:01:05. > :01:11.Nine months and 18 races later, we are in Abou Diaby, for the 20 15th
:01:12. > :01:13.season finale. Good morning, yesterday, in free practice one,
:01:14. > :01:19.Lewis Hamilton topped the time sheets, in the twilight here at the
:01:20. > :01:23.circuit it was his team-mate who want one 10th of a second faster,
:01:24. > :01:28.they are battling for honour, as we know, the championship was wrapped
:01:29. > :01:32.up several races ago, in Austin, Texas, Lewis Hamilton clinching his
:01:33. > :01:36.third title. In Brazil, Nico Rosberg secured second, and Sebastian Vettel
:01:37. > :01:39.just missed out, but he is happy with third, in his first year with
:01:40. > :01:43.Ferrari. Impressively, Daniil Kvyat is doing
:01:44. > :01:49.well. The constructors champions,
:01:50. > :01:59.Mercedes. It is unlikely McLaren could catch
:02:00. > :02:05.Sauber. Not words we thought we would be saying a year ago, we are
:02:06. > :02:10.joined by Tom and Jenny, what is the latest? It is not that sweltering,
:02:11. > :02:15.that will be music to the ears of the teams, we have some cloud cover,
:02:16. > :02:18.usually, free practice three, it is a write-off, blue skies, bright
:02:19. > :02:23.sunshine, track conditions unlike what you get in qualifying but now
:02:24. > :02:26.track temperature is about 5 degrees up on what we expect this evening,
:02:27. > :02:31.the teams can do some really meaningful work ahead of qualifying.
:02:32. > :02:35.They are excited and a lot of laps will be completed. Carlos Sainz
:02:36. > :02:38.Junior will be hoping for more laps today, yesterday only 20 in the
:02:39. > :02:42.final session, he had a problem with a water leak, and then one thing led
:02:43. > :02:48.to another, Renault problems yesterday, in the end, parking his
:02:49. > :02:51.car, very disappointing, he will be hoping for a better session. On the
:02:52. > :02:57.other side of the garage, as we have seen so many times, Inghams go away
:02:58. > :03:00.from -- things go the way of Max Verstappen, you can see him with his
:03:01. > :03:04.cap on looking very relaxed, he seems to get the luck.
:03:05. > :03:09.Either way, to very strong Rockies who have had a very good season,
:03:10. > :03:12.great to see the new generation coming into Formula 1, probably a
:03:13. > :03:16.little cruel, I know that you are freezing at home, decide that the
:03:17. > :03:20.weather in Abu Dhabi is not as good as we usually have! There is some
:03:21. > :03:24.cloud cover and wind but still in the high 20s, I am sure that you are
:03:25. > :03:36.wrapped up with a hot chocolate or cup of tea, if you would like to get
:03:37. > :03:38.involved, please get in touch. Keeping cool in the commentary box
:03:39. > :03:49.today, Ben Edwards and Alan McNish. Looking forward to the final
:03:50. > :03:53.practice session, it will give as clues going into qualifying, nice
:03:54. > :03:57.atmosphere, fairly relaxed, but as has been pointed out, if you
:03:58. > :04:00.important little battles to be resolved, some of that work will be
:04:01. > :04:05.done today. Some of the battles on the circuit, for fourth in the
:04:06. > :04:09.Drivers' Championship, between Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari's Valtteri
:04:10. > :04:15.Bottas in the Williams, and Valtteri Bottas's team-mate is an outside
:04:16. > :04:19.bet, Lupe Massa. -- between Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari and Valtteri
:04:20. > :04:23.Bottas of Williams. Looking at the performances yesterday, you have got
:04:24. > :04:27.to say, it is going to be a tight battle for that particular macro
:04:28. > :04:32.point, and last year, Williams finished second and third, behind
:04:33. > :04:37.Lewis Hamilton. Fernando Alonso put in a pretty good performance, he was
:04:38. > :04:40.ninth fastest in the second session, but he did mention afterwards that
:04:41. > :04:45.he was out at an ideal time on track on the super-soft tyres. Could be
:04:46. > :04:50.flattening, he was just under one seconds slower than the fastest
:04:51. > :04:57.time, only the second time this year. The other time was in
:04:58. > :05:01.Singapore, but yes, it is going to be a tough one, especially with a
:05:02. > :05:06.big long straight, and there is two huge long straight from Turn 7 down
:05:07. > :05:14.to Turn 8, Turn 9, all the way to Turn 11, as the cars prepares now to
:05:15. > :05:17.go out. -- as the cars prepare now to go out. It will be a bit more
:05:18. > :05:21.tough than it was yesterday for McLaren. Final practice session of
:05:22. > :05:29.the 20 15th season, final unofficial practice, does not lead to a good
:05:30. > :05:34.position. -- 2015. The track itself, through the tunnel and out onto the
:05:35. > :05:37.circuit. Tricky pit exit, looking bizarre coming down through a
:05:38. > :05:41.bridge, you get a little bit of speed up, you release the limiter as
:05:42. > :05:46.you are going downhill, and then come your breaks and your tyres are
:05:47. > :05:50.not optimum, you can understeer towards that big wall, on the far
:05:51. > :05:54.side. I have not seen anyone hit it yet, but I am very sure that
:05:55. > :06:00.somebody is going to tag the wall coming through. Everybody will be
:06:01. > :06:05.taking it quite gently. Been waiting for that since 2009 when the circuit
:06:06. > :06:09.was first used in Formula 1. To get a Ferrari here this weekend, we saw
:06:10. > :06:16.them hanging out in the Ferrari pit, there is the current boss of the
:06:17. > :06:20.operation, he would like to see how Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel
:06:21. > :06:24.get on. Race pace was quite promising, not that quick in terms
:06:25. > :06:29.of overall, Sebastian Vettel was fifth, Kimi Raikkonen was seventh,
:06:30. > :06:34.they got to use the super-soft tire, but the race pace was reasonable.
