The Australian Grand Prix - Highlights Formula 1

This is more than just gorgeousness restyled. More than a fine line

minutely redrawn. More than a nose job. A touch and a snip. These began

life as blocks of the finest marble. Start again, sculpt from

scratch. Lose the kinetics, jack-macro to Edward macro. --

occurs -- KERS to ERS. Less fuel and a world of difference. This is it.

The goddesses of speed to stand upon the start. Welcome to the

revolution. Welcome to Formula One. MUSIC: "The Chain" by Fleetwood Mac.

Here it is, after a long winter, Formula One is back and like you

have never seen it before. Outwith the old and in with the latest

cutting edge hybrid technology. Formula One has undergone the

biggest rule changes in a generation. Welcome to a and windy

Melbourne. This is the first of 19 events. Silverstone will play host

to the British Grand Prix in July. The paddock will be punting its flag

in Russia when we visit Sochi in October. Double points are at stake

for the final event in Abu Dhabi. Eddie Jordan will join us and Mark

Webber will be joining the coverage this year. David Coulthard. What a

tantalising and unpredictable prospect. Talking to the teams, they

have no idea what will play out. The technology is so fresh. What is

different? We have gone from the 2.4 V8 engine with kers. We have gone to

a 1.6 litre turbo-charged engine with a bigger storage capacity of

160 horsepower. There are two ways the energy is recovered that we will

not go into but it means that in the past if you lost KERS. You could go

one. Now, without recoverable energy, you are out of the race. How

does it translate? The systems are integrated to work as and when the

engineers have programmed them. The driver will have a push to pass, but

they will not know how much horsepower is coming from the

engine, all the battery packs on board. In effect, it will give more

torque. There have been changes to the tyres. Two kilos heavier.

Pirelli responded to the extra load that will be there when they leave

the corners and responded to criticism from the past when the

tyres have been fragile with a lot of marble. Less talk about the tyres

and more talk about the power units, expect that. 100 kilograms of fuel

for the race, how will that affect things? The engines have 100

kilograms available and fuel flow rate of 100 kilos per hour the teams

will need to rely on recoverable energy to propel the car and reach

that consumption. More strategy deployed in that area. It is cutting

edge. Aircraft are flying over. Formula One remains a pinnacle of

engineering when it comes to motor racing, which makes it attractive to

motor manufacturers. We can remind ourselves of how the drivers

qualified yesterday. Mercedes have been looking like the

team to beat with Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg dominating in testing

and practice this weekend. The favourite for the drivers' title,

Lewis Hamilton, took pole position with Rosberg settling the bird. Red

Bull retains the services of Sebastian Vettel, and he has been

joined by Daniel Ricciardo, who delighted the Australian crowd by

qualifying second. Vettel failed to make the top ten, suffering

drivability opens with his car. Jenson Button hopes for a better

year with McLaren and is joined by Kevin Magnussen, a rookie with a big

reputation. Jenson Button was caught out by the yellow flags Raikkonen

and did not get out of Q2 but Magnusson was through, putting in an

amazing lap in his first qualifying session, and he starts from fourth.

The Ferrari team, Fernando Alonso joined by Kimi Raikkonen. His

comeback did not go well, spinning out in Q2. He had blown his chance

in traffic. Alonso delivered a solid performance for fifth place. Toro

Rosso keep Jean-Eric Vergne and he is joined by Daniil Kvyat. Neither

driver were disappointed in qualifying. An impressive

performance from Daniil Kvyat ended in the wall. He starts from eighth.

Force India retains Mercedes power and have Nico Hulkenberg from

Sauber, joined by Sergio Perez, rejected by McLaren. Hulkenberg

seven in qualifying. Perez had a tougher time, dropping out in Q2 to

line up 16th. Williams have Felipe Massa alongside Valtteri Bottas. And

Mercedes engines. Both Williams went into Q3, but not as high as hoped.

Massa starting ninth and Bottas, starting 10th, but has a penalty for

a gearbox change. Sauber sticks with Ferrari power unit. Adrian Sutil

will line up 13th. Both cars have problems. Gutierrez starting at the

back. Caterham had new drivers in Marcus Ericsson and Kamui

Kobayashi. The Japanese driver got into Q2. Eriksson made a good debut

despite having driven barely a lap until yesterday, qualifying 28.

Marussia have gone to Ferrari power. Drivers are not changed. Bianchi

earning 10th place last year, but he had difficulties in qualifying, so

is darts at 18. Chilton with a run to 17 -- starts. Pastor Maldonado

and Romain Grosjean for Lotus. They have had a terrible start to the

season. Things got worse this weekend with every session blighted

by problems. Yesterday was no different. Both qualified on the

back row. Lewis Hamilton on pole position and Daniel Ricciardo on his

first front row. Was Burke has Fernando Alonso just behind.

Romain Grosjean will start from the pit lane.

A fascinating qualifying session particularly for Daniel Ricciardo.

He is on the front row. Tom Clarkson has been in the pit lane. It was wet

in qualifying and dry today. It is a different set of circumstances. It

does not look like we will get rain. It is windy, 14 kilometres an

hour. It will be dry, which means the teams get a free tyre choice,

starting on either soft or medium. Talking to Pirelli, it looks like a

two-stop race, starting on the soft and getting on the medium later. We

could see them swapping to the medium as late as Lap 51. There has

been talk about the teams being in trouble. Reliability is the main

concern. A lot of the teams have not completed a race distance yet. Red

Bull have none. Even the pre-season favourites Mercedes have only done

two. Ferrari have done to macro. Things like tyre wear our secondary

concern for the teams. Fuel consumption. 100 kilograms. I think

it will be a very interesting race. And a high chance of the safety car

today. They say there is a 50% chance traditionally. Last year

there was not, but there have even years when we had up to four. If

that happens, it will be busy in the pit lane.

Not a lot of time before the start of your first Grand Prix from the

front row. How are you feeling? I feel good. Very excited. There has

been a long build-up. Just trying to remain excited enough, but calm

enough that I am still keeping to myself and trying to do what I have

to do out there. Is it a different procedure getting off the line? It

is similar, but managing the extra torque and the wheel spins is a

challenge. We will see how we go. Hopefully a good run to Turn 1 and

sit up front with the big boys. A strong performance from you

yesterday. How much of today is still unknown? I think a lot. Fuel,

we are not quite sure. We will get a better idea after the first laps.

What we have to save and how much. Interesting, I am looking forward,

now after the talks to see the real thing. What about getting off the

grid? I am not too concerned. My starts have been decent. We did not

have any big surprises. Touch wood we will not have issues with the

clutch. I should have an OK start. Christian, a brave new dawn.

Qualifying when not too bad, but what can you expect to the race?

Qualifying surprised us. Hopefully we will be surprised in the race. We

have not done a lap distance so anything after Lap 22 is new

territory. Hopefully we can turn this into a good result. How

complicated is the procedure? Massively, getting the energy

through the tyres into the tarmac, and we have not done many starts.

Everything is new today. What did you do all winter? Drinking Coffey

and scratching our heads thinking, how are we going to fix the car?

Ninth place on the grid. What are we talking about the start, how

difficult will it be? It will be difficult. They start differently.

It will be difficult for reliability, as well. The first

race, I hope we can put everything together. Keeping it clean in Turn 1

will not be easy. Excited? Yes. What have you said to drivers in

terms of strategy? We had lots of discussions. At that stage it is not

the problem about managing their race, it is about finishing the

race. Anything we should look out for? What will be the big surprise?

Lets see how many safety cars we have. We hope none. I think this is

the main point. 20, 21 cars getting off the grid or not going off the

grid. Daniel Ricciardo basking in the

limelight, can he take the charge to Lewis Hamilton? The Australian Grand

Prix 2014. There are 21 cars on the grid, using

new technology, and one car in the pit lane, they have never gone

through a stored procedure in anger until now. We have got one set of

yellows, Max Chilton, I think. Marcus Ericsson going past him. Only

one left behind, that is pretty good. Given it is the world's best

for the one teams, we should expect them all to get away. It is such

fresh technology that they have. All through the testing, the procedures

were not tested, it was just getting the system is working, getting the

maximum charge into the battery. This is all new to all of us.

