The Belgian Grand Prix - Practice 2

:00:11. > :01:09.Hello, welcome to spark. It is a fabulous circuit that never

:01:10. > :01:14.disappoints. Just over my shoulder, the wonderful on Rouge, which sorts

:01:15. > :01:17.out the men from the boys. I don't think there is a driver in any

:01:18. > :01:20.series he would not say it is one of the most iconic places

:01:21. > :01:25.series he would not say it is one of the world. We have three practice

:01:26. > :01:29.races this morning. Nico Rosberg topped the time sheets.

:01:30. > :01:35.Him and his team-mate have topped the time sheets in the last 13

:01:36. > :01:39.practice sessions we have had. We've also seen some incredible battles in

:01:40. > :01:43.the Grand Prix, in the first half of the season. That is why there are

:01:44. > :01:44.only 11 points between the two at the top of the Drivers'

:01:45. > :02:21.Championship. Clarkson and Jenny. A busy morning

:02:22. > :02:25.this morning, some teams happy, others less so. Problems for Red

:02:26. > :02:30.Bull, particularly with Sebastian Vettel's car.

:02:31. > :02:31.Bull, particularly with Sebastian There's nothing you don't know, is

:02:32. > :02:35.there? We are There's nothing you don't know, is

:02:36. > :02:41.change for There's nothing you don't know, is

:02:42. > :02:45.reported and exhaust problem. They are replacing that unit. The

:02:46. > :02:48.reported and exhaust problem. They for the team is three and a half

:02:49. > :02:50.reported and exhaust problem. They hours, so he's going nowhere this

:02:51. > :02:54.afternoon. Very busy for him. A disappointing start for this track.

:02:55. > :02:57.With all of the fast corners, it is all about confidence and he will

:02:58. > :03:04.have the least lapse of anyone prior to qualifying. Disappointment is

:03:05. > :03:12.rife in the pit lane. We heard Max Chilton is not going to be racing

:03:13. > :03:15.this weekend. Rossi will take his place. He got into the car this

:03:16. > :03:21.morning, and a few moments before he was told that Max Chilton will be at

:03:22. > :03:26.in the car and will race here this weekend. It's been a real

:03:27. > :03:32.roller-coaster for Alexander Rossi over the last 24 hours. He only

:03:33. > :03:37.joined Marussia a few weeks ago. He is licking his wounds a little bit,

:03:38. > :03:40.but he's doing what he can to help the team. You can look forward to

:03:41. > :03:44.Max Chilton getting another taste of Formula One.

:03:45. > :03:48.First day back at school, already a couple of disappointed drivers. You

:03:49. > :03:51.can get involved in this afternoon's programme. You can

:03:52. > :03:53.can get involved in this in touch through the BBC Facebook

:03:54. > :04:02.page. Leave your comments there. Or you can tweet at #BBCF1. If you are

:04:03. > :04:05.watching the Saturday morning repeat, don't do that, because we

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:04:11. > :04:19.the website, in the live feed and the best will be read out.

:04:20. > :04:24.A beautiful, sunny day at Spa. It can be sunny and one part of the

:04:25. > :04:29.circuit, wet summer else. There is a large black cloud just over there.

:04:30. > :04:33.Yes, it's one of the largest circuits of the calendar year. Very

:04:34. > :04:38.fast and flowing. It follows the contours of the land. That is one of

:04:39. > :04:44.the things every driver loves, and attacking kind of circuit. Spa

:04:45. > :04:47.definitely gives you that. A lot of talking points going into this

:04:48. > :04:53.session. We know there has been quite a lot of driver changes going

:04:54. > :05:00.on, as we were hearing. Andre Lotterer for Caterham, this weekend.

:05:01. > :05:05.Kobayashi is working on the simulator this weekend, so he's not

:05:06. > :05:10.in booted out. Tell us about Andre Lotterer. He's a team-mate of yours,

:05:11. > :05:15.in your very successful Audi sports car days. He's a big, chunky, fast

:05:16. > :05:22.German, why has it taken him until the age of 32 to get a Formula One

:05:23. > :05:26.break? He was one of the young Jaguar drivers, from the formula

:05:27. > :05:29.three programme. But that was in the early 2000s. Thought he would maybe

:05:30. > :05:37.get his chance with Jaguar Formula One. But that team ceased to exist.

:05:38. > :05:42.Firmly enough, it came Red Bull. So, his early career kind of dribbled

:05:43. > :05:48.away. He went to Japan, he came back to Europe racing with Audi. Very,

:05:49. > :05:52.very fast. Extremely determined. An extremely good technical

:05:53. > :05:57.understanding of very complex cars. Racing high-powered cars, with a big

:05:58. > :06:03.hybrid system, you can understand Racing high-powered cars, with a big

:06:04. > :06:09.the technical at -- technicalities of it. Along with his experience

:06:10. > :06:13.from the boss at Qatar Open, why he was placed in. He may be German, but

:06:14. > :06:19.he was brought up in Belgium, not far from here. This is kind of like

:06:20. > :06:23.a home Grand Prix. He's done over 4000 kilometres of driving, in

:06:24. > :06:33.various different things, around this Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps

:06:34. > :06:39.circuit. If Sebastian Vettel didn't have bad luck, it would seem, he

:06:40. > :06:47.would have no luck at all. The Australian Grand Prix, Monaco, as

:06:48. > :06:52.well. On the right of your screen, Max Verstappen, a 16-year-old,

:06:53. > :06:57.announced for next season. His father is next to him. Look how

:06:58. > :07:01.young that boy is, 16, 1017 next month. What do you say? If you are

:07:02. > :07:14.good enough, you are old enough, but surely there has to be a floor on

:07:15. > :07:18.that? Being in the public eye might be the hardest thing. He's had a

:07:19. > :07:26.tremendously good run, considering it's his first year in car racing.

:07:27. > :07:36.His team-mate in 2015, Kvyat, he did a similar thing. We have to say that

:07:37. > :07:42.Max Verstappen's results have been a bit better. But then Kvyat was a bit

:07:43. > :07:45.older and was more able to handle the other aspects of Formula One

:07:46. > :07:49.that sometimes get on the shoulders of young drivers. He's a European

:07:50. > :07:56.cart champion, a big thing to win in the world of karting. 12 months ago

:07:57. > :08:00.he was still racing carts. That is why junior categories exist, for

:08:01. > :08:10.young drivers to make rookie errors. Surely it is better for them to make

:08:11. > :08:16.it in GP3? But when you have got momentum going for you, you've got

:08:17. > :08:19.to grab those opportunities, there's a distinct possibility you'll never

:08:20. > :08:22.get those again. It's a fickle business and we are all looking

:08:23. > :08:26.towards the next hero coming through. Who is giving to be the

:08:27. > :08:32.next Lewis Hamilton? Who will be the next Fernando Alonso? Red Bull are

:08:33. > :08:39.clearly looking at the new guys to follow on from the stars that they

:08:40. > :08:43.have in Sebastian Vettel and Danny Ricciardo at the moment. From that

:08:44. > :08:48.point of view, I believe he had to take the chance when it was offered.

:08:49. > :08:54.Max Chilton has gone and done a lap, having missed three practice 1 after

:08:55. > :08:58.a contractual dispute with the Marussia team. It appears they

:08:59. > :09:03.played hardball, the Russian owners not wanting to give them any ground.

:09:04. > :09:06.They basically told him he was not in and Alexander Rossi would be

:09:07. > :09:09.driving. It was announced officially and went out on the newswires. He

:09:10. > :09:14.drove the practice session this morning. But his group of people

:09:15. > :09:18.around him have come to an accommodation. He's back in the car.

:09:19. > :09:23.It's not clear how long for, if it will be the rest of the season. I'm

:09:24. > :09:27.sure that story will evolve. Coming back finally to the question of Max

:09:28. > :09:30.Verstappen, 17 next year when he makes his debut in Australia, I

:09:31. > :09:36.remember when you were coming through, you were a young hot shoe,

:09:37. > :09:41.pushing for your opportunity, what age were you when you first drove a

:09:42. > :09:51.Formula One car? 18? Would you have been ready at 17? No, I hadn't even

:09:52. > :09:55.sat in a racing car then. But if the opportunity had presented itself at

:09:56. > :09:59.that moment in time and I had a guarantee of a year's racing to gain

:10:00. > :10:03.experience, without doubt, I would have taken it. I would have been as

:10:04. > :10:08.well, if not better prepared, in a lot of ways, than I was when I made

:10:09. > :10:12.race debut at 32. It's not all just about life and age experience, it is

:10:13. > :10:15.the opportunities when they come to you, you have to make sure they are

:10:16. > :10:19.the right ones. Toro Rosso have given him the assurance that it will

:10:20. > :10:23.not just be a few races to see how you get going. He's going to have a

:10:24. > :10:27.bit of time to be able to understand, learn and develop as a

:10:28. > :10:32.driver. Minimum two years driving in the car, for the Grand Prix to prove

:10:33. > :10:35.himself, and the option for another year. He will start driving in

:10:36. > :10:38.practice sessions on Friday, year. He will start driving in

:10:39. > :10:42.least in Austin, possibly earlier. It looks like three sessions. The

:10:43. > :10:53.final three Grand Prix of the season in Austin. We will get to see him on

:10:54. > :10:56.our screens, just on Friday morning in practice laps, and we'll see

:10:57. > :11:00.where we go from there. We are looking at Magnussen on screen in

:11:01. > :11:03.the McLaren, looking a bit more promising this weekend. In the

:11:04. > :11:09.opening title sequence of this programme, if you are watching,

:11:10. > :11:18.there is a shot of a Benetton car in the pits. The one that is on fire.

:11:19. > :11:25.It is his father, Max Verstappen's father, in that car. , can shed some

:11:26. > :11:31.light on the problems Sebastian Vettel is having. What light can you

:11:32. > :11:34.shed on the problem is going on? Unfortunately we have

:11:35. > :11:39.shed on the problem is going on? engine. There was an electrical

:11:40. > :11:46.issue in the first session but has caused quite a bit of damage.

:11:47. > :11:50.Unfortunately, the length that it takes to change these units now,

:11:51. > :11:54.there was no chance we will be able to get the car out in the session.

:11:55. > :11:59.Hybrid systems need changing as well? I think as a precaution, you

:12:00. > :12:04.pretty much change all of it. All of the ancillaries and everything else

:12:05. > :12:10.that goes on in there. It's a big shame, his luck is not going his way

:12:11. > :12:13.in terms of getting track time. Hopefully it will be fixed by

:12:14. > :12:19.tomorrow. One of the guys saying you are hoping to have the power unit in

:12:20. > :12:24.all weekend. What number are you at? Was this number five? I think that

:12:25. > :12:27.was about the fourth, to be honest. I will have to double check. We are

:12:28. > :12:33.not taking in an extra one, hopefully. But it is still only

:12:34. > :12:38.Friday. A quick word on how it went this morning and what you learned?