:06:35. > :06:37.Sergio Perez, in the Force India, for fastest overall, that suggest
:06:38. > :06:42.there is more pace that can come from the two Ferraris. -- fourth
:06:43. > :06:47.fastest. Talking about Williams in 11 and 12, should not be too
:06:48. > :06:51.concerned about that. The long Ryan Pace especially of Kimi Raikkonen
:06:52. > :06:53.was very good, could keep them on the car for a longer period than
:06:54. > :06:59.most people before the grip dropped off, probably about a 10th and a
:07:00. > :07:06.half, two tenths slower than Nico Rosberg. Daniel Ricciardo is aware
:07:07. > :07:11.that the camera is on him, not turning around. Frank Williams,
:07:12. > :07:14.intense as ever, to see what will be happening. Never shining
:07:15. > :07:17.particularly on a Friday but we expect to see a bit more of their
:07:18. > :07:21.representative pace today, second and third here last year, bearing in
:07:22. > :07:27.mind Nico Rosberg have problems in the race, just to update you, Nico
:07:28. > :07:31.Rosberg was fastest yesterday, in second practice, Lewis Hamilton had
:07:32. > :07:36.been fastest in the initial practice session, on both occasions, a gap
:07:37. > :07:40.between them, almost identical, between .13 and .14 of a second,
:07:41. > :07:44.evenly matched, even it is interesting to note that Nico
:07:45. > :07:51.Rosberg has an engine that has more mileage on it than usual. On track
:07:52. > :07:56.at the moment, Felipe Massa, in the Sauber, as we have heard, Sauber are
:07:57. > :07:59.ahead of McLaren in the constructors points, as long as things go
:08:00. > :08:04.reasonably normally, you would expect them to stay ahead of McLaren
:08:05. > :08:07.this weekend as well, although Sauber has struggled to score points
:08:08. > :08:13.in the last few races, it has been a bit of a tough latter third to the
:08:14. > :08:16.season. Generally is, if we go back through their last few years, they
:08:17. > :08:20.come out with a car at the beginning of the year, very reliable, we must
:08:21. > :08:26.remember, Lupe Massa scored some good points in his first-ever Grand
:08:27. > :08:30.in Melbourne, and therefore, on top of the car in its performance right
:08:31. > :08:33.from the start, whereas they have not been able to develop it,
:08:34. > :08:37.certainly not at the same rate of development as some of the other
:08:38. > :08:41.teams. That is one of the financial constraints, the reality is they
:08:42. > :08:44.have, they are not able to develop the car through the course of the
:08:45. > :08:49.season, they must allocate resources to the 2016 car more than developing
:08:50. > :08:52.this one. They have not had their best couple of years in the last
:08:53. > :08:56.couple of years but at least they scored points, 2014 they struggled,
:08:57. > :09:01.they did not score any at all during the whole of last year. Let's see,
:09:02. > :09:07.Felipe Massa, sliding his way out of the final corner, crossing the line,
:09:08. > :09:11.first flying lap of the session. Yesterday, the fastest times were in
:09:12. > :09:15.the low one minute 41s and with the track temperature being reasonable
:09:16. > :09:21.here, I would think that would be a similar target. Lewis Hamilton,
:09:22. > :09:27.three-time world champion, 44 on the his cap, speaking to the CEO of
:09:28. > :09:33.Mercedes-Benz, and 44, very relevant number there, in Abu Dhabi, because
:09:34. > :09:39.it is the 44th anniversary of the United Arab Emirates. Celebrations
:09:40. > :09:43.on December two, in fact, for national day here in the United Arab
:09:44. > :09:47.Emirates. Fernando Alonso on track to see if he can back up the
:09:48. > :09:50.promising performance he put in yesterday, they're in mind, he is on
:09:51. > :09:55.the longest spell of failing to score points of anybody out there
:09:56. > :10:00.except for Will Stevens, such a long time since he scored points, back in
:10:01. > :10:03.Hungary, it was, the last time he was in the points, had a reasonable
:10:04. > :10:07.finish that day, one of the most unusual races of the year, along
:10:08. > :10:11.with USA, one of the most unpredictable races, and he scored
:10:12. > :10:17.decent points but has not been able to since then. Bit of a powwow at
:10:18. > :10:20.McLaren, Rob Bennett addressed the whole team this morning, trying to
:10:21. > :10:25.get everybody fired up and motivated going into the winter break and the
:10:26. > :10:29.build-up to 2016, which is going to be so crucial for this team, they
:10:30. > :10:33.need massive improvement to be back to where we would expect them to be
:10:34. > :10:39.with two world champion striving for them, it really has been a horrible
:10:40. > :10:43.season all round. -- two world champions driving for them. We hope
:10:44. > :10:50.that they get a clean weekend. Pastor Maldonado Ontrack, reasonably
:10:51. > :10:56.well yesterday, -- on track, ten fastest in terms of outright pace,
:10:57. > :11:02.they had a water leak on the track of Sebastien Grosjean, but it out
:11:03. > :11:08.for a few laps, some other troubles with the car of Sebastien Grosjean
:11:09. > :11:13.later on, did not get in any laps -- as many laps as he wanted to.
:11:14. > :11:18.Reasonable race pace, similar to Toro Rosso, Lotus and Toro Rosso
:11:19. > :11:22.still scrapping over six place in the Constructors' Championship
:11:23. > :11:28.although notice have a 9-point advantage so they should be able to
:11:29. > :11:32.wrap it up. -- Lotus. Slightly disappointing Brazilian weekend,
:11:33. > :11:34.experience always to be counted upon. He has put in impressive
:11:35. > :11:44.performances. If you can go past him, Felipe
:11:45. > :11:49.Massa, it would be good, he can be a bit of a problem to follow.
:11:50. > :11:53.Interesting! . I think that is because it can be pretty quick, with
:11:54. > :11:56.that Mercedes engine in the Williams, but they are trying to get
:11:57. > :12:04.track position before they begin their runs. He is going to do two of
:12:05. > :12:08.-- one of two things, he has got to drop back to get enough of a gap but
:12:09. > :12:12.also remembering, Williams can we spoke about it earlier, in free
:12:13. > :12:15.practice one and two on Friday, they do not use full power but they do
:12:16. > :12:20.not necessarily do that on Saturday morning either, free practice three,
:12:21. > :12:24.and there is a chance that the Force India, with its competitiveness that
:12:25. > :12:28.it has good catch and it would ruin the run a little bit for Nico
:12:29. > :12:37.Hulkenberg. He has dropped back, no problem, Lupe Massa is on his way.
:12:38. > :12:41.His near namesake, Felipe Nasr, doing OK.
:12:42. > :12:49.Talkers around the lap. Through the long right at Turn 3 that Felipe
:12:50. > :12:53.Massa has just gone through, that is difficult, then slowing it down,
:12:54. > :13:00.flowing through the chicane, make it to Turn 7, this is a very difficult
:13:01. > :13:05.corner, trying to get all of the torque and power onto the ground,
:13:06. > :13:09.easy to spin the tire. You need to get a good exit, because you have a
:13:10. > :13:15.big huge long straight all the way through to Turn 8. 210 mph, hard on
:13:16. > :13:20.the brakes, about 155 metres to slow down the car to 14 mph, before left
:13:21. > :13:25.and right, kissing the kerbs, using the exit curb, and then another big
:13:26. > :13:29.long straight down towards Turn 11 and the last section. One of the
:13:30. > :13:34.most difficult sectors, all of the campus of the road fall away from
:13:35. > :13:38.you, everything you do with the car through this left right, and then
:13:39. > :13:45.the next two lefts, very difficult to be precise. Those curbs as well
:13:46. > :13:49.are tricky. You have got to hit them as hard as you can without hitting
:13:50. > :13:52.them too hard, some of the suspension actually has been damaged
:13:53. > :13:56.and broken because of using the kerbs a little bit too much. The
:13:57. > :14:02.problem with the camber of the road, if you don't get close, you miss the
:14:03. > :14:07.line, then you can see the tenths of a second drop away. You can see
:14:08. > :14:11.Felipe Massa and bleating the lap, lovely overhead view of this entire
:14:12. > :14:16.lap, you can see what the lap time is like, Sergio Perez has gone
:14:17. > :14:26.quickest for them. Felipe Massa in second, if you hundreds slow. -- if
:14:27. > :14:30.you hundreds slow. Confirmed as part of Mercedes young driver programme,
:14:31. > :14:35.a new driver, he is on his way, although he has got to do the last
:14:36. > :14:41.race, he's on his way to winning the GB three, winning on the road this
:14:42. > :14:47.morning but he was penalised, and the GB three title still to be
:14:48. > :14:51.settled but Ocon has himself a very good birth. Coming into the turn,
:14:52. > :14:57.big heavy braking after the big long back straight, locked up the right
:14:58. > :15:01.front, just saw the end of it, I don't know if he had it onto the
:15:02. > :15:05.white line, which would give a difference and grip between the left
:15:06. > :15:10.and right. Easy to snatch a break. On his first lap as well. Getting to
:15:11. > :15:15.know what the circuit is like. It is a little bit cooler than it was
:15:16. > :15:19.yesterday. There is a bit of cloud cover, not exactly cloud cover as we
:15:20. > :15:22.know in the UK but a little bit of cloud
:15:23. > :15:28.A little bit of a story breaking this morning concerning a slight
:15:29. > :15:35.argument, discussion, disagreement (!) between Mercedes and Ferrari.
