The European Grand Prix Formula 1

underway! Lewis Hamilton wins! He is the master. Jensen Button leads

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 63 seconds

Sunday afternoon. Welcome to the 2011 European Grand Prix live from

Valencia. Race number eight in a Trulli special season and it's time

for this Spanish city to bask in the glory of Formula One and live

up to the drama in Canada two weeks ago. No pressure, then? Here in

Montreal, this wet track should make this one of the best races of

the year. The safety car is in this lap, thank goodness, we will have a

This is difficult times for McLaren. Look how hard it is raining. It is

the red flag situation. The race is suspended. That looks like the Red

shouldered viper to me? And the fans are jumping up, it is a racing

car, we haven't seen one of those for a while. Fernando Alonso has

been beached. It just keeps falling into place for Red Bull. Jensen

Button is in last place, now. Brilliant driving. Schumacher

driving the best race since his comeback. The cars are all over the

place. Jensen Button, streaming back. This will be Titanic. Jensen

Button sales past Mark Webber. Schumacher, Jensen Button goes the

wrong way round. Button up into second place! This race isn't over.

What can he do? He can smell victory. Is there enough time left?

Will be run out of time before Lapps? That is a beautiful drive.

Six times through the pit, Jensen Button. Into the final lap, bottom!

Driving for his life. Has he got what it takes to hold him off?

Jensen Button leads the Grand Prix! Jensen Button, he wins a brilliant

race. What a victory! Absolutely brilliant. Sebastian Vettel,

finally cracking. Surely the greatest Formula One victory of his

career? It really was quite something. It probably was the win

of his life. One of the races of our lifetime and what did the team

do? Did they sit back and relax? Not in the sport. Not when you

train with Red Bull. This is a brand new front wing, a matter how

quick it was in Canada, they want to go quicker. There was no time in

the sport for reflecting. Once you have retired you can look back and

that is why David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan are with me. Apart

from the drive, what is your standard memory? I am returning

home. Everybody was euphoric. Everybody was captivated by what

Jensen Button did and the excitement of the race and Canada,

for everybody I come across, that was the stand out. If it was a

great story for Formula One, we had an amazing drive from Jenson Button

but what I take his McLaren, they were so close to having one of

those nightmare situations were you were explaining how drivers crashed

into each other. Like Red Bull in Turkey last year. But with that

drive from Jensen Button, that was suddenly not the story. All the

guys, the mechanics and engineers, or watching with big smiles on

their faces but that is the margin between success and failure. In

terms of the psychology of the driver, was it worth more than just

25 points to Jensen Button? That was an incredible drive. What would

have appeared to Sebastian Vettel as a straight forward drive to the

line turned out to be under pressure and he put his way out. It

was a stunning victory and lots of overtaking. And those conditions

are made for Jensen Button. races that have brought us here and

those still to come... Hold on, Jensen Button is behind Sebastian

Vettel but there are still 300 points to fight for. He is still in

this? He is still in this but he has to be very careful about how he

accumulates points and in my opinion he has to get his

qualifying and needs to be further up the grid to challenge. You can

see what happened in qualifying shortly and the other big story was

Sebastian Vettel made a slip and that does not happen very often.

It's very hot and we are gearing up. The drivers arriving. They have

been on the beach, there are wonderful bars and there are other

things they could be doing but as give everybody a chance to see this

beautiful circuit. The track temperature was getting towards 50

degrees in the evening which is why both of these boys will be finding

when I bring them out into the sunshine. Let's talk about this

place, it is very hot but there are plenty of good reasons to be here?

It's a wonderful city? A lot of money has been spent developing

this and this whole area was developed for the America's Cup.

Once they have that facility they thought, what can we do? And they

created this track. It goes around the port, very clearly displayed.

And we are looking at one of the streets. It's not actually straight.

That will make it very interesting with the use of DRS. The cars will

be moving from one side of the track and taking the racing line.

It does make a very slippery? does. It is only used once a year

and a lot of trucks are up here building up the track before the

grand prix and we have had a number of incidents, this was Kobayashi.

Turn 25. And then Michael Schumacher, losing the back end.

That isn't his normal mind. That is an exercise in reverse parking.

There are some great things, the port, the fish markets, these are

old fish markets. Some nice things but one overtake in the race in

2009, 82 in Turkey. This is a real test for the new regulations?

the new regulations working? If you were looking for a prime place to

see that, it is here. This is similar to Monaco, street circuit,

in the centre of the city, it has huge affection to a lot of people,

me included, I have been won over but we actually have to be certain

that we can get a proper race. Maybe today is the day. The sun is

beating down, the heat is on the rest of the pack. You can see, 60

points between Sebastian Vettel and Jensen Button and few people

mentioned after Canada that Sebastian Vettel increased his lead

because Lewis Hamilton was in second. And the constructors... 255

points for Red Bull. There are some new rules this weekend, there is a

slight change to the engine mapping system during qualifying which many

people believe was designed to slow down Red Bull. However, once again,

one man slightly forgot to read the script. Anyone who came to Valencia

hoping for a surprise result in qualifying would have left the

track disappointed. Sebastian Vettel was quickest again, he

starts on pole position for the 7th time. Down the field, Jarno Trulli

underlined how tricky this track is with this lazy spend. Conveniently,

the pits were nearby. Alguersuari's techniques did not work. The driver

was an early drop out. Today we just went for one goal on the first

lap and I got traffic, I could not do it. The tyre was gone. Faced

with a filling fuel pump, Maldonado could not find the hard shoulder

and instead parked his car in the middle of the track. Into the top

10, everyone qualifying when they were expected to. Adrian Sutil is

10th, Heidfeld 9th and then Mercedes with Nico Rosberg having

an advantage - he saved his fresh set of tyres by just doing one run.

Michael Schumacher does not predict any fireworks. There is that much

chance to move forward in the race. It is going to be mostly staying in

position and driving to the end and take the points. Jensen Button was

brought back to earth with the pub. Only six on the grid, the rear of

his car getting away from him, winning Ferrari started head of

McLaren on the grid. It was a great result for Alonso on home soil.

know this is our maximum position and Red Bull have been able to

reach us over the last 13 races. This is Formula One, no magic

tricks. The real goal was to beat McLaren. We have got one in front

and one behind. Between now and tomorrow, we can fight. The top

three, as they were last year. Lewis Hamilton drove a brilliant

lap and outrode the car's -- Mark Webber was in third place under

pressure and having already been quickest, Sebastian Vettel cooled

off his final attempt and retired to the garage to consider his

genius. The 22 year-old has 20 poor positions, 10th in the all-time

list and only two behind Nelson Piquet and Niki Lauda. This is a

fresh start this weekend and I would love to just finish in that

position. I would be more than happy. We will see how it goes.

was a good time to peak. My personal best, it was not enough.

But it was a good lap. We are pretty close. McLaren and Ferrari,

we would have taken that in the middle of qualifying. It is

difficult to predict, especially with the races so far. When you

start from pole, you do not want to finish second. Sebastian Vettel,

the only driver smiling after qualifying. Mark Webber alongside.

Lewis Hamilton will look to overtake one Red Bull at the start

and Ferrari is ready to pounce. Jensen Button in 6th place followed

by a Rosberg, Schumacher, Heidfeld and Adrian Sutil. Kobayashi, 14.

Perez, fit to race from 16. And at the back, Team Lotus, Virgin and

Hispania. It is a real treat to be her, it's a hive of activity. An

ancestor, the world champion, with his headphones on, gearing himself

up. Clearly very focused. Can you give us an insight into his

favourite band? German folk music! It is small, what you buy deep

purple! He is completely infatuated! -- smoke on the water.

How many times have we stood here in all of this driver? The later

stages, they decided that they thought the advantages the car had

was to do with engine mapping and they changed it, they could not

change it and so this down. It did not happen, they have got it wrong.

He does the business once again, it was a really good lap from Mark

Webber. But those Hamilton is happy, starting third? He will be looking

to last year's race? He had a great start? He really launched off that

been sidelined. And he put that to good effect and gets his nose down

the inside. How he managed to get through that corner without

touching, I don't know. That massive launch from the grid. This

is the key area. Been to turn number two, there was a big window

of opportunity. And he can actually launch himself over that inside. It

was down to whether the manifold leaves enough space. It'll be

interesting to see after all this criticism if he gives us such an

exciting start? There will be no change and if there is, I would be

one disappointed and toot surprised. He drives with his heart. He does

make mistakes, tiny ones and for the rules, but I think all that

noise was a message from Red Bull to get out of the garage. Plenty of

eyes will be on his car, and plenty focused on Fernando Alonso, who has

never done particularly well at the their own Grand Prix. However,

everywhere he goes, he still has fanatics following his every move,

as you can see right now, and one Well, Fernando, thanks for sparing

some time, I know it is a busy weekend for you. Some drivers do

not have one home Grand Prix, you have two. Yes, it is being used for

May. Obviously, I like to race in Spain, I like to say all the fans

sharing his love for Formula One. This sport has been my life for the

last 20 years, and racing in Spain two times is good for them, and to

watch these cars is something unique, and we need to make the

best of this year, because we never know when we will have two Grands

Prix in Spain. Maybe it will be for a few more years, you never know.