:12:39. > :12:42.Pretty green. The long run looked pretty good at the end of the

:12:43. > :12:47.session. Short run pace, you can see these cars will be very quickly.

:12:48. > :12:53.Yeah, it was about what we expected, to be honest. Thank you. Christian

:12:54. > :13:02.Horner. And while he was talking, this happened, Alan?

:13:03. > :13:10.He starts to drive right into the wall. A problem with Alan's

:13:11. > :13:14.microphone. It is Pastor Maldonado who have the problem coming out of

:13:15. > :13:21.the corner, towards the sequence of corners at Pouhon. It's quite a date

:13:22. > :13:23.accident for him, not the first one. The race

:13:24. > :13:29.accident for him, not the first one. stop the session, because there is

:13:30. > :13:33.quite a lot of debris. TEAM RADIO: Are you OK? TEAM RADIO: Yeah, I'm

:13:34. > :13:39.OK. Sensible decision to bring out the

:13:40. > :14:04.red flag, Alan? Being watched by Max Verstappen and

:14:05. > :14:13.his father. There is a test driver for the Lotus team, as well.

:14:14. > :14:16.his father. There is a test driver the front nose box, taking all of

:14:17. > :14:24.the shock. The carbon fibre units taking the shock from the impact for

:14:25. > :14:30.Pastor Maldonado. The clock is still continuing, even though the session

:14:31. > :14:36.has been stopped. It is 2:10 in Belgium. Only ten drivers have set a

:14:37. > :14:45.lap time, not particularly competitive at this stage. 1:52.677

:14:46. > :14:54.is Magnussen's fastest time. Just for reference, this morning's

:14:55. > :14:57.fastest times, Nico Rosberg did a 1:51.577. Just a fraction faster

:14:58. > :15:11.than his team-mate, Lewis Hamilton. He did it with just nine tenths of a

:15:12. > :15:17.second difference. Fernando Alonso is having a good session as well.

:15:18. > :15:20.For RE have new exhaust updates, which also work with the turbo to

:15:21. > :15:26.retain more heat in the turbocharger. It's a good step for

:15:27. > :15:29.them, gaining well over ten horsepower, one of the reasons why

:15:30. > :15:42.they are a little bit more competitive. The clock is still

:15:43. > :15:44.ticking down. Romain Grosjean is in the car, watching the goings on with

:15:45. > :16:10.his team-mate, now the Nadeau. themselves in and getting ready to

:16:11. > :16:16.go out. He came out of the corner and then seemed to drift right into

:16:17. > :16:20.the grass area. That dream drain area pulled him into a spin. I

:16:21. > :16:26.haven't seen anything like that. But then again there are a few accidents

:16:27. > :16:30.that Pastor Maldonado has had that I have not seen anything like before.

:16:31. > :16:36.It is on the back of a recovery truck now and heading back to the

:16:37. > :16:39.pits, as the drivers in the pit lane prepared to go out. Daniel Ricciardo

:16:40. > :16:44.coming off the back of that fantastic victory in Hungary. I was

:16:45. > :16:50.really impressed with his driving in Hungary, the way he went out and was

:16:51. > :17:01.quick when he needed to be. We saw Giedo van der Garde talking to Max

:17:02. > :17:07.Verstappen. You were out there on track. What does Spa feel like this

:17:08. > :17:13.year? Pretty good. Although I had a bit of an issue with the power. I

:17:14. > :17:27.lost quite a lot on the straight lines. Rouge was flat. I was quite

:17:28. > :17:36.slow on the straight. We were trying some stuff out with wing levels, so

:17:37. > :17:44.we have to sort it out for P2. How far have Sauber been able to come?

:17:45. > :17:49.So far, no points at this stage of the season, it is not good enough?

:17:50. > :17:53.We have been putting very hard -- pushing very hard. We have some

:17:54. > :17:58.minor updates on the car and it feels a bit better. We try to keep

:17:59. > :18:05.on pushing forward. It is not easy where we are. But we need to have

:18:06. > :18:12.points as soon as is a. I'm sure we will get there. -- as soon as

:18:13. > :18:22.possible. How does it feel, morale wise? OK. Everyone is pumped up.

:18:23. > :18:25.Motivated to score as many points as possible for the second half. They

:18:26. > :18:33.did it last year and I'm sure they can do it again this year. Giedo van

:18:34. > :18:37.der Garde from the Sauber team. They have no points and also without any

:18:38. > :18:41.points so far this season is Caterham. The Hungary in Grand Prix

:18:42. > :18:45.is an anniversary they will not welcome, 50 races in Formula One

:18:46. > :18:50.without scoring a single World Championship points so far. That was

:18:51. > :18:55.not an ideal situation for them, no question. When they first came into

:18:56. > :18:59.Formula One a few years ago, you felt they were the team that had the

:19:00. > :19:05.best chance of making the leap up into the middle of the grid. But

:19:06. > :19:20.ultimately they failed to deliver. This morning, Andre, in his first

:19:21. > :19:25.Formula One -- first time in a Formula One car, was 21st. Andre

:19:26. > :19:33.Lotterer did a good job this morning. He was a shade quicker than

:19:34. > :19:36.Marcus Ericsson, who has been driving that car throughout the

:19:37. > :19:55.season and was one of the bright lights in the GP2 car last season.

:19:56. > :19:58.You have had a chance to look at it a few times, what conclusions are

:19:59. > :20:04.you drawing from the Pastor Maldonado crash? Not many to be

:20:05. > :20:08.honest. He came out of the corner and you do drift a bit left, but

:20:09. > :20:12.then he drifted right. I'm not so sure whether maybe he was looking

:20:13. > :20:16.down at these daring wheel, some of the functions on the steering wheel,

:20:17. > :20:22.and got a bit distracted. Once you get onto the grass, if you go into

:20:23. > :20:29.that reigned gully, it can spit you across as it did. The exact reason

:20:30. > :20:37.for driving into that part of the circuit, the scenery, I'm not sure.

:20:38. > :20:46.An hour and 15 minutes remaining on the clock in this free practice two

:20:47. > :20:48.session. Out on the circuit is Sergio Perez from Force India, a

:20:49. > :20:57.team you would expect to go well here, given their record here. Check

:20:58. > :20:59.for information, tyre pressures and temperatures are low and will not be

:21:00. > :21:08.ready for the first four temperatures are low and will not be

:21:09. > :21:12.the next two laps to warm the tyres and the brakes. The compound for

:21:13. > :21:20.Pirelli is soft medium. Much more aggressive, they have been a bit

:21:21. > :21:26.cautious here in previous years. Also they had the red flag period,

:21:27. > :21:30.they had to come back to the pits, so they would drop a bit there. The

:21:31. > :21:41.medium tyre that we have here this year has got a similar sort of

:21:42. > :21:46.durability as it did in 2013. They have moved the range a bit. It is a

:21:47. > :21:50.bit risky but maybe not as risky as they have been in the past. There

:21:51. > :21:56.were some races where was extremely risky. Generally they are on the

:21:57. > :22:02.conservative side. Force India should go a bit better around here.

:22:03. > :22:07.They don't necessarily generate tyre temperature very well, which will be

:22:08. > :22:08.an issue for them in qualifying. If you compare

:22:09. > :22:12.an issue for them in qualifying. If from the start of the season, Force

:22:13. > :22:15.India made if you compare Williams and Force India from the start of

:22:16. > :22:20.the season, Force India made Williams have been knocking on the

:22:21. > :22:23.door in terms of pace of the Mercedes. Force India seem to have

:22:24. > :22:25.stalled a bit in terms of development. They are locked in a

:22:26. > :22:34.very tight battle with development. They are locked in a

:22:35. > :22:39.separating them, with Force India are 98 points and McLaren are 97.

:22:40. > :22:44.McLaren are clearly developing that car hard, so it will be difficult

:22:45. > :22:48.for Force India to keep them at bay. They haven't necessarily gained in

:22:49. > :22:52.any way, they have actually lost performance relative to Mercedes at

:22:53. > :22:55.the season has gone on. Part of that is because they are a much smaller

:22:56. > :23:00.team and they could not develop at the same rate performance as a

:23:01. > :23:06.larger team like a Mercedes. McLaren are improving but very fractionally.

:23:07. > :23:10.The two tend to mirror each other if you look at each race through the

:23:11. > :23:14.course of the season. The big game in this year has been Williams, they

:23:15. > :23:18.have made a huge leap forward from being in that gaggle in the first

:23:19. > :23:22.few races to suddenly becoming either equal to or better than Red

:23:23. > :23:32.Bull as the main challengers towards Mercedes. Peres is still on and out

:23:33. > :23:37.lap. Please keep your questions coming in. Thomas O'Leary doesn't

:23:38. > :23:41.believe in luck, Alan, and he wants to know therefore if there is

:23:42. > :23:47.something in the way that Daniel Ricciardo drives that means that he

:23:48. > :23:50.takes less out of the Renault power unit than his team-mate Sebastian

:23:51. > :23:56.Vettel, who seems to have all these problems? I don't believe in luck

:23:57. > :24:03.either. There is an element in your career when you go through that you

:24:04. > :24:09.few technical failures in the last few years as well. The British Grand

:24:10. > :24:16.Prix, he was first or second and he had a tingle failure. He was leading

:24:17. > :24:21.in Valencia. That is just two off the top of my head. He has not had a

:24:22. > :24:26.free run. What he has had is a car win the race. I think seems to be

:24:27. > :24:34.running win the race. I think seems to be

:24:35. > :24:38.Sebastian Vettel does not seem to have the same feel for this

:24:39. > :24:38.Sebastian Vettel does not seem to generation of car. He has done 10%

:24:39. > :24:54.fewer miles this season than generation of car. He has done 10%

:24:55. > :24:59.Daniel Ricciardo. He said generation of car. He has done 10%

:25:00. > :25:07.do anything at all, and interestingly both Massa and

:25:08. > :25:10.Rosberg, they are superstitious, if they do well in qualifying they wear

:25:11. > :25:18.the same pair of underpants for the race the next day! Arguably a bit

:25:19. > :25:24.too much information! As drivers, you find these lucky things,

:25:25. > :25:27.suddenly you get a pole position and have a dreadful race and end up

:25:28. > :25:33.finishing in fifth place, and then it is out of the window. It is about

:25:34. > :25:37.your mentality and what keeps your brain in the right focus level. One

:25:38. > :25:42.man who seems to be able to get through all of that is this man,

:25:43. > :25:47.Fernando Alonso. For him, he just seems to be able to drive out a

:25:48. > :25:50.result whatever he has got underneath him. We probably saw that

:25:51. > :25:55.better than any other Grand Prix in Hungary. This is a place where I

:25:56. > :26:00.aspect him to be a bit more competitive. I would not say race

:26:01. > :26:04.winning competitive, but the car has a bit of an understeer into these

:26:05. > :26:07.long corners which protects the rear tyres from the traction out of the

:26:08. > :26:12.last chicane he is going to have to come to after the flat-out

:26:13. > :26:19.left-hander and now into the bus stop chicane. I think Ferrari will

