The Japanese Grand Prix - Qualifying Formula 1

Sebastian Vettel is the 20 13th Formula one World Champion. His

fourth consecutive. Sebastian Vettel has become the youngest driver

ever... Pudding among the greatest names in the sport's history.

Imperious form... Asking him, how do you stop this man?

Runaway champions leader, Sebastian Vettel survives retirement. OK, he

is destroying himself. His lead has been slashed have to get another

disappointment. He's in trouble! Things have gone from bad to worse.

It is Sebastian Vettel's third retirement. His lead is further

reduced at the top of the championship. Where has it all gone

wrong for Sebastian Vettel? Nobody expected him to blow what looked

like an unassailable lead. Stop the car, stop the car! He is out, after

dominating this race. The thoughts of David Coulthard. How has this

gone so wrong? It has been an incredible run of resultss but this

is why we love this sport. The team bosses refusing to apportion blame

to anyone. It is important to understand what is causing the

problems. It was an incredible result, seeing his lead slashed

going into the final race. It all comes down to this, the final race

of the season. Where has it gone wrong? Would you believe it? !

You probably would not believe it. It would be more than astonishing if

that happened. Welcome to the land of the rising sun. And the sun is

shining. The question is, will it be shining on Sebastian Vettel this

weekend as he gets his first shot at clinching his fourth world title.

Let me show you why. He is currently 77

Let me show you why. He is currently points ahead of Fernando Alonso and

mathematically, any of the top four drivers could still win the

mathematically, any of the top four championship. However, that seems

rather unlikely now. In terms of the construction championship, 118

points separate Red Bull from Ferrari. Five races left, 250 points

still available. So here we are in Suzuka, an

absolutely terrific, proper racing track, Eddie, but it will not be

simple for Bethel because he cannot just win here. -- Vettel. Let's talk

about the track. It is up there with Silverstone. It is an old-style

racing track. A sell-out 130,000 tickets here in a day. They could

probably do that for times over. It is such a popular sport in Japan. Is

Alonso going to be able to take the fight to Sebastian Vettel? I don't

think so. I think Sebastian Vettel is so strong, and getting stronger

in his mind. It is a dominant force that he has. Alonso would have to be

ninth or less for it to happen. It does not look like it is going to

happen this weekend and it does seem as though it is when, and not if. In

a way. We would like to go to the last race, for the excitement of the

sport. But since they got over the tyre problems, earlier in the

season, they have knuckled down, Red Bull, and they have been totally

dominant. Let's get on with the action. Tom Clarkson and David

Coulthard are your team. And then Edwards. The first session of

qualifying gets underway. -- Ben F words. Gutierrez is on the

track. Confirmation of the tyres were using this weekend. The medium

compound, Pirelli, and they had compound tyre as well. Relatively

conservative choice. We're not looking at tyres that will go down

very quickly. Not a massive difference between the tyres in

terms of the lap time. During the practice sessions, it has been six

tenths of a second or so. Yes. And that has been interesting, from

Lotus to Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes. Normally we see one car

being better than the other but here it is about six tenths. I think the

top cars of the top six or eight, might not have to use the medium

tyre in the qualifying. But it is not going to be easy. For my -- from

my point of view, the cut-off time will be 13.3. If you can do that on

the hard tyre, you can set that up for later. The team principal former

cities joins us. What is your team saying? One minute and 33 seconds?

Something like that? Eye to you what, have not asked. Eye will need

to ask. -- I tell you what. I think certainly we will need to go through

on the prime. It will depend how it looks on the prime. How important at

the moment is it to save your options, to have two sets of options

available? In other words, having the softer tyre available for the

final part of qualifying. It is helpful because the drivers have the

confidence that they have another set backing them up. I think drivers

probably approach it a little differently, but certainly being

able to put on the first set, and go for it on the second set, that is

able to put on the first set, and go definitely helpful. Of course, you

could span the session, particularly if the session gets quicker or

slower, as it might with this wind. Well, Lewis Hamilton was second

slower, as it might with this wind. fastest this morning. From your

vantage point, do you think that you fastest this morning. From your

are going to be able to challenge those Red Bulls for pole position?

Very tough. They have made a step forward. It has been pretty tough

since Spam. -- Spa. I think it will be close but we do not have the

upper hand. If something happens, we could do. Thanks for joining us. We

will watch the progress of the two cars with interest. David, Gutierrez

is on track. Talk us through the section. This is the second part of

the spoon corner which takes him to the end of the second sector. Then

you have a small rise, and this is where you have this figure of eight

section, the bridge. We can see the underpass they are, through the

second exit. He has gone through 130R, not the challenge of use to be

but it gets your attention. And then there is this tricky run, the last

corner, releasing any leftover KERS, and going into the GRS on. The

television can be deceptive, but it is a big drop. One minute, 33.5,

comparing with what he did earlier on. Mark Webber is a bit quicker.

