:03:39. > :03:45.that is what Ali G's says. I do not to let rip this season, that it
:03:45. > :03:50.wasn't what we had in mind. Welcome to the 2012 season on the BBC. 20
:03:50. > :03:56.races, six world champions on the grid, but only one David Coulthard.
:03:56. > :04:01.Are you ready for this? I am more than ready for this, after what
:04:01. > :04:06.seemed like an endless Winter of testing. I want to find out. This
:04:06. > :04:12.is the first time we see them running or on low fuel, new tyres.
:04:12. > :04:16.One thing we think we do know, after people tuned in last year and
:04:16. > :04:22.saw Sebastian Vettel winning, the team behind us that don't look like
:04:22. > :04:29.they have it all their own way? Regulations have been stable. They
:04:29. > :04:34.have made some changes to the nose. The not very pretty. It is all to
:04:34. > :04:39.do with the height of the nose. Everyone has had the chance to get
:04:39. > :04:42.closer and understand the theories behind the dominant Red Bull Carte
:04:42. > :04:48.of last year. If we have anything to judge from the practice sessions
:04:48. > :04:56.here, it is closer. The motivation is to be Sebastian Vettel because
:04:56. > :05:01.he has raised the bar. You'd did that in 2003, how much, then as did
:05:01. > :05:06.it give you for the season ahead? was surprised because I was No. The
:05:06. > :05:10.Lebanon the grid. Jenson Button had his first win for McLaren in the
:05:10. > :05:16.same weather conditions. It gives you such a boost, it is the first
:05:16. > :05:21.trip the teams may, down to Australia. It set to ups for what a
:05:21. > :05:24.would hopefully be a Championship campaign. I know you like watching
:05:24. > :05:29.yourself winning on the BBC Four star we will show you them all over
:05:29. > :05:34.the course of the season. We don't know how the season will pan out.
:05:34. > :05:44.But for the first race, all the drivers have turned up at Albert
:05:44. > :06:09.
:06:09. > :06:15.Park hoping they can exceed theirs But there seems to be a Christian
:06:15. > :06:20.Horner fan club. Are you a paid-up member? I am a big fan of all of
:06:20. > :06:26.the team principals. Look how busy it is outside the Ferrari garage.
:06:26. > :06:30.It is always a busy place to be. But let's have a look at Sebastian
:06:30. > :06:35.Vettel in the final practice session because it was not going as
:06:35. > :06:41.he wanted? We did see him have the odd slip usually on a Friday
:06:41. > :06:47.practice session, but never on the Saturday. It did cost him some time.
:06:47. > :06:52.When it comes to Ferrari, they are concerned over the way the car
:06:52. > :06:57.looks and drives? They said in pre- season they don't mind if it is
:06:57. > :07:04.ugly as long as it is quick. They have definitely got the ugly bits,
:07:04. > :07:09.but are they issues they seem to have had? Can I get on top of it.
:07:09. > :07:14.That was Massa losing the back end of the car. The drivers are phrased
:07:14. > :07:19.-- fighting the car. Whenever they try to enter the corner, it turns
:07:19. > :07:25.like it is a rally car. It's afternoon will tell us what the gap
:07:25. > :07:30.is. It could be a very long season for Ferrari. Concerns about whether
:07:30. > :07:36.we will go to Bahrain. At the moment it is on the calendar and we
:07:36. > :07:45.are returning to the USA. For the first time Formula One will have to
:07:45. > :07:49.Texas on 18th November. But you are no truly and Rubens Barrichello
:07:50. > :07:57.have left the sport. We have a couple of rookies in their place
:07:57. > :08:04.and a new line-up. The drivers and constructors champions are the ones
:08:04. > :08:08.to beat. Day were dominant claiming 18 pole positions. But a Mark
:08:08. > :08:14.Webber will have to be back to his best if he is to stop Sebastian
:08:14. > :08:21.Vettel. McLaren are chasing their first drivers' title in four years,
:08:21. > :08:27.their first constructor has been 14. If the car is up to this, Jenson
:08:27. > :08:32.Button and Lewis Hamilton are serious title contenders. Fernando
:08:32. > :08:38.Alonso once more heads the challenge this season with Filippo
:08:38. > :08:42.Masser alongside him. Pre-season testing did not go well and it is
:08:42. > :08:48.doubtful the team will get on to the podium this weekend. How well
:08:48. > :08:52.they develop a better car is the key to Ferrari's year. Mercedes
:08:52. > :08:57.were forced last year and retains their drivers. Michael Schumacher
:08:57. > :09:06.is yet to achieve podium since his return but Nico Rosberg and himself
:09:06. > :09:12.have confidence that the recruitment drive will pay off soon.
:09:12. > :09:19.Kimi Raikkonen is back and makes it six or World Championships on the
:09:19. > :09:26.grid. That team missed the second Test with a chassis problem. Also
:09:26. > :09:35.back in a Renault car is Romain Grosjean. Force India stated goals
:09:35. > :09:45.to finished 5th in the world constructors Championship. Paul di
:09:45. > :09:47.
:09:47. > :09:54.Resta enters a second gear at the top level. Kamui Kobayashi and
:09:54. > :10:00.Perez had been retained. The car design and Ferrari power at Toro
:10:00. > :10:10.Rosso create continuity, but it not with the drivers. Alguersuari and
:10:10. > :10:14.
:10:14. > :10:23.Buemi have gone. Daniel Komen -- Daniel Ricardo and Jean-Eric Vergne.
:10:23. > :10:27.Rubens Barrichello has been dropped for Bruno Senna. The team continues
:10:27. > :10:37.restructuring behind the scenes. Green and yellow colours remain but
:10:37. > :10:42.
:10:42. > :10:48.Team Lotus has entrusted Heikki Kovalainen and his joint by Petrov.
:10:48. > :10:52.HRT manage no pre-season testing as their car failed the crash test.
:10:52. > :11:01.They may be an experienced and young but the drivers are not.
:11:01. > :11:11.Pedro de la Rosa made his debut at this race 13 years ago. His team
:11:11. > :11:18.
:11:18. > :11:23.mate is Narain Karthikeyan. This crew will be relying on Timo Glock.
:11:23. > :11:33.The drivers have a good view of the pit lane. It is getting quiet in
:11:33. > :11:33.
:11:33. > :11:38.here. I am sure the new ones are feeling rather nervous. It is a big
:11:38. > :11:44.day for them. You don't have the opportunity to have a rookie season,
:11:44. > :11:49.you have to deliver. Formula One has developed, we have six world
:11:49. > :11:56.champions on the grid. It tells you how brutal it is. A lot of pressure
:11:56. > :12:00.on them today. We are walking past the Red Bull garage. Mark Webber
:12:00. > :12:07.will be climbing into the car shortly. He is out of contract at
:12:07. > :12:13.the end of the year, the same applies for Michael Schumacher and
:12:13. > :12:17.Felipe Massa. In my 15 season I only had a multi-year contract once.
