:01:03. > :01:08.Good afternoon and welcome to another chance to see qualifying
:01:08. > :01:13.for tomorrow's Chinese Grand Prix from here in Shanghai in this fast
:01:13. > :01:18.paddock. We got used to last year, the same old man generally on pole
:01:18. > :01:28.position at at the end of the race he tended to raise his finger in
:01:28. > :01:32.
:01:32. > :01:41.celebration. What a difference a year makes. So goes the beat of
:01:41. > :01:51.success, a predictable riddle, near impossible to break, pole position,
:01:51. > :01:57.race to win. He has got a good start. Now that rhythm has broken.
:01:57. > :02:06.They are stuck together. Batten wins in Australia. It is pouring
:02:06. > :02:10.down now. Emergency, stop the car. Fernando Alonso takes the victory.
:02:10. > :02:15.In the second plays his Sergio Perez. What a turnaround. The only
:02:15. > :02:21.Formula One fan not enjoying the champion at the moment is the world
:02:21. > :02:26.champion himself. At the moment he is not even the lead driver. This
:02:26. > :02:31.is how it stands after a spectacular season so far. Fernando
:02:31. > :02:38.Alonso dragged the car around the track in Malaysia in the rain. That
:02:39. > :02:48.put him top of the standings. Lewis Hamilton has not yet won a race. He
:02:49. > :03:05.
:03:05. > :03:09.says he is targeting consistency Let's see if Eddie Jordan can shed
:03:09. > :03:16.any light on those standings. We have Ferrari struggling one week
:03:16. > :03:21.and winning the next. Sergio Perez comes out of nowhere, and Sebastian
:03:21. > :03:27.Vettel is not in the battle. What is going on? It is hugely intense
:03:27. > :03:32.because no one knows what is going to settle down. It seems McLaren
:03:32. > :03:38.have a particularly good car, so watch out for them. How do we go
:03:38. > :03:45.from a metronomic 2011 to a season that is totally unpredictable?
:03:45. > :03:53.is to our favour. Sebastian Vettel has not done poorly. He has had a
:03:53. > :03:57.few spats. These are things that a driver who is on top of his game
:03:57. > :04:02.should have dismissed at this stage. He is obviously concerned about
:04:02. > :04:06.that or how the car is working. He is concerned about the overall
:04:06. > :04:12.speed of the car because it does not have the same penetration as
:04:12. > :04:17.before. Sebastien struggled in Malaysia. It was an unstable way to
:04:17. > :04:22.work out the standings in Formula One. With your many decades of
:04:22. > :04:27.experience, how do you see the pecking order? I would totally
:04:27. > :04:33.dismiss Malaysia, Surrey, Ferraris. It was a fabulous victory for them
:04:33. > :04:37.with a car that is not good in my opinion. Wet races are like things
:04:37. > :04:41.that are thrown in the middle of the season to give us new
:04:41. > :04:48.encouragement and excitement, but it is not a good barometer for the
:04:48. > :04:52.season. Mercedes and particularly Michael Schumacher's seems to be
:04:52. > :04:58.back all the time gaining momentum and he could surprise all of us
:04:58. > :05:04.with a podium and a raise win very soon. Will he spring a surprise in
:05:04. > :05:10.qualifying? In practice he was very quick, many people predicting
:05:10. > :05:12.Mercedes could start this at the very front. Let's find out what
:05:12. > :05:22.happened in the first start of qualifying with Ben Edwards and
:05:22. > :05:33.
:05:33. > :05:39.Prix is going to take place on the dry track in misty conditions. It
:05:39. > :05:44.is the 9th time at Formula One has come to this circuit, a track built
:05:44. > :05:49.in 2003 to the highest standards. He still looks very impressive with
:05:49. > :05:55.the bridges. We are in the third round of the series, which started
:05:55. > :05:59.in Australia. We have been to Malaysia. In qualifying it has been
:05:59. > :06:05.about Lewis Hamilton so far this season and it looks as if it could
:06:05. > :06:10.be again today. He has a gearbox penalty that will be applied for
:06:10. > :06:17.the race day. But he will be targeting the top spot in
:06:17. > :06:24.qualifying. Michael Schumacher had 1.32 and I do not think they will
:06:24. > :06:30.be threatening that lap record here today. We see speeds over 175 miles
:06:30. > :06:37.an hour in four separate places. Up to about 200 miles an hour at the
:06:37. > :06:42.end of the straight. It is light and nimble and they can go for it.
:06:42. > :06:47.Of course at the race is where you get the champagne and the trophy,
:06:47. > :06:51.but qualifying is all about showing your bravery and you're speed. When
:06:51. > :06:57.they go out for their qualifying lap, presuming they only do one,
:06:57. > :07:04.they will have seven or eight kilos of fuel to enable them to do a
:07:04. > :07:09.flying lap and come back in again. But we have seen issues so far
:07:09. > :07:16.where they are not getting their lap out of the tyres in the first
:07:16. > :07:22.lap. If that happens today, we will see them do multiple laps. We have
:07:22. > :07:26.got the soft Pirelli and the medium Pirelli. The softer have a yellow
:07:26. > :07:36.writing on the side and the harder of that two tyres has the white
:07:36. > :07:41.
:07:41. > :07:45.writing. Also available by the intermediates and the wets. When
:07:45. > :07:50.the teams are referring to the prime and the option, the Prime is
:07:50. > :07:58.the harder tyre and the option is the softer tyre. That is the system
:07:58. > :08:07.I would like to run all year. The Prime is the slow tyre and the
:08:07. > :08:10.option is that racier hard one. Otherwise it gets a bit confusing.
:08:10. > :08:17.Amazingly Fernando Alonso is leading, five points ahead of Lewis
:08:17. > :08:21.Hamilton. Jenson Button is only one point ahead of Mark Webber. It will
:08:21. > :08:26.be interesting to see how Mark Webber gets on with his defence
:08:26. > :08:32.specification to Sebastian Vettel. There have been some last changes
:08:32. > :08:36.to Felipe Massa's car. There were changes going on to Fernando
:08:37. > :08:42.Alonso's car. Gary, you were watching some of the technical
:08:42. > :08:47.changes and they were taking quite some time. Yes, they were trying to
:08:47. > :08:52.change the set-up of the front suspension. They had to change it
:08:52. > :08:57.from underneath the car. Normally it takes a couple of minutes to
:08:57. > :09:03.change. They just pull the nose off, but that torso by Argos in
:09:03. > :09:08.vertically and it took them 15 minutes out of a one hour session.
:09:08. > :09:14.Just for a small set-up change that is not good enough. It probably
:09:14. > :09:19.functions quite well, but it takes too long to change it. Or Ferrari
:09:19. > :09:28.the car is not quite fast enough. Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher
:09:28. > :09:35.have been near the top of the time sheets all weekend. We are also
:09:35. > :09:39.looking at Hamilton and Jenson Button. We heard from Christian
:09:39. > :09:45.Horner that he expects them to have an advantage in qualifying, the
:09:45. > :09:48.McLaren. But Mercedes have been knocking at the door of getting on
:09:48. > :09:54.the front row and it would only take a small mistake to allow that
:09:54. > :09:59.to happen. Red Bull are coming in with a great qualifying record.
