:01:08. > :01:18.Yes! I am loving it! Sebastian Vettel is the 2013 world
:01:19. > :01:20.champion! Fantastic, you are a four-time world
:01:21. > :02:06.champion! Yes! I feel good, but lacks. I do not
:02:07. > :02:13.know what will happen this weekend. We cannot tell how competitive
:02:14. > :02:19.anyone is. It is difficult to have any expectations. It is a big job, a
:02:20. > :02:28.big challenge. We are unsure how good the cars are. It is
:02:29. > :02:29.unpredictable, but that is cool. We will start having some monsters now
:02:30. > :03:18.this weekend. I feel like I am in a great team, I
:03:19. > :03:24.just hope it is a special year. And we hope so, too. We are back,
:03:25. > :03:29.welcome to Melbourne for a brand-new season of Formula 1, with emphasis
:03:30. > :03:36.on the word new, because the sport has undergone the biggest technical
:03:37. > :03:41.changes in a generation, income the V6 turbo charged hybrid power unit.
:03:42. > :03:47.We have very different cars, with the real prospect of a thrilling and
:03:48. > :03:56.unpredictable season. The Bulls race at 19 tracks across five continents.
:03:57. > :04:05.We will visit the Winter Olympic venue of Sochi for the first time.
:04:06. > :04:12.The Abu Dhabi race is worth double points. Abu Dhabi -- Eddie Jordan
:04:13. > :04:17.will join us in a few races' time. Hello, David Coulthard. If this one
:04:18. > :04:23.of the most interesting starts to the season? It is one of the most
:04:24. > :04:26.complicated, it has always been about cutting edge technology, but
:04:27. > :04:33.we have got a huge reliance on hybrid technology. It has been
:04:34. > :04:41.proving quite a challenge for the teams to get that integrated. Will
:04:42. > :04:46.it be unpredictable? Yes, no team has completed a full Grand Prix
:04:47. > :04:50.distance in the testing. That is not exactly a confidence booster.
:04:51. > :04:57.Mercedes seem to be well sorted, Renault struggling, Rory unknown,
:04:58. > :05:01.there are a few questions. How steep as the learning curve been? Hybrid
:05:02. > :05:06.technology has been around for some time, but not to the amount of power
:05:07. > :05:14.that Formula 1 teams can harness and store. Not with the packaging you
:05:15. > :05:17.have on a modern Formula 1 car. That is what makes it complex and
:05:18. > :05:22.difficult. But they always find a solution. It might be bumpy in the
:05:23. > :05:28.beginning, but we will see some fierce battles. Have they had enough
:05:29. > :05:33.time to get ready? They have not, but that is a function of the fact
:05:34. > :05:37.they have to race through 2013 whilst having one eye on the future.
:05:38. > :05:43.We had several years of stability with those engines, and now we have
:05:44. > :05:54.gone to these new ones, 12 days of testing, it is a huge challenge. In
:05:55. > :06:01.your day, you had teams that could test regularly. That does not happen
:06:02. > :06:05.now. Yes, we had separate test teams, we would spend several weeks
:06:06. > :06:11.testing in Portugal or Spain during the season, but they do not have
:06:12. > :06:15.that now. It is back for this year, but that will only benefit them
:06:16. > :06:20.later in the season. Let's have a look at the technical changes.
:06:21. > :06:31.There has been huge changes in Formula 1 in 2014. What is he
:06:32. > :06:37.talking about? One of the biggest is the downsizing of the engines, Don
:06:38. > :06:48.are the V8 engines, in come the V6 turbo is. My engine is 1.6? My first
:06:49. > :07:02.car had more than that! The point is to develop new technologies. The
:07:03. > :07:12.latest of these is... You mean KERS? That is not on my car. ERS is
:07:13. > :07:18.the new slimmed down engine, with the turbocharger on the backend, ten
:07:19. > :07:24.times the electrical hybrid energy there for use in comparison to last
:07:25. > :07:30.year. 33 seconds of power boost, and double the horsepower capability,
:07:31. > :07:34.160 horsepower acceleration for the drivers. The cars look dramatically
:07:35. > :07:41.different, the noses are much lower. That has produced some
:07:42. > :07:47.interesting designs, but the aerodynamics averages to, because
:07:48. > :07:53.the wit is 15 centimetres narrower. Also, the rear wing, the element at
:07:54. > :07:58.the top is narrower, and the bar at the bottom has gone, reducing the
:07:59. > :08:05.effectiveness of the floor. A bit less downforce, and they have to
:08:06. > :08:08.work harder. Now, the cars are limited to 100 kilograms of fuel
:08:09. > :08:21.from the start of the race, until the end. That is like two tanks of a
:08:22. > :08:24.4x4. 35% less than last year. It is the biggest regulation change in a
:08:25. > :08:32.generation, and the beginning of a new Iraq. -- a new era. You are now
:08:33. > :08:37.telling me we have double points in the last race!
:08:38. > :08:42.Lets hope they have explained everything to the drivers! Those
:08:43. > :08:48.characteristics, what will we see on track? The drivers having to work
:08:49. > :08:55.much harder, especially when they come out of the corners. It has been
:08:56. > :08:59.a bit inconsistent, they have had big over steering moments, and it
:09:00. > :09:04.will be tricky this afternoon, to get it totally right. You can hear
:09:05. > :09:10.the engines fired up behind us, this time last year, we could not chat
:09:11. > :09:15.here. I can hear you very easily. What do you make of it? It is
:09:16. > :09:22.nowhere near as loud as it used to be. It is a lot quieter, some people
:09:23. > :09:27.enjoy that, personally, I enjoyed the scream that we used to have.
:09:28. > :09:32.This is the modern formula, and this is what we will accept. Do you feel
:09:33. > :09:39.as though technology is becoming quieter now? I am a bit older than
:09:40. > :09:44.David, I remember the other engines. With the new hybrid systems, it is
:09:45. > :09:50.much quieter, and it is the new sound, the new music of Formula 1.
:09:51. > :09:54.They will get used to it. In six months, we will just look at
:09:55. > :09:59.performance. Who will perform well with these cars? Bullet suit any
:10:00. > :10:03.drivers in particular? We are at the beginning of the curve, there needs
:10:04. > :10:06.to be a lot of sorting out from the engine side before we can see which
:10:07. > :10:13.drivers can exploit that. In these early days, Mercedes have stolen a
:10:14. > :10:17.march, it remains to be seen who has reliability, but until everything is
:10:18. > :10:25.finely tuned, it is too early to judge. We saw the problem in winter
:10:26. > :10:28.testing with reliability, talking about engine manufacturers, there
:10:29. > :10:33.have been some switches. Mercedes do seem to be running away with it. It
:10:34. > :10:39.might have been an inspired choice for Williams. Toro Rosso has gone to
:10:40. > :10:43.the Renault engine. Williams have gone to Mercedes. They have
:10:44. > :10:50.performed significantly better than last year. Mercedes has given them
:10:51. > :10:55.the liability to exploit what they can understand with the chassis, and
:10:56. > :11:00.they are more prepared than any of the red engines. We have seen the
:11:01. > :11:08.performance going through two free practice and qualifying. Why have we
:11:09. > :11:13.seen the big difference? It is a function of when they started the
:11:14. > :11:17.development. Renault have been winning World Championships for the
:11:18. > :11:21.last few years and trying to maintain the delivery of engines.
:11:22. > :11:26.Mercedes decided to start investing heavily in the new technology, and
:11:27. > :11:29.that may have cost them in terms of budget available to develop the car,
:11:30. > :11:36.but they have nailed it with the engine. As we start the brave new
:11:37. > :11:41.journey, they have what seems like the most powerful engine, but will
:11:42. > :11:48.it be reliable? Nobody has done a grand prix distance. Let's have a
:11:49. > :11:54.look at the 11 teams. Red Bull dominated the last years
:11:55. > :11:58.with four constructors titles and four driver's titles for Sebastian
:11:59. > :12:05.Vettel. He has become a father, but his ambition to win five in a row is
:12:06. > :12:08.undiminished. Daniel Ricciardo is his Australian team-mate, and steps
:12:09. > :12:15.into Mark Webber's shoes with a reputation to prove. If preseason is
:12:16. > :12:19.anything to go by, Mercedes are the team to beat, Lewis Hamilton and
:12:20. > :12:22.Nico Rosberg won three races last season, and they look the best
:12:23. > :12:29.prepared during the 12 days of running this year. Lewis Hamilton is
:12:30. > :12:33.the favourite for the drivers title. Two heavyweights will share the most
:12:34. > :12:37.famous dressing room, Fernando Alonso has twice been a champion,
:12:38. > :12:41.but not yet for the Italian team, and his patients could be wearing
:12:42. > :12:47.thin. He may write in and won his world title in the Redcar. He was
:12:48. > :12:53.elbowed out to make way for Fernando Alonso, but now he returns. Pastor
:12:54. > :12:57.Maldonado joins Lotus, alongside Romain Grosjean, who got six podiums
:12:58. > :13:02.last year. They have had a difficult start to the season. This weekend
:13:03. > :13:07.last year, they won the Australian Grand Prix, but recently, it has
:13:08. > :13:13.been their financial problems that have made the news, along with the
:13:14. > :13:17.team principal to McLaren. At McLaren, Jenson Button starts his
:13:18. > :13:21.15th season in Formula 1, the most experienced driver on the grid.
