The Monaco Grand Prix - Qualifying Formula 1

You know what, David, the rain may be coming down but this is still

the Monaco Grand Prix, it is still the harbour, we have had some fun.

If you think of any cliche had to open a show, we have done it all,

helicopters, fast cars. We have stood very close to each other in a

lift. Why do we have to stand so close? But I think this year we do

not need anything special to open the show, the racing can talk for

itself. Unquestionably. Five races and five different winners and

looking like a sixth winner. That has never been done before. Lewis

Hamilton has not won arrays this year. Remarkable when you consider

he has been on great form. What about Mark Webber? He has got a

point to prove. And let's not forget the most experienced and

winning driver, Michael Schumacher. Is this the weekend when he will

rediscover his form? Personally, I think look at Kimi Raikkonen. He

has come back and done what Michael has not done. For those were new to

Formula One, they have probably not heard of Romain Grosjean. He is

Kimi Raikkonen's team mate. I think we could have a French winner in

the Grand Prix. At we really do not need any gimmicks to get us going

this year. Hold on. Guys, are we doing this opening feature or not?

Sorry, we had a change of plan. Didn't you get the email?!

I think you would call that lost in translation. He eventually walked

round the entire track to get back to his hotel room and you are a

good sport for doing that, Eddie. Good afternoon and welcome to what

is one of the most important Saturdays in a Formula One driver's

diary, a qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix. I am with David

Coulthard and Eddie Jordan. You were engaged when we were filming

that he's. 6 DEFRA winners in the first six races, could it happen?

Absolutely. I think it could happen. Lewis has seen all the dramas which

have unfolded over the last couple of races. He is fresh, exciting and

very motivated and I think he can win. There are lots of others as

well. Eddie's flippers floating down on his lap yesterday but

getting fast round here, it remains a dark arts for lots of the drivers.

You managed to do it. What is the secret for having a good Saturday

here? I think the secret is getting used to the car on low fuel

situations. You have got to feel how nimble the car is, when you

come over a rise, when you turn the car in. I thought we saw a number

of drivers being caught out with the need to run the car on high

fuel to understand the tyres. was a dramatic final practice

session. We will show you all the build up as well. Our aim is to try

and get from here in the paddock to the pit lane during our show.

Usually very easy but it is not a case in Monaco. Monaco, we always

say it is great for the fans but it is a shocker for the teams. They

hate the place. We are going to have a look around here as we make

our way to the pits because it is not an easy task. We have Sam

looking at us over there and I think we should walk up. This is

the harbour. To get from the harbour to where the cars are is a

daunting experience. It we will be going along the harbour, over a

bridge and hopefully through to the pit lane. This paddock has not

always looked like this. Very different in your day. It was much

closer and dare I say, I preferred it. These new garages are a new

feature. What we had in the old days were warnings on the side of

the trucks. They are now banned. Be used to have the cars under so that

people could see them. How times have changed. One thing's - at one

thing that has stayed the same, it is claustrophobic and difficult to

work, but even harder to drive a Formula One car. Most people here

are not working, they are just It is an amazing place and it

attracts the stars as well. Here is Will Smith. What is it about this

place, it is not be racing because there were only 16 overtakes last

year. I think it is an amazing place. I think will Smith is here

to promote his film down the road. Megastars and movie-makers is what

sets it apart here. And for the drivers, to win here is very

special. David Coulthard, happy tenth anniversary. It was in 2002

when you pick up your win here. You told me that even before the season

had started, you were planning for the Grand Prix. Yes, the last

decade has been a blur! Where did it go? I used to set myself in the

car to make sure I could see everything for Monaco. I did not

understand why you would come here and change your seating position. I

wanted to have my feeling 100 % in the Prix races before coming to

Monte Carlo because this is the one I especially wanted to win. I do

not think it was a coincidence that I was very good here and a bit

average in other places. It is also a big challenge for the engineers

because they have not had to design a car to cope on these kind streets

this season. You can have a look at the races which have gone and those

walk. We will make our way out to the harbour. David, you can lead

the way. It is not easy moving around. We'll get one of these

passes. I was looking at the pass belonging to someone else the other

day who had won that you world champion. There is Niki Lauda. We

will be hearing from him a late run this season because there is an

amazing film on its way out and we will talk about that. What about

this weekend? We are looking for the sixth different winner from the

first six races and you know what, if it could just happen. Stranger

things did a couple of weeks ago. Alonso goes wheel-to-wheel, the

Lotus is behind. Alonso takes the lead into the first corner!

Hamilton is having a little look on the inside. Hamilton overtakes.

Force India goes wide 39 so this will be an easier path. You did a

great job, mate. There has been a coming together between Schumacher

and Senna. It looks Michael was caught out by how early Bruno was

having to brake for turn one. again, what is going wrong for

McLaren? They have not managed to get the wheel out of the way in

time. Alonso has lost time in the pit stop as if Maldonado goes

through. An early stop from the Williams team. It puts them in the

lead and put him well into the lead. Kobayashi finds the inside line.

Good reaction from Jenson otherwise that could have ended up in tears.

Vettel is closing on the back, trying to go to the outside as they

come in to turn one and sweeps round Jenson Button.

He is going for it but can he make the move? He is late on the brakes.

Button gets through. Pastor Maldonado wins in Spain! It is the

first Williams directory -- victory since Brazil 2004.

What a race. That was our fifth winner in the first five races. 125

points have been on offer so far for the drivers, the most anyone

has managed his 61. I think that is a reflection of the discovery the

teams are going through and trying to understand the tyres. It has

meant that no one is pulling away. Somebody asked me what has gone

wrong for Red Bull? Not a lot has gone wrong but it is a remarkable

start to the season. They are at the top with 109 points but it

shows how high the benchmark has been set for them that people think

they are struggling. They are leading a of the championships. The

game they play in the harbour is my boat is bigger than yours. How big

is yours? We are not going down that route. I'm sure there are a

lot of egos that there. They will be off to another place like centre

play or Capri perhaps. People like to -- seemed to like their cars and

boats. The profile here is extreme beyond doubt. Just have a spin

around you can see how busy it is around us. Everywhere you go there

are fans as far as the eye can see. A remarkable place. We know Pastor

Maldonado was the headline maker a couple of weeks ago. Here is this

Monica holds a special place in Formula One and winning around

these iconic streets is the mark of a great driver. This year we have

seven Monaco winners on the grid. One former Monaco winner who is yet

to win this season is Lewis Hamilton and he loved this place.

It is a roller-coaster. A hard core roller coaster. No other roller

coasters in the world come close to it. It is insane. Driving in

between barriers in the street, people are that close. It is bumpy.

It is about finesse and control. If anyone is imagining what it will be

light, don't even waste your time because you cannot imagine it.

year's Monaco when and double world champion Sebastian Vettel says this

season of Formula One has not gone as he or Red Bull had hoped. So far,

we have had a rough time but nevertheless I think it is

important to be consistent. We will see how we get on this weekend.

Mark Webber, another Monaco winner has out-qualified his team-mate

Sebastian Vettel this season and he says qualifying here can shake your

whole weekend. A bit comes with momentum. You cannot arrive in Q3

little bit lost with the rhythm. You have to have good rhythm and

tempo. Last year's Sergio Perez had a huge crash in qualifying which

kept him in hospital for several days. It means that despite being

in the second season of Formula One, this will be his first ever Monaco

Grand Prix. I am really looking forward to fighting for podium and

who knows, it might be my first win here? In light of that crash and

plenty of others over the years, the track has been changed. The

barrier has been moved back by 14 metres.

And finally, Mercedes have said they are keeping an eye in pole di

Resta or to see how his Formula One Korea develops over this season.

is very flattering that they are thinking and keeping their eye on

me at the moment. It is no secret that I want to be in a world

champion winning team car. It has always been a dream.

We have made our way down to the harbour's edge. There is David's

boat. We saw Sergio Perez's crash there. It is amazing to think it

has been a year since then. He will take some confidence into this

weekend? Sauber have had a great car. Arguably, I'm slightly

critical because I think he should have won and beaten Alonso in that

race but he did not but he can certainly do it here. He has that

feel about the place and he has that in a confidence now. We just

have to stop here and take a look at how close we are to the track.

