The Spanish Grand Prix - Practice 1

:01:09. > :01:14.Catalunya, a few minutes until the cast take to the track for the

:01:14. > :01:22.Spanish Grand Prix. It is going to be wet. This is not what we signed

:01:22. > :01:27.up to! I am going to take refuge in Red Bull's humble abode. The Spanish

:01:27. > :01:34.Grand Prix is the fifth one on the calendar. Next, Monaco, and that is

:01:34. > :01:40.us in Europe until such temper, apart from a quick jaunt to Canada.

:01:41. > :01:45.Then, a frantic end to the season. Lots of points to play for, but for

:01:45. > :01:52.world champions are at the top of the table. Sebastian Vettel is

:01:52. > :02:00.bidding for his fourth consecutive world title. Fernando Alonso would

:02:00. > :02:09.love to win his home grand prix. Lotus have had a great start to the

:02:09. > :02:13.season. McLaren are languishing behind Force India. This is an

:02:13. > :02:19.important day for the teams, they have all brought up dates, can they

:02:19. > :02:25.evaluate them with the weather? is the start of the European races,

:02:25. > :02:32.most people will have a planned update. Most of them will do

:02:32. > :02:38.back-to-back and gather data to see if they are reducing downforce --

:02:38. > :02:42.producing downforce. The driver looks -- loves to feel the new

:02:42. > :02:48.parts. The teams will still go through the ritual of putting them

:02:48. > :02:55.on. We would not mind if we were expecting a wet race on Sunday, but

:02:55. > :03:00.it does not look like that is the case. We want to see good,

:03:00. > :03:06.competitive racing, but the teams want to get the data and see if the

:03:06. > :03:10.parts work, and plan the next stage. It is about how to plan the future

:03:10. > :03:17.development, that is the important thing. You cannot move forward until

:03:17. > :03:25.the things you have done work. Staying dry in the commentary box,

:03:25. > :03:34.and, lots to look forward to! It is fantastic to have Alan with us

:03:34. > :03:39.this weekend, a double normal winner. Welcome to BBC coverage.

:03:39. > :03:46.This circuit is so well-known to the teams, what about from a driver's

:03:46. > :03:53.point of view? The first time I came here was in 1992. I did not enjoy

:03:53. > :03:59.it, it was bumpy and tricky, it had long corners. But the more you drive

:03:59. > :04:03.it, the more you feel the third corner, hanging on, the grip has

:04:03. > :04:09.improved since then, and it produces better racing. It will be

:04:09. > :04:17.interesting with the PRS zones. will get plenty of opportunity to

:04:17. > :04:23.look more at the circuit, but it is a damp start.

:04:23. > :04:29.We are going to head to the pitlane and drink you the news from there.

:04:29. > :04:33.Let's look at Red Bull, see what they have got. I will take a wonder

:04:33. > :04:43.and see what new bits I can say. It is always difficult in these

:04:43. > :04:45.

:04:45. > :04:48.conditions. We will go through to the pitlane.

:04:48. > :04:56.The tri- fears our Indy cars, getting ready to come out onto the

:04:57. > :05:01.circuit. The green light has just come on. This is normal procedure, a

:05:01. > :05:05.90 minute practice session to start the weekend. The first opportunity

:05:05. > :05:11.to sample the track, and our first opportunity to see what updates

:05:12. > :05:19.might have been brought. Some of them are hidden away. There are a

:05:19. > :05:25.huge fans in the grandstand and a fume or in the covered grandstand.

:05:25. > :05:32.The rain came down heavily earlier, but it is spotting at the moment. It

:05:33. > :05:42.is officially a wet track, so that means something in terms of the tyre

:05:42. > :05:47.allocations. Yes, you rarely ring tyres for each team, and this is a

:05:47. > :05:53.perfect condition for the intermediates. But because this has

:05:53. > :05:59.been declared wet, they will get the extra set of tyres, so hopefully we

:05:59. > :06:06.will see a lot of running. A lovely view over the circuit. We are just

:06:06. > :06:12.outside Barcelona, not in the city. It is only a short drive from one of

:06:12. > :06:18.the great cultural cities of Europe. It is a popular venue. There are a

:06:18. > :06:25.few changes to the tyres. An extra set of slick tyres available, but

:06:25. > :06:28.not a set that they can race on. is a development set. The teams are

:06:28. > :06:38.interested to run it, but you have to give it back at the end of

:06:38. > :06:48.Friday. He is on the full wet tyres, the blue writing on the side. Let's

:06:48. > :06:49.

:06:49. > :06:54.watch him do a practice start in wet conditions. He was able to get a bit

:06:54. > :06:59.of traction down, and then you could hear it's bouncing off the limiter.

:06:59. > :07:07.The circuit is greasy, but they will move on to the intermediates

:07:07. > :07:13.quickly. Some of them are on intermediates. Mark Webber is doing

:07:13. > :07:19.a practice start. There is a mixture already. Coming back to the joy

:07:19. > :07:24.tyres, they have to give it back at the end of today, they cannot run it

:07:24. > :07:29.tomorrow, but they will be keen to try to use it, because they will not

:07:29. > :07:37.damage their race allocation, and it will give them an idea what the

:07:37. > :07:40.company are trying to do for the rest of the season. It is key, we

:07:40. > :07:46.have seen so much difference in how the teams get the best out of the

:07:46. > :07:54.tyres. The racing tyres this weekend are the hard and medium, but even be

:07:54. > :07:57.hard tyres have changed. Some of the teams will have to get used to that.

:07:57. > :08:03.We will see how that develops as we go through the course of the

:08:03. > :08:09.weekend. Mark Webber has had a good record here. Only Kimi Raikkonen has

:08:09. > :08:14.won here more than once of the current crop of drivers. He won four

:08:14. > :08:20.from Rory and McLaren. He took the last victory for each of those teams

:08:20. > :08:28.here. Neither of them have won here since then. He could become a winner

:08:28. > :08:33.in a third different chassis, for Lotus. It has been an interesting

:08:33. > :08:39.start to the season for them. came back from rallying, he did

:08:39. > :08:43.exceptionally well. They have made upgrades, and they have had a

:08:43. > :08:49.consistent start. This circuit should suit the characteristics of

:08:49. > :08:54.the Lotus. Can they get it right in qualifying to get him in front so he

:08:54. > :09:01.can use the advantage? It is gentle on the tyres, it looks to be a

:09:01. > :09:05.driveable car. Lotus were in good shape here last year. But he left it

:09:05. > :09:12.late, he qualified fourth, he finished third. He caught Fernando

:09:12. > :09:16.Alonso at the end. When you look back, you think, how did Pastor

:09:16. > :09:26.Maldonado win the Spanish Grand Prix? But he was rarely in through

:09:26. > :09:28.

:09:28. > :09:32.the whole weekend. Pastor Maldonado... It was Fernando

:09:32. > :09:37.Alonso's tyres that were going at the end. We expected the Spaniard to

:09:37. > :09:45.take it home, and he could not do it. He was beaten fairly and

:09:45. > :09:50.squarely. Nobody felt that that Williams had won a grand prix,

:09:50. > :09:56.especially because it was Frank Williams' 70th birthday. It was a

:09:56. > :10:01.fairytale victory. They were quick, but the results were not there, so

:10:01. > :10:11.this started their championship campaign. They need it now. A mishap

:10:11. > :10:19.already, but Roman corrosion and gets it back again. Yes, a bit like

:10:19. > :10:24.McLaren. We are looking for the big upgrades. But now, looking at these

:10:24. > :10:32.installation laps, it is a mixture of thing does not have gone out on

:10:32. > :10:38.the green intermediate tyres and those on the wet tyres. A difference

:10:38. > :10:48.to how the tyre response in wet conditions. You'd using a mixture of

:10:48. > :10:48.

:10:48. > :10:55.wet tyres and intermediate tyres? Yes. Roman grocer locked up. It has

:10:55. > :11:00.switched ends on him. That is more than likely a bit of aquaplaning.

:11:00. > :11:07.The braking zone has got a lot of rubber on it. We know from our

:11:07. > :11:13.previous experience that water and rubber make slippery conditions.

:11:13. > :11:17.cars are now being pushed back into the garages. It will be quiet now.

:11:17. > :11:24.The teams are looking at every detail. A lot of the cars have new

:11:24. > :11:29.parts. They will also be checking the sensors are working correctly.

:11:29. > :11:33.They will want to get the data. Even though it is difficult to get true

:11:33. > :11:41.information, they will want to know that all of the sensors are reading

:11:41. > :11:46.perfectly so they can get the maximum amount of information.

:11:46. > :11:51.Daniel Ricciardo came home in seventh place this season, but we

:11:51. > :11:55.will see what Toro Rosso can do this weekend. They are delighted to have

:11:55. > :12:02.scored those points in the midfield battle. It is tight between Souder,

:12:02. > :12:05.Toro Rosso, Williams... Williams have not scored any points after

:12:05. > :12:09.four races, it is a very disappointing start to the season

:12:09. > :12:14.for them. But coming back to this track where they won last year has

:12:14. > :12:22.got to give them confidence. A silver colouring on the Mercedes,

:12:22. > :12:27.they are trying to maximise the Silver arrows look. What they are

:12:27. > :12:30.looking for is race performance, they have been showing the

:12:30. > :12:37.qualifying performance, they have had pole positions, and they have

:12:37. > :12:44.been fast in dry qualifying, but they are looking for the race

:12:44. > :12:49.consistency. That is the key, to be fast in qualifying and to have the

:12:49. > :12:55.longevity in the tyres. The teams are learning, but Mercedes have made

:12:55. > :12:59.a big step up from last year. This man has been part of that. It is the

:12:59. > :13:03.principal fact that they have gone for the fastest guy over one lap in

:13:03. > :13:07.the world, there are no excuses, they have had management changes,

:13:07. > :13:14.and they have made an improvement. But there is a difference between

:13:14. > :13:19.making improvements, being on pole position and winning races. Go to

:13:19. > :13:28.the BBC Formula 1 website, we have had an extensive interview about how

:13:28. > :13:33.Mercedes are being run. Later today, Lewis Hamilton's latest column will

:13:33. > :13:41.be on the website. Go and see what he has to say, coming into this

:13:41. > :13:49.weekend. He has never won the Spanish Grand Prix. Last year, he

:13:49. > :13:53.did not get to keep the pole position. That was one of the ones

:13:53. > :13:56.where he ran out of fuel on the in-lap, there is a minimum amount of

:13:56. > :14:06.fuel that you have to be able to supply to the FIA and that was not

:14:06. > :14:09.

:14:09. > :14:13.for Lewis to think about doing something else. He's doing some

:14:13. > :14:19.steady-state running, explain what he's up to. This is an aerodynamic

:14:19. > :14:22.test, you need to keep the car at a constant speed to get the downforce

:14:22. > :14:26.information and make sure that it all correlates, as they expect.

