a little impatient. That is how

you get the best out of Europe drivers. He warned the best from

this team. What do you make about all the talk this weekend about

blown Duff users, and how the cars have had to be set up minutes

before qualifying? I has been trying to keep it simple. And just

change the balance slightly according to what happens. I just

keep it simple and I hope the debate will be sorted out

eventually. And to make it such a way as the fans and everywhere else

knows what it is going on. Well done, you have played it through to

the second part of qualifying. Have a good one tomorrow. We can now

hear from Jarno Trulli. I suppose the rain curtailed

anything out there today? Possession was cut short because of

the rain and the first round was not good for me. I have been

struggling with the car all weekend. But the conditions have changed so

often this weekend, it must be difficult to get comfortable in the

car? The whole weekend has been difficult for me. I never felt

comfortable to push it hard enough. So the poll position should doubt,

with three British drivers in the top 10. Sounds good. Sounds amazing.

Paul di Resta or yet again, he has surprised a lot of people. He is so

focused and clinical in everything he does, he is a breath of fresh

air in Formula 1 this year and I hope he has a good qualifying

session. Time to hand back to our commentators. It has been frantic,

we have had meetings minutes before qualifying. But three British

drivers are all in the hunt for pole position. It could be very

special. And it is the stop watch that has the will of the answers in

Formula 1. Sebastian Vettel, seven pole positions and one thoroughly

disappointing second place on the grid. Who can stop him being on the

opposition here at the British Grand Prix?

Qualifying three begins, the top 10 lacking in grip. Ted is in the pits.

The teams are expecting some rain and have sent everyone out on the

soft tyres. Many was just one lap of fuel on board. Are a changeable

day like today, they may as well get out there and see how far they

can get up the grid. Yes driver confidence is a big factor. There's

no benefit from sitting in the pits at all. Maldonado has gone out.

Paul di Resta that has gone out. Nine of the tent runners take to

the race track. No other beginning you asked who was going to stop

Sebastian Vettel. Interestingly in these changing conditions, I'm

trying to look through the statistics to see if he has ever

been so slow before it. Just look at those clouds. Very threatening

as Sebastian Vettel starts his lapse. I still would not bet

against this young man who has this heat, add the brain and the card to

deliver just about anything he wants. But I think he is more under

pressure today than we have seen him for a long time. This is

Luffield, a never ending, clumsy right hander. Look at him and

Vettel literally in his sights on the track and will usually be able

to reference the mother he is going faster. -- whether he is going

faster. It has not been a good lap in the final part of the lap.

Rosberg has gone up into third place. Does Jensen Button confirm

that McLaren are struggling? He does indeed. That is not looking at

old good for McLaren. McLaren are definitely struggling. Fernando

Alonso is the closest contender to pole position. It looks like

Ferrari either meant to challenge. -- are the men to challenge. Paul

di Resta up his 6th on the grid in tied to the pits for another set of

these soft tyres. -- presumably Kobayashi gets down to the end of

The provisional pole sitter at the moment is Mark Webber. Kobayashi

There's Mark Webber, we can see that he has got a set of soft tyres

on, brand, spanking new ones, no doubt, to give the maximum amount

of grip. You do sense that Mark Webber, surely he senses, he can

beat Vettel today. DAVID COULTHARD: It looks like Mark

has got a couple of tenths to find in the middle sector, but he has

got Sebastiaan covered in the first and third sectors, as we speak.

TED KRAVITZ: Something which might explain Hamilton's slow pace, that

was the soft set of tyres which they went out on at the end of Q1,

so they would have had the best performance already taken out of

those tyres. Would you expect that to account for two seconds, David?

No, I would imagine it could be half a second, if they had been

lightly used in that first part of qualifying, but I would be very

surprised. You have got to look at this, Lewis is more than half a

second off in the third sector alone, and there's not many corners

on that sector. It is just starting to spit with rain. Have we already

got the top 10 on the grid? Brand new soft tyres for Jenson. Brand

new soft tyres for Lewis Hamilton as well. When it is streaming off

your visor at 100mph, or 200mph, it is not what you need. The horrible

thing for drivers in these situations is, you do not know

until you get the car into the corner just how much grip you will

have. If you find out in the middle of cabinet at 180mph, if there is

not as much grip as you anticipated, then you could be in trouble. I

hope this is not the end of the shoot-out, but I fear it is. That's

why these are 10 of the finest drivers in the world, because

that's what they do, they cope with challenges like this. They have to

believe the car will stick, and if it goes into the barriers, then so

be it. RADIO: We believe there is light

rain falling at the south of the circuit. His engineer sells like an

air traffic controller. It did not So, Button, into the pit straight.