Sebastian Vettel has gone for the medium compound. That is a different

strategy from those around him. They all have free choice, because it was

wet yesterday. Romain Grosjean in the pit lane, waiting for the

signal. I will be interested to see what Sebastian Vettel does, because

that tyre is slower than the option tyre. Is he planning to come in

early? RADIO: The big loss of boost pressure. A drive-through penalty

for Romain Grosjean, he left the pit garage prior to the 15 minute

signal, so not a good start for them. He will start from the pit

lane. Lotus have had so many difficulties this weekend, it is

basically turning into a test session. Max Chilton has been pushed

in. They will have to get that sorted quickly. Hopefully, they will

get him on his way. I think everybody else is making their way

around. On board with Kevin Magnussen. A 50% chance of safety

cars, the teams are predicting a higher percentage, given the

liability issues, but the figure you are using is based on first corner

incidents. Sebastian Vettel on the prime tyre, you never wish for an

accident, but he is trying to make a different shortage of work. The

drivers are a new territory. They have done some practice starts, but

never surrounded by a grid of cars. That could make a difference. Let's

hope we don't see the cars stalling, but it is a possibility. Ron Dennis

back at the helm of McLaren. Looking at the prospect for Kevin Magnussen,

what a stunning effort, to line up in fourth place. As long as Lewis

Hamilton is lined up with the sensor, his position should not be a

problem. He might have seen some black lines. He might have decided

to move to the left. Lewis Hamilton at the front, with Daniel Ricciardo.

Watch out for Sebastian Vettel, starting 12. A number of people

further down that would have been expected. We will have to see if

they can make their way through. Pastor Maldonado starting at the

back, he moved from Williams to Lotus. A new ear rot of Formula 1 is

about to power its way into the history books. Let's listen to the

new noise of the start. The start is aborted. The yellow light. There

will be an extra formation lap, so the race distance will be reduced

from 58 laps to 57. That helps with the fuel consumption. These lads

will not use anywhere near the predicted fuel usage, 1.7 kilos a

lap. They have saved themselves at least that amount. That is crucial.

AQ safety car laps as well. That is Jules Bianchi, the other Marussia in

trouble as well. They have got the Ferrari power unit. It is very

different. He had some electrical problems yesterday in qualifying, he

completed his laps. But they have got troubles here today. The

Marshall had to push the neutral button, that is the fail-safe. Let's

go down to the pits, Tom. Russia have problems, but they think they

have overcome them, Max Chilton has just joined Romain Grosjean at the

end of the pit lane, his engine is sounding green -- clean. It was a

long wait. It will take him another minute or so to come around and line

up on the grid. The poll might consider almost a minute in pole

position, waiting for the grid to line up. Asking for some feedback on

the launch, saying it feels like it is bogging down a bit. That will be

an RPM issue. A power issue. Whether it is coming from the engine or the

eligible supply. He wants a bit more power as he releases the crutch. We

have the more Russia cars lining up behind the Lotus. We thought these

problems might occur in this new era, the Lotus does not have a

problem as far as we know, but the Marussia cars have struggled to get

away. They hope they can move away cleanly this time. A nice view on

board the Mercedes. You can see at the bottom of the pushrod the

movement. It is the Williams, sorry. We will hopefully get some more

angles of that. We were noticing in practice a lot of lateral role in

the Williams. That might be a clever device that they have. RADIO: I have

no power. That is OK. Who will hear a lot of this, it will be more

codified than ever. No kinetic energy. It could well be. We will be

guessing like mad. It will be like Fernando Alonso talking to his

engineer in Italian, if not worse! Charlie Whiting is keen to get them

lined up and away conclave. It is Formula 1, but not as we know it. It

is completely different, the noise and technology are different,

everybody getting used to it for the first time. Marcus Ericsson, it is

good to have a Swedish driver back informing one. The last time was in

1991, but he becomes the 24th driver from that country to enter Grand

Prix racing since 1950. Pastor Maldonado joining at the back. Let's

see if we get a start this time. We are ready to go racing in Australia.

Away we go. They all seemed too bogged down, but Nico Rosberg cuts

through. Nico Rosberg leads, Lewis Hamilton has lost his place. Of

ghostly Caterham. And a Williams. It is probably Valtteri Bottas, and it

may have been Marcus Ericsson. A good start from Nico Rosberg.

Contact further down the field, Sebastian Vettel, finding his way

through the field. Will we get a safety car immediately? Quite

likely, I would think. No sign of the safety car just yet. The

crossbow glades. -- Nico Rosberg leads. A bit of dicing around. Kevin

Magnussen in the McLaren, chasing Lewis Hamilton. Kevin Magnussen

trying to go around the outside of Lewis Hamilton. He has made the

move. Nico Hulkenberg will make the move on Fernando Alonso. A great

debut from Kevin Magnussen. He has got past Lewis Hamilton. You have to

think about getting to the end of this. RADIO: The engine is not

running. Jean-Eric Vergne trying to get Fernando Alonso. The big

decision is, how do they use the fuel? Kevin Magnussen deploying some

extra fuel. Look at the damage to the Caterham. It is Kamui Kobayashi,

a lot of damage. Very disappointing return to Formula 1 for Kamui

Kobayashi. Daniil Kvyat has survived the opening lap, the Russian rookie.

Sebastian Vettel down in 15th place. A lock-up from Daniil Kvyat. He was

not overtaking, he was just defending from Valtteri Bottas.

Jenson Button is at the back of the group, in 11th place. Felipe Massa

must have been involved earlier. One of the Force India cars in, Sergio

Perez. That might have been down in the third corner, the incident that

Sebastian Vettel avoided. Esteban Gutierrez goes back out again.

Sebastian Vettel getting very heated on the radio, he says, do something.

Does he have a problem? He is very slow in a straight line. RADIO: We

need to retire, save the engine. That is desperately four Lewis

Hamilton, they are having to retire already. They are thinking about the

whole championship. He is not coming in just yet. He will fight that one.

He will come across the line in fifth place. RADIO: Stay out, keep

rolling. A change of plan, there is always a slight delay on the radio.

Still no sign of the safety car. Kevin Magnussen is in third place,

but Nico Rosberg leads, from Daniel Ricciardo. Kevin Magnussen catching

in the last lap. Nico Hulkenberg is in fifth place, Lewis Hamilton

fought his way with him. We are on board with Lewis Hamilton, is it

running OK again? It sounds like an old Massey Ferguson, in comparison

to what we have been used to. That is what they sound like now! Daniil

Kvyat is chasing Kimi Raikkonen. Kimi Raikkonen going round the

outside of Jean-Eric Vergne. Felt terrible task finding on. We have

lost the Williams of Felipe Massa. Valtteri Bottas trying to get past

Daniil Kvyat. He makes the move stick. How much fuel are they

burning off? It may change later in the race. Jenson Button following

in, trying to do something to make up some places and get into the top

ten. Nico Rosberg still leading, he does not have a huge gap. Into the

pits comes Lewis Hamilton. They tried to keep him out there, but it

could all be over for the pole position sitter in the early stages

of the Australian Grand Prix. This is desperate. Not what they were

hoping for, he had a great qualifying yesterday. Off the back

of positive testing, this new technology is so fresh, that could

be any number of issues that have stopped his running this afternoon.

There was confidence, but also wariness, you just do not know what

will happen. The other Mercedes is leading, Nico Rosberg in front,

chased by Daniel Ricciardo and even Magnusson. Sebastian Vettel is so

far off the pace. When you do not have your kinetic energy available,

you are losing up to 160 horsepower per lap. Sebastian Vettel

struggling, it might not be much longer that he can stay out there.

The white colours for the Williams this year, the changed live array.

Valtteri Bottas has stayed with the team. He has tucked in behind the

Toro Rosso, trying to get past Jean-Eric Vergne. Jean-Eric Vergne,

always quick in the wet. He is handing on in there in seventh place

in the drive. They come down, still waved yellows from the incident

earlier on. Fernando Alonso has moved up to fifth place, with Lewis

Hamilton's retirement. Daniil Kvyat chased by Jenson Button. Valtteri

Bottas is on a run here. They were almost touching. He got the inside

line and that was good driving from both of them. He just opened the

steering and pushed him wide. It is a long season, you do not need to

make enemies. RADIO: it seems a little bit OK now, a slight

improvement, just the beginning out of the corners. Understood.

