Abu Dhabi Grand Prix - Practice 1

:01:04. > :01:10.Good morning. Nine months after starting the season in Australia and

:01:11. > :01:13.18 countries later hers and we are in Abu Dhabi for the finale of the

:01:14. > :01:18.season. Alan Matt Michelle Li will not quite the end of school feeling

:01:19. > :01:23.just yet, but we are getting there. It has been a long season but

:01:24. > :01:27.exciting in parts? Yes, there have been some good stories with several

:01:28. > :01:33.still to come. Who is going to finish fourth in the drivers' title?

:01:34. > :01:37.But also the engines of Red Bull and the Renault taking over Lotus.

:01:38. > :01:44.Suggestions that we might even hear something this weekend, so, still

:01:45. > :01:48.things to talk about. This is a very different circuit. We have had the

:01:49. > :01:54.history of Interlagos and Mexico as well and now we come here to a very

:01:55. > :02:01.shiny Abu Dhabi? Yes, and also the race will be in the dark. It is a

:02:02. > :02:05.night race. But it is pretty hot at the moment, 35 degrees on the track.

:02:06. > :02:11.You have got two huge straights leading into the final, very tricky

:02:12. > :02:16.section around the hotel. This track has got a lot of adverse cambers, so

:02:17. > :02:19.the car is always sliding and moving. You will see the drivers

:02:20. > :02:25.always working on the steering wheel. So technically, it is

:02:26. > :02:32.challenging. Still a lot to play for, as we have said. We know that

:02:33. > :02:37.Lewis wrap things up in Austin. Nico Rosberg has now secured second.

:02:38. > :02:44.Sebastian Vettel is in third. Just one point separates the 2 Finns.

:02:45. > :02:55.Impressively, Daniil Kvyat is ahead of Daniel Ricciardo. In the

:02:56. > :02:58.Constructors' Championship... It is unlikely that McLaren could catch

:02:59. > :03:05.Sauber. Who would have thought I would be saying that?! Nico Rosberg

:03:06. > :03:09.is on a roll - what do you put it down to? He seems to be the one with

:03:10. > :03:12.the confidence right now. Lewis Hamilton since winning the

:03:13. > :03:15.championship has not been able to get the momentum in qualifying.

:03:16. > :03:18.Rosberg says nothing has really changed on the car. Hamilton says

:03:19. > :03:22.there is something about the car which is not quite right for him.

:03:23. > :03:27.But the differences are so small between them that if you do get it

:03:28. > :03:31.right, then it can make the difference. Some talk in the media

:03:32. > :03:39.that Mercedes should be letting these guys battle it out. Do you

:03:40. > :03:42.think that is realistic? Yet it is, it is realistic, but there is a

:03:43. > :03:46.practical thing where you always have one strategy which is better

:03:47. > :03:50.than the other. The lead driver in qualifying and in the race but the

:03:51. > :03:57.option of that strategy. So if you want to have that strategy, you make

:03:58. > :04:07.sure you are leading. It is daylight now but of course this is a twilight

:04:08. > :04:12.race, Ben? That's right. But we are in the light for this first

:04:13. > :04:17.practice. This is pretty much the entertainment hub of this part of

:04:18. > :04:22.the world, isn't it, Tony? It is an amazing facility, built at a cost of

:04:23. > :04:26.something like ?800 million. It is sparkling. Sebastian Vettel said it

:04:27. > :04:31.was like Disneyland. That's right. And you have got this marina as

:04:32. > :04:35.well. It is a gorgeous place to sit and watch. Plenty of fans around

:04:36. > :04:41.already. We are hoping for a good first session. And as we said, it is

:04:42. > :04:45.daylight but the drivers are getting prepared for this race. It is not

:04:46. > :04:49.the most representative because it is a twilight race. Lewis Hamilton

:04:50. > :04:57.there just getting into his car. Liz get involved with the programme. You

:04:58. > :05:02.can do it on Facebook or you can do so via the BBC Sport website. Alan

:05:03. > :05:05.and myself are going to the pit lane in the hope of finding a spot of

:05:06. > :05:12.shade. I will leave you in the hands of Ben and Tony Jardine.

:05:13. > :05:16.BEN EDWARDS: So, the start of the first practice section here in Abu

:05:17. > :05:22.Dhabi, the final Grand Prix of the season. Daniil Kvyat heads out

:05:23. > :05:26.first, closely followed by Sebastian Vettel. One unique aspect of this

:05:27. > :05:33.track is that they come through a tunnel to get onto the circuit...

:05:34. > :05:40.Yes, the drivers did not like that initially. They said it might block

:05:41. > :05:43.the pit lane, but it has not happened. Actually they rejoin at

:05:44. > :05:48.quite a high-speed part of the circuit as well, which needs a bit

:05:49. > :05:54.of care. Yes, we have seen incidents with cars coming out onto

:05:55. > :05:59.the track there. Let's just one you through with any changes we have in

:06:00. > :06:01.terms of drivers. Really there are only two. Jolyon

:06:02. > :06:06.terms of drivers. Really there are again out for Lotus. Romain Grosjean

:06:07. > :06:08.sits this session out. Once again Lotus were very late getting their

:06:09. > :06:13.cars. They only got their Lotus were very late getting their

:06:14. > :06:17.yesterday morning. It has been a very difficult time for the cruise.

:06:18. > :06:21.They had to get dispensation from the FIA not

:06:22. > :06:27.They had to get dispensation from yesterday. And the other one, the

:06:28. > :06:34.only other change for this weekend, is that Roberto Merhi is back in the

:06:35. > :06:41.Marussia team. Alexander Rossi is busy this weekend. He is here but

:06:42. > :06:45.racing in GP2. Yes, Rossi, when he initially did the deal, there

:06:46. > :06:53.two remaining rounds of the GP2 left. He said he would concentrate

:06:54. > :07:00.on the GP2 for those events. How would you assess Alexander Rossi's

:07:01. > :07:04.Formula 1 involvement, has he done enough to impress the paddock? I

:07:05. > :07:08.think he has made a good start. I think he WAS quite impressive. And I

:07:09. > :07:12.think he has forced Will Stevens to up his race pace. It has been

:07:13. > :07:20.noticeable that we have heard some irate leading drivers saying the

:07:21. > :07:24.Manors are not getting out of the way. But their race result is

:07:25. > :07:34.dependent upon them not losing time against the readers. -- against the

:07:35. > :07:35.leaders. So they have not in getting off-line, they have been keeping

:07:36. > :07:40.position. I off-line, they have been keeping

:07:41. > :07:42.caused by Rossi stepping up and forcing

:07:43. > :07:46.caused by Rossi stepping up and pace. We are looking at Sebastian

:07:47. > :07:52.caused by Rossi stepping up and Vettel, who has a great record here

:07:53. > :07:56.caused by Rossi stepping up and at Abu Dhabi. Kimi Raikkonen has

:07:57. > :08:00.also won here in the past. Coming back to that Manor Marussia story,

:08:01. > :08:08.Tony. Down the back of the field. However next year they will have an

:08:09. > :08:11.up-to-date chassis with a Mercedes engine in the back of the car. They

:08:12. > :08:18.will have much more power and a chassis built to 2016 rules as

:08:19. > :08:23.opposed to what has essentially been a 2014 car this year. I think there

:08:24. > :08:28.might be a bit of a bidding war for the drivers to try to get into that

:08:29. > :08:31.Marussia team. I spoke to someone who is in GP2 at the moment,

:08:32. > :08:34.Marussia team. I spoke to someone will actually be driving for them

:08:35. > :08:39.this week in a tyre test and I get the impression that there is a lot

:08:40. > :08:49.of interest in that. I think you're right. Absolutely. The fact that

:08:50. > :08:53.that car is going to take a quantum step will make it very attractive to

:08:54. > :08:59.a lot of people. And that will up the pressure on a lot of the guys.

:09:00. > :09:04.announcement here this weekend but announcement here this weekend but

:09:05. > :09:11.it is something to look forward to over the winter. Out on the

:09:12. > :09:16.circuit, has to Maldonado -- Pastor Maldonado being followed at the

:09:17. > :09:22.moment by Nico Rosberg. At the moment they are just checking the

:09:23. > :09:25.cars have been fully rebuilt. Max Verstappen put in another really

:09:26. > :09:29.good performance last time in Brazil, pulling off some tremendous

:09:30. > :09:35.overtaking manoeuvres. We went along to his chat to journalists yesterday

:09:36. > :09:38.and it struck me how confident he is at the moment. Not cocky or

:09:39. > :09:43.arrogant, he has a lovely Manor about him but he knows he has put in

:09:44. > :09:48.a good first season and now it is all about how he gets on in his

:09:49. > :09:52.second season. Quite often it might not quite so well in the second

:09:53. > :09:59.year. This is Daniel Ricciardo and you can see the amazing brakes on

:10:00. > :10:05.the car to measure the airflow. That's right. Just speaking to the

:10:06. > :10:10.team principal, he said that Melbourne, straightaway, the first

:10:11. > :10:13.race, he realised there was something a bit special about Max.

:10:14. > :10:19.He said he was out on a set of prime tyres and he had drivers behind him

:10:20. > :10:22.on options and he said, as they got a bit closer to him he just raised

:10:23. > :10:26.his game by a couple of tenths at the same time as managing the race

:10:27. > :10:31.and keeping his eye on fuel. He said it was extraordinary for a debut.

:10:32. > :10:35.And I think the overtaking has been one of the most impressive things

:10:36. > :10:41.this year for him. Sergio Perez and is into the pits. Of course, Force

:10:42. > :10:47.India have had an impressive second half to the year. He started with

:10:48. > :10:51.what was effectively their 2014 car. Once they got the new car onto the

:10:52. > :10:59.track, they did extremely well. They got useful points to be fair even

:11:00. > :11:04.with the older car. Let's see what Kimi Raikkonen has been up to. This

:11:05. > :11:08.is a replay of him on the circuit just a moment ago. He has got little

:11:09. > :11:14.lights at the back. Measuring systems of all sorts on the cars.

:11:15. > :11:20.Those lasers may be looking at ride height levels. The more the car

:11:21. > :11:25.speeds up down the straight, the airflow pushes the car down into the

:11:26. > :11:28.road and changes the right height. It might be measuring that or it

:11:29. > :11:34.might be something else. Talking about Force India, as you were, they

:11:35. > :11:44.started off impressively with the about Force India, as you were, they

:11:45. > :11:49.old car, as you say. But when they brought the update into play, it had

:11:50. > :11:55.a lot better high-speed balance. And a lot better high-speed balance. And

:11:56. > :11:59.they have actually consolidated themselves into a very solid fifth

:12:00. > :12:03.in the Constructors' Championship, with nobody really close to them. I

:12:04. > :12:07.think they have benefited from McLaren falling away. Last year they

:12:08. > :12:14.were fighting McLaren a lot of the time. That is true. Nonetheless it

:12:15. > :12:20.has been a hugely successful season from them. Pastor Maldonado, who

:12:21. > :12:23.will stay with this team. No official announcements yet about

:12:24. > :12:27.Renault buying into that team. Everybody says it is about to

:12:28. > :12:31.happen. But as yet we have not seen that announcement made. But we know

:12:32. > :12:37.that the drivers will be Pastor Maldonado along with Jolyon Palmer.

:12:38. > :12:41.And Palmer must be relishing the fact that this will be the last time

:12:42. > :12:45.he does a Friday morning only session. Next time he will be doing

:12:46. > :12:50.the whole weekend. Access tap-in quietly sitting and waiting for his

:12:51. > :12:56.signal to come back out. Lewis Hamilton is on track. -- Max

:12:57. > :12:58.Verstappen. Let's see whether he will be able to turn the tables on

:12:59. > :13:02.his team-mate this weekend. He is will be able to turn the tables on

:13:03. > :13:10.still looking for that 44th win as well as his 50th pole position.