:26:20. > :26:23.be a bit stronger around here. Part of the function of the exhaust is to

:26:24. > :26:27.retain more heat in the turbo and of course that heat energy in the Turbo

:26:28. > :26:36.is part of what regenerates. He goes top, 1.51.693. He is only a 10th of

:26:37. > :26:42.a second slower than the fastest time set this morning by Nico

:26:43. > :26:47.Rosberg. Already the sun is glinting off the bodywork of Daniel

:26:48. > :26:49.Ricciardo's Red Bull car. You normally get some rain

:26:50. > :26:54.Ricciardo's Red Bull car. You in the Grand Prix weekend but we are

:26:55. > :26:58.enjoying the sunshine when it last. We are. A final word on Ferrari,

:26:59. > :27:06.they have a big front wing upgrade coming from Singapore -- in time for

:27:07. > :27:10.Singapore. The big-time -- the first time you will see a big performance

:27:11. > :27:16.gain will be Singapore for them, I think. Now they are in a battle for

:27:17. > :27:22.Williams. Up ahead of them is this team, Red Bull. At they are a bit

:27:23. > :27:28.vulnerable here because the one thing Red Bull do not have is

:27:29. > :27:37.straight-line speed. And what you have on this track is two

:27:38. > :27:41.straight-line accelerations. The fastest straight-line speed is we

:27:42. > :27:47.have seen so far in this session, Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton,

:27:48. > :27:57.both Mercedes powered cars. They are turning 306 mph, which is

:27:58. > :28:08.I am here with Joss Verstappen. Very proud father indeed I imagine? Of

:28:09. > :28:13.course, I'm very proud of max. He has too performed though.

:28:14. > :28:21.Now you are already concentrating on what to do for the coming time, for

:28:22. > :28:25.next year. It is good, we enjoy it. A lot is being made of his age. He

:28:26. > :28:29.will be just 17 when he makes his debut in Melbourne. Tell us why you

:28:30. > :28:36.think he is now ready for Formula One. When you look at Max's career

:28:37. > :28:41.and whatever he did, in go-karts, when he made the jump to cars, how

:28:42. > :28:48.fast he picks up things, how easy it goes to him, I think Max is very

:28:49. > :28:55.mature for his age and he understands. I think also pressure,

:28:56. > :29:08.you can't put pressure on Macs because he's very relaxed. -- on

:29:09. > :29:14.Max. When did it becomes apparent to you that Formula One was an apparent

:29:15. > :29:18.reality for 2015? I don't think it came quickly. We took our time and

:29:19. > :29:26.we were talking with Red Bull for a long time. We thought about it

:29:27. > :29:31.carefully together. I think we made it in the right way. We read in the

:29:32. > :29:37.press that you perhaps even gave up your own career to manage your

:29:38. > :29:43.son's career? Is that true? That is true. Also because I enjoyed it a

:29:44. > :29:46.lot. I saw when Max was young that he had something special and I

:29:47. > :29:51.wanted to get the maximum out of that. I enjoyed it as a father, to

:29:52. > :29:58.see your son racing, to be successful. And I did everything for

:29:59. > :30:04.him. Also the cars, I had to find sponsors to make it all happen. It

:30:05. > :30:07.was a big challenge. I liked a challenge and I think we did it

:30:08. > :30:16.together and that makes us very proud. Is he better than you? I

:30:17. > :30:20.really think he is a lot better. He is complete. In some circumstances,

:30:21. > :30:21.he can keep his head cool, and I think you are definitely a lot

:30:22. > :30:27.better. You were 22 think you are definitely a lot

:30:28. > :30:30.your debut and Ireland are you being fast tracked straight from Formula

:30:31. > :30:41.Three, would you have been ready at the age of 17? I don't think I

:30:42. > :30:45.would. But the Young Boys grow up faster, the world is moving forward

:30:46. > :30:49.quicker and that is why I think it is possible. I do think Toro Rosso

:30:50. > :30:56.is the right place to nurture a young talent like this? I think so,

:30:57. > :31:02.I think he is a nice person, very driven and he is a warm person.

:31:03. > :31:07.Already very comfortable here, I think it is the writing to start.

:31:08. > :31:12.When I going to him driving a Formula One car for the first time?

:31:13. > :31:18.I don't know, it is up to Red Bull and Toro Rosso to decide. I'll leave

:31:19. > :31:22.it up to them. So, testing? Probably, that will happen soon. But

:31:23. > :31:30.when and how come I don't know. Great stuff, Tom Clarkson, with the

:31:31. > :31:38.father of Max Verstappen, who will make his debut at the age of 17. You

:31:39. > :31:42.can see an interview with him tomorrow at 12:10. And there is a

:31:43. > :31:47.podcast on the website. Good to see him on good form, a very proud

:31:48. > :31:50.father, following in the footsteps, as Ricardo misses the apex,

:31:51. > :31:58.following in the footsteps of Anthony and Lewis Hamilton, Jensen

:31:59. > :32:01.and John Button, many other dads who courage cajole, encourage, arm

:32:02. > :32:07.around the shoulder, whatever you want to call it, their son. Yes, you

:32:08. > :32:17.just seem to get onto the kerb on the left-hand side. He just bounced

:32:18. > :32:22.across the kerb and across the grass. The big run

:32:23. > :32:30.across the kerb and across the you a get out of jail free card. So,

:32:31. > :32:34.one hour and two minutes remaining. Max Chilton, getting his first laps.

:32:35. > :32:43.He missed the first session. Jenson Button, wheeled back into the

:32:44. > :32:47.garage. Watching him down there is Jennie. You can tell it is him

:32:48. > :32:51.because of the bright pink helmet he has decided to wear until the end of

:32:52. > :33:00.the season. If you look right at the back, Spa, you need as little drag

:33:01. > :33:03.as you can possibly have. They have low downforce setup. You can sit at

:33:04. > :33:08.the back of the wing kind of arches, that is to try to deliver

:33:09. > :33:11.that, a little bit more speed for Jenson Button. You can see, where

:33:12. > :33:18.the main plane curves upwards, just on the outer edge, and then if you

:33:19. > :33:22.continue to look round the back you will see that it is a much thinner

:33:23. > :33:26.and narrower monkey sit that goes over the exhaust. There was an

:33:27. > :33:30.little tweaks they have done to try to get the car performing well. Just

:33:31. > :33:35.one of the teams that have done that, quite a few of them have a

:33:36. > :33:39.different rear wing, a couple of tweaks to try to get as little drag

:33:40. > :33:45.on the car and getting it as fast as possible. Gutierrez is in trouble.

:33:46. > :33:50.He has had a moment, you can tell that from the tyre marks. The car is

:33:51. > :33:57.stationary, the yellow flag is down in that area. It is of the recovery

:33:58. > :34:03.area on the way down to the pig. Let's see what happened. He has come

:34:04. > :34:09.through Blanchimont. Thankfully there is a big run-off area for him.

:34:10. > :34:13.An extremely fast corner. The Sauber is very tricky, we have seen it so

:34:14. > :34:18.many times in high-speed corners, where it is extremely difficult and

:34:19. > :34:24.unstable, as he comes through. The likelihood is that there is probably

:34:25. > :34:33.a bit of reinstalling, as he is sitting there. TEAM RADIO: Can you

:34:34. > :34:38.get back to the garage? It is the gearbox. I

:34:39. > :34:44.Well, that would explain why it would be at that point in the

:34:45. > :34:49.corner. It is something that is not normal. You would not be shifting at

:34:50. > :34:52.that particular point. The red flag, because it is in a dangerous

:34:53. > :34:59.position. If the car cannot be moved, they will have to, with some

:35:00. > :35:04.way of getting it back. A mobile crane of some disruption. That is an

:35:05. > :35:12.extremely dangerous place, the outside of a corner that is as fast

:35:13. > :35:16.as that. I remember Luciana Berti getting buried in the tyre barriers

:35:17. > :35:28.in the late 1990s, a terrifying accident during the Grand Prix. The

:35:29. > :35:34.clock continues to tick down. I will give you the rundown. Early stages,

:35:35. > :35:39.nobody has gone to the softer tyre. Sergio Perez was just out on it

:35:40. > :35:44.there, when the session was red flagged. He is the first man to go

:35:45. > :35:47.to the softer, faster tyre that will give us a more accurate read on the

:35:48. > :35:57.qualifying performances for tomorrow. At this early stage,

:35:58. > :36:07.Hamilton, Alonso, Rosberg third. Felipe Massa is fourth.

:36:08. > :36:13.Daniel Ricciardo had a moment at the chicane, he is in 11th. Jean-Eric

:36:14. > :36:19.Vergne is heartbroken for the second time in 12 months. He found out he

:36:20. > :36:24.was not going to get the Red Bull drive of Mark Webber. Now he's found

:36:25. > :36:27.out his career with Toro Rosso will end in Abu Dhabi. He asked to look

:36:28. > :36:33.around and find himself under the seat if he wants to continue his

:36:34. > :36:39.Formula One adventure. -- he has to look around and find himself another

:36:40. > :36:44.seat. Quite eventful so far. We've only had 30 minutes, it feels like

:36:45. > :36:47.longer. Quite a bit has gone on. What it means is that now they have

:36:48. > :36:52.lost such an amount of time there is going to be quite a flurry of

:36:53. > :36:56.activity to get the short runs in and then try to get the important

:36:57. > :36:59.long runs in so they understand the tyre choices. Normally it is the

:37:00. > :37:04.left, front tyre that takes a hammering when it is a pure

:37:05. > :37:08.performance run. After that, the rear stability and traction goes as

:37:09. > :37:11.well. A little bit of a balancing act. That is something that the

:37:12. > :37:18.teams will want to do. They will have to concertina what is normally

:37:19. > :37:27.an hour and 15 minutes work into about 50 minutes. That is a

:37:28. > :37:30.headache. A combination of tyres, the medium and the soft, the first

:37:31. > :37:34.time they have done that in several years. The reason they have done it

:37:35. > :37:38.is to try to encourage more strategic thinking, more pit stops.

:37:39. > :37:43.It looks like there will be a couple of stops on Sunday. The weather

:37:44. > :37:47.looks like it will be relatively stable. This time is critical in

:37:48. > :37:52.doing your homework and finding out what the best strategy is. The

:37:53. > :37:58.sporting director of Marussia joins us from the pit wall. On this note,

:37:59. > :38:03.it is important homework gathering time that is being lost? That's

:38:04. > :38:07.right, it's unfortunate. But it's the same for all of the drivers.

