The Indian Grand Prix - Practice 1 Formula 1

Welcome to India, and what could be the start of an historic weekend in

the world of Formula 1. Sebastian Vettel is on the brink of clinching

his fourth consecutive world drivers title. Nine wins this year gives him

a commanding lead in the Championship. Raikkonen would love

to beat Alonso in the Championship, that would be a coup before moving

to Ferrari next season for him. A quick look at the Constructors'

Championship shows that web all could clinch it this weekend, but it

is the battle behind which is keeping the other teams on their

toes. -- Red Bull. Kerry Anderson joins me now. This is a relatively

new circuit, we have only been here three times, but it is quite a

difficult one for the drivers, isn't it? Yes, there are some very, very

difficult parts, some very fast chicanes, and also, it is a very

long right-hander, around turn 10. You approach it at 200mph, and you

have to really be online through that corner, it is one of the more

demanding corners on the Formula 1 programme. The car is very important

around here, but the driver commitment don't is also important.

What about the engineers? Yes, on the long straights, you want low

drag, and then you have got the corner sections, where you need the

downforce. So it is a compromise circuit. They are all, really, but

especially this one. In the last two years, Red Bull have won it. It is a

track which engineers love. Paul di Resta will be sitting it out this

morning, he sadly has Delhi belly. We thank you for setting your alarms

early, but my goodness, Sebastian Vettel is a difficult man to beat

around here. He was fastest in all practice sessions last year, and he

has won the last two races. Yes, it does look a bit like that. But Red

Bull are going into this race in incredibly strong form. It is the

momentum which takes you forward, it is not just the fact that the car is

good, he knows he can do it. It is going to be a tough weekend for

everybody else, but with four races to go, the other guys want to win a

race before the end of the season. They want to be able to say, if we

had had this car at the start of the season, we could have won the

Championship. It would take a very brave man to bet against Sebastian

Vettel. Ben Edwards, are you feeling brave? Not that brave! I do think

that he is going to wrap it up this weekend. At the end of the day,

Alonso would have to outscore him by 16 points this weekend. Just look at

Sebastian's record, he is once again out to dominate all of the Asian

races. I really do not see him being stopped this weekend. Moving into

the pit lane, what can we expect, are the pit lane, what can we

expect, other teams looking towards 2014? Yes, although there are still

some areas which can be affected for this year. I know that Lotus have

got quite a few bits here. We have got to keep watching out, because

teams like Lotus are not giving up. Winning one of these last four races

would be very important for any team, to take the momentum into the

winter. Lets leave you in the capable hands of Ben Edwards.

BEN EDWARDS: So, the teams and drivers getting ready for this first

90 minute session. Interestingly, a different crash helmet for Fernando

Alonso here today. We have got a nice close-up view of that. None of

the blue and yellow colours which we are used to seeing. It is a very

different design for him this weekend. We will do some research on

that. As you can see, there is a bit of a haze around the circuit. It is

something we have seen here in India before. Even just looking down the

pit lane, it is looking somewhat hazy. But the session is just about

to get under way. We will get the first experience of these drivers

out on the track, on this, the third occasion that they have come here to

the Buddh International Circuit. It is 5.1 kilometres. The race length

at the weekend is 60 laps. As we have heard, it is a combination

track, of a high-speed section in the first part of the circuit, with

its very, very long straight, at just over a kilometre, and we have

got a bit of elevation change, specifically in the first few

corners. That camera really flattens out this section, because actually,

it drops down into turn two before climbing back up into turn three. It

is not a steep climb, but it is certainly a climb. And then, on to

the long straight, where the driver has plenty of time to have a look at

the dials, check the settings and change anything, if the engineers

want to do that. And then, finally, getting down to turn four, one of

the main overtaking opportunities, because that is a DRS zone. Pirelli

have brought the soft and medium tyres this weekend, which is

interesting. They have gone a little softer in terms of compound this

weekend than they have done in the past in India. We will wait to see

how that turns out. I think the soft tyre will have to work quite hard

here, and it may be a tyre which will not last quite as long into the

race, and it may make the race into a two stop strategy, rather than the

single stop which we had last year. Stefano Domenico having a word with

Christian Horner fair. He has been having a few comments in the media

this week, and at one stage for Rory were looking at getting Robert Pugh

bits back into Formula 1, hoping that he would make a full recovery

from his rally accident, but it has turned out that it is very unlikely

that cubits is ever going to be able to drive a Formula 1 car again. But

he is certainly making a name for himself in rallying. -- Kubica. He

has been doing a fantastic job on the world rally scene. Jenson

Button, just waiting to come out onto the track. Not everybody coming

straight out for the installation lap. Normally they come out

immediately once the track opens up. Maldonado has done his

installation lap and has come back in already. Kimi Raikkonen going out

now. We have only had forecast taking to the track so far.

Raikkonen got a bit stuck last year here behind Felipe Massa. The DRS

zone has been extended a bit this year. That should help Kimi, but

generally, his straight-line speed was no match for the Ferraris last

year. He ended up qualifying and finishing in seventh place. Roman

Grosjean got a podium finish last time out, Kimi Raikkonen in Korea,

so things have been looking good for Lotus, and there is no doubt that

they are catching up in that battle for second place in the

Constructors' Championship. While Vettel may well have got one hand on

the Championship Trophy already, as we come into this race, that battle

for second place is really hotting up, with Mercedes, for Rory and

Lotus all playing their part. -- Ferrari.

There is a massive gap back from Lotus to McLaren, in fifth place in

the Championship. But those three teams are tussling for second.

RADIO: Currently no GPS coverage. That message was to Kimi Raikkonen,

to let him know that the team are unable to give him quite as much

information about where other cars are on the circuit. Fernando Alonso

out on track. He has had two podium finishes on this circuit in the

past. One of the most impressive records, but not as impressive as

Sebastian Vettel, who has led every single lap that we have had in the

Indian Grand Prix over the past two years. We have had a red will be

Ricky on the grid in both of those races. -- a Red Bull one-two. It

does mean that everybody realises it is going to be as difficult as ever

to try to beat Sebastian Vettel this weekend.

In 2011, he went on to win the Championship by finishing in third

place at Suzuka, and you felt he was a bit frustrated by that. There we

are, just looking at Vettel. He always wants to go for the race win,

although on that occasion he had to settle for third place, to clinch

the Championship. I think this time he will be keen to win it in style.

Daniel Ricciardo, always a smile on his face. But I wonder if they had a

bit of a drama, they were working on the car quite hard just a few

moments ago. I wonder if they might have found a little bit of a glitch.

Gary, you are now presumably in the pit lane - any initial observations?

I am just having a look at the McLaren. Jenson Button has been

speaking about them running a different setup on the card to try

to find some performance. This is Jenson in out of the pits, and on

his car, he has got something behind the left front wheel. They are

changing the nose right now, so obviously, they are trying to

monitor the flow coming off the front wing. They are looking at how

it affects the side pods. When they come back in again, we will try to

show it to you. They are trying to find the direction of the airflow in

that part of the car. Thank you very much. So, we are getting to see a

bit more action out on circuit now, with quite a few cars taking to the

track. Nobody actually setting a lap time as such. We have got Jean-Eric

Vergne just driving the Toro Rosso back in here. I think most people

have been out onto the circuit. We are just seeing Hamilton going out

onto the track at the moment. Waiting for Webber. Paul di Resta is

unwell, so they are keeping him out of this morning's session. They

think you will be Bedi for P2 later this afternoon. Don't forget, you

can get in touch with us on Twitter. Great to know that some of you are

up at this early hour in the UK. Great to have you with us. Several

of you getting in touch with us, saying you are out of bed already.

