The Belgian Grand Prix - Practice 1

:00:09. > :01:13.incredible first half of the season, the second half should be even more

:01:14. > :01:18.dramatic. What a fabulous place to welcome it back. Spa is one of the

:01:19. > :01:24.most iconic circuits on the calendar, in fact anywhere on the

:01:25. > :01:27.world, and drivers and fans and occasional television presenters

:01:28. > :01:32.absolutely love coming here. What makes this place so special? It is

:01:33. > :01:38.one of the most natural circuits. It follows the contours. It is an

:01:39. > :01:45.attacking circuit and every single driver likes a circuit that rewards

:01:46. > :01:50.a certain attacking mentality. The teams and drivers head off to relax

:01:51. > :01:56.for three weeks and we turn up at Spa and there are two new drivers

:01:57. > :02:11.making their debuts. Alexander Rossi is in the Marussia for Max Chilton.

:02:12. > :02:18.Kobayashi, There were a fuel rumours going around that he would be

:02:19. > :02:26.swapped out of Caterham. A difficult task for him because he has never

:02:27. > :02:33.driven a modern Formula One car. Alexander Rossi, he was the Caterham

:02:34. > :02:43.test driver and now he has switched to Marussia and now he is suddenly

:02:44. > :02:49.in the seat of... He was not prepared for sitting outcome he was

:02:50. > :02:52.prepared for driving this weekend. We have seen some incredible battles

:02:53. > :03:02.between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. It was left in quite a

:03:03. > :03:08.controversial way after the last race. I think they just turn down

:03:09. > :03:12.the flame on that fire a little. Without doubt those two are going to

:03:13. > :03:16.get into more situations this year because they are so close in the

:03:17. > :03:21.championship and so close in performance on track. Sunday

:03:22. > :03:26.afternoon it could get close again. It is so close, just 11 points

:03:27. > :03:30.separate Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton in the Drivers'

:03:31. > :03:35.Championship. Daniel Ricciardo has got two wins, that means he is in

:03:36. > :03:41.third place. Fernando Alonso's impressive win in Hungary sees the

:03:42. > :03:46.Spaniard move up to fourth place. Jenson Button is having a tough year

:03:47. > :03:52.in the McLaren. And Kimi Raikkonen is not even in the top ten, he is

:03:53. > :03:55.languishing down in 12th place. No prizes for guessing who leads the

:03:56. > :04:10.way in the Constructors' Championship. In commentary today we

:04:11. > :04:15.have Ben Edwards and Tony. Then, it is a big push now for all the teams.

:04:16. > :04:19.They have recharged. Now the hard work starts because it is intense

:04:20. > :04:27.from now until the end of the season. It is, and what a fabulous

:04:28. > :04:31.place this is to come. A championship to be resolved between

:04:32. > :04:34.Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. There is so much else to look

:04:35. > :04:39.forward to, not just the battle between those two? Indeed, there is

:04:40. > :04:42.the Constructors' Championship battle going on between Ferrari and

:04:43. > :04:51.Williams. Further down you have got Force India battling McLaren. There

:04:52. > :04:56.is plenty going on. Lots to look forward to as we get ready for this

:04:57. > :05:01.first practice session. You can get involved from the comfort of your

:05:02. > :05:05.own home, leave your comments on the Facebook page or get in touch on

:05:06. > :05:11.Twitter. We are heading to the pit lane. COMMENTATOR: Immediately we

:05:12. > :05:18.have got some beautiful shots of this Spa-Francorchamps circuit and

:05:19. > :05:22.the first cars heading down towards the pit lane. It looks like the

:05:23. > :05:26.Caterham 's will be first down to the circuit. The regular driver for

:05:27. > :05:50.Caterham going out onto the circuit but behind him is Andre Lotterer,

:05:51. > :05:57.who makes his Formula One debut. All the Formula One factories had to

:05:58. > :06:02.shutdown but now they are well on the way to bringing this new nose

:06:03. > :06:07.section. It is part of what they hope will get them ahead of Marussia

:06:08. > :06:11.in the Constructors' Championship. You often get four seasons in one

:06:12. > :06:16.day in Spa and you might get rain, you don't know what you're going to

:06:17. > :06:20.get. It might represent an opportunity for that team. Andre

:06:21. > :06:32.Lotterer, what can we tell you about him? He is a three times winner of

:06:33. > :06:38.Le Mans. In his early years he was very successful in the junior

:06:39. > :06:45.categories. He raised in addition F3 -- in British F3 and he was seventh

:06:46. > :06:48.in that championship. He never actually raised in Formula One but

:06:49. > :06:56.he does have quite a lot of current single seater experience from Japan,

:06:57. > :07:00.doesn't he? Indeed, he has been racing in the main single seater

:07:01. > :07:05.category in Japan. He was doing that as long ago as 2004. He has been

:07:06. > :07:10.driving single seater is so it will not be a shock to the system. With

:07:11. > :07:15.his Audi experience, he has experience of fairly complex

:07:16. > :07:20.technical systems on that car, so I think he is well placed. Andre

:07:21. > :07:26.Lotterer, we will be keeping a close eye on him. And Alexander Rossi. But

:07:27. > :07:29.we're now looking at Felipe Massa in the Williams. Valtteri Bottas was

:07:30. > :07:42.out with the two Caterham 's. There is quite a lot of expectation

:07:43. > :07:45.on Williams this weekend. They have had an incredibly successful season

:07:46. > :07:49.by the standards of certainly last year and indeed the last couple of

:07:50. > :07:54.years, much more likely Williams of old. This weekend people are

:07:55. > :08:00.expecting them to perhaps be Mercedes's closest challengers. The

:08:01. > :08:06.car has proved to be very quick in a straight line and you have got a lot

:08:07. > :08:10.of flat out running here. In between the first corner and the top of the

:08:11. > :08:17.straight it is something like 23 or 25 seconds flat out and open. Then

:08:18. > :08:20.you have a very big sector three as well. I think Williams reckon

:08:21. > :08:25.you have a very big sector three as really charge for a win. That tends

:08:26. > :08:32.to count fall of the Mercedes powered cars. Force India could be

:08:33. > :08:37.in good shape here. Force India is a team that has a pretty good record

:08:38. > :08:45.at Spa anyway. It does. That is where we had -- they had a slightly

:08:46. > :08:50.different car design philosophy. Going back to Williams, that car is

:08:51. > :08:55.very slippery. We have seen the high straight line speed all year. That

:08:56. > :08:59.in particular is why they are favoured, but it will help anyone

:09:00. > :09:05.with a Mercedes engine. Nico Hulkenberg is about to go out in his

:09:06. > :09:10.Force India on the medium compound tyre. The medium and the soft

:09:11. > :09:13.available from Pirelli. Nico Hulkenberg is a bit concerned that

:09:14. > :09:17.they may see some of the repetition of the problems they had at

:09:18. > :09:21.Silverstone, where they found the car was very affected by breeze and

:09:22. > :09:37.strong winds. The wind is not as strong at the moment. It is not as

:09:38. > :09:41.blowy as it can be sometimes. We had a wet qualifying session here last

:09:42. > :09:46.year although a dry race. Nico Rosberg missed out in that session,

:09:47. > :09:54.you miss timed it a bit in terms of getting the best available lap at

:09:55. > :09:58.the best available time. For a while we had an amazing situation with

:09:59. > :10:02.Paul di Resta in pole position because he had chosen the best

:10:03. > :10:09.tyres, and then all of a sudden the slick tyres worked out. You don't

:10:10. > :10:17.know what you're going to get here. Kamui Kobayashi recently dropped by

:10:18. > :10:22.Caterham, he was on the front row. We have adult source of things

:10:23. > :10:30.happening here at Spa. It looks as though we are in for some dry

:10:31. > :10:33.weather today, perhaps rain on Saturday and then probably dry on

:10:34. > :10:39.Sunday but it is very difficult to predict here. The weather forecast

:10:40. > :10:46.will tell you some things but it is very specific to the place itself.

:10:47. > :10:51.Pastor Maldonado seems to be doing a couple of laps and so does Romain

:10:52. > :10:55.Grosjean. They have gone out quickly for their second installation lap.

:10:56. > :11:07.The Lotuses did not have a great time out last time out in Hungary.

:11:08. > :11:12.Maldonado yet to score any points in this year's championship. Looking

:11:13. > :11:17.there at Kevin Magnussen. He raced here in the past in the junior

:11:18. > :11:24.categories. He has raised here in the Renault 3.5 series, one of the

:11:25. > :11:28.levels just below. That green tape around the back of the Force India,

:11:29. > :11:34.some of that is looking at the rear airflow. Kevin Magnussen has had

:11:35. > :11:39.success here before. He has also won in Formula Three here at Spa in the

:11:40. > :11:41.past. He has the experience of the circuit and now he just has to dial

:11:42. > :11:45.past. He has the experience of the himself in in a Formula One car. He

:11:46. > :11:53.and Jenson Button but of course relishing the prospect of stretching

:11:54. > :11:58.the legs of the McLarens here. Jenson Button heading straight back

:11:59. > :12:02.into the pits. They have both completed their installation laps.