:38:08. > :38:12.From that point of view, it is just a challenge that all of the teams

:38:13. > :38:18.have. It's a particular frustration for the race engineers. They will

:38:19. > :38:24.have agreed amongst themselves a programme for the session. There

:38:25. > :38:30.will be a lot of things they want to work through. This shortens it. They

:38:31. > :38:38.have to think on their feet, change their priorities and focus on what

:38:39. > :38:42.they can do in the time available. It's been an eventful free practice,

:38:43. > :38:46.but it's been an eventful day form Ayrshire. Alex Rossi, sitting on

:38:47. > :38:52.your right as you speak to us on the pit wall, he drove in Free Practice

:38:53. > :38:58.1, and Max Chilton is back in the car now. Can you shed any light on

:38:59. > :39:07.that situation? I think we are focused on moving forward. I think

:39:08. > :39:11.it is testament to both Alex and Max that, as professional race drivers,

:39:12. > :39:18.they take this kind of thing in their stride. You know, they need to

:39:19. > :39:22.take the situation, get in the car and immediately switch on, perform,

:39:23. > :39:29.whatever they are asked to do. I think it is unfortunate, when some

:39:30. > :39:34.of these changes spill over into a race weekend. But that's just the

:39:35. > :39:38.nature of things. I think the key thing, as I say, is that they are

:39:39. > :39:43.both really good professional drivers. It was good for us to have

:39:44. > :39:47.Alex in the car for the first time, it was really productive. You know,

:39:48. > :39:55.we just have to focus on moving forward. Graham, it's Alan. Are you

:39:56. > :40:05.now going to be stable for the rest of this year, 2014, with Max? Well,

:40:06. > :40:10.yeah, that is certainly the plan. We were looking forward to stability

:40:11. > :40:15.throughout the whole season. So this was a glitch that was never

:40:16. > :40:22.planned, quite obviously. But it is our job to just deal with these

:40:23. > :40:32.things, when they come along. That's part and parcel of Formula One. On

:40:33. > :40:46.the racing side of things, you are not too far off Van der Garde in the

:40:47. > :40:52.Sauber and you are well ahead of Mercedes. The guys are continuing to

:40:53. > :41:02.do a fantastic job. Trying out a huge things here which I considered

:41:03. > :41:08.to be proper ingenious engineering. Relatively low-cost modifications

:41:09. > :41:13.and upgrades, with the really clever thinking behind them. From 18's

:41:14. > :41:17.point of view, that is what Formula One should be all about. -- from the

:41:18. > :41:23.team's point of view. Clever engineering, not just throwing money

:41:24. > :41:28.at it. Hopefully we have come up with some good steps forward. The

:41:29. > :41:35.final reckoning is in the race. We know that we are only just starting

:41:36. > :41:40.this race weekend. Hopefully we will squeeze a bit more speed out of the

:41:41. > :41:47.cars and, you know, have a good race. They have brought some

:41:48. > :41:51.upgrades, so they will be hoping to move forward as well. Obviously

:41:52. > :41:57.Sauber will as well. We just can't stop still in this game. We have to

:41:58. > :42:03.keep pushing forward. I presume you will be looking at the sky is, as I

:42:04. > :42:10.am, and seeing big black clouds. Was it last year in a difficult

:42:11. > :42:17.qualifying when you got both cars into Q2. Saturday afternoon looks

:42:18. > :42:24.like it could have a rain shower. Are you hoping for another Q2? It

:42:25. > :42:30.would be nice. I believe we have got some really experienced people

:42:31. > :42:38.involved in the team. They are all capable of holding their own, when

:42:39. > :42:42.you see the raindrops falling sometimes that is the approach that

:42:43. > :42:47.is needed. You have driven an awful lot of this circuit. As you know,

:42:48. > :42:49.is needed. You have driven an awful can be raining in one area, dry in

:42:50. > :42:58.another, it throws up all kinds of uncertainties. I like to think that

:42:59. > :43:03.our team is capable and up to the challenge of these uncertainties.

:43:04. > :43:11.You know, hopefully we can put on a good show for the fans and make the

:43:12. > :43:15.most of whatever opportunities are there. If they are there, we will

:43:16. > :43:22.try to grab them. A final thought from you, Graham. Is it too early to

:43:23. > :43:25.try to grab them. A final thought know how the tyres are stacking up?

:43:26. > :43:30.Pirelli having quite aggressive with soft and medium tyres. There is a

:43:31. > :43:34.trade-off on pace and durability. It could be quite an exciting Grand

:43:35. > :43:38.Prix, from that point of view. Is it too early to say? I think you are

:43:39. > :43:49.right, I think it will be exciting. I think it is too early to say. This

:43:50. > :43:52.session in particular, when you get multiple red flag periods, it makes

:43:53. > :43:58.it more difficult. We will be doing the same as everyone else, not just

:43:59. > :44:01.looking at our own pace and degradation from lap times, but

:44:02. > :44:08.looking at what everyone else is doing. When you get

:44:09. > :44:13.it makes the data more noisy. Therefore, it makes the picture a

:44:14. > :44:16.bit more confusing. It's still too early, but we are going to be in for

:44:17. > :44:22.a fantastic race on Sunday. Thank you very much for your time,

:44:23. > :44:25.sporting director of the Marussia Formula One team. Let's get down to

:44:26. > :44:29.the pit lane. The man that makes the key decisions on the young drivers,

:44:30. > :44:38.who gets the chance and who doesn't, Helmut Marko. You had a busy summer,

:44:39. > :44:40.the news has come out that you have signed Max Verstappen for the

:44:41. > :44:47.programme. How pleased are you with that signing? 1 SCOTS

:44:48. > :44:51.programme. How pleased are you with pleased. We watched him for a while.

:44:52. > :44:54.programme. How pleased are you with -- We are very pleased. We watched

:44:55. > :45:01.him for a while and we are very glad to have him in the tune-up

:45:02. > :45:10.programme. You had a lot of talented young men fighting for that seat.

:45:11. > :45:13.What made you decide on Max? Going from go karts,

:45:14. > :45:17.What made you decide on Max? Going Formula Three, and being immediately

:45:18. > :45:25.competitive, that was one thing. But then there have been some races were

:45:26. > :45:26.it was wet or partly wet and he was two seconds quicker than all of the

:45:27. > :45:30.rest of them. two seconds quicker than all of the

:45:31. > :45:42.said we have to get this guy. Did you have two fight Toto Wolff

:45:43. > :45:52.for him? We didn't have to go Did you have two fight Toto Wolff

:45:53. > :45:53.way. We know what young drivers can achieve. It was an important

:45:54. > :46:00.decision for him. achieve. It was an important

:46:01. > :46:05.do with money or whatsoever. What are your hopes for him? Is it a

:46:06. > :46:11.long-term deal that you can see him growing, as a 17-year-old, when he

:46:12. > :46:15.started so young? He is a young age but he has been racing since he was

:46:16. > :46:25.four years old, so he has a lot of experience. He will do well at Toro

:46:26. > :46:33.Rosso. I think we will see a similar performance from him and he will be

:46:34. > :46:37.immediately competitive. Helmut Marko there, one of the senior

:46:38. > :46:41.figures at Red Bull and Toro Rosso, a man who makes key decisions on who

:46:42. > :46:46.goes where and who gets promoted and giving the young guys their

:46:47. > :46:49.opportunities. Meanwhile we're hearing that Jenson Button has gone

:46:50. > :47:01.fastest on the softer compound tyres. He is ahead of his team-mate,

:47:02. > :47:06.an 1.51.0. Hamilton is third on a tiny set earlier on on the medium

:47:07. > :47:10.tyres, he is in the pit lane and thinking about going out and doing

:47:11. > :47:15.the qualifying simulation himself in the near future. Adrian Sutil has

:47:16. > :47:20.just done a time of 1.51.84, which is good enough for fourth place.

:47:21. > :47:34.Fernando Alonso is currently fifth, 1.51.6. We have to change another

:47:35. > :47:38.bit of the car. Kimi Raikkonen's engineer there. He has been having

:47:39. > :47:44.problems with the power units throughout the day. Nico Hulkenberg

:47:45. > :47:50.at the double apex left-hander. That must feel fantastic, to drive a race

:47:51. > :47:56.car at speed with low fuel and grippy tyres around the corner. It

:47:57. > :48:00.is one of the keys of the circuit. Once you get into the first apex,

:48:01. > :48:05.the rest of the circuit should in theory be done. Getting to the

:48:06. > :48:08.turning point which should be critical, to carry enough speed

:48:09. > :48:15.without too much understeer or to have the rear tyre loose on entry,

:48:16. > :48:20.it is a balancing act. -- to have the rear loose an entry. You have to

:48:21. > :48:29.have confidence in the rear holding. The new bus stop, it is really

:48:30. > :48:34.tricky. It is difficult for the tyres to accelerate out over the

:48:35. > :48:40.line. And then you have another corner where you need really good

:48:41. > :48:47.grip, straight after it. There is time to be lost in the lower speed

:48:48. > :48:56.corners. The entry point, 170 mph on the way into the first left-hander

:48:57. > :49:06.through there, as Hulken attacks Eau Rouge. Kvyat has been using the

:49:07. > :49:07.softer compound tyres. A fraction of a second slower than

:49:08. > :49:13.softer compound tyres. A fraction of it will be competitive in qualifying

:49:14. > :49:18.for the top ten positions, with Toro Rossos challenging. This looks like

:49:19. > :49:23.another circuit where they could challenge. The fastest speed in a

:49:24. > :49:28.straight line for anybody so far surprisingly perhaps, Daniel

:49:29. > :49:40.Ricciardo, in the Red Bull, 309 K P H for them. Last year they played a

:49:41. > :49:46.great tactic in the decision, do you have faster downforce but give away

:49:47. > :49:50.a bit in the middle sector? Mercedes went that way and Red Bull went the

:49:51. > :50:00.opposite way. Although Hamilton was on pole, Sebastian Vettel was able

:50:01. > :50:02.to pass him quickly. 45 minutes remaining on the clock and Tom

:50:03. > :50:16.Clarkson is down with an interview. He said the second sector is going

:50:17. > :50:21.to be good for us. He said we will need a bit of aero. Hence he is a

:50:22. > :50:26.little quicker in the straight line, Daniel Ricciardo. You have got more

:50:27. > :50:34.stability in that car anyway, so therefore they can take a bit of.

:50:35. > :50:38.They have run very lean in these circuits. They are not exactly quick

:50:39. > :50:45.in a straight line. They are doing everything to be in the race. As

:50:46. > :50:49.Valtteri Bottas goes second. In reality though, I think they've just

:50:50. > :50:53.feel they have got to be in the race to fight. If they are stuck behind

:50:54. > :51:00.they are never going to overtake if they are slow in a straight line.