:15:36. > :15:43.Mercedes are seeking verification over Ferrari's relationship with the
:15:44. > :15:48.new team coming in next year. Mercedes believe that Ferrari have
:15:49. > :15:52.gained an unfair advantage using their unlimited wind tunnel time,
:15:53. > :15:56.because they are not yet a fully fledged instructor, which is why
:15:57. > :16:02.they have made huge progress with their programme this year. They have
:16:03. > :16:07.gone to the FIA to ask them to explain what is permissible when you
:16:08. > :16:10.have what is effectively a B team, and the FIA has passed the matter to
:16:11. > :16:16.the stewards, so Mercedes have done that, they have asked, what is
:16:17. > :16:25.permissible? The stewards will make a ruling. When does a team, 18, when
:16:26. > :16:28.do qualify as a team? Ferrari have been benefiting from their wind
:16:29. > :16:34.tunnel time this year. The other teams think it is unfair. It is
:16:35. > :16:41.tricky, because it is a bit late now, when most of the time has been
:16:42. > :16:48.used, and the general concept of the cars has been committed. To say,
:16:49. > :16:53.what is the limit, you should have done this six months ago. There
:16:54. > :16:59.might be a bit of sour grapes, because if you watch the qualifying
:17:00. > :17:03.show this afternoon, you will find out that the new team approached
:17:04. > :17:07.Mercedes about linking up with them, and they were keen, but they are
:17:08. > :17:13.elected to go with Ferrari, so Mercedes could not benefit from
:17:14. > :17:18.this. That will play out a bit. Thank you for your comments and
:17:19. > :17:22.questions, Paul has a comment, with a good foundation in place, where do
:17:23. > :17:28.we think the new team can finish in their debut race? That will be tough
:17:29. > :17:34.to predict. Melbourne next year, where will they finish? It will have
:17:35. > :17:39.a good power unit, gearbox, chassis, the way they are doing it is buying
:17:40. > :17:47.in a lot of external parts from this team, Ferrari. It will be in a 2016
:17:48. > :17:53.specification engine. So they have got a good base, but it is the team
:17:54. > :17:57.aspect. They will lean a lot on the experience of Ferrari. In terms of
:17:58. > :18:04.the championship, they will be around where Toro Rosso. Toro Rosso
:18:05. > :18:10.are repeated to have a Ferrari engine, though not quite the same
:18:11. > :18:14.specification. Maybe try to get into the top ten or finishing just
:18:15. > :18:21.outside of it in the initial races? Reliability will be key. In terms of
:18:22. > :18:25.pace and reliability, it will be too early to say top ten, because there
:18:26. > :18:32.are some good people in the top ten, but ahead of McLaren this year.
:18:33. > :18:37.Jenny? It is going to be fascinating to see which Toro Rosso or new car
:18:38. > :18:41.come out on top, because the new team looks to have the Ferrari
:18:42. > :18:48.engine, and from what I believe, Toro Rosso will have the 2015
:18:49. > :18:54.Ferrari engine. They will have the specification around Austin, but it
:18:55. > :18:58.will not have the race fix, which has seen Ferrari improved so much.
:18:59. > :19:04.They will be down when it comes to the power unit on what they have in
:19:05. > :19:08.the new team, and they will not look to get the 16 engines in until
:19:09. > :19:13.mid-season, so you have to feel for Tara Rosso. They will not be able to
:19:14. > :19:21.compete on fair terms with the new team. One thing they will have a big
:19:22. > :19:25.advantage over is they will have a reliable engine, that has been their
:19:26. > :19:31.Achilles heel. The reliability of the engines, because they cannot get
:19:32. > :19:35.going. We Sainz Jr, if you think back to the Brazilian Grand Prix, he
:19:36. > :19:39.broke down in the bombing of lap, he started the race from the pit lane,
:19:40. > :19:44.the engine did half a lap and blew up. Reliability will be a big
:19:45. > :19:49.improvement, especially for the two drivers, so they can build on their
:19:50. > :19:54.impressive first year. Christian Horner might be nervous that the
:19:55. > :19:57.Toro Rosso cars, even with last year's Ferrari engine, maybe in
:19:58. > :20:01.better shape than Red Bull, their engine package is still not
:20:02. > :20:06.confirmed, although everybody says it will be a Renault engine of some
:20:07. > :20:10.sort. A good lap for Sebastian Vettel, but his team-mate goes even
:20:11. > :20:16.quicker, Kimi Raikkonen. Ferrari looking strong in the early stages
:20:17. > :20:23.of final practice. Just under 45 minutes to go. If you want to know
:20:24. > :20:26.more about the new team coming in, an American team, a hybrid of
:20:27. > :20:34.American and European technology, there will be a feature at 12:10pm
:20:35. > :20:39.on BBC One, Tom went to the final Nascar race last weekend to meet up
:20:40. > :20:48.with the team and ask them about their operation. In this particular
:20:49. > :20:52.session, we have not seen either of the Mercedes on circuit. It is
:20:53. > :21:02.fairly typical to seek them wait a while. RADIO: I struggled a bit
:21:03. > :21:07.if's with the rear. That is where the cars have to work hard. It is
:21:08. > :21:11.where the camber of the roads affect you quite a lot, and you need to
:21:12. > :21:19.have stability, the rear tyre takes a bit of abuse. We saw a Ferrari
:21:20. > :21:23.having a big power oversteer while we were talking about something
:21:24. > :21:27.else. It is that type of corner where do can lose quite a lot of
:21:28. > :21:32.time was not the first section of the circuit is all about the left
:21:33. > :21:36.front tyre, then you have traction out of Turn 7, but in the final part
:21:37. > :21:43.it is all about the rear, getting the stability and power out of it.
:21:44. > :21:47.That is hitting the kerb too high. Look how much the car bounces
:21:48. > :21:56.around, and the tyres moving around. Great shots. Thank you for getting
:21:57. > :21:59.into her chest, -- in touch, James says, Ferrari are looking strong,
:22:00. > :22:08.they will make it harder for Mercedes. RADIO: It is really tricky
:22:09. > :22:16.in the rear, I cannot position the car. Good feedback, another element
:22:17. > :22:20.where he has mature. Some of the radiocommunication 's earlier in the
:22:21. > :22:26.year were frantic and unclear. But the clarity is coming through. It is
:22:27. > :22:32.experience as well. He is going through his second year of car
:22:33. > :22:36.racing. He is going to a lot of circuits that he has never been to
:22:37. > :22:39.before. He has got much more experience, he will be able to build
:22:40. > :22:49.on that next year. But he has mature a lot from the very young lad that
:22:50. > :22:56.came to Belgium in 2014 just to say, I am a Red Bull driver. He has been
:22:57. > :23:00.exciting this year. Thomas asking, will any teams be putting part on in
:23:01. > :23:04.preparation for next season? They have been, but that was yesterday,
:23:05. > :23:10.Williams admitted they were running quite a few parts looking towards
:23:11. > :23:16.2016. Today, you will see most teams revert to the car that they are used
:23:17. > :23:21.to running, one or two tweaks, but they will probably go with what they
:23:22. > :23:24.know. Yes, unless it is something that you think is a definite
:23:25. > :23:28.advantage and not a reliability issue. There will be small tweaks
:23:29. > :23:36.and getting race experience on them. But if you are in a fight for
:23:37. > :23:44.a position or something, you -- the reward of risk to ratio changes.
:23:45. > :23:48.Mercedes can afford to gamble a bit more, but they are not a gambling
:23:49. > :23:52.team in that respect. After the chat we had about Mercedes taking the
:23:53. > :23:57.issue of wind tunnel testing by Ferrari to the stewards, Aaron
:23:58. > :24:01.Wright, Mercedes are running scared about Ferrari next season. I wonder,
:24:02. > :24:07.are they feeling the pressure already? Everybody hoping we will
:24:08. > :24:13.get a battle between them next year. But is that going to be the case?
