The German Grand Prix - Highlights Formula 1

Hello and welcome to the German Grand Prix. Almost 20 years ago,

Michael Schumacher was the inspiration for Sebastian Vettel to

become a racing driver, but in England, another little boy was

having his own dreams of becoming a far below one world champion. He

has already ticked that box and is starting his 100 Grand Prix.

Hopefully, I would like to have sponsorship from Ron Dennis.

He likes to win. Wedding is his sole objective. I did think about

winning the World Championship that getting millions of pounds. -- and

getting. It is a fantastic performance. My goodness me. 2008

Lewis Hamilton, winner. There was a tie that my life when I couldn't

wait to get out there and now I just want everything to slow down.

And from a slightly younger David Coulthard to a slightly older one.

Hugh Laurie veteran of 246 Grand Prix, what do these milestones mean

-- you worry veteran? At the is reminds him that he is living his

dream. It did not count the Grand Prix as you are going, but 100

active hundred of Milestone she can be proud of. He may not be in the

starting position he had hoped for, but qualifying yesterday was tricky

in very mixed conditions. Here is Ben Edwards.

Qualifying saw contrasting positions and performances. Michael

Schumacher had only just made the cut in key one in the dry but was a

step in the wet been due to acute three and will start in third

position. -- been due to and Q3. Lewis Hamilton was a six -- six

tense faster than anyone in Q2, but both drivers struggled on the

extreme wet and Hamilton starts in seventh, with Jenson Button in

sixth. One of the outstanding results of the day came from Nico

Hulkenberg, who survived a high- speed aquaplaning moment and set a

time that puts him fourth on the grid. Babak Red Bull, they did not

shine in the early stages but we are on the pace when the track was

at its wettest. Vettel start second, Mark Webber a penalised eighth.

Pole position Wed to Fernando Alonso, at once again proving the

master of wet conditions, or an for the first time in his career, he

will start the German Grand Prix will start the German Grand Prix

with a clear view ahead -- and for places for blocking in qualifying.

Gearbox penalties have affected Nico Rosberg and Romain Grosjean.

A excitement yesterday but, today when we found that the FIA had

referred Red Bull to the stewards for unexpected Bridge of technical

regulations. Gary Anderson, they have been cleared, it was a

complicated one that involved engine mapping. Explain what was

going on for so stop it is about setting a throttle rpm or getting

maximum torque. You have to have 100% torque available at that

engine rpm, but Red Bull reduced the talk by altering this mapping,

so at 95% throttle, they had less wheelspin but all flu -- more flow

through the rear. The FIA did not accept the arguments of Red Bull,

but the way the regulations are written, Red Bull did not

contravene it and so they are free to go ahead. They have been cleared,

but how close well-fed have been? It is a fine line in Formula One.

That is the nature of the sport, it is down to the engineers and

designers to have exploited to the maximum. It is a little bit

maximum. It is a little bit surprising but it is a big relief

for Red Bull and for sport in general that it has been cleared up

and we get on with the Grand Prix. Let's talk about the man at the

front, Fernando Alonso, he has proved himself time and again in

wet conditions but he can do it in the dry again, as he proved the

last time we were here in 2010. That was the famous Fernando is

faster than you situation. He is there on merit, he qualified

fantastically in the wet conditions yesterday and he must feel very

confident going into this race. confident going into this race.

Fernando Alonso not just that the front of the grid, he is at the top

of the Drivers' Championship as well. Mark Webber is 13 points

behind. Jenson Button has only scored seven points in the last six

races. In the Constructors' here, the drivers have got their

Sebastian back row, A quick word. We have always had the distraction

of the morning. Is everything as normal, or anything ahead of this

race? I did have a conversation with him, but nothing to do with

this morning. I think it is fine. There is always a lot of talk, but

we are here on the grid and everything is fine. The focus is on

the race. Good luck. Nico Rosberg, your best grid

position of the year but different track conditions, can you stay with

them? It is the same for everybody, we haven't run under these

circumstances, it is a lot hotter, so the only surprise for everybody

going into this race... I will be trying to make a good start and I

will say what the offer -- of the race will offer for me. You seemed

very relaxed. I am a bit excited. It is one of 20 races, I am focused

on my job. Jenson, you are looking good, it is

not a bad day of qualifying yesterday, the whole thing

considered. It didn't really go to plan. Not too bad. Being sixth on

the grid, you are very close and a lot can happen from here on, so yes,

I am looking forward to it and hopefully we have a car which can

really fight the guys in front of us. What you expect in strategy

from those around you? Everyone has brand-new tyres, the prime and the

option. I think it seems to be people will go with what feels

right, some will be option, some will be prime at the start, we will

see. The drivers have got 67 laps,

almost 200 miles in front of them and whilst they do the hard work,

we can enjoy it in the company of we can enjoy it in the company of

three we have on the grid. To double world champions on the front

row and behind them, the driver who inspired their early careers and

has won more had -- races on home soil than anyone, Michael

Schumacher. They are away on their formation lap and it looks as

though all of the front-runners have gone for the softer tyre. A

few drivers to was the back have gone for the medium compound tyre,

the father of the tyres this weekend. Jean-Eric Vergne, Charles

Pic, Nico Rosberg, but they are way back towards the back of the field.

Gary Anderson, what can we expect in terms of strategy? They two-stop

strategy is the fastest, but from what we have seen in the earlier

sessions, there isn't a big degradation, so I would see one of

those guys on the back coming through trying to do a one-stop. I

think we will see a bit of a mix. little better the next. Kobayashi

is on the harder tyre as well. Jean-Eric Vergne, as he said,

Charles Pic, Nico Rosberg and Timo Glock on the harder compound tyres.

You are on board with Nico Rosberg. The white markings on the tyres

indicate it is the harder compound. He has a lot of work to do from way

down the field. A reminder of the brought here this weekend are going

to be effective in the dry. And the indications are they will be, they

looked very fast in dry conditions with the little bit of dry running

we have had so far, the McLaren seemed to be in good form. In the

Constructors' Championship, Red Bull our way out ahead. McLaren

have gone from second to fourth. But with Romain Grosjean qualifying

way down and with a gearbox penalty, it is going to be tough for Lotus

to hold on to that third position this weekend. The cars are run to

the grid, Fernando Alonso and - Karthikeyan will be the last got

a line up on this great for the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim.

The stadium as colourful as ever as we prepare for the start of the

race. Lights out, away we go. Fernando back row quick off the

line, much quicker than Vettel. There is a bit of bunching. Some

body runs wide, but what they start from Alonso. -- what a start. One

of the McLaren's is already trying to move up. Felipe Massa has a

damaged front wing. There was contact to the corner. Look at the

start from Fernando Alonso, as he goes safe into the hairpin. It is

but then who is ahead of the McLaren's. Schumacher trying to go

around the outside. -- McLarens. And look at the German champions

fighting one another. Vettel versus Schumacher, Schumacher is all over

the back of the Red Bull. Nico Hulkenberg is just behind, so is

Jenson Button. Hamilton is back in ninth place, he didn't get off the

line very well, one ahead of di Resta. We have already seen

problems for Romain Grosjean on this opening lap. A very robust

defence from Sebastian Vettel. He came here as a young boy to watch

Michael Schumacher race. Artificial grass on the edge their saved him.

