The US Grand Prix - Highlights Formula 1

Previously on Formula 1... It is Lewis Hamilton! They are side by

side! We did it! Raise 18: Austin. This is Formula One!

Hello and welcome to race day at the United States Grand Prix in the Lone

Star state of Texas, and temperatures are hitting 30

degrees, the warmest it has been all weekend. This is the second time

Formula One have been here, a popular destination with race fans,

and indeed the Americans are embracing Formula One. It turns out

they do not just like cars going around in circles after all.

So the Circuit of the Americas hosts the penultimate race in 2013. World

champion Sebastian Vettel looking to smash more records, and a win here

would make him the first to win eight consecutive races in a season.

We will be live for the season close in Brazil. This is one of the new

tracks, but it stands out for all the right reasons. It is

fantastically well engineered, they took the basis of great tracks

around the world, and they took this bit of flat land, created a bit of

an elevation change up to turn one, and they have given as something

that challenges the drivers. They love this track, and this is where

the race could be decided. Not only on pit stop strategy, but the run-up

to that first corner could be decisive. That elevation change is

about 40 metres. As a driver, when you are driving something like that,

is it more fun than a flat track? It makes all the difference, 40 metres

is not small! Once you go up, you have to come down again, and this

first section is 100 mph, they are smiling from ear to ear. And it has

been embraced by the American fans, Austin turns into a party down with

live music everywhere, a fantastic event. Unquestionably, it is the

destination for Grand Prix, we say that about Abu Dhabi, Montreal was

always be placed in North America where they really got Formula One

and created this atmosphere, but they have done the same here in

Austin, Texas. The championship has already been decided, but let's have

a look at the standings, and third place, well, Kimi Raikkonen is not

racing for the next two races, and it looks like he will lose that

spot. I think he is. Lewis Hamilton or Mark Webber should be more than

capable of getting those points overhauled. We are in the last part

of the season, reliability may play a part, but I suppose Kimi does not

care about finishing anywhere other than the first place. Looking back

at the start of the season for Lewis Hamilton with Mercedes, surely he

would have taken third. You will be looking at where his old team-mate

is, Jenson Button, not only is the 15th on the grid for this race, he

is way down, ninth in the drivers' championship. Lewis made a good move

in the short-term, Mercedes have had a better car, and looking forward to

the big regulation change next year, it could be inspired. There is an

almighty wrangle for second place in the constructors' championship. What

does it mean for Lotus to get that position? For the teams, it is

hugely important, that is where the money is, not only a big financial

boost, and Lotus Saul Deeney that, but it gives you a better position

in the pit lane for next year. -- sorely needed that. They are all

focused on that this afternoon. Presumably that is why Lotus have

brought in Heikki Kovalainen, because they know he can get points

for them. Unquestionably, and they will expect him to deliver. We know

Maldonado was leaving Williams under a cloud, not a great relationship,

and it seems to have broken down. It is a shame, he says that the team is

sabotaging his car, which is ridiculous, they have got no

interest in doing that, but it shows how badly the relationship has

deteriorated. That showed in qualifying, here is the report with

Lee McKenzie. Esteban Gutierrez was given a ten

plays grid penalty after nearly causing a high speed crash with

Pastor Maldonado. The shock of the day was the pace Williams rookie

Valtteri Bottas, quickest in Q1. Maldonado blamed the team, saying

every tyre felt like it at the wrong pressure. Due to claim several big

scalps, Jenson Button could only make 13th, but he also carries a

penalty for ignoring the flag in practice. Sergio Perez, who was

sacked this week for not being good enough, qualified seventh. Also out

in due to work Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg, both struggling, then I

know alongside each other. -- Q2. Heikki Kovalainen was only told on

Tuesday that he would be driving here this weekend, replacing Kimi

Raikkonen, who was at a back operation. The fellow Finn jumped in

the car, and despite not having driven since 2011, immediately got

up to speed, and he starts from eighth. Sauber had an excellent

qualifying, Gutierrez qualified 12th before his penalty, but Hulkenberg

equalled his best this season, starting in for. Red Bull looked

likely to secure pole position, but which driver was not clear. Mark

Webber set the early pace, but a mistake led Sebastian Vettel catches

time, and the world champion took his eighth pole of the year. Red

Bull lookout -- lock out the front row of the grid, Romain Grosjean

should make a good start from the clean side, he is third. Lewis

Hamilton is fifth alongside Alonso. Sergio Perez as big crowds are

bought and start seventh with Kovalainen in eighth. Bottas is an

excellent ninth, Ricciardo moves up to tenth after the penalty for good

eras. Paul di Resta is 11 with Nico Rosberg alongside. -- Gutierrez.

Jenson Button's penalty dropped him back to 15. Brake disk failure.

Means he starts 16th. -- for Sutil. Max Chilton also incurred a

penalty, a drive-through to be taken in the first five laps of the race.

Charles Pic is at the back after a penalty for changing a gearbox.

Gary, a couple of drivers out of place, possibly one of the reasons

was the conditions yesterday, exceptional wind, how would it

affect the characteristics of the car? These are aerodynamic project

else, and if you get a tailwind, you lose rear downforce. Yesterday they

had a side wind, which is the worst thing you can have. Getting the wind

gusting, like it was yesterday just disturbs the car and ruins

confidence. Temperatures were down on what was expected, and that seems

to cause mayhem with the tyres. It is a twofold thing, because getting

the tyre working is never easy, and when you don't have the confidence

through the fast corners, it makes it very difficult. And getting your

front tyres and your rear tyres in the window at the same time, they

are experiencing all sorts of problems. The rear tyres are OK,

because you can spin them up to heat them up, but you have to load the

front tyres correctly. In terms of strategy, will one-stop be the best?

It is, the tyre degradation here is not huge, but if somebody flat spots

a tyre, two is not too bad. They would use the medium to ice, then

the hardest dire, that is the fastest way. Looking forward to it,

let's gets to the grid as the drivers prepare for the race ahead.

If you are going to jump Sebastian Vettel, where can you do that today?

Well, preferably of the line would be nice, but the odds haven't been

super in that area. But yeah, no reason why we cannot do that if we

get everything right. And then, yeah, we just need to see, if we

both have a similar run on the tyres, obviously he is pretty good

at looking after them, so I will have to see where I can get him. It

is not going to be straightforward, but I will do what I can. Brilliant

qualifying, top Ferrari engined car on the grid, you must be well

satisfied, what can we hope for? I hope we can keep position. I expect

from myself a defending race, the Mercedes and Ferrari, for sure, will

be pushing me on. I hope I can stay around, get in the DRS zone, maybe

you can drag me around, because otherwise my top speed is not so

good. It all depends on the pace, and of course tyre management. Your

first time on the grid for a considerable amount of time, how are

you feeling? Pretty good, I have been feeling good all weekend, the

car is quick, and I have been able to get up to speed reasonably well,

so hopefully that carries on today. We will know better in a couple of

hours time, but so far, so good. Do have a different strategy in the

middle of the pack? Today we really need to react, to be honest, quite a

bit. If we want to keep ahead of them, we want to react to them, so I

reckon it should be one or two stops, most likely one, but let's

see how it goes. I do not know about star-spangled, but it has been a

star-studded grid, it will be a tall order for Lewis Hamilton to repeat

his performance from last year and beat the Red Bulls at the front. So

here it is, your American Grand Prix, Tom and Lee are in the pit

lane, Gary, David and Ben are your commentators.

For all of the success that Red Bull Racing has achieved since first

appearing in 2005, the team has never won in the United States, and

it has never enjoyed back-to-back 1-2 finishers in consecutive Grands

Prix. That could change today, but there is still a threat from Lotus

and Mercedes. They are away on the formation lap on the 3.4 miles

Circuit of the Americas with a fantastic crowd enjoying the Texas

sunshine, and we are looking forward to what should be a hard-fought

race. Gary, the tyres, we are expecting most teams to make

one-stop, will this be different to many of the other races we have seen

when tyre management has been key? I don't think so, you can go flat out

from the beginning and really use the car, but you can also drop down

to two stops if you want to, it is not much slower. Most drivers will

do one-stop. We are looking to go reasonably deep into the race, and

it looks like only one driver has decided to go for the hardest tyre,

why has he done that, Jean-Eric Vergne? He wants to be doing a

different pit stop strategy, going long at the beginning. Normally it

is half and half, the guy on the tyre who has to quit early gets a

bit of a guide to how the other guy will do. That is not going to happen

today, because more or less everybody is on the same tyre. Lewis

has been reporting more oversteer in turns five and seven, wondering if

that might indicate more two stops. Maybe there is more rear tyre were

going to go on. Through that fast section yesterday we had a 90

degrees side wind, today it is a tailwind a bit more, so that will

affect rear downforce and make the car oversteer. It could end up

eating up the rear tyres a little bit quicker. So medium and hard

slick tyres have been brought by Pirelli. Tom, a quick update from

the pit lane, any late-breaking news? Who should we be keeping a

close eye on? It is the usual chaos as the mechanics ran past me to

their respective pit garages, nervous faces at Red Bull and

Mercedes going into this race. Red Bull have had to remove debris from

a filter in Sebastian Vettel's gearbox overnight. They say

everything is fine, but that debris must have come from somewhere, so

slightly nervous faces there. And I noticed that Mercedes were bleeding

Lewis Hamilton's brakes on the grid, you was complaining of a long brake

pedal, something to watch out for there.

You can hear the crowd in the background, cheering that turn one

is phenomenal, as they climb up the steep, steep hill there to turn one,

on the outside you have grand stands but you have a huge area of grass.

