The Australian Grand Prix - Qualifying Highlights Formula 1

Yes! I am loving it! Sebastian Vettel is the 2013 world

champion! Fantastic, you are a four-time world

champion! Yes! I feel good, but lacks. I do not

know what will happen this weekend. We cannot tell how competitive

anyone is. It is difficult to have any expectations. It is a big job, a

big challenge. We are unsure how good the cars are. It is

unpredictable, but that is cool. We will start having some monsters now

this weekend. I feel like I am in a great team, I

just hope it is a special year. And we hope so, too. We are back,

welcome to Melbourne for a brand-new season of Formula 1, with emphasis

on the word new, because the sport has undergone the biggest technical

changes in a generation, income the V6 turbo charged hybrid power unit.

We have very different cars, with the real prospect of a thrilling and

unpredictable season. The Bulls race at 19 tracks across five continents.

We will visit the Winter Olympic venue of Sochi for the first time.

The Abu Dhabi race is worth double points. Abu Dhabi -- Eddie Jordan

will join us in a few races' time. Hello, David Coulthard. If this one

of the most interesting starts to the season? It is one of the most

complicated, it has always been about cutting edge technology, but

we have got a huge reliance on hybrid technology. It has been

proving quite a challenge for the teams to get that integrated. Will

it be unpredictable? Yes, no team has completed a full Grand Prix

distance in the testing. That is not exactly a confidence booster.

Mercedes seem to be well sorted, Renault struggling, Rory unknown,

there are a few questions. How steep as the learning curve been? Hybrid

technology has been around for some time, but not to the amount of power

that Formula 1 teams can harness and store. Not with the packaging you

have on a modern Formula 1 car. That is what makes it complex and

difficult. But they always find a solution. It might be bumpy in the

beginning, but we will see some fierce battles. Have they had enough

time to get ready? They have not, but that is a function of the fact

they have to race through 2013 whilst having one eye on the future.

We had several years of stability with those engines, and now we have

gone to these new ones, 12 days of testing, it is a huge challenge. In

your day, you had teams that could test regularly. That does not happen

now. Yes, we had separate test teams, we would spend several weeks

testing in Portugal or Spain during the season, but they do not have

that now. It is back for this year, but that will only benefit them

later in the season. Let's have a look at the technical changes.

There has been huge changes in Formula 1 in 2014. What is he

talking about? One of the biggest is the downsizing of the engines, Don

are the V8 engines, in come the V6 turbo is. My engine is 1.6? My first

car had more than that! The point is to develop new technologies. The

latest of these is... You mean KERS? That is not on my car. ERS is

the new slimmed down engine, with the turbocharger on the backend, ten

times the electrical hybrid energy there for use in comparison to last

year. 33 seconds of power boost, and double the horsepower capability,

160 horsepower acceleration for the drivers. The cars look dramatically

different, the noses are much lower. That has produced some

interesting designs, but the aerodynamics averages to, because

the wit is 15 centimetres narrower. Also, the rear wing, the element at

the top is narrower, and the bar at the bottom has gone, reducing the

effectiveness of the floor. A bit less downforce, and they have to

work harder. Now, the cars are limited to 100 kilograms of fuel

from the start of the race, until the end. That is like two tanks of a

4x4. 35% less than last year. It is the biggest regulation change in a

generation, and the beginning of a new Iraq. -- a new era. You are now

telling me we have double points in the last race!

Lets hope they have explained everything to the drivers! Those

characteristics, what will we see on track? The drivers having to work

much harder, especially when they come out of the corners. It has been

a bit inconsistent, they have had big over steering moments, and it

will be tricky this afternoon, to get it totally right. You can hear

the engines fired up behind us, this time last year, we could not chat

here. I can hear you very easily. What do you make of it? It is

nowhere near as loud as it used to be. It is a lot quieter, some people

enjoy that, personally, I enjoyed the scream that we used to have.

This is the modern formula, and this is what we will accept. Do you feel

as though technology is becoming quieter now? I am a bit older than

David, I remember the other engines. With the new hybrid systems, it is

much quieter, and it is the new sound, the new music of Formula 1.

They will get used to it. In six months, we will just look at

performance. Who will perform well with these cars? Bullet suit any

drivers in particular? We are at the beginning of the curve, there needs

to be a lot of sorting out from the engine side before we can see which

drivers can exploit that. In these early days, Mercedes have stolen a

march, it remains to be seen who has reliability, but until everything is

finely tuned, it is too early to judge. We saw the problem in winter

testing with reliability, talking about engine manufacturers, there

have been some switches. Mercedes do seem to be running away with it. It

might have been an inspired choice for Williams. Toro Rosso has gone to

the Renault engine. Williams have gone to Mercedes. They have

performed significantly better than last year. Mercedes has given them

the liability to exploit what they can understand with the chassis, and

they are more prepared than any of the red engines. We have seen the

performance going through two free practice and qualifying. Why have we

seen the big difference? It is a function of when they started the

development. Renault have been winning World Championships for the

last few years and trying to maintain the delivery of engines.

Mercedes decided to start investing heavily in the new technology, and

that may have cost them in terms of budget available to develop the car,

but they have nailed it with the engine. As we start the brave new

journey, they have what seems like the most powerful engine, but will

it be reliable? Nobody has done a grand prix distance. Let's have a

look at the 11 teams. Red Bull dominated the last years

with four constructors titles and four driver's titles for Sebastian

Vettel. He has become a father, but his ambition to win five in a row is

undiminished. Daniel Ricciardo is his Australian team-mate, and steps

into Mark Webber's shoes with a reputation to prove. If preseason is

anything to go by, Mercedes are the team to beat, Lewis Hamilton and

Nico Rosberg won three races last season, and they look the best

prepared during the 12 days of running this year. Lewis Hamilton is

the favourite for the drivers title. Two heavyweights will share the most

famous dressing room, Fernando Alonso has twice been a champion,

but not yet for the Italian team, and his patients could be wearing

thin. He may write in and won his world title in the Redcar. He was

elbowed out to make way for Fernando Alonso, but now he returns. Pastor

Maldonado joins Lotus, alongside Romain Grosjean, who got six podiums

last year. They have had a difficult start to the season. This weekend

last year, they won the Australian Grand Prix, but recently, it has

been their financial problems that have made the news, along with the

team principal to McLaren. At McLaren, Jenson Button starts his

15th season in Formula 1, the most experienced driver on the grid.

