:01:07. > :01:12.things, great racing, iconic corners, changeable weather and we
:01:13. > :01:16.have had a lot of that, starting with torrential rain, a bit of
:01:17. > :01:20.sunshine but we are expecting heavy showers today which should create
:01:21. > :01:26.some fantastic sessions and even a topsy-turvy grid as we head into the
:01:27. > :01:30.Grand Prix tomorrow. A lot of news over the last 24 hours. Sebastien
:01:31. > :01:38.Vettel's date yesterday was like to buy technical problems, Alex Rossi
:01:39. > :01:43.is out of the Marussia, Max Chilton is back in it but we do have a new
:01:44. > :01:53.driver on the grid, Andre Lotterer, taking the place to be -- the place
:01:54. > :01:57.of Kamui Kobayashi at Caterham. Mercedes dominated yesterday. That
:01:58. > :02:01.is why there are just 11 points between their drivers in the
:02:02. > :02:06.championship. Daniel Ricciardo is in third, Fernando Alonso jumps up to
:02:07. > :02:13.fourth place after that podium place in Hungary. Three world champions
:02:14. > :02:19.are outside the top five, Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button and Kimi
:02:20. > :02:22.Raikkonen does not even make the top ten. No prizes for guessing who is
:02:23. > :02:32.leading in the Constructors' Championship.
:02:33. > :02:40.In the pit lane to date we have Tom Clarkson and Jennie Gow. What is the
:02:41. > :02:44.weather going to do, no pressure, just get it right! I have looked at
:02:45. > :02:48.the radar and it says there is a 50% just get it right! I have looked at
:02:49. > :02:54.chance of rain in this session but if you talk to the teams, Mercedes
:02:55. > :02:58.say that no rain it expected in the session but it will range in
:02:59. > :03:02.qualifying. I think we will see the cars coming out on wet or
:03:03. > :03:08.intermediate tyres at the start and then with slick tyres, a dry run at
:03:09. > :03:16.the end of the session. It is 12 degrees at the moment. 11 laps, that
:03:17. > :03:20.is all Sebastian Vettel managed to do yesterday so he will be hoping to
:03:21. > :03:26.get a good run under his belt in his Red Bull. And no change in the
:03:27. > :03:33.Marussia line-up over like, Max Chilton is back in it! -- overnight.
:03:34. > :03:39.Always fantastic crowds here and it is such a stunning circuit to look
:03:40. > :03:47.at. If you are at home, you can get involved in the session through the
:03:48. > :03:58.BBC sport Facebook page or tweet us with hashtag #bbcf1. We might even
:03:59. > :04:01.read them out. Ben Edwards and Alec minute -- Allan McNish
:04:02. > :04:01.read them out. Ben Edwards and Alec commentary. COMMENTATOR: Good
:04:02. > :04:08.morning. Great to see commentary. COMMENTATOR: Good
:04:09. > :04:13.helicopter looking down from the commentary. COMMENTATOR: Good
:04:14. > :04:21.of the hill with the dissent through the right-hander at Rivage. It is a
:04:22. > :04:25.beautiful circuit. It has a natural feel, a characteristic that is not
:04:26. > :04:30.usual and that is why feel, a characteristic that is not
:04:31. > :04:34.enjoyed it, the drivers and the teams and the fans because you get
:04:35. > :04:39.some spectacular views up through Eau Rouge, one Shimon, Pouhon,
:04:40. > :04:45.some spectacular views up through legendary corners -- Blanchimont.
:04:46. > :04:46.some spectacular views up through have loved the track ever since I
:04:47. > :04:52.first came here. And to watch have loved the track ever since I
:04:53. > :04:57.Formula One car here is spectacular. The nice part is there is only one
:04:58. > :05:02.cornerback has changed which is the Bus Stop chicane. The whole
:05:03. > :05:08.characteristic is still exactly the same. When you go down the hill from
:05:09. > :05:13.La Source and through Eau Rouge it is a daunting sight through the
:05:14. > :05:17.visor and in the cockpit. In a Formula One car in these damp and
:05:18. > :05:25.greasy conditions still extremely fast, take a deep breath before you
:05:26. > :05:31.attack that. It will be tricky for the first few laps. Marco Mattiacci
:05:32. > :05:36.off Ferrari heading towards their Garros for the start of the session.
:05:37. > :05:45.Fernando Alonso had a pretty good day yesterday -- towards their
:05:46. > :05:51.garage. He is looking pretty relaxed, third fastest in both
:05:52. > :05:57.sessions yesterday behind the all conquering Mercedes. I think this
:05:58. > :06:01.could be a good weekend for them, their car has a bit of understated,
:06:02. > :06:09.and in these long corners that can work to your advantage --
:06:10. > :06:14.understeer. They did three runs of four laps yesterday. But he has been
:06:15. > :06:21.looking very competent all the way through Friday. Intermediate tyres
:06:22. > :06:28.on the McLaren are probably the right solution on this occasion
:06:29. > :06:32.unlike in Hungary. That was one they will want to forget. But
:06:33. > :06:39.intermediate tyres are the order of the day, there is no standing water
:06:40. > :06:43.but it will be slippery. It is already driving a little bit, you
:06:44. > :06:49.can see light patches as we come through Pouhon with Bottas. It will
:06:50. > :06:54.be pretty quick before somebody goes on to slicks. The question is
:06:55. > :07:01.whether enough cars run on the track to actually try it up properly.
:07:02. > :07:07.Temperature is already up to 16 degrees on the track as well. A
:07:08. > :07:11.little bit of variation in choice of tyres as they go out for the first
:07:12. > :07:14.part of the session. Teams are trying to look after their
:07:15. > :07:20.intermediate tyres. It is worth mentioning that just before this
:07:21. > :07:26.session there was a support race qualifying session and at the end of
:07:27. > :07:31.that, they were trying slick tyres. As Allan was saying, I think we will
:07:32. > :07:36.see them on slicks soon. Sebastian Vettel as them on his car at the
:07:37. > :07:41.moment, he is in the car and dying to get going after his problems
:07:42. > :07:46.yesterday. Valtteri Bottas has come straight back in. The teams will be
:07:47. > :07:51.looking at sector times, trying to establish which tyre is best at the
:07:52. > :07:57.moment. No movement yet from Hamilton. He took pole position here
:07:58. > :08:01.last year but was beaten on the opening lap by Sebastian Vettel who
:08:02. > :08:05.took the race victory. You would think that the battle will be
:08:06. > :08:10.between the Mercedes drivers this time. We will see if anybody else
:08:11. > :08:13.can join in, perhaps Williams can put pressure on but looking at the
:08:14. > :08:18.times from yesterday, you would think Mercedes will take it. They
:08:19. > :08:22.have got a car that will work in every sector.
:08:23. > :08:26.have got a car that will work in different parts, the long drag up
:08:27. > :08:30.through Eau Rouge and into Les Combes which is all about
:08:31. > :08:33.straight-line Street. RADIO: We will take it easy so we don't
:08:34. > :08:40.straight-line Street. RADIO: We will damage. That is the right thing to
:08:41. > :08:44.do. They are talking about the intermediate tyre. If it is going to
:08:45. > :08:48.be wet for qualifying, you need to save those tyres as much as
:08:49. > :08:51.possible, enter button thinking clearly about the future as opposed
:08:52. > :08:57.to the here and now -- Jenson Button. You have this last part,
:08:58. > :09:04.sector three, coming back through the flat out Blanchimont left-hander
:09:05. > :09:08.and into the Bus Stop chicane. The middle sector is all high-speed
:09:09. > :09:17.corners. You need some downforce but you don't want a real balance. It is
:09:18. > :09:20.interesting comparing some of the speeds with last year, the previous
:09:21. > :09:25.generation car, now we speeds with last year, the previous
:09:26. > :09:34.hybrid cars. Less downforce but faster in a straight line and top
:09:35. > :09:41.speeds are up by about ten mph. They are a full 1.3 seconds slower in the
:09:42. > :09:48.middle sector and that is all about downforce. They have the increased
:09:49. > :09:51.hybrid boost coming out of La Source down the hill towards Eau Rouge and
:09:52. > :10:00.also out of Stavelot on the long drag back. They have less drag and
:10:01. > :10:06.downforce in the 2014 cars. That has the negative effect of being a bit
:10:07. > :10:12.more tricky to drive and also slightly harder tyres than in 2013.