When we came in it was just as they opened the gate and people were

running to get into position, it is fantastic to see that level of

support here, in the United States, there you are, everybody grewed to

watch the start of this -- glued to watch the start of this Grand Prix

and see whether Lewis Hamilton is going to be beaten in the USA. He

starts fifth on the grid. Winner of the Austin race last year, winner at

indie, the last time before that the cars raced in America, it will be

tough for him do that today, starting in fifth and looking at the

speed of the Red Bulls. Grosjean, Hulkenberg on the second row.

Hamilton and Alonso. Watch out for Valtteri Bottas. Felipe Massa has

work do, there is plenty to watch as we get ready for the US GP from

Austin in Texas. Lights out, away we go, the two Red

Bulls going for it. Vettel with a better start. Watch out for

Grosjean. Hulkenberg trying to fend off Hamilton as they go into the

first turn. Vettel gets in front. As they come down the hill, Grosjean

has gone into second. Hamilton has gone up to third, so Webber lost out

big time at turn one. Mark's get away was fine. Grosjean was able to

come round the outside and as Mark was not able to run the car wide, on

the exit of that corner, that allowed Hamilton to sneak through

too. That is going to make Webber's target difficult here today. Red

Bull -- Red Bull, down to first place, first place for his team-mate

Vettel where we have seen him so often. Grosjean has a real chance of

beating Mark Webber. Speaking to Lotus, they are confident, that was

a bit of contact in the background. There is a bit of debris on the

ground. Trying to pick up on the damage. It is on the toast with

Jean-Eric Vergne. The front wing has some damage. -- Toro Rosso. It looks

like the top of the wing. Rosberg is on the attack. Sutil has hit the

wall. That brings the, it could bring out the safety car. Sutil has

made a heavy contact. We have safety car on track. Still the battle for

second. There must have been contact in the

breaking area, I guess. That was a big hit. I am not sure whether the

point of impact was, not in the breaking zone, was it? But big hit

with the way the barriers were shaped. We will have to look at it

in a moment. Vettel leads as the safety car has been deployed.

Austin, Grosjean great start to move from third to second. Hamilton from

fifth to third. Mark Webber is in third,

Alonso lost a place on that opening encount e good to see that Adrian

Sutil is out of his car. My goodness, that was early, before the

breaking area. Yes, it looks to me like it was before, as if there was

some contact or he went on the grass, but thankfully the impact is

quite light with the barrier. But very unusual.

They had a brake disk break on them in qualifying. We couldn't see what

happened. It is more likely to be contact with another car. Gutierrez

has been in the pits, so Gutierrez who started down in 20th, already

into the pits. So whether he had damage on that first lap, Tom, what

you seen? I didn't see any damage but it will be interesting, he has

gone out on the hard tyre. If we glance back to last year, Grosjean

was the first guy to pit on lap ten last year, and he got to the end of

the race, so watch out for Gutierrez.

OK. I think that will be pretty tough to do. But we will watch that.

Now, here we go. He is in the background of that shot, with is it

a Williams, it was contact. That is what started it. They weren't even

in the braking zone. That was an unnecessary contact. It looks like

Sutil was moving slightly over to the left, let us see if we can get a

better angle of it here. It was with Maldonado. So, well, plenty of space

there for them to be able to make their way down to the braking zone.

It is driver row, it's a -- error. A difficult one to work out until we

see some of the onboards. The stewards will look at that. Adrian

Sutil is out of the Grand Prix. Very disappointing for Force India, Force

India still harbouring hopes of trying to close up to the gap to

McLaren. Only 18 points behind them in the Constructors Championship.

Battling for fifth place. They are trying to stay ahead of Sauber. If

we try and work out who does this help? The fact they have taken the

race, if you like, out of the first couple of laps. Hulkenberg might

have an opportunity there, to get in the slipstream of Mark Webber. It

might allow Mark Webber the chance to come back at Hamilton. Bottas

moves up a place. Daniel Ricciardo doe. Rosberg, that may enable him.

We get a feel for where the tyres are. They are not burning off as

much fuel behind the safety car, but they will be burning off a

kilo-and-a-half of fuel. The car is getting lighter. The potential is

improving. There is Grosjean's race engineer. We are onboard with

Grosjean, I spoke to him before the race, they were hope. Of taking the

race to Webber here, no doubt about it. The race pace on Friday was

quite impressive. Just a quick note about losers and winners. Let us

look at the start and see how this worked out. How did Webber lose that

position? His get away was fine. We expected the right hand side to be

much worse than the left side. As it turns out they got away in great

order. Mark is marginally ahead. But as he brakes, Grosjean is able to go

round the outside. He doesn't, he is not able therefore to get on the

power hard, and that allows Hamilton to come round to turn one. If he

saved some of his curves he will give it a boost. Mark, well, ering

on the side of caution, we see some body work laid down in the middle of

the field. Difficult to tell which car that came from. Surprising that

they went way pretty much in great order. Keep an eye on Gutierrez, we

know he has come into the pit. I don't know if he made contact with

anybody. No, it looked fairly clear but there was a bit. Difficult to

see who made that contact. The squeeze as they go through turn two,

with the forces for, the Toro Rosso, and then the battles continue,

missing the corner completely. Was that Felipe Massa? It is, indeed.

Continuing the battle, then you have the, I think that was the forces for

being passed there. Then Mark Webber. Initial get away, he will be

happy with that, watch Grosjean on the outside. As Mark brakes in he

has been overtaken, but he is not able to release the steering. He

spins the wheels, and that is what has allowed Hamilton to overtake

him. Let us see how Grosjean saw it. He went round the outside. Good

start He marginally caught Sebastian Vettel, then as he runs up, you can

see it is a late apex, shallow corner.

Wow. All the excitement there as he floors the throttle. Spinning up the

tyres. That allows Sebastian Vettel just to open his gap slightly, but,

well, the boss is happy. Up into second place for Grosjean, he did

like that very much. Good effort that, as we are looking, this is the

replay with antibiotics. -- Valtteri Bottas. He takes a wide line. Keeps

plenty of room on the inside. Well mature start from Bottas.

The safety car will be coming in at the end of this lap.

ON RADIO: Restart. Safety car on location.

Sebastian Vettel controlling the pace as we get ready for the safety

car to come back in at the end of this lap.

Race leader in the Red Bull. Vettel with Grosjean behind. Hamilton then

Mark Webber. Wants to make a clean break, there is a lot of the lap to

complete. So he will wait for the right moment It is interesting, he

started to back the field up. He doesn't want to trip over the safety

car in the last section. If you come out of 18 through 19, it is all fast

sections so she has chosen to go early as he goes into 16, goes 17,

then 18. He knows this is an opportunity when people are running

in dirty air to lose downforce, he can open out his lead. Grosjean has

done a good job of going with him, it has to be said. He is keeping on

the tail of Vettel, but Vettel has the lead as they computer the lap.

We are back to racing again -- complete the lap. Hamilton in third

place, then Webber and Hulkenberg holding on. Hulkenberg has Sergio

Perez behind him. Huge amount of support the the Mexican at Austin

today, also for Gutierrez, but he is way down the order. Paul di Resta

coming over the hill. Good first lap from him, puts him ninth. Ricciardo

in tenth. Rosberg is in 11th. We are onboard with Mark Webber through

these fast sweeps and curve, but now of course, full of fuel, the car

handling different to qualifying. Not just full of fuel. They would

have been off the line with 150 kilos of fuel. It's a high fuel race

track. The tyre, it is impossible to keep them at the same operating

temperature, so the whole time, Hamilton there in the Mercedes,

running wide as he goes into turn 11. That might allow Mark Webber

opportunity to close up slightly. This is an opportunity for Perez as

well on Hulkenberg, just behind Hulkenberg, he is fifth. Perez is

having a look at it. He moves to the outside. Hulkenberg resolute in

defence, we have seen that many time, and there is not quite the

chance there for Sergio Perez to get through. Perez desperate to make a

name for himself, he has lost the McLaren drive for next year, but

there are options available perhaps in the paddock, he wants to show

what he can do. Hulkenberg is having to defend through the section, which

puts him on a slightly dirty line. Then he is able to try and use the

fresh air available to him, a bit of a gap to Webber in front and Perez

dropping back slightly as they drop into 19. A bit of a wobble from

Hulkenberg. He gets wide on that artificial grass which holds a lot

of the dust in this Texas region. Now, we know that Max Chilton is due

to do his drive-through penalty in the early lap, he couldn't do it

when the safety car was out. Not allowed to do it then, but we are

see Chilton coming into the pits any moment, to do that drive-through

penalty. Sebastian Vettel fastest on a 1: 4 4.2. It may seem harsh to a

drive-through penalty, but what the stewards have realised giving

penalties doesn't affect the grid equally. If you are a Caterham or

Marussia you are still within, you know, four places of where you might

have been anywhere, where it is costly if you are a car that runs at

the front. So new penalties to try and make sure that drivers pay

attention to other cars on the track. Yes, that is right. Onboard

here with Fernando Alonso. Early part of the race. Just lap six

out of 56 for the Ferrari driver. He is in seventh place, his team-mate

in 13th position, Ferrari desperate to try and claim points back on

Mercedes. Mercedes have the edge because Hamilton is up there in

third. Just listen.

What a long periods off the throttle When they are heavy like this they

don't sound like Grand Prix carrings, they sound like the style

they use on a motorbike. They have to roll them into the corner, be

patient, wait and start to accelerate. But we will hear that

audibly change, as the fuel burns off during the Grand Prix, and they

come back towards the weight they were qualifying.

So, Vettel leads the race, with Grosjean still in second place,

Hamilton in third and just dropping away a bit from Grosjean, and Mark

Webber, it could be tough to get back in to second place, that is

going to be the big challenge for Red Bull. Can they get him back.