:09:59. > :10:08.Sebastien has been on pole in the last three years in a row. If he
:10:08. > :10:12.does it again, it would be an amazing four times in a row. The
:10:12. > :10:17.best Michael has ever qualified his 6th, so he will want to do better
:10:17. > :10:23.than that. The green light is on for the first 20 minutes session of
:10:23. > :10:27.qualifying. All 24 cars will be going out on to the track and
:10:27. > :10:35.getting ready to see whether they can make it through to the next
:10:35. > :10:45.part of qualifying in to cute to, and to do that they have to be in
:10:45. > :10:50.
:10:50. > :10:56.the top 17. The Lotus had the fastest lap last time out. He won
:10:56. > :11:00.here in 2007, whether he has got a car capable of battling for pole, I
:11:00. > :11:09.doubt it. But there is a feeling in the paddock that we have not seen
:11:09. > :11:17.the best of the Lotus car so far. Kimi Raikkonen has lost none of his
:11:17. > :11:22.speed in his two years away in rallying and Romain Grosjean had a
:11:22. > :11:28.good speak. He is probably a little bit behind the curve in terms of
:11:28. > :11:33.his preparation, Kimi Raikkonen. Felipe Massa is going to be out in
:11:33. > :11:38.the Ferrari. Gary, I wanted to quote to you quickly about the
:11:38. > :11:45.technical challenge for qualifying from an engineer's point of view.
:11:45. > :11:50.What are they trying to get out of the car today? To get into the top
:11:50. > :11:55.17. For the smaller teams their challenge is quite different. There
:11:55. > :12:00.seems to be a big step between the soft tyre and the hard tyre. They
:12:00. > :12:05.have to make sure they get into qualifying two at least. Quite a
:12:05. > :12:10.few cars will have to put on the soft tyre to get through it and
:12:10. > :12:15.that uses up one of the sex they have. It could easily knock out one
:12:15. > :12:21.of the big teams quite quickly. You have got to be alert and thinking
:12:21. > :12:27.during this session to make sure you get through. Felipe Massa has a
:12:28. > :12:32.harder compound, but we have seen him go to the soft tyre already
:12:32. > :12:39.this year to get through to qualifying to. If you can save a
:12:39. > :12:46.set for race day, which is what Lewis Hamilton did last year, it
:12:46. > :12:52.really helped him. How you use your tyres is crucial. It says. The life
:12:52. > :12:56.you get out of a new tyre improves. If you have already used it all you
:12:57. > :13:00.three sets of option and private qualifying, you miss out on an
:13:00. > :13:07.opportunity to take your pit stop quite as far as you would have
:13:07. > :13:13.liked. With his new parolee Formula One strategy is absolutely key.
:13:13. > :13:18.Let's watch Paul di Resta as he goes on to a flying flag. Best
:13:19. > :13:23.qualifier his 40th place in Malaysia. Using more kerb then I
:13:23. > :13:31.would have expected. The would have been looking down into the cockpit
:13:32. > :13:37.and he locked up slightly. He may have just allowed the car to drift
:13:37. > :13:44.on to the kerb. There is no benefit in running wide in that area. You
:13:44. > :13:52.will never go faster on a kerb then you will on the black stuff. Quite
:13:52. > :14:00.a crucial section coming up next. Yes, into turn 11, second tyre and
:14:00. > :14:05.this is the tricky part, coming out into 13. And then you have this
:14:05. > :14:10.seemingly never ending corner. The difficulty is you are at the limit
:14:10. > :14:16.of the grip of the car, but you want to get you do ers are open to
:14:16. > :14:23.get the benefit of that extra 15 kilometres. We have been seeing a
:14:23. > :14:29.number of cars touching 200 miles an hour. Paul di Resta not quite at
:14:29. > :14:33.that point yet in qualifying. That rear wing flap, the DRS system, the
:14:33. > :14:39.drag reduction system, is being used on all the straights in
:14:39. > :14:45.qualifying. You are allowed to do that. We are on board with Felipe
:14:45. > :14:55.Massa. When it comes to the race they will only be allowed to use
:14:55. > :14:57.
:14:57. > :15:02.that ers system on a prescribed section. Let's take a look at what
:15:02. > :15:09.happened to Paul di Resta on that lap. That is the lock-up into turn
:15:09. > :15:15.six. Yes, that is. You do not see so much from the camera angle. That
:15:15. > :15:20.is an element of carrying a bit too much speed and at the moment -- at
:15:21. > :15:24.the last moments applying a bit of brake pressure. You lose downforce
:15:24. > :15:34.and you are having to get off the brake pedal as you get closer to
:15:34. > :15:39.the corner. Lewis Hamilton, one of the cars we are expecting in pole
:15:39. > :15:45.position today. But all McLaren have to worry about at the moment
:15:45. > :15:49.is getting there two cars into the second part of qualifying. He has
:15:49. > :15:56.been the man on form around this racetrack this weekend, despite the
:15:56. > :15:59.fact he has got a side plays penalty for a gearbox change. He
:15:59. > :16:04.has handled that well and is getting on with the business of
:16:04. > :16:09.driving this car as quickly as possible. We are coming up to the
:16:10. > :16:14.end of the second sector. He is also quickest in that sector. He
:16:14. > :16:24.looked like he went a bit wide in 13 and that may have cost him a bit
:16:24. > :16:30.
:16:30. > :16:35.through the air and, it is a massive braking force, huge amount
:16:35. > :16:40.of G-force. It is like being hit on the back of the helmet with a
:16:40. > :16:45.sledge hammer, the amount of braking power. 120 Bara braking
:16:45. > :16:49.power, maybe more, on that first hit, then as you go through the
:16:49. > :16:59.breaking phase, you have to make sure not to lock the car up to much,
:16:59. > :17:06.and an surprisingly, Hamilton was quickest. The difference is not bad
:17:06. > :17:13.Corp Jenson Button, but Lewis Hamilton has done 1.36 0.7. Jenson
:17:13. > :17:18.Button four-tenths of a second or that. Sebastian Vettel, the three-
:17:18. > :17:25.time pole position winner in the last three years. He has just
:17:25. > :17:30.started his lap. He is just going out on to his fast lap. A tricky
:17:30. > :17:40.section requiring a lot of patience. You carry a lot of speed into that
:17:40. > :17:41.
:17:41. > :17:48.first part of turn ano mac. -- one. I believe it was designed to
:17:48. > :17:52.represent a character. He is doing not too badly on that first sector,
:17:52. > :17:56.on the harder tyre. That pretty much matches what Lewis Hamilton
:17:57. > :18:06.was doing. The small lift as he goes through the middle of turn
:18:06. > :18:10.seven. A lot of patience through 9 and 10. Pretty tidy. There should
:18:10. > :18:20.be a formality for Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull in the crossbar of
:18:20. > :18:21.