We need to maximise this time. is the Alonso maniac like? Formula

One has really been helped and given a boost in this country

because of you. 2004 was the first time Spain saw Formula One live on

television, and it was my best years, 2005, 2000 a six, so there

is a lot of passion for Formula One and for myself. -- 2006. Every time

I go out to the restaurant for the cinema, normal things, they are

crazy people around me, but it is very nice to feel all that support,

and hopefully I can pay it back with some good results, especially

at home. You are meeting some fans now. Is it nice to get up close and

speak to them? Yes, their eyes shine when I speak to them, I

noticed that, and it is good, not only here. When you arrive at the

airport, the hotel, there are fans everywhere. Sometimes also in your

room, but it is OK! Enjoy your The poor guy has a tin rests each

weekend, even before the start raising the car. -- aching wrists.

He is just putting on is the air ahead of putting on his helmet, the

balaclava furs. Fernando Alonso is busy thinking about this race, not

the fact that he is 92 points behind Sebastian Vettel. Ferrari

are more than 100 points behind Red Bull. When did his team start

turning its attention to next year? If they were a normal team, and

Ferrari are not, you would already have started. It is too big a gap.

The pressure on Ferrari in Italy and other parts of the world is

massive, and they can never give up. They have to keep on the struggle.

Are much what the love to win here in Spain? And what about Jenson

Button? He starts from 6th on the grid, so he will have to overtake a

few people if he is going to do the business. However, that will not

faze him, he managed to overtake 14 cars in the last five laps in

Canada, a race that he will be It has been said, it has been

written, Canada was Jenson Button's greatest ever win. Where does it

stack up? I would say yes, it is my greatest ever win. To come from

last to first with everything else going on, it was definitely my best

victory. Those conditions, you have to really feel your way around.

Maybe it is from when I was karting, before I started racing, my father

would not by me wet tyres. I had to go around on slicks. He said he

wanted me to learn how to do that, to get car control. He says that

now, but he could not afford to get wet tyres or could not be bothered.

So he was tight and now he is claiming all the credit for your

brilliant win. Of course, he is my father! I do not blame them! You

may have been inside the car, but one of the best seats in the house

was for the people stayed up to watch the victory. Would you like

the chance to relive some of the best moments? I would love to, it

is my first chance. It is not the for four hours, just the

I do not think this it was a highlight. Highlights and low

damage, a punch-up. I got a bad exit, moved over to the racing line.

I looked in my mirrors, I saw an orange or rear wing, but I do not

know if it was mine all of us. What was he doing? What was he

doing? Did you feel like he was in the wrong place? At that point in

time, I did not know how far he was out the inside of the outside, if

you like. I cannot see a thing behind, I do not know what was

going on. That was the first reaction, shock, how did that

happen? It was so lucky that I do not get turned into the pit for.

And no credence to the rumours that Lewis has come up against you a few

times and but some cheeky passes on you. It was not you are laying down

a marker. I do not want to crash! I was lucky to get away with it,

without damage. I thought I had a puncture, but I did not. To get

away with no damage was very lucky. I wanted to go on to win the race,

so I would not do anything like that. Fernando Alonso has beached

the Ferrari. Hans Jenson Button has got a puncture. But in his in last

place. I was a long way at the inside, he accelerated into the

corner, which was very strange, I think he was trying to find his

feet on the new tyres. Button absolutely flying. How good were

you feeling now? You were picking up places. Every move you make, it

feels so good. A lot of people have said, where did your pace come

from? Everyone was driving slowly, finds another grip. How close was

this to being a big accident? does not look so bad. I saw the

oversteer, I had to go on to the wet part of the second. It was just

floating on the wet surface. That was a big moment, actually. That

was the real hot feeling, that buzz. The seven-times world champion.

Schumacher looks in his mayor, Button goes a long way round, and

into second place. I did not know if I would get has Sebastian in the

last lap. We can win this race. plan was to get it just right so I

could get him with the DRS on the back straight. But I pushed him

into a mistake. Vettel has gone white. Button wins a brilliant

rays! It was nice to see him crack under pressure, or make a mistake

and a pressure. A lot of fans wanted to see that. It was good to

see that. I think we needed as a sport to see that. We are starting

to think he was not human? No. I don't know. But it was an

opportunity to see that he can make more this season, with all the

pressure, we will see more of that and we can take advantage. So when

you tell us you can win the title, it is not just DRS the. It is

definitely genuine. -- the aspic. We were so happy that you could

join us for that race. The pit lane is open. It might be a little bit

loud for the next few minutes, but it is good for the crowds. Kamui

Perhaps they will be taking photos of Jenson Button if it rains, but

the chances are slim. There is something about Jenson, his first

win came in strange conditions, he does well in wet-dry conditions.

has a natural talent for that. He is able to find the balance. He

talks about his father not giving in the tyres. In hindsight, it may

be the best lesson he had. As far as the moment with his team-mate,

sometimes we have seen these things produce World War Three, but it

seems to have been dealt with quite well. They got the dream result,

they won the Grand Prix. Had that not been the case, it would have

been the story after the event. They had that to our window with a

red flag. -- two-hour. Lewis had more speed, but that is in the

history books now, a great win for Jenson. You know what it is like to

tap your team-mate, you and Mika Hakkinen did the same thing. What

is said after an incident like the gap, he did not break early.

For the team, that was not good. I went on to finish second, to add

insult to injury. What can you do? Don't do it again. Did you

apologise? Of course, it was my fault. Very magnanimous, because I

know what drivers can be like! Right in the heat of the moment,

racing drivers do not like to apologise, so I commend you for

that noble act. I think we should leave the pit lane for just a

couple of moments, because people have been applauding Jenson

Button's almost last week but questioning Lewis Hamilton. I

suppose no one can really know what is going on with lows at the moment,

but one man as a good idea, Niki Lauda won three titles with Lewis's

team. He is with Ted Kravitz. of my viewers might have read

strong comments that you have to say about Lewis Hamilton. What did

you say? First of all, I want to correct things if they were

interpreted the wrong way. I think that Hamilton is one of the top

three guys in Formula One. He is the quickest guy. He is, for me, an

amazing racing driver. What I criticised him on was, in Montreal,

attacking his team-mate between the pit wall and Jenson's car, where

unfortunately he had to stop. Luckily enough, Jenson could finish

the race and even win it. This I criticise, to attack the team-mates

so hard. They both might have stopped, and for McLaren nothing

would have happened. This was my criticism. I say again, he is the

best guide today. If he would ease off a bit and get the points he

needs for the championship, this is what I criticise him for. To be

world champion, you have to collect points, and for two races he has

collected none. Do you think he has the mindset of an overtaking driver

who does not think of the long view? I can tell you, between

racing drivers, I have been won and I know. Lewis is aggressive, so

some guys will be frightened when he turns up in the back, the slower

guys. They move over, and this is happening in Formula One. But if

you want to make a point as a racing driver, like Jenson has to

do, you should not move over, because if he continues to move

over, Lewis will be gone and he can never think of winning races again.

Between racing drivers, there is very hard work. Some guys he know

will move, and Jenson did not. I think Jenson did not even see him.

Schumacher was the same thing in the past, still today. When he

turns up, everybody knows there is no compromise. If you let anything

happen, he will drive through the whole field and win, and nobody

wants that. Niki Lauda echoing everybody's thoughts, they want to

see Lewis Hamilton continued to be as dramatic and brilliant as ever.

David, before you go to the commentary box, Lewis Hamilton

tends to bounce back from a difficult weekend with good

performances. He is a driven young man here. The problem is he has not

got a quick enough car. If he was on the front row, he would not have

these incidents. He would just drive off into the distance. We are

analysing his decisions behind the wheel, but the focus is for McLaren

to deliver the fastest car. Funny, that, Vettel is not hitting anybody.

Nice to see you, good luck in the commentary box today. I suppose

around here people could hang out on the beach, hang out in the city,

but the thing to do is to come down to what was once a fish market and

what Formula One cars flying around. It is a great place for the fans,

and the weather is not either. -- onto the grid. When we get there,

the first place we will arrive at is between the Force India and the

Renault, Nick Heidfeld and Adrian Sutil. Pirelli are not happy,

because both of those drivers did not go out for the final part of

qualifying yesterday to save tyres. Pirelli and Formula One are

concerned that is not good for the show. The rules are there, and

people circumvent them to their best advantage. The teams are

within their rights to do whatever they can to give them the best

chance of picking up points. I do not have any real problem. If they

want to insert a new rule, then do anything to give the team, sponsors

and the people, the best chance. This is a treat. Nico Rosberg...

Hello? Thanks a lot! He gave me a little smile. I hope that isn't

indicative of today! I will let you fire around and chat to people.

Nick Heidfeld? May I just have a word? Egress? We have so, it'll be

interesting. There could be a chance for us. Can you get back to

some of the performances at the beginning of the season? It will be

difficult but it will be interesting to see what will happen.