:10:13. > :10:16.They lose out in the middle sector but gain in the first and third.
:10:17. > :10:23.Sebastian Vettel has gone out. Rosberg coming back into the pits,
:10:24. > :10:26.Hamilton has also gone out. Rosberg looks like he will do a
:10:27. > :10:31.drive-through and straight back out again, obviously checking speeds
:10:32. > :10:37.through the pit lane. He will do a practice start. It is quite tricky
:10:38. > :10:53.because there is a split in the track conditions.
:10:54. > :11:06.A little bit of oversteer as he put the power down, some wheel spin. But
:11:07. > :11:20.virtually no revs at all. He was doing a preparation for the clutch
:11:21. > :11:26.white point. -- bite point. Was that why the revs were dipping? Exactly.
:11:27. > :11:34.They are using the time when the circuit is not optimum to just do
:11:35. > :11:39.these system checks. We have seen Mercedes do this quite a lot. It
:11:40. > :11:44.suggests they are a bit better prepared than everybody else still.
:11:45. > :11:50.Funnily enough, Lewis Hamilton went out on the full wet tyres because he
:11:51. > :11:58.is saving his intermediates for this afternoon. Daniel Ricciardo was
:11:59. > :12:02.ninth fastest in first practice and eighth fastest in second practice
:12:03. > :12:07.and Adrian Newey has said they have taken off some downforce to make
:12:08. > :12:11.sure they are not too far down on straight-line speeds. They were a
:12:12. > :12:15.little better than they have been a battle compromise them in qualifying
:12:16. > :12:20.in particular. They are trying to not be in a situation where they are
:12:21. > :12:26.sitting there being passed by those around them on the straights but it
:12:27. > :12:31.could cost them in qualifying pace. I would expect them to be able to
:12:32. > :12:35.maintain that with lower downforce levels but they were quick through
:12:36. > :12:41.Eau Rouge, which will be flat out through qualifying but not in the
:12:42. > :12:45.race. Ricciardo was the quickest overall yesterday at that point but
:12:46. > :12:51.by the time he got to the top of the hill at Les Combes, he was six miles
:12:52. > :12:56.per hour slower than Nico Rosberg -- Nico Hulkenberg. I suppose it shows
:12:57. > :13:04.that they have changed their setup a little bit. We have Nico Rosberg out
:13:05. > :13:05.at the moment, taking it steady on the intermediate tyres. Most cars
:13:06. > :13:11.are in the pits at the moment. the intermediate tyres. Most cars
:13:12. > :13:15.the Mercedes cars on the track at the moment.
:13:16. > :13:20.the Mercedes cars on the track at wet tyres whereas Rosberg is on the
:13:21. > :13:24.intermediates. Conditions were changeable in qualifying last year
:13:25. > :13:28.and it all came down to correct choice of tyres with the slick tyres
:13:29. > :13:35.the correct ones. A practice start for Lewis Hamilton.
:13:36. > :13:45.Higher revs for Hamilton, around 6000 as opposed to 2000, 3000 from
:13:46. > :13:51.Rosberg but he did get the power down well. He is on the full wet
:13:52. > :13:57.tyre which has eight different setup. But a good start. They are
:13:58. > :14:03.using this time to be able to practice these things and get more
:14:04. > :14:09.data and information. He is moving off the conventional line to keep
:14:10. > :14:13.those wet tyres cool. You can see the dry line opening up, Alonso
:14:14. > :14:18.using the wet line initially and then moving onto the dry line and
:14:19. > :14:25.everybody is just protecting their tyres. He is on intermediates as
:14:26. > :14:28.well, yet to win here at Spa but he has had some strong results in the
:14:29. > :14:35.past. Maybe one of the reasons he has not won here, in 2006, one of
:14:36. > :14:41.his best years on his way to winning the championship, there was no
:14:42. > :14:43.comprehension that year. That maybe affects it. -- there was no Belgian
:14:44. > :14:51.Grand Prix that year. affects it. -- there was no Belgian
:14:52. > :14:55.a victory for awhile but he did have that very strong second place last
:14:56. > :15:02.time out in Hungary and he will be going into his 227th from
:15:03. > :15:06.pre-tomorrow with Ferrari still, and they are very anxious to keep him
:15:07. > :15:08.pre-tomorrow with Ferrari still, and happy and keep him on
:15:09. > :15:28.pre-tomorrow with Ferrari still, and staying with the team for the next
:15:29. > :15:29.yesterday. Romain Grosjean managed to have a good setup. Pastor
:15:30. > :15:47.Maldonado had eight pig shunt pulled back off the kerb and seemed
:15:48. > :15:54.to drive onto the grass again. I thought he was looking back into the
:15:55. > :15:58.cockpit, but he got dragged back onto the grass. There was a lot of
:15:59. > :16:05.damage. There was the end of his session. The car not showing us any
:16:06. > :16:10.temperatures at all, it is All Black and white, because we're not getting
:16:11. > :16:17.any kind of temperature range that the thermal camera can operate at.
:16:18. > :16:24.Pastor Maldonado yesterday how the accident, and Esteban Gutierrez had
:16:25. > :16:31.a problem with the Sauber. They had a problem with the engine recovery
:16:32. > :16:40.system. He went off with a big crash and Blanchimont. They got it sorted.
:16:41. > :16:49.These power systems are incredibly complex. Adrian Newey said they are
:16:50. > :16:59.still not on top of the power units, they still get some surprises. That
:17:00. > :17:06.is all sorted for Pastor Maldonado. A view because of damage to the car
:17:07. > :17:08.but it wasn't as bad as we first thought. No curfews were broken in
:17:09. > :17:23.the process of Vic -- of fixing those cars. I saw a
:17:24. > :17:26.tweet from the technical boss congratulating the composite part of
:17:27. > :17:31.cater for the hard work they have been doing this week. They have the
:17:32. > :17:34.new nose on the Caterham, so their work has been brought to fruition.
:17:35. > :17:41.Jenson Button chatting away to his race engineer, the new race
:17:42. > :17:45.engineer. No rush to get him back out on the circuit. There is the
:17:46. > :17:49.Caterham of Andre Lotterer, the man going into his first ever Grand Prix
:17:50. > :17:56.weekend. Former team-mate of yours, Alan, you are a reigning WC world
:17:57. > :18:01.champion, but he was world champion a couple of years ago and now
:18:02. > :18:04.getting his first glimpse of Formula One. He did a good job yesterday?
:18:05. > :18:08.getting his first glimpse of Formula think you did a very good job. He
:18:09. > :18:12.came in without having any running in a Formula One car for maybe 12
:18:13. > :18:17.years. But he was one of the drivers hoping to get his chance back then
:18:18. > :18:22.in 2002, however it didn't quite come to him and Jaguar fell apart.
