The Indian Grand Prix - Qualifying Highlights Formula 1

win, he is the first back-to-back winner of the season. Yes, baby!

wins his career, it is three out of three in Asia. Thanks boys.

likes this part of the world, doesn't he and the man famous for

driving a Bull is perhaps bet er compared to an Asian tiger. Has he

struck at the right time? Can he maintain momentum? Welcome to

qualifying for the Indian Grand Prix. David Coulthard is alongside

me. There is no reason to think he will lose his form? No-one has won

back-to-back race, it seems the momentum is there and it can only

be fate over reliability that steps in his back. Way. We are getting

close, the whole season is distilled down to this four race

battle. It is not just about point, it is about momentum. It is key,

going into the last four Grand Prixs and it looks like the

development momentum is Red Bull and the rest are being left behind.

Fernando Alonso, no race wins since July. He needs to find some form at

the right time, but Ferrari will be happy they are currently sitting in

front of McLaren. McLaren have had the fastest car all season. They

haven't managed to turn it into a contender in the drivers or the

constructtors. We have arrived, race 17 of this record 20 race

Formula One season. We have arrived in India, it is amazing to think

two years ago we took a trip here and this is what we found. It is

remarkable what has changed. shows the power of engineering,

they took this site, when you visited it was medal of the monsoon

and muddy and horrible that. Have created a Grand Prix track and one

the drivers enjoy. The Grandstand is impresieve. It wasn't easy

trying to drive round this place in a 4X4, it looks just as hard

driving a Formula One car round here in 2012. So the best drives in

the world, the best car, how do they make it look hard? The track

is challenging, they have done a great job creating a lot of

indulaition, a lot of blind corner, and the way the modern Grand Prix

cars it creates difficulty with braking. That is why they are

making a few mistakes. Nothing really happened for the rest of the

year racing wise, does that play into it? Tfrpblgts circuit is dusty.

We refer to it being green. The best lap of the track will be on

Sunday, when it comes to the chequered flag and it won't get

used again until the following year. It is something that evolves. We

talk about it being a living thing. The rubber is going down with each

track they drive -- lap they drive. In the pit lane it is looking busy.

Lots of people have turned up. They will hope the action on track

remains exciting. One man who struggled yesterday, was a certain

Felipe Massa. Not the perfect way to celebrate an extended Ferrari

I am sure you are glad people like my can stop asking you question

like will you be at Ferrari next season? Not like you, because you

are nice. People like most of the journalist, I think, is a nice

relief, you know. I think it is good because I can concentrate on

my job, on the race, and not, you know, having all these questions

all the time, so I am happy any way. When did you find out you were

going to be station at Ferrari? would say after the, after mons is

a. I would say the second part of the season with all the good

results helps as well. And your ruls have been going from strength

to strength. The last two races have been great. What do you put

that down to? Is it the car or you? Both, the first part of the season

was very difficult. Very bad, you know. He hasn't appeared to be

comfortable. It was negative. And I then when you go in the car to have

fun, is when you just do your job, you know, with the much better

result, at the end, and things like positive things is coming together.

Fernando Alonso sounded unsettled. Do you think Ferrari are doing

enough for him. There was many races we didn't do an improvement.

I mean that is clear. But I would say many race also in the first

part of the season, we didn't have the quickest car on the track and

he did a good job. He was able to score many many good points without

having the bas carton track. Do you think Ferrari have a chance to win

the constructors? Is that the bat t -- battle you are in? The chance to

win the Constructors Championship is very tough, so maybe we need to

have a race that maybe both Red Bull will not finish and maybe we

are first and second. We need to keep pushing. It is important to be

in front of McLaren, the difference is very small, but I think I am

getting stronger and stronger all the time. It is important to carry

on like that, for this four races, on like that, for this four races,

but also for next year. A smiley flation there, he will be happy to

know -- Felipe Massa there. It is the team that everybody wants to

drive for. It sound like that fourth place in mons ya was the

moment they said yes. Certainly his form has improved in the second

half of the year. Putting to one side he is a well liked chap in the

paddock, the beginning of the season wasn't good enough. He seems

to have found form. If he can keep that up and into next year there is

no reason why the guy who almost won the World Championship couldn't

have a longer career at Ferrari. But one more year. Being totally

honest he had had a tough 18 month, can you write off 18 months of

struggle by saying he has been good for the last few races so let's

keep him? The past would tell us that is very difficult to do so,

but he seems, I think that was a Frank and open interview, so he

does seem to be in a happy place, you know, that is when he has

performed at his best, so he has to deliver those performances to

secure his long-term future in Formula One. He is right. Lee is a

lot nicer than some of the other journalist, you not included. Here

is Leigh with the latest news at the Indian Grand Prix. After 16

races the Championship is reaching its climax. Mathematically the top

six drivers could still win the title. Realisticly it is between

Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso. We are been doing 16

perfect race, so we need to do another fourth, even with another

four perfect races I think we will be close. With two double World

Champions looing looking for a title they know it is not just a

battle between them but a war of development between Ferrari and Red

Bull. If you try to beat the others with a bike, good luck, for sure

you need to have a the right car. It is the combination, I think, if

you look at the last couple of year, the one that deserved it most won.

