The Belgian Grand Prix - Qualifying Formula 1

Belgian? You are thinking of wire rope. He is fictional! You could

have the muscles from Brussels. Extra points if you said Audrey

Hepburn. This time, don't think who, think

what. What has Belgium given us? Chocolate, waffles and beer, not add

but not great for the West line -- waistline. What has this got to do

with Formula One? Nothing! Except that Belgium also gave us the

internal with Formula One? Nothing! Except

that Belgium also combustion engine. Starting to see the link?

This country gave the world something even more precious, this

place, Spa, a racetrack like no other, history twisting and turning

as it cuts through the landscape. And the famous Eau Rouge, the

drivers taking it flat out. It is a real test, unforgiving, frightening

and mentally tough. Mix this with the most unpredictable weather and

the challenge is immense. The pictures don't do it justice, you

have to see it, feel it and live it. This country is so much more than

chips and mayonnaise. God bless Belgium! And here she is in all her

glory, one of the most iconic corners in Formula One, Eau Rouge,

and here they are in their splendour, David Coulthard and

welcome back to Eddie Jordan, we have missed you. I've missed you as

well! Talking about the greatest circuit in the world and the most

iconic track, no doubt, this is everybody's favourite. You couldn't

miss this one? I enjoy it, I have good memories and it was lucky to me

and also for David because he gave us a great win here in 1998 as a

result, causing the biggest crash in the history of Formula One! And he

took out Michael Schumacher as well. David is a legend in my book

here. You don't remember it that one, it was 99, not 98! No, you

don't member, it was 98! Safe to say that you had mixed results here,

winning in 99. What is it like coming up here? It is incredible,

they will be doing about 100 80 mph here. -- 180 mph. You are going over

the top of the hill and at this stage you think you are heading into

the trees. It only presents itself as you go over the top. It is one of

the corners on this track that make it really special for the drivers.

This qualifying session which will be affected by the weather which

looks a bit dreary and that played a huge factor three weeks ago in

Hungary which turned out to be one of the most spectacular weekend in

recent years, certainly not starting well for Lewis Hamilton when his car

cut fire -- caught fire in qualifying and he had it all to do

in the race. Away we go. Rosberg gets off the line, Bottas has made a

good start, Hamilton in the pits to start the race. Hamilton has gone

straight off. A big accident for Marcus Ericsson indicator. Everybody

will be behind the safety car -- for Marcus Ericsson in the Caterham.

This really does turn things around because this group will be at the

back of the queue, a complete turnaround. Rosberg is under

pressure from Alonso, he goes through and there is only one car

between Rosberg and Hamilton! That is Sergio Perez! The Red Bull, it is

Sebastian Vettel, but he has not hit anything! Lewis Hamilton trying to

make a move on Vergne, he took a wheel on the grass, he makes the

move! You have to let Nico passed on this lap. I think that is a tough

call, I am sorry, they are racing. This is the battle for the lead,

Fernando Alonso with Lewis Hamilton bearing down on him despite starting

from the pit lane. Ricciardo has gone round the outside to take

second place! A brilliant manoeuvre and he is chasing Fernando Alonso.

Daniel Ricciardo started in fourth place, he has run towards the first

corner and he is down the inside! And has got more grip and he holds

the apex. The title contenders going wheel-to-wheel, Hamilton defending.

Round the outside, this is where we saw Ricciardo but Hamilton squeezes

him, you are not coming through! Daniel Ricciardo wins the Hungarian

Grand Prix! Two victories this year, Canada and Hungary, second place to

Fernando Alonso, Hamilton holds on for the final podium slot ahead of

Rosberg. Incredibly, Hamilton's enthralling pit to podium escapade

allowed him to close the gap on Rosberg who leads the way by just 11

points now. Ricciardo is in third. Fourth belongs to the only man who

has scored points in every race this season, Fernando Alonso. Mercedes

have the Constructors' Championship firmly in their grasp. Williams

returned back into fourth place, seven points adrift of their desired

third spot. So, the weather has turned! A minute ago there were

about 150 people standing there but the heavens have opened in true Spa

style. Let's go back to that incredible weekend. David talked

openly about the team orders which dominated the newspapers. Where user

prized that Mercedes gave those orders having said they would not do

so -- were you surprised? There is no point in saying something and

doing the opposite as we get blown away! Maybe if this is the end of

the world! I am so happy to spend it with you then! Back to Hungary and

the team orders, I think it was very confusing. They are embarrassed.

Come this way! It fell apart! I will put my head under your umbrella if

we can share. Let's go in here! This is incredible. To finish this

conversation if it is possible... It is now hailing, yesterday we were

talking to Toto Wolff and he said that it was not the team orders he

thought was the problem but the language use, insinuating they would

do the same thing again. I am not sure how they delivered the language

but the big winner out of this is Lewis Hamilton who stood his ground.

He was given an instruction, there was no agreed strategy agreed

beforehand for moving over. They told him to, they have now clarified

that if the driver behind is on a different strategy, they will tell

the lead driver that the second driver is on a different strategy.

It is still down to the driver behind to get past. Lewis is the big

winner. I see that as another psychological blow to the Rosberg.

What a start to the show, it is hailing here. Let's catch up with

the news now. The World Championship battle

resumes this weekend with Nico Rosberg 11 points ahead of Lewis

Hamilton. The last race in Hungary ended in controversy after a row

over team orders but they claim it is behind them and the fight is on.

I spoke to the team a couple of days later. I have a great relationship

with Toto and Paddy so I can approach them and if I have any

issues, I raised it with them and they answer it. Otherwise, what can

I do to help them and what can they do to help me. We discussed it

internally and reviewed what happened and how to move forward.

Now it is behind us. Everything is calm? It is behind us. There is a

new Caterham driver. Kamui Kobayashi has been replaced by Andre Lotterer

who last drove a Formula One car when he tested for Jaguar in 2002.

At this stage, the deal is just for one race. It came through: Colours,

I raced for him in 2009 in a private Audi --: : Is -- Colin Kolles. Is it

just for one race? Yes. I feel more or less ready to do it. I am fully

active in Japan in super formula which is one of the fastest

categories after Formula One. In that sense I am kind of up-to-date.

There will be a new face at Toro Rosso next season after news that

Jean-Eric Vergne is to be replaced by Max Verstappen, son of former

driver Yost the star. He will be just 17 when he lines up on the grid

in Melbourne next March -- Jos Verstappen. I can't remember someone

in the last 15 years who went from go-kart directly in Formula Three

and was immediately competitive. For his age he is a very mature person.

We have plenty of time to prepare him the Melbourne next season so we

are really positive and I am sure he will immediately do well. Musical

chairs went into overdrive on Thursday when Max Chilton announced

he was giving up his seat at Mauricio Pochettino the good of the

team. Alexander Rossi was lined up to make his debut -- at Marussia. It

is still pouring down here, appalling weather and this is the

worst weather we have seen all weekend, typically as we go on air!

But we are going to have a delay here. Absolutely, this amount of

standing water would not be safe. Because of the elevation change, you

get rivers going across the track. And the bottom of the car can act

like a rudder. Charlie is well aware, the drivers will have no

desire to go out and practice their skiing skills! I wanted to walk down

the pit lane but we will leave it for a bit. Going back to that news,

Andre Lotterer coming in at Caterham. He has an incredible

reputation but what is that about? He is still a single seater driver

in Japan, racing for Audi, three-time champion, team-mates with

Allan McNish in that squad, competed in British Formula Three, he knows a

lot about this track from his previous sports car days and he

knows the management of the team. It is a bit of payback in trust and

friendship and quite frankly he is a very quick driver. He may not get a

chance to show it this weekend but that sort of talent deserves ago.

Interesting to watch. We saw the merry-go-round with tongues wagging

in the paddock. Eddie is with Graeme Lowdon and perhaps he can shed some

light. One of the great revelations of the season so far, what on earth

did you need to do, all of the confusion with changing drivers? It

is never ideal. It is not ideal for the fans because they'd like to know

which drivers are racing. But it is a fantastic sport, but also a big

business and there is a lot of interlocked contracts. Sometimes

these things happen, it is not the first time and I am sure not the

last in Formula One. We are looking for stability now and looking to see

if we can hold onto opposition in championship going forward.

what you did have. You have had remarkable success with both of your

drivers. Chilton and Bianchi have been phenomenal for you this year.

To bring in a rocky, most people out there don't quite get this. There is

a lock that looks difficult to understand about Formula One from

the outside. -- a lot. But a lot of these decisions are incredibly well

fought through and make a lot of logic. Often your hands are tied in

certain ways. I agree that it can look confusing from the outside, but

it makes perfect sense to everyone involved. These things happen and it

is important for us to focus on the race and move on. Moving an indeed.

These kind of conditions, do they play into your hands? You could pull

a big surprise here. You're currently ninth in the championship,

ahead of Sauber, and Caterham. You are doing incredibly well. Could you

capitalize you could pull a big surprise here. You're currently

ninth in the championship, ahead of Sauber, and Caterham. You are doing

incredibly well. Could you? You could pull a big surprise here.