:12:17. > :12:23.So you are very focused? different points in the middle of
:12:23. > :12:28.the season you focus on the year ahead. But they will be thinking,
:12:28. > :12:34.have I got the set up bright, what is the track temperature, they will
:12:34. > :12:37.be focused to drive those cars as fast as possible. 24 men will be
:12:37. > :12:43.focused for qualifying today and a quarter of the grid of former
:12:43. > :12:47.Formula One champions. It is unique, we have never had that before. It
:12:47. > :12:52.shows the longevity and safety standards of the drivers being
:12:52. > :12:55.there. And also the rush they get. Kimi Raikkonen has come back to the
:12:55. > :13:01.sport after a couple of years trying rallying because he missed
:13:01. > :13:06.the sport. Jenson Button, fastest in first practice and has won here
:13:06. > :13:16.before. But he goes into today not having picked up pole position in
:13:16. > :13:33.
:13:33. > :13:43.everything we have ever done, you have been good at. And I have not.
:13:43. > :13:47.
:13:47. > :13:53.Did you see me for off the jet ski. Yes. He is good, isn't he? That is
:13:53. > :13:57.beautiful. I am sure there is something wrong with my cue.
:13:57. > :14:04.don't think one team this year is going to have a massive advantage.
:14:04. > :14:09.I think it is going to be closer. Because the regulations have
:14:09. > :14:16.changed. I think it is exciting for the sport and will make the racing
:14:16. > :14:22.good. People talk about drivers to build a team around him. Is it
:14:22. > :14:31.genuine or is it a myth? It is genuine. The White is going to go
:14:31. > :14:35.in isn't it? The people within a team like knowing you want to make
:14:35. > :14:40.a difference and make your mark on that team. You don't just get in
:14:40. > :14:45.the car and drive. It makes a massive difference. I have a good
:14:45. > :14:51.understanding with my engineers, Dave and Tom. We go out for dinner,
:14:51. > :14:59.we are good friends. That is brilliant, you have got to play the
:14:59. > :15:04.rest of the game with the helmet on. I cannot see much. Your team may
:15:04. > :15:14.lose Hamilton? He realises there is something important in the team you
:15:14. > :15:20.have around him. Has he ever spoken to about that? No, he hasn't. It is
:15:20. > :15:25.difficult to answer. Yes, you're a writer and Lewis Hamilton is right,
:15:25. > :15:30.I do have great people around me. It took me a long time to get them
:15:30. > :15:35.around me. It is not something you go out and choose. You don't
:15:35. > :15:39.specifically choose who is hanging round. You just ring it would be
:15:39. > :15:44.nice to see them at the race and experience this with me. You have
:15:44. > :15:48.to be careful with it. You cannot purposely go out and pick and
:15:48. > :15:58.choose people you think will make your life easier. You are thinking
:15:58. > :15:59.
:15:59. > :16:09.about it too much, it should just finish, like the Canadian Grand
:16:09. > :16:15.
:16:15. > :16:20.competitive! Well done. Jenson Button, you are the winner of
:16:20. > :16:29.Jenson Button Paul tournament. nice in front of the world
:16:29. > :16:34.Championship Trophy. Welcome to one of the busiest Paddocks in F1. I
:16:34. > :16:38.thought what I would do is give Jenson that win. It is good for the
:16:38. > :16:47.confidence. Not that he needs much confidence. He is so relaxed, he
:16:47. > :16:50.has got confidence. He has won over McLaren. He knows this could be a
:16:50. > :16:55.world championship number two. we are looking for this season is a
:16:55. > :16:59.relaxed, confident World Championship number two perhaps for
:16:59. > :17:04.Lewis Hamilton. Is his head in the right place for Formula One? He
:17:04. > :17:11.would love a star like he had here in 2008. He won the race and the
:17:11. > :17:16.championship that year. Lewis Hamilton looks focused and happy.
:17:16. > :17:19.He has gone through the growing pains of being a sportsman in the
:17:19. > :17:24.public eye and he has gone away and got focused and it will be
:17:24. > :17:27.interesting to see what he delivers. We would love to see a smiling and
:17:28. > :17:32.successful Lewis Hamilton. To explain to us the importance of
:17:32. > :17:35.qualifying here because grid position is essential. This is a
:17:35. > :17:43.semi- street circuit and it is a bit like Monte Carlo. Track
:17:43. > :17:48.position is keen. There are two DRS positions. It is such a busy little
:17:48. > :17:52.track. Qualifying today, every team knows they have to max out their
:17:52. > :17:57.opportunity. The even without Eddie Jordan hair, you are OK, you are
:17:57. > :18:03.ready? Yes. We just saw Lewis Hamilton making his way to the
:18:03. > :18:08.garage, he looked focused. David should head to the commentary box
:18:08. > :18:12.alongside our new commentator, Ben Edwards. No Formula One on the BBC
:18:12. > :18:22.for the past 16 weeks. It is now time to officially welcomed the
:18:22. > :18:29.
:18:29. > :18:34.2012 season under way. The green light is on. We are about to find
:18:34. > :18:40.out, at last, just which of the teams have got their sums right
:18:40. > :18:45.over the winter. He will end up on pole will position? I am relishing
:18:45. > :18:49.the start of this season? It is fantastic. We say every year it
:18:49. > :18:53.will potentially be the best season of Formula One. If you look at the
:18:53. > :18:57.Ritz -- mix, the regulations have been stable, all of the teams have
:18:57. > :19:02.been able to hone in on the secrets of Red Bull and it is by no means
:19:02. > :19:07.certain if they have closed the gap. Look at that view across the whole
:19:07. > :19:14.city of Melbourne. What a fantastic view. A beautiful city, resplendent
:19:14. > :19:21.in the sunshine. Let's get some news from the pits and speak to
:19:21. > :19:28.Gary Anderson. The teams have this choice of two compounds of tyres.
:19:28. > :19:31.We gathered that the difference is not huge. Tell us more. Each driver
:19:31. > :19:38.has three steps that the harder tyres and three sets of the softer
:19:38. > :19:47.tyres. Only the two Marussias have gone out on the softer tyres at the
:19:47. > :19:51.moment. There's a difference depending on how the car is set up.
:19:51. > :19:56.The soft tyre is not as durable. It will be interesting to see who has
:19:56. > :20:01.the confidence to get into the sock -- set -- top 17 or whether they
:20:01. > :20:05.need to throw on a set of soft tyres. Lewis Hamilton at the first
:20:05. > :20:10.turn doing the same as Sebastian Vettel. Will that damage the
:20:10. > :20:17.underbody of the car? There's been a lot of rain here. Quite bumpy as
:20:17. > :20:25.you turn in, he locked the front wheel. Hopefully no damage for
:20:25. > :20:30.Lewis Hamilton. Kobayashi has just gone fastest. Hamilton is still
:20:31. > :20:38.charging around. Button is third fastest. Senna is fourth, Webber is
:20:38. > :20:42.5th. Another lock-up from Hamilton. He comes out of the final turn. We
:20:42. > :20:51.saw a mistake at the start of the lap. Let's see what this is for
:20:51. > :20:57.Hamilton. He goes second. 1:U 27.053. A fraction slower than the
:20:57. > :21:03.Sauber. The replay we saw of Hamilton going wide in the first
:21:03. > :21:07.turn was not on that lap, it was the previous lap. Otherwise you may
:21:07. > :21:12.as well give him the pole position right now! Jenson getting wide on
:21:12. > :21:18.the exit of turn 13. That will have affected his confidence as he runs
:21:18. > :21:25.into 14. Then down to one of the slowest corners on the track. A lot
:21:25. > :21:31.of pressure on the front left tyre as you go through the last turn.