:18:21. > :18:29.qualifying. Bus - the first part of. This is going to be around the 36
:18:29. > :18:35.mark. Maybe a bit slower than the McLaren in this last sector because
:18:35. > :18:38.of the high-speed nature of this long back straight. This is a good
:18:38. > :18:48.lap was Sebastian Vettel and encouraging for Red Bull. A little
:18:48. > :18:52.deep into the hairpin, at turn 14. The final sector might not be their
:18:53. > :18:57.strongest. He uses a lot of road out of the last corner. Kobayashi
:18:57. > :19:07.has gone second in the Sabbath. That is a good effort by the
:19:07. > :19:09.
:19:09. > :19:15.Japanese driver -- in the cider. -- Sauber. Jenson Button is ahead of
:19:15. > :19:20.Kimi Raikkonen in the positions at the moment. Currently, but got
:19:20. > :19:26.Charles Pic, della Rosa, Rosberg, Webber and Michael Schumacher who
:19:26. > :19:30.have not yet completed a flying lap. When you saw Kobayashi pop up
:19:30. > :19:40.second, the first reaction was do think that he must be on the
:19:40. > :19:48.
:19:48. > :19:51.auction tyre. -- auction tyre. -- option tyre. We know that the Red
:19:51. > :19:59.Bulls are running slightly different set ups. Just explain
:19:59. > :20:02.what is different. They have developed their cars and Mark
:20:02. > :20:11.Webber thinks that different side pull in different exhaust
:20:11. > :20:17.integration is the way to go. He has gone back to the older
:20:17. > :20:23.specification. And he feels more compatible in it, he feels that he
:20:23. > :20:28.can drive the car faster because he can push it more to the limit.
:20:28. > :20:35.Driver confidence is everything, as David will explain. And Sebastian
:20:35. > :20:40.feels better with that car. Getting some team radio from Sebastian
:20:40. > :20:47.Vettel, we did not quite catch it. Sebastian Webber, fastest from
:20:47. > :20:54.Hamilton at the moment. Michael Schumacher is currently end fiveth
:20:54. > :21:02.place. And it looks as though Red Bull are going to be challenging
:21:02. > :21:09.for top times. Not everybody going hard on it yet. Remember they are
:21:09. > :21:15.using the harder compound tyre at this stage. A better time from
:21:15. > :21:22.Jenson Button. He goes faster than Hamilton. This is Kobayashi,
:21:22. > :21:26.currently 4th classes. -- fourth- fastest. The question is, which of
:21:26. > :21:32.the drivers are going to have to use the softer tyres when they are
:21:32. > :21:42.still using the harder tyres at the moment. We're looking at one of
:21:42. > :21:43.
:21:43. > :21:47.them, Jean-Eric Vergne, sitting down in 18th place. Let's keep an
:21:47. > :21:54.eye out for Felipe Massa, as well. He has got to be concerned with
:21:54. > :22:02.that first one of the 7.9 that he did. He dropped out of the first
:22:02. > :22:06.part of the -- of 37.9. Just what Gen Jean-Eric Vergne as he comes
:22:06. > :22:10.down, the young Bridgeman, the youngest rider in the field this
:22:10. > :22:14.year, with a point scored after that impressive performance in
:22:14. > :22:19.Malaysia. He comes back into the pits. He will have to put on the
:22:19. > :22:24.softer tyre, to try to get out of the drop zone which is from 18th
:22:24. > :22:29.downwards. If he finished that lap he would have gone in a little bit
:22:29. > :22:37.quicker in his first and second sector but with seven minutes to go,
:22:37. > :22:43.the team have decided to bring him in and to bring the auction tyre. -
:22:43. > :22:52.- option tyre. Gary, what are your thoughts on which teams are going
:22:52. > :22:58.to have to go for the softer tyre? The first one I think to do that
:22:59. > :23:03.will be Felipe Massa or. This morning in practice three, 37.6 was
:23:03. > :23:08.17, so if you add in a little bit more effort and list your, you have
:23:08. > :23:18.got to get into 36 to make sure you get to Q2. It looks like a pressure
:23:18. > :23:24.at the moment for 38.0. There is a second to find there. Four people
:23:24. > :23:32.have not done a 36, I think they are taking a gamble. Michael
:23:32. > :23:40.Schumacher is on 1.36 0.7, it is incredibly close, the two top cars
:23:40. > :23:44.separated by a two-tenths of a second. Felipe Massa is now on the
:23:44. > :23:48.softer tyre, and we will have to see what is going on there. Do not
:23:48. > :23:54.worry about the names coming up on the screen, I don't think they have
:23:54. > :24:03.changed the names from their Porsche Carrera or race that was
:24:03. > :24:13.going on this weekend. Maldonado and Kovalainen, 18 and 19, in
:24:13. > :24:13.
:24:13. > :24:18.Formula One. That remains me of my schooldays, must try harder!
:24:18. > :24:21.the game Assen on the ladder at the moment and he has set the past --
:24:21. > :24:31.fastest first sector, but he should be because he is on that yellow
:24:31. > :24:33.
:24:33. > :24:36.bald softer tyre -- yellow walled. For Ferrari to have to do it, it
:24:36. > :24:41.shows that they are struggling with this car and there is no difference
:24:41. > :24:45.this weekend, they have got to use every trick in the book just to get
:24:45. > :24:50.into that second stage of qualifying. He is up again on the
:24:50. > :24:53.fastest time of Mark Webber, that 1.36 0.6. The tyres are working
:24:53. > :24:58.much better and it shows that everyone is going to start
:24:58. > :25:01.improving massively when the match start using these diets. For the be
:25:01. > :25:07.Massa as only marginally quicker than the first fastest man, Mark
:25:07. > :25:12.Webber. There is a huge amount of time available in this last sector.
:25:12. > :25:16.You think, what can the driver do? The entry onto that long straight
:25:16. > :25:22.through turn 13 is vitally important for getting that height
:25:22. > :25:27.of speed and splitting the breaking down into a 14, and then what looks
:25:27. > :25:37.like a simple,, turn 16, is incredibly tricky because you are
:25:37. > :25:42.
:25:42. > :25:52.trying to not take too much of the available for the next part of
:25:52. > :25:53.
:25:53. > :25:57.qualifying. He found 1.4 seconds, which is a big game. -- gain.
:25:57. > :26:02.Whether that means that he did not get a great lap in on the other
:26:02. > :26:06.tyres, and there. There is no doubt Ferrari is not using his tyres as
:26:06. > :26:11.well as some of the quicker cars, but you're not going to get 1.4
:26:11. > :26:19.seconds between the tyres. A we have got Paul di Resta, 13th
:26:19. > :26:23.fastest, Hulkenberg, at the moment, 16, the German. He qualified in
:26:23. > :26:30.16th when he last drove in Shanghai for Williams, but he has qualified
:26:30. > :26:37.as high as seven, in Australia, this year and he scored a couple of
:26:37. > :26:42.points in that race in Malaysia. He is on the softer tyre, with the
:26:43. > :26:49.yellow writing on the sidewalk. Not challenging what Felipe Massa did
:26:49. > :26:56.end there. Kimi Raikkonen also out on the softer tyre, also, no, he is
:26:56. > :27:02.on the harder tyre, still, that is interesting. We continue to watch
:27:02. > :27:05.Hulkenberg on the latter part of his lap. Paul di Resta or sticks
:27:05. > :27:09.his force in the up into second place in the second part of the
:27:09. > :27:19.session. It is a reasonable indication of speed, relative to
:27:19. > :27:20.