You're currently ninth in the championship, ahead of Sauber, and

Caterham. You are doing incredibly well. Could you? You could pull a

big surprise here. You're currently ninth in the championship, ahead of

Sauber, and Caterham. You are doing incredibly well. Could you I know

you have been doing a lot of sailing recently it is the greatest team

game in the world and everyone wants to try to perform on the big stage.

When you have opportunities like this it is important to try and take

advantage of it. Our drivers have done a spectacular job whenever we

have had the opportunity to level the field a bit, we have grabbed it.

The drivers have done a great job with that. Hopefully we can look at

something like this and take something from it. The thing I would

point out is that it is the same for everyone, Red Bull, Ferrari,

McLaren, we are all presented with these conditions. That is the team

sport element of it. I know what it feels like, I have been in the same

position very often. Stability, please, that is what I would look

for. The complicated world of Formula One

and its contracts and finances. The weather has slowed down a little

bit, it is now just pouring with rain rather than any hailstones. The

situation is obviously complicated but it makes sense to people

involved. In terms of Macs this weekend, it is not great for his

concentration, is it? It is not. He has a bigger thing to focus on,

which is finishing in front of Jules Bianchi, which he can't do if he is

not in the car. He has done a good job and he is a capable of young

driver. That is where his focus needs to be, not worrying what is

going on with contracts. There were several times when I did not know if

I was going to be in the car, with other drivers and managers sniffing

around trying to get your seat. The only thing that matters is the lap

time, the lap time in qualifying and the lap time in the race. You can't

allow anything else to distract you. You had to share the seat with Nigel

Mansell once? That is right. It was a bit destabilising. It is all part

and parcel of Formula One. If it were simple, everyone would be doing

it. As we heard earlier, Max Verstappen will be taking on from

Jean-Eric Vergne at Toro Rosso next year, making his debut at 17, the

youngest Formula One driver ever. We will see him in free practice in

Austin, and the question everyone is asking is how can he be ready?

Sometimes you are ready with 17 at Formula One, sometimes you are ready

at 29. Were you ready at 17? I was not ready at 17. I was not ready at

17, no. I wish him all the best, I hope he has good people around him

to help him manage it, because it will be tough. There is a lot to

learn in Formula One, it is another level to any other category. A lot

of people are asking if he is too young or not. What do you do? You

asked the question are you ready for Formula One? This is your

opportunity. You say yes whether you are ready or not. How do you know

that you are ready for Formula One when you have been driving cars for

less than a year? Formula Three is a really difficult class to start in.

I think I made a good transition. I made some mistakes but I learned

quickly and I won eight races so far. I just feel ready for it. If

someone said to you this time last year that we would be having a

discussion about you being a Formula One driver, would you have believed

them? I think I would be laughing out loud! But things happen fast. I

did not expect that I would end up so quickly in a racing car. I think

that things can happen quickly. The gritty on budget man, Jos

-- the gritty young Dutchman, Jos Verstappen! Your career mirrors how

your father got involved in Formula One, he almost became a Formula One

driver straight away from Formula Three. How important has his advice

been to you? Really important. We did everything together so far. He

made some mistakes in his F1 career and I think that will help me a lot

in my career. After his career he basically gave up his career to help

prepare me for Formula One really. Because that was always our dream

together. So I have two thank him a lot for that as well. The thing I

have to do from now on is the quick straightaway and be consistent and

don't make too many mistakes. Do you have any worries that if you don't

prove yourself from the beginning that you might be a flash in Formula

One and that is all? I mean, that can happen, but I'm not worried

about that because I know what I'm capable of. You have to relax

because if you start to worry about that already, it is not a good

thing. What a sensible young man and a sensible father as well, because

we have decided to be brave and not go outside, we are in the Toro Rosso

hospitality. It is cold and wet, so better to stay inside. You must be

so proud of Max and what you have achieved with him best to mark he is

young but I think he is very mature. Even in go-kart when he was

there and this year when he made the jump to Formula Three. If you see

how quickly he picks it up and how fast he is, straightaway, I think it

is possible. He said to me that you were the one stressing about these

contracts. He was waking up when his alarm went off and you were worrying

all-night! That should help him in the frenetic world of Formula One.

Yes, I was nervous. I was waking up at five in the morning and he would

be still asleep and that was an race weekend. But he knew what was going

on. We talk about everything and discuss everything and at the end of

the day we made a deal and it was very easy. OK, good, no problem. Why

Toro Rosso? I know Mercedes showed an interest. We were talking with

other people. I know Red Bulls showed an interest for a long time.

I feel really good that Max is at Toro Rosso. You have had a big

accident here in your career. What are we expecting this afternoon,

with the rain coming down? Not an easy place to get things right. It

is wet, so anything is possible. But it makes it very exciting. Maybe it

dries out at the end. It will be a very exciting qualifier. It is going

to be an exciting qualifier. Still raining, still pretty much the same.

What do you make of it? He is 16 now and clearly very talented. Probably

comparable with Kvyat, who has come in and done a good job. Would you

have signed a driver so young? A lot of things go on behind the scenes

that we are not privy to, whether it is financial, a contract obligation.

Red Bull have been sensational because this is where Vettel started

from, and he became four times world champion. I think he is too young, I

really do. I think he is missing out a lot on life and it could have

happened later. I would call into question Red Bull. What are they

doing with these drivers when they suddenly let them go at the age of

20, 21. We have seen what happened with Jaime Alguersuari. He was a

sensational young driver. I would ask the people at Toro Rosso and

indeed at Red Bull that there is something left that is available to

them at the age of 21, because that is too young to retire from this

sport. I guess only time will tell. I disagree with quite a lot of that

actually! If you are good enough, you are old enough. They have given

him an opportunity. As Jenson Button said during the weekend, if someone

gives you an opportunity... You are missing out on what? Sleeping on a

sofa in a student union or something? He's going to earn a

salary. All the drivers who come through the Toro Rosso system, they

leave not having made it, but with a good salary which sets them up for

whatever they want to do in life. I see it as giving them an

opportunity. If they don't deliver, UK condemn out.

-- you kick them out. Daniil Kvyat has been one of the stars this

year. Everyone said last year he is too young, what does he know? I am

sure Bernie will be happy because it has been creating huge headlines.

And Bernie has been creating his own headlines as well with his courtroom

drama, where he has been charged with bribery and if found guilty he

could be sent to prison. Were there times when you were

worried about the ramifications? It would be amazing for any man not to

consider having to go to prison. As it played on your mind? Is it

bothered me because I knew I was innocent. I guess most people, if

they had the threat of a ten year jail sentence hanging over them,

they would be scared, they would go to bed at night worrying about that

prospect. I'm not scared of anything to be honest with you. Even a ten

year jail sentence? I was never ever bothered about the ten year jail

sentence because I was sure it did -- would not happen. Why did you pay

up to settle? Why do due pay up to settle? There

is a system in place in Germany that allows you to do that. I had been

found innocent, I just had to pay. Tell me about the future of the

sport. In Sochi, let me ask you about that, some politicians have

suggested that Formula One should not be going there. What is your

take on the Russian Grand Prix in Sochi a few weeks away? We respect

the complaint. Do you understand those who are concerned about a race

in Sochi? I don't know what the race in Sochi has got to do with

anything. We don't get involved in politics. I don't know what the

problem is with people there. I asked somebody the other day if they

decided who shot that plane down. Nobody seems to know, do they? The

rest of this season, how do you think it is shaping up? It is an

exciting title race. The race has been good. A little bit quiet,

exciting title race. The race has been good. A little but good. That

is where Bernie is this weekend. Bernie being Bernie very much,

there. How can he possibly not know why people were upset about the

Russian race? He has a very difficult task. He has signed a

contract and it is with the FIA as well. They have an obligation to be

there and that is part of the criteria of the funding and the

financial aspects, so it is not a case of ducking in and ducking out

of races. Your own personal view is another aspect. Should we be there?

It is not for me to say. But we will be there. Is it good that Bernie is

back full-time controlling Formula One? Is it good for the sport? In

the short term, for sure. The court case has focused on the need for a

new Bernie, a new person to control the sport. I would believe that he

will look at it carefully and say look, succession is an important

aspect of what he has built, to find a really top successor for him to

bring it to the next level. He has brought it to a number leave a

level. In terms of the footprint, the platform that Formula One has

globally is remarkable and that is down to him. Now let's put it in

safe hands the next decade. It is still raining here, not quite as

heavily as earlier and a little bit brighter. I am the only one that is

wet out of the three of us! That is untrue, I am saturated! I was sent

all the way up to Marussia in the most appalling rain! Eddie has been

taking a look at the twists and turns in Formula One.

Where are we as we enter the second half of the season? We all knew that

Mercedes would take the fight to Red Bull. They have been supreme. Yes,

Red Bull one the other two but not with the expected driver. Four times

world champion Sebastian Vettel has been overshadowed by his new

team-mate Daniel Ricciardo. My fascination now is who will fill the

next four places. Ferrari continue to be a disappointment despite

promises, technical and personnel changes. The giant of F1 is in a

dogfight with Williams. We can only do what we have been doing all year

which is step-by-step to make the car quicker. We have generally crept

up towards the leaders. It will be a fight, Williams are strong. Over the

remainder of the season I hope we have the strength in depth to take

that place. Williams, at team that took a meagre five points last

season. Since then they have risen like a Phoenix from the ashes. How

Massa must be wishing the fight with his old team. It doesn't really

matter who is in the championship, we just want to beat them, whether

it is Ferrari or Red Bull or any other team, that is our target.