Almost cautious on his out lap. What did you think of that? It did

not look like he had absolute faith in the car. No, he has backed out

of it. Jenson Button has delivered his lap time for qualifying for the

British Grand Prix, and it is only good enough for fifth place. He's

not going to get back around to do a time. I would not be surprised if

he gets on the radio describing his woes. This man, Nico Rosberg, has

done a personal best first sector, fourth tenths off the pace. That

would get him in amongst the top five, round and about Jenson.

Jenson has decided there is not anything in it for him, and he

might regret that. What can Rosberg do? He's the fastest man if anybody

at the first straight-line speed measuring point. He got out of

shape there. It is another personal best middle section. This is a

Super brave lap from Nico Rosberg. He has backed out of it. Such a

shame. As you say, that was usually brave coming out on to the turn one.

Just to wet coming in to Stowe, sadly. You could see the car trying

to get away from him there. Normally, the car would be just

glued to the track. Lewis Hamilton starts just tenth on the grid. We

should see a stellar performance from him in the Grand Prix tomorrow.

This is the top 10 for tomorrow's The second row of the grid, all-

Ferrari. Button, fifth. Di Resta, sensationally, sixth place. And a

great effort from Maldonado in seventh. Kobayashi is becoming a

world-class driver. He starts in eighth. All through qualifying, we

have had their headmaster standing behind us, checking us out, a man

who must have very big feet, because we have had to try and fill

his shoes, Mr Murray Walker himself. He has been keeping an eye on us,

to make sure we're doing this properly. Wonderful to see you,

what is your take on that session? You're making me feel very

embarrassed first of all. My immediate reaction, Martin, is,

nothing changes. We have got Red Bull first and second. It did not

matter whether they were hot blowing, cold blowing, whether it

was wet, whether it was a dry, the two top blokes come out yet again,

demonstrating that that Red Bull car is the complete package.

you happy to see Webber ahead of Vettel? I'm delighted. I like

Sebastien Vettel enormously as a chap, I think he's a brilliant

driver, but I have got a big soft spot, emotionally, for Mark Webber.

He's such a nice bloke, he has come all away for Australia and fought

his way up through the ranks. He won here last year, pole position

this year, so fingers crossed for him tomorrow. Do you see a big

warning sign out for the McLaren's, they're miles off the pace...?