Some people think the changes will hurt us but obviously I hope it

will not be too bad. Have a great race. There is a man I would love

to speak to. This man picked up a couple of European Cups and his

time. Trevor Francis, the first million-pound player. What does he

think of the current earnings and Formula One? Nice to see you. You

were the first million-pound player in British football. What do you

think of the current money and the earnings and Formula One? It is a

bit absurd, 32 years ago I went for �1 million and that broke the

record by about �500,000. Today, it has got out of control. It would be

too long before we talk about 100 they pounds. Lionel Messi? Ronaldo?

One of the two. I must ask, you want to European Cup medals under

Brian Clough, were due place in in the formal on context? How would he

do? He could manage any team, he was so good to get success with

Derby and Forest, that was unbelievable. He would quite like

to be with McLaren, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, that would suit

him. How special is this? We have a grandstand on the track, this is

like walking out at Old Trafford. am nervous. This is an unbelievable

ambience. And a great occasion and I'm really looking forward to the

race. You will get lots of e-mails asking where you got that pass

from! He is a legend. Over here there has been an upside to the

Force India team. Adrian Sutil... Can we stake in? No, it's not! Do

you remember me? What has happened? The first time in Q 3. Great

performance? It was good. I'm really happy. You can see. It is a

long race. Let's hope you are happy at the end. It is an important day

but I have a good feeling. We have a good strategy. Only Eddie Jordan

could start an interview like this and not ask, what are those class

is about? Just... Fun! We have interviewed your team-mate, how

good is he? Great, we have a good relationship. He is always pushing.

We are always close together and it's very good for the team so we

both score points, hopefully, and hopefully today. Well done,

congratulations. It is worth pointing out that one has

qualifying, he deserves congratulations but Paul di Resta

is starting and 12, he had a very difficult weekend? The most

difficult. They have a policy in this team that the allied the third

driver to go out in one of the sessions on the early morning on a

Friday and what happened? He crashed. Which curtailed quickly

the about of running that Paul di Resta had in the car. Sort of place

was a big success. We talk about Jensen Button, sitting in 6th. He

would like to see him. He isn't around. If he wants to improve his

racing, he must sort out a Saturday? He must sort out

qualifying, he is a real contender but not from 6th place. He has to

up his game. Time to say hello to your old friend. He is running

away! Will we have many more races here in Valencia? I hope so,

certainly for a long time. Can you see in the future, two races? Is an

occasion for having two races so close to each other, in terms of

the calendar? Can Spain sustain this? It's not easy to sort out

properly. We have been with Barcelona for a long time but you

will see what happens. When you say that, that makes it sounds like you

say Barcelona have been with us for long enough? Do you think Barcelona

has had its time? I don't think so. We will wait to see how we can work

things out. They have been good for us. It's all very new. Your views

on Canada? Wonderful. I hope this one is like that. Placid and

Domingo is here! Wonderful to see you. A long-term fan? Always, many

years. Were you think Fernando Alonso sits among the great

drivers? I hope the championship goes better. I hope people like

Fernando and other drivers, they start to win races. I know they

have taken the power of Red Bull, but let's see. I noticed before the

start of the lap earlier, you were with Fernando Alonso. Are you a

guest of his? I think he is looking forward so much. He would rather

like to be on pole position. But for his place isn't bad and for me,

he is a great champion. And I also hope that it is a safe race and a

clean race also. Ferrari fan? this month. Do you have fun? No! I

don't. But I will... Lovely to chat. He spends a lot of time in his home

in America so he would hope for the American Grand Prix. Jensen

Button... One second? Can you repeat last week? It is different,

the conditions today. I have made it difficult for myself but we can

have a good race and with DRS, we can have some good racing. This is

the man that really makes a difference to world champions?

the microphone to him. Mrs Michael muscles. So called for the obvious

reasons... I have to go! There won't be a lot of rain? We talk

about in normal circumstances that was very good, but in these

conditions, it is just a step too far. Let's turn around and look at

the Grid. Right behind Lewis Hamilton, he put on such a show

last year, it was a fantastic lap in qualifying yesterday I'm looking

towards the start of the grid, the huge grandstand, what do you expect

to happen at the start? I hope he does not change. The recent

criticism of his driving style, that is why I turn on the telly, I

want to see and drive like this. And the sea with Kobayashi another

aggressive drivers. Niki Lauda said the same. This is special. We can

always be guaranteed something dynamic from this man. It would be

lovely to grab hold of Lewis Hamilton. How different are these

grades to the times when you were bombing Jordan? -- running Jordan.

The teams, they have not got any clue about what is going on. They

have got peripheral vision. They're completely focused on what they

need to do. Everybody is in one area. How to get the best start and

the best result. Nothing else matters. When you consider the

speed with which Sebastian Vettel set the pole time, the first man to

dip under 1:37. The 3.3 mile circuit, Sebastian Vettel on pole

yet again. Let's look at that very slow entry. The stop watch does not

begin until he crosses the line. 180 mph. The approach zone. Down to

just 60 mph. The apex. Hard on the throttle and very close to the war

on the exit. The straight circuit Stan chicane. Pumping across the

chicane, running nicely. 190 mph. The sweeping right hand. Turn No. 8,

leading into the swing bridge. Heavy braking through the exit.

Just trying to step out and eager on to the throttle. Spinning out

the rear tyres. This long, sweeping, turn. 195 mph. The long straight.

The braking zone. He really maximises the width of the track.

Minimising the angle of the corners. Turn 13, 14. 90 mph. Really chasing

that throttle well through there. Straight ahead, despite being long

and left hand in the approach, 185 mph. The braking son, turns 17.

Second gear. Almost a hairpin. Hook up, one corner. Sweeping through at

185 mph, the final part of the lap and the easiest part to make a

mistake. The last corner. Turn 25. Trying to get away, into the pit

straight. Right across the line. And it's another pole position.

have made a way out the back of what I call the fish markets, this

wonderful architecture. First, let's hear from Christian Horner,

who has drivers on 1 and 2. Sadly, just as he wanted to hear from the

team bus at Red Bull, we could not. One of the big worries for Red Bull

is what we call the double DRS zone. One single activation point. This

reduces the drag and makes a can't go faster and in the eyes of

Formula One, improves overtaking. This is the detection zone. Over

the bridge and then the first and second Activation zone. People say

the reason for Sebastian Vettel slipping was that he was our that

this was coming up and he did not want Jensen Button to overtake. The

problem of having both zones is the first one is to overtake and the

second is to pull away. I have a different view. I think he will see

Sebastian Vettel, if he makes a decent start, or whoever leads into

the first corner, making virtually a qualifying lap because he wants

to brake that one second marker and if he can, it will be so much more

difficult because he will not be allowed to be into the zone to

activate. If I was a driver on pole position, for I would do everything

in my power to make that big start. Here we are, Rubens Barrichello, he

won here, Petrov starts in the 11th. They have not been as quick and

McLaren say they have more downforce and they will look after

their tyres better. And they have brought different things, they have

a new upgraded rear wing and the front wing. I think McLaren are

still in this out. There pushing very hard. Sadly, I don't see the

same initiative coming from Ferrari. I wonder what is going through that

man's mind? He wants the perfect start. To get in front of his team-

mate. Canada was pretty special. Now, time for something completely

different. The tight, twists and turns of the sun-drenched city

circuit. They say opposites attract, it's time to find out. David

Blundell, David Coulthard, time for the 2011 European Grand Prix, live

on BBC One and BBC One hitch be. Sebastian Vettel on pole position

but there are 23 men right behind him, ready to beaten to the

chequered flag. Let's hope this one # So you want to be a rock

superstar # And live large, big house, five

cars # Coming up in the world

# Don't trust # So you want to be a big superstar

# And live large, big house, five cars

track for round eight of the Formula One world championship.

It's the European Grand Prix. The Valencia Street Circuit by name,

partly a street circuit by nature, 25 corners, spread out around the

port, the Mediterranean sea gently lapping against the nearby beach.

That beach would be a very attractive alternative for the

drivers this afternoon, instead of four layers of fire proof clothing

and cockpit temperatures of well over 50 degrees centigrade. Can you

-- you can see the three sectors the lap is split into. We will

check those out during the Grand Prix. Look at those temperatures,

47 on the track already and 27 air tremure. David, what are the key

challenges today? Well, track temperature, air temperature going

up. That challenge mean that's everything they learnt through the

relatively cool Friday practice and slightly cooler qualifying on

Saturday, their predictions on how far the tyres will go, changes. Now

the track is a bit more rubbered in than today. GP2 has put down extra

Pirelli rubber on the temporary race track. As the temperature goes

up it changes the chemical interaction with the tyre and

circuit. The predictions going into the event is that a two-stop race

is the fastest way to go through, using three sets of tyres. It's

quicker by about seven seconds. I suspect that will narrow in and

make a three-stop valid. I agree. Mclaren are saying they won't run

and hide in front of us, the Red Bulls will not be flying off into

the distance and out of site. You have to say, Mclaren could easily

have won the last three Grand Prix, they did win in can da. Do you

share their confidence? The only thing that matters is the Czechered

flag. Mclaren were victors in Canada. Before that it was Red Bull.