:12:03. > :12:10.It all goes quiet for a moment or two. James Alison, he is the

:12:11. > :12:14.technical boss at Ferrari. He will be at the press conference this

:12:15. > :12:18.afternoon. Can Ferrari make progress? There is another man in

:12:19. > :12:24.the news but perhaps not for the right reasons as far as he is

:12:25. > :12:29.concerned, Jean-Eric Vergne knows that he will not be driving for Toro

:12:30. > :12:33.Rosso next year because we have had the announcement that Max

:12:34. > :12:36.Verstappen, currently 16 but he will be 17 by next championship, he will

:12:37. > :12:43.be driving for Toro Rosso next season. Jean-Eric Vergne has had a

:12:44. > :12:48.pretty solid time. Do you see him getting a driver in Formula One? I

:12:49. > :12:52.think it will be quite difficult to him. He has had an opportunity here

:12:53. > :12:57.and he has done OK, but is he going to get a seat in a frontrunning

:12:58. > :13:02.team? Now he probably isn't. Is he in a position to bring finance to

:13:03. > :13:08.one of the poorly funded teams? I don't think he is. So it will be

:13:09. > :13:12.tough for him, I think. We will have to wait and see. He's determined to

:13:13. > :13:17.make sure to show us that he has got the ability. He has the remainder of

:13:18. > :13:21.the season in which to do that. We mentioned Andre Lotterer who is

:13:22. > :13:24.driving for Caterham, and Alexander Rossi is driving for Marussia this

:13:25. > :13:28.weekend in place of the British driver Max Chilton. That was all

:13:29. > :13:33.very last minute and we are catching up with the news. A few moments

:13:34. > :13:38.before the session began, Tom Clarkson spoke to Alexander Rossi

:13:39. > :13:44.about it. Today is a good day for you? Absolutely. Things came about

:13:45. > :13:47.quite quickly and I think everyone is a bit surprised but I'm so

:13:48. > :13:53.grateful for the opportunity and I can't wait to get started. When did

:13:54. > :14:02.you first hear about this? Very late yesterday evening. Now it has

:14:03. > :14:06.expanded a bit I guess you could say and I'm doing the race, it is what I

:14:07. > :14:11.have worked for full kind of all my life. America has been crying out

:14:12. > :14:17.for a Formula One driver for many years, you are the first driver to

:14:18. > :14:23.drive one of these since Scott speed. How has the reaction been at

:14:24. > :14:30.home? I think it has been very good. We have a lot of work to do

:14:31. > :14:33.and we haven't all arrived yet, so I will just take this and grasp it

:14:34. > :14:39.with both hands and see what happens in the future. What are the

:14:40. > :14:44.objectives? We have seen you driving for a different team in a different

:14:45. > :14:47.series. What can you achieve here? I will just have to take it

:14:48. > :14:54.step-by-step and not get overwhelmed with all the intricacies. I will

:14:55. > :15:04.expand on that come this afternoon and then I had of Sunday. Will we

:15:05. > :15:17.see you in the car in Monza? I have absolutely no idea! Alexander Rossi

:15:18. > :15:23.there. The first American to drive in Formula One over a full weekend

:15:24. > :15:28.since 2007, when Scott speed was the last to do so. You have to go along

:15:29. > :15:32.way since an American driver scored a podium. Not that I think he will

:15:33. > :15:46.do that in a Marussia, but you have to go back to Monza 1993 when Marco

:15:47. > :15:48.Andretti was on the podium. He is up against Jules Bianchi, who is highly

:15:49. > :16:03.rated by Ferrari. He always seems against Jules Bianchi, who is highly

:16:04. > :16:15.very controlled and an excited about any situation that arises. It's a

:16:16. > :16:21.tough ask for him. He's a tall fellow, getting himself comfortable

:16:22. > :16:30.in that car, then he's got to take on Bianchi. A big ask. We have just

:16:31. > :16:37.heard some breaking news, Max Chilton will be back in the car and

:16:38. > :16:43.racing this weekend. There he is. We have just heard that news. We gather

:16:44. > :16:52.he will be in the car. What is that going to do to Alexander Rossi, who

:16:53. > :16:57.has just psyched himself up, looking forward to a weekend in the car, and

:16:58. > :17:01.now it looks like it will be the usual driver after all? He'll have

:17:02. > :17:07.to go out with no fuel, fresh tyres and do a lap. It's all changed very

:17:08. > :17:11.quickly. It must have been a long night for Marussia management.

:17:12. > :17:14.Hopefully we will night for Marussia management.

:17:15. > :17:19.soon. That is the latest we are hearing. We have some of your

:17:20. > :17:24.comments coming in, a little bit of quiet time as the cars are prepared

:17:25. > :17:28.from their initial installation laps. Many of you bringing up the

:17:29. > :17:47.other subject about drivers which has caught everybody's attention. It

:17:48. > :17:53.is all about Max the, currently 16, he'll be 17 next year. What are our

:17:54. > :17:56.thoughts on him joining Formula One? It's remarkable to see a driver

:17:57. > :18:07.quite so young getting this opportunity. You say 17, surely it

:18:08. > :18:12.is too young, but I don't think it is. I think it depends on the

:18:13. > :18:16.individual. He's got some incredibly good genes, Max Verstappen, as well

:18:17. > :18:26.as his father being a Formula One driver, back in the 90s, his mother

:18:27. > :18:32.is a very accomplished cart driver. I mean, world-class level. There is

:18:33. > :18:39.a race in Italy, named after a pro-guy who killed himself when he

:18:40. > :18:49.was 14, karting, and a lot of people do that. And his mother won that in

:18:50. > :18:56.1995. Fantastic jeans. You couldn't do any better than that. His karting

:18:57. > :19:00.record is sensational. If you can mess out of those championships

:19:01. > :19:07.where it can go awfully wrong, things like GP to, you do. If

:19:08. > :19:12.somebody comes along and says, do you want to drive Formula One? Then

:19:13. > :19:16.you say yes. That's understandable. Jenson Button, who you are watching

:19:17. > :19:20.here, he was talking about it yesterday, he said when he got his

:19:21. > :19:24.chance he was not ready, he was too young, he was 20 when he had his

:19:25. > :19:30.opportunity. Yet when you get a chance like that, and he was urged

:19:31. > :19:32.by his father to go for it, initially he said to Frank

:19:33. > :19:42.Williams, I don't think I'm ready. John Button said, bring him back and

:19:43. > :19:51.tell him you are! Things have changed a bit. It's not as physical

:19:52. > :19:56.as it was ten years ago. There was more downforce. If you had asked me

:19:57. > :20:02.if a 17-year-old was ready ten years ago, I would have said no. But I

:20:03. > :20:08.don't see any reason why not. Through the famous Eau Rouge corner,

:20:09. > :20:13.with Jenson Button. It could be a bit more of a challenge this year.

:20:14. > :20:14.Let's get down to the pits. Lots to think about with the various

:20:15. > :20:21.different drivers we are mentioning. Max Verstappen is not

:20:22. > :20:24.driving this weekend. The drivers out this morning are Alexander

:20:25. > :20:30.Rossi, although we gather we might not see much more about him. As a

:20:31. > :20:36.team-mate of yours, and we know he will do the whole weekend, what are

:20:37. > :20:42.they trying to get out of it and what might the team benefit from?

:20:43. > :20:46.There were rumours of a change, Kobe as she had been talking about it a

:20:47. > :21:11.couple of Grand Prixs ago. It's a little bit of a surprise that it

:21:12. > :21:15.came in the form of Andre Lotterer. In some ways it's a little bit

:21:16. > :21:18.easier, coming back in this particular direction. He is just

:21:19. > :21:23.pulling his visor down and he's about to go on his first run. For

:21:24. > :21:27.him, a big smile on his face. He thought he was going to be a Grand

:21:28. > :21:41.Prix driver about 12 years ago, in 2002. Back then it didn't quite

:21:42. > :21:46.happen, but now he's back in Spa. He is that little bit older, 32, but

:21:47. > :21:52.the same age you were when you were racing for Toyota, is that right? I

:21:53. > :21:56.think it's a perfect age to start your Grand Prix career! Is not

:21:57. > :22:02.looking to necessarily change his career path. But the opportunity

:22:03. > :22:06.arose. When the opportunity arises, a Formula One team phones you up and

:22:07. > :22:14.says are you interested in doing it, you grab it with both hands.

:22:15. > :22:21.He's got an established career, I would expect that to continue. This

:22:22. > :22:28.is a chance to get out in a Grand Prix and fulfil a dream in a lot of

:22:29. > :22:39.ways. He grew up in Belgium, near to a Formula One circuit in the 70s.

:22:40. > :22:49.That's where he grew up, even though Andre Lotterer is German, he has a

:22:50. > :23:00.lot of association with Belgium. I think in terms of the team, they are

:23:01. > :23:03.looking for a safe pair of hands but also a different direction. I think

:23:04. > :23:08.he will surprise a few people. It will be a tough job, not having

:23:09. > :23:11.driven a Formula One car before, this latter that he is out on now.

:23:12. > :23:15.But he has strengthened the mentality and he has good technical

:23:16. > :23:20.expertise. I think he will equip himself really well. Will be

:23:21. > :23:24.fascinating to see how he gets on. Yesterday, Tom Clarkson managed to

:23:25. > :23:28.catch up with him in the usual round of chatting to drivers that we get

:23:29. > :23:43.an opportunity to on a Thursday. He asked him how this deal with

:23:44. > :23:47.Caterham came together. They are trying to freshen things up, and I

:23:48. > :23:53.think it was the best time to do. I raced for him in 2009, in private,

:23:54. > :23:59.with Audi. It enabled me to become an Audi works driver straight

:24:00. > :24:03.afterwards. I have a good relationship, I am really thankful

:24:04. > :24:07.to Caterham to give me the opportunity and Audi for giving me

:24:08. > :24:11.the freedom. It is a dream come true, but also is not an easy task,

:24:12. > :24:17.something like this, in the middle of the season, with no experience.

:24:18. > :24:20.Andre Lotterer, on track at the moment. Also on track is Nico

:24:21. > :24:25.Rosberg, beginning to set the timing screens alive with a fast-paced

:24:26. > :24:30.sector. Kevin Magnussen has just gone quickest of all at the moment,

:24:31. > :24:40.for McLaren. Hamilton is currently second-fastest, 1:50 3.5. Daniel

:24:41. > :25:00.Riccardo, race winner last time out. Sergio Perez is sixth. Rosberg is

:25:01. > :25:06.seventh. Then I'll -- Daniil Kvyat is ten.