:24:14. > :24:22.This is Sebastian Vettel into Turn 1, my goodness. The back and went
:24:23. > :24:26.away. He got on the curb. The road slopes away toward the apex, you get
:24:27. > :24:34.up towards the kerb on the right-hand side. It can do that
:24:35. > :24:40.quite easily. On board with Nico Rosberg. We go back to last year and
:24:41. > :24:45.the title battle between Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, there
:24:46. > :24:47.was a camera of his car, and the battle was spoiled because Nico
:24:48. > :24:53.Rosberg had a mechanical Ms function. Hamilton boss set to win
:24:54. > :24:58.it, he had gone in front, he was doing everything he needed to make
:24:59. > :25:00.sure of the title, but it was a great sadness that Nico Rosberg
:25:01. > :25:05.could not fight with a competitive car to the end. But he has split the
:25:06. > :25:12.Ferrari 's, fastest of all in the final sector. That is a good lap by
:25:13. > :25:17.Nico Rosberg. Neat and tidy, he got a bit of wheel spin when we went to
:25:18. > :25:24.the shot, you could hear the engine red spinning up a bit, but after
:25:25. > :25:33.that, it was a nice lap. RADIO: It is OK. He is referring to the spin,
:25:34. > :25:37.no major problems caused. Watching Romain Grosjean into his final
:25:38. > :25:44.qualifying day with Lotus, based in Oxfordshire, often referred to as
:25:45. > :25:49.the Estyn team, cos it has had various names. It may be called
:25:50. > :25:54.Renault again next year. Still no confirmation, and that is worrying.
:25:55. > :26:00.We were expecting it this weekend. They were talking yesterday of
:26:01. > :26:05.Renault and the Lotus guys, there are still delays and questions as to
:26:06. > :26:11.whether the deal will be done. They have been talking it -- about it for
:26:12. > :26:16.quite a long time, three or four races that we have expected some
:26:17. > :26:21.sort of announcement, and the argument is ultimately over the
:26:22. > :26:26.amount of money that the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone will support them
:26:27. > :26:29.with. That impacts on budgets and the amount of money that Renault
:26:30. > :26:35.would have to put into it. It is big boys' games, this is not just
:26:36. > :26:39.talking about the sport, it is about big business for Renault and for
:26:40. > :26:48.Formula 1. I hope they come together. December the 7th is a key
:26:49. > :26:56.date. The team itself, I was involved with them in the 90s and
:26:57. > :27:01.2003, they are a very good organisation, very structured, good
:27:02. > :27:05.technical capability. Considering that they have been running on the
:27:06. > :27:09.change out of some of the top teams' pockets in terms of the
:27:10. > :27:17.budget they have, they have done a very good job. Lewis Hamilton is not
:27:18. > :27:23.as fast as Sebastian Vettel Insecta one 0 in Iraq and an insect or two.
:27:24. > :27:29.We are still using the harder of the compounds of tyre. The final part of
:27:30. > :27:34.the lab for Hamilton. This is where Nico Rosberg was so rapid if you
:27:35. > :27:38.moments ago. We will watch him through these last couple of
:27:39. > :27:46.corners. Jenny, we will come to you in a second. Will Hamilton be
:27:47. > :27:55.quicker than Kimi Raikkonen? He goes fastest, yes. Again, the final
:27:56. > :28:02.sector worked for him. Jenny? Having a look at the Force India cars,
:28:03. > :28:08.Sergio Perez had a great day yesterday, despite his brake pad
:28:09. > :28:15.catching light. This is the first time in their history, they think,
:28:16. > :28:19.out of 150 races that they have got nothing to lose. They have wrapped
:28:20. > :28:22.up fifth place in the Constructors' Championship, so they can be more
:28:23. > :28:27.risky and aggressive with their strategy and take a gamble. They
:28:28. > :28:33.showed great precis -- great pace yesterday. The long run pace is not
:28:34. > :28:37.looking quite so good, but they hoped both cars can be serious point
:28:38. > :28:45.contenders, both in the top ten, and Sergio Perez could be on a one-stop
:28:46. > :28:49.strategy, long and risky, exciting. Generally, everybody is talking
:28:50. > :28:54.about two stops, perhaps three stops might be one second or two faster,
:28:55. > :28:59.but you lose out in traffic. The majority will go with two. But there
:29:00. > :29:04.could be a difference in which tyre they use, whether they concentrate
:29:05. > :29:07.on super-soft or get rid of it early and concentrate on the soft. That
:29:08. > :29:12.could be the difference between teams and how they use the tyre. It
:29:13. > :29:17.will be interesting to see if Force India do something different. Their
:29:18. > :29:22.tactics in Russia and Sergio Perez the podium finish. Keep an eye on
:29:23. > :29:27.the Red Bull, it has been pretty good this weekend. It is down on
:29:28. > :29:32.power on the long straights, and it has a great chassis, good through
:29:33. > :29:37.this section. They are not able to go flat through the sweepers. Maybe
:29:38. > :29:40.they will in qualifying. They can, but it puts too much heat and
:29:41. > :29:47.temperature into the tyre, which means the degradation gets such a
:29:48. > :29:57.loading. Ultimately, it is of benefit to them longer term not to
:29:58. > :30:00.go flat out. RADIO: It is too long. That is a shameful Daniil Kvyat, we
:30:01. > :30:07.are still waiting for him to get in a flying lap -- a shame for Daniil
:30:08. > :30:13.Kvyat. He knows where the car is after yesterday. He was sixth
:30:14. > :30:21.fastest, he has a good feel. It is time lost, but coming back to that,
:30:22. > :30:28.this section puts a lot of load onto the rear tyre. The right rear, then
:30:29. > :30:33.a huge amount, because of the camber of the road, exhilarating, getting
:30:34. > :30:39.the power down, then the three XL underneath the hotel. The right
:30:40. > :30:42.front takes a pounding. But the left front takes a pounding for the
:30:43. > :30:48.understeer and the graining and the rear tyres take the big hit, the
:30:49. > :30:54.right rear especially. Hamilton has gone fastest in the first sector of
:30:55. > :30:58.anybody. Daniel Ricciardo improving on his previous best, but it will
:30:59. > :31:12.not be up there with the fastest times.
:31:13. > :31:26.The fastest Renault powered car in the field at the moment. RADIO:
:31:27. > :31:30.Charge lap. It is not driveable. A charge lap means charging the hybrid
:31:31. > :31:35.system, hitting the recuperation of the energy. It is trying to store
:31:36. > :31:38.the energy in the battery so that when they come out of the final
:31:39. > :31:44.corner he has got maximum hybrid acceleration. This is into the final
:31:45. > :31:49.corner. He gets close to the inside curb. As he touches the throttle,
:31:50. > :31:58.the rear of the car is unstable. I'm wondering whether Lewis Hamilton
:31:59. > :32:01.made a mistake, he was fastest in the first sector, then he did a slow
:32:02. > :32:07.middle sector, now he has started another quick lap. Interesting, I
:32:08. > :32:12.was going to say that, before we had the radio from Sebastien Grosjean,
:32:13. > :32:17.Hamilton spun, that was a mistake. This is another lap, we think he
:32:18. > :32:22.made a mistake on the previous lap, now he has spun it here as well. He
:32:23. > :32:27.has moved out over the boundaries of the circuit. When straight on with
:32:28. > :32:32.that section, I wonder what he has done wrong this time. Into the
:32:33. > :32:37.corners, chasing the kerbs, trying to get over them as much as you can,
:32:38. > :32:41.and... We have not seen anything yet, just onto the outside, taking a
:32:42. > :32:46.little bit too much of that curb on the right-hand part of the chicane.