is very worrying. McLaren are always there or thereabouts. You

have driven for them, you know. You have only got to look at the

panoply of stars who have become world champions for McLaren. But

they're going through a bad period at the present moment. They must be

bitterly ruing the day that they lost Adrian Newey, because that's

when things changed. Kamui Kobayashi, the fans love the way he

drives the car. And Paul di Resta, look at that, top six in his first

British Grand Prix. He has not even been in single TVs to bracing for

four years. -- single-seater racing. He was doing touring cars in

Germany, a very demanding discipline, and he won that

Championship. He is not in the best team, but Force India are doing

jolly well. They have got Mercedes engines and drive line. For di

Resta to come here for the very first time in Formula 1 and qualify

sixth on the grid is a mighty achievement. It indicates that he

might well be in an even better team next year, maybe even Mercedes

Benz. You never know, we certainly have got some great young drivers

coming through. Lewis Hamilton, one of the very best, the fastest, the

bravest, he does like up the racetrack, but not this afternoon,

Murray... No, tenth. If he was despondent and depressed before,

he's going to be even more so now. But, Martin, unless I am very much

mistaken, Heikki Kovalainen, for Lotus, got in to Q2 for the first

time. I think he might have crept in earlier on in the season. But

let's look a bit further down. Michael Schumacher, who has won

here three times, 13th on the grid. How do you see it? There's the only

man, on the right, that seems to be able to potentially disrupt Red

Bull. And he has got to get past by the Vettel or Webber or both, to do

so. He has got a hard furrow to plough, Fernando Alonso. Indeed, he

has. So, Sebastien Vettel, absolutely right, he has still got

it at the front of the grid. MURRAY WALKER: what is your take on

Maldonado? I was a bit lukewarm about him earlier in the season,

but he has come alive in the last couple of races, and starting

seventh here, with the Cosworth engine, terrific. I agree, when I

saw him in testing, he seem to be half a second behind a car at all

times, but he's really getting on with it now. This is the pole

position lap for Mark Webber. It happened very early on in the

session, with that sprinkling of rain. At the time you would not

necessarily know that this would be pole position. Tomorrow, in the

race, they will be switching off the DRS at this point. This is

Luffield, a Valley Lake apex. And then you just let it go through

Woodcote corner, one of the finest pieces of racetrack anywhere in the

world. Fantastic. Go For It, Murray, take us through Becketts. Becketts,

a tremendously fast complex. When they clear it, just listen to the

engine note, as he goes through the gears. Mark Webber, and now, it's

going to be the long drag a downer to Stowe, where there has been so

much action in the past. Down through the gears, beautiful, now,

down into the Vale, and Club corner. I am still trying to get orientated

at this new Silverstone, because we are right down at the bottom of the

circuit, compared with last year. Absolutely, but luckily for mild

weather, he has orientated himself very quickly indeed to this

racetrack. Not a spectacularly fast lap, but of course, we know the

track is pretty green. But fast enough to beat the rest of them.

What do you think about Mark's psychological feelings at the

present moment? He has been out- qualified time after time by Vettel.

He's a grim, determined chap. I suspect he could see his chances

slipping away. If there has been any bad luck at Red Bull this year,

it has been his, invariably, but now he has got back on top by youth.

Yes, and I think he has been getting on top of these Pirelli

tyres. We know that Mark Webber really does excel in adversity. We

saw him here last year, going on and winning the race. Murray, it

has been wonderful to see you again. I think young Jake is ready to pick

the show up. Lovely to have you both reunited. Murray, thank you

very much indeed. That was the highlight of the weekend. What is

more nerve-racking, driving at the British Grand Prix or commentating

with having Murray walker standing 2ft behind you. I do not want to be

a turkey voting for Christmas, but I really enjoyed the qualifying

session, listening to Murray and Martin together. Murray summed it

up, nothing changes. Loads of Tor Bay for this session, how will the

new changes affect things, but Red Bull were fastest yet again. Yes,

but there is a something lurking behind them, and that is two

Ferraris. They make unbelievably good starts, and the ball will be

scratching their heads tonight, they will be very wary of the

Ferrari. Everybody believes this rule change has favoured Ferrari.

We will have to wait until tomorrow to find out. It seems to have

favoured Mark Webber, but what about McLaren? I think it is too

early to say who it has favoured. That was a very unusual qualifying

session. It remains to be seen. But McLaren, Lewis Hamilton, in tenth

Place, clearly disappointing for him. I will be curious to know

exactly what went on. I did not see him going off the track anywhere.

Whether it was just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

thing is for sure, the person who splits them, for me, is Paul di

Resta. He has done a remarkable job. The family, everyone is here for

Paul. It is a remarkable story. Nobody really gave him the

opportunity before, and now that Force India have done so, they will

Good news and bad news for British motor racing on the track. Good

news and bad news for you guys as well. Because of the awful weather

in Scotland that golf is delayed by the good news is we will be staying

with you a little longer until the top of the hour. 28 to talk about.

Pulled a rest up, let us remind you that this is the first time he has

qualified in Formula 1. So a great performance from him and here he is

now. You are a man of few words. But even you can't crack a smile at

that. This weekend has been tough. The unpredictable weather, and

coming to the British Grand Prix not having done it a race on the

track. But I have grown in confidence in the car and I think

that was progress. And any time we have been on the track this weekend

we have been competitive. The raw from your family when they saw the

rain coming down - it must be the first time Scottish people have

been delighted to see the range! is definitely worked for me. We did

a good lap. Credit to the team because they have got the car

working well. We sold earlier when you're interviewed with David, you

pointed out his youthful looks on the pillar board. Could you will

really surprise us and do something like that or is the car just a

little too far away? I think to be realistic that is not a realistic

target. But we aim to get into the third round of qualifying and we

have done that. We took the chance to run the tyres and that has paid

off. And I think tomorrow a positive step would be some good

points ahead of us. Is it too early to look at where your future lies?