:25:07. > :25:17.A revised section, we have seen a lot of incident there. 1:53.1, a

:25:18. > :25:23.very fast lap time. We had a damp session last year. No real

:25:24. > :25:27.comparison with that. It's a couple of years since we had a dry first

:25:28. > :25:33.practice. We are seeing quicker times today than we have recently. A

:25:34. > :25:39.bit of tyre smoke in the background. Fernando Alonso, a great second

:25:40. > :25:43.place last time. A superb drive, a typical Fernando Alonso drive. How

:25:44. > :25:48.he managed to conserve his tyres at the end of the Grand Prix, coming

:25:49. > :25:49.under a huge amount of pressure from Hamilton and Rosberg in the last

:25:50. > :25:58.lap. As you say, typical of the season he

:25:59. > :26:01.has had. He's driving as well as ever, in spite of being in a

:26:02. > :26:04.has had. He's driving as well as which has no realistic hope of

:26:05. > :26:09.getting the kind of results he wants. He's only had two podiums all

:26:10. > :26:14.year. So, it's not the kind of car he was hoping for from Ferrari. But

:26:15. > :26:21.it hasn't told his passion for racing. I actually thought he was

:26:22. > :26:26.going to hold on and win it in Hungary. Never had a win here,

:26:27. > :26:32.though, a surprising aspect to his career. He's never had pole

:26:33. > :26:36.position, never won. Had a strong second to Sebastian Vettel, not in

:26:37. > :26:45.terms of closeness, but in terms of a big result of the time. But it's a

:26:46. > :26:48.funny miss from his CV. Yes, it is a drivers' track, you would expect him

:26:49. > :26:54.to excel. His team-mate, Kimi Raikkonen, has won here four times.

:26:55. > :26:56.It will be interesting to see if he can get on top of Fernando this

:26:57. > :27:01.weekend. Let's look at the lap time. can get on top of Fernando this

:27:02. > :27:04.Only 11th at this stage. All of the teams are on slightly different

:27:05. > :27:08.programmes in this early part of first practice. We don't always get

:27:09. > :27:21.a clear understanding of who is quickest. Paul McGuinness, asking

:27:22. > :27:26.the question, using the hashtag #bbcf1. What are your thoughts on

:27:27. > :27:31.the hybrid cars coming here for the first time? At a technical question,

:27:32. > :27:36.when it comes to the race. If they use their hybrid boost coming out of

:27:37. > :27:40.La Source, then they will reach Eau Rouge with a very high velocity.

:27:41. > :27:44.Then they will probably have to lift. But they don't have the

:27:45. > :27:47.capability to boost all around the circuit. A lot of them might be

:27:48. > :27:53.saving some of that, so they can take Eau Rouge a little bit more

:27:54. > :27:57.flat out, if not flat out. Then they can use the boost later in the lap.

:27:58. > :28:01.In qualifying, I think it will be flat out. I don't think it will be

:28:02. > :28:07.flat at the end of the race, but when the fuel load comes off, it

:28:08. > :28:11.could be again. We will listen to the on-board. We are on board with

:28:12. > :28:14.Fernando Alonso as he comes through the corner, towards the bottom end

:28:15. > :28:23.of the track, through the right-hand and then the Paul Frere corner. In

:28:24. > :28:28.fact, nearly 70% of this track is taken with the foot hard on the

:28:29. > :28:45.throttle. Just watch him up through here and let's listen as well. Onto

:28:46. > :28:48.the brakes hard, a big regenerative part for the electrical systems, the

:28:49. > :28:52.hybrid part getting a big boost of energy under heavy braking to give

:28:53. > :28:58.him more acceleration. He goes fastest, 1:51.9. Rosberg beats that

:28:59. > :29:11.straightaway, with 1.57 .7. Bottas gets into third place with

:29:12. > :29:14.the Williams. Again, Mercedes power showing well. The Ferrari engine is

:29:15. > :29:18.looking reasonably promising at this point. Ferrari, battling strongly

:29:19. > :29:21.with Williams. Alonso point. Ferrari, battling strongly

:29:22. > :29:31.I'm not sure quite what has occurred. He is on the slip road, as

:29:32. > :29:36.they come up through Eau Rouge. It's virtually where the second pit

:29:37. > :29:41.excerpts from. Maybe there was some mechanical problem or technical

:29:42. > :29:46.problem with the car? Still running, he is obviously hoping he can get it

:29:47. > :29:50.back towards the pit lane. Going at a reduced pace at the moment.

:29:51. > :29:54.Second-fastest in this session. We are yet to see Raikkonen do a

:29:55. > :29:58.particularly representative lap. Rather strange? I was wondering if

:29:59. > :30:03.we were hearing strange noises, it sounded very deep. He came from La

:30:04. > :30:08.Source. This is where something would have gone wrong. You can see

:30:09. > :30:15.the old pit on the left. He dives into the old pit exit. Very sudden.

:30:16. > :30:26.Let's ride on board so we get the sound as well.

:30:27. > :30:33.Can you hear that deep noise? Very quick. Whether he got a radio

:30:34. > :30:38.message to say slowdown, there is something wrong, very peculiar. I

:30:39. > :30:43.know that journey has been watching in that area, we will be hearing

:30:44. > :30:46.from her in the second practice. She saw that and said it was very

:30:47. > :30:51.strange, standing on the outside. They were wondering what he was up

:30:52. > :30:55.to as well. Maybe we will get a take on that in a little while. Alonso is

:30:56. > :31:04.slowly making his way back towards the pets. -- pits. Struggling to

:31:05. > :31:09.getting to grips with the car. He has never driven the Marussia

:31:10. > :31:19.before. He's done it for Caterham, but he's got a task to completely

:31:20. > :31:30.learn about the Marussia. I wonder if he knows if he will be driving

:31:31. > :31:35.later? Talking to Jenson Button yesterday, there have been opinions

:31:36. > :31:39.passed that all the instruction we get from the pits to the car is

:31:40. > :31:43.perhaps taking a bit of the ora away from the drivers and going forward

:31:44. > :31:50.it might be better if we looked at banning those transmissions. I said

:31:51. > :31:53.to Jensen would that make a difference? He said to right, a

:31:54. > :32:00.driver would not be able to finish a race, the way things are at the

:32:01. > :32:06.moment! That is right, not easy at all. Stripped and crazy steer. Good

:32:07. > :32:17.gap behind. -- Romain Grosjean in the Lotus. This

:32:18. > :32:22.is another track that will presumably be a challenge for Lotus.

:32:23. > :32:27.They have had a tough time in recent Grand Prix. They scored some points

:32:28. > :32:31.thanks to Romain Grosjean in the earlier part of the year. In Monaco

:32:32. > :32:37.and Spain he managed to get a couple of eighth places but nothing much

:32:38. > :32:40.has happened, in recent races he has had a string of finishing outside

:32:41. > :32:43.the points, or several non-finishes, I think about five

:32:44. > :32:49.non-finishes this year. A tough season for Lotus generally. It has.

:32:50. > :32:57.You mentioned his eighth place finish in Barcelona, but there he

:32:58. > :33:02.qualified the car of faith. People have said for years that Barcelona

:33:03. > :33:09.is a good reflection of a chassis. They clearly haven't got the car

:33:10. > :33:12.sorted though. It is a real shame for Roman Grosjean and Pastor

:33:13. > :33:18.Maldonado, who is yet to score any points in this year's series.

:33:19. > :33:22.Hamilton going in to the bus stop there, that looked like a slightly

:33:23. > :33:27.odd one. He came off the brake very quickly. There is room to do that

:33:28. > :33:31.and the last thing they want to do is put a big flat spot on their

:33:32. > :33:37.tyres at this early stage. Let's see how it looks from the on-board view.

:33:38. > :33:44.It is actually the rear that locked up. That caught him out in Austria,

:33:45. > :33:47.when he spun in qualifying. That was one of a sequence of nullifying

:33:48. > :33:56.sessions that have gone wrong for him. Despite everybody generally

:33:57. > :34:05.reckoning that Lewis is the quicker driver over one lap, Nico has

:34:06. > :34:11.qualified better. Very similar on Rosberg's car. Again it was the back

:34:12. > :34:17.end I was a bit loose. An Fernando Alonso and stopping at the bottom

:34:18. > :34:22.and then starting again, apparently he felt something more on the

:34:23. > :34:26.engines and on the gearbox. Lifted off and stopped and then had a

:34:27. > :34:31.little check and made sure it was OK to bring it back. We are in the

:34:32. > :34:35.situation where we only have five engines, five systems, so they want

:34:36. > :34:39.to be very clear that driving does not do any extra damage. They have

:34:40. > :34:44.now taken the engine cover off and they are working in and around the

:34:45. > :34:48.back of the car now. Fernando Alonso is now just getting out of his

:34:49. > :34:55.cockpit. I think this is going to be a minute or two. There was a bit of

:34:56. > :35:02.smoke from the back of the South heading in. The development driver

:35:03. > :35:14.is in in place of Gutierrez this morning. - the back of the Sauber. A

:35:15. > :35:19.few of your comments coming in. If you're watching the repeat, there is

:35:20. > :35:23.no point in sending us messages! Graham says, is it reasonable when

:35:24. > :35:26.looking at the whole Marussia situation, to mess professional

:35:27. > :35:34.drivers around as appears to be going on with Rossi and Chilton?

:35:35. > :35:38.Basic respect lacking in my opinion". I think there is properly

:35:39. > :35:42.a lot going on that we don't know about, at Marussia. I don't think

:35:43. > :35:47.they are just trying to mess the drivers around, mess with their

:35:48. > :35:50.heads. Officially yesterday it was contractual issues, some money

:35:51. > :35:54.involved as well. Who knows what is really going on. Perhaps we will

:35:55. > :36:03.find out more from Graham later on. With Max Verstappen joining Toro

:36:04. > :36:12.Rosso, where does that leave Jean-Eric Vergne? That is the

:36:13. > :36:16.question. There aren't really many options out there in Formula One. A

:36:17. > :36:22.lot of the driver market is resting on what happens at McLaren. What do

:36:23. > :36:26.you see happening there? We have obviously got Honda coming in there

:36:27. > :36:29.as the new engine partner. It will be interesting to see whether they

:36:30. > :36:33.think they should retain Jenson Button for his experience and the

:36:34. > :36:38.fact that he is a world champion, and he brings so much to that team.