:27:20. > :27:25.the Ferrari, because you can compare it with the option tyres.
:27:25. > :27:33.Hulkenberg seems not to be settled around this day's course, like Paul
:27:33. > :27:38.di Resta it does, this weekend. -- this racecourse. That is a great
:27:38. > :27:44.lap from the French driver, Romain Grosjean. He is on the softer tyre,
:27:44. > :27:49.but he has gone two-tenths of a second faster than Felipe Massa or
:27:49. > :27:54.in the Ferrari, so Grosjean, put in that lack of experience behind them.
:27:54. > :27:58.It is interesting that Perez is on the softer tyre. With the pace of
:27:58. > :28:02.this order are there, I thought they would get through this phase
:28:02. > :28:11.of qualifying without the softer pad, but it is so competitive in
:28:11. > :28:17.that midfield. -- the softer tyre. I think it shows a lack of
:28:17. > :28:21.confidence in the pyre, from Perez, to go on that option, because
:28:21. > :28:27.normally you should not be on the situation of being enacted Jobs's
:28:27. > :28:37.own. You can see Fernando Alonso getting very wide there. He has
:28:37. > :28:42.gone with the option tyres. Many teams are feeling under pressure to
:28:42. > :28:52.gain that extra six or seven-tenths of a second that they get from the
:28:52. > :28:54.
:28:54. > :29:04.softer tyre. Paul di Resta has been pushed back to sixth place. Mark
:29:04. > :29:14.
:29:14. > :29:20.Webber has been pushed down to it let's see what this next lap is
:29:20. > :29:26.like. He is going on to a quick lap now, hopefully, for him, on to the
:29:26. > :29:32.softer tyre, and for that teams like Caterham, Marussia and HRT, it
:29:32. > :29:41.is a huge achievement if they can get into Q2, from the drop zone and
:29:41. > :29:49.that is what they are trying to do now. There is only 30 seconds to go.
:29:49. > :29:53.That will be an uncomfortable wait as he sits in 13th place. You're
:29:53. > :29:59.only talking two-tenths of a second down to the cut-off point. Some
:29:59. > :30:07.brave decisions on tyre choices of fire. Watching Petrov with some
:30:07. > :30:12.oversteer between turns 9 and then. A Petrov has been here before, and
:30:12. > :30:16.the best qualifying for him was in 10th place, the car is moving
:30:16. > :30:20.around quite a lot, and that is an indicator of the lack of downforce
:30:20. > :30:26.that the smaller teams suffer from. It is all about aerodynamics and
:30:26. > :30:34.you could see the car moving around. I think we have got an answer as to
:30:34. > :30:41.who is the first of them it-would teams to drop out, it will be John
:30:41. > :30:48.Eric Vergne -- Jean-Eric Vergne. I think he has pretty much given up
:30:48. > :30:52.on this lap. There are the seven cars that are dropping out. Petrov
:30:52. > :30:58.stays in 20th place and stays behind his team-mate, Heikki
:30:58. > :31:04.Kovalainen, who wins the qualifying battle with his team-mate, 3-0.
:31:04. > :31:09.Just watching Timo Glock in the Marussia, in 21st place, either of
:31:09. > :31:19.his team-mate, Charles Pic, whose neutered body of one, so that is
:31:19. > :31:31.
:31:31. > :31:39.team-mate as well. It is John Eric Verne of the cars and drivers and
:31:39. > :31:49.that you might have expected to get through he misses out this time.
:31:49. > :31:49.
:31:49. > :32:36.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds
:32:36. > :32:44.His team-mate Danny are Ricciardo out. And disappointment cuisine
:32:44. > :32:48.Eric Byrne. But he will take heart from his right in Malaysia where he
:32:48. > :32:53.made it through to the points because fresh, soft tyres are still
:32:53. > :32:58.so important. He was one of the stars for me and he has brought new
:32:58. > :33:05.life into France. France has been struggling with drivers for a
:33:05. > :33:10.couple of years. He is the bright new future. Of course, it does not
:33:10. > :33:14.help if you go at the earliest stages. We know they have got some
:33:14. > :33:19.money and they worked closely with Red Bull, but they are finding it
:33:19. > :33:23.difficult. A You have to say they will be the team at this stage. If
:33:23. > :33:33.you were to take a gamble and say, who is the one most likely to get
:33:33. > :33:37.out, you have to go with them. They are getting the momentum. But Mike
:33:37. > :33:42.Gascoigne said they would have 40 points last year. He is the
:33:42. > :33:46.designer, so maybe he knows something we do not know. He was
:33:46. > :33:51.never able to transfer that into reality and right now his owners
:33:51. > :33:56.would like him to do something even close to that. We have not
:33:56. > :34:03.disappeared from the racetrack. This is designed to look like a
:34:03. > :34:08.traditional garden. It is at the back of the paddock. These glass
:34:08. > :34:13.buildings, each of the team has two of these. It is a nice place to
:34:13. > :34:18.relax, nicer than the commentary box.
:34:18. > :34:24.We get ready for the second part of qualifying. There is a question
:34:24. > :34:28.about whether there could be a little bit of rain in the air.
:34:28. > :34:35.view from our commentary box, which is spectacular, it is the clearest
:34:35. > :34:40.I have seen the horizon. There tends to always be a bit of a smog
:34:40. > :34:46.around Shanghai. I do not know if it is this time of the year, or if
:34:46. > :34:56.it is like that all the time. If it is spitting with rain, it is coming
:34:56. > :34:57.
:34:57. > :35:02.from a very high cloud. Red Bull has been showing pretty well.
:35:02. > :35:12.Daniela Ricciardo is showing here. Red Bulls were fast in that first
:35:12. > :35:13.
:35:13. > :35:17.qualifying, using the harder tyre. These could be the ones to watch.
:35:17. > :35:23.Indeed, they have not been far away in the first two Grand Prix is. It
:35:23. > :35:28.is not a question of them having a car that lacks speed. They have had
:35:28. > :35:33.the underlying race speed and it has been quicker on the Red Bull
:35:33. > :35:38.than the McLaren. It is a question of unlocking the that performance.