:14:26. > :14:33.There will be some updates on the car, it will be different to what it

:14:33. > :14:38.was in the previous races, and to make sure the wind tunnel, the CfD

:14:38. > :14:42.and the similar it all match. It is tricky in these conditions, because

:14:42. > :14:47.the spray, off the tyres does give an effect, and it is the best they

:14:47. > :14:51.can do. There will be plenty of people doing that down the main

:14:51. > :14:55.straight. Sebastian Vettel coming out onto the track now. Although

:14:55. > :15:00.Mark Webber has been on pole position twice a in the past,

:15:00. > :15:03.Vettel's qualifying test is second on the grid. They have both have one

:15:03. > :15:07.win apiece around as Barcelona track, they will be happy to be back

:15:07. > :15:11.here, and it should be a track that suits the Red Bull. It has one of

:15:11. > :15:15.what they call a rake, an aerodynamic brake on the back of the

:15:15. > :15:24.car, on the rear wing, and that is filled with sensor equipment, just

:15:24. > :15:27.checking the airflow around the back of the car. Even though it is behind

:15:28. > :15:32.the rear wheels, it is critical that they know how pair is flowing, how

:15:32. > :15:36.the diffuser, how the underneath of the car and the wings are all

:15:36. > :15:40.interacting with each other. It looks clumsy, but it will only be on

:15:40. > :15:46.for a few laps. Sebastian Vettel has never been on pole position here,

:15:46. > :15:51.but he has had plenty in his career, as Lee pointed out Reggie spoke to

:15:51. > :15:55.him yesterday. You have had pole position in a third of your races,

:15:55. > :16:03.but not all your own way this season, but this is a race where

:16:03. > :16:07.pole position matters. Yes, one third speaks for me, and the other

:16:07. > :16:11.two thirds against me, then! Yeah, I think we need to get into the rhythm

:16:11. > :16:15.this weekend we have a new tyre to worry about, a Glock new parts, not

:16:15. > :16:22.too much, but some bits and pieces here and there, so plenty of work

:16:22. > :16:25.tomorrow. And then we will obviously try to build up to the race, which

:16:25. > :16:30.is the most important, because you collect points in the race. But

:16:30. > :16:35.quali, for sure, no doubt is important, and BIA you qualify, the

:16:35. > :16:38.better it is. Nevertheless, on Sunday, tyres will play a key role

:16:39. > :16:43.again, and starting a bit further back, if you have the pace in the

:16:43. > :16:47.race, you can still have a strong result.

:16:47. > :16:52.BEN: He is on track right now, and we are waiting to see the first

:16:52. > :16:56.timed lap from anyone as yet, because they are just doing

:16:56. > :17:02.installation laps at this point. Of course, two pole position is to

:17:02. > :17:06.start the season in Australia and in Malaysian, but in the last couple of

:17:06. > :17:11.events, of course, it has been Mercedes. Gary has managed to make

:17:12. > :17:17.his way to pit lane and had a look, what are you seeing? I am just add

:17:17. > :17:25.Red Bull, having a look at the front wing on Mark Webber's, Crow. They

:17:25. > :17:32.have a modification, quite a neat little change. This gap actually

:17:32. > :17:37.makes the front wing, it has six gaps and seven components, and a

:17:37. > :17:40.secondary inner endplate, a vertical fin. This area is critical, it has

:17:41. > :17:45.the blockage of the front tyre behind it, and when you turn the

:17:45. > :17:48.steering will, exchanges the airflow. Unless you get consistency,

:17:48. > :17:52.the driver does not have confidence to turn the wheel into the corner.

:17:52. > :17:56.He needs to know the downforce is consistent, so they are working

:17:56. > :18:00.really hard in this area, and the front wing on a current Formula One

:18:00. > :18:05.car is the most important thing. You sort of characterise the airflow to

:18:05. > :18:08.the rest of the car with the front wing. Unless you get it right, you

:18:08. > :18:12.have trouble getting the diffuser or the side pods or anything else to

:18:12. > :18:22.work. Obviously Red Bull working on that area. We are either not board

:18:22. > :18:23.

:18:23. > :18:28.with Sebastian Vettel at the moment, very slippery still. -- we

:18:28. > :18:32.are riding on board. Very slippery, and when he has any lateral load, he

:18:32. > :18:36.gets a bit of a steer. This feels like you are driving to the shops in

:18:36. > :18:40.these conditions, because it is so, so slow, but if you are trying to

:18:40. > :18:44.get into it at this moment, especially through this last sector,

:18:44. > :18:49.as he comes into the pits, it is quite easy to loop it around and

:18:49. > :18:54.spin the road backwards. Gary, heading into the pit lane, maybe an

:18:54. > :19:00.opportunity for you to have a look around the car as he so. Yes, we

:19:00. > :19:04.were talking about this aerodynamic rake on the car, we are trying to

:19:04. > :19:08.get a closer look. It is for measuring the airflow at any point

:19:08. > :19:12.on the car. You can see the aluminium frame between the inside

:19:12. > :19:16.of the rear wheel and the middle of the car. It is a very important

:19:16. > :19:20.area, because the airflow from the exhaust pipes goes through there.

:19:20. > :19:27.Trying to Max the airflow with the telling rains and pieces on the

:19:27. > :19:30.bodywork, it is very important. You have to help the airflow to do what

:19:30. > :19:34.it really wants to do. If you do not help it, it has not got the energy

:19:34. > :19:41.to do it itself, it is about recognising that, putting that into

:19:41. > :19:44.CFD, you get an answer, you will get a better car out of it. This is

:19:44. > :19:50.about research. These sort of things are allowed to race on a Friday,

:19:50. > :19:57.because it is classified as a Tess Daly. You will see things relative

:19:57. > :20:04.to this in a few weeks time. -- it is classified as a test day. A few

:20:04. > :20:09.tweets coming in, thank you very much, you can send us questions or

:20:09. > :20:13.comments. Zoe saying that the rain in Spain stays mainly on the plane,

:20:13. > :20:16.I think the teams would rather it is dry because of all of these bits

:20:16. > :20:21.they have got on the cars, but for the race itself, it could make life

:20:21. > :20:24.interesting. The Ferrari looks different, it looks like a new front

:20:24. > :20:29.wing, we will get Gary to check on that. The Sauber looks different,

:20:29. > :20:32.the front of the Sauber, and we will look at that later. They have

:20:32. > :20:38.mounted the cameras differently, right at the tip of the nose on the

:20:38. > :20:41.Sauber. One viewer saying it has been an agonising three-week brake,

:20:41. > :20:46.looking forward to improvements for McLaren. I think everyone is looking

:20:46. > :20:50.forward to that. Chris asking how the weather is looking for second

:20:50. > :20:53.practice, and there is a bit of rain forecast, but we're hoping it will

:20:53. > :20:56.be drier later this afternoon and for the weekend. A bit of rain

:20:56. > :21:03.forecast for Saturday, some people were saying, but we will have to

:21:03. > :21:08.wait and on that one. Hulkenberg is the first to do a lap time, 1:50

:21:08. > :21:12.1.6, how is the Sauber looking at the moment? The Sauber has been

:21:12. > :21:17.struggling all year. It has not had the grip and consistency, and the

:21:17. > :21:21.two cars set up with different rear wings. Hulkenberg has a dip in the

:21:21. > :21:25.centre of the rear wing, it goes down. Gutierrez in the sister car,

:21:26. > :21:29.he has got the standard wing, so they are still trying to work out

:21:29. > :21:34.their development route. I think they have identified the problems,

:21:34. > :21:41.but they have not identify the solutions. Lee is in pit lane with

:21:41. > :21:44.Paul di Resta. Paul, standing around at the moment, what are the guys

:21:44. > :21:49.working on behind us? There seems to be frantic work in most of the

:21:49. > :21:54.garages. I think it is standard install. The weather has thrown it

:21:54. > :21:59.up for everybody. When you have got new bits, we have got yellow stuff

:21:59. > :22:03.to give us an idea where the car is, but it is just the usual with the

:22:03. > :22:09.brakes, making sure everything is OK, and hopefully we will get round

:22:09. > :22:14.the weather clears up. How much does this hamper your evaluation?

:22:14. > :22:16.Anywhere, you should know your car by now. The only thing is it's put

:22:17. > :22:21.to one session behind if you're not confident about your bits, if you

:22:21. > :22:30.run them in FP2, you could give yourself quite a lot of work to do

:22:31. > :22:34.tomorrow morning. You missed out on the podium in Bahrain, you went back

:22:34. > :22:38.to the team and told you needed a faster car, is that what they have

:22:38. > :22:42.managed to do over the last couple of weeks and since the winter?

:22:42. > :22:47.not going to happen overnight, but everybody knows that if we had a car

:22:47. > :22:49.that was two tenths faster in the race, we would have got third place.

:22:49. > :22:53.Unfortunately, at the end of the race we were a bit vulnerable and

:22:53. > :22:58.Grosjean had a different strategy. You cannot be disappointed with

:22:58. > :23:02.that, that is the car that won the first race this year, and we were

:23:02. > :23:05.fighting until the end. We will do the best we can, whether

:23:05. > :23:08.fourth-place is possible I don't know. I think it would be

:23:08. > :23:12.unrealistic to say that is where we are at the moment, but we will be

:23:12. > :23:18.pushing to be in the top eight, because we can be there on a

:23:18. > :23:22.consistent basis. What do you do now? Are you looking at what the

:23:22. > :23:26.other guys are putting on their cars customer The pictures do a far

:23:26. > :23:34.better job of that. We will make the best of our machine in the garage

:23:34. > :23:38.and tried to work with that. Have a great weekend, thank you. So Paul di

:23:38. > :23:43.Resta looking pretty happy, pretty confident. He is smiling, it is a

:23:43. > :23:46.big smile, and he should be after his Bahrain results, because to some

:23:46. > :23:52.extent that was the start of this season, because Sutil came in with

:23:52. > :23:56.no pressure and has done, we have to say, a very, very good job, and that

:23:56. > :24:01.put a certain amount of focus back on to Paul. A decently pulled it out

:24:02. > :24:07.of the bag in Bahrain. There was a point where I thought he was going

:24:07. > :24:12.to get his first podium, but we are going to have to wait for that one.

:24:12. > :24:17.Lee, you have got some news from Williams. They were just telling me

:24:17. > :24:21.they have got new front wings, new rear wings, new clause. Some of the

:24:21. > :24:25.parts they tested last week are actually just being put onto the car

:24:25. > :24:29.and have been developed in the last week. Both drivers are out of their

:24:29. > :24:33.cars at the moment, Frank Williams is in the garage at the moment, but

:24:33. > :24:37.don't forget that this is a team who came here last day, won this race,

:24:37. > :24:41.and at this year they have had a car go out in Q1 every time in

:24:41. > :24:45.qualifying. Pastor Maldonado has failed to score a point as well, and

:24:45. > :24:49.he was quite despondent when I spoke to him yesterday. There is run Dick

:24:49. > :24:55.work going on at the Williams garage to try to give them an edge on their

:24:55. > :25:00.rivals. -- frantic work. It is a horribly tough start to the year for

:25:00. > :25:04.them, not scoring any points. Seven times winner of the Spanish Capri

:25:04. > :25:11.over the years, including last year. Great to see Sir Frank Williams

:25:11. > :25:17.here, and there was a special presentation yesterday by Renault.

:25:17. > :25:20.All the pistons from that race winning engine were taken out,

:25:20. > :25:25.mounted on plaques and given to key members of the Williams team. The

:25:25. > :25:35.only trouble is they have turned Frank into a Frenchman, because they

:25:35. > :25:40.spelt his name Franc. Nevertheless, a lovely touch from Renault. He does

:25:40. > :25:44.speak fluent French, so he will understand that in many ways.