But some drivers are concentrating on writing their name in the

history book, others are trying to get their name on the 2013 entry

list. Despite a great podium at his home Grand Prix Kobayashi was

trying to find sponsors to keep him in the sport. We need 100,000, we

need one million money, which is everybody is surprised a bit, and

even one or two million, I mean, in this time Formula One it is not

enough. While he is searching for sponsors, Kovalainen had a message

for his boss who is running two drivers next season He won't be

getting money, that is for sure. I mean for me the main focus is try

to give performance level as high and the main target is to regain

that position, and then recover in the next year. Tony will decide

what he wants to do. New Jersey has been taken off the calendar for

2013 which brings it down to 19 races but Bernie ebgl on the says

F1 will visit more countries in the world, and that could be bad news

for fans in Europe. We will probably move into two or three

others places in world. Maybe we will lose a couple of races in

Europe. What is the reason for that? It is because the finance to

keep these teams running comes from all different parts of the world,

not Europe. Unfortunately. Qualifying action coming your way

in a moment. Where better to be moments before qualifying than

standing next to the fastest car in Formula One. The man that drives it

Vettel was inspired by Formula One racing in Europe, as a young guy.

It is difficult to keep taking it further and further away from

Europe. That is a stark warning. is. It is worrying given so much of

the history of Formula One has been built on European soil, Britain

rightly lead the way in terms of the majority of teams and

engineering, designing and what have you. As nice as it is to go on

this journey of disrov -- discovery it makes it difficult for the fans

to visit. It is all about success, there is a few clue tons floor as

to why Red Bull are at the front of the pack. That is paint that is

painted on the car. It confirms the airflow across the surface of the

car, and it is backing up whatever they have done in the wind tunnel.

Which means they are bringing new parts to the race, which means they

are trying new things and pushing. They bring new parts to every Grand

Prix. It gets more difficult for some of the teams with smaller

budgets but that is the push to have success. And the team leader

will head back to Britain in between these Grand Prix and the

next one to, work on this car's development, next year's car's

development then back to try and win the races. Are we looking at

the championship car? Today could be telling. Let us get to the

action. Gary is patrolling the area events in Asia in 2012 gets

underaway with the start of Q1. The first elimination battle of the day.

Gary, what have you gleaned from watching practice three, in terms

of the tyre use and where do you any the cut off will lie for those

aiming to be at in the top 17? morning's session was interesting.

Not got on their ultimate lap.Ed they didn't have the balance to use

the soft tyres. We expect the Red Bull to be up the front they seem

to have a little bit of a bonus here, as far as car performance is

concerned. I think they will have to nip into the 26, 27. If I

haven't done 27 on my first run I would be panicking. You will have

to push hard to do that on the hard tyre. First up Paul di Resta. He

has come through turn six and seven. Eight and nine. Fast through here

and then, this long looping right hander. Double apex corner.

to be fantastic to drive. That is when a Grand Prix car really comes

alive. Lewis Hamilton contract in the

McLaren. Will they be able to deliver a performance this weekend?

Hamilton qualified well here last year but had a penalty for ignoring

a yellow flag on a Friday. Sophie did not end up on the grid exactly

where he had qualified. But he was fast here last season. Felipe Massa

has now done a better time. Hamilton going into the last corner

there are trying to stop his lap. He is trying to back out of some

traffic ahead of him. There was a group of cars in front of him. I

would suggest that is not the ideal way to start a laugh, by going so

William's first and third at the moment and that is looking

impressive from them. Felipe Massa just at the apex fare, locking up

slightly. He went very wide on the exit. He is down in eighth place,

Hamilton. He lost eight tense in the last

sector. That surely did not happen just in the last corner. Let us

take a look. Gary, what are your thoughts there with him losing so

much in the final sector? Well I do not think she he was able to get

the throttle back on. You do not need much in that corner to lose

quite a lot of time. This is the start of a quick lap for Fernando

Alonso, just a bit of correction. He hit the sausage curve, as they

are affectionately known. And that just unsettled of the car and he

got some oversteer. Sebastian Vettel goes fastest straight away.

Three tenths quicker than Maldonado. Felipe Massa up on a good lap. Oh

no, he has lost it! He has thrown it all away. That is the Challenge

of qualifying. That was a nerve- racking moment for him. There is

not a loss of run-off on the inside of the race track there and it

looked as if the momentum of the car would taking on to the grass.

That was well held. But looking at how he was holding on to the

steering wheel, he did not put on much correction. Just waiting to

see what is going to happen. It did not look quite so scary from the

outside but on the inside you can imagine that you lose a load of

downforce and there is just that sensation that actually the car is

speeding up. Do you think he might have gone on DRS? He may have done.

But it looked as if he had already started to lose control of the car

through the Apax. -- apex. Hamilton keeps it between

the white lines which is the crucial thing.