Using the had compound tyre. Earlier on, Tom, you were discussing the

change of wind direction. It has been 180 degrees. How are you

feeling in the pits? It is 180 been 180 degrees. How are you

degrees from yesterday but when it is different now, even from this

morning, is the way the wind disgusting. One of the engineers was

telling me that we're getting gusts of up to 50 countries per hour,

which could really out the drivers. Also, under braking for the

chicanes. That is something to look out for. Bottas is waiting. Paul Di

Resta is out there. And Jenson Button is also on track. A few cars

are pulling up. Kimi Raikkonen is one to watch. Heading towards the

first turn. He has never been on pole position here. Surprising that

he allowed himself to be close to the McLaren in front. In the second

or third sector, that would give him the slipstream. But you do not want

to be in any disrupted air. The McLaren is a division, so we will

to be in any disrupted air. The see him going into the Spoon the

corner. He may have time to this to perception -- claimed this to

perfection. Kimi Raikkonen there, flashing past. We saw a lot of

incidents there. That was beautiful. Very tidy. But in at 32.6. A couple

of tenths quicker. -- Button. Running down towards Spoon. This is

where Peres dropped it. Listen to this. Down to Maggie gears. And then

had on the power. You can hear the rise up as the track comes to the

point where it passes over the bridge. You can hear it just

skipping. You can really hear the sound. And once he gets the brakes,

it comes off the ground so you do not hear that surface contact so

much. Paul Di Resta has gone fastest. And no Jenson Button takes

much. Paul Di Resta has gone that away. Kimi Raikkonen? He goes

second. Jenson Button is quicker on the half tyre. That will boost

McLaren's confidence. Lotus have been relatively weak in qualifying

but I think their confidence was boosted by the run on the medium

compound tyre yesterday. We will see whether they can improve. Daniel

Ricciardo, who was doing a pretty good run this morning. 13th quickest

in final practice. Of course, the task is to get into the top ten for

the likes of him and his team-mate. And the two sober drivers who did

not manage it last time out. -- Sauber. Lewis Hamilton is on his

way. It is likely that he and Nico Rosberg will be asked to do a quick

and flat on the hard tyre so that they do not have to use the soft

tyre in this session. It is like Bucking Bronco! Jenson Button, using

the curve. And you can see how much of the suspension is in the tyre

itself as it reacts to the low downforce. It is the slowest corner

on the track, bar at the hairpin. There is a fire in the Sauber

garage. Gutierrez got out of there. That is always a scary site. Any

flash of flame is concerning. We saw a fire on Mark Webber's car, caused

by an oil leak. The worry is sometimes whether it is related to

KERS. It was a light for one moment. Now, it is around the area and take.

Perhaps it was during the refuelling phase. -- intake two. They come in,

and they will fuel the right side of the car. They will need a little

more than 2.5 kilos each lap around this track. They will need enough to

do the out lap, and the in lap. You do not want to carry more weight

than you need. We will wait to see whether that was vapour is. The

Ferrari of Fernando Alonso trying to get the slipstream. -- vapour's.

very good. He likes using the kerb. We saw that over the weekend.

Fernando Alonso goes fastest on the harder tyres. That is pretty rapid,

quicker than this morning on softer tyres. The track seems to be getting

quicker and quicker. The wind does not seem to be affecting lap times,

giving good performance in the first sector. More downforce. A speed is

faster over the car relative to the ground speed. Cruder than yesterday,

which brings those tyres into slightly different operating

windows. Sebastian Vettel has still not gone out yet, despite missing

out on practice. He is still in the pit lane, with Mark Webber. He was

still ninth in the session. They clearly have a level of confidence

that he will be able to get through to the next part of qualifying.

Perez, crosses the line behind Hulkenberg. Beating McLaren.

Grosjean, into third. That might be close to what is necessary. This

track is quicker than we thought. It has ramped up in terms of speed for

track is quicker than we thought. It the qualifying. I would have thought

he might have achieved more than that, I wonder what Hamilton will

do? Fastest of all in that middle sector. He has find someplace. In

five seconds we can announce to the great reddish public what exactly he

has done. Still on hard tyres. 1:32 .5. -- British public. Fernando

Alonso was fastest of all on that sector, picking up that slipstream

on Hamilton. It will be interesting to see if Fernando Alonso handle any

quicker when running without any slipstream. Kamui Kobayashi, one of

the stars of last year. Pastor Maldonado getting past Felipe Massa.

Clearly on a very quick lap. Very hefty fine of 60,000 euros for the

Williams team because his rear wheel became detached. Even at that we'll

comes loose, and it remains in became detached. Even at that we'll

contact with the car. Into the last part of this vast section. Sebastian

Vettel and Mark Webber have headed out. Eight Bennetts going. They are

not living right to the very end, as we have seen before. Mass of lock up

from Pastor Maldonado. He just made a crime that corner. -- made a round

that corner. And remember, Williams have been struggling in recent races

to get into the second part of qualifying and that is not quite

what he needed. 12th place at the moment. Just as he brings that car

across to the left, he notes that inside wheel and gets away with it.

He shall be gaining time relative to the S lap because he is going too

fast. After that left-hand part, he will start to see that time that you

want. Drifting away towards the start-finish line. Sebastian Vettel,

this will presumably be what he wants, one quick lap. Turn number

one. Huge amount of load. Let us watch this section.

Surprised he has not changed time. That is quite a long year. Choosing

to stay in fifth gear right through that section. Only one down shift.

Ontrack yesterday, Mercedes were doing two of them. That is a very

tidy first sector. Fastest of all is Hamilton, then Sebastian Vettel. You

can hear that seventh year, it is so long when set up for DRS. Hamilton

is faster in that first sector. 32.5. Looking to be that target time

that has been set by Fernando Alonso and progress into the second part of

qualifying without softer tyres. And he is in great shape to do that.