:13:11. > :13:19.RADIO: Is my seat in the normal position? In the low position. In

:13:20. > :13:23.the low position. That is interesting. He has some options

:13:24. > :13:27.there. Sometimes on the street tracks in particular they will go

:13:28. > :13:31.for a slightly raised position to improve visibility. On this one they

:13:32. > :13:37.should be happy with the lower position. He always loves the final

:13:38. > :13:40.section of this track. He likens it to a kart track, where he had so

:13:41. > :13:49.much success in his early years of course. Yes, late-breaking, bouncing

:13:50. > :13:57.it over the kerbs, acrobatics - that is his domain. He did make a bit of

:13:58. > :14:03.a mistake here last year, getting outqualify by Nico Rosberg after

:14:04. > :14:07.overcooking it a bit in this final sector. This weekend they are on the

:14:08. > :14:16.softer of the tyre compounds which Pirelli brings. So, they are on the

:14:17. > :14:21.soft and the super-soft. By the end of the lap in qualifying here,

:14:22. > :14:27.sometimes that tyre has given its best. So they are really struggling

:14:28. > :14:31.in these last few corners. That's right. If you think back to last

:14:32. > :14:38.year, quite a lot of instances on the super-soft where it was locking

:14:39. > :14:46.up by the end of the lap. He is very aggressive, he uses it hard. And

:14:47. > :14:54.last year he admitted, he had two really scruffy laps in Q3. Of course

:14:55. > :14:59.the atmosphere was immense then when the championship was still up for

:15:00. > :15:03.grabs. Last year everybody was still edgy, wondering how that final race

:15:04. > :15:05.would resolve. Rosberg was still in with a good chance of winning the

:15:06. > :15:10.Championship. In the end it was Warburg who suffered a failure of

:15:11. > :15:16.the hybrid system and ultimately he could not challenge. Hamilton was on

:15:17. > :15:22.a mission that day. He went on to win the race as well as the title.

:15:23. > :15:31.He still had to finish the race. There is always the chance of

:15:32. > :15:34.something going wrong. The championship that got away from

:15:35. > :15:42.Fernando Alonso in particular, getting stuck behind Petrova that

:15:43. > :15:46.after lap and finishing in second place, Sebastian Vettel took the win

:15:47. > :15:51.and the championship as well. We were just talking about the tyre

:15:52. > :15:56.choice but we will not see the super soft in this session, will we? They

:15:57. > :16:00.will save it for later today? Yes they will. And also the super

:16:01. > :16:05.super-soft that you mentioned earlier, that will only be on street

:16:06. > :16:11.circuits next year. This does not have a lot of grip. Daniel

:16:12. > :16:15.Ricciardo's wheel spin out of the pit garage and some opposite lock as

:16:16. > :16:18.he goes down the pit lane. The tyre pressures are a bit higher than they

:16:19. > :16:22.were last year. They've got a minimum tyre pressure and a maximum

:16:23. > :16:30.camber on the tyre that they can actually run and that is now up to

:16:31. > :16:37.20 psi on the front. That means low speed grip that you spoke about,

:16:38. > :16:41.Lewis Hamilton liking it so much, he's going to need all of his feel

:16:42. > :16:44.and balance trying to get the card to float through those corners,

:16:45. > :16:51.which in my opinion will be one of the keys to that lap. We will

:16:52. > :16:56.certainly be keeping an eye on them and seeing how the final sector

:16:57. > :16:59.shapes up when we get to qualifying. Right now they are finding their

:17:00. > :17:04.feet a bit and getting their cars into the balance they want. This

:17:05. > :17:08.session can be misleading because it is in the heat of the date and we

:17:09. > :17:12.have a track temperature at the moment of 35 degrees. As we go into

:17:13. > :17:17.the evening and the sun drops, the track temperature goes down with it.

:17:18. > :17:21.It's not quite as hot as it was here 12 months ago. The track temperature

:17:22. > :17:26.for the first session was up to 45 last year. This is helpful in a way,

:17:27. > :17:36.that the track temperature is not quite as high as we have seen. We

:17:37. > :17:40.have been asking you on the Facebook page for your stars of the season.

:17:41. > :17:44.Who or what have been your stars of the season? Join in with

:17:45. > :17:48.Who or what have been your stars of will be funded have your comments on

:17:49. > :17:57.what has been a highlight for you. RADIO: I need a change of steering

:17:58. > :18:02.wheel. Lewis needing a change of steering wheel, not quite sure what

:18:03. > :18:11.is going on there. Rosberg has now set the first flying lap of the

:18:12. > :18:17.session, 1:55.1. The fastest time in this session last year, 1.43.

:18:18. > :18:20.Rosberg went on to take pole position here. The Toro Rosso we're

:18:21. > :18:28.looking at right position here. The Toro Rosso we're

:18:29. > :18:31.call. They are owned by the man who owns Red Bull but they don't have

:18:32. > :18:35.anything like the same budget to work with. They have a solid budget

:18:36. > :18:41.but it is very much a midfield team. Has this been a good year by

:18:42. > :18:45.their standards, with these two drivers, Verstappen and Carlos

:18:46. > :18:49.Sainz? I think it has been a fabulous year. It's had a lot of

:18:50. > :18:54.downforce and it's been a very good car. It's been hamstrung a little

:18:55. > :19:01.bit by the lack of run by the Renault power unit. They reckon that

:19:02. > :19:07.120 points have gone begging through the season because of those

:19:08. > :19:15.problems. The overtaking manoeuvres they have pulled off, I said to

:19:16. > :19:18.Prost, has the speed deficit rather than advantage made it even more

:19:19. > :19:24.impressive? He said yes but they have had a good tool to do it. This

:19:25. > :19:34.car is normally very stable on the braking. Normally. But sometimes you

:19:35. > :19:35.can go on the brink 's -- on the brakes and it will spin. It's very

:19:36. > :19:45.delicate. brakes and it will spin. It's very

:19:46. > :19:48.more grunt. It refers to a little wing that sits underneath the main

:19:49. > :19:53.rear wing, just underneath the engine cover, not on the car at the

:19:54. > :20:04.moment so we can't pointed out to you at the moment.

:20:05. > :20:07.RADIO: ... Steering wheel so we can continue the run. Otherwise I think

:20:08. > :20:09.we will probably lose it. Hamilton has stayed out there, currently

:20:10. > :20:17.fourth fastest. You're talking about has stayed out there, currently

:20:18. > :20:22.the Aero and the efficiency of it. On the back of the car there is a

:20:23. > :20:27.huge element measuring with lots of sensors. That is collecting all of

:20:28. > :20:31.the data because the aerodynamics are so critical at the moment on

:20:32. > :20:34.these cars, because they are all talking about efficiency. Horsepower

:20:35. > :20:40.is one thing and it needs an engine formula. Red Bull feel now with all

:20:41. > :20:44.of the games they have made through the season that their chassis is as

:20:45. > :20:49.good as the Mercedes, which without a shadow of a doubt has been the

:20:50. > :20:52.best one all season. However, we know that this team is not content

:20:53. > :20:55.with being fought in the championship and they want to

:20:56. > :21:04.improve stop this is all about what they will be doing in 2016. Keeping

:21:05. > :21:08.everything cool while the car is there. Daniel Ricciardo is on his

:21:09. > :21:13.way once again. Riding on board with Valtteri Bottas. Hamilton has just

:21:14. > :21:28.gone second. Ericsson and Merhi the only others who have set a

:21:29. > :21:32.lap time. This arena and hotel is resplendent particularly at night

:21:33. > :21:34.time when they light up all the windowpanes that are across the top

:21:35. > :21:41.of that hotel. windowpanes that are across the top

:21:42. > :21:47.it's probably more impressive is the king down into the marina. Valtteri

:21:48. > :21:52.Bottas now goes the fastest in this session for Williams. Williams have

:21:53. > :21:59.had a solid season this year, wrapping up the place in the

:22:00. > :22:02.constructors trophy. Let's see what Vettel did a moment ago. He went

:22:03. > :22:08.very deep but did not actually locked up which was a bit strange,

:22:09. > :22:12.down into 1011. Then picked it up once again. That was a bit of a

:22:13. > :22:16.strange one. Just talking about Williams, of course their season has

:22:17. > :22:19.been a solid season. A bit of a mishap at the end of the last Grand

:22:20. > :22:23.Prix which we didn't get to commentate on, which was the fact

:22:24. > :22:26.that Felipe Massa got excluded from the Brazilian Grand Prix for

:22:27. > :22:32.finishing in eighth place. It was a decision about tyre pressures wasn't

:22:33. > :22:37.it? It was actually tyre temperatures. Out of the blanket it

:22:38. > :22:40.was 27 degrees to heart. temperatures. Out of the blanket it

:22:41. > :22:45.initially appeal that and then said they could not follow through with

:22:46. > :22:50.the appeal. Pat Symonds explained that yesterday, the technical

:22:51. > :22:52.director. He said, basically, we are third in the Constructors'

:22:53. > :22:58.Championship and four points lost didn't make any difference.

:22:59. > :23:01.Amusingly we just made next year's entry fee more expensive, because

:23:02. > :23:06.that changes with the number of points they have! On top of that,

:23:07. > :23:14.the Appeal Court is a good judicial reprocess and you have to be very

:23:15. > :23:17.well-prepared, you have to pay barristers and people to represent

:23:18. > :23:28.you and he's been through a lot of that. He said "we did have three

:23:29. > :23:31.pieces of evidence", they had their data from tyre pressures and

:23:32. > :23:35.infrared sensors and he's convinced that they would have won that appeal

:23:36. > :23:40.but they decided not to follow through. Roberto Merhi with a little

:23:41. > :23:44.lock-up, nothing too dramatic. The Spaniard in the Manor Marussia car.

:23:45. > :23:51.Thanks for your comments coming in. David Tyrell says, we asked about

:23:52. > :23:56.stars of the season, and he said Alonso and Button,

:23:57. > :24:00.stars of the season, and he said and constant will to be positive has

:24:01. > :24:06.to be applauded. Another backs him up, the stars of the year are Button

:24:07. > :24:10.and Alonso, handled every situation with a smile. A lot of you

:24:11. > :24:14.supporting them. Interesting comment yesterday by Jenson Button, saying

:24:15. > :24:18.that in his opinion and Alonso did he has been a tougher team-mate for

:24:19. > :24:24.him than Lewis Hamilton was in that 2010-2012 period when they were

:24:25. > :24:27.team-mates at McLaren. Jensen also making the point that Lewis has got

:24:28. > :24:32.even better since then dubbed yellow he said what everyone appreciates,

:24:33. > :24:37.the relentlessness of Alonso as a racer is always there. He said you

:24:38. > :24:41.get the day, Lewis is obviously phenomenal and untouchable on

:24:42. > :24:47.Sundays but you some days when he goes missing. Alonso, if you are in

:24:48. > :24:53.front of him he is pushing you want, if you are behind him you are trying

:24:54. > :24:58.to hold on. He said I'm not going away, clever drivers say clever

:24:59. > :25:01.things for a reason. Alonso also responded to a comment yesterday,

:25:02. > :25:07.just looking at a replay here of Roberto Merhi, he did a bit of curb

:25:08. > :25:10.hopping, and he referred to a question about the good relationship

:25:11. > :25:15.between himself and Jenson Button, they have been joking around a bit

:25:16. > :25:21.of course which we saw in Brazil... He said they do get on well but if

:25:22. > :25:24.you -- you can bet that if the car is competitive next year and they

:25:25. > :25:30.are fighting each other for the World Championship, the atmosphere

:25:31. > :25:34.might be a bit more tense between them. Is it vast li optimistic to

:25:35. > :25:43.hope that they've got any chance of battling for the World Championship

:25:44. > :25:48.next year? It is so hard to know, Ben. They are at the start of the

:25:49. > :25:51.development process of the Honda engine. If you think back to Ferrari

:25:52. > :25:56.last year they had similar problems. It was the same area. They

:25:57. > :26:01.made enormous progress this year. If they can do a Ferrari, they might be

:26:02. > :26:07.battling not for the championship but possibly for podiums and who

:26:08. > :26:14.knows, maybe a win in a race. Rosberg fastest from Hamilton in the

:26:15. > :26:21.yellow. Hulkenberg and Perez showing well for Force India. It's

:26:22. > :26:27.interesting talking about engines, I went to a Mercedes briefing just

:26:28. > :26:31.before coming up to the commentary box and Andy Powell was making the

:26:32. > :26:35.point that these power units and now are as powerful as the last of the

:26:36. > :26:41.three litre V ten engines that we saw at the end of 2005,

:26:42. > :26:47.three litre V ten engines that we running on nearly half the fuel flow

:26:48. > :26:53.rate, using 190 kilos of fuel per hour in the V ten engines, now on

:26:54. > :26:58.100 kilos per hour. Not quite half but getting on for it, and yet they

:26:59. > :27:03.are not as powerful as that. It just shows the sort of advances there