Contrast to Kevin Magnussen, he makes his debut. Jenson Button has

won here three times, and after a torrid season, a podium would be a

real achievement. Force India have Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez,

who has much to prove after being dumped by McLaren. The Mercedes

engine could give them the edge at this stage of the season. Sauber has

gone for a mix of experience and youth, Adrian Sutil has contested

over 100 races in his time, though he is yet to achieve a podium.

Esteban Gutierrez returns for a second season, ensuring there are

still two Mexican drivers on the grid. Toro Rosso keep Jean-Eric

Vergne, though he has got a lot to prove, especially with Daniil Kvyat

stepping up. They did not have the easiest winter testing, but it could

be that they finish above their Big Brother this weekend. Williams have

moved to Mercedes power and signed up Felipe Massa, who set the pace in

the final test, and is relishing his new position, away from Ferrari.

Valtteri Bottas has a huge chance to shine in what seemed to be a much

more competitive package. Marussia has the same line-up as last season,

Jules Bianchi and the only driver to see the chequered flag in every race

last year, Max Chilton, it was a huge effort to get ready for the

first test, and they have Robbie Power this year. At Caterham, Kamui

Kobayashi returns, next to the support of his Japanese fans, joined

by Marcus Ericsson, the first Swedish driver in 23 years to join

the grid. What is your feeling on Fernando and Kimi?

People think there will be fireworks. This is an injustice to

Felipe Massa. He had good qualifying and could not match him in the race.

I think they are mature enough to work the system and try to get the

best from Ferrari. Neither will want to be number two. They are rear

listed enough to know they have to work together to develop this

package. Ferrari do not appear to be setting the pace. The only way to

develop the car is two fast drivers who know how to get the most out of

it. What about Lewis and Niko? They are friends from old. This year is

different -- Nico Rosberg. They have a chance of winning the

championship, could that affect the relationship? My experience of being

in a team with an advantage is even on a bad day you finish second. You

want to beat your team-mate. The mood on the team is happy if that is

the case, that it takes away some of the frustration and negative energy

that will come if you are behind your team-mate. It is in their hands

to understand the new rules and integrate themselves with the

systems available and to beat their team-mate. They are both quick. Who

will be top dog at the end of the year? That will make the season

exciting. Lewis 's favourite, are you in agreement? He is a great

driver. Lewis, when he is able to attack, he is virtually on

beatable. Whether he is able to be in the zone during a Grand Prix

remains to be seen. It is two separate disciplines. Qualifying is

about the one lap. The big thing we will be talking about is using the

energy and restriction on fuel, 100 kilos for the whole Grand Prix, and

that comes down to drive the management. We'll Lewis be able to

peg back the natural ability to push and save the fuel necessary -- will

he be able to? Some of the teams have struggled this weekend.

There have been reliability problems this weekend. Lotus and Marussia

broke the curfew last night, the last Lotus mechanic went at 8am this

morning back to his hotel. There has been a lot of work at Sauber and

Williams since the end of the last practice session because they have

changed gearboxes on the cars of Bottas and Gutierrez. It will take

one and a half hours to change a box this year. Those cars will be out

for the start of the session. The bad news is that the wind is picking

up and there is even talk of a cyclone hitting for the start of the

session. Just what the teams need! Usually,

Mark Webber has the weight of Australia on his shoulders, at this

time of year, and he was looking relaxed when I caught up with him.

How has your winter being? Very good. Busy in December. January was

nice and chilled out. Working hard and a lot of testing, but at the

moment it is nice to have a quieter season. Expectations this year? We

will need time. 240 people are working hard. It is a complex

programme. It is like a Formula One car with a roof! And eight race

programme. The first races Silverstone, Easter weekend. You

agree to do some beaches for us, what can we look forward to in

Malaysia? We have done a feature on how drivers cope with heat. Fitness

is one thing, but a special subject on how you deal with the hot races,

such as Singapore. Budapest was always a little as well. Excellent.

One -- welcome to the team. A little bit of Mark Webber this

season. The scene is set. This is the first qualifying session with

Tom in the pit lane and David alongside Ben Edwards in the

commentary box. We are about to see fully hybrid

Formula One cars qualify for the first time. New rules in 2014,

including the timetable for qualifying. Six cars will be

eliminated at the end of segment one. Duration drops to 18. Q2

eliminates another six, and remains at 15. The top ten and it will last

12 minutes. And an extra set of softer tyres to make sure the top

ten runners go for it. What can we expect recession? Tom has been

investigating. I am with the Williams technical

boss. What are the main challenges? A lot of the unknowns. I think the

real challenge is we know Australia and Melbourne, four seasons in one

day and we are having them. The wind and the threat of rain, that is what

we have our eyes on. Does this changed the plan, video qualifying?

Not really, it gives us a slightly better shot on longer circuits. No

big changes for us. If it is dry, what is the cut-off time to get

through to Q2? A difficult question. It is always difficult. With a

limited amount of data, we will establish that as we go along.

Thanks for your time. The first segment is under way.