:36:39. > :36:43.Do they retain him and Kevin Magnussen? Do they bring in another

:36:44. > :36:46.driver? Possibly someone like Valtteri Bottas. You might think why

:36:47. > :36:50.would he want to leave Williams and go to what at the moment is an

:36:51. > :36:55.unknown quantity, but he would be paid well. He is young, he has got

:36:56. > :37:00.time. Let's see whether something like that is a possibility. Romain

:37:01. > :37:04.Grosjean could be on the market. He has a good relationship with Eric

:37:05. > :37:09.Boullier, racing director. Lots of questions about what McLaren want to

:37:10. > :37:14.do. Once they make their moves everything else will settle into

:37:15. > :37:18.place? Yes. Talking about Jean-Eric Vergne, there is often criticism of

:37:19. > :37:21.the Red Bull driver programme for running these guys for a couple of

:37:22. > :37:26.years and then leaving them high and dry, but the man who runs that

:37:27. > :37:31.programme has a different view. He says we have given the guy is an

:37:32. > :37:34.opportunity. Jean-Eric Vergne will have had two seasons. They are

:37:35. > :37:38.looking for the next great thing, the next world champion. It is not

:37:39. > :37:42.their job to look after drivers for the next ten years. They have had an

:37:43. > :37:48.opportunity, they have built a market value, and who knows, he

:37:49. > :37:54.could be earning 300,000 a year driving a sports car. He has had an

:37:55. > :37:59.opportunity, so that is what they say about that. The Red Bull driver

:38:00. > :38:04.programme is looking good when you look at what Daniel Ricciardo has

:38:05. > :38:06.achieved. It certainly is but interestingly when Daniel Ricciardo

:38:07. > :38:11.was signed, and we spoke to him about his move to Red Bull, a lot of

:38:12. > :38:15.people were saying why did they not choose Jean-Eric Vergne? On Saturday

:38:16. > :38:18.it seemed that Jean-Eric Vergne was strong and on Sundays, they were

:38:19. > :38:27.almost evenly matched but there wasn't much in it. In fact Jean-Eric

:38:28. > :38:31.Vergne was leading an points in the Drivers' Championship until the end

:38:32. > :38:34.of last season, actually finishing ahead of Daniel Ricciardo. If he had

:38:35. > :38:39.been given the opportunity at Red Bull, would he have been as good as

:38:40. > :38:44.Daniel Ricciardo? Who knows. Trevor, who owns and runs the team, said

:38:45. > :38:47.there was nothing between Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo. Who

:38:48. > :38:51.knows if it is just the opportunity you are given. Now you have got

:38:52. > :38:57.Jean-Eric Vergne who was battling and seemed on an even par with

:38:58. > :39:06.Daniel Ricciardo adds Toro Rosso, now he has got no job for next

:39:07. > :39:10.season. We will see if anyone calls takes Jean-Eric Vergne under their

:39:11. > :39:13.wing. We have had a pause as the first set of tyres has been used and

:39:14. > :39:18.we are now beginning to see a bit of track action once again. Pastor

:39:19. > :39:21.Maldonado out on circuit in the Lotus. Let's have a chance to catch

:39:22. > :39:27.up with some of the comments that the drivers were making yesterday,

:39:28. > :39:31.as they prepare to race here at Spa. Lewis Hamilton coming into this race

:39:32. > :39:36.second in the championship, still battling away with his team-mate

:39:37. > :39:45.Nico Rosberg. The gap very realistic. Always enjoyed driving at

:39:46. > :39:51.Spa. We asked him if he thought -- what he thought about the challenge

:39:52. > :39:57.of driving here. It is a real question to think about, we get a

:39:58. > :40:02.real downforce here. The tyres are harder and have less grip, so I

:40:03. > :40:06.don't know if it will be flat out this year. Every year I have come

:40:07. > :40:12.here, I have always set myself the challenge of the first lap being

:40:13. > :40:19.flat through that corner. I don't think this year I will try doing it

:40:20. > :40:27.flat, I will build up to its! Is a lap here, it is really about, like

:40:28. > :40:37.one at Monaco, it is about using all the road. You have to have a really

:40:38. > :40:41.good balance here. You have a couple of high-speed corners and you need

:40:42. > :40:49.some traction, but otherwise you need to make sure you optimise your

:40:50. > :40:52.aero package and then being on it. Lewis Hamilton speaking yesterday

:40:53. > :40:59.and relishing the opportunity to drive here again at Spa. Rosberg

:41:00. > :41:04.currently fastest, Alonzo second. Hamilton himself eighth quickest at

:41:05. > :41:07.this stage, head of Jenson Button and Daniel Ricciardo. Quite a few of

:41:08. > :41:11.you asking the question about these driving changes we are talking about

:41:12. > :41:16.and the fact that Alexander Rossi is in the Marussia, maybe Max Chilton

:41:17. > :41:21.will be back in it later, and of course Andre Lotterer has taken over

:41:22. > :41:25.from Kamui Kobayashi. The roles say that teams can be permitted to use

:41:26. > :41:30.for drivers during a season and changes may be made any time

:41:31. > :41:35.for drivers during a season and the start of qualifying and

:41:36. > :41:39.practice, provided any change proposed before 4pm on the day of

:41:40. > :41:48.the scrutineering receives clearance from the stewards. You are allowed

:41:49. > :41:52.to change drivers at an event. Once someone is in for qualifying that is

:41:53. > :41:55.it, but you can change your drivers on Friday, like we have seen between

:41:56. > :42:02.sessions one and two with the test drivers. We are with the team

:42:03. > :42:08.principal of Red Bull, Christian Horner. Are you feeling recharged

:42:09. > :42:14.and relax, are the team in a good shape now? Yes, I think it is a

:42:15. > :42:19.great break for everyone, everyone has come back relax and recharge and

:42:20. > :42:24.ready for the eight races ahead. Daniel is having a great season, two

:42:25. > :42:31.wins. A lovely way to go into that summer break. Yes, the best way to

:42:32. > :42:35.sign off, with a win. Daniel had an incredible Grand Prix and it was

:42:36. > :42:38.great to get the win. The challenge now is that this circuit is a lot

:42:39. > :42:47.different, so it will be an interesting weekend. We know that

:42:48. > :42:51.this is where Sebastien started that incredible run. What is his

:42:52. > :42:55.mentality like at the moment because no one likes to be beaten,

:42:56. > :43:00.especially by his team-mate, and Daniel is doing an impressive job.

:43:01. > :43:04.He is doing an oppressive job but Sebastien has been plagued by bad

:43:05. > :43:07.luck. His qualifying performances have really stepped up a gear and he

:43:08. > :43:12.is finding a balance with the car that he can work with, and I think

:43:13. > :43:21.he is really set for a strong second half of the year and we should see

:43:22. > :43:25.Sebastien back at his best. Do you think you have the card to take it

:43:26. > :43:30.to Mercedes in the second half of the season? Not in the next two

:43:31. > :43:36.races. I think they will be damage limitation. Singapore has to

:43:37. > :43:42.represent a good opportunity for us and the rest is after that. We are

:43:43. > :43:46.working hard to trying close down and the rest is after that. We are

:43:47. > :43:51.the deficit and get as close to Mercedes as we can. Give us your

:43:52. > :43:59.thoughts on Max Verstappen. Do you get involved in those sorts of

:44:00. > :44:01.discussions? Not really. It was obviously an aggressive decision but

:44:02. > :44:07.he has completely merited his position. He is an extraordinary

:44:08. > :44:11.talent. What he has done since coming into Formula Three this year

:44:12. > :44:14.has been exceptional. What we have seen with Daniil Kvyat is that he

:44:15. > :44:18.jumped in Formula One doesn't seem to be so hard for the younger

:44:19. > :44:23.generation any more. Whether that is because the cars are too easy to

:44:24. > :44:26.drive or whatever reason, but we're seeing performances such as from

:44:27. > :44:33.Daniel, that the youngsters really can get it in -- get in and cut it

:44:34. > :44:37.with the best. A shame for Jean-Eric Vergne but he has done a tremendous

:44:38. > :44:43.job over the next three years and hopefully that will be enough to get

:44:44. > :44:47.him a drive somewhere else. We are riding with Pastor Maldonado on

:44:48. > :44:53.circuit, what I can tell you that we are joined by the Marussia pit wall

:44:54. > :44:57.by the sporting director of Marussia, Graham, great to have you

:44:58. > :45:02.with us. Tell us what on earth is going on! Max Chilton out, Alexander

:45:03. > :45:06.Rossi in, and now we gather Max Chilton, will he be in for the rest

:45:07. > :45:15.of the weekend? Good morning. Good to be with you. Yes, these things

:45:16. > :45:22.happen. The driver's job is to be flexible. They are both professional

:45:23. > :45:27.drivers, Max and Alex. They will take this in their stride. It is a

:45:28. > :45:36.reflection of how the industry has to work, sometimes. Surely it is

:45:37. > :45:42.unusual for a driver to sign up for a season, and not be in the car, how

:45:43. > :45:49.did that come about? Well, I can't go into too much detail on the

:45:50. > :45:55.individual incidents, but, at the end of the day, we are running a

:45:56. > :46:02.Formula One team here and there is a large number of commercial

:46:03. > :46:07.agreements that are interlinked. Sometimes, just happens we reach a

:46:08. > :46:13.stage that, for contractual reasons, it's not appropriate for a driver to

:46:14. > :46:21.be in the car. We reached that stage and we talk that action. Equally,

:46:22. > :46:26.things tend to change as well. There was a change in circumstance and,

:46:27. > :46:31.under the rules of Formula One, you just request a change with the

:46:32. > :46:40.stewards and that was granted. But, you know, Alex is our reserve

:46:41. > :46:47.driver. He is there to help the team. He's there to be there and

:46:48. > :46:51.ready when incidents like this happen. I have to say, in the short

:46:52. > :46:58.time that Alex has been with us, I am thoroughly impressed with him.

:46:59. > :47:01.He's a tremendous guy, he's done a fantastic job working with the

:47:02. > :47:04.engineers, even though this is the first time he has been in the car.

:47:05. > :47:07.He's a really tremendous first time he has been in the car.

:47:08. > :47:13.the team and we are really happy to have him on board. I'm sure he will

:47:14. > :47:17.get his chance. We have the US Grand Prix still coming up on the calendar

:47:18. > :47:22.later this year, so presumably there are some opportunities around that

:47:23. > :47:28.with you and Alex? It's a great chance for him to get seat time,

:47:29. > :47:36.getting time in a Formula One car is incredibly difficult in the current

:47:37. > :47:41.era. A great opportunity, and helps build for his career in future.