:27:04. > :27:09.have been, the efficiency of a lot of these engines is incredible. What

:27:10. > :27:13.also was interesting and a bit worrying for everyone else perhaps,

:27:14. > :27:17.I asked him if that element rate had slowed down a bit, you've years to

:27:18. > :27:21.get your head around these things, and it slowed down? He said not

:27:22. > :27:26.really, the engineering groups are still coming up with great ideas and

:27:27. > :27:32.we're pushing on. It's not going to be easy for any team to catch

:27:33. > :27:36.Mercedes because they are still developing that engine. We've

:27:37. > :27:40.mention Honda in the past and there is a tendency for the Japanese to

:27:41. > :27:44.want to do everything from within and not poach people from

:27:45. > :27:49.elsewhere, to do it from within. That might hold them back, because

:27:50. > :27:55.it is quite complex technology. Interestingly, he was saying it is

:27:56. > :27:59.definitely relevant to read cards as well, James Allen who will be

:28:00. > :28:02.commentating on the second session this afternoon asked to that

:28:03. > :28:04.specific question, you are getting all that power from a much smaller

:28:05. > :28:14.engine now... RADIO: Second lap... He was talking

:28:15. > :28:20.about his tyres, not the car overheating but the thermal on the

:28:21. > :28:29.tyres getting too hot on the second lap. Hamilton has gone fastest now

:28:30. > :28:30.over Rosberg, but not much difference between them. Smaller

:28:31. > :28:35.engines are going to be the order of difference between them. Smaller

:28:36. > :28:41.the day in road cars as well, and they going to be turbo-charged and

:28:42. > :28:46.use turbochargers. Which is exactly what these engines are using in

:28:47. > :28:52.Formula 1. He said although there is nothing that would immediately show

:28:53. > :28:55.the transfer from Formula 1 to that technology, -- to road car

:28:56. > :28:59.technology, he said in Mercedes there is a massive amounts of work

:29:00. > :29:04.going on on the road car site to transfer the kind of information

:29:05. > :29:07.they are showing here into road cars. I think it's absolutely right

:29:08. > :29:14.that Formula 1 should be seen to be relevant. You can't rarely contest

:29:15. > :29:19.that. What we've done wrong is that we have not had a customer cost

:29:20. > :29:23.count on the engine, so manufacturers can spend as much as

:29:24. > :29:28.they want but they have to provide the power units to customer teams at

:29:29. > :29:31.a sensible price. Which is what has driven this recently announced

:29:32. > :29:35.a sensible price. Which is what has tender shot down and there has now

:29:36. > :29:39.been a proposal for January 15 next year. They have to come down with a

:29:40. > :29:44.solution to providing a minimum number of teams so that everyone has

:29:45. > :29:48.access to a power unit at a sensible cost. The FIA said a sensible cost

:29:49. > :29:54.was 12 million euros and teams are now paying 20 plus. I imagine it

:29:55. > :30:00.will commonly be somewhere between those two figures. That will be

:30:01. > :30:04.demented as earlier 2017. Lots of changes certainly in the offing but

:30:05. > :30:09.it depends on agreements being made, doesn't it? Sebastian Vettel on

:30:10. > :30:12.track in the Ferrari right now. Despite the Ferrari World theme park

:30:13. > :30:22.being right next to this track, Bastian and Kimi were -- Sebastian

:30:23. > :30:35.and Kimi were on the roller-coaster the other day. I did that for times

:30:36. > :30:39.-- four times. Terrifying! He has gone faster than Hamilton now,

:30:40. > :30:45.Rosberg. Both Force India up there. Bottas up in a place -- Jenson

:30:46. > :30:46.Button in eighth place. I don't think we can read too much optimism

:30:47. > :31:00.into that. Alan, I wanted to bring you in on

:31:01. > :31:11.this. Just looking back on the season, Nico Hulkenberg, winner at

:31:12. > :31:14.Le Mans, and he had a great period in the summer, but things did not go

:31:15. > :31:26.quite so well after that, with a few too many accidents...? So, we are

:31:27. > :31:30.just looking on track at the moment at a bit of a slow Mo of Jenson

:31:31. > :31:37.Button. We will come back to Alan in just a moment. Everybody making the

:31:38. > :31:41.most of the kerb down there. There are regulations at the chicanes but

:31:42. > :31:49.if you go behind the kerb and gain an advantage, that would be reported

:31:50. > :31:53.to the stewards. Something which is more for the race itself rather than

:31:54. > :31:57.qualifying. Alan, I was just asking you about what you thought of Nico

:31:58. > :32:02.Hulkenberg's season? I think actually he has had quite a good

:32:03. > :32:03.season. However, Sergio Perez has grabbed a couple of the headlines.

:32:04. > :32:07.Hulkenberg without a shadow of a grabbed a couple of the headlines.

:32:08. > :32:13.doubt in the middle of the year, about Le Mans, he was on a real

:32:14. > :32:16.roll. He was the one who was delivering. When it has been

:32:17. > :32:22.difficult for them, he has usually been in a good position to pick out

:32:23. > :32:26.some points. Until they got their upgrade they were hanging on as a

:32:27. > :32:32.team. But since then, since the British Grand Prix, the car has been

:32:33. > :32:36.a big step forward. It has been the biggest improving car over the

:32:37. > :32:40.course of the season, not surprises in their started with a 2014

:32:41. > :32:46.specifications. Hulkenberg alongside Perez, as a unit, I think they will

:32:47. > :32:48.be very strong in 2016. You have been out in the Middle East for more

:32:49. > :32:51.than a week now, been out in the Middle East for more

:32:52. > :32:58.endurance race last weekend. You have got your Audi on and Audi came

:32:59. > :33:01.close in the end but of course it was Mark Webber along with his

:33:02. > :33:05.team-mates who was Mark Webber along with his

:33:06. > :33:07.title. What were your thoughts? It was very, very close. All the way

:33:08. > :33:12.through the was very, very close. All the way

:33:13. > :33:18.winning car of the McLean, Mark Webber and his team-mates, had some

:33:19. > :33:23.technical problems to the point where the engine

:33:24. > :33:23.technical problems to the point and on again. And they had to finish

:33:24. > :33:27.fifth if the Audi was and on again. And they had to finish

:33:28. > :33:30.The Audi was leading for a significant proportion but

:33:31. > :33:36.ultimately it was that car which took the title. After 66 hours, the

:33:37. > :33:41.World Championships came down to the final half an hour of the season.

:33:42. > :33:44.Mark Webber I can tell you, after missing out on the World

:33:45. > :33:49.Championship Elche years ago here, he was over the moon and he had a

:33:50. > :33:56.celebratory drink on the Saturday night. And we hope he might be

:33:57. > :34:01.around on Saturday night and we can congratulate him. His last pole

:34:02. > :34:05.position was here actually in 2013. The outqualified Sebastian Vettel on

:34:06. > :34:13.that occasion. That was a famous rivalry, tone. It certainly was. It

:34:14. > :34:20.was that period earlier in that year when Mark won back-to-back races in

:34:21. > :34:30.Barcelona and Monaco, and I think in his book he reveals that they came

:34:31. > :34:36.out that it came out that Seb had a cracked chassis, which might have

:34:37. > :34:43.been a phantom cracked chassis, which made him feel more confident.

:34:44. > :34:48.It is funny now when Vettel talks about it, it is almost a wistful

:34:49. > :34:53.looking back to that rivalry that he had with Mark Webber. The cars are

:34:54. > :34:56.now coming in. They have used the initial set of tyres and they have

:34:57. > :35:02.to hand them back after 30 minutes of use. We are at that point.

:35:03. > :35:08.Rosberg is fastest, from Hamilton. Raikkonen is third fastest for

:35:09. > :35:24.Ferrari. Hulkenberg and Perez are both up their full Force India. --

:35:25. > :35:35.for Force India. Let's go down to the pits. The news is on the other

:35:36. > :35:39.side of the Lotus garage. Romain Grosjean Sully Kaikai has been taken

:35:40. > :35:50.over this morning by Jolyon Palmer, who will berate Singh for the team

:35:51. > :36:01.in 2016. -- Romain Grosjean's car has been taken over. But there is

:36:02. > :36:04.some work to do which will deny Jolyon Palmer the chance to drive in

:36:05. > :36:12.this session, it appears. It is a shame. It appears it was yet another

:36:13. > :36:17.problem with the brakes. So, they have worked from 8.30 in the morning

:36:18. > :36:22.straight through until just getting into the curfew time. Basically it

:36:23. > :36:28.means that from the first pallet arriving, 27 hours later the car

:36:29. > :36:32.went out on track. It is a shame. The guys in this team are up against

:36:33. > :36:36.it. Romain Grosjean said to me yesterday, it has not affected him

:36:37. > :36:42.too much. Had to have a sandwich for lunch instead of a healthy meal but

:36:43. > :36:46.in fact, it is more apparent with the guys in the team who have almost

:36:47. > :36:52.been working for 20 hours just to get these cars out. Thanks, Lee. It

:36:53. > :37:00.has been a very tough time for that team. It is going to be Romain

:37:01. > :37:04.Grosjean's last outing for this team before he moves across to America.

:37:05. > :37:09.So, it is a bittersweet weekend for him. And you spoke to him

:37:10. > :37:15.yesterday, Lee, so let's find out what he had to say. Right now their

:37:16. > :37:22.very happy to be here, to race for the last time for Lotus, trying to

:37:23. > :37:26.do a good race. It is always special. When you get to Sunday

:37:27. > :37:31.evening it will probably be hard to leave the guys. They have become

:37:32. > :37:36.like family and it will be sad. But looking at the future I think the

:37:37. > :37:42.new chapter will be very exciting. Never say never. I may come back one

:37:43. > :37:47.day. Well, he made his debut in 2009 with that team at Valencia. All ten

:37:48. > :37:52.podiums have come with that team. He had to leave it for a while. His

:37:53. > :37:55.initial career in Formula 1 was not usually successful and he went back

:37:56. > :38:02.to GP2. I remember commenting on him on a race here in Abu Dhabi in a

:38:03. > :38:06.Ford GT car and he won on debut, which very impressive. He was in

:38:07. > :38:11.that period when he was rebuilding his career, dot back into Formula 1

:38:12. > :38:17.and although there were some hiccups in 2012 he has delivered since then.

:38:18. > :38:22.Indeed. I was impressed with him from the start when he came in in

:38:23. > :38:26.2009 against Fernando Alonso and he got within a couple of tenths of him

:38:27. > :38:30.in a couple of qualifying sessions. It was a year after the incident in

:38:31. > :38:40.Singapore. He was there in the middle of that. As you say, that was

:38:41. > :38:45.the debut in 2009 but he has been connected since 2005 when he went

:38:46. > :38:49.there on a development programme. So, a ten year relationship with

:38:50. > :38:55.that team. As you say, mixed feelings for him. Yes, it will be an

:38:56. > :38:59.interesting weekend but he is obviously very excited about the new

:39:00. > :39:05.challenge of going to America. He still has a good relationship with

:39:06. > :39:18.Fernando Alonso, I believe. You often see them chatting away. We can

:39:19. > :39:23.now go down to the pits and join the Williams technical director Pat

:39:24. > :39:28.Symonds. Packed, how relevant is this first session to you guys? Of

:39:29. > :39:32.course, track temperatures tend to behind in this session than in the

:39:33. > :39:38.race? Absolutely right. You just need to be careful what you are

:39:39. > :39:44.doing. Obviously, second practice is more relevant. That is when we do

:39:45. > :39:47.the majority of the tyre work. So, this session is about really

:39:48. > :39:54.understanding our energy management and things like that. Ensuring that

:39:55. > :39:58.we know what our deployment is, what our fuel consumption looks like,

:39:59. > :40:07.those sort of things. Hi, it is tone. We have heard about what

:40:08. > :40:12.happened in Brazil with Felipe. Have you got any clues as to what

:40:13. > :40:15.happened that weekend, was it the new kerbs, what was causing him

:40:16. > :40:21.problems? Yes, it was not a great weekend for him. I think we did have

:40:22. > :40:25.to change a few parts on the car which we were not happy with. I

:40:26. > :40:34.think we are back on top of it now so I am sure he will be strong here.

:40:35. > :40:38.Pat, you had a great weekend here last year, with that end of season

:40:39. > :40:42.finale and all the attention on Hamilton and Rosberg but you ended

:40:43. > :40:48.up with a double podium. Do you think you can be that competitive

:40:49. > :40:52.again this weekend? I think we can be very competitive this weekend.