David, why are so many cars rushing? Presumably the climactic

conditions? They would normally want a few cars to go out and take any

dust on the track, but with the clouds coming, we had drops of rain

in the last hour, you cannot afford to sit in the pits. They will be

jockeying for position. There is a difference between the tyre we can

see here and the yellow sidewall of the option. 1.5 two seconds. Some

have gone out on the soft tyre. Jenson Button went out on the soft

tyre but Rosberg and Hamilton have gone out on the harder medium tyre,

which is not expected to be as quick. There is a difference in

performance. Daniel Ricciardo is not taking chances. They know they have

issues in getting maximum power from the new unit. They are going on the

softer of the tyres. We will see if that works for them. No rain just

yet. We did have a few drops. The track runs parallel to one of the

main roads in this suburb. A series of 90 degrees corners that finish

off the lap. Over the recent years we have been used to talking about

how quickly the tyres go away, in qualifying sometimes you have to

look after them over a lap, but they are more resilient this season. The

rally responded to the criticisms. -- Pirelli. They are heavier because

of some of the material they have put in. More GRS this year. We are

watching Lewis Hamilton. The first to go onto a flying lap. -- DRS. We

expect the gap between the hard and soft tyre to be up to two seconds.

We saw that improvement in practice three. The engine is much quieter.

You can see a wiggle from the back of the car, expect more of that as

we go through qualifying. The rear end dances more. They have more

horsepower available when they first get on the power. That was neat and

tidy. He will be taking it cautious on the harder of the tyres. 1.5

second is a massive step in performance between the two which

will lead for interesting strategy on race day. We are hearing they do

not expect significant rain in the first part of qualifying. The rear

is sliding. Get used to that. More torque available as they can deploy

and smooth out the previous humps and bumps we saw. 1.31 compares to

1.29 on the soft tyre this morning. Felipe Massa, the new look of the

Williams car. Mercedes power. He goes faster straightaway, on the

soft tyre. Using it to his advantage.

It goes up to eight ratios, you could see the cockpit. Kevin

Magnussen, he is making his Formula One debut. At McLaren. One of the

top teams, even if they had a dire 2013 season. How will he cope with

pressure? He looked as if he was sliding macabre. He goes fastest,

that is a good way to begin your career. Ron Dennis back at the

controls of McLaren, smiling. He will enjoy that. There is a long way

to go. Ricciardo. He goes fastest. The Ferrari drivers, Alonso and Kimi

Raikkonen, who is the defending race winner from last season when he

drove for Lotus. Let's see how the Ferrari looks. We know how

aggressive Alonso can be. This weekend he has been chucking the car

around. He has a Marussia ahead, which is not ideal. On a timed lap,

you cannot get done for blocking. Marussia not wanting to upset them

early in the season. A couple of cars going quite slowly. But the

soft tyre. OK, but quickly. Maybe he feels the raid in the air as much as

anything. Sebastian Vettel, the reigning world champion. The drivers

using permanent race numbers this year. The world champion keeps

number one. You can see the right of the gear display. A couple of tenths

quicker and I imagine that with the his time for the morning session.

32.2. Oversteer mid-corner and he let the car out to the wall, that is

amazing. That is what we are seeing with the power units, delivering

that kind of horsepower. They are getting close. That was closer than

you would like. If the lap belt is from the morning session, this will

not be particularly good. -- delta. There was a little bit of movement.

His team-mate is fastest at the moment. Vettel goes six. 1.3 is

slower than Daniel Ricciardo, his team-mate. This is on the exit of

eight and nine. He gets oversteer as he accelerates and kisses the wall,

reminiscent of something you would expect in Monte Carlo. It confirms

the base lap we were looking at, as he runs it to the wall, and contact

made. He managed to get it back onto. That

was at turn 13. Tom, let's get down to you.

Fernando Alonso when passed on the soft tyres. Sebastian Vettel, after

final practice, he said he was unhappy with his qualifying engine

mode. He was going to have to go one step more conservative for this

session. The 1.3 gap might be something to do with that.

Lewis Hamilton still on the prime tyres and he had a small mistake. It

is getting hot. That is a worry, the cockpit getting hot the Jenson

Button. We are on board with him. That could be where the electrical

boxes come from the chassis through to the engine and they sealed them

off using high-density foam. If it comes on don the cockpit will suck

the heat through the gaps into the cockpit around the driver. The

engine is pressure rise. Over 100 degrees, very uncomfortable.

Ricciardo went fastest for Red Bull. The Australian who has taken a seat

from Mark Webber. It is early days. Kevin Magnussen in second place.

Felipe Massa is in a Williams now, he is third.

A big lock-up from Fernando Alonso. He gets away with it, but he might

have flat spotted the front right. New braking systems for all of the

cars. They have an electronic control on the braking, because part

of it is done by the hybrid harvesting. The teams have had to

come up with systems that try to give the driver the same feel they

have always had but a lot of it is now automated. Some teams are doing

it better than others, and Fernando Alonso was struggling in testing. It

appears that Kimi Raikkonen has also been finding it rough. We have

gusting wind as well, we are close to the sea. A lot of

unpredictability. When you run through this section, you are

protected from the wind, then you come out into a wide-open area. What

is happening, Tom? David was talking about the crosswind, it is now

reining in the pit lane. This lap for Fernando Alonso will be crucial

if he is going to get through. He should be reasonably secure.

Fernando Alonso is safe now. An aborted lap for him. Kamui Kobayashi

is on the bubble. RADIO: The raindrops coming now. The crowd are

reacting to the rain as well. Kamui Kobayashi and Marcus Ericsson

driving for Caterham. Marcus Ericsson is the youngster who is

alongside Kamui Kobayashi. One Caterham is in the mix, the other is

out, at the moment. Romain Grosjean also out so far.

Pastor Maldonado has just done the first sector. That gives you the

idea of the rain being around. He locks up and spins. He will be able

to drive out of there. Very lucky to not go too deep. The raindrops lock

the front. As soon as the surface temperature goes out of the tires,

you have no grip whatsoever. They have not been able to set a time

good enough. Pastor Maldonado has not set a time at all, he would be

number 22 on the list. Lotus' weekend goes from bad to worse, they

have done very few laps, they have had a tough time, they have done to

all mitres already. RADIO: Exercise caution, it is very slippery. That

is fairly obvious. Pastor Maldonado is off again. Just to confirm how

slippery it is. It is not looking good at all. You can see the rain

rolling off the bodywork. It might be difficult for the people at home,

but when you have the slick tyres, you lose the temperature, it is like

driving on ice. Look at how slowly he is going,

driving on ice. Look at how slowly speed up. I cannot. Understood. He

was making it very clear he could not go any quicker, and his engineer

was watching pictures of him going off, and understanding how slippery

it was. The engineers are looking at data and tyre temperatures,

sometimes, you have got to get your eye out of the pit lane to see what

is going on. This is another rookie, Daniil Kvyat. It is a good effort

from him, not far behind his team-mate, Jean-Eric Vergne. They

are using Renault power this year. That is a good first effort by

Daniil Kvyat. He is only 19. If he could score some points, he would

beat a record belonging to this man is the youngest ever points scorer.