:21:31. > :21:37.The opening gambit for Jenson Button... Fastest. Well done. Mark
:21:37. > :21:41.Webber stays 5th for the moment. Vettel is still in fourth place. We
:21:41. > :21:46.have three sessions of qualifying as ever in F1 these days. We will
:21:46. > :21:49.lose seven cars from this first session of qualifying. If you can
:21:49. > :21:59.get into the top 17, you will be through to the next part of
:21:59. > :22:03.qualifying. What has Sebastian Vettel been up to? HRT are in a lot
:22:03. > :22:07.of trouble this weekend. You have to feel for them turning up with an
:22:07. > :22:12.untested car. Michael Schumacher locking up and that is the corner
:22:12. > :22:16.where he ended up in the gravel on the morning session. That is
:22:16. > :22:24.interesting. There's a headwind at that point. That typically gives
:22:24. > :22:28.you more support when you are braking. If this circuit is what we
:22:28. > :22:31.call green at this stage. A lot of rain yesterday. They have had the
:22:31. > :22:36.morning session to put down some Pirelli rubber and there will be
:22:36. > :22:42.some big changes in-lap times. Schumacher is on a good lap. Button
:22:42. > :22:48.is currently fastest. Alonso is a fastest. Vettel is behind. What
:22:48. > :22:53.kind of lap is this? And reasonable. He is still in fifth place. Michael
:22:53. > :22:57.Schumacher across the line, he goes into fourth place. But watching
:22:57. > :23:02.practice, we thought there might be even more. Wobbling over the curves
:23:02. > :23:06.as he tries really hard. He is still on the harder tyre.
:23:06. > :23:10.amount of front end on that Mercedes, he clattered the kerb. A
:23:10. > :23:15.lot of talk about the wings on his Mercedes car. They are somehow able
:23:15. > :23:20.to gain even more top speed which allows them to carry more downforce.
:23:20. > :23:26.You can physically see it. Mercedes are looking good as we are looking
:23:26. > :23:30.at the track map. Rosberg is setting purple sectors, which means
:23:30. > :23:35.he's quickest in the first and second sectors. Don't be surprised
:23:35. > :23:43.to see Rosberg go fastest in the session. Let's keep an eye on
:23:43. > :23:47.Hamilton. His personal best in the first sector, but the second factor
:23:47. > :23:53.is nothing special. I'm not sure he will improve. He does! He goes
:23:53. > :23:58.fastest by a fraction. But Rosberg beats him straight away. Just for a
:23:58. > :24:03.moment or Hamilton had top spot, but now it is Rosberg in the
:24:03. > :24:08.Mercedes on the top spot for the moment. That was the moment
:24:08. > :24:12.Schumacher turned in. Look at the skid plates hitting the road.
:24:12. > :24:16.of flecks in the front wing. That is a mistake by Michael. I can't
:24:16. > :24:22.imagine he would want to hit fat inside kerb. A good recovery from
:24:22. > :24:29.him. A lot of oversteer from Vettel. That would have been opening their
:24:29. > :24:39.Diarrar surly. In fact there was no DRS at that point. The hard tyres
:24:39. > :24:43.
:24:43. > :24:51.followed by a two McLarens. Sauber still up there with Kobayashi. Some
:24:51. > :24:58.teams are using the harder tyre. A white stripe on Hamilton's tyre.
:24:58. > :25:04.lot of traffic, how much time? are currently P2 in the time sheets.
:25:04. > :25:09.Less than half the 10th of the fastest. Asking how much time left
:25:09. > :25:12.in the session. He feels he has not delivered his best lap time on the
:25:12. > :25:17.harder tyres the top but it doesn't matter at the moment as though you
:25:17. > :25:23.have to do is get through to the next round of qualifying. Somebody
:25:23. > :25:27.who is not at the moment is Felipe Massa in the zone that would see
:25:27. > :25:31.him not through to the second round of qualifying. He is in 19th place
:25:31. > :25:36.at the moment and that is a big worry for Ferrari. They will surely
:25:36. > :25:38.have to send him out on a soft tyre. A unquestionably. If they don't
:25:38. > :25:44.they are either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid, and I don't
:25:44. > :25:49.think they are stupid! Hamilton being pushed back in. He is still
:25:49. > :25:56.in second place. Rosberg is top man at the moment. Vettel, the eight
:25:56. > :26:01.fastest. Mark Webber is 10th. It doesn't look like the sort of
:26:01. > :26:05.dominant form that gave Red Bull 18 pole positions out of 19 races last
:26:05. > :26:14.year. Let's find out for sure and watch Mark Webber as he comes on to
:26:14. > :26:18.a lap. Using every inch of the road that he possibly can. He moves up
:26:18. > :26:23.to sixth quickest. But it is not like he is challenging the top
:26:23. > :26:28.times. He is on a harder tyre, but so is Hamilton. What we don't know
:26:28. > :26:32.at this stage, these top teams should comfortably go through the
:26:32. > :26:38.first part of qualifying, they are restricted with the number of
:26:38. > :26:41.engines they have. You can't run the engine at maximum mode at every
:26:41. > :26:45.point during the Grand Prix. They may well have a little bit in
:26:45. > :26:51.reserve and the same will apply for Mercedes and all of the top teams.
:26:51. > :26:55.One thing that is quite clear, if I was Massa in 19th place, I would be
:26:55. > :26:58.putting on the faster option tyre and I would call for maximum engine
:26:58. > :27:01.note because you don't want to start your season dropping out of
:27:01. > :27:07.the first part of qualifying. have not seen much of the Force
:27:07. > :27:12.Indias yet. De la Rosa has not set a time as such. Hulkenberg out on
:27:12. > :27:19.track as well. We have won second covering the top 12 at the moment.
:27:19. > :27:29.That is good and competitive. At the moment it is Rosberg, Hamilton,
:27:29. > :27:34.Button, Kobayashi, Schumacher, Webber, Senna, Alonso, Vettel,
:27:34. > :27:39.Maldonado. Just a back-up power competitive that is, last year in
:27:39. > :27:42.qualifying the fourth place man, Button, was 1.2 seconds behind pole
:27:43. > :27:46.position. You have the second covering the top 12 and that is a
:27:46. > :27:51.good indication that things have tightened up. Looking at the bottom
:27:51. > :27:59.end of the list, the seven cars that might not make it. Kovalainen,
:27:59. > :28:07.massive, Petrov, Glock, Charles Pic, de la Rosa and Carter came. --
:28:07. > :28:11.Karthikeyan. They may not get a race at all. Riding on board with
:28:11. > :28:17.Paul di Resta in the Force India. Currently 17th quickest. What is he
:28:17. > :28:22.up to? He is building his lap. He has got through the first part of
:28:22. > :28:26.the lap. Turn five should be absolutely flat. This is a really
:28:26. > :28:32.tricky corner as he drops down under the trees. He loses
:28:32. > :28:39.visibility slightly. And then a long run through Turner eight.