:25:44. > :25:48.special weekend, of course, they did have that nasty turn at the end of

:25:48. > :25:52.that race meeting, when they had the fire in the pit garage. That was a

:25:52. > :25:59.big downer on a hugely successful day, but the good news is that

:25:59. > :26:04.no-one was seriously injured. Gary, I think you have now made your way

:26:04. > :26:13.down to Mercedes, what are you seeing? There is a lot of work going

:26:13. > :26:21.on on Nico Rosberg's car, on the exhaust system. It blows exhaust

:26:21. > :26:28.gases out and onto the rear brake ducts. When the driver sort of puts

:26:28. > :26:32.the throttle down, you get more downforce directly on the rear

:26:32. > :26:37.tyre. That also helps the diffuser work, because it acts as a bit of a

:26:37. > :26:41.seal. You get a lot more rear grip. The balance of that between it

:26:41. > :26:47.working well and the engine working well is the diameter of the exhaust

:26:47. > :26:52.pipe, with a smaller pipe, you get more downforce, with a bigger one,

:26:52. > :26:56.you get more engine power. Most teams will play around the diameter

:26:56. > :27:04.of the exhaust system to optimise what they want at that point in

:27:04. > :27:08.time. They will want to get the data from this session as to whether the

:27:08. > :27:12.smaller tailpipe gives more downforce or not, it is one of those

:27:12. > :27:15.things that is very subjective, they need to work on it now because it is

:27:15. > :27:19.the only time to get the circumstances to prove it to you

:27:20. > :27:23.data wise. Thank you very much for that. A lot of interest in Lewis

:27:23. > :27:28.Hamilton, what he's going to do this weekend, are they going to have the

:27:28. > :27:32.kind of race pace, this is what he had to say yesterday afternoon.

:27:32. > :27:36.of new parts on the car this weekend, how crucial is this race

:27:36. > :27:39.weekend for your championship chances? Every race is crucial, so I

:27:39. > :27:44.do not think this one is particularly more crucial than

:27:44. > :27:47.others, but it is definitely a good place for us to find where our

:27:47. > :27:52.baseline is, and of course we need strong results going into the

:27:52. > :27:56.European season stop it is an important race for everyone, the

:27:56. > :28:01.start of the European season is probably one of the toughest parts

:28:01. > :28:09.of the year, so especially as we come of such a long brake, I really

:28:09. > :28:12.hope that we get on right foot. We have not solved the tyre issues from

:28:12. > :28:17.Bahrain, but we have definitely improved, and we are improving all

:28:17. > :28:22.the time. A bit of confidence from Lewis Hamilton, and what is

:28:22. > :28:27.interesting is that they had a very good test at Barcelona before the

:28:27. > :28:32.season began. Yes, they came here and did a heck of a lot of miles,

:28:32. > :28:37.the second most mileage just behind Sauber, and we saw that Lewis was

:28:37. > :28:40.able to get into the car, throw it around, something that does help

:28:40. > :28:43.them in qualifying, but it maybe hinders them a little bit when it

:28:43. > :28:48.actually comes to the race because the card uses the rear tyre that

:28:48. > :28:51.little bit too much. But they seem to be working on that, that is the

:28:51. > :28:54.main key for them, to try to keep some of the performance for

:28:54. > :29:04.qualifying but be able to give them the race car for the whole race

:29:04. > :29:09.duration. What can you see from McLaren, Gary? They are getting left

:29:09. > :29:15.behind in the championship. Everything they had done on the car

:29:15. > :29:19.looked positive to me, the team were enthusiastic. The one thing was a

:29:19. > :29:24.primitive front wing, and they said that they would have a new one as

:29:24. > :29:30.soon as possible. We just had a look at the Red Bull, how complicated the

:29:30. > :29:36.front wing is, but the McLaren one is very basic. It has got three main

:29:36. > :29:46.elements, but the Red Bull one has got seven. The more gaps you have,

:29:46. > :29:47.

:29:47. > :29:50.you will lose downforce, but you get consistent downforce. The gaps are a

:29:50. > :29:57.compromise between total downforce and consistency. McLaren have three

:29:57. > :30:05.elements. It gets close to the ground, it is a big percentage of

:30:05. > :30:10.the front downforce that they lose. The front wing customises the

:30:10. > :30:15.airflow to the rest of the car, and this is not up to today's current

:30:15. > :30:23.thinking. If you look at Harare, Red Bull all Mercedes, this is a step

:30:23. > :30:27.find. Do you think that this plus all of the others will be enough to

:30:27. > :30:34.leapfrog them up one or two positions? In the last race, they

:30:34. > :30:43.were .6 seconds behind the Red Bull, which is a heck of a gap. This car

:30:43. > :30:48.makes better use of airflow. It is more aggressive, a higher chassis.

:30:48. > :30:53.They are trying to create more downforce. At the moment, they are

:30:53. > :30:58.trying to fix the diffuser which has a problem, but the problem has been

:30:58. > :31:03.caused by the airflow from the front. Fixing the problem but not

:31:03. > :31:08.the thing that is instigated the problem. They will get a new front

:31:08. > :31:13.wing to work well, but now, they are putting a bandage on the problem.

:31:13. > :31:16.Yesterday afternoon, we talked to Jenson Button about the importance

:31:16. > :31:21.of the upgrades on the car this weekend.

:31:21. > :31:31.We are back in Barcelona, the start of the European season, how much

:31:31. > :31:34.

:31:34. > :31:38.rests on this? We are hoping for an improvement. There are a lot of new

:31:38. > :31:44.parts on the car, but we have not driven it yet, so we do not know how

:31:44. > :31:53.it feels. The data tells you one thing, but you have to feel it in

:31:53. > :32:00.reality. It is so competitive at the moment. The smallest change can make

:32:00. > :32:03.quite a big difference, so we have got to hope for that. Is it a

:32:03. > :32:13.question of morale? If this package does not work, how will it affect

:32:13. > :32:14.

:32:14. > :32:18.the guys? Whether it works or not, it is easy to say it works or it

:32:18. > :32:24.does not, but it is a lot more competitive than that. Some parts

:32:24. > :32:27.might work, some might not. We hope it all does. But if you find some

:32:27. > :32:34.parts that work, you know the direction you need to keep working

:32:34. > :32:38.again. Whatever happens, I do not think they will get down. We are

:32:38. > :32:44.very good at improving throughout the season. Even if this weekend

:32:44. > :32:51.does not go to plan, we will still keep pushing. We have won many

:32:51. > :32:58.races, still fighting for victory. I thought he was weary looking

:32:58. > :33:06.yesterday. It has been a tough start to the season, not the start that he

:33:06. > :33:11.envisaged. They had success last year. He was very subdued. McLaren

:33:11. > :33:15.won the last two races of last year, they had developments over the

:33:15. > :33:20.winter, they expected to come out fighting. Jenson Button one the

:33:20. > :33:26.first Grand Prix last season, but this season was a complete contrast.

:33:26. > :33:30.He does not have the confidence that the upgrades will do the job. He

:33:30. > :33:35.will be looking further down the line for the next set before he

:33:35. > :33:39.feels the confidence to push the car to the limit. It is still the early

:33:39. > :33:44.stages of practice, the fastest time was set by Nico Hulkenberg, but that

:33:44. > :33:52.is the only flying lap. Lewis Hamilton is still doing a steady

:33:52. > :33:58.pace. Everybody just experimenting a bit, especially with the conditions.

:33:58. > :34:03.Thank you for your tweets. Adam Rogers says, the rear wing blogs

:34:03. > :34:09.different on caterer and the rush-hour. A couple of questions for

:34:09. > :34:14.Gary. Kenny says, what team do you suspect should theoretically do best

:34:14. > :34:20.here overall this weekend? Harare is very strong. Fernando

:34:20. > :34:28.Alonso lost two very good points with the front wing damage and the

:34:28. > :34:34.TRS staying open in the last race. He is Spanish, it is the Spanish

:34:34. > :34:41.grand prix, so I think the Ferrari will be the package. It is

:34:41. > :34:45.competitive enough to be racing with Red Bull and Mercedes. Fernando

:34:45. > :34:53.Alonso does not let the reliability issues get him down. He is fighting

:34:53. > :34:58.for every point, Ferrari for me, and Fernando Alonso especially.

:34:58. > :35:03.question from Nick, does the rain make any difference to the airflow?

:35:03. > :35:11.Yes, there is a film of water on the track. If you imagine the normal

:35:11. > :35:15.surface is rough, the rain can fill that up and it makes it smooth. It

:35:15. > :35:21.changes the downforce characteristics. You will hear

:35:21. > :35:25.drivers talking about aquaplaning, that is the flat surface sucking

:35:25. > :35:33.itself to the ground because of the film of water. The track is only

:35:33. > :35:40.damp at the moment, so it will only be slippery. You have got a lot of

:35:41. > :35:45.sensors on the car, the conditions on the track will not change in five

:35:45. > :35:50.minutes, so you can get reasonable data. But to find out if the driver

:35:50. > :35:54.likes the parts, it will make a difference. You have got some news

:35:55. > :35:59.on Sergio Perez? I spoke to him yesterday, it was

:35:59. > :36:04.interesting to see his body language. He has been told by

:36:04. > :36:09.McLaren that he needed to be more aggressive. That looked the case in

:36:09. > :36:17.Bahrain. But yesterday, I asked if he and Jenson Button had spoken

:36:17. > :36:21.about their clashes, he said, we were both too aggressive. He said

:36:21. > :36:25.that they had talked it through, they have solved the problems, he

:36:25. > :36:30.will not change his driving style, but he needs to rein it in

:36:30. > :36:37.occasionally. This time last year, Sergio Perez had doubled the number

:36:37. > :36:42.of points when he was at Sauber. He did not seem to know that, he looked

:36:42. > :36:47.surprised, and he said he still thinks this was the right move for

:36:47. > :36:51.his career, and he trusts that this team can give him the tools to

:36:51. > :36:56.become a world champion in the future. It played on his mind a bit,

:36:56. > :37:00.but as long as the team are working hard and as long as Jenson Button is

:37:00. > :37:03.struggling a bit, that will give him confidence in a backwards sort of

:37:03. > :37:10.way. We will keep an eye on that

:37:11. > :37:16.relationship. A bit of slipping and sliding with a view cars. Jean-Eric

:37:16. > :37:21.Vergne, teamed up with Daniel Ricciardo, a big season for them, as

:37:21. > :37:27.they try to beat each other. Both of them think that they could move to

:37:28. > :37:33.Red Bull at the end of the season. They are both good quality drivers,

:37:33. > :37:41.they came through the junior ranks extremely successfully. Gary, you

:37:41. > :37:51.have made your way to Ferrari? the front wing. You can see on our

:37:51. > :37:51.