This circuit changes quite dramatically and gets better with

more rubber down. And it is probably hotter than it was coming

into the session. This is probably quite a good time for putting in a

good laugh. Hamilton fastest in the first sector which is about

straight-line speed rather than it speeded through the corners. No

real improvement in this sector and he is in dangerous territory.

suggests that he has the benefit of DRS. Look at his left tyre and the

right rear tyre just vibrating on of will. It just looks as if it has

not got enough pressure to support the side wall. Now Mark Webber has

not got himself in the top 17 as yet so the means this lap to work

for him. There is some traffic around, as you can see. He has got

to clear that without too many problems. Pedro de a rosette is the

next one up ahead, he may not be quite so easy to get past if he is

on a time that himself. Look at the difference in speed. Mark Webber is

saved, he goes through to the next stage of qualifying. Jean-Eric

Vergne is in the danger zone. One place will be lost. Bruno Senna

down in the danger zone recently as well. If you have a car failure

them often you cannot make it through to the next stage of

qualifying. They are now switching on to the softer tyres to make sure

they get through to the next stage. They obviously feel that using up a

valuable set of those softer tyres come up we will find out just what

that Offset is between the compound Rangers. -- ranges. Timo Glock is

visiting in 21st place, as are some way short of making it through to

the next part of qualifying. They seemed to have stalled a bit with

their development pace with this car. They also struggle with tracks

like this with no KERS package. Jensen Button is in 10th place.

Hamilton now very safe, he has gone second. So McLaren to have some

pace here. Buzz and should be OK. Still using those hard compound

tyres. -- button. Interesting that the teams have all gone with doing

several laps and that means that they have to carry the fuel, which

is a weight penalty. And there is not the potential to do that first

lap time. But it seems to be a characteristic of this track.

of the midfield grit cars now out on track on the softer tyres and

they were all tried to move of that order. Paul di Resta it down in

17th place, so very much in danger territory but he is on the softer

compound tyres. He got a personal best in the first and second

sectors. So this should put him comfortably up where he needs to be.

We have got some traffic ahead but I do not think it is going to

affect him. The HRT is going to block him at the last corner.

gets across the line in 14th place but he will not be happy about that.

Pedro de Roser was just ahead of him there. It is not easy to keep

out of the way. Kimi Raikkonen doing well. It looks as if this

will be a bit of an improvement. 1:26:7 his time. He is right up

there with Lewis Hamilton. That is a good lab in deed. And it tells us

that those upgrades that Lotus have been working on, perhaps they have

got something to actually work. Daniel Ricciardo, having a good

laugh. His team-mate half a second slower. The chequered flag so Verge

will not be going through into the top 17. He has not been here before

and perhaps that makes a bit of a difference as well. Hamilton has

just had another good lap. But Nico Rosberg has gone second on the

softer tyres. Michael Schumacher at managing to get into the next stage.

He also went on to a bit softer tyres. Heikki Kovalainen who was

trying to be quicker than his team- mate, has gone into the gravel

track. Disappointing for Heikki Kovalainen as he fights for a seat

in Formula 1. No confirmation as yet that he will be at Caterham

next year. Pastor Maldonado just went quicker there at the end.

are going to have to sweep that gravel before the next session

starts. An uncharacteristic error there from Heikki Kovalainen. That

must be just about the only gravel track on this race track. He cannot

even playing the traffic ahead. Very unlucky. He controlled the

spin and basically drifted to the inside of the corner. That is

literally the only piece of gravel on this track.

So these are the cars currently in the knockout the zone. Some cars

make it through as always, at some sadly not doubt been the first part

of qualifying. And Jean-Eric Vergne, you have not been in the biz -- in

his position for a while. What were the issues? Something was not

really working. And this morning we started again and it has been quite

complicated. It is a shame. But as we have seen in the last races come

up we have always been able to make up the time in the race and we will

try to do that this morning. When it shows that there is pace in the

car, your team-mate got a good time. The car has always been quite good.

It was good last year. And this kind of track does suit the cars

are the race should be better for us. The track itself is a Challenge

for the drivers. It is a Challenge. But I think it should give us a

good race tomorrow. A very tough session for him and

disappointment. But what about the men who made it through to the

second part of qualifying? They now had the chance to fight for pole

position. The second part of qualifying has

begun. Cars still sitting in the pit lane as we wait for them to

come on to circuit. Gary, it was all pretty fraught in the first

part of qualifying but now it really gets intense to try to get

into the top 10. For sure. The track does look a bit slower this

morning. This will be the tricky one. 26.5 would see you through.

But you do not want to be outside of that.

The penultimate corner now for a ran out on to the kerb. Hamilton is

fast in the middle sector. He sup on the times. What out for Vettel,

because he is faster. Behind Hamilton. E-- Hamilton. Vettel is

flying. The Red Bull is looking in great shape. Into the final turn

comes Hamilton. It's a 1:26.0. Here comes Vettel and he will go in

1:25.4. Six tenths of a faster than the McLaren of Hamilton. That is a

big margin. Maldonado, that time we have seen from Vettel, - Maldonado

through ten and 11. Strange to shift down gears. Vettel, coming

back to his time, that is four tenths faster than what he managed

on the soft tyre. They felt they had left a bit of performance

behind. That confirms it as Maldonado backs out and heads to

the pits. Webber had -- Webber has gone second. Ricciardo crosses the

line sixth fastest for Daniel Ricciardo on the Toro Rosso.