:28:39. > :28:42.is on the yellow tyre. On the softer tyre he has done a
:28:42. > :28:46.reasonable first sector, but you would expect him to be right there
:28:46. > :28:50.now. It is an indication that Force India are struggling. They showed
:28:50. > :28:55.reasonable pace in the damp, but the dry running we have seen, they
:28:55. > :28:59.seem to have dropped back. Felipe Massa has taken the sensible option
:28:59. > :29:06.and gone out on the yellow tie us. Ferrari are using up a set of those
:29:06. > :29:12.faster tyres to make sure he can get through. He made his debut in
:29:12. > :29:17.F1 here last year and ended up getting a point out of it. A great
:29:17. > :29:22.debut for Paul di Resta. He went a bit sideways through the final turn.
:29:22. > :29:26.Let's see whether he can move up the order. He does, up to 11th
:29:26. > :29:29.place. That gets him safely through to the second part of qualifying,
:29:29. > :29:34.but we still have a couple of minutes to go and things will
:29:34. > :29:40.change. He has some quick cars behind him. I'm not sure if that
:29:40. > :29:46.means he is completely safe. Just over two minutes left of this
:29:46. > :29:56.qualifying session. Currently we have Massa and Kovalainen as the
:29:56. > :30:13.
:30:13. > :30:21.but has moved himself up to 6th. It was a good lap by the young
:30:21. > :30:31.Australian. You are riding with him now. You can see his lap of Delta,
:30:31. > :30:38.
:30:38. > :30:47.the digits on the right Tyneside. He is an one-tenth slower. I was
:30:47. > :30:54.trying to pick up on Massa earlier. He has done a green sector. It is
:30:54. > :31:04.Vergne who has gone suck -- faster. The young Frenchman making his
:31:04. > :31:08.
:31:08. > :31:17.debut. Surely he has got to get the Ferrari into Q2. You can see how
:31:17. > :31:27.hard he is trying. Looking to move out of the bottom seven. He looks
:31:27. > :31:44.
:31:45. > :31:51.as though the two HRT cars are not with about 15 seconds to go, so he
:31:51. > :31:55.has another lap. But he will have to go past the HRT, Michael
:31:55. > :32:01.Schumacher or did successfully do that. Kimi Raikkonen has mistimed
:32:01. > :32:05.it. It looked as though he was getting ready for a laugh but he
:32:05. > :32:12.had a chequered flag and he won't get through to the second part of
:32:12. > :32:19.qualifying and he is out. On the harbour Towers, he went wide in the
:32:19. > :32:24.chicane. Through the fastest corner on the track, he got a wide and he
:32:24. > :32:29.is out in his first qualifying session. Let's see what Romain
:32:29. > :32:36.Grosjean does, his team-mate. He is 14th, trying to improve that to
:32:36. > :32:45.make himself safer. Third-fastest a Romain Grosjean. What an effort
:32:45. > :32:54.from the young Frenchman. Di Resta is still not that safe. Petrov,
:32:54. > :33:01.trying to get through. Kovalainen is trying to pull something special
:33:01. > :33:06.out of the bag. Really trying hard. This guy finished third in
:33:06. > :33:09.Melbourne last year when he was driving four Lotus Renault.
:33:09. > :33:12.Although this team have made some good strides over the winter I
:33:13. > :33:20.think it will be asking too much for him to get into the next part
:33:20. > :33:30.of qualifying. A lot of oversteer in the car in the last part of the
:33:30. > :33:30.
:33:30. > :33:40.lap. You can imagine how depressing it is when you know it is
:33:40. > :33:45.
:33:45. > :33:53.qualifying Andy no unique to qualify. The first big-name is
:33:53. > :33:58.Michael Schumacher in 4th place. Behind him, Sergio Perez. It is a
:33:58. > :34:08.topsy-turvy qualifying sessions. So it means the next two part of
:34:08. > :34:11.
:34:11. > :34:17.qualifying will be fantastic. But Kimi Raikkonen is out. Both HRT
:34:17. > :34:23.cards have not made it. They are outside the 107% qualifying rules
:34:23. > :34:27.so they may not be allowed to raise. Three unusual names topping the
:34:27. > :34:33.time sheets. And if you would Champions getting involved. One of
:34:33. > :34:40.them is Kimi Raikkonen. Can I ask you, your thoughts are back in
:34:41. > :34:48.Formula One? The what do I think? It has been quite a mess this whole
:34:48. > :34:53.week. I ran wide in one of the corners. I didn't have time to do
:34:53. > :34:59.another lap. If we look at the positives, at least the car showed
:34:59. > :35:03.some decent pace for your team mate, so you know something is there.
:35:03. > :35:09.desperately keen to talk at the moment and moderate team to Formula
:35:09. > :35:14.One he was looking for. Who will make it into the top 10 shoot-outs?
:35:14. > :35:21.Back to our commentators. The second qualifying session gets
:35:21. > :35:27.under way. Bull in the Force India is soon out on to the circuit.
:35:27. > :35:32.were hearing from Gary, down in the pit lane some other drivers have
:35:32. > :35:35.gone out on used option tyres to explore the circuit will stop
:35:35. > :35:45.Sebastian Vettel, had a brand new set. And they are all getting on
:35:45. > :35:49.with it. This track is evolving. They are not wasting any time. Not
:35:49. > :35:54.like some of the sessions a where they sit in the garage waiting for
:35:54. > :36:04.someone to put down a marker. the track is getting quicker. It is
:36:04. > :36:09.
:36:09. > :36:14.changing and they have to keep up with that as we watch Bruno Senna.
:36:14. > :36:18.All on used options. These tyres are hanging in there and giving
:36:18. > :36:25.them some performance to go out and get themselves buried into the
:36:25. > :36:34.circuit. What options are we talking about? The softer of the
:36:34. > :36:39.tyres. We were told earlier, that Lewis Hamilton was tipped up for
:36:39. > :36:45.pole position. Whether there is some inside information. At the
:36:46. > :36:55.moment that we are in Q2. It all gets trickier now. Massa was in the
:36:56. > :37:00.
:37:00. > :37:05.drop zone. 11 and 12, very fast corners. Di Resta giving hit cities
:37:05. > :37:12.all. Looking to establish himself in Formula One after an excellent
:37:12. > :37:19.debut season last year. But he does have some tough competition in that
:37:19. > :37:23.camp with that Niko Hulkenberg in the team. Great rivals or within
:37:23. > :37:32.the force India team as di Resta heads out of the final corner and
:37:33. > :37:38.ready to cross the line. He has set the pace at 1:27, and Force India
:37:38. > :37:44.look as though they have a bit of work to do. Sebastian Vettel
:37:44. > :37:49.looking quick. Let's see what Bruno Senna did a moment ago. Just went
:37:49. > :37:57.too deep. A good recovery, though. That is where we saw Michael
:37:57. > :38:01.Schumacher at the beginning of the session go into the gravel. Noel
:38:01. > :38:11.ABSA on these cars say you have to get the wheel spinning again to
:38:11. > :38:12.