Presumably referring to the kinetic energy recovery system, which gives

it some more drive but clearly Sebastian Vettel is in trouble and

Red Bull's difficult start to the season appears to be continuing. It

seemed better on Friday. We can take another look at the start. Magnusson

upfront. He is weaving across the track. Look out for Massa.

Caterham, it locks up massively and rams into the back of Massa, the

innocent party. Buchanan expect Coe by dash-macro your -- Kamui

Kobayashi. Look at that when it turns to the left. My goodness, it

is lucky he did not get Colette did. I think Raikkonen got hit by

Kobayashi. Great driving from Daniel Ricciardo down the inside of Lewis

Hamilton. Not only does he have speed, he has bravery, as well.

Massa, he has been involved and a lot of incidents over the years. He

has been guilty of some of them, but that time he was not guilty. On the

inside, Daniel Ricciardo on the brakes. Sensibly gives him space.

Was Lewis in trouble right from the start? What about Vettel? If you

have no kinetic energy, presumably you do not get a lot of power and

launch. That is what it looks like when you don't have 160 horses on

top of those coming from the turbo-charged engine. Hopefully we

will stay with this and see what happened. No, we will not. We will

watch Bottas. That was a good start. You could hear the tyres, scrambling

for grip in the run to the first corner. He was lucky. That is motor

racing. Sometimes you are in the right place at the right time.

Rosberg maintaining the gap. The incident between Kobayashi and Massa

will be investigated. There are new rules on endorsements for drivers. I

wonder if they will come into Playford Kobayashi. You get points

on your racing licence. Bottas having a go. He was just through.

No. Yes, he has. Sorry to interrupts the team radio but that was exciting

from Bottas and Williams loved it. He was a man on the move. Williams

moving forward. New engine partner, new sponsor, new driver in Massa,

but he made a short debut. Nico Hulkenberg has made it around

because he had three starts in Australia and has never made the end

of Lap 1. Currently running fourth in the Force India. He looks the

real deal. A lot of people are surprised he hasn't found his way

into a world championship winning team. I will not say the top team,

because Force India may well be a top team this year. Mercedes power

behind them. Whatever budget they have, it has appeared to work

efficiently over the years. Alonso is close behind. RADIO: good work.

Mega. The engineer very happy with what he was doing. We can get some

news from Tom. I just caught up with Niki Lauda who

said Lewis is engine was not functioning properly from the start.

They are still investigating. He knew his day would be short from the

start. That is a shame for Hamilton. But

his team-mate is leading the Grand Prix. This race is hotting up for

fourth place between Hulkenberg and Alonso and Bottas, chasing in

Williams. Jenson reporting his left front tyre is beginning to degrade.

Bottas had a run on Alonso. Not enough space as they headed down to

Turn 3. Alonso took a careful line on the inside to prevent him from

coming past. These cars are using a braking system that is electron --

electronically controlled. It has to work seamlessly. Williams are proud

of their system. Pat Simon saying the driver cannot tell the

difference between the brakes and electricity generation. He hit the

wall. He has got damage. You can hear it. That will be it for Bottas.

What a shame. He has broken the wheel. I should think the suspension

is damaged, as well. He has ripped off the tyre. That will be in the

middle of the track. A brave marshal will recover that. Would they have

to use the safety car? After he made contact with the wall, it was like

he was not able to change from the seventh gear. RADIO: box. I think he

is coming in. This is coming out of turn ten, as he accelerates coming

he catches the wheel, it was just a kiss, but enough to break the rear

rim. It was a glancing blow. Normally, you would think that would

not be enough. But it has broken the rim. He was immediately on the

limiter and did not shift out of seventh gear. I wonder if that has

done more damage. Claire Williams, this is horrible for Williams. They

had a brilliant winter testing programme. But like Hamilton at

Mercedes, things are going wrong. They lost a car already. What is the

damage here? Maybe it is just the rim. They are sending him on his

way. We can see if he has got any other damage. I am sure it was a

good inspection. It looks straight enough. The tyre that came off is

still there and yellow flags are out at that section. Daniel Ricciardo is

second, Magnusson in third. McLaren failed to get a single podium last

year. That is the remaining part of the wheel rim. That is nasty to see

it sitting on track. At least it is just off-line. It might not be a

complete disaster. The safety car has come out. It looks like we are

getting ready for the tyre stops. Earlier, perhaps, than some teams

were planning. Jenson Button taking advantage and coming in to see if he

can gain a little on the cars he was struggling to get past. He said his

tyre was graining already. Bottas will be able to take up his position

closer to the front. The safety car has not picked up the leader, as

such. He is a long way from the leader, which is unusual. Rosberg is

coming in, we gather, hearing from the radio messages. They are given a

delta time and they are not allowed to go faster than that time. He is

shifting years, playing around with fuel saving as he makes his way back

to the pits. No surprise the safety car is out. Charlie Whiting, the

race director. The safety car has popped up and is waiting for the

leader, who has just pitted. That will be confusing. No risk of rain,

but there is an intriguing race under way. Ricciardo is also in.

Magnusson will wait to see whether he comes in. Another set of soft

tyres going on. We are up with the one remaining Red Bull in the race.

It looks like all of the leaders... Hulkenberg coming in as well. A four

second stop for Rosberg. And a good stop for Ricciardo. Let's see where

Magnusson comes out. I think Jenson Button might be ahead of them.

Magnusson kicking up the grass a little bit. We can watch what was

happening with Jenson Button. That was a late call to go into the

pits. He was waiting for the message, and by coming in? He was

the first to come in. I think he was all right. Luckily no one was on his

inside. It has worked for him, putting him up to six. For the

moment, at least, it looks like consistent weather conditions.

Ricciardo is still a factor in this race. He is running a strong second

place. But his team-mate is out. What a disappointing way to start

the season, tell us, you sound as if you knew before the race started

there was a problem? The second formation lap we lost power, we do

not understand the problem yet. I hope the second car has no problem

and Daniel 's Mac car is fine. 50% of the Garrard is down which is bad.

-- garage. All of us expected the cars to beach at some point. But

there is one car in the race still so we hope he gets through without

problems. It is interesting when you say things like no power, is that

normal? How much is just finding out as you go along? Everything is

linked to each other. In the beginning, I thought that basically

the battery does not discharge and I do not get power from the battery.

We know by now the engine failed for some reason.

We have the race back under way. Nico Rosberg leading from Ricciardo

and Magnusson and then Hulkenberg, Alonso and Jenson Button up into

sick place, the early pit stop helping him, he has made three

places. It also helped Bottas, who has another chance to pick up places

because he is among the action. The two Marussias still running. Chilton

and Bianchi. Bianchi I think ahead of Chilton at this stage. Adrian

Sutil did not stop will stop I think pretty much the other front runners

made their pit stop. Daniil Kvyat is behind Adrian Sutil who has not

stopped. No changes just yet on the restart. Hulkenberg in fourth

place. Alonso fifth and Jenson Button has gained. We are hearing

that Magnusson has been told by his engineer they expect 20 laps on the

fresh set of option tyres. 20 racing laps, I presume. That would give us

an indication of the life of the tyres. Chilton is leading between

the Marussias. Bianchi had problems early on. Chilton ahead of Gutierrez

at this stage with Bottas around there. We will see if Bottas has got

past him, in fact, yes. Gutierrez has got past Chilton. Kimi Raikkonen

is in eighth place. He took a hit on the first corner, from Kamui

Kobayashi, but he has been running reasonably well so far. We have had

one pit stop for the front runners, and just Adrian Sutil and Pastor

Maldonado yet to make one. Romain Grosjean started from the pit lane,

he had a drive-through penalty, he is in 12th place. The Lotus cars are

still running. Let's listen to Jenson Button.

You only go as low as third gear, you have an eight speed gearbox,

they are talking about short shifting and using a slightly longer

ratio to make full use of the increased torque from the power

units. Eight speed, but they do not use or eight. They cannot change the

ratios of. I do not think they are coming close to the revs of 15,000.

We hope to get some graphics to show us what rpm they are running. The

more rpm you push round the engine, the more fuel you will burn, and

they have a strategic plan of 1.71 kilos of fuel per lap, to make the

distance. That is affected by the fact that the race is now one that

shorter, and the safety car, so that gives them a margin later. The teams

are monitoring the fuel flow all the time, they will know whether they

are up all behind. All the time, they are talking to the drivers,

adjusting the driving style or changing the mapping. We have seen a

message that Jenson Button ask, how are we doing? Tom? I have come right

down to the end of the pit lane, so I can try to listen to see if they

are lifting off for the first corner, and they are well beyond the

bridge. A guy from Mercedes said yesterday, if there is one safety

car, they should be able to drive flat-out for the whole Grand Prix.