Force India and Nolan the be considered a small team. Two highly

respected drivers, a top engine and a very driveable car. Can they keep

the momentum going and finish in front of McLaren? With Williams and

Ferrari they are doing a good job but we are not too bad ourselves. We

have two incredibly fast drivers who are both very capable, scoring

strong results in each race. We also have McLaren, they are a worry

professional and strong outfit but we have our plan and we will not

change anything and we will fight to the end. Momentum, it seems McLaren

have lost it. From the great start in Australia to the bitter

disappointment now, a world champion driver, the best engine and still

they struggle. We have changed a lot in the engineering and management

structure but there is another change going on which is a change of

culture and in some ways a return to racing ways and also giving us a

platform for the next ten years. We are hell-bent on making it a

different organisation and there has been a lot of change. Ron is an

impatient man and Formula One will not wait for anybody, we have got to

get ourselves together quickly. So, eight races to go, all to play for,

points, positions, reputation and respect. I have been joined now by

Williams Deputy team principal fair Williams. The sun is coming out! --

Claire Williams. Rob Smedley was talking about your position and you

said openly that bird is where you want to be. Can we safely say that

is your goal? -- third place. Everybody would love to beat

Ferrari. We took their third position of them at Silverstone and

they took it back just before I'm great but we are only seven points

behind. -- just before Hungary. But there is no reason come with the

remaining races and our car, that we cannot look at challenging Red Bull.

That is a statement and a half. Do you see the next two races as

opportunities with fast tracks and you're reduced drag? Yes, this

weekend and Monza are big opportunities but our car has been

competitive in pretty much every track. Singapore could be a

challenge but the remaining races are great opportunities. We have got

to make sure both drivers finish in strong positions. This weekend,

yesterday and this morning, we saw Valtteri doing very well but have

you been running heavy fuel load? Could there be something special in

this qualifying, especially in this weather? I can't tell you about

before you will loads but we are looking forward to qualy. It has

dried out now and I hope it stays dry. A couple of seasons ago we

would have been desperate for rain in every olivine session but here we

hope it is dried -- every qualifying session.

You are rushing at this now, do you ever look back and think what an

incredible difference to last year? I think that every day! I pinch

myself, I can't believe it. Having grown up in this team, I have

experienced highs and lows. The seasons we have just had, to have

made this turnaround, we are not where we want to be, we want to win

races and championships but the turnaround we have effected in the

last 12 months has been staggering and I am so proud of everybody. It

has been an incredible season for both drivers. Felipe Massa has had

an incredible season and an incredible career really. He left

Ferrari last year and picked up this great contract and I wonder if he is

pleased he got his marching orders. Hamilton is back in it! Felipe Massa

is in intensive care tonight... Felipe Massa is the latest driver to

switch teams. When I decided to move to Williams, I was sure I was moving

to a team with good potential and possibility to be competitive again

and I am really happy. This year we are fighting with the big teams.

Massa is making a move, can he go round the outside? He has done it. I

hope we can fight in the future with Mercedes.

round the outside? He has done it. I hope we can fight What is the

biggest difference between Williams and Ferrari? The budget definitely

but apart from that it is no different, we have an incredible

company and incredible people. The team is working hard to make the

budget a little bit bigger which will help the team to become even

more on the top. I am sure we will get there. We have had 11 races, you

have had a pole position, so much, is that you have not had a podium

yet. Has it been frustrating? Yes, I used need some luck but I am sure it

will come, -- I just need some luck. But I am happy with how I am

driving. But the luck will come and we will do a much better second part

of the season. Sergio seems adamant it was not his fault still. He will

never learn. It is not as first-time heat causes problems. This accident

happens with young guys. You have been quite critical about younger

drivers, do you stand by the fact that some of these younger guys

don't understand the respect you need on a circuit? Yes, you can see

how they arrive from GP two, it is not really correct. You ask them not

to be aggressive, you need to follow the rules. Otherwise you are going

to get a penalty. They might say that it is always you involved in

these situations. I was never involved in these situations all my

career, just this season of a few times. You have had some big

accident this year. Surely there are so many hits you can take. I am

fine, no problem, 100% ready and the batteries recharged for the second

part of the season. And what about your family, how difficult is it for

them to see you in these situations? My son does not care! Daddy rolled

over! He has hit him! My wife, and my mum, they suffer ten times more

than anybody! It would not be a Spa weekend if we did not mention

contracts, will you be at Williams next year? Yes, no doubt. And I hope

we have an even more incredible second season. What would it mean to

finish third in the championship ahead of Ferrari who you are very

close to, but the fact that they did not want you is why you are here? It

is one of the famous teams in motorsport. If you can be in front

of them, that is an incredible result for Williams. If we do a

perfect job until the end, we can beat second but everything needs to

be perfect. -- we can be in second place. Felipe Massa talking to Lee

McKenzie. It is a rather steamy track, the sun has come out and the

heat is quite strong and the track looks to be drying quickly will stop

we are joined by Allan McNish. What conditions we are experiencing.

There were hailstones at one stage! It is all wet summer and it could be

getting to the stage where it is dry at the end of qualifying. What have

you been looking at in the break? How people have stacked up from the

beginning of the season until now. These are all of the teams relative

to Mercedes, fastest lap of the weekend per kilometre. About Monaco

there is a big separation. You can clearly see afterwards there have

been four teams rowing well, Red Bull, Williams, Ferrari and

obviously Mercedes. Red Bull have been there all the time,

consistently. And then a big drop-off in Monaco but after that

they were fastest and the main challenges. Ferrari are there or

thereabouts but not quite good enough. They are pretty close now? I

think this will be one of their strongest weekends of the year. But

through the rest of the season we will look at Red Bull and Williams

challenging Mercedes. And we have got some updates from some teams.

This is quite a different circuit, this and Monza are different to the

rest. One team has not been up to speed, McLaren. They came here with

a real wing, trying to reduce their drag. They have a sculpted main

plane. And they have been doing quite a lot of work, the old

blockers have been taken away, and also the little downforce wing. This

all increases the air flow. Ferrari, as you can see, they have a

difference on the front wing but also on the rear of the car as well,

going for a slightly lower drag and also in the centre. And Red Bull,

constantly evolving, look at their main claim, significantly smaller

and they have taken away the little wings at the back. All to get the

speed around this circuit. And pole position, who would you say? It will

be difficult because of the weather. I will go with Lewis Hamilton. No

surprise! Qualifying is coming up. Let's go to the pit lane. David and

Ben are in the commentary box and we are hoping it does not rain again!

COMMENTATOR: Magnificent, majestic, Spa-Francorchamps, a ribbon of

tarmac cutting a swathe through the Ardennes forest which challenges

every aspect of a racing driver. Qualifying will provide a rapid

wake-up call to any drivers still dealing with the after-effects of

the August break. Around 70% of the track is normally taken at full

throttle, perhaps a little bit less in the wet conditions. But even so,

engine and hybrid are crucial. The turns of the middle sector require a

well balanced chassis and fine judgement from the drivers. On only

one occasion this year has a car other than a Mercedes taken pole

position and that was in Austria when Felipe Massa took top spot for

Williams. Conditions here could open up opportunities for other teams. We

have got some blue sky above and the sun is out again. It is beginning to

dry off. You can see the steam rising through the trees of the

forest and it will be one of those sessions where judging conditions is

absolutely critical, as we get to the end of each qualifying segment.