Hulkenberg still holding on ahead of Perez. There is Bottas. He is still

in the points at this early stage. Everybody grouped together closely

behind. There is Daniel Ricciardo. Sorry Vergne, rather, that is

Jean-Eric Vergne. Daniel Ricciardo running in tenth. So Vergne, at the

back of that group. He is in 15th place. Maldonado is in 16th after

the contact with Adrian Sutil, on the opening lap that put Sutil out

of the Grand Prix. Look at Vettel, beginning to open up that margin, he

did a 1: 43.9. 1: 44 from Grosjean. Grosjean is half a second slower.

They are running eight seconds slower than in qualifying. That is

closer than we see as some of the circuits, track conditions are

warmer, so it is going to be interesting this afternoon, that

when they do change over, on tyre, will they go again with the set of

the options and look to exploit the higher working temperature that the

track is going to give them, or are they going to go for the one-stop

and stick the primes on? That is right. We will have to wait and see

how that pun -- turns out. Webber quicker. Vettel begins to open that

lead over Grosjean. There is Hamilton. There is Webber on the

attack, but of course the more you attack behind another car the more

wear you put on the tyre, and that can shorten the length you then are

able to use. So Webber has to think about this carefully but Hamilton

losing pace compared to those awe head. . Webber has the advantage of

having DRS. That is worth about four tenths of a second. The fact he is

able to stay with him one seconds, he gets that three to four times

boost. We see a replay here. Gutierrez moving up, having made

that early pit stop, he has got past the Marussia of Jules Bianchi, so

that puts him 17th place Bianchi is still leading the young teams, a

fraction ahead of Giedo van der Garde, Charles Pic and children.

Hamilton has been told to uses KERS to defend. Some vibration, says

Maldonado in the car, there was contact with Adrian Sutil. His front

wing is hanging off, that might well explain it. It is not just vibration

in the car, there was a lot of frustration in that car, the

relationship has broken down between Maldonado and the Williams team. He

made some comments yesterday that the team were not happy about at all

following qualifying, you do wonder how the relationship is destroyed,

as you say. I was just going to say that he did address his own

mechanics after qualifying yesterday to try to clarify the situation, he

wanted them to understand it was not a dig at them, it was a dig at the

team. I am just sitting watching his mechanics, ready to receive him.

Hard to know what the differences if he is blaming the team for putting

him in difficult situation! No, I think we can accept that English is

a second language, maybe he is not fully understanding that there is no

I in team, and if he has an issue with the management, he should name

directly or that is. Black and orange flags being given. That is

mechanical failure on the car. We do not often see that, because the

teams are normally quick to bring that in. We were more familiar with

that in our early days, the enthusiasm of youth, you just keep

running round. Black and orange means you must report to the pits

because there is something wrong with your car. They are changing the

front wing, the nose cone, a whole section going on. A bit of a slow

getaway, well, his weekend is not getting any better. It is going to

be one to write off, just one more Grand Prix with Williams Grand Prix,

and I think he and the team will be relieved when it is over. So

Grosjean still going quickly, despite being 3.4 seconds behind

race leader Sebastian Vettel, Grosjean quake in the first sector

on this lap, tyres holding together well. Hamilton, Webber, Hulkenberg

is still sending off errors and Alonso. Alonso is playing a waiting

game. He will be watching with interest, it helps if he can get in

around Hulkenberg, Perez, try to slow each other down. He will be

keeping an ion Webber in front, he does not want that gap to open up

too much, because what he can do to win that back later in the Grand

Prix. Kovalainen lost out at the first, a little bit raise Rusty, he

has not raised at all this year, he has done a few practice sessions for

Caterham, but the last race was at the end of 2012. That might be

costing him a few places at the start of the race. One of the more

tricky start up the hill into the blind corner, and at the moment in

12th, the team need him to be in the points, that is what is going to

help their quest for the constructors' championship. The

battle for the lead is over, Red Bull have secured that, but the

battle for second place is very much alive. He has met you at, Heikki

Kovalainen, and he is talking about... OK, turns four, five and

six, Fernando stays in fifth gear, that is the only difference in terms

of lap time between you both. Second and third sectors very similar. Both

of them are following cars quite closely, Massa is one second behind

Kovalainen, over line and tucked in behind Sergio Perez. -- Alonso is

tucked in behind Sergio Perez. That interesting advice from Rob Smedley,

Massa's engineer, the drivers have a habit of using the engine to

energise the airflow from the exhaust over the rear of the car,

and if you suggesting that Fernando is staying in fifth, I would imagine

that must mean that in the bay is going down to fourth, not a sequence

where you would be in sixth gear, so they may feel that going down an

extra gear and energising the car, it also slows you down when you use

the engine braking effect of doing the extra shift. There is only a

couple of tenths difference, but that is the sort of crucial advice a

race engineer can give his driver. On board with Fernando Alonso,

Sebastian Vettel has just said a fastest lap once again. It looks

like Fernando is starting to hustle, he wants to get this race on, get

errors do have a go at Hulkenberg, I do have a go or let me do it. --

Perez. That was a diver from a long way back, but a clear indication

that he is a man on a mission and he wants to get this race moving.

Hamilton's degrading tyres just a little bit according to Sauber,

because Hulkenberg has been told that Hamilton is beginning to lose

pace, but his last lap, 1:34.7, not as quick as the leaders, and Webber

behind him was three quarters of a second faster. It looks like

Hamilton is beginning to struggle on tyres quite early in this race, 12

of 56, and the tyres did get a breather with the early safety car

which came out as a result of Adrian Sutil's accident. On board with

Sergio Perez into this key corner onto the straight.

A long wait before he opens the throttle, trying to get a good drive

off. Unlike we saw in career, where Hulkenberg could not overtake

because he had such great traction at top speed, the difference in

qualifying, with 's rear Perezwing open, there was only two kph

difference, and the Ferrari was in the same zone, so they are evenly

matched in straight-line speed. The quickest car in qualifying was the

Force India of Paul di Resta. That bodes well for him. Sebastian Vettel

leading by 4.2 seconds from Sebastian Grosjean, Lewis Hamilton

beginning to struggle in third place, Mark Webber has just said two

fastest sector times as he get much closer in the background. He is

within DRS range of Lewis Hamilton, whether he will be able to attack, I

don't think, the DRS is operational, he does not go on the

attack. Behind them, Hulkenberg is in fifth place, four seconds behind

them, Perez sixth. Bottas is doing a fine job in eighth. Kovalainen is in

12th, followed by Massa, Button, Vergne, Gutierrez, Bianchi, Van der

Garde, Pic, Chilton and Van der Garde at the back. We have still got

laps to do on these tyres. That is what I am doing, man, let me focus!

Hamilton doing his best to look after those tyres. Even though these

are a fairly conservative choice of tyre this weekend, it is still the

case with the Pirelli is that you still have to manage them to a

certain extent. Unquestionably, the tyre is more durable, and that is

why we are expecting one-stop. Mark Webber is going to have a go around

the outside. He has taken the place from Hamilton, a great move by Mark

Webber, and he has moved into third position. There was nothing Hamilton

could do. I think Hamilton was shocked by that, and you feel as a

driver that you have more control about what he will do if you force

someone to the outside, but Mark carries so much speed and was so

confident in the braking zone that Lewis locked up slightly following

him into the corner. No surprise, really, that Red Bull has got more

grip and balance at the moment in this part of the season. Despite

Lewis's best efforts, he is just driving to the grip levels he has

from those tyres, and the crucial thing is that they are having to

manage it as the fuel load is burning off, a huge amount of weight

as a percentage of the car, that you are having to carry at the beginning

of the Grand Prix. Now, look at this, Rosberg, Kovalainen, Massa has

dropped back a little bit of that group, but they are all fighting in

the constructors' championship. This is how Mark Webber got past a Lewis

Hamilton. Mark as the DRS wide open, but by the time they brake, he

is able to go right around the outside. Well, that is the

difference in DRS, he picks up the flick stream -- slipstream, Lewis

goes to the left, he is on the inside line into a tight corner, and

that was fairly straightforward for Mark. No problems getting into the

apex, he made it look very easily, into third now. One of the key races

here will be for second, Grosjean, Webber? A few good laps for Webber

could be crucial, he has to get on terms with the Lotus. We know that

Mark uses his tyres more aggressively than Sebastian Vettel.

It will be interesting to see just how far... He needs to hurry up if

he wants second. Lewis, you are doing a good job, Webber's pace is

quick, Hulkenberg is four seconds behind. We need to manage this

position here. Yeah, I am trying to! He does not sound happy, does he?!

He does not like fighting for fifth place, he likes fighting for wins.

He was the winner here last year, he loves America, and he would rather

be battling up front than trying to defend from Hulkenberg behind.

Meanwhile, a great little group, Heikki Kovalainen doing a solid job,

a little wiggle over the kerb as I say that, but a pretty solid job.

Points are what Lotus desperately need, they were wanting to move up

the order. One of their big rivals ahead in the form of Mercedes. It is

a tough job for the engineers, you know that what you are going to tell

the driver will irritating, but as part of your procedure, you have to

give him that information. You can imagine when Kimi was racing at

Lotus, let you talk to him, no, you talk to him! It is like that at

Mercedes now, when Lewis is not in a happy place, he does not like being

disturbed. 1.5 seconds to Hamilton, who has been told to manage his

pace, you are raising Hamilton. Hulkenberg was seven tenths of a

second faster than Hamilton last lap, so Hamilton will have to be

very wary of that Sauber coming up behind them. We saw a great race

between them in career. That is Mark Webber in third, pulling away from

Lewis Hamilton in fourth place, then Hulkenberg in fifth place. Behind

Alonso, doing a fine job here, Valtteri Bottas in the Williams,

look how close he is. Then Paul di Resta followed by Daniel Ricciardo,

Rosberg and Kovalainen. The Toro Rosso Daniel Ricciardo, a little

move from Jenson Button, not quite, trying to take 13th from Felipe

Massa. Ricciardo, we gather, has lost the ability to use DRS on his

car. He is the one being chased, rather than the one doing the

chasing, but that is not going to make his life very easy this

afternoon. On board with Sebastian Vettel, our race leader. This is

just at the end of the first sector, coming through eight and

nine, so smooth, isn't it, using the curve through nine? You can hear as

he goes over the rumble strips. Listen to the throttle here.