David, this is the magic of Monaco. It is fantastic. I come down here

every time when I am not racing and watch the cars round here. You can

smell the exhaust fumes and that is what makes Monte Carlo special, how

close you can get. Michael has had some success over the years. 2001

was the last time he won around here. He had a tricky race last

time. He crashed into Bruno Senna. He has the distinction of having

crashed into Ayrton Senna and his nephew, Bruno. We took a look at

some fitted before final qualifying DAVID COULTHARD: We can see Michael

coming down to turn 10. Lewis turned into the corner absolutely

normally. Michael at this point, struggling to keep up with Lewis as

they come out of turn 12. Then what he chooses to do is to go down the

old Grand Prix circuit, missing out the last section, which was added a

couple of years ago, then gives him a wave and holds him up. That angle

does not show how close it was to actually having Lewis crashing to

the back of him. That sort of behaviour is unacceptable. Michael

is a great champion, all that sort of thing, but that was a

premeditated move to get his own back for something which he felt

Lewis had done against him. You cannot just do that. That is

disgraceful, as you rightly say. He is taking the law into his own

hands. There is a mechanism to sort this out. You go to the stewards,

you say what happened. He just seems to interpret the rules as he

feels. I'm sorry, they are not made for him, they are made for

everybody. Michael's supporters will think, why are we picking on

him? But it is the same in football, you do not just kick the guy who

has just kicked you, you wait for the referee to make the judgment.

Pastor Maldonado now, a man who comes here as a race winner, with

Williams back at the front. Rise and fall of the private here,

the dogged determination of two men, who transformed a small British

team into a small British team that beat the world. Nine constructor

titles, seven drivers' titles. Williams became one of the most

successful teams in the history of Formula 1. But eventually,

celebration was replaced by frustration, as the team fell by

the wayside. Last year, they got just five points, their worst

season ever. Success, so hard to capture, harder even to recapture.

Renault engines are back - are Williams? Have they finally turned

a corner? Can the underdog rise COMMENTATOR: Thanks to Pastor

Maldonado, that is a huge story. Pastor Maldonado, starting on pole

position for Williams Renault. are now in pole position. We have a

good chance to win, and we have never had that kind of chance. I

did my best, just to win. Welcome to Catalunya, with Pastor Maldonado

on the front of the grid... I am looking forward to doing everything

good. Pastor Maldonado, I wonder how he feels, taking his first ever

pole position. After that, I was only thinking about the victory.

COMMENTATOR: Away we go. Pastor Maldonado has got a really good

start! Fernando had a better start than us, we lost the position. At

the moment, I thought, the race is going to be long, our pace is the

best, just wait for the moment. We waited until the second pit stop.

It is always a pleasure to race, and to fight with a class of guy

like that. Fernando is very experienced. For sure, I enjoyed it.

He is looking so good for his first ever victory! I was a bit worried,

that's why I backed off a little bit just to keep the tyres alive.

Then I started to push again, to make a gap, and it remained like

that. Pastor Maldonado wins in Spain! That is an incredible drive.

Nobody expected our victory. It was good news for everybody in the

paddock. What a performance today. Truly world class. A lot of people

were celebrating our victory, it is a Venezuelan victory, because they

have pushed so hard to see me here, and I have paid them back with a

victory. It is fantastic. Pastor Maldonado, there is nothing

quite like best. After that victory, we have good motivation in the team.

This is the walk that the drivers have been doing today - the only

way to get in the pit lane from the harbourside. It is worth looking

behind you at all of the fans on that hill up there. You can just

make them out. It looks incredible. You just start to get the

atmosphere here. This is real motor racing. Yes, it is something which

makes Monaco unique. The drivers walk up here before qualifying.

There is one chap from England, he has got a tannoy, he always shouts

something. It makes this place completely special. The drivers

make their walker fame, and you have got the grandstand there as

well, the fans showing their appreciation. I can see the

Scottish flag up there, clearly for Paul. We have just talk about

Pastor Maldonado's victory from a couple of weeks ago, but then this

couple of weeks ago, but then this happened during free practice today,

what was this? I am really disappointed in this, and a bit

angry. We had a similar incident with him in Zubar last year. Sergio

Perez pulling over, Maldonado has been on a hot lap, and he has used

his car as a weapon. Here we see the incident with Lewis Hamilton in

Zubar, and he drove his car into Lewis, and drove Lewis off the

circuit. He then crashes at Casino square. The red mist had come down

and affected his judgment. When you consider just how good he was in

Barcelona, this shows a fundamental flaw, where, when he feels

aggrieved in some way, he starts aggrieved in some way, he starts

using his car as a weapon. That is unacceptable and completely outside

sporting behaviour. He is lucky to get away with just a 10 place grid

penalty. That's if they can rebuild the car in time for him to go out

and qualify. We can get the latest now from outside the Williams

garage. They are working away... Yes, every man and his dog that

Williams possess are here. He damaged all four wheels. The gear

box looks as though it is OK. But it is going to be a struggle to get

back out there. The car still has to go back down on the ground and

get set up, which takes 15-20 minutes to do it properly. The last

place you want to be with a car which is not set up correctly would

be Monica. I think he will just about make it, for what I can see.

Thank you very much, Gary. Not the way that Williams wanted to be

starting the Monaco Grand Prix weekend. However, they do come here

as race winners, something that a team with a similar budget to them,

Force India, would love to be saying. Eddie is with Force India.

Paul, a little accident, are you OK? Fine. Probably me just being a

bit too greedy going into the chicane on the brakes. Fortunately

it was only the front wing. None of the corners touched the barrier. We

will go in, I need to build back up, but the first session of qualifying

will be about trying to get a clear lap. We have been in reasonable

form so far, so we will be hoping to continue that. It looks as if

the back got away from you, what happened? There is a new surface

here, it is better, but you're always trying to find their limits.

People have always got caught out around here, and it has caught me

out. You need to make sure you get it nailed for qualifying, because

that will be the key. Williams, historic win last week, and indeed

teams like Sauber doing better, is that frustrating you? It is not

frustrating, Williams have done a good job, as have Sauber. We have

got a job on our hands, but Williams did a great job in

Barcelona. It made our life difficult, trying to catch them up

in the Constructors' Title, but we will fight all the way. We wish you

every success this weekend. Moving to the boys at the front, it

is always worth having a look inside the garage of the current

world champions, Red Bull. Once again, not showing incredible pace

this weekend, David. You say that, Sebastien this morning was just a

tenth away from the fastest. Clearly they have found a little

bit of extra form. Incredible qualifying coming up. I think there

is five guys who genuinely have a chance. Niki Lauda certainly knows

what it takes to be successful in Formula 1. We got a fleeting

glimpse of him earlier on, but we are set to see a whole lot more of

The COMMENTATOR: The World Championship decider, James Hunt in

the McLaren and Niki Lauda in the Ferrari.

This is a sport which is so dramatic. If you do not know this

sport, you're in for a really cool a wakening. It is that combination

The story is about a rivalry between the two guys. One guy who

led a dangerous life, and the other guy was much more meticulous, much

more involved with the mechanics. These are really unique,

fascinating, entertaining guys. James is an Baathist, if you will.

It is a much more passionate approach, fuelled from the gut,

kind of head down and go for it. is about friendship, rivalry,

overcoming fear. There is an inspirational aspect to our story,

which is making out a's incredible comeback from that crash. -- Niki

Lauda's incredible comeback. One of the most fascinating aspects of my

part is how he could have that incredible comeback just four weeks

after that terrible accident, and to be fourth in Monza or in the

first race back. The big challenge is trying to recreate, on a

reasonable budget, the global nature of the sport, and the

intensity of it. Everything that we wanted to film we have done as

realistic as possible. We make it look as real as possible. The only

way to do that is to get really close and have hair-raising moments,

otherwise the audience will not The hardest thing with the filming

is, you have got so many moving parts, you have got the cards --

the cars, which are owned by individual collectors. Midges

degree, it is a bit of a nightmare. -- logistically. I really want

Formula 1 fans to feel respected, and to appreciate the movie. If I

had one wish for it, that would be COMMENTATOR: James Hunt, holding

the flag up for Britain, driving superbly! Niki Lauda says the

conditions out there are too bad. And James Hunt is going to win the

World Championship! I felt that I deserved to win the Championship. I

also felt that Niki Lauda deserved to win the Championship, and I wish

we could have shared it. What a remarkable quote. 36 years later,

Formula 1 carries on. Some things never change in the sport. Eddie is

with the man who helped produce the movie. You have produced some

amazing movies already in your career - give us an idea of some of

Dances with the Wolves Commerce sliding doors and some other very

successful movies. Waded bizarre idea come from? We have been making

a documentary about the whole history of Formula One and we

became completely fascinated with the rivalry between James Hunt and

Niki Lauda. Then we heard one Howard, an Oscar-winning director

and Peter Morgan, and English rider had written a screenplay about the

very thing. We got on to them and started working on the movie with

them. We saw the clip and a lot of Ron was in the clip. Is he the key

to the story because he can get out to people in a very successful way?

Ron is a very, very talented director for this type of movie. He

is accustomed to taking big, spectacular backgrounds and then

making a very emotional movie in the middle. What we will see his

the spectacular glamour and sexiness of Formula One and the

danger and excitement, but in the middle of the story is a very

moving story about two men who were totally different. James Hunt being

a playboy, Niki Lauda being a very disciplined guide and how they both

have the same ambition and both want to win the World Championship.