Rosberg, fastest rvingser than Hamilton. That is a surprise that

Rosberg is quicker in the Mercedes than Hamilton in the McLaren

Mercedes, and, well, wasn't expecting that. Expecting the

McLaren to be quicker. Mercedes have struggled in recent races.

This is one to watch. Kimi Raikkonen T Lotus has been look

competitive so far. Let us see where he gos with that. Only sixth

for the moment. We have Michael Schumacher coming out. Let us see

how he fares. Somewhere short of the lap of Rosberg who had 25 .9.

So there is po tn shall to come there. Watching Grosjean, that was

a bit of an error from the Frenchman, straight on the grass.

He has been looking not that comfortable all weekend. As we

mentioned earlier, through practise, one moment in qualifying we see a

lock up from Massa over the rise. Held it this time. If you are in

any doubt what oversteer is you have just seen a perfect example.

Grosjean hasn't looked comfortable. He has been thanking the team for

their support and helping him through the issues he had at the

start. But at the moment Raikkonen is showing his experience, and it

is a big challenge for Grosjean, to really, if he is going to show

himself as being a driver for the future, he has to be able to beat

Raikkonen. Good lap coming from Fernando Alonso. He is showing good

pace in first and second sectors, Alonso, the Championship rival to

Vettel. Second in the points right now. Let us see what he does as he

comes across the line. He is only fourth in the end behind Rosberg.

Still an impressive lap. Raikkonen no change. Interesting how

Raikkonen and muem have the same lap time to the thousandst of a

second. Impressive stuff. Looking at Alonso's sector, he is losing

half a second to Vettel in the last sector alone, which is only four

corners. One is pretty high speed. Then you have 15, 16 are medium

speed turns as Webber is lighting up our timing screens. Gone purple

in the middle sector he is three tenths down on Vettel, but he has

made that up in the middle sector. Let us see how he finishes the lap.

He is second. He has a faster lap but still ends up second. Red Bull

running one and two then, we still have six-and-a-half minutes of this

session to go. Now, let us see what Hamilton is doing. We haven't seen

Jensen Button doing much although he is out on circuit. He is

building up to a lap. Gary, quick word from you, are you surprised

that Rosberg is up there in - sorry, Hamilton, getting it all wrong, we

have seen a couple of people getting it wrong and losing the

back end, sliding wide and having to back out, but Gary, that

performance from Rosberg looking strong. It is looking strong. You

have to look tt off set to Schumacher and Rosberg did pull a

lap out of it. If he can do it twice, I don't know, but that

should get him through to the top ten comfortably. So Rosberg should

be safe. Hamilton has to go again. He has set an impressive first

split time there, 41.3, so impressive performance potentially

as Felipe Massa gets ready to km out. It looks like a lot of the

drivers are struggling with the need to have to run so much front

wing to get through ten and 11. Massa has to wait for his team-mate

to push back in. Unusual for a team-mate not to communicate well

enough to have a man sitting there. Because of the lay out of the track,

it looks like they have to run so much wing for ten and 11 it makes

the car vulnerable on entries, so you have a feeling of too much load.

If you don't run the wing, and given how long ten and 11 are you

lose too much time. That is an engineering and driving challenge.

Jensen Button goes sixth fastest with that lap. I wonder if he will

keep on pushing and see if he can do another quick lap. We have seen

some of them doing that. Hamilton was on a lap that would have seen

him improve. Who is going to get in the top ten? Riding onboard with

Paul di Resta who is down in 12th place. Ten is Senna, but we think

they are going to need more. Mid 26s probably to get into the top

ten, and perhaps even more, onboard, as I say with Paul di Resta as he

comes down this long, long straight. It is about a kilometre long. Even

if a Formula One car it takes a little while, some 14 seconds of

full throttle, all the way down, and into turn four. A lock up we

see from the rear camera shot there. Doesn't appear to have affect his

apex and exit. Down a little bit on the pace that he has been showing

so far, but he has done a personal best for sector. This is where we

saw Hamilton lose the back end of his car. Another high speed chicane.

That is when it feels fantastic, the approach to ten... Fourth gear

on entry. Unusual selection up to fifth and back down to fourth, so

when he made the gear shift it unsettled the car and immediately

did a shift down. Even though they are seamless shifts it costs you

time, just the sort of shunting effect unsettles the balance of the

car. A bit of uncertainty from Paul there. The balance not 100% to his

liking. Let us see how it finishes. Di Resta is only 12th with that so

he is not in the top ten. You can imagine everyone is pushing. Senna

is tenth currently. Let us watch the lap. Very smooth. A silky style

does Bruno Senna. Into the final corner. Picks up the throttle. Let

us see what it is. Sixth fastest. That is good. He should be safe. It

will be round about that mark, but let us keep an eye on the others.