Classic conditions here on a classic racetrack. Often when we have come

here we have had these unpredictable weather patterns and it can

sometimes play into the hands of the smaller teams, who are more prepared

to take the gamble of sending out a car early or late depending on what

they think might be the best situation. That was certainly quite

a downpour! Difficult to imagine, even if it doesn't rain again, that

we will see any dry action in this first part of qualifying. It is more

likely going to become come with an heir Tim Bridger of 9 degrees, more

likely to be through the majority of this session. I may be wrong, once

you get to all the cars going around the track. One of the things

affecting this is that we have not had a lot of residual heat here the

last few days, so it has not been penetrating into the tarmac. It has

been so cold here the last few days, a bit of a shocker actually when we

came back from the summer break. Just 11 points between Rosberg and

Hamilton. Ricciardo, looking at him getting in the car, he is third in

the championship courtesy of two stunning results, race victories he

has stolen away from Mercedes this year. Let's see what happens in

qualifying today. There has been quite a lot going on over the course

of the practice sessions. Sebastian Vettel particular missing out on a

number of laps. He had engine problems on Friday and because of

changeable conditions today he lost some of the opportunity to catch up

on that. A crash for this man's team-mate yesterday, Romain Grosjean

was fine but Pastor Maldonado big crash. He was fine but the car was

quite badly damaged. Esteban Gutierrez spun off at 190 mph,

thankfully away from the barrier. I know you have been investigating

what has been going on at Ferrari this weekend, Tom. They have the

same problem that everyone else who does not have a Mercedes engine

has, which is a lack of straight-line speed. Fernando

Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen's team-mate, is specific that he wants lower

downforce. The big question for him is how much can you take off and

keep it on the road during the qualifying session? Lower downforce

would give him better straight-line speed. That is his dilemma. It will

be interesting to see how it develops this session. We say -- you

say that we know tomorrow will be dry, do you have extra information

on that? That is a very good point! The weather today is coming from

Stavelot, towards the end of the lap. That is what the teams are

saying tomorrow, it will be a dry race. Wet qualifying and dry race,

that is normally a good mix-up. The Marussia cars did well. This can

sometimes throw up opportunities for teams that you would not normally

expect to be getting out of this first part of qualifying. The

downside of sitting there for over a minute in the pit lane is that you

lose the heat from the intermediate tyres and you go out with lower

track temperature, difficult to build the heat again. Ron Dennis

talking to Eric Boullier, who was brought in this year to run the

racing operation. They don't want to make mistakes. There was an error on

strategy in the race in Hungary last time when it came to wet and dry

conditions. Ron is very keen that the mistakes are not made. Andre

Lotterer is next out, head of Marcus Ericsson. Just to remind everybody,

Andre Lotterer is a sports car driver normally, he is a three times

winner of Le Mans. He is also a champion in Japanese single seater

racing. He is 32 years old, older than most people to make their

debut. We're riding on board with him and he is going into a fully wet

session. He is going into it in the full wet. I see that as an advantage

him. It may seem a bit strange, but he races single-seat in Japan in

some pretty monsoon conditions there a lot of the time. A bit like we saw

with Jordan and Suzuka. You can really get a driver that has

developed good skills in the wet. Despite the fact that he is driving

a car that he doesn't really know, in the rain as you know it is much

more seeds of the pants, rather than trying to exploit the last little

bit of high-speed performance when you have the high-speed tyres on. It

could be a good opportunity to him. Andre Lotterer has some 71 race

victories in his career. Except yourself and Sauber, they...

On the full lap. Valtteri Bottas here, a very cleared tread pattern

on the tyres. Jean-Eric Vergne is on the intermediate tyres and we saw

Andre Lotterer on the intermediate tyres will start Hamilton clearly

choosing them as well. How come we are seeing quite a difference in

decision-making as well here? Rather bizarrely, and I've never had a

proper answer on this, sometimes you can have a car like that and put the

wets on and you gain performance relative to the fastest car, and

otherwise you lose performance because of the effects of running a

full wet or intermediate. We may potentially see some rain activity

jewelled the end of Q1 -- towards the end of Q1. Most teams, having

had some free practice and things like that, we'll have built up a

picture of how this reacts to the different tread pattern and the

airflow, the difference you get between intermediate and wet, and it

is down to what you can make work. As long as you don't have standing

water, you want to be in that car with the tyres with the fewest kinks

and blocks. That is a scary place for the car to

be moving around. It looked like the back end of the car was moving

around on the water. We can use the words scary, but as you know it is a

question of focusing the mind. You learn from that for next time

around. Trees and leaves have been blown off the circuit. Kvyat looks

through the grip through Rivage. Too wide, that wasn't intentional! You

try and keep off the racing line because the rubber that the cards

have been using gets impregnated into that tarmac and that becomes

very slick when the rain is on top of the surface. You get a sheen

across the surface that you try and keep off there from wider lines on

entry. But at a certain point, you have to cross over to where the

racing line is, and that is when you throttle back slightly and tried to

control the car. They have a massive amount of torque. The way they

control that is to run a lower gear and keep the rpm lower. -- a higher

gear. Ricciardo is the fastest of anyone so far. Bottas had the

fastest time until Ricciardo went a fraction quicker a second ago. Still

plenty of time in Q1 and still this mix of cars using intermediates and

the full wet. Kvyat is on the intermediate tyre and Daniel

Ricciardo is on them as well. It may prove to be the better tyre.

2.14.966. We are 20 seconds or so away from a dry weather time.

Valtteri Bottas could well eclipse that time quickly. Fastest this

morning, crosses the line and goes fastest by a big margin. He was

three seconds quicker on that middle sector. Felipe Massa deciding to

bail out there. Bottas is just growing and growing in confidence.

Felipe Massa has been unlucky so far this season, getting involved in an

accident, but there was a slight desperation to his driving, which

tells us he is contracted for next year so that takes pressure off his

future. Keen to show that he has still got the speed alongside

Bottas, as Ricciardo goes fastest on the intermediates. Bottas was able

to use the increased warm up ability of the wet tyres. You generate the

heat in the tyres by moving the block across the surface. Still not

happy with these tyres. Some guys are quicker with extreme. Hamilton

is on the intermediate, locks up here, he was on for a quick lap but

he has overshot his mark. It is still worth finishing up this lap

because it will put him up there. You lost a couple of seconds at

least, on that mistake. He still goes fastest! How about that? He was

so well up on the split times that he makes a huge mistake and still

goes fastest. Normally the race director can have certain situations

in place where you get a penalty. Keep pushing. Please don't speak to

me during my lap. That was a delayed message from when he locked up at

the chicane. There is no question here, the front wheels locked up. He

found it so difficult to get any form of turn in. There is no way

that he gained any time advantage from going so wide and then coming

back again. He added quite a lot of lap distance on that occasion. It is

the longest lap in Formula One as it is, and Lewis Hamilton made it even

faster! And he is still fastest at the moment. The target in this part

of qualifying is to get into the top 16, it is not about being fastest.

That comes in Q3 when it comes down to the top ten. Massa has just moved

out of it to move Magnussen down. Look at Alonso with the full wets.

He is running low downforce than Raikkonen was this morning,

favouring looking at the race as a dry race, and I wonder if that has

influenced his decision to go with the full wet tyre with lower

downforce you're not going to put as much load into the tyre and

therefore you can increase the working temperature a little.

Raikkonen may be switching to the intermediate. Alonso has gone forth

with that. This will favour Raikkonen if he is on a higher

downforce set up in his car. Riding on board with Rosberg. Reasonable

lap but nothing special, he's not setting the timing screens alight at

the moment. Let's just see what this is. He needs to get into the top

16, that is clearly the ambition at this stage. He goes second fastest

and that should do now, as long as the track does not suddenly dry up.

Niki Lauda, he is not leaning against those tyres just because...

He is warming his hands on the tyre blankets! We need to see them

getting down to lap times of 2.0 for it to be the potential of the

crossover onto the slick tyres. We are a way off that yet, but it

certainly seems to be intermediate time territory. Romain Grosjean goes

a bit deep but that is OK, as the Caterham boys go into the pits.

Andre Lotterer the slowest so far. Romain Grosjean goes 18th with that.

A driver of great capabilities, Romain Grosjean, you might expect in

the wet for him to be able to bring this car is closer to the front.

Gutierrez in the Sauber, going very slowly.

He had a failure on the kinetic energy recovery motor yesterday and

it looks like something has just stopped. He was just coasting,

running down the hill, he did not have enough momentum to get off the

circuit but there is plenty of run-off area for the marshals to

push him by the barriers. That is a shame for Gutierrez, having a bit of

a rough time, he had a failure that put him out of the Hungaroring Grand

Prix to take his non-finishing tally up to five. The qualified 13th in

Hungary -- out of the Hungaroring Grand Prix -- Hungaroring.

Just under seven minutes to go. Like and has changed onto the

intermediates. He is looking for a clean lap. He got knocked out of Q1

in Hungary when they miscalculated. He has Hamilton, Alonso, Ricciardo

in front of him, so he does not need to worry too much about traffic. My

goodness, through Eau Rouge, that gets your attention! And that was a

big lift off the throttle and presumably a dab of the break. He

was still doing 120 mph over the top of the hill. 60 mph down on the

normal dry running we would see. We will see about the rest of his lap.

35.8 through the first sector so about a second slower than we have

seen so far. But still well inside the zone, but he cannot afford any

more mistakes. We have Grosjean, Chilton, Raikkonen, Mackems Eriksson

and Lotterer in the drop zone so far -- Magnus Eriksson. -- Marcus

Ericsson. Everybody has now switched or

already had the intermediate tyre on their car. Let's have a look at the

middle sector. Hamilton is still fastest.

Hamilton and Rosberg, then behind them is Sebastian Vettel but there

is a sizeable gap. And in wet conditions which are said to be the

equaliser but you still need power here and a lot of downforce and the

Mercedes has the best of both worlds. To explain some of the

differences, the fast first and last part of the lap here, that is much

better from Raikkonen. The teams may have made some last-minute changes

to downforce levels if they believe we will see this changeable weather

tomorrow as well. You don't want to be caught out with low downforce. If

they are competent, as Tom was suggesting, that it will be a dry

race, you don't want to come to my is your qualifying. It could make

for an exciting race with cars further back on the grid that are

potentially faster in the dry. Romain Grosjean trying to get out of

the drop zone which he does and that should be comfortable, up into

seventh position and his wife is happy. Daniil Kvyat now on a lap,

gets a bit crossed up out of the last corner. He is in eighth place

with that. The times are not improving significantly but a little

bit. People need to get laps in. The Mercedes should be well and truly

safe. Felipe Massa is 13th at the moment and could do with finding

some pace to move out of the danger zone, Perez has now dropped into it.