Zach Smith, from Zimbabwe. Also, a couple of questions for Gary. This

one is a topical one, we have spoken about it a couple of times recently

- how much do the teams under fuel the cars for the race? How much fuel

do they put in such that it is not enough for the car to complete the

race? Well, in qualifying, you use the engine to its maximumrpm, which

means you need the maximum fuel. Around a circuit like this, that is

around 2.5 kilograms of fuel, roughly 3.2 litres. Come the race,

the fuel load would be about 140 kilograms, but you want to reduce

that because you cannot drive the car absolutely flat out. I would

imagine the difference would be something like 10%. So instead of

using 2.5 kilograms per lap, you would be using something like 2.3.

Then you have to drive the race to suit that. If the race is faster,

that is when you get some problems. Just looking at Jenson Button,

coming back into the pits again. We are just looking behind the front

wheels, you can see this rig, there is one on either side of the car.

You can see the aluminium frame. The airflow coming off the front wing

goes around the side of the car, and what you are trying to do is to

measure the difference in airspeed and the direction of the airflow,

and how it is going into the side pod. The more understanding you have

of that, the better you can develop the side pod to try to optimise the

flow. You cannot make the airflow do something it does not want to do,

but you can enhance it and make it work better for you. This is called

a test session, so, it is research for next year, as well as research

for this year. Generalson saying yesterday they

were going to go for a different set-up. Romain Grosjean is one of

the stars of the last race at Suzuka. He got in front after a

superb launch off the line. The two Red Bulls were tardy off the line

which is not something you see often. Grosjean stayed in front of

Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel and in the end, of course, Red Bull

worked the strategy well. Vettel came through and Mark Webber was

able to overtake towards the end of the Grand Prix. Grosjean on a run of

descent finishes. Two podiums which could have been three if he had not

had the engine problems in Singapore. Romain Grosjean is one to

watch. Again, he is in form. He has got the confidence that he has been

looking for perhaps since making his debut in Formula One back in 2009

and really now the bit between his teeth. Felipe Massa in the Ferrari

pit, but not for much longer and there is talk he may end up at

Williams. It is rumour at the moment, but Williams is one of the

teams he is talking to. He admitted that, but whether there is a deal in

place, well nobody is saying anything just yet and that could be

an interesting move. The drivers were speaking yesterday. We always

try and catch up with the drivers before the start of the Grand Prix

weekend. Get a chance to get their views and their thoughts coming into

the start of the weekend. Of course, a lot of attention on Sebastian

Vettel. Is he going to wrap up the championship? The likelihood is that

he will. And, well in the press conference yesterday, Tom asked him

would would it be a relief to get the championship out of the way this

weekend? Well, it is not really one of the

things you want to get out of the way. It should be a very positive

thing. For sure, it would be a great relief because it is what we have

been working so hard for the whole year. Obviously, we are in a great

position in the points table, but yeah, I don't come here thinking I

have to do this. I have to do that. I didn't do that the last three

years. Sometimes I think it was good just to carry on. Other times it was

good not to know the figures and stats because it was probably

speaking against us more than it was speaking for us. So yeah, nothing

has changed and that's why I'm looking forward to the weekend.

Sebastian Vettel speaking yesterday in the press conference leading into

this race. Lee did an exclusive interview with Sebastian Vettel

which will be going out on Sunday. The live build-up to the Grand Prix

and Lee said just how confident he looked. Lee, I know, that it was

great access that you managed to have with Sebastian. You felt he was

in a good mood for this one? You can tell a lot before the interview

starts whether a driver comes up to you and keeps his glasses on and

head down, but he came up and had a really nice chat beforehand and

seemed so relax. Didn't shy away from the cameras and didn't hide

himself away and he asked what we were going to talk about and I went

through some strands, but generally I just wanted to know about him and

really, everything that has made him the driver he is today from 2008

when he won his first Grand Prix and he was more than happy. He didn't

shy away from any questions and it was a revealing interview about him

as a person and even when I asked him about, you know, being popular

and does it bother him, he tackled every answer. He seemed someone who

is very, very relaxed at this moment and why shouldn't he be? He is on

the brink of a fourth consecutive world title. He didn't look like

someone who was being struck down by the fear of greatness. He was a

natural version of Sebastian Vettel which was great to see. In the Red

Bull camp, if you like, there has been more news this week because we

have heard of a new driver announcement with Daniel Ricciardo

moving over to be Sebastian Vettel's team-mate next year, it means that

Red Bull have taken someone else from their young drivers programme

and they have decided to go for the young Russian and he has been racing

in Formula Three and been racing in GP Three. He has a chance of winning

the championship. The Russian is getting used to signing autographs

at the junior levels of motorsport, but he will be signing more when he

comes into Formula One at the start of next year. He will be team-mate

of Jean-Eric Vergne. He is only 19 years old at the moment and the

question many people have asked, is he experienced enough? Has he got

the background? Is he in the right place to be coming into Formula One

so early in his career? We have seen some perhaps not achieve it so well.

Let's get down to the pits first of all and hear from Gary who is at Red

Bull. Yeah, Ben, we are at Mark Webber's car which will become

Daniel Ricciardo's car next year, but we will talk about installation

laps and what the drivers do. The cars have been rebuilt since Japan.

Every nut and bolt has been taken apart and the drivers will go out

for the installation lap and it will be getting everything warmed. When

they come in, the mechanics will look at everything to make sure

there is no oil leaks or wires near the exhaust pipes. Silly little

mistakes. They will take an oil sample from the engine to make sure

the engine is fuptioning properly and there is no problems of any

metal in the oil. The men Khannics are changing brake pads and disks.

They feel good and everything is correct and for Saturday, for

qualifying, you put the good set, that set you know are feeling good

for the driver back on the car. You use this installation lap to do lots

of stuff on the car to make sure A, it is not going to go out and break

down because of a silly mistake and B, to make sure you have got the

package of parts together that you want to put o on before qualifying.

After qualifying, you are not allowed to change anything on the

cars other than the front wing angle and the fuel load. So you have got

to do your preparation on the Friday for what you might need on Saturday

and Sunday. We have seen his mechanics take the front calibres

off. Red Bull are good at the preparation. They do a lot of work

and make sure they get everything together for the jigsaw that makes

up a racing championship winning car.

Thank you very much, Gary. It is always fun to watch the guys at work

and taking a these things apart. I have been joined by the Mercedes

development driver, Sam. You have come at a good time. I was beginning

to talk about Torro Rosso's announcement that they have got a

new driver. Before we get reaction from you, because you are trying to

make the breakthrough to Formula One. We asked Jenson Button about

it. Let's hear what he had to say about young drivers coming into

Formula One. We have two Russians on the grid next year. Teenage

Russians. For me, when I arrived in 2000 I was nowhere near ready for

Formula One. I had to take the opportunity, I had to, because you

never know if it will come again. You are in a difficult position when

you are that young because you are told you have got to take it and you

have to, but if I had the option to race for two more years and know

that I would get into a Formula One car after that, I would have taken

that option because it almost destroyed my career to go so early

into Formula One. As soon as I had a car that wasn't competitive, I found

it difficult to set it up and for the young kids coming in, it is

tough because we have got a big regulation change. You have got to

really understand the KERS system and the talk of the engine is

different. You have got to do so much work out of the car before you

get in. It is not like any other formula. Every other formula, so it

is very different. There are several hundred people that depend on you

and will listen to your comments about the car to develop the car.

Whereas is in a small team, you have ten guys that might tweak it here

and there, but it is different. The best thing for a young driver is to

have a good career in lower formulas and spend time at a Formula One team

experiencing what a driver will go through every race weekend because

he will get a massive shock when he gets to Melbourne. He might do great

and none of us will be talking about this again and hopefully he will,

for his sake, but it can kill a career.

Sam, interesting reflections from Jenson Button and you have done what

he said. You have had a successful time. You have been part of the

Mercedes team for several seasons and you have absorbed everything

there is. What are your comments on what Jenson Button was saying there?