:40:53. > :40:58.This is a good circuit for us. Of course, Ferrari are a lot closer to

:40:59. > :41:03.Mercedes than they were last year. So, there is quite a squabble to get

:41:04. > :41:11.onto the podium. But I think as a team, Williams can be strong. We can

:41:12. > :41:14.see some images at the moment of Bottas. He has got this one-point

:41:15. > :41:19.advantage over Kimi Raikkonen in the Championship. How focused is he on

:41:20. > :41:23.that or is it just concentrating on getting the best out of the weekend?

:41:24. > :41:30.I don't think they are mutually exclusive. In getting the best out

:41:31. > :41:36.of the weekend, you get the most points and he has the best chance of

:41:37. > :41:40.beating his countryman. I don't think he is seeing that as an

:41:41. > :41:46.objective. Is objective is to get up on the podium and if Raikkonen does

:41:47. > :41:52.not get there, then he has achieved all his objectives. Finally for now,

:41:53. > :41:58.Pat, this first session is very much a test session before you get into

:41:59. > :42:02.serious stuff - are you doing any work today towards next year's car?

:42:03. > :42:07.Yes, there are some components on the cars which we hope to introduce

:42:08. > :42:10.next year. I think that is quite a general thing with a lot of the

:42:11. > :42:16.teams. Thank you very much for joining us. So, Pat Simmons

:42:17. > :42:17.teams. Thank you very much for chief technical officer for Williams

:42:18. > :42:29.having us a bit of an chief technical officer for Williams

:42:30. > :42:32.the approach for this weekend. Tony, it has come to blows a couple of

:42:33. > :42:43.times, the confrontation between the 2 Finns. Indeed, and he said

:42:44. > :42:47.yesterday, he wants to do it fair and square on the track. He had good

:42:48. > :42:53.pace here last year and he will give it everything. In reality, he should

:42:54. > :42:59.not be anywhere near Kimi. If you look at what Vettel has done. That's

:43:00. > :43:08.right. Ferrari has been the stronger car. So if Bottas was able to beat

:43:09. > :43:11.Kimi on the track, it would be quite something. We can go back now to

:43:12. > :43:17.some of the interviews we did yesterday. We caught up with

:43:18. > :43:20.Fernando Alonso. It has not been a great year for him. Plenty of you

:43:21. > :43:24.have said he has been one of your stars of the year because of his

:43:25. > :43:28.patience. But he is going to have his lowest score in Formula

:43:29. > :43:29.patience. But he is going to have he first came to the Championship

:43:30. > :43:38.with Minardi. What has his he first came to the Championship

:43:39. > :43:43.reaction to that? Even in the worst season of my career we have had some

:43:44. > :43:47.good results. Because at Minardi you would not expect to score so it is a

:43:48. > :43:52.different mentality. So it has been a difficult season in terms of

:43:53. > :43:57.results to see a difficult season in terms of

:43:58. > :44:00.in terms of learning a lot with the team, the McLaren philosophy of

:44:01. > :44:04.developing the car is quite difficult to what I was used to. A

:44:05. > :44:07.lot of learning from the Honda approach and the Honda discipline

:44:08. > :44:18.and profession are lucky in difficult times. -- and

:44:19. > :44:21.professionalism in difficult times. People say that what does not kill

:44:22. > :44:25.you makes you stronger and I think we are alive so I think we will be

:44:26. > :44:31.very strong. So, Fernando giving lots of positives, Tony. A couple of

:44:32. > :44:34.times this year he has been fairly vocal on the radio about the lack of

:44:35. > :44:42.performance but he does seem to be a bit more uniting the team at this

:44:43. > :44:46.stage? Yes, hedonist. -- yes, he does. When you back to earlier in

:44:47. > :44:52.the season everybody was saying, what have you done? He said, I know

:44:53. > :44:58.what I have done. I am not going to win the championship this year. The

:44:59. > :45:02.only took the Mercedes is to have a different approach, come in with a

:45:03. > :45:05.new And develop it from the start and I have taken on a new challenge

:45:06. > :45:11.which hopefully will give the opportunity to meet a win that third

:45:12. > :45:16.world title. The first one since 2006. It has been a long old gap.

:45:17. > :45:20.But next year, will he have the car to do it? Ferrari are definitely

:45:21. > :45:25.positioning themselves to be Mercedes' main rival once again. But

:45:26. > :45:30.they would hope that much closer again next year.

:45:31. > :45:36.We just heard from Felipe Massa's technical boss, Pat Symonds, after

:45:37. > :45:41.the disappointment of Brazil. Hopefully they can put that behind

:45:42. > :45:45.them and he can finish the season on a strong note. They were double

:45:46. > :45:51.podium finishes and Bottas actually had a poor start, Rob and with a

:45:52. > :45:55.clutch off the line. He was able to find his way back and get that third

:45:56. > :45:59.place. Further down the order, Sauber have had a bit of a mixed

:46:00. > :46:05.season, I would say. We just saw Marcus Ericsson. They started the

:46:06. > :46:08.season well with a car that clearly had reliability and some

:46:09. > :46:14.performance, a much better car than 2014 when they scored nothing at

:46:15. > :46:18.all. Ericsson had a string of point-scoring results but they

:46:19. > :46:21.haven't really maintained that form throughout the year. Yellow they

:46:22. > :46:28.haven't. A lot of that initial movement came from the improved

:46:29. > :46:36.Ferrari power unit. They were not totally convinced about it. It was

:46:37. > :46:42.Singapore, they had not developed it. It was the first time on that

:46:43. > :46:49.kind of circuit and they were in two minds as to how effective it was all

:46:50. > :46:52.so they did not have the budget of a lot of the top teams to carry on

:46:53. > :46:55.that sort of lot of the top teams to carry on

:46:56. > :46:58.massively better than last year but they ran out of puff a bit. We will

:46:59. > :47:03.see how they finish of the season. they ran out of puff a bit. We will

:47:04. > :47:05.Fernando Alonso was asked in a press conference yesterday if there was

:47:06. > :47:10.any chance of McLaren speaking ahead of Sauber in the final points after

:47:11. > :47:17.this race. It's not impossible mathematically, nine points is what

:47:18. > :47:27.separates Sauber and McLaren, but it would need a miracle I think for

:47:28. > :47:34.effectively both to score big points. McLaren will end the season

:47:35. > :47:39.last but one in the Constructors' Championship. Manor Marussia have

:47:40. > :47:43.failed to score any bump points and McLaren are ahead of only them. Both

:47:44. > :47:46.cars have only scored points on six occasions for McLaren and it would

:47:47. > :47:51.need something like the hungry result, the Budapest result, where

:47:52. > :48:09.Fernando scored ten points, that kind of thing. It's not particularly

:48:10. > :48:16.likely. Felipe Nasr has raised here in GP2. Max Verstappen has been

:48:17. > :48:17.getting credit for the Rookie of the year, but Felipe Nasr deserves a lot

:48:18. > :48:22.of credit. The best debut year, but Felipe Nasr deserves a lot

:48:23. > :48:26.Brazilian driver in Formula 1, which is quite some achievement, but

:48:27. > :48:33.hasn't been able to back it up. Has been a reasonably impressive debut

:48:34. > :48:38.season for Felipe Nasr. Both have signed again for next year, Ericsson

:48:39. > :48:47.and Felipe Nasr, and I think that's good. There have been some braking

:48:48. > :48:52.issues. I think they were going in the right direction with the Aero

:48:53. > :48:55.dive filament but it wasn't working. There have been a number of

:48:56. > :49:01.different factors involved in them losing their way, not just the

:49:02. > :49:03.team. He is a rookie with a fairly inexperienced race engineer. That

:49:04. > :49:08.whole thing has made inexperienced race engineer. That

:49:09. > :49:12.difficult. Allen, just talking about some of the younger drivers, but I

:49:13. > :49:17.wanted to talk about the fact that it's quite quiet out there at the

:49:18. > :49:22.moment. 19 cars in the pits and one can't track, Fernando Alonso. Why is

:49:23. > :49:27.it as quiet as this? Is it because this session is a little less

:49:28. > :49:30.relevant than the others? It is because Nico Rosberg has just gone

:49:31. > :49:34.out of the pit lane and through the tunnel and out onto the track, but

:49:35. > :49:37.it is a couple of things... One is that it is a bit less relevant

:49:38. > :49:41.because of the time of day. The other is that the circuit is a bit

:49:42. > :49:47.dirty and dusty and nobody wants to be the guy that cleans up the track

:49:48. > :49:53.and uses the best out of his tyres. The optimum performance window is

:49:54. > :49:54.quite narrow. Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg's team-mate obviously, has

:49:55. > :49:58.been doing Rosberg's team-mate obviously, has

:49:59. > :50:02.adjustments. Taking this opportunity Rosberg's team-mate obviously, has

:50:03. > :50:06.and to make larger changes. He made an adjustment to the front

:50:07. > :50:10.suspension is actually in the foot well area, the third element that

:50:11. > :50:15.connects both sides of the car together. As well as that, at the

:50:16. > :50:20.beginning of the session he was sitting a bit higher and they were

:50:21. > :50:24.changing the seat. There was something near his shoulders that

:50:25. > :50:29.may have been putting him a touch forward. Now he's stabbing itself

:50:30. > :50:31.into the car. 45 minutes of the session gone, 45 to go, it looks

:50:32. > :50:35.like there will session gone, 45 to go, it looks

:50:36. > :50:38.out on the track in the next few minutes. That's good news for us.

:50:39. > :50:42.Fernando Alonso has been detaining us for a while but it would be good

:50:43. > :50:47.to see a few more cars on the circuit here.

:50:48. > :50:51.to see a few more cars on the Carlos Sainz on track. Rosberg is

:50:52. > :50:56.out there as well. A bit more activity. The shadow is beginning to

:50:57. > :51:03.lengthen a touch. It's only 1:45pm. Later on they will be running around

:51:04. > :51:07.the time of the Grand Prix start, 5pm local time on Sunday, going into

:51:08. > :51:12.darkness, which is a key feature of this race. Alonso goes eighth

:51:13. > :51:17.fastest on that lap, his best lap of the session so far. Just beginning

:51:18. > :51:21.to put together a few laps. He's done a reasonable number, ten laps

:51:22. > :51:25.in total. Rosberg has done more labs than anyone else so far in this

:51:26. > :51:30.session. There is the German, on this great role of results. He's had

:51:31. > :51:36.the last five pole positions in a row, very impressive indeed. He led

:51:37. > :51:41.his 1000th lab in Formula 1 in his career last time out in Brazil. He

:51:42. > :51:47.has never had a hat-trick of wins, Tony. That has got to be his target

:51:48. > :51:53.this weekend. It has, to keep this momentum going. When you had the

:51:54. > :51:57.kind of season he's had, it's almost like getting hit over the head with

:51:58. > :52:01.a baseball bat, going head-to-head with Lewis Hamilton race after race

:52:02. > :52:04.and coming second. The best thing for him is to finish the season in

:52:05. > :52:08.the ascendancy, on a roll, and if he could underline it with a third win

:52:09. > :52:14.here, he might head into next year thinking I can do this. Let's see

:52:15. > :52:20.what he did down into Turn 1 a moment ago. A bit wide. We saw

:52:21. > :52:25.Roberto Merhi go wide earlier. Nothing really to get too excited

:52:26. > :52:29.about. Thanks your comments coming in using the BBC F1. A lot of you

:52:30. > :52:42.going for Max Verstappen is your star of the season. But one or two

:52:43. > :52:47.of you going for Lewis Hamilton. Julie saying the star of the season

:52:48. > :52:51.has to be Lewis Hamilton, winning his third World Championship, and

:52:52. > :52:55.Mercedes as the winning team. They certainly have dominated proceedings

:52:56. > :53:00.this year. Lewis Hamilton looking to match the record of podium finishes

:53:01. > :53:03.scored in one year. He's trying to get the 17 to match the existing

:53:04. > :53:07.record and he's looking to trying get 18 front row starts as well. It

:53:08. > :53:12.really has been a remarkable year for him. Liability has been great,

:53:13. > :53:18.with one non-finish. Even that didn't hurt him so much because that

:53:19. > :53:21.was at a track where they were struggling anyway and Rosberg was

:53:22. > :53:29.not able to take advantage of it double yellow he's been fortunate

:53:30. > :53:33.from that perspective. He's been fortunate from that perspective. I

:53:34. > :53:38.think we've got a really strong depth of talent in Formula 1 right

:53:39. > :53:43.now, nine Grand Prix winners, another five or six people who you

:53:44. > :53:48.would not argue if they won a Grand Prix that it would not be expected.