This is the old part of the circuit, very unforgiving. This is a dream

scenario for Fernando Alonso, look at all the debris from the front

wing of Felipe Massa, and carbon fibre can be particularly bad for

the tyres, so everybody will be looking to avoid a puncture.

Marussias are running together, Pedro de la Rosa towards the back.

In comes Felipe Massa after that damage to the front wing and after

a great result at Silverstone, it has gone horribly wrong for him.

hasn't looked comfortable through any of the practice sessions and

qualified out of position in that car. Even before the first corner,

he had contact. He has gone on to the prime tyre, they will try and

get away with not stopping, that would be pretty brave. He has used

both of the options there. Jenson Button is on the ATOC -- the attack.

A quick, rapid change hope before Romain Grosjean here. Bruno Senna

is in the pits under Williams. puncture on the front left. Did he

pick that up in the first corner or was it from contact around the

first lap? He and Felipe Massa were together on the grid. Meanwhile,

Jenson Button is chasing after Nico Hulkenberg and the Force India

qualified extremely well in the wet yesterday, but we would expect the

McLaren to be capable of much faster times in the dry. Hamilton

is sliding around a little bit, in eighth place. He has Kimi Raikkonen

bearing down on him. Both of them are trying to move up the order.

Out wide goes Hamilton, of Raikkonen has got him. He has got

past Hamilton, and di Resta has also gone past him. Some of the

McLaren pit crew are out in their box, so are they expecting to bring

one of the drivers in? They are read very early. You are not

normally allowed to stay out. Maybe they had a message from Lewis

is drping further and further back. That is Hamilton, trying to limp

round round on a flat tyre, she desperately trying to get back to

the pits. There is a long way to go. Hamilton's miserable season as we

have seen the last couple of races continues, doesn't it. When out in

Valencia after that incident with Maldonado, struggled at Silverstone

but got in the points. Now she desperate to get back to the pits

and back into the race. Up front Alonso leads. Beginning to really

get a feel for the car, Michael Schumacher is in third place.

Hulkenberg is in fourth position. Jensen Button fifth. Maldonado is

in sixth. Mark Webber is in 7th position. Then we did have Hamilton.

It is Raikkonen who has come up, di Resta, di Resta, I think may well

be ahead of Raikkonen. We will have to check that as they come past us

next time. It is Hulkenberg here, versus Jensen Button and di Resta

is in front of Kimi Raikkonen, that is a important move for the Force

India driver. TEAM RADIO: That is it guys. We should retire. Oh, that

is bad to hear. It sounds like Lewis may well be out of the race.

Gary, what do you see in pit lane. The guys are out waiting for him to

come round. It's a long way. The damage to the rear suspension might

not just be tyre. He is telling them he thinks it is over.

Raikkonen on the attack. Trying to get past di Resta, can't quite do

it. We didn't see where di Resta got past Raikkonen. Both got past

Hamilton. Hamilton on his way. It looks as though the car might have

got away wit. Hamilton has lot a lot of time, but he is till in the

race. Onboard with Raikkonen. This is the race for eighth place and a

bit wide there from Paul di Resta. That is the line, he raced here, he

won the DTM Championship W the way the corner is cambered, all of the

drivers who are familiar with it tend do that. Let us see if that is

manager that causes an issue later. Up at the front. Vettel is faster

at this stage than Alonso, getting into the activation zone. Not close

enough this lap to get a pass, but further back Michael Schumacher

dropping down, and has been aided by the fact that Hulkenberg in

fourth is pushing back Jensen Button. That has given Michael

Schumacher a bit of breathing space to not have to work the tyres too

hard.. That is right. We have seen Hamilton into the pits. Let us look

at this. Raikkonen on the attack. Look behind. That is Perez trying

to come down the inside of Ricciardo and Kobayashi is there

too. Both Saubers coming up. Di Resta, they almost touch. Wonderful

racing between the two. Giving only one another enough space. Now

Raikkonen has the inside line and he finishes the move. That was

brilliant driving from both guys. Paul di Resta gave him enough room,

in the end Raikkonen not showing any sign of rust. Look in the

middle of the pack the see where the contact with Massa is. Where is

the other Ferrari. There is a long way up front. He caught the back of

Bruno Senna. We will see when he cuts across the back of the

Williams he catches the rear tyre. There you go, just the smallest of

touches, but it was enough to just remove his front wing. Yeah. Was it

a Williams. Thros tros -- Toro Rosso. Not a good start for Felipe

Massa. Button had a good run. Let us see what happened to Hamilton.

No, he didn't get a good start. Engine bobbed down haen didn't get

the momentum going, then has a bit of wheel spin, then very close with

Raikkonen, as you go through the first corner. Raikkonen gets

sideways on the curb. At this stage they are running with 150 kilos of

fuel onboard. Even listen cautious in the breaking area. Is this where

Senna picked up his puncture? At that stage you you can see the

puncture. Already had a puncture that took him out wide. This is the

battle between Michael Schumacher and Vettel. Button did well on the

outside. Yes, that was Grosjean, he presumably got a touch. It looks

like he got touched by the Williams of Bruno Senna. There so much

action. Fernando Alonso continues to lead. In the meantime, Michael

Schumacher is still the one dropping away from the top two, in

the Mercedes, Hulkenberg is still in fourth place, ahead of Jensen

Button, now Maldonado sixth. Webber is 7th. Let us listen into Lewis.

TEAM RADIO: The car doesn't feel stable. I understand, we are still

trying to look into it. So Lewis not totally happy with the feeling

of his car. Obviously the team have a lot of data they are looking at

all the time. Maybe they can work out what's happened. They have all

the information. It is good as any. Button is down the inside. He has

taken the place, down into turn six, Jensen Button is now in fourth

place. It almost looked like he was thinking to fake a past. Hulkenberg

got on the brakes and Jensen knew he was about to make contact so had

to pull out. He has gained the place. That puts Michael Schumacher

under pressure. It does, Michael is the next on the list. I seems as

though the updates are working well. Hamilton in trouble as we have

heard. Button still putting a charge in. Maldonado is the next

one behind Hulkenberg. Doing a solid job. She DRS open. Looks like

he is feinting to the inside. Hulkenberg leaves the door open and

Jensen completes the pass. Hamilton sometimes, the driver, because you

know you have had a problem with one particular corner, psych clodge

I can you think there maybe another issue there, and as Gary mention

head is managed to do respectable lap times at this stage. 22.05.

Compared with Fernando Alonso. di Resta is in ninth place, ahead

of the two Saubers. We saw excellent pace from the Saubers in

the dry-runing we had this weekend, their race pace was looking strongs

that has within proved again. Di Resta can't defend. Di Resta trying

to get a good exit off the hairpin be u the Sauber has gone. Great

driving from Perez, he is on a real charge, he has more often than not

been able to get away with one-stop. If he is trying do that he is using

up everything available from option tyres. He has gone from 17th to

ninth. This is a strong performance from Perez, he went out at

Silverstone after a clash with Maldonado. Raikkonen still in

eighth place. The arrest was open and carried that momentum past Paul.