:37:51. > :38:00.left-hand side, seven elements, six gaps, seven components. There are

:38:00. > :38:07.two slot gaps. They are trying to reduce the sensitivity when it gets

:38:07. > :38:11.near the ground. It is important to get consistent airflow. It is not

:38:11. > :38:16.just about having airflow. They even have gaps in the bottom of the front

:38:16. > :38:21.wing plate. They are pushing, they know that they need to improve on

:38:22. > :38:30.qualifying. That is the one area where they have shown a bit of

:38:30. > :38:33.weakness. Fernando Alonso is on home territory, but he did talk to us

:38:33. > :38:38.yesterday about the statistics of starting up front and how important

:38:38. > :38:43.that is. This is a race where pole position

:38:43. > :38:49.or the front row has been important. In the last 16 years, it has been

:38:49. > :38:57.one from the front row. Can you get onto the front this weekend? That

:38:57. > :39:05.might be too much. But it is time to break this 16 years if that is the

:39:05. > :39:09.case. With the degradation, many things can happen in the race. It is

:39:09. > :39:15.more important to have good tyre management than having a bit of

:39:16. > :39:24.extra time in qualifying. We have a new hard tyre for Friday but we need

:39:24. > :39:32.to understand. We only have one day to have all of the information

:39:32. > :39:36.possible. The last time you raced in Spain, you won the race. Explain the

:39:36. > :39:42.emotions of racing in front of your fans, because they pack into this

:39:42. > :39:49.place. It is unbelievable. It is impossible to repeat the feeling in

:39:49. > :39:54.any other victory. When you win the home Grand Prix, it is special, you

:39:55. > :40:03.enjoy it for yourself, the fans, the team. Hopefully we can repeat it

:40:03. > :40:08.again, feeling the same dream, in your home Grand Prix, you dream that

:40:08. > :40:14.you can be up on the podium, and we will try for that.

:40:14. > :40:18.Fernando Alonso hopeful of a good result. They were referring to the

:40:19. > :40:26.victory at Valencia last year. He has won here in the past, but it was

:40:26. > :40:31.a queue years ago. Romain Grosjean got a message, your pace is great.

:40:31. > :40:39.He had a little moment of, nothing serious. Felipe Massa is the second

:40:39. > :40:44.fastest. But only five drivers have established a lap time currently.

:40:44. > :40:54.it beginning to dry up? I expect to see many more people coming out,

:40:54. > :41:03.because the spray coming off the tyres is significantly less than the

:41:03. > :41:08.installation laps. Adrian Sutil has made a good return to the sport, but

:41:08. > :41:14.he has been out of luck in the last few events. He got tired I Felipe

:41:14. > :41:18.Massa in Bahrain. He had a great race pace later, but once he was not

:41:18. > :41:27.far down the order, there was not much he could do. He got hit in

:41:27. > :41:32.China. I just wanted to talk with you and Gary about the relative pace

:41:32. > :41:41.of the cars that we have seen. You have put some figures together,

:41:41. > :41:47.Gary, showing that Nico Rosberg is actually over role -- overruled the

:41:47. > :41:57.fastest. Sebastian Vettel is about more than one behind, and then Lewis

:41:57. > :41:57.

:41:57. > :42:01.Hamilton. Your figures demonstrate that they are about 0.320.4 off the

:42:01. > :42:09.pace at the moment, Harare. fastest lap completed by any driver

:42:09. > :42:17.over the weekend, and it is averaged out over the four races. So one

:42:17. > :42:22.swallow does not make a summer. But both of the Mercedes cars are quick.

:42:22. > :42:29.Especially Nico Rosberg, he has never quite got it right in

:42:29. > :42:34.qualifying. But through the weekend, they are quick. Ferrari need a bit

:42:34. > :42:43.of catching up, but not as much as the other ones. What stands out for

:42:43. > :42:46.you with those figures? What stands out for me, Mercedes have made a big

:42:46. > :42:51.improvement in your pace and consistency. They need to transfer

:42:51. > :42:57.that into points. Secondly, Kimi Raikkonen has been faster than

:42:58. > :43:04.Romain Grosjean. It was the other way round last year. Kimi Raikkonen

:43:04. > :43:11.is coming back to what we saw when he was at McLaren and Ferrari.

:43:11. > :43:15.RADIO: It is still looking damp. There are three sectors on the

:43:15. > :43:20.circuit, and his engineer is looking at the relative pace in the

:43:20. > :43:26.different sectors. He is giving him the point is, where he needs to

:43:26. > :43:31.improve. The third sector, the last part of the circuit, the most

:43:31. > :43:38.slippery, because it is the slowest, that is where he needs to

:43:38. > :43:43.work. It looks as though he might have had a moment there. That is

:43:43. > :43:52.Pastor Maldonado in front of Fernando Alonso. Romain Grosjean is

:43:52. > :44:02.still the quickest. Fernando Alonso is slipping and sliding. He might

:44:02. > :44:02.

:44:02. > :44:08.either come in or get some space. Yes, he was just about to blockade

:44:08. > :44:11.the last part of his lap. Adrian Sutil a moment ago. Going wide, that

:44:11. > :44:17.is Astroturf, and it gets saturated with water, it will be significantly

:44:17. > :44:22.more slippery. There is a little bit of a rise and drop there as well.

:44:22. > :44:25.Yes, it is a big braking corner, because you come out of the long

:44:25. > :44:31.right-hander, and that means there is a lot of rubber from the dry

:44:31. > :44:35.grating. It basically makes it very slippery, and it is easy to lock a

:44:35. > :44:40.brake. But because you have got such a big run-off area, you have got a

:44:40. > :44:49.get out of jail card. Yellow in the last chicane, I think it is a fake

:44:49. > :44:52.one. A bit of information for Alonso, a smiling Sergio Perez, and

:44:52. > :44:57.neither of the McLaren drivers are busy at the moment, just watching

:44:57. > :45:04.the action, what action there is. Fernando Alonso using the wet line,

:45:04. > :45:05.going right around the outside on the approach to the corner. He is

:45:05. > :45:08.basically searching for grip on the circuit, and he keeps away from the

:45:09. > :45:12.standard dry line, missing the apex completely because he wants to get

:45:12. > :45:17.onto the cleaner parts of the circuit which has not been Robert

:45:17. > :45:21.in. He has gone right around Campsa, that is an old karting thing. That

:45:21. > :45:26.is something you learn when you are 11 or 12 years old, braking

:45:26. > :45:31.completely on the inside. Barely two tenths of a second quicker at this

:45:31. > :45:35.point. It is working for him, finding be slightly drier, more

:45:35. > :45:41.grippy parts of the circuit. That is not the conventional line, he has

:45:41. > :45:46.this very interesting style of driving, where he uses the front

:45:46. > :45:49.tyres to really work the car. Great stuff there. Down at the pits, Lee

:45:49. > :45:55.has caught up with a driver who is back out for Caterham, Heikki

:45:55. > :46:00.Kovalainen. Heikki, nice to see you, not the most productive morning so

:46:00. > :46:06.far, tell us what the guys were doing to the car. We had a small

:46:06. > :46:09.issue with the rear, a mechanical issue, so they are going to fix

:46:09. > :46:13.that. Hopefully it doesn't rain and we get some dry running at the end,

:46:13. > :46:16.hopefully I am not missing out too much. You have been brought in to

:46:16. > :46:23.help evaluate party and in Bahrain, but the weather does not help

:46:23. > :46:32.things. Not right now, but again towards the end of the session we

:46:32. > :46:36.hope to get some laps in. We really need to try to evaluate them, and a

:46:36. > :46:40.few dry laps would help. Nice to see you back in a Formula One car, how

:46:40. > :46:45.much have you been missing it? lot! I had the opportunity to come

:46:45. > :46:49.back earlier, do this job earlier, but I was not interested until I was

:46:49. > :46:53.at home for about three months. So it is good to be back. You are

:46:53. > :46:59.telling our view is that being a spectator is tougher than being an

:46:59. > :47:09.F1 driver. It is really nice! I never wanted to leave in the first

:47:09. > :47:13.

:47:13. > :47:14.place, you know. I was not fed up with Formula One. In a way, it does

:47:14. > :47:14.not feel like I am coming back, it feels like I should have been here

:47:14. > :47:20.all along. Do you use the rest of the weekends to tell teams who are

:47:20. > :47:28.available, you want to be back in F1? Not really, I am not actively

:47:28. > :47:35.talking to anybody, just doing the job for Caterham right now. Thanks,

:47:35. > :47:43.Haiti. Thank you, Lee. A bit of a right front lock-up into the tight

:47:43. > :47:48.infield left-hander. It is a classic thing for the wet, the outside

:47:48. > :47:53.tyre, the one on the slippery rubber line, and you will see that more

:47:53. > :47:55.often now that DRS is enabled, so therefore they can use it on the

:47:55. > :47:59.start-finish straight, as we see Mark Webber coming through the

:47:59. > :48:04.detection zone. Then he goes into the activation zone and should be

:48:04. > :48:10.able to open it over the line, the slot gap opens, a little bit less

:48:10. > :48:16.drag, faster speed. Alonso fastest, Webber second quickest. Grosjean

:48:16. > :48:21.third, Raikkonen, Massa, Gutierrez, Sutil, Di Resta and Maldonado, that

:48:21. > :48:28.is the top ten. A couple more of your comments on Twitter, Wayne

:48:28. > :48:29.says, has any team brought any radical changes, completely

:48:29. > :48:37.different from anyone else? I think that is pretty unlikely, because the

:48:37. > :48:41.red Lake is so tight, we are near the end of regulations. Gary, I will

:48:41. > :48:44.get you to comment on that, but also add to that the question from

:48:44. > :48:51.Michael Dunn which says, do you think that the rain helps or hinders

:48:51. > :48:55.the newer teams, and why would that be? Well, to answer that question,

:48:55. > :49:02.it depends on what you are talking about. In a race or qualifying, it

:49:03. > :49:03.is about pulling something out of the bag for the smaller or newer

:49:03. > :49:06.teams. Conditions change dramatically June be one hour of

:49:06. > :49:12.qualifying, and it can change to magically during the race. If you

:49:12. > :49:15.are a small team, I like the challenge of that, because if you

:49:15. > :49:18.can do something different from the big teams, it is an opportunity to

:49:18. > :49:24.get one over on them, and there is nothing more satisfying, that makes

:49:24. > :49:28.it all worthwhile. Looking at the Lotus at the moment, one of the big

:49:28. > :49:32.stories coming into this weekend, certainly from the inside point of

:49:32. > :49:37.view, is that technical director James Allison has now left Lotus.

:49:37. > :49:42.Now, he is a key guy, isn't he? You have watched his career, he started

:49:42. > :49:45.out with Benetton, went to Ferrari when Michael Schumacher was winning

:49:45. > :49:50.championships in the early 2000s, then he was with Renault when Alonso

:49:50. > :49:56.was winning. We are riding out with Jimmy, slipping and sliding around a

:49:56. > :50:01.bit. What are your thoughts on James Allison leaving? Yes, I rate him

:50:01. > :50:04.very highly, the Renault has been a very good car. They have that

:50:04. > :50:08.exhaust concept coming up the front of the side pods three years ago,

:50:08. > :50:12.and initially it was a very good concept, but the unfortunate thing

:50:12. > :50:16.was there was not much of a development direction left with it.