They will be close. Hamilton fastest. Still means that Fernando

Alonso was extremely good. Sebastian Vettel does not beat Fernando

Alonso. Out of nowhere, Fernando Alonso splitting Mercedes and Red

Bull. Will he have that pace on the softer tyre? Other people coming out

on the softer tyres. Kimi Raikkonen... Gutierrez is also out.

Mark Webber going faster again. He goes quickest overall. Ahead of

Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel. They should be

safely through to the next part of qualifying. Kimi Raikkonen is

already on the back foot because he will have to run those softer tyres

and he will not have as many sets available through qualifying. He

will do his first run on the second part of qualifying or not scrubbed

said. -- or not scrubbed set. -- on that. He feels he will be unable to

hang in there. I'm not sure if they have had technical problems because

he did not do that many laps this morning.

TEAM RADIO: You need to work on sector one. Still some work to be

found on sector one. They were doing some different strategies. 39.3. But

he is on those softer tyres. That is what Nico Hulkenberg. -- let us

watch. He uses every inch of available space.

TEAM RADIO: We think that will be enough but with the change in wind,

we're not sure. One more lap. That has really thrown those calculation

is out of the window. Nobody knows quite what the target time is. It'll

be interesting to see if can improve on those prime tyres. -- if they can

improve. Jean-Eric Vergne has got a small fire on the back of his car.

It is like his brakes are on fire. I do not know what is going on. At

least he has managed to stop beside one of those martial posts. They are

getting stuck in straightaway. Obviously, he is out of qualifying.

He was not in the drop-zone but he will soon be. And red flag. The

session has been stopped. Three minutes, enough time for the car is

to do another lap? There is indeed but Jean-Eric Vergne, getting as far

away from his car as necessary. This is quite early in the lap. He has

already got that fire. It looks like it is in the driveshaft. Or the

brakes. Both wheels simultaneously. Very unusual and on both sides. And

in identical places. See what will happen in these next few moments. I

do not think Hamilton will run in this restart.

TEAM RADIO: If you are happy, we are running. That is hope they have got

those cancellations right. Button is effectively the last one not to go

again because Grosjean has been sent out again on the harder compound. ,

sorry, medium compound. McLaren hope that their time will be enough to

get through to the next stage. Jockeying for position. How close

was that? My goodness! I was almost closing my eyes! Gutierrez, that

was. He knows how important it is to be in the right place and he was not

going to hang around behind Gutierrez. He has found himself a

little bit of space, there. Sebastian Vettel has been told that

they have probably done enough, fourth fastest. Because of the lap

we pointed out, buttery Bottas, that has made everyone nervous. If

Williams can do that, you would think that Jenson Button might be in

difficulty. That was an impressive lap from lottery Bottas. -- Valtteri

Bottas. Force India, swapping as a line-up through that lap. This is

where punching can be a very real problem. And getting away from all

of it, Rosberg and Kimi Raikkonen. Gutierrez is also reasonably clear

but there might be some people behind hunched up. We can see them

coming passed through the window. Perez might be in some difficulty.

The rest of them have find themselves some space but definitely

not a very good way to start your lap, cruising into that last

chicane. Watching Gutierrez, he is in danger, he is in that drop-zone

at the moment and he has to have a better lap than so far. Jean-Eric

Vergne will get squeezed out better lap than so far. Jean-Eric

he is no longer running. Who else will join Caterham and militia? --

Marussia? The only time Caterham did this was in Spa. It will not happen

on this occasion. Gutierrez will want to keep an eye on that

chequered flag. Adrian Sutil could also be in danger. It could be

anybody in that list below Sebastian Vettel, to be honest. Only the top

four drivers are reasonably safe. And the fastest middle sector for

Kimi Raikkonen. He has a pretty clear lap going, here. What can he

do? He moves up to 11th place, sorry, fifth place. Rosberg is

fastest. Gutierrez, for the moment, is also safe. It gets nervous.

Adrian Sutil only 14th being pushed down the order. Perez in 11th. Max

Chilton, I doubt he will get into the second part of qualifying but

can he go quicker than Caterham? Quicker for the moment. Daniel

Ricciardo gets into those top 16 and Pastor Maldonado has been squeezed

out. Felipe Massa in dangerous territory. Felipe Massa has not seen

the chequered flag, yet. He is about to get to the line. Safe. Second, in

fact, to Romain Grosjean. That Bush 's Adrian Sutil dying. And I am not

sure anybody else will change this order. Adrian Sutil has failed to

get through to the second part, along with Jean-Eric Vergne, who

could not have any go because his car was abandoned. But Max Chilton

has beaten all three of the other young teen drivers. That is a superb

effort. And by far, his best young teen drivers. That is a superb

qualifying performance of the year. Jean-Eric Vergne walks away. Adrian

Sutil in that drop-zone. Max Chilton, beating his team-mate,

which he has only done once before, but he has beaten both Caterham

cars. TEAM RADIO: We are out of the

session. Out of this session. He has had a troubled practice. But credit

where credit is due, Max Chilton has been growing in confidence in his

first season. That is a very good effort. Caterham have beaten them

only 11 times in a row before this. Max Chilton, the British driver,

still in his first season, and he has been very solid. Not quite as

quick as his team-mate but we have never seen any non-finishes. Giedo

van der Garde, beating on this occasion. The drivers are longer

taking any further part in our... Adrian Sutil, Jean-Eric Vergne, ex

Jordan, Charles Pic, Giedo van der Garde and Jules Bianchi. -- Max

Chilton. Some very tense scenes. That fire seems to be the order of

the day on the track. Let's look back at this. We were shocked to see

this in the garage. Gutierrez, good job he jumped out quickly? But how

good was that team to come back and finish that qualifying session and

do a very good job? Jean-Eric Vergne, here we go. You can see the

smoke already. They are on fire. The that is what happened. The oil

quantifier. -- caught fire. Good thinking of Vergne to pull in.