-- DRS. Look at the blistering on the front right tyre of smuemsmuem

-- Schumacher. It That is a really marked tyre. Front left as we look

at the cars but his front right. That is unusual. The actual tyre

that takes most of the load as di Resta comes in. From the soft tyre

to the peed yum compound tyre. He has come in on that ten. That is

earlier than sop of the teems. Button down the inside. Schumacher

looks up in trying to defend but he can't do anything, Jensen Button

has moved up into third position now. Aim wondering if that was pick

up rather than blistering. TEAM RADIO: At the moment we think

options are the best, we are planning to go as we were before

the race, so we will go as planned. It is, just trying to see that tyre,

it is not looking the same. Let us look at the replay of how Jensen

got past him. Site bit DRS open. Michael picks the middle line.

Jensen had his car there so pulls away. Raikkonen into the pits, so

Kimi into the pits on the soft tyre, he is staying on the soft tyre.

Gary, I know you down there, that is an interesting tactic going with

the softer tyre again. He is putting on the soft tyre again. I

there is no blisters on the Lotus tyre, so their strategy looks as if

they are going for the two stop and use the faster fire for as long as

possible. Maldonado heads down to turn six, and still chasing

Hulkenberg, Hulkenberg in the Force India is holding on the fifth place.

Sixth behind him the Williams of Pastor Maldonado. The winner in

Spain. He has only scored points on one other occasion during the nine

grand prees we have held. Behind him is Mark Webber. But he is stuck

there in seventh place. Perez. We have seen Raikkonen into bits and

that will drop Raikkonen down the order. It will move Kobayashi and

Rosberg into the top ten. Rosberg has been going well, he started

down in 21st place. He has managed to avoid some of the problems of

the early lapse. Alonso leads, and Alonso has set fastest lap. Again

as we saw, he was not making any progress he was being caught by

Perez. Hulkenberg is in as well, so two crucial stoppers. They both

have develop on to the medium tyre, so both on the harder of the two

options of tyre, and as they come back out again. Rosberg has been in,

he started on the hard over two and he switched over to the -- soft.

Raikkonen coming out behind Petrov. You can see already Raikkonen

making the pass, DRS will gain him anything up to about 20 kilometres

an hour, not a great deal you do to defend against that. Petrov running

slow. E Petrov not one who has yet made his pit-stop. No sign yet of

Alonso or Vettel. They are trying to stretch it deeper into the race

before they make their pit-stops. Onboard with Mark Webber, so he has

to try and get past that Caterham himself. It should be fairly

straightforward. This is for position so the Caterham is fair

enough to race like he is. You can see the gap the rake nan's --

Raikkonen. I wonder whether he was trying to save the tyre, but he has

come in and pitted. We see Maldonado doing the same. Where is

he coming to come out? Webber has lost out in the battle here. He is

coming out in front of Webber. He goes off the the circuit. In his

attempt to try and get past the Caterham. Spending that time has

cost him but he is in a tight line, so Webber will get DRS and a good

run on Maldonado, so he should be able to pass him. Now you have got

those cars being newt rise liezed and it looks like Mark Webber has

missed an opportunity there and not passing the Caterham. Strange. No

way through for Mark Webber, of course, Caterham and Red Bull.

Maldonado stays in front of with Webber, the one that has gained

looked to have been Raikkonen. He has managed to displace Welsh and

Maldonado after that fist stop, he is going very quickly as Kimi

Raikkonen. Of course we are still waiting to see om of the other

leaders in. Michael Schumacher? The pits, so Schumacher coming in from

what was fourth position, and he has gone for another set of the

soft irtires. Develops the car on its way, we really are seeing a

difflept are the strategies here. He is going to come back out with

Hulkenberg. These two were dicing from the decision -- beginning. He

might lose the place yet. No, not quite. Behind them is Raikkonen in

the the Lotus. Schumacher will be able to get DRS so he will come

back at Hulkenberg. Will Hulkenberg have to be defensive? He has picked

the inside line. Schumacher trying down the insiest. Hulkenberg hangs

him out the dry a bit, look at Raikkonen, he is hunting them down,

the Force India versus Mercedes. They have Mercedes engines. Up the

inside goes Michael Schumacher. Raikkonen is going to get past

Hulkenberg and nearly get past do it in front of the Mercedes

Grandstand? You will get a standing ovation for that. Kimi Raikkonen

has now split these two cars. That Lotus is flying. Rosberg is also

going very quickly in the other Mercedes, interestingly. He has

just set the new fastest lap. Let's take a look at this again, feisty

stuff from Schumacher. He leaves Hulkenberg no choice but to give

him room and that leaves Raikkonen implying a bit of DRS. The race

leader Alonso is in. Sebastian Vettel becomes the new race leader.

Jenson Button has stayed out. A way it goes for Ferrari, and that looks

like a pretty good stop and he is on to the harder compound tyre,

Fernando Alonso. Red Bull against the mark -- Ferrari. We saw it with

Mark Webber at Silverstone and Jenson Button, this time it is

Fernando Alonso. On board with Mark Webber. He is in 11th place at the

moment, behind Sergio Perez. He managed to come out ahead of him

after that stop, it shows you how well the Sauber is going. There

Sauber is performing well, but Mark Webber is struggling for pace. I am

wondering if the will have a KERS issue. He has dropped quite a bit

of time to the cars in front, normally Q1 to use your KERS in the

acceleration areas. Michael has just gone past Ricciardo for fifth

place. Behind Sergio Perez, you can see Maldonado. He has gone ahead of

Maldonado. Mark Webber behind. So another game for Sergio Perez, who

is having a very strong run. TEAM RADIO: We have three seconds to

Kobayashi behind, so no problems. We will see what they do. Jenson

Button comes in, and it was a good couple of sectors he had said

before he came in. It goes on to the harder compound tyre. There's

pit-stop gremlins that were affecting them earlier in the year,

no sign of them. Blair will take about? Well in front of Schumacher.

-- where will he come out? There is no sign of the Red Bull coming in

to stop. Meanwhile, Perez has just set the fastest lap of the race at

20.7, so impressive. That Sauber is flying. You are on board with

Sergio Perez, the fastest man on track, as he tries to close the gap

to Nico Hulkenberg, who is next on his list. Lap 20 out of 67 and it

is still about Vettel versus Alonso. We are still waiting for Vettel to

come in. Maldonado a bit too wide and Mark Webber is through. Mark

Webber takes tenth place away from the Venezuelan. It looks as if we

are going to see Sebastian Vettel coming in from this next lap.

are out in the pit. We will he come out ahead of Fernando Alonso? Can

Red Bull turn it around? What have his lap times been like? They have

been pretty competitive. He goes on to the harder compound tyre. It is

not enough, Fernando Alonso is passed him already, he is in turn

one. The loss of time relative to Fernando Alonso in that stop.