:50:16. > :50:21.When the other teams got their blown diffuser staff working well, Lotus

:50:21. > :50:29.were left behind. But I read James highly. It is a very difficult

:50:29. > :50:33.thing, because no desire a small team in reality. -- Lotus are a

:50:33. > :50:37.small team in reality. It is a family type operation, and James was

:50:37. > :50:42.able to steer that ship very well. Going to another team, Ferrari,

:50:42. > :50:45.McLaren, Mercedes or Red Bull, he will not have the same open door as

:50:45. > :50:50.far as steering the ship. He may have more money and more budget,

:50:50. > :50:57.that kind of stuff, but it is a difficult decision to go and become

:50:57. > :51:01.a cog in the machine, as opposed to being the one cog. You have really

:51:01. > :51:06.got to... I wish him all the best, because he is one of the best in the

:51:06. > :51:10.pitlane. Where do you think he is going? Any ideas? From my point of

:51:10. > :51:14.view, an ideal position would be at Red Bull, mainly because Adrian

:51:14. > :51:19.Newey has been there for ever, and he wants to do other things in his

:51:19. > :51:22.life. We are all getting old, and the challenge of the new regulations

:51:22. > :51:26.for 2014 is something that will inspire Adrian to stay on again,

:51:27. > :51:32.that will be for a couple of years, and I think if James went there, he

:51:32. > :51:37.could blend in very well, the same kind of approach, he is a deep

:51:37. > :51:41.thinker, a vision guy, as opposed to some of the other guys, who have to

:51:41. > :51:45.rely on the data. If I was James Allison, I would be looking very

:51:45. > :51:48.closely at Red Bull, but whether jet Red Bull want to do that, I don't

:51:48. > :51:52.know, but they need to do something, because Adrian is not

:51:52. > :51:56.going to be there forever. Meanwhile, we have been entertained

:51:56. > :52:00.by some interesting driving from Kimi Raikkonen, both Lotus is

:52:00. > :52:05.looking quick at the moment. First and third at the moment, but we are

:52:05. > :52:10.on board with Jimmy, his inputs were nice and gentle, and the car seems

:52:10. > :52:13.to have good traction, so it puts the power down well out of the last

:52:13. > :52:16.corner, not squirming around, so that means they are working the rear

:52:16. > :52:20.tyre in a good direction, which means for the race, they could be

:52:20. > :52:29.quite good if it is dry. They have certainly got confidence here, I

:52:29. > :52:32.think, let's listen in. Enable LPC, bottom right button. The usual,

:52:32. > :52:35.leaving us getting as to what they are talking about with all the

:52:35. > :52:38.settings changes the drivers are capable of making. It was

:52:38. > :52:43.interesting that Lewis simple five a lot of the buttons on the steering

:52:43. > :52:47.wheel when he moved to Mercedes, something he did quite early on.

:52:47. > :52:51.steering wheel is a busy little thing. I know our sports car

:52:51. > :52:55.steering wheel, we can just over 100 things on the carp from the wheel,

:52:55. > :53:00.so from that point of view, you want to make it as simply stick as

:53:00. > :53:03.possible, because you are travelling 100 metres per second coming down

:53:03. > :53:06.the start-finish straight, so you don't have a lot of time to look

:53:06. > :53:10.down, playing with things. You need to instinctively know where it is

:53:10. > :53:14.and what to do with it. A nice camera on the crash helmet of

:53:15. > :53:20.Valtteri Bottas, as he takes us through the first couple of corners,

:53:20. > :53:25.talk us through it. Coming into the long right-hander, this is flat out

:53:25. > :53:32.in the dry, he is wide from the curb so that he misses that dry rubber

:53:32. > :53:38.line, he gets the grip. Tone four is tricky... Do not use DRS on the

:53:38. > :53:43.first lap and the next lap, OK? The next lap you can use it. Massa being

:53:43. > :53:47.told not to use DRS for the next two lapse. This is the hairpin, where

:53:47. > :53:55.some drivers like to get to the curb and some just miss it, but you do

:53:55. > :53:58.not seem to lose much time before you come down into the left -hand. A

:53:58. > :54:04.big oversteer moment, a huge curb, if you touch that, you have damaged

:54:04. > :54:08.the front wing. Then the second DRS zone for this weekend, coming down

:54:08. > :54:13.into there. I do not think this one will work, it is too quick a corner,

:54:13. > :54:17.nearly flat out coming into the last sector, which is really delicate

:54:17. > :54:22.stuff, nice, gentle on the throttle, being progressive with all your

:54:22. > :54:26.inputs, not to overstress the tyres on the front, now going on to the

:54:26. > :54:31.throttle on the rear. Lots of oversteer again! As you come into

:54:31. > :54:35.the last corner, listen to the engine, it is just so gentle and

:54:35. > :54:39.smooth on the throttle, no aggression in these applications

:54:39. > :54:45.whatsoever. Two wheels on the curb and then comes through the last

:54:45. > :54:49.corner, and then he has got the 700 metres straight to blast down into

:54:49. > :54:53.turn one. Across the line goes beyond thin, Valtteri Bottas, none

:54:53. > :54:58.of the rookies have scored a point in the championship. You were

:54:58. > :55:01.chatting to him yesterday. Yes, I was, and not having scored a point

:55:01. > :55:06.is weighing heavily on his mind at the moment. He knows, as a young

:55:06. > :55:13.driver, it is so competitive. He joined a race winning team at the

:55:13. > :55:18.start of the year, and now he has not scored a point. There is a lot

:55:18. > :55:23.of pressure to prove your worth in Formula One, when you do not have

:55:23. > :55:28.the car, you do not have the tools. He came into Formula One with a big

:55:28. > :55:32.reputation, he is managed by Mika Hakkinen and also by Toto Wolff,

:55:32. > :55:37.interestingly, who has many fingers in many pies informal one at the

:55:37. > :55:45.moment! He knows he has got to do something special to further his

:55:45. > :55:48.career and be given the chance to go on and, as he says, hopefully win a

:55:48. > :55:55.world championship in the future. is a great talent, but difficult to

:55:55. > :56:01.show what you can do when the car is not up there. Allan, a question from

:56:01. > :56:06.a regular contributor, as you have seen both Formula One and WDC, is

:56:06. > :56:09.there much transfer between the two forms of motorsport? They are very

:56:09. > :56:13.different, because in Formula One it is very much a restricted

:56:13. > :56:20.regulation, and therefore I would have said you are making small

:56:20. > :56:23.changes, finite changes, whereas with sports car racing, 24-hour, the

:56:24. > :56:31.world endurance and, the regulations are open. We have got a diesel

:56:31. > :56:34.hybrid car, it worked through the front wheels to give 4-wheel-drive,

:56:34. > :56:37.whereas our main competitor has a petrol engine, a hybrid that works

:56:37. > :56:41.through the rear, completely different philosophies. The styling

:56:41. > :56:46.of the car is recently Simla, but underneath the skin there is

:56:46. > :56:50.technology that I know for a pack comes onto my road car in six months

:56:50. > :56:58.or 18 months time. That is a little bit less the case, you do not hear

:56:59. > :57:04.many engines revving that high. trying to catch a little bit from

:57:04. > :57:09.Hulkenberg. The technology transfer is interesting. You had a busy

:57:09. > :57:14.time, a great win at Silverstone. This is Massa moment ago. A little

:57:14. > :57:19.bit of a grassy moment. It was a bit wet at Silverstone that weekend.

:57:19. > :57:24.has bits of rain all the time at Silverstone. A replay, he gets on

:57:24. > :57:28.the curb on the right, sending him to the left. Not necessarily a big

:57:28. > :57:33.is due, but he lost a bit of time coming into the right-hander at turn

:57:33. > :57:37.nine. So Silverstone was a good result for you, the British Grand

:57:37. > :57:42.Prix at the end of June is the week after Le Mans, so for a lot of

:57:42. > :57:46.British motorsport fans, and many make the trip to France, and then

:57:46. > :57:56.maybe do Silverstone, quite a week of double big events. It is a

:57:56. > :58:03.

:58:03. > :58:08.drier, but we hope Silverstone will be dry this year, but with Le Mans,

:58:08. > :58:12.80,000 Brits and 250,000 in total going across, and then having the

:58:12. > :58:15.celebration at Silverstone, maybe a British victory as well at that

:58:15. > :58:21.particular run, too, then I think that is going to be a nice period in

:58:21. > :58:24.June. It is going to be great, I am really looking forward to it. I was

:58:24. > :58:29.at Silverstone last week, a glorious day, absolutely stunning, so a bit

:58:29. > :58:32.more of that would be wonderful. Silverstone looked resplendent in

:58:32. > :58:42.the sunshine, so really looking forward to the British Grand Prix,

:58:42. > :58:42.

:58:42. > :58:43.get your tickets. With Lewis Hamilton, for me, a nice big slide

:58:43. > :58:46.from Massa! Lewis Hamilton, the Mercedes team, Rosberg, one of the

:58:46. > :58:48.big stories of the year, and if they can keep up the improvement we are

:58:48. > :58:55.seeing and get that race pace a little bit better, who knows? He

:58:55. > :59:04.really could be on for a possible victory. I would never discount

:59:05. > :59:09.Lewis Hamilton. Looking at the times now, Mark Webber has done 39.9, so

:59:09. > :59:14.the first lap time we saw was 48, so they are mainly ten seconds a lap

:59:14. > :59:21.faster. Perhaps they need to think about coming off the intermediate

:59:21. > :59:31.tyres. Lots of car control required today in these conditions. That was

:59:31. > :59:31.

:59:32. > :59:36.on to the finishing straight. The Formula 1 driver who had that

:59:36. > :59:41.horrible accident in a rally car if you years ago. He is now getting

:59:41. > :59:51.back into rallying. He is working a bit with Mercedes, he has done some

:59:51. > :59:52.

:59:52. > :59:59.work on the simulator. On our Formula 1 website, we were talking

:59:59. > :00:02.about him. They are keen to work with him. He has got Formula 1

:00:02. > :00:09.experience, he can help them in terms of development, so watch this

:00:09. > :00:13.space. We would love to see him back. There is no question about it.

:00:13. > :00:18.Time has gone by a little bit, because there are new kids on the

:00:18. > :00:23.block, people trying to make their mark, but he can have a positive

:00:23. > :00:33.influence into the experience level, especially on a simulator.

:00:33. > :00:34.

:00:34. > :00:40.Gary, you are at Lotus now? Yes, the tyres work fine for Kimi Reich and.

:00:40. > :00:46.Looking at the front wing, a compensated package. The interesting

:00:46. > :00:56.part is the centre section, you can see how simple it is. It is defined

:00:56. > :01:06.by the FIA, everybody has deduced that. The cameras are free to mount

:01:06. > :01:06.

:01:06. > :01:10.any way you want. Other cars have different solutions. But these

:01:10. > :01:15.cameras can give a bit of downforce. You are scratching for everything

:01:15. > :01:22.you can. You want to make sure the airflow to the rest of the car is

:01:22. > :01:28.good. A quick question, do you think -- what do you think of Force

:01:28. > :01:35.India's chances this weekend? Do you think they could get a top three?

:01:35. > :01:39.Yes, they are strong. If the weather changes, they could take a gamble.

:01:39. > :01:47.They were strong in Bahrain, Adrian Sutil has not had the results he

:01:47. > :01:53.deserves. They have been limping a bit with Paul di Resta. They have

:01:53. > :02:01.got a quick car, but they have tried to understand the tyres over the

:02:01. > :02:06.winter. They can do a good result. Third place is tough. Top six is a

:02:06. > :02:14.very good result for them. Getting onto the podium is a tough thing to

:02:14. > :02:18.do. That is what Paul di Resta said. He said that if they can get

:02:18. > :02:24.sixth place or better, that will make them happy. Sometimes, if you

:02:24. > :02:30.are in the top six, you might end up on the podium. They are also looking

:02:30. > :02:36.at how McLaren's updates happen. That will affect their performance,

:02:36. > :02:42.and whether they will try to leapfrog Force India. But I think

:02:42. > :02:50.Force India are still ahead. Finance oh has just done the fastest lap. --

:02:50. > :03:00.Fernando Alonso. Pastor Maldonado has just gone wide over the grass,

:03:00. > :03:01.