:51:01. > :51:05.Nico Rosberg 170 mph, nice and wide going into the chicane. Through

:51:06. > :51:08.here, down to about 110 mph before that turning and then into the long

:51:09. > :51:16.right-hander. 100 mph, that turning and then into the long

:51:17. > :51:24.steadily through the speed, 140, 170 mph. The rear end is all over the

:51:25. > :51:31.place. The rear end is all over the place, says Grosjean. This is where

:51:32. > :51:38.Gutierrez lost it. No problems for was Berg, he thrashes through at

:51:39. > :51:48.over 200 mph. He then gets down to 50 mph. Less than 100 metres of

:51:49. > :51:53.braking. That is the fastest time of the day by almost a second, from

:51:54. > :51:58.Nico Rosberg. Not as much as some people were thinking, the margin

:51:59. > :52:06.between Rosberg Andy McLaren of Jenson Button. Now we will see what

:52:07. > :52:12.Lewis Hamilton can do. Not the fastest sector of the day, that

:52:13. > :52:17.belongs to Jenson Button. He has gone quickest by nearly a second but

:52:18. > :52:25.it was only in the final sector where he was quickest. The first

:52:26. > :52:33.sector he was behind Button, the second sector he was behind Daniil

:52:34. > :52:37.Kvyat who was quickest. He was still keeping flat out. Hamilton still in

:52:38. > :52:44.this long middle sector and he has gone fastest, four tenths of a

:52:45. > :52:49.second fastest in the middle sector than Kvyat. He will be wanting to

:52:50. > :52:56.replicate this tomorrow in qualifying. He had a few mistakes

:52:57. > :53:00.thrown in as well, meaning he has not been fully or quite some time in

:53:01. > :53:06.qualifying. He looks aggressive, he looks like he is well and truly up

:53:07. > :53:13.for it this weekend. Lewis Hamilton comes out of the bus stop chicane

:53:14. > :53:17.and crosses the line in 1.49.189. Six tenths of a second, the margin.

:53:18. > :53:23.Cracking lap. Clearly Six tenths of a second, the margin.

:53:24. > :53:27.lap. The margin is a little Six tenths of a second, the margin.

:53:28. > :53:31.than Rosberg. He was equal in the first sector but now sector to an

:53:32. > :53:37.sector three are now Lewis Hamilton's sectors. He can be quick

:53:38. > :53:40.in every part whereas most of the other teams are going to be quick in

:53:41. > :53:46.one part of the circuit and then dropped off on the other. Fernando

:53:47. > :53:53.Alonso into the right-hander and then starts to go to the power. He

:53:54. > :53:58.is third but still within seven tenths and ill in the game because

:53:59. > :54:07.he is ahead of the Williams. That is crucial for them, a big battle

:54:08. > :54:11.between Williams and Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship. -- still

:54:12. > :54:19.ahead. He gets ahead of Felipe Massa, crucially. He popped up into

:54:20. > :54:23.fourth place. Now the order is Hamilton from Rosberg by six tenths

:54:24. > :54:33.of a second, then Alonso, Massa in fourth, Button in fifth place,

:54:34. > :54:47.Bottas, then Kvyat, Magnussen, Hulken. Kimi Raikkonen is yet to do

:54:48. > :54:50.a tyre simulation. Pastor Maldonado was the other driver who stopped the

:54:51. > :54:55.session early on with an accident on the rundown towards the corner.

:54:56. > :55:00.Those two will not be taking any further part in the session. Lotus

:55:01. > :55:06.mechanics still have a lot of work to do. More work to do an Daniel

:55:07. > :55:11.Ricciardo's car coming here is the anyone who has not ready shown his

:55:12. > :55:17.hand yet. They appear to be working on the front brake. That is an

:55:18. > :55:19.important factor because you have to get the build-up of temperature

:55:20. > :55:25.correct and keep the residual temperature correct. As you come

:55:26. > :55:27.correct and keep the residual into the bus stop chicane, you

:55:28. > :55:32.correct and keep the residual to have that sort of fuelling. Front

:55:33. > :55:38.braking is very important and it also keeps temperature in the tyre.

:55:39. > :55:41.You can see on the thermal imaging camera how the tyre temperature

:55:42. > :55:47.drops of going down the straights and then immediately reacts when you

:55:48. > :55:51.hit the brakes. That is Sebastian Vettel's car and he is taking

:55:52. > :55:54.hit the brakes. That is Sebastian part in the session. Problems

:55:55. > :55:54.hit the brakes. That is Sebastian the power unit. Christian Horner was

:55:55. > :55:58.not specific on which unit the power unit. Christian Horner was

:55:59. > :56:02.put in at the start of the session. Going into this event, Vettel had

:56:03. > :56:06.already used for power units over the course of his first 11 races

:56:07. > :56:09.compared to the three that both the Mercedes drivers had used.

:56:10. > :56:12.compared to the three that both the has had the lion 's

:56:13. > :56:14.compared to the three that both the problems. Unit

:56:15. > :56:19.compared to the three that both the needed, if that wasn't already it.

:56:20. > :56:29.If he's going to be using the unit anyway... One of the speed sensors

:56:30. > :56:35.has failed, which is why the up shifts are being good and bad. We

:56:36. > :56:40.will fix it tonight. Valtteri Bottas, the up shifts, it is when

:56:41. > :56:46.the driver pulls the pedal and sages gear, if it is not so to -- and

:56:47. > :56:51.changes gear, if it is not totally synchronised, you can get a bit of a

:56:52. > :56:54.jolt, which then means that the speed and acceleration down the

:56:55. > :57:01.straight reduces, and you are very sensitive to that. One of the speed

:57:02. > :57:05.sensors will have got one of the wheels, and that is part of the

:57:06. > :57:09.calculation process. The calculation of the systems isn't working at 100%

:57:10. > :57:23.but obviously they can't change that. It shows a huge part of a

:57:24. > :57:26.racing driver's Arsenal, coping. Max Verstappen will have to cope to

:57:27. > :57:31.Formula One but a big part of that is coping, coping with all kinds of

:57:32. > :57:36.setbacks, difficulties, handling imbalances, up and down shifts that

:57:37. > :57:36.don't quite work, being able to cope with those

:57:37. > :57:41.don't quite work, being able to cope performance is one of the crucial

:57:42. > :57:47.aspects of defining a great racing driver. It certainly will be. Going

:57:48. > :57:52.from maximum race length being 40 minutes to one hour and 50 minutes

:57:53. > :57:57.at somewhere like Monaco. The way it changes over eight Grand Prix

:57:58. > :58:01.weekend, or how your brakes suddenly start fading towards the end of the

:58:02. > :58:05.Canadian Grand Prix with the big stops, or some of these other

:58:06. > :58:06.factors. That is part of your experience. If you

:58:07. > :58:17.factors. That is part of your clever driver, you have to adapt any

:58:18. > :58:21.way, to the conditions. I witnessed exactly the same at Nurburgring, the

:58:22. > :58:25.last Formula Three championship race, which was difficult

:58:26. > :58:35.conditions, and he was exemplary there as well. Jenson Button is out

:58:36. > :58:37.on long runs. We will be evaluating these long runs, that is

:58:38. > :58:44.on long runs. We will be evaluating story of free practice two, we get

:58:45. > :58:47.the lower fuel, not completely low fuel but lower fuel qualifying

:58:48. > :58:53.simulations that give us our headline lap times for the day. The

:58:54. > :58:56.drivers go in and put fuel and simulate the early stages of a Grand

:58:57. > :59:00.Prix, perhaps even the later stages of a Grand Prix. Sometimes teams

:59:01. > :59:03.compare and contrast how the drivers are doing two different

:59:04. > :59:07.compare and contrast how the drivers they have got more data to compare.

:59:08. > :59:11.This is certainly important, doing their homework. As Graham was

:59:12. > :59:15.telling us from the pit wall, the selection of tyres at the weekend,

:59:16. > :59:20.there are a lot of different strategic options and a lot of ways

:59:21. > :59:27.to slice the cake, making sure you have got good data at this stage in

:59:28. > :59:33.the 35mm remaining in this practice two session, absolutely critical. --

:59:34. > :59:37.35mm remaining. Let's rattle through a few of your questions, because

:59:38. > :59:46.there have been quite a few, before we see Daniel Ricciardo's lap. Adam

:59:47. > :59:51.Rose Ince and says, will Ferrari be expecting Kimi Raikkonen to be up

:59:52. > :59:52.with Alonso this weekend due to his success previously? Four wins at

:59:53. > :00:12.Spa' and Kimi Raikkonen has won four

:00:13. > :00:16.times. Sometimes you get circuits where the driver just clicks. Button

:00:17. > :00:21.Jenson definitely does work at this type of circuit. He comes through

:00:22. > :00:30.Eau Rouge, and the bottom of the car just skidding on the compression.

:00:31. > :00:39.Here is a guy that has done quite well here. They need it for the

:00:40. > :00:43.constructors' title points. Ben Thatcher is asking, how many years

:00:44. > :00:48.do you think Alonso has in Formula One? He's 33, he had his birthday

:00:49. > :00:53.around the time of the German Grand Prix. He's talking to Ferrari about

:00:54. > :00:56.an extension of his contract. Those talks are dragging on. I think we

:00:57. > :01:00.will see him for at least another two years on that contract. He is

:01:01. > :01:07.looking around to see if there are any other options. McLaren have had

:01:08. > :01:10.made no secret of the fact they would like to have him back. Whether

:01:11. > :01:15.he could work with Ron Dennis again is a moot point. He wants another

:01:16. > :01:23.World Championship, basically. His goal in life is to be a three times

:01:24. > :01:31.champion. The Le Mans 24 hours, he has a passion for it, he wants to do

:01:32. > :01:36.that race, but he has two already in his pocket. But they were a long

:01:37. > :01:37.time ago. He wants to prove that he is still number-1. Even to himself,

:01:38. > :01:50.more than anything else. Ricciardo has been the fastest man

:01:51. > :01:56.through the speed trap. He's not gone quicker on this lap through

:01:57. > :01:58.through the speed trap. He's not speed trap, maybe he's added a bit

:01:59. > :02:04.of downforce. We haven't got the speed trap time. How is the lap

:02:05. > :02:11.looking? He is not fastest in sector one. He is half a second slower than

:02:12. > :02:17.the benchmark of Jenson Button. He would be, that a long drag up the

:02:18. > :02:20.hill and then the straight line deficit of Renault, historically

:02:21. > :02:31.that would not help him. It's not necessarily the top speed. It is the

:02:32. > :02:37.acceleration. Now it is a neat and tidy centre section. It is easy to

:02:38. > :02:40.run wide. Then you get onto the Astroturf on the outside. He has

:02:41. > :02:44.dropped a little bit more time in the middle sector. This is not a

:02:45. > :02:55.strong lap by Daniel Riccardo. His middle sector was not near the

:02:56. > :03:05.fastest we have seen. The fastest we have seen us by Nico

:03:06. > :03:17.Hulkenberg, at a different point on the circuit, Button at well over 200

:03:18. > :03:24.mph. Not a particularly spectacular lap. And nothing to compare it to in

:03:25. > :03:28.terms of his team-mates, Sebastian Vettel not taking part after a

:03:29. > :03:36.problem with his power unit. 211 mph, the fastest speed we have seen

:03:37. > :03:40.so far, from Hulkenberg. Let's look at this moment. He kisses the inside

:03:41. > :03:46.of the curve. It's an inverse camber. The rear slides as he goes