Pastor Maldonado. He has done a slow one. Hulkenberg 26.6. He

remains eighth. A slight improvement from him. Less than a

tenth but it is helping him at this point, as a critical stage,

watching Schumacher. As we watch Schumacher we have heard that

Rosberg has been told by his engineer he has fuel for three laps

and they expect him to do his best on the third lap. So it is showing

that the Pirelli tyres on the track are reacting much more differently

than we have seen throughout the course of the year, where you get

one flying lap, if you get it wrong you have no chance of improving. So

that will have an effect on strategy tomorrow, of course, but

meanwhile back where it counts in qualifying. Jensen Button just got

third, so he has improved. Four tenths away from the fast rest man

Vettel. That should be safe for him, meanwhile, as you can see Grosjean.

Raikkonen in the drop zone, so it is starting to get intense.

Grosjean has a good qualifying record this year of getting into

the top ten on most occasion, now there is Kimi Raikkonen, but we can

expect to see them lapping through the chequered flag. They can do

several laps on the tyre, the big problem is you have plenty of cars

out and you can be affected by traffic. That is what they will try

to avoid. It looks reasonably good for Raikkonen. Massa is further up,

and through turns six and seven, Lotus looking more compliant and

carrying good speed. Coming up to the mighty ten and 11. Right out to

the kerb, looked inch perfect. Got some traffic ahead. Michael

Schumacher, is he going to get out of the way? Yes, at the last minute.

Not ideal to allow car to pass you in that position, but you have no

choice. You can't impede a car otherwise you will get a penalty.

Down into 16. Let us see how his effort finishes. So is Raikkonen

going to be close to Grosjean. He is eighth, so they are evenly

matched. He has another lap to do. All of them trying to get in one

more lap. Maldonado looking good to get or stay in the top ten at this

point. As he tries to muscle the Williams round. He is down in 17th

but the lap time he is showing is enough to get into the top ten, but

it will be very close. Senna is one of the ones he will attack. That

1:26.4 is the target time. He is three tenths up on Perez's time

Great commitment through the exit of turn 11. Over the rise. Look at

this undue laition bend. It gives you a sense of being on a

rollercoaster and takes what would otherwise be a fairly... He has

gone seventh. Seventh for Maldonado. It has pushed Senna down but he is

hanging on by his finger-tips. He has pushed out. Senna has been

pushed out he can't respond because he has seen the chequered flag.

Michael Schumacher is trying to get into the top ten. Is he doing

enough? Second sector not special, I don't think he can make it. He is

three tenths down but Massa could still make it. Alonso is up there.

Jensen Button, Hamilton. Massa is trying to make it. Schumacher I

don't think will get into the top ten whereas Rosberg is already

there. No Michael Schumacher 149 but what about Massa? He crosss the

line, he is in. In ninth. It push Hulkenberg out. Perez trying to do

it and he is up to eighth. Pushing Grosjean out. So now, we have, I

think everybody across the line. Let us just, no we still have a few

to come. Button, he is safe. He goes quicker, he goes second

fastest there. 1:25.4. That will give McLaren some hope against Red

Bull. Michael Schumacher has been outqualified by Rosberg, and

Rosberg gaining back on that interteam battle. It is 9-8 in

favour of shuem but Rosberg has made it 9-8. So he is fighting back

in the closing stages. I am surprised Michael finished the lap.

He was down in the first and second sector. He will have that in his

cockpit display, and running into the last corner, he was just over

two tenths slower. It would be omit mystic toy think he could find it

on one corner, we will see an incident from Massa locking up. Get

to the apex, but would have damaged the surface of the tyre. He just

made it. He has got into that top ten and Grosjean has not. Let us

look back at what happened to Grosjean. A bit of that oversteer

slide we have seen on a number of occasions at that corner. Six and

seven. Romain Grosjean has not made it but Kimi Raikkonen has. He went

inside the kerb. If he has finished the lap faster, that would have

been deleted. Those out of Q2 Grosjean, Hulkenberg, Senna,

Michael Schumacher, Daniel Ricciardo, Paul di Resta and Kamui

Kobayashi. 300 t of a second between Jensen Button in second

place and Sebastian Vettel the number one man and we can run along

with Grosjean, who walks at a very fast pace. One question, it seems

like a tough car to drive. How was it? Bad! We saw you slipping and

slying round, is the car not feeling right or is it a tough

circuit? It's a tough circuit. The tyres are not working, so the grip

is very low, it is very tight, one mistake, end of story. One mistake

is all it takes, as you can tell not the happiest man in Formula One

right now. Let us get back to the onto the circuit. 10 minutes to

decide who will is going to start from pole position. The top seven

drivers from the Championship have made it into the top 10. We're

seeing a slightly different format to qualifying today. Nico Rosberg

did something like 21 laps full DUP it is unusual to see them doing so

many laps. It just shows that the tyres are a bit too durable for the

track. It will not be strategy, it will actually be racing that counts.