Searching for grip there. RADIO: Looking after the tyres, we are

expecting light rain shortly. Just to show what a visionary I am,

Lotterer is four second slower than his team-mate! Racing in Japan does

not seem to have given him any advantage. Struggling to get used to

the peculiarities of the Pirelli tyres. He has said that he felt the

Michelin tyres were wetter in the sports car racing which I am sure

India to him to Paul Hembery. -- endeared him. Hamilton has gone even

faster but it has not changed the situation. I suppose the key

decision for some teams is putting enough fuel in the car. Normally you

only put in enough for one lap but you have to have enough so you are

out there as the track gets better. Normally ten kilos is around four

tenths of a second. But it is much less of an effect in wet conditions

where the dominant factor is the driving having the confidence to

position the car correctly on the track. You don't want to be caught

short. Great job from Bianchi to get up into 10th place with just over a

minute and a half to go. RADIO: May be some rain in turn 12 and turn

13th. Maldonado really fighting the Lotus. We will keep an eye on

Jean-Eric Vergne, he normally likes these conditions. I think it is

raining at the back of the circuit. That is going to make it difficult,

this could be a bit of an upset. He has lost it again. And he is in the

drop zone. He is out, he is not going to do anything now. That is it

for Maldonado and he has thrown it away at the end of that. Max Chilton

is in the drop zone as well, Perez, that is as a prize will stop

Lotterer has gone quicker than Marcus Ericsson. I bottled it

earlier! Just to prove you wrong. It is worse out there again now. Can

Perez get out a bit in the worst conditions? He has done it. Still

potential to get a lack of time and that has pushed Sutil down into the

elimination zone. Jenson Button in 14th but on a better lap so he

should be secure. Hulkenberg is not safe. He is in 16th position. I

think he was so surprised to make it around 99% of the track, he got so

close to the end and forgot to turn! Oh dear, Pastor Maldonado, can it

get any worse? And then it does. Just a mistake underbraking as he

turned in. Rosberg has gone quickest, just crossed the line in a

2.07.1. Still Mercedes dominating. Rosberg has snatched the advantage

from his team-mate. Williams have got both cars up there. Vergne has

gone up into fifth place, always goes well in the wet. He will not be

driving for Toro Rosso next year. It is only the first part but Massa is

slightly quicker than his team-mate and he will take some confidence

from that. It is all about being on the track at the right time. It has

been a bit of a lottery. The chequered flag is now out. Bottas

has improved slightly. Maldonado is desperate that this lap is enough.

Can he get into this last corner securely? He does. Has he got enough

performance? He would push Hulkenberg into elimination if he

improves. He has pushed him down! Hulkenberg is on a lap. I think he

got across just before the chequered flag. Sutil is in 15th. He has

pushed Maldonado back into elimination. People not make it

through. He cannot improve. Hulkenberg will be the one to see if

he will come through. He has completed his lap, he is out. That

is a huge surprise. Hulkenberg scored every race until the last

one. He has been pushed out in the first part of qualifying. Just

surviving is the McLaren of Kevin Magnussen. Bianchi is the star

driver I think that Q1. He has done it again, he has got his Marussia

into 14th place and the next part of qualifying. That is a great effort

and he has to be looked at as a serious option for any of the top

teams. No disrespect to Marussia but a great job. RADIO: That is you out,

Nico. I think the brakes got colder and colder. The brakes getting

colder, that was the problem. Those that we have lost, Pastor Maldonado,

Nico Hulkenberg, Max Chilton, Esteban Gutierrez, Andre Lotterer

who did go faster than his team-mate Marcus Ericsson.

What conditions for Q1, not really a surprise and difficult for all of

the drivers. They seems to get worse towards the end. We heard Nico

Hulkenberg talking about his brakes getting colder and he lost

confidence. This is a track where you need confidence and the

conditions can take it away. First things first, you definitely need

breaks because you are going at an unbelievable speed, particularly out

of Eau Rouge. It is a daunting situation at the best of times and

with conditions like this, cold brakes and tyres, I would not want

to be out there. Lewis sounded right he was concentrating at full pelt,

he did have a moment when this happened and he ran wide. He told

his boys not to talk to him on his lap. You can understand why. This is

one of those strange occasions where you need total and absolute

concentration and somebody talking to you is not what you need. The

driver has to be in the best position and in the best control,

and not talk to him. We would never talk to a driver in a situation like

that. Kimi looks to be in trouble and left it quite late at he did get

through. He has a habit of doing that. But look at this through Eau

Rouge. This is absolutely on the edge. The car could have gone

anywhere. The drivers have actually behaved and handled the conditions

remarkably well. They really have. Tom is with Graeme Lowdon from

Marussia who will be smiling because Jules Bianchi is through. And he is.

What a great session for jewels. -- Jules Bianchi. Both drivers did

well, it was a tricky session, a lot of communication to get them in the

right place. But a good team effort all round and nice to get into Q2.

What were the drivers saying about the conditions? It is a constant

conversation, the drivers were incredibly calm, both of them, and

also the race engineers. It was very variable in that session and with

the threat of rain, mix that in with balancing the new power units, it is

very tricky. A good team effort. The fans of Max Chilton will be asking

if his performance was compromised by not being in free practice one. I

don't think so. Both drivers have driven this track an awful lot. It

was dry back then so there was not much to be gained from that. I would

not read anything into it, they both did a good job and we are happy.

Good luck. You just can't underestimate how difficult it is

not only for the drivers but for the teams, making that come from eyes.

-- that compromise. We are in the Ardennes forest, anything happens

here, we know this. It is so unpredictable. There is more weather

on the way, back up to our commentators for Q2. COMMENTATOR:

The second part of qualifying about to get underway and the focus

required to get around here is intense enough in dry conditions,

let alone when it is wet. It does not look like we are ready for

slicks yet. Air temperature is still 10 degrees, Tom is in the pits and

it is still pretty chilly. The track will not dry out any time soon? We

will come back to Tom in a second. Clearly you can see that there is

more rain coming in on the scene. A little discussion between Toto

Wolff and Niki Lauda. His arm still taped up -- strapped up after the

motorcycling accident he had. Several other Mercedes guys were

involved in that. Three breaks, they say bad things come in threes. We

can see how much more spray there is on the track now. Romain Grosjean

the only Lotus to make it through to Q2. Just one Marussia into Q2, but

Jules Bianchi outstanding in his efforts. Lucien Bianchi, his uncle,

scored points here in the 1970s. There is a lot of heritage for Jules

Bianchi. The team did a good job getting him out. He has pulled a lap

together. He is continually showing that in a faster car and a team with

a battered budget, he could do some special things. Jenson Button is

renowned for his wet weather expertise. I know at times he has

struggled to get the tyres working as he wants them to. I think the

thing he has been exceptional at in the past is making the decision went

across over. This run could be the fastest of the session. That means

the team is expecting more rain. They want to get the cars out

quickly. Just looking at it, we have got 15 cars on track. The only one

not on there yet is Jean-Eric Vergne, interestingly. I think

everyone else has gone straight out onto the track on the intermediate

tyres. It is a strategic position to sit and wait and get some feedback

on what tyres are working. Romain Grosjean scrabbling, so little grip

there. As the downforce comes off the car, you are slowing it down. As

you slow the car down, you are losing downforce. You are

compounding the fact that you don't have enough grip or load on the

front axle. That is where you have to lift off the brake pedal and pump

out the pedal. And then have a stab at the breaks.

The outside could be tricky, a few years ago Fernando Alonso crashed in

the race by tipping a wheel over that curb and losing the back end of

the car. Several places around here you have to be very cautious. The

key on this tracks is very grippy paint. It has got some sort of grip

effect. Keep pushing. The track is getting

worse. A lot of water. So keep pushing. He was asking if everything

was OK on the rear end of the car, asking for the engineers to make

sure that everything is OK. In free practice he was also complaining

about that. His radio transmission, it sounds like he is wearing a

helmet about three sizes too big for him. Some loud echo there. Jenson

Button just getting a slide on in the middle of that corner. He would

have been hard on the power by that second apex. Just easing the car

through the right and left and now through the right-hander. This is

now the run back towards the pits from here on in. Even that isn't

straightforward, because they are now up to maximum speeds of 190 mph.

Blanchimont normally flat out easy in the dry becomes a corner. With

Rosberg, he actually shifted down in the middle of that corner. Part of

that is to get the torque of the turn. They will gain confidence in

the session if the track conditions are stable. You certainly don't want

to go barrelling into a corner at 200 mph to find out there is some

standing water. 208 -- two .08 straight away from Bottas. What is

it about the Finnish drivers and their performance in these slippery

conditions? But Alonso has just eclipsed that, with a 2.08.4. An

opportunity for him. He just ran wide. That was and resides, I think.