Jean-Eric Vergne must be thinking, what do have to do this season? So

many disappointing races and completely out of his control. It

has not been a great season but obviously he will get another shot

next year. He is going to. Of course, his team-mate has gone off

into the main team, into Red Bull. But that will give them

encouragement because I thought that was very little for the early part

of this season, between them. There is a big chance for his career. I

think Jean Eric Vergne, keep an eye on him. He is a very talented

driver. Perhaps the raised eyebrow that Sutil did not make it through

but congratulations to Max Chilton. I think he has taken everyone by

surprise. He has finished every race this year. He is so dependable. When

you are trying to create a team, you need a person to bring the car home

every time. You can develop, it is all about foundations. That is what

he is doing. For me, he is one of the guys who, if I was running the

team, I would have to be thinking about him. This guy could actually

deliver, deliver real success. And as a team boss, when you are in a

situation like that, where you have as a team boss, when you are in a

one shot, it is difficult because you have but traffic. What goes

through your mind? First of all, we were critical of Rosberg because he

wasted quite a lot of time. David talked about losing the tyre

temperature. Actually, track position is the key. You can have

whatever temperatures like, but if you are boxed in, you're finished.

Rosberg discounted that and put himself on the front row. And he

benefited as a result. But as seems to be quite impressive, putting in a

good time. He was under pressure. -- Bottas. We have heard of Massa and

Hulkenberg, everybody talking about their situation. Is his place

confirmed? I don't know. He had a fantastic qualifying. He certainly

did. Let's see how he gets on in Q2. The second part of qualifying ready

to get underway. Down in the pit lane, after that effort from Max

Chilton, we caught up with Graham Louden.

I was just there when Max Chilton was given a round of applause. It

has been a tough weekend for the team. It is great to see a good lap

from Max. He did a great job. We are very pleased with that. His best lap

of the season? Well, he has been working very hard. He has put in

some great performances. Sometimes you do not see it cost of other

things but that was a really busy session for everyone involved. Great

to beat so many other vehicles. A great effort. We need to get back to

the commentary box because Q2 was underway.

Nobody is rushing to get out on the underway.

circuit but we are beginning to see some movement on there.

Of course, this is to try to get into the top ten, and to determine

the grid positions. Gary, Jean Eric Vergne's incident was interesting.

Fire on both sides. What did you make of it? I think it was just the

rear brakes, sticking. These cars have separate brakes for the front

and the rear. Something in the balance bar may have jammed. The

engine could not push it. And suddenly you get up to 1200 degrees

and everything just sparks. The track, as we have heard, has been

getting quicker and quicker. Everything has gone out of the

window. Whenever you look at the relative times, it is getting faster

and faster. But this morning, it improved by a second and a half.

Now, as you say, it would have got a few people out. The red flag

stabilised it and allowed them to get that extra lap. Just about

enough time. Grosjean managed to go onto the softer tyre. Massa put on a

good lap, as well. Sorry, Grosjean use the harder tyre. That was

impressive stuff from them. Very impressive. The little to know what

will happen when you change the tyres. But it does look as though

these fast corners are generally picked up everywhere. When they put

on the soft ones, it is a second faster. I think we're looking at an

exciting top four. I'm not sure who it will be. The Red Bulls should be

there. They do think that the Mercedes and the Lotus could give

them a hard time. -- but I do think. It has to be in the low 32s, 32.2,

that sort of area. With these cut-offs, if you can do inside that,

you are in the garage, but you make sure that the car is running and you

see what is happening. Thank you very much, Gary. Now we are well

underway with the second part of qualifying. Paul Di Resta, to a

certain extent, is driving for his career at the moment. I think did a

great job. This, and Force India career at the moment. I think did a

have struggled since he changed tyres. -- fifth. His team leader

this afternoon has had a clean lap so far. Do not think anyone doubts

that he has great speed. We have seen that. But it is very difficult

for these drivers when the cars are not performing, during the show what

they can to live. -- to really show. -- what they can deliver. Coming

into Spoon Curve. He qualified 11th last year. He has not managed to

score any points in his two Grand Prix here. Let's wait to see how the

weekend goes. Flat out. Now watch the braking at this chicane. Nicely

under control. You saw him sawing away at the steering. That shows

that they are really on edge with the balance of the sky. That opens

the session, as we would expect, quickest. Not as quick as he was at

the end of the first section. He is presumably on the scrub tyre. That

will be a good banker. Romain Grosjean, who did a 1.48 in the

first session. It looks like he is still on the harder compound tyre.