:38:12. > :38:15.gain as much traction. I doubt he will have damaged the tyre. -- AGS.
:38:15. > :38:21.It in looks like the double world champion is strong in the second
:38:21. > :38:30.part of qualifying. Let's look at the Red Bull. This will be fast by
:38:30. > :38:40.Sebastian Vettel. He does 1:25 points up 98 to. He is getting
:38:40. > :38:43.
:38:43. > :38:50.quicker. Hamilton on the soft tyre as well. In to a tricky part of a
:38:50. > :38:58.lap. Alonso in the gravel. He is out. It is not the first time we
:38:58. > :39:01.have seen at Ferrari in the gravel. So, drama indeed. Alonso is third-
:39:01. > :39:07.fastest at the moment but we will see a lot of improvements before
:39:07. > :39:15.the end of this session. Let's see the lap time for Lewis Hamilton. He
:39:15. > :39:24.goes quicker than Sebastian Vettel. The gap between them is the three
:39:24. > :39:34.tenths of a second. Alonso has gone a long way into the gravel. The
:39:34. > :39:41.
:39:41. > :39:45.Ferrari seems unstable at the rear. Running down to turn one, we had
:39:45. > :39:49.Massa into the gravel on previous sessions and there is something
:39:50. > :39:55.fundamental with that car. In McLaren we had a car that could not
:39:55. > :40:00.raise. It felt as she turned into the corner it drifted slightly. It
:40:00. > :40:07.did not give you confidence because you did not feel on top of the car.
:40:07. > :40:11.One of the questions is about the other Ferrari, can Felipe Massa or
:40:11. > :40:16.pull something out of the bag? He is on softer tyres. He is quickly
:40:16. > :40:22.on to the circuit as Ferrari try and work out what they need to do
:40:22. > :40:28.to make this cargo fast. As he came out of the first term, he spun the
:40:28. > :40:34.tyres. Then he was weaving into the braking zone. Having issues getting
:40:34. > :40:39.the tyres to switch on. Let us watch him on the rest of the slack.
:40:39. > :40:44.He is weaving around. If you contrast that to the lap of Bruno
:40:44. > :40:52.Senna earlier in the Williams he was coasting round, have Ferrari
:40:52. > :40:57.got issues getting heat in the Tower's -- tyres. Massa does not
:40:57. > :41:07.seem to have much luck in Melbourne. He's never qualified better than
:41:07. > :41:08.
:41:08. > :41:14.force. Have one podium finish. RADIO: at work it on the front like
:41:14. > :41:20.you did last time. What is that about? It is easy to get your rear
:41:20. > :41:30.tyres up to temperature. You can spin them up and put a lot of heat
:41:30. > :41:30.
:41:30. > :41:35.into the surface. Front tyres you rely on the actual load. You are
:41:35. > :41:43.relying on heat in the breaks which radiates into the wheel and puts
:41:43. > :41:50.heat into the tyre and it brings and the pressure up. We will see if
:41:50. > :41:56.it works for Felipe Massa. He is getting those tyres up to
:41:56. > :42:03.temperature. He is on his flying lap now. Let's keep an eye on the
:42:03. > :42:10.split times as well. It is so hard to get the car to track through the
:42:10. > :42:20.corner neatly. Going up towards the first checkpoint. Personal best but
:42:20. > :42:36.
:42:36. > :42:42.he his six tenths of a second a quickly behind Felipe Massa, who
:42:42. > :42:49.runs out a wide. Flat out through the next section and heavy breaking
:42:49. > :42:55.into turn 13. The other Mercedes of Rosberg also won a good laugh.
:42:55. > :43:00.While Ferrari are struggling, Mercedes looked in good form?
:43:00. > :43:05.of the talking point about Mercedes is the ingenious device to help
:43:05. > :43:11.stall the front and rear wing beyond the use of the DRS, which
:43:11. > :43:17.enable them to shed off more drag along the straight. It allows them
:43:17. > :43:27.to run more downforce. Rosberg goes fastest and it is working. Michael
:43:27. > :43:32.
:43:32. > :43:35.Schumacher, big oversteer. Will he go faster than his team-mate? CROWD
:43:35. > :43:42.GROANS in the Lotus, the French driver who drove for Renault
:43:42. > :43:48.alongside Alonso a few years ago. Wonder GP to Championship when he
:43:48. > :43:55.went back. Won it last year in good style and has been given another
:43:55. > :43:59.chance in Formula One by Lotus. The team that was formerly rhino.
:43:59. > :44:04.Changing of names going on this year. He went a very wide on to the
:44:04. > :44:10.artificial grass. It could potentially do some damage Act to
:44:10. > :44:14.the carbon bodywork of the car. Grosjean has been given this second
:44:14. > :44:20.chance after the management company he has are involved with the owners
:44:20. > :44:27.of Lotus. He is ideally positioned. But he deserved it having won the
:44:27. > :44:33.GP two Championship. But his more experienced team mate, is not out
:44:33. > :44:42.there setting the pace for the team, he is. In the drop zone at the
:44:42. > :44:48.moment and we have several. Let's see what Mark Webber has done.
:44:48. > :44:51.obviously realises he was carrying too much speed and got out in the
:44:51. > :44:59.dust and the marbles and then making sure you do the least amount
:44:59. > :45:07.of damage to the car trying to get it back on to the artificial grass.
:45:07. > :45:16.It was Massa who started with the artificial grass. They will be some
:45:16. > :45:25.track repairs done after this session. In the drop zone we have
:45:25. > :45:31.Bruno Senna and also Maldonado. And also Jean-Eric Vergne who was quick
:45:31. > :45:36.in first qualifying. We are looking at Daniel Ricardo, he is currently
:45:37. > :45:41.9th fastest. Who will be in the top 10? It is the top 10 shoot-out to
:45:41. > :45:49.get into the final part of qualifying. Top 10 or you are out.
:45:49. > :45:54.At the moment this is Ricciardo, just inside it, but knowing other
:45:54. > :45:58.cars behind are likely to improve. He has got to improve himself. His
:45:58. > :46:06.time is not looking it is going to be any better as he crosses the
:46:06. > :46:16.line. He stays 9th and that is danger territorial. But his first
:46:16. > :46:24.
:46:24. > :46:31.out sewing with Toro Rosso, it is a two I would expect to go through.
:46:31. > :46:41.Mark Webber is on a lap. He is currently seven fastest. At the
:46:41. > :46:49.
:46:49. > :46:54.any change for Webber... No change. He stays in seventh place, just
:46:54. > :47:01.over a minute to go. While he has been doing this lap, Maldonado has
:47:01. > :47:06.gone purple in the first sector. I was giving it large for Sauber
:47:06. > :47:09.thinking they might go through, but if he can complete the rest of this
:47:09. > :47:13.flat, Williams Renault might have a shot of making the top 10. What a
:47:13. > :47:20.turnaround that is from last year, and miserable season last year for
:47:20. > :47:27.Williams. But he has gone too deep. Now he just has the final corner to
:47:27. > :47:32.deal with. Scrappy on the last bit of the lap. He is up to seventh
:47:32. > :47:37.place! Wow! Williams are on a comeback. Great news for them.