:47:42. > :47:50.Also, it's a very useful for us to have his feedback. I'm sure Alex

:47:51. > :47:55.will have a lot more opportunities. Can you tell us any more about the

:47:56. > :48:05.plan for the next few races? Are we likely to see Max Chilton in the car

:48:06. > :48:09.for those races? The plan, as ever, is stability. We operate a really

:48:10. > :48:15.good racing team. If you allow me to say so myself! I can say that,

:48:16. > :48:19.because I don't do all of the work. We have a couple of hundred

:48:20. > :48:27.employees on track who do a tremendous job. One of our roles is

:48:28. > :48:34.to provide planning and stability for the team. That is obviously what

:48:35. > :48:38.we want to see, moving forward. In reality, the people that lose out on

:48:39. > :48:44.these occasions, ultimately, are the fans. They want their drivers and

:48:45. > :48:50.everything else there. We do everything we possibly can to do

:48:51. > :48:54.that. The fans are the most important aspect of Formula One.

:48:55. > :48:57.That side of it is really important. The drivers themselves

:48:58. > :49:06.are professionals, based take this kind of thing in their stride. We

:49:07. > :49:12.just hope, moving forward, we will have the ability to build on the

:49:13. > :49:20.season so far which, for others, has been pretty good so far. -- for us.

:49:21. > :49:23.Hello, it's Tony. A quick question, you are protecting your ninth place

:49:24. > :49:31.in the Constructors' Championship. Are you looking at Spa as being one

:49:32. > :49:35.of those races were it could go pear shaped, where you have to have your

:49:36. > :49:41.experienced guys out there to protect against that? Hi, Tony.

:49:42. > :49:47.That's a good question. All three of our drivers are very young, and they

:49:48. > :49:56.make me feel very old, but they are very experienced. Alex has driven

:49:57. > :50:06.here for six or seven seasons. We have a good range of experience. Spa

:50:07. > :50:10.is a fabulous racetrack and it throws up some opportunities. We are

:50:11. > :50:14.keen to try to protect our position in the Championship as much as we

:50:15. > :50:20.can. It's one of those circuit that can throw up an opportunity. The

:50:21. > :50:23.weather can be incredibly unpredictable. We just want to make

:50:24. > :50:28.sure that we do everything we can to make sure our drivers have got the

:50:29. > :50:34.opportunity, if it arises, to try to grab something and help the position

:50:35. > :50:43.that the team has got. Thanks very much for joining us. You manage that

:50:44. > :50:47.last year by getting your guys into Q2. It seems to have been a rocky

:50:48. > :50:53.weekend so far, but we look forward to speaking to you again. So, riding

:50:54. > :50:59.on board the Lotus at the moment of Romain Grosjean. Only three cars on

:51:00. > :51:06.track currently, 19 sitting in the pets. Andre Lotterer getting a few

:51:07. > :51:11.more laps under his belt in the Caterham. His team-mate, Marcus

:51:12. > :51:18.Ericsson, is just up the road. Ericsson is currently the faster of

:51:19. > :51:25.the two. There is a little bit of a gap between them, but you would

:51:26. > :51:31.expect that at the moment. Alan, I think you have news on Ferrari? Yes,

:51:32. > :51:35.both cars, two of the ones in the pits. On Kimi Raikkonen and's side,

:51:36. > :51:40.they have changed the front discs and pads, only on the front axle. He

:51:41. > :51:51.felt he didn't have the feel and consistency. You have to carry speed

:51:52. > :51:55.to the apex, has the right wheel has a tendency to lock. Also into the

:51:56. > :51:59.chicane, the last corner of the circuit. We know he has a particular

:52:00. > :52:09.sensitivity to that area, especially with the Ferrari this year. So they

:52:10. > :52:17.are changing the discs and the pads. Alonso, they don't seem to

:52:18. > :52:20.have concerns and they are appearing for him to go back out. I think it

:52:21. > :52:24.will be another ten minutes before we see him out on circuit. He's

:52:25. > :52:28.sitting at the back of the garage with a big smile on his face. Kimi

:52:29. > :52:34.Raikkonen and had some brake problems when he was

:52:35. > :52:40.Raikkonen and had some brake Lotus. It ended the amazing sequence

:52:41. > :52:45.he was on. Andre Lotterer has just gone across the line. He goes

:52:46. > :52:50.quicker than Ericsson with that lap. In fact, Ericsson has spun in

:52:51. > :52:56.front of him. Marcus Ericsson, not putting in quite... Well, he was

:52:57. > :53:01.building up to a quick lap and he lost it at the hairpin just in front

:53:02. > :53:07.of his team-mate. But no major dramas. Lewis Hamilton was coming

:53:08. > :53:12.out of the pits. He might have just touched the grass as he was on the

:53:13. > :53:18.brakes. No damage done, he's going to continue. At this stage of the

:53:19. > :53:25.practice session, with 40 minutes to go, Rosberg on top, Alonso second,

:53:26. > :53:37.Bottas third, then Magnussen and Vettel. Peres, then Hamilton.

:53:38. > :54:07.Grosjean is ninth, Button is 10th. Raikkonen is 14. Felipe Massa is 15.

:54:08. > :54:21.So by Ashley is ahead of Hito -- Van Der Garde. One viewer asks if it

:54:22. > :54:26.hinders... RADIO: Understood. The comment from Coster was exactly the

:54:27. > :54:33.same as you, for your information. Well, the tyres, the same as the

:54:34. > :54:37.first run, whatever that is, something with Lotus is not going

:54:38. > :54:42.quite right. It is typical for the driver that has to step out, any

:54:43. > :54:45.mileage over the weekend is so crucial. Although this first

:54:46. > :54:49.practice session, teams are often testing new pieces on the car, they

:54:50. > :54:55.might not even run them over the weekend. Every lap helps the driver

:54:56. > :55:01.get his eye in? Particularly on a place like this. You want to get

:55:02. > :55:07.them into a flowing rhythm. Its high-speed, you need confidence on

:55:08. > :55:16.the brakes. That increases the whole time you get in the car. Here, as

:55:17. > :55:29.much as anywhere, you want that sit time. Kevin Magnussen is the highest

:55:30. > :55:34.speed. We are open to 207 mph. There will be seeing higher speeds than

:55:35. > :55:41.that, I'm sure. Very high-speed here and every lap does indeed count.

:55:42. > :55:46.Some questions on Jenson Button, Mr Snowdonia says, any news on his seat

:55:47. > :55:50.for next season? Not really, still waiting to see if a deal is done.

:55:51. > :55:54.Jonathan Foster says, now we are halfway through the season, with

:55:55. > :55:58.Hamilton stuck behind his team-mate, will he be willing to take more

:55:59. > :56:02.risks? I think he's always willing to take risks. I think that is his

:56:03. > :56:08.default. He's always willing to go for it and raise hard. Let's listen

:56:09. > :56:18.again. OK. Yes, something with the rear. Too risky, something at the

:56:19. > :56:33.rear, to carry on, presumably, he is coming into the pit. He's always

:56:34. > :56:41.good to take risks, sometimes conversely, his team-mate takes less

:56:42. > :56:47.risks? Sometimes you think, is he going to put a banker lap on second?

:56:48. > :56:51.He wasn't interested, he was going for pole, locked up and ended up

:56:52. > :56:57.ninth. That is the way he rides, winning or nothing. Always flat out.

:56:58. > :57:03.You saw that in Hungary, the move that he did, there he is on track,

:57:04. > :57:08.when he got past Jean-Eric Vergne, it was something that Rosberg can

:57:09. > :57:12.manage to do. He got stuck behind Vergne for a good part of that race.

:57:13. > :57:22.It was a risky manoeuvre, but he pulled it off. Is all Grosjean do

:57:23. > :57:30.that and get penalised, when Felipe Massa pushed it wide. It was a

:57:31. > :57:33.beautiful manoeuvre. You can really see the confidence in Lewis

:57:34. > :57:37.Hamilton, coming into the weekend. If you look on the BBC Formula One

:57:38. > :57:42.website, his latest column is also talking about the fact that he have

:57:43. > :57:47.those problems leading after the summer break. He had a car breakdown

:57:48. > :57:52.on him a couple of times. He allowed his team-mate to go on and take pole

:57:53. > :57:56.position. He made a mistake in Austria. Despite all of that, he's

:57:57. > :58:01.only 11 points behind Nico Rosberg. That's not a big difference. He

:58:02. > :58:05.seems to have really gained energy from that. That's what he is saying

:58:06. > :58:10.in his column, it has boosted him. Despite the setbacks, he is right in

:58:11. > :58:16.the hunt. He believes he's going to have another run similar to the one

:58:17. > :58:23.he had of the year. -- at the start of the year. Definitely. All to play

:58:24. > :58:28.for in the race for the World Championship. Behind them, as you

:58:29. > :58:32.mentioned earlier, Daniel Riccardo, and Fernando Alonso, they are

:58:33. > :58:38.fighting over the place. You can see Sebastian Vettel coming through Eau

:58:39. > :58:42.Rouge. Top of the hill, doing 297.1 kilometres per hour. Last year,

:58:43. > :58:46.Sebastian Vettel, by being quick that part of the tracks, took the

:58:47. > :58:54.advantage from Lewis Hamilton on the first lap. He was flat out to the

:58:55. > :59:00.very opening lap. Vettel blew past him on the first lap and we didn't

:59:01. > :59:08.see him again. Something wrong with the up shift, second to third, third

:59:09. > :59:15.to fourth. On his car again. He's got Mark Webber's, hasn't he? I

:59:16. > :59:18.think he has. He was making that point at the press Conference

:59:19. > :59:29.yesterday. A mistake as he comes through the second apex of Pouhon.