If we look at the underlying race pace through Friday practice, where

the teams tend to run some fuel, heavy fuel and do some race

simulations, it was Red Bull, Ferrari, Mclaren, Mercedes and

Renault in that order. That was Friday and the only time it really

mat serz what happens today. It was critical for Mark Webber to get on

the front row alongside Sebastien Vettel, so a Red Bull lockout for

the third time this season on the front row. I think this man, Lewis

Hamilton, has got to attack in the first lap. He must not, they'll

want to stay somewhere within a second when they get into that

detection zone for the DRS That starts at end of lap two. Lewis

Hamilton, same grid position, leapfroged up and challenged

Sebastien Vettel into turn two. hearing there is a big difference

between the left and right-hand side of the grid in terms of grid.

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 63 seconds

Let's see how they line up for the through qualifying, past the 107%

barrier. Though that's not always applied any way. So, we have a full

grid. Not aware of anybody needing to start from the pit lane at this

point, as the mechanics take off the tyre covers. Those that are

from 11th on the grid backwards, can run whatever tyre they want.

Those that are in the top ten have to use the tyre that they set their

fastest time on. With the exception, I'd imagine, of well Heidfeld did

do two sectors. I think he has to start on those tyres. Those

uncomfortable situation yesterday where two drivers didn't even

bother to set a time. That was Sutil and Heidfeld.

So we're hearing that Petrov and Perez are starting the race on the

harder compound tyre, the prime, as it's known, the medium compound.

You'll see the softer tyre with the yellow banding on it on the outside,

which enables us to identify those. We know that the key runners at the

front will all be on that soft tyre. Spanish flags are waving. Fernando

Alonso, never been in the top three on the grid here. Might be his home

turf, but it's not been that successful for him. He's a happy

boy right now. He's saying the last few Grand Prixs have been the best

in his career. That's not in terms of results, but he feels he's

getting the maximum oust himself. That's interesting, because I

remember in carting, I'd give my scores out of ten in performance,

very rarely if I won a race I would give myself ten, but sometimes you

would if you had a good battle through the field. It's in the mind

of the holder. He's fired up and thinks this championship is still

possible. Seems a long shot to me, but they came back last year.

bit of sports psychology there from Fernando Alonso, as always. It

seemles we have quite a split with some of the midfield team that's

are going to try an each-way bet with Renault, Sauber and Williams.

These are the detection zones into turn eight. Then the next two long

straights where they can be activated. It's a double DRS, drag

reduction system, where the rear wings open and the cars gain

somewhere around eight miles per hour. I think will be more

successful here than in Canada. The second straight is longer than

Canada. We know the Canadian pit straight, where the two Mclarens

got together, you use all that track. You do. On that run on the

second activation point, between turn 14 and 17 it not -- is not a

natural straight. It make it's difficult to see whether you're

going left or right. It will remain to be seen houp the double

activation will work. It's not available to the drivers until the

end, well until they're into the third lap. That is why Vettel will

particularly be wanting to scamper off at the front and get himself

more than a second clear of whoever's per suing him, so that

they can't breeze past him in the straights, as they warm up their

tyres and head to the grid. Doing their clutch five-point checks.

Perfect example there. You hear that? It runs into the limiter, as

they push a button and it finds the bite point for the clutch. It's

just a procedure much the driver presses a button and holds the

clutch open apbtd system does the rest to find out how much wear is

on the clutch plate to get a great launch. It's a curved grid. Those

on the left will find themselves pointing, they need to point

towards the first corner. They don't want to take off and have to

turn the car immediately. You could easily break traction then at the

tail end of the field begin to finally line up. We await the five

red lights. We're looking at the back of the field for a man with

the green flag. They stayed on for just three seconds in all the other

races, we've seen this weekend. They're off! Vettel looked a bit

tardy off pole position. Webber is going on the outside. He's close in.

The Ferraris are away. Massa with a tremendous start. Massa up the

inside then and Webber. He has to yield. Alonso takes that place back.

Ferrari then third and fourth. Not a great start for Lewis Hamilton.

Alonso maintains that position into the turn four and five chicane.

Look at Vettel doing exactly what he needs to do. No contact at the

back. Tremendous skill of driving at the back there, David. They've

managed, and we have a big lock up there from Paul di Resta. Amazingly

they got through the first two turns without any contact. That's

unusual for this track. It seems the win threr was Alonso. Hamilton

and Button both dropping back. Bad starts from the Mclarens. Nico

Rosberg in sixth place. Look at the lead Vettel has got already. It's

going to be very interesting now to see what Ferrari can do about Mark

Webber. Lewis Hamilton in fifth, Rosberg, Jenson Button, Paul di

Resta attack being like crazy. He's also a front wing in the last two

races. It doesn't seem to have slowed him down in terms of

aggressive overtakes. Exhaust smoke coming out of the front of the

Renault. It's just where the inlet for the radiator. It's blowing the

dust put down oil to soak up. Around 150 kilograms on board. I

love this camera shot you can really see the cars, even at that

speed, sliding around. Tremendous camera angle. I hope besee plenty

of that through the race. Vettel behind the leader. That's the kind

of spread that you get early in a Grand Prix in estably. Kobayashi 13,

then Buemi. Petrov had a very poor start. Perez 16th. Alguersuari 17th.

Glock up to 18th ahead of both Lotus, they're 19 and 20. 21 is

Maldonado. 22, d'Ambrosio. Karthikeyan remains in 2478 place.

Webber begins to pull a gap on the Ferraris. Hamilton is hanging onto

them. Rosberg absolutely flying off the start again. If the Mercedes is

struggling on tyre degradation as we are led to believe, that could

be quite a headache for Button today. He has the use of that DRS.

We will find out as we see, who is that actually? Glock and Kovalainen

getting up close on the run through 12, 13, 14, so that's the corner

obviously just after where Mark Webber went flying last year. One

of the potential overtaking places. Mercedes have said they have been

eating up the rear tyres on a Long Run. Initially the get away for

Sebastien Vettel was a bit tardy. It was so much better than what

Lewis Hamilton had. He was passed before turn one. A complete

reversal of what we saw last year. Massa goes for the inside on Webber,

backs out of it. That allows Alonso to go round the outside of his

team-mate and retake the place. There you see Rosberg getting round

the outside of Button. Rosberg very patient on the inside of turn one.

He, -- turn two actually. Watch Massa flick past Alonso. He can't

seem to get the starts right. Massa's got himself into third,

challenging for second. Alonso, the wiley old fox that he is, goes down

the outside and takes third place back. So a great run down to the

first corner, tremendous skill. Massa was the man getting the work

done there. At the moment Button is fine, but he's around the outside.

Rosberg just gets on the throttle early and drives clean past him,

somehow. They all make it work. Vettel 1.8 seconds ahead of Webber

now. Out of the DRS zone as they enter onto the third lapment

Terrible start from Petrov. You were counting off the running order

there, he made a terrible start. Renault have in the past, then Toro

Rosso on the inside. A man that used to base himself here in

Valencia, he call today home for a period of time. There we see in-car

with Lewis Hamilton, absolutely boging down as he goes off the line.

Massa with a flier. Not really committed. I feel if Massa was

Hamilton he probably would have made that pass stick. It's as sweet

as you like. When you get the revs, the clutch activation, everything

spot on, you just take off. A too few revs and the engine bogs down.

Too many and the wheels spin up. The harder you try to fix it, the

worse you make it. Vettel does a new fastest lap of the race. 2.2

seconds clear of Webber in second place. Then Alonso, Massa, Hamilton,

Rosberg, Button, Schumacher, Sutil, Heidfeld. We're on board with

Button and looking at the back of Nico Rosberg and he is already

nearly nine seconds off the lead as they said into lap four. This is a

key moment where he needs to be within one second as they get into

the braking zone here. He should be able to open his DRS as they come

across bridge, the Swing Bridge, which you mentioned yesterday,

opens up every night. It lets the super yachts in and out of the

harbour. Let's see if his rear wing pops open. Yes, it is open. It's

not getting him very far at the moment. The traction of the

Mercedes off turn ten seems to be cherry, end terms of opening that

wing. He is again quite late getting that opened on the he has

to wait until the activation point. Is that enough? Right now, it's not.

Mercedes is good enough. He looks like a sitting duck for later in

the race. We can see Jensen pulling that pass. In the McLaren garage

the general sense of irritation is with Lewis Hamilton's side. The

feeling is the production overheated while sitting on a line.

They might have to pet litter and get a few more laps on the tyres. -

- pet litter. -- pit later. sense it is only a matter of time

and he is now 10 seconds of the leader, Jensen Button. He has won

car underneath them and he is faster than Mercedes. It is

interesting to see how the her delivering the pace, there is no

question that McLaren is quicker. But there are areas were the

Mercedes is a little bit quicker. Once again, the Mercedes just

drives off to Number 10 and that means at the point where Jensen

Button crosses the line to open his DRS, he is too far back. He has not

used his Kers system. Does he have a problem? Let us see if he uses

that coming out of turn number 14. Maybe he wants to keep that. So

that he can use it for DRS. And he does indeed. He wants both toys to

play with. Now he has got an extra straight line. The Mercedes topped

the speed track yesterday in every session? These cars have got

identical engines. The down for us to the drag of the Mercedes engine,

as we can see... Coming around the wall. Turnover 24. And into the

apex. Much better drive this time. It is that concertina effect, he

gets closer and on the gearbox. Much better speed on turn number

one. Well! Sir perv! The brakes are so powerful, they stop you at 5.5

times the force of gravity and that is the speed differential, if you

are on the brakes five metres later, that was incredible footage. Just

watch this, what's the difference as Jensen Button brakes later and

Nico Rosberg was a little bit surprised, there. Steaming past.