:47:37. > :47:44.Renault engine power this year as well. Grosjean is in fifth place.
:47:44. > :47:50.Two Mercedes at the top of the pile. It is the Saubers we have to watch.
:47:50. > :47:56.We are on board with Kobayashi. A moment in the middle of the high-
:47:56. > :48:02.speed chicane, but kept it tidy on the exit. Only six were be aware --
:48:02. > :48:06.only six hundredths away from what he needs to get into the top 10.
:48:06. > :48:11.Jean-Eric Vergne is also on a lap and going pretty well. A fantastic
:48:11. > :48:16.battle to get into the top 10. This is what we expected. We knew the
:48:16. > :48:24.midfield would be tight. Massa is still not going to make it in the
:48:24. > :48:29.Ferrari at the moment and he is in the pits. It is not quite there.
:48:29. > :48:38.Kobayashi doesn't do it. Jean-Eric Vergne is the 11th. He just misses
:48:38. > :48:42.out. What about Paul di Resta? No. No change. He is in 15th plays.
:48:42. > :48:47.Daniel Ricciardo has made it through in the Toro Rosso, but
:48:47. > :48:52.Ferrari have failed to get either cart into the top 10. We knew they
:48:52. > :48:58.were in trouble, but that is still a startling result.
:48:58. > :49:04.No Ferrari in the top 10. Behind me, a rather despondent looking Paul di
:49:04. > :49:09.Resta. First time we have spoken this season, I wish it was in
:49:09. > :49:15.happier circumstances. 15th on the grid, why is that? Disappointing.
:49:15. > :49:19.I've not had the easiest day, an issue this morning. Our out-lap was
:49:19. > :49:26.compromised a bit by traffic and we didn't get the tyres within working
:49:26. > :49:30.range. It looked like the car was reasonably strong. Nico is up there.
:49:30. > :49:34.Unfortunately not got the best out of it. But the long run this
:49:34. > :49:39.morning seemed positive. For the rest are not into the final part of
:49:39. > :49:42.qualifying, same goes for the Ferraris. We will get the final
:49:42. > :49:48.confirmation on how the power grid lines up after the final part of
:49:48. > :49:53.qualifying. Q3 gets under way and we are in for
:49:53. > :49:57.an absolutely tremendous battle. We have got Red Bull against McLaren
:49:58. > :50:02.against Mercedes, definitely. Perhaps even Lotus with Grosjean,
:50:02. > :50:07.who has been putting in some stunning Times, especially
:50:07. > :50:12.considering his lack of experience at the album part circuit. Grosjean
:50:12. > :50:19.could be one to watch. First car out on the circuit in the circuit -
:50:19. > :50:26.- third segment of qualifying is Nico Rosberg. Get a double boost
:50:26. > :50:30.from the KERS. DRS right now. He gets a reset of the KERS that
:50:30. > :50:35.allows him to have 6.7 seconds available during this qualifying
:50:35. > :50:42.lap. That looked pretty good. He ran the edge of the kerb. He is
:50:42. > :50:46.committed. That is what the battle is all about. Starting up front for
:50:46. > :50:52.the Australian Grand Prix. Can Rosberg keep the smoothness he
:50:52. > :50:55.needs and the speed? His dad was the winner of the first ever
:50:55. > :51:00.Australian Grand Prix -- World Championship Grand Prix in Adelaide
:51:00. > :51:04.in 1995. Can we go back that up with a pole position, his first
:51:04. > :51:10.ever pole position? We still have to see what the likes of Vettel can
:51:10. > :51:20.do, Hamilton and Button are on the pace. I think he is looking mighty.
:51:20. > :51:32.
:51:32. > :51:39.and tidy. We will get an update on the rest of the lap as he goes into
:51:40. > :51:43.the last part. Let's see whether he figures... Very wide! He would have
:51:43. > :51:50.had to lifted out of it. They are on old tyres at this stage so
:51:50. > :52:00.there's more performance to come. I would expect a new set of tyres and
:52:00. > :52:12.
:52:12. > :52:18.then deliver the back -- the black. is a very fast lap indeed. Now
:52:18. > :52:27.Button goes second fastest. What can Schumacher do? He splits the
:52:27. > :52:30.McLarens. Vettel on a lap as well. He is into the final sector. Having
:52:30. > :52:35.to work the steering a little bit more than you might have expected.
:52:35. > :52:41.Grosjean has just come around in fourth place. This will not put
:52:42. > :52:47.Vettel fastest. If second! He is some little way off what Hamilton
:52:47. > :52:53.has done. Seven-tenths of a second slower than Lewis Hamilton. Out
:52:53. > :52:59.comes Mark Webber on news of tyres. There's one thing we can say. It
:52:59. > :53:05.was a hustling lap. It was a pretty tidy lap. That makes Hamilton's lap
:53:05. > :53:09.incredible. Seven-tenths quicker. Remarkable. Looking very, very good.
:53:09. > :53:14.Firsts sector for Hamilton was particularly strong. Mercedes
:53:14. > :53:17.looking to see whether they can really challenge for pole position.
:53:17. > :53:27.Schumacher it is currently third quickest of Bob Hamilton is fastest
:53:27. > :53:33.
:53:33. > :53:39.already, will we see him shoot back He has been on pole position before
:53:39. > :53:43.here, in 2008. He qualified fourth on his debut at this circuit in
:53:43. > :53:51.2007 and he was the only man to beat Red Bull in qualifying last
:53:51. > :53:56.here at all, in Korea. Can he do it again? They have got to stun the
:53:56. > :54:00.four minutes to find out. Interesting strategy from Webber.
:54:00. > :54:05.He is out of sequence. If he is going to do another run, he will
:54:05. > :54:11.have to do a quick turnaround. Jenson Button, likewise. Mark
:54:11. > :54:20.Webber looks like he is going to use up the remaining part of this
:54:20. > :54:23.session. That's right. Webber may only get one run, perhaps. The
:54:23. > :54:30.yellow stripe on those tyres, all of the teams will be using those
:54:30. > :54:40.tyres now, they are the softer tyres giving more performance.
:54:40. > :54:40.
:54:40. > :54:45.Let's watch the braking. So crucial. Wiping off 85 mph in a second. He
:54:45. > :54:51.did it pretty well. Beautiful opener to the lap. You can almost
:54:51. > :54:56.sense the crowd willing on Mark Webber. His best result his fifth
:54:56. > :55:01.place around Albert Park. He has gone early. He has got a beautiful
:55:02. > :55:11.clean piece of racetrack. Only me - - only one other car, Ricky Ardo,
:55:12. > :55:14.
:55:14. > :55:24.on the track. -- Ricciardo. He has never done better than fifth place
:55:24. > :55:29.
:55:29. > :55:36.not going to be a pole position challenge in-lap from Mark Webber.