:03:47. > :03:51.on to the power at that same point. He's got a bit of an oversteer. That

:03:52. > :03:55.was a little bit of a loss, where he seemed to lose through the corner,

:03:56. > :04:06.sorry, through the lap, in eighth place. What

:04:07. > :04:12.So, with just over 30 minutes remaining on the clock, we're

:04:13. > :04:19.getting into the long run is part of the session. Hamilton and Rosberg

:04:20. > :04:24.have both gone out on circuit. One car that has improved over the last

:04:25. > :04:28.few Grand Prix, the German Grand Prix, when the front and rear

:04:29. > :04:34.independent suspension system was effectively banned, it was the

:04:35. > :04:39.Sauber. Adrian Sutil is up there in 12. But he's pretty close to

:04:40. > :04:42.Jean-Eric Vergne. He's also pretty close to Hulkenberg. That is

:04:43. > :04:45.something that is going to be a concern for Marussia. They were

:04:46. > :04:46.probably one of the teams that made the biggest step forward when that

:04:47. > :04:52.and came into place. the biggest step forward when that

:04:53. > :05:01.there were struggling to get out the first part of qualifying. Now Sutil

:05:02. > :05:06.is solidly into Q2. 30 minutes remaining on the clock. Let's check

:05:07. > :05:12.in with Tom Clarkson. Busy times down here. Just hearing Alan talking

:05:13. > :05:17.about suspension, perfect timing. The rear bodywork both of the cars

:05:18. > :05:20.here. They are changing the ride height on the cards. Alan, you can

:05:21. > :05:27.tell us more about this, you start high, say what you can get away with

:05:28. > :05:32.and bring it down to get more grip? To be honest, I'd go the other way.

:05:33. > :05:37.See if you are too low, then raise it up if you need to, rather than

:05:38. > :05:41.starting high and going down. The problem is, it's predicting how much

:05:42. > :05:46.you are going to rub. You know the bottom of the car is going to rub in

:05:47. > :05:50.the compression, it just does, at Eau Rouge. If you have it so that it

:05:51. > :05:53.doesn't, you are far too high, the car is rolling around and you don't

:05:54. > :05:59.have any control over it. The other thing is, it is just slow, doesn't

:06:00. > :06:02.stability. You start slow and move stability. You start slow and move

:06:03. > :06:07.stiffen up the spring and damper, stability. You start slow and move

:06:08. > :06:11.nations to keep the balance in a better way for the aerodynamic. --

:06:12. > :06:24.spring and damper combinations. Jennie Gow was watching the cars at

:06:25. > :06:28.Eau Rouge this morning. Yeah, it was brilliant! I got to go down and look

:06:29. > :06:30.at all of the cars, absolutely right, as Alan

:06:31. > :06:32.at all of the cars, absolutely tell from the set up

:06:33. > :06:43.at all of the cars, absolutely you. The Marussia! And the McLaren,

:06:44. > :06:49.the plank scrapes along the tarmac, it turns out blue smoke. The

:06:50. > :06:52.Marussias and the McLarens were doing it a lot. Someone like

:06:53. > :06:58.Mercedes, they were fine through though. The different cars, set up

:06:59. > :07:05.so differently. Hamilton seems to have stopped. Is he doing a practice

:07:06. > :07:10.start? No, he's stopped? The pit lane at the previous point, it's too

:07:11. > :07:16.narrow. This is the safest place where Lewis Hamilton can do a

:07:17. > :07:23.practice start. He now accelerates down to Eau Rouge. Just when Jenny

:07:24. > :07:27.was talking about Eau Rouge, the compression at the bottom of the

:07:28. > :07:36.hill, the ride height for the car is set by... TEAM RADIO: Any feedback

:07:37. > :07:44.on the start? Far too aggressive on the initial, with the clutch... Copy

:07:45. > :07:50.that. Too aggressive, too much power. With the hard rear tyre

:07:51. > :07:53.coming straight out of the pit, but downhill area, it is not

:07:54. > :07:57.representative of the slight uphill they will have on Sunday afternoon.

:07:58. > :08:06.Without doubt, you don't want to get initial wheel spin. You want to use

:08:07. > :08:16.the engine and then you want full throttle. He has painful memories of

:08:17. > :08:22.last year, having qualified in pole position, he lost the initiative to

:08:23. > :08:29.Sebastian Vettel. Nine kilometres per hour slower than Daniel

:08:30. > :08:35.Riccardo. Normally, the speed trap is the fastest you will see on the

:08:36. > :08:40.circuit. Here, they put it on Eau Rouge. That is why it is not as

:08:41. > :08:47.quick as the outright crispest time, the quicker speed, I should say,

:08:48. > :08:55.which is at the end of the long straight, just before the breaking

:08:56. > :09:00.point for the chicane. So, an unusual situation, but that is why

:09:01. > :09:04.you get to map readings. It's important you are fast through Eau

:09:05. > :09:09.Rouge, so you are not that much slower than the fastest cars,

:09:10. > :09:14.especially the people you are going to be around. If you are, the

:09:15. > :09:16.acceleration you have done is kind of wasted,

:09:17. > :09:19.acceleration you have done is kind momentum. That could be the hybrid

:09:20. > :09:24.boost, coming out of La Source. Also, the other thing is, it just

:09:25. > :09:30.means the straight is not just one big long straight, of wide-open

:09:31. > :09:36.throttle, it is just two separate sections. Looking at the correlation

:09:37. > :09:41.between the times, Ricardo is through the Eau Rouge section, but

:09:42. > :09:51.Button is second-fastest through both? McLaren seems to be quite

:09:52. > :09:55.efficient, working quite well. Giving away a little bit in the

:09:56. > :09:59.middle sector, but I reckon there is enough there if they can build on

:10:00. > :10:04.this to challenge, certainly for fifth or sixth place, somewhere

:10:05. > :10:10.around there? Button is quickest of anybody through that first section,

:10:11. > :10:13.which runs up to the end of the straight at Pouhon. They are good at

:10:14. > :10:17.the first part of it and they drop off in the second and third bit. I'm

:10:18. > :10:21.not sure if they are going to be strong enough for the second row of

:10:22. > :10:24.the grid. The third row will probably be pretty good, but they

:10:25. > :10:29.will be in the top ten, I'm pretty sure. Ferrari don't look too bad

:10:30. > :10:39.either. Alonso is third fastest again in the qualifying runs. Jenson

:10:40. > :10:46.Button, a lock-up. The bright pink crash helmet is eye-catching. For

:10:47. > :10:50.all it is a tribute to his father, the video footage of it, how it sits

:10:51. > :11:00.next to the silver bodywork, he likes the look of that and he's

:11:01. > :11:05.going to continue with that. Magnussen, also a son of a driver.

:11:06. > :11:12.Is this starting to make you Magnussen, also a son of a driver.

:11:13. > :11:16.old? These were your contemporaries. Your son is a bit

:11:17. > :11:21.old? These were your contemporaries. One? He's nine years old, doesn't

:11:22. > :11:25.have much desire to sit in anything that is going to be racing. He's

:11:26. > :11:30.more interested in seeing how they are built and engineered. You're not

:11:31. > :11:35.going to push him into Formula One? It would only be seven years time,

:11:36. > :11:42.ridiculous expat he's pushed Jenson Button pretty strongly through the

:11:43. > :11:47.course so far. Magnussen, I think, has acquitted himself pretty well

:11:48. > :11:49.this season. If you look at the pair of them, they have been a bit

:11:50. > :11:58.patchy, places like China and Barcelona, they were not good.

:11:59. > :12:02.Magnussen has had very good results, the better of the

:12:03. > :12:05.qualifying performances. That is a positive sign, I think, for a young

:12:06. > :12:11.driver. If he can be consistently fifth, sixth or seventh, on the days

:12:12. > :12:15.where the car has some pace, Button has been a bit more uneven in his

:12:16. > :12:18.qualifying performance. 22 minutes remaining on the clock. Mercifully

:12:19. > :12:26.staying dry. Still have some sunshine here at Spa. There is a

:12:27. > :12:34.chance of some rain for qualifying tomorrow. Wet qualifying last year,

:12:35. > :12:38.if you remember. The fastest time was had by Lewis Hamilton. Here

:12:39. > :12:42.comes Hulkenberg. The fastest man at the end of the straight. A hairy

:12:43. > :12:48.moment for the German? He came through Eau Rouge. The car bellies

:12:49. > :12:55.out, and then the rear comes round. He had to get off the throttle. It's

:12:56. > :12:58.at the moment when you are trying to keep it on the road or you are into

:12:59. > :13:03.something much more frightening. You know, that will have made his heart

:13:04. > :13:08.skipped a couple beats. And he continues on the lap. This is where

:13:09. > :13:12.Pastor Maldonado crashed, bringing out the red flag just after this

:13:13. > :13:17.left-hander, here. Sounds like Hulkenberg has missed the apex. This

:13:18. > :13:23.is where Maldonado crashed, bringing the session to a red flag. We have

:13:24. > :13:27.had two, if you are just joining us for the Belgian Grand Prix practice.

:13:28. > :13:30.The second one was brought out by Esteban Gutierrez, spinning the

:13:31. > :13:37.Sauber on the Exeter or the next corner coming up. A bit further on,

:13:38. > :13:42.in fact, the Blanchimont corner. That brought out the second red

:13:43. > :13:47.flag. Here is Hulkenberg, on his way back towards the pits. I would

:13:48. > :13:50.expect Force India to be strong around here. They have been a little

:13:51. > :13:55.bit better this morning. They are 10th and 13th at the moment. But

:13:56. > :14:01.they have dropped off in the last few races. I think this

:14:02. > :14:05.characteristic will suit them. It doesn't matter what the name of the

:14:06. > :14:10.team was, even going back to the Grand Prix, this is a circuit where

:14:11. > :14:11.the car seemed to work, for whatever reason, in fundamental -based

:14:12. > :14:20.design. They will be looking to try to make

:14:21. > :14:24.sure that they race pace is dictated by their tyre drop off, or less tyre

:14:25. > :14:29.drop-off than anybody else. I think this has been in's run is going to

:14:30. > :14:34.give us an indication how it is going to be on Sunday. Looking at

:14:35. > :14:37.some of the runs we can see so far. Jenson Button, having put in a

:14:38. > :14:44.strong qualifying some elation, fifth fastest. He is on a long run

:14:45. > :14:49.at the moment on a soft tyre. He has been rapping in the high one-minute

:14:50. > :14:54.55, 256. Fairly consistent lap times for Jenson Button.