:03:01. > :03:08.but no problem. The track has gradually improved. We are waiting

:03:08. > :03:14.to see who might be brave enough to put on a set of slick tyres. Last

:03:14. > :03:23.year in the dry, they were doing one minute 24 in the first active

:03:23. > :03:29.session, so we are 14 seconds away. Yes, ten to 12 seconds off a dry

:03:29. > :03:33.weather time in slick weather. Until that point, if you get onto a curb,

:03:33. > :03:39.you can lose the car, but with intermediate tyres, you have still

:03:39. > :03:45.got a bit of grip. Daniel Ricciardo, the second fastest at the

:03:45. > :03:52.moment, but he has just gone fastest in the middle sector. The track

:03:52. > :03:57.looks bone dry on that section. A bit greasy, I suppose. Now into the

:03:57. > :04:06.final part of the lap, the tricky chicane. That has been added in

:04:06. > :04:12.recent times. I do not like it. I liked the old one where you came out

:04:12. > :04:21.of the, and a little lift into the last corner. It was brave stuff. But

:04:21. > :04:26.the chicane loses it, it loses the rhythm of the track. He is using the

:04:26. > :04:31.dampness to call the intermediate tyres. He is a fraction slower than

:04:31. > :04:41.Fernando Alonso. Nico Hulkenberg has gone fastest in the first sector,

:04:41. > :04:42.

:04:42. > :04:46.but the is four tenths down on the middle sector. Nico Hulkenberg was a

:04:46. > :04:53.start when the conditions in Brazil last year. We are still waiting for

:04:53. > :04:59.Jenson Button to do any time lapse. Sergio Perez has done only one lap,

:04:59. > :05:09.and not a timed one. If you others have not done any time once, a

:05:09. > :05:11.

:05:12. > :05:21.decoder line and, and $1. Jenson Button is heading out onto the

:05:22. > :05:22.

:05:22. > :05:32.circuit, so we might get more of a picture. What do you think, track

:05:32. > :05:32.

:05:32. > :05:37.will see what the crossover point is between the intermediate tyres and

:05:37. > :05:44.the slick tyres. It is not windy, so you do not have the wind drying up

:05:44. > :05:54.the circuit. But it has gone from complete spray to know spray at all,

:05:54. > :06:00.so it is possible. Daniel Ricciardo goes fastest. Obviously, the track

:06:00. > :06:06.is just getting quicker and quicker. He is not really attacking

:06:06. > :06:11.hard as he continues around. It is a big day for McLaren. We will see if

:06:11. > :06:15.the new bits will help them. Their target is to get both cars

:06:15. > :06:18.comfortably into the top ten. We heard the width of the light from

:06:18. > :06:26.Jenson Button last time, but that is not what McLaren should be

:06:26. > :06:30.celebrating. It is a big step from where they expect to be. The

:06:30. > :06:36.competition level at the front is much tighter than it has been in my

:06:36. > :06:41.memory. If you are slightly off, you could be down in 10th place. As we

:06:41. > :06:48.saw with Jenson Button, the way he was talking, he thinks the recovery

:06:48. > :06:52.will be a bit longer. That means it is difficult for them, because they

:06:52. > :06:57.are dropping away in championship terms. It becomes harder to make up

:06:57. > :07:01.the ground. It is also tricky because there comes a point where

:07:01. > :07:05.they have to put emphasis on next year 's car, because of the new

:07:05. > :07:13.regulations. I can see them doing that earlier than Red Bull or

:07:13. > :07:18.Ferrari. I think you are right. Trying to pick up a bit of spray as

:07:18. > :07:25.he comes down the straight. Daniel Ricciardo is fastest in this

:07:25. > :07:31.changeable conditions. Fernando Alonso second. Let's keep an eye on

:07:32. > :07:41.Jenson Button. It is quite steady. He is building up nice and steady

:07:42. > :07:42.

:07:42. > :07:44.through the third corner. This is an exploratory lap. Always one of those

:07:45. > :07:54.drivers who likes the changeable conditions, he is adept at working

:07:55. > :07:55.

:07:55. > :08:00.out the grip level. Because radio: We will do that again. He is doing a

:08:00. > :08:05.constant speed to give the aerodynamic information to the team,

:08:05. > :08:15.exactly how the upgrades are relating to the simulation. He will

:08:15. > :08:21.

:08:21. > :08:28.stay at a constant speed down the does not have a long time. You only

:08:28. > :08:32.need one seconds worth of data, but it needs to be at a fixed speed,

:08:32. > :08:39.something like that. Jenson Button still working through the

:08:39. > :08:49.programme. Nico Hulkenberg catches up. Fernando Alonso has gone even

:08:49. > :08:53.

:08:53. > :08:57.quicker, one minute 36.6. The lap times are gradually coming down.

:08:57. > :09:05.What does that mean, quite on the nose? Any time he does anything with

:09:05. > :09:10.the steering, the steering reacts. The car is nervous. A bit sensitive.

:09:10. > :09:14.That means the driver has got to be careful with his input from the

:09:14. > :09:20.braking phase in towards the apex. Jenson Button does not naturally

:09:20. > :09:27.like that. It is a bit more Lewis Hamilton's style. Michael Schumacher

:09:27. > :09:33.as well. What was your preference? You need rear stability especially

:09:33. > :09:43.in these situations, where you have rear tyre degradation. If the car is

:09:43. > :09:51.pointy on the nose, it might be that their simulation is a bit difference

:09:51. > :09:58.-- a bit different. Lewis Hamilton has not done a flying lap yet, but

:09:58. > :10:01.he might be correcting that fairly soon. He has done 28.5 in the first

:10:01. > :10:08.sector, which is not right on the pace, but he is building up the

:10:08. > :10:13.pace. He has brought his dog to the racetrack this weekend. The dog will

:10:13. > :10:20.be travelling the world with him this season. But it has been poorly,

:10:20. > :10:26.so he did not bring it into the paddock. How interesting! What kind

:10:26. > :10:34.of dog is it? I think it is a bold dog. An English bulldog.

:10:34. > :10:43.Appropriate, really! I am sure he will introduce you to him later.

:10:43. > :10:48.am not sure I want to be introduced to his bulldog! Will he be able to

:10:48. > :10:56.show the qualifying pace we have seen from Mercedes? That was his

:10:57. > :11:06.first true lap. Let's watch him as he comes down into the first corner.

:11:07. > :11:08.

:11:08. > :11:18.A slow motion of him at work. In the the eyes. It is rare that you see

:11:18. > :11:23.them. Sorry, that is Nico Rosberg. Another piece of concentration! They

:11:23. > :11:33.are hoping the data matches up. Lewis Hamilton was asked about the

:11:33. > :11:33.

:11:33. > :11:37.updates, he said, it different from McLaren, they tended to come with a

:11:37. > :11:42.block of improvements, but Mercedes have come to each race with

:11:42. > :11:49.something on the car, so it has not deemed quite such a big level of

:11:49. > :11:55.change. We will come back to that, but Gary is now with the technical

:11:55. > :11:59.man at McLaren. The start of the European part of the championship,

:11:59. > :12:06.it is time for development, so what have you got? And a lot of parts on

:12:06. > :12:11.the car. We have got new bodywork, which is easy to see. We have got

:12:11. > :12:18.other parts to test. The wet weather does not help us, but we are still

:12:18. > :12:23.doing some work. But the rain has stopped, so we can kick -- take some

:12:23. > :12:30.bits onto the track. Have you got enough parts for two cars? Yes, but

:12:30. > :12:38.we are limited on spares. What do you think the problem is? It has

:12:38. > :12:43.been a poor start to the season. made and a lot of big changes over

:12:43. > :12:51.the winter, and it has taken longer to get on top of them than planned,

:12:51. > :12:57.but we will get there soon. We will keep working away. We have got a

:12:57. > :13:00.good understanding of the problem, but fixing it is another thing.

:13:00. > :13:06.broke the curfew last night, you were here later than you should have

:13:06. > :13:15.been. We had such a big volume of parts with the new package, we were

:13:15. > :13:21.here until 130, so just past the curfew time of 11. Next year, big

:13:21. > :13:28.changes in the regulations, but will you keep pushing? Absolutely.

:13:28. > :13:36.Because of the issues we have had, we have got to get a firm

:13:36. > :13:39.understanding of what the problem is, because to go into a new season

:13:40. > :13:44.means you can make the same mistakes in the future. It is important for

:13:44. > :13:54.the engineering process to get to the bottom of this car first. We

:13:54. > :13:55.

:13:55. > :13:59.have still got a 2014 programme going on. Lewis Hamilton is going

:13:59. > :14:08.quickly now, the fastest Middlesex, and his team-mate has just gone

:14:08. > :14:18.fastest in the first sector, so there we go, 1:36.1, and there is

:14:18. > :14:18.

:14:18. > :14:22.talk of some of the teams running slicks now. Yes, there are some dry

:14:22. > :14:25.patches, and I would expect them to use the tyre that Pirelli are giving

:14:25. > :14:29.them only for today, the developments tyre, because it is

:14:29. > :14:34.free, it does not come out of their race allocation, and the teams will

:14:34. > :14:41.want to see the crossover is between intermediates and slicks. Thank you

:14:41. > :14:47.for your questions, Jack has said, a fun one, should the driver's helmets

:14:47. > :14:51.have window wipers attached to them? Ever tried that? We used to

:14:51. > :14:54.have something like that in karting, you would have a disc that spun

:14:54. > :14:58.around, but the speed you are travelling, and the fact that there

:14:58. > :15:06.is not a heck of a lot landing on the buys it due to the aerodynamics

:15:06. > :15:11.and the small windscreen, it is not necessarily the case. -- on the

:15:11. > :15:16.visor. A lot of rumours about Mark Webber says Rick Bosman, on whether

:15:16. > :15:21.he will retire from Formula One, what are your thoughts on that?

:15:21. > :15:25.think Mark has got a little bit left in him, no question about that. He

:15:26. > :15:29.was fighting at the Malaysian Grand Prix. Lewis is coming in for dry

:15:29. > :15:34.tyres, let us know if you want to do the same. There we are, confirmation

:15:34. > :15:37.that teams are looking at putting the slicks on, that will make life

:15:37. > :15:44.quite exciting. Coming back to Mark, he has got something to say

:15:44. > :15:47.about it, but since Malaysian and that team scandal thing that

:15:48. > :15:51.happened, he has dropped back a little bit from his team-mate in the

:15:51. > :15:55.championship, but I would suggest Mark will make his decision probably

:15:55. > :16:00.after the British Grand Prix. of chat about joining the Porsche

:16:00. > :16:06.sports car programme, you might end up racing against him. Again! When

:16:06. > :16:10.we started sports car racing, before we both started Formula One in 2002,

:16:10. > :16:20.he was racing former CDs when I was racing for Porsche, it would be like

:16:20. > :16:20.