Very progressive. That was a 6.3 seconds lead, he is not really under

pressure, this is about managing the car and the race, no need for him to

be stressing that, and he will probably have the engine mode turned

down slightly, taking away some of the available horsepower, but taking

some of the energy and heat out of the combustion chamber, giving you

more reliability. Paul di Resta locks up into turn 11. Not

particularly under pressure from Ricciardo, who is under pressure

from Rosberg and Kovalainen. It is working well for Paul di Resta.

Bottas was very close to Alonso, Bottas in eighth position. Di Resta

a little bit on his own, then Ricciardo managing to fend off the

Mercedes and the Lotus. Sergio Perez has been told, we are in the window,

so we may start to see some pit stops pretty soon as the teams get

ready to switch the tyres. Kovalainen having a look. We did see

some overtaking there last year, so maybe later in the race, if tyre

wear is a factor, we could see some passing on that section. Sebastian

Vettel said yet another fastest lap, the gap has opened up to just under

seven seconds over Romain Grosjean. Incomes Heikki Kovalainen, as we may

be expected, Lotus is one of the first. He is trying to undercut the

guys up ahead of him, Rosberg and Ricciardo. Can he use this early pit

stop to do that? He needs some clean air, so a sensible decision, they

have to try something different. Slow stop left front was slow, four

seconds at the pit stop for Heikki Kovalainen. He resented the car

beautifully, a procedural issue with the tyres going on board. Let's see

what he does on this crucial lap, he is on the hard tyre now. Preheated,

of course, but he has to maintain that heat, not a problem with track

temperatures of 35 degrees. The wind has veered around two more of the

direction it was in qualifying yesterday as well.

TEAM RADIO: Go for the distance, not speed. A different strategy being

employed there as Red Bull. They want to go further into the race, it

certainly is quite an early stop for the Lotus. If Kovalainen is going to

go all the way to tend, it is a long way to go. If any car can, is Lotus

can. It has been consistency on its tyre use. It was more about the fact

they gave him 17 laps to try and find a way past the traffic in

front, he wasn't make anything head way. What we don't know up here, is

he could be buzzing into the limit ter with the DRS open which means he

has no chance to pass the car in front. So he needs to get in clean

air and hope that brings him out in a better position. I wonder if

Rosberg is going to react to that pit-stop, Massa being told, it is

still too early for Ferrari to make the pit-stop. I guess Mercedes may

feel the seam. Rosberg may stay out there. He is still behind Ricciardo,

everything else feeing they can't get to the end on the next set of

tyres. It is not just that, we know that Kovalainen has gone for a set

of the prime tyres so they may feel coming in and putting the primes on

now, they will be slower than the lap time they are able do with a

worn set of options. Gutierrez racing hard here, right behind

Jean-Eric Vergne, quick car the Sauber, he got into the top ten in

qualifying but had the penalty for blocking, when he weaved round in

front of Maldonado in qualifying. That is what he was penalised

before. -- for. As we have seen from Hulkenberg the Sauber is in good

shape and Gutierrez is picking up some places now.

Just watching Gutierrez. He had a good lap last time. He is on the

primes as well, which would indicate that they are working at this track

temperature. Valtteri Bottas is in eighth place. Only under a second

behind Alonso. Rosberg gets past Ricciardo, Ricciardo is trying to

come back ou round the outside but Rosberg has enough momentum there

and finally Rosberg has found a way past the Toro Rosso, Ricciardo doing

a good job of not giving up. I don't think there will be any other

openings here. Rosberg had to work hard for that, and battle continues

all the way into 16, but once you get into that corner it just, it

keeps going, 17, 18, and the downforce will be disturbed on to

the wing of the Toro Rosso. So now Rosberg's released, we have

to expect him to be open out and pull the pace. That was crucial,

actually, in this battle he is having with Kovalainen. He needed

clean air. Watching the car of Ricciardo, trying to see whether the

DRS is working now or not. Couldn't spot it. He had a problem earlier on

in the race. This is how Rosberg got past Ricciardo. This is the mean

straight. Along this straight. Buzzing the limiter and takes a dive

in the braking zone, he must have recognised from previous laps that

Ricciardo, although he tried to come back in to 13, but he recognised

Ricciardo was early on the brakes and it was worth the punt. He used

all of the road, right out on to the limit of the curbs. Sometimes you

have do that. That would have cost overall lap time on that particular

lap, but it is got him into clean air. Heikki Kovalainen having made a

pit-stop is in clean air, he is in the mid 1: 44s on the hard compound

tyre but the race leader is doing 1: 43 at this stage. Rosberg only doing

1: 45s. That was including the pass and all that messiness that went on.

So expect him to be able to be closer to his team-mate Hamilton who

did a 44.0. Button stuck behind Massa. As we have seen, the Toro

Rosso's maybe struggling a bit. TEAM RADIO: Box this lap. Button

will be coming in now. We know it is marginal for Ferrari to get to the

end of the race but Button maybe they feel his smooth driving

style... It gives Ferrari a chance to reacts on this lap. There you go.

Button in. Ferrari on the track. Watch Button come in, hope this stop

is a clean one. He is in the pits now. So Jean-Eric Vergne ahead of

Gutierrez there, but into the pits the car looking wobbly on the front

jack, but doesn't seem to cost him any time. Away it goes. Jenson

Button 3.6 seconds. Not the Faysest we have seen. Kovalainen will be

coming across, so Button will be ahead of him. That will give him

something to aim for. Of course Button really racing against Felipe

Massa. He was tucked in behind Massa for many laps.

TEAM RADIO: Push now, push now, a big lap. Ferrari asking Massa to

respond. It is likely we will see him next time. He said we need a big

lap. He doesn't like chucking an S on the end of his sentences. It

would suggest Massa will be in at the end of this lap. This is for

sixth, seventh place and Bottas has droppedia away a bit. I don't know

if that was loans playing the game. Dropping away from Perez, and now

that we are getting near the pit-stop he has made sure he is on

the tail. Ferrari have seen Button, so they are aware he may stop.

TEAM RADIO: Box at the end of this lap. Just with one lap for Felipe

Massa to do it. Here is the race between Button and Massa. Let us see

how Ferrari get on here and we will watch to see how Jenson Button is

when he reemerges. Jensen picked up seven tenths, so it will be close.

It should be close. We don't know what Button is doing in the last

sector. He is coming through 19 now, so there is Kovalainen coming out of

20 in the background. There is Jensen, so I think it is going to be

tight, but I think Massa is going to hold on. He had a quicker pit-stop

by nearly a second. Massa rejoin, can Jenson Button do anything here

to attack? He has the wide sweep into the first corner, he is cutting

back, he is going to try and do something through turn two, he can't

quite go round the outside and it looks as though Ferrari have managed

to protect their position, Massa's in-lap was everything they needed.

As long as he can hold it together here, there will be one more chance

for Button if he can stay close on the long straight and use DRS. If he

comes through ten flat out here, down into Director-Generals zone,

here is Alonso having a look at Perez. Trying to think of getting

past the Ferrari. It is McLaren ahead of the Ferrari.

TEAM RADIO: Box this lap, confirm. So, we are going to see other

McLaren come in. Cutting across, there goes Sergio Perez into the

pits then n and meanwhile has there been any change between Button and

Massa? I don't think there has. Perez comes in.

Of course, they had a slightly slow stop with Button. Let us see whether

this was goes a fraction more smoothly. A lovely stop this time by

the McLaren team. 2.8 seconds, not as fast as Massa, he is on his way.

A few people coming in. Di Resta, and Ricciardo, so that is a key

group. We need to see where Kovalainen is with respect to some

of those guys. Rejoining for Sergio Perez, a good

clean pit-stop, but what is going on behind. That is what we need to keep

an eye on. Kovalainen has gone across the line, he has gone up to

turn one. Di Resta is just about there as well, so it is very busy up

at turn one. You just saw a glimpse of Kovalainen. He is in front of

Rosberg, I think he might be in front of di Resta, which is a big,

big gain for the Lotus, di Resta was a bit further ahead of that group,

so that has worked well for Heikki Kovalainen.

Very well there. It is one of those things you have to make sure the

tyres last through to the end. He has a longer run on these tyres so

he has to make the best use of it and make sure he can protect them.

He could be in trouble on the very last laps if those tyres go beyond

the point. It won't be easy. Lotus look after their tyres, so if

anybody has a chance he is the man. Jenson Button still not able to get

past Massa. I was surprised, without Button nipping Massa, but he was

able to pick up the new tyres and get them working quickly, which is

something that Ferrari struggle a bit, but it seemed to be OK this

time. We have seen Perez come into the pits which has released Alonso.

I wonder if he can put in quick laps. He is doing the quickest, I

think he can go further. He needs to do that, he needs to look at the

other cars that have pitted and make sure none of them are catching him

too quickly so at the end of the day he has to decide on section times

not lap time, as to who is picking up performance. Valtteri Bottas is

doing a great race so far in the top ten, can he hold on as he rejoins,

he is in clear air so that has worked well. That is everything you

want. The fact you are not sure, your eyesight isn't taken by the car

in front. You can focus on yourself and you do the first two laps.