:13:22. > :13:27.Contrast to Kevin Magnussen, he makes his debut. Jenson Button has
:13:28. > :13:33.won here three times, and after a torrid season, a podium would be a
:13:34. > :13:37.real achievement. Force India have Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez,
:13:38. > :13:42.who has much to prove after being dumped by McLaren. The Mercedes
:13:43. > :13:47.engine could give them the edge at this stage of the season. Sauber has
:13:48. > :13:51.gone for a mix of experience and youth, Adrian Sutil has contested
:13:52. > :13:57.over 100 races in his time, though he is yet to achieve a podium.
:13:58. > :14:00.Esteban Gutierrez returns for a second season, ensuring there are
:14:01. > :14:05.still two Mexican drivers on the grid. Toro Rosso keep Jean-Eric
:14:06. > :14:13.Vergne, though he has got a lot to prove, especially with Daniil Kvyat
:14:14. > :14:17.stepping up. They did not have the easiest winter testing, but it could
:14:18. > :14:23.be that they finish above their Big Brother this weekend. Williams have
:14:24. > :14:28.moved to Mercedes power and signed up Felipe Massa, who set the pace in
:14:29. > :14:34.the final test, and is relishing his new position, away from Ferrari.
:14:35. > :14:38.Valtteri Bottas has a huge chance to shine in what seemed to be a much
:14:39. > :14:45.more competitive package. Marussia has the same line-up as last season,
:14:46. > :14:50.Jules Bianchi and the only driver to see the chequered flag in every race
:14:51. > :14:53.last year, Max Chilton, it was a huge effort to get ready for the
:14:54. > :14:59.first test, and they have Robbie Power this year. At Caterham, Kamui
:15:00. > :15:04.Kobayashi returns, next to the support of his Japanese fans, joined
:15:05. > :15:20.by Marcus Ericsson, the first Swedish driver in 23 years to join
:15:21. > :15:24.the grid. What is your feeling on Fernando and Kimi?
:15:25. > :15:29.People think there will be fireworks. This is an injustice to
:15:30. > :15:34.Felipe Massa. He had good qualifying and could not match him in the race.
:15:35. > :15:39.I think they are mature enough to work the system and try to get the
:15:40. > :15:45.best from Ferrari. Neither will want to be number two. They are rear
:15:46. > :15:49.listed enough to know they have to work together to develop this
:15:50. > :15:53.package. Ferrari do not appear to be setting the pace. The only way to
:15:54. > :16:01.develop the car is two fast drivers who know how to get the most out of
:16:02. > :16:06.it. What about Lewis and Niko? They are friends from old. This year is
:16:07. > :16:10.different -- Nico Rosberg. They have a chance of winning the
:16:11. > :16:14.championship, could that affect the relationship? My experience of being
:16:15. > :16:18.in a team with an advantage is even on a bad day you finish second. You
:16:19. > :16:24.want to beat your team-mate. The mood on the team is happy if that is
:16:25. > :16:29.the case, that it takes away some of the frustration and negative energy
:16:30. > :16:34.that will come if you are behind your team-mate. It is in their hands
:16:35. > :16:37.to understand the new rules and integrate themselves with the
:16:38. > :16:42.systems available and to beat their team-mate. They are both quick. Who
:16:43. > :16:46.will be top dog at the end of the year? That will make the season
:16:47. > :16:55.exciting. Lewis 's favourite, are you in agreement? He is a great
:16:56. > :16:59.driver. Lewis, when he is able to attack, he is virtually on
:17:00. > :17:05.beatable. Whether he is able to be in the zone during a Grand Prix
:17:06. > :17:08.remains to be seen. It is two separate disciplines. Qualifying is
:17:09. > :17:14.about the one lap. The big thing we will be talking about is using the
:17:15. > :17:19.energy and restriction on fuel, 100 kilos for the whole Grand Prix, and
:17:20. > :17:24.that comes down to drive the management. We'll Lewis be able to
:17:25. > :17:28.peg back the natural ability to push and save the fuel necessary -- will
:17:29. > :17:35.he be able to? Some of the teams have struggled this weekend.
:17:36. > :17:41.There have been reliability problems this weekend. Lotus and Marussia
:17:42. > :17:47.broke the curfew last night, the last Lotus mechanic went at 8am this
:17:48. > :17:51.morning back to his hotel. There has been a lot of work at Sauber and
:17:52. > :17:57.Williams since the end of the last practice session because they have
:17:58. > :18:01.changed gearboxes on the cars of Bottas and Gutierrez. It will take
:18:02. > :18:06.one and a half hours to change a box this year. Those cars will be out
:18:07. > :18:10.for the start of the session. The bad news is that the wind is picking
:18:11. > :18:16.up and there is even talk of a cyclone hitting for the start of the
:18:17. > :18:20.session. Just what the teams need! Usually,
:18:21. > :18:25.Mark Webber has the weight of Australia on his shoulders, at this
:18:26. > :18:29.time of year, and he was looking relaxed when I caught up with him.
:18:30. > :18:35.How has your winter being? Very good. Busy in December. January was
:18:36. > :18:40.nice and chilled out. Working hard and a lot of testing, but at the
:18:41. > :18:46.moment it is nice to have a quieter season. Expectations this year? We
:18:47. > :18:51.will need time. 240 people are working hard. It is a complex
:18:52. > :18:56.programme. It is like a Formula One car with a roof! And eight race
:18:57. > :19:02.programme. The first races Silverstone, Easter weekend. You
:19:03. > :19:08.agree to do some beaches for us, what can we look forward to in
:19:09. > :19:12.Malaysia? We have done a feature on how drivers cope with heat. Fitness
:19:13. > :19:20.is one thing, but a special subject on how you deal with the hot races,
:19:21. > :19:29.such as Singapore. Budapest was always a little as well. Excellent.
:19:30. > :19:34.One -- welcome to the team. A little bit of Mark Webber this
:19:35. > :19:38.season. The scene is set. This is the first qualifying session with
:19:39. > :19:39.Tom in the pit lane and David alongside Ben Edwards in the
:19:40. > :20:02.commentary box. We are about to see fully hybrid
:20:03. > :20:07.Formula One cars qualify for the first time. New rules in 2014,
:20:08. > :20:11.including the timetable for qualifying. Six cars will be
:20:12. > :20:18.eliminated at the end of segment one. Duration drops to 18. Q2
:20:19. > :20:23.eliminates another six, and remains at 15. The top ten and it will last
:20:24. > :20:28.12 minutes. And an extra set of softer tyres to make sure the top
:20:29. > :20:34.ten runners go for it. What can we expect recession? Tom has been
:20:35. > :20:40.investigating. I am with the Williams technical
:20:41. > :20:48.boss. What are the main challenges? A lot of the unknowns. I think the
:20:49. > :20:52.real challenge is we know Australia and Melbourne, four seasons in one
:20:53. > :20:58.day and we are having them. The wind and the threat of rain, that is what
:20:59. > :21:04.we have our eyes on. Does this changed the plan, video qualifying?
:21:05. > :21:10.Not really, it gives us a slightly better shot on longer circuits. No
:21:11. > :21:14.big changes for us. If it is dry, what is the cut-off time to get
:21:15. > :21:20.through to Q2? A difficult question. It is always difficult. With a
:21:21. > :21:26.limited amount of data, we will establish that as we go along.
:21:27. > :21:29.Thanks for your time. The first segment is under way.