You know, it is difficult for me to comment because they have been

signed and they will be racing in Formula One which is great for them

regardless of whether it is due to financial backing or due to talent,

but they are there which is great for them. With regards to myself

though Ben, I feel ready now to make the step into Formula One. I have

been working with the Mercedes Formula One team for

three-and-a-half years now. I have done my years in GP 2 and I won lots

of races and I feel fully prepared. Hopefully I'm the latter of what he

was explaining. What he was saying, the ideal

training ground. Gary, you have worked with plenty of young drivers

in your time. But looking at Daniel's background. He has a good

CV. He is young, but he has been racing in Formula 3 and he is up for

winning the GP 3 championship? It is one of situations as Jenson Button

said, when you get the opportunity, it is difficult to turn it down. I

think, you know, these drivers today and Sebastian Vettel and Fernando

Alonso, they all started racing or driving carts at four years old. So

although the kid is only 19, he has got 15 years experience of driving,

but he hasn't got the maturity that sometimes you need as a person. I

think he has got the experience of driving, so it is balancing the two

that's very, very difficult. Whenever Rubens Barrichello joined

us, he was 21 and you could say that was young, but he came with a lot of

maturity. He knew what he wanted to do. He knew how to understand the

car and could work with the engineers. Some of these guys can be

a pleasure to work with and I don't think we can judge Daniel before he

gets in a Formula One car. If Jenson Button -- as Jenson Button said, if

you were guaranteed of getting into a Formula One car, you would be

better spending time getting the extra maturity. If we go back to one

of Torro Rosso's drivers. He would say it was too young. He ended up

out of Formula One and will probably be never be back again. Sometimes it

can work for you and sometimes it doesn't.

As we know, Sam, it is a tough game, isn't it? To make the final

breakthrough. The Red Bull programme has been a successful programme for

Sebastian Vettel and they are hoping we are going to see that again with

Daniel Ricciardo. He has come through that system. It has given

drivers, some drivers, some fantastic opportunities that they

would never would have had. It does seem sometimes their decision making

process, you wonder about it? They pick the drivers from a very young

age and they are thrust into the limelight and treated as if they are

Formula One drivers with the pressure that's put on their

shoulders. So you find the guys that go up the ranks and make it to

Formula One are the guys that coped with that the best and got the

results with that pressure on their shoulders.

Yes, I think the pressure of having, you know, a team, a factory of 500

people all resting on what you do as an individual. Your performance

defines their livelihoods? It is a big team in Formula One. At Mercedes

we have got 500 plus guys working on the two cars, 365 days a year. It is

a huge team sport. People say, "Ah, you are in the car on your own." You

are not, you have hundreds of guys at the factory willing you on. This

is not just a driver's sport, it is very much a team sport.

Well, we have got somebody listening to us and about to talk to Lee who

is in a situation similar to you, hoping to break into Formula One and

many congratulations to Kevin who wrapped up the formula Renault World

Series and he is talking to Lee. Kevin, it must have been a relief to

get the championship because it was a hard fought battle, wasn't it? I

mean, it was a good year. Everything worked well and we have been

consistent. It was really nice to bring it home. You have got your

duties here with McLaren and that's been going all season. You have been

co signing the World Series and this. What are you doing for McLaren

at the moment? I am a reserve driver like everyone else who is not racing

here. Yeah, I'm looking to learn about everything and gain some

experience because obviously, there is days when you cannot test and it

is important to get any experience you can in Formula One. So it is a

good experience. We saw you, we have dragged you off

the pit wall. What were you learning up there? I am just looking at lap

times and following everything they say on the radio: You get more data

from the lap times and sector times. It is good.

Do you concentrate just on McLaren? when I am here, I follow everything.

Of course, my main focus is on what McLaren is doing. But I follow

everything. Of course, my main focus is on what

McLaren is doing. But I I tried to learn about Formula 1 in general. It

is important to follow everyone's strategy. It is important to learn

as much as you can when you are here. What are your thoughts on

Kvyat joining Toro Rosso from next season? Well, it is going to be a

challenge for any rookie to enter Formula 1. But I wish him all the

best. I know he is a good driver, he is really quick. So, I think maybe

we will see a surprise from him. What about your hopes for next

season? Nothing signed at the moment, I cannot say anything for

sure. But we are working hard. I have had a really good season this

year, so that helps that I have some good results. But we are working

hard, that is all I can say. Thank you very much for talking to us.

BEN EDWARDS: Kevin Magnussen there, the winner of the Formula Renault

3.5 series this year. His father also raced briefly in Formula 1, but

never quite delivered the kind of amazing performance... He, in a way,

was a case in point. Young Magnuson, when he was coming through

the ranks, I remember him dominating in Formula 3, and I thought he was

definitely a future world champion, but it did not quite work out.

GARY ANDERSON: No, when he got to Formula 1, he just did not seem to

thrive on it. It was very strange. But I think there are people, we

have seen it through the years, who have not had that good a career in

the smaller formulas, they jump into a Formula 1 car, and they are at

home, and vice versa. It is an interesting thing, adapting to the

glitz and glamour, the preparation and the engineering, all of that

stuff which happens in Formula 1 and does not happen anywhere else. So,

hopefully, his problems in moving to Formula 1 will not have moved on to

his son. Let's not forget that there has been a British team which has

been very involved in a lot of these drivers coming through these

programmes, which is Carlin, and I think something like 15 drivers have

now come from their ranks, up into Formula 1. And yourself, Sam, you

know that Carlin team very well. Yes, if you look over the last ten

years, it is a British team which has had most if not all of the

Formula 1 guys who have come out of Formula 3, they have come through

that team. I do not think they ever had Sebastian, though, did they?

They did, for half a season. My apologies!

RADIO: Please protect the front left tyre. Yes, the front left tyre takes

a real pounding here, particularly up at turn 10 and turn chick 11.

Absolutely, prolonged GeForce corners. Also, turn 14 and 15, it is

very hard on that front left. I know you listening to the briefings

coming into the weekend, is it something which has already been

talked about at Mercedes, for example? All of these things have

already been worked on in the simulator. I have done a lot of work

in preparation for this Grand Prix, in setting up the car the best that

I can, according to what the engineers think will be the optimum

setup with regards to optimising KERS, ride levels, deployment

schedules, everything has been looked at. And we have seen what

kind of things to expect from this kind of track.

kind of things to expect from this kind of We have been here before, we

know that it is going to be very dirty at the beginning of free press

this, which is why we can only see one car out there at the moment.

Just coming in to turn four here, watch the forces here... It is more

than 5.5 G, one of the biggest of the entire season.

SAM BIRD: Absolutely, and you will see a lot of track evolution here.

Abu Dhabi is another one which starts off the recently, very dirty,

a little bit like this one, where it is not used an awful lot, so we can

expect to see a lot of improvement over the course of the weekend, in

terms of lap times. This is coming up through the left-hander, 13 and

14, the last part of the track, up over the rise, a blind approach on

entry, popping downhill. -- dropping. This track does have some

decent elevation change. It is quite easy to lose traction out of that

last corner. On the start of the qualifying lap, you will see the

drivers going even wider to prepare the lap, so that they can get on to

the KERS as soon as possible before the start finish line, to get the

best possible start to a lap. The use of KERS is such an important

part of getting your lap right, where you use it. Obviously, you

analyse that on your simulator, as well as the engineers - how do you

relate that information, and is it sometimes slightly anti-in it if, as

to where you use KERS? No, after years of using KERS, I have been

doing a lot of work on the KERS schedules, and I have got to know

where to expect a boost, and how much I expect to boost. We have a

programme which will tell us the optimum. It is a case of me saying,

I think that is realistic that is not realistic, or maybe, it would be

better to use it here... It is a case of using the information we

have got on the computer and being able to use it on the track Gary,

you wanted to come in on the? GARY ANDERSON: Yes, just to explain

KERS, it is the electrical system in these cars, and basically, it gives

you extra horsepower available for such .5 seconds each lap. As Sam was

explaining, coming out of the last corner, for qualifying, you leave it

till the last corner, and press your KERS button. As you come over the

start finish line, your car will be going faster than it would normally.