Down the straights there is a little bit more grip. The grip is

good drew the faster it section. But sometimes the balance is not

quite there. So they do a slower lap to adjust the temperatures. So

the third will probably be the best. They will have to try to hammer in

the first lap. You do not have much time, which is the key here. You

have to plan your attack and it is not as if you can just go round and

round was a up what makes it a little easier is the fact that

there are just 10 cars out there so planning for Clear Space turns to

be a bit easier. Then later on we try -- we tend to see them bunching

up as they try to get across the line. Lewis Hamilton will be the

first to go out on to a flying lap. Fighting the will a bit but he has

good speed to the first couple of corners. That is to keep coming up

the hill because you cannot see the apex at all. They know it is fair,

but they have to commit then to the turn before they can actually see

where they are heading. But that is a bit like driving in Monte Carlo

or some of those street circuits. He looked quite slow there, not

happy with this lapse so far. Latinos that these tyres will last

and will be just as good for the next flying lap. But Fernando

Alonso has gone faster it already in the first sector. They have made

an inner loop as well would we explained the gravel but Heikki

Kovalainen was finding earlier in possession. That is probably quite

an exciting corner in its own right. Alonso still going quite quickly

behind Lewis Hamilton. So getting in at a reasonably good early lap.

Let us just keep an eye on Alonso as he comes across 1:25.7. He is

going to have to do a little better than that. This is the replay of

that lock up we had earlier from Hamilton. Alonso has found a little

bit of lap time, but only about a 10th. Sebastian Vettel makes a

mistake! That is unusual. That is a tricky corner however. The first

sector was not looking particularly good anyway. It looks as if he was

on the kerb slightly on entries so when he then committed to the turn

in there was not the same level of grip. I think that was just as

straight forward positioning error. Hamilton back up to speed once

again. Definitely picking up the pace. Reasonably good first sector

but not anything we need to write home about. Will it be quicker than

Alonso? Across the line and Hamilton is second to Alonso at

this stage. Mark Webber on a good lap. Will this be enough to put him

faster than Alonso's yes, he goes quickest. 1:25.3. The fastest we

have seen in qualifying today. Sebastian Vettel still backed off

on his previous attempt of course and will now try to pick it up.

Gary, interesting tactics from Red Bull. They decided not to go with

the extra run on that occasion because the clock is still ticking.

They know that if you can get that first lap, it will be the quickest.

I would expect them just to be dipping intervene 24s. In reality,

you can do that on me and tyres, not tyres that are of two laps old.

It seems to me that the track and the tyres combination this year is

far from the offset that we have seen on other circuits.

It could be a reasonable run. Here is Sergio Perez who will be moving

to McLaren next year. That was slightly wide. Very wide. That is

that apex that you cannot see. It looks as if that caught him by

surprise. It was not that he was correcting. But we will have to

wait and see if that has cost him any time. His best position so far

this year has been that fourth place in Belgium. We have seen some

good performances recently from him. Meanwhile Lewis Hamilton has been

asking the team to increase the tyre pressures a little for his

final run. These are crucial for fine-tuning the car in qualifying.

We see how much movement there is in the side walls of these Pirelli

tyres. Increasing the pressure increases the stiffness of the

tyres. Mark Webber asking for a tiny

change in the front wing. We will see quite a few cars

filling in the gaps here. On board now with Jensen Button who had a

strong finish here last year. A brand new set of tyres ready and

waiting on Lewis Hamilton's car. Jensen Button doing that time at

the moment which is a bit quicker than that opener from Lewis

Hamilton. Jensen Button for 10 stamp on what Mark Webber has done.

-- four tenths down. Jensen Button could come round and do another lap

on that set of tyres but there would then be past their best.

Sebastian Vettel, certainly not the fastest time we have seen. But when

the ad both sectors together he is fractionally up. Very tight between

him and Mark Webber. Can he keep it all neat and tidy on the last

corner? Is he going to beat Mark Webber? He goes faster 1:25.283.

But it is not quite over yet. cars are all grouped together

pretty much finishing off sector one and getting into the Sangin

sector. Kimi Raikkonen certainly - just sitting in 6th place.

Fernando Alonso, the main Championship contender, coming

around to go on to the lab with just 28 seconds of this session

remaining. Felipe Massa following him through. Button, Hamilton, Mark

Webber, all going on to another lap. Sebastian Vettel has got to wonder

what Mark Webber in particular it will do on this one. The he will be

waiting for the radio call from his engineers. Alonso seem to be

grabbing the rear axle and then had to turn away from it which resulted

in locking the front. That has cost it a bit of time. Felipe Massa on a

good lap, very good sector time, the fastest of anybody. He has

found new form in recent races. He now has that contract and is going

even better. Alonso down by six tenths of a second on Sebastian

Vettel's target time. Down towards the final term. Mark

Webber are not doing much on his lap. So Sebastian Vettel looking

Safer and Safer. Felipe Massa crosses the line. He is the 5th.

And now Jensen Button in the third, it slightly quicker on that lap.

Here comes Hamilton who now goes the third. But it is a Red Bull

one-two. Despite all the success that they have had, three in a role,

their first time to get that position on the grid. Mark Webber

have a strong second. Let us take a look back at Mark Webber. That is a

lock up into three. That pesky blind apex cost him some time.