Certainly, they were more optimistic yesterday after the runs in

practice, that they would be competitive in qualifying. And

Grosjean that seems to be demonstrating that so far. We will

have to wait and see but meanwhile, Alonso, Hamilton and Maldonado are

heading out of the pit lane. Grosjean is half a second up. And

that is on the hard, compound tyre. And it isn't used set. Interesting

that the drivers seem to be using this wider line. Whether that is a

function of having the car more straight for acceleration, we know

that the Pirelli tyres are peaky. If they spend at all, the surface

temperature goes through the roof and does not come back. Add good

point. Hamilton seems to take on more of the apex. But several are

staying wide. Down towards 130 are. -- 130R. Raikkonen is on the harder

tyre, and has just done 32.0. An impressive lap. Not as quick as

Grosjean achieved. Let's see if he can go that little bit quicker than

his team-mate. Well, they are separated by five hundredths of a

second. Surely, they will have to put a softer tyre on in a few

moments. On that medium compound tyre, Hulkenberg, the rest,

Gutierrez, Felipe Massa. -- Paul Di Resta. And now we're looking at

Lewis Hamilton on the softer tyre. He is building up towards a lap. He

does have not much traffic in front. Maldonado running past the

grandstand. That is the only zone available this weekend. He has never

qualified on the front row here at Suzuka. Let's see whether Lewis

Hamilton can extract some pace out of the Mercedes today. It drops down

hill, the track, briefly, before it starts moving through. And now these

two tricky right-handers. So far, so good. You can knew the doubles shift

there. -- you can hear the double shift. Using the exhaust gases to

energise the vehicle. He has a different style. He was saying he

had watched Vettel on board last year and that his line through the S

was different. Nice and tight on the first part of Spoon. This is one of

the sections where they will save some KERS to get a boost out of

Spoon. Alonso has gone quickest in the first section. Suddenly, the

Ferrari has found pace. Whether it is going to match up to the likes of

cities and Red Bull, it is looking more promising. And he looked too

shallow on his entry. That will have compromised his run out. Goes fast

at this stage. Alonso, on the pace. I do not know where that has come

from. Suddenly, Alonso is the fastest for the moment. He is in a

rush to get back to the pits, I don't know why(!) Jenson Button,

fastest of anybody in the first sector. The track may be still

improving. The drivers may be getting their heads around where the

grip is. He is at the Spoon Curve. Leading on the car as he comes out.

This looks like a handy lap. Let's see the second split. Coming up to

cross that checkpoint. 41.4. Only a 10th down on the time of the second

split. You can hear the engine note dropping. Going through 130R.

Scrubbing speed. He has qualified on the front row a couple of times

here. And he goes third for the moment. And look, Hamilton in the

Ferrari and now we have Button in the McLaren. I think McLaren will be

happy with that. Work going on at Daniel Ricciardo's tyre. Jean-Eric

Vergne's car still abandoned on track. Whether that is something

connected with the problem more a track. Whether that is something

setup change, maybe just checking to make sure it will not happen to

Daniel Ricciardo, but they are getting it ready. The wheels are

getting put in there. It is an upper position for the team. You either

know categorically what caused it and you change it, or you are not

sure, and you have to look. You cannot just blindly send him out

there. Just under six minutes to go. At the moment, Paul Di Resta, both

as -- Bottas and Gutierrez are in difficult was. He has never had a

lot of luck, Paul Di Resta. A replay of Perez in turn one. Traffic on the

right. That was a surprise, Mark Webber coming out of the pits. I

thought Perez had finished his lap. He had just done 32.9. He had

already back out of it. He is not really being impeded. Mark Webber

would have been aware. Perez is there. We have just heard that Nico

Hulkenberg has got a reprimand from practice for slowing down too much

during the session. We have more information on that later. But it

should not affect this session. Sebastian Vettel, the fastest in the

first sector. And straightaway, it looks like the Red Bull is going to

be on the pace. And setting the pace on the softer tyre. The macro three

tenths faster than Alonso's best lap. Unusually, Red Bulls have been

topping the speeds around this racetrack. Normally, we see them

towards the bottom end, speed wise. Using the downforce to good effect.

They seem to have gone for a different setup at the car this

weekend. I can tell you that Webber is also one a good lap. Vettel is

heading down towards the final chicane. Mark Webber, going through

the second sector as we speak. Not quite as quick as Vettel. This will

be a new target time. Just how fast is the Red Bull? Sebastian Vettel

does 31.2, six tenths of a second faster than Alonso, Hamilton and

Button. He is marginally quicker in the middle sector but one tenth down

in the first. Deep into that running on that chicane. Getting some

distance from the car in front as they dropped downhill. Two tenths

slower than Sebastian Vettel. Interesting how he worked those

front wheels, he tried to recover? He was working the steering wheel.

It is like somebody has pulled his handbrake. It is so sensitive.

Another very good lap from Paul di Resta, faster than Kimi Raikkonen

and Grosjean. We have not seen that from Force India since before those

tyres were altered. That is from Force India since before those

certainly a much better effort for Paul di Resta. And we will see how

that turns out with 2.5 minutes left to go. Into the final runs. The

change in wind direction as brought some of the chorus into the zone.

Lewis Hamilton said there was so much grip in the first sector.

Talking to the Force India drivers yesterday, they complained about a

lack of grip. But like Lewis Hamilton, they have find something

in the car with the current conditions and they will pray that

the wind keeps blowing the same way. Wind direction used to make the

track much more grippy. Grosjean, split times adding up. Virtually the

same as red well and Sebastian Vettel. Can he challenge? And he is

close. Only one fraction closer. Sebastian Vettel has the slide edge.