Then you have got another 6.5 seconds. In other words, you are

nearly using it twice on your lap, but in the race, it is different.

You would use it in a different position. You would probably use it

on the start of the main straight and the start of the long straight,

just to get the car speed up a little bit, especially if you are

not going to be using DRS to get past a car. So, every sort of

situation is slightly different. Qualifying and racing conditions are

fastly different. It is all part and parcel of the art. It will be

different again in 2014, it is going to be so intrinsic into the power

unit, that as a driver, you will not have so much say over when it comes

in, I guess? No, that will be something which is automatically

introduced into the car for next year. It is not going to be for

example six seconds of usage, like it is at the moment. It is going to

be throughout the lap that it will be used. It is going to be a much

heavier unit as well, which is why drivers need to be short and light.

I can think of a nice British driver who is short and light. Who is

sitting right next to me at the moment ! Lewis Hamilton there are,

with his brother. Lewis Hamilton very much enjoying being in India.

His latest column on the BBC website, if you go to that, he is

talking about his love for India, and also a passion he has for trying

to support underprivileged children in India and in other parts of the

world. He has written it very eloquently. It is worth a look, from

Lewis Hamilton, on the website. We are speaking to Sam Bird here in the

commentary box, development driver for Mercedes. What are Mercedes

thinking about their chances as but first, let's hear what Nico Rosberg

said yesterday. I have a good car, which is why I am sure I can do

well. How frustrating is it that you have a good car, and yet you have

not been on the podium since Silverstone? Annoying, yes. I would

like to be up there again. It has just all gone wrong recently in the

last couple of races. Front wing falling off in the middle of the

straight, how weird is that? It never happens. So, hopefully,

another race weekend, even the next couple of races, hopefully we can

get a run going. So, there is Nico, looking happy and relaxed this

weekend? Yes, both the boys seem in a good steak at the moment. Enjoying

their driving, enjoying the atmosphere of the team. We are very

much pushing for second place in the Constructors' Championship. Second

is within our grasp, which is in our aim is a team, to finish second in

the Constructors' Championship. We do have a good car, and we have been

very unfortunate recently, like Nico said, front wing falling off halfway

down the straight, that was just unbelievable. We do not even need

lady luck to turn up, we just need a normal weekend, and there are podium

finishes there for us. The gap is only ten points, which is not that

much, so it really is achievable. Alonso has not been getting anywhere

near the front. Alonso has not had a front row all year. Massa has only

had one. Whereas you guys have got a fantastic qualifying record? We have

had most of the pole positions, apart from Seb, obviously. But we

need to convert those points, you do not get any points for what you do

on Saturday. We need clean races, normal races, and we are going to

score those points, hopefully to get that second place in the

Constructors' Championship. And of course, Lotus are lurking in the

background as well. Absolutely. We are riding on board with Valerie

Bottas. Just talk us through this next section, Sam. He has hit

terminal velocity, coming down into second gear. Does he use a little

bit of KERS? Yes, he does. He has only got a little bit left. Up to

seventh gear, no, just sixth. Down to third for the next one. This

section is actually quite difficult and tricky. I can remember Massa

hitting those orange things a couple of years ago and having some huge

crashes there. Into the long, twisting right-hander. Fourth gear,

hopefully that will be 50 once the grip comes up a bit. The heaviest

point on the load in the circuit. A bit of traffic, with the Marussia

getting out of the way. Fourth gear there, I would've thought that would

have been third. Up towards the end of the lap, another heavy braking

zone. Third gear again for the last corner, I would've thought that

would be second, once the comes up. Maybe years using the higher gears

because he is struggling a bit with traction. So, Valtteri Bottas

completing that lap. A couple of questions coming in. One for you,

Sam, saying, with the GP to season still going on, and the title

undecided, and you are still in with a shout, does it make it difficult

for you to work on trying to get a Formula 1 driver for next year? No,

it is the perfect time for me to be working on that, with the momentum

that I have got so far this year, having five wins under my belt. It

is the perfect time to be knocking on people's door. Do you do that

personally, do you have a management that does that? I work with a

management company, but nothing beats the driver going up to people

in person and saying, give me a shot. We are watching

in person and saying, give me a shot. We are Jean-Eric Vergne on

track at the moment. For those of you in the UK in particular, the

Auto Sport Awards are coming up soon. That can make a difference to

drivers like yourself. Absolutely, I am currently up for British

Competition Driver Of The Year, so please feel free to vote for me if

you are a subscriber to Auto sport. I would love to win an award there.

We wish you luck . Roman Grosjean looking very relaxed. Gary, just to

finish off the. About the new young driver from Russia coming in, one

question here, saying, why have Toro Rosso overlooked all of the GP2

drivers? It is a better learning curve for

Formula One than GP 2 or GP 3. Daniil Kvyat is doing Formula 2 and

3. It shows he can jump from one car to another car and do a good job.

Why Red Bull picked him at this age, I am not sure. They maybe looking

for another Sebastian Vettel. When Sebastian Vettel got in a Formula

One car, he wasn't much older. It is one of those situations where they

see the success they got out of Sebastian Vettel coming from that

early age and breeding and blending them into the Red Bull way. The only

way you can do that is to get a driver before he has sorted, got

sort of, you know, his ways, the way he wants to drive a car sorted out.

It is a big market for Red Bull and that's an area where they are

pushing that way and they are probably getting money out of Russia

as well. So there is lots of things that make up the bits of the jigsaw

that make a driver good. Sebastian Vettel started very early so there

is a chance they look at this guy and say this guy could be the next

Sebastian Vettel. Gary, we have been watching Jenson Button on track. We

are looking into the McLaren pits here. It is Sergio Perez. A question

from Chris Alexander, he says we are helping him with his insomnia. What

does it take for a team like McLaren to come back? Last year they had a

stonking way and they weren't there in terms of reliability? Yes, they

weren't quite there because of the reliability and they screwed up a

lot in a few pit stops and they lost a lot of potential good race results

and what, the confusing thing for me, they did have a good year last

year and they are having such a bad year this year. The concept of the

car is a good package, they just haven't got the best of it and there

are areas of that car that are causing them grief and they have not

addressed them. I would put the question mark on next year's car.

You learn a lot more when you have a poor car than when you have a good

car because you have to research deeply. You want to practise and

before the end of the season, you want to fix it. From my point of

view, McLaren should have started poorly and by Hungary they should

have been up there fighting for front rows and winning races and

they have not done that and they have not shown they understand the

problem and I think there is a question mark over them for next

year. Sergio Perez is the fastest here

today, but it is early days. Not many timed laps have been completed.

Sergio Perez is fastest and Maldonado, and Button is fourth and

Jean-Eric Vergne is fifth. They are the only drivers that established a

lap time. It is ten cars that set a lap time, but we are waiting for

plenty of others to come out and join in the fun! And it is great to

have your comments. Sharky letting us know he is watching. He says it

is a perfect way to start the Friday morning. A day off. Enjoying toast

and bananas and Formula One! This could be Sebastian Vettel's fourth

World Championship title. On the Asian circuit, he always seems to do

well on the Asian tracks. If he wins this week like last year, he will

have done all four of the Asian tracks at this latter part of the

year? He is the only ever pole sitter at this circuit, so you

wouldn't put it past him. They are looking strong at the moment. Going

back to what you guys were talking about McLaren. They have been

through this before having a lull after Lewis Hamilton won the world

title in 2008, their 2009 challenger was particularly poor and Lewis was

getting knocked out in Q3s. They did recover it that year. I expect them

to come back strong next year. I don't see any reason why they can't.

They have got the engineering expertise and strength there. I

think we will see that British team back.

You are optimistic? Well, I'm hoping that Mercedes will be better! But

McLaren, are, you know, McLaren will get it right, I'm sure.