That line up looking like Noah's Ark.

Alonso now has three cars between himself and his major Championship

contender. It has not really been a will start from pole position and

will be on target for four race victories in a row. The first time

he has ever done that in a single season.

As strong qualifying from Red Bull. It is amazing to think with the

dominance your team has enjoyed, it is the first time you ever had a

hat-trick of starts in the grid. Well, whatever! It is a good effort.

Given how competitive it is these days. It is not something we

focused on. It is just something we know is important part of the

weekend. But the amount of work would have done as a team, we just

keep improving the car. And it has gone well for us. We know that

Sunday is important and we are looking forward to that race was

there up as the cars develop it seems that your performance in

qualifying has got stronger so you must be happy with the way that

development is going. I think both myself and Sebastian Vettel have a

big impact on the changes that are made. It is powerful to develop a

car during the season and we have done a good job on that. It is nice

to be able to predict what the car is going to do. We will hear in a

minute from Fernando Alonso. He says that is not actually racing

Sebastian Vettel for the Championship. I think he is opening

up a bit. We saw that a little bit earlier. He is a class act. Double

world champion. But he wants to be further up. Maybe a new haircut

like yours would do the business. Will you be allowed to raise from

the start? Flat out. Going for it. As David can relate to, it is never

at lysed not finishing the first lap of a Grand Prix and going home.

So I will do whatever I can to get through the first lap as quickly as

I can. If that is in front, that is great. Is it is the second, then we

take from there. session in the end, obviously, the

first run, Q3, wasn't fantastic. I was a bit too late on the breaks

for turn four. Went wide, had to abort. I knew I would only have one

lap left. I knew if I could get it together, it should be a decent lap.

And fortunately it was. I was maybe shy in turn four, it was good

enough for pole but big thanks to the team, especially to the guys in

the factory in Milton Keynes. They give us big support, yesterday,

yesterday evening, and I think we made another step forward for today,

so all in all, very happy with the car, yes, seems to suit the circuit,

and in terms of race pace I think we will have to wait until tomorrow

and Friday afternoon. It looks very close, everyone looked competitive,

there wasn't much between the McLaren, Ferrari and us, even the

Lotus. We will have another look that the mistake Sebastian Vettel

referred to. But the important message is that in qualifying Red

Bull are fast but in race pace it is close. McLaren were fast on the

long runs on Friday which is where people are preparing for twrand

pree itself but track position is useful and they have that today.

People might struggle to understand why Red Bull are quick in

qualifying but not in the race. They are able to get the maximum

out of a fresh set of tyres. Maybe it makes the car harder on tyres

when you are doing 20 lap s on a set. If you are Fernando Alonso

listening to that interview. Yor heart sinks when you hear him say

we have improved the car further. There is a chin income that armour

though. They are pushing the limits, and this is the first time he is --

he is trieving with these particular tyres. When you go on

that journey into the unknown which is qal I fiing, it sometimes makes

small errors of judgment. The corners are approaching at high

speed. A difference in where you brake makes a big difference.

was a strong session from McLaren. Jensen Button is with us. Is that

about as close you could have got to the Red Bulls today? Think we

are happy with that. Yesterday was a tough day for us, and really

struggling to get the tyres in a working range. It is something we

had at the start of the year and most teams did. We come here and

struggle with it again. But we have done a great job in geting the car

working, in in its working range. We are surprised in a way we have

extracted that much out of it. heard Lewis's engineer tell him it

was a fantastic lap. You must be happy. I was half to one tenth not

as fantastic! Still pretty good. was a better lap for me. Q3 was OK.

But the circuit gripped up as it always does, but I didn't expect

the balance to change that much. I am happy to be fourth. Look at this

sorry for talking over you. The opening lap, it is all straight

line stuff, but when we get to the end of the sec shin, maybe you can

talk us through the middle part of the lap. It looks fun to drive.

ran wide here, had too much understeer, a bit of lock up, that

is where the tenth was. But, yeah, the next sector is fantastic. You

have five, six, seven, it is very fast. The car is on a knife edge,

and just plant it nicely. A bit of curve there. Up through the gear,

up to fifth for the right left, PFI Pacific Ocean as Martin would say,

then we are into a long. We are told we are allowing to run up. Let

us see how much we do. This is a fourth -fifth gear corner. The car

is so tricky through here, it is skating all over the place. It is

tough how much you do in the movement standing here, then you

play down second gear for the last corner. You have everything. Not

quite the fantastic lap. There was me thinking you were good at

talking over a fast lap. I was loving that. You were just out of

camera shot moving. You feel the move. The cars are slower now. When

you were raising they were faster. As David remind us almost ev reday

in his day it was a man's game. What do you hope for for tomorrow?

With don't know how the car is going to be in the race. Yesterday

it wasn't fantastick. I did two laps but I feel with the updates,

sorry not the updates the development we have done with the

car should help news the race. It is an exciting place to race, we

don't know how we will fare, but looking forward to it.