:55:36. > :55:40.There's no way he can make up half a second. But Hamilton does have a
:55:40. > :55:49.seven-tenths advantage over everybody else. But Mark could
:55:49. > :55:54.still go second quickest. Into the final corner... That was good. He
:55:54. > :55:59.has got quite a long drag down to the line to see this where this
:55:59. > :56:04.puts him. Second! He might not be as quick as Hamilton, but he has
:56:04. > :56:09.gone quicker than everybody else so far. That endorse is how strong
:56:09. > :56:13.that lap was from Lewis Hamilton. - - endorses. Considerably quicker
:56:13. > :56:18.than what we have seen from Button at this stage. Only a minute and a
:56:19. > :56:24.half left. All of the cars are on track. Mark Webber retiring to the
:56:24. > :56:29.pits. He won't have time to come back out. That's his run over for
:56:29. > :56:33.this part of the weekend. Everybody else trying to time it. They are on
:56:33. > :56:37.pretty much the same part of the lap. They want to be last across
:56:38. > :56:44.the line before the chequered flag comes out. The way the track
:56:44. > :56:49.evolves, the quickest this circuit will be will be on the last circuit.
:56:49. > :56:54.You want as many cars as possible running in front of you. Hamilton
:56:54. > :57:00.building his lap. Coming down 3D is in the high-speed chicane. That
:57:00. > :57:08.will not be the case when he opens his race properly. He much have so
:57:08. > :57:12.much confidence in the car at the moment. Time to find is in the
:57:12. > :57:17.middle sector. Your fastest in the first and last sector, a little bit
:57:17. > :57:20.of time to find in the middle sector. That is what I love about
:57:20. > :57:27.Formula One. You on provisional pole position and you can still
:57:27. > :57:34.find more. Rosberg is now pushing very hard indeed in the other
:57:34. > :57:37.Mercedes. But he locked the right front! Just about got away with it.
:57:37. > :57:42.I thought he would have done some damage to the tyre, but it looks
:57:42. > :57:46.like he got away with it. Vettel just get across the line with nine
:57:46. > :57:51.seconds to go. His timing was absolutely perfect. Look at the
:57:51. > :57:55.speed of that Mercedes through turn six. His sector it are not good
:57:55. > :57:59.enough although it Michael Schumacher is closer to Hamilton's
:57:59. > :58:03.time in the first sector than Rosberg. Button has gone purple in
:58:03. > :58:08.the first sector. A big response from Jenson Button in the other
:58:08. > :58:16.McLaren. Hamilton will be challenged. He has literally gone
:58:16. > :58:26.purple. The time comes up as purple on our screen. This looks like
:58:26. > :58:29.
:58:29. > :58:34.Lewis Hamilton has lost the Michael Schumacher. The middle
:58:34. > :58:41.sector was not so good. He did a really good first sector. Pretty
:58:41. > :58:46.good. I'm not sure it will be enough. The battle between Rosberg
:58:46. > :58:51.and Michael Schumacher is intriguing. He goes second! Rosberg
:58:51. > :58:57.out-qualified him most times last year. Grosjean goes second! Button
:58:57. > :59:03.now goes second. It keeps changing. Hamilton still on top. Button
:59:03. > :59:09.second and grows on third. Hamilton has come in. What will Vettel do?
:59:09. > :59:13.Across the line he goes and he stays in sixth place. It looks like
:59:13. > :59:18.Lewis Hamilton has taken pole position for the first race of the
:59:18. > :59:25.season. His second pole position at Melbourne, the 5th McLaren pole
:59:25. > :59:29.position at Melbourne, their 10th in Australia. A 20th career pole
:59:29. > :59:33.position baptise Lewis Hamilton with Alonso. All McLaren front row
:59:33. > :59:39.as well. That hasn't happened for a good few years. Thoroughly
:59:39. > :59:45.impressive performers. You had a few with a Mika Hakkinen in your
:59:45. > :59:52.time. I think we have to go back to 1999. That was an incredible
:59:52. > :59:58.performance from Lewis Hamilton. Jenson Button... Just under a tenth
:59:58. > :00:02.behind him. The two McLaren boys pretty evenly matched. Ron Dennis
:00:02. > :00:09.with a satisfied look on his face. This is the sort of start McLaren
:00:09. > :00:13.needed. Thank you, guys. I lost a tenth at the end of the back
:00:13. > :00:23.straight into the corner. Good job by everyone, great to be on the
:00:23. > :00:31.
:00:31. > :00:37.front right. Let's take a look at But what a great start from the
:00:37. > :00:47.Frenchman, Romain Grosjean, driving for Lotus who has qualified third.
:00:47. > :01:09.
:01:09. > :01:13.What a performance. Red Bull are on just about perfect.
:01:13. > :01:20.What a first qualifying session. I would be surprised if you have any
:01:20. > :01:27.energy left? It was incredible. Six different teams represented in the
:01:27. > :01:32.Top Ten final shoot-out. What an impressive drive from both the
:01:32. > :01:38.McLaren drivers. What a way to start the season for both yourself
:01:38. > :01:43.and the team? An incredible job by the team. Not only did they built
:01:43. > :01:48.the best-looking car, but also the fastest car so far. It is just
:01:48. > :01:57.perfect. The lap was beautiful, flowing and the tyres worked
:01:57. > :02:00.perfectly. It felt incredible. have had a good winter and it is
:02:00. > :02:05.the first time for three years since I had been with the team. It
:02:05. > :02:09.shows what a difference it can make. If you know where you are over the
:02:09. > :02:13.winter and your reliability is good, you can work on the car and improve
:02:13. > :02:19.it and get it into a good position for the first race. It is very
:02:19. > :02:26.special for the team. Two happy drivers and a happy team. McLaren
:02:26. > :02:31.starting in fine style. You know what to do is like to be on pole
:02:31. > :02:36.position, what is your reaction? Opening a lap, gives you so much
:02:36. > :02:46.confident. He was as sweet as you like. Then the first big challenge
:02:46. > :02:47.
:02:47. > :02:54.is spotting your breaking point. Fantastic with traction. Absolutely
:02:54. > :02:58.flat as they shift up. Impressive. Down underneath the trees which
:02:58. > :03:03.affects his side to a little bit. Then the next big challenge in the
:03:03. > :03:08.lap, and this is where he was losing time is in his middle sector.
:03:08. > :03:15.A bit of a bump into the chicane. This high-speed chicane catching
:03:15. > :03:21.out a lot of drivers today? It has been, not only it is the fastest
:03:21. > :03:26.left, you back it up with a mighty right. By this point he would have
:03:26. > :03:33.seen he was up on his previous best lap. His confident would have been
:03:33. > :03:42.growing. He was the first one to go out and put in the big black in
:03:42. > :03:50.qualifying. -- lap. Not too much a wheel spin and nice and tight in
:03:50. > :03:56.the apex. Beautiful piece of driving. This is Felipe Massa. How
:03:56. > :04:02.hard to drive does this look to you? It does not create any
:04:02. > :04:08.confidence in the rear end for the drivers. Mrs the apex, it has no
:04:08. > :04:13.traction. This car is not just struggling aerodynamically, it is
:04:13. > :04:20.struggling mechanically to book the rubber on the road. Let's hear from
:04:20. > :04:25.Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa. Fernando, tell us what happened?