There will be a lot of people hoping that I wa, Gary. I agree with what

Sam is saying. When they had that poor year, they came back before the

end of the season and everybody said, "Aren't these guys clever?"

The aerodynamic package, although it is changing for next year, it is

still relative. There is a narrower front wing and different end plate

and there is mechanisms on there to lose downforce, within your group

you have to prove you know what is going on. Someone is standing up

there making decisions for next year, are the decisions going to

make? Because the decisions for this year didn't work and the decisions

all through the 16 places, the decisions of development for all 16

of the races haven't worked. If you look back in Japan, they were as far

away from pole position as they were in Malaysia. Australia was really

bad and Malaysia they came up a bit and from then, it has been 1.4%,

they were slower. I would be scratching my head as to whether

they are going to go forward? They see regs are so different. It is not

worth chasing this car and they have said, "Right, let's forget this

year. Let's get on with next year." It is going into the winter with

confidence and you understand how a Formula One car works. Why is this

car slow? You can tell yourself, it is because of this. We won't bother

doing this. At the end of the day, you have a big group of people.

There is probably 150 to 200 people who are involved in the design of

the car and the packaging of the car and somebody is leading that ship

and that ship has to be led in the right direction and for this year,

up to the 16th race now, it has not been led in the direction to rectify

the problems that this car has got. So how is that guy going to lead

them to a better car next year? I always found with a team, you need

to prove to yourself more than anything else that you can do the

job. Fair enough. Well, Jenson Button is

fastest now. He is ahead of his team-mate, Sergio Perez. But we are

waiting to see some of the real top runners come out on to the track.

Nico Rosberg has done a lap, but not a particularly representative lap,

but he is on a quicker one now. We might see more pace from the

Mercedes and we are going to be seeing the likes of Mark Webber and

Alonso and Vettel coming out. James Calado has come back out on track in

the Force India. James Calado is standing in for Paul di Resta this

morning who is not well. Hopefully, he will be better for the second

practise session later on today. We are watching Felipe Massa here.

Everybody will be running the medium compound tyre in the first segment

or the first part of practise. Running wide there as well. It

wasn't part of the plan! The soft tyre coming in later. It is

interesting to see the soft tyre has been brought to India. I was talking

to one of the Pirelli guys and he said the soft tyre will take a

pounding here because the track evolved over the last couple of

years. It seems to be showing more grip. It will be interesting to see

how that soft tyre perform later. Yes, I expect to see data to 1.4

seconds on a quali lap. What will be interesting is how it will be used

in a race stint. Who will use it and at what times? If you qualify on it

in Q3 you have to qualify on it. How many laps can these guys get out of

it? The puncture that Lewis Hamilton suffered on the first corner of the

Japanese Grand Prix, it did spoil what could have been a very

interesting race because he made a good start, hadn't he? I know it is

all ifs because it didn't happen. He had to retire the car early. Looking

back with the team, was there a hope there was to be a podium finish to

be had out of it? We go into every weekend thinking there is a podium

or two in there. It is different to last year. Last year we didn't have

the package. This year, we do. So it was very, very disappointing for his

race to be spoilt so early on. And we haven't had the greatest amount

of fortune recently. Let's hope this Indian Grand Prix is the turning

point for us and we can hone in on the second place like we spoke about

ten minutes ago. Thank you very much for joining us this morning, Sam. It

has been great to have your company. We are going to get a few different

guests in this morning. Have a great weekend and let's hope luck does

change a little bit for the team Thank you very much, Ben. Take care.

Sam Bird there, a development driver for Mercedes and working with Lewis

Hamilton and Nico Rosberg as the weekend continues. James Calado, we

are just watching him. He has driven a couple of sessions already this

year and has done a competent job for the team. He drove in Italy, the

first session there and in Korea as well. Korea had the mistake, while

he was getting used to the track, but apart from that it was fine. He

is out in the session. An unexpected session. He is due to do the final

two sessions at the final couple of Grand Prix, but that was a surprise.

Nico Rosberg running wide there, but no major problems and Nico Rosberg

has gone quickest. He is ahead of Jenson Button. Sergio Perez,

Valtteri Bottas and Jean-Eric Vergne and Hamilton. Gary, I guess you are

not seeing much in the way of new bits and pieces on the cars here? So

much concentration is going on next yoer? Yes, so much concentration for

next year. There is flicks and things, but nothing too exciting.

There are more developments on their original component. I say as well,

sometimes it is better to get the best out of the package you know

than keep changing it. As Sam was saying, a lot of work is done in the

simulation ring, gear changes, gear change points, ratios, downforce

levels, all that stuff will be simulated, but when you get to the

racetrack, it is just different. If you don't spend the weekend with a

package of a car that you understand and know and you are not doing too

many back to backs. You can get more out of it. The last few races of the

season, we will see some people moving forward and haven't done

anything. They have worked harder on what they have got.

Sebastian Vettel crossed the line and he goes ninth fastest. We have

17 cars that have established a lap time and Paul di Resta is here. It

is good to see Paul is here, but clearly he has been unwell and they

are resting him from the session and hoping he will be OK for the second

session later on this afternoon. Now, I am delighted to say that I

have been joined by the Marussia sporting director. Of course, we

have been talking about Vettel's chances of winning the championship,

but there is more going on behind Vettel winning the championship. We

have got this battle for second in the constructors with Mercedes and

Lotus and Ferrari, but there is the battle for tenth place which

Marussia hold on to, but caterer ham are desperate to get from you? Yes.

I think the guys in the team have rested this car very well. The guys

back home have done a great job in difficult circumstances. We are

happy with where we are at. From last year, you have to keep pushing

until the last lap of the last race. We will see how we go. As you say,

Ben, there is battles up and down the grid which is what Formula One

should be. We are riding with Fernando Alonso. The new helmet, the

1571 refers to the number of points he has scored in Formula One! It is

a new record. He has beaten the record that Michael Schumacher had.

It is an odd record because the points system changed a few years

ago. TEAM RADIO: A bit too much over

steer. That was Nico Rosberg. We saw him going off the track, but he has

been I can quick. How much notice do we take of the new record, do you

think of Fernando Alonso's? The rules have changed. It is, the

points allocations changed. It is very difficult to compare from era

to era or season to season. But, you know, that's the nature of Formula

One, isn't it? It is funny when you look at the points scoring this year

because Sebastian Vettel on his own, has the same number of points as

both Ferraris had. Yes, I think Vettel has done a really good job,

but clearly, the star out there is the car and it is a fantastic head

start for any driver to have as you know, you have driven yourself, the

key thing is confidence and that car not only gives confidence, but a

clear performance advantage as well. It is not just opinion. Of you can

just see it on the track. Gary, we have seen all year with

Sebastian Vettel's confidence and you caught up with agree Newey

yesterday? Yes, he has been back at base working on next year's car. Is

the car, why has Mark Webber only scored half the points, actually won

less half the points of Sebastian Vettel? Is that just luck? To some

extent, Gary, I think it is. Do not get me wrong, I think Sebastian has

done a fantastic job, that it is a fantastically consistent job. I do

not think he has had to get everything out of that car, by any

stretch. If you look at Alonso's performance, it has been

spectacular. So, I cannot answer the question, to be honest. That is one

for Red Bull to answer. Of course, Mark Webber will be moving on, and

Daniel Ricciardo will have the task of going up against Vettel next

year. Ferrari have some major input with you next season, you have the

new Ferrari power unit, so how are the preparations going? Really well.

We did not know what to expect enter into a long-term relationship with

Ferrari. -- entering. We were quite unsure how it would work out. I have

to say, it has been a fantastic experience so far. How is your

Italian? Not great. But the contact at all levels in the factory is

very, very regular. There is a lot of communication. Do you have

Ferrari guys at your base? They are coming and going...

RADIO: Tell me what you felt. I will have to check...