:21:30. > :21:36.David, why are so many cars rushing? Presumably the climactic
:21:37. > :21:42.conditions? They would normally want a few cars to go out and take any
:21:43. > :21:45.dust on the track, but with the clouds coming, we had drops of rain
:21:46. > :21:56.in the last hour, you cannot afford to sit in the pits. They will be
:21:57. > :22:00.jockeying for position. There is a difference between the tyre we can
:22:01. > :22:10.see here and the yellow sidewall of the option. 1.5 two seconds. Some
:22:11. > :22:14.have gone out on the soft tyre. Jenson Button went out on the soft
:22:15. > :22:18.tyre but Rosberg and Hamilton have gone out on the harder medium tyre,
:22:19. > :22:23.which is not expected to be as quick. There is a difference in
:22:24. > :22:28.performance. Daniel Ricciardo is not taking chances. They know they have
:22:29. > :22:33.issues in getting maximum power from the new unit. They are going on the
:22:34. > :22:41.softer of the tyres. We will see if that works for them. No rain just
:22:42. > :22:50.yet. We did have a few drops. The track runs parallel to one of the
:22:51. > :22:54.main roads in this suburb. A series of 90 degrees corners that finish
:22:55. > :22:59.off the lap. Over the recent years we have been used to talking about
:23:00. > :23:02.how quickly the tyres go away, in qualifying sometimes you have to
:23:03. > :23:11.look after them over a lap, but they are more resilient this season. The
:23:12. > :23:17.rally responded to the criticisms. -- Pirelli. They are heavier because
:23:18. > :23:25.of some of the material they have put in. More GRS this year. We are
:23:26. > :23:37.watching Lewis Hamilton. The first to go onto a flying lap. -- DRS. We
:23:38. > :23:42.expect the gap between the hard and soft tyre to be up to two seconds.
:23:43. > :23:55.We saw that improvement in practice three. The engine is much quieter.
:23:56. > :24:00.You can see a wiggle from the back of the car, expect more of that as
:24:01. > :24:04.we go through qualifying. The rear end dances more. They have more
:24:05. > :24:09.horsepower available when they first get on the power. That was neat and
:24:10. > :24:14.tidy. He will be taking it cautious on the harder of the tyres. 1.5
:24:15. > :24:18.second is a massive step in performance between the two which
:24:19. > :24:23.will lead for interesting strategy on race day. We are hearing they do
:24:24. > :24:31.not expect significant rain in the first part of qualifying. The rear
:24:32. > :24:35.is sliding. Get used to that. More torque available as they can deploy
:24:36. > :24:49.and smooth out the previous humps and bumps we saw. 1.31 compares to
:24:50. > :24:57.1.29 on the soft tyre this morning. Felipe Massa, the new look of the
:24:58. > :25:01.Williams car. Mercedes power. He goes faster straightaway, on the
:25:02. > :25:10.soft tyre. Using it to his advantage.
:25:11. > :25:20.It goes up to eight ratios, you could see the cockpit. Kevin
:25:21. > :25:29.Magnussen, he is making his Formula One debut. At McLaren. One of the
:25:30. > :25:33.top teams, even if they had a dire 2013 season. How will he cope with
:25:34. > :25:39.pressure? He looked as if he was sliding macabre. He goes fastest,
:25:40. > :25:46.that is a good way to begin your career. Ron Dennis back at the
:25:47. > :25:47.controls of McLaren, smiling. He will enjoy that. There is a long way
:25:48. > :26:04.to go. Ricciardo. He goes fastest. The Ferrari drivers, Alonso and Kimi
:26:05. > :26:10.Raikkonen, who is the defending race winner from last season when he
:26:11. > :26:15.drove for Lotus. Let's see how the Ferrari looks. We know how
:26:16. > :26:19.aggressive Alonso can be. This weekend he has been chucking the car
:26:20. > :26:31.around. He has a Marussia ahead, which is not ideal. On a timed lap,
:26:32. > :26:38.you cannot get done for blocking. Marussia not wanting to upset them
:26:39. > :26:48.early in the season. A couple of cars going quite slowly. But the
:26:49. > :26:54.soft tyre. OK, but quickly. Maybe he feels the raid in the air as much as
:26:55. > :26:57.anything. Sebastian Vettel, the reigning world champion. The drivers
:26:58. > :27:02.using permanent race numbers this year. The world champion keeps
:27:03. > :27:08.number one. You can see the right of the gear display. A couple of tenths
:27:09. > :27:15.quicker and I imagine that with the his time for the morning session.
:27:16. > :27:20.32.2. Oversteer mid-corner and he let the car out to the wall, that is
:27:21. > :27:25.amazing. That is what we are seeing with the power units, delivering
:27:26. > :27:32.that kind of horsepower. They are getting close. That was closer than
:27:33. > :27:33.you would like. If the lap belt is from the morning session, this will
:27:34. > :27:54.not be particularly good. -- delta. There was a little bit of movement.
:27:55. > :27:59.His team-mate is fastest at the moment. Vettel goes six. 1.3 is
:28:00. > :28:08.slower than Daniel Ricciardo, his team-mate. This is on the exit of
:28:09. > :28:12.eight and nine. He gets oversteer as he accelerates and kisses the wall,
:28:13. > :28:17.reminiscent of something you would expect in Monte Carlo. It confirms
:28:18. > :28:20.the base lap we were looking at, as he runs it to the wall, and contact
:28:21. > :28:45.made. He managed to get it back onto. That
:28:46. > :28:52.was at turn 13. Tom, let's get down to you.
:28:53. > :28:57.Fernando Alonso when passed on the soft tyres. Sebastian Vettel, after
:28:58. > :29:02.final practice, he said he was unhappy with his qualifying engine
:29:03. > :29:07.mode. He was going to have to go one step more conservative for this
:29:08. > :29:15.session. The 1.3 gap might be something to do with that.
:29:16. > :29:27.Lewis Hamilton still on the prime tyres and he had a small mistake. It
:29:28. > :29:31.is getting hot. That is a worry, the cockpit getting hot the Jenson
:29:32. > :29:36.Button. We are on board with him. That could be where the electrical
:29:37. > :29:42.boxes come from the chassis through to the engine and they sealed them
:29:43. > :29:46.off using high-density foam. If it comes on don the cockpit will suck
:29:47. > :29:52.the heat through the gaps into the cockpit around the driver. The
:29:53. > :29:59.engine is pressure rise. Over 100 degrees, very uncomfortable.
:30:00. > :30:06.Ricciardo went fastest for Red Bull. The Australian who has taken a seat
:30:07. > :30:10.from Mark Webber. It is early days. Kevin Magnussen in second place.
:30:11. > :30:16.Felipe Massa is in a Williams now, he is third.
:30:17. > :30:26.A big lock-up from Fernando Alonso. He gets away with it, but he might
:30:27. > :30:33.have flat spotted the front right. New braking systems for all of the
:30:34. > :30:38.cars. They have an electronic control on the braking, because part
:30:39. > :30:41.of it is done by the hybrid harvesting. The teams have had to
:30:42. > :30:45.come up with systems that try to give the driver the same feel they
:30:46. > :30:51.have always had but a lot of it is now automated. Some teams are doing
:30:52. > :30:55.it better than others, and Fernando Alonso was struggling in testing. It
:30:56. > :31:02.appears that Kimi Raikkonen has also been finding it rough. We have
:31:03. > :31:10.gusting wind as well, we are close to the sea. A lot of
:31:11. > :31:13.unpredictability. When you run through this section, you are
:31:14. > :31:20.protected from the wind, then you come out into a wide-open area. What
:31:21. > :31:28.is happening, Tom? David was talking about the crosswind, it is now
:31:29. > :31:33.reining in the pit lane. This lap for Fernando Alonso will be crucial
:31:34. > :31:46.if he is going to get through. He should be reasonably secure.
:31:47. > :31:58.Fernando Alonso is safe now. An aborted lap for him. Kamui Kobayashi
:31:59. > :32:05.is on the bubble. RADIO: The raindrops coming now. The crowd are
:32:06. > :32:11.reacting to the rain as well. Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson
:32:12. > :32:16.driving for Caterham. Marcus Ericsson is the youngster who is
:32:17. > :32:22.alongside Kamui Kobayashi. One Caterham is in the mix, the other is
:32:23. > :32:32.out, at the moment. Romain Grosjean also out so far.
:32:33. > :32:40.Pastor Maldonado has just done the first sector. That gives you the
:32:41. > :32:47.idea of the rain being around. He locks up and spins. He will be able
:32:48. > :32:54.to drive out of there. Very lucky to not go too deep. The raindrops lock
:32:55. > :33:02.the front. As soon as the surface temperature goes out of the tires,
:33:03. > :33:07.you have no grip whatsoever. They have not been able to set a time
:33:08. > :33:15.good enough. Pastor Maldonado has not set a time at all, he would be
:33:16. > :33:19.number 22 on the list. Lotus' weekend goes from bad to worse, they
:33:20. > :33:27.have done very few laps, they have had a tough time, they have done to
:33:28. > :33:33.all mitres already. RADIO: Exercise caution, it is very slippery. That
:33:34. > :33:39.is fairly obvious. Pastor Maldonado is off again. Just to confirm how
:33:40. > :33:44.slippery it is. It is not looking good at all. You can see the rain
:33:45. > :33:49.rolling off the bodywork. It might be difficult for the people at home,
:33:50. > :33:53.but when you have the slick tyres, you lose the temperature, it is like
:33:54. > :34:33.driving on ice. Look at how slowly he is going,
:34:34. > :34:35.driving on ice. Look at how slowly speed up. I cannot. Understood. He
:34:36. > :34:40.was making it very clear he could not go any quicker, and his engineer
:34:41. > :34:47.was watching pictures of him going off, and understanding how slippery
:34:48. > :34:50.it was. The engineers are looking at data and tyre temperatures,
:34:51. > :34:56.sometimes, you have got to get your eye out of the pit lane to see what
:34:57. > :35:02.is going on. This is another rookie, Daniil Kvyat. It is a good effort
:35:03. > :35:08.from him, not far behind his team-mate, Jean-Eric Vergne. They
:35:09. > :35:14.are using Renault power this year. That is a good first effort by
:35:15. > :35:19.Daniil Kvyat. He is only 19. If he could score some points, he would
:35:20. > :35:23.beat a record belonging to this man is the youngest ever points scorer.