:04:25. > :04:30.think I touched the grass. I have seen the replay. I did spin, so
:04:30. > :04:37.there is the gravel and you stop and filling -- finish your
:04:37. > :04:42.qualifying. At the moment we are not quick enough and we need to
:04:42. > :04:51.change the situation quickly. If we want to win the Championship at the
:04:51. > :04:58.end. Can you tell us how difficult the car is to drive because it look
:04:58. > :05:04.tricky at times? I was fighting a lot against the car. To put a lap
:05:04. > :05:08.together is very difficult. Always fighting to find good balance.
:05:08. > :05:12.evidence this car is better over long runs? We hope.
:05:12. > :05:17.I bet they do. They said they are working for next week and knock
:05:17. > :05:22.this week, so it is clear how he is feeling? Massive disappointment.
:05:22. > :05:28.One thing to know you have issues, but come and get the reality of
:05:28. > :05:32.what a mountain they have to climb. Both drivers were very frank. Massa
:05:32. > :05:38.will be more disappointed there is still a gap between him and Alonso.
:05:38. > :05:42.What about Red Bull, how much head- scratching? Ferrari won't be happy,
:05:42. > :05:47.but Red Bull being 5th and 6th there will be despondent because
:05:47. > :05:51.they have been used to picking a pole position? It was inevitable
:05:51. > :05:56.this incredible rise they have had in Formula One, the bubble would
:05:56. > :06:01.burst at a certain point. People like McLaren, as ladies and these
:06:01. > :06:05.teams they have winning DNA, they have been doing it for generations.
:06:05. > :06:10.This will be a big debrief for Red Bull, they put in lots of hours
:06:10. > :06:15.when they were winning, but they will be putting in more hours in
:06:15. > :06:19.the first part of qualifying. But there is a gap in performance
:06:19. > :06:23.between their car and McLaren's. We need to know how both the driver's
:06:23. > :06:28.field. We can now listen to Mark Webber.
:06:28. > :06:33.Tell us how you are feeling it is not the qualifying you used to from
:06:33. > :06:43.Red Bull? That is right, we knew there were some quick guys out
:06:43. > :06:48.there particularly from McLaren. It is Formula One. I did not have KERS.
:06:48. > :06:53.The pace at the front it was not overly surprising, when I saw Lewis
:06:53. > :06:57.Hamilton laying down that time. will be a different view for you
:06:57. > :07:04.starting from six, last year you are starting further up. Does it
:07:04. > :07:09.change your approach to things? really. I never allowed myself to
:07:09. > :07:12.get used to starting at the front. It was always something special.
:07:13. > :07:17.Now we are not starting at the front. We are not starting at the
:07:18. > :07:23.back either so it is not disastrous. I am looking forward to the race.
:07:23. > :07:27.Hoping to get past a couple of people. Won't it be interesting
:07:27. > :07:32.seeing Sebastian Vettel battled back from a couple of places on the
:07:32. > :07:40.grid and already lacking a bit of pace and reliability issues as
:07:40. > :07:49.well? Also KERS raising its ugly head? People were asking is he a
:07:49. > :07:52.racer? Now we will find out. Both the drivers' looked as though they
:07:53. > :07:57.felt it reasonably happy with their overall performance and not
:07:57. > :08:03.surprise McLaren was so strong. Mark Webber had no KERS, which
:08:03. > :08:09.seems to be an ongoing issue for Red Bull. That would have cost him
:08:10. > :08:13.about three tenths of a second. In terms of upgrades it is achievable.
:08:13. > :08:17.What do you think Michael Schumacher's lips will be doing? He
:08:17. > :08:24.will be stocking on the second row of the grid.
:08:24. > :08:29.Michael, 4th place, you must be happy with that? Indeed, yes. It
:08:29. > :08:36.has been pretty pleasant all weekend. The car handled very well.
:08:36. > :08:42.As predicted. We are grateful we did a reasonable job because the
:08:42. > :08:45.guys they did tremendous work in the factory. It was a big push and
:08:45. > :08:51.definitely we have gone forward. It is what we wanted to achieve and so
:08:51. > :08:55.far we have. I am sure down the road they are happy at Lotus
:08:55. > :09:00.because Romain Grosjean, third on the grid for the Grand Prix. The
:09:00. > :09:05.second row of the grid, you cannot wipe the smile from your face?
:09:05. > :09:09.Everybody in the factory is working very hard. The atmosphere is
:09:09. > :09:14.fantastic and I am very proud to be here. It is a great day. Tomorrow
:09:14. > :09:20.will be a more fantastic day as well. Level with us, we knew the
:09:20. > :09:28.car was quick, did you think it was that quick? I knew it was quick. I
:09:28. > :09:33.knew it I would have to do my best to get the best out of it. When I
:09:33. > :09:43.saw my last lap, it was pretty good and the team said it will be
:09:43. > :09:49.interesting. Will you be passed to Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button
:09:50. > :09:56.before the first turn or turn number three? To do it at the first
:09:56. > :10:00.term would be fantastic and a fantastic way to start the race. I
:10:00. > :10:05.will get the best out of everything I can. We are delighted for you.
:10:05. > :10:10.I'm sure there will be champagne at Lotus, but not too much because you
:10:10. > :10:15.have a lot of work to do tomorrow. Well he hangs out with his team, we
:10:15. > :10:21.can look at how the great shapes up. It makes happy reading to the man
:10:21. > :10:31.to my left. It is the first front row rock out for McLaren since the
:10:31. > :10:31.
:10:31. > :11:46.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 75 seconds
:11:46. > :11:50.is a big day for him. He had a few races before for the team, took
:11:50. > :11:56.time out. A bit like Kimi Raikkonen, took some time out and came back.
:11:56. > :12:00.But it has worked and for him. question is, how do you get to the
:12:00. > :12:05.grand prix finish faster than any car around two? Gary can talk us
:12:05. > :12:10.through it. What is the perfect plan? Strategy will be difficult.
:12:10. > :12:17.We have had a lot of rain and it washes over the rubble of the track.
:12:17. > :12:27.It will be halfway through the race before it gets OK for the tyres. In
:12:27. > :12:29.
:12:29. > :12:37.my summation of we are looking at a three-star race been the best. --
:12:37. > :12:41.three stop race. In 2011 it was won by a two stop strategy. But it
:12:41. > :12:45.means the tyres are better than last year. Although lap times and
:12:45. > :12:50.not as good, tyres are more durable and that means the race time will
:12:50. > :12:59.be better. Make sure you join us for the
:12:59. > :13:04.action tomorrow. That's not all from Formula One on the BBC Today.
:13:04. > :13:10.We return tomorrow. Extended highlights of the first race of
:13:10. > :13:12.2012. The Australian Grand Prix at 2pm on BBC One.
:13:13. > :13:17.Smiles from Romain Grosjean, Michael Schumacher will be happy,