And duly did commit to that braking zone. He needed to get that done.

He is a dozen seconds off the leader. We will wait to see, let's

have a look. That is interesting. Ferrari, the last two laps, they

have matched Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber's times. The gap is

only two seconds between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. And Alonso

is closing fast. Will he get the advantage of the DRS? You must say

that the Friday analysis, suggesting Red Bull would be

followed by a Ferrari and McLaren, that seems to be playing out. But

the big test will be over the next 10 laps, they are wrong this option

tyre and the prediction is they will run out of performance after

15 laps. Who can make this tyre go there for this? End to that number

six. Coming towards the end. Only one 10th faster than Mark Webber

and Fernando Alonso. Remember, he has to get within one second of

Mark Webber into the braking career to get a double helping of that

extra speed in those two, long back straight. He is one 10th of a

second shy of that. Felipe Massa, just falling back from Fernando

Alonso. Let's have a look at Jensen Button. He actually lost quite a

lot of time. Well, he included that overtake in to turn number two. Not

a great flat for Jensen Button. -- lap. Let us see if Jensen Button

starts to come back towards Lewis Hamilton. Six seconds off the lead.

Good work, Mark Webber. You are doing a good job with those tyres.

That was a friendly word from his engineer. At times they are nine

seconds off pole position. Whether that is the fuel load or keeping

the tyres intact. They must be so careful in the traction area. What

can we do to protect those rear tyres? It is all about controlling

the amount of load and the amount of slip that you put through those

retires on the corner. Braking, you want to maximise everything. You

brake as late as you can and the grip that the track allows but in a

qualifying game might just go full power and except Sun spending of

the rear tyres. You don't want to do that you. You need to not

believe that black market on the surface. That isn't available on

Your tyres any more. Sebastian Vettel has picked up the pace. That

looks one day late and $1 short but he gets away with it. Kobayashi on

Barrichello. Remember that amazing movie did on Fernando Alonso here

last year? That is the battle for 12th and 13th place and it's easy

to forget that this textbook racing isn't just at the front. A everyone

has watched last year, they know his tricks! That looked just a

touch ambitious. Fillipi massive the fastest through the first

sector of anyone. Fernando Alonso, he is about to punish Mark Webber

for that scruffy lap. Six tenths so when and his team-mate. And this is

the result. How much closer here's and they both have got DRS

available but Fernando Alonso will have his rear wing open. And nine,

Mark Webber is under attack. They reckon that DRS was worth one

second in qualifying and diffuse that everywhere during qualifying.

During the race, it is only during those designated areas. That is a

useful tool for Fernando Alonso, he goes very wide at the exit of

turned 20. The artificial grass started to pull away from the

circuit. With too many people running wide, that could be an

issue later in the race. Once so did the fastest middle sector of

the race. That is with his rear wing wide open. He gets plenty of

extra strength. Fernando Alonso on the exit of to number 20, opens his

steering wheel because he realises he has not got enough grip so he

could go off the track. And he recognises earlier that he was too

committed to that. Just look after you retire as! -- you're rear tyres.

And we have some use... That give Mark Webber precious breathing

space because he is getting through those times quicker than Fernando

Alonso. That is what they were worried about on the grid, they

were telling us they needed to watch out for the Ferrari because

they are easier on their tyres and us and we will see if it pushes

Mark Webber into the three stops. Strategy Wise, Sebastien Vettel has

the luxury of choosing two or three stops. The two-stop strategy his

second at -- seven seconds quicker by the end of the race. Hamilton

hanging on. So, 6.7 seconds covering the top five at the moment.

We have got a race on our hands. It will not be that easy for Mark

Webber this afternoon. Ferrari looking handy. I think the man that

has the comfort zone is Sebastian Vettel but there's only one point

gap on Mark Webber, he is under pressure and he should have the

pace to defend. Let us remind ourselves that Felipe Massa is

hanging in also. Only two seconds behind Fernando Alonso. Who will

blink first? Because the undercut on the pit stop winner, if you get

those new option tyres, you will gain a lot of performance. It'll be

a hive of activity in the pit lane. That is the significant point.

Getting into the pits, get those fresh tyres on. And you will gain

several seconds over the next few laps because the Pirelli tyres,

they add instant grip and that is a key element. They are designed to

degrade as well. Whatever tire you put on, you will go faster,

especially with a fresh set of soft tyres. If you blink too early, come

into early, you might enjoy some undercut but you'll have to stop

want extra time later on. Looking down the running order, Michael

Schumacher, he is a full 21 seconds behind Sebastian Vettel.

Technically, Sebastian Vettel could make a stop in the next lap and

still come out in front of Michael Schumacher. That is part of the

strategy they must make. It isn't just about what is quickest from

where you are. What were when you come out? -- bought were will you

come out? There is a very good fight going on. Between Barrichello,

Kobayashi, Alguersuari, for 12, 13th and 14th. And that is the

battle. They are lapping the mid- 47. 2.5 seconds off the pace. You

cannot look at them and say, there's there were, they are still

driving as if their lives depend on it. But this looks like it could be

an race that has a long battle. And it's about whoever blinks first and

hence into the pit lane. Now, the replay, look up at Ferrari ahead.

That is Felipe Massa. Getting way too deep. Turn 17, the hairpin. It

looked as if that was a moment for Lewis Hamilton to make that pass.

But he just held on. The Wall of Death on the outside. Felipe Massa,

he maintains 4th place. But he is pulling away back from his team-

mate. Fernando Alonso still within that one second zone for DRS. If he

could pass Mark Webber, I wonder what he could do about Sebastian

Vettel, there could be four seconds behind the leader. You must presume

they could catch him. Certainly, he is in that one second and know

where you are losing performance, getting the dirty air from Mark

Webber. To get that close tells me that there is no question that

Ferrari is a quicker package. career there were two men I never

wanted catching me. One was Ayrton Senna and the other was Schumacher.

If I was driving out, I think it would be Fernando Alonso I would

not want. And probably Kobayashi. Toro Rosso cars, busy fighting each

other. He has kept his tyres in better for the exit on turnover 20.

And they head towards the port. The old fish market. And we have

Heidfeld in the pit lane. Barrichello, also, for Williams.

Both Toro Rosso cars staying on the track as they head into her lap

number 12. Kobayashi is in as well. That looks clean enough. Heidfeld

away. Can he clear the Lotus cars? So close to going over that white

line. I wonder if he got between those Lotus cars? Part of the

decision you must make at the pit wall is to clear the traffic.

Presumably, this was an aborted overtake. This is why Paul Lemmy

and Alguersuari ended up fighting. -- Sebastien Buemi. Coming back to

Nick Heidfeld in the Lotus, he has come out between the other Lotus

team-mate and that will cost him as he tries to clear Heikki Kovalainen.

He either misjudged that for he misjudged the time to get in and

out of the pit stop. I notice Renault in amongst Team Lotus.

McLaren coming out. Getting ready in the pit lane. That is for Lewis

Hamilton. They are the first of the front-runners to stop and Hamilton

does indeed go to the pits. The soft tyres going on. That is

whoever and Fernando Alonso. -- Mark Webber. Let's try another

set... The pit stop looked good. When that mean that Felipe Massa

must respond? Otherwise the undercut, the fresh boots on that

car, will give Hamilton such a lot of grip. And the pit exit and the

out lap, as it is called, along with on the way in, it is so easy

to lose time? You will analyse those laps. Is there anything else

tenths in performance from the car. If the driver doesn't get

absolutely his in-lap aced or outlap, when you're trying to find

out how the tyres are performing, if he's hesitant you can give away

a second. That's crucial later in the race. The clock is always

running. It doesn't matter whether you're in the pit lane or doing

190mph into this braking zone. Vettel leads Webber by 3.5 seconds

now. Alonso third. Massa fourth, Button fifth. Hamilton halls pitted.

Michael Schumacher stayed out. Nico Rosberg has also pitted. We have,

whoa big oversteer. That's a set of rear tyres beginning to cry enough.

Heidfeld passed Sutil. So, Sutil having just pitted, Heidfeld sorts

him out. Sorry Martin, Red Bull mechanics are in the pit lane.

Looks like Ferrari are poilzed as well. Webber in the pits. 40mph the

speed here. Webber then on the soft tyres too. Massa didn't come N I

had a feeling Massa was going to come in. He didn't. He hasn't

responded to Hamilton. Let's look at Hamilton's times: He's done the

fastest final set of the Grand Prix. His out lap was 1.50.3. So

including getting up to speed in the pit lane, that could put him

amongst the Ferraris. Ferrari have not reacted at this time. I would

have thought Mclaren would be pretty pleased with that. They

might pay a heavier price later, because the tyres have gone further.