Kobayashi is going to be in front of them. Kobayashi has not yet

stopped in the Sauber, he is definitely a player here. We have

seen how fast Perez is going, slightly different manoeuvres from

Kobayashi. Sebastian Vettel uses the DRS, no problem to get past,

but both of the Sauber cars are in this race. You can see Sebastian

Vettel on the harder compound as he goes on to his second stint. The

leaders have stopped, it stays the same. Fernando Alonso is leading.

Vettel is second. I think Michael Schumacher has gotten past. Kimi

Raikkonen moves up to fifth place. Jenson Button has still got to get

past Kobayashi, he is in fourth place at the moment. But Kimi

Raikkonen is really cutting his way through this field at the moment.

Up front, Alonso still leads and we have five world champions in the

top five places. TEAM RADIO: Lewis, the pace is still looking strong.

We are going to make a one-stop work here. Keep this place secured.

The added world champion who is not up there is Lewis Hamilton, but

maybe they can make the strategy work -- the only world champion.

is not the way the Lewis Hamilton would want to celebrate his one

hundredth Grand Prix as Nico Rosberg passes Maldonado.

Resta... Here comes the Japanese drive their down the inside. A late

lunch, and he can't quite hold it, di Resta gets the advantage back.

He is so exciting when he gets on the Flat, but he couldn't make it

stick. You have to pull the car back across in eight to get

position for nine. TEAM RADIO: A good first stint, you are the

quickest car on track, catching the leaders. So an NICE message for

Kimi Raikkonen, fourth place, 6.5 seconds behind Jenson Button.

Fernando Alonso beats the German Grand Prix from Sebastian Vettel.

Sebastian Vettel is looking for his first ever win on German soil and

Ferrari are getting ready, presumably, for Felipe Massa. A bit

of a lock-up there from Kobayashi. And once you lock a friend tyre, it

is easy to do it again, but he is still pretty much in DRS range and

he might be able to make the move down to the hairpin. His team mate

Perez is trying to get past Hulkenberg. Kobayashi to the

outside, the speed advantage of the DRS means he is ahead before they

even get to the braking area. That puts Kobayashi up in tonight. As

long as knitted breast that -- di Resta doesn't fight straight back,

which he is looking like doing. Keep it tidy this time and manages

to make that pass stick. Over 200 mph with the DRS Open as he

approaches the braking point. A little bit of lock up right at the

last few yards of breaking. -- braking. A few cheers in the garage.

Fernando Alonso versus Sebastian Vettel, the gap has gone down, but

it is Jenson Button behind them in the last sector putting the times

together. He is only four seconds behind Sebastian Vettel, closing in.

Not by much, but he is working his way forward and Sebastian..., if he

is trying to pace himself at this stage, it will not be good news for

him if he is going to have a McLaren to battle with. Fernando

Alonso looking composed and comfortable out in front, but he

was there at Silverstone as well and Ferrari, in the final stint of

the race, could not keep the other red what -- Red Bull of Mark Webber

behind them and they lost the victory. But he still leads the

championship, he has had more podium finishes, Fernando Alonso,

than anyone else this year, and he has led more laps than anyone else.

But the fastest driver on circuit that the mother to his Jenson

Button, who is behind these drivers by 3.9 seconds. Kimi Raikkonen is

fourth, Michael Schumacher's still in fifth place ahead of Hulkenberg.

Perez and Mark Webber, Kobayashi is night, di Resta is 10th, Maldonado

is dropping down the order. He has just come into it -- Jean-Eric

Vergne has just come into the pit in the Toro Rosso. There is a

little baffled just ahead, lapping another car, that HRT. Perez almost

slides the car into the HRT as he tries to shed the speed down into

Turn Six. Cabbing she was saying to -- going back to what you are

saying about Jenson Button being the fastest on the track, that will

be a relief to him. He has had some lean racist intent of outright pace,

but that will be a relief for the McLaren team, they have brought a

lot of operatives to the track, it was hard for them to know how much

before that it had given them yesterday, but all of the evidence

so far is it has put them right on the pace of the world championship

leader at this stage. Jenson hasn't had a top six since round three in

China. A long time ago. Things are definitely looking better. Hamilton

is still out there on his set of tyres, so maybe Lewis can still get

some points out of this race if they can make the strategy work,

but he lost the last -- massive amount of time with that puncture

on the second lap. Vettel getting closer yet to the back of Alonso,

and he will be in DRS range. In fact, he pretty much is now. Alonso

may have a problem on his hands, because Vettel is looking very racy

indeed. We will get to find out. I just love had calm the messages are.

Jenson Button hopefully taking advantage. Dave Robson is always so

calm on the radio and very matter- of-fact. We can catch these guys.

The kind of person you would like to listen to on Sunday morning

radio, having a lie-in. You are suggesting a future career. As

Sergio Perez finally got past Hulkenberg? Then the outside into

106. Did he make the most of it bodied Hulkenberg fight back? This

is Nico Rosberg and Paul di Resta, also in defensive mode. And Nico

Rosberg did make the move stick. Hamilton. Running wide at the exit

of Turn One, as we saw with Mark Webber earlier in the race. Michael

Schumacher's car, looking like there is a ring of blisters. That

is unusual that the tyre would be picking that up. A lot of

blistering does at care on the tyre sometimes but it doesn't seem to

cost them too much in terms of performance -- does occur. Vettel

is using a DRS but Alonso has a DRS and there is a chance for Vettel to

do the same. There must have been a mistake by Vettel denied the turn

one or turn to, because you can see the gap has opened -- in either

turn one or back row turned two. He may have locked up. No summit --

sign of damage to the tyres are Vettel's car. This was Sergio Perez

with Hulkenberg. He has completed the move, let's see how he did it.

He had to be very aggressive on the pass with Hulkenberg, he really ran

him to the right-hand side of the circuit. Now back getting on the

artificial grass. We have seen in GP 2, cars and get lodged up into

the air as they run onto the grass. It can be a costly mistake. This

was Mark Webber mother to go with Nico Hulkenberg. That has promoted

Mark Webber up to seventh place -- a moment ago. Fernando Alonso leads,

let's see what they gap is back to Sebastian Vettel, just under one

second. Hamilton is out of position, he is running in 18th place. Jenson

Button to pass man in 106? He is in the DRS zone. Hamilton, you mean.

was getting excited. Hamilton is racing hard, he is in 18th place,

but does he use the advantage to unlap himself? If he has the pace,

he can do. Sebastian Vettel tucked in behind the leader Fernando

Alonso. Then it is Jenson Button. Lewis Hamilton is a lap down after

the puncture earlier on today. RADIO: You have Jenson about three

seconds behind us. Make sure we don't hold him up. Of course, this

was the track where Felipe Massa famously cocked their team to move

over for the lead for Fernando Alonso. All McLaren are doing is

trying to get a free run for Jenson if -- Jenson Button. Then into the

first corner they go. Alonso, Vettel and Hamilton, but Hamilton

is out of position. Lapping very good times from Hamilton at the

moment. Vettel just sliding a little bit. I wonder whether

Hamilton will just have to settle back and little bit here. I believe

he has been told to attack the leaders. Here he is with DRS Open,

is he going down the inside of Vettel? He is down the inside, no

reason why not. It is his race he is worried about. Vettel tried to

fight back on the exit but there is no way through, Sara Hamilton

getting past Vettel and Vettel is not very impressed. In terms of

strategy and etiquette, Gary? Is he doing the right thing? He is doing

the right thing, if he can unlap himself, that is the most important

thing. At the end of the race, that lack of might be very valuable for

him. He also wants to show he has this -- he is as quick as the men

up front, if he hadn't had that puncture. I remember when Eddie

Irvine made his debut for Jordan, he famously upset the late, great

Ayrton Senna by Anne lapping himself. That ended in fisticuffs.

phase of coming into the box. Which tyre, the harder of the two.