Lotus in front of Ferrari and Mercedes at the moment. Rosberg

needs to do something special in the drop-zone. Daniel Ricciardo is out

there, he still has not done a lap but Maldonado, Perez, Hulkenberg,

Bottas and Gutierrez in the drop-zone. That is it definite boost

after struggling for the last couple of occasions. Nico Hulkenberg, can

he get back into the top ten? It will be interesting to see where

Sauber end up. Gutierrez into the top ten as well. He has never got

Sauber end up. Gutierrez into the close in other races. What a

difference one week makes. Different track as well. The middle section at

Korea had fast corners but Sauber, they were so fast after a number

one. They were able to stay ahead of Hamilton and Alonso. The first

sector is good, the split is for 10th place. He is being compared to

Rosberg, currently in 10th place. All about getting into that top ten.

Four tenths down on the fastest out right in the first sector. Other

people around are doing very similar first sectors. Rosberg and Kimi

Raikkonen have done similar. Mercedes not looking up and Rosberg

not as comfortable with the balance of the car in comparison to Lewis

Hamilton. They have lost pace from yesterday. Whether it is the track

conditions. Hulkenberg looks like he could get into the top ten but the

target time of change over the next few moments. He will still be in

danger of the chequered flag. He goes in fifth place for the moment.

Will that we enough? One: 31 .8. That has put Rosberg out of this

session. For cars have done that time, Ying squeezed down. What can

Ricciardo do? Daniel Ricciardo, limited laps. Same with Pastor

Maldonado in Williams. 11th place is very good for Pastor Maldonado.

Gutierrez, how many places will he be pushed? Perez makes the top ten,

he is there for the moment. Anybody else to improve? Felipe Massa, he

could push carries out. Button is safe. He did just improved from one

fraction. We are waiting for Felipe Massa. Hamilton in fourth place,

Felipe Massa in sixth place and Perez is once again squeezed from

the top ten. He was only one tenth the web and his team-mate. That is

how close this is. Hulkenberg has, once again, drag Sauber through.

Just. In 10th position. Surprising how close all of these times are. It

looks like such a technical track how close all of these times are. It

and this bread from quickest... TEAM RADIO: We have just missed out,

we are in 11th place, we have missed out by 1.4 seconds. Confirmation of

those that have been knocked out. Perez, Paul di Resta, 12 place, but

that was a very good lap from what us. Gutierrez also out. Maldonado in

15th place and Daniel Ricciardo, 16th. -- put us. We can catch up

with Max Chilton. Almost like winning the race. There was cheering

and lots of celebration. How did it feel? It was amazing, we put in a

lot of effort at the factory and sometimes we don't get a look in.

Two outqualify both Caterham cars, I am just very happy and it was just

one of those laps. We have the end of your lap. We can talk over these

pictures. We're going flat out. Could and the great thing is this is

very tricky, but I managed to get to the apex and I was stuck with that

traction so it was tricky coming out. We have to use the road as

well. And I used up most of the tyres. And also hand that when

change? It definitely changed in sector one. The first sector is so

challenging. If you get three wrong, it leads you wrong into the others.

You have to nail the first one and the rest will flow. I am sure when

you went brilliantly in Singapore, that can give you the motivation to

get into Formula One? What does today's qualifying mean? Doesn't set

the bar higher? That has put me out there. It has taken me some time to

get into Formula One and I have had some moments that I was not happy

with but since the August brake, I have really made a difference in my

performance and it has improved. The last couple, I have qualified in a

couple of columns and that makes the difference. Are you going to drive

your? Where are you going? I will talk to Marussia and I need to get

some things in place but I want the best for my career and I would love

to be back at Marussia. They have a lot of potential to get to that

midfield. I just want to be in Formula One and show my potential.

Today did not you any harm. We have been very impressed. This is a very

tricky track. Congratulations and we wish you all of the best for

tomorrow. Well, we earlier could see that fire with Jean-Eric Vergne. He

has been talking to us. Most of us can understand that cars and fire do

not mix. What was the problem? The rear brakes were stuck. There was no

way I could get them apart and eventually there was a fire. I spent

a lot of time asking me about Robbins. Yes, it does not look like

it is going to happen the season. -- problems. Confirming it was his

brakes and it seems to me as of this year, some drivers have had an

incredible dollop of bad luck. Mark Webber as well! It seems to be a

problem. The situation with Jean-Eric Vergne and Mark Webber,

they are similar drivers. You want them to be successful and to really

get over this. But that is what happens, you have to ride things

through and make it happen and when you look at somebody like Sebastian

Vettel, look at his luck! That is life. He has had bad luck in the

past. That is a fact. Nothing this year. Hulkenberg in the top ten,

another impressive performance? He has to be on the shopping list. It

happens every time in the season when so many other seeds are gone,

and apart from Toro Rosso, that is a foregone conclusion, but deep exceed

has to be Hulkenberg. He is doing an amazing job in this car. He had one

year out, which surprised people, he has come back very strong. We shall

wait and see. Paul di Resta mistyped on Q3 by one tenth. -- missed out.

Did you get the best out of that? And more, given restarted. Credit to

all of the engineers back at the factory because they have slowly

dialled the car in and it has been hard work, one of the worst cars

they have driven at the start. And getting them back into the zone at

Silverstone, very stable and predictable. At the same time, you

would expect to be of budget mess by less than one tenth of a second, we

can make a very good tyre choice tomorrow and we are closer than we

have been to scoring points. Steady race but we will not give up. We

will keep pushing. That sounds a different Paul di Resta! Smiling.