Some other interesting ones to watch out for. A great effort by Marcus

Ericsson, -- Kevin Magnussen, head of Jenson Button. Both of the

Ferrari cars are in the top ten. Kimi Raikkonen has struggled a bit

competitive Fernando Alonso. Nico Rosberg only in 10th place, but

Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg only went out on the harder tyre, and

they are still confidently in range, and they still have the option one

is available. Hopefully we will not see a repeat of last year, when

qualifying was suspended until Sunday morning. Terrible rain

conditions. The other thing to note, Kamui Kobayashi has qualified, he

has made his return to Formula 1. It is always tough for those teams to

get into the second part of qualifying, but he is already in.

Those that have not made it on the screen. Max Chilton faster than

Jules Bianchi. Nobody went any faster, that is how

it stayed. A tough weekend for Caterham, losing valuable time, but

to get within ballpoint aid of Kamui Kobayashi, you must be pleased.

Yes, it is difficult for me, you need a lot of laps, as a rookie, and

I did not do any yesterday. But I have to be happy with that.

Hopefully, I can build on that tomorrow. You do not know the

circuit either, so are you still learning? Yes, every lap, I keep

improving. To be so close to Kamui Kobayashi, it is good. Is this

weekend more of a test for you? If I had had no problems on Friday, it

would be a different story, but with the Friday we had, it was difficult.

But the team did really well to get everything together for today. We

wish you all the best. Here comes Q2.

The second part of qualifying is under way. We have another rush of

cars. Both Williams, Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, go out, so do

the Mercedes. The Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne is out, so is

Fernando Alonso. Most of them are using the intermediate tyre. A few

of them might have a reconnaissance lap on the wet tyres. The full wet

tyre is new, but the intermediate is the same as last year. That is the

full wet, being run by Daniil Kvyat. He is having his debut on those.

They clear more water, but they are a different construction as well.

The main thing about them, because of more block movement, it heats up

better. The Williams takes the grass. You do not get the same block

movement on the intermediate. There is a lot more confidence and a track

like this, you can lean on the tyre. It will overheat quickly, but for a

single lap, in these cold conditions, it is not bad. This is

Valtteri Bottas, he was so impressive in damp conditions last

year in Montreal, he had an outstanding performance. Let's see

what he can do. Williams have taken a big step forward, they have

switched to the Mercedes engine, and the car has been looking quick in

testing, and both drivers reporting good things. We saw them making a

number of adjustments, getting ready to wind it up for his first flying

lap. They have reduced the output of the engine. When you have less grip,

you cannot use it. RADIO: We will open up the gap. The rain could

increase. He is being urged to carry on. Valtteri Bottas has a gearbox

penalty, unfortunately he will lose five places, because they had to

change the gearbox after practice. But still, it is about the honour of

qualifying as far up as you can, and not worrying about the penalty. A

lot of cars out on track at the moment, 16. As I mentioned earlier,

this session is the same length as before, 15 minutes, just under 12

and a half minutes to go. The intermediate tyre would seem to be

correct, there is not much standing water. This section of the track was

catching out a lot of people this morning. The bump has been part of

this track historically. It tends to be where you get a tailwind. A

number of cars have had issues. The motor generator unit has been

catching them out. Let's watch and listen. Let's see what the power

delivery is like. They get a huge amount of available torque in the

ability to spin the wheel. In the wet conditions, that is even more

critical. He covers it all together. This will be the first indicator

time. A bit too long on the curb, perhaps. They put some sand in the

paint, but none the less, it is always a lot slippery than being on

the racetrack. A big slide from Felipe Massa, but he keeps it under

control. A lovely slide from him this morning. This was Valtteri

Bottas. Look at that, a big opposite lock slide. Nico Rosberg is on 46.7,

0.4 quicker than Felipe Massa. Nico Rosberg was quickest in the wet here

last year, but not in the dry segment. That looked like a tricky

power delivery from the Renault engine of Sebastian Vettel. That is

not what you want to feel. It is really disconcerting in the dry

conditions, and in the wet, it is so difficult. This has been a real

issue for the Renault powered cars, the whole integration of the power

unit. The internal combustion engine is well known, but harvesting that

kinetic energy is proving to be quite an issue. Getting everything

synchronised is proving difficult for the engineers are. Daniel

Ricciardo has just gone fastest, faster than Nico Rosberg. Whether it

is a Pacific problem for Sebastian Vettel, because he did seem to have

problems this morning, but Daniel Ricciardo is going very well indeed.

So far, so good. That will warm the hearts of the Australian fans. I

know it is early days. He has just been picked by Valtteri Bottas. He

is finding his confidence. We will see the performance picked up as the

track dries, lap after lap. Jean-Eric Vergne has gone second, he

is always quick in the wet conditions. The track is getting

quicker each lap, so you would expect improvements.

Let's see what Valtteri Bottas did. This was into the first corner. He

lost it through the first part. The cut right across the grass. That is

a difficult manoeuvre to do in the dry, and in the wet, it does not

work. Nico Rosberg has been told it is the third lap on these tyres,

take it easy on the first couple of laps. They have learned something

about heating up the intermediate tyres. Daniel Ricciardo has gone

back on top. Nico Hulkenberg in a Force India, we have seen it before,

but he had a year at Sauber. He has swapped back to Force India. Another

one to watch in damp conditions. Remember his pole position was in

damp conditions, in his debut season for Williams in Brazil. Was Berg has

gone faster than anybody in the first sector. Tom.