The team is going for it. Are you committed to them all ready for the

next season? Other teams must be looking at these great performances

you were doing so early in your career. I am committed to Force

India. They made a commitment to me and I'm trying to do the best job

possible for them. I think the end of the year is when you sit down

and think about where the opportunities come. But I'm happy

in this environment. Formula 1 is a difficult place to predict anything

but we can't look back on how the season has gone for you. Only twice

this year you're team-mate, renowned for being a fast driver,

has managed to look out qualified you. Where have you found the speed

in qualifying? Adrian has pushed me on. We are probably the closest

driver pairing at the moment. He beat me at the last one. But you

can judge yourself on him. Obviously I want to be competitive

against him and beat him. You will hope for many happy memories

tomorrow. You would like to join the holy trinity of Scottish

winners here. But plenty of memories for all the other boys who

have managed to come here and conker Silverstone. Tomorrow is

going to be pretty special. You have to beat 41 seconds, that

We have no chance. D'you shake its hand? Don't look at it, don't talk

to it. Just let it walk by. Do you have a girlfriend? Is she wearing a

helmet as well? Brilliant. That is only ever going

to be a one-way conversation. Plenty of action tomorrow. But also

much for us to talk about right now. Let's hear it from the guys who

were quickest on track in these changeable conditions. Mark, what

is it about you on Ms Silverstone circuit? I'm not sure. I have

always enjoyed driving here. You have to put it all together, you

have to apply yourself. It was a mixed session for everyone. Even

the build up yesterday with the weather. It was important to make

sure that every lap counted because you never knew it was going to be

the one that did count. So in the end I am happy with the job that we

did. It is easy to slip up in conditions like that. So it was a

great job from the team and we are up in a good position for tomorrow.

Sebastian, there has been a lot going on in the run-up to

qualifying. Was that the most pressure you have felt under during

the season? I think it was a difficult start with the conditions

changing. It can affect different parts of the circuit. It is

difficult to see where it is wet so you rely on the experience of the

lap before. If you ride flat-out and then it is still damp it is

easy to go or off-track. But in the end it was dry and it was a shame

that we could not have got the second run full stock all in all I

think it was a good result for us today especially with the amount of

talk going in to that qualifying. So it is good to see that we are

still on top of our game and can still produce reasonably quick lap

times. Tomorrow I think anything can happen, that circuit is quite

tough on the tyres. Fernando, you're off the track in the first

part of qualifying and flirting with disaster but you came through

at the end to be just one 10th of the poll. It was the best

qualifying in terms of the gap to pull position of the year. Been

years in Silverstone in a circuit that normally is not our preferred

circuit, with these high-speed corner, being one turns off the

poll is good news for us. All the new parts we brought here are

working well and I'm pleased with the qualifying. But the job is

tomorrow when the points are given. So hopefully tomorrow we can put on

some pressure to be on the pole at the end. How big a distraction as

the row over each -- the diffuser been? It is not new. Every year we

have something new to talk about. This last few weeks it has been

about this. Let us hope everyone can find common ground. It is

incredibly boring also for the fans. So let us get on with the racing

and keep the rules as simple as possible. But tomorrow we are in

great shape. How much would Mark Webber love to

pick up a win just as he managed to do right here 12 months ago?

Congratulations to him, he is on pole. Just behind them, Ferrari are

pushing them hard. Jensen Button putting it a good lap for 5th. And

Paul di Resta or, congratulations to him, second highest qualifying

British driver here today. Maldonado and Kobayashi will be

quite happy with their respective efforts today. And Lewis Hamilton

starts tents on the grid for this race. A difficult weekend for him

so far. Michael Schumacher starts the 13th, a disappointing day for

him today. And Rubens Barrichello will also be pretty fed up, out

will also be pretty fed up, out qualified by his team mate. And

towards the back we have Timo Glock. And finishing off, Liuzzi and

Daniele Ricciardo the made his debut here as a Formula 1 driver.

Weakened walkabout Daniel also. Day that has been involved with his

that has been involved with his career. But first we must talk

about McLaren. This new ruling about exhaust gases, that has done

something to beat McLaren that is not good for event. Well before

qualifying it was clear that Martin Whitmarsh was unhappy that the

teams do not have the chance to optimise their cars before going

out in qualifying. It just does not seem to have enabled the drivers to

have that confidence they need. Qualifying is normally somewhere

Lewis Hamilton excels. But just listen to him through this section.

That was a lot of overs steering and then a locked up. He's not even

halfway into the lap and has already dropped away in that

section. I think his frustration levels would be growing all the

time. Just fighting the carp all the way round the lap. So big

losses for McLaren are due to that regulation change. They have

totally changed the card just moments before qualifying. You

cannot judge anything. That is right and arguably it is dangers to

put drivers in the situation wear regulation change puts them in a

situation where they simply do not know the vehicle they are driving.