It is about the arrival, respect and the dignity of their characters.

Thank you for that insight. Lovely meeting you.

Thank you both very much. The car making all the noise down here

belongs to a certain Kimi Raikkonen. It is a remarkable of how much

James Hunt resonates with the drivers that Jimmy is wearing a

helmet that is effectively James Hunt's helmet. It is fantastic. It

is not first time Kimi Raikkonen has done something like that. He

entered a snowmobile race since we -- in Finland with the same number

as James Hunt. Jean-Eric Vergne is wearing a Jean Alesi tribute helmet.

A lot of drivers are shown in their respect for their heroes. Very

quickly, they are still doing running repairs to these cars.

Romain Grosjean is having his front wing done. That is what happened.

Yes, he has been very quick in practice and banging over the kerbs.

To stand down here and take a look at the Williams garage, you would

not believe that a couple of weeks ago there was barely anything left.

It is remarkable that that team have made it to this Grand Prix at

all. Pastor Maldonado waves the

Venezuelan flag with pride, his greatest F1 moment but a

celebration that was cut short as a fire ripped through the Williams'

garage minutes later, wiping out equipment and injuring personnel

up-and-down the pit lane, making it a race against time to be ready for

this weekend. Here we are. Hallelujah, Williams have a garage

which looks to me to be pretty much fitted and ready for the weekend.

Is that the case? It is nearly there. We have spent all week

getting ready for this. We lost almost everything you could see in

the garage. Where were you when you realise there was a problem? Just

about there. We had just put Frank there. He was giving the team a

talk of saying well done, before he left. Then over the top of the

banners came the flames. The whole thing came from the fuel rig?

fuel area. The way the garage was set up in Barcelona it would have

been back in this area here. The flames and smoke just came straight

over the top of the banners. Have you managed to ascertain exactly

what went on? Yes, we have. We believe it was static electricity

which set some fuel on fire. Where is your refuelling rig now? You

have equipment which is worth tens of thousands of pounds and has been

retested yet there was still a fire in the garage. Is there any further

-- is there an issue with this equipment or procedure? No There is

nothing wrong with the equipment. We have changed quite a few of the

procedures. Tyres, where they and the damage --

were they in the garage and were they damaged? No, but some of the

tyre blankets. The starter motors were damaged. All of this is new.

We lost 90 radios. Everything you see in this room we lost. There are

bits borrowed from Lotus in there. Selling here is equipment from

other Formula One teams who you might be fighting in the Grand Prix

and they have helped you? Exactly. Lotus gave us some things on Monday.

What is the latest you can give us about the guys who were injured?

have won the still in hospital with burns. I spoke to him today. He is

recovering but he will still have another ten days in hospital. We

had medical people in to give every person in the team a lung check.

You could only going there for literally five or six seconds. When

you went in you could not see above your knees. A disown easy in

Formula One to constantly be focusing on pole position, the race

wins, that cash and glamour, maybe what happened last time is a nice

gentle reminder that the most important thing in life and Formula

One is the people and it could have been so much worse? Yes. The

equipment you can beg, borrow and steal. People you cannot. That is

the most important thing that the people are all right. Thank you for

showing us around and congratulations for the hard work

you have done. The hard work continues because you have a race

to fight and I hear that Pastor Maldonado want the world title?

nothing is ever easy! Nothing is ever easy. Eddie, you

had a famous fire in a pit lane. How important is it as a team to

make sure you learn from that? What did you do? You must never drop

your guard, even by the my neatest scale. It always bounces back and

bites you. Dickie was very honest. He said it looked like a finger

problem in terms of operational reasons and whatever and that is

usually what happens. The equipment is usually first class. Providing

it has been properly maintained. Well done to Williams for getting

here and the other teams for helping them out. It was nice to

dip our noses in the pit lane. We have left DEC in there. Bruno Senna

was not able to get the best out of the car but he is with David.

Thanks, Jake. We have just seen the aftermath of Barcelona, incredible

scenes there and a lot of difficulty for the team to get

there as we heard from Dickie. De feel the team are ready? Yes. Their

fire did not even seem to have happened when we went to the

factory so everyone was pushing very hard to get everything we need

for this race. Everybody came here with their chin up and really

looking forward to this one. It was not the easiest of morning practice

sessions. We saw your team-mate have an incident with Sergio Perez

and ultimately crashed the car. Did you, in terms of your running have

the chance to explore what he is going to do in qualifying? We put

the super soft tyres very late. But unfortunately I got traffic and

never really got a clean up. But this is Monaco, that is normal. It

is important in qualifying to do whatever you can do to get a lap

when you have the opportunity. I'm sure the car is competitive. Week

it -- it is good enough for a top 10. It seems as if you have revised

the projection of how good this car is. Secretly, are you hoping for

more than that? You always do. But I do not think they were expecting

front row in Barcelona and they got it. It is important to keep your

feet on the ground and get the results as they come. We wish you

well with that. Thank you. Yes, good luck to Bruno Senna. There

have been a lot of questions asked about his future over the last few

races. He is he doing enough? stands out for me is his behaviour

and how he managed the Schumacher incident. I think he is very calm.

He has risen his game. Of course, Maldonado is showing everybody up,

not just his own team-mate. I think that Williams team smacks of real

happiness and I think it can go on from here. This is much more your

sort of place, a big part and sun lounge area. I think we are losing

some sound. Yes, we are, it is clearly not going to work. It is

hard to talk about qualifying and as David eluded two in the pit lane,

it is so tight and close in regard to the timings, it is hard to call,

isn't it? I think it is much more difficult in this particular moment.

The bookies must be having a field day. Virtually any one of 10

drivers could get pole position here. It is that tiny lap when you

get the tyres right. You could say that is not really motor-racing but

I believe it is. One man who knows exactly how to do that,

particularly when it comes to getting the tyres in the right

place at the right time is Jenson Button.

COMMENTATOR: Jenson Button wins in Monaco. Monaco, baby!

You have moved back to Monaco recently, a beautiful place to be

living, I guess this feels like your first home Grand Prix of the

season? Sort of. It is not a proper home Grand Prix. Most Formula One

drivers love coming to Monaco. have had some real success over the

years. You had a pole position and a wind doing your Brawn does. We

thought we would look at a hot lap from 2011.

Very bumpy across the start and finish line. It is tricky because

you have got the barrier on the left. If you get that right you are

OK. Here through Casino. It is such a buzz. There is not one corner

here which gives you the lap time. You have to have a flail around the

circuit. You have to brake late, carry the speed, run as wide as you

can three Tabac on the exit. here is just amazing. It is, yes!

You are taming the 750 horsepower beast. One small mistake, game over.

Everything feels twice the speed around Monaco because the barriers

are close. There are not many circuits where you watch quali laps

and you think, wow, I have just done that. When you get a lap time

out of it, it is such a nice feeling. In qualifying, how would

you get that tight because it is perfect -- if it is perfectly on

pole position but if not you have lost a couple of places. Had

defined the margins? It is something you build up to,

definitely. The more laps you do, the more in his own you get.

Sometimes you get it wrong and sometimes it hurts. You still go

out and give a 100 % and if it goes wrong, it goes wrong. Good luck out

there. We will have our eyes on you in qualifying. If you do make a

mistake, next time you go for a run or go and buy bread, you will walk

past have been, that is where I made a mistake. I will see the tyre

marks! No ties, no issues, have a great race. Cheers.

The last pole position Jenson Button picked up was here in Monaco

in 2009. We have seen some great celebrations in the Red Bull pool.

The win means a lot to the driver's. Much more so this year. The tyres,

it is so difficult to pass, they will all be going flat out. There

are plenty of ways you can enjoy the action this afternoon. We are

a fascinating, the pit lane feed it gives you just team radio and the

shots of the cars from the pit lane. We also have the blogs and all the

latest news. For the next seven days you can check out all of the

action on the iPlayer. Plenty of people have spoken this weekend

about Lewis Hamilton, I'm sure if he won he he Matt log-on to the

iPlayer and checkout his victory but remarkably he has never had a

pole position in Monaco? He has got that turn and speed. My money is on

him today. And keep your eye out for shots when everyone went on to

low fuel, we saw an accident for Paul di Resta and Pastor Maldonado.

It is still a difficult circuit when you have driven here a lot.

With every other circuit you can get away with little things, here

you can get away with nothing. us one team name to look out for.

There are so many, I am confused! I still believe that Hamilton can

just about pull this one of. Stop the press, Eddie Jordan is

confused! Now time for the first part of qualifying. He will make

the cut and who will fall by the intense session of the entire

season. And the Principality is looking resplendent in the sunshine.