That is what we want. We want to hear lots of confidence from Paul di

Resta because we know what he can achieve. Your prediction? Sebastian

Vettel. Yes, here we go. The final qualifying. They will start on pole

position? Well anybody stop the sequence of Sebastian Vettel at

Suzuka? Can he take his fifth pole position? On board with thermal

imaging. Tyres have been beautifully preheated. Driving down that pit

lane, losing some of that heat. He would just work on this lap to try

lane, losing some of that heat. He to retain as much as possible. He is

trying to get five pole position 's in a row, which has been achieved by

Michael Schumacher. Let us see a Sebastian Vettel can match another

record. What about Ferrari? Can they keep their challenge alive? Fernando

Alonso also was to qualify near the front. And keep that points gap from

getting any larger and prevent him from winning the Championship. Keep

an eye on Grosjean. Gary, when we look at the tyres available, who

seems to be in better shape? It looks like all of the cars are

making that grain on the softer tyres. Sebastian Vettel picks up

three tenths and if that happens, that will take out of bounds for

everybody. 30.8 yesterday from pole position. Saving the tyres for this

last run is very important. To set gives you that extra set if you make

any mistake. Sebastian Vettel on that new set of tyres. Notice,

Grosjean, and in terms of time difference it was fractional but the

field has become so compressed? Six tenths between the fastest,

field has become so compressed? Six Sebastian Vettel, over the next ten

cars. Incredible. That is what Sebastian Vettel. This could be pole

position. Pressing, going early. Downshift this time. Previously he

left that in gear. Working his rpm and not more. -- a lot more. He was

speeding through there. Phenomenal downforce.

TEAM RADIO: Push it. KERS is not working. It was not in practice

either. Even so, he is putting together a very quick lap. We do not

know when that radio message has been played, it could have been

before the start of the lap. Let us keep an eye on that. See if there is

any imbalance to his bragging. -- braking. It looks OK. This would

mean he would be under threat from Mark Webber. Across the line he

goes, fastest for the moment. Not as quick as he achieved in the second

goes, fastest for the moment. Not as part of qualifying. Can Mark Webber

get this? Fastest in the middle sector. He is quicker than Sebastian

Vettel on this first run. Can he go ahead? He is faster! One: 30 point

75. He has a problem with his car. Oversteer, onto that kerb. He is

also losing time. That was a very big slide. And Grosjean, did he make

any mistake? He ran wide again. He goes underneath the circuit above.

He sort of got away with that pretty well. Tom? I wanted to comment on

Mark Webber, great lap. And he has been looking forward to that all

year. They spoke to him after the first time he drove and he said, it

is a very good car, the sort of car that will be really good around

Suzuka. I cannot wait for Q3. And here we are, and he is fastest. He

is. But still five minutes left to go. Lewis Hamilton, on and out lap.

It looks like he attempted to start, but failed out of it. He did a 31.9,

putting in fourth bind Alonso. At the moment, we have not seen Button,

Grosjean, Massa, Raikkonen or Hulkenberg take to the circuit. I

Grosjean, Massa, Raikkonen or wonder if anyone will decide to sit

it out and have a free tyre choice. It seems that the tyres are pretty

consistent. Why doubt there's any huge advantage on having the option

of which tyre to on. Everybody will be going on to a new set of tyres

for the final run. It looks like Grosjean, although he has tyres

available, they are keeping a new Grosjean, although he has tyres

set of tyres available. It might benefit them to have a new set of

the medium compound. Again, little bit of calm before we see what

happens. He has never had pole position here but he has twice

backed up Sebastian Vettel for a Red position here but he has twice

Bull 1-2 here. Kenny keep that, or will Sebastian Vettel come through

and take a fifth consecutive pole position? We do not know they will

be able to recover the kerbs. It seems unlikely that Sebastien would

be able to improve by the margin that the KERS gives you. If they are

able to recover, if that Sebastien under pressure. That is clearly a

tidy lap from Mark Webber. Mark Webber is being told to use his KERS

at return 13. -- after turn 13. That is the area where presumably,

Sebastien will not have it. There is the potential, perhaps, that they

could do a reset now that Sebastien is in the garage. He might still

have it. This is the sort of track, or that Mark Webber was saying he

was looking forward to qualifying, if you play your fantasy Formula one

game, this is the one track and would like to see along with Monaco.

All of the great drivers are out there, driving the same car at the

same time on a new set of tyres. This is really one of the tracks

that would separate the men from the boys. It is amazing because you say

that and the drivers love it but when you look at the lap times, they

are separated by thousands of a second. It is astonishing how even

the cars and drivers are here. Kimi Raikkonen is on the circuit. All ten

cars are on track. It is all about finding space it is a little easier

in Q3 because there are fewer cars. Vettel is next up. Normally he would

be the last man across the line but today it is going to be Hamilton. He

has just got his old team-mate a few hundred metres up the road. Webber

is being told, we have the pace to do this. Can you really do it? Can

he take his first pole position of the year? They can do it, that is

what it would be. Raikkonen starting his lap. Lotus, do they have more

qualifying pace or will be be dependent on race pace? That has

been their strength throughout the season so far. Raikkonen has been

saying that since the tyres have changed, he has been struggling with

the front end of the car. He likes a pointy front-end. In other words, he

once a great response. -- wants. It has been a beautiful first section

so far. Tidy stuff from Raikkonen. Lock use of the curve. -- perfect

use. But he is faster, four tenths of a second faster than Raikkonen.