:32:47. > :32:51.That has destabilised the car. On board, you will see it much better,
:32:52. > :32:55.floating the car into the left and right, taking a lizard it too much
:32:56. > :33:01.of this, it has destabilised the car. That is Astroturf, that green,
:33:02. > :33:07.between the blue and the kerb, but is Astroturf and there is
:33:08. > :33:16.significantly less grip. He's fastest, Lewis Hamilton, one minute
:33:17. > :33:21.43.0, faster than Kimi Raikkonen and Nico Rosberg, but difficult to go
:33:22. > :33:24.quicker than that. Coming back to Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen, look at
:33:25. > :33:31.the time they did, Lewis Hamilton was half a second slower than Kimi
:33:32. > :33:35.Raikkonen on that middle sector. Basically the chicane where Hamilton
:33:36. > :33:39.spun two huge straights, and then on the final sector, Lewis Hamilton was
:33:40. > :33:42.half a second quicker than Kimi Raikkonen, Kimi Raikkonen was
:33:43. > :33:46.complaining about the rear of the car. There is strength on different
:33:47. > :33:49.sections. Marcus Ericsson, on board the Sauber, thank you for your
:33:50. > :33:55.comments coming in, some good questions being asked, Nigel has
:33:56. > :34:00.asked, how close it looks, how close will it look close to Ferrari in
:34:01. > :34:07.2016. And a more basic question, what colour will it be? Your guess
:34:08. > :34:10.is as good as ours, we will not be able to see them copy Ferrari
:34:11. > :34:25.completely, they will have to do their own work. Do not want to look
:34:26. > :34:28.too much like a Ferrari, Gavin knew it, I apologise for the
:34:29. > :34:36.pronunciation, he has asked, at what age does a Formula 1 driver reach
:34:37. > :34:41.his peak. -- Gavin Newart. Very dependent upon their ringing, if you
:34:42. > :34:51.like, I don't mean at home, I mean through car racing. It is
:34:52. > :34:59.individual. Five, six years. Formula 1, to understand the circuits and
:35:00. > :35:06.the parameters of it. INAUDIBLE Please can you check that...
:35:07. > :35:10.Understood. Synchronisation of the downshifting to be an issue for
:35:11. > :35:13.Sergio Perez. Big braking areas at the end of the two main straight
:35:14. > :35:18.where the car is a little bit light anyway, and then a bit of locking,
:35:19. > :35:25.but Fernando Alonso getting some massage in the thumb area. Coming
:35:26. > :35:32.back to that point, and... Lewis Hamilton is 30 years old, is that a
:35:33. > :35:35.peak age? The time? To be winning championships back-to-back? Clearly
:35:36. > :35:51.for him, other drivers will be different. Nigel Mansell was 40! But
:35:52. > :35:59.those years are definitely gone. It is not just about your experience,
:36:00. > :36:03.it is a whole parameter of things. Sebastien last year was not the
:36:04. > :36:09.Sebastien of this year, he has around his peak as well. We need to
:36:10. > :36:14.see Ferrari at their peak so we can see a battle between Hamilton and
:36:15. > :36:18.Sebastian Vettel. Jenson Button, almost 35 years old, second oldest,
:36:19. > :36:23.Kimi Raikkonen is the only driver actually born in the 1970s! Only a
:36:24. > :36:27.bit older than Jenson Button but they are the two oldest drivers in
:36:28. > :36:32.the field. Does not seem to slow him down too much! A couple of you, Ryan
:36:33. > :36:37.Hoskins has asked, could the 2016 season be the final year of the old
:36:38. > :36:40.F1 guard, with button, Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa and Fernando
:36:41. > :36:44.Alonso leaving the sport, I do not know if I think all of them will but
:36:45. > :36:49.certainly there is the possibility that Jenson Button, maybe, Kimi
:36:50. > :36:53.Raikkonen, quite possibly, Felipe Massa, good question. I'm not sure
:36:54. > :36:58.if he would decide to move on or whether the team would decide to
:36:59. > :37:01.move him on. Depends upon the options out there, if there is new
:37:02. > :37:07.drivers coming in that looked like they have promised, it must be quite
:37:08. > :37:13.appealing for 18, it is the balance between the marketing capability of
:37:14. > :37:17.a driver, is on track performance... And how much you have got to pay
:37:18. > :37:21.him, ultimately, cost and return. Right now, they will have a good
:37:22. > :37:25.group of young drivers, filling those seats at some point in the
:37:26. > :37:29.future, this depends when. Looking at the huge amounts of money that
:37:30. > :37:37.the top drivers earn in Formula 1, over $20 million a year, for the
:37:38. > :37:41.real few select at the very top. At the bottom end, Max Verstappen, will
:37:42. > :37:48.he be earning millions of dollars? No way. He's basically serving an
:37:49. > :37:53.apprenticeship. You have got to be very careful. You see it in football
:37:54. > :37:58.all the time, football players get paid maybe a little bit more than
:37:59. > :38:02.what they are used to, and suddenly, the motivation goes out of it. You
:38:03. > :38:07.need to keep sportspeople motivated, some are motivated by money, some it
:38:08. > :38:11.is the pat on the back, some deserve their reward but ultimately you have
:38:12. > :38:16.got to be winning things before you get the big rewards. Will Stevens
:38:17. > :38:19.watching, other end of the grid, where drivers really have to bring
:38:20. > :38:23.some budget with them to be able to get the opportunity to race in
:38:24. > :38:27.Formula 1, they have to prove themselves in the junior ranks, you
:38:28. > :38:31.cannot buy your way in having not done anything, they will have won
:38:32. > :38:35.races in other categories to earn themselves a super-licence to get
:38:36. > :38:39.into Formula 1. The super-licence rates become more and more
:38:40. > :38:43.difficult, becoming harder for those drivers who might have a pot of
:38:44. > :38:48.money to get into Formula 1, because there is Morkel Weimann 's. Has
:38:49. > :38:53.always been a part of it, a part of the grid in all parts of motorsport,
:38:54. > :38:57.funded to get there. Ultimately, there is a lot of drivers, including
:38:58. > :39:02.the likes of Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, through
:39:03. > :39:08.sponsorship, paid for their first drives. I don't think we should be
:39:09. > :39:18.knocking it, it is what it is. Ultimately we want to have funded
:39:19. > :39:27.drives. On board with Sebastian Vettel, these men are the cream of
:39:28. > :39:33.the crop. A bit of confusion there, taps a car preparing for a lap
:39:34. > :39:36.getting out of the way. Sebastian Vettel has crossed the line, no
:39:37. > :39:40.change to his lap time, quite close to what he has done before but not
:39:41. > :39:45.quite as quick, over halfway through the session, in a little while we
:39:46. > :39:48.will begin to see drivers switching on to the super-soft tyres,
:39:49. > :39:55.qualifying simulation, 33 degrees, the track temperature at the moment,
:39:56. > :39:58.it is going to give them a reasonable amount of feedback. That
:39:59. > :40:02.was about a second of a lap difference from new tyre to new tyre
:40:03. > :40:06.yesterday, the problem they had on the super-soft tyre was raining,
:40:07. > :40:10.front tyre was taking a bit of abuse, and was not giving the
:40:11. > :40:16.longevity and the grip that ideally they would like. The circuit has
:40:17. > :40:20.more grip on it than yesterday because of the running they have
:40:21. > :40:24.done but also in the qualifying sessions, and the GP three race
:40:25. > :40:28.already, the circuit will be in better nick, that will help the
:40:29. > :40:34.super-soft tyre. The cooler it gets, but track temperature is not
:40:35. > :40:39.dropping much. Even going into darkness, it may not drop massively,
:40:40. > :40:44.we will have to wait and see. Carlos Sainz, years getting a decent run so
:40:45. > :40:49.far, he has done ten laps, about as many as most of the men out there,