I'm virtually lost for words. In that interview Mark Webber said it

was nonsense. The people do not understand it, the engineers do not

understand it and as a driver, he does not understand it. So how can

you ask them to drive a car when they do not know what they're being

given. There is an element of danger there and why did they play

this out on the morning of the official qualifying? It leaves me

dumbfounded. That was Lewis Hamilton's fastest lap today, two

seconds off the pace. Do you almost feel sorry for McLaren here? The

last thing anyone needed was to give Red Bull a bit of a toe up.

And that is during a race weekend, on the morning of qualifying.

would not single out any one team. Martin Whitmarsh was Ciara, some

people may have a small advantage. But I think that any disruption -

McLaren put more into their package, their centre and are sold Finaghy

about detail - they will have been the people who'll suffer the most

and today just endorsed that. A frustrating day, I would say.

the fans here are fantastic, the support we have had already from

Thursday onwards has been magnificent. I hope that tomorrow,

we can do something special for them. If we can rely on someone to

come blasting through the field, it is normally you. From tenth

tomorrow, how do you think you will set up? I have probably got a

couple of people in front of me which I might be quicker than, but

overtaking here is very difficult, but we can still have an exciting

race. It is not a fantastic weekend, but I'm still quite happy because

of the support we have here. have to take our hats off to Lewis

there, trying to keep a smile on his face. We could not really get

into it there, precisely what's going on with the car, but you can

understand how difficult it is for a driver at their home race just

not to know the vehicle that they're racing in. The frustration

of not performing well at your home Grand Prix, I remember qualifying

fourth at his Grand Prix, but knowing that it meant that I would

lose the opportunity to seriously challenge for victory, and going

back to the motor home, it was frustration, crying, because you

really want to deliver a great performance for your home Grand

Prix. Hats off to Lewis, he has come out and faced the media, Lee

is just one of the number of people he has to speak to. Interestingly,

we had Anthony Hamilton, his father, gleaming town at Force India,

because he manages Paul di Resta. What about that?! Anthony Hamilton,

for me, has devoted the next part of his life on the carrier path of

Paul di Resta. If you look at a mirror image of what he did for

Lewis, you would have to say, good on Paul di Resta, he's in good

hands. It is starting to rain once again. While we try and keep dry if

we can, let's here from Jenson Button, who starts fifth on the

Jenson, not too many smiles from the McLaren boys today - how are

you feeling? I don't think the position is too bad, but the pace

is. It was not a perfect lap, I did not have very good balance. But

still, just a couple of tenths, that was about it. I do not know

where our place has gone. I can have a guess. But we have a car

which is suddenly 1.3 seconds slower than a Ferrari. I do not

know the full details of the regulation change, but I'm

surprised to see where we are. It has been all day, not just Q3. In a

couple of hours, we will be looking at the positive, hoping to put on a

great show for the British fans. We have got three British drivers in

the top 10, not where we would want them, but we want to put on a great

show. It is looking difficult with a one. Five-second deficit at the

moment, but that is what it is. Christian Horner was saying that he

thought the Red Bull would be very affected by these changes, but it

does not necessarily look that way. Do you feel it has been a

distraction for you guys? It is everyone, the mechanics, the

engineers, the drivers, it has been a massive destruction that he

should not be any worse for us than it is for the other guys. Saying

the Red Bull will be massively affected, I do not know any more

who's really telling the truth. It is a bit frustrating. Hopefully we

can get our act together in time for tomorrow and oh mack competitor.

I have never been on the podium before here. I would love to get up

No doubt the fans were hoping for some more from McLaren today. Nigel

Mansell, the FIA's driver representative, joins us now. And

storm clouds brewing over Formula 1 is what we were discussing. I know

you cannot talk specifics, but maybe you can tell us how involved

the stewards have been in what's been going on. We are aware of what

is going on. The nice thing going forward is that everyone is going

to get together and agree something going forward. Arguably, that

should have been done before this weekend. But the great thing is

that everyone's going to capitulate hopefully at some time in the near

future. But we have got the most marvellous weekend, British Grand

Prix, it is going to be a fantastic event, and the weather is going to

throw something at us as well. seem pretty child about the

controversy surrounding the changes... I have been docking a