TEAM RADIO: Gap is at 3.4 second. We want to maximise this stint while

your lap times are good. Interesting, that Mercedes, with

Hamilton have left him out there a long time, and generally he can be a

little harder on the tyres than Rosberg, but Rosberg has made his

pit-stop already. Yes, it is all about trying to have track position.

Clearly trying to make it a one-stop, this afternoon, they want

to make their second said of tyres, the prime tyres, the mover, Webber

is starting to do purples, means he is fastest man in those section, he

is closing the gap down the Grosjean. Alonso in sixth, closing

in a bit on Hulkenberg, half a second a lap, and Webber does

fastest race lap. Onboard here with Gutierrez, because they are slightly

out of sequence with those that have stopped, they have moved into eighth

and ninth place, Gutierrez made an early pit-stop, to switch tyres so

he is on a slightly different strategy, he is on a two stop race

whereas those round him look to be on a one-stop race, he is struggling

to get past this Toro Rosso. Let us see what the exit is like. He got a

touch of overtier. He got on the power early. It's a DRS zone but he

lost the momentum as he came out of the turn, and then he gets into this

first sector where it really affects the car badly, running in the

turbulent air of the car in front. The Sauber is faster than the Toro

Rosso but he is having to, let us listen, I think it is fantastic to

see a car at high speed. Contrasting line, much tighter line

for the Sauber. A beautiful section to watch

onboard. It is. Now he needs to get across the DRS activation line

within a second. Get right up behind, and that is allowing of

course, Perez and the McLaren to get closer to this battle. I know that

Toro Rosso are fast in a straight line. Historically they set their

cars up to be good there. Here we go, let us look. He has the DRS in

operation, she going for it down the inside. Yes, he has got it. He made

a nice move there has Gutierrez. There will be a huge amount of

Mexican cheering because of all the fans who are supporting him and

Sergio Perez, and that has given them to get excited about. Look at

Perez, now, a bit of a lock up as he tries to get past Daniel Ricciardo.

TEAM RADIO: Position, bogs, box. I think they want him in As if by

magic his is there. A different crash helmet for Hamilton this

weekend. He is in the race with Hulkenberg. I guess we might see

Hulkenberg responding to that on the next lap. But he has a bit 06 margin

over them. Three seconds for his pit-stop, pretty gued but not the

best of the day. . That is Gutierrez, Ricciardo, Perez, Perez

is having a little look up the inside. I don't think that was a

serious attempt. It is like going boo when you standing in front of

swurntion it is hardly going to scare them. . In front of someone.

Sergio Perez tries to keep that pressure on if he can on Jean-Eric

Vergne. Behind them which have Sergio Perez,

still trying to do his most. Gutierrez ahead of Perez trying to

get past Vergne. Vettel, he hasn't made a pit-stop so he has got to lap

26 and his gap has stayed constant with Grosjean. It is round the 8

second mark. So eight seconds, Webber 4.9 behind Grosjean and it is

that race for second between Grosjean and Webber, I think which

will be enthralling in the final laps of this Grand Prix, as here we

go, Perez with the good shot at getting past Vergne, Vergne has been

told don't waste time trying to defend and sure enough he lets him

through. Straightforward pass, small mock-up

at the last phase of the braking as they drop into turn 12. So Sergio

Perez, that brings him into eighth place. Still looks like a solid race

from him, but where is it going to be with regard to Alonso. I was

going to say Alonso is in, he has mate his pit-stop. Will he come out

in front of Sergio Perez? That is obviously the target here, because

he was stuck behind Perez for a while. Beautiful stop. Going across

the line, that is Hamilton, you can see to the left of screen. You have

Gutierrez, Perez in the background, Gutierrez is going to have the

momentum on Alonso but as you say, it gets out in front of Perez.

Alonso, out in front of the McLaren of Sergio Perez, controls his speed

through the first corner, and he will gain the men's downhill,

perfectly done by Ferrari, they have gained the position. -- gain

momentum. Alonso will go chasing after Gutierrez, who is slightly out

of sequence. Really, he is racing Lewis Hamilton, he is next on the

list. We are seeing a replay of Gutierrez on Vergne, nothing

really, he just used the DRS, snapped it shut in the braking zone

and down the inside. Lap 27, and a number of cars have not stopped for

tyres, shock or! Pirellis can go quite some distance into a Grand

Prix when the compounds are a bit harder. In comes the race leader,

switching from the medium compound to the hard compound, another lovely

stuff, 2.9 seconds. He has to keep an eye on that car, Max Chilton is

coming down to the other end of the pits, to Marussia. Smart stuff,

staying on the inner lane, then he is in position for the runner-up

they'll. A whole lot of clean air behind him, of course, Hulkenberg as

well in. Hulkenberg versus Hamilton. A good stop this time,

clean exit. He had a drive-through penalty last time for an unsafe

release in the last Grand Prix which cost him a chance of getting

points, but Hamilton will be well ahead of him as he comes back onto

the circuit, and that is a race to the flag, presumably, if they can

look after their tyres, even though we are just at half distance in this

Grand Prix, a long way to go, and different strategies. The leaders

will have fresh tyres, Alonso making a relatively late stop, but also

Hamilton making a relatively late stop. Webber is taking two or three

tenths per lap out of Grosjean, who is leading this race because he has

not stopped. That gap is down to 4.5 seconds. Well, that will be one to

watch through the rest of this Grand Prix. Box, Mark, box. Copy that,

box. Mark Webber confirming the message, Red Bull going for the same

strategy on both cars, not doing anything different today. Gutierrez

driving well, he is expected to make another pit stop, as Mark Webber's

crew are ready for him to come in. Let's see how quickly they can turn

them around. Grosjean has gone past, he is committed to doing more laps.

Let's just watch and listen here. Oh! Fantastic. Magic stuff from Red

Bull, 2.3 seconds, the fastest of the day and a joy to watch. It is

incredible, the weight of the wheel and tyre itself is pretty heavy, so

I know these guys train, the pit stop practice everyday at the

factory, and they go through a physical procedure, presumably bent

over, lifting an equivalent weight on and off, on and off. Alonso is in

the zone, up the inside into turn one? He will have to go to the

outside, but it is a big opportunity to take sixth place from Gutierrez,

he will have to go around the outside, looking across, and he has

made it! He has got past the Mexican and goes chasing after Nico

Hulkenberg and then Lewis Hamilton. Fantastic stuff, he knew what he had

to do there. Watching Alonso at his best, he has not had the car to

really fight the Red Bulls in the latter part of this season, David, I

mean he started the season so well, two early victories, but the

performance of the car has dropped away. But he is still fighting,

which is good to watch. It is a shame for Ferrari fans, but he is

still fighting, as you say, great entertainment on the run up into

turn one. Not much Gutierrez could do once he was committed to the

inside line, he was always going to be compromised on the exit.

Kovalainen under pressure from Di Resta, and the team are urging Di

Resta to get past to help the car cool as well. Romain Grosjean comes

in, the last of the leaders to make his pit stop. And it seems to go

swimmingly, Di Resta there managing to get past Kovalainen, he has got

past Heikki Kovalainen. We know the Force India is quick in a straight

line, and the Lotus is the opposite, it is weak in a straight line, so Di

Resta is up into tents. Great effort, not what you would expect, a

Force India racing a Lotus. Lotus have typically had good durability

and performance, but is Kovalainen at the limit in terms of trying to

make the tyres go to the end, or does he have another issue. Great

performance for the sole running Force India here. Paul di Resta is

another driver trying to establish his position for next year, and the

team will have liked that, I think. Behind them, Rosberg is closing up

once again to Kovalainen, Ricciardo in 13th place. Now that we have seen

Grosjean make his pit stop, let's when you through the order. Vettel

leads, Grosjean is in second place, Webber third, trying to catch

Grosjean. There is Grosjean, a key gap to watch. Webber in the

background. Hamilton is still in the fourth place, Hulkenberg fifth,

chased by Fernando Alonso. Two seconds to Hulkenberg. OK, give me

some more feedback on tyres, man. More or less? Now he is asking to be

told stuff, how do you win?! Yes! The complications of working with a

racing driver. Hulkenberg, as we saw, in that shot as they came

through, that much closer to Hamilton now. Alonso is four seconds

behind Hulkenberg, he has work to do, then Gutierrez, who is expected

to make another pit stop at some point. He will drop down a little

further. Watching Sergio Perez here, and he is still on target for

getting points here today. He is now trying to get past fellow Mexican

Esteban Gutierrez, this will make the Mexican fans nervous, as

Gutierrez gets... I thought he was going to come in, that was a strange

line! That is what he got a penalty for, doing a strange line into that

corner in free practice, and in the end, well, was he giving the place

back or something? That was a bit weird. I was studying the times to

try and see... Webber has just done the fastest lap, is gap is down to

2.2 seconds, then I looked up and caught the back of that. He runs

wide in 19, then goes defensive to the left. Then he loses the place

out of 20. He just realised he was slow out of 19, did he? He was

covering himself, slightly strange one. Perez is in seventh place, a

good effort from him. Do not ask too much of your tyres, is the ideal

have more range. He is saying the two cars behind stopped later, but

there is no problem, surely, he is on the hard tyre, he made a huge

dent on the softer one, how can there be a problem on these ones? I

do not think there is, he is just telling him that his competition are

on fresh tyres, but right now Mark Webber is taking more out of them,

going faster than the race leader as he hunts down Romain Grosjean.