:35:39. > :35:45.A big factor is making the tyres work. We have seen a lot of
:35:45. > :35:51.variation in track temperature over the last two days. We are currently
:35:51. > :35:57.25 degrees track temperature and 21 degrees air temperature. That may
:35:57. > :36:03.favour one team over another. Sauber is out on track. Kobayashi
:36:03. > :36:10.out on the softer compound tyre. There is at the Japanese Rivett
:36:10. > :36:16.with their yellow writing on the sidewalk. One of the early cars to
:36:16. > :36:20.come out on track. This session a shorter. Gary, we have looked at
:36:21. > :36:25.the times, have you got any idea of a ballpark figure for what they
:36:25. > :36:33.have to do to get into the top 10 and they kick into the final part
:36:33. > :36:37.of qualifier? They are leaving the pits on the softer tyres. The
:36:37. > :36:47.battle will be getting into the top 10. I think we will have to get
:36:47. > :36:51.
:36:51. > :37:00.into 30 sites. 36.7 was the 10th fastest in that session. Webber and
:37:00. > :37:03.cannot and will have to get into 35. 35.9 before you fill comfortable.
:37:03. > :37:08.Schumacher did 35.9 on Friday afternoon and Hamilton did that
:37:08. > :37:13.this morning. Now they are in ideal conditions and they have got brand-
:37:13. > :37:20.new tyres to play with. Alonso has been quite aggressive with his
:37:20. > :37:24.movements on the steering wheel. has. They are showing they can do a
:37:24. > :37:30.few laps with these tyres, so that is why they are moving around,
:37:30. > :37:36.getting as much heat in the tyre. Another way of doing that will be
:37:36. > :37:41.breaking. It radiates of their heat into the tyre and his stabilises
:37:41. > :37:45.the tyre pressure and all of that has an effect on the aerodynamic
:37:45. > :37:51.performance and the confidence of the driver feels when he launches
:37:51. > :38:00.out of that last corner and starts at the lap. We are watching
:38:00. > :38:04.Kobayashi. Kimi Raikkonen is already quicker to the first
:38:05. > :38:12.sector.. Kobayashi has not made it into the top 10 yet this season.
:38:12. > :38:19.That has got to be his challenge. Coming up to the second checkpoint.
:38:19. > :38:25.It establishes the benchmark time. Kimi Raikkonen is behind. Kimi
:38:25. > :38:33.Raikkonen was not as good to the second checkpoint. Kobayashi now on
:38:33. > :38:39.to that long straight. Flat out all the way down. Up to just about 200.
:38:39. > :38:43.Perez had the speed of 323 kilometres per hour. That is bang
:38:43. > :38:49.on 200 miles an hour before getting on to the brakes and just over 40
:38:49. > :38:56.miles an hour through their hair pen and back out. It is ever so
:38:56. > :39:02.easy to overstep the mark. Kobayashi keeps it tidy. That is
:39:02. > :39:09.exactly what Gary's said it should be! Spot on. We are hearing Perez
:39:09. > :39:15.is out on a set of used option tyres. That might explain why
:39:15. > :39:24.between Kobayashi and himself there is half a second difference. Let's
:39:24. > :39:34.see what Alonso it does. He is three-tenths slower than Perez.
:39:34. > :39:41.Presumably that is a used set of options from the first part as well.
:39:41. > :39:51.35.7 is the new benchmark. Michael Schumacher is on track. The first
:39:51. > :39:52.
:39:52. > :40:02.part of the lap completed. He goes second. 35.7, pretty much the same
:40:02. > :40:06.
:40:07. > :40:12.time as Rosberg. Hamilton is on track. 1.3 6.14 Jenson Button. What
:40:12. > :40:22.is Sebastian Vettel going to do? He has got a good little sector.
:40:22. > :40:26.
:40:27. > :40:35.Michael Schumacher has just gone second. Not so much from Mark
:40:35. > :40:39.Webber. It is now the two Mercedes see what went on with Felipe Massa
:40:39. > :40:45.at turn 11. I would not have thought that would have cost him
:40:45. > :40:55.too much time as he went through the apex. A replay of nothing much,
:40:55. > :41:05.quite frankly!. Felipe Massa is in 16th place. He is down on his team-
:41:05. > :41:07.
:41:07. > :41:17.mate Alonso. It is all about getting into the top 10. Danny a
:41:17. > :41:22.Ricciardo is going to struggle to get into the top-ten. Romain
:41:22. > :41:28.Grosjean has not set a time yet in the second part of qualifying.
:41:28. > :41:34.Whether he has a problem, I do not know. Kobayashi has been pushed
:41:34. > :41:39.back into the pit box. Gary, looking at these times and some of
:41:39. > :41:45.these teams are using the tyre they used earlier on, are we going to
:41:45. > :41:49.see big changes when they put a brand-new set on? We saw earlier in
:41:49. > :41:58.the practice sessions that the second a lap was OK on the softer
:41:58. > :42:02.tyres. They will use the same sets in at the second part of qualifying
:42:02. > :42:12.to get themselves into the same schedule. That would be an ideal
:42:12. > :42:17.thing to do. You see Jenson Button sitting at 36.1. He is a little bit
:42:17. > :42:27.vulnerable. Webber is behind him and Perez is behind him and Alonso
:42:27. > :42:28.
:42:28. > :42:34.could do that sort of time as well. We hour watching Romain Grosjean.
:42:34. > :42:44.It sounds as if Red Bull think they have done enough. Mark Webber will
:42:44. > :42:45.
:42:45. > :42:52.have to go again on another set of options. But the teams said they
:42:52. > :42:56.did not feel it was enough for them either. It remains to be seen. That
:42:56. > :43:03.is Romain Grosjean. He gets some oversteer in the middle of Number
:43:03. > :43:08.11. That will cost him a lot of time. Once again you can see so
:43:08. > :43:12.much oversteer in that car. He did not finish the lap, he has come
:43:12. > :43:19.straight back into the pits and it is not looking good for Romain
:43:19. > :43:25.Grosjean at the moment. He had some good qualifying in Australia. We
:43:25. > :43:30.are watching Sebastian Vettel. He has just set a new, fast as the
:43:30. > :43:34.middle sector. We are going to see an improvement from the double
:43:34. > :43:41.world champion. Red Bull fighting to go for pole position in the
:43:41. > :43:47.final part of qualifying. The final sector is a personal best, but it
:43:47. > :43:51.keeps him down in sixth. Look how close it is. It is incredible when
:43:51. > :43:56.you consider the length of this circuit and the range of the
:43:56. > :44:02.corners. There are some meaty ones in the middle of the lap. We have
:44:02. > :44:10.got four corners over 250 kilometres an hour. A lot of high-
:44:10. > :44:16.speed turns. Alonso sitting in tenth. Just under five minutes to
:44:17. > :44:22.go. You can expect them all to be gearing out there for one more run.
:44:22. > :44:28.There is one-tenth to the best car. The best car is out there. My last
:44:28. > :44:35.sector was not that great. Lewis knows he can improve in the last
:44:35. > :44:40.sector. He will be confident there is more to come. 35.7 is the time
:44:40. > :44:47.to beat. Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher are very evenly matched.
:44:47. > :44:57.But they are running out of time. 4.5 minutes remaining on the clock.
:44:57. > :44:58.