:18:23. > :18:27.Ultimately they then became Red Bull funnily enough, but he didn't get
:18:28. > :18:32.his chance and went to Japan and sports cars. Now he has a one-off
:18:33. > :18:37.here in Spa. He is German but he was brought up around the corner. He is
:18:38. > :18:41.the first one who has rented out onto slicks. I think these are the
:18:42. > :18:45.conditions he would relish. It is difficult because he does not know
:18:46. > :18:52.the car very well. But he has got a very good feel. Sorry, he is on the
:18:53. > :18:58.intermediate tyres. He has got that style that will work with these
:18:59. > :19:00.hybrid cars. He raced for Audi at Spa earlier this year. He did not
:19:01. > :19:08.win on that occasion but he has won Spa earlier this year. He did not
:19:09. > :19:14.here in the past. He was telling you yesterday that he has two break a
:19:15. > :19:22.fraction earlier at La Source than in sports cars? On most corners,
:19:23. > :19:31.because sports cars have a significant higher downforce, so he
:19:32. > :19:36.had to break earlier, 30 of 40 metres earlier, going into the first
:19:37. > :19:42.corner. He had a big smile on his face yesterday. He was equal to his
:19:43. > :19:47.team-mate Marcus Ericsson, so I think he has acquitted himself very
:19:48. > :19:51.well. There is Max Chilton in the Marussia, after all the confusion of
:19:52. > :19:55.yesterday. He's definitely in the car for the rest of the weekend. The
:19:56. > :20:02.track is beginning to dry up a bit now and he is on the intermediate
:20:03. > :20:09.tyres. No one has decided to go out on the slicks yet. Does Chilton make
:20:10. > :20:15.the corner? Yes he does. Some of your comments coming in. "Williams
:20:16. > :20:20.have been good on fast tracks, so how come they are not challenging
:20:21. > :20:25.the Mercedes? " I think it is a bit early to say yet because we have not
:20:26. > :20:29.seen qualifying. I think when it comes to it, Massa and Bottas could
:20:30. > :20:43.be the next behind the two Mercedes cars. It is not nice. Not entirely
:20:44. > :20:47.happy with the way the car is feeling at the moment. While we have
:20:48. > :20:53.a chance, let's get down to the pits because we can speak to Jonathan
:20:54. > :21:00.Beale from McLaren. Not a lot going on behind us? I wish! Although it
:21:01. > :21:04.looks quiet on the service end a lot of work going on behind the scenes
:21:05. > :21:09.to prepare for a challenging day. What are we waiting for? We're
:21:10. > :21:13.waiting for the track to dry out a bit. There is no point in going out
:21:14. > :21:15.and using these tyres unnecessarily. We have a lot
:21:16. > :21:20.and using these tyres unnecessarily. to set the car up, getting the
:21:21. > :21:24.braking system, the traction system, and mapping our energy recovery
:21:25. > :21:27.system. There are some longer straights, so we want to optimise
:21:28. > :21:33.where we are using the longer straights. If you want to -- if you
:21:34. > :21:41.optimise everything, what can you achieve this weekend? Since the
:21:42. > :21:44.British Grand Prix, the car has had more performance. I think we
:21:45. > :21:47.probably underperformed in the last two races. Here we need an operation
:21:48. > :22:00.blue -- and operationally clean weekend.
:22:01. > :22:03.We need to be alert and on our toes and we aim to move ourselves further
:22:04. > :22:10.up the Constructors' Championship board. There are two things going
:22:11. > :22:15.on. The primary focus is aerodynamics, aerodynamics and
:22:16. > :22:20.aerodynamics! Behind that, getting the underlying architecture of the
:22:21. > :22:29.car right next year, with the shift from Mercedes Honda engines. How is
:22:30. > :22:33.the Honda programme coming on? Our primary focus is still on getting
:22:34. > :22:38.the most out of this car and working with Mercedes. To bring a new power
:22:39. > :22:43.unit to be ready requires a lot of work in all areas. And yes, it is
:22:44. > :22:51.very in courage in. -- very encouraging. Do you expect a
:22:52. > :22:57.development year, 2015? I think it is still a development year for
:22:58. > :23:03.everybody. If you look at Mercedes during the course of this year, they
:23:04. > :23:07.have continued to improve, as have Ferrari and Renault. I don't think
:23:08. > :23:12.we will see majority for two or three years with these engines. It
:23:13. > :23:16.is a big ask for Honda, yes it is. But I believe they are up for it.
:23:17. > :23:19.They are a huge organisation and racing as part of their blood and
:23:20. > :23:25.we're looking forward to working with them. It raises the question of
:23:26. > :23:29.experience in the cockpit. Where are we at with Jenson Button's
:23:30. > :23:37.contractual situation next year? He is asking where I am at with your
:23:38. > :23:43.contract! Jensen is a fabulous guy, a world champion, it is great to
:23:44. > :23:50.have him in the line-up. As you expect, we're not going to tell you
:23:51. > :23:56.about our contracts. When can we tell you -- when can we expect some
:23:57. > :24:00.news? We're not in a rush, we will not be announcing anything until the
:24:01. > :24:05.end of the season. He is the most experienced man on the grid and one
:24:06. > :24:08.of the big talking points this weekend is the arrival of Max
:24:09. > :24:13.Verstappen next year, who will be just 17, what are your thoughts? I
:24:14. > :24:18.don't know Max personally so it is hard for me to comment from a
:24:19. > :24:22.distance. But in general terms the young guys are very talented and
:24:23. > :24:26.very quick. What we have to recognise, as we've seen with Kevin
:24:27. > :24:30.Magnussen coming in this year, and Roman stepping up to the pace is one
:24:31. > :24:34.thing but stepping up to the white heat of expectation and the pressure
:24:35. > :24:39.is something quite different. It is exciting to see young guys coming
:24:40. > :24:42.through. For old guys like me, it is tempting to say they don't have
:24:43. > :24:47.enough experience, but they do and they are quick, and they deserve an
:24:48. > :24:52.opportunity. We need to make sure they have a support system around
:24:53. > :24:57.them to protect them from the likes of you guys who want to trip them up
:24:58. > :24:59.when they make a mistake. What does it say, does it mean the cars are
:25:00. > :25:04.too easy to drive? I don't it say, does it mean the cars are
:25:05. > :25:10.If you look at what Daniel Ricciardo has done this year, he has come
:25:11. > :25:13.straight in and done a fantastic job this year. Bottas is doing a
:25:14. > :25:17.fantastic job. Kevin is doing a fantastic job. I think it is the old
:25:18. > :25:23.guys we need to worry about, which is great. Thanks very much.
:25:24. > :25:26.Interesting picking up on that, he was talking about some of the other
:25:27. > :25:35.drivers and the only one who was relevant there was Kevin Magnussen,
:25:36. > :25:39.because he is their driver. Even he has done a lot of racing at Renault
:25:40. > :25:40.level, which Formula One. Max Verstappen is
:25:41. > :25:47.currently racing in Formula Formula One. Max Verstappen is
:25:48. > :25:54.in his first ever season in cars. He came out of karts before that. He is
:25:55. > :26:00.very young and beaks periods of life is the bigger factor rather than
:26:01. > :26:08.racing a car to be honest. -- the experience of life. He is quick, no
:26:09. > :26:12.question about it. In Formula Three, that was the championship that
:26:13. > :26:16.Daniil Kvyat did last year alongside JP three. The results at this time
:26:17. > :26:21.for Verstappen are actually slightly better than Daniil Kvyat. Kvyat has
:26:22. > :26:24.been a bit of a star in the Toro Rosso. Therefore I think the driving
:26:25. > :26:28.side of things is the lesser question, it is the question of
:26:29. > :26:32.everything else in the pit lane, the media activity, the meetings, just
:26:33. > :26:37.the simple fact that it is looking like a 21 Grand Prix season next
:26:38. > :26:43.year, which is going to be a heck of an amount of travelling. For a young
:26:44. > :26:47.person, that is quite tough. That is another element of Formula One that
:26:48. > :26:52.perhaps isn't always thought about. It is quiet in the pit lane but I
:26:53. > :26:58.believe you are at Ferrari? Yes, they are just having a look at
:26:59. > :27:03.Fernando Alonso's car. Seeing as he is and Kimi Raikkonen's car are in
:27:04. > :27:08.the garage, we can look at the different setups. Fernando Alonso's
:27:09. > :27:14.car, the front wings are completely different. They are setting his up
:27:15. > :27:17.for a low downforce, low drag, racing optimum setup. There are a
:27:18. > :27:21.couple of slots in the side and played at the moment, a very
:27:22. > :27:26.slimline rear wing, let's optimise everything on the car. At the front
:27:27. > :27:32.you can just see the two upright fins leading back to the seven
:27:33. > :27:39.element front wing. That is Fernando Alonso's number 14 car. If I get
:27:40. > :27:44.Pete to traverse quickly to Kimi Raikkonen's car, seamlessly, you
:27:45. > :27:48.will be able to spot the difference. If you look at this car, they have
:27:49. > :27:52.not got the two upright pillars, they have got the cross up straight
:27:53. > :28:00.is coming out in three elements over the top of the seven element front
:28:01. > :28:03.wing. That is a bit difference at the front. If you look at the back,
:28:04. > :28:08.hopefully you can spot the difference before I pointed out.