Congratulations today, and as Jensen pointed out he showed you

the point he lost the tenth round the lap. How much happier are you

at the end of the session than the beginning. It didn't look

comfortable at the beginning, how much did the car change? Not much.

The tyres have been difficult. We have been talking about it all year,

switching the tyres and this is one of the first, one of the only

weekends I have struggled to do that. So you see with Jensen he did

a long run on the option. I think I did at the end so I am happy. But I

wasn't, there is no way I could have beaten Vettel's time. Are you

thinking one-stop strategies. depends how you look after your

Thai, but I think the tyres could last one-stop potentially, and the

long run paces yesterday look close. I think the trar -- Ferraris look

quick. We were there or thereabouts. Hopefully without any issues and

car issue, hopefully we can stay in theifying. That is what -- wanted.

P Fernando, how you feeling about how today went? You were quite a

few plays from Sebastian Vettel. cannot do anything more than this.

We have a similar cars to everyone. I think we were leading the

championship, now that we are fighting against a new car, because

they are first and second in all the race, it is not only Sebastian,

very little to do on Saturday, especially on Sunday, we normally

improve thing, and we are more competitive, so target for tomorrow

is to arrive in front of Sebastian. We need to overtake the McLarens

and put pressure on all the rest to the Red Bulls. If they have an easy

race it will be the worst conditions for us. You are working

hard. Are Ferrari working hard enough to give you the tools?

are working hard. We brought new parts and they work fine we are

happy with your progress, in the two week, the others, they have

propress. It is time for us to work and bring in something more clever.

He still has a smile on his face. What is your reaction. It is

intetion that he is choosing to name one technical experience it's

a slap in the face to whoever heads up the technical department back

home, but he is the number one driver so he is leading the team.

Maybe that is the point, maybe it's a message to us and Ferrari. It is

going to be hard for him tomorrow. He has to fight the McLarens as

well, just to get to Red Bulls. That will be the disappointing

thing he has that buffer of the McLarens, that will make it a long

afternoon. Let us hear from his team-mate who has been -- confirmed

at Ferrari for another year. Felipe Massa. We saw you have a spin, how

ungripy, if that is a word, and how difficult were the tyres? I think

tyre, yes, take a bit for warm up. You will see maybe people doing

one-stop in this race. I think maybe to find the right grip is not

easy. I think it was OK for us, so let us hope our guys are stronger

expecting more or is that OK? it was the wrong decision. What is

the problem, what were you struggling with Just no grip. Like

I say the morning the car was very good, but then... It is always

short and sweet when we hear from him. It wasn't sweet. He is grumpy.

He is frustrated that the teams are left behind in the development

battle. I think it is due to lack of funding. I think frustration is

coming through. He is not looking particularly fit. Which is not

affecting his speed, but clearly motivation is not making him a

happy person. Everybody looks fat next to ewe you it's the bane of my

life. There are a couple of corners you think make a difference,

explain the tough place this is to race. After the first sector where

they are running the straight. They get to this tricky six and seven.

You can key Grosjean losing the back end as he turns into the

corner. He misses completely the right part of the race circuit. You

can see coming off the artificial gra, Hamilton, on turning, starts

the lose the rear of the car and morally style than anything else.

Et if we look at the left rear tyre as we are looking at the shot. Look

at the tyre gripping and then sliding. Gripping then sliding. He

is hang on the rim. Then the current World Champion, doing the

same thing. Loses the rear end and missing the corner. That is what it

should be. The drivers love the track. No-one is saying it is bad.

It is time to talk you through the and Senna shows great pace but he

started to struggle. Michael Schumacher starts in 14th. Paul di

Resta, another struggle for him, he starts 16th on the grid. And Jean-

Eric Vergne was the first man to be knocked out. That is how the grid

shapes up P -- up. It is the same faces to the back, but how can the

man at the friend turn -- at the -- the meant at the front turn it

round. This will be down to the pace of the cars we are getting in

qualifying three and four laps out of soft tyres. Yet Kimi Raikkonen

did a 15 lap run. The tyres got better and better. If you have a

look at my pit stop strategy it shows that a one-stop is the

fastest but in reality you are putting things at risk but doing

that. I am sure the 24 seconds for a two stop. The car that wins the

race I think will do a two stop strategy. The cars are slower than

last year. Last year's race was two minutes faster than the race we

will see tomorrow. We will see fantastic racing. Thank you. Do you

know what that is mew stick to the ears of of many formula one fans.

Tomorrow to, have it on straight pace and the tyres hoelgd up well

is going to be interesting. It is fantastic what a great way to go

into the fourth last race of the season this is a race track that

encourages overtaking and with the tyres appearing to have a bit of

life in them, it will be gret to see the guys pushing. We heard from

Mark who said he will push laugh -- lap after lap fright the start. It

is an interesting decision. He is so straight talking, he knows, he

is one step be hide, in terms of where he is going to start. But he

will go for it, try and do the best lap and take it from there. We will

be on the grid before the race begins. Join us for all the action,

extended highlights at 5.05 in high definition, you enjoy a lay in,

cook your Sunday lunch and enjoy Formula One. Sebastian Vettel was