Rosberg on Kovalainen, this is crucial, Rosberg using good

straight-line speed. The Lotus struggling for straight-line speed,

and Kovalainen had no answer whatsoever. That puts Rosberg into

11th place, and the opportunity for Kovalainen to score points is

gradually receding here. Having some difficulty, he lost places at the

start, and he is now 30 seconds behind. We are watching the replay.

Kovalainen does not bother to defend, he knows he is on its own

strategy with his own issues. But in terms of race comparison, the team

will look at lap time comparisons between you and your team-mates, and

Kovalainen has been running in traffic, so a large dose of the lap

time difference will be in that, but he is 50 seconds behind the race

leader and 30 behind Grosjean. He is struggling with those tyres. He is

having to go for a second stop, are they changing the front wing? They

could be getting some data back seeing a lack of front load, whether

because of a crack in the wing or a front sensor. What a shame for

Heikki Kovalainen. That would explain it if they have been driving

with an issue. A chance for Lotus to score points with both cars. Look at

Webber, getting closer and closer to Romain Grosjean. He is half a second

quicker on this lap, getting a move on, knowing he has to strike while

the tyres are there. Once the tyres dropping away in performance, well,

whether Romain is playing the percentages and taking a longer term

view, crucially he is going to have Mark Webber within the DRS zone very

soon. Renault power against Renault power. That is right, and we have

seen that on the podium, all three spots, earlier this year, and we

could see it again, because whether Grosjean or Webber comes out in the

battle for second, with the Renault engine, Hamilton is next best with

Mercedes in fourth place, then Hulkenberg... Tyres are fine, let's

tried to maintain the gap to Alonso so we can attack at the end on

better tyres. There may still be opportunities at the end. Perez

being told to keep it together, he is three seconds behind Alonso.

Alonso was trying to close the gap to Hulkenberg, but Hulkenberg is not

making it easier, they have virtually identical lap times on the

last lap, Hulkenberg and Alonso, within 100th of a second between the

Sauber Ferrari and the Ferrari Ferrari. Sauber have really made the

most progress of any team this year in terms of where they started the

season and where they finished, would you agree, Gary? They really

struggled in the early part of the year, but so strong now. Since the

middle of the season, they came with a new bodywork package that used

exhaust gases for downforce on the rear are pressed to give better

traction, and the car has very good traction. That coincided with the

tyre change, which seems to suit them better. Everything came

together, and Nico Hulkenberg, he is a top-class driver, he is right up

with the best, and given the tools to do the job, he will bring you

back results. On board with Rosberg, an important race for tenth

place between Rosberg and Paul di Resta currently, but Di Resta has

good straight-line speed. Rosberg is catching towards the end of the

straight, but will he be able to make the lunch? He has done it

again, Nico Rosberg makes the move, as long as he has not run too wide,

I think he has it under control. He did it on Ricciardo, and now he does

much the same, moving up the order. Yes, but much slower than I expected

him to. Business 80s is a quick car, -- this Mercedes is a quick car, and

he was a bit lacklustre in the first stint. Into tenth position now, so

we will see whether he can close the gap to Valtteri Bottas. He is still

hanging in at the moment by Gutierrez, and we are expecting

Gutierrez to make a stop at some point. I do not think these tyres

will do 54 laps, so I am sure he will have to come in. I hope Bottas

does not get sucked into racing with the car in front, he has to look

behind and make sure he keeps that gap and stays in eighth position. A

magic pit stop by Red Bull with Mark Webber, 2.3 seconds stationary. It

is one thing that Red Bull seem to do very well, the consistency is

just fantastic. We have seen lots of fast pit stops by McLaren, but they

make mistakes as well. Red Bull seem to cover all the bases, they do not

make the mistakes that other teams do. Look how close he is to Romain

Grosjean, the battle is hotting up for second place. Valtteri Bottas

behind Gutierrez, this is for position. Gutierrez will have to

make a pit stop at some point, so he has to be wary. It is a battle on

the brakes, and he is being sensible, because he cannot afford

to be wiped out, he needs the points. These are the top reviews of

the year, Gutierrez is top rookie, because he already has got points,

but Valtteri Bottas is trying to establish itself as top repeat at

the end of the season. They have a bit of a margin to Rosberg, 12

seconds behind the battle we are seeing here. Gutierrez a little bit

too sharp with his change of direction for my liking, he has

already picked up a penalty through free practice for making a late

move. So, you know, you need a driver who has confidence, you need

to know when they are going to move and how they are going to move. The

front of Valtteri Bottas' car, giving the swivel view, watching the

cars under braking. He has gone around the outside or tried to, no,

cutting back, Gutierrez struggling for breath but fighting for

position. Bottas tries to go around the outside, he is through! He has

made it, that was hugely brave, and he has got through, moved up into

eighth position. Not only can the boy drive, he is Bray ass well.

Lovely stuff. And the Williams pit will have enjoyed that. They would

have loved to have seen him do that. Frank loves that. Not only the good

speed but they get stuck? K?. If you look at some of the greats that have

raced for them, Nigel Mansell who is a steward here this weekend, stand

out as one of the bravest guys wheel-to-wheel racing. Let us see it

again. Bottas thinks about going round, getting his car straight.

Uses his curves. Fairness to Gutierrez, he gives him room as they

go through turn two, in the end he has to back way out of it.

Sensible racing. Excitement there in the pits as well as Mark Webber

still trying to close that gap to Grosjean. He was close eer a moment

ago. He has lost out on the last lap or two Did he have a go we missed

and he had to drop back? Let us wait for a replay. Is there some other

issue. Mark, 1.5 seconds slower than Vettel, does he have an issue with

the car, did he have a bit of wheel-to-wheel racing we missed out

on? I keep asking the question hoping that the TV director will

give us some replays. There is a conversation going on there. The

sector time holding up reasonably well at the moment. Compared to

those round him. But it does make you wonder what went on. He had a

non-finish last year. It was an alter NATO problem last year, and he

has been the victim of bad luck in season as well.

Several non-finishes when he has been in a great spot. Hamilton has

been lapping on him in the last lap. So whether he made a mistake and ran

off the road somewhere, not sure, but he has dropped a bit of time.

We are hearing that Paul di Resta has been told that tyre temperature

is too low on this particular set, which is encouraging to hear,

because that allows him to push a bit more, currently running in 11th.

Talking of further down the grid, riding with Mark Webber, see if we

can pick up anything that might be a problem, Bianchi is leading the

young team's battle. There is only 1.1 second between them and Giedo

van der Garde. So a good old dice at the back of the feel. Mark has

kerbs. There is not an issue there. Lost a further second on that lap,

to Grosjean. Grosjean has to hurry up he was

about half a second later that Vettel, race gap is still ten

seconds from Grosjean to Vettel. Three seconds now to Webber.

Certainly seems to be OK. Tom, you got any news for us? The

new is there is nothing wrong with Mark Webber's car, that is according

to the team. If you look at the last lap. He was only three tenths of a

second slower than his team-mate. So maybe a bit of tyre conversation

going on. Yes, as gust makes a pit-stop, it is not particularly

quick, will he score any points? You would have to think that is tough.

He has been passed by a bunch of cars as he comes back out in 15th

place, so it will be very difficult for him to score any point, despite

showing a good turn of pace and driving hard, meanwhile...

TEAM RADIO: 20 laps to go. Let's push. I need you to push and get on

the back of him. Meanwhile Webber is in the fastest first sector. Three

tenths faster than Grosjean, pulling that gap back in to DRS zone, you

can see it there now. Definitely getting that much closer, the gap

just down to about a second-and-a-half again, as you can

see, 1.5 at the last check. . Vettel on lap 38 out of 56, in total

command of the US Grand Prix. Grosjean in trouble in a way, for

second place, as Webber catches again. If the points stay as they

are right now, Hamilton would move up into third place, moving past

Kimi Raikkonen who isn't racing in the last two Grand Prixes so

Hamilton would move up into third. Sitting in fourth place in this race

at the moment. I wanted to comment on Heikki

Kovalainen, we saw him come in to change his front wing. It wasn't the

team calling him in, it was him asking for a change of nose, he said

"I think I have less downforce at the front." That is according to the

team. His last lap was a 42 dead, which does faster than every other

drive on the grid accept for Webber. The tyres are fresh because he has

made a late pit-stop. Nonetheless, he is on the medium compound tyre,

maybe he did have a problem with the car, so it a pity he has no chance

of scoring points, so their attempt to move up on Mercedes and Ferrari

is in the hands of Grosjean. But he is outscoring Mercedes and Ferrari

here today. Mercedes are outscoring Ferrari so that could consolidate

their second place a bit. Lotus aren't doing enough to close the

bigger gap. As things stands there won't be a huge change in the battle

for second place in the constructors points. Massa made a second stop.

Maybe we will see a few people making a second stop. Mark Webber

took two pointous of Grosjean. Half a second that he needs to find,

which will unleash another three or four tenths in performance in the

DRS zone. The down side when you get in a one second window you start

losing cooling, you get turbulent wind on the wing. You have to weigh

up when is the right time to close into that zone and go for the pass.

Another one who is making progress, Daniel Ricciardo on di Resta, locks

up the left front. Di Resta aware of it. Left enough space and Ricciardo

had to back out Paul left any room for Ricciardo to lock up and make a

mistake. Intriguing battle. -- left enough room.

Ricciardo of course is one of those drivers who is secure in where he is

going next year. TEAM RADIO: Remember you stay on the

yellow tyres. You might not get much warning.