:28:09. > :28:13.That is the normal rear wing. It has got seven different slots in the air
:28:14. > :28:17.plate and it is a bigger wing. If you look, it is slightly concave.
:28:18. > :28:21.That is the difference between the two cars. Hopefully we will be able
:28:22. > :28:24.to see a difference in the performance we get out of it. We
:28:25. > :28:30.will be able to tell, when they get out on track eventually. Thanks very
:28:31. > :28:33.much, a good bit of spot the difference going on. It is
:28:34. > :28:37.interesting that even in the same team they will keep experimenting
:28:38. > :28:41.even at this relatively late stage of the weekend. This is the final
:28:42. > :28:45.practice and they have two decide on the ultimate setup of the car after
:28:46. > :28:49.this, going into qualifying, and then they are not allowed to change
:28:50. > :28:53.it. They are still trying different things on those two cars to find
:28:54. > :28:58.exactly what they want to run. They were looking at that yesterday and
:28:59. > :29:02.Raikkonen ran the rear wing as opposed to the front wing. They were
:29:03. > :29:06.back and forward and Alonso was predominantly staying on the higher
:29:07. > :29:09.downforce package. They are looking at it for today, first practice
:29:10. > :29:22.three. The brake ducts are a big factor. We
:29:23. > :29:25.know Ferrari is not one of the quickest on the straights. Red Bull
:29:26. > :29:35.are in a similar situation, they are trying to thin it out. Everyone is
:29:36. > :29:42.trying to find a balance. A nice bit of blue sky above us. Hopefully we
:29:43. > :29:47.will see a bit more action on track. Only three drivers have actually set
:29:48. > :29:53.some lap time but all of them have been out for installation laps.
:29:54. > :30:00.Bianchi currently fastest than his team-mate. Thanks for some of your
:30:01. > :30:05.comments coming in. Peter asks the good old question, if all the cars
:30:06. > :30:08.were equal, who do you think would be quickest? That is always the big
:30:09. > :30:12.question, because the cars are not all equal and that is part of the
:30:13. > :30:16.fun of Formula One, seeing which combination comes out on top. I
:30:17. > :30:20.think probably most people would consider, for pure speed and
:30:21. > :30:23.performance over a Grands Prix, you have got several drivers up there
:30:24. > :30:27.that are fairly similar sort of performance level, the likes of
:30:28. > :30:33.Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, and you have to
:30:34. > :30:36.start including Daniel Ricciardo in that group with the performance he
:30:37. > :30:37.has put in this year so far. But we never quite know because they are
:30:38. > :30:52.not in the same equipment. Lotus have got to look ahead now, it
:30:53. > :31:01.has been a horrible season for them. I think they were looking at 2015
:31:02. > :31:04.after Melbourne. They had dreadful reliability at the beginning of the
:31:05. > :31:11.year, one of the worst teams in terms of reliability so far. And
:31:12. > :31:16.performance, Malaysia was one of their highlights when Grosjean got
:31:17. > :31:21.into the points and he had a big smile on his face but that was a
:31:22. > :31:25.long time ago. And he was regularly on the podium last year and was a
:31:26. > :31:31.main challenger to Sebastian Vettel towards the end of the season. He
:31:32. > :31:36.has kept his head very well in a difficult circumstance. Maldonado
:31:37. > :31:42.went from Williams to Lotus thinking it was the right move for his
:31:43. > :31:47.career. But Williams have gone towards the front of the grid and
:31:48. > :31:52.Lotus towards the back. Sergio Perez getting ready to come out for Force
:31:53. > :31:56.India. Still 33 minutes to go. Qualifying coming up later, we will
:31:57. > :32:03.see more action then because there is a time limit in terms of when
:32:04. > :32:10.they have to set a lap time in each of those qualifying sessions. That
:32:11. > :32:14.is on BBC1 at 12:10pm. We had a long interview with Felipe Massa and we
:32:15. > :32:21.will be speaking to Max Verstappen who will be joining Formula One next
:32:22. > :32:25.year but is already on the scene. He will be doing some Friday morning
:32:26. > :32:29.test sessions this year and so even as a 16-year-old, he will get his
:32:30. > :32:34.hands on a Formula One car. We hope you can join us later for that as we
:32:35. > :32:40.are waiting for the track conditions to improve a little bit more. You
:32:41. > :32:45.can see the dry line beginning to develop. It just needs a few cars
:32:46. > :32:50.out there now and it will be in good shape. But who will be first to go
:32:51. > :32:56.out and dry it out for the rest? It is usually a Marussia or a Caterham
:32:57. > :33:04.or a Lotus who need the track mileage and diet less concerned with
:33:05. > :33:07.the negative impact towards qualifying -- and are less
:33:08. > :33:12.concerned. It is still pretty wet going into La Source but that will
:33:13. > :33:17.not be too much of an issue and most people will be going out in the next
:33:18. > :33:25.five, seven minutes. Down at Red Bull, Jenny, it was a tough day for
:33:26. > :33:30.Sebastian Vettel. Track conditions are not helping because he cannot
:33:31. > :33:35.get many laps in. This must be even more frustrating for the four-time
:33:36. > :33:41.world champion. This time last year he started a run of nine wins in a
:33:42. > :33:47.row. I spoke to him yesterday evening, ask him how he was, he said
:33:48. > :33:59.he was fine, but actually not that great. With the problem yesterday,
:34:00. > :34:07.he used a fifth power unit. He has had to go back to one of the fourth
:34:08. > :34:12.units today. Adrian Newey said they would have to take a penalty not in
:34:13. > :34:21.this race but either at the next race or one of the following ones. A
:34:22. > :34:27.very difficult start to the second half of the season for Sebastian
:34:28. > :34:35.Vettel with just 11 laps under his belt yesterday. The team are trying
:34:36. > :34:40.to dry out the pit box, getting rid of the puddles and standing water.
:34:41. > :34:46.Daniel Ricciardo had a better day yesterday, he is having a look at
:34:47. > :34:51.the images coming in, talking to the engineers about what he can expect.
:34:52. > :34:55.He lost a bit of time yesterday, I had a problem with the front right
:34:56. > :35:02.break. They were trying something out, to try to reduce some of the
:35:03. > :35:06.weight. They had to put in a different brake disc. A bit of work
:35:07. > :35:11.to do on that element of the car but he looks pretty relaxed and focused
:35:12. > :35:14.and is trying to soak up all the information from the other cars that
:35:15. > :35:20.are starting to head out onto the circuit. Heading out now is Esteban
:35:21. > :35:26.Gutierrez and here we are, on board with the Mexican. Let's have a look
:35:27. > :35:32.at track conditions as he comes up to Les Combes. A few little damp
:35:33. > :35:37.patches online. The problem is that you don't have a lot of heat
:35:38. > :35:43.build-up into them so you have to get load into them to generate
:35:44. > :35:47.temperature otherwise they are very slippery. When you go onto the damp
:35:48. > :35:53.patches, it is quite a narrow line and you can easily lose temperature.
:35:54. > :35:59.Remember that thermal imaging camera we sought from Alonso when his tyres
:36:00. > :36:09.had no temperature in them whatsoever -- we saw. He is on the
:36:10. > :36:12.harder of the two compounds. We have a soft tyre available this weekend.
:36:13. > :36:17.He had a pretty nasty incident yesterday and was a bit spooked by
:36:18. > :36:18.He had a pretty nasty incident the car swapping ends on him at 195
:36:19. > :36:30.mph. The rear wheels seemed to the car swapping ends on him at 195
:36:31. > :36:34.up on him. It was like a handbrake coming on
:36:35. > :36:34.up on him. It was like a handbrake bit spooked. It was a very fast
:36:35. > :36:42.corner and he was bit spooked. It was a very fast
:36:43. > :36:48.huge run-off area. It will take a couple of laps to get the competence
:36:49. > :36:58.back but you dismiss these things -- confidence. If it is a driver error,
:36:59. > :37:04.you analyse it, otherwise you just make sure it does not happen again.