Maybe they are not having to think too much about fuel saving. Some of

the engineers said this circuit is one of the toughest on the fuel, but

they are already talking about starting some of the other races

with less than the 100 kilograms that are permitted, which shows how

much progress they have made. When these rules were set, they never

thought they would be able to do some of the races on even less than

the 100 kilos. That shows the attention to detail. Sebastian

Vettel is there with his engineer, trying to understand what he can

learn about managing these new power units. Nico Rosberg has opened up an

advantage, Daniel Ricciardo in second, Kevin Magnussen in third,

Nico Hulkenberg being chased by Fernando Alonso. Valtteri Bottas

getting past Pastor Maldonado. He moves up into 11th place, not far

outside the points, after the rim breaking incident. The suspension

seems to have held up. If you get lucky, if the design is strong

enough, it will take it. Maybe Fernando Alonso is happy to sit in

the slipstream. You may think it is helpful from a fuel consumption

point of view, but when you talk to the drivers, they say it does not

help, because you lose speed in the corner, and you use more fuel in

accelerating again. It may not always be a question of sitting

under the gearbox. Nico Hulkenberg keeping Fernando Alonso behind him.

RADIO: You do not need to save fuel, hit the beats. That is

interesting, Daniel Ricciardo is being told, heat the beats, so I

presume that means hit the gear change points at the maximum revs

allowed. That picks up what we have heard about the safety cars. Where

the predefined strategy is, he can use it. All the teams have an audio

which peeps when it is time for you to change gear. It can be any noise

you want it to be! When they hit that, they pulled the shift pattern.

A great battle between Nico Hulkenberg, Fernando Alonso and

Jenson Button. These cars deliver... RADIO: It will clean-up.

Some graining being reported, the surface of the tyre rippling across

the surface. We had the rain overnight, there has not been much

rubber to work with. Fernando Alonso chased by Jenson Button, Jenson

Button not able to get on terms. Behind them, Jean-Eric Vergne and

Kimi Raikkonen, it is settling down into a rhythm. Nick Ross Berg is

leading the Grand Prix, looking good for Mercedes. They will not be

resting on their long walls. -- resting on their laurels. Let's hear

from Lewis Hamilton, he went out early, from pole position.

What a shame, what a difficult way to start your season. When did you

first think you had a problem? As soon as I left the line, I had a lot

less power. I did not really understand it, so I radioed in.

People were going past. They asked me to come in, and I said, I am

still going. Let's try to figure it out. It was one of the cylinders, I

think. Does it hurt when you have had such good reparation? We

thought, if anyone, you would still be out there. I just want to tinker

about all the work that has gone on in the factory, thinking about the

days and nights of stressing, to have the pace at the front, looking

so strong, and then to have a small pick-up, it is tough for everyone,

but it is the way it is, we are not the only ones. We will bounce back.

I wish Nico Hulkenberg -- Nico Rosberg all the best.

Lewis Hamilton sounding sanguine about this early retirement. You

have got to feel like that, it could happen to anybody, and it will

happen to other people. The Lotus cars are together, Romain Grosjean

overtaking Pastor Maldonado. He is now up into 13th place. The key

thing is that they are both running, which is remarkable, bearing in mind

their weekend up until now. Nico Rosberg still opening up the gap, it

was 6.9 seconds, over Daniel Ricciardo, it is now 7.9, he has

taken another second. Kevin Magnussen trying to avoid debris.

That should not cause too many problems. Nico Hulkenberg still at

the front of the next Hugh. They are quite comfortable, following the

leader. There has been a big spread of top speeds through free

practice, the Mercedes powered cars have been comfortably quicker than

the other power units, and it looks like Kimi Raikkonen wants to hassle

Jean-Eric Vergne. Looking at those speed figures, they are down from

qualifying, which is what you would expect, occurs in qualifying, the

top speed was 317 kilometres per hour. The amount of fuel on board,

the physical mass you are pulling around, and they are restricted to

100 kilograms of fuel flow per hour, and 100 kilos for the entire

race. For qualifying, you can run that for the individual laps. To

make it last for the Grand Prix, you have to reduce the flow. So there is

a bit less power available. Valtteri Bottas is up into the top ten,

chasing Daniil Kvyat. The Russian is making his debut, Valtteri Bottas in

his second full season with Williams, and he is closing up on

the Toro Rosso, with the Mercedes powered Williams. The DRS zones are

approaching. He can open up the DRS. This will be fairly

straightforward. He goes inside, and that is straightforward indeed, no

problems at all. And he gets DRS down the next straight, of course.

He is having to operate that manually, because of the issues he

has. They have a driver over ride in the cockpit, they have to judge the

gap to the car in front, rather than getting a signal in the cockpit. He

is into ninth place, Valtteri Bottas. Another opportunity to

clamber through the field. He did not choose to use the DRS along the

next straight. Maybe he did not realise, once you have gone through

the activation point, you are able to use it in both straight,

irrespective of whether you are behind the car in front. His goal

friend is an Olympic swimmer, watching in the background. Cheering

him on, as he moves up another place. Let's hope it all comes

together for him. We still have a long way to go, not quite at half

distance yet. Daniel Ricciardo is holding on in second place. Nico

Hulkenberg is still in the front of the queue, they are quite happy to

follow it up at around. We might see races like this, where the middle

stage just gets a bit drawn out. Kimi Raikkonen has drawn back. He

might have had a mistake in the middle sector, 1.5 seconds slower

than Jean-Eric Vergne in front. Does he have an issue, or did he just

drop back, to try and get some clean air? It was a slower lap, he got a

hit earlier on, but it might be disconnected. That was the mistake,

Kimi Raikkonen's mistake. That was going down into the chicane, he

locks up under braking. We have seen a number of cars struggling with a

tail in free practice. We are close to the sea here. It costs quite

strongly. It is a decent wind today, not quite as bad as in qualifying or

in the third free practice. Kimi Raikkonen has settled back into the

rhythm, trying to close the gap to Jean-Eric Vergne. He is having a

composed race so far in seventh place. RADIO: I am graining on the

left front. Copy that, how are the rears? Also struggling a little bit.

Valtteri Bottas closing on Kimi Raikkonen fairly quickly over the

last lap or two, but there is still a gap. The beginning of this race

was marked by an accident that took out Felipe Massa, it looked to be

Kamui Kobayashi that caused it, let's hear from him.

A disappointing way to start 2014, it looks like you got tapped by Kimi

Raikkonen. It is my mistake. In the winter, it was difficult to handle

how much we were struggling to get grip, but it was definitely my

mistake. I should have braked earlier, I apologise to Felipe

Massa. No problems getting off the line? My position was quite tight. I

tried to stop the car. The tyres were too cold summer because we have

the extra formation lap. He felt it was his mistake that

caused that accident, owning up to it, and it took out Felipe Massa

from this Grand Prix. Having seen the performance of the Williams in

Valtteri Bottas' hands, it was a shame we could not see what Felipe

Massa could do. Fair play to Kamui Kobayashi for admitting to the

mistake, not much else he could do, actually. Sometimes, drivers have

road coloured spectacles. Nico Rosberg is in the safety car

window, and when they come in, they will go for the prime tyre. Looking

to get that out of the way early. That could be quite a short stint.

It might be we turn this into a pre-stocked race. It is one of those

races, the teams have not had enough data in a way -- three stop. I think

reacting on the spot is what they have to do, to how the drivers feel

the tyres are going and the amount of graining. Rosberg with a 9.5

second lead. RADIO: stop the car, stop the car, engine oil pressure.

We have lost the other Caterham coming to an early conclusion for

Eriksson. Sadly his Caterham debut has come to an end and we have lost

both Caterhams from this race. Bianchi is still going for Marussia

and Chilton is still now going. He has parked the car in a sensible

place, the marshals can recover the car easily. Rosberg, will he take

advantage of this? No, he will stay out there. We heard from Kobayashi

owning up to the accident with Massa. We can now hear from Massa.

This could have been a strong day but sadly you are speaking to me and

standing him. It looked like it was Kobayashi's faults. It was a shame.