:35:24. > :35:29.Some other interesting ones to watch out for. A great effort by Marcus
:35:30. > :35:42.Ericsson, -- Kevin Magnussen, head of Jenson Button. Both of the
:35:43. > :35:47.Ferrari cars are in the top ten. Kimi Raikkonen has struggled a bit
:35:48. > :35:52.competitive Fernando Alonso. Nico Rosberg only in 10th place, but
:35:53. > :35:57.Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg only went out on the harder tyre, and
:35:58. > :36:01.they are still confidently in range, and they still have the option one
:36:02. > :36:05.is available. Hopefully we will not see a repeat of last year, when
:36:06. > :36:14.qualifying was suspended until Sunday morning. Terrible rain
:36:15. > :36:19.conditions. The other thing to note, Kamui Kobayashi has qualified, he
:36:20. > :36:22.has made his return to Formula 1. It is always tough for those teams to
:36:23. > :36:28.get into the second part of qualifying, but he is already in.
:36:29. > :36:30.Those that have not made it on the screen. Max Chilton faster than
:36:31. > :36:48.Jules Bianchi. Nobody went any faster, that is how
:36:49. > :36:52.it stayed. A tough weekend for Caterham, losing valuable time, but
:36:53. > :36:57.to get within ballpoint aid of Kamui Kobayashi, you must be pleased.
:36:58. > :37:03.Yes, it is difficult for me, you need a lot of laps, as a rookie, and
:37:04. > :37:06.I did not do any yesterday. But I have to be happy with that.
:37:07. > :37:11.Hopefully, I can build on that tomorrow. You do not know the
:37:12. > :37:18.circuit either, so are you still learning? Yes, every lap, I keep
:37:19. > :37:27.improving. To be so close to Kamui Kobayashi, it is good. Is this
:37:28. > :37:32.weekend more of a test for you? If I had had no problems on Friday, it
:37:33. > :37:38.would be a different story, but with the Friday we had, it was difficult.
:37:39. > :37:43.But the team did really well to get everything together for today. We
:37:44. > :37:47.wish you all the best. Here comes Q2.
:37:48. > :37:54.The second part of qualifying is under way. We have another rush of
:37:55. > :38:00.cars. Both Williams, Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, go out, so do
:38:01. > :38:05.the Mercedes. The Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne is out, so is
:38:06. > :38:10.Fernando Alonso. Most of them are using the intermediate tyre. A few
:38:11. > :38:19.of them might have a reconnaissance lap on the wet tyres. The full wet
:38:20. > :38:30.tyre is new, but the intermediate is the same as last year. That is the
:38:31. > :38:35.full wet, being run by Daniil Kvyat. He is having his debut on those.
:38:36. > :38:40.They clear more water, but they are a different construction as well.
:38:41. > :38:44.The main thing about them, because of more block movement, it heats up
:38:45. > :38:49.better. The Williams takes the grass. You do not get the same block
:38:50. > :38:56.movement on the intermediate. There is a lot more confidence and a track
:38:57. > :39:00.like this, you can lean on the tyre. It will overheat quickly, but for a
:39:01. > :39:08.single lap, in these cold conditions, it is not bad. This is
:39:09. > :39:11.Valtteri Bottas, he was so impressive in damp conditions last
:39:12. > :39:17.year in Montreal, he had an outstanding performance. Let's see
:39:18. > :39:20.what he can do. Williams have taken a big step forward, they have
:39:21. > :39:25.switched to the Mercedes engine, and the car has been looking quick in
:39:26. > :39:30.testing, and both drivers reporting good things. We saw them making a
:39:31. > :39:38.number of adjustments, getting ready to wind it up for his first flying
:39:39. > :39:44.lap. They have reduced the output of the engine. When you have less grip,
:39:45. > :39:50.you cannot use it. RADIO: We will open up the gap. The rain could
:39:51. > :39:58.increase. He is being urged to carry on. Valtteri Bottas has a gearbox
:39:59. > :40:02.penalty, unfortunately he will lose five places, because they had to
:40:03. > :40:07.change the gearbox after practice. But still, it is about the honour of
:40:08. > :40:13.qualifying as far up as you can, and not worrying about the penalty. A
:40:14. > :40:19.lot of cars out on track at the moment, 16. As I mentioned earlier,
:40:20. > :40:24.this session is the same length as before, 15 minutes, just under 12
:40:25. > :40:29.and a half minutes to go. The intermediate tyre would seem to be
:40:30. > :40:34.correct, there is not much standing water. This section of the track was
:40:35. > :40:40.catching out a lot of people this morning. The bump has been part of
:40:41. > :40:54.this track historically. It tends to be where you get a tailwind. A
:40:55. > :41:02.number of cars have had issues. The motor generator unit has been
:41:03. > :41:10.catching them out. Let's watch and listen. Let's see what the power
:41:11. > :41:17.delivery is like. They get a huge amount of available torque in the
:41:18. > :41:22.ability to spin the wheel. In the wet conditions, that is even more
:41:23. > :41:28.critical. He covers it all together. This will be the first indicator
:41:29. > :41:34.time. A bit too long on the curb, perhaps. They put some sand in the
:41:35. > :41:45.paint, but none the less, it is always a lot slippery than being on
:41:46. > :41:49.the racetrack. A big slide from Felipe Massa, but he keeps it under
:41:50. > :41:56.control. A lovely slide from him this morning. This was Valtteri
:41:57. > :42:10.Bottas. Look at that, a big opposite lock slide. Nico Rosberg is on 46.7,
:42:11. > :42:13.0.4 quicker than Felipe Massa. Nico Rosberg was quickest in the wet here
:42:14. > :42:18.last year, but not in the dry segment. That looked like a tricky
:42:19. > :42:23.power delivery from the Renault engine of Sebastian Vettel. That is
:42:24. > :42:29.not what you want to feel. It is really disconcerting in the dry
:42:30. > :42:34.conditions, and in the wet, it is so difficult. This has been a real
:42:35. > :42:39.issue for the Renault powered cars, the whole integration of the power
:42:40. > :42:44.unit. The internal combustion engine is well known, but harvesting that
:42:45. > :42:50.kinetic energy is proving to be quite an issue. Getting everything
:42:51. > :42:56.synchronised is proving difficult for the engineers are. Daniel
:42:57. > :43:02.Ricciardo has just gone fastest, faster than Nico Rosberg. Whether it
:43:03. > :43:08.is a Pacific problem for Sebastian Vettel, because he did seem to have
:43:09. > :43:15.problems this morning, but Daniel Ricciardo is going very well indeed.
:43:16. > :43:20.So far, so good. That will warm the hearts of the Australian fans. I
:43:21. > :43:28.know it is early days. He has just been picked by Valtteri Bottas. He
:43:29. > :43:32.is finding his confidence. We will see the performance picked up as the
:43:33. > :43:36.track dries, lap after lap. Jean-Eric Vergne has gone second, he
:43:37. > :43:40.is always quick in the wet conditions. The track is getting
:43:41. > :43:49.quicker each lap, so you would expect improvements.
:43:50. > :44:09.Let's see what Valtteri Bottas did. This was into the first corner. He
:44:10. > :44:15.lost it through the first part. The cut right across the grass. That is
:44:16. > :44:19.a difficult manoeuvre to do in the dry, and in the wet, it does not
:44:20. > :44:23.work. Nico Rosberg has been told it is the third lap on these tyres,
:44:24. > :44:27.take it easy on the first couple of laps. They have learned something
:44:28. > :44:34.about heating up the intermediate tyres. Daniel Ricciardo has gone
:44:35. > :44:40.back on top. Nico Hulkenberg in a Force India, we have seen it before,
:44:41. > :44:44.but he had a year at Sauber. He has swapped back to Force India. Another
:44:45. > :44:50.one to watch in damp conditions. Remember his pole position was in
:44:51. > :45:02.damp conditions, in his debut season for Williams in Brazil. Was Berg has
:45:03. > :45:08.gone faster than anybody in the first sector. Tom.