:59:30. > :59:33.One of the most dramatic corners on this track. Interestingly, one of

:59:34. > :59:39.the comments that we had, saying, I'm courageous Bath for the first

:59:40. > :59:43.time on Sunday, where should I stand for the best view? I can tell you,

:59:44. > :59:49.the outside of Pouhon, where Sebastian Vettel almost went off,

:59:50. > :59:54.that's a good place. Wherever you go, bring your umbrella! And maybe

:59:55. > :00:05.some thermal underwear. It's been very chilly. Just put a wheel on the

:00:06. > :00:09.kerb, and it was maybe a bit slippery. But no problems to gather

:00:10. > :00:16.it back together. The point I was going to make, we went into the

:00:17. > :00:23.summer break anticipating a close end to the season. Then Sebastian

:00:24. > :00:27.Vettel won all other races. I am sure Lewis Hamilton is hoping that

:00:28. > :00:32.is what he's going to do this year. It's quite possible. There he is,

:00:33. > :00:37.also running wide. Through the same corner. Through Pouhon. Maybe he is

:00:38. > :00:40.just checking the limits. Jenson Button has put in a better lap a

:00:41. > :00:44.moment ago. He's gone for fastest ahead of team-mate. Rosberg and

:00:45. > :01:05.Hamilton are one and two. Magnussen and Bottas. -- Alonso. It

:01:06. > :01:10.is probably one of the most tricky corners right now in Spa because of

:01:11. > :01:12.technology improvements. It is most likely not flat out this year but

:01:13. > :01:19.this is a downhill left-hand and likely not flat out this year but

:01:20. > :01:27.slightly adverse camber. You have two attack into the first apex of

:01:28. > :01:36.it. You need to carry a lot of momentum in that first part. The

:01:37. > :01:41.Astroturf is what caught out Sebastian Vettel. Once you get on

:01:42. > :01:47.that you are highly loaded and the car immediately loses grip. The best

:01:48. > :01:54.thing then is just to abort the corner, as we saw Lewis Hamilton do,

:01:55. > :02:01.and Sebastian Vettel, and survive to fight another day. For me that is

:02:02. > :02:06.one of the key corners at Spa. Nico found a lot of time in the last

:02:07. > :02:14.chicane, probably aware of that. Also turn ten, Nico slower in,

:02:15. > :02:19.faster out. A bit more information being given to Lewis Hamilton.

:02:20. > :02:23.Hamilton quite wide out of the previous left-hander there. Let's

:02:24. > :02:29.watch him into the left-hander, this long, sweeping left-hander. Again he

:02:30. > :02:36.gets into the Astroturf and again he runs wide. That lost him the grip

:02:37. > :02:42.that he was looking for and he basically had to bail out of the

:02:43. > :02:44.corner from that point on. Nonetheless I think Lewis Hamilton

:02:45. > :02:50.will be thoroughly looking forward to this weekend. 2008, he actually

:02:51. > :02:56.won this race on the road, the year that he won the championship. He

:02:57. > :03:01.then picked up a 25 second penalty. A lot of people felt it was a very

:03:02. > :03:07.unfair penalty that he was given. They sell felt it was a bit of

:03:08. > :03:14.creativity. It was Felipe Massa who may have put it on that occasion. He

:03:15. > :03:18.had a dice with Kimi Raikkonen, a big battle. Kimi Raikkonen lead in

:03:19. > :03:26.the early stages and then we got the rain and it made life difficult, and

:03:27. > :03:29.Lewis cut the chicane. It was a classic race. Felipe Massa came

:03:30. > :03:33.through to take the victory on that occasion. Lewis is one of the

:03:34. > :03:38.drivers on the grid that has won this race in the past, his victory

:03:39. > :03:49.coming in 2010, along with the likes of Kimi Raikkonen, Jenson Button,

:03:50. > :03:56.one time a winner. Pole position for Jenson Button here in 2012, his only

:03:57. > :04:00.pole position while he has been at McLaren since his World Championship

:04:01. > :04:04.winning year of 2009, which seems pretty amazing. That was against

:04:05. > :04:22.Lewis Hamilton in the same car, wasn't it? It was, and it was the

:04:23. > :04:27.two eating episode as well. -- the tweeting episode. The team were very

:04:28. > :04:33.unhappy about that! The tweeting thing, what it was about, there were

:04:34. > :04:39.three very distinct sections to this circuit. You can set it with

:04:40. > :04:43.slightly higher drag, for sector two, which is the one with the

:04:44. > :04:48.twists and turns. That is one of the things to think about here. Yes,

:04:49. > :04:57.that is the compromise. He got the wrong compromise. He wanted to know

:04:58. > :05:03.it was not his skill that had caused the problem. Someone said to him,

:05:04. > :05:13.can you tweet as the car setup as well please? ! That is a replay of

:05:14. > :05:23.Felipe Massa. The car looking a bit difficult to drive at the moment. We

:05:24. > :05:30.know the Williams has a fairly low drag setup. Jenson Button currently

:05:31. > :05:36.fourth fastest in this session. Andre Lotterer still quicker than

:05:37. > :05:41.his team-mate Marcus Ericsson. Alexander Rossi has gone 20th. He

:05:42. > :05:48.has moved ahead of the two Caterhams in the Marussia. If you

:05:49. > :05:52.missed the early part, it has been all change at Mauritius this

:05:53. > :05:57.weekend, a bit of musical chairs going on. Max Chilton, who we

:05:58. > :06:03.thought was going to change, has gone. -- we thought was going to

:06:04. > :06:08.drive. Alexander Rossi is doing this morning's session but we gather that

:06:09. > :06:15.Max Chilton will be back in the car this afternoon. This is a key

:06:16. > :06:20.braking area for Ferrari. Not a major driver and yet so rates back

:06:21. > :06:26.up across the line. That moves him up to fifth place now, a couple of

:06:27. > :06:31.places behind team-mate Fernando Alonso. Generally Kimi Raikkonen has

:06:32. > :06:36.been happier with the car in the last couple of events. He got his

:06:37. > :06:40.best result of the season last time out in Hungary, only a sixth place,

:06:41. > :06:46.but still his best result of the season. It is perhaps a little

:06:47. > :06:51.indicator that Kimi Raikkonen is feeling at home back at Ferrari. He

:06:52. > :06:54.said he was looking forward to the second part of the season, it

:06:55. > :07:03.certainly couldn't be any worse than the first. He just sort of stopped

:07:04. > :07:08.talking at that point! He was amused when he was asked about the fact

:07:09. > :07:12.that with Max Verstappen coming in next year that he had raced against

:07:13. > :07:22.his father, and how did he feel about that? We did get a big smile

:07:23. > :07:26.from Kimi Raikkonen about that! Kimi Raikkonen the only driver on the

:07:27. > :07:35.grid born in the 1970s. 1979 he was born. Now we have got drivers who

:07:36. > :07:43.are being born in the late 1990s! It is scary, isn't it? It makes us feel

:07:44. > :07:48.old. Grant Campbell, thank you for contacting us. He says is Kimi

:07:49. > :07:56.Raikkonen's position under scrutiny for next year? He has had a pretty

:07:57. > :08:00.torrid time, hasn't he? If that doesn't improve, they can't go

:08:01. > :08:02.forward with that. But they have already paid him off early once,

:08:03. > :08:08.when they took Fernando already paid him off early once,

:08:09. > :08:11.do that again would be a huge slice...

:08:12. > :08:18.It would be tricky, wouldn't it? You would think that Kimi Raikkonen and

:08:19. > :08:27.Fernando Alonso is still a pretty impressive driver line-up. But

:08:28. > :08:34.question to you here, Stephan writes in and says does Max Verstappen's

:08:35. > :08:40.age reflect on these of Formula One cartons to drive -- cars to drive

:08:41. > :08:49.now? -- the easiness to drive. They are certainly easier to drive

:08:50. > :08:53.now than they were ten years ago. There is much less downforce now so

:08:54. > :08:56.in the corners, if you just look at the qualifying pace and the race

:08:57. > :09:04.pace, it is so much slower, so therefore physically it is a lot

:09:05. > :09:08.easier. Mentally he has been brought up with this complexity of car in

:09:09. > :09:12.mind, so you testing he will be doing between now and the race next

:09:13. > :09:16.year will be with that mindset. I think he will be prepared that way

:09:17. > :09:20.but what I think he will struggle with is the constants of Formula

:09:21. > :09:25.One. When you start at the beginning of the year until you get that break

:09:26. > :09:31.we have just had, you are on the treadmill. The Dutch fans will be

:09:32. > :09:34.going nuts about it. That whole interest, suddenly he goes from

:09:35. > :09:39.being a 16-year-old kid to a household name in his own nation. I

:09:40. > :09:44.think that will be the hardest thing for Max Verstappen to get used to.

:09:45. > :09:48.You did an interview with Max Verstappen which we will be showing

:09:49. > :09:53.an BBC television over the weekend, how did you find him? I was very

:09:54. > :09:57.impressed by him. I was not sure what to expect. He is not a young

:09:58. > :10:05.driver who I have worked with before. We talk about carts and

:10:06. > :10:06.cars, but he only got in a single seater car

:10:07. > :10:18.cars, but he only got in a single he had only driven karts. By the end

:10:19. > :10:22.of the interview I felt I could push him like I would a normal Formula

:10:23. > :10:27.One driver. You didn't come across as being young and immature. He said

:10:28. > :10:31.his father retired from Formula One racing purely to almost groom him

:10:32. > :10:36.and create him as the next Formula One driver, which I felt was really

:10:37. > :10:39.interesting. He said that whilst his father had been losing a lot of

:10:40. > :10:45.sleep over the last few weeks, when it came down to contracts, he was

:10:46. > :10:50.very relaxed! He was sleeping right up until the alarm, he told us! He

:10:51. > :10:56.was very engaging and a wise head on young shoulders. Fascinating and we

:10:57. > :10:59.will be able to see that interview on BBC1 tomorrow. It will be

:11:00. > :11:13.fascinating to see how he comes across. Jos Verstappen come at his

:11:14. > :11:23.father, you know a lot about his career. It started early in Formula

:11:24. > :11:27.One. He was shot into Formula One is initially as a test driver but after

:11:28. > :11:34.an accident for a regular driver at Benetton, he was suddenly a race

:11:35. > :11:39.driver. He came up and did a very impressive arrows test. On the back

:11:40. > :11:43.of that, he attracted the attention of Flavio Briatore and he was put in

:11:44. > :11:50.the Benetton team, that was when it was Michael Schumacher's team. The

:11:51. > :11:56.combination of circumstances did not work out for the best for Jos. Quite

:11:57. > :12:00.a quick guy, an instinctive racer, and I don't think he got the

:12:01. > :12:04.opportunities that his ability deserved. I was looking back over

:12:05. > :12:12.his career yesterday and reminding myself of a few things, and he

:12:13. > :12:20.replaced Jan Magnussen, when he was not delivering one season, and Jos

:12:21. > :12:25.did not do much better that year. It didn't do either of them any

:12:26. > :12:31.favours, that, really. Now Max will be racing in Formula One. A comment

:12:32. > :12:42.says I can't get my head around Verstappen. I am 17 and I do some

:12:43. > :12:49.karting occasionally, he is 16 and he has already signed for Formula

:12:50. > :12:54.One! A lots of young people must be thinking you are too late to get

:12:55. > :13:03.into Formula One, but it is not the only way, is it? Andre Lotterer is

:13:04. > :13:08.debuting at 32 this weekend. Damon Hill was 31 when he died viewed.