I wanted to reflect on how rain is a leveller for the drivers and the

chassis. Ricciardo going quickest and I and reminded something Jenson

Button said. He was going through Turney Leven at Bahrain and Daniel

Ricciardo drove around the outside -- Teddy Leven. He said he was not

on an out lap. He said that it was proof that Red Bull had a good

chassis if they can get it working properly.

Alonso went quickest for a moment. But now Hamilton on top. Vettel,

going slowly, I think he might be balding up to a lap. Finding himself

space. -- leading up to. In the drop zone at the moment is

Vettel. We are looking at Ricciardo. He has been very fast.

Back with Nico Hulkenberg. Faster than anybody else in the first

sector. Middle sector, a personal best. That was a massive oversteer.

That got his attention. How good a lap is this? Hulkenberg getting the

Force India up with the Red Bulls and the Mercedes and the track is

getting better with every lap. It will be a last lap sprint. The rain

has stopped falling. Every opportunity it will come down to how

you time your final lap. Jean-Eric Vergne. This could be an

improvement. The man who was overlooked by Red Bull when they

took on Daniel Ricciardo into the top team. He goes into fourth. We

can see what Kevin Magnussen can do. Sergio Perez was just moving out of

the way. Cooling his tyres. There is no spray. 1:44.44. Jenson Button.

Ricciardo takes the top spot once again. Tom.

The track will be at its driest when it is the last man standing.

You have to be on a new set of intermediates. It is no good going

round and around and hoping you will have good tyres. This will be a

last-minute stop with four and a half minutes to go over Sebastian

Vettel. He must get on with this. The man who has had three pole

positions in Australia, he has to go and get on with it. Kevin Magnussen.

His father made his debut for McLaren many years ago and went on

to a fairly short Formula One career. Kevin Magnussen perhaps

hoping to learn from some of his mistakes. I do not think he will

challenge the fastest. He was slow in the first sector. Daniil Kvyat

has gone fastest of all in the first sector. He is in the drop zone, but

he has gone fastest in the first sector, so he could get himself out

of the drop zone. Three and a half minutes left. Timing me out lap and

making sure you are on a good set of intermediate tyres, and then the

pressure is on for the drivers. You have to get position, tyres heated

up nicely. Temperature in the brakes. You lose temperature in the

brakes when you are sitting in the pit lane. That is key from radiating

heat into the tyre for the right tyre pressure.

All different makes at the top at the moment. Valtteri Bottas has a

penalty. Vettel, we gather, heading out onto the track will stop this

will be crucial. The 19-year-old, Daniel Cave act, going third for

Toro Rosso. -- Daniil Kvyat. The track is getting faster and faster.

It will come down to getting good track position and making sure you

haven't overhit your intermediates. What can Kobayashi do? He is on a

better lap. Rosberg is on a really good lap. Alonso sets the fastest

middle sector of anybody so far. Rosberg seven tenths quicker alone

in the first sector, so if he can keep it together, he should surpass

whatever lap Alonso is finishing. It is impossible to know if they are

safe because the track changes all that the time. Rosberg, six tenths

slower in the middle sector. Currently, only one or two tenths

quicker on this lap from Alonso. Ricciardo did it again. Going

fastest of anybody. A great performance on his debut for Red

Bull. Kimi Raikkonen is struggling and close to dropping out unless he

finds a quick time. Rosberg going fastest in the Mercedes. It is a

real dice at the top end. It is about getting into the top ten.

Hulkenberg. Hitting the wall. That was Raikkonen and on. He hit the

wall. The yellow flags are flashing and surely that is the end of any

chance for anyone to improve, including Sebastian Vettel.

Raikkonen is out and it probably means Sebastian Vettel will not be

in the top ten. It looks to me as if that is down on the exit of Turn 3

and so Vettel cannot go faster in that sector alone, but it does not

mean he cannot gain enough time around the rest of the lap. It is

tricky breaking into the turn nine and turn ten chicane. If he can make

it up on the rest of the lap... Look at how hard he is trying. He could

still drag himself into the top ten, which would be remarkable. Again, a

weak twitch from Vettel. This is the world champion on the limit. He is

fighting for it. He does not want to go out in this first session. It

looks like a clear track ahead. Kobayashi has not made it through.

Magnusson could still be in the top ten. It depended on how much he had

to slow when the accident occurred. And he has done it. Vettel might be

able to do enough. No, he cannot. Vettel is out of qualifying. That

ends a sequence the Sebastian Vettel that goes back a long way. He is not

in the final part, but Daniel Ricciardo, his team-mate is in the

last part. One thing we could hear was the cheering from the crowd as

Sebastian Vettel did not make it through into the top ten. I guess it

is a reflection on having such a dominant run over the past four

seasons. That is quite a story. He last fell out of Q2 in Belgium in

2012. Kimi Raikkonen out of the car, which is always the best news when

you see an accident. It looks as though it was not a huge hit. He had

a crash in testing in Bahrain. He made the apex. Was it the car coming

back? No, just acceleration. The car turned right. Is that part of what

we see with the new power units? The difficulty they have is to find the

maps that decide how much of the power comes from stored energy and

how much from the internal combustion engine. Jenson Button,

another world champion, is out. Two world champions go through to

Q3. Three out in Q2, including Sebastian Vettel.

Such difficult conditions. Were you caught out by the rain or by the

yellows? I do not know. I do not like to blame anything on yellow

flags. You cannot, you know, it is not your fault, it is nobody's

fault. It costs a little bit, but equally further cars behind me.

Jenson was behind me. The car is quick, but we struggled this

afternoon, in particular with drivability, which these conditions

made it even worse. Two weeks ago you struggled to get a race distance

in, albeit in a desert, but is the car good enough for tomorrow? It

seems good enough at the moment. He is doing a good job. And then we

will see what we can do. It will be a long race. Reliability will be the

most important. I think there will be plenty of opportunities.