:14:55. > :15:09.Have his lap times are in the high 54s. A fast lap time, pretty much

:15:10. > :15:13.the story of the season. Relative to Mercedes, McLaren don't look

:15:14. > :15:16.particularly stronger. But they do look stronger relative to some of

:15:17. > :15:19.the opposition. Quicker than Force India, no doubt about that. I think

:15:20. > :15:27.they are looking at the Williams team will stop that is the team they

:15:28. > :15:36.will be looking at. Let's rejoin Tom Clarkson. James, I am with Toto

:15:37. > :15:45.-- Niki Lauda. They are one and two catch up with Nicky

:15:46. > :15:52.-- Niki Lauda. They are one and two this afternoon, the Mercedes. Let's

:15:53. > :15:57.see if we can get Toto's thoughts. It is going well so far this

:15:58. > :16:02.afternoon? Yes, for a Friday it is going well. What are you learning?

:16:03. > :16:07.afternoon? Yes, for a Friday it is How are the track conditions, how is

:16:08. > :16:15.the car performing? The car is performing well. It was pretty

:16:16. > :16:19.slippy this morning. What is important is to see that the order

:16:20. > :16:23.has not completely changed over the summer break, but then it is early

:16:24. > :16:29.days, it is Friday afternoon, so you have to be careful. How did the two

:16:30. > :16:37.red flags this afternoon disrupt your programme? Well, it disrupts

:16:38. > :16:41.everybody's programme. You have to cut the option runs short and the

:16:42. > :16:48.long run as well, but it is the same for everybody. Hungary seems like a

:16:49. > :16:51.long time ago but there was controversy regarding team orders,

:16:52. > :16:58.howdy do you deal with that situation in the four weeks since

:16:59. > :17:04.then? It needs a bit of mediating, a bit of management, a bit of

:17:05. > :17:09.caressing, a bit of hard words. But both of the guys know that it is

:17:10. > :17:15.going to be both of the guys know that it is

:17:16. > :17:19.got to fighters from the same team fighting for a World Championship,

:17:20. > :17:23.you cannot expect it to run super smoothly because these guys are so

:17:24. > :17:29.competitive and that is why they are Formula One drivers. You will not be

:17:30. > :17:37.asking one of them to let the other ones to -- the other one through in

:17:38. > :17:41.future races? I think we would do exactly the same thing again, and

:17:42. > :17:47.any other team would. If your team made is behind you, you don't want

:17:48. > :17:51.to make his life difficult, and you're not going to block him. On

:17:52. > :17:56.the other side you cannot expect the guy in front to lift off the break.

:17:57. > :17:59.So probably the communication to Nico was a bit wrong, saying he's

:18:00. > :18:03.going to let you buy, the right words should have been he's not

:18:04. > :18:09.going to make your life difficult, you overtake him, and this is how we

:18:10. > :18:17.want to do it next time. But we are learning on the job, all of us. You

:18:18. > :18:23.had to number one drivers in the teams fighting fair and square. --

:18:24. > :18:29.two number one drivers. We are very optimistic. And this is why

:18:30. > :18:32.Tippex... If you think that situation would raise its head

:18:33. > :18:38.again, do you think Lewis Hamilton would not make Nico Rosberg's life

:18:39. > :18:45.difficult and would let him through? Yes, I think it is absolutely clear,

:18:46. > :18:49.when Nico pitted he was two places ahead and he came out of the stop

:18:50. > :18:55.and this is how Lewis understood it, he was never really close enough.

:18:56. > :18:58.You can't ruin one's race. They are asking him to lose a couple of

:18:59. > :19:03.hundred meters, so this is why the reaction was understandable. It is a

:19:04. > :19:05.matter of the words being used, not about the general principle. That is

:19:06. > :19:11.how you have been dealing with about the general principle. That is

:19:12. > :19:15.drivers but how are you yourself? How is the arm? It is getting

:19:16. > :19:19.better. Somebody told me it makes no sense to complain, so I'm feeling

:19:20. > :19:26.fine! You are still on the painkillers? Now I can't on the

:19:27. > :19:32.weekends! Note painkillers this weekend. Toto Wolff with a very

:19:33. > :19:33.clear explanation in terms of the drivers and what they will be

:19:34. > :19:37.expected to do. Now we know drivers and what they will be

:19:38. > :19:43.what would happen if you had a situation when one driver was on a

:19:44. > :19:49.three-stop strategy. Half a 10th faster than Nico last lap. That was

:19:50. > :19:53.between Hamilton and Rosberg. That is very helpful from Toto Wolff, who

:19:54. > :19:58.always tries hard to say as much as he can to help the media and public

:19:59. > :20:01.understand what is going on behind the scenes. Obviously there are a

:20:02. > :20:07.lot of firewalls and things he can't say, but that was pretty helpful? I

:20:08. > :20:12.think we had to try to understand what went on. They are going to get

:20:13. > :20:17.another Saint similar situation at some point through the course of the

:20:18. > :20:20.run-in. It is a very difficult situation for them because as

:20:21. > :20:24.Mercedes-Benz they were looking at a potential race victory slipping

:20:25. > :20:28.away, but ultimately they did not want to get involved too much in one

:20:29. > :20:33.or the other driver in terms of the way the race was going to come out,

:20:34. > :20:37.so they had the kayak quandary in there.

:20:38. > :20:38.It is the understanding and the expectations of

:20:39. > :20:43.It is the understanding and the they have to be quite clear of that.

:20:44. > :20:48.They have to make it very much understood right now. But it did

:20:49. > :20:52.blow over a little bit in Hungary. It is also worth remembering

:20:53. > :20:58.specifically with reference to Hungary, what he was saying was

:20:59. > :21:03.don't necessarily make Rosberg's life difficult but it is up to

:21:04. > :21:06.Rosberg to pass him. Let's not forget that Rosberg struggled to

:21:07. > :21:10.Bass Jean-Eric Vergne, which is one of the reasons he found himself in

:21:11. > :21:15.the situation of doing more stops than Hamilton. When Hamilton needed

:21:16. > :21:24.to Bass Jean-Eric Vergne, he did it straight away. -- to pass Jean-Eric

:21:25. > :21:31.Vergne. We can learn the difference in characters between the drivers

:21:32. > :21:37.from that. Hamilton aggressive and risky, Rosberg playing the

:21:38. > :21:42.percentages. With the safety car coming out at the beginning, he was

:21:43. > :21:45.already past the entry when the safety car came out so he had to

:21:46. > :21:50.trundle back, and then Lewis Hamilton had three get out of jail

:21:51. > :21:53.free cards, he spun on the opening lap and then he had the safety car

:21:54. > :21:57.and then he had Sebastian Vettel spin in front of him, which gifted

:21:58. > :22:01.him the opportunity of a free circuit. There were a lot of things

:22:02. > :22:08.that seemed to run in Lewis Hamilton's favour for once, because

:22:09. > :22:13.on Saturday he had the fire in qualifying that made him start from

:22:14. > :22:17.the pit lane. You have two sees the chances when they come up and that

:22:18. > :22:20.is what Hamilton did with that Jean-Eric Vergne overtake and that

:22:21. > :22:27.is what gave him the chance to go on and finish at his team-mate. Lewis

:22:28. > :22:33.Hamilton's car bottoms out there, the plank hitting the ground through

:22:34. > :22:37.Eau Rouge. The ride height for this circuit of the cars is set by what

:22:38. > :22:48.will happen at the bottom of the compression of the hill at Eau

:22:49. > :22:52.Rouge. That compression will decide how much you can run your car to the

:22:53. > :22:57.ground. What they try and do now is to run the car as low as possible to

:22:58. > :23:03.get the best aerodynamics. Every circuit you try to run it low and

:23:04. > :23:06.stiff to make sure that the Aero is working to its maximum effect and

:23:07. > :23:11.that you are in the right window for the aerodynamics. There is a minimum

:23:12. > :23:18.regulation of what you're allowed to have on the skip lock at the end and

:23:19. > :23:26.on the plank at the end of the race. You can't just run it out so it

:23:27. > :23:30.wears out, you have to... 11 minutes remaining in this free practice two

:23:31. > :23:33.qualifying simulation session. We're now into the long runs and the

:23:34. > :23:38.headline lap times, Hamilton now into the long runs and the

:23:39. > :23:43.fastest. This is the long runs of Lewis Hamilton on the soft tyres at

:23:44. > :23:51.the moment. Expected to start the Grand Prix on these tyres on Sunday.

:23:52. > :23:55.Consistency around 1.54. A couple of 1.56s as well, as outliers if you

:23:56. > :24:06.like. The pace is certainly there from Mercedes. Both drivers able to

:24:07. > :24:13.lap in the 1.54, to 1.55 low range. Rosberg had a couple of moments on

:24:14. > :24:17.his qualifying simulation, which is why he is six tenths of a second

:24:18. > :24:21.slower in the headline lap times than his team-mate. Alonso third,

:24:22. > :24:30.Mass in fourth, Button in fifth place,

:24:31. > :24:36.Lewis Hamilton with a pretty quick lap time. The one person who has

:24:37. > :24:41.just gone out on the softer tyres is Kimi Raikkonen. We saw him as he

:24:42. > :24:49.went out to start his long run. He has not done so many laps of these

:24:50. > :24:53.15 laps so far, down in 15th place. It is to see how the tyre will

:24:54. > :24:58.evolve over the next three to four laps, that will give us an idea of

:24:59. > :25:08.Ferrari's pace. Rosberg more consistent. Hamilton has some 1.56s

:25:09. > :25:12.mixed in with the 1.54s, but if you added it all up, you would probably

:25:13. > :25:18.find that Hamilton was a shade faster, as his engineer was saying.

:25:19. > :25:21.Very little in it, as there has been throughout the season. One driver

:25:22. > :25:25.doing very well throughout the season. One driver

:25:26. > :25:27.Felipe Massa in the Williams, lapping in the low 1.54s. He has

:25:28. > :25:33.managed to get a last lap since lapping in the low 1.54s. He has

:25:34. > :25:38.then. Keep an eye on the Williams. For information, fire temperatures

:25:39. > :25:44.are dropping, so in traffic you may find that the cars lose grip. Nico

:25:45. > :25:48.Rosberg being told that the temperatures are dropping. Did you

:25:49. > :25:56.see how close his right-hand wheels were to the old pit wall? You're

:25:57. > :25:59.looking left that that particular point and lining the car up, so you

:26:00. > :26:04.have to have a feel for an judgement of way your right-hand wheels are.

:26:05. > :26:08.The tyre temperatures are dropping and he is doing a longer run and

:26:09. > :26:13.there is less depth left on the tyre, less rubber. That means that

:26:14. > :26:17.the heat that is residual into it can dissipate into the atmosphere on

:26:18. > :26:23.these big long runs down through Eau Rouge and up towards the corner and

:26:24. > :26:28.although it back to the stop. That means that it is trickier to keep

:26:29. > :26:29.the tyre temperature and the braking performance and the consistency of

:26:30. > :26:58.braking performance. pass him easily at this point.

:26:59. > :27:02.Dropping back to 127 K P H, that is what he was doing on that straight.

:27:03. > :27:06.He has just left the what he was doing on that straight.