Straight on goes the McLaren. That looked like a fabulous stop from

McLaren who sorted out the issues they had earlier in the year. Away

it goes. Jensen came in from third and he is into the final stint of

the race he has to go quickly and try and have a chance of attacking

Alonso and Vettel in the latter stages of the race. Perez is in, so

is Webber. That is Mark Webber for Red Bull who is into the pits now

as well. Raikkonen is just lighting up the timing screens with the

fastest lap, good clean get away as well for Mark Webber. Raikkonen

getting the faster lap out of the fresh tyres of course, will Red

Bull and Ferrari have to respond? Vettel will have to respond to Butt

if he is to ex -- Jensen Button. I expect to see them coming in early.

This lap I would imagine, and Ferrari are out in the pit lane.

so crucial time in the German Grand Prix. It is Alonso and Vettel both

coming in at exactly the same time, now, watch them, Alonso, renowned

for being accurate on his marks as he comes into the stop. Vettel up

to that mark as well. Down goes the Ferrari, down goes the Red Bull.

Little difference as far as I can see between the two stops. They are

on the limiter and away goes Alonso. Is Jensen Button going to get past

Vettel? He is. Trying to get second place, what will be second place

for Jensen Button, he goes round the outside of Vettel, and takes

that position away, crucial move for the McLaren there. That is why

they had to respond, as soon as the McLaren pitted, then they had no

choice but to both bail in to cover. In the end, although they service

the car and get him out,. He goes one way and the other. Can't quite

get. Looks up on the outside, just manages to hold it. Sense of

frustration there as well from Vettel, as he tried to take that

second place away once again. TEAM RADIO: And now there is a chance

that a McLaren could win this race, Jensen Button with just the Ferrari

ahead of him. Let us look at this. This is wanted to see, he is side

by side with the Red Bull as it gets up to speed. Crucially he has

the lap of knowledge, on where the tyres are, and Vettel always going

to be a bit uncertain when you come, that is the first braking moment on

the tyres, in the end he sees Vettel has oversteer as he wobbled

in. Tried to respond with DRS and Jensen defended beautifully. What

is the relative pace of the cars going to be like now? Vettel goes

wide. That was very wide from Sebastian Vettel. Shows how hard he

is trying to win the German Grand Prix. He has never won his home

event. He was born and raised not far from this Hockenheim circuit

but it seems to be he might be in phosphorus traition again here

today. Let us wait and see. Plenty of time to go. Vettel third what is

going on behind is Kobayashi. McLaren locked up into the hairpin.

We haven't seen the smoke. We haven't seen too much of that for

the McLaren this weekend. It has been an issue in previous Grand

Prixs. Jensen Button had to be care, making sure the tyres go to the end.

Gary, what have you gleaned from what happened during the pit-stops?

Looks to see how Jensen Button achieved that. His time was 2.6

seconds faster than Vettel, and 2.4 seconds quicker than Alonso, so I

think all the pit-stops were pretty much the same time, so that out-lap

with Jensen put the hammer down. Chances for Button here, they are

in among the traffic. The gap down 0.8 of a second as they pit their

way through all of the cars and Petrov getting out of the way of

Jensen Button. More cars up ahead of Alonso. What a feeling this must

be for Jensen, after all the problems. Telling him not the push

the tyres too hard. They suffer from thermal degradation, so there

maybe plenty of rubber left on the tyre, but if you spin them up too

much, leaving the tight corners, the heat that builds in the surface

of the tyre. You see massive drop off later in the Grand Prix, so Red

Bull on the back foot, if you see a replay of Kobayashi. He has come

back at Hulkenberg. He has taken the sixth place. A good move down

the inside. A bit of lock up. We are on lap 49, out of 67. Jensen

Button close behind Alonso, Vettel not far behind the pair of them, in

third place, and it does look as though it is Ferrari, McLaren or

Red Bull, who will emerge victorious here today, which wung,

who knows? It is a tight tussle. Raikkonen fourth, Schumacher fifth.

Kobayashi sixth. Perez in seventh. Rosberg is in eighth. He has moved

up from 21st. I don't know if Webber has a problem, he hasn't

been able to make progress. Di Resta in tenth. Hulkenberg right

behind him then Ricciardo, Maldonado, Massa is 14th. Vergne

15th. Hamilton 16th ahead of Petrov. Then we have Grosjean. All 24 cars

are still running, in this Grand Prix, with 17 laps to go. And there

is Vettel, is he just looking after his tires? Is he biding his time?

Or has he not quite got the pace of those in front? Thafrpblts is the

million dollar question at this phase of the race, you have to say

the McLaren is looking the strongest but he is getting right

into that area where running so close to Alonso, if he doesn't try

to make the pass he will take more o out of the tyre, he will lose

down force as he runs in the dirt tear of the Ferrari. That is

Grosjean, he is having a horrible time today. He has been struggle

with the car. He couldn't understand why the car wasn't good

in qualifying. He is mystified and he is having a torrid time this

afternoon. That was a replay of Vettel running wide on the exit of

turn 11. Good afternoon, running wide on the exit of turn 12 as he

enters the stadium. That would suggest you have the replay in turn

11 and when he goes into the stadium here, runs ow on to the

artificial grass. Muem nuem the pits. That is interesting. He loses

the place to Kobayashi. They have had to go for quite a late pit-stop.

Garyer are you surprised? Do you think they have to play it careful

and make sure they are in good shape at the end? I am surprised.

Their strategy wasn't work out. They gained good positions, but

they may be try doing the same thing. 14 laps to go. Put the soft

tyre on, brand-new set. If they can go for 14 qualifying laps which

Mike kl do. Have to see how it works out in the end. Back on track

again, saw a bit of dust kicks up. I wonder if we can find out who

that was. We are onboard with Vettel. He ran wide out of the last

corner. He was he the one that kicked up the dust. Has to do a big

catch, and then runs wide as you say, picks up that demust the run-

off area, so he is trying and it looks like some carbon from the

accident at the beginning of the race or from the underside of the

car is thrown up into the air. RADIO: There is a lot of traffic

ahead. Pick up DRS off the traffic. So Jensen maybe able to use that

traffic to his advantage, and we will see whether that allows him a

bit more of an attack. There is confirmation of Schumacher's

fastest lap. He is flying. Next time round he is not quite so quick.

Let us see what has been going on here. Rosberg in the background

getting past Hulkenberg. Past di Resta, sorry. That is di Resta. I

think he held on to it. Nfrpblt the breaking zone, Paul, very early on

the brakes. Nico making full use of the option tyres on the braking.