The final part of qualifying is under way. Nico Rosberg is the first

to take to the track. And now it is time for full wet tyres on all of

the cars because it has got worse over the last ten minutes. Alonso

going out on the intermediate. Not everybody choosing the full wet

tyre. The Red Bull is not that of Sebastian Vettel, it is the Carla

Rocha Daniel Ricciardo, -- it is the car of Daniel Ricciardo. Rosberg is

always quick in the wax. A surprise to Hamilton last year was Nico

Rosberg's performances in wet conditions. He was quite wide, but

he might have chosen that line because sometimes staying off the

ideal line is where you can find more grip. Interesting that Alonso

has kept going on the intermediates. We will get a direct

comparison. The first time they have use these new extreme wet in this

kind of session. To know the difference between it and the

intermediate, nobody has the data on that. They are learning, as we are.

The Australian fans know that an Australian has a real chance of

qualifying up front. It has looked like the rain had eased. This might

come into Alonso's hands. It looks wet enough now for the full wet

tyre. A better first sector than Rosberg has already been done by

Daniil Kvyat in the Toro Rosso. He is also on the full wet tyre and he

has gone a little quicker than was Berg, which implies the track is

drying. That will provide us with a grandstand finish in this session, I

would think. Hamilton is not far behind

Ricciardo. How does he compare? A little slower. That is what we saw

last year he -- here in Australia in the wet. Daniil Kvyat has shown

outstanding performance in his first Grand Prix. He is only a fraction

slower than his team-mate, which is impressive. That was a great effort

by Hulkenberg. He's shown he has pace in difficult conditions in the

past. Hamilton and it quicker than Rosberg in the first sector this

time. Just a fuse thousands of a second. -- a few thousands. Daniel

Ricciardo is fastest of all in the middle sector. He is still in the

hunt, battling with the Mercedes. Incomes Nico Rosberg. They have

decided to bail out. RADIO: Is it ready for intermediate? I think it

will be, yes. He will finish the lap first. Those choices will determine

who will be up front, intermediates or the full wet. Still not quite

enough to knock Nico Rosberg off his perch. Lewis Hamilton goes fastest.

Tom? I caught up with Fernando Alonso this morning and asked about

the prospect of a wet qualifying. He was wanting it to be wet, busy --

because then it comes down to experience. Nico Rosberg has gone

back out on another set of wet tyres. Felipe Massa has gone out on

intermediate. A real mixture of strategy. Daniel Ricciardo is coming

in. He gave the call to the team to put on intermediates. A lot of water

in the pit lane, but it is drying on the track. A quick change for Red

Bull. But on the intermediates, and away goes Daniel Ricciardo, looking

for his first ever front row start. He has never qualified higher than

sixth so far. Full wet going on for Lewis Hamilton. Because of the

amount of lines around the track, I wonder if it is a later call to go

onto the intermediates. The wet might start to overheat, but it

gives you more confidence, because of the block movement. Fernando

Alonso has gone for the wet. We have a split of strategy. The

intermediate, the tread pattern is quite different. If Fernando Alonso

is going for it, that tells us where the track is, with three and half

minutes to go. Did Daniel Ricciardo the decision right? Will he route

the decision? Nico Rosberg is on the wet as well. The car is still

twitching. It is still throwing up a lot of spray, Sofia, the wet would

be the better option. It is like threading a needle whilst walking on

ice. One mistake and you are going to be against the wall. Those wet

tyres give you more confidence. A big oversteer. That was coming for a

long time. I said it gives you a lot more confidence, but there, a bit of

overconfidence! He had gone fastest in the first sector. Felipe Massa on

the intermediate tyre, with the green sidewall. He has gone for what

might not be enough grip. It depends how the track behaves. Will it dry

up enough? It is still quite windy. He just manages to hold it on. That

will have lost him a lot of momentum. My goodness! That is

normally an easy straight. That is what an intermediate will do. Below

the black lines are the white lines donating where the traffic goes on

this racetrack. He has got the last part of the lap to finish off. Lewis

Hamilton is still on top. We have got a cute cars that could perhaps

challenge that. His own team-mate, Nico Rosberg, on circuit. They have

both gone for the full wet tyre, the Mercedes engine cars, or the missing

this -- or the Mercedes team. Felipe Massa not getting what he

needs out of the car. Valtteri Bottas is a bit quicker than him at

the moment. It was a big slide in a section lady do not normally see it,

but those lines are treacherous in these conditions. One minutes ago.

Kevin Magnussen, let's see how he gets on. A very respectable

performance so far. He has made it into the top ten, Jenson Button did

not. We do not know if they decided not to run at the in Iraq and in --

after Kimi Raikkonen's accident. Daniel Ricciardo goes fastest of

all. This lap from Lewis Hamilton will not be as quick as Nico

Rosberg's. This is going to be whether he gets pole position or

not. Lewis Hamilton has gone quickest. Nico Rosberg is on a lap

at the moment. That was Daniil Kvyat, who has been so impressive.

Fernando Alonso coming across the line. Not as much as he would have

expected. He is slower than Kevin Magnussen at this stage. The

chequered flag is out, Valtteri Bottas crosses the line, and Nico

Rosberg goes fastest! By 0.1. But Lewis Hamilton is on a lap. What

happened to Daniil Kvyat? It is the same area where Felipe Massa lost

control. He has caught the front wing on the wall. That is in the

longer term tween ten and 11. What about Daniel Ricciardo? Has he got

the grip he needs on the intermediate tyre? Will he break the

Mercedes 1-2? The chequered flag is waving, but the times do not look as

though they will be quick enough to improve. He is on a better lap, but

he is not going purple in any of the two first sectors. He is getting

tremendous support from the crowd. Being talked up by the commentators

at the circuit. Can he do anything about the Mercedes ahead of him? Can

he get amongst them? He has gone fastest! He has gone fastest! The

cheer from the grandstand is amazing. Look at how close it is.