Not a major problem. Did Hamilton have two straight line there? He did

indeed. Most of the lock-ups are coming from the outside tyre. See if

it happens here for Romain Grosjean. Yes, same again. Like his

team-mate Maldonado, he just goes around. That Lotus must be though

difficult to drive. Fair play to Maldonado. They are all going

straight on and taking advantage of the fact that that is now tarmac

run-off. A view years ago that was gravel and you could pretty much

guaranteed to be out of the session. Romain Grosjean has come over the

radio saying he is convinced there was something wrong with the back

end of his car. He was complaining about it earlier and now he's

convinced there is something not quite right there. Rosberg currently

tops the times. All about getting in the top ten now of course. Currently

Hamilton is in the drop zone but I don't think that is going to last

much longer. Marussia need to think about how they play this a little

bit. It is an opportunity, but the likelihood of getting into the top

ten, well, if they were to do that it would be the first time ever.

Let's see what happens. Raikkonen in the drop zone at the moment. We

expect to see a lap coming up from him in a moment. Hamilton, a couple

of corners to go before we get his sector to report. He has backed out

of the middle sector. Hamilton continues to go purple in this

session. He posts a purple time on the middle sector, meaning he is the

fastest time of anybody so far in this session, now in both the first

and second sectors. This lamp should put him comfortably fastest. There

was a big lift at Blanchimont. I am not sure if he was fastest in each

of the sectors, but academic as it is, we will see where he goes here.

Jean-Eric Vergne has only just come out, interestingly. Hamilton goes

fastest, 2.07.09. We are getting close down to that sort of pace.

Massa goes in fifth place for Williams. A bit of a slide for

Raikkonen. Riccardo going seventh. Not as quite a quick lap from

Ricciardo. A few laps to go. They are all on the intermediate tyres,

of course. Let's see what happened to Lewis Hamilton through Eau

Rouge. He used the kerb. We'll spin on top of the kerb. You can see the

confidence he has just to cut the corner. We have seen some cars this

year where they correct and then the car bounces back. Was it Ericsson in

the last race in Budapest that did exactly that? Cat -like reactions

from Hamilton. Jean-Eric Vergne has only just come out, there he is an

circuit. Can he use his renowned wet weather skills in the final six

minutes of this session? Rosberg has gone faster than anybody in sector

one. Not as wide through Rivage. I wonder

if they are starting to use that systematically because there is so

much grip there on the new tarmac. We will stop in the box. There would

be time to change gloves if you need to. You watch the driver 's hands,

when you turn to half lock, your hands are actually out of the

cockpit. Was both's and is actually out of the cockpit, you get

completely soaked. It is rather nice on a hot day to have the cooling

coming through the fabric of the glove, but of course not nice at all

in the rain. We will see how Rosberg is doing. He's not as quick on the

overall lap as Hamilton. He lost sometime in the middle sector.

Actually lost quite a lot in the middle sector, two tenths compared

to what Lewis Hamilton did a few moments ago. That is brave, through

there. It is such a daunting corner in these kind of conditions. They go

through it so quickly, it underlies what is going on there. It is a

difficult corner in these conditions, no doubt. He is second

fastest with that. Four tenths of a second off Lewis Hamilton's pace

from earlier in the session, but comfortably ahead of everyone else.

Alonso is now third. Bottas in fourth, Raikkonen fifth place, Massa

in six. There is a limit on the number of intermediate tyres they

can use through the week in, they have four sets of intermediates.

They only get an extra set if it is raining on Friday, but it didn't, so

they have to live with the four sets for the rest of the weekend. That is

a real concern. Coming up to the end of sector two, it is just these two

corners. He has done a personal best lap in this particular session.

Meanwhile Hamilton has got fastest. Is there anyone again in sector one?

We have got Daniil Kvyat in the Toro Rosso, Sergio Perez in the Force

India, Bianchi is in the drop zone and so is Jean-Eric Vergne. He

hasn't set a time yet. If this last sector is tidy, it could put him

around where L is -- where Vettel is. Hamilton obviously had a mistake

in the middle sector, taking a few seconds off. I don't think he will

be under any pressure to do so. The track is getting slightly better and

you want to be last across the line effectively when the chequered flag

comes out. Kvyat, nicely through Eau Rouge. 260 kilometres over the top

of the hill and in those wet conditions it is super impressive.

He is moving off line a bit on the straight. A good first centre. Not

the fastest of anybody, but nonetheless a pretty fast sector.

Max Chilton is out, and Alex Rossi thought he would be racing for

Marussia this weekend. He started out with the idea that he would be

doing the whole weekend. Now, Daniil Kvyat, through the

tricky double left-hander. Stay off the kerbs. He still gets a big

wiggle in the middle of the corner. Stonehill off camber. Nice wide

line. As he rolls the car into 12. Generally seeing improvements from

all of the drivers. The track is getting very slightly better,

certainly that first sector we saw signs of improvements. He is really

hustling. Really attacking. No fear for this young Russian getting his

first run in the Toro Rosso last year this time in Brazil. Did a

fantastic job there. I remember being so impressed with him coming

up through formula three, a little lock-up but he dealt with it

beautifully. Is he just trying to shorten the route to the line? He

goes across the line and he is in eighth place with that. A very

respectable performance. The chequered flag will be out the next

time that he comes around. Sutil hasn't improved, he is still in the

drop zone, in 13th. So is Kevin Magnussen, they are all in the drop

zone but they are on laps that should improve their positions, as

we see them coming through the murk of the last corner. So, Vettel is

only ninth at this stage. Hamilton with a good lap, the fastest lap of

any of the qualifying we have had so far today. I'm happy for him to have

that opportunity as he drifts the car into La Source. As we said

before the mollifying session, some of them may take the long view for

the race tomorrow, but as a young driver you certainly want the

opportunity to impress in these wet conditions. So many of the greats

have been able to jackal the damper good conditions. You don't want to

compromise yourself in the eyes of the teams.

Track conditions definitely getting better, this looks like a committed

lap from Ricciardo. There was an unusual noise coming from his car.

It was a high-pitched whine. It sounds OK as he accelerate out of

the corner, into the top ten but there will be a few more

improvements but he can't improve further after the chequered flag.

Romain Grosjean is definitely out with a shake of the head and Lotus

go no further. Vettel is on the cusp, he has not done a better first

sector. Generic firm -- Jean-Eric Vergne has not done enough. He has

been outqualified in the wet by Daniil Kvyat. He was often quicker

than Ricciardo in their early careers. Ricciardo adjusted. Jenson

Button has gone into ninth place. Vettel is not going that quickly. I

don't think he will push him out and he is in danger of dropping out. He

has done enough, he has gone seventh which has pushed out Kvyat. That was

all about the last sector. The first two there was nothing special at all

but the last sector he pulled it together. Can the Force India get

through? This would push out Jenson Button. Sergio Perez crosses the

line but it is not enough and he is in 13th place. Both of the McLaren

cars are just in the top ten. Force India have had a tough afternoon

because Hulkenberg was 18th and Perez 13th. That could have a

significant outcome in that points in the Constructors' Championship.

Both Red Bull cars, both Mercedes cars in the top ten, McLaren and

Williams and Ferrari all paired up. The top teams have responded in

these conditions and delivered. You have to feel a little sorry for

Daniil Kvyat who seems to have got in but was beaten by a 10th of a

second. We have lost Daniil Kvyat, Jean-Eric Vergne his team-mate,

Sergio Perez, Adrian Sutil, Romain Grosjean for Lotus, he will qualify

15th and Jules Bianchi could not go any further but still an outstanding

effort. Kvyat was very upset about something. And then he spun. A

lesson to up and coming racers, keep your frustration under control until

you get out of the car. I would love to know what that was about. I think

it was frustration at being told he had been knocked out of the top ten,

admirable that he is disappointed but you have to control your

emotions. He was just outside in the end but Hamilton and Rosberg are

literally sailing through to Q3 and it looks like the battle for pole

position will be between them. You have got to be Superman out

there. The Ferrari and Williams cars coming in behind. Treacherous

conditions and we could see the frustrations of the drivers but you

have to stay concentrated. I reiterate what I said, in conditions

like this it is hard at home to realise what the drivers are going

through. You heard Jenson Button looking for different gloves because

his hands were freezing and he did not have any feeling in the car. It

is really cold. When everything is wet it takes away that natural feel

that the drivers have and what you need more than anything here at Spa

is a natural feel. It is undulating, up and down, wet then dry and it is

a huge test. And that is one of his skills, Jenson Button, that natural

feel. None of these drivers have any fact, they are super fit and

skinny, nothing to keep them warm! Their body temperature drops a lot

more than ours. Speak for yourself! You are skinny. Esteban Gutierrez

went out in Q1 and we saw and have a problem yesterday with energy

recovery. I wonder if it was the same problem. Esteban, you have had

five non-finishers this season, and other technical problem today, you

must be frustrated. Yes, it is quite not acceptable to have a weekend

like this. I have six or seven laps in the whole weekend and it puts me

in a very difficult position to extract the most from the car. And

the situation, it is already too many sessions that we lose with

technical problems. It becomes to be too much and something needs to be

changed. It is definitely, we are not going to accept being like this

any more. Tomorrow is a new day, fingers crossed. Esteban Toledo fed

up. We also heard Nico Hulkenberg complaining about the breaks --

clearly fed up. I imagine you are a bit frustrated? Yes, definitely not

the outcome we hoped for, it just slipped away during Q1. We started

OK but progressively went backwards. I did not put the lap together as I

should have, lost a bit in the final corner. And here we are, out of Q1.