As ever Rocky being as cautious. Being totally cautious, he never

likes to assume they have it in the bag. It's another quick few laps

from Sebastian Vettel. Massa being total he will have to drive like it

is qualifying. 16 laps to go, and he will have to push on hard. He has

Kovalainen chasing him so those two are flying, although Massa is going

quicker. Alonso is one to watch, because

Alonso has the gap to Hulkenberg, down to 1.3 seconds so he is almost

within DRS range, that is for fifth. Neither are far behind Hamilton. As

we go into the end of this stint, I wonder if Hamilton's tyres will hold

together? Remarkable The Hulk is the top running Ferrari on top. The

Sauber have a different wing configuration. So that may give

Alonso a bit of hope this afternoon. Trying to work out what is going on

with Webber. He dropped, well, more than half a second, drops eight

tenths of a second to Grosjean last lap round, and he does fastest first

sector, so there is some strange inconsistencies in his pace. Heikki

Kovalainen's day hasn't got any better. They are trying to reset it

so they have been telling him to press the OK Button a couple of

times so he is busy working away on the steering wheel, trying to reset

the car. You would think the OK Button is not the right one. You

would think there was one that said vet or "Not OK." A double press on

the OK. Could be confusing. What do I push when things are not good. OK.

I was talking to Alan at Lotus and he was saying how impressed he was

that Heikki Kovalainen dealt with all the procedures on Friday. They

go through a complicated procedure in first practise. Lots of things

for the driver to input. He said Heikki took it onboard and delivered

perfectly. Look at a replay here of Daniel Ricciardo, this was an attack

on Paul di Resta. He did get up and alongside and, did

he get repassed on the way down the hill? Has he now gained that place?

No, he has got it. He has completed the move and di Resta wasn't quite

able to get it back. He ended up running out of road. He didn't give

him any space. I suspect Paul will think maybe he should have given

space. He has the chance to get through, he has done it. Fernando

Alonso moved into third place. Hulkenberg could not fend him off

this time. Spun up the tyres as he exited the corner, Fernando Alonso,

he didn't want to leave anything to chance.

Well, can he do anything about catching Hamilton now? The gap is

over two seconds I think. 2.4 seconds as they go past that next

checkpoint. Think so, I think he has the pace if he hasn't burned his

tires. Alonso using that extra arc to cut to the inside, Hulkenberg

struggles to put the power down, he would released some of the curves as

he accelerated the car down the hill. You see the black lines being

left as he put in an ex that 80 horsepower to that drive train. That

is what comes from the curves system when you push that Button. Great

stuff from Fernando Alonso. Now he goes chasing after Hamilton. There

is the race leader with a 10.5 second lead.

TEAM RADIO: This tyre is not bullet-proof. We are measuring wear.

You are OK but don't abuse it. He has set fastst lap. 1:41.1. So he

seems to be taking it relatively steady by his standards, not by many

other people's. We are riding onboard with him here.

-- fastest lap. His head is almost looking away as

he goes into the corner. The amount of G-force you would expect to see

him leaning into the corn sh. It sort of rotates away. It is a good

one that, interesting. Under braking will pull a spike of well over five

G which is a huge amount ofs for. You will see from under 200mph, down

to 50mph. Is he resting his helmet, just to take some energy out of his

neck. It looks like it. It really does. This is an anticlockwise

track. We have a few to the end of the season but most racing circuits

are clockwise If he is struggling here, he will be struggling earlier

in Brazil. That is a very short lap. Anticlockwise high energy lap.

Alonso has certainly gained about half a second from Hamilton on the

first sector, so Alonso is definitely catching Hamilton, there

is no doubt about it. Watching Jensen Button here, he is

still in 12th place. He is behind Paul di Resta. Outside the points

for both of them. We saw Daniel Ricciardo reclaim that points

position. He is restaking his claim for when he moved to Red Bull.

Showing front runner he is not to be messed with. Button not close enough

to have a go. Let us watch as he goes on the straight here. Di Resta

getting a good exit. A new fastest lap by Mark Webber, he has the gap

to a DRS range web, with Grosjean, so now we really could see the race

for second place heat up. There you are. That is Grosjean versus Webber.

That is how close it is now, is Grosjean going to hold on to second

position here today? It would be a great achievement if he can, he has

five third place finishes but he hasn't had a second place finish. If

you a number cruncher, that is what you can aspire to, you sit behind,

studying the data, watching the engine parameters, watching the

driver inputs. Grosjean a wider apex in turn one.

But he knows that he is under no pressure, in this sequence,

providing he doesn't make any mistakes.

Now, let us watch as they come through towards the key area.

Visibly quicker the car, unsurprising as the fuel is off. You

can watch the change of direction, cars become more nimble.

So out of turn nine down the hill, through the kink at ten, this is

where it gets very key here, he is going to be within the DRS range,

and generally, once you are there you are to maximise that

opportunity, in terms of curves it looks like Grosjean had a bit more

available to him than Webber, but now Webber picks up the DRS, is

there going to be enough space? Webber closing the gap, is he going

to make a lung, no, he has a think, but he is trying to unsettle

Grosjean. Does look that the Red Bull is getting more from its DRS

when it is behind the Lotus than some other cars. --

TEAM RADIO: He has Mark all over him. Is he going to find way

through? The problem is he doesn't want to follow him that closely. His

tyres will overheat and he will lose grip, so he was clever, he passed

Hamilton, he caught him and passed him, that is what Mark planned for

that assault there, but it didn't work out for him. Another lap

through the fast bends, his tires will struggle. Alonso is, has the

gap down to 1.1 seconds. He looks very racy at the moment. He is

trying hard to get a good result out of the race. He always does. The

last couple of races he seemed tire of it all. It seems that way, but

still pushing on here, Hulkenberg in six. Perez in seventh. Bottas is

holding on the eighth place and some points for Williams, again, Webber

making sure he is close, but scrubbing the tyre. He is getting a

move on, trying to get himself into that position. But he is running the

risk of overheating the tyres and he realises he has a couple of laps to

try and hassle, Hustle Grosjean into a mistake or an effective pass, he

is closer than the last lap round, so let us just see whether he is

able to, it looks like the gap opens up on traction and the Red Bull

starts to come back, but it is too late. He is not quite close enough,

and this is going to go on, only a few more laps to go. Meanwhile, an

incident with Charles Pic for ignoring blue flags when Lewis

Hamilton was lapping him. The stewards will be taking a look at

that one as Webber was very quick on that first sector once again. Rocky

kept telling Vettel to be careful with the tyres and we are laughing

at that, surely they are in great shape. We did see at the end of his

last stint, the tyres did drop off quickly, 0.5 of a second per lap,

and that is what they call falling off a cliff face. You do not get

much idea of it. We will see if that happens to anyone else, a

drive-through penalty for car 20, Charles Pic has been penalised for

getting in the way, something he has done a few times over the last

couple of years. It is just unacceptable, the rules are very

clear. If you get blue flags, you have to move out of the way, and I

presume his race engineer would give him that information, and you have

got to presume he is choosing to ignore it. You will be being eyes.

It is a slam dunk, it is like passing under a yellow flags. Jules

Bianchi is leading Giedo van der Garde in the young teams by 1.5

seconds. We have not seen that race, but they are having a huge battle,

Bianchi, Van der Garde, Pic was part of it but will have a drive-through

penalty. Good exit from Grosjean, I do not think that will allow Webber

any chance. Di Resta makes a late pit stop, and that has dropped out

of the points. It will move up into a 11th place. We are on board with

Gutierrez. It is not impossible for him to

score some points, Gutierrez is on the softer tyre, much younger than

those around him, and he has an opportunity here. Jean-Eric Vergne

looking under pressure. Gutierrez has just had to back out of it

through the high-speed corners, and he will have to get himself into

position at the hairpin at 11. Sauber pretty good in a straight

line. Toro Rosso taking a much wider line through that sequence of eight

and nine. Making that mistake has cost him the

opportunity of being in the DRS. He will be in the activation zone but

too far back to affect a pass on that lap. This is Kovalainen making

his way Pastor Maldonado, you can see how dusty it is offline. Paul di

Resta coming out of the pits after his second pit stop. Small

consolation for those boys racing at the back, that was of a 16th place.

Bercow close Webber is, but his opportunity has come and gone for

another lap. -- look how close. They have had their incidence together in

the past, last year when Grosjean was going through a very tough

time, there were several incidents with Mark Webber. This year they

have raced against each other a few times, you cannot forget that

Grosjean drove beautifully in Japan, led both Red Bull is for a while,

ultimately beaten by both, but a completely different driver this

year. Unquestionably, and in the past we would have been holding our

breath wondering where it would all go wrong, he has always had good

speed, and he has been able to harness that and drive mature. You

got close there, mate, try the same again. All the KERS in turn 11,

saving it all up for that, that is onto the straight, of course. What

would you do if you were the Lotus engineer right now? Tell Grosjean,

use all your KERS as turn 11! We know what he is up and we can

counter it. You would say, use all your KERS, come up with a couple of

mathematical numbers or something. Yes, just to put the opposition

off. Down the hill turn 11, I think it is into the approach of it, some

of their guys will be telling them to do it on the approach, because

then you can rely on the DRS. Very good exit by Romain Grosjean, surely

Mark Webber is too far away to make the move by the end of the

straight, despite it being one kilometre long. Yeah, it is not

going to happen for him. You can see the debris offline from the tyres,

marbles, not as much as at other circuits. That is a sign of a

function of the fact that they have seen less stops this afternoon. A

few to stop us, that has surprised us. Pretty much everyone did

one-stop us, that has surprised us. Pretty much everyone did one-stop

last year. Most of the guys well done two stops further down the

order. Gutierrez is the leading card to have done two, he made an early

pit stop on the first or second lap. Sebastian Vettel continues to lead

this race by 7.5 seconds, and he is on target, of course, for braking

yet more records in Formula One. He has done it absolutely perfectly so

far. The fastest lap there for Romain Grosjean, 1:40.445, so he is

still lapping very quickly. Mark Webber was only a tenth of a second

slower. Vettel is taking it easier at this stage. Further down the

field, Alonso is being held in position by Hamilton, 2.7 seconds

behind Hamilton, pretty much trading lap times. The Mercedes is hanging

in there. If that is not going to work, try using all the KERS on the

last corner, last corner to try something different. And again, I'm

sure somebody at Lotus is listening to that. A big there! He went wide

on the kink at turn 11, picked up dust on his tyres. He has lost a

chunk of time there, and he has decided to use some of his KERS to

win some of that mistake back. That is really dropped him away,

absolutely no chance on this lap, and we are definitely running out.