:16:20. > :16:25.rekindling those old arguments. -- for Mercedes. Kimi Raikkonen is

:16:25. > :16:29.sixth quickest now. Gutierrez has done a good lap in the Sauber. That

:16:29. > :16:34.replay did not quite good in, we have got slick tyres on, well

:16:34. > :16:39.spotted, Jean-Eric Vergne. He is on the hard compound tyre at the

:16:39. > :16:45.moment. But it is the one without the markings, so it is the prototype

:16:46. > :16:50.hard tyre, not the race tyre. a development tyre that Pirelli have

:16:50. > :16:56.brought, a throwaway tyre for today, it is not out of the race

:16:56. > :17:00.allocation, so this is a good time to use it. We will get a chance to

:17:00. > :17:04.see whether they have chosen a good time to go out on this tyre, keep an

:17:04. > :17:08.eye on the sector times, Gary, you have got something for us. Just

:17:08. > :17:14.picking up on what Sam was saying about no damage, what they have got

:17:14. > :17:18.on Jenson's car is a bargeboard, a turning vein that is in front of the

:17:18. > :17:23.inlet duct, and on the driver's left-hand side, one of them has

:17:23. > :17:27.fallen off. It is a new part for this weekend, part of the new

:17:27. > :17:32.sidepod package. If you look at the top of the sidepod, just behind the

:17:32. > :17:34.rearview mirror, you will see some little lumps and bumps on it, and

:17:34. > :17:37.they have sort of squeezed everything in, there are lots of

:17:37. > :17:43.bumps to allow for exhaust pipes inside there and cooling and

:17:44. > :17:47.radiators. They have really squeezed this package for this development,

:17:47. > :17:51.and one of the bargeboard has fallen off, so they are trying to glue it

:17:51. > :17:55.back on again to get a little bit more running. You know that comments

:17:55. > :18:00.that Jenson made about the car being on the nose, can they do anything

:18:00. > :18:03.about that at this stage? Well, yes, they will record it, they will back

:18:03. > :18:08.off the front wing a little bit to make sure he does not swap ends and

:18:08. > :18:11.oversteer, but they have a new package, it will work the front wing

:18:11. > :18:15.differently if they are trying to get the airflow go in a different

:18:15. > :18:17.direction, manage it in a different way, so they will react, but I do

:18:17. > :18:23.not think they will do too much until you has a competitive lap

:18:23. > :18:27.time. E4 you get the tyres working, you have to push them to the limit,

:18:27. > :18:32.and that is when you start to feel the car a little bit better. Talking

:18:32. > :18:37.about getting the tyres working, Jean-Eric Vergne has put himself up

:18:37. > :18:41.into bits, so that must be the crossover. You need one or two laps

:18:41. > :18:45.to get the temperature. If you hit a damp patch on a slick tyres, as we

:18:45. > :18:55.see Massa going well wide, you lose tyre temperature, and you need to

:18:55. > :19:00.

:19:00. > :19:05.draining, the rubber is rolling across it as he goes through the

:19:05. > :19:11.corner, he does not have the front grip. -- graining. Valtteri Bottas

:19:11. > :19:15.waits to come back out in the Williams. Vergne has done a good

:19:15. > :19:22.first sector, almost as fast as the fastest sector we have seen at this

:19:22. > :19:26.point, 25.6 compared to 25.4, that was Massa on the intermediates. The

:19:26. > :19:30.has done a fastest middle sector of anybody, definitely time to be on

:19:30. > :19:34.the slicks, whereas Felipe Massa is still on the intermediates, which

:19:34. > :19:38.are beginning to go away from him, and you can see that, the car

:19:38. > :19:42.starting to move around. The tyres are overheating and working too

:19:42. > :19:47.hard, even though he is quick, that is the wettest part of the circuit.

:19:47. > :19:51.I would expect Ferrari, as again he goes wide and drops two wheels off,

:19:51. > :19:56.he will be popping into the pits, most people will be coming out on

:19:56. > :19:59.slicks quite soon. Not too many still out on the intermediates, but

:19:59. > :20:04.that will make life interesting in the final stages of this first

:20:04. > :20:09.practice session, just under 15 minutes to go. On board with Felipe.

:20:09. > :20:12.The other thing is that while we see Vergne seeing how early you can go

:20:12. > :20:15.with the slicks, Massa is seeing how late he can stay on the

:20:15. > :20:18.intermediates from the strategy point of view, that gives

:20:18. > :20:22.information to the team about what the circuit is doing in these

:20:22. > :20:26.conditions and how early and how late you can be uncertain tyres.

:20:26. > :20:31.Let's just watch him up through the last section, a little under steer.

:20:31. > :20:34.He cannot get the front of the car into the corner, the tyre has

:20:34. > :20:39.overheated and gone, and you cannot do anything about it, you just have

:20:39. > :20:42.to drive within the limits of it, not pushing too much. He is going

:20:42. > :20:48.for an extra lap, this is where he went wide last time, a bit tighter

:20:48. > :20:58.this time, closer to the apex. Second fastest. So it is very

:20:58. > :20:59.

:20:59. > :21:06.similar times between... Vergne has done a 1:30 4.7, and Massa has done

:21:06. > :21:10.1:34.8, on completely different tyres. It is all going towards

:21:10. > :21:17.slicks, though. Ricciardo is out on the hard tyre, we just saw him

:21:17. > :21:20.bobble over the curb a little bit, no damage done to the Ferrari there.

:21:20. > :21:25.Massa has been unable surgeons in form, it did not work out last

:21:25. > :21:30.time. Is that Ricciardo? No, it is Vergne on the slicks. Ricciardo has

:21:30. > :21:33.just gone out on slicks, but that is Jean-Eric Vergne, who has done a

:21:33. > :21:38.couple of laps and they are fully up to temperature. It is still easy to

:21:38. > :21:42.make a mistake. Let's see what he did. Coming into the last sector, he

:21:42. > :21:47.slides wide, get onto the Astroturf, then he has lost the temperature,

:21:47. > :21:52.and when he breaks, he locks up. That is the cause of the problem,

:21:52. > :21:55.and then when the tyres are cool, he breaks behind the sign, slides wide

:21:55. > :22:03.again. That is a really good indication of the size and how

:22:03. > :22:06.temperature sensitive they are. You only need to lose a couple of

:22:06. > :22:11.degrees to lose a lot of grip. are very sensitive, but you are on

:22:11. > :22:16.the limit of the grid anyway, so if you happen to be offline as well, as

:22:16. > :22:20.he was, because of running wide, it loses you quite a lot. The car could

:22:20. > :22:30.be damaged by bouncing over that sleeping policeman. He is fastest in

:22:30. > :22:34.

:22:34. > :22:38.this session, Jean-Eric Vergne, the Orange sidewall hard tyre, so

:22:38. > :22:43.this is the hard tyre that will get used this weekend, as opposed to the

:22:43. > :22:47.tyre that is just a prototype. That presumably will give a slightly

:22:47. > :22:50.different performance, good first sector, not the fastest of all, but

:22:50. > :22:56.we will keep an eye on him as he continues this middle sector.

:22:56. > :23:00.Surprised he has gone on that tyre, but the team are probably splitting

:23:00. > :23:03.the strategy to understand the differences between them. DRS in

:23:03. > :23:08.operation on the second straight, very fast in the middle sector,

:23:08. > :23:12.32.9, so we are seeing the slick tyres coming into their own. He has

:23:12. > :23:17.just got to avoid getting onto the slippery bits of the circuit, curbs

:23:17. > :23:21.could still be a bit greasy. Basically, the spray is mostly off

:23:21. > :23:25.the curbs now, but you cannot run them as aggressively as you normally

:23:25. > :23:29.would, especially in the higher speed sections of the circuit.

:23:29. > :23:35.see if this is going to be a new fastest lap from Daniel Ricciardo, a

:23:35. > :23:38.few more cars on slicks, Rosberg is out, Mark Webber, and look at that,

:23:38. > :23:43.he goes fastest by five seconds, amazing when you get that change and

:23:43. > :23:47.suddenly it goes the way of the slick tyres! Yes, it looks like

:23:47. > :23:52.quite a quick time, probably five seconds off the ultimate time, but

:23:52. > :23:55.the circuit is only going to get quicker. I suppose, for once, they

:23:55. > :23:59.have had a bit of running, and when they go out on the slick tyres at

:23:59. > :24:03.the end of the session, it is nice and new. Usually in this first

:24:03. > :24:07.session, and because they have this extra set, usually they do the whole

:24:07. > :24:11.first practice on one set, they get to the end, and they are well past

:24:11. > :24:17.their best. On this occasion, tenants to go, nice fresh tyres to

:24:17. > :24:20.play with. -- ten minutes. They do, and I think you will see most people

:24:20. > :24:30.getting out there to analyse data between session one and a session to

:24:30. > :24:30.

:24:30. > :24:31.this afternoon. So Sergio Perez waiting to come out on circuit, he

:24:31. > :24:34.has not established a lap time, nor has Jenson Button or Sebastian

:24:34. > :24:40.Vettel, who was not done a full lap yet. Nico Rosberg is on the hard

:24:40. > :24:46.tyre. A little bit of back-end stability. There was a pub of spray

:24:46. > :24:51.coming of it, it did not snap into overseer, but he would lift the

:24:51. > :24:54.throttle a little bit. Now working that long right-hander as well, the

:24:54. > :25:04.left front takes a real caning through the first few corners in

:25:04. > :25:07.Barcelona. The car is really bumpy. On the data, we can see that it is

:25:07. > :25:12.bumping on the straight, but it is not affecting your driving, we would

:25:12. > :25:19.like to leave you out and get the data on the tyres. So Jean-Eric

:25:19. > :25:24.Vergne just talking about the order bottoming along the straight. It

:25:24. > :25:28.takes a pounding on the first part of the lap, but you need the rear

:25:28. > :25:32.tyres for the last part of the lap. It is a compromise with the last

:25:32. > :25:36.part of the circuit being tighter than it historically was, but you

:25:36. > :25:40.are right, it is working so hard around this part, and then suddenly

:25:40. > :25:44.you release the pressure from the front tyres, and you now need to

:25:44. > :25:47.make sure the rear works coming out of this on to get the power down,

:25:47. > :25:53.because this last corner is flat out, and then you have got the big

:25:53. > :25:57.long straights to hopefully overtake someone. He goes second quickest to

:25:57. > :26:00.Daniel Ricciardo, does Nico Rosberg, fastest in the final sector of

:26:00. > :26:05.anybody, and as he comes down to turn one, still pushing reasonably

:26:05. > :26:11.hard. There is a yellow somewhere, it has now been cleared. And

:26:11. > :26:14.Sebastian Vettel is now on his way. Allan, you have worked as an FIA

:26:15. > :26:24.driver representative on the stewards' panel for Ron Crees, and I

:26:25. > :26:25.

:26:26. > :26:28.know you will be doing that again... Six times laps. Oh DRS. A few

:26:28. > :26:31.instructions from Rocky to Sebastian. The automatic light

:26:31. > :26:41.system is back in operation this weekend, and there had been some

:26:41. > :26:42.