The first cars will be taking to the track in just a few moments.

The Mediterranean provides the backdrop to the most famous Formula

1 event of them all. This event has absolutely no rival. Two miles of

tarmac at the foot of a cliff face, running through the town and along

the harbour. It is narrow, it is bumpy, there are 20 miles of steel

barrier and absolutely no room for error. Seven of the last eight

races have been won from pole position, although you're two

victories here, David, came from second and third on the grid.

poor year that I had here, in 2001, that was fifth plays, that was when

the engine switched itself off. But qualifying is absolutely vital.

This season, three out of five races have been won from pole

position. And around Monte Carlo, overtaking is as hard as it gets.

In the Drivers' Championship, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando

Alonso come here on 61 points. Pastor Maldonado, the winner of the

last race, sits 9th in the Championship. Lewis Hamilton is

second in the points, still looking for his first victory this season.

Michael Schumacher, only two points for him, and for Felipe Massa. Both

of those two, desperate to get some points this weekend. Michael of

course, the most successful of all the drivers on this grid. Five

victories at Monaco - not quite matching Ayrton Senna's record of

six wins around the town. Red Bull reading the Constructors'

Championship. Lotus have been the surprise of the season in many ways,

ahead of Ferrari and Mercedes at the moment. The big target for

those three teams at the bottom will be to try and get through the

first part of qualifying today. Monaco always throws up lots of

surprises. Pastor Maldonado, as we were saying earlier, has picked up

a 10 place penalty for deliberately driving into Sergio Perez. It shows

you how this place gets to people. DAVID COULTHARD: I am curious to

know what the people at home think. I have got a bee in my bonnet about

Pastor Maldonado using his car as a weapon. I think it is unacceptable

sporting behaviour. I don't know if I am just getting a strange

perspective on it because I used to drive these things, or whether

people just think, he is showing emotion behind the wheel. But

nonetheless, it is a 10 place grid penalty. He was absolutely

fantastic around Barcelona, but he will struggle to repeat that this

weekend, with that penalty. As well as that, Maldonado crashed this

morning. Gary, are they ready to GARY ANDERSON: Yes, they are happy

enough with what they have got. This is going to be the hard

session, the traffic is going to be a nightmare, with 24 cars about

there. BEN EDWARDS: How do the team's plan

not to get caught up in the traffic? Well, everybody knows

where all the other cars are. They come around the Swimming Pool area

and then slow down. If it was me, I would have somebody leaning over

the wall, watching for cars slowing down, because the traffic monitor

does not tell you that. You need somebody out on the wall to tell

the people back at the garage if somebody is slowing down.

DAVID COULTHARD: that is a very good point, Gary. I have been able

to see that the actual pit wall, in between the pit lane and the

racetrack, here, they are above the garage is, actually looking out of

the window, and they can see that very sector that you have been

talking about. Yes, it is just making sure you can actually see

the cars in front of you, and if they are going so low into Rascasse,

because that is where you can trip over somebody very easily. Edwards

label the Pirelli tyres being used, it is the first time we have seen

the Pirelli super-soft being used this year, although it was used

here 12 months ago. Presumably, most cars will be going out on the

harder tyre at first. They will get an idea of how quickly they can go

on that tyre, before making their decisions later on. It seems there

is quite a split in performance between those tyres - no surprise

there. It is anything between half a second and a second. But equally

important is that they are getting multiple laps out of these tyres.

It is important to get the driver's eye in. This is the most tricky

part of qualifying in Monte Carlo, the point where all the cars are

out there., including the usual suspects that we expect to drop at

-- to drop out, like the likes of the HRTs. Yes, we will be losing

seven cars in this first part of qualifying. In Spain, we lost Senna,

and we lost Michael Schumacher in Bahrain. So, some of the front

runners can sometimes, just through circumstance, end up getting

knocked out in this first part of qualifying. So, it is crucial to

try and get through this stage as cleanly as possible. Gary, I know

that from where you are, you can see a little bit of the cars on the

track, which makes a nice change for you, doesn't it? Yes, but the

noise just does not go away here, it echoes of macro the buildings.

The top cars have gone out on the prime tyre. I think they will be

looking to try to do a 16.5 before they will feel comfortable of

getting through. Looking out of the commentary box, we had a great view

of the pit lane. We could see Sam Michael, of McLaren, who has

obviously decided to take a walk down from the garage, to do exactly

what Gary was suggesting - watch how the cars are performing on the

track, coming out of that very tricky chicane. We saw Sebastian

hit the barriers are there this morning. He got away with it. We

have got a very slow HRT there. That's Pedro de la Rosa, and that

is exactly what we were talking about. Yes, and unfortunately for

Pedro de la Rosa, he will be getting called up by the stewards

for that - you're not allowed to block cars on the racetrack. There

is Kimi Raikkonen with his James Hunt tribute helmet. Already, cars

backing up trying to get a clear run. Watch out for Romain Grosjean

here today, the Frenchman has been very, very rapid in practice so far,

looking very confident with the handling of the Lotus. He comes out

of the chicane, towards the left hander at Tabac. The Frenchman

Romain Grosjean, this is as close as he will get this year to a home

race. None of the front runners have set a lap yet. It is Maldonado

who has initially... Oh, he has backed off. He has, probably he has

had the call that this man, Alonso, is going purple in the first two

sectors. Let's see what his opening gambit is. A 17.1, that's 1.9

seconds slower than he achieved this morning. Yes, straight out on

the harder compound tyre there, Fernando Alonso. Those first times

this morning were set on the super- soft. Now, Sergio Perez, the man

who was hit by Maldonado. And he has hit the wall for the second

year in succession, Sergio Perez! Not as bad this time, but he has

hit the wall! A wheel comes off the car. This might be the first time

ever that Sergio Perez has not made it out of the first qualifying

session! DAVID COULTHARD: Yes, the red flag

is out. He has got himself parked in a difficult area. I remember

Michael Schumacher parking his Ferrari there.

I don't think he will be able to get drive off there. It is slightly

uphill. You can see the replay here, he gets a little bit wide, comes

off the kerb, and he goes straight into the Armco. What he said in

that radio message was that he had a problem with the front left tyre.

If we look at the front left tyre, it is certainly flapping around. It

looks like he lost the steering there. I wonder if the car was just

rounding out on the plank there. These cars have a ride height of 20

mm in the garage, but when they are running at speed, on one of the

fastest corners of the track, it will just be skirting across the

top of the tarmac. Whatever the reason, he is the first of the big

drivers and teams to fall. Yes, he is going to be one of those not to

make it through. One thing about Monaco is that they are usually

pretty good at moving cars. GARY ANDERSON: Yes, they have got

lots of cranes about. Just going back to Sergio Perez, that was the

left front corner, and he had a coming together with Maldonado in

an earlier session. I wonder if there was a little bit of damage

which they had not picked up from that incident. It is possible.

Alonso fastest at this moment, Jean-Eric Vergne, second-fastest.

The red flag has stopped the clock in qualifying. It will restart once

we get thisft out of the way. So, Sergio Perez, the first man to hit

the wall hard this weekend. Sadly for Sergio Perez, he will be

starting the Monaco Grand Prix from the very back. Let's just take

another look, David. You get the image of the yachts on the left-

hand side, absolutely committed through Tabac. He gets on the kerb.

Yes, he definitely did not have the Yes, he definitely did not have the

steering as he came off the chicane. That was much more than just an

That was much more than just an error. As we see it again, it just

looked like... Whether it locked out on the steering, they will find

out when they analyse the data. Normally what you would try to do,

when you think you're going to hit the Armco, is to hit it with both

of your wheels, front and rear. But in that case, he went in with the

in that case, he went in with the front left. We're just having a

look, had he clipped the wall before that? See what we can make

of this... There is a wobble. at the steering. He is turning, but

the car is not turning, unless my eyes are playing tricks with me.

The steering was turning, and the front left was not responding. As

Gary was mentioning, whether that could be due to some accident

damage from the coming together with Maldonado in free practice, we

do not know at this stage. Meanwhile, the car will be brought

back to the garage, and the Sauber team will be put to work. That is a

shame, because he was looking good in free practice this morning.

These are the times at the moment, but we can expect to see a lot of

changes to those times. We are about two seconds away from what

Lewis Hamilton did on his quick lap last year. Sebastian Vettel,

waiting to come out. Pole position with a here last year. One race

victory and one pole position to his name so far this year. That was

in Bahrain, where it all came good for him. Second place in Australia.

Consistency has meant that he is at the top of the Championship table,

with Fernando Alonso. Sebastian Vettel has just had one race where

he has failed to score, and that was in Malaysia, after a bit of

contact with Karthikeyan. So, we will be restarting within a minute.