:37:05. > :37:11.He gets onto the wet and goes into deep, ends up on the damp part but
:37:12. > :37:14.he will hopefully complete a flying lap which should give us a time
:37:15. > :37:23.comparison. Down towards Eau Rouge and read along. -- radial on --
:37:24. > :37:34.radial on. Still kicking up some spray. There
:37:35. > :37:42.is still some spray but with 27 minutes to go, they will have to try
:37:43. > :37:48.and get out there pretty soon. The circuit will evolve very quickly
:37:49. > :37:53.now. He is getting all the cameras pointing at him because he is the
:37:54. > :37:57.only car on track. For those of you asking whether Eddie Jordan is
:37:58. > :38:05.around today, he will be joining us for qualifying later. Ryan Walsh
:38:06. > :38:10.said he was missed with his mad choice of clothes and what he said!
:38:11. > :38:19.He will be around later. A couple more comics coming in, Ali Carpenter
:38:20. > :38:25.asks if we can expect strategy to decide the race. The gap yesterday
:38:26. > :38:30.was about 1.8 seconds on a single lap between the medium tyre and the
:38:31. > :38:33.option tyre but it is a longer lap. It is the longest in Formula One
:38:34. > :38:36.option tyre but it is a longer lap. the moment which explains a bit of
:38:37. > :38:41.the difference but it is a big difference between the tyres. Both
:38:42. > :38:49.tyres seems to hold up reasonably well. Despite the soft tyre being
:38:50. > :38:55.quicker, it looks like they could do ten laps on it. I think so, if it
:38:56. > :39:03.does not rain and it gets some residual grip into the track, it is
:39:04. > :39:10.not necessarily a very soft tyre, it is actually quite hard, it can take
:39:11. > :39:14.a lot of the durability. This circuit has long corners so the left
:39:15. > :39:20.front usually takes a hit. After that it is the rear and traction.
:39:21. > :39:29.But yes, the long runs suggested it would be a two-stop race. There is
:39:30. > :39:33.Andre Lotterer at the wheel of the Caterham. Kamui Kobayashi is still
:39:34. > :39:35.part of the team, we are told, and there is a chance we will see him
:39:36. > :39:43.later in the year. We don't know for later in the year. We don't know for
:39:44. > :39:49.sure yet. Caterham seem to be doing it race by race but there is every
:39:50. > :39:55.possibility he will be back. RADIO: It is quite reasonable, this is a
:39:56. > :40:04.level at which we would start pushing. The evolution
:40:05. > :40:08.Gutierrez showing a bit of performance to everybody
:40:09. > :40:15.Gutierrez showing a bit of fastest overall. They were doing lap
:40:16. > :40:21.times around one minute 50, one minute 49 in practice using the
:40:22. > :40:28.softer tyre so only ten seconds away from a full dry time. He is quicker
:40:29. > :40:39.on this lap. He has just got to find the level of grip on the fast
:40:40. > :40:48.corners. If you have less grip, there can be an almighty accident.
:40:49. > :40:54.Each lap will get quicker. But it is seven kilometres, the longest lap of
:40:55. > :41:01.the season. Gutierrez goes fastest. We are about five seconds away from
:41:02. > :41:05.a proper dry lap. We are seeing a bit more action with 24 minutes left
:41:06. > :41:11.in this final practice session heading in to qualifying. A question
:41:12. > :41:17.from Andy, what is the point of drying the pit box during practice?
:41:18. > :41:26.We have seemed team doing it in practice, why do they do that? It is
:41:27. > :41:31.consistency, and routine, but if they do a practice start later, you
:41:32. > :41:37.put some rubber down. Also, if you come in for a pit stop and you on a
:41:38. > :41:42.slick fire and it is wet, it is very easy to lock-up and hit your
:41:43. > :41:47.mechanics. And the last thing we want to see is any kind of pit lane
:41:48. > :41:53.incident. Eriksson and Chilton are out, and you'll Kvyat going out, we
:41:54. > :42:02.are beginning to see a lot more action -- Marcus Ericsson. One more
:42:03. > :42:06.question, which circuit do we think would be most exciting if driven in
:42:07. > :42:13.the opposite direction? Have you done that before? The only one I
:42:14. > :42:19.know it is possible is knock Hill in Scotland which has a license to
:42:20. > :42:20.drive in both directions. Most circuit are
:42:21. > :42:26.drive in both directions. Most I have only ever done it in karting
:42:27. > :42:33.and it was a great way to learn the circuit. Spa would be one, I can't
:42:34. > :42:39.imagine what it would be like going down Eau Rouge! I have done it at
:42:40. > :42:46.Brands Hatch, it used to be a test as part of the racing School and
:42:47. > :42:53.going up Paddock was very weird. It has been done but not in Formula
:42:54. > :42:58.One! I don't think so. This circuit used to be part public road and part
:42:59. > :43:10.racing track, all of this section where we are watching Yankee, was
:43:11. > :43:15.public. -- watching Bianchi. Now it is all a purpose built circuit so
:43:16. > :43:21.the tarmac consistency is exactly the same. The drying up is
:43:22. > :43:25.reasonably similar. That was an issue a few years ago you had
:43:26. > :43:31.different surfaces for public roads as opposed to racing track. The
:43:32. > :43:36.times are beginning to come down, we are looking at sector times, it is a
:43:37. > :43:42.long lap so it takes them almost two minutes to get round. Keeping an eye
:43:43. > :43:50.on Jules Bianchi who was pretty effective yesterday. He was 19th
:43:51. > :43:55.quickest in first practice, 16th quickest and faster than both the
:43:56. > :44:02.Caterham cars and also faster than Gutierrez in the Sauber. I think
:44:03. > :44:17.Morrissey feel that Sauber have made a step forward -- Marussia. Sauber
:44:18. > :44:24.have made a bit of progress. Yes, they feel is that team, it is not
:44:25. > :44:28.just due to the and ink of the system, but it is clear that since
:44:29. > :44:34.then, especially Adrian Sutil has been able to jump up in Q2. Before
:44:35. > :44:41.that, they were both struggling to get out of the first part of
:44:42. > :44:45.qualifying. Around here, I am sure Marussia aren't praying for rain
:44:46. > :44:52.because that is when they are very good -- they are praying. Last year
:44:53. > :44:56.both drivers got into the second part of qualifying here and we have
:44:57. > :45:01.seen that this year as well. They were very smart at Silverstone as
:45:02. > :45:09.well. They have done a fantastic job of choosing tyres. Romain
:45:10. > :45:14.well. They have done a fantastic job sector. Still about a second away
:45:15. > :45:19.from what we saw yesterday in the dry. Riding on
:45:20. > :45:22.from what we saw yesterday in the Massa, a former winner here who has
:45:23. > :45:32.had a very consistent run of results here in the past.