Meanwhile, with Schumacher flying, Perez may struggle to fend

Schumacher off when he gets a bit closer, that is in the battle for

sixth place. Perez has done a lot lap, he will have done 35 laps by

the end of the race. So not that bad yet. He is going a long way on

the tyres. Alonso in the traffic. Can this help stkpwhruth not really,

he is not close enough. Lop being very clever, very canny,

positioning the car and just getting it into a good position,

Button closing up under braking, will lose that again under

acceleration. Hamilton is out of the German Grand Prix. And it is

all over. And another non-finish following on from the accident in

Valencia a few weeks ago, now it's a non-finish in Germany, and his

title challenge not in tatter, but definitely not where he wants it to

be. Onboard with Perez who has tires that have done a fair few

laps. You wonder, I am sure they wouldn't do it, they could have a

placebo Button, the boost Button, drivers who have been adjusting

Buttons coming in and telling the team how it changed the car, only

to be told that particular switch wasn't connected to anything.

that done to you, have you? I never did that! Of course not. Alonso

leading the race, and in terms of the championship, if it stays the

way it is right now, it would be very very healthy, in terms of

Alonso's lead. Webber second in the point, only running in eighth place.

Vettel of course, he is still in the hunt, very much in the hunt in

championship terms, he is down in third. If it stays like it is now

Alonso could go with a 34 point lead in the Championship. But let

us not call that yet, because Button is there and Vettel is also

a little closer this time. Yes, Vettel getting in, he's got his

sight on how many laps to the end of this race, he will have a

feeling as to how much he can take out of the tyres, a healthy gap to

Raikkonen of 11.8 seconds, so all- or-nothing at this stage. The race

is on between the Ferrari, the McLaren, and the Red Bull, for

three different manufacturers, they have all had race victories this

year. But the battle for the Championship very much between the

three of them. The Red Bull dominating the constructors but in

the drivers it is a much tighter affair. As Jensen went with the

yellow G2 it looks like Alonso has pushed the black prancing horse in

the middle of his steering wheel and he is giddying up and pulling

out the gap. It is 1.3 second. He is breaking the DRS. So there is

confirmation of what the points would be if it stays as it is right

now, Kobayashi still in fifth. Perez is in sixth. Schumacher

seventh. We are hearing that Michael Schumacher has been told he

needs a 25 metre lift, which will be to save fuel, you will be, if

you use the brake marker boards into turn six, he is braking at one

hundred, then he thats to work out where 125 is and lift out at that

point. He coasts all, coasting in a Formula One car is more braking

than you would get in a road car.. Gary will tell us how much drag

that creates. It is profrbl a G. Typical road car, if you are lucky

you pull a G in any kind of lateral or deceleration. There we are.

Looking at the stops we have seen, and the tyre compounds that have

been used. They have all gone with the same strategy. That is a oft

tyre to start with, then medium. The harder for the next two stints.

Five laps to go. Gary, let us get a comment from you, not only on that

and what we are seeing and the lap times they are doing? Alonso, if he

was asked that was about trying to get as much power as he could for

the rest of the race, to hold Button off. It looks as if he has

nuend little bit to allowed him to get out of the DRS, through that

traffic. So the ris, the race is only going to be about not making

that mistake, they are so close one little error and you have lost the

position. It is a tight battle between Alonso, Button and Vettel.

Button dropping back a fraction on the last lap or two. Made a great

passing manoeuvre on Alonso some years ago here at Hockenheim. He

was trying to hang on to his melt, which was loose. He pulled off a

great move of that season. It was for a second place finish. But to

do it here today, let us wait and see, Button has never won a German

ahead now. Michael Schumacher going into the 10, 11 section. Using the

break adjustment with his left hand, he doesn't like that. We see a lot

of bad from Michael. And that is Perez just up ahead. That is sixth

position for Michael Armley is much fresher tyres. Jenson was held up

by the HRT, so he will be able to use his DRS. He is not close enough

to very Jenson enough to go defensive, but look how close he is.

So from Jenson Button being on the attack, he is now having to defend

from Sebastian Vettel. Can Vettel get himself back into second place?

The pit stops have worked so well for McLaren but are they beginning

to struggle in the final sections of this race for grip? Perhaps the

tyres have overheated slighted. They are still learning how to set

this car up after all of the modifications they made for the

weekend. Vettel very wide on turn 11. He will get away with it one or

two times, but if he is systematically using it to gain

performance, I imagine race control will send a message to the team

manager. As we come around to complete another lap, crossing the

line, 64 laps, three to go. 2.4 seconds is the gap now, so it has

gone up by half a second between Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button,

with Vettel close enough to use the DRS. And again, Alonso has managed

to clear the traffic in front. big slide. A bit back-end slide

from Jenson Button. It is those rear tyres. That would have been

using KERS leaving Newtownabbey -- leaving turn two. As soon as Vettel

is able to use DRS, at around 50 kilometres an hour for Red Bull.

Jenson Button has been out of any decent points for Red Bull for such

a long time -- or McLaren for such a long time and at the moment, it

is slipping away and he has to work hard to get Sebastian Vettel behind.

Again, it looks like Vettel will not be winning his home Grand Prix

but any chance of second, he will be going for it. And past the high

seat at the grandstands at Hockenheim, some traffic to

negotiate. They have some Marussia, they have to try and get why

without losing any time at all, dead the HRT is ahead of them. Two

laps to go, Jenson Button holding on to second. Jenson Button was one

second slower than Alonso on that lap, so it looks like it is all

over for that win. Vettel is right in the DRS zone, he will get the

activation. Jenson Button using his KERS to get defensive, but look at

the over speed that Vettel is getting. Sebastian Vettel is going

there the outside, trying to get past the McLaren. They are still

side by side. He has done it, Sebastian Vettel takes second place

once again from Jenson Button. Much to the delight of the local fans,

but Jenson Button is not quite giving up yet. Vettel should have

the place now but I am not sure he has the pace to chase the race

leader, because Alonso has just done a personal best in the first

sector. The Ferrari is flying. we consider the use of DRS. Jenson

Button goes defensive, Vettel pulls to the left. It is all about the

brakes. Side by side, using up a little bit of KERS. And the clever

boy has gone out and realised he can use the run-off from the exit

of that corner. We have -- I run the final lap, Fernando Alonso has

driven superbly once again. He may have missed out on victory last

time... TEAM RADIO: The FIA are aware. That is a good point, all

four wheels were off? Did he gain an advantage? Jenson has a point. I

said it was clever of Sebastian to realise there was based there, but

technically, the racetrack is defined by the white lines -- there

was space there. It is part of the sport that you run over kerbs and

the lines, but that could be looked at by the stewards. On board, we

are with Fernando Alonso and this race has gone absolutely like

clockwork for the Ferrari team. He has just got the final few corners.

Ferrari are heading for their 21st victory of a German Grand Prix.