:13:09. > :13:16.Four years later he won the World Championship. You never know what

:13:17. > :13:21.can happen. Max Verstappen is such a talent, there has been a bit of a

:13:22. > :13:23.squabble to get his signature on a bit of paper. What can Red Bull

:13:24. > :13:27.offer that Mercedes can't? Probably bit of paper. What can Red Bull

:13:28. > :13:37.a race seat. I imagine that is what drove that. No major changes in the

:13:38. > :13:42.order, was the first and Hamilton second. This is what Hamilton did a

:13:43. > :13:48.moment ago, a little lock up forcing him wide and he cut the corner. He

:13:49. > :13:49.missed the ramps that are there to prevent cars making any advantage

:13:50. > :14:04.going through that section. Alan, we could hear you marching

:14:05. > :14:07.along somewhere when we were talking to you last time, where have you

:14:08. > :14:24.managed to get to and what are you seeing? Have we got Alan? Not just

:14:25. > :14:30.yet. We will have to try again. Some problems for Kimi Raikkonen I think.

:14:31. > :14:35.Some temperature related problems. He is being asked to come back

:14:36. > :14:41.towards the pits very slowly. Not having a trouble-free time of it.

:14:42. > :14:47.Interestingly, Spa is probably the hardest circuit in terms of tight

:14:48. > :15:02.corners and heartbreaking, -- and hard braking. It is a tough

:15:03. > :15:17.circuit, this one. A lot of tricks that they played to try and get the

:15:18. > :15:23.most out of the cars. Let's see what he had to say yesterday, following

:15:24. > :15:28.that second place finish in Hungary and what it might predict for the

:15:29. > :15:45.rest of the season. Well, we finished good in Hungary, and we

:15:46. > :15:56.know it is going to be tough, especially with the dried and the

:15:57. > :16:04.speed, important for the lap time. That will probably favour Williams,

:16:05. > :16:09.our main competitors. We have to defend, damage and notation for the

:16:10. > :16:12.next two races and then attack. It has been rocking backwards and

:16:13. > :16:16.forwards. They managed to snatch it away from Ferrari after the German

:16:17. > :16:20.Grand Prix. Alonso retook third for Ferrari. Millions of dollars are for

:16:21. > :16:25.grabs in the difference between third, fourth and fifth in the

:16:26. > :16:35.Constructors' Championship. I think it means more difference for

:16:36. > :16:46.Williams and Ferrari. They need Felipe Massa delivering the

:16:47. > :16:52.consistency we have seen. He's had three first lap eliminations this

:16:53. > :16:56.season. They need him to be scoring. He scored some decent points last

:16:57. > :16:58.time. He finished fifth in Hungary. Bottas was out of luck in the timing

:16:59. > :17:01.of the safety car and then when they had a slow pit stop. Everything

:17:02. > :17:11.counted against him. You are right, we're waiting for Felipe Massa's

:17:12. > :17:18.first podium of the year. Lee spoke to Felipe Massa and talked about his

:17:19. > :17:20.hopes for the season, and his new relationship with Williams, which is

:17:21. > :17:24.really burgeoning. It's lovely to see them back on form again. With a

:17:25. > :17:30.driver like Felipe Massa, who has the experience to help them through

:17:31. > :17:35.the next section? It's a good line-up they have got, and if they

:17:36. > :17:40.can it will be good for them. They are no-nonsense guys. Felipe Massa

:17:41. > :17:47.has been around, he's got a lot of experience. A lot of people feel

:17:48. > :17:54.that Williams have their best chance here this weekend. They were strong

:17:55. > :17:59.in Austria but this is another track that should suit them. Let's see

:18:00. > :18:03.what they said yesterday to calm about it being one of their best

:18:04. > :18:13.chances. I hope we can be really competitive here, I hope we can have

:18:14. > :18:18.a great race. If we have the chance to win it will be an incredible

:18:19. > :18:26.feeling. Everybody talks about the straight-line advantage of Williams,

:18:27. > :18:33.you were fastest through the speed track in Hungary. Sector two could

:18:34. > :18:34.be difficult. Just give us your thoughts about getting the most out

:18:35. > :18:36.of a lap. I think it is maybe one where we suffering a little bit

:18:37. > :18:41.compared to previously. Maybe the car can be competitive anyway in

:18:42. > :18:46.sector two for whatever reason. We have a car that was competitive in

:18:47. > :18:52.Silverstone as well. We need to believe, we need to see how the car

:18:53. > :18:57.will behave tomorrow and also Saturday, in qualifying. So, Felipe

:18:58. > :19:00.Massa, they are not showing particular form in practice one, but

:19:01. > :19:04.that has been quite common in recent events. That is nothing different to

:19:05. > :19:11.what they have been doing in recent events. We are talking about

:19:12. > :19:19.favourites to watch, one viewer says the pit and start and finish

:19:20. > :19:24.straight are good to watch from. You were watching, what did you see? It

:19:25. > :19:29.is unfortunate that you could not hear me, I was in one of the nicest

:19:30. > :19:34.places you could watch Formula One. The bottom of Eau Rouge. They flush

:19:35. > :19:38.left, through the compression and up the hill to the right. The Williams,

:19:39. > :19:45.we just heard from Felipe Massa, he seemed to take it with a big lift,

:19:46. > :19:50.and then powered up the hill. That's the best way to do it. If you are

:19:51. > :19:54.going to lift, you left early. On the other side, the Marussia was

:19:55. > :20:00.flat out. It probably arrived about 15 kilometres per hour slower than

:20:01. > :20:06.stop Kimi Raikkonen did not look that stable. He looked a bit

:20:07. > :20:13.tentative. That's interesting. I guess the Marussia would be

:20:14. > :20:24.Bianchi. He's only a fraction slower than Maldonado. He's still quicker

:20:25. > :20:34.than Van der Garde. Alexander Rossi is quicker, and Andre Lotterer makes

:20:35. > :20:40.his debut in Formula One. We are watching another driver that has not

:20:41. > :20:46.had a chance to do much racing. Van der Garde. Perhaps another driver to

:20:47. > :20:55.think of, another Dutch driver. A lot of interest in the Netherlands.

:20:56. > :21:04.Especially now Max Verstappen has been announced. His sister is only

:21:05. > :21:07.just behind as well. She is racing in carts. She tried when she was

:21:08. > :21:16.eight and was eight and wasn't that interested, but they are going to

:21:17. > :21:23.have another go. Obviously a racing family, very much in their genes.

:21:24. > :21:31.He will be appearing in Austin and he may be doing a couple more. We

:21:32. > :21:35.saw that last year, being brought into do some of the morning practice

:21:36. > :21:42.sessions. A bit of slow motion action of Van der Garde and the

:21:43. > :21:46.Sauber. They have been beginning to make some progress, but they are yet

:21:47. > :21:50.to score any points in the World Championship. They have that task.

:21:51. > :21:53.They are still being beaten by Marussia in the construction points.

:21:54. > :22:08.This is a race where you have to think, you could have rain,

:22:09. > :22:16.Gutierrez and Sutil have been good in the wet. We knew he was good, but

:22:17. > :22:20.to win two Grand Prix in the last five, in a car that everybody knows

:22:21. > :22:23.is not the best car out there, it has been stunning. What has been

:22:24. > :22:31.impressive, apart from the outright pace, it is how composed he is in

:22:32. > :22:33.racing situations. It has been commented on by Alonzo, Hamilton. He

:22:34. > :22:46.does everything right. He is great in wheel-to-wheel combat. Star of

:22:47. > :22:52.the year for me. He has been in several. The move in Hungary, very

:22:53. > :22:56.decisive, on better tyres than Fernando Alonso by that late stage

:22:57. > :23:00.of the race. But there was never going to be any doubt. Once he was

:23:01. > :23:08.in second place he was going for the win. Some drivers get there and

:23:09. > :23:15.can't make the move, he does it straightaway. Perhaps not expected.

:23:16. > :23:22.It was Vergne that seemed to be the better racer, the more aggressive at

:23:23. > :23:25.overtaking, the guy who lost fewer places on the opening lap? But

:23:26. > :23:29.overtaking, the guy who lost fewer they've put that behind them now? To

:23:30. > :23:30.an extent, it was Daniel qualifying higher up

:23:31. > :23:33.an extent, it was Daniel qualifying have been and then going backwards,

:23:34. > :23:47.which did not help him. But you are right. At the time the decision was

:23:48. > :23:53.made, he had a couple of races were Jean-Eric Vergne had outperformed

:23:54. > :23:58.him. Force India have had great results in the past. That remarkable

:23:59. > :24:04.second place in 2009, eaten by Kimi Raikkonen, but a fantastic

:24:05. > :24:09.performance plan. -- eaten. Struggled, because he moved to

:24:10. > :24:18.Ferrari and could not get on with the Ferrari at all, but a team that

:24:19. > :24:29.delivers strong results. In the Jordan days, Rubens barrack LO made

:24:30. > :24:41.their first place. They had a poor Hungary. Nico Hulkenberg was the

:24:42. > :24:44.only non-finish of his season so far and it was his mistake because he

:24:45. > :24:46.drove into his team-mate. Then Peres went off in an incident where he

:24:47. > :24:48.crashed against the pit wall. Not a good weekend for them? They have

:24:49. > :24:55.only taken 11 points from the last races. They could have done without

:24:56. > :24:58.that. They had been scoring consistently good points over the

:24:59. > :25:05.last three races. So, that has hurt them a bit. There will be looking to