:45:33. > :45:40.of results here. He has always been a solid points finisher. Sixth gear
:45:41. > :45:45.through there and changing up into seventh before the exit. This is a
:45:46. > :45:51.building lap, finding out what the grip level is as he comes into the
:45:52. > :45:56.left and the right and then towards Stavelot, this right-hander. It is
:45:57. > :46:04.easy to go too wide and lock-up the brakes. We have seen a lot of people
:46:05. > :46:09.doing that. He is up on time by 1.2 seconds on the current fastest,
:46:10. > :46:14.which was set by Esteban Gutierrez. Behind him, Kvyat is going even
:46:15. > :46:19.faster in the middle sector, as the track continues to dry up. We are
:46:20. > :46:23.going to see improvements in every lap now. If this were qualifying,
:46:24. > :46:32.you would want to time your fastest lap to be
:46:33. > :46:35.got fastest. Matter is slightly slower than Kvyat, another
:46:36. > :46:38.impressive performance from the Russian in the Toro Rosso. Now 20
:46:39. > :46:42.years old but again showing that you Russian in the Toro Rosso. Now 20
:46:43. > :46:47.can make the step up from Formula Three
:46:48. > :46:52.can make the step up from Formula some impressive results. Nice slow
:46:53. > :46:53.can make the step up from Formula Force India, coming through the Bus
:46:54. > :46:58.Stop, which used to be Force India, coming through the Bus
:46:59. > :47:00.and is now a different set of corners. Quite a lot of
:47:01. > :47:05.and is now a different set of track now, in fact all 22 are on the
:47:06. > :47:11.circuit, nobody currently in the pit lane. Some beautiful shots of the
:47:12. > :47:16.vortices coming off the cars, the wing, and that is what these cool
:47:17. > :47:21.and damp conditions, the air temperature still only 12 Celsius
:47:22. > :47:31.and the track is only 16, so you get that heavy atmosphere, very good for
:47:32. > :47:38.the downforce. Erickson and Lotterer have gone out on the soft tyre, we
:47:39. > :47:42.can see if there is any advantage. They can afford to use a couple of
:47:43. > :47:45.sets extra because the chances are they are not going to get into the
:47:46. > :47:52.second part of qualifying. Therefore they have got that. Repairing for
:47:53. > :47:55.qualifying with 20 minutes to go is extremely important, especially for
:47:56. > :47:59.Lotterer, because the first time he ever used a soft tyre was yesterday
:48:00. > :48:03.afternoon and he said he did not feel like you got anywhere
:48:04. > :48:05.afternoon and he said he did not maximum potential out of it because
:48:06. > :48:13.he just did not know what the grip level would be. We have been take
:48:14. > :48:20.talking about whether they have been taking Raidillon and Eau Rouge flat
:48:21. > :48:22.out. Nico Rosberg was saying on a heavy fuel load towards the end of
:48:23. > :48:27.the stint when the tyres heavy fuel load towards the end of
:48:28. > :48:31.he could not do it flat out. Andre Lotterer was saying he could not do
:48:32. > :48:35.it flat out yesterday but probably good in qualifying? He said he
:48:36. > :48:40.wanted to build up to that, he wasn't willing to risk its too early
:48:41. > :48:46.on in his Formula One career. I think in qualifying it will be
:48:47. > :48:50.pretty much flat out in the race. The car will bottom out too much and
:48:51. > :48:57.you will hit the planks. There is that. The consistency of it. I would
:48:58. > :49:07.expect that some of the main themes at the front will be able to take it
:49:08. > :49:18.flat towards the end of the race. We are riding with Nico Hulkenberg.
:49:19. > :49:28.That looks clean. That is about power delivery. The revs drop really
:49:29. > :49:40.low, and the torque from this, they can drop the revs pretty low.
:49:41. > :49:48.Raikkonen currently second fastest, Nico Hulkenberg is third. Matter is
:49:49. > :49:53.a couple of seconds down -- a couple of tenths of a second down. He is
:49:54. > :50:00.fourth fastest, a second down in fact, he lost a bit more on that
:50:01. > :50:05.final sector perhaps, or it was the middle sector where he lost most of
:50:06. > :50:13.it. Bottas has basically equalled the first practice session yesterday
:50:14. > :50:17.morning, so the track is in pretty good condition even though it has
:50:18. > :50:20.still got the damp patches. Riding on board with Rosberg and he is
:50:21. > :50:25.going well at the moment, fastest of anyone in the middle sector. He is
:50:26. > :50:30.up on the time that the Williams of Bottas has set by just a view
:50:31. > :50:37.thousands of a second. Let's watch as he comes through Blanchimont flat
:50:38. > :50:41.out. Heading hard into the brakes here for the right-hander, dropping
:50:42. > :50:49.into second gear. That is pretty nice. He got over the kerb. There is
:50:50. > :50:54.a bit of a drop-off of camber as he goes second. Bottas's time has been
:50:55. > :50:58.pretty good, getting a nice clean lap, as he comes round to finish off
:50:59. > :51:05.the next following lap, see if this one is any quicker. It is quicker,
:51:06. > :51:09.1.51.5. He is impressive in these changeable conditions. We have seen
:51:10. > :51:19.this from Valtteri Bottas, like last year in Canada. On board with
:51:20. > :51:23.Alonso, he is going well at this point as well, up on the general
:51:24. > :51:28.times and fastest through the first sector. Alonso has a good feel for
:51:29. > :51:36.where he needs to be in these conditions. The thing about this
:51:37. > :51:40.part is that it is bumpy there. You have to be careful with how you
:51:41. > :51:45.apply the brake pressure so that you do not instantly lock-up the front
:51:46. > :51:50.wheels. Then the important part is getting out quickly over the line.
:51:51. > :51:55.The Ferrari on top now by three tenths of a second over Valtteri
:51:56. > :51:58.Bottas. Ferrari are looking in reasonable shape here, particularly
:51:59. > :52:05.if we get some slightly changeable conditions. Kevin Magnussen slides
:52:06. > :52:09.his way through the left-hander. It was the straight after that where
:52:10. > :52:14.Pastor Maldonado went off yesterday. The kerb will dry up but behind the
:52:15. > :52:20.kerb you have got green Astroturf which holds the water, and that is
:52:21. > :52:29.what caught Sebastian Vettel out in Hungary before the break. He managed
:52:30. > :52:34.to escape injury. Magnussen uses Hungary before the break. He managed
:52:35. > :52:43.quite a lot of curb their as well. Now a -- the run back towards the
:52:44. > :52:48.pit area. In the meantime Alonso has got even quicker in the first sector
:52:49. > :52:57.of the lap. A bit of air flow off the front wing due moisture of the
:52:58. > :53:04.air here this morning. 16 degrees at temperature. It is still pretty
:53:05. > :53:12.chilly. Behind him, Sergio Perez just crossing the line as well, he
:53:13. > :53:25.is 12 fastest in the Force India. Daniel Ricciardo currently in sixth
:53:26. > :53:32.place. Vettel three tenths quicker sector one. You are quicker than
:53:33. > :53:36.him, sector to. Vettel two tenths of a second quicker in sector three. It
:53:37. > :53:41.was a bit more downforce related than anything else, because sector
:53:42. > :53:56.one and sector three are predominantly straight based, and
:53:57. > :54:01.sector two is predominantly corners. He picked up some of that in that
:54:02. > :54:04.first sector, he was definitely quickest. He found some time in
:54:05. > :54:11.those areas where he had been told that Vettel was faster. Let's look
:54:12. > :54:16.at the replay. He used a lot of road. He did that a lot yesterday.
:54:17. > :54:23.He had all four wheels over there yesterday only few occasions. Maybe
:54:24. > :54:29.it is a planned line from him. This was him coming through Raidillon. It
:54:30. > :54:33.is not just a natural sideways load. A wisp of hair off the rear
:54:34. > :54:46.the oil suffers vertical G-loadings wing flap. -- a lateral
:54:47. > :54:51.the oil suffers vertical G-loadings here at Spa. It is not just being
:54:52. > :54:58.thrown around sideways, it is being thrown up and down as well. We are
:54:59. > :55:01.on board with Lewis, as he gives it an harmful of opposite lock there.
:55:02. > :55:09.You can bet that Lewis will be attacking for an even quicker lap.
:55:10. > :55:13.You can tell he is absolutely on it, looking really confident this
:55:14. > :55:19.weekend. He is, he has got the bit between his teeth. Was Berg was
:55:20. > :55:29.basically one second off the fastest yesterday, as Lewis goes in a bit
:55:30. > :55:35.deep and gets a good line. He beat him by 1000th of a second! And he
:55:36. > :55:49.had quite a bit of wheel spin coming out of that last corner. Impressive
:55:50. > :55:53.lap. It was a neat lap. Nicky Lauder -- Niki Lauda obviously like the
:55:54. > :55:58.fact that he can go into the debrief room and say that. Tell us about the
:55:59. > :56:04.tyre selection at the moment. Most have been running the medium the
:56:05. > :56:07.soft tyre is a higher working range tyre.