:40:50. > :40:55.one or two have done 12 to 13, so far, so good, they definitely kept
:40:56. > :40:59.the same engine in, quite limited in engines that they still have to use,
:41:00. > :41:02.very determined not to go for an engine they have not used because
:41:03. > :41:06.then they get grid penalties, and he was saying that will make life very
:41:07. > :41:11.difficult around this circuit. Having said that, I remember back to
:41:12. > :41:15.last year, both of the Red Bulls, not the Toro Rosso but the Red Bull,
:41:16. > :41:18.they were excluded from qualifying because of Lexi front wings, they
:41:19. > :41:23.were deemed to be widget and not stiff enough, starting from the pit
:41:24. > :41:27.lane. Daniel Riccardo came back to finish in full place. -- flexi. We
:41:28. > :41:33.have seen Sebastian Vettel come from way back to get that kind of finish
:41:34. > :41:37.so it is a possibility to work your way through. If you do not have
:41:38. > :41:41.straight-line speed it is even tougher, it is pretty tough anyway,
:41:42. > :41:44.considering the number of cars that have got decent power units ahead of
:41:45. > :41:52.them, then that is one big factor for them. Man in the middle, James,
:41:53. > :41:57.and Tony is up with us, watching, and pointing them out, because he
:41:58. > :42:03.has delivered a great chassis at Toro Rosso, it has been hidden by
:42:04. > :42:07.the problems Renault have had and the excitement around Max
:42:08. > :42:10.Verstappen, but they could not do that if he did not have a car that
:42:11. > :42:15.they could play with and work on the brakes. At the moment, James Key is
:42:16. > :42:21.one of the stars of the engineering side of Formula 1 who is in the
:42:22. > :42:25.ascendance. Yes, it depends, if you are Mercedes, with the capability
:42:26. > :42:29.Mercedes have to develop, then you can focus on certain things. If you
:42:30. > :42:32.are Toro Rosso, where you do not have the development budget, you
:42:33. > :42:37.need a car that you can maximise more often than not, so it is not
:42:38. > :42:42.necessarily peak performance but you want one that drivers can push, can
:42:43. > :42:48.attack, Canada, Monaco, wherever, the circuit, drivers can always
:42:49. > :42:51.maximise it, that will have a slightly lower ultimate performance
:42:52. > :42:55.level. But over the course of the season it is better for them. For
:42:56. > :42:59.the actual top teams fighting for the championship, they have to go
:43:00. > :43:03.for the absolute peak, that is the only way there will be the
:43:04. > :43:09.opposition. Women grow shone on circuit. -- Romain Grosjean.
:43:10. > :43:21.That is at the end of the first of the two long straights, then they
:43:22. > :43:25.get to 320, Nico Rosberg, two areas, getting up to well over 200 miles an
:43:26. > :43:30.hour, with the Mercedes power unit making the most of it, up in the mix
:43:31. > :43:35.as well, with the Ferrari power, but it is Mercedes and Ferrari up at the
:43:36. > :43:43.top, mostly Mercedes looking at the ranking. If you look at it, not a
:43:44. > :43:51.surprise really. The interesting one for me, where Williams end up. They
:43:52. > :44:02.have their battle, the 1 part of the jigsaw we do not know with the
:44:03. > :44:08.Drivers' Championship. Looking at Romain Grosjean, he has the lock-up,
:44:09. > :44:21.but the apex is OK. Add a little bit avail cup. The car ahead of him. --
:44:22. > :44:27.had a bit available up. -- had a bit of a lock-up. Coming back to Romain
:44:28. > :44:33.and through here, pretty sweet. That looks pretty good as well. For
:44:34. > :44:38.Pastor Maldonado. Jason asking us, will the Lotus team carry on if
:44:39. > :44:42.Renault does not take over? Good question, we really do not know. We
:44:43. > :44:47.are still hoping that this Renault takeover is going to happen, but if
:44:48. > :44:49.they don't take over, I think there is going to be a massive amount of
:44:50. > :44:56.concern about the future existence of that team, it has been run into
:44:57. > :45:00.the ground a little bit. Guy is still there, putting in a massive
:45:01. > :45:10.amount of effort, but it remains a question mark.
:45:11. > :45:19.We have eight cars on the circuit at -- at the moment. 20 minutes to go,
:45:20. > :45:25.they will do a bit of work on race trim. Sebastian Vettel again going
:45:26. > :45:33.through the fast sweepers. This is where Lewis Hamilton spun earlier. A
:45:34. > :45:39.little correction, but neatly through there. This is the corner,
:45:40. > :45:48.trying to get the power down. A bit of wheel spin.
:45:49. > :45:54.Now he is on his way down the back straight. That is what he will have
:45:55. > :46:00.to be careful of, he cannot do too many wheel spins, because it takes
:46:01. > :46:04.the energy out of the tyre. Can he fiddle with that on the differential
:46:05. > :46:08.settings? He can do a lot with it in terms of the way the hybrid system
:46:09. > :46:15.is boosting, how the throttle maps are working, or ultimately on his
:46:16. > :46:21.right foot. Controlling how quickly he gets on the power. And how
:46:22. > :46:25.smoothly. You need to pick up the throttle to make sure you get some
:46:26. > :46:30.acceleration of the corner, but ultimately it is how smooth you can
:46:31. > :46:35.get it. You come through the sweeping right-handers into the
:46:36. > :46:39.hotel complex, this corner now that he is at is quite easy to light up
:46:40. > :46:47.the rear tyre. You always get great images here. Looking down over the
:46:48. > :46:52.track. A fairly unique view as he goes beneath the bridge of the
:46:53. > :46:59.hotel. Sebastian Vettel heading back into the pits, bringing us down to
:47:00. > :47:05.just four cars on circuit. This slightly quieter time proceeds.
:47:06. > :47:06.Lewis Hamilton fastest, Kimi Raikkonen second, Nico Rosberg
:47:07. > :47:22.third. The big black lines put down, that
:47:23. > :47:28.was Kimi Raikkonen yesterday in the first free practice. Sebastian
:47:29. > :47:35.Vettel going through a procedure, to do the same thing, because this is a
:47:36. > :47:39.concrete pit lane with less grip. Try to get some rubber down before
:47:40. > :47:45.the race tomorrow, so when you do the pit stops, they have better
:47:46. > :47:51.traction. Jenson Button was doing some burn outs, he put a picture on
:47:52. > :47:57.his Instagram yesterday. Just to put the rubber down onto the concrete
:47:58. > :48:05.surface. This will be Pastor Maldonado's opportunity for them to
:48:06. > :48:10.fit those red wall tires and he has a go at a qualifying simulation.
:48:11. > :48:15.Daniil Kvyat only did a lap and came straight back in. They fired up,
:48:16. > :48:20.send him on his way, that he still has not done a flying lap. They do
:48:21. > :48:25.not look overly concerned. Maybe they have established the car is
:48:26. > :48:31.basically OK, maybe they are going to wait for the super-soft. I am not
:48:32. > :48:38.sure, but he has got his helmet off, there is no frantic this. Two cars
:48:39. > :48:48.on the circuit, Sebastian Vettel and Carlos Sainz Jr.
:48:49. > :48:57.He is on his in lap, actually. He is still on the soft tyre. The lap
:48:58. > :49:05.times are not as quick yet as we will expect to see on the super-soft
:49:06. > :49:16.tyres. If they take a second of, we could be down to 1:42 or 1:41.
:49:17. > :49:27.They were 0.3 seconds quicker in practice this year, but there is the
:49:28. > :49:31.fuel load effects, as well as what they can do to deliver the
:49:32. > :49:38.performance from the hybrid system. A comment from Richard, maybe he is
:49:39. > :49:45.a Ferrari fan, he says, what are the chances of a Singapore style drop in
:49:46. > :49:53.Mercedes' form, is he just clutching at straws? Yes. The drop of form was
:49:54. > :50:00.a shock to everybody in Singapore. I do not think it will be repeated.