:45:09. > :45:12.I wanted to reflect on how rain is a leveller for the drivers and the
:45:13. > :45:19.chassis. Ricciardo going quickest and I and reminded something Jenson
:45:20. > :45:25.Button said. He was going through Turney Leven at Bahrain and Daniel
:45:26. > :45:32.Ricciardo drove around the outside -- Teddy Leven. He said he was not
:45:33. > :45:36.on an out lap. He said that it was proof that Red Bull had a good
:45:37. > :45:42.chassis if they can get it working properly.
:45:43. > :45:48.Alonso went quickest for a moment. But now Hamilton on top. Vettel,
:45:49. > :45:50.going slowly, I think he might be balding up to a lap. Finding himself
:45:51. > :46:12.space. -- leading up to. In the drop zone at the moment is
:46:13. > :46:19.Vettel. We are looking at Ricciardo. He has been very fast.
:46:20. > :46:24.Back with Nico Hulkenberg. Faster than anybody else in the first
:46:25. > :46:40.sector. Middle sector, a personal best. That was a massive oversteer.
:46:41. > :46:47.That got his attention. How good a lap is this? Hulkenberg getting the
:46:48. > :46:52.Force India up with the Red Bulls and the Mercedes and the track is
:46:53. > :46:56.getting better with every lap. It will be a last lap sprint. The rain
:46:57. > :47:01.has stopped falling. Every opportunity it will come down to how
:47:02. > :47:12.you time your final lap. Jean-Eric Vergne. This could be an
:47:13. > :47:15.improvement. The man who was overlooked by Red Bull when they
:47:16. > :47:33.took on Daniel Ricciardo into the top team. He goes into fourth. We
:47:34. > :47:39.can see what Kevin Magnussen can do. Sergio Perez was just moving out of
:47:40. > :47:52.the way. Cooling his tyres. There is no spray. 1:44.44. Jenson Button.
:47:53. > :48:00.Ricciardo takes the top spot once again. Tom.
:48:01. > :48:06.The track will be at its driest when it is the last man standing.
:48:07. > :48:10.You have to be on a new set of intermediates. It is no good going
:48:11. > :48:16.round and around and hoping you will have good tyres. This will be a
:48:17. > :48:26.last-minute stop with four and a half minutes to go over Sebastian
:48:27. > :48:31.Vettel. He must get on with this. The man who has had three pole
:48:32. > :48:39.positions in Australia, he has to go and get on with it. Kevin Magnussen.
:48:40. > :48:43.His father made his debut for McLaren many years ago and went on
:48:44. > :48:49.to a fairly short Formula One career. Kevin Magnussen perhaps
:48:50. > :48:58.hoping to learn from some of his mistakes. I do not think he will
:48:59. > :49:06.challenge the fastest. He was slow in the first sector. Daniil Kvyat
:49:07. > :49:11.has gone fastest of all in the first sector. He is in the drop zone, but
:49:12. > :49:15.he has gone fastest in the first sector, so he could get himself out
:49:16. > :49:22.of the drop zone. Three and a half minutes left. Timing me out lap and
:49:23. > :49:27.making sure you are on a good set of intermediate tyres, and then the
:49:28. > :49:33.pressure is on for the drivers. You have to get position, tyres heated
:49:34. > :49:39.up nicely. Temperature in the brakes. You lose temperature in the
:49:40. > :49:43.brakes when you are sitting in the pit lane. That is key from radiating
:49:44. > :49:51.heat into the tyre for the right tyre pressure.
:49:52. > :50:00.All different makes at the top at the moment. Valtteri Bottas has a
:50:01. > :50:07.penalty. Vettel, we gather, heading out onto the track will stop this
:50:08. > :50:19.will be crucial. The 19-year-old, Daniel Cave act, going third for
:50:20. > :50:23.Toro Rosso. -- Daniil Kvyat. The track is getting faster and faster.
:50:24. > :50:26.It will come down to getting good track position and making sure you
:50:27. > :50:46.haven't overhit your intermediates. What can Kobayashi do? He is on a
:50:47. > :50:53.better lap. Rosberg is on a really good lap. Alonso sets the fastest
:50:54. > :50:57.middle sector of anybody so far. Rosberg seven tenths quicker alone
:50:58. > :51:04.in the first sector, so if he can keep it together, he should surpass
:51:05. > :51:07.whatever lap Alonso is finishing. It is impossible to know if they are
:51:08. > :51:14.safe because the track changes all that the time. Rosberg, six tenths
:51:15. > :51:22.slower in the middle sector. Currently, only one or two tenths
:51:23. > :51:30.quicker on this lap from Alonso. Ricciardo did it again. Going
:51:31. > :51:35.fastest of anybody. A great performance on his debut for Red
:51:36. > :51:45.Bull. Kimi Raikkonen is struggling and close to dropping out unless he
:51:46. > :51:56.finds a quick time. Rosberg going fastest in the Mercedes. It is a
:51:57. > :52:02.real dice at the top end. It is about getting into the top ten.
:52:03. > :52:12.Hulkenberg. Hitting the wall. That was Raikkonen and on. He hit the
:52:13. > :52:17.wall. The yellow flags are flashing and surely that is the end of any
:52:18. > :52:21.chance for anyone to improve, including Sebastian Vettel.
:52:22. > :52:27.Raikkonen is out and it probably means Sebastian Vettel will not be
:52:28. > :52:32.in the top ten. It looks to me as if that is down on the exit of Turn 3
:52:33. > :52:36.and so Vettel cannot go faster in that sector alone, but it does not
:52:37. > :52:45.mean he cannot gain enough time around the rest of the lap. It is
:52:46. > :52:52.tricky breaking into the turn nine and turn ten chicane. If he can make
:52:53. > :52:56.it up on the rest of the lap... Look at how hard he is trying. He could
:52:57. > :53:05.still drag himself into the top ten, which would be remarkable. Again, a
:53:06. > :53:10.weak twitch from Vettel. This is the world champion on the limit. He is
:53:11. > :53:20.fighting for it. He does not want to go out in this first session. It
:53:21. > :53:28.looks like a clear track ahead. Kobayashi has not made it through.
:53:29. > :53:34.Magnusson could still be in the top ten. It depended on how much he had
:53:35. > :53:43.to slow when the accident occurred. And he has done it. Vettel might be
:53:44. > :53:50.able to do enough. No, he cannot. Vettel is out of qualifying. That
:53:51. > :53:55.ends a sequence the Sebastian Vettel that goes back a long way. He is not
:53:56. > :54:01.in the final part, but Daniel Ricciardo, his team-mate is in the
:54:02. > :54:04.last part. One thing we could hear was the cheering from the crowd as
:54:05. > :54:10.Sebastian Vettel did not make it through into the top ten. I guess it
:54:11. > :54:24.is a reflection on having such a dominant run over the past four
:54:25. > :54:31.seasons. That is quite a story. He last fell out of Q2 in Belgium in
:54:32. > :54:35.2012. Kimi Raikkonen out of the car, which is always the best news when
:54:36. > :54:50.you see an accident. It looks as though it was not a huge hit. He had
:54:51. > :54:59.a crash in testing in Bahrain. He made the apex. Was it the car coming
:55:00. > :55:06.back? No, just acceleration. The car turned right. Is that part of what
:55:07. > :55:10.we see with the new power units? The difficulty they have is to find the
:55:11. > :55:13.maps that decide how much of the power comes from stored energy and
:55:14. > :55:18.how much from the internal combustion engine. Jenson Button,
:55:19. > :55:34.another world champion, is out. Two world champions go through to
:55:35. > :55:41.Q3. Three out in Q2, including Sebastian Vettel.
:55:42. > :55:46.Such difficult conditions. Were you caught out by the rain or by the
:55:47. > :55:51.yellows? I do not know. I do not like to blame anything on yellow
:55:52. > :55:55.flags. You cannot, you know, it is not your fault, it is nobody's
:55:56. > :56:04.fault. It costs a little bit, but equally further cars behind me.
:56:05. > :56:08.Jenson was behind me. The car is quick, but we struggled this
:56:09. > :56:14.afternoon, in particular with drivability, which these conditions
:56:15. > :56:19.made it even worse. Two weeks ago you struggled to get a race distance
:56:20. > :56:26.in, albeit in a desert, but is the car good enough for tomorrow? It
:56:27. > :56:34.seems good enough at the moment. He is doing a good job. And then we
:56:35. > :56:38.will see what we can do. It will be a long race. Reliability will be the
:56:39. > :56:45.most important. I think there will be plenty of opportunities.