:25:06. > :25:11.put that right. McLaren missed a trick. They are still a point

:25:12. > :25:20.behind. If they had not gone for the tyre choice, it was all very

:25:21. > :25:28.strange, they had a real chance to move ahead. A Laurel and Hardy

:25:29. > :25:35.moment. The team boss at Sauber, that you saw a moment ago, they are

:25:36. > :25:57.still waiting for the start of the season. Qipco, we will look. A lack

:25:58. > :26:03.of power or power steering? Just power, power. I thought he said

:26:04. > :26:08.power steering as well. He has problems with power steering as

:26:09. > :26:14.well. Some of your comments are coming in, right of Sebastian Vettel

:26:15. > :26:23.at your peril, I reckon he will destroy Ricardo in the Asian races,

:26:24. > :26:27.barring any problems. You say that, but we have fewer Asian races. He's

:26:28. > :26:33.always dominated some of those events, but they are not on the

:26:34. > :26:36.calendar this weekend. But Singapore is always a great race for Sebastian

:26:37. > :26:41.Vettel and they know they should be more competitive there. I don't

:26:42. > :26:47.think he will destroy him anyway. He has the genuine pace. It might be

:26:48. > :26:56.close, but I don't see them reversing. There is a gap of 43

:26:57. > :26:59.points between Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel. I don't think

:27:00. > :27:07.anybody would have thought that going into the season. Magnussen,

:27:08. > :27:13.maybe a little bit wider over the kerb, but I don't think anything

:27:14. > :27:18.went wrong. He clipped the gravel with the rear wheel. The load was

:27:19. > :27:26.off the car by then so he got away with it. Lewis Hamilton, through Eau

:27:27. > :27:34.Rouge. That is a scary place to suffer a moment. The cars in pretty

:27:35. > :27:38.much full compression. Pretty much just as well they have power

:27:39. > :27:41.steering nowadays. Look at that, a fabulous shot. That gives you some

:27:42. > :27:46.idea of the loading going through the car. In the old days, a snap

:27:47. > :27:50.like that would have been incredibly difficult. The drivers were talking

:27:51. > :27:53.yesterday about how physically hardly older cars used to be. I'm

:27:54. > :27:57.not sure you would have got away with that. I don't think you would

:27:58. > :28:00.have got that back. Jenson Button getting upset, I'm not sure who got

:28:01. > :28:04.have got that back. Jenson Button in his way. I was talking to our

:28:05. > :28:08.very own David Coulthard yesterday. He said when he was test driver for

:28:09. > :28:12.Williams and had to drive Nigel Mansell's setup with the small

:28:13. > :28:16.steering wheel he used to use, he could not adjust the line once he

:28:17. > :28:19.was into a quick corner, with the downforce and heavy steering they

:28:20. > :28:28.had, there was no way he could change direction. I remember seeing

:28:29. > :28:34.a horrifying shunt in 1993, when they still had active ride. A

:28:35. > :28:39.warning light in the cockpit came on if there was an active failure. It

:28:40. > :28:42.came on when he was in compression, the car sat down on the deck and he

:28:43. > :28:45.had the most enormous accident. He said had it been first race of the

:28:46. > :28:51.season he probably would not have survived. He said his neck was a

:28:52. > :28:52.stronger with the mileage. I saw him two weeks later and his eyes were

:28:53. > :29:01.still bloodshot, both eyes. Sebastian Vettel having a good look

:29:02. > :29:05.around his car. Six minutes to go. It has been a fairly quiet session

:29:06. > :29:11.in terms of the number of laps. It is a long lap, which may have some

:29:12. > :29:15.bearing. Engine mileage is key. We do think Sebastian Vettel may well

:29:16. > :29:21.have had to change an element of his engine soon. Could incur a ten place

:29:22. > :29:25.penalty when he does. They have five power units to use during the

:29:26. > :29:30.season. Each individual element counts towards that. If you change

:29:31. > :29:33.the internal combustion engine or the turbocharger, once you have used

:29:34. > :29:38.five of those separate elements and move onto the sixth of any of them,

:29:39. > :29:43.you get a ten place grid penalty. Quite a few drivers are in that

:29:44. > :29:47.zone. You can still keep going back to one you have used and you don't

:29:48. > :29:51.get a penalty, as soon as you go to number six, a new version that has

:29:52. > :29:56.been used, you'll start getting penalties. Alan, I think you know

:29:57. > :30:00.more this? One other factor is the number of miles the teams have done

:30:01. > :30:06.this year. McLaren have done the most number of miles in all of the

:30:07. > :30:09.sessions combined. As we go into the second part of the Championship, I

:30:10. > :30:17.think this will be much more of a factor. You have a 25% difference

:30:18. > :30:20.between McLaren's number of miles and the Caterham, which shows the

:30:21. > :30:24.reliability problems they have had. I do think that Red Bull, with the

:30:25. > :30:31.reliability issues they have had to the early part, and the Renault

:30:32. > :30:38.engines, this is going to be gay key factor as we moving -- this is great

:30:39. > :30:47.to be a key factor as we move into the end of the Championships. Saw

:30:48. > :30:51.the other teams, Lotus team for example, they are close to incurring

:30:52. > :31:01.penalties. A couple of quick collapse from Andre Lotterer and

:31:02. > :31:05.Marcus Ericsson. Andre Lotterer was quicker than his team-mate. But

:31:06. > :31:09.they've done 20 laps on these tyres, so it is unlikely they will improve

:31:10. > :31:13.the lap time at this stage. I imagine that as part of the reason

:31:14. > :31:18.why we have not seen many laps being set by some of the drivers. They

:31:19. > :31:22.can't get much more life out of these medium compound tyres. In the

:31:23. > :31:26.second session we will see the first use of the softer tyre to see what

:31:27. > :31:38.the difference will be. Currently, the fastest time is 1:51.577. No

:31:39. > :31:45.improvement on that last lap. He is still 22nd slowest.

:31:46. > :31:50.Alonso, keeping Ferrari in the hunt. Raikkonen showing reasonable

:31:51. > :32:01.promise, although his lap time is quite a lot slower. The Red Bulls

:32:02. > :32:05.are a little lower down. This was always going to be a more difficult

:32:06. > :32:10.track, but don't count them out yet. They will be fighting. If there are

:32:11. > :32:12.changeable conditions you can imagine Red Bull would be eager to

:32:13. > :32:23.take full advantage. Watching Rosberg year, let's just

:32:24. > :32:30.see him as he comes through the last part of the lap. Down towards the

:32:31. > :32:34.bus stop. We saw some braking problems here earlier from both

:32:35. > :32:44.Mercedes, a bit unstable on the braking. Now things looking a lot

:32:45. > :32:48.more controlled. 1.56.8. He is carrying a bit more fuel now and

:32:49. > :32:55.those tyres are well past their best. The hairpin where we have seen

:32:56. > :32:59.so many incidents in the past. It is a factor here that getting around

:33:00. > :33:13.the first corner, as we have seen most recently in 2012 when Romain

:33:14. > :34:16.Grosjean made contact with Hamilton and launched over Alonso, it is not

:34:17. > :34:20.an easy first corner, one of the trickiest probably in Formula One.

:34:21. > :34:30.You could hear that scraping sound, the bottom of the car being

:34:31. > :34:35.compressed into the road surface. The plank at the bottom of the car,

:34:36. > :34:40.there to take the impact. You could hear the blocks touching the

:34:41. > :34:50.surface. Michael Schumacher was disqualified here for wearing that

:34:51. > :34:53.excessively. The contact it is making with the road has to be

:34:54. > :35:06.assessed all of the time. Another great corner here. But looks to be

:35:07. > :35:11.the last chicane now. When they say the biggest loss, it has probably a

:35:12. > :35:15.few hundredths of a second, they are so evenly matched. The chequered

:35:16. > :35:20.flag is out on the session. We have seen the first hour and a half

:35:21. > :35:26.completed here at Spa without any major dramas. One or two little

:35:27. > :35:33.dramas. An unusual place to be suffering oversteer. It cost him

:35:34. > :35:40.time as well. Maybe indicating the tyres are well past their best. We

:35:41. > :35:49.will see that from the helicopter view as well. It's going to be a lap

:35:50. > :36:03.time that is quite a lot slower than he achieved earlier on. We're

:36:04. > :36:29.presuming they are running the same fuel set-ups, I think Lewis Hamilton

:36:30. > :36:36.will be quite happy with that. I think they run a bit less fuel.

:36:37. > :36:43.Let's quickly run think they run a bit less fuel.

:36:44. > :37:07.times. Hamilton and Rosberg the think they run a bit less fuel.

:37:08. > :37:24.two. Lotterer was 21st and faster than his team-mate Marcus Ericsson.

:37:25. > :37:34.That has been the first practice session. We were just looking at the

:37:35. > :37:40.Ferrari. A difficult session blighted by a lot of technical

:37:41. > :37:55.problems. They have had a few technical problems but Ferrari are a

:37:56. > :38:01.and he thought it was going to be a good circuit. Also, compared to

:38:02. > :38:04.Williams, one of their strongest competitors. It will be good in

:38:05. > :38:06.terms of straight-line speed, but it will be good in terms of

:38:07. > :38:09.straight-line speed, but it's determined by if they can be

:38:10. > :38:14.flat-out through Eau Rouge. If they can't, it harms the length of the

:38:15. > :38:20.big long straight and their capability to extract the low drag

:38:21. > :38:24.from the car. I spoke to Felipe Massa yesterday, he is desperate to

:38:25. > :38:30.get his first podium. Bottas has had three. He's really keen for that

:38:31. > :38:39.pole position. You can see Rosberg topping the time sheets. A good day

:38:40. > :38:49.for Button. Peres is ahead of Hulkenberg. It isn't a surprise, if

:38:50. > :38:52.you go back to Canada, the Mercedes runners were at the front and the

:38:53. > :38:57.other guys will be struggling behind them. A good day for Andre Lotterer

:38:58. > :39:01.as well. Will Max Chilton be back in? We think so. Join us on BBC Two.

:39:02. > :39:06.We will see you later. MUSIC: "Black Skinhead"

:39:07. > :39:08.by Kanye West This year's rugby league

:39:09. > :39:24.Challenge Cup giants