:53:49. > :53:54.One of your role is of course is as editor of the Auto course annual

:53:55. > :53:58.which comes out every year rounding up everything in Formula 1. One

:53:59. > :54:05.thing I'll is look for, and I won't ask you to give it to us, is the top

:54:06. > :54:11.ten. The drivers's top ten of 2015, has it been difficult or easy to

:54:12. > :54:15.work out? It easy to work out number one! It's quite hard to work out

:54:16. > :54:19.where to put Max Verstappen, and it's quite hard to think who should

:54:20. > :54:25.be numb ten. The rest of them seem to slot into place. It's quite hard

:54:26. > :54:28.to work out what to do with the McLaren drivers because it has got

:54:29. > :54:33.to reflect what they have done with what they have had. I look forward

:54:34. > :54:37.with interest to finding out how the top ten drivers get rated. We will

:54:38. > :54:44.see how that works. Lee Peterson has just tweeted hashtag BBC F1 that

:54:45. > :54:48.Carlos Sainz Junior is driver of the year on his points of view. Everyone

:54:49. > :54:52.has their own opinion and that is great, that is what makes Formula 1

:54:53. > :54:56.exciting and fun, we all have our own favourites if you like and that

:54:57. > :55:03.is part of the game. That's not a bad call. His season has been a lot

:55:04. > :55:07.better than a lot of people appreciate, I think. When you look

:55:08. > :55:09.at their respective performances, if you actually

:55:10. > :55:14.at their respective performances, if sessions where they haven't done it

:55:15. > :55:21.for one reason or another, the car has been unreliable... If you strip

:55:22. > :55:25.that away, 6-6. At the start of the season Carlos Sainz was more

:55:26. > :55:32.impressive in qualifying, in the second half of the

:55:33. > :55:32.impressive in qualifying, in the Verstappen, but Carlos Sainz has

:55:33. > :55:37.been very Verstappen, but Carlos Sainz has

:55:38. > :55:44.has been less lucky in Verstappen, but Carlos Sainz has

:55:45. > :55:47.luck when it comes to the car finishing races. Carlos Sainz barely

:55:48. > :55:50.started last time out in Brazil, they could not get the car running

:55:51. > :55:55.and then when they did it stopped on the opening lap. That was a shame.

:55:56. > :56:01.He has done some very good sessions in the wet this

:56:02. > :56:12.He has done some very good sessions after he changed the brake balance.

:56:13. > :56:15.There are a -- enough clues there. Nico Hulkenberg currently fourth

:56:16. > :56:19.fastest in this first free practice session from Abu Dhabi, the season

:56:20. > :56:28.finale. But while the championship is all settled at the top, there are

:56:29. > :56:32.still some positions up for grabs like 10th place, where Nico

:56:33. > :56:38.Hulkenberg hangs on to it at the moment. Verstappen sits ahead of

:56:39. > :56:41.Romain Grosjean in terms of finishing positions through the

:56:42. > :56:45.year. But it is going to be tied between them. Right now you've got

:56:46. > :56:48.to say that Hulkenberg is looking good because he is fastest in the

:56:49. > :56:52.speed track and fourth in the standings here at the moment. If he

:56:53. > :56:55.can put together a solid race, you would think that with the Force

:56:56. > :56:59.India around this track he is probably well-placed to hang on to

:57:00. > :57:03.10th place in the championship. I would agree with that because it's

:57:04. > :57:06.going to be hard to pass that car. The overtaking areas down

:57:07. > :57:10.going to be hard to pass that car. and 11, he's going to have strong

:57:11. > :57:11.going to be hard to pass that car. straight-line speed and it will be

:57:12. > :57:15.tough for straight-line speed and it will be

:57:16. > :57:19.behind him. Grosjean has a Mercedes engine as well but it's about

:57:20. > :57:27.behind him. Grosjean has a Mercedes they have run out of development

:57:28. > :57:30.money. Hulkenberg is behind his team-mate in the championship,

:57:31. > :57:35.Verstappen desperately want it and Grosjean wants to finish strongly as

:57:36. > :57:40.well. There will be a big scrap for that. Plenty to play for. For Lotus,

:57:41. > :57:43.this will be their last outing with Mercedes-Benz Power which is a bit

:57:44. > :57:45.odd because we've only had it for one year.

:57:46. > :57:53.RADIO: Yeah, they should have one year.

:57:54. > :57:57.you pass. Frustration there for Nico Hulkenberg, getting caught in

:57:58. > :58:01.traffic. Sergio Perez improves on that lap so he goes fourth fastest.

:58:02. > :58:05.He was commenting yesterday that he still feels that this is probably

:58:06. > :58:11.his best ever season in Formula 1, not necessarily in terms of

:58:12. > :58:16.results, because McLaren gave him a view highlights on the podium, but

:58:17. > :58:21.in a team that is less expected to get them, he feels he has driven

:58:22. > :58:26.well throughout the season. They will be pleased with the job he has

:58:27. > :58:31.put together. Ricciardo has improved. He has

:58:32. > :58:33.put together. Ricciardo has previous specification on Renault

:58:34. > :58:38.engine. Those of you who followed our coverage in Brazil, the new and

:58:39. > :58:39.updated our coverage in Brazil, the new and

:58:40. > :58:45.they felt there was not much our coverage in Brazil, the new and

:58:46. > :58:49.from it at also he is back to the original earlier version of that

:58:50. > :58:53.engine. Daniil Kvyat, his team-mate, he has had a good solid end to the

:58:54. > :58:55.season with a string of fourth-place finishes. He goes across the line

:58:56. > :59:00.and moves up to fourth place. finishes. He goes across the line

:59:01. > :59:08.looks like Kvyat is likely to outscore Ricciardo this year.

:59:09. > :59:18.Working really well. Copy that, Marcus. I think Ericsson was talking

:59:19. > :59:22.about the tyre temperatures... I think Daniil Kvyat has had a very

:59:23. > :59:28.good year. He got the rough end of the deal at the start... Since

:59:29. > :59:31.Bull have developed that car, actually they have probably

:59:32. > :59:35.developed it too well because they have scared away Mercedes, giving

:59:36. > :59:38.them an engine with their performance at the Spa and they

:59:39. > :59:42.probably scared Ferrari... As that has the better he has had a strong

:59:43. > :59:45.finish to the year and he was unlucky not to get a podium in

:59:46. > :59:50.Mexico I thought, because he deserved that but the late Lady

:59:51. > :59:58.Carper Valtteri Bottas and the Mercedes... I think that was

:59:59. > :00:03.probably 's best right. He was behind Ricciardo on that occasion.

:00:04. > :00:07.Overall very strong. Ricciardo yesterday himself was asked

:00:08. > :00:14.whether, how he would rate Kvyat against Vettel. He said that Daniil

:00:15. > :00:20.Kvyat could be competitive. So he rates him. Alan has gone up too fine

:00:21. > :00:26.a different view of the circuit. Where are you watching from?

:00:27. > :00:34.I am in the pit lane, between the second last corner and the final

:00:35. > :00:37.corner, which I think will be quite tricky tomorrow. Because the second

:00:38. > :00:41.last corner is very, very quick. The final corner is extremely tricky and

:00:42. > :00:46.it is one the drivers were having a discussion on. Charlie Whiting was

:00:47. > :00:54.telling them in the drivers meeting that...

:00:55. > :00:59.RADIO: Understood, will look. Anyway, that last corner, as

:01:00. > :01:05.Raikkonen now comes past, is one where if you get it right on entry,

:01:06. > :01:10.which is critical, then you can make a clean exit. If you miss that

:01:11. > :01:14.entry, the exit is very difficult. They will be looking at it in

:01:15. > :01:19.qualifying to make sure they do not run wide out of the final corner.

:01:20. > :01:23.That is a good point. Lots of you commenting on your stars of the

:01:24. > :01:33.season. Of course, all with different ideas. We were speaking

:01:34. > :01:37.about Kvyat, and one says, Kvyat is my star of the season. All of you

:01:38. > :01:48.have got your favourites. Will Stevens' team radio is my star of

:01:49. > :01:57.the season, says Libby. And John from Mansfield says, Grosjean lost

:01:58. > :02:04.every practice session and still slaughtered Maldonado, he says. We

:02:05. > :02:12.will see if he holds onto that in this final Grand Prix. Yes, great

:02:13. > :02:23.achievement when you mess a lot of Free Practice 1. Lots of you have

:02:24. > :02:33.your ideas. Thanks for telling us about them. Part of Formula 1 of

:02:34. > :02:41.course is trying to rate the drivers in different equipment. Max Mosley

:02:42. > :02:47.suggested about ten years ago, when it was part of a huge thing that

:02:48. > :02:53.nobody would accept in order to get a smaller thing through, but he said

:02:54. > :02:58.we should rotate the drivers. 20 cars, 20 races, they all drive each

:02:59. > :03:05.car twice the year. They do not work for the teams. They are paid on

:03:06. > :03:10.results only. I think that would be brilliant but a lot of people do not

:03:11. > :03:19.seem to agree. A bit of a close moment there between Alonso and

:03:20. > :03:22.Raikkonen in the Ferrari. Raikkonen just about able to squeeze around

:03:23. > :03:28.the outside of his former team-mate from last year of course.

:03:29. > :03:33.Interesting idea that, Tony, rotating the drivers, but I don't

:03:34. > :03:41.think it will happen. The top teams want to keep their star drivers. And

:03:42. > :03:45.the top Wimpole want the top cars. Yes, they do not want to end up at

:03:46. > :03:51.the back of the grid. Although that is exactly what Alonso has done this

:03:52. > :03:57.year! Even if he feels for the future it was the right thing to do.

:03:58. > :04:01.Alan, did you see Hamilton come through there? He has just gone

:04:02. > :04:05.fastest again. It does not surprise me. He was building up in the

:04:06. > :04:09.previous lap. It is his speed into the final corner which seems to be

:04:10. > :04:14.so much quicker than anybody else. Admittedly the 2 Mercedes do look

:04:15. > :04:19.good. The Red Bull also looks good. Daniel Ricciardo seemed to be quick

:04:20. > :04:23.into the apex. Jenson Button has just gone through. The time between

:04:24. > :04:27.when they turn in and when they start to pick up the throttle is the

:04:28. > :04:32.period when the Mercedes and the Red Bull seem to have a big advantage

:04:33. > :04:49.over everybody else, probably 6ft MH faster into that point. -- 6kh/h.

:04:50. > :04:56.Slight hybrid problem for Raikkonen but hopefully that is solved. So,

:04:57. > :05:12.Hamilton has recently gone fastest. Rosberg just one tenth behind.

:05:13. > :05:24.Lovely slow-mo of Hamilton applying the opposite lock there. Lovely bit

:05:25. > :05:27.of car control. Beautifully done. Behind Ricciardo we have got Perez

:05:28. > :05:39.in sixth place, Hulkenberg in seventh.

:05:40. > :05:50.Massa is only 15th at the moment. But is now down in six tenths. Will

:05:51. > :06:06.Stevens is 18ft. Just a bit faster than his team-mate, Roberto Merhi.

:06:07. > :06:13.Sebastian Vettel on circuit right now. You get the feeling, Tony, that

:06:14. > :06:18.Ferrari coming into this final race with a sense of optimism that they

:06:19. > :06:22.might be able to get a bit closer to Mercedes van at some of the tracks?

:06:23. > :06:26.Yes, it will be interesting to see. Sebastien is another one who is

:06:27. > :06:34.very, very special around here. He likes it. If Mercedes dropped off at

:06:35. > :06:38.all he will be right there. Vettel as you

:06:39. > :06:45.all he will be right there. Vettel record around this circuit.