BEN EDWARDS: So, things not quite right for Alonso. Not a perfect

start to the day. Sorry to interrupt, Graeme... We use a lot of

technology now, so, video conferencing and the like. It is all

about communication and collaboration, obviously. But I have

to say, it could not be going any better. We are very happy with it.

About the actual challenge of building a card to these new

regulations? Gary was saying, what was the word Adrian knew we had used

with you yesterday, talking about next year 's regulations? It was all

about turbos and energy, and the word he used was, it is a monster.

It is a great expression! It is a massive technical challenge, without

question. The power unit itself as effectively got two motor generator

units, as opposed to a single KERS. Yes, it is not just a regeneration

from the braking, which goes into the battery, and powers the car, but

you have got a motor unit on the turbo of the engine which can also

store up and release energy back into the system. Yes, so there is a

motor generator unit... They have told him to limp back, because of a

gearbox problem, I think, there, Fernando Alonso. But yes, the

different power units... So, yes, there is a kinetic energy recovery,

which is similar to the KERS, but a KERS on steroids, if you like. And

then there is the thermal recovery system, recovering energy from the

exhaust gases. So, it is a convex piece of kit. The cooling challenges

are massive. I can see why Adrian considers it to be a monster. The

challenge is the same for the big teams, as well as the small teams.

We have to build the car to the same rules. What you have slightly fewer

engineers to do it? We have a lot fewer, ours just have to be

cleverer, simple as that. Of course, a guy like Adrian, in many ways,

loves the new challenge. You throw a new set of regulations at him, that

is what he lives for, isn't it? Guess, these regulations have been

hurting disgust for a few years now, so everybody should have focused in

the same direction. -- have been getting disgust. -- discussed. The

chassis has altered at the front, as well as at the back, because of the

new engine installation. The drivers have been having their own put with

regards to the seating position. There will be quite a few different

interpretations, I have been trying to interpret it myself, and there

are quite a few areas that you can play with. It will be interesting to

see what they come up with. Can you give us any clues about the cars?

Visually, they will certainly be different. One or two features will

be very prominent in the car. You will certainly be able to tell in a

photograph. It is likely to be a more swooping, lower nose? Yes, I

think there will be a lot of interpretations of that part of the

car, in particular. It will be quite interesting to see. It is

interesting looking already at people's interpretation of

wheelbase, things like that. The FIA scales have been getting prepared

for next year, so you can tell the range of wheelbases. The cars

themselves are going to be quite easy to determine, as distinct from

this year's. And also, between the teams? Do you think there will be

less similarity between the cars? I think so. One of the key points we

have been making is the challenge regarding cooling, which is a very

big challenge. And so perhaps you might see some differences their

Mac. With the VAs, what you seem to see is a Red Bull -Toro Rosso

influence, and this kind of thing. -- V8s. This time, everybody will be

starting from scratch, with a clean sheet of paper. Just to let you know

on the times, Vettel is now the fastest in this session. Rosberg,

second fastest, Grosjean, third. Webber is fourth. Massa is quite a

long way back. But these times are not giving us a hugely clear picture

yet. Alonso has gone out and done a reasonably quick run, but he is only

nine at the moment. Your two guys, the Marussias, are currently 21st

and 22nd. It looks as though you are going to be fairly close to one

another again. Yes, both of them have driven him before. But that is

a pretty tight grouping. I think if we are there or thereabouts, we will

be giving the other is a good race at the weekend. Max got ahead of

both of the Caterhams, which showed that as a team, you have done a good

job. Yes, all of the guys back in the factory have been doing a great

job. I think we have got a really strong package. Caterham are

probably a little bit ahead on aerodynamics. But in terms of the

raw car, I think we are looking really quite good. It was good to

qualify ahead of the Caterham is, as you say. -- the Caterhams. It was

very unfortunate that one of our drivers got taken off at the first

corner. There was no action taken, was there? No, and I was quite

disappointed about that. Because Jules was clearly ahead of and the

other guy went into the back of him. So, Jules was doing his race and he

was taken out by a car which was out of control. He was not pushed into

it. So, it was a little bit disappointing. But you take the

rough and smooth. Just looking inside the Sauber Garrard at the

moment. -- Garrard. I have to ask the question, Graeme, it is that

time of the year, and things are being sorted in some teams -- garage

-- but everybody seems to be waiting for Lotus, in particular, which

could have a domino effect. But whereabouts are you? I know you have

already confirmed Jules Bianchi, haven't you? Yes, we have confirmed

jewels. Normally we tend not to name the driver line-up until after the

season. If he had carried on there, he would have had a really good

line! So, we announced Jules, and we are very happy with that. It would

be nice quite to go into next year with the same driver line-up. It is

obviously going to be able big technical challenge next year. This

year we have got two guys who had no experience in Formula 1, so if we

could take the same driver line-up into next year, that would be really

good, but we will see how things develop. That is interesting. There

has been quite a lot of talk this year about new drivers. We hear that

Daniil Kvyat, who has been announced, is hoping to do a formula

in Brazil in the meantime. A youngster coming in, and if he comes

in with GP3 experience, what is your take on that kind of experience, do

you think he is at the right place in his career to come into F1? One

thing is for sure, we will find out. GP3 is a very good training ground.

We have our own GP3 team. And your driver actually has been right up at

the front of the Championship but has had a lot of bad luck. Yes, my

honest opinion is that our guy is a brighter prospects. I honestly

believes Teo is much more ready for the challenge. I would say that,

because he was one of our drivers, but he was one of our drivers for a

reason, we think he is the best driver in the age bracket. So, it is

a massive challenge for a 19-year-old to come into Formula 1.

Red Bull have certainly backed drivers with a huge amount of money,

but I think there is quite a big debate about the success of their

programme. So, it will be interesting to see how he gets on. I

really wish him the best of luck, as there is no turning back now. No, he

is in the crucible, and we will soon discover what happens. Gary, what is

going on in the pit lane, I believe you are at Ferrari? Yes, and they

are taking Fernando Alonso's car apart at the moment. There is only

about 20 minutes left in the session. They believe they have got

a mechanical problem in the gearbox. It sounded to me like a broken gear.

He was able to drive back to the pits in second gear. They are taking

the gearbox off at the moment, so I think that is his session finished.

I keep on criticising Ferrari for sitting out these practice sessions.

They are the team that have to play catch-up with Red Bull. I know the

track is dirty, you cannot learn as much, but you are sat in the garage

for half an hour, you go out on the track and have a problem, and now

you lose another half an hour. So really, this P1 session has been a

waste of time, as such, for them. Felipe Massa is still running. He

has done ten laps currently in this session. Sebastian Vettel, fastest,

then. Alonso had a lot of good reliability

with Ferrari. He has a record of 70 Grand Prix, Alonso, without a

mechanical failure with his Ferrari, so that's impressive, but it is

still going to hurt them to lose valuable track time. We will see how

they bounce back from that or not as the weekend continues. Of course,

the second free practise session is coming up later today and we will be

bringing you full coverage of that. Another 90 minute session where they

will run the other type of tyre and that's when they will be doing the

longer runs. So we will not only get an idea of the difference in the two

tyre compounds, but a little bit of an idea of the ultimate pace leading

up to P3 and qualifying on Saturday and of course, who is in best shape

for the race. We have got to say that Red Bull will be in good shape,

but it is a question of whether Mercedes and Lotus can give them a

run for their money. Lotus gave them a run last time. Let's see Sergio

Perez. This was a moment ago. He had to get out of it a little bit.

That's the fast left-hander. It turns five and six into the flick

right at seven and then he is through eight and nine and then this

is and we cut away. So a little minimal off.