:56:46. > :56:50.The final part of qualifying is under way. Nico Rosberg is the first
:56:51. > :56:55.to take to the track. And now it is time for full wet tyres on all of
:56:56. > :57:00.the cars because it has got worse over the last ten minutes. Alonso
:57:01. > :57:05.going out on the intermediate. Not everybody choosing the full wet
:57:06. > :57:12.tyre. The Red Bull is not that of Sebastian Vettel, it is the Carla
:57:13. > :57:24.Rocha Daniel Ricciardo, -- it is the car of Daniel Ricciardo. Rosberg is
:57:25. > :57:27.always quick in the wax. A surprise to Hamilton last year was Nico
:57:28. > :57:34.Rosberg's performances in wet conditions. He was quite wide, but
:57:35. > :57:37.he might have chosen that line because sometimes staying off the
:57:38. > :57:43.ideal line is where you can find more grip. Interesting that Alonso
:57:44. > :57:48.has kept going on the intermediates. We will get a direct
:57:49. > :57:54.comparison. The first time they have use these new extreme wet in this
:57:55. > :57:58.kind of session. To know the difference between it and the
:57:59. > :58:09.intermediate, nobody has the data on that. They are learning, as we are.
:58:10. > :58:15.The Australian fans know that an Australian has a real chance of
:58:16. > :58:22.qualifying up front. It has looked like the rain had eased. This might
:58:23. > :58:33.come into Alonso's hands. It looks wet enough now for the full wet
:58:34. > :58:39.tyre. A better first sector than Rosberg has already been done by
:58:40. > :58:43.Daniil Kvyat in the Toro Rosso. He is also on the full wet tyre and he
:58:44. > :58:48.has gone a little quicker than was Berg, which implies the track is
:58:49. > :58:49.drying. That will provide us with a grandstand finish in this session, I
:58:50. > :59:11.would think. Hamilton is not far behind
:59:12. > :59:18.Ricciardo. How does he compare? A little slower. That is what we saw
:59:19. > :59:25.last year he -- here in Australia in the wet. Daniil Kvyat has shown
:59:26. > :59:33.outstanding performance in his first Grand Prix. He is only a fraction
:59:34. > :59:49.slower than his team-mate, which is impressive. That was a great effort
:59:50. > :00:06.by Hulkenberg. He's shown he has pace in difficult conditions in the
:00:07. > :00:10.past. Hamilton and it quicker than Rosberg in the first sector this
:00:11. > :00:24.time. Just a fuse thousands of a second. -- a few thousands. Daniel
:00:25. > :00:30.Ricciardo is fastest of all in the middle sector. He is still in the
:00:31. > :00:38.hunt, battling with the Mercedes. Incomes Nico Rosberg. They have
:00:39. > :00:44.decided to bail out. RADIO: Is it ready for intermediate? I think it
:00:45. > :00:49.will be, yes. He will finish the lap first. Those choices will determine
:00:50. > :00:55.who will be up front, intermediates or the full wet. Still not quite
:00:56. > :01:05.enough to knock Nico Rosberg off his perch. Lewis Hamilton goes fastest.
:01:06. > :01:09.Tom? I caught up with Fernando Alonso this morning and asked about
:01:10. > :01:15.the prospect of a wet qualifying. He was wanting it to be wet, busy --
:01:16. > :01:20.because then it comes down to experience. Nico Rosberg has gone
:01:21. > :01:26.back out on another set of wet tyres. Felipe Massa has gone out on
:01:27. > :01:35.intermediate. A real mixture of strategy. Daniel Ricciardo is coming
:01:36. > :01:40.in. He gave the call to the team to put on intermediates. A lot of water
:01:41. > :01:52.in the pit lane, but it is drying on the track. A quick change for Red
:01:53. > :01:58.Bull. But on the intermediates, and away goes Daniel Ricciardo, looking
:01:59. > :02:05.for his first ever front row start. He has never qualified higher than
:02:06. > :02:10.sixth so far. Full wet going on for Lewis Hamilton. Because of the
:02:11. > :02:15.amount of lines around the track, I wonder if it is a later call to go
:02:16. > :02:18.onto the intermediates. The wet might start to overheat, but it
:02:19. > :02:24.gives you more confidence, because of the block movement. Fernando
:02:25. > :02:29.Alonso has gone for the wet. We have a split of strategy. The
:02:30. > :02:38.intermediate, the tread pattern is quite different. If Fernando Alonso
:02:39. > :02:42.is going for it, that tells us where the track is, with three and half
:02:43. > :02:51.minutes to go. Did Daniel Ricciardo the decision right? Will he route
:02:52. > :02:57.the decision? Nico Rosberg is on the wet as well. The car is still
:02:58. > :03:03.twitching. It is still throwing up a lot of spray, Sofia, the wet would
:03:04. > :03:10.be the better option. It is like threading a needle whilst walking on
:03:11. > :03:14.ice. One mistake and you are going to be against the wall. Those wet
:03:15. > :03:23.tyres give you more confidence. A big oversteer. That was coming for a
:03:24. > :03:27.long time. I said it gives you a lot more confidence, but there, a bit of
:03:28. > :03:34.overconfidence! He had gone fastest in the first sector. Felipe Massa on
:03:35. > :03:41.the intermediate tyre, with the green sidewall. He has gone for what
:03:42. > :03:51.might not be enough grip. It depends how the track behaves. Will it dry
:03:52. > :03:56.up enough? It is still quite windy. He just manages to hold it on. That
:03:57. > :04:06.will have lost him a lot of momentum. My goodness! That is
:04:07. > :04:16.normally an easy straight. That is what an intermediate will do. Below
:04:17. > :04:20.the black lines are the white lines donating where the traffic goes on
:04:21. > :04:27.this racetrack. He has got the last part of the lap to finish off. Lewis
:04:28. > :04:32.Hamilton is still on top. We have got a cute cars that could perhaps
:04:33. > :04:37.challenge that. His own team-mate, Nico Rosberg, on circuit. They have
:04:38. > :04:39.both gone for the full wet tyre, the Mercedes engine cars, or the missing
:04:40. > :04:55.this -- or the Mercedes team. Felipe Massa not getting what he
:04:56. > :05:00.needs out of the car. Valtteri Bottas is a bit quicker than him at
:05:01. > :05:03.the moment. It was a big slide in a section lady do not normally see it,
:05:04. > :05:10.but those lines are treacherous in these conditions. One minutes ago.
:05:11. > :05:17.Kevin Magnussen, let's see how he gets on. A very respectable
:05:18. > :05:22.performance so far. He has made it into the top ten, Jenson Button did
:05:23. > :05:35.not. We do not know if they decided not to run at the in Iraq and in --
:05:36. > :05:40.after Kimi Raikkonen's accident. Daniel Ricciardo goes fastest of
:05:41. > :05:46.all. This lap from Lewis Hamilton will not be as quick as Nico
:05:47. > :05:50.Rosberg's. This is going to be whether he gets pole position or
:05:51. > :05:57.not. Lewis Hamilton has gone quickest. Nico Rosberg is on a lap
:05:58. > :06:01.at the moment. That was Daniil Kvyat, who has been so impressive.
:06:02. > :06:08.Fernando Alonso coming across the line. Not as much as he would have
:06:09. > :06:13.expected. He is slower than Kevin Magnussen at this stage. The
:06:14. > :06:19.chequered flag is out, Valtteri Bottas crosses the line, and Nico
:06:20. > :06:24.Rosberg goes fastest! By 0.1. But Lewis Hamilton is on a lap. What
:06:25. > :06:30.happened to Daniil Kvyat? It is the same area where Felipe Massa lost
:06:31. > :06:37.control. He has caught the front wing on the wall. That is in the
:06:38. > :06:41.longer term tween ten and 11. What about Daniel Ricciardo? Has he got
:06:42. > :06:48.the grip he needs on the intermediate tyre? Will he break the
:06:49. > :06:53.Mercedes 1-2? The chequered flag is waving, but the times do not look as
:06:54. > :07:00.though they will be quick enough to improve. He is on a better lap, but
:07:01. > :07:07.he is not going purple in any of the two first sectors. He is getting
:07:08. > :07:12.tremendous support from the crowd. Being talked up by the commentators
:07:13. > :07:19.at the circuit. Can he do anything about the Mercedes ahead of him? Can
:07:20. > :07:25.he get amongst them? He has gone fastest! He has gone fastest! The
:07:26. > :07:32.cheer from the grandstand is amazing. Look at how close it is.