Every time he tries to start like that, it will be the same. It is a

shame, doing a careful start. No problems, and, suddenly, somebody

hits you like that. I do not see a big difference for what he did today

to what Grosjean did. The FIA will look to it. Clearly he wants

penalties handed out. It will be investigated after the race. Jenson

Button, who moved to six, courtesy of the first pit stops, sitting

behind Fernando Alonso. Hulkenberg again locking up the left front. The

same part of the track at turn six. There is on June in the circuit as

you go under the trees and drop down into the apex. There may be an

indication the car is setup stiff at front role. So the rise in the

surface, it on loads the inside tire. Tom is with the man who can

tell us more about the tyres. He is with the director of the motorsport.

We are hearing drivers talking about graining, how surprised you about

that? It is not something we have seen in testing but it can happen

when temperatures change. We do not know what they have done on the cars

over the period of time we have been here. I went to look at Nico

Rosberg's tyres and you can see grading that we have not seen

before. Will it be a three-stop race? They came in early because of

the safety car, so that could take it through to three if they want to

push another set. It is looking great, we might see rain, as well.

If it is not rain, the temperature is dropping. How does that affect

the medium tyre? It will make it harder to use. You might see more

graining. For us, it is not excessive, different to what we have

been seeing in practice sessions, but it can be managed.

That looks something like from Ben Hur! It is the retention device.

Maldonado has pulled off. Had been struggling for pace. Lotus into

retirement but they have completed more laps than they might have

expected, up to 30, after a weekend when just one lap, early on, proved

to be a struggle. Turn 12, the high-speed chicane. The car will be

recovered quite easily, I am sure no need for a safety car, but yellow

flags out, of course. RADIO: we are still planning to stretch out the

stint. OK at the moment. Maybe he has worked through the graining

phase. We have seen that in the past. It is like a rubber on your

pencil, you keep rubbing away and eventually you end up with a thinner

gauge of tyre, which loses temperature, but is more resilient.

Hulkenberg has been discussed as perhaps a Ferrari driver in the

past, did not get the job, had been discussed as a McLaren driver, but

Heery is, showing what he can do, back with Force India. He has not

been able to stick with one team for more than a year in the past. And he

had a gap at Sauber. But at least he is back with the team he knows. It

looks like the Ferrari, better package in the corners. The unit

keeping him just out of the clutches of Alonso, who is trying to get into

position. A little bit wide coming off the high-speed chicane. Having

to be careful about that. Behind them, as well, watching out to see

if Bottas is closing more on Riker -- Raikkonen. This is opening up a

little bit. Hulkenberg, will Alonso be any closer? We can listen to

Jenson Button. RADIO: box this lap. He was the first to make a pit stop

on the safety car early on, although they stopped at the same time. He

has gone for the medium. That certainly has the capability of

going to the end. It is likely to be that much slower than the soft, so

it is unlikely, unless McLaren can make it work, that he will go to the

end on this tyre. He did 21 laps on the option. It looks like the front

of his nose is broken. Normally there is a shroud across the front.

Whether that is from contact on track, or whether he has done it

coming in from the pit stop. They have not had the chance to do

practice pit stops. I think the damage was done at the stop. The

nose falls off. That is purely for aesthetic 's, nothing to do with

structure. Jenson will get some air cooling on his feet. That had not

been thought through with the Flex on the jack as it comes down.

Hulkenberg, we will see if he stays with the softer tyre. It was a good

stint, fending off Alonso. Followed by the Toro Rosso. That is

particularly unusual, the end on that car. There are new regulations

on the new lower front end. He has gone for the harder tyre. You can

see which designers were fans of the Muppets! On-board with Bottas.

Raikkonen was locking up ahead of him. You can see he is closer. And

the back-end of Raikkonen's car is moving around. Now Alonso has been

released from the dirty air of the Force India, he has matched the lap

time of Rosberg, doing a personal best, a second quicker than Magnuson

ahead of him. It looks like he is getting a move on -- Kevin

Magnussen. Jenson Button has just gone fastest

in the middle sector of the track. They start with less fuel than they

used to. It means the drop-off between qualifying and the race is

not as great as previously. Raikkonen... Bottas got a chance.

Another estate from Kimi Raikkonen after breaking. -- another mistake

after braking. Bottas is up into fifth now. We know from testing but

Raikkonen has not been happy with the feel of the braking system. Here

we go again down to the braking zone. Runs out onto the artificial

grass. Fairly straightforward the Bottas. -- for Bottas. He locked up

the front left, which is unusual, you'd normally start to lock inside

wheel. Alonso has been running behind Hulkenberg. We will see what

happens when he rejoins in relation to Hulkenberg. The Force India will

be coming down the straight but this is good for Alonso. It looks like he

has got out in front of the Force India and not far behind the

McLaren. Hulkenberg is on a run with a great opportunity. That was a

crucial manoeuvre. He moved to the outside and Alonso protected the

inside, resilient from Alonso. Squeezing him. He just hung onto it.

I thought he would try to hold it around the outside but Alonso gave

him a little bit of a squeeze. Quality driving. Alonso wanted it so

much. RADIO: Nico be aware there might be light rain around but it is

not expected to get wet. Maybe a couple of drops. Planning to

continue the stint at the moment. I love it when you get the dry rain,

the wet stuff is so annoying! Daniel Ricciardo from second position.

Looking to perhaps make it to the end of the harder compound. He puts

the medium on and away he goes. The other teams will monitor that

progress. Bottas with Raikkonen chasing him. Again, a lock-up.

Trying to win back some of the damage to Bottas. Another set of

mediums for Toro Rosso. Still behind Bottas. Ferrari not able to be gain

ground on the pit stop. Toro Rosso going out on the options.

Raikkonen, incredible pit stop time. 2.2 seconds. That is their second

pit stop. They could go to the end if the medium tyres deliver the

performance they want. On-board with Bottas. He had a difficult dispatch

from the box. Good work from the Williams team. Jenson Button is now

in fourth. RADIO: box this lap, confirm. Rosberg has yet to make a

pit stop. Magnuson is coming in. -- Kevin Magnussen. So far, he has not

put a wheel wrong in his Grand Prix debut. Could he be heading for a

podium finish? Fingers are looking good. The media -- medium tyre is

on. Ricciardo is coming down the straight. In the background, you can

see Jenson Button. What a lifting performance from McLaren. How much

they struggled and failed to get a podium last year. Now, they are on

for at least one podium and might get two. It is probably too early to

say the broad effects. -- effect. We can ride with Rosberg as he heads

into the pits. That sounds like a bag of nails on the speed limiter.

54.5. He was deliberate in his positioning of the car. Pushing more

to the left than normal. It was a lovely stop. Absolute perfection

from the team. Nico Rosberg, his lead intact. Things are looking good

for him. Who will know if they will all make it to the end? Wilbur

Gremlins strike before the chequered flag? -- will the Gremlins strike?

Red Bull still holding in, despite worries about speed and reliability.

We can take another look at the stop. Broke some of the shroud, the

front right. Watch it get broken. Again, these are things you only

find out in the field. You would not put on a wheel with such energy and

intensity in free practice as in the race. It is unlikely to do too much

damage to the cooling inside. Jenson Button is 4.7 seconds behind his

team-mate, he has a bit of work to do to catch up to Kevin Magnussen.

He started outside the top ten, so this has been good progress from the

man who has won here three times in the past. On board with Daniil

Kvyat, in 10th place. Behind Kimi Raikkonen. All of them on a

relatively new set of tyres. Toro Rosso seem to have built a pretty

good car. RADIO: You are racing Kevin for third place, the fuel is

good. That is to Jenson Button, he is now racing his own team-mate. His

team-mate is closing the gap to Daniel Ricciardo, half a second a

lap quicker. He was 2.2 seconds behind, he now has it down to 1.1

seconds. He is piling the pressure on the Red Bull. Valtteri Bottas has

just been told that some of the cars ahead of him have quite high

degradation on their medium compound tyres. They are going off quite

quickly. He is being told, do not kill this set of tyres. Daniil Kvyat

getting closer to the back of Kimi Raikkonen. Kimi Raikkonen seems to

be struggling a bit. He does not look happy with the brake balance of

the car. Whether it was affected by the hit early on, I do not know.