Let's have another look at it, rotated. Keep an eye on the front,

right corner. Look at the steering. It does not lock on. The lot goes

on initially and then comes off. The front track rod, I think that

has broken. It is subtle because it is a small amount of steering angle

at speed. That is a car failure. After what happened to him last

year, he suffered a huge accident, he suffered concussion. He had to

miss this race and the Canadian Grand Prix. He has not shown any

sign of that this week. He has been absolutely on it. He was the man

who almost won in Malaysia. He is clearly not someone who has a lot

of incidents and accidents. That one in Monaco was the only notable

driver error that I can recall from his short career in Formula One.

Now the cars are back out there. The same problem applies, you have

got to get a clear lap in. On board with Nico Rosberg in the Mercedes.

A pole winner himself in China when he went on to take victory. We did

not get a fairly clear picture, bit of understeer, because not

everybody got a run on the super soft tyre. But Rosberg could be in

the challenge here. As the changes that through this gears into sixth

gear, 170 miles an hour, on to the brakes, down to the chicane here.

Just treading a little carefully on this out-lap. This is not his time

lap. Next time round he will be starting his flying lap. He will be

getting information from his engineers. He has nobody in front

of him. Presuming nobody comes out of the pit lane then he can build

this lap as he wants. That means getting as much heat in the brakes

as possible, protecting the rear tyres and then unleashing the

performance. He can get a double boost of KERS. He runs down into

the first corner. Looking at the track a looks like he has an

absolutely clear track for him to go and get his first flying lap.

The lack you on could be the only clear lap you ever manage around

Monte Carlo. You do not want to waste it. We see him position

himself in the run-down to Mirabeau. This is a Loews Hairpin but they

have changed the name to the fair Mont hairpin but it is synonymous

to call it the Loews Hairpin. They use maximum walk at this racetrack.

Flat out through the tunnel. Then over this very tricky rise. He had

an accident there before but it was fixed. The best he has qualified in

Monaco was fifth in 2007 when he was with Williams. This Q1 session

is not about your ultimate position, it is about trying to get through

to the second part of qualifying. This first 20 minutes session now

down to 12.5 minutes to go is about survival. Across the line he goes.

Fourth-fastest at the moment. I'm surprised, I thought it would have

been more. Alonso's time from early on is still the quickest we have

seen so far. Now watching Lewis Hamilton. Michael Schumacher has

just gong quickest on a 1:16.4. Let's see how Lewis Hamilton

applies himself to that challenge. He goes second fastest, 1:16.6.

That is looking more like the pace. Gary, what are your thoughts? Will

that be enough to get them through on the yellow tie rather than the

super soft? It is going to be very close. If I was running the team,

even if I put on a set of super soft, I would have to have a go at

that time. Her Alonso has just done 16.6 so they are all about that

limit. Maldonado has just gone second fastest on a 1:16.5 which

might be enough to get through without putting the super soft

decks macro -- super softs on. Rosberg goes fastest. An impressive

lap there. He has been quicker than Michael through the various

sessions, showing up half a second from his team-mate. It is Mercedes

one, too, through this early part of the session. Perez we know is

not going out any more because he has had his accident. Hulkenberg

goes fourth-fastest in the Force India. He has only raced here once

before a Grand Prix car. He has raced in GPT but crashed in the

tunnel with a clutch problem. -- GP2. Hulkenberg is up to fifth,

then Alonso, Hamilton, Button, Webber, Massa is tenth. Vettel is

only 12th. Hamilton is on a quick lap. He has set the new fastest

time in the sector. He is still on the yellow wall to tyres. Just

brushing the barrier. Let's watch him. Fantastic, almost flat through

the high-speed chicane. Nice and tidy as he gets the last part of

this wimple. -- the swimming pool. He runs for the line. The last

sector, he must have lost time before we joined him on board. That

has left him a little bit short, having been the quickest man in the

first sector. Kobayashi just touched the wall. We could end up

with both Saubers out of this if they carry on like that. By the way,

Michael Schumacher has done a 1:15.8. The two Mercedes are one

and two at the moment. Michael Schumacher is fastest. Rosberg

second, Maldonado third despite the incidents he had this morning. That

Maldonado will have a 10 place grid penalty. Rosberg comes across the

line. He is still second. 1:15.9 was a fraction faster than he had

done but not quite fast enough to eclipse Michael Schumacher's time.

He was lowest in the middle part of the lap. Rosberg improved in the

first and last part. Felipe Massa has shown really good form this

weekend the start. Felipe Massa is a former pole winner here. A good

effort from di Resta, fifth quickest at the moment. We are

watching Alonso. He has a different crash helmet this weekend. He is

wearing a celebration crash helmet with a lot of gold paint and

statistics on it, bearing in mind what he has achieved in Formula One

over the years. His eighth fastest so slower than his team-mate Felipe

sector, a good opening first lap in this qualifying session is Paul di

Resta or four Force India. He is currently in fifth place. He has

done that run on the super softs. Clearly not feeling confident that

he could deliver the time on the yellow marked tyres. Sebastian

Vettel, let's see what he is doing. Here's 30th at the moment. -- he is

13th at the moment. Now we are seeing some traffic out there and

that is where it will get demanding. Alonso has crossed the line in the

Ferrari. He is seventh fastest. Grosjean is a ninth fastest using

the harder compound tyre. We are still waiting for Raikkonen to do a

lap. He has not yet done a lap. He is in the drop zone at the moment

but we have under six minutes to go. It is still Schumacher, Rosberg,

Mercedes one, two at the moment. Massa, Webber up in 4. Grosjean has

been a real revelation in Formula One this year. He joined Grand Prix

racing two years ago with the Renault team but it was not a good

time for him more the team. He has come back after achieving the GP2

title last year. Can he keep it neat and tidy? Good stuff so far.

He was a bit wide at Portier which is the corner before swimming pool.

will be disappointed with ninth place. He has been showing a lot

more form earlier in the session. The important one here to watch is

his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen. He has got to finish it off because he

has nothing in the bank, as well. Senna going across the line. He is

13th fastest. Maldonado in the other Williams his fifth quickest.

in that first set to. -- sector. Hulkenberg has gone fastest. He is

on the super soft tyre. They are the softer compound. Grosjean goes

second now. Let's see what Kimi Raikkonen is doing? His lap might

not be enough. The question is, will he have time to put another

set of tyres on? This is not a good lap. He is baling and come in for a

set of super softs I would suggest. I am looking at the pit crew.

Raikkonen realising he is in trouble. They are doing a pit stop

and they are going for the advantage of those tyres. With 2.5

minutes to go, he will get a couple of laps if he is lucky, one that

depending on the traffic. It is not ideal to do a pit stop like that

because the tyres have to come out of the blanket surly. You want them

wrap up for as long as possible. This is a bail out strategy. This

would not have been the perfect plan. You have to look at his team-

mate, Grosjean, in second place to confirm that. The Gary, your

thoughts on that? Yes, you can see the yellow sidewall tyre will do a

few laps but it is a gamble. He needs the extra time. I think it is

a bad strategy for the team. At least one are two good laps but

they did not get -- give the guy enough time to do that. He did not

get any laps in in the first three practices because he had a steering

issue so Kimi has not done that many laps this weekend? He has not.

Kovalainen is dancing of the kerbs. Perez had his incident. He locks

the front left. Timo Glock is ahead of him. Will it be enough for

Kovalainen? It is a good lap, 70 fastest but they will have to wait

and see what happens in the closing moments. -- 17th fastest. He gets

second place, it should not be a big ask on these tyres. The problem

is, you compromise your latter stages of qualifying if you have to

do this. That is why we are saying it is not ideal. They will not have

the tyres to use in the battle for pole position later on. Meanwhile,

Mark Webber is seventh quickest. Kimi Raikkonen, just a sliding that

Lotus around. About three tenths down on the very best in the second

sector. But this will be plenty to getting into Q2. Just a couple of

corners to go. Looked good coming through Rascasse. A little bit

sideways as he came on the run down to the start finish. That will cost

him a bit more time, but he is in fifth place.

BEN EDWARDS: fifth fastest, but still a little bit off what we saw

Hulkenberg do earlier on. Here's a man under pressure, although he is

going pretty well on that middle sector. This should be a

comfortable improvement from Sebastian. He comes up to the start

finish, and this should get him well out of the dangers are. Yes,

he is fourth fastest, Sebastian Vettel. Just watching Petrov here,

to see if he can improve. Button, down to 16th place. But I think he

is going to be safe. Everybody at I think is heading back to the pits.

It looks like the normal group who will not have made it through, plus

Sergio Perez, who crashed, of That's an HRT. Perez, who did not

take part in that qualifying session, will start last. Remember,

this does not tell us the full story. 13th for Hamilton, 16th for

Button. But they did not use their super-soft tyres, which means they

are in good shape for the rest of qualifying. Timo Glock is not

through, but Pedro de la Rosa or out-qualified Charles Pic.