:07:33. > :07:37.Here is Hamilton! Yes, he has done it! Lewis Hamilton has taken pole
:07:38. > :07:44.position for Mercedes. What a battle! Daniel Ricciardo will have
:07:45. > :07:49.his first ever front row start, at his home event. It is still an
:07:50. > :07:56.incredible performance from him. Red Bull are celebrating. The man behind
:07:57. > :08:02.the driver programme which has seen Daniel Ricciardo progress to Red
:08:03. > :08:08.Bull. Lewis Hamilton has taken pole position, the favourite coming into
:08:09. > :08:12.this event, his 32nd pole position, he matches Nigel Mansell in terms of
:08:13. > :08:19.the number of pole positions gained. It is the 100th Mercedes engine or
:08:20. > :08:26.unit powered pole position in history. A big day for them. Lewis
:08:27. > :08:33.Hamilton will be delighted, but the story is this guy, Daniel Ricciardo.
:08:34. > :08:36.A fantastic performance. He went on the intermediate tyre, and he found
:08:37. > :08:41.some grip. It highlights everything we have heard from Red Bull, they
:08:42. > :08:48.think they have a good chassis, they have just been struggling with the
:08:49. > :08:55.power unit. RADIO: An excellent job today, mate. That is an awesome way
:08:56. > :09:05.to start your career at Red Bull, astonishing. RADIO: Get in there,
:09:06. > :09:14.nice job, mate. Did I do enough? Yes, nice work. That is first place,
:09:15. > :09:18.Daniel Ricciardo in second place, 0.3 behind, then Nico Rosberg in
:09:19. > :09:27.third place. Let's take a look at the completely stuffed times. -- the
:09:28. > :09:31.complete list of times. What a debut for Kevin Magnussen, head of
:09:32. > :09:45.Fernando Alonso. Valtteri Bottas will have a penalty,
:09:46. > :09:54.which will bring Jenson Button up to 10th place. Sebastian Vettel will
:09:55. > :10:01.start outside the top ten. He will have to find something tomorrow. A
:10:02. > :10:02.good effort from Caterham, they will be delighted with the performance
:10:03. > :10:18.from Kamui Kobayashi. What a day it has been, the new Ian
:10:19. > :10:22.Moss Formula 1, Daniel Ricciardo asserts himself as the star, but
:10:23. > :10:29.Lewis Hamilton has taken pole position.
:10:30. > :10:34.Huge congratulations on your 32nd career pole position lap, but I am
:10:35. > :10:41.wondering, in this season, whether it was a relief? It was not a
:10:42. > :10:46.relief. This weekend has been tough, I thought I was on the back foot, so
:10:47. > :10:51.to have recovered and to get pole position is great, but naturally, it
:10:52. > :10:56.is an incredible showing of how hard the team have worked. To have come
:10:57. > :11:01.to a new team and seeing them grow so much, and to have got here, and
:11:02. > :11:05.for me and Nico Rosberg to be first and third, it is an incredible
:11:06. > :11:11.feeling. You have the most difficult of qualifying sessions to open the
:11:12. > :11:18.season. It looked exciting in places. It is incredible, yes. It is
:11:19. > :11:26.difficult to know where to break. The black lines make it difficult. I
:11:27. > :11:31.was trying to stay a bit off-line to get a lot of grip on the braking.
:11:32. > :11:36.You try to run as much speed of the corners, but it is difficult to know
:11:37. > :11:42.where the grip is. This was easy, but it is easy to lose the backend.
:11:43. > :11:50.Sailing through there. Finding the breaking point, and the fine you
:11:51. > :11:55.stop the car too much. I had a big lift, I lost quite a bit of time
:11:56. > :12:00.there. The car is twitching down this straight. This part, it is so
:12:01. > :12:05.difficult, you field like you are breaking early. But you are carrying
:12:06. > :12:14.too much speed. A massive oversteer there. All of these black lines on
:12:15. > :12:17.the track make the car so nervous. Coming into the high-speed, the
:12:18. > :12:24.balance is very good, the exit is really important. I clipped the
:12:25. > :12:30.curve there. Coming down into 13, again, you feel like the wheels are
:12:31. > :12:37.breaking away. A couple of points where the grip snaps away. It is
:12:38. > :12:41.quite simple here. Then, trying to find the breaking point, and not
:12:42. > :12:46.losing it. Getting on the power here is the trickiest thing. You have to
:12:47. > :12:52.shift through the gears as quickly as possible. And oversteer here,
:12:53. > :12:58.trying to stay off. Watching the, you are smiling. Is it more fun
:12:59. > :13:05.watching it than doing it? Absolutely. The lap is incredible.
:13:06. > :13:12.You know what it is like to get into a new car and not know where the
:13:13. > :13:19.grip is. Today, so much less rear grip, the downforce, so when you are
:13:20. > :13:26.powering with this, it is insane. You are going round the corner in
:13:27. > :13:29.four 450. If you were describing the difference between last year and
:13:30. > :13:36.this year, what is the biggest challenge? It is the talk on the
:13:37. > :13:41.exit. It is insane, how much power. Even in a straight line, it is great
:13:42. > :13:49.fun, but do have the big KERS pack, the Turbo, and the wheels spinning.
:13:50. > :13:53.A lot more corrections are needed, so you need to be pretty sharp.
:13:54. > :14:00.Talking about that, what can we expect tomorrow? It will be
:14:01. > :14:04.interesting. We have done a good job, we stopped on a good
:14:05. > :14:09.foundation, but tomorrow we have 100 kilos of fuel, and it is the
:14:10. > :14:13.challenge to get to the end of the race. Lots of lifting and coasting,
:14:14. > :14:20.shifting, all the things you need to do. I do not know where you push and
:14:21. > :14:24.where you don't, where you save the fuel, where you saved the tyres. We
:14:25. > :14:30.will learn as we go. Congratulations. Let's hear from
:14:31. > :14:33.Nico Hulkenberg -- Nico Rosberg, who heads the second row.
:14:34. > :14:39.That a tougher day then you expect it? It was a very tough day will
:14:40. > :14:46.stop it was tough conditions, really challenging. I would have hoped for
:14:47. > :14:51.better than third place, but it is OK, it is a good place to start
:14:52. > :14:57.tomorrow, and having it car, it is a really enjoyable feeling. The fuel
:14:58. > :15:00.consumption will be on the edge, and tied consumption, reliability.
:15:01. > :15:09.Everything will be pushing the limits. We need to keep relaxed, and
:15:10. > :15:16.make the most of it. Is this an unsettling time, or, an exciting
:15:17. > :15:22.time? It is exciting. It is nice to have a quick car and it is really
:15:23. > :15:28.quick and that is great. The biggest smile in Melbourne today
:15:29. > :15:36.has to go to Daniel Ricciardo. What a weekend you are having. How was it
:15:37. > :15:41.out there? It was really nice. By far my best qualifying session to
:15:42. > :15:46.date. The rain threw in a curve ball. We had no idea if it would be
:15:47. > :15:51.competitive in those conditions but we were from the start and Simon my
:15:52. > :15:59.engineer on the radio was saying every time I cross the line it was
:16:00. > :16:03.P1, or, P2. It was nice to hear. You looked a star out there, total
:16:04. > :16:19.confidence with the new opportunity. We have some footage of your lap. I
:16:20. > :16:24.chose to go on the intermediates. It was a gamble, but, at the same
:16:25. > :16:27.time, I felt we had to do it. There was standing water and it was
:16:28. > :16:33.slippery. You can see the car moving. On the exit here it was
:16:34. > :16:38.slippery, trying to short shift and keep the power down to the ground.
:16:39. > :16:42.Could you stay flat around the back of the late? Everybody else was on
:16:43. > :16:49.full wet, so it was brave on the intermediates. It was flat, but
:16:50. > :16:57.tricky. You feel the car sliding. Particularly over the lines, getting
:16:58. > :17:00.quite close to the wall. This is great through the high-speed
:17:01. > :17:07.chicane. Did you know you were building a great lap? I knew it
:17:08. > :17:12.would be close. I got the last lap in probably a few seconds before the
:17:13. > :17:17.lights went red. I knew if I kept it together, it would be close the
:17:18. > :17:23.front row. Here there was standing water and I had under state, which
:17:24. > :17:26.washed me wide, but then it was smooth sailing until the finishing
:17:27. > :17:34.line. The last corner I was not happy with. Waiting, waiting, and
:17:35. > :17:38.then yes, it was all right. And momentarily you had pole position
:17:39. > :17:43.and the crowd will go wild until Lewis came back. Could you hear
:17:44. > :17:50.them? When I slow down I could hear a little bit. I looked up at the
:17:51. > :17:55.screen. I saw the on-board of Lewis and is figured that he was a good
:17:56. > :17:59.chance of getting it. I did not celebrate too much because I was
:18:00. > :18:04.still under threat. You seem to have fitted in with the team nicely. It
:18:05. > :18:13.was really nice. I had nice pats on the back. And my previous team, I
:18:14. > :18:21.think they had a good day. It was a good day for the younger red balls.