:56:08. > :56:14.It is much more stable to be out on the medium tyre. I see that Kimi
:56:15. > :56:17.Raikkonen has just gone out on the soft tyres, so it will be
:56:18. > :56:19.interesting to see what lap times he does. Having spoken to Pirelli just
:56:20. > :56:28.a moment ago, they were saying between the tyres on the front
:56:29. > :56:32.running cars. That is massive, we don't see that anywhere else on
:56:33. > :56:37.running cars. That is massive, we calendar. That will bring us down to
:56:38. > :56:43.the 1.48s, if they bolt on a set of the soft tyres, which we are
:56:44. > :56:51.expecting them to do. We normally see a qualifying simulation at this
:56:52. > :56:55.point with eight minutes to go. A problem means he cannot get out,
:56:56. > :57:02.Nico Rosberg. That orange. Is there on one side but on the other it has
:57:03. > :57:06.been sucked into the brake duct. They are trying to find a way of
:57:07. > :57:10.getting it out. One of the mechanics has put his hand in there to try to
:57:11. > :57:17.grab it. They have had a problem trying to get it out. That is
:57:18. > :57:20.covering a blanking plate to build extra temperature into the brakes,
:57:21. > :57:27.and therefore they have different sizes of those depending on what
:57:28. > :57:33.they require. They need to get that out, clearly. The dot is so that the
:57:34. > :57:36.mechanics and engineers can actually visually spot extremely quickly
:57:37. > :57:44.which one is on the car, so there can be no questions or no mistakes.
:57:45. > :57:46.which one is on the car, so there We have got our first frontrunning
:57:47. > :57:52.which one is on the car, so there car on the soft tyre now and it is
:57:53. > :57:58.Kimi Raikkonen. 31.1 is the best front sector we have seen so far.
:57:59. > :58:06.Raikkonen, 31.3. So not gaining much, but the gain off a soft tyre
:58:07. > :58:13.is not going to come in sector one around Spa, it will come here,
:58:14. > :58:15.sector two. You are right, sector two, keeping the front grip to allow
:58:16. > :58:18.you to carry the momentum two, keeping the front grip to allow
:58:19. > :58:24.them at the second part of it is one of the important ones. And here,
:58:25. > :58:30.into the right and left of the chicane. A quick reaction and then
:58:31. > :58:35.you can get back onto the throttle. He now comes through the last two
:58:36. > :58:41.right-handers, and he is up by two tenths of a second. You would expect
:58:42. > :58:50.more than that as he is on the super soft tyres. He has the fastest time
:58:51. > :58:54.in the middle sector. He is fastest but we have to remember that Ferrari
:58:55. > :58:59.were nearly one second off Mercedes yesterday. From that point of view,
:59:00. > :59:04.you have to take that as an offset as well. That is a good point, the
:59:05. > :59:12.pace being set here by Mercedes as well. 1.49.8, but we would expect
:59:13. > :59:19.Mercedes with a set of soft tyres to do a low 1.48. Yesterday Fernando
:59:20. > :59:25.Alonso did a 1.49.9. These are a touch quicker than Alonso's times
:59:26. > :59:30.yesterday. The track is not ideal now but it is fully dry. Raikkonen
:59:31. > :59:34.from Hamilton and Rosberg. Who else is going out on the soft tyres? Well
:59:35. > :59:39.in fact all of the teams have switched to the soft tyres, so
:59:40. > :59:44.everyone is now putting in a qualifying simulation. A team I
:59:45. > :59:48.would expect to have done a bit better around here, they are having
:59:49. > :59:53.a big push towards the end of the season, that is McLaren. At the
:59:54. > :59:58.moment Magnussen is 11th, 2.87 seconds behind Raikkonen and 2.6
:59:59. > :00:06.behind Lewis Hamilton on the same tyres. That is a much bigger deficit
:00:07. > :00:11.than we saw yesterday. I would have said a disappointing time from Massa
:00:12. > :00:17.yesterday. He is on the soft tyre. Riding herewith Jenson Button.
:00:18. > :00:21.Through that very fast double left-hander, and he has traffic
:00:22. > :00:28.ahead of him as well which is not ideal.
:00:29. > :00:38.He is coming up towards the end of the second sector.
:00:39. > :00:49.Slightly down on the overall fastest at the moment, not as quick as
:00:50. > :00:54.Raikkonen. Flat out in eight gear, the speed building up before he gets
:00:55. > :01:05.on his brakes. But this is not going to be a lap that will see him in the
:01:06. > :01:09.48s. 1.50.2. He is quicker than Massa which is a bit of a surprise
:01:10. > :01:13.because we thought Williams would be in good shape to be best of the rest
:01:14. > :01:20.after the Mercedes. What about Pastor Maldonado? Middle of
:01:21. > :01:25.Raidillon, top of Eau Rouge, a bit of a correction. Not quite as
:01:26. > :01:32.dramatic as some, lovely slow motion! That blew smoke is the skid
:01:33. > :01:40.block underneath touching the ground, he caught it. Another one of
:01:41. > :01:44.the moment he has had over this weekend but I think he will have a
:01:45. > :01:55.few ochres the Lotus is clearly not good around here. Bottas is on a lap
:01:56. > :02:01.and so is Hamilton. He is second fastest with that time, 1.49.8 so he
:02:02. > :02:07.has not gained as much on the soft tyre, his first sector was not so
:02:08. > :02:11.good so maybe he made a mistake. Let's see what Bottas does, he is
:02:12. > :02:19.fastest with that, four tenths quicker. Alonso has gone quickest in
:02:20. > :02:27.first sector and Rosberg quickest in second sector. Force India may be
:02:28. > :02:30.struggling for qualifying pace. We have seen that a few times this
:02:31. > :02:36.year, they are stronger in race pace. Hulkenberg a touch slower than
:02:37. > :02:41.his team-mate. I spoke to Bob Fearnley last night and they said
:02:42. > :02:47.they can hope to be somewhere near in qualifying. They looked very good
:02:48. > :02:53.yesterday afternoon. They have got to be in it to win it and they have
:02:54. > :02:58.been so far behind in qualifying, dropping off in performance terms
:02:59. > :03:03.relative to the opposition. Vettel went across the line in ninth place
:03:04. > :03:12.and we saw Rosberg come through but no quicker than Bottas. Alonso is
:03:13. > :03:16.fifth fastest. Fastest in the first and third sectors, the areas where
:03:17. > :03:19.you want straight line speed. Let's remember that the Rory have been
:03:20. > :03:26.going between a medium downforce and remember that the Rory have been
:03:27. > :03:32.a higher armed force level. We don't see exactly which one they are on
:03:33. > :03:41.with Alonso. Slightly slower than Raikkonen by a fraction. This is a
:03:42. > :03:46.track that Kimi has always gone brilliantly at and it has not always
:03:47. > :03:51.been that great for Alonso. But let's wait and see, we are not into
:03:52. > :03:56.qualifying yet, this is practice and they will save up their best for Q3.
:03:57. > :04:03.Giedo van der Garde, the development driver for Sauber them. Quite a big
:04:04. > :04:10.gap between Massa in seventh and Grosjean in 14th place, a whole
:04:11. > :04:11.second between them. The two Lotus cars are evenly matched at the
:04:12. > :04:19.moment. This suggests, with the cars are evenly matched at the
:04:20. > :04:24.between Jenson Button in six down to Hulkenberg in 12th, that battle to
:04:25. > :04:32.get into the last part of qualifying will be pretty tightly contested. It
:04:33. > :04:37.always is. Bianchi is the fastest of the Caterham and Marussia teams.