:06:46. > :06:51.all he will be right there. Vettel dominated distract along with

:06:52. > :07:00.Hamilton in recent years. Three wins to Vettel, two to Hamilton. The only

:07:01. > :07:03.time it was not won by one of them was when Hamilton broke down and

:07:04. > :07:15.Raikkonen earned. RADIO: Knows box change. Presumably

:07:16. > :07:24.they will RADIO: Knows box change. Presumably

:07:25. > :07:26.quickly. Track temperatures have remained very consistent throughout

:07:27. > :07:33.this session so far. Still 35 degrees. Going back to last year, we

:07:34. > :07:40.are just a little bit off the fastest time from last year. It was

:07:41. > :07:43.Hamilton at one minute 43.4. And the track temperature was higher, at 45

:07:44. > :07:55.degrees. We are not far of this early stage. A lot of it can

:07:56. > :07:59.depend on how dirty the track is as well. Felipe Nasr about to complete

:08:00. > :08:15.a lap here, who moves him up to well. Felipe Nasr about to complete

:08:16. > :08:21.place. Alan, are you seeing any differences or anything more

:08:22. > :08:26.notable? Well, I have actually just started walking up towards the

:08:27. > :08:31.second last corner, to the apex, and you can get to within about 2-3

:08:32. > :08:36.metres of the apex point. I will give you some information when I

:08:37. > :08:41.have got myself into position. At the moment they are seem to be just

:08:42. > :08:44.building up, they seem to be doing one fast lap and one slow lap. I'm

:08:45. > :08:51.not sure if that is just for the tyres but also for track

:08:52. > :08:58.positioning, weird the traffic. OK, so we will come back to you. Maybe

:08:59. > :09:11.some harvesting of the electoral -- electrical power also going on. Big

:09:12. > :09:12.some harvesting of the electoral -- towards the chicane at turn five and

:09:13. > :09:18.turn six. towards the chicane at turn five and

:09:19. > :09:21.required. Will Stevens made his debut here last year the Caterham.

:09:22. > :09:25.They managed to get a kind of crowdfunding deal together. But

:09:26. > :09:31.They managed to get a kind of sadly the team did exit Formula 1

:09:32. > :09:37.after that. So, he has driven here before. Has he delivered enough, do

:09:38. > :09:43.you think, the British driver, for him to come back, or is it dependent

:09:44. > :09:47.on budget? I think that will be critical. I think he has done a

:09:48. > :10:00.decent job but they are so far off, it is difficult to tell. He is only

:10:01. > :10:03.ever racing the other Marussia. He did say perhaps in the early part of

:10:04. > :10:07.the season he was a bit too intent on beating his team-mate in

:10:08. > :10:10.qualifying and of course missed out sometimes in the race if he did not

:10:11. > :10:14.have the balance set up for the distance. I think that is what

:10:15. > :10:19.happens. They know that people look down the grid and compare times from

:10:20. > :10:27.qualifying. And then in the race, they get forgotten about because

:10:28. > :10:32.they are not part of the main race. So there is a temptation to set it

:10:33. > :10:36.up for that one lap and then probably wear the tyres out in the

:10:37. > :10:40.race. On the Alejandro Balbi Merry said he had got a grasp of that in

:10:41. > :10:48.his previous racing and has always tried to do that. -- on the other

:10:49. > :10:50.hand, Roberto Merhi said... Ultimately what the teams care about

:10:51. > :10:53.is where you finish in Ultimately what the teams care about

:10:54. > :10:58.because that always means points and prize money. It is race results

:10:59. > :11:03.which really count. You do wonder whether a little bit they stick

:11:04. > :11:08.takes the swing we have seen in qualifying between Lewis

:11:09. > :11:10.takes the swing we have seen in That's right. Certainly last year

:11:11. > :11:19.Lewis focused on race That's right. Certainly last year

:11:20. > :11:28.REFEREE: Yes, it may well be that. Jenson Button just reporting some

:11:29. > :11:40.lock-ups going on at this stage. We have got another vote for Sebastian

:11:41. > :11:43.Vettel in your star of the year. And Vettel was talking about that

:11:44. > :11:47.yesterday, saying that he did learn a lot from 2014. He knew it was a

:11:48. > :11:52.below par season from his point of view. He found the car difficult to

:11:53. > :11:58.get on with. They have very restrictive testing, Red Bull, at

:11:59. > :12:01.the beginning of 2014, and he never really got the weather with the

:12:02. > :12:06.car. But he said that as soon as he got into the Ferrari for testing at

:12:07. > :12:10.the start of this year he felt right at home with it. That's true. He has

:12:11. > :12:15.always been pretty candid about his own performance. Racing against Mark

:12:16. > :12:19.Webber he would often tell the media, I could often see that Mark

:12:20. > :12:25.was quicker than me in fast corners but I was quicker than him in slow

:12:26. > :12:30.and medium stuff. And when he found himself with Ricciardo in Montreal I

:12:31. > :12:35.think, he said, he seems to be quicker everywhere! He is always

:12:36. > :12:42.honest. He rates his own year this year between seven and nine. And

:12:43. > :12:49.Kimi Raikkonen was asked and he said, pretty average. Vettel told us

:12:50. > :12:59.there were even moments he doubted himself during 2014. Don't forget,

:13:00. > :13:07.we do have an F1 review show on BBC One on the 12th of December at

:13:08. > :13:15.lunchtime. That is at one o'clock, I believe. Analysing what happened

:13:16. > :13:22.this season far Hamilton and where perhaps some of the others got it a

:13:23. > :13:27.bit wrong. So, 12th of December is the date for your diary for that F1

:13:28. > :13:30.review. Before that we have got this final Grand Prix of the season to

:13:31. > :13:35.look forward to at this stunning Yas Marina circuit. It has had a lot of

:13:36. > :13:40.money spent on it and it provides a breathtaking backdrop. It usually

:13:41. > :13:46.has a capacity crowd and I think they are sold out again. Capacity is

:13:47. > :13:52.around 60,000. Not as big as it is at some other circuits. It is all

:13:53. > :13:57.seated. But it is one of the biggest hospitality venues of the season. A

:13:58. > :14:02.very important part of the F1 calendar. It is the season finale,

:14:03. > :14:08.as it has been on quite a few occasions in recent years. Some

:14:09. > :14:14.wheel spin from Jenson Button as he left the pits. Hamilton is still

:14:15. > :14:31.fastest with that one minute 43.7. Rosberg just a fraction slower.

:14:32. > :14:34.Raikkonen still third, Kvyat fourth. There is a couple of guys going a

:14:35. > :14:38.bit quicker in the first sector now. But it is unlikely now that anyone

:14:39. > :14:55.will go quicker than Hamilton's time. Vettel down in eighth at the

:14:56. > :14:59.moment. Maldonado of course has had quite a lot of non-finishes but he

:15:00. > :15:05.has put together some better results recently. He has now got points in

:15:06. > :15:09.six races this year, which is more than he has ever done before. So

:15:10. > :15:13.although he has had some difficult moments, things have got better. If

:15:14. > :15:17.you compare his results with Romain Grosjean and take out Romain

:15:18. > :15:24.Grosjean's third-place out of the equation but and that was a great

:15:25. > :15:30.result of course to see the comparison is not that different.

:15:31. > :15:35.No, but occasionally he will do something inexpressible, which makes

:15:36. > :15:42.them put their head in their hands on the pit wall. Whereas in the race

:15:43. > :15:53.Romain Grosjean does not tend to do that.

:15:54. > :16:03.There is no doubt in qualifying Maldonado has been truly eclipsed by

:16:04. > :16:10.his team-mate. But don't forget that team has been running on a tight

:16:11. > :16:13.budget and they have not had the money to spend on the cards as they

:16:14. > :16:23.would have liked. They came up with a very good design in the first

:16:24. > :16:28.place. The stabbing came out with Massa joining on and they have had

:16:29. > :16:35.to run side-by-side. If somebody doesn't back off it is potentially

:16:36. > :16:41.an accident. You have to be careful. Danny Ricciardo has just come back

:16:42. > :16:43.out on circuit. There are two massively long straights here and

:16:44. > :16:48.the highest speeds we have seen today down the end of this one, 330

:16:49. > :16:52.kilometres per hour. Talking of speeds, we're not going to quite see

:16:53. > :16:56.the record speed of the season beaten, but it is Pastor Maldonado

:16:57. > :17:00.who will end up with the fastest speed of the season and of course

:17:01. > :17:07.that was in Mexico when we were in the thinner air and he managed to do

:17:08. > :17:12.227 mph, which was 366 kilometres per hour. We're not going to beat

:17:13. > :17:15.that record, that will be held by Pastor Maldonado for a year as

:17:16. > :17:25.fastest in a straight line, in the Mexican Grand Prix weekend.

:17:26. > :17:31.Hulkenberg very quick, Perez 3.30, Hamilton 3.30. Felipe Massa 3.28.

:17:32. > :17:38.You have got Sebastian Vettel's Ferrari on 3.27. The other amazing

:17:39. > :17:42.thing about Mercedes engines, not only have they readily topped the

:17:43. > :17:46.speed figures but not a single Mercedes engine car has had a grid

:17:47. > :17:50.penalty for extra engine parts used this year. When you think how many

:17:51. > :17:56.engines some of the others have had to use, Alonzo is on his 12th engine

:17:57. > :18:00.for goodness's sake, it is just remarkable that Mercedes have got

:18:01. > :18:04.through this entire season, so far, it could still go wrong, but so far

:18:05. > :18:06.absolutely no grid penalties for any Mercedes user when it comes to

:18:07. > :18:12.engine parts. It is Mercedes user when it comes to

:18:13. > :18:19.isn't it? Alonzo, 12 internal combustion engines, that is three

:18:20. > :18:23.seasons's worth. Astonishing. We're watching Felipe Massa now. He's been

:18:24. > :18:27.in the pits for a little while but he is someone who can well improve

:18:28. > :18:31.on that lap time because he has been in the pits for a long time and it

:18:32. > :18:33.may well be that the track is now cleared up and they

:18:34. > :18:37.may well be that the track is now programme going here where he could

:18:38. > :18:50.move up that order somewhat, down in 17th place at the moment, just ahead

:18:51. > :18:59.of the two Manor Marussia cars. There was a practice session for the

:19:00. > :19:11.GP2s earlier. A man who is rumoured a part of the Mercedes set up going

:19:12. > :19:17.into the future. Maldonado won nine GP2 races and it took him four

:19:18. > :19:21.years. They will be watching him, he's going to have a campaign out in

:19:22. > :19:29.Japan in the single seater series out there. I gather he had some

:19:30. > :19:33.Honda engine problems for his test! That is not what he wanted!

:19:34. > :19:40.Definitely a name to watch out for the future, the Belgian now part of

:19:41. > :19:47.the team. A couple of other driver announcements, reserve drivers

:19:48. > :19:48.coming onto the scene as well, an announcement of the development

:19:49. > :19:56.driver for the Williams team. He was formerly a Ferrari Academy driver.