:44:58. > :45:04.The battle to get into the top 10. It looks as if they are getting
:45:04. > :45:10.ready to send that car again. Not going to plan for Romain Grosjean
:45:10. > :45:18.so far. We have got Felipe Massa in the Ferrari. He has got plenty to
:45:18. > :45:22.do. He has got to find himself at least one second. I think he will
:45:22. > :45:31.struggle to find one second. One other person who might be
:45:31. > :45:32.struggling a little bit if we believe the circuit tracker
:45:32. > :45:38.information, it is Jenson Button. If he feels vulnerable to maintain
:45:38. > :45:41.his position, he is going to have to use up his last set of options
:45:42. > :45:51.and that would leave him nothing for the last part of qualifying.
:45:52. > :45:56.
:45:56. > :46:01.That is a worry if that is the case decides to show random people in
:46:01. > :46:07.the pit box is when one we want to see is the action. He is just
:46:07. > :46:11.heating up the brakes, doing a little bit of weaving. His engineer
:46:11. > :46:16.will be telling him where all the other cars are. The difficulty is
:46:16. > :46:20.that you do not know who's coming out of the pit lane. It seems as if
:46:20. > :46:27.you have got a clear track to play with, but if somebody weaves in
:46:27. > :46:33.front of you, we will see Felipe Massa or, coming into shot, both of
:46:33. > :46:37.these guys fighting for their place in the top 10. They are on the
:46:37. > :46:41.track at the same time and the comparison between them will be
:46:41. > :46:47.closely looked at. There is no hiding in Formula One, you're
:46:47. > :46:53.always compare to your team-mates. We can get a good comparison now of
:46:53. > :46:57.what they can do, at the first checkpoint, Alonso is just Brno
:46:57. > :47:03.tenths of a second down on the best, that is promising, from his point
:47:03. > :47:10.of view, there'd be Massa was a two-tenths of a second behind.
:47:10. > :47:15.tenths of a second over a simple sector, you should not expect that.
:47:15. > :47:21.Between each boat team mates, at worst, maybe Brno tenths of a
:47:21. > :47:25.second. There we are at the second checkpoint, Fernando Alonso almost
:47:25. > :47:33.at the same pace as the best that we have seen, so that is a good
:47:33. > :47:39.effort, but there'd be Massa is two-tenths of a second down on his
:47:39. > :47:43.team-mate. Interestingly, Rosberg and Schumacher have stayed in the
:47:43. > :47:48.pit lane, deciding that the times they have set our save enough for
:47:48. > :47:52.them to go into the top 10 and they will not have to use another set of
:47:52. > :47:56.tyres was top Jenson Button is on the track, and so was Mark Webber,
:47:56. > :48:06.so some of the top drivers are having to use up their allocation
:48:06. > :48:06.
:48:06. > :48:13.of time. Fernando Alonso goes 6th quickest, only 10, and there are
:48:13. > :48:21.still others out there, who might improve. We're on board with Paul
:48:21. > :48:25.di Resta or. He is in 11th place at the moment. That is not going to be
:48:25. > :48:29.enough and he is not going to be able to improve on that. He still
:48:29. > :48:38.has time to finish this lap if he has enough fuel on board to do so
:48:38. > :48:45.and we have seen the option tyres hanging on in there. Maldonado
:48:45. > :48:51.doesn't do it. He is in 11th place. Is a good effort, all things
:48:51. > :48:58.considered, to be within three- tenths of a second: so, but whether
:48:58. > :49:03.it is enough to keep him in the top 10... Here's Perez, who is on a
:49:03. > :49:09.good lap right now, coming up to turn 14. We can see what his effort
:49:09. > :49:15.is and whether he goes into the top 10. That could be a key one. Mark
:49:15. > :49:20.Webber has done a personal best, and has been pushed down to 10th
:49:21. > :49:25.place. Kobayashi is up there in for police. Perez has pushed Felipe
:49:25. > :49:31.Massa down, and Ferrari will have noted that one, once again. Sergio
:49:31. > :49:35.Perez is giving them a hard time. Mark Webber is the man in danger.
:49:35. > :49:39.He has been pushed down to 10th place but has set the fastest
:49:39. > :49:44.middle sector of anybody so as long as he completes the lap, he should
:49:44. > :49:49.be safely in the top 10. Consistently, Red Bull are quickest
:49:49. > :49:54.in that middle sector, taking us from the hairpin at turn six,
:49:55. > :49:59.through to turn 11, mainly the fast corners, where the absolute
:49:59. > :50:04.downforce is key, they a quick, there, and Mercedes are quicken the
:50:04. > :50:08.last sector which is all about the top speed. That could be as much
:50:08. > :50:18.about the downforce they are running as well as the pure
:50:18. > :50:20.
:50:20. > :50:25.performance of the car. He has been pushed down to 9th, because Romain
:50:25. > :50:30.Grosjean... Sebastian Vettel is in trouble. The he is not quicken the
:50:30. > :50:35.first sector, he is about two- tenths of a second down on what we
:50:35. > :50:40.would expect and that first set there. He has not done it, he is
:50:40. > :50:45.11th, the three times poll winner, Sebastian Vettel is out of
:50:45. > :50:49.qualifying after Q2. That is really dramatic. We knew that Ferrari were
:50:49. > :50:55.struggling, Felipe Massa is out, Alonso is in by the skin of his
:50:55. > :50:58.teeth in Ted place, but Sebastian Vettel, there will be no four
:50:58. > :51:07.successive pole positions in Shanghai, he has failed to make it
:51:07. > :51:17.through to the final part of all the fight. Sebastian Vettel feeling
:51:17. > :51:18.
:51:18. > :51:28.in the final session of qualified. in the final session of qualified.
:51:28. > :51:29.
:51:29. > :51:36.-- failing in qualifying. No one expected that to happen. Where
:51:36. > :51:44.could this have gone wrong? We have already spoken at length about the
:51:44. > :51:48.two variations of the two set ups. If I was Sebastian Vettel I would
:51:48. > :51:53.be having a look at what Mark Webber is doing because he is not
:51:53. > :52:01.normally the pole-sitter. This is not the time to be desperate, but
:52:01. > :52:05.at the same time, 11th place is unbelievable for Sebastian Vettel.
:52:05. > :52:10.This is Sebastian Vettel getting out of the car. He had an
:52:10. > :52:14.incredible run of pole positions last year. The people at Red Bull
:52:14. > :52:17.say that this cars quicker in the race, but Sebastian Vettel's
:52:17. > :52:23.dominance was built on getting pole position and getting away at the
:52:23. > :52:28.start of the race. Before we get too carried away, you do not get
:52:28. > :52:33.points for qualifying. And the weather could change, we saw what
:52:33. > :52:38.happened in Malaysia, where Ferrari came out of the blue. Regular
:52:38. > :52:42.cricket in that middle section, they have a better balance and are
:52:42. > :52:46.taking risk assessment to a new level, and I believe they might
:52:46. > :52:53.have more downforce than the other teams, so, if it is wet, they will
:52:53. > :52:57.have the advantage. If you are just joining us, Eddie was talking about
:52:58. > :53:03.two different set ups on the car. They have reverted to the exhaust
:53:03. > :53:06.set up they had at the beginning of their testing this season. But,
:53:06. > :53:12.Mark Webber remains on the update the car, and at the moment he is a
:53:12. > :53:16.lot faster. We can hear from Heikki Kovalainen, there is talk of an
:53:16. > :53:21.investigation or a penalty because he was apparently held up by Pastor
:53:21. > :53:26.Maldonado. We have just been hearing that you are under
:53:26. > :53:33.investigation with Pastor Maldonado, but we did not see what for. He is
:53:33. > :53:37.under investigation. I am the good, and he is the bad. What happened?