:50:01. > :50:04.Tom? Nico Rosberg has just passed me on the super-soft tyre, I had a
:50:05. > :50:09.quick word with the Pirelli engineers, as Lewis Hamilton is
:50:10. > :50:15.heading out. We will see some benchmark times coming out. He
:50:16. > :50:18.rarely said the average difference between the soft and super-soft
:50:19. > :50:25.tyres yesterday was 1.3 seconds. That is the average from all 20
:50:26. > :50:31.cars, so some cars are getting even more than that. You are not going to
:50:32. > :50:37.get to lapse out of it, so the onus is on the driver to make no mistakes
:50:38. > :50:42.and nail it. You have to look after the rear tyres so they are still
:50:43. > :50:48.alive, that is vital. That comment coming from the tyre engineer, the
:50:49. > :50:53.onus is on the driver! But it is correct, the last sector is the one
:50:54. > :50:58.that Mercedes looks to be strong with. Nico Rosberg and Lewis
:50:59. > :51:01.Hamilton the only cars on the circuit, Ferrari B to be good or
:51:02. > :51:07.better on the last sector if they are going to challenge for a front
:51:08. > :51:11.row position. There is a potential that they are viewing being ahead of
:51:12. > :51:19.Williams, but Williams will also be good. It is going to be a 1 lap
:51:20. > :51:23.tyre, the super-soft, but looking at second practice, some people did a
:51:24. > :51:28.second lap, it was not as quick as their first, but it held up
:51:29. > :51:32.reasonably. I wonder if the revised construction is helping them a bit
:51:33. > :51:38.more, that the tyre is lasting for a whole lap distance. Last year it was
:51:39. > :51:44.a problem. Yes, but you can see how slow they are going, they are trying
:51:45. > :51:51.to protect it as much as possible. The temperature rolled evenly across
:51:52. > :51:55.the whole surface of the tyre, which helped the compound last a bit more,
:51:56. > :52:00.but the first lab is always the best. Especially when you get into
:52:01. > :52:09.softer compounds, there is more focus. It is OK for Nico Rosberg,
:52:10. > :52:16.breaking into that corner is not critical, but into the end of the
:52:17. > :52:20.back straight, that is the key point, because if he locks up there,
:52:21. > :52:25.his lap has gone, or the best part of it. Hamilton is just behind him,
:52:26. > :52:34.so we will get a complete to Paris and straightaway. It is not very
:52:35. > :52:38.good from Hamilton. Maybe he made a mistake somewhere, but you would not
:52:39. > :52:44.have expected him to be that far off. He will not put in the same
:52:45. > :52:49.time as Nico Rosberg. If he has used up the best of the tyre, if he backs
:52:50. > :52:53.off now, he should be able to get a second flying lap, but it is never
:52:54. > :52:59.quite as good. It depends if it is damaged. If there has been a
:53:00. > :53:06.lock-up, it might be tricky. The middle sector from Nico Rosberg is
:53:07. > :53:12.equal to Kimi Raikkonen. It looks a pretty good lap so far. He is into
:53:13. > :53:15.sector three, a tricky right-hander, it is easy to lock-up the right
:53:16. > :53:21.front. Good acceleration. Three corners to go. The last part of the
:53:22. > :53:26.lap, this is where the super-soft hired as the most work. In the
:53:27. > :53:31.middle sector, it is straight, so the super-soft has more drag down
:53:32. > :53:41.the straight. But this section is where it makes a massive difference.
:53:42. > :53:46.It is a big jump up the order. Not as quick as we saw last year, but it
:53:47. > :53:52.is a big improvement. A gap of about one second. Nico Rosberg goes
:53:53. > :53:57.fastest. Lewis Hamilton not responding on this lap, we may see
:53:58. > :54:03.him stay out there and come around. He is about to come past us. He has
:54:04. > :54:09.stayed out and he goes on to a fast lap now. We will see if he can
:54:10. > :54:14.respond. Nico Rosberg laying the benchmark figure, money-macro 42.1.
:54:15. > :54:24.We are waiting for the other teams to come out. I wonder how quickly
:54:25. > :54:30.Fernando Alonso can go. Here we are, Hamilton. He is again slipping and
:54:31. > :54:35.sliding, in the same place we saw him earlier. This has not been a
:54:36. > :54:44.good run, he has not got the feel for it. You try to carry a lot of
:54:45. > :54:49.speed in. It looks like it was a bit too quick into the end of the first
:54:50. > :54:56.sector. He ran a bit wide. The lap has gone. Again, he has backed off.
:54:57. > :55:02.He will not be able to get another go at it. He may try to do that
:55:03. > :55:04.still, but by the time these tyres get to the end of another lap, they
:55:05. > :55:19.will be well past their best. It is similar to before, he went in
:55:20. > :55:24.too deep, a bit too much speed in between the left and right-hander.
:55:25. > :55:28.There was not enough road. Will he be able to set up the car better to
:55:29. > :55:34.give him that kind of stability? Is it all about the line? It is
:55:35. > :55:37.carrying too much speed into the left-hander, he will have to slow
:55:38. > :55:44.the cars down a touch to make sure that he gets it right. The game is
:55:45. > :55:52.probably 0.05 seconds, but the loss is not his lap has gone. It is a
:55:53. > :55:56.psychological situation, he is quickest, but it does not mean
:55:57. > :56:01.anything. If he can make it click and get it right for qualifying,
:56:02. > :56:07.that could be the difference between pole position and second on the
:56:08. > :56:12.grid. He is in a run-off races where he has failed to take pole position.
:56:13. > :56:17.Valtteri Bottas taking it steady, but now getting on the power hard as
:56:18. > :56:29.he comes out of the first corner office flying lap. Macro radio: We
:56:30. > :56:35.are looking for a 1.7 gain. A big oversteer coming out of the first
:56:36. > :56:46.corner, his right we're dash-mac) your wheel. The last time. Tom, you
:56:47. > :56:51.have an update from Red Bull? Daniel Ricciardo has gone out on his
:56:52. > :56:56.super-soft tyre. Bad news for Daniil Kvyat, the team are still trying to
:56:57. > :57:00.locate the problem, they have taken the floor off, they will take the
:57:01. > :57:07.gearbox of. He will not turn a lap at all. Very frustrating for him. It
:57:08. > :57:11.is a great shame, because he has been having a solid end to the
:57:12. > :57:14.season. Nico Rosberg has gone fastest of anybody in the Biddle
:57:15. > :57:23.sector. The tyre is holding up well. It looks like it is stronger
:57:24. > :57:31.than it was here last year. The tap -- tracked Bridger is cooler than
:57:32. > :57:38.last year. He missed the Apex a bit as he came in off the back straight
:57:39. > :57:44.at 1011. Not too much of a loss. This is where he have to try to keep
:57:45. > :57:49.the momentum and the work going. Nico Rosberg goes quicker again in
:57:50. > :57:55.the final sector. That is really interesting, because he has done a
:57:56. > :58:01.second lap that is faster than his first on these tyres, so it is
:58:02. > :58:08.holding up other than we expected. Valtteri Bottas still behind cars
:58:09. > :58:12.that did their laps on the harder tyre, Kimi Raikkonen at least.