Here is Hamilton! Yes, he has done it! Lewis Hamilton has taken pole

position for Mercedes. What a battle! Daniel Ricciardo will have

his first ever front row start, at his home event. It is still an

incredible performance from him. Red Bull are celebrating. The man behind

the driver programme which has seen Daniel Ricciardo progress to Red

Bull. Lewis Hamilton has taken pole position, the favourite coming into

this event, his 32nd pole position, he matches Nigel Mansell in terms of

the number of pole positions gained. It is the 100th Mercedes engine or

unit powered pole position in history. A big day for them. Lewis

Hamilton will be delighted, but the story is this guy, Daniel Ricciardo.

A fantastic performance. He went on the intermediate tyre, and he found

some grip. It highlights everything we have heard from Red Bull, they

think they have a good chassis, they have just been struggling with the

power unit. RADIO: An excellent job today, mate. That is an awesome way

to start your career at Red Bull, astonishing. RADIO: Get in there,

nice job, mate. Did I do enough? Yes, nice work. That is first place,

Daniel Ricciardo in second place, 0.3 behind, then Nico Rosberg in

third place. Let's take a look at the completely stuffed times. -- the

complete list of times. What a debut for Kevin Magnussen, head of

Fernando Alonso. Valtteri Bottas will have a penalty,

which will bring Jenson Button up to 10th place. Sebastian Vettel will

start outside the top ten. He will have to find something tomorrow. A

good effort from Caterham, they will be delighted with the performance

from Kamui Kobayashi. What a day it has been, the new Ian

Moss Formula 1, Daniel Ricciardo asserts himself as the star, but

Lewis Hamilton has taken pole position.

Huge congratulations on your 32nd career pole position lap, but I am

wondering, in this season, whether it was a relief? It was not a

relief. This weekend has been tough, I thought I was on the back foot, so

to have recovered and to get pole position is great, but naturally, it

is an incredible showing of how hard the team have worked. To have come

to a new team and seeing them grow so much, and to have got here, and

for me and Nico Rosberg to be first and third, it is an incredible

feeling. You have the most difficult of qualifying sessions to open the

season. It looked exciting in places. It is incredible, yes. It is

difficult to know where to break. The black lines make it difficult. I

was trying to stay a bit off-line to get a lot of grip on the braking.

You try to run as much speed of the corners, but it is difficult to know

where the grip is. This was easy, but it is easy to lose the backend.

Sailing through there. Finding the breaking point, and the fine you

stop the car too much. I had a big lift, I lost quite a bit of time

there. The car is twitching down this straight. This part, it is so

difficult, you field like you are breaking early. But you are carrying

too much speed. A massive oversteer there. All of these black lines on

the track make the car so nervous. Coming into the high-speed, the

balance is very good, the exit is really important. I clipped the

curve there. Coming down into 13, again, you feel like the wheels are

breaking away. A couple of points where the grip snaps away. It is

quite simple here. Then, trying to find the breaking point, and not

losing it. Getting on the power here is the trickiest thing. You have to

shift through the gears as quickly as possible. And oversteer here,

trying to stay off. Watching the, you are smiling. Is it more fun

watching it than doing it? Absolutely. The lap is incredible.

You know what it is like to get into a new car and not know where the

grip is. Today, so much less rear grip, the downforce, so when you are

powering with this, it is insane. You are going round the corner in

four 450. If you were describing the difference between last year and

this year, what is the biggest challenge? It is the talk on the

exit. It is insane, how much power. Even in a straight line, it is great

fun, but do have the big KERS pack, the Turbo, and the wheels spinning.

A lot more corrections are needed, so you need to be pretty sharp.

Talking about that, what can we expect tomorrow? It will be

interesting. We have done a good job, we stopped on a good

foundation, but tomorrow we have 100 kilos of fuel, and it is the

challenge to get to the end of the race. Lots of lifting and coasting,

shifting, all the things you need to do. I do not know where you push and

where you don't, where you save the fuel, where you saved the tyres. We

will learn as we go. Congratulations. Let's hear from

Nico Hulkenberg -- Nico Rosberg, who heads the second row.

That a tougher day then you expect it? It was a very tough day will

stop it was tough conditions, really challenging. I would have hoped for

better than third place, but it is OK, it is a good place to start

tomorrow, and having it car, it is a really enjoyable feeling. The fuel

consumption will be on the edge, and tied consumption, reliability.

Everything will be pushing the limits. We need to keep relaxed, and

make the most of it. Is this an unsettling time, or, an exciting

time? It is exciting. It is nice to have a quick car and it is really

quick and that is great. The biggest smile in Melbourne today

has to go to Daniel Ricciardo. What a weekend you are having. How was it

out there? It was really nice. By far my best qualifying session to

date. The rain threw in a curve ball. We had no idea if it would be

competitive in those conditions but we were from the start and Simon my

engineer on the radio was saying every time I cross the line it was

P1, or, P2. It was nice to hear. You looked a star out there, total

confidence with the new opportunity. We have some footage of your lap. I

chose to go on the intermediates. It was a gamble, but, at the same

time, I felt we had to do it. There was standing water and it was

slippery. You can see the car moving. On the exit here it was

slippery, trying to short shift and keep the power down to the ground.

Could you stay flat around the back of the late? Everybody else was on

full wet, so it was brave on the intermediates. It was flat, but

tricky. You feel the car sliding. Particularly over the lines, getting

quite close to the wall. This is great through the high-speed

chicane. Did you know you were building a great lap? I knew it

would be close. I got the last lap in probably a few seconds before the

lights went red. I knew if I kept it together, it would be close the

front row. Here there was standing water and I had under state, which

washed me wide, but then it was smooth sailing until the finishing

line. The last corner I was not happy with. Waiting, waiting, and

then yes, it was all right. And momentarily you had pole position

and the crowd will go wild until Lewis came back. Could you hear

them? When I slow down I could hear a little bit. I looked up at the

screen. I saw the on-board of Lewis and is figured that he was a good

chance of getting it. I did not celebrate too much because I was

still under threat. You seem to have fitted in with the team nicely. It

was really nice. I had nice pats on the back. And my previous team, I

think they had a good day. It was a good day for the younger red balls.