Just beat Double right-handers to come through. Fernando Alonso takes

his third win of 2012, his third win of the German Grand Prix, and

back-to-back wins at Hockenheim. Second place goes to Sebastian

Vettel. Third goes to Jenson Button, only his fourth podium finish of

the 2012 Stadium. So although he lost seconds at the closing stages,

he will be so much happier than we have seen recently. Kimi Raikkonen

crosses the line in fourth. We are waiting to see... Kobayashi his

fifth, so he matches his best result of the season. Perez is

sixth. Sauber had done a stunning job with by a car as well inside

the point. Michael Schumacher comes in seventh place. Fernando Alonso

celebrates. TEAM RADIO: Es! -- yes! Thank you. That was fantastic again.

Tonight, we have a party. little party on the plane. And just

confirmation that race control are looking into the incident when

Vettel overtook Jenson Button, and if he was deemed to get an

advantage by running off the track, they could reverse that. We will

have to see what the KERS. Jenson would like to be promoted back to

second place -- what happens. Let's see what they decide. So Fernando

Alonso takes victory from Sebastian Vettel in second place and Jenson

Button in third. Kimi Raikkonen with a fighting for but never on

terms with the leaders. Kobayashi Jenson saying, they are going to

investigate will overtake. Sebastian saying he didn't care

where Jenson was, so he was giving him space, so it could be a fair

defence. Fernando Alonso has that winning victory again, victory in

Germany at the halfway stage. He has built himself a useful lead.

Jenson Button, it is his 46 Korea podium, tied with Lewis Hamilton,

but a few more races and it Jenson back row's belt. The 100 to race

for Lewis did not go quite to plan. for Lewis did not go quite to plan.

for Lewis did not go quite to plan. for Lewis did not go quite to plan.

What a fantastic result, Stephan Louw, you must be delighted with

the way things are going. Do they was a great day, with victory for

Fernando and the team, but I always said that it is only halfway

through the season, we have seen things that change so quickly, we

cannot afford to lose concentration, we need to be perfect in all points

of the performance. We need to start managing the tyres,

understanding the tyres, bringing downforce on to the car. Otherwise,

with such a tight season, you cannot really win. We do since the

beginning it was tough, we couldn't imagine it was said to have, so

that is why I asked people to stay with their feet on the ground. OK,

tonight they can celebrate. A lot of people in testing were saying

the Ferrari would not be very good. Tonight, Fernando is celebrating

his third win of the season. the people speak, we don't care. We

don't need to follow. Of course, it was not really a car at the

beginning of the season, so we knew that we could have performed well

in the winter, but as I said to my engineers, let's stay cool, I can

count on the fact that other people are very good, we need to just

focused on how long it takes and as I said, there is a long way to go.

If you are the fastest, you can be relaxed, but you can see today,

McLaren are back after a week when everyone was saying McLaren is

through. Red Bull is always strong, but you see the other teams, very

close. If you love that classification, the gaps, if you

make a mistake and have a problem, it is difficult. Fernando always

makes a good start in a Grand Prix, he did another one today but had a

he did another one today but had a clear road ahead of him. It must be

so pleasing when you can watch this and it must be a huge relief when

you have such hard charging drivers behind you. It is crucial to start

from the first position, because then you don't have to worry about

the others. It is not such a long straight, so we need to have a good

jump at the beginning and then manage that jump. It is good, as I

said before, we need to work out all the things of performance. In

such a tight race, if you miss the start and you go back, the race can

be totally different. As you say, a lot of points are still on the

board, 250 still available, how are you targeting your development to

try and keep ahead? We saw McLaren take a step ahead this weekend, is

it that you look at one-tenth each race or is it a bigger package?

think the targets should be to be able to bring one-tenth every race,

but it is very difficult. The rules are quite stable now, so the more

that you go up to a peak and the that you go up to a peak and the

curve, the more difficult it is to find performers. And the other

thing I would say is that we did not have the test, you need to make

sure that what you are using is working. If you push it too hard,

you lose the right way to go, so it is fundamental that the base for

development as to keep in the right direction without losing direction,

otherwise it would be difficult to go on the main straight. They queue

so much for joining us, I know you have some celebrating to do --

thank you. As I said, we will celebrate when it counts, but there,

we will be happier. OK, a mini celebration. Let's hear the

thoughts of Fernando Alonso. Fernando, Many congratulations,

dominant all the way and you seemed inch-perfect. P yes, a lot of

pressure from everybody today. Sebastian -- Sebastian..., Lewis.

But it was good to defend. Out of turn three, we had a very good car,

very good traction and we were able to keep position and then the team

did a very good job at the start, it was a fantastic time for the pit

stop and the pit stop itself. The team deserved this victory and we

need to work and little bit too close the gap that we still have

with the competitors, with some good performances, because we

cannot forget that when Sebastian Border Jenson had a bit of free air,

they were quicker than us. -- We heard at the end of the race

that the stewards would investigate the move from Sebastian Vettel on

Jenson Button for second place. Let's hear his explanation.

They making regulations, Sebastian. Jenson Button thinks he will finish

this race second, what you make of that? He didn't say that when we

finished the race. I think it of the question of when, rather than

wear. Jenson's tyres were gone by the end. I try to out-brake him, I

didn't want to squeeze him up the inside and risk a crash, so I

decided to run wide and surely at the outside, I was quite afraid,

because the group is not as good as the track, but in combination with

Jenson's tyres, I was able to stay ahead. I was able to defend. All in

all, I think all I tried to do was too passive and I wanted to make

sure I gave him enough room to survive. Here we can see Sebastian

Vettel heading to the stewards to explain to them. I am not sure what

she thought at home, but the stewards were not convinced. He has

been given a 20-second penalty and that drops into fifth. Christian

. The stewards have ruled that he got ab an unfairal advantage and

the only penalty available is the equivalent of a drive through which

is a harsh penalty,20 secs, drops him to fifth, so you know, it is

one of those things very disappointing, but we have to take

it on the chin. The time in pit is only 12 seconds so it's a much

bigger penalty than a drive through. I mean it is one of those things,

unfortunately, it is the only penalty available to the stewards,

so yeah, it doesn't perhaps fit the crime, even if in our opinion there

wasn't a crime, but, you know, that's it, you know, it's a P5

instead of a P2 so it cost seven, eight points today. We can look at

this now. When you saw the incident, did you instantly know you were

going to be in trouble? No we thought he was in the braking area.

Jensen comes back, he runs wide on to the white line and kerb: You

will see Sebastian getting clear. He goes deep into the corner and

both accelerate and you can see Jensen is on the kerb as well. So

one of those things you call it aration incident. We saw Michael

Schumacher do it a few years ago in a race I think you were in David

and get away with it. Have you spoken to him? How is his mood.

Philosophical. It is his home race, it is very tough to have that kind

of penalty, especially having driven so well, you know, to have a

20 second penalty is a bit harsh. Mark Webber had a difficult day,

from winning two races to then sort of, it seemed he was lost out there.