We heard you saying the breaks were getting colder and you don't want to

lose confidence in your breaks here. Yes, that was a bit of an issue that

I was losing confidence and did not have any feeling in the breaks but

other people have to deal with the same thing. He is a good bloke. Top

man. He is very honest, doesn't moan, gets on with the job. He is a

great driver, where do you see his future? Top teams have been talking

about him, if you had a space at Harare, would you go with him, with

Jules Bianchi? -- at Ferrari. Bianchi, Ferrari give the engine

because he is dead young driver. If it was a Red Bull situation -- and

their young driver. But my guess would be that Hulkenberg would make

the team. The future now is all about the top ten. Here comes Q3.

COMMENTATOR: Fernando Alonso has never taken pole position here but I

wonder if these conditions might give him a chance. Looking at the

pace of the Mercedes drivers, it would be tough to bet against them.

Rosberg was fastest in Q1 and Hamilton fastest in Q two. Who will

get the decisive vote? They have got a big margin over everybody else,

they have a big -- so we will find out.

There are not many physical changes they can make. Some adjustment

within the cockpit. I wonder if they were just checking something on the

car. Hopefully that will not prove to be a problem for Ricciardo. Kimi

Raikkonen waiting patiently. We have the two Ferrari cars, both Mercedes,

Williams, Red Bulls. I am looking up being pit lane to where the weather

is coming from. I have been told that there are rain showers seven to

limiters awake. I am standing in sunshine away -- seven kilometres

away. It is going to be all about being the last man to cross the

line. We are watching a replay of Fernando Alonso, a very gentle cut

through the corner at Les Combes. He must have felt he was close to

locking the front wheel. He did not want to put a small flat spot on

that tire, it can tear the surface if you lock-up. Hamilton getting

ready to wind up a lap. Straightening the car for best

acceleration. And Rosberg is not far behind, just opening up a gap. It

looked like the track was starting to get a dry line as Hamilton goes

very wide, that will cost him three or four tenths in acceleration. I

was surprised that Rosberg was shadowing Hamilton so much because

you put yourself in a situation where you get sprayed on your

visor. You are not going to try to qualify in dirty air unless you are

completely under pressure. I expect Rosberg to be quicker in this first

sector presuming that Rosberg has not made the same mistake. The first

sector times coming up. And Rosberg definitely quicker courtesy of that

little mistake from Hamilton. 1.6 seconds, it cost him a lot. A lot

more than I expected so maybe he lifted through Eau Rouge as well. It

looks like this first lap could go to Rosberg. He did not use the

run-off line, stayed on track. It is possible that Charlie Whiting has

sent a message to Mercedes just marking their card, that is

something that happens. You get one or two strikes and then they start

handing out penalties. Rosberg staying wide looking for extra grip

and traction off the normal racing line on some of the corners. Vettel

quicker in the middle sector than Hamilton. Hamilton has given out on

this particular lap, using it to get a feel on the car and not push his

tyres too hard and we will see what the track can deliver in lap time as

it dries out. Can Rosberg stop the car at the chicane? Lewis is

reporting that the car is pulling to one side and he is aborting that

lap. That could just be difference in the break temperature. Everybody

has to aim for the opening lap, that is Rosberg. I don't think we will

get down to slick territory in these final seven minutes but we are

seeing faster times as Alonso goes third and look at the gap between

them. Rosberg in a world of his own because Hamilton backed out. Two and

a half seconds faster. Looking at the sun breaking through the clouds,

it does not rain, this is all about who delivers right at the end of the

session. The Mercedes cars seem to have such an advantage that it might

not pressure them but who will line up in third place could come down to

the last lap. Vettel had a spin but continued. Bottas, what does he do?

He goes into fourth place, faster than Massa but not as fast as Vettel

or Alonso. Williams struggled with the wet tyres earlier in the year.

It looks like that might be the case again, maybe they are not getting

the best out of these intermediate tyres. It depends on how the chassis

uses the tyres. Ricciardo goes into fifth, splitting the Williams. But

in just goes faster than Magnussen. Up front is a different story,

Hamilton still a fraction slower. But a much tidier first and second

sector, it is all about getting the breaking right at the chicane. We

expect the times to continue to improve. He might have been a bit

more reserved on the entry speed into Blanchimont. Maybe getting a

banker lap in to make sure he is ahead of everybody apart from

Rosberg and then go for it at the end. He has got that safe lap and he

is comfortably ahead of everybody else. He can now focus on getting a

great lap at the end. Definitely fighting the back of the car,

drifting a bit through the apex. All the time you are not hitting the car

rotated to get the best acceleration. This was on board

through the last corner with Hamilton.

oversteer side. Hamilton currently second, Rosberg fastest. Can

Hamilton break the sequence of Nico Rosberg, who has Alzheimer's and

the last few -- six times this season. John hurt, I'm sure he is

enjoying the rivalry going on might now between Rosberg and Hamilton, as

we all are. 11 points separating them in the World Championship.

Vettel taking the wide line in Rivage that we saw Hamilton taking

earlier. It is a long lap here. You have to allow plenty of time to get

the tyres changed. Putting a new set of intermediates on. How you have

used your tyres through the rest of qualifying is crucial at this stage.

If you still have a new set of intermediate tyres available to you,

it will be worth quite a lot of lap time. Teams will have to plan for

that. According to the forecast they will be back on slick tyres when it

comes to race day. At the moment it is Rosberg ahead of Hamilton and

Vettel potentially... He knows now what he has got to do.

But it is changing all the time. It is one thing in the dry when you

have consistent conditions, but that information could be second-hand.

Within half a minute. Rosberg is out on track, coming through the last

chicane. Everybody has set their in initial lap time in the top ten

shoot out. Will Rosberg get one lap or two? He should get two. He is

going on to a flying lap now. Interesting line that he takes, he

runs down past the old pits, the GP2 pits. He will see his team-mate

Hamilton in the distance. There is a lot of traffic as well, Vettel,

Ricciardo, Raikkonen as well. He will need to either get out of the

way or get a hurry on. That is Hamilton at the top of the screen.

As he backed out of it? I think Rosberg has gone he has lifted out.

That is a bit strange. Rosberg backing off. They have all found

themselves pretty much between turn five and Magnussen at 16, that is

where all the cars have bunched together. Vettel is at the head of

that. He has some clear track here. Still using the kerb. So brave,

running that wide out towards the artificial grass. Through 12

successfully, a wide line through 13. Sebastian Vettel, race winner

here last year. Lewis Hamilton took pole position last year, but Vettel

swept past him on the opening lap and went on to a dominating victory.

You can see the rear snaking as he turns in there, close to 190 mph. So

impressive. You can really see why these guys are the best in the world

when they are driving in these conditions on a track like Spa.

Let's see what he has done in terms of track time. He has done a 2.07.7,

but he is still two seconds away from what Rosberg did earlier. The

margin is massive. Just trying to get some clear space to the Ferrari

of Alonzo in front of him. This is far from ideal. Rosberg under

pressure in the last chicane. Tass is the last man that will get across

before the chequered flag. Another mistake from Hamilton, as he tries

to break on his way to La Source. On board with Hamilton. Lovely,

beautifully done, down change in the middle of that. He will be

frustrated, he will know he is giving away some time at La Source.

33.7, fast as a ball at this stage of the qualifying session. We can

see what Rosberg was trying to do. Rosberg just under a 10th faster in

that first sector. This is really going down to the wire. The battle

for pole position, this is what we want to see. It has been denied in

the last few races because Hamilton has had problems in qualifying, so

we have not seen this rivalry developed. The way the downforce is

generated from these cars, it just sucks the swing out of the tarmac

and chucks it up into the air. Arguably he has the advantage. Kevin

Magnussen is the first to see the chequered flag. Jenson Button has

seen it as well. Going right over the edge as well, that has cost him

time. Another mistake from Lewis Hamilton. Although he is up on the

time that Rosberg set earlier, how close -- it is not as close as it

could have been. That is the exit Blanchimont to the chicane, that is

a massive moment. Nip and tuck between Hamilton and Rosberg. It

will be so close, the battle for pole. Let's see where the Ferrari

goes. Raikkonen is seventh, Hamilton is second, he has not done enough to

beat Rosberg's earlier time, let alone this lap. Rosberg will take

pole position here at Spa. We will see if the lap time is any different

on this lap. Rosberg further improves to stamp his authority on

this qualifying session. What a performance from Nico Rosberg. Lewis

Hamilton simply beaten in the damp conditions. Bottas ended up sixth

fastest there. Rosberg has taken his seventh pole position of 2014, the

28th pole position for Mercedes. Back-to-back pole position 's for

Mercedes as a team at this Spa circuit, but not for Lewis Hamilton.