:53:37. > :53:41.He was getting ready for his first time lap and I was completing my
:53:41. > :53:44.first lap and then the back straight, he was weaving, warming
:53:44. > :53:52.up his tyres, and I was getting close to him and he had no
:53:52. > :53:57.intention to let me past. It did not cost as much because I had
:53:58. > :54:04.another lap later in the session, but he did a mistake and I think he
:54:04. > :54:08.probably has to pay for it. Stuarts no doubt will take into
:54:08. > :54:12.account the fact that Heikki Kovalainen probably would not have
:54:12. > :54:17.started any further up the grid and 19th. From the back of the grid, to
:54:17. > :54:21.the ton, no Sebastian Vettel or polygamous a, but it is time for
:54:21. > :54:25.the bike or poor position, back to the commentary team of David
:54:25. > :54:35.Coulthard and then it was. Shaping up nicely with two famous phrase is
:54:35. > :54:40.
:54:41. > :54:45.missing. -- and then it was. -- be Hamilton takes pole position, he
:54:45. > :54:51.has a fight place grid penalty for the race tomorrow, because he has
:54:51. > :54:54.had the gearbox changed overnight. A problem from a previous race
:54:55. > :54:59.which they only discovered when they arrived in Matt China, there
:54:59. > :55:04.was a crack in the gearbox, you have to change the gearbox, it has
:55:04. > :55:08.to last but by the events, and that it does not, you get a grid penalty,
:55:08. > :55:14.and that is what Lewis Hamilton will have to suffer, from wherever
:55:14. > :55:20.he qualifies, but he will definitely be going for it. The
:55:20. > :55:24.final part of qualifying is under way, and immediately, the Lotus
:55:24. > :55:31.coming out, of Kimi Raikkonen, former race winner, but never a
:55:31. > :55:33.pole-sitter. The times are so close, as we have seen, close enough to
:55:33. > :55:39.shift Sebastian Vettel out of the top bend, but every few hundredths
:55:39. > :55:44.of a second is going to count. is like Formula Ford Racing, it is
:55:44. > :55:49.so close! This is going to be an epic battle for pole position, I
:55:49. > :55:56.certainly hope that it is, another set of soft options for Lewis
:55:57. > :56:06.Hamilton to go out, only one set of options available. He is going out
:56:06. > :56:12.to get a site for lap on a scrubbed set of tyres. -- sighter lap. What
:56:12. > :56:17.a battle this is going to be. Incredibly close. It really is.
:56:17. > :56:21.Mercedes are up there as well, we can listen to them. Looks like it
:56:21. > :56:29.is getting slightly poorer, so just think about that, in the warm-up
:56:29. > :56:36.lap, two degrees, are so, it looks like it is getting cool. What is
:56:36. > :56:41.two degrees between friends? It is a helluva lot in a racing car.
:56:41. > :56:46.getting the breaks up to temperature. I was discussing the
:56:46. > :56:50.Carrick-Anderson before qualifying, they Stark that one out of turn 11
:56:50. > :56:54.on to the long straight with the brakes up to 300 degrees, but by
:56:54. > :57:01.the time you get to 14 they will have shed about 500 degrees,
:57:01. > :57:09.because of the year crawling through the brake ducts -- air
:57:09. > :57:12.cooling. Then they are below the optimum operating window for
:57:12. > :57:17.temperature, so those are the things that the drivers have to do,
:57:17. > :57:23.to try and build heat in the tyres, we can see Michael Schumacher
:57:23. > :57:27.weaving around, that is more psychological than anything, but
:57:27. > :57:36.the way to get deep into the tyres is by high-speed driving, and
:57:36. > :57:42.underbraking. -- to get heat into the tyres. Now, Nico Rosberg is
:57:42. > :57:47.back on the power, talk us through this next part, be it. He's coming
:57:47. > :57:53.through turn by, then 100 metres, hard on the brakes, into second
:57:54. > :57:58.gear, nice to action, as he comes off, we can see his like Delta, he
:57:58. > :58:03.is one tenths of a second quicker than his best lap, we can see the
:58:03. > :58:08.right hand side of the display, on the steering wheel. Talking over
:58:08. > :58:11.the beautiful noise of the car, there, apologies for that, we will
:58:11. > :58:16.get another opportunity to see on board through that section. And
:58:17. > :58:21.coming to the end of us do, he's quicker than his personal best by
:58:21. > :58:31.two-tenths of a second, and if that is the case, we can expect around
:58:31. > :58:35.
:58:35. > :58:43.data by 0.5, assuming he keeps the rest of this lap -- around 35.5.
:58:43. > :58:53.Revised to 35.3. That this vast, none the less. Now, coming up to
:58:53. > :59:00.the final turn. But it by 0.8 has been set by Kimi Raikkonen -- 35.8,
:59:00. > :59:07.and it is a 35.1, that is a very rapid lap. From Nico Rosberg. He
:59:07. > :59:11.has never had a pole position close up to date he is day, today? That
:59:11. > :59:19.was a beautiful lap, it is a beautiful when you're in a car
:59:19. > :59:27.seeing that, let's see what Michael Schumacher can deliver, 35.6. You
:59:27. > :59:33.don't know whether he has got a fresh set of auctions or not.
:59:33. > :59:40.the 5.64 Lewis Hamilton, a fraction faster than Michael Schumacher, but
:59:40. > :59:45.does were a used set up Byers, so he could close that zero. Five-
:59:45. > :59:50.second gap on Rosberg. It is unusual when these older gentleman
:59:50. > :59:54.and a paddock at knowledge the camera. Ross looked down the pit-
:59:54. > :59:59.lane and saw himself on the screen, and they wonder if that is a look
:59:59. > :00:02.of quiet satisfaction goes up it is great to see your car at the top of
:00:02. > :00:08.the times, but they wonder of the simulations tell them that will be
:00:08. > :00:11.a critical time for anybody to beat here, this afternoon. Can Mercedes
:00:11. > :00:15.take their past opposition? It is not going to be easy because there
:00:16. > :00:20.is Mercedes engine power and the back of the McLarens they affecting
:00:20. > :00:23.that. Mark Webber has been fast with the Renault engine power at
:00:23. > :00:30.the back of the Red Bull and he is on an out-lap at the moment. We're
:00:30. > :00:40.waiting to see what he will do. He has left it late with just ano mac
:00:40. > :00:42.