So frustrating, particularly for Sergio Perez, with Kobayashi doing

brilliantly in that session. Cast your mind back to last year - some

circuits suit some drivers, not others. Monaco does not suit him,

and it is a great pity. Does it not suit him, or are we saying there is

a problem with the car? David thought the problem was the car,

not the driver. Well, I think the car is perfect going out. He has

obviously hit something, plans to barrier. These Steering parts,

particularly on this French suspension, are quite easy to

damage. If you hit something at that speed, you're going to damage

it. I think the problem was not this particular corner, it was some

corners beforehand. And such a blow for Sauber as a team. They have

shown both in free practice and in qualifying that this car has some

great speed. It has, and it is one of the revelations of this

particular season. David was saying, perhaps he should have won against

Alonso. But the car must be hugely competitive to allow you to do that.

The car is outstanding. One thing you can say, despite crashing, it

was a better qualifying session than last year. By a very big

margin. We were very concerned about his overall health last year.

Concussion is something which it is very hard to quantify. Of course,

he missed a couple of races. But he will be disappointed, he will be

wounded, but nowhere near as badly as last year. Yes, he missed a

couple of races, but he said he felt ill for three or four Grand

Prix after that accident. This car has done well to continue, to be

fair. Kobayashi has taken a bang on both sides here. But this is a

great story. Lots of people in my day, in racing, drivers would come

in and say, that was such a great lap. We would say, you have hit the

wall. They forget about how the car is set up, you just drive the

wheels off the thing. And that is what happened here. Eddie, you made

the revelation before qualifying that you are very confused! And I

would imagine most people are confused, because we have seen the

world champion, Sebastian Vettel, having to put on the faster tyre

just to match his teammate, and the same applies to Kimi Raikkonen. He,

too, was struggling enough to go on to the softer tyre - why is that?

Kimi is a great poker player, but he did not use his cards very well

there. Maybe they were too cocky, they thought they could get away

with it without having to use the softer tyre. But Monaco is a

different circuit. You cannot underestimate the role of the tyres.

Lotus actually brought a special steering rack for Kimi this weekend.

But he came back in after one lap and said he did not like it. And

therefore he missed the whole of the first practice session - is it

tough for a driver to recover from that? Well, if you do not change it

for them, they get grumpy and irritable. I'm sure Kimi is no

different to the rest of the drivers. But nevertheless, they are

the people who are carrying the hopes of the team, the sponsors and

everything. So, you change it, and then you point out to them, listen,

Kimi, I think that was a mistake, why did you put us to all of that

drama for nothing? Let's talk about Felipe Massa, he looked really on

it all weekend. But he said earlier in the week that this was the

lowest point of his career, and he wanted to see Monaco as a new start.

You do not need to be Einstein to work that one out. Everyone has

written him off. Every journalist in his pad it does not believe he

will be in Ferrari next year. As a result, it gets into your bones and

you feel vulnerable. -- in this paddock. He has to up his game big

time, and I'm not sure just one race will be enough. Felipe Massa,

how has he suddenly found that speed over Fernando Alonso, David?

He has been good here in the past. You have either got the form around

a street circuit or you haven't. This is not a track where you need

to take a breath for the high-speed turns, but you need to have

precision. Maybe he is just in that zone, and it is good to see,

because he is a man under pressure. Here we are, building up for the

second part of qualifying, then, and we had drama in the first part,

with Sergio Perez out, and also with some of the teams having to

put those super-soft tyres on to make it through. The green light is

on at the end of the pit lane. We gather that Sergio Perez has gone

off to the Medical Centre for a check-up, which is a routine

check-up, which is a routine procedure. He looked perfectly well.

But interestingly, in this second part of qualifying, the cars are

taking to the track quite quickly. Obviously there is less time, it is

only a 15 minute session, as opposed to 20 minutes.

DAVID COULTHARD: You do not want to risk someone having an accident,

putting some oil on the track, and you have missed that window. That

is not lost on any of these guys. They want to give the driver has

the most laps they possibly can. Crucially, they are getting

multiple laps out of the tyres. They want to get themselves a bit

of space from which to deliver the lap time. Gary, what are you seeing,

are people going out on used sets? I reckon Alonso, Hamilton, Button,

most of the big guys have gone out on a new set of super-softs. I

think this session, they will have to do a 15.2 to feel they can get

into the top 10. They are probably thinking to do it early before

everybody starts to panic at the end of the session. Senna has got

those soft tyres on, and he is going to go for it. A race winner

here in the past in GP2, in fact, finishing ahead of Maldonado on

that occasion. He needs a good qualifying performance today, David.

He does, he has maintained his confidence. Talking to him earlier,

he was talking about the team. He has not looked like the quickest

driver in the team so far this weekend, but it is all about

building your confidence. Let's see, this is his opportunity. Presuming

he has got the same machinery, then this is his moment to shine. He is

on the super-softs. Let's hope he does not pick up too much traffic

as well. That is the other problem. Jean-Eric Vergne there, in the Toro

Rosso, attacking the kerbs, trying to keep it as tidy as possible. A

bit of traffic, that's Grosjean keeping out of his way, at Rascasse.

Let's see what he does, as he comes across the line. Jean-Eric Vergne

is fastest, with a 1:16.8. As Gary was saying, that will not be enough.

I think Gary said he felt it would need to be at least a 16.5. Well,

Gary, you must be a visionary. What did you say for this one, 15.2?

15.2 or 15.3, for me. Have you any idea who is going to win the 3.30

at Chepstow?! Well, according to Gary's theory, that time might be

fast enough, from Rosberg. Here comes Michael Schumacher. Rosberg

is the only teammate that has ever out-qualified Michael Schumacher at

this track. That was the first year Michael came back, in 2010.

Hamilton has just gone second. Now, come across the line, Mark Webber...

He is second quickest with that. You're watching Sebastian Vettel,

who seem to struggle a bit in the first part of qualifying. He has

bailed out of this lap. He is going to go again. He has got Senna ahead

of him, but well ahead, so he has got a clear run. Let's see what he

got a clear run. Let's see what he session is to be in the top 10.

Those numbers in and red represent the drop zone. Rosberg is fastest

at the moment, Webber second. You're watching the world champion,

Sebastian Vettel, the race winner here last year. Red Bull are

looking for a hat-trick of pole positions and victories at Monaco.

We have got problems for Jean-Eric Vergne! He has hit something.

was that something out of the chicane, or has it happened earlier

in the lap? Clearly trying to get himself back into the pits, get a

new nose on. If he has not done any damage to the car, he will have

time for another run. Massa, my goodness, avoiding both Toro Rossos.

Massa bails out from that lap. It shows the confusion that you can

get around these streets, because you cannot see above the barriers.

You're relying on what the marshals are telling you. I am surprised his

team were not telling him, be careful, you have got a Toro Rosso

with a broken nose. So, just under nine minutes to go in the second

part of qualifying. You're watching Michael Schumacher. He is currently

sixth fastest. This lap, well, he was quicker than the previous lap

in the first sector, but not in the board with Sebastian Vettel. He

comes through the tight chicane out of the swimming pool complex. He

was not so quick in the first sector but a good middle sector. It

might improve belittle but not hugely here. He is not looking

comfortable round there at the moment. Mark Webber has been on

pole around here. We will get a replay of what happens with Jean-

Eric Vergne. We have seen it happen before, I have done the same thing

myself, he loses the car over the braking. The right suspension is

damaged. I do not think we will see him take any further part in this

section. We have that incident so close with Massa. Vettel is still

going around. He has slowed it all down. I wonder if he is going to

try for another lap on the super soft tyres. He is still in danger

territory. His only night. -- he is rabbit? And Nice descriptive term

from Sebastian Vettel there. We were in that crucial stage now. For

Vettel is getting tricky for him. It is getting tricky. He definitely

has to do something here. He was on used tyres. I think he said he had

too much front wing. The jumping about like a rabbit, I think was a

code. Does that mean he thinks he was on a billiard table or

something? I think Red Bull were having some issues with the car's

reaction through the bums on Thursday. Some debris there from

the Toro Rosso -- the bumps. Kimi Raikkonen has come out, so has

Grosjean and Hulkenberg as we get into the final 5.5 minutes of Q2.

Who will go into the top 10 and the battle for pole position? None of

the marshals have decided to get the debris away. It is a clear

track and off-line. Charlie Whiting, race director is Knox -- not

feeling the need to send them out there. I would not one that job.

Brave marshals. Many of them are British. They are not paid, they do

it for passion. There are lot of marshals there. It is only about a

two mile track but there are about 650 marshals policing it. Contact

can happen at any point. They are doing a great job out there.