Again, the white line, staying clear of the apex. Webber, just under a

10th slower. The battle for poor position is on. -- pole position. If

KERS is not working, it is here that he will be losing the time. That is

where sector two ends just here. The second sector, 41.2, the same as

Raikkonen. In fact, he was quite a bit slower. Slower than Webber's. He

crosses the line and he is third for the moment but let's see where that

leaves them. Sebastian Vettel has not gone faster. Vettel has not

beaten Webber's time. It looks good for Webber but don't forget, the

Mercedes good potentially challenge. Ross Bird has challenged but it is

not enough. He is some margin away. Mark Webber crosses the line. --

Rothberg. It looks good for him. Romain Grosjean is still on a lap.

Lewis Hamilton is also on the lap. I'm not sure they have the pace to

beat a Red Bull. Romain Grosjean, where can he put his Lotus? Is it

faster than Kimi Raikkonen and he goes third. That is a great effort.

He beats Massa and Rothberg. But what about Hamilton? -- Nico

Rosberg. Hamilton is the last to cross the line. And he goes third.

Mark Webber has taken pole position in Suzuka, the first time he has

beaten Sebastian Vettel all year long! His first pole position in

just over a year. It was in Korea last year that he was last on pole.

just over a year. It was in Korea For Red Bull, it is five consecutive

pole positions at Suzuka. It is 1-2 once again. RADIO: excellent job.

Good job. To confirm the qualifying results, there is the provisional

grid. Mark Webber is in pole position with his team-mates

alongside him. Lewis Hamilton six thirds and Romain Grosjean is in

fourth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in ninth and Jenson Button rounding up

the top ten. Sergio Perez just missing out on the top ten. Paul Di

Resta is 12. And battery Bottas, in missing out on the top ten. Paul Di

13 forward teams. -- Valtteri Bottas. But here from the main

players. -- lets here. One eye open Bottas. But here from the main

the lap, I've said, come on, Mark, try and do as best you can. But I

was happy with the lap. Sebastien did a few issues -- data great lap

but he had a few issues. You try to do your best without the weapons,

and today was his turn. It was a very good lap. I was happy to be

there. I'm looking to get away well, as best we can. We have a good

race car. How will tomorrow work-out? You are desperate to win

your last Japanese Grand Prix. Your team-mate is desperate to clinch the

title. How confident are you that team orders will not come into play

and you will be allowed to race for the victory? And he will be fine. We

will have a standard Grand Prix. Everyone for themselves. Sebastien

has got a huge lead because of the working has done in the previous,

70% of the campaign. Tomorrow is another day and we will look to get

the best result for both of us, which means me winning and the rest

is whatever. Sebastien, if he can get more points than Fernando, that

is great for the him and the team. Congratulations to Mark. He has had

a strong appearance and a strong qualifying session. Two very good

laps at Q3. I'm not... Usually racing drivers are good at finding

an excuse that that is not my style. Think Mark did a good job with KERS.

Could we be in the end of the day, he beat us. -- could we beat him? At

the end of the day, they beat us. Today, we were not fast enough. They

were quick year. It has been a great day. I enjoy driving the track and

the car was feeling incredible. I'm glad that I am in head of the rest.

I'm just going to have to try to stay there. After what we saw at the

beginning of qualifying, were you frustrated by where you ended up? I

think in qualifying, we took some extra risks. We needed to pass with

the minimum set of tyres. There was a bit of margin but in Q3, we could

not catch them. More less, I was eighth or ninth in the practice this

weekend. We need to do better tomorrow. It has not been a good

weekend for me. I need to improve for tomorrow. Was that hard work

this afternoon? No, it was great. I've really enjoyed it. I did 31.83

times. I could not get the car to go any quicker. I enjoy driving it

nonetheless but we were just not fast enough. The wind and seems to

change direction a couple of times? It was not too bad. The Spoon corner

was doubled, and the last chicane. But the wind is helping us. A

massive tailwind on the straights and a hail wind -- wind on the

straights. KERS issues aside, a horrific performance by Mark Webber.

There deserved bow position. Utterly fantastic. Today was his day. Forget

about that KERS issue. The car has to perform. He got pole position and

congratulations. I think Red Bull might be worried that the KERS issue

will follow on. They have had these issues and they have not been happy

with them. The most recent thing that keeps coming back to haunt them

with them. The most recent thing is KERS. They will be keeping their

anger is well crossed. Lewis Hamilton and third? Great. He is

driving so well and he has been an inspiration. If you thought that

people were criticising him this time last year, why did he think

about going to this team? But he has helped to bring the team to a new

level. I think they will be very strong in the future. And Grosjean

ahead of Raikkonen? Yell macro that has happened quite a bit so we

should not be too surprised. -- that has happened quite a bit. They have

lost Raikkonen to Ferrari so Grosjean is going to have to lead

the team next year. And Massa outqualified Alonso. I think without

the pressure of Harare around him, Massa might emerge as a big star

with a new team. -- the pressure of Harare. We have a great programme

for you on the iPlayer. This week was the 90th birthday of Murray

Walker. Catch that on the red Button after the show. If you missed it, it

up on the iPlayer. We will be back tomorrow with the race build-up from

six o'clock. And if that is too early, we will have a rerun at 2pm.

All of that is on BBC One and BBC One HD. Well, it is shaping up to be

a direct Japanese rubbery. One HD. Well, it is shaping up to be

a direct Japanese Mark Webber on pole position. Thank you for today,

Eddie. Join us tomorrow.