:19:57. > :20:05.He's come across to Williams and he's been doing the European Formula

:20:06. > :20:15.3 championship I think. RADIO: Chassis default 03 to off,

:20:16. > :20:22.please. Copy, copy. A bit of feedback from Nico Rosberg. Talking

:20:23. > :20:26.of drivers, also just to note that Alfonso Junior, the 19-year-old

:20:27. > :20:31.Mexican joining Force India. There is a tyre test here at Abu Dhabi

:20:32. > :20:36.after the grand brake, and Alfonso has been racing in GP three and the

:20:37. > :20:40.3.5 championship and he will probably carry on with that series

:20:41. > :20:47.next year but he will get to drive for Force India. He hasn't got a

:20:48. > :20:49.sparkling record, has he? He is Mexican and has Mexican links with

:20:50. > :20:58.that team. New drivers always knocking on the

:20:59. > :21:02.door to get to Formula 1 but it's very difficult to brake through with

:21:03. > :21:07.although you have to say that although several of them have

:21:08. > :21:11.renewed their contracts for next year, the likes of Kimi Raikkonen

:21:12. > :21:14.and Jenson Button, who must be nearing the end of their careers,

:21:15. > :21:18.I'm not saying it's necessarily their final year next year and

:21:19. > :21:22.you've got to think not to many more years for Jenson Button and Kimi

:21:23. > :21:26.Raikkonen, and there will be some opportunities arising. Next year we

:21:27. > :21:34.might see a bit of a shuffling of the pack. Yes, the driver market two

:21:35. > :21:38.thirds of the way through 2016 will be very intriguing. Valtteri Bottas

:21:39. > :21:43.is one of the drivers who might move next year but for now he sticks with

:21:44. > :21:48.Williams. Some of you might have noticed that the colour scheme on

:21:49. > :21:51.the car is slightly different this year, no alcohol sponsorship allowed

:21:52. > :21:55.in the Gulf region, so some of the colours on the cards and the names

:21:56. > :22:00.will be slightly different. Sebastian Vettel can't be bothered

:22:01. > :22:03.to take his crash helmet of, so he makes his notes. He always does

:22:04. > :22:08.this, hand written notes for the race engineers. He just likes to

:22:09. > :22:13.take himself off to a quiet space and write down his thoughts on the

:22:14. > :22:17.car's behaviour at various points around the circuit. He obviously

:22:18. > :22:22.finds it easier to process it by writing it down. For Sebastian, that

:22:23. > :22:29.is part of his analysis. It's interesting to see that. Because you

:22:30. > :22:36.do forget things, don't you? As soon as he gets out of the car, he wants

:22:37. > :22:40.to write it down. Lewis Hamilton on track. Felipe Massa has gone up to

:22:41. > :22:44.10th place now after filling in some labs fairly late in this session. It

:22:45. > :22:52.has been a pretty untroubled session for most. Only Jolie and Palmer who

:22:53. > :22:56.has missed out entirely, no lapse at all, but everyone else has managed

:22:57. > :23:00.to put in at least 12-14 laps and with the top campaigners if you like

:23:01. > :23:08.getting in nearly 30 laps. Rosberg has done 27 laps in the hour and a

:23:09. > :23:11.half we have had. I say that but Palmer has just gone out! They said

:23:12. > :23:16.earlier on they didn't think they would get him out, but as I speak

:23:17. > :23:20.Palmer has just exited the pit lane. That's good news, at least he will

:23:21. > :23:24.get a view laps in. I imagine it is just a lap of installation, to make

:23:25. > :23:27.sure everything is OK. He's had it just a lap of installation, to make

:23:28. > :23:32.happened to him so many times this year. The reigning GP2 champion, he

:23:33. > :23:38.would have hoped to get a lot more circuit experience than he has done

:23:39. > :23:42.this year. I think they have done brilliantly to secure a seat in

:23:43. > :23:49.Formula 1, it was always going to be tough. Whether you bring money or

:23:50. > :23:53.not, it's irrelevant. It's getting in there, you've got to get your

:23:54. > :23:58.foot in the door and fair play to them it's exactly what they've done.

:23:59. > :24:04.Right. He's not French and there's talk about Renault going back and

:24:05. > :24:11.Jean-Eric Vergne... It was not a done deal by Eric -- any means.

:24:12. > :24:19.Hamilton continues on what is a very long run of laps at the moment. The

:24:20. > :24:23.last one was a 1:49.0, a long way off the fastest lap that he did

:24:24. > :24:30.earlier on. 1:43.7 still the fastest lap of this session. Valtteri Bottas

:24:31. > :24:35.out on circuit just a moment ago. Looking at some of your comments

:24:36. > :24:57.coming in using the hashtag BBC F1 and in fact we were talking about

:24:58. > :25:04.Stoffel Vandoorne and one of you wants to nominate him for driver of

:25:05. > :25:12.the year! Maldonado had ten overall GP2 wins. Stoffel Vandoorne also on

:25:13. > :25:18.ten, nine of which were feature race wins. Lead of you enjoy the GP2

:25:19. > :25:21.series which is nice to see, a vital feed into the world of Formula 1.

:25:22. > :25:26.Delighted to see that the champion of last year, Parma, is going to be

:25:27. > :25:30.making the big step up to F1. It looks like Stoffel Vandoorne will

:25:31. > :25:35.get that opportunity within the next year or so. Let's just watch Palmer

:25:36. > :25:40.around the lap. He has been here in the past so he should be able to get

:25:41. > :25:43.onto the pace reasonably quickly. The track has been cleaned up by

:25:44. > :25:47.everyone else. The point you make about getting your foot in the door

:25:48. > :25:50.is just so important. And once you've got there, staying there.

:25:51. > :25:56.That what has happened to Kevin Magnussen. He did formula 3.5 at the

:25:57. > :25:59.same time as Stoffel Vandoorne and they were splitting wins and what

:26:00. > :26:04.have you and it was hard to choose between who was most impressive.

:26:05. > :26:11.Kevin had a bit more experience and there he is, as of the end of

:26:12. > :26:18.September he is with McLaren. But he deserves a seat at the top table.

:26:19. > :26:22.It's not only getting in but staying in. I would love to see Kevin

:26:23. > :26:25.Magnussen in a Formula 1 car, he deserves to be in after the

:26:26. > :26:29.performances he put in as Jenson Button's team-mate last year. But

:26:30. > :26:36.how quickly you can be forgotten. It's such a tough world. He ended up

:26:37. > :26:42.on the podium in his first race for McLaren-Mercedes as it was then. Now

:26:43. > :26:52.it seems such a dissident past, a McLaren on the podium -- a McLaren

:26:53. > :26:59.on the podium and Kevin Magnussen driving. Palmer goes 18 fastest.

:27:00. > :27:01.That puts him ahead of the two Manor Marussias at the moment. Let's hope

:27:02. > :27:05.he gets a couple more laps in Marussias at the moment. Let's hope

:27:06. > :27:13.the chequered flag comes out of this session. Valtteri Bottas 12th

:27:14. > :27:19.fastest so far, head of the two McLaren Hondas. They read too much

:27:20. > :27:22.into the fact that Williams not shining at the moment, this is

:27:23. > :27:27.standard practice. Williams never emerge on top of time sheets really.

:27:28. > :27:30.They always seem to work with the car running a bit more fuel, making

:27:31. > :27:39.the car heavier and slower. RADIO: Nico, box, box, box. We have

:27:40. > :27:43.low rear pressure. Box, box, box. The tyre pressure monitor that has

:27:44. > :27:47.been picked up why Mercedes on the pit wall, they want to bring that

:27:48. > :27:51.car back in and he has done plenty of laps so far in this session.

:27:52. > :27:57.Looking back at Pastor Maldonado and he had one of his best ever weekends

:27:58. > :28:01.in Formula 1 a few years ago, back in 2012, the year that he scored

:28:02. > :28:06.that remarkable win in Barcelona and went through a long string of

:28:07. > :28:09.non-finishes and problems. He actually qualified in third place

:28:10. > :28:20.that year and ended up finishing fifth despite losing the KERS in the

:28:21. > :28:24.car. Evidence of the up and down nature of the car for Pastor

:28:25. > :28:34.Maldonado. Last year it ended in an engine fire, so it didn't work out

:28:35. > :28:35.for him last season. He likes these kind of tracks, he's always been

:28:36. > :28:44.quick around Monaco. He's gone well kind of tracks, he's always been

:28:45. > :28:47.here, you're right. If he can support Romain Grosjean here this

:28:48. > :28:53.weekend as well, that would be another benefit for Lotus and

:28:54. > :28:58.hopefully maximising those Constructors' Championship points.

:28:59. > :29:02.We will see how they get on. Lotus against Toro Rosso is still open, to

:29:03. > :29:07.see which of the two teams come out on top. Lotus have the edge with a

:29:08. > :29:10.9-point lead. But you wouldn't rely on Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz

:29:11. > :29:17.not doing a first-class job here. Not quite there from Maldonado.

:29:18. > :29:22.Daniil Kvyat here last year was very good. He qualified fifth but then

:29:23. > :29:23.had a problem in the race and did not get the points after all, but

:29:24. > :29:27.you're right, the pace was there. not get the points after all, but

:29:28. > :29:33.But potentially Verstappen and Carlos Sainz could be up there in

:29:34. > :29:42.the top ten and mixing it with Lotus. Stephen asking about our

:29:43. > :29:49.coverage of FP2. We will be on the red button for our coverage of FP2.

:29:50. > :29:52.That was Palmer! That was funny, seeing Maldonado put a wheel on the

:29:53. > :30:00.edge and almost at the same time Jolie and Palmer had a spin.

:30:01. > :30:04.RADIO: OK? Dealt with it no problem. Kept out of the way Sebastian Vettel

:30:05. > :30:08.as he rejoined, but obviously a bit more slippery than both Lotus

:30:09. > :30:11.drivers were expecting. Thankfully no problems for Jolie and Palmer and

:30:12. > :30:13.he stays a bit more slippery than both Lotus drivers were expecting.

:30:14. > :30:15.Thankfully no problems for Jolie and Palmer and he stayed 18th at the

:30:16. > :30:22.Sebastian Vettel is eighth fastest moment.

:30:23. > :30:32.Sebastian Vettel is eighth fastest in this session. Ferrari yet to win

:30:33. > :30:38.around this circuit. Mercedes had their first win here last year, with

:30:39. > :30:43.Hamilton. It has only ever been won from pole position on one occasion,

:30:44. > :30:48.which was by Sebastian Vettel in 2010. It is an odd statistic on a

:30:49. > :30:56.track like this where you do not get a huge amount of overtaking. Yes, it

:30:57. > :31:00.is surprising. But I think it has generally come from the front row.

:31:01. > :31:04.Yes, it has often been the outside of the front row. Hamilton was on

:31:05. > :31:09.the outside of the front row last year. And it has also come down to

:31:10. > :31:16.the fact that there have been some odd reliability problems for pole

:31:17. > :31:23.winners here in the past. RADIO: The car is not feeling good.

:31:24. > :31:39.Was it the car or the tyres? I think it was the car. Not totally at ease

:31:40. > :31:42.today but still fastest. They will almost definitely go faster later

:31:43. > :31:45.because the track temperature will be lower and they will be on the

:31:46. > :31:51.super-softs tyre, which could be worth even up to a second more. Last

:31:52. > :31:56.year we saw 1.3 seconds between worth even up to a second more. Last

:31:57. > :32:08.first two sessions. I would imagine something similar when we see the

:32:09. > :32:12.cars back out again later today. Down to this she came before the

:32:13. > :32:18.hairpin. You can see Ferrari World in the background. The

:32:19. > :32:21.roller-coaster ride. There is a good viewing point, in this stadium

:32:22. > :32:28.section around the hairpin. And then it all opens up onto this long, long

:32:29. > :32:32.straight. They are on full throttle for around 14 seconds. Although you

:32:33. > :32:35.would think it means it is tough on fuel economy, it is actually the

:32:36. > :32:42.last part of the lap which makes this circuit reasonably tough on

:32:43. > :32:50.fuel economy, because it is on and off the throttle all the time. Oh,

:32:51. > :32:54.dear, Alonso is having a problem with power in his McLaren. Let's

:32:55. > :33:04.hope he can make it back to the pits. As we go on board with Kimi,

:33:05. > :33:08.who is going over the kerbs. As pits. As we go on board with Kimi,

:33:09. > :33:31.go on board with him now in this section.

:33:32. > :33:38.That's a shame. I was hoping he was going to do the complete lap, but it

:33:39. > :33:41.is nice to be on board with him. By the way, next year, some

:33:42. > :33:49.is nice to be on board with him. By rules in terms the exhaust pipes. It

:33:50. > :33:53.will be a separate pipe effectively exceeding the exhaust. And Mercedes

:33:54. > :33:56.told me that it will change the quality of the sound. It will be

:33:57. > :34:00.louder. It will not suddenly make these cars as loud for example is

:34:01. > :34:07.the V8s were but they said these cars as loud for example is

:34:08. > :34:12.of the noise in Formula 1 next year. That is one of the commitments they

:34:13. > :34:17.have been tasked with, coming back by January with these proposals look

:34:18. > :34:21.at twice engines plus engines which sound better. That's right. Some

:34:22. > :34:27.more comments coming in from you. But was a good burn-out by Max

:34:28. > :34:34.Verstappen. They have got a drag straight here at Abu Dhabi! He could

:34:35. > :34:41.go and enjoy himself on that! Dave says, the star of the season has to

:34:42. > :34:44.be the Lotus mechanics, who have had a difficult year. And Dave, I think

:34:45. > :34:50.that is a really good comment. They have had a tough year. Having to

:34:51. > :34:53.work much deeper into the night and a lot of the other guys in the pit

:34:54. > :34:57.lane. I applaud your sentiments entirely. And recently having to

:34:58. > :35:05.borrow a cup of coffee from the garage next door. Yes, it has not

:35:06. > :35:07.been easy at all for the Lotus guys. But they go into it every time with

:35:08. > :35:12.the same But they go into it every time with

:35:13. > :35:17.work done. Chequered flag is out. So, the first session has come to a

:35:18. > :35:21.conclusion. 2.30 in the afternoon, local time. It will be going into

:35:22. > :35:26.dusk when we get the second session and away. The Times show asked that

:35:27. > :35:32.once again Mercedes, as expected, are favourites for this weekend.