TEAM RADIO: OK, James, looking at other runners, we can expect a large

improvement over one second. BEN EDWARDS: So no pressure there

then! James Calado has done a 1.29.8 so

far. As opposed to 1.24.4. They will be on different programmes. Let's

watch this. This was a moment ago on board with James Calado. He got a

little bit out of shape and had to run wide through the second part of

nine. It wouldn't have cost him a huge amount of time, but he probably

had to lift out of it. TEAM RADIO: The car was very under

steery then. We have gone the other way.

James Calado finding himself not just a sort of, a Friday driver, he

has got to help the team make progress as they go through the

weekend. Yes, he has to help the team make progress and he is not

going to make a fool of himself. There is a fine line. You can go out

there and go through the programme the team want you to do, you still

want to be sort of compared to your team-mate and that's the important

thing. When you get a Friday morning chance, you really need to be

looking at Adrian Sutil and think where am I? It is always for us

outside, we just see he is slower than his team-mate and that's never

a good place to be. No. That's right. It is always a bit

difficult, of course, to are the drivers. There are cars all over the

place and Lewis Hamilton was reporting back there. He doesn't

sound happy with the way things are going. He is only 14th quickest at

this stage is Lewis Hamilton. Looking at Sebastian Vettel who is

already fastest and this lap doesn't look as if there is going to be any

further improvement. It looks as if the tyres aren't holding out quite

as well here. Jean-Eric Vergne has improved. Jean-Eric Vergne has gone

tenth fastest in histor tor. -- in hisTorro Rosso. There was ale slight

improvement on his previous lap, but not on his fastest lap so far.

Sebastian Vettel always comfortable here having had the 100% record of

never being led by anyone else other than Sebastian Vettel at this track

and we will see if he will be able to convert that or maintain that

100% record as we go through the weekend and just looking at Felipe

Massa, the only Ferrari in this session after the problems for

Fernando Alonso. So they will need to get a few more laps out of Felipe

Massa. On to a lap he goes. Let's keep an eye on him as he heads down

the start/finish straight. There is a DRS zone. He does run over the

kerb a bit. A big, wide approach into the corner. Let's see a little

bit of work going on at the steering wheel as Felipe Massa accelerates.

He finished here sixth last year and qualified sixth on the grid in both

previous years in India. But he did have that accident with Lewis

Hamilton in 2011. He had a drive through and hit the kerb through one

of the faster sequences and that did enough suspension damage to put him

out of the race and he had already done something similar in a practise

session. Let's just watch. It is so easy to hit that kerb on the inside.

He nearly did there. Now up to this long, looping right-hander. He has

backed it off a little bit now though. This isn't a hard pushing

lap anymore from Felipe Massa. Vettel doing a ten time lap. It is a

long run to be doing at this stage in the session. Gary, Red Bull are

doing their homework and like you were saying, Ferrari don't seem to

get that homework done and Red Bull are making sure they do? You only

get points por Sundays -- for Sunday. Sebastian Vettel is fastest

and Lewis had a lock up here. Yeah. That's what he is complaining about.

He hasn't got the balance on the brakes and the car he wants. Going

back to Red Bull. They have gone out there with the car. They have got a

lap time that's very good. They have just put a load of fuel in to see

how their tyres last. They are doing their homework early on.

We have seen Lewis Hamilton running wide and going through the gravel

and Rosberg hopping over the kerbs which can do damage. Lee caught up

with a man who should be out there and isn't at the moment, Paul di

Resta. I have got an ailing Paul di Resta. You said you are feeling a

little bit better? Yes, a lot better. It wasn't only because I was

a little bit sick. I was going to lose two Fridays for James to get

his run. We felt it was best to do it here when I was under the weather

and give me more time to recover. I will be back in the car for Q2.

How explain how difficult it is for a driver. It is a hot and humid

place. You need your energy. You need to be hydrated. How much does

it affect you and you don't feel well when you are inside the car? I

wouldn't be z the want -- I wouldn't want be driving a car the way I felt

yesterday. It is amazing what the doctors can give you to make you

feel better. It is a challenge around a place like this which is

humid, are getting the fluid in you. We are careful here because you know

the signs, you know how it is, but unfortunately, it caught me out. You

were over due some luck. It is your team's home Grand Prix this weekend.

I think they are expecting big things? There was a lot of pressure

to perform, but we come here to prepare as much as we can and our

shareholders will be here and they have got a lot of key people, a lot

of partners and it is one thing we want to perform. Suzuka was a good

weekend and we came close to scoring points with a car that's not the

fastest at the moment, but if we can repeat that, I think we will go away

with a smile on our face. Thanks, Paul. I hope you feel better.

So Paul di Resta let's hope he will be fit and raring to go when it

comes to particularly qualifying and race day, of course. So we have got

just over ten minutes to go in this first practise for the Indian Grand

Prix. There is the other Force India of Adrian Sutil. There is no

confirmation on drivers at that team. Both drivers are hopeful they

maybe sticking in there, but let's wait and see how it resolves itself.

Hulkenberg was saying he was hoping to know what he would be doing by

the end of October, but the end of October is approaching rapidly and

things are not yet sorted. So, he still seems confident he will end up

with a good drive. Where he is going to be, is a question mark? Adrian

Sutil implying that he may have a deal in his pocket, but again,

nothing has been confirmed yet. On board with Felipe Massa here. Now,

watch him up at turns 10 and 11 here.

It is a tricky corner this. Very much two corners rather than just

one. And there is that very quick left/right up the hill. Turn 15.

Back down the hill once again into the fo final -- into the final turn

of the corners. That's 65mph through there. Accelerating up through the

gears. That's a good lap for Felipe Massa. That was an improvement in

lap time. He has backed it off a little bit. That was a performance

run for Felipe Massa. He will bring the car back. We are watching Lewis

Hamilton who as we heard earlier on, wean particularly happy with the

balance of his car. Mercedes coming in with the sense of optimism that

we can put in descent results to finish off the season. They may not

quite be able to match Vettel and Red Bull, but they are going to have

a go at it and scoring podium finishes and try to make sure that

second place in the constructors championship which is held by

Ferrari, but with the ten point gap, so Lewis Hamilton eighth fastest.

That's a slight improvement in time. The tyres holding up reasonably

well. That's 15 laps completed by Lewis Hamilton as well at this

point. A little bit wide there for James Calado. He is in Paul di

Resta's car and of course, it must be nerve-wracking for Paul di Resta

watching that from the sidelines making sure it comes back in one

piece. There is more run off here than we saw in Suzuka. Is a Suzuka a

track that punishes a slight mistake. That's a better lap from

James Calado. 1.29.1. That means he is about six tenths away from what

his team-mate has done. But a good improvement that from James Calado

as he gets up to speed and he has only done the two prepractise

sessions in Italy and Korea. Work goes on on Alonso's car and that car

won't be back out until the second session this afternoon. So running

on board the Torro Rosso of Daniel Ricciardo here as he comes towards

the end of his career with that team and moves on to a much bigger step

with Red Bull. He said yesterday that he is beginning to make a few

plans for January. He is very much a Torro Rosso driver until the end of

the season, but even though they are very connected those two teams, he

has the duties to perform for that team until the contract is released

and he can go and start seeing what's going on at Red Bull and

getting himself ensconced into that team and Torro Rosso had a difficult

time in recent races. They have not had the points consistency and

Ricciardo paying the price, he had a drive-through penalty in Japan.