Ted? Lewis Hamilton's stop on 14, bang on for a three stop. We'd

expect him at 28 and 42. The Mclaren guys are readyying tyres.

Ferrari feel they haven't reached the cliff with the soft tyres and

they can go for five or six more laps. Thank you. What Lewis

Hamilton has reached is the back of Michael Schumacher. He's going to

breeze past at the end of the straight. Hamilton absolutely

flying and he, on these fresh tyres, unsurprisingly. So maybe Ferrari

are going to try and do one less stop. But the sort of pace that

Hamilton is putting in out there, may change their tune. I think we

can see Sebastien Vettel is coming in for his stop. The Red Bull

mechanics, Mclaren and Ferrari, it's a pit stop challenge between

the three top teams and to add to that, we have Mercedes as well. All

of the four teams are servicing their cars. It will be busy down

there. Just one pit crew for each team to service both drivers and

they have to scarper out of the way with the Jacks. We watch Ferrari

get up to speed. Unsurprisingly they're all putting soft tyres.

Hamilton with a new fastest lap of the race. Where exactly is he in

relaiction to the Ferraris? He's still behind them. Hamilton hasn't

made the difference. He's right, he's just coming out of that

chicane. Button then just leaving the pits now. He's a long way, lost

a lot of time, didn't he? Behind Rosberg early in the race. So

Jenson's not been able to catch that up at the moment. Felipe Massa

has yet to stop. He leads the Grand Prix. From Vettel, Alonso, Vettel,

Webber, Alonso, Hamilton, Button and then Rosberg as well. Jenson

then at the end of the bridge. This is Alguersuari and Rosberg and

Schumacher charges up the inside. He has a broken front wing. Michael

Schumacher has had contact somewhere. That car will understeer

horribly through the corners. I wouldn't be going too high speed.

He should be called by his team, you cannot go at 190mph - We saw

with Heidfeld in Canada. He drove over his front wing. Michael is

brave at this stage, trying to get back to the pits. Remarkably he's

overtaking a Force India. I saw him years ago driving faster than I

could with no front wing and only three wheels on the wagon. The

talent is there. Force India outbraked itself to be fair. This

is Rosberg and Alguersuari. Rosberg's pitted. Alguersuari has

not. He's chasing Rosberg down. Rosberg got Hamilton another new

fastest lap and Felipe Massa has now pitted from the lead. He's 20.7

seconds it took him in the pit lane, about what we thought his pit stop

just 3.7. Then you can see on the graphic, we saw Mclaren practising

the other day doing two second, 2.19 was the best pit stop timement

Critically, then, Felipe Massa is and Michael literally wearing his

front wing now, into the pit. That would have been scary if it tucked

under the front wheels. It has tucked under the front left, as can

you see. It's moving around as he pulls into the box. Now they have

to lift the front of the car up onto a high stand allowing them to

remost old wing and then in with the new nose assembly. That

effectively puts him out of a point-scoring chance this afternoon

I would say. So, it has worked out for Lewis Hamilton in terms of

passing one of the Ferraris. He is now ahead of Felipe Massa on the

track, some way ahead of him. We see Schumacher coming out of the -

oh, no, that's the replay. Michael exits the pits straight into an

accident. It looked like he crossed the white line as well coming out

of the pits. If he crossed the exit he will get a penalty as well.

Maybe that's what unsettled him, is he ran into turn two. Rosberg

trying to go around the outside of Alguersuari there. Look at this,

Mark Webber looks now the gap down to 2.4 seconds. Though he just had

a difficult la -- lap. It was 3.5 when he started the pit stop phase.

Button fastest man in the middle part of the lap, so far and doing a

1.44.2. Button then is 20 seconds offer the lead. At the top three

are covered by less than four seconds. This might explain the

slow lap that Webber just had against Hispana. That's through

that section 18, 19, 20. That would have cost him a punch of time,

showing his frustration. Always fails to surprise me why we can see

the guy waving his hands. That's frustration for you. Mark knew he

really did get close to Vettel. It's put him back again and almost

in the danger zone again with Alonso in terms of that rear wing.

That was a costly tangle. That worked out badly for Felipe Massa.

He was passed. It was a result of the privilege system. Alonso was

the lead driver on the road. He has the privilege of when he comes into

the pits. Felipe Massa can't come in before him. That left him

vulnerable to Lewis Hamilton as Alonso said no, no, I want to come

in later. There was nothing Massa could have done about it.

certainly cost him. I wonder why Massa didn't pit straight away.

Hamilton, we talked about it, Hamilton came in, fast straight out

of the pits. Ferrari didn't respond. As we watch Nick Heidfeld then

against Sergio Perez. We're seeing great racing down oh, and contact

there. Heidfeld has track position. That was a great move by Heidfeld.

Brave stuff going round the outside, because Perez could have pushed him

wide. Is he going to lose a further position running down into turn 25?

He's got Barrichello and indeed, Barrichello down the inside. Most

experienced man in Formula One, showing he knows what to do.

hasn't lost any bravery. Perez drops two places in one lap.

Heidfeld tenth, Barrichello 11th. Perez is yet to stop. He's trying

to play the trick he used very successfully in Australia. Sadly,

before they were disqualified from the race and lost their points.

There was contact, but Heidfeld didn't give in. He kept his foot

buried in the throttle. Then you have got that turn 19 and 20 joined

up corner. Webber has the gap down to 2.2 again now. Vettel has

responded. I can't help but sense that Vettel is just doing all he

has to and nothing more up front. Let's remind ourselves, they could

be running on a slightly more preserving the opportunity to use

maximum power for when they need it. I'm not sure I would be entirely

comfortable with a 2.2 lead, if you make a small mistake you're a bit

in trouble. But Mark Webber seems to be in a spot of bother. He was

more comfortable after the pit stop. Once again Alonso has closed the

gap. It's down to .8 of a second. Mark could well be challenged in

the DRS zones. So, that incident with Michael Schumacher and the

Renaults, Alonso with a 43.8 and gets himself up behind Mark Webber,

look at this, the crowd enjoying that. They've just heard about that

new fastest lap. He was definitely within a second of the detection

zone. It was just before these two corners. Schumacher under

investigation for that contact into the first corner with the Renault.

I think it was the Renault of Vitaly Petrov, two drivers who

connected with each other in Istanbul as well. A similarly

clumsy move, it has to be said. Webber, the gap's up to 2.4 now.

It's Vettel's turn to get a Hispana racing car parked on the apex of

where he would dearly like to be. When will Vettel pass that car?

Blue flags waving. He's hanging on the racing line. He wasn't going to

give up the racing line, was he, there? The leader had to go past on

the dirty side. Look how close Fernando Alonso is now. We're into

lap 19. Vettel leads from Webber. Sorry Martin, that will cost Webber

potentially. He's catching him into this last corner. There's no reason

for Vitantonio Liuzzi to get out of the way. He does. Every reason.

He's making his own race track up down there now. I think he realised

that it gave one of the leaders a bit of a hard time. That's often

the case. You're coming up to lap people and you're the one that

wakes everybody up. They seem a bit more alert after that. You have to

be really careful if you're second place, they don't know two cars are

coming up them. I always found it quite easy. Maybe that's because I

wasn't leading many of them. Mark Webber with his mirrors full of

scarlet Ferrari. The Red Bulls are charging, the prancing horse will

not let them get away. Finally Alguersuari pits, his first stop of

Massa, who is beginning to get some pace again. Then Button sixth. 20

seconds off the lead. Rosberg nine seconds behind him. Sutil eighth,

having a good run for Force India. Heidfeld ninth. Barrichello tenth

and Webber increasingly coming under pressure. This gets really

difficult. Not only is he trying to focus on extracting the maximum

from these tyres... Rear temperature creeping up. Try one

click rearwards, you need more front on entry. Rear temperature,

tyre temperatures or brake temperatures creeping up. He says

try one click forward. Yeah, that must be brake temperatures. He is

under pressure from Fernando Alonso. He's having to drive slightly

defensive. It means that you don't explore the braking point as much

as you would when you're running alone with the ability to just

search out where is the grip, is this car constantly changes. You

have the situation where you're burning off 2.5 kilos of fuel each

lap. The performance is getting lighter but you play that off

against the degradation of the tyre, which is, well, it's getting tired

and losing performance. I thought he said one click

rearwards. I wondered if it was the differential. There are sensors on

the cars reading the surface of the tyre temperatures, tiny infrared

things. The teams know exactly what's going on. Look how close

Alonso is now. Up the inside, will Webber yield. He has to. Fantastic

from Fernando Alonso there, absolutely opportunist and the

crowd enjoyed that one! Fernando Alonso almost from nowhere just

pounced. The job was done. Now what Prix. Fernando Alonso, really... I

think that is still cement dust shaking up the crude macro behind

Webber's car. Webber got a little bit wide, as we get a replay, he

gets a massive toe down into what is 2010 12. This is the area where

Webber went flying last year. A nice clean manoeuvre. Mark does not

find it too much. These cells are made dummy, goes left dance which

is right. -- the cells in a dummy, goes left and switchers right.