:00:42. > :00:50.won in this final part of all the fine. -- just one run. OK, my God,
:00:50. > :00:54.so Nico Rosberg's lapping, but it by. Want. OK! That is a brilliant
:00:54. > :00:58.piece of teen radio booster I do not remember asking for my team-
:00:58. > :01:02.mate's time. You just want to know what is the quickest time. That
:01:02. > :01:09.tells you something of the main sit of Michael Schumacher right now. It
:01:09. > :01:19.is like that is the ultimate gauge or him, relative to Nico Rosberg,
:01:19. > :01:26.
:01:26. > :01:32.Rosberg has had the edge. He has indeed, but Michael has been
:01:32. > :01:38.looking pretty racy. He is currently sitting in third place.
:01:38. > :01:45.Six of the top 10 have not done their run yet. Here is the starting
:01:45. > :01:51.lap of Mark Webber. It is designed to look like a Chinese symbol, it
:01:51. > :01:56.is never good to design a race track to look like characters. Just
:01:56. > :02:03.design them to be good for the drivers and the rest will follow.
:02:03. > :02:07.The first checkpoint coming up. He is just over one-tenth slower. The
:02:07. > :02:11.fastest in the sector has so far has been the locus of Kimi
:02:11. > :02:19.Raikkonen. It seems to be in the second and third sectors, a long
:02:19. > :02:24.third sector, it is very significant on this circuit. He is
:02:24. > :02:30.in the middle sector now, the key sector for Red Bull. If he is not
:02:30. > :02:35.showing faster, and he is not, so Mark Webber is not challenging for
:02:35. > :02:43.pole position on this lap. He may get another lap if he has time to
:02:43. > :02:50.do so. But it does put him in the party. None the less, it is such a
:02:50. > :02:55.big gap from Nico Rosberg to the others, that Webber can get a good
:02:55. > :02:59.position. It is a great feeling when you sit in the car and they
:03:00. > :03:05.take the blankets off and you see this shiny new rubber. You feel
:03:05. > :03:12.that extra grip, it gives you confidence as you attack the corner.
:03:12. > :03:17.This is Webber as he crosses the line. That is disappointing. It is
:03:17. > :03:22.one seconds away from what Nico Rosberg has done. Still two minutes
:03:22. > :03:28.of the session, but have we witnessed the perfect lap from Nico
:03:28. > :03:34.Rosberg? It was certainly a very quick lap. He is out of his car, is
:03:34. > :03:40.that correct? Yes, it is indeed tame. I was looking out of the
:03:40. > :03:45.commentary box. Nico Rosberg is clearly not running again. Has he
:03:45. > :03:52.got enough to keep Hamilton behind? Hamilton is going to be the big
:03:52. > :03:57.Challenger. Perez is on a good, reasonable lap. If I was Nico
:03:57. > :04:02.Rosberg and I it was about to possibly have my first pole, I
:04:02. > :04:08.would hang around the garage waiting for the possible team hard.
:04:08. > :04:18.But he is all alone, has anyone told him? Has he not looked at the
:04:18. > :04:25.screens? Perez has not set a time just yet. I do not think it is
:04:25. > :04:31.going to be that quick. It will not be challenging the likes of Nico
:04:31. > :04:36.Rosberg, Hamilton, or Michael Schumacher. That is behind Mark
:04:36. > :04:45.Webber. He is three-tenths of a second slower than Mark Webber in
:04:45. > :04:49.the Red Bull. Jenson Button on track. Not a good first sector.
:04:49. > :04:53.Jenson Button at the moment does not look as though he is going to
:04:53. > :04:57.be challenging Nico Rosberg who still might get his first ever pole.
:04:57. > :05:07.This is not going to be a pole position for Jenson Button and he
:05:07. > :05:13.
:05:13. > :05:17.will not get another lap after this one. He has run out of time. 25.24
:05:17. > :05:26.Hamilton in that first set there. It is quick air than what Jenson
:05:26. > :05:36.has managed. He looks to be made top 10. I think he will probably be
:05:36. > :05:43.ahead of Webber. Raikkonen and Sue there will be his targets. He is on
:05:43. > :05:48.the third row. Kobayashi has gone forth. A brilliant lap for him.
:05:48. > :05:54.Pretty much what we expected and what Ferrari thought they had.
:05:54. > :05:59.Hamilton cannot cause a surprise. His middle section is not quick
:05:59. > :06:06.enough. Nico Rosberg is going to have his ever first pole position.
:06:06. > :06:15.The first ever pole position for Mercedes since 1955. Let's watch
:06:15. > :06:21.Hamilton. He is coming back into the pits. He has ended up second
:06:21. > :06:30.fastest, but do not forget he will have a great penalty. Nico Rosberg
:06:30. > :06:40.has done it. It is the third ever McLaren powered pole position,
:06:40. > :06:41.
:06:41. > :06:51.Mercedes, rather, pole position. It is their first pole since 1955.
:06:51. > :06:51.
:06:51. > :10:51.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 47 seconds
:10:51. > :10:56.session, but quite hard to make sense of it all. I am totally
:10:56. > :11:02.confused. Nico Rosberg was half a second quicker than the field. I
:11:02. > :11:12.have never seen that recently. That was a phenomenal lap. Whatever that
:11:12. > :11:14.
:11:14. > :11:19.time he went out he was in such We know they have been under
:11:19. > :11:25.pressure to get good results from their base in Germany. But they
:11:25. > :11:30.have any confidence. A lowly ninth place in the championship. I dare
:11:30. > :11:33.say that were changed tomorrow because they look very strong. A
:11:33. > :11:38.cool, old head with Michael Schumacher's sitting there. They
:11:38. > :11:42.are not stupid. They will be told tomorrow how the game plan will be
:11:42. > :11:50.at the start of the race. They have the speed up to the corner, and
:11:50. > :11:53.they are in a strong position. Lewis Hamilton is in seventh. We
:11:53. > :12:00.have got Kamui Kobayashi in the Sauber and Kimi Raikkonen also who
:12:00. > :12:03.impressed. Absolutely amazing. If we were to start this season
:12:04. > :12:10.thinking they would be third and fourth by a raise three, you would
:12:10. > :12:14.say, I am not sure what you have been puffing on or whatever. The
:12:14. > :12:19.reality is at the Sao Beqaa looks so good. Last year they did not get
:12:19. > :12:25.the exhaust right and they had a complete failure with it and that
:12:25. > :12:29.is to their advantage of this year because it is not allowed. The big
:12:29. > :12:36.story is Sebastian Vettel is out and he starts 11th. He never looked
:12:36. > :12:41.good. He went down the wrong way. He has not taken the chosen route
:12:41. > :12:46.that his designer has chosen. He has gone off in his own direction.
:12:46. > :12:52.You pay the penalty for that. He knows more about the scientific
:12:52. > :13:02.evidence than anyone else, so why change? You can see the race
:13:02. > :13:14.
:13:14. > :13:19.tomorrow live on BBC One and BBC 18 As far as the racing is concerned,
:13:19. > :13:25.it is congratulations to Mercedes. Because of Lewis Hamilton's penalty,