Rosberg, I think will be fairly happy to sit and wait. You are

watching Hulkenberg. Di Resta has come out onto the circuit so both

Force Indias are on track. Everybody will be using the red

wall tyre at this stage in their attempt to get into the top 10.

two notices are 12th and 13th. -- the two Lotuses. They have only got

four minutes to improve their performance. Meanwhile, Button has

had to come out but Hamilton will be able to stay in. Here we go.

Hulkenberg about cross the line. This time his eighth fastest with

the Force India. Now we are on board with Kimi Raikkonen. A pretty

good lap as long as he keeps it together. Not quite enough to get

into the top 10 at the moment. he was a bit wide on the chicane.

This is not a good lap from Kimi Raikkonen. He is trying to get into

the top 10 but only 12 but the moment. Here comes his team-mate

also with a different cash Hammett this weekend. A team celebrating

500 Grand Prix is -- crash helmet. I am confused. I thought they

genuinely looked good through the practice sessions. Unless they have

been running considerably less fuel than the other cars. It is not

working for them at the moment. car is maybe not working on the

super soft tyre but it seemed to work on the yellow tie. That is a

jumping off the kerb there. It looks more like a bucking Bronco

than a cute little bunny rabbit hopping. Will it be enough for

Sebastian? It looks like he might get into the top 10 but he is

He has not done enough yet to get into the top 10. You are watching

Daniel Ricciardo. He is down in 15th place at the moment. He is

desperately trying to move up. He had a brilliant qualifying

performance in Bahrain earlier this year. Did not managed to convert it

by a poor start. Maldonado has gone fastest in the middle sector.

Button is not be doing anything at will. The Williams is looking fast

as it did in Barcelona. Button will not go around. He is at the chicane.

He might just make it round but he is not on a good lap. Can he get

around and start this lap? They are all together, Raikkonen, Button,

Grosjean, they are just going to make it, I think. We are on board

with Grosjean. He has just passed our commentary box say with 28

seconds to go he will make it round with a few seconds to spare and he

will have one lap to get into the top 10. He has gone up to eight.

Grosjean has done it. We have Raikkonen and Button fighting to

get into the top 10 in the last lap as the chequered flag is going to

come out in a moment or two. Felipe Massa of with the fastest time.

Grosjean has just set the fastest first sector time in the Lotus so

the Frenchman is going quickly now on the soft tyres. Can Raikkonen do

something similar? I think Button is in a spot of trouble here. Let's

keep a close eye on what Jenson is doing. It is not his best sector

which would suggest he does not have a great deal of confidence in

what the car is telling him. Let's see what Senna does. A bit of a

slide there. Senna there is currently 17th goes 40 it. It is

not enough. Raikkonen tenth. What about Jenson Button? Can he do

anything? Button across the line. He is not going to make it. He is

13th. Jenson Button has not made the top 10. There is the scene in

the McLaren pit. One of disappointment. Hamilton has made

it through but Jenson Button will not be in the fight for pole.

he knew it. He lifted before even crossing the line. He has the knack

data in the cockpit. -- lap data for some out of qualifying after

the second session, Hulkenberg, Kobayashi, Jenson Button, Bruno

Senna, Paul di Resta and the two Toro Rossos.

JAKE: Jenson Button went on to win the rise a Int 2009. He said he was

coming into this weekend full of confidence. Impressive speed in

three practices has given way to a difficult qualifying session.

whole thing is a mess. I am trying to figure out why is he in that

position. He obviously felt he was going to have a challenge for pole

position and he is not even close. The car, the tyres, the whole

sequence of racing at the moment is so confusing. The way we have seen

it going is not as people struggling from weekend to weekend,

this is over the course of one weekend. Having the speed with

certain weather conditions, dry conditions and track conditions,

they have the inability to find the speed. It is confusing for the

engineers and mechanics because they are not able to solve the

problem. We are not able to solve it either because we see Massa was

quickest. What I find it difficult to understand is the rapport

between the engineers and the drivers, the biggest thing that is

on the ground are tyres and it still comes down to how they work

the tyres the best. That seems to be giving the best return.

Remarkably, I was standing next to this very Red Bull a year ago

talking to Mark Webber and he was really struggling. This year, he is

certainly outplaying Sebastian Vettel when it comes to qualifying.

And easily. Sebastian is panicking? He is driving as if he has

panicking. He does not have that nice, fluid style that he has. You

always know when the guy is not happy with the car, he is much

jerky with the Steering wheel. He does not seem at ease here.

test of their world champion? Indeed. Let's remember, world

champion or not, how ridiculous would it be to get Massa to win the

race, it would be an extra fairy tale. He would be the sixth

different winner and we did not even think of him. If we get back

to the last session, Felipe Massa you could say is lucky to be in

qualifying because if he had a very close moment. We saw the incident

with Jean-Eric Vergne exiting from the tunnel. That is almost an

action replay of Perez a year ago and Poulter Leicester today. There

is clearly an issue and they have levelled at the bump on the exit. -

- and Paul di Resta. I think if the cars go too wide they hit the

bumper in a different way. They thought there was too much bit to

none in the surface which was coming to the top and making it

slippy but I do not think that is the case. I think the drivers are

not going straight enough. The slightest movement on the steering

wheel catches them out. Jean-Eric Vergne damages his right, rear tyre

and decides get rid of the front nose. Just watched Felipe Massa

coming round the swimming pool section. He was so close to

collecting both of these cars, the Toro Rossos. That is the whole

secret. You have to be lucky. I know in sport you shouldn't talk

about luck but here in Monaco, you have to have a much better chance.

You do not see any yellow flags here. David asked if Felipe was

speeding on a yellow flag? There is a white flag which means lower car

on track. Let's hope there is no reporting to the stewards there. I

think there is a lot of good feeling about Felipe Massa. He has

been punished by eight every journalist in creation almost this

last couple of weeks. It would be a fairy-tale as I have just said.

he do it is the question. Let's talk about the men who are fighting

him for that position. Mercedes have done well. Nico Rosberg has

showed some extra over Michael. Michael is the genius around here.

And Nico has been carrying off where he has been for the last

couple of seasons. He has been pushing Michael and driving the

whole team forward. I'm keen to speak to you and also David

Coulthard about this, Pastor Maldonado will not realise he had

an unnecessary culling together with Sergio Perez. He has a 10

place penalty but he is in the final part of qualifying. Yes, and

he still has to take the penalty. I know of Frank is like. He will give

him some talking to. David, you have driven for Frank Williams, how

frustrating for the team to have a car which is good but a driver who

lost his head? Elects the team down, simple as that. You carry the hopes

of the team who are with you at the track. He is a nice guy. He drove

extremely well in Barcelona. This is not the first time we saw this

kind of reaction. I think it is unacceptable and he is lucky to get

away with a 10 place penalty. He used his car and cut across the

front of Perez. You cannot do that. If it is not a great example to the

next generation. He saw the reaction from Perez. Whatever that

means in Spanish. Somebody can tweet ass and explain what it

means! He will be spoken to, for sure. He will find himself in tenth

place. David, it is reminiscent of Formula Ford. Tactics, we were told.

We will all of young hooligans and running into each other. That

should be one in the past four Grand Prix drivers and they should

have learnt by now it is unacceptable behaviour. It was not

there when I was in Formula Ford so thankfully it is a long way in the

part of qualifying. And Q3 gets under way. Two Mercedes in there,

both Rosberg and Michael Schumacher. Both Ferraris this time - the first

time this season that Massa has made it into the final part of

qualifying. Both Red Bulls are in there, but it was pretty marginal.

What are we going to see, do you think, David? We saw a 1:13.5 I

believe last year for Sebastian Vettel, so we will see if they can

get close to that. Also, something else to bear in mind, we talk about

Maldonado and his 10 place penalty. Don't forget that Michael

Schumacher has got a five place penalty as well for crashing in to

Senna in the last Grand Prix. was interesting, to see Nico

Rosberg turning in a lot of lock going through Tabac. He was trying

to generate front heat. Get as heavy as possible on the brakes,

and it radiates out through the carbon discs. Up the hill he comes

towards Massenet, followed by Casino Square. Gary, what do you

see as pole position here? 14.5 or 14.6 was my estimation before the

start. I think Rosberg has got the most left, he seems as though he

will be able to get on with the job. Saying that, though, he locked up

on the entry to Mirabeau, which seemed to put him a bit out of

shape coming up to Loews. Let's see how he recovers in the middle

sector. Just over a tenth down on what they achieved in the previous

session, and he has backed out of this lap. He has got lots of clean

track - not all cars are on track at the moment. So, he can get

himself Reset, take a breath and have another go. It was interesting

watching him this morning, he actually did his best lap on the

second lap on that set of tyres. It was not his first lap. Wear with

was not his first lap. Wear with Hamilton now. This is looking

pretty good, but there, not sure it will be quite enough. Hamilton on

to the start-finish area. Let's see to the start-finish area. Let's see

what this will be. He is second fastest at the moment, Lewis

Hamilton. He will get another lap pretty quick on this lap. This one

could be faster than Maldonado's benchmark time. Here comes the

Frenchman! He does a 1:14.6. Well, Gary reckoned it would be around

that mark. Here comes Michael Schumacher's! Egos second-fastest.