Let's explain why there was such a massive toe. A gear these cars to

be on the rev limiter in qualifying, when you are able to use DRS

everywhere. That means John top gear is long in race trim. Mark

Webber is in a situation where he is underpowered. Suddenly, you have

Alonso in the slipstream, able to use DRS, able to extract the

maximum power from the engine, and that is the end result. There will

be no further action on the content between Schumacher and Petrov, we

are told. That will be put down to a racing incident, then. No

penalties at this time. We still have 24 runners in the Grand Prix

Vettel, and I think some parts will have signed on the pit wall at Red

lap you do, but the tyres are degrading faster than that. We

still have a tap map temperature of 47 degrees centigrade. -- track

temperature. It helps the fuel load, when you start to burn fuel. The

fuel weight is approximately 150 kilograms, 25% more weight on top

of the weight of the car and passenger. It is like two

passengers inside the car with the driver, then trying to accelerate

them around the racetrack. Vettel leads Alonso by three seconds.

Webber is coming back on him. Hamilton is in 4th, 4.5 seconds

down the road. Ted Kravitz. Mark Webber had problems with the brakes

in qualifying, so that might have reoccurred in the race. His tyres

were only a flat sold when Alonso made that pass. Jenson Button is

not happy with the set-up and balance of his car, so they have

been making tyre pressure adjustments in the garage. Down the

field, it looks like Perez's One Stop is not working for him. His

lap Tyne's are looking horrible at the moment. -- times. He is on the

medium tyre, he will be quicker at the end of the race on the soft.

You are right, Perez is five seconds off the pace at the moment.

That looks like a strategy that is not working. You only need to do

four laps like that and you have got a free pit-stop to put fresh

tyres on. That does not look too handy. He is down in 14th place. He

is the only driver who has not pitied during the Grand Prix. 24

runners. David, in parc ferme conditions, we used to call the

cars apart after every session, go out and do a warm-up, a call them

apart again, then go and do the race. We had so much reliability

despite that. Now they cannot do any of that, but we have incredible

reliability. The technology moves forward. A lot of it has been

helped... Lewis, we are doing the same pace. We need to keep going a

little bit longer on this set. Interestingly, looking behind

instead of forward, I wonder if they are resigned to the fact that

Ford may be the best Lewis can get today. At point. Webber has done a

1:43.5, Hamilton is doing 1:45.5. Button, 45.6. Lewis is struggling

on these tyres. Maybe he put them to heart out of the pits, as we

watch Petrov making his way past Kobayashi. The Saubers have

struggled this weekend. I think it is the lower downforce required.

There are low downforce package, it is all relative, but it is not that

effective, it seems to me. It looks like there is a bit of a lull, I

will finish the sentence I started earlier and reliability. It has

been helped by the fact that you have one gearbox for five races and

you are limited in the manner of engines for the season. The rpm is

capped at 18,000. We were doing over 20,000 at one point. When you

are pushing those boundaries, there is a massive stress, and an

liability. For the engine manufacturers to come back to

18,000, it gives them such head room. They do not learn what they

learned when they had to read it to 20,000. We can see McLaren

preparing for Lewis Hamilton. not run out of breaks any more, we

do not have clutch failure, drive shaft failure. -- brakes. The cars

are pretty bulletproof these days. Look how slow this is going to feel

as Hamilton chugs down the pit-lane in the finest racing car in the

world, limited to 40 mph. Another set of soft tyres going on for

Lewis Hamilton. He will have to stop once more. What was going on

there? Away too early, obviously a sign from the chief mechanic there.

We will get a replay of that, hopefully. 4.4 for the stop, but

they have wonder if that includes the hesitation after it was nearly

over. Not a good phase of the Grand Prix for Lewis Hamilton. We are on

board with Petrov now, who is looking to get past Perez. Erez has

not faded, his tyres must be feeling pretty second-hand by now.

-- Perez has not pitied. He does not take a run around the outside.

He has got Kobayashi chasing him as well. This is over 14th, 15th and

through turn one. He must be in dire trouble with these tyres.

is still five seconds per lap off the pace. Petrov was not putting

his car and the optimum position for an overtake. That is an easy

corner, turn one. He would not be expecting Erez to lift out. You

could see the Rehan movement of the car as he went through the turn. He

did a remarkable job to keep it on the track. And Nick Heidfeld are in

Sebastian Vettel on lap 26. He leaves, and easy overtake now for

Petrov. He has wasted their lap on that one. He had the help of DRS

there. It works for the way through the field, whether you are lapping,

being lapdog Justin combat. Vettel leads by 3.2. -- being laughed walk

just in combat. Button is beginning... He is in 5th, he is

ahead of Hamilton now that Hamilton has made his second stop. Kobayashi

passes his team-mate for 15th position. Surely Sauber are

thinking, surely the same as we are, this is not working. Every 4th time

he goes past the pits, he has wasted a pit-stop. What is the

point? Well, I am trying to look down the pit-lane. They are going

to bring him in. That was at least a couple of laps too late. They

were living in Melbourne mode, when it seemed to work, he only did one

stop there. This was the overtake from Petrov. He gets well out of

the way, he does not make that difficult at all, the sensible

thing. And then Kobayashi doing the same thing with the benefit of DRS.

It is all very happy at there in the midfield, waving thank-you to

reach other. I would have thought he would have been quite upset with

him. Michael Schumacher and Maldonado, wheel-to-wheel. That is

for 16th place, which Schumacher takes. Do not find yourself, when

you see Michael up close and personal life that, going, is this

going to be another contact?! was close. He was a demon in Canada

two weeks ago, he was the one doing the double over take out of turn

nine, coping with the conditions in the old style. It is just not moist

enough for him out there. They are managing to cross all of the water

and around the port. Hamilton does the new fastest lap of the race,

43.1. Maybe that is not so smart, to take so much life out of the

tyres so early. Pirelli say you have to treat them carefully in the

beginning. You say that, but it is only six tenths quicker than the

previous lap from Vettel. He may well feel, with that extra

performance from these fresh tyres, once they hit the wall, they really

drop off in performance. If he was at the end of that previous set,

maybe he feels he is comfortably doing this lap time. We will find

out. He has certainly burned out the fastest, the first of the

front-runners to have to pit tries. Ted. Still at McLaren, just a

thought. We know that Jenson is trying a different strategy to

Lewis Hamilton. Jenson Button is going longer to try to make a small

third stint. Whether he is doing two of three, we will find out. If

Lewis continues like this, he will come up behind his team-mate, and

then McLaren will have a little problem. He could well do. The last

thing McLaren will want to do is leave Jenson out holding a Lewis if

he has fresh tyres. Interesting team decision to be made in about...

Let's look at the Gatt, 7.9 seconds between Hamilton and Button. We

have a difference of 1.2 seconds per lap. Do you think Ferrari have

a chance to win this race? What you think Vettel is just coasting and

doing all he needs to do? I am glad you mentioned that, because with

only a 3.2 seconds gap, there is a lot of racing to be done. The key

thing that Sebastian Vettel has on his side is that Ferrari are very

unhappy, or were very unhappy on the prime tyre, the harder tyre.

They're going well at the moment on the option, matching Red Bull,

slightly quicker on that previous lap. Lewis, you have set a purple

lap, you are the fastest car. Please look after these tyres and

manage your pace. The engineers thinking exactly the same that we

were thinking up here. You can take the grip early on, but it is not

going to be there later when you really need it. Andy Latham there

telling Lewis, OK, just can't let a little bit. We love your attacking

style, but you might be taking a bit too much out of those tyres.

Five. To stop there for Heidfeld. In the pits, we have just had

Heidfeld, Di Resta, Petrov. That was their second stop. Most of them

will be doing a three-stop race this afternoon. And Webber, then,

goes into the pit lane. He was getting very close behind Alonso,

so Webber pits first. Will this give in he and a cat? That could

put a lot of pressure on Ferrari, and it would take the pressure off

Vettel up front. This is a key pit stop for Red Bull. Holding the rest

evenly so the car does not rock on the jacks, otherwise they cannot

get the guns nicely on to the spin of. 3.7, for Red Bull. Now Ferrari

have got a decision to make. Are they go into have to? Definitely a

three-stop for Webber. They went into qualifying with three sets of

each of the tyre compounds. In a dry race, they must use both of

them. If you are new to Formula One, we will remind you about that. It

is a question are having to get out on both tyres at some point. They

want to use these lower tyre, up to two seconds per lap slower,

depending on which team you are talking to. Alonso looks so steady.

In fact, that looks very steady to me. Let's have a look at his sector

times. First sector was OK, struggling for grip. He will have

to pit, surely, the will have to respond. There is a bunch of

traffic, Vettel coming up behind Petrov, Karthikeyan. Is that

Maldonado there as well? A bunch of traffic which Alonso does not want

to lose time in. The Ferrari mechanics are in the pit lane.