They harvest the energy into the system across the rear axle using a

motor generator unit, and if it is not functioning correctly, it will

affect the deceleration. If it is not slowing down so much, it has a

tendency to lock up the front rail -- from wheel. Will you gain most of

your lap time is on entry speed, and like-for-like engine, you can only

accelerate as fast as another driver, but you gain your time in

the braking zones, Roland your car into the corners. Struggling like

that, he will be easy pickings for Daniil Kvyat, any time soon. That

would be something, Daniil Kvyat looking to score points on his

debut. As is Kevin Magnussen, in third place currently, and lapping

very consistently, and a bit quicker on that last lap than Jenson Button.

Jenson Button stopped earlier than everyone else, but they are lapping

very evenly at this stage. Daniel Ricciardo has done his own best lap

so far. The race lead has now built to 16.5 seconds, Tom. It is not only

the braking system that is Kimi Raikkonen's problem, he is on the

medium tyre, and Daniil Kvyat is on the soft tyre. That is worth 1.2

seconds a lap at the moment. It will be very difficult for Kimi Raikkonen

to stay ahead. Much more grip on the soft tyres. That will give Daniil

Kvyat the chance to overtake Kimi Raikkonen. What a thing that must

feel like for the young man, in his first ever Grand Prix, about to go

wheel to wheel with the 2007 world champion, Kimi Raikkonen. Kimi

Raikkonen struggles his way around. Daniil Kvyat is AGP three champion,

but the length of race is one of the key differences, when you race in

the lower degrees, you never go this long. Formula 1 cars, although they

are generating higher lateral loads and longitudinal loads, the highest

pressure you will pull is over five G. Kevin Magnussen getting ever

closer, more .4 seconds quicker on that last lap, and he is within the

DRS zone now. He is really going for it, Kevin Magnussen. He is not

settling for third place, he is attacking for second place. What a

debut this is turning out to be for Kevin Magnussen and Daniel Ricciardo

has got his mirrors filled with the Danish driver, the son of the driver

who made his debut for McLaren in the mid-90s, he went on to race for

the Stuart team. Nowadays, he is a sports car racer. Kevin Magnussen

starting in some style. He won the Renault 3.5 championship last year

in fine style, he has got good credentials, racing is in his blood.

I noticed the red light flashing on Jean-Eric Vergne's car. That is a

new introduction, it is to do with the electric system, when it is not

supplying power, to warn the driver behind that that car might lose a

bit of speed. You just saw the red light flashing, it indicates to the

driver behind that he is not using the full power. It is like catnip,

it tells you the guy in front has harnessing issues in the latter part

of the straight. Interesting to see if we get a rear view from Valtteri

Bottas. He is looking well positioned to get past Jean-Eric

Vergne. Let's keep an eye on Daniil Kvyat. Romain Grosjean has pulled

off, a different part of the circuit from Pastor Maldonado, and both

Lotus cars are off, their test session has come to an end. He has

pulled over well to the slot. In the middle of the picture, the man who

was running the latest team, now the racing director at McLaren. Ron

Dennis said he would keep clear of the pit wall, but he has not managed

that. He is a race at heart, the instinct has taken over. RADIO: We

do not think he has the same feel. Nobody really knows, nobody has any

data on their rivals' engines. They just have to guess. They go past the

stricken car of Romain Grosjean. Valtteri Bottas trying to make a

move on Jean-Eric Vergne. It does not look close enough on this lap.

Daniil Kvyat in 10th place on the option tyre, if he can keep that

tidy, he has got an advantage behind Kimi Raikkonen. On his debut, he is

only four seconds behind his more experienced team-mate, Jean-Eric

Vergne, on the other tyre, so a great debut for the young Russian.

Yes, good stuff. We are on lap 46 and 57. The medium tyre is

delivering reasonable performance, and it looks as though they should

be able to take it to the end of the race. Romain Grosjean lost the

energy system that recovers energy under braking, and it was the same

on Pastor Maldonado's car. RADIO: Protect rear tyres, we may be racing

Jenson Button at the end of the race. Indeed, he has moved up from

10th place on the grid, he started in 10th place, he gained a place

because of Valtteri Bottas having the gearbox penalty. He said,

protect your tyres on corner 14, that is a fairly straightforward,

fast corner. I would have thought that was more about the front left

tyre. Interesting that McLaren are saying... A big slide for Jean-Eric

Vergne, that will give Valtteri Bottas a chance. It really snapped

on him. When your energy system is not delivering consistent power,

that is what happens, a huge kick of electrical power. That is what we

will see in a few of these early races. It was well held. A full

opposite lock, and Valtteri Bottas nipped through on the inside, he

gained another place, up to seventh place. What he could have done if he

had not slapped the wall earlier. He put a wheel on the grass, that was a

driver error. He just overran the track limit. Yes, clearly, the left

rear on the grass, that was a bit of a mistake. I must apologise to the

new energy recovery systems and power units, blaming them! A good,

old-fashioned driver mistake. It moves Valtteri Bottas up into

seventh place, he is only 17 -- 1.7 seconds behind Nico Hulkenberg. The

letters gets pushed away on the right-hand side. Daniel Ricciardo,

still in second place, from Kevin Magnussen, who is driving

beautifully. Can he get past the Red Bull? There is Kimi Raikkonen.

RADIO: Valtteri Bottas is through, so I expect you will be coming under

attack from him soon. Great stuff, let's say that for overtaking Nico

Hulkenberg. They do have an overtaking load on the engines, it

is not the same boost as last year, but it gives them the optimum power

that they can have. Kimi Raikkonen is still tucked in behind Jean-Eric

Vergne. He has closed the gap because of Jean-Eric Vergne's

mistake, it has given him a chance to get closer behind the Toro Rosso.

I wonder whether Jean-Eric Vergne is struggling a bit. Kimi Raikkonen in

ninth place currently. Fernando Alonso is going along in fifth

place. Ferrari holding the reliability together, but not

showing the attacking pace that they would have expected. At this stage,

with all of the problems we have seen in preseason, anybody who is

still running at this stage is pleasantly surprised, and if they

can get it to the chequered flag, they will take it. The big surprise

is that Daniel Ricciardo is still running. Red Bull have never done a

race run. RADIO: Daniel Ricciardo is struggling. McLaren are picking up

that he is struggling. The crossbow is doing 1:32, Daniel Ricciardo,

1:35. This is what we expected, that Mercedes would have a big edge, but

Daniel Ricciardo is back into 1:33. Not too much difference to Kevin

Magnussen. Jenson Button in fourth place. There is so much we will not

know until we hear from the drivers after the race, but it could be a

harvesting issue, I can store a total of four megajoules of energy

in the batteries. They can deploy to megajoules itch lap, it depends on

how they are running their system. The point is, you cannot be

competitive if you are not getting power from your storage system, you

cannot rely on the engine on its own. Valtteri Bottas is closing the

gap to Nico Hulkenberg. RADIO: You are 0.8 quicker than the three cars

in front of you. Daniel Ricciardo is ten seconds in front of you now, but

he might be struggling. We could see some changes in the last part of the

race. We thought that drivers might halt station in the middle part and

things will come alive at the end. Three drivers have set personal best

times, despite being on the medium tyre, which is holding up well. They

have less fuel, now, of course. The lap time from Daniel Ricciardo,

another personal best, a fraction faster from Kevin Magnussen behind,

and Jenson Button had been quicker on the previous lap, but now he is a

fraction slower. The budget tax on board can store up to four

megajoules, you can only harvest two of them on each lap. Valtteri Bottas

will not be deploying as much. He is having a look, but Nico Hulkenberg

saw him. He gave him a bit of space. He just stays in front, but

he will not last for long. That will tell us that Williams will not

deploy as much electrical energy on a given lap. That allows them to

charge more into the system, and they can build it up towards the

full four megajoules to deploy for just over 33 seconds on the lap.

That is more than we saw on the old curse system, 80 horsepower for 6.7

seconds. Bottas, in seventh place, that would be the best place for

him. We had eighth place in the USA last year, but it was a miserable

season for Williams last year. Their worst in TV history. Now they have a

real chance of scoring decent points. It would be more points if

he finishes where he is than they scored in the entire season last

year, that is if he is in seventh place. Fantastic for Bottas. But he

has got to keep going. Did Bottas get past Hulkenberg? He went for the

move and yes, he did. Bottas has moved up into second place.