Tomorrow, -- Red Bulls. Tomorrow, what are you expecting? It is a

challenge for everybody. For me, not much will change. The engineers will

tell us to change different fuel modes to see where we are and to

make sure we get to the end. For me, it is to try to race and stay at the

front. That would be ideal. We wish you the best for tomorrow.

Kevin Magnussen starting fourth at his first Grand Prix in Australia.

How did the McLaren feel? The car was really good, the best it has

been for me. It felt really good. Just trying not to make a mistake.

Trying to get the lap dance and trying to push a bit more. I am

happy. I could not have asked for any more. How difficult is it to

drive these new engines? Is it something that is controlled by the

engineers more? It is more difficult. I have never driven the

old cars in the wet, but I am confident in saying it is more

difficult, as well. Down to turn nine, you were not slapped on the

wet tyres. The wide lines and all that. It is tricky. My first

qualifying in Formula One, completely new. The team is doing a

great job in giving me time and being patient and giving me the

support I need to progress and improve. Do you feel you can carry

this through for tomorrow in the race? I have no idea, that is the

honest answer. I will go out and enjoy it and do the best I can. Try

not to overdo it, but it is important not to do any less than I

can. I will enjoy it and make sure I do my best. Now we can hear from

Jenson Button, who did not make it through to Q3.

Not the qualifying anybody was hoping for. Were you caught out by

the yellows? On the first set of tyres in Q2 I was quickest when I

did my lap. It felt good. I was fifth until the end. I was caught

out by the yellow flag. That was it. We are talking about how

unpredictable Formula One is, do you have any idea what to expect in the

race? No, but not qualifying for the top ten, that was bad luck for all

of us, with yellow flags, but, hopefully, tomorrow, it will not be

so unlucky. I enjoy this place and the car is working well. I should

not be in this position. We need to look in a positive way.

We have had a trouble-free weekend. Starting fifth, if we can cross the

line tomorrow, we can put in a strong result because we are in that

position that is close to the podium already. Is seeing the chequered

flag a battle tomorrow? Obviously, the win would be a priority for

everybody. But we cannot be too optimistic after we saw so many

issues in winter testing for everybody. We cannot start tomorrow

and take it for granted we will cross the line. We need to take care

of every detail. As a team, we are in a strong position because we have

a strong package. Tomorrow is the time to deliver. Yesterday was

practice, today no points given full qualifying, so tomorrow is the

time. They were torrid conditions today.

It is difficult to know where Ferrari R. They are among the mix,

but at no point in practice and qualifying have they looked like

they will unleash a big lap will stop the big surprise of qualifying

was that of Red Bulls. Fernando is answering the questions but I think

there is frustration that once again he starts with expectations of

getting a finish rather than fighting for the win. Kimi Raikkonen

would have been in Q3 if he did not have the crash. He was the only

person who lost the car in free practice in pre-season testing,

excuse me, in Bahrain, which he put down to being on old tyres, which

was a schoolboy error, the car snapped sideways and caught him by

surprise. That had an effect on the rest of the fields. We can hear from

him now. Was it the damp conditions or did

the cast map around or new? I touched the wall. It would not have

changed anything. We did not have time to finish the lap. There was

some traffic. There was all the time some cars in front of me and one car

was going slowly through the corner on that lap.

Toro Rosso had an incredible day today. Jean-Eric Vergne in sixth, at

the big star was their driver Daniil Kvyat. Last year in damp conditions

he ran in the top ten, people were surprised he got the drive, but he

has an actual talent. He had the big slide and then there was a Big Bang

in the side which will cause problems. He lost it around the back

of the lake. Just as the car came back into the side of the track, he

caught the front wing. We could get that from his point of view.

It was looking positive. Just not right at the end. It does not matter

to be honest, I do not care about that one, I was trying. Q3, P8 is

not bad. I would not expect this a month ago when we started the

testing. It is a big step forward and I am happy for the team and

satisfied with my performance. Alan has been taking a closer look

at Sebastian Vettel. He has been struggling with balance

and consistency in drivability with his Red Bull. In Q1, coming out of

turn ten, he kisses the wall, it did not damage the car, but it upset

him. This is the real reason he did not get through. The yellow flag

because of Kimi Raikkonen's car. This was a long yellow period. The

stewards have specific data on how much drivers are slowing. He was

cleared because he lifted a significant about. The consistency

issues and balance are still there. You can see he is fighting with the

steering wheel. We come down to where he hit the wall in Q1. The car

is hard work and getting away. He puts the power down and the torque

comes in. Again, the rear wheels spinning up and you can see the

frustration. He qualified in top ten every time in 2013. Now he is out.

By contrast, Daniel Ricciardo down into Turn 3, how gentle and

progressive. It looks like he is driving to the shops. He is also

allowing the torque of the engine to do the work. The car is giving him

confidence to do it. Sebastian Vettel was working on the steering

but look how progressive it is with Ricciardo. In that position that

gives you confidence. You know what it is like with confidence in these

conditions, you can push it, David. This is where Sebastian Vettel hit

the wall. A short shift up to 50 and smoothly out and fifth. -- fifth

gear. The machine is giving Daniel Ricciardo confidence and Sebastian

is fighting it so there might be more to this than the physical

driving of them. I would like to go to the shops in a Formula One car!

We can see how they line up for tomorrow.

Lewis Hamilton starting from pole position. Local hero Daniel

Ricciardo is second. 21-year-old Kevin Magnussen starts his first

Grand Prix in fourth. It is a career-best sixth place for

Jean-Eric Vergne. A gearbox penalty for Valtteri Bottas brings Jenson

Button to 10th. That is how the grid lines up. Banks

are today. We will be back tomorrow on BBC One at TPM. If you fancy a

bit of Murray Walker, he is on Desert Island discs on Radio 4 at

11:15am. Join us tomorrow to see who can harness the hybrid energy and

power their car to victory. Goodbye.