Options are being brought out for Fernando Alonso. Some over steering

into the pit lane, he has got no real grip left. He has hit the

cliff that we have heard the drivers talking about. It is an

early warning system. You have run out of rubber compound on your rear

tyres, and Alonso was really struggling on at in lap. Where is

Webber? Massa goes through. It is going to be close. He is going to

pass him. That is the undercut for you. He pitted one lap earlier, had

the extra grip. He was just over one second behind him as we got to

Maldonado preparing to come from They've blinked first and got it

right at the moment. Great stuff from Red Bull strategy. Now

Fernando Alonso has got to do it all again. That turns the tables.

That puts Red Bull back in charge for now. It does. One thing I think

I didn't finish earlier was saying that Ferrari have been struggling

on the harder tyres. Once they have to put that on, they might...

rear tyre temperatures are very hot. I can't go any slower. Understood.

I can't go any slower! We both know that's not the case. He can park it

up if he fancies. Thlz a clear message to his engineer. Please

stop talking to me. I'm frustrated, I'm trying to drive this car

quickly and I can't make the tyres last. That could be an indication

of a lack of downforce, cars sliding around. Massa ahead of

Webber and Alonso at the moment. Vettel pits. Red Bull don't have a

luxury this afternoon of coasting in when it suits them. They have to

keep reacting to Ferrari. Jenson is in the pits as well. Another set of

the soft tyres going on, to confirm they will stop again. Both Red Bull

and at least Alonso have to stop. So Massa leads the Grand Prix, but

he's yet to do his second stop. Massa didn't quite lead the Grand

Prix. He didn't get through. What's going to be interesting,

Massa could come into play with Webber, if Ferrari want to play

strategic, they would leave Massa out for another lap. OK he's going

to be fourth, let's use him to back Webber into Alonso. Well, you've

got to be cruel to be kind to the team, I guess. You have Webber in

the 1.42. Alonso is flying as well out there. They like the new tyres.

Button finishes his second stop, gets back up to speed. Rosberg has

been in too. He looks as if he can keep the Mercedes inside the top

ten. We do have a race on our hands. Vettel leads from Massa, Webber,

Alonso. Massa yet to stop. He's kind of 20 seconds out of bed there

really in that respect. But you're right, David, he can really spoil

it. He's now struggling for rear grip as well. I don't think Webber

will be behind him very long. has his DRS open. It will be a key

moment to pop it down the inside to turn 17. Massa goes defensive. He

was so much slower on the brakes, Webber with a fantastic pass. Now

Massa is holding up Fernando Alonso. He is indeed. Look at the gap

that's giving Webber up front. Oh, has he seen him? How do they find

time to make hand signals when they're trying not to have 180mph

accident? Massa pits. He had to then. He had run out of rear tyre

grip. Candy from a baby as Webber drove clean around the outside of

him. Vettel then, the top three are covered now by 3.1 seconds, a set

of used soft tyres and a very long pit stop indeed. Left rear didn't

go on properly. So that does, look at that, 8.6 seconds for Felipe

Massa. Could be very good news for Jenson Button who's just coming

into the background there. So Button much closer to Massa now.

But he's finished his second stop. He's 29 seconds off the lead Jenson.

He was around 20. But he doesn't have the pace at the moment.

Hamilton 13 seconds off the lead in fourth place. Mclaren are burning

up their tyres faster than Red Bull and Ferrari. There then is the

guilty wheelgun. Good drive from Mark Webber. He's coming back. He

was struggling at the beginning of the Grand Prix. Typical that you

don't give up. He's going to get himself into a comfortable position

against Sebastien Vettel. This is what he needs to do if he's going

to lead the first lap this season. Remarkably he's not led one. He

needs to win a Grand Prix soon if he's going to come back into this

challenge. They're having to be so careful on the throttle. You can

hear that. Compared to qualifying they're doing seven, eight seconds

slower. They're coaxing the throttle into play, aren't they?

Track temperatures 47 degrees, the chemical reaction that's going on,

Jenson Button locking up, running wide in turn 17. Then into this

fantastic sequence through 18, 19, 20, should be flat through the last

part there. Then this run down through 22, 23 and into the last

section. Completely flat, uses all the kerb and then straightens it up

KERS is not working. Something about KERS, wasn't it?

KERS is not working. That's not going to help his lap time that.

Will cost him three, four tenths. The winner two weeks ago is really

struggling today. He's in sixth at the moment. Just 1.7 seconds behind

Felipe Massa. Now he's carrying 40 kilos of gubins an it's not giving

him extra power. The powers are ballasted up to weigh the same.

It's not ideal weight. Put it lower if you could and spread it around

the car, he's carrying the system and it's not giving him any

powerment Simply put he's minus 80 horse power. Vettel leads on lap 33

on 1.8 seconds. Here's a replay of that tardy pit stop for the Ferrari

team. They're looking for another gun.

They had to get the spare gun in on the action. A shake of the head

from Felipe Massa. Look at that, the wheel nut struggling get that

out. They're fearsome things. We did a competition with Jenson and

Lewis, the guns feel like they'll break your risk. Top three in the

short pit straight. They've lapped Michael Schumacher. Of course he

came in are with -- with a broken front wing earlier. He's not had

great pace. Mercedes struggling with rear tyre degradation. Rosberg

in eighth place. But Michael Schumacher is in 17th and Ted has

news on that. Everything is overheating down here in Valencia.

Certainly Red Bull's looking good, but Button's KERS has overheated.

Red Bull's tyres are the only one that's seem to be in good shape in

the hands of Sebastien Vettel. He's the only one in good shape. With

the hotter track temperatures, tyre degradation has been much higher

than the engineers expected. What this means is that this race will

be won by whoever can make the harder tyre work best in the final

stint. A quick one on Michael Schumacher. He's made a third pit

stop. He's run out of soft tyres. He's on the harder tyre. Thanks for

that, Ted. Alguersuari is doing a great job in seventh place.

Remember, when he was fighting with Rosberg and Rosberg was on fresh

tyres. Now he's ahead of Rosberg by 2.9 seconds. He's only stopped once.

He's in the 1.44. That's looking very handy indeed for Alguersuari

in the Toro Rosso. It seems as if he's found a sweet spot in his set

up. He needed to. He's been under pressure in Toro Rosso. He's not

been extracting as much from the car as Buemi. He's responding here

to the home crowd. He lives in Barcelona. He considers this almost

a home race. This is aee-haw section. I love it. -- yee-haw

section. I love it. That last corner is tremendous. It gets your

adrenaline pumping, skimming the walls at 195mph. Vettel, 142.4. The

gap is two seconds to Webber. He's 1.5 ahead of Alonso. 3.6 seconds

covers the top three then a 14- second wait for Lewis Hamilton,

make that nearly 16 seconds now. Ted's at Mclaren. Something is up.

All the mechanics are coming into the garage. They're getting out

their marigolds. They've been warned that Jenson Button has a

problem with his KERS. If he needs to retire, the mechanics have been

told get out your electric protection gloves because there's

something wrong. I hope they don't have to retire Jenson Button, but

it doesn't look good. The KERS could be overheating or shorting

out somewhere presumably. Normally it's a very reliable system. It's

one of the best out there. It was developed with Mercedes-Benz.

Hamilton doing 1.44. Button has just done his fastest lap of the

Grand Prix. Whatever the problem is doesn't need gloves, spanners,

hammers or anything at the momentment -- moment. There's

Vettel, Webber, Alonso, the front runners.

Alonso won't give up, as ever. We've seen him running wide and

struggling to keep the Ferrari exactly where he wants it on track.

But he's keeping the Red Bulls very honest indeed. They come into the

back of the buildings there. Let's look at the gap now.

Vettel crosses the line, into lap 36. He is 2.1 clear of Webber,

who's 1.6 clear of Alonso. It's Hamilton again struggling.

that's reasonable pace, reasonable pace. We're about a second faster

than Hamilton at this point, a second faster than Hamilton. Lewis

has just done a 145.2 now. Again those rear tyres... They've given

up. Yeah he's gone off the wall. What a fantastic battle. The top

three separated by less than a tenth on the last lap. This is a

real battle of the pressure they have to deliver consistent lap

times on a track where your car is constantly changing. Your fuel

levels are getting down to sensible levels. The tyres are desperately

losing their performance. You go on board with Felipe Massa, I have a

feeling that Ferrari will be the last to pit here. If the rumour is

true that they can make the prime work, they're not going to get any

better than third place if they come in first, for the pit stop

that is. They were at sea when those tyres were going off. They

were losing so much time. They could barely keep the thing on the

track coming into the pit lane. This is all about who can make that

medium tyre, that they've now all got to run, to the end of the Grand

Prix, at the next pit stop. It's the first time that tyre has run.

It's in the a different construction. It's just a different

compound. First time this year. It's a question of who can make

that work best amongst these three as to who will win the Grand Prix.

Red Bull looked as if they were making it work better than Ferrari

in terms of switching the tyre on. Explain what switching those medium

tyres on means. Typically, it's been that the slower tyre of the

two tyres they've got here. I prefer to call them prime and

option because I think it gets confusing when we get into the

compounds. But the prime tyre, the harder of the two tyres, has been

over a second a lap slower from new than the option. They've had more

difficulty getting that performance out of it on the first timed laps.