It is easy to overshoot when you go down the inside into Turn 1 and find

yourself compromised at the apex. I do not think he will get near a

Alonso. RADIO: Daniel, you are doing a good job. The fuel is good.

Ricciardo is doing everything required of him. This is still a

sensational performance when you bear in mind it is his first run

with a team having moved from Toro Rosso. Still a good day for Toro

Rosso, because they have both their cars running in the top ten

currently. Jean-Eric Vergne in eighth and Daniil Kvyat intent. Red

Bull Las Sebastian Vettel but there are other car is going well and the

sister team is also performing on this debut race of the new season.

Ricciardo has to keep his concentration because Magnussen is

hunting him down. Jenson Button further back, 5.1 seconds. RADIO:

yellowed T6 for the -- Chi six for the lap. -- G6. He will not be

deploying as much storage in the batteries, trying to get closer to

maximum store and that will give them more power available around the

lab and try to get them into a position to overtake. You can see

the effect when they go into the more conservative mode. Dropping

back from Ricciardo. There are more cars running than expected with four

laps to go. 14 are still running with Rosberg leading, Ricciardo

second, Magnussen third, Jenson Button fourth, Alonso fifth. Bottas

in six, Sergio Perez is 11th in the Force India.

Max Chilton still going, he will try to look to continue the race

finishing record, which will be a good achievement. And 14th place for

one of the smaller teams, that is quite important. 13th last year gave

Marussia 10th in the constructors' title. One or two retirements at

this point would help Max Chilton. He would probably want to be higher

than 14th, but still a good start to the season for them. RADIO: Daniel,

we need to keep up the pace. Pull away from him. Just do it, just get

on with it X -- get on with it! They know these messages are being played

out. As well as being useful for us, strategically, it helps engineers

and drivers in the teams. Rosberg, who we have not seen much of

recently, 23 seconds ahead. Mercedes dominating with one car, even if

they did lose Lewis Hamilton so early. Racing is not only winning

the Grand Prix but wedding with a close enough gap for second place

that you have TV coverage. The sponsors are getting nothing right

now. I think they will take the win! He is heading for the 25 points

today. Nico Rosberg. Looking from the back of Jean-Eric Vergne to

Raikkonen. He did get round, Raikkonen. That puts him into

eighth. He locked up. Unlucky for the Frenchman. A couple of errors

from Vergne. RADIO: yellow G3. Three laps to go. They are unleashing what

they have. Handing over to the driver. Go hunt him down. At Toro

Rosso, Jean-Eric Vergne has been told that Daniil Kvyat is going and

not to hold him up. He has managed his tyres well enough to eat the

advantage out of the soft tyres. We'll Ricciardo sustained second

place and hold off Kevin Magnussen? We know he has turned it up in the

cockpit to give him maximum performance for the remaining two

laps. The crowd are getting excited. Ricciardo heading for what would be

his first podium. That is something Mark Webber never achieved in

Melbourne. He got a podium at pretty much every other race he raced

regularly, but not here. He appeared on it when he finished fifth, but

never in the top three. What a story if Ricciardo can do this. I have

thoroughly enjoyed the opening race. There are so many unknowns. The

emergence of these two great talents, getting their chance to

shine in top teams. And another one not shining so highly but in the

points is Daniil Kvyat in his debut and I believe, if he stays in 10th,

he will be the youngest points scorer, beating Sebastian Vettel,

because he is younger than when Vettel made his debut at the US

Grand Prix. That would be a story in itself. These two are so

professional. Such a solid job. With Ricciardo, we are not so surprised,

we thought he had it coming he just had to prove it. For Magnussen, it

is stunning. But nobody can hold a candle to Nico Rosberg, who has been

in total control. We know Lewis Hamilton had a problem of the line,

but Nico Rosberg jumped into the lead and it has been pretty much a

straightforward case of managing the new power units. He has a 24 second

lead. What was the largest gap from Sebastian Vettel in Singapore? It

was around half a minute. Maybe a slightly bigger gap, but this has

been a dominant performance by Nico Rosberg. You would have to think

Mercedes have the edge. It will be tough to close the gap. But it is

promising for Red Bull to see they have got to this point. For Red

Bull, this would be incredible, after the difficulties throughout

the season, Vettel might have got out of the Grand Prix, but he will

get a massive boost to see Ricciardo come home on the podium. Nico

Rosberg finishing of this lap. He has controlled the race and looked

at ease. No problems, the car has been reliable. He has been asking

the team, how can I make sure it is reliable? They said, get on with it,

everything is looking fine. He has the final two corners to complete.

He is through the last turn and it has been an outstanding performance.

Nico Rosberg wins the Australian Grand Prix for Mercedes. It is his

first win in Australia. 29 years since his father won the Adelaide

Grand Prix. A great effort by Mercedes, but look at the response

from the crowd as Daniel Ricciardo takes his first ever podium finish

in Formula One. And Kevin Magnussen is third on his debut, doing exactly

what Lewis Hamilton did in 2007. McLaren back on the podium. Jenson

Button in four. Alonso, a solid fifth place for Ferrari. Performance

to be found, but reliability was strong for them today. RADIO:. Well

done, Nico, good job. Come on, guys, brilliant stuff. Brilliant, what a

car, unbelievable. It is also the one hundredth race to have been won

with Mercedes power. David, you took the first win in the modern era.

RADIO: at salute you fantastic, Kevin. That was sensational, all

weekend. What else can you say? 21 years old, his debut in Formula One,

and he drove perfectly. I did not see any mistakes. McLaren must be

leading the Constructors' Championship. There have been so

many surprises at this first race. RADIO: thanks, guys. That is really

cool. Brilliant, mate, I think we can see your smile from here. Nice

job. It has been a long time since an Australian driver has been on the

podium at the Australian Grand Prix. When it was a non-championship

event, it was won by Alan Jones, but as a world championship event, the

first time at Australian driver has appeared on the podium. Absolutely

fantastic. Rosberg was dominant. But the stories behind it are

fascinating. Ricciardo, his first podium. And Red Bull getting to the

end. Magnussen, a stunning third. Bottas, fighting his way up having

hit the wall and breaking a wheel rim. The two Toro Rossos in the

points. Daniil Kvyat I believe the youngest points finisher. A long

list of retirements. Kevin Magnussen. Denmark celebrates. Your

man is up there. Finishing in second. CHEERING. Listen to that.

The smile shines. That is from Perth to Melbourne. He comes from Perth,

but his performance has been delivered here in Melbourne. Rosberg

comes up to the top spots. That is a fascinating podium. You could have

predicted that? A stunning first podium. A dominant win for Nico

Rosberg. But fascination throughout the fields. Rookies coming strong.

New names to look out for in Formula One. The technology is still raw,

but the history books will record that Nico Rosberg was the first

winner in fully hybrid Formula One. CHEERING.

Great scenes from the Mercedes team and a masterful performance from

Nico Rosberg. How special was that victory? So exciting, such an

exciting time. My car was so fast. It is such a pleasure to have such a

fast car and the car Mercedes have given me, spectacular. Reliability

was on the edge, but it held and I came through well and got to the end

well, no problems. We heard your team-mate had a problem before going

to the great, were you aware of that? You had an amazing start? I

was not aware of anything. I focused on my own thing. I had a ballistic

start. It was perfect. Thanks to the clutch setting. I nailed the first

part and got it right. It worked out fantastically. It was a great

kick-start. You talked about reliability and race distance, doing

it was a feat for any team. Was it the case of taking its lap by lap?

He kept saying, is there anything I can do? As a driver I can help with

reliability, taking care of the engine and gearbox. There are things

I can do, which I was doing, trying to make the most of it. But I had to

push because the tyres were getting cold and I had to push to keep them

warm. It was not as easy as it looked. Stay focused all the time.

It worked out. 2013-2014, the driving pleasure, any difference?