:18:22. > :18:30.Tomorrow, -- Red Bulls. Tomorrow, what are you expecting? It is a
:18:31. > :18:34.challenge for everybody. For me, not much will change. The engineers will
:18:35. > :18:40.tell us to change different fuel modes to see where we are and to
:18:41. > :18:45.make sure we get to the end. For me, it is to try to race and stay at the
:18:46. > :18:55.front. That would be ideal. We wish you the best for tomorrow.
:18:56. > :19:00.Kevin Magnussen starting fourth at his first Grand Prix in Australia.
:19:01. > :19:06.How did the McLaren feel? The car was really good, the best it has
:19:07. > :19:12.been for me. It felt really good. Just trying not to make a mistake.
:19:13. > :19:18.Trying to get the lap dance and trying to push a bit more. I am
:19:19. > :19:25.happy. I could not have asked for any more. How difficult is it to
:19:26. > :19:28.drive these new engines? Is it something that is controlled by the
:19:29. > :19:36.engineers more? It is more difficult. I have never driven the
:19:37. > :19:40.old cars in the wet, but I am confident in saying it is more
:19:41. > :19:45.difficult, as well. Down to turn nine, you were not slapped on the
:19:46. > :19:51.wet tyres. The wide lines and all that. It is tricky. My first
:19:52. > :19:56.qualifying in Formula One, completely new. The team is doing a
:19:57. > :19:59.great job in giving me time and being patient and giving me the
:20:00. > :20:05.support I need to progress and improve. Do you feel you can carry
:20:06. > :20:11.this through for tomorrow in the race? I have no idea, that is the
:20:12. > :20:18.honest answer. I will go out and enjoy it and do the best I can. Try
:20:19. > :20:22.not to overdo it, but it is important not to do any less than I
:20:23. > :20:28.can. I will enjoy it and make sure I do my best. Now we can hear from
:20:29. > :20:35.Jenson Button, who did not make it through to Q3.
:20:36. > :20:41.Not the qualifying anybody was hoping for. Were you caught out by
:20:42. > :20:47.the yellows? On the first set of tyres in Q2 I was quickest when I
:20:48. > :20:55.did my lap. It felt good. I was fifth until the end. I was caught
:20:56. > :20:59.out by the yellow flag. That was it. We are talking about how
:21:00. > :21:04.unpredictable Formula One is, do you have any idea what to expect in the
:21:05. > :21:10.race? No, but not qualifying for the top ten, that was bad luck for all
:21:11. > :21:18.of us, with yellow flags, but, hopefully, tomorrow, it will not be
:21:19. > :21:26.so unlucky. I enjoy this place and the car is working well. I should
:21:27. > :21:33.not be in this position. We need to look in a positive way.
:21:34. > :21:38.We have had a trouble-free weekend. Starting fifth, if we can cross the
:21:39. > :21:41.line tomorrow, we can put in a strong result because we are in that
:21:42. > :21:50.position that is close to the podium already. Is seeing the chequered
:21:51. > :21:55.flag a battle tomorrow? Obviously, the win would be a priority for
:21:56. > :21:59.everybody. But we cannot be too optimistic after we saw so many
:22:00. > :22:04.issues in winter testing for everybody. We cannot start tomorrow
:22:05. > :22:10.and take it for granted we will cross the line. We need to take care
:22:11. > :22:15.of every detail. As a team, we are in a strong position because we have
:22:16. > :22:19.a strong package. Tomorrow is the time to deliver. Yesterday was
:22:20. > :22:23.practice, today no points given full qualifying, so tomorrow is the
:22:24. > :22:27.time. They were torrid conditions today.
:22:28. > :22:34.It is difficult to know where Ferrari R. They are among the mix,
:22:35. > :22:38.but at no point in practice and qualifying have they looked like
:22:39. > :22:43.they will unleash a big lap will stop the big surprise of qualifying
:22:44. > :22:47.was that of Red Bulls. Fernando is answering the questions but I think
:22:48. > :22:49.there is frustration that once again he starts with expectations of
:22:50. > :22:55.getting a finish rather than fighting for the win. Kimi Raikkonen
:22:56. > :23:02.would have been in Q3 if he did not have the crash. He was the only
:23:03. > :23:06.person who lost the car in free practice in pre-season testing,
:23:07. > :23:11.excuse me, in Bahrain, which he put down to being on old tyres, which
:23:12. > :23:16.was a schoolboy error, the car snapped sideways and caught him by
:23:17. > :23:20.surprise. That had an effect on the rest of the fields. We can hear from
:23:21. > :23:24.him now. Was it the damp conditions or did
:23:25. > :23:29.the cast map around or new? I touched the wall. It would not have
:23:30. > :23:37.changed anything. We did not have time to finish the lap. There was
:23:38. > :23:41.some traffic. There was all the time some cars in front of me and one car
:23:42. > :23:50.was going slowly through the corner on that lap.
:23:51. > :23:55.Toro Rosso had an incredible day today. Jean-Eric Vergne in sixth, at
:23:56. > :24:03.the big star was their driver Daniil Kvyat. Last year in damp conditions
:24:04. > :24:08.he ran in the top ten, people were surprised he got the drive, but he
:24:09. > :24:12.has an actual talent. He had the big slide and then there was a Big Bang
:24:13. > :24:16.in the side which will cause problems. He lost it around the back
:24:17. > :24:21.of the lake. Just as the car came back into the side of the track, he
:24:22. > :24:29.caught the front wing. We could get that from his point of view.
:24:30. > :24:33.It was looking positive. Just not right at the end. It does not matter
:24:34. > :24:42.to be honest, I do not care about that one, I was trying. Q3, P8 is
:24:43. > :24:46.not bad. I would not expect this a month ago when we started the
:24:47. > :24:51.testing. It is a big step forward and I am happy for the team and
:24:52. > :24:58.satisfied with my performance. Alan has been taking a closer look
:24:59. > :25:03.at Sebastian Vettel. He has been struggling with balance
:25:04. > :25:09.and consistency in drivability with his Red Bull. In Q1, coming out of
:25:10. > :25:15.turn ten, he kisses the wall, it did not damage the car, but it upset
:25:16. > :25:19.him. This is the real reason he did not get through. The yellow flag
:25:20. > :25:29.because of Kimi Raikkonen's car. This was a long yellow period. The
:25:30. > :25:34.stewards have specific data on how much drivers are slowing. He was
:25:35. > :25:38.cleared because he lifted a significant about. The consistency
:25:39. > :25:43.issues and balance are still there. You can see he is fighting with the
:25:44. > :25:48.steering wheel. We come down to where he hit the wall in Q1. The car
:25:49. > :25:53.is hard work and getting away. He puts the power down and the torque
:25:54. > :25:59.comes in. Again, the rear wheels spinning up and you can see the
:26:00. > :26:07.frustration. He qualified in top ten every time in 2013. Now he is out.
:26:08. > :26:11.By contrast, Daniel Ricciardo down into Turn 3, how gentle and
:26:12. > :26:18.progressive. It looks like he is driving to the shops. He is also
:26:19. > :26:24.allowing the torque of the engine to do the work. The car is giving him
:26:25. > :26:28.confidence to do it. Sebastian Vettel was working on the steering
:26:29. > :26:32.but look how progressive it is with Ricciardo. In that position that
:26:33. > :26:37.gives you confidence. You know what it is like with confidence in these
:26:38. > :26:43.conditions, you can push it, David. This is where Sebastian Vettel hit
:26:44. > :26:55.the wall. A short shift up to 50 and smoothly out and fifth. -- fifth
:26:56. > :26:59.gear. The machine is giving Daniel Ricciardo confidence and Sebastian
:27:00. > :27:03.is fighting it so there might be more to this than the physical
:27:04. > :27:08.driving of them. I would like to go to the shops in a Formula One car!
:27:09. > :27:13.We can see how they line up for tomorrow.
:27:14. > :27:21.Lewis Hamilton starting from pole position. Local hero Daniel
:27:22. > :27:27.Ricciardo is second. 21-year-old Kevin Magnussen starts his first
:27:28. > :27:36.Grand Prix in fourth. It is a career-best sixth place for
:27:37. > :27:37.Jean-Eric Vergne. A gearbox penalty for Valtteri Bottas brings Jenson
:27:38. > :28:10.Button to 10th. That is how the grid lines up. Banks
:28:11. > :28:17.are today. We will be back tomorrow on BBC One at TPM. If you fancy a
:28:18. > :28:25.bit of Murray Walker, he is on Desert Island discs on Radio 4 at
:28:26. > :28:28.11:15am. Join us tomorrow to see who can harness the hybrid energy and
:28:29. > :28:35.power their car to victory. Goodbye.