Something he wasn't happy about. He had to get on with it. The Torro

Rosso team sitting 31 points. They have been passed by Sauber. They

were tied going into the last Grand Prix in Japan. Sauber a clear

seventh and Force India getting nervous about the progress of Sauber

in the last few races and Paul di Resta knowing that coming into each

of the races, it is a tough call to get into the top ten and they know

they have got pressure coming on them from Sauber in the constructors

championship. Just watching Daniel Ricciardo. This

is looking like a good lap. We have seen Grosjean and Webber going

quickly in the first sector. Whether they have the tyres eye valeable to

them -- available to them to be quick in the third and fourth

sectors. That would improve his position in the overall order. Let's

see this. Daniel Ricciardo into the last conner he comes. A nice tight

apex and let's the car run wide on the exit and let's just see if it is

any improvement for him. He is 13th. It is a slight improvement. He moves

up the order. Jean-Eric Vergne is 11th and Daniel Ricciardo 13th and

we have seen a better lap from Mark Webber. He has gone second fastest

on tyres that have done 16 laps. That's a good lap from Mark Webber

and goes to confirm the performance of the Red Bulls. Daniil Kvyat joins

the Torro Rosso team next year. James Calado is having a spin. He

kept the engine running and rejoins without causing any problems to the

cars behind him. Yes, back on his way again. So James Calado just

getting himself in a bit of bother. That was through turn 15. He brings

the car back into the pits and no dramas for the British driver. He is

racing in the GP 2 championship. He is racing against Sam Bird. They

have the finale of GP to go and he had good results in GP #2rks but the

championship hasn't gone quite... Oh, that was the replay. He got it

wrong coming into the corner. Let's have a look at this.

He was carrying too much speed and the back end of the car getting away

from him, but kept it out of the gravel and that set of tyres is

finished anyway. We are at the end of the session virtually so nothing

lost there. A shame for James Calado who was no doubt trying to improve

his lap time on that run. He has just gone back out again. So he may

get another lap in. Lewis Hamilton is fifth fastest.

That's a better lap from Lewis Hamilton. He is on a 1.27.2.

Not as quick as Rosberg. Rosberg completed 21 laps. He had a

productive morning's work. Hamilton now up into fifth place.

But the Lotus of Grosjean a little bit quicker than him at this point.

Raikkonen is a long way down the order. Only 17th place for Kimi

Raikkonen which seems a little bit of a surprise. There is that front

wing change going on on Jenson Button's car. Jenson Button going

off to get a quick run in before the chequered flag on this session.

Lotus clearly have been doing a bit of setup work, testing work, which

is no doubt why they have been holding back a little bit. So, let's

just keep an eye on Raikkonen, and see whether he is going to put a

fast run in towards the end of the session. Again, stressing yesterday

that he has got to improve his qualifying performances, which is

where he has felt that he has not been able to deliver. And we have

seen that, really, as he has explained, it has been since the

construction of the tyres has changed. This tyre does not give him

the front end bite which Kimi Raikkonen is really looking for. It

is something which also affects Alonso to a certain extent, I think.

In this latter part of the year, Kimi Raikkonen has found it harder

to get that qualifying lap out of the car. Whereas Roman Grosjean has

that slightly different driving style, and the change of tyre has

probably benefited him more. It is interesting how the change in

driving style is related to the change in construction of the tyre.

It is something they have to live with. Of course, for Sebastian

Vettel, it seems to have worked very well. Ever since that change, he has

been pretty much dominant. He lost in Hungary to Lewis Hamilton, but

ever since then, Sebastian Vettel has taken victory. And that was very

close in Hungary, anyway. It was a great drive by Lewis Hamilton to be

able to keep Vettel behind him, perhaps helped by the traffic as

well. So, just counting down the minutes. Jenson Button crosses the

line, so he will get another lap in. Hamilton has just come out onto the

circuit. Rosberg is back in the pits. We have got 18 cars out on the

track at the moment. Looking at the speed trap figures, Jenson Button is

up towards the top. Adrian Sutil has got the highest straight-line speed

figure at the moment. Jenson Button and Sergio prayers are not far

behind. I think they are doing a bit of aerodynamics testing on the car

of Jenson Button. And the Saubers are looking quick as well in the

speed trap. We are not seeing the Red Bulls quite as high on that as

we have done in the last couple of Grand Prix, but sometimes, they go

for the higher downforce and greater speed in the corners. A little bit

of traffic for Jenson Button. Just going past the caterer of Giedo van

der Garde. Van der Garde is currently the quickest of the young

teen drivers, but only by a 10th, from Jules Bianchi. And then you

have got Charles Pic and Max Chilton. They are all pretty close

together. The chequered flag is out to bring this first free practice

session to an end. Mark Webber already out of his car,

at the end of the session. You can see on that list that Red

Bull have got slightly slower speed trap figures, but fastest overall on

the lap time. Motors towards the lower end of that table, on the

speed trap, which is something we have tended to see this year as

well. -- Lotus. Going over the orange kerb. So,

Sebastian Vettel starting the weekend where he would like to. Last

year he was actually fastest in all three practice sessions here. And he

has started this weekend in similar style. Just riding with Lewis

Hamilton here. On his inlet. Still pushing quite hard. A little bit of

marking through the right-hander on the inside tyre. Just a touch wide

coming out of turn 14. That was an attacking in lap making the most of

every opportunity to get a bit more knowledge about the track. So, it is

Sebastian Vettel who has taken the fastest time in first practice, no

surprises there. Will they be able to maintain their 100% record for

qualifying here in India as the two McLarens who usually show well on

Fridays, doing well again. Bottas, a bit more encouraging for the

Williams driver, in 10th place. Alonso, of course, but getting his

full continent of laps in in this session, he only did six laps in

fact. Daniel Ricciardo ended up 13th. A funny session from Kimi

Raikkonen. He did 18 laps, but really not showing any kind of pace.

James Calado behind, having only had short notice that he would be

driving for Paul di Resta in this morning's session. So, an

interesting first session, no major dramas. Very different to Suzuka,

where we have seen a few mistakes and mishaps. It looks like we have

only got that slight mechanical problem for Alonso, being the main

news out of this recession. Otherwise, everybody seems to have

got a full continent of laps in. Sebastian Vettel to 24 laps, which

is as much as anybody did. Charles Pic, the caterer racer, making his

way back. Jean-Eric Vergne, 11th fastest for Toro Rosso, a little bit

more encouraging. We are just looking back at some of the shots

from earlier on in this session. Christian Horner and Stefano

Domenico Lee sharing a laugh about something. Jenson Button looking

very relaxed. Sebastian Vettel, having won three Championships, you

can just see the sense of relaxation. He does not have to

finish it this weekend. Daniel Ricciardo of course had to come out

late, they were still working on his car.

In terms of the grip, how much would that have built up during the

session? The grip will always be getting better. It is one of these

things where you have to respect the level of the track. If you go out

with other people on the track, then you are comparing your lap time in

those conditions to other people's lap times in those conditions. You

can do a lot of homework and make sure that you do all of this silly

little bits and pieces. You can see Calado spinning. At the end of the

day, you have to do the work, you cannot always leave it until the

last minute, because you might have a problem, Mike Alonso had. How do

you think James Calado applied himself, having come in at the last

minute? Yes, he did a good job. Only the team will know that. If he has

achieved what the team wanted, brought them back the feedback they

wanted, that is all you want from this session. Hopefully the car will

be in a better condition for Paul di Resta in the second session. But

yes, he has done a good job. And not a bad day for McLaren, either? Six

tenths I think Jenson was away from Sebastian Vettel. They should be a

little bit inspired by that. They are trying a different setup on the

cars. They found at the beginning of the year that running the car very

stiff and very low was good. They are going to have to look at that as

to whether it is using the tyres too hard. That would be a deficit in the

race. Yes, McLaren were sixth and seventh this morning. That does not

necessarily mean anything as we move towards Practice 2. What is the

workload this afternoon? The track will have got better, the teams will

have had a look at the setup, but in the second session, they start

again, with a new set of the medium tyres and a new set of soft tyres,

you can use both. We will see initial running on the medium tyre,

then moving to the soft tyre, trying to do a lap time, like qualifying,

as such, and then going back to the medium tyres, and doing some race

running. For me, this is the interesting session, because it is

at the same time of day as qualifying and the race. It is the

best time to do your homework. If that does not make you want to watch

this, then I do not know what will. He is the perfect salesman. We will

be back at 9.25 on BBC Two. We do not mind what you do in the

meantime, join us for that!