We didn't see him making much head way? He didn't have a great

afternoon. He wasn't happy with the balance of the car. The the lack of

running on Friday interrupted preparation for the race. He just

found himself out that vital sweet spot with the tyres, so one of

those things. Thank you. Mark Webber walked past there, but

earlier on he spoke to Tom. A frustrating day at the office, you

win two weeks' ago and then we have this kind of race. It wasn't very

special. I couldn't keep a solid pace at all. It was basically

hanging on, obviously I was a bit held up in the first, but after

that, wasn't, just wasn't strong enough at any point in the race to

put up a serious challenge for a decent amount of points, yeah.

Disappointed with, yeah, bizarre to have quite a lot of races very

competitive and you finish one 40 secs away from the leader, so yeah.

Jensen Button will be relieved to be back on the podium, even if it

wasn't on the correct step. He spoke to Tom before his trip to the

stewards. Jensen many congratulations, great to see you

back on the podium. You must be happy. I am. Every race you go in

for, even if you have had a bad race you go in for the win. Wish we

could have got that, but there was no way of getting past Fernando.

All in all a great race. We have to see the stewards after this, to see

what the outcome is, but I think, it looks straightforward to me, but

forgetting that, you know I am happy with the race it was a good

start, good couple of moves on Nico and Michael, and I must say the

boys did a great job. The strategy and pit-stops were phenomenon asm I

wasn't even ready when we did the last one. Ity it was 2.4. Yeah, you

know, amazing and we have made some mistakes this year, but it is

paying off now, and the guys are do a phenomenal job. They brought a

lot of up grades to the track but it was much more than a good car,

this was a supercharged Jensen Button behind the wheel. It is

great to see, he had lost his mojo and was struggling with the car

over the last few Grand Prix, but came back, stunning pit work from

McLaren. He should be happy with his work rate. He made a lot of

overtakes out there, some of them were lightning speed this is a

great one past Nico Hulkenberg. was attune, in tune I should say

with the car, and that allowed him the confidence to, you know, pull

off these overtake, and again, Michael Schumacher, down the inside.

Catches him a bit sleeping on the run down to turn six. The hairpin

where where Jensen came alive. You can see through turn one, that is

the maidge magic moment he sees Sebastian Vettel Ovett vet. Jensen

has the experience of where the tyres are, saeb bit uncertain on

the new tyres running down into turn two and pulls off the pass.

What goes through a driver's mind when question see the driver he was

racing against and it is going to be edge to Edgecombeing out of the

pits. You wonder where they are going to be, as you come out of the

pit lane it is the say if it works you think yes, then if it doesn't

you immediately blame the team! That case it worked wonderfully for

McLaren. They have taken a hammering this season but this is a

pit-stop they won't mind seeing time and time again. We can see the

comparison to one with Sebastian Vettel one lap later. This was

crucial for the race. As you can see 2.4 seconds. McLaren, we gave

them a lot of criticism earlier in the year for failed pit-stops but

they were trying to perfect this system. We can actually see the

wheel nuts that are held within the wheel. That is key to them being

able to get quick pit-stop, they don't have to take it off with the

gun. They bring in the next set. Incred Jensen laughing, saying he

wasn't even ready. It is just, it is almost a split second. It is

difficult for us and you at home to imagine how quick that is. Well, we

used to be incredibly impressed if you could co-under 3 seconds. But

at 2.4. When we will we see them go under 2. I must be possible?

Hamilton, it really wept wrong from the start. The car didn't seem to

get away, whether that is something in the software, the programming or

something Lewis is doing, I am sure they will analyse that, hiz -- his

race fell apart and got a puncture. After retiring he spoke to Tom.

Lewis, an incredibly frustrating race, talk us through it. Well,

didn't get off to a great start and we had a puncture, unlucky to have

that, then we had damage on the car, and that was it. What caused the

puncture? I have no idea. I think it was, I this it was debris, after

turn two, some guys in front seem to have broke wings or something,

and I saw the debris come out and it must have hit the car and

damaged it. You had to do almost a whole lap with the kphurpbg, was

there any damage to suspension? rear floor is damaged. I think a

dip was destroyed as well. Perez and Kobayashi. Guys what a

fantastic race for yourselves and for Sauber after a couple of non-

points scoring finishes, you have managed to get saub eover the 3

hundred point mark, you must be pleased. Of course. Especially

after yesterday, you know with such a bad qualifying. We had the pace

all the weekend, and we didn't put it together in qualifying. We went

out too late and couldn't warm up the tyres. It was difficult

qualifying but we nerve gave up. I had a penalty so I had to go back,

I started at 17 and to finish 6th is a great result. For me team-mate

it's a great result. It didn't seem to hold you back. You were charging

through the field at some points? We had a fantastic pace.

Unfortunately the main issue was that that I had a problem with my

first on laft 15. The rim was coming out. I had to stop. I lost

1.5 seconds, plus the stop, I had to stap very early. So it was a big

shame. But any way, I think we have done a good job. We recover from

that. It was difficult to lose it but it was a good result for the

team. We saw you with hubg. You got into a battle with him. You got

into a great battle between yourselves as well. It seems to be

a lot of respect between you two as team-mates. We had different tyres,

so we know each other and of course the target is to be the best of

ourselves, we don't risk too much and I think that is important for

the team-mate and I think we do good. What do you think you are

lacking in the car to take you to the next level? You had your podium

earlier in the year. It is a great team result today, but there is a a

bit more needed to give you the performance? This weekend, if you

put, if you take into account, every weekend is changing but

specially this weekend, and in Silverstone, we qualify very well.

We then in the six minutes we choose the wrong tyre and we start

12th and it is difficult to recover. Again, here, we went out in the

wrong time, and we qualify, I qualify 12, plus I have a penalty

so I qualify 17, so I think it is to focus on getting the weekend

right and. We saw great overtakes from you, that has ban trademark

and I think we have, we are able to look at an overtake you had with

Mark Webber. In is a good one. He is closing on myself on the inside.

I try to stay inside. I think I am not sure, I can't stop. I had good

sad vantage from the tyre, but that was the right move. Can we just

show what is happening here, maybe before David get their shoes very

clean. Guys, thanks very much it has been great talking to you, a

great day for Sauber.. Thank you very much. Sebastian Vettel's 20

second penalty moves him from Well, Fernando Alonso's three

victories means he is taking aifies lead heading into the next ten race.

In the Constructors Championship, David, Fernando Alonso is bound to

be a happy man, ten races to go, he is leading the Championship. A lot

of points still on offer, but this is a car that was deemed not to be

very good at the start of the season. It wasn't and it was second

in Melbourne. They have developed it well. They have a different full

suspension and that seems to be working for them now, but is it the

best car in Formula One? It was in pole position and it won the race.

He sleeding the Championship. They have developed it well. Fernando

Alonso said it wasn't the fastest carton grid, do you think that is

still the case? Well, he was on pole in changing weather conditions,

so it was a great drive from him, and clearly it was fast enough for

him to control the race. When it looked like we were going to have a

Grandstand finish he somehow found pace and opened out that gap. So,

yeah, it has developed fantasticically. In a week's time

the chequered flag will have fallen in Hungary. You can see highlighted

on Saturday and the race on Sunday. At least the Olympics are upon us,

the opening ceremony is on Friday 7.00, on BBC One and BBC HD. David,