52 completed, we are on 5356. Sebastian Vettel looks to be

cruising to another victory, and if he can do it, it will be his eighth

consecutive race win, which is astonishing, the most ever in one

season. And then you get into the all-time record books, because

Alberto Ascari did win in nine consecutive Grands Prix across two

seasons in 1952 and 1953, but at that time the Indianapolis 500 was

part of the championship, and he did not compete in that event, so in the

strictest sense he did not win nine consecutive. He has used too much of

his rear, we saw the oversteer. Going back to Ascari, you could say

he did not win consecutive nine championship scoring races, but most

people would say he won nine Grands Prix in a row, something that Vettel

could match in Brazil. It is an amazing record, man and machine in

perfect harmony. Yet again, and nobody can do anything about it at

the moment. It will be different next year with the new rules, but

there is no doubt that Red Bull are technologically ahead of everybody

else, and if you have that technological advantage, you will

carry it through even if the rules are different, once you? Past

performance is no guarantee of future success, and I say that is

not about Red Bull, but the great marques, Ferrari, it is all about

the people within rather than the name above the door. Vettel, quite a

gentle lap, now the middle sector... Be careful! He has just done the

fastest middle sector of anybody and a personal best in the first sector.

I think this was a slow lap, but this could be a new fastest lap,

let's watch. He makes it look so easy, though! I

am still holding my breath! Let's see what is the time is, 1:39.8, he

has just shattered it, destroyed what everyone else has been doing.

As I say, it is like Prost in the old days, so controlled and smooth

and easy. Harrying so much speed into the apex, where we saw Mark

Webber lose so much speed. Grosjean and Mark Webber struggling with

traffic there. They have both got out of the way, but that gives

Grosjean some breathing space, and it looks a lot like this is podium

order now. So we are seeing some great performances here today, just

looking at Daniel Ricciardo, still fighting for the final point with

Jenson Button. Tenth place is on offer to whichever of these is

ahead, and Ricciardo makes a mistake, Button may have a chance.

He has a little look, he has locked up, side by side, good awareness by

Ricciardo, brilliant stuff from both drivers there, proper racing and

giving each other room. Good opportunist stuff, Jenson was ready

in that sequence, turn 13, and that meant that Ricciardo was a little

bit wide as he came through 14, and then he shoved its down the inside

of 15 but left him enough room. Jean-Eric Vergne is in that group as

well, in 12th place, Gutierrez behind them. Button trying to get

that little bit closer as they go up the hill, now trying to go around

the outside, he has the inside line now, up into tenth place, getting

past Ricciardo, and Jean-Eric Vergne may be able to get his team-mate on

this lap as well. A strong race from Vergne, I expected Ricciardo to run

Button wide, but he gave in space, full marks, wheel to wheel stop.

Ferrari are really struggling for grip, this is Hulkenberg on Alonso.

Hulkenberg has really closed up, and it looks like the Ferrari has hit

the cliff, the race leader is on the final lap, but look at the Harare of

Alonso moving all over the place. Hulkenberg for the inside into turn

one? It has got to be worth a go. One more lap for these guys, a great

speed advantage on the Ferrari, and he is going to return the favour on

Fernando Alonso. Fernando Alonso cutback, lovely race craft. The hat

to go for it, Alonso read it, but he could not get the car stopped. You

will have one more opportunity on the straight, DRS will be available

down into turn 12. Alonso will have to use all his canny sense, all his

Wales here to try to keep Hulkenberg behind, but he still got a chance to

do it. Up front, Vettel is heading another victory. What can Hulkenberg

do? Is this his last chance? Alonso is looking for the button in his

cockpit that says oil slick or nails or something to get in the wake of

Hulkenberg, but if he is going to do it, it is going to be very late.

Alonso might have done enough. He is not close enough, no way, and it is

cornering speed that he is struggling with. But Sebastian

Vettel comes out of the final turn to take his first ever win in the

USA, first win for Vettel, first win for Red Bull in America, but is

eighth in a row, the 12th in 2013, what an astonishing record it is!

Grosjean's best result of the year in second, Mark Webber is dead, and

Red Bull are denied the back-to-back one -to finish by Romain Grosjean,

so different to the driver last year. Hamilton is going to go

through in fourth, just about to cross the line. I think Alonso has

managed to fend off Hulkenberg, wonderful dice between them at the

end, but a solid reserved for Sauber. Seven is going to be Sergio

Perez in the McLaren, and AIDS, to score his first ever point in

Formula One, the Finn, Valtteri Bottas. -- eight. It will be only

the second time this year that Williams have scored points, more

than Maldonado has scored. Oh and off, Gutierrez, in the dice with

Ricciardo and there and button! Very disappointing for the Mexican in

front of what is effectively a home crowd in Texas. He was obviously

attacking in the closing stages. Can we find out what happened? In behind

the Vergne... I think they actually touched as they came out of 12, and

then they touched again through 13. Vergne was turning in, no matter

what was there. Well, there is a corner, he had to turn in! I think

Gutierrez touched the back of Toro Rosso out of 12. Sebastian Vettel

has one here. Fantastic, Seb, record-breaking in a season,

unbelievable, brilliant drive! Well done, very tidy. Speechless. I am

speechless. We have to remember these days, we have to remember

these days. There is no guarantee that they were last for ever. Enjoy

them as long as they last, I love you guys. We have an incredible team

spirit. Incredible. I am so proud of you. I love you. The incident

involving Jean-Eric Vergne and Esteban Gutierrez, not surprisingly,

is now under investigation, so the stewards will be taking a look at

that. They have had a fairly quiet afternoon, but Romain Grosjean has

delivered a superb second place, finishing second in Canada last

year, but that was a drive out of the top drawer today.

The result is the US Grand Prix, Vettel the race winner by six

seconds in the end. Not the dominance we have seen cently.

Webber finished in third. Better result for Hamilton.

Hulkenberg a fighting sixth. Then the Williamses of Bottas. Out of the

points were Vergne and Massa and Ricciardo only just missed out.

Kovalainen a disappointing weekend for him but he has one more chance

to show what he can do as he stands in for Kimi Raikkonen. Well done to

Bianchi. He won the battle between the Marussia and the Caterham. Jules

Bianchi and Giedo van der Garde were barely separated by a second.

Well done to them. Always the first to thank the team

vet and he does so again as they have delivered to him a car with

which he has taken his first ever win of the US Grand Prix. He missed

out here last year, beaten by Hamilton, but he has put that behind

him, with victory in Austin but finishing second, his first second

place finish o thf season, yet to win a Grand Prix of course, but

surely that is going to come in the near future for Romain Grosjean.

Beautifully driven race today, under severe pressure from Mark Webber for

most of the latter third. But Webber gets on the podium again and sure

surely haze Grand Prix career winds down, that is what it is about.

Picking up the trophy, celebrating the moment. What a place to do it

here. So time for the celebration, another

flawless performance from Sebastian Vettel. And you wonder will this

incredible sequence of wins, can anybody stop him, in one week's time

in Brazil? Great race. It is phenomenal, think,

yes, I tried to find the words in the radio, it is very difficult to

understand, you foe, I think it is is one of those records I think was

meant to last forever. You know, I don't get in the car thinking about

records, I am not, you know, it is not what makes me jump into the car,

what makes me jump in the car is to enjoy. I love driving, you know

yourself that even if people tell you, yeah, it is the same circuit

and the same car, you just go round in circle, but every lap is

different and every race is different, and to really, you know,

step out of the car and be satisfied, it takes you to get a lot

of good laps in, and it's a great feeling you have at the end. If you

are on 06 that, are successful, it is that little extra that makes it

taste so sweet, apart from the fact that you are allowed to get a nice

trophy and spray some champagne. Let us look at the start. You made it

look very simple. Initially I had a good launch. I

wasn't quite sure because I saw Romain coming in the mirror. It is a

massive hill. You don't foe where to brake. I had the inside cover with

Mark. He has nowhere to go, and round the outside people could

surprise him, but, I didn't care that much, because I kept the lead,

and, yeah, I tried to pull away quickly, to have a bit of gap, on to

the big back straight. There is no question it was a great launch and

ten out of ten for artistic value was your doughnut. Perfect at the

end of this one. Yes, we do have, you know, show runs, and yes, you

see from there on wards, they were completely on the same spot.

Initially, they were not, but, yeah. Is there room for improvement? A

little. More practise required. Sublime, today, thank you for your

time. Let us hear from Mark now. How do you feel, was it a missed

opportunity or with you glad to get on the podium. I was very close with

pole with Seb, I knew that it could have, could have cost the win, and,

looking like it I would have been nice to at least, yeah. Have a

different race, having, being clean out of the first sector, at least

second off turn one. I got a good start on the left hand side, but I

wanted to be on the right for the braking. As soon as I looked over, I

looked and Romain Grosjean was there on the brake, on the return to turn

one, you are pinched on the apex which is risky, you can't quite see