-- he goes second-fastest. DAVID COULTHARD: That was a very

impressive lap from Sebastien Grosjean. Rosberg has now done the

quickest middle sector, so he could be challenging for the quickest

time. He has done it, he has gone fastest! Nico Rosberg has gone

fastest! On board with Lewis Hamilton. Not going fast enough so

far, he goes wide at Anthony Noghes, that will cost him a tenth. He is

only third. Now, it's Mark Webber, who has set the fastest middle

sector. Webber is really flying! He loves the Monaco circuit. He won

here in the lower categories, then in Formula 1 a couple of years ago.

Is this enough? No, it is third. He has displaced Hamilton. Just

remember how crucial this pole position can be. We still have five

minutes to go, but I think this is incredible, the top three covered

by a tenth around the streets of Monte Carlo! Just remarkable, look

people leaving it a bit later to come out? Yes, some people leaving

it late to do that one run. They are waiting for the others to come

in, so that they will have as little traffic on the track as

possible. I think right now would be the quietest period, so I'm not

sure why the Ferraris have not gone out. Well, Alonso has gone out now.

I was speaking to Jaime Alguersuari, the Pirelli test driver, who was

saying that one thing about the Pirelli tyre is, it is very

difficult to blend your braking with cornering. But he was saying

that here at Monaco, you do not really do that anyway, so that

might be helping Massa. Yes, it is a circuit of where you need to

leave a bit more of a margin on the braking phase. Because one mistake

on braking will more than likely put you on the wrong line and cost

so much time. All the corners are so interlinked, get out of position

on one corner, and it affects you may be three corners down the road.

He knows he has to go at least three tenths quicker than his

previous best. So, he maybe felt that was a great lap in Q2, but he

has to go at least four tenths quicker. It is immense pressure,

psychologically. You're battling with yourself, where can I find

that time? Can he find a bit more in the corners? Let's see what his

opening sector will be. That's two tenths down on Rosberg. And he has

got traffic ahead. But it is still looking pretty good. The traffic

gets out of the way. Massa on a bit of a charge. He is no doubt just

happy to be in this final part of qualifying, for the first time this

year. He did have that amazing pole year. He did have that amazing pole

position in 2008, when even he was astonished with how fast he went, I

think. So he knows he can do it. On board with Kimi Raikkonen. He will

be trying to improve on seventh position. Let's see. Comes out of

the last corner... He crosses the line in sixth position. But don't

line in sixth position. But don't forget, Romain Grosjean, his

teammate, is second-fastest. Massa comes through, in eighth. Still

waiting for Alonso to complete a lap.

DAVID COULTHARD: That's four tenths slower than he managed in Q2.

Maldonado getting very wide through Sainte Devote. I'm not sure what he

thinks he can achieve with his 10 plays Belotti, but he is having a

go, anyway. He still wants the honour of being fastest in Monaco,

even if he has got the penalty. This is not good enough. Maybe an

element of frustration coming through for Maldonado. Back with

Alonso, a little bit wide through the first part of that high-speed

chicane. Let's see how he finishes the lap. He has been driving well

this weekend. Let's see whether he can get that Ferrari near the front,

as he did in Barcelona, of course. He goes fifth. Joint Championship

leader, of course, with Sebastian Vettel. We're still waiting for

Vettel to complete a lap. Meanwhile, Vettel to complete a lap. Meanwhile,

Hamilton is on a good lap. And we are riding with Mark Webber now. He

is currently third. That first sector, nothing to shout about.

I think Mark is going to struggle to make that time up in the next

Yes, so what went wrong in the first sector? Can he get enough in

this last run to the line? Let's see. He has been very rapid in that

middle sector... He has gone fastest! Mark Webber has gone

fastest! Beckhams Hamilton. He is having a good lap, so is Romain

Grosjean. Third place for Hamilton. The clock ticks away-0. Here comes

Kimi Raikkonen - can he do anything? Across the line goes Kimi

Raikkonen, and no change for him, he stays seventh. Still waiting for

Romain Grosjean, and Michael Schumacher has just done the

fastest middle sector as well. What a climax to qualifying in Monaco!

Massa comes across the line in sixth. Here comes Michael

Schumacher's! The Master of Monaco! Can he do it? He has done a!

Michael Schumacher is on provisional pole position. But he

has got a penalty of five places on the grid, remember. We're still

waiting for Romain Grosjean. Can he snatch it on the line? No, he

cannot. It is Michael Schumacher who is fastest, but he will not

start from pole position! What a story here for Michael Schumacher!

He took his first ever pole position here in Monaco in 1994. It

would be his 69th career pole position, but it will not be,

because of that penalty. So, let's hailed the pole man, Mark Webber!

It will indeed be Mark Webber, on pole. But what a performance from

Michael Schumacher. He might not have pole, but he has got the

honour of being fastest here today. And the dishonour of getting a

penalty for running someone in Barcelona!

RADIO: Pole position, well done, Michael. Top job, Michael. Wow!

Michael. Top job, Michael. Wow! What a feeling! That is quite

something. Michael Schumacher, who has been struggling, he has got two

points in the Championship. He has had a lot of bad luck this year. He

started the season out qualifying his teammate, but then Rosberg out-

qualified him when the Mercedes was so strong in China. And he has

struggled in the last couple of races. He had that incident last

time out with Senna. He has the glory of being fastest, even if he

will not get to start from pole position. It will matter a great

deal to him, because there have been a lot of questions about

whether Michael still has that little edge, about whether he will

continue in Formula 1. And this will certainly take away that

pressure. You will get the bragging rights, as you say, of being the

fastest man. But how much regret will he have for that moment of,

well, not quite madness, but the mistake he made in Barcelona. He

got the penalty for that, not for the first time in his career. We

should not really be surprised, a seven-times world champion, that he

can drive a fast lap. But it will be Mark Webber who starts on pole

position tomorrow. He has done that before, two years ago, and he went

on to take victory. Vettel did not go in that final part of qualifying,

by the way, he had run out of tyres. So, Webber will start up front, and

Vettel will start in tenth position. Maldonado, by the way, who has got

that 10 place penalty, was 9th quickest, so he will end up back in

18th place, once they all get moved around. So, it is Mark Webber who

will start in pole position. He was only slower by eight hundredths of

a second. Look at that smile on So, Michael Schumacher has taken

pole position in theory, but it is actually Mark Webber who will start

from pole position on Sunday. Both the Mercedes up there with Rosberg

in third. Hamilton fourth, Grosjean Fifth.

What a wonderful qualifying session befitting of the streets of Monaco.

I would love to say that up here the crowd went mile but one of the

unique things about the Monaco Grand Prix, Eddie, is sadly people

do not tend to know what is going on because they are sitting by

people enjoying themselves while we watch the racing. We said we would

moan and groan when Schumacher drove badly, when he drove like

that we should Laud him. And we do. Want to give him all the accolades

which are justifiably due to him but sometimes he disappoints. He

disappointed against Senna and he pays the penalty. How much would he

want to be on pole here? Such a shame and the record books will not

show this as a pole position for Michael Schumacher. I bet it feels

good for Ross Braun and Mercedes. Ross, you little beauty, what about

that one? Actually, I have to confess it brought a little tear to

my eye. He has faced some tough times since she came back and he

has been in good shape all weekend. We did the race work and it all

seemed to come together well in qualifying. He gets a five place

penalty now so that effectively puts Nico on the front row? Yes, it

is frustrating. That is the way it is. Making the best of the tyres

now tomorrow will be the critical thing. We were in a good position

last year and at big problem with the tyres in the first stint. That

will be the next challenge that we have. There was a lot of

controversy about the tyres, do you think you are on top of that?

don't think the tyres you ever get on top of, to be honest. If you try

to create a methodology of philosophy and sometimes it works

in your favour. On Thursday, Lotus looked and beatable. Today, it is a

different picture. -- unbeatable. It is a philosophy and every race

you learn a bit more. Thanks, Ross and good luck tomorrow.

A well done, Ross, well done Mercedes. There was a huge cheer

from the hill when Michael Schumacher was fast as. But the man

who will really be celebrating his Mark Webber. We are not that far

away from the famous pool scene from last year. If Mark Webber is

able to bring home a win this season, that would make it six

different winners, I do not think there would be many people who