-- pole positions. It hasn't been done back-to-back since then, but

not again now. Well done Nico, really good job in

these conditions. Really good job mate, well done. Yes! That is a

truly superb effort by Nico Rosberg because Hamilton in these conditions

is renowned for being one of the very best, and yet he has been

beaten. Two tenths of a second gap in the end between Nico Rosberg and

Lewis Hamilton, but the race will still be on between them tomorrow

and you can bet that Hamilton will throw

still be on between them tomorrow and you can bet that everything at

getting past Rosberg in the early stages. Vettel was third, then

Alonso in fourth. Magnussen with a good effort in seventh, ahead of

Raikkonen's Ferrari. The two Toro Rossos didn't quite make it into the

top ten but have qualified a very respectable 11th and 12th. Those who

failed early on, Nico Hulkenberg, Chilton, Lotterer, Gutierrez and

Ericsson. Fascinating contest between the two stars at the moment,

Rosberg and Hamilton. It looks like Rosberg kept his head. I'm curious

to know whether Hamilton genuinely had a problem, or he just made a few

mistakes in qualifying and allowed Rosberg the clean run to it. Two

seconds is the best of the rest, Vettel in third place. I don't

remember the last time we have had 18 so dominant in qualifying

performance. Not that long ago Red Bull managed a 1-2 on the grid. It

is the first time Mercedes as a team has ever had the 1-2 in qualifying

here. They had a one -to finish back in the 1950s, had never 1-2 on the

grid. That margin of victory in terms of performance is just

stunning. Two seconds a lap, over two seconds faster there, Nico

Rosberg, than Sebastian Vettel, who was third. It is an interesting

second row, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso. Vettel gets one

back on Daniel Ricciardo. It will be interesting to see exactly what went

on for Daniel Ricciardo on the exit of Blanchimont. A good exit and

recovery to get himself back into fifth place. The mental scars of not

quite getting the job done in Budapest will be firmly behind him.

Nico Rosberg on a big run success at the moment, despite the August break

coming along you wondered if that might interrupt the momentum. An

absolutely straight fight between him and Hamilton, from the looks of

it. But it will still be a fight and that is something to relish. At Red

Bull, they are looking pretty happy, the best of the rest, and what more

can you ask for this year. This was not a track that you thought might

suit Red Bull, they were going to be under threat from the other cards

with Mercedes engines. That is a good result for Red Bull, given the

performance issues they have had, this being a power circuit, the rain

has neutralised that performance a bit, and the threat from the

Williams team. That was Saturday, it was an exciting qualifying session.

We don't quite know what we're going to get tomorrow. Valtteri Bottas a

bit disappointed with sixth place in the end, he has beaten his team-mate

quite comfortably, but Williams didn't quite generate the tyre grip

from the intermediates that was required in these conditions. A

result perhaps of the lower downforce drag setup of the car. An

issue they have had all season long. Difficult to generate that kind of

grip. A six different pole setter here in the last five years -- six

years. Paddy, a fraught qualifying session

but what a great lap from Nico Rosberg in the end? Fantastic. Quite

surprising pace from the car to be honest. Surprising pace from the

car? Well, we got pole position by over two seconds, which is

tremendous. When you go into a wet session, anything can happen.

Actually in the event, all credit to the drivers, because of course it is

very tricky to drive out there, but in terms of managing the session, it

was a lot easier than it would have been. Lewis's qualifying session

seemed to be littered with little errors, was there a problem with his

car? He had a bit of a problem with breaking but in the wet it is always

difficult to get that better temperatures. -- braking. They are

saying less likelihood of rain than today. They always say in

percentages, so you never quite know. You never quite know what is

going to happen in Spa. What a session that was. Interesting

conversation, and they did dominate that session. It was all about

bravery but for Lewis Hamilton, it looked like he lost a bit in the

first section and then seemed to regain his composure. At the end of

the lap he lost his composure as well. Just all coming together. The

lap never looked easy for him. He was struggling right from the corner

here and all the way through, every time he was up, because he was

quickest in the first little sector and we thought maybe despite a few

little errors he could pull this one together. But he didn't. He made

small it'll errors. He did complain about the car pulling to the left. I

don't know whether that was playing on his mind. They are so far ahead

that it doesn't really matter. Here, if it is wet, the front row is vital

here. I don't think there is any real disadvantage in terms of where

they start, and I expect Hamilton to fight like crazy from the very

start. He is on the front row, there is an argument to say that this is

the best position he has had for ages. And I think he will want to

capitalise on it. He knows in the back of his mind that we are in the

second half of the season, eight races to grow, and he doesn't want

to grab -- the gap from Rosberg to grow any bigger. It is very exciting

because it is very finely poised. Rosberg is responding brilliantly,

because everyone who but say? -- everyone who questions whether he is

quick enough, he answers. 10th place for you tomorrow. Yeah,

it was going all right. Obviously very slippery out there, difficult

to get the tyres working. First run in Q3 was pretty good and then the

second run on the new tyres in the dry conditions, I locked up at the

top of the hill and as soon as it locks, that is it really. Locked up,

went straight on, and that was the end of my lap. I tried to continue

but I was several seconds down. What would suit your car, if anything,

I would prefer it if it was dry. I think it would be a better race. We

will have to wait and see, predictions are that it will be dry,

certainly not as bad as today. Kevin Magnussen, five in seventh. We have

had umbrellas up but now it is too hot! Difficult conditions but you

must be pleased. Yes, tricky conditions. Q1 was close that I did

not go through. I had a flat spot on both my front tyres. I couldn't

really push. Lucky to get through. But in the end, Q3 worked out well

and I got a good lap and had a good feeling in the car. Seventh is not a

great result but we got most of it. And you must be looking forward to

your first Belgian Grand Prix? It is a special place. Definitely, I

cannot say enough how much I enjoyed driving here, it is a pleasure to

drive on this track in any car. It is great fun driving and hopefully

we can do what we came here to do and get some good points and a

result. Kevin Magnussen once more and that is good to hear. He has

grown up a lot. We were calling into question if he was too young, could

he go to McLaren as a so-called paid driver? He has done really well. I

guess they should keep him. He has great potential and is a potential

world champion perhaps. And the pressure of coming into a big team

like McLaren, that is the difference, coming to Toro Rosso is

one thing, but McLaren expect a lot you are expected to be at the front

all the time. Coming into McLaren and replacing a world champion like

Lewis Hamilton is even more daunting. That could be scary for a

young boy but he is very balanced, he comes from a racing background.

His father would have taught him well. I believe in Kevin, he is a

top young boys. Let's hear now from the top three. Nick O'Connor many

congratulations, your first pole position at Spa, typical

conditions, tell us how special the feeling is. -- Nico. It is very

special so to be in front is great. Not quite as difficult as on some

other occasions because the conditions were always

intermediates, just varying slightly which made it a bit easier but it is

always difficult in the wet so I am happy. The cart was handling well

and with Mike engineers, we find chewed it perfectly -- the car was

handling well and we find chewed and it -- fine June.

The first sector was always strong, why is that? I am not sure, it is

mainly Eau Rouge so feeling good. Maybe that was where it was done but

I am not sure. Lewis, you were right in the hunt. It seemed like Q3 was

not as comfortable from the outset. Why was that? I had a glazed front

left brake so the cart was pulling and there was nothing I could do to

get rid of that so I was struggling underbraking and had to bring back

the breaking point and was losing a lot out of Turn 1. It looked like

you were enjoying yourself out there, how much can you enjoy it in

conditions like these? It is more fun in the dry but still a huge

challenge. The conditions were quite good. And Sebastien, winner here

last year, your feelings on this result and what you can do from

here? It would be nice to be further up but the gap is quite big. It was

the best we could do today. It was a tricky qualifying, especially Q2 was

very tight, I tried to stay out, it started to rain heavier but I was

competent but track would get quicker. -- confident. It was quite

tight, I got the lap in in the end. I was able to use both set of tyres.

I was behind the Mercedes, it was tricky out there especially on low

downforce through Eau Rouge. It was a good challenge and I am happy with

third place. Let's have a look at the provisional grid for tomorrow.

Shall Bianchi got through to Q2 and he qualified in 16th. -- Jules

Bianchi. David, we heard Lewis saying he had

an issue and that was obviously on his mind. He seemed a bit confused

whether it was the left or right but he looked out of sorts and was not

comfortable out there. If you have an issue with your brakes, the only

way you can get the clays off the disc is the hammer it hard. It

doesn't glaze itself, the driver is part of that process so they will

work out if that was a mistake on his part or just the racing gods

again. Considering the conditions, there are not that many drivers

hugely out of position. Worthy Red Bull driver is slightly flattered by

the conditions? -- were they. Slightly but you would expect to see

Sebastian Vettel up there. The people who perhaps disappointed me

work Williams. I thought they could have got further up. We will find

out tomorrow and you can watch everything live on BBC1. Biblical

weather playing havoc with qualifying today but it was Nico

Rosberg who conquered the conditions to take pole position. Thanks for

watching, we will see you tomorrow. It is the end of the world! Who

knows what is going on!