Driving pleasure, I have got used to it. The first day I was disappointed

because I want to go faster every year and these cars are slower

because of regulations. Now I have forgotten what the old ones were

like and it is now a pleasure to drive. It is balanced and quick and

feels quick. There is not any more feed to think about as a driver with

these cars? Definitely there is a lot to think about, there is so much

new stuff going on. My engineer talking all the time, giving me new

settings, and the hybrid power settings, how much electronic boost

I am getting and how much I am saving. It is a big mission. A

fantastic mission today. Enjoy your win. The hardest working driver out

there, congratulations for you had to have your wits about you from the

start. Yes, this interview is a bit too

soon after the race, I was disappointed that my mistake. I need

to make sure it does not happen again, I was pushing too hard, but

as a team, this result is mega. We have more points than last year. The

pace was so good. We are definitely getting there. Can we go back to the

start? It was quite incident filled. You came very close, you had to know

what was going on. I had a good start, a good bite from the tyres. I

chose to take the outside, and then I saw a green car flying. I managed

to avoid it. Another position. That is Kimi Raikkonen. It was nice, fair

racing. We left room. We are just going to see your mistake, talk us

through this. A small snap just before the wall. Is that because of

the surge of power? We talk about the torque. There was a lot more

snap from the rear of the car than last year. A nice pass here, the

DRS. Talk us through this. If we look at the Mercedes engines

impaired to Renault and Ferrari, we can see that Mercedes engines give a

small advantage, the straight-line speed is very good. Thank you to

them, well done! The snap that you had before you hit the wall, you

could have been on the podium, because you came back to sixth

place. An incredible result, when you think about what you had today.

Yes, I had to reset my race, I went back to the starting point. I tried

to make up as much as I could, to make up for my mistake. After that,

it was the most we could do. It could have been better. Very

positive, looking forward. It will be interesting, the next race.

Fourth place today, a positive start? Yes, a very positive start.

Yesterday was very frustrating, the pace was very good in the wet

conditions. A really fun race. The start was tough, cars everywhere, it

was mayhem, but a good call on the first pit stop, and the guys did an

amazing job on the pit stops. Very quick. We did knock at the front end

off a little bit, but a really good job. A great job by Kevin to get a

podium in his first Grand Prix. Third place and fourth place. I

enjoyed the last stint, I could use as much fuel as I wanted, and I

hammered it. A good race for us, and leading the constructors

championship, I did not think we would be. Presumably you got a bit

of a foot cooling from the nose coming off. It was very cold! The

balance does change. It might have been because I was on a different

tyre, but it is all part of the ever dynamic system. It was not very

clean, but a great result, and it is a great way to start the system. We

have some upgrades for Malaysia, so hopefully we can be good in terms of

outright pace. The last minute call to come into the pits, was that you

talking to the engineer? They said something before. They said, yes,

you can come in. I just about got it in. That gave me free places, so it

was a really good call, I am happy to have made it. It is good to see

you smiling, it has been a difficult winter, has it been a tough

weekend? Yes, as anyone can imagine. We all go through this pain at some

point in our lives. But I have got great people around me, I have great

memories that will stay with me forever of my career and life with

my old boy. It has been a special weekend, so much support from family

and friends, and the whole paddock, a lot of people, including the

mechanics, has had a picture by John. A special weekend. He will

have a big smile on his face, knowing that everybody is thinking

about him. It is good to see you smiling. McLaren back on the podium,

Devin Magnusson is third on his debut!

Kevin Magnussen takes his first ever podium in his first ever Formula 1

race, the first Danish driver to stand on a Formula 1 podium. I

cannot believe it. That is my honest answer. I have just done my first

Formula 1 race, I went on the podium, and I did it with McLaren.

It is unreal. It is exactly my dream. Not exactly, because there

are two more places to go, but it is unreal. It is a pretty good start!

At no point have you looked phased, or weekend. You had a hairy moment

coming off the line, and you kept it together. It was scary, but I kept

it together. What was going on? I span on one wheel, the car turned to

the left. The initial start was all right. When I went a bit more on the

power, the car rotated. A bit of a moment there! A great job by the

team, we came here with a car that did not really behave that well, and

we came out with a car that was close to perfect. Can you describe

the experience of driving that car today? We are learning all the time.

In this race, which ride to go out and do the best we could. It was

hard to know what to expect. Yesterday, we qualified in the wet,

we looked good, but you never know, the other guys might not have pushed

so hard. But the feeling was good. In the wet, the car felt good as

well, and we qualified in fourth place. We had no idea what to

expect. I came off the line, the first lap I was in third place, I

thought, this is good, and I kept it there. Nico Hulkenberg was putting

pressure on for the first couple of laps, then he started to pull away.

I kept it home, and the car kept being pretty good. I adjusted it a

bit, and it worked so nicely. What was the biggest difficulty? The

safety car took some of the heat out of the energy, physically, you

looked in great shape, but what was the biggest challenge? The biggest

challenge was when to go for Daniel. We can do so much with the

car to give an advantage, we can turn the engine up, it gives you so

much speed, we did not fuel save that much, it was better than we

expected. But you can do so much and gain such a big advantage, so when

to go for that is a difficult thing. I did not quite have enough speed to

get past him, so we came out with the best possible result. We cannot

wait to see where you go from here, congratulations, what an amazing

debut. Daniel Ricciardo, your first ever

podium, on your debut for Red Bull. Has it sunk in? A bit harder! All

right then! It is slowly sinking in, but not completely. Just walking

onto the podium was an unbelievable feeling, just to see everyone out

there. It has been a while since I stood on a podium. Not informal one,

but in previous categories, about three years. Even that had to be

refreshed. Really nice. A dream start to your career, and you did

not do many practice starts before the start of this race, but you

slotted down nicely, on the inside of Lewis Hamilton. It was not as

good as Nico Rosberg's start. But we did quite well, I saw Nico Rosberg

fly through. You came from a long way back. Did that surprise you?

Yes, a little bit, I do not know! We had done less than ten starts, up

until the race. It was nice to get off the line well. It is a touchy

subject, sometimes you get a good one, sometimes you do not, but it

was nice to do it in front of all the fans. A couple of days ago, you

thought you would not even finish the race, and here you are, second

on the podium, what were you thinking? For the first part of the

race, I was just focusing on driving and doing my thing. I was going well

in second place, focusing on that. As we got past the halfway point, I

thought, we have not really done this many consecutive laps before. I

was starting to be a bit more pessimistic, if something happens,

that is how it is. But just keep focusing and keep seeing the laps

take-off. Then, we got within the last ten laps, and I thought, we are

that close, get me by. In the end, we did it. We'll the crowd reaction

stay with you forever? Definitely. That image that I have got in my

head will stay in the memory bank forever. Congratulations, thank you

very much. Thank you, guys, that is really

cool. We can see your smile from here, nice job!

That smile was no more five and a half hours later, he was excluded

from the race. A discrepancy was reported, his fuel flow had

consistently gone over the limit of 100 kilos per hour. We can get the

reaction now from the team principal.

Extremely disappointed, quite surprised, and we will appeal.

Hopefully, through the appeal process, it will be clear that the

car has conformed at all times with the regulations. We have complied

fully with the technical regulations. How come you have been

disqualified, then? These fuel flow sensors that have been fitted to

measure fuel, which have proved problematic through the pit lane

since their introduction, there have been discrepancies and they have

been unreliable, some cars may have run without them during the race, or

they have failed during the race. We had a sensor that was fitted to the

car that we believed to be in error. We based our calculation on the fuel

that the injectors are providing to the engine, a calibrated piece of

equipment that is consistent and standard across the weekend, we have

seen zero variants. What are your thoughts?

They feel they have a strong case. It will be interesting, because the

FIA have to rely on the information they are given from the meat is that

they have available. This could be a talking point of the season. I hope

not! Could he be reinstated, and this will go away? I think it will

go to the Court of Appeal, no question. There are two sides to

every argument, but they always knew that there would be a situation like

this at some point. It is still a bit disappointing, it took a shine

off a superb performance by Daniel Ricciardo. And for the fans. With

that in mind, let's confirm the race results. These remain provisional

until the outcome of the appeal. Daniel Ricciardo, his first ever

race for Red Bull. Kevin Magnussen, on the podium in his debut

performance. McClellan later -- McLaren leave behind their awful

2013 to lead. Appeals aside, thumbs up for new Formula 1? Reliability

was a lot better. It is all about finding solutions to challenges, and

we saw a lot of cars finish. A lot more wheel to wheel racing, a lot

closer than I thought. Some really tight battles. It was not just a new

era of technology, a new era of driver. You will hear the names of

Daniel Ricciardo, Valtteri Bottas, Kevin Magnussen and Daniil Kvyat.

Catch all of the action with us in Malaysia. It was a big day for Nico

Rosberg and the new blood in the new Iraq. See you soon. -- the new era.

Next time on Formula 1, race two, Malaysia.