:04:38. > :04:41.Daniil Kvyat has not quite completed a lap on the soft tyre, Marcus
:04:42. > :04:52.Ericsson and Lotterer ringing up the rear. -- bringing up. They are now
:04:53. > :05:01.on another lap so we will see if that changes. Jenson Button was on
:05:02. > :05:08.pole here in 2012 and went on to take an accomplished victory. No
:05:09. > :05:12.change in position. Lotterer is quicker than Marcus Ericsson in the
:05:13. > :05:18.first sector interestingly so that will be fascinating to see how he
:05:19. > :05:25.does. Ricciardo goes second, he pops up, that is impressive from Daniel
:05:26. > :05:27.Ricciardo. Kvyat goes seventh, Vergne is tenths at the moment and
:05:28. > :05:35.coming across the line now. Vergne is tenths at the moment and
:05:36. > :05:44.have got held up but a good lap by Daniel Ricciardo, 1.49.7, splitting
:05:45. > :05:52.the Mercedes powered cars of Tass and Rosberg. -- Bottas. Raikkonen
:05:53. > :05:59.has been sent to the end of the pits but it is too late. It looks like
:06:00. > :06:05.they miscalculated on when the chequered flag was coming out. I
:06:06. > :06:10.have to say, the time from Daniel Ricciardo is pretty impressive. I
:06:11. > :06:15.agree that I don't think we have seen everything from quite a few of
:06:16. > :06:18.the runners but especially from the Mercedes, they have quite a bit of
:06:19. > :06:24.fuel on board and they know they have an advantage around here and
:06:25. > :06:29.they will pull it out in qualifying. Ricciardo was extremely good
:06:30. > :06:31.yesterday. If they have a balance on the Red Bull and they can qualify
:06:32. > :06:38.like this, they could be looking good. Vettel has had a tough time,
:06:39. > :06:43.he has done very few laps and not helped by the weather, ending this
:06:44. > :06:46.session in 13th position. Alonso is sixth quickest on his best
:06:47. > :06:50.session in 13th position. Alonso is bringing the car back
:06:51. > :06:54.session in 13th position. Alonso is Reasonably encouraging from Ferrari,
:06:55. > :06:59.especially with Raikkonen in the mix. As we have seen in recent
:07:00. > :07:05.races, it is Mercedes likely mix. As we have seen in recent
:07:06. > :07:10.upfront even though they are not on this occasion but then Williams, Red
:07:11. > :07:15.upfront even though they are not on themselves to be best of the rest.
:07:16. > :07:22.At the tail end, it ended up with Marcus Ericsson quicker than
:07:23. > :07:24.Lotterer, they did not improve their times. Bianchi was the fastest of
:07:25. > :07:44.those in 152 -- one. Any other
:07:45. > :07:47.expecting? We saw a person if of it yesterday but Daniil Kvyat was
:07:48. > :07:56.seventh yesterday and again today -- we saw a sniff of it.
:07:57. > :08:04.It puts pressure on McLaren. Jenson Button is on that bubble of not
:08:05. > :08:11.making it into the final part of qualifying. He has been bouncing in
:08:12. > :08:15.and out of Q3 this year, it is not easy to get the McLaren cars into
:08:16. > :08:21.the top ten, they are always on the verge of it so we will see how they
:08:22. > :08:36.cope. Magnusson was 12 and Otte was eight. -- Button. Bottas continues
:08:37. > :08:41.to impress me, he gets more strength and confidence every time he gets in
:08:42. > :08:47.the car. He ends up fastest ahead of Ricciardo. Raikkonen in force for
:08:48. > :08:55.Ferrari and Hamilton fifth but we did not see his best. Kvyat was
:08:56. > :08:58.impressive. John Erickson showing that the Toro Rosso cars could be a
:08:59. > :09:12.threat -- Jean-Eric Vergne. Lotus do not seem to have made a
:09:13. > :09:25.great deal of progress. Andre Lotterer will go into his
:09:26. > :09:31.first ever Formula One qualifying session coming up here on a track he
:09:32. > :09:35.knows well and loves, he has raced here a couple of times already this
:09:36. > :09:40.year but still a wonderful opportunity for him. But Valtteri
:09:41. > :09:46.Bottas, he has impressed so much of this year, finishing on the podium
:09:47. > :09:50.on three occasions. He has set the pace this morning, beating the
:09:51. > :09:56.mighty Mercedes and indeed Daniel Ricciardo of Red Bull, the winner of
:09:57. > :10:00.the last race in Hungary. Will we see an upsetting of the order? I
:10:01. > :10:06.doubt it but we will see an exciting qualifying session.
:10:07. > :10:15.That is it, the final 16 minutes for the teams and drivers to get their
:10:16. > :10:18.cars in perfect condition. We did not see much running at the start as
:10:19. > :10:22.everybody waited for the track to dry out that we are expecting rain
:10:23. > :10:27.this afternoon so why don't they do get on with it? You need to save the
:10:28. > :10:36.tyres, you don't have enough tyres to risk burning them off and to be
:10:37. > :10:39.the one to find the standing water, sending you into the barriers. It
:10:40. > :10:45.has been a tough weekend for Sebastian Vettel who has had some
:10:46. > :10:49.technical problems. Daniel Ricciardo finished second. Tom Clarkson is
:10:50. > :10:52.with Christian Horner. You did not expect to go so well here, can you
:10:53. > :10:58.continue this performance this afternoon? It is only Saturday
:10:59. > :11:02.morning. It was a good lap at the end but the track was getting
:11:03. > :11:07.better, still a great lap by Daniel, and we are just trying a few
:11:08. > :11:12.different setup things. We will see what the weather does. Where were
:11:13. > :11:18.the differences between your drivers in that session? Just trying a few
:11:19. > :11:25.different things between the cars, Sebastien missed most of yesterday.
:11:26. > :11:30.No doubt they will converge a bit in qualifying. And your thoughts on the
:11:31. > :11:34.others around you, Bottas fastest, the position of the Mercedes?
:11:35. > :11:41.Anybody with a Mercedes engine will be quick here. The Williams is very
:11:42. > :11:47.fast on the straights, Mercedes will be competitive, it looks like Alonso
:11:48. > :11:53.and Raikkonen are quick as well. And the strategy for qualifying will be
:11:54. > :11:57.as much looking up as down? You have got to be on the track at the right
:11:58. > :12:01.time, it can be raining at the top of the hill a mile and a half away
:12:02. > :12:08.and be Bright here. You have got to be out there at the right time --
:12:09. > :12:13.and can be dry here. This is actually the first time in 15
:12:14. > :12:17.practice sessions that Mercedes have not been first and second. Have they
:12:18. > :12:24.show their hand or are they keeping secrets? It is more about their
:12:25. > :12:29.fuel, they can drain the fuel and the drivers can then commence their
:12:30. > :12:32.battle. It is closer than I was expecting but changeable conditions,
:12:33. > :12:37.others giving their drivers a chance to run low fuel, that is the
:12:38. > :12:41.strategy I would have gone for. You know that the track is not at peak
:12:42. > :12:46.performance because of the rain this morning. Williams think this is
:12:47. > :12:51.their best chance this season and Ferrari look good. Yes, Kimi has
:12:52. > :12:53.gone exceptionally well here in the past but this is
:12:54. > :13:00.gone exceptionally well here in the trouble-free session they have had.
:13:01. > :13:06.He is looking like the Kimi of old, so that will be interesting. Can
:13:07. > :13:11.anybody challenge Mercedes? I agree with Kristian, it will be somebody
:13:12. > :13:16.with Mercedes power -- with Christian Horner. But I would be
:13:17. > :13:23.surprised if Mercedes are not on pole. Ricciardo looked good. Yes,
:13:24. > :13:27.that strategy in free practice, they got some time in the middle sector
:13:28. > :13:32.but I believe they will lose too much in the first and last to do it
:13:33. > :13:36.but I could be wrong, that is what makes it exciting! We have come back
:13:37. > :13:41.after the summer and some things may have changed. Some things have not
:13:42. > :13:52.changed, you can see qualifying live on BBC1 at 12:10pm. And I will be
:13:53. > :14:04.back tonight on the BBC News Channel at 6:45pm. Thank you, David. 22
:14:05. > :14:05.drivers on the grid. Will it come down to just two of them,