:27:07. > :27:09.away from him. This morning when Alexander

:27:10. > :27:14.away from him. This morning when Marussia in place of Max Chilton,

:27:15. > :27:18.that idea seems to have ended Marussia in place of Max Chilton,

:27:19. > :27:22.Chilton getting back in the car, you had Rossi in one and PNG in the

:27:23. > :27:34.other, which is red and white. had Rossi in one and PNG in the

:27:35. > :27:38.and Jules Bianchi in the other. But Rossi is actually American and Jules

:27:39. > :27:44.Bianchi is French! So it never really quite worked out in the

:27:45. > :27:47.Italian way as well. Three very Italian surnames in the

:27:48. > :27:49.Italian way as well. Three very none of them sadly Italian, no

:27:50. > :27:55.Italian Grand Prix drivers none of them sadly Italian, no

:27:56. > :27:58.field at the moment. Daniel Ricciardo is eight on

:27:59. > :28:08.field at the moment. Daniel lap times. How is the Red Bull

:28:09. > :28:14.driver doing? In the high 1.54s. Slightly quicker than the Williams

:28:15. > :28:20.cars. Felipe Massa just did a 1.55.1. Oh! That is just using all

:28:21. > :28:24.the road and a little 1.55.1. Oh! That is just using all

:28:25. > :28:33.to him. The person who started doing his long run now is Kimi Raikkonen.

:28:34. > :28:37.Now he is on a 53.702. The front tyre has probably dropped off a bit

:28:38. > :28:44.for that one second gap. He's not able to continue it. Raikkonen has

:28:45. > :28:50.done a 59. He is coming straight into the pits. It was a short run

:28:51. > :28:54.from Raikkonen, hence the shorter lap time, to

:28:55. > :29:00.from Raikkonen, hence the shorter bursts. There is work being done to

:29:01. > :29:03.the diffuser of the Red Bull car. Essentially free practice one and

:29:04. > :29:08.two on a Friday is a bit like a test session, you can strap different

:29:09. > :29:12.bits of equipment to your car and get an idea of the flow structures

:29:13. > :29:18.aerodynamics are you that you're getting with your parts and

:29:19. > :29:35.The teams constantly innovating and is

:29:36. > :29:41.The teams the four-week period, before and

:29:42. > :29:47.after the shutdown. Some of them take the shutdown period closer to

:29:48. > :29:56.this Grand Prix. Valtteri Bottas is one of the real stars of this 2014

:29:57. > :30:00.championship, him and Kvyat. How is his long run doing? He is carrying a

:30:01. > :30:04.fair bit of fuel and also running slower tyres. That would make a

:30:05. > :30:10.difference in terms of race performance, you would think. The

:30:11. > :30:22.medium tyre looks to be a bit slower than the soft tyre here. The thing

:30:23. > :30:24.is getting a consistency of it. If you can do that, it will be a

:30:25. > :30:28.is getting a consistency of it. If point in the race. That's like every

:30:29. > :30:34.single circuit now. You're going to get a soft tyre with more

:30:35. > :30:43.performance, a medium tyre with more stability. What is Felipe Massa

:30:44. > :30:49.doing? His lap time has dropped off. It's now at the one-minute 56s. He

:30:50. > :30:52.is lapping at the same pace as Bottas was. There will be some

:30:53. > :30:56.interesting crossovers. Unfortunately, here, we're working

:30:57. > :31:00.things out on the back of an envelope. It is not going to be as

:31:01. > :31:08.easy. The softer tyre is quicker, but there will be a point where the

:31:09. > :31:15.medium is quicker? 14 laps equals a two stop strategy. Whichever way

:31:16. > :31:20.they turn it. It will depend on whether, but I think it will be two

:31:21. > :31:25.stop. It also depends how long the medium tyres last. One of the things

:31:26. > :31:30.we have seen in the past is a long safety car, like we had after the

:31:31. > :31:34.Grosjean start line shunt. The safety car was out for a long time

:31:35. > :31:38.and that meant one or two people, including Jenson Button, could make

:31:39. > :31:43.the race with 1-stop because it takes so much less out of the tyres.

:31:44. > :31:48.There will be people, if we get an 80% safety car of ability around

:31:49. > :31:51.There will be people, if we get an this racetrack, who will think about

:31:52. > :31:54.gambling and make one less stop, especially if the medium tyre stacks

:31:55. > :32:03.up to be something that is working well. We don't have the data of who

:32:04. > :32:09.has done what on which tyre. Hulkenberg has done 21 on it. That

:32:10. > :32:14.is the information we are getting. Hulkenberg doing 21 laps out of a

:32:15. > :32:18.set of medium tyres. Force India have always been the team that would

:32:19. > :32:27.lay that a long ball strategy. He struggled in qualifying, to get the

:32:28. > :32:32.maximum peak grip out. But they do have the longevity. That has served

:32:33. > :32:35.them very well in the past. I would suspect out here they will be a

:32:36. > :32:43.little bit more competitive. Top ten competitive. If they could get 2122

:32:44. > :32:49.laps out of it, that is 36, 37 laps. If you have a five, six, seven laps

:32:50. > :32:50.safety car, you could do it in 1-stop, if you thought it was

:32:51. > :32:55.competitive. Jean-Eric Vergne just 1-stop, if you thought it was

:32:56. > :33:04.proved you have got to be careful with the rear tyre. Kicked out,

:33:05. > :33:10.quickly put it on an opposite lock. Corded fast and had to use the run

:33:11. > :33:18.off area. Daniel Riccardo, similar, but use the same road of area. For

:33:19. > :33:27.Vergne that was a heart stopping moment. A little bit more cloud

:33:28. > :33:30.cover. It is 3:30, local time. Men and women have been racing here for

:33:31. > :33:36.many years, this is the 70th addition, going back to the 1920s.

:33:37. > :33:41.It is one of the heartlands in Europe, along with Italy, Germany.

:33:42. > :33:45.France, which does not have a Grand Prix at the moment, what a loss that

:33:46. > :33:51.is to the sport at this time. Spain are a relative newcomer. This

:33:52. > :33:55.place, somehow, for a tiny country, it has always been synonymous with

:33:56. > :33:59.motorsports. Tremendous drivers have come out of here. One of the most

:34:00. > :34:03.majestic racetracks anywhere in the world. It always has been. Even in a

:34:04. > :34:05.slightly different format from the old days, it always will be. Perez

:34:06. > :34:19.is out That is the faster side of things.

:34:20. > :34:22.If we look up the long run is now, Lewis Hamilton probably has the

:34:23. > :34:26.quickest long run of anyone on soft tyres, and then Nico Rosberg is just

:34:27. > :34:32.behind him. A little bit more consistent but a little bit slower.

:34:33. > :34:41.Ricciardo looks to be pretty good at keeping the rear tyre grip. Then the

:34:42. > :34:44.Williams just behind. Button, actually reasonably competitive.

:34:45. > :34:51.Ultimately, it is going to be with the Mercedes and then the Ricciardo,

:34:52. > :34:56.or the Red Bull and Williams battle. Alonso has denied he laps, eight or

:34:57. > :35:04.nine less than the Mercedes cars. He has done a shortish run. -- eight or

:35:05. > :35:08.nine laps. They seem to have reasonable qualifying times. He has

:35:09. > :35:12.been third here on the qualifying simulations. He was third again this

:35:13. > :35:16.morning. Sometimes they play around with fuel levels, it's a little bit

:35:17. > :35:20.deceptive. But Ferrari should be stroganoff with Alonzo to get

:35:21. > :35:22.themselves to the chequered flag. Ferrari should be strong enough to

:35:23. > :35:28.get them onto the top Ferrari should be strong enough to

:35:29. > :35:32.have they done enough homework to know where they are on strategy? I

:35:33. > :35:37.think they will be strong around here. Hopefully, for them, they will

:35:38. > :35:41.qualify on the second row of the grid. After that, we have got to

:35:42. > :35:50.look at one of the electric starts from Fernando Alonso. There will be

:35:51. > :35:55.disappointed with Kimi Raikkonen in 16th, but that's representative. He

:35:56. > :36:10.equalled it in a short run, with high fuel load. Alonso will be in

:36:11. > :36:16.there. Mercedes topped the time sheets. Ross Berg have the edge. It

:36:17. > :36:21.is a big margin between Hamilton and Rosberg. An untidy lap from the

:36:22. > :36:29.World Championship leader. He's never won here. Alonso has never won

:36:30. > :36:33.this grand cru, but third at the moment for Ferrari. Terrific drive

:36:34. > :36:41.by him. Felipe Massa has been a winner here. He is forth. Button has

:36:42. > :36:53.also won, he fifth. Bottas is sixth quickest. Kvyat is seventh.

:36:54. > :37:03.Ricciardo eight, Magnussen ninth, Hulkenberg rounding out the top ten.

:37:04. > :37:10.Ericsson gets ahead of his new team-mate for this weekend, Andre

:37:11. > :37:17.Lotterer, by a fraction. Sebastian Vettel took no part in the session

:37:18. > :37:18.due to a power unit problem. Gutierrez and Maldonado had

:37:19. > :37:22.problems, a big Gutierrez and Maldonado had

:37:23. > :37:28.Maldonado early in the session. That is the story of free practice two.

:37:29. > :37:32.The final thoughts? Very quickly, Mercedes are looking very strong, as

:37:33. > :37:38.they have done. It is going to be Ferrari right behind and then a good

:37:39. > :37:43.battle between the Williams, who are competitive in qualifying and race

:37:44. > :37:48.pace. Ricciardo needs to have a good qualifying if he is going to be in

:37:49. > :37:50.pace. Ricciardo needs to have a good the mix. Lewis Hamilton ends the day

:37:51. > :37:59.fastest. It is a track that he loves. He has put down a

:38:00. > :38:02.fastest. It is a track that he for Rosberg. He will know that

:38:03. > :38:11.Hamilton has a small edge based on Friday. But he is

:38:12. > :38:15.Hamilton has a small edge based on going to be very exciting qualifying

:38:16. > :38:18.Hamilton has a small edge based on at Spa. Well, it's a circuit that

:38:19. > :38:24.demands accuracy. If you don't get it right, it tends not to end well,

:38:25. > :38:30.as Pastor Maldonado found out in the first few hits of the session, the

:38:31. > :38:34.first red flag. The second was for Esteban Gutierrez. Very fast and

:38:35. > :38:39.very scary place to lose control. What an impressive lap by Lewis

:38:40. > :38:42.Hamilton. Don't forget, this was the start of Sebastian Vettel's

:38:43. > :38:46.domination last season, and how Lewis Hamilton would like to emulate

:38:47. > :38:50.that between now and Abu Dhabi. So much to talk about. If you would

:38:51. > :38:56.like to keep up-to-date, you can catch me on Inside F1 On The Bbc

:38:57. > :38:58.News Channel. I'll Be Back Tomorrow Morning On Bbc Two. Thanks For Your

:38:59. > :39:05.Company Throughout The Day. Goodbye. MUSIC: "Black Skinhead"

:39:06. > :39:19.by Kanye West This year's rugby league

:39:20. > :39:23.Challenge Cup giants