:26:42. > :26:46.issues with it, but we have had that break. Yes, there is automatic

:26:46. > :26:49.cockpit information, so if there is a yellow flag, instead of having to

:26:49. > :26:54.wait for it visually at the Marshall's post, it will be

:26:54. > :26:58.illuminated with a light. That was not working well at the first few

:26:58. > :27:02.Grands Prix. There have been software updates, and it should be

:27:02. > :27:05.working better this weekend. It is a big help, to be honest with you,

:27:05. > :27:11.because it gives you early information and you can be looking

:27:11. > :27:15.for things in a much, I would say, more idealistic way. Quite a few

:27:15. > :27:19.cars on track now, Lewis Hamilton is also on the hard tyre, Ricciardo has

:27:19. > :27:23.gone fastest in the first sector. Talking of the stewarding side of

:27:23. > :27:26.things, a bit of a story that they are looking at a points endorsement

:27:26. > :27:31.system on licences for next year, a little bit like road driving, and if

:27:31. > :27:36.you get as many as 12, you could be up for a ban. What are your thoughts

:27:36. > :27:40.on that? They are always looking at ways of trying to improve how it is

:27:40. > :27:44.marshalled, if you like, and the driver's steward was part of that,

:27:44. > :27:47.trying to bring in someone with experience of what it is like to be

:27:47. > :27:51.sitting inside the cockpit, instead of someone looking outside of the

:27:51. > :27:55.cockpit. And this is the next generation of it, where they are

:27:55. > :27:59.looking at the penalties and how to improve the system so that it is

:28:00. > :28:04.more fair, more consistent and more balanced. One of them is a points

:28:04. > :28:08.system, you. Up to 12, and if you get 12, you get a race ban. They

:28:08. > :28:12.will drop off after a one-year period, and so I do not think it

:28:12. > :28:15.will necessarily mean some people will get penalties and others want

:28:16. > :28:24.that did not before, it is just maybe a clearer and better way to

:28:24. > :28:28.actually administer it. That will need approval from the FIA Council

:28:29. > :28:31.before it goes through, but being talked about for 2014. The slick

:28:31. > :28:35.tyres are definitely working, Ricciardo still quickest, but

:28:35. > :28:40.Valtteri Bottas in the Williams has just gone second fastest. Di Resta

:28:40. > :28:45.is there, Mark Webber popped up to second a moment ago but has been

:28:45. > :28:49.pushed down to fourth, the Rosberg, Hulkenberg. A new lap by Ricciardo

:28:49. > :28:54.has gone quickest, quicker and quicker every lap, and that is

:28:54. > :28:57.encouraging for Williams, Bottas only a of tenths off the Toro Rosso,

:28:57. > :29:02.although they would be hoping to be ahead of the Toro Rossos if they got

:29:02. > :29:08.the chance. A second faster than Di Resta, let's ride on board with

:29:08. > :29:15.Lewis Hamilton, see how this is looking. His tyres should be

:29:15. > :29:24.reasonably up to temperature. A wide open throttle, and running through

:29:24. > :29:31.the long right-hander. He will be on to the RS, opening up the rear wing.

:29:31. > :29:39.He goes much faster. We are getting down to sensible dry weather times.

:29:39. > :29:46.We still have a few minutes to go. Daniel Ricciardo, only 0.02 to

:29:46. > :29:51.slower than Lewis Hamilton. Young drivers can show what they can do in

:29:51. > :29:58.these changeable conditions. I am reluctant to take too much from the

:29:58. > :30:06.times, because he has been out there for a long time. Felipe Massa has

:30:06. > :30:12.done what Nico Rosberg did, but it threw him off the circuit. The track

:30:12. > :30:21.time is the key thing, more than the speed of the cars. Adrian Sutil is

:30:21. > :30:25.going quickly in the middle sector. Paul di Resta is now third, Adrian

:30:26. > :30:34.Sutil fourth, Jean-Eric Vergne fifth. Fernando Alonso has gone

:30:34. > :30:39.faster than anybody. Sebastian Vettel has got traffic up ahead.

:30:39. > :30:46.That will not help, he has backed off a bit. He did not know what the

:30:46. > :30:53.Sauber was going to do. Not the confidence that the Sauber was going

:30:53. > :30:58.to keep out of the way. That is the trouble then you get into the final

:30:58. > :31:03.part of the session. Everybody trying to get out of the way, but it

:31:03. > :31:10.is not always possible. Michael Schumacher got fed up with Lewis

:31:10. > :31:14.Hamilton here last year, the told a strange stunt in practice. Valtteri

:31:15. > :31:22.Bottas is going well, he has got the fastest middle sector. He is the

:31:22. > :31:28.fastest overall. That is a good effort. Last year, Williams would

:31:28. > :31:30.not necessarily that good until they got to Barcelona. So far, there is

:31:30. > :31:38.indication that they could have improved quite a bit in the

:31:38. > :31:47.three-week gap. The Mercedes slowed down a lot. He was blocked as well.

:31:47. > :31:52.It is Lewis Hamilton. That was a bit awkward. They almost tripped over

:31:52. > :31:59.each other, but they sorted it out. Felipe Massa is the fastest in the

:31:59. > :32:04.first and second set is. We are keeping an eye on Lotus. This track

:32:04. > :32:10.should suit them. Can they take the battle to Red Bull and beat them in

:32:10. > :32:16.qualifying? Like Ferrari, they need to push the envelope a bit in

:32:16. > :32:22.qualifying. Romain Grosjean goes fastest. An improvement came from

:32:22. > :32:27.Felipe Massa. It is being last out that will count. One of those

:32:27. > :32:33.classic situations, it has been wet and dry, and the ones that switch

:32:33. > :32:41.early have been the ones that will be able to take advantage. Felipe

:32:41. > :32:47.Massa will not be top of the timesheets all of the time.

:32:47. > :32:54.Hopefully... He has got a bit of traffic, sadly. And also for the

:32:55. > :33:02.next lap. That lap was compromised, and the next one as well. Fernando

:33:02. > :33:08.Alonso is going very well behind him. He is up on Felipe Massa's best

:33:08. > :33:14.time. The Ferrari is looking quick. We are still waiting to see some of

:33:14. > :33:22.the others. Lewis Hamilton goes fastest in the first sector.

:33:22. > :33:28.Fernando Alonso has backed off, he will get a real one on the next lap.

:33:28. > :33:38.A bit of steering attack there. Lewis Hamilton quickest in the first

:33:38. > :33:38.

:33:39. > :33:47.sector so far. How will this compare? He is fastest. A bit of

:33:47. > :33:51.traffic around. It slows you up a bit, even if they are not

:33:52. > :33:57.aerodynamically compromising year. That is awkward, it was possible for

:33:57. > :34:02.the Red Bull to have got out of the way. They will be coming to see you

:34:02. > :34:09.as a steward if this goes on. this weekend! It is a difficult

:34:09. > :34:13.situation. They are trying to do the right thing for themselves. But you

:34:13. > :34:23.have got to be aware, and your team have got to give you the

:34:23. > :34:24.

:34:25. > :34:30.information. Jean-Eric Vergne has just popped in a QuickTime. Fernando

:34:30. > :34:36.Alonso going quickly on the first sector, and he is in the ballpark in

:34:36. > :34:40.the middle sector. This is still a good lap. He is looking on target to

:34:41. > :34:45.go quickest of all, about his team-mate, as the Loch ticks away

:34:45. > :34:50.towards the end of the first practice session. We are just

:34:50. > :34:55.outside Barcelona. The home track for Fernando Alonso. The only

:34:55. > :35:04.Spanish Grand Prix, the only race to be held in Spain this year. So it is

:35:04. > :35:09.crucial for him. He is fastest. That is impressive. Lewis Hamilton's

:35:09. > :35:15.previous lap would have been the quickest if he had not got held up.

:35:15. > :35:22.He is on a par with Felipe Massa. At the moment, it is Ferrari first and

:35:22. > :35:29.second. I wonder if anybody will be that. There are no purple sector

:35:29. > :35:35.times coming up, but there are a few green ones. There will be some

:35:35. > :35:40.improvement. Ferrari is working pretty well in these conditions.

:35:40. > :35:43.They need to get their campaign on track this weekend. Interesting

:35:43. > :35:51.about Mercedes and that final difficult sector, that is weight you

:35:51. > :35:57.need the front grip. Lewis Hamilton was quick. They will be competitive,

:35:57. > :36:02.especially in qualifying. It is interesting to see the McLaren cars

:36:02. > :36:08.together. I wonder if we will see that more this weekend. A good first

:36:08. > :36:14.sector from Adrian Sutil. This will not challenge the Ferrari pace at

:36:15. > :36:21.the top. A good, competent performance. I do not think anybody

:36:21. > :36:31.else is going quickly. Giedo van der Garde has just done his fastest

:36:31. > :36:32.

:36:32. > :36:38.time. Jenson Button never did a time. No times completed. He did

:36:38. > :36:47.lots of outlets and in laps. He had a problem with the aerodynamic aid

:36:47. > :36:51.to the car, which needed to be replaced. He also did that pit stop

:36:51. > :36:58.to intermediate tyres. Fernando Alonso finishes the session of the

:36:58. > :37:02.fastest, and it is first and second for Ferrari. It is a difficult

:37:02. > :37:08.session to read, but that has got to give Ferrari confident. Looking at

:37:08. > :37:16.where Red Bull were, they must have been running a lot of fuel, because

:37:16. > :37:26.Sebastian was 19th, they were four seconds behind Ferrari. Different

:37:26. > :37:42.

:37:42. > :37:52.Bottas. Daniel Ricciardo was quick until a duo went quicker in the end.

:37:52. > :37:53.

:37:53. > :38:03.Only one time set by McLaren. You don't fund the guard the fastest of

:38:03. > :38:05.

:38:05. > :38:10.the young teen guys. No time set at all the Jenson Button. That is how

:38:10. > :38:15.they happen -- finished this first session, but it is early days for

:38:15. > :38:21.the weekend. You cannot read too much into it, but Ferrari are

:38:21. > :38:31.looking good so far. Red Bull down the other end of the grid does not

:38:31. > :38:43.

:38:43. > :38:44.suggest their true pace. I was interested in Adrian Sutil. But the

:38:44. > :38:49.usual suspects are at the front. Ferrari first and second in

:38:49. > :38:58.Barcelona. Perhaps the timesheets do not matter

:38:58. > :39:04.too much, but they will to Fernando Alonso. Ferrari looking good. The

:39:04. > :39:07.track did not dry up until the last ten minutes or so. You have to be

:39:07. > :39:13.quickest, because that is all you can do. Fernando Alonso has done the

:39:13. > :39:20.job. The weather looks better for the second session. What about

:39:20. > :39:28.Jenson Button? They had a lot of parts on the car, and the conditions

:39:28. > :39:37.did not dry up until late, so they were looking to get data. Also, you

:39:37. > :39:45.cling wrap the car tighter. You want to make sure that there are no

:39:45. > :39:49.problems with overheating. They used the session logically. It is more

:39:49. > :39:56.important you are in a good condition to do the next session.

:39:56. > :40:01.How frantic will be second session they? And a lot of the work will

:40:01. > :40:07.carry over. And the teams have an extra set of tyres. There will be a

:40:07. > :40:11.frantic run. We will see a true performance before the end of the

:40:11. > :40:17.second session, we will see if McLaren have made any ground.

:40:17. > :40:22.still all to play for? It is still all to play for. The conditions did

:40:22. > :40:28.not mean there was anything going on. The usual suspects, Ferrari, the

:40:28. > :40:33.CDs, Red Bull, they are all competitive. Between now and free