:35:33. > :35:36.Raikkonen showing that Ferrari are likely to be their closest

:35:37. > :35:49.challengers. A good lap from Kvyat as well. So, Red Bull and Ferrari in

:35:50. > :35:51.the next. -- in the mix. Mercedes engined cars definitely looking

:35:52. > :36:22.strong. Palmer in the end was 18ft. And Will

:36:23. > :36:31.Stevens ended up about a second faster than Roberto Merhi in the

:36:32. > :36:35.end. We will see how that little private battle develops during the

:36:36. > :36:43.rest of the weekend. Hamilton diving beneath the bridge of the hotel,

:36:44. > :36:46.which will be lit up later tonight. Hamilton has not had the perfect

:36:47. > :36:47.session but I don't think he will be too worried. He has set the fastest

:36:48. > :36:53.lap. He has had a couple too worried. He has set the fastest

:36:54. > :36:58.with the feel of the car, with his seating position, but there is

:36:59. > :37:04.plenty of time for the mechanics to get to work before later on, when

:37:05. > :37:09.they get to try the super-softs tyre for the first time. And they will be

:37:10. > :37:13.getting into slightly longer sessions out on track and we will

:37:14. > :37:19.get a better idea of the actual race pace. Tony, anything to make a note

:37:20. > :37:34.of so far today? I like the look of Kvyat's time. He is two tenths

:37:35. > :37:35.behind Raikkonen, and quicker than Vettel. I think

:37:36. > :37:40.behind Raikkonen, and quicker than Vettel. I think it is promising.

:37:41. > :37:45.Raikkonen still cruising back to the pits. He has got just a few more

:37:46. > :37:51.corners to go. Coming past the hotel. He has ended up as the

:37:52. > :37:55.nearest challenger to Mercedes. It often seems to be the case that

:37:56. > :38:00.Vettel is not too worried about the headline times when it comes to

:38:01. > :38:05.qualifying. -- when it comes to qualifying it is usually a different

:38:06. > :38:07.story. Only three times this year has Raikkonen managed to beat his

:38:08. > :38:26.team-mate. Pastor Maldonado, good run from him.

:38:27. > :38:37.But I think Williams have got some more pace hidden away, as we usually

:38:38. > :38:44.see on the Friday. Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso, very evenly matched

:38:45. > :38:52.once again. Jolyon Palmer getting out for a total of nine laps in the

:38:53. > :38:57.end. So that is how the first session has come to a conclusion,

:38:58. > :39:04.still in bright sunshine. A lovely day here at the Yas Marina circuit.

:39:05. > :39:09.Hamilton on top once again. Surprise, surprise, it is tight

:39:10. > :39:13.again between the Mercedes drivers. I think Hamilton should be happy.

:39:14. > :39:18.Even though he did not sound happy with his seat and steering wheel and

:39:19. > :39:24.the car in general on the radio? GSA was grumbling a bit and he did not

:39:25. > :39:27.have the rhythm. The card did look a bit unstable. Very fast, no

:39:28. > :39:32.question. But if there was consistency, it was on Nico

:39:33. > :39:35.Rosberg's side of the garage. Through the last couple of corners

:39:36. > :39:40.he looked as if he was more at one with the car. We have seen this

:39:41. > :39:43.quite a lot. Round here I think you do need a car which is slightly

:39:44. > :39:47.unstable if you want it to be very fast. We do not always seek Kimi

:39:48. > :39:55.Raikkonen as the strongest Ferrari driver but we know he likes this

:39:56. > :39:57.track. He is seven tenths behind the lead Mercedes, but I think that

:39:58. > :40:07.gives a lot of confidence to Ferrari. If you also think about

:40:08. > :40:18.Williams as well, they should be in there. I think about battle will be

:40:19. > :40:27.quite tight. -- I think that battle. Just one point at the moment between

:40:28. > :40:31.Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen. Do you think they will battle it out

:40:32. > :40:35.to the end? It is when the chequered flag drops, that is when you will

:40:36. > :40:40.know who will have that place. I would say right now, Bottas has the

:40:41. > :40:47.upper hand. Williams probably should have won the race in reality last

:40:48. > :40:53.year. This time, they can roll the dice and Bottas for sure will go for

:40:54. > :40:59.it. Do not discount Massa but he is there to back up Bottas. We thought

:41:00. > :41:04.we would have a session without any bad news for McLaren. But with just

:41:05. > :41:08.two minutes to go, Alonso comes on the radio and says he has got a

:41:09. > :41:21.power problem! It is almost predictable! Yes, Tony mentioned, is

:41:22. > :41:26.wasn't on their 2018 engine allocation right now. It is almost

:41:27. > :41:34.insane. I was watching Jenson rather than Fernando on track. And he was

:41:35. > :41:40.really throwing it around. It was good to see him getting stuck in.

:41:41. > :41:56.When Jenson gets the fire in his obviously,, then he will go for it.

:41:57. > :42:00.They seem to be well grouped at the moment, they seem to be singing from

:42:01. > :42:06.the same page - is their progress from Honda? We will know that in the

:42:07. > :42:10.first test 2016. They have got a lot of work to do. They are behind

:42:11. > :42:13.first test 2016. They have got a lot nearly every area, especially with

:42:14. > :42:17.the energy recovery from the turbo. That is where they will have to do

:42:18. > :42:21.most of their development work. Like I say, we will only know when we get

:42:22. > :42:24.into 2016. But everybody else is moving forward as well. Ben was

:42:25. > :42:29.talking about this season review which you can see on the 12th of

:42:30. > :42:33.December. We have been doing a lot of extra interviews for that and

:42:34. > :42:38.getting the drivers and team bosses to sum up their season. Who do you

:42:39. > :42:40.think should be leaving this paddock happy apart from Mercedes? I think

:42:41. > :42:45.Ferrari. They have happy apart from Mercedes? I think

:42:46. > :42:49.this year. Also the energy in the team since Sebastian Vettel has gone

:42:50. > :42:54.there. Also Toro Rosso has done very well. They have brought two young

:42:55. > :42:58.drivers in. One had question marks over his ability even to drive a

:42:59. > :43:01.Formula 1 car. He did not even have a driving licence at the beginning

:43:02. > :43:06.of the year. They have been a revelation. Also forced India,

:43:07. > :43:11.because they have punched above their weight. Everybody else has

:43:12. > :43:15.either been stable, like Williams, all gone backwards, like Red Bull.

:43:16. > :43:21.People fought Sebastian Vettel was just a kid who had grown up at Red

:43:22. > :43:24.Bull. But Ferrari say he is an incredible team leader. Were you

:43:25. > :43:28.expecting that kind of praise for him? You do not win multiple World

:43:29. > :43:33.Championships by accident. You have to have something. You have got to

:43:34. > :43:37.have talent on the circuit. You have got to be able to get a team to

:43:38. > :43:43.follow you. That is something Fernando Alonso clearly has. However

:43:44. > :43:46.he is very decisive. I think for Vettel to go there,

:43:47. > :43:51.he is very decisive. I think for antidote to Alonso in a way. He

:43:52. > :43:52.gelled the team around him. Also he did not have too much competition

:43:53. > :43:59.with Kimi Raikkonen as well. did not have too much competition

:44:00. > :44:02.surprising is how much a German has been loved in an Italian

:44:03. > :44:06.environment. He has learned the language and things like that. They

:44:07. > :44:08.will adore him from now until eternity. And if he wins a World

:44:09. > :44:16.Championship, well... eternity. And if he wins a World

:44:17. > :44:23.Raikkonen are close friends, they play badminton twice a week,

:44:24. > :44:27.apparently. Kimi says it is the best atmosphere he has experienced at

:44:28. > :44:30.Ferrari. It is the most relaxed. If you go back to when he won his World

:44:31. > :44:34.Championship, there was a lot you go back to when he won his World

:44:35. > :44:37.pressure on him. This time he knows that Sebastian Vettel is the key

:44:38. > :44:40.player. And with Alonso, I don't think it was a happy team. They have

:44:41. > :44:49.a lot of leader changes in the team as a whole. -- they went through a

:44:50. > :44:55.lot of leader changes. But now it seems they have got a vision towards

:44:56. > :45:00.the future. We spoke during the programme about what a testing week

:45:01. > :45:04.it has been for Lotus. I am delighted to say, Jolyon Palmer is

:45:05. > :45:10.here now. A testing session for you, not as many laps as you had hoped?

:45:11. > :45:13.Yes, we had a water leak at the start and we found it this morning.

:45:14. > :45:20.It is quite a big change really. We lost a lot of time and just made

:45:21. > :45:23.It is quite a big change really. We to crack on

:45:24. > :45:28.It is quite a big change really. We than nothing, at least. Pastor

:45:29. > :45:29.It is quite a big change really. We Maldonado was quite quick - what do

:45:30. > :45:37.To be honest I think the last few you think we can expect

:45:38. > :45:41.To be honest I think the last few weekends have been pretty testing,

:45:42. > :45:47.and the results have been all right. The hope is the same as always,

:45:48. > :45:50.hopefully we can get at least one car in the top ten in qualifying and

:45:51. > :45:55.certainly be racing towards the points. Next time you're in this

:45:56. > :45:57.Keitany race weekend you will be a Formula 1 driver!

:45:58. > :46:02.Keitany race weekend you will be a feel? Really good. Since that's been

:46:03. > :46:07.announced I've had a few weekends and everyone is sort of taking it up

:46:08. > :46:11.and ready for Melbourne. I last weekend as reserve driver. I mean,

:46:12. > :46:15.I've enjoyed it, it's been a good learning year and it's been good fun

:46:16. > :46:19.as well with the team, but next year I'm really looking forward to it, it

:46:20. > :46:23.will be special. What do you think the biggest challenge will be?

:46:24. > :46:26.You've been here with the team and seen how it operates and you still

:46:27. > :46:36.conduct yourself as a Formula 1 driver, but what is the transition?

:46:37. > :46:42.I'm hopefully going to be pretty solid at FP1s now! I know what to

:46:43. > :46:47.expect in terms of the preparation and how the weekend runs. It's been

:46:48. > :46:52.a good learning year and not much is going to be new to me, so that is

:46:53. > :46:56.the benefit. Of course the life of the race driver is different, it's

:46:57. > :46:59.going to be a lot busier, which is good. I'm just really looking

:47:00. > :47:06.forward to racing wheel-to-wheel again. It's nice to see some cars

:47:07. > :47:11.out there in FP1 but I'm looking forward to racing and going

:47:12. > :47:16.wheel-to-wheel again. We have got one of your off-track moments. What

:47:17. > :47:23.happened here? I was over steering to say the least! FP1 it always is.

:47:24. > :47:33.But when you have a few laps to try and put in a time... I'm quite happy

:47:34. > :47:37.with that little spin turn though, that was all right! It was a neat

:47:38. > :47:40.recovery. That part of the circuit there are a lot of adverse camber is

:47:41. > :47:47.on it and it's difficult to get right, did you find it especially

:47:48. > :47:50.difficult today? Absolutely. It's always difficult and in qualifying

:47:51. > :47:53.and when the race is on its getting towards night-time, the rubber goes

:47:54. > :48:02.on but also the temperatures cool off a bit and the rear tyres, the

:48:03. > :48:06.torque of these card is exceptional and in these temperatures the rear

:48:07. > :48:10.tyre temperatures goes through the roof. You need a lot of traction and

:48:11. > :48:14.I didn't have a lot of traction there, so round I went! We

:48:15. > :48:20.appreciate you coming to talk to us. We don't just invite people on

:48:21. > :48:27.to highlight a mistake! We will see you through the year. Cheers. Is it

:48:28. > :48:31.all about Mercedes this weekend? It is not all about Mercedes, it's

:48:32. > :48:38.about whether Ferrari can take a challenge to them. And the Mercedes

:48:39. > :48:42.drivers, along with Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, that is where the

:48:43. > :48:46.assignment will be. It's going to be on the red button, free practice

:48:47. > :48:50.two, and that will be replayed tomorrow morning as well. From the

:48:51. > :48:57.blazing sunshine in the paddock here in Abu Dhabi, the next time you see

:48:58. > :48:59.us it will be Twilight. It is a twilight race. KERS is the