:58:13. > :58:19.Williams will not be impressed by that, they would have expected a
:58:20. > :58:23.faster time. He gets onto the kerb and so there is definitely a loss of
:58:24. > :58:32.acceleration, and he missed the apex at 1011. We did not see the section
:58:33. > :58:37.underneath the hotel area, but it was not the tidiest lap that he has
:58:38. > :58:43.done. Felipe Massa is on a reasonable lap, we will see if he is
:58:44. > :58:48.cleaner. Daniel Ricciardo with a reasonable first sector. This might
:58:49. > :58:53.be a better lap than Valtteri Bottas from Felipe Massa. Valtteri Bottas
:58:54. > :58:59.may well back off and do another lap again. Felipe Massa shoots up to
:59:00. > :59:06.third place, but it is not better by a big margin. They will be able to
:59:07. > :59:12.wind a bit more power out of it, but they will do a charge lap. They will
:59:13. > :59:17.gain the hybrid energy back. They will maximise it for the one
:59:18. > :59:22.qualifying lap. Very impressive by Nico Rosberg. What will be final
:59:23. > :59:30.sector be like for Daniel Ricciardo? You would expect the Red
:59:31. > :59:34.Bull to be in good shape here. The lost 0.4 seconds in the middle
:59:35. > :59:40.sector. He might be able to get some of that back in the final sector.
:59:41. > :59:45.41.3 is the fastest we have seen in the final sector so far. His final
:59:46. > :59:53.sector is still down a bit. The problem for Red Bull, you expect
:59:54. > :59:59.they can go quick on the final sector, but they have less power.
:00:00. > :00:03.They have all of that straight, so they cannot run the amount of wind
:00:04. > :00:07.that they would like. To get the straight line speed they lose speed
:00:08. > :00:12.through the final part. It is always the compromise, especially here,
:00:13. > :00:17.between the second and third sectors. It does not matter so much
:00:18. > :00:24.in qualifying, but for the race, trying to keep the tyre and make
:00:25. > :00:33.sure that... And on-board here, Nico Rosberg getting in the way. Hamilton
:00:34. > :00:39.was not too impressed. Rightly so. They are running different strips in
:00:40. > :00:45.front of where the steering wheel is to flick the air over the helmet.
:00:46. > :00:51.Nico Rosberg had a serrated edge, Hamilton's was straight. They are
:00:52. > :00:56.both on a flying lap now, a good first sector for both of them. Nico
:00:57. > :01:03.Rosberg particularly. Sergio Perez is on a flyer. Full is India looking
:01:04. > :01:11.good. Sebastian Vettel is wide, but he goes third, that is encouraging.
:01:12. > :01:19.That is where the straight-line speed counts. Very good sector. Red
:01:20. > :01:21.ball could be in trouble from Force India today, and even Ferrari could
:01:22. > :01:26.be, if they don't get their act together. Lewis Hamilton is on a
:01:27. > :01:32.good lap... No, he has backed off. First sector pretty good, middle
:01:33. > :01:36.sector, three tenths down on the best, tyres definitely past their
:01:37. > :01:40.best. And get any more out of those super-softs, he has not put in a
:01:41. > :01:44.fully representative lap, still within three tenths of his team-mate
:01:45. > :01:49.but I think there is an awful lot more available to him when you get
:01:50. > :01:53.to qualifying. Kimi Raikkonen, Izzy as quick as Sebastian Vettel? Not
:01:54. > :01:57.particularly quick at all, newsfeeds, behind the Force India.
:01:58. > :02:02.Waiting for Holcombe Burkey, to see if he is up there with Sergio
:02:03. > :02:05.Perez. -- waiting for Nico Hulkenberg. Half a second down on
:02:06. > :02:12.his team-mate. A little more to be found. Lewis Hamilton going back
:02:13. > :02:16.out, having done the practice is, they have to go back out, having
:02:17. > :02:24.done the practice start. They can be pulled back to the pit, they have to
:02:25. > :02:29.go out. They have a unique layout through the tunnels, practice start
:02:30. > :02:33.at the end of the session, they can do a practice start from the grid
:02:34. > :02:39.itself. Sebastian Vettel, one lap time has put him up into third,
:02:40. > :02:44.second lap, now building up... Doing two things, to build up the hybrid,
:02:45. > :02:51.but then to pull down the tire, and we expect to see, with a few things
:02:52. > :02:52.to go, one final lap, possibly a little bit over to the left-hand
:02:53. > :03:10.side. A part falling off the back of the
:03:11. > :03:19.car there, it is the shock of falling off the rear wing is jumping
:03:20. > :03:24.as well. INAUDIBLE That was Stevens and Romain
:03:25. > :03:28.Grosjean's, Stevens and Romain Grosjean... Fairly short summary!
:03:29. > :03:31.Usually gets an very well with Romain Grosjean, whether he was
:03:32. > :03:36.referring to Stevens all Romain Grosjean in that comment, I don't
:03:37. > :03:44.know, Fernando Alonso, 15, he has been held up. Jenson Button, 11,
:03:45. > :03:48.reasonably encouraging. Faster than Max Verstappen, faster than Pastor
:03:49. > :03:55.Maldonado, they are in better shape near the May have been at quite a
:03:56. > :03:58.few of the races so far this year. I wonder if there is any chance of
:03:59. > :04:02.getting into the top ten, they have not done it all year in qualifying,
:04:03. > :04:09.highly unlikely but Jenson Button is in 11th place in this final act is
:04:10. > :04:13.session. I agree, a little unlikely, two of the cars behind Jenson
:04:14. > :04:17.Button, the two Lotus is, and this is a circuit which should genuinely
:04:18. > :04:23.suit Pastor Maldonado, he was ninth fastest yesterday. Romain Grosjean
:04:24. > :04:27.did not get out. -- Lotuses. He did not get out in that, he was 15,
:04:28. > :04:32.Pastor Maldonado tent. I think that we can expect when it comes to
:04:33. > :04:44.qualifying itself the Lotuses Lotus is to be that. -- Aster Maldonado
:04:45. > :04:49.was tense. -- the Lotuses to be like that. Nico Hulkenberg looking for a
:04:50. > :04:56.second final lap on the super-soft tyres. Watching Sergio Perez through
:04:57. > :05:02.the rest of the lap, right up to the barrier... That is one area where
:05:03. > :05:06.you can be caught out. Most areas around the circuit, that particular
:05:07. > :05:10.corn is one where we see contact with the barrier. Sergio Perez
:05:11. > :05:13.crosses the line. Not as good as previous but still pretty good.
:05:14. > :05:18.About the same as Nico Hulkenberg has already done. Slightly better
:05:19. > :05:24.lap. We will see whether he improves. That first sector for him,
:05:25. > :05:30.reasonable middle sector, this could be an improvement, if the tyres
:05:31. > :05:34.hold. Through these last difficult corners. As he maintained grip?
:05:35. > :05:39.Ferrari a little easier on the tyres. Trying to get the good exit,
:05:40. > :05:44.Kimi Raikkonen, but it is a slight improvement on time. Does not boost
:05:45. > :05:51.him up the order. It was on the final sector, first and second,
:05:52. > :05:55.three tenths of Nico Rosberg's time, 41 equal to Sebastian Vettel but the
:05:56. > :06:00.tire was not able to take it. Dropped down half a second, in
:06:01. > :06:05.comparison to ultimately what the potential is. If he can connect,
:06:06. > :06:09.that is going to be one of the main things, come qualifying, if you can
:06:10. > :06:15.connect it all together, get the corner apex is right, make sure you
:06:16. > :06:20.is enough of the kerbs, you will be able to do the lap time. If you
:06:21. > :06:27.cannot, then easily half a second to lose on the tire on the second lap.
:06:28. > :06:33.Super-soft tyres to their best advantage. The session has ended
:06:34. > :06:38.with Nico Rosberg on top, as he was in second practice, Hamilton never
:06:39. > :06:45.got a clean running. Nico Rosberg things it has a slight advantage in
:06:46. > :06:48.terms of engine power, his engine has done more mileage than
:06:49. > :06:55.Hamilton, but Hamilton has not been able to put the lap together as he
:06:56. > :06:59.would have liked. Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, not a huge gap, but
:07:00. > :07:05.Lewis Hamilton's gap was not particularly representative. Could
:07:06. > :07:08.give Ferrari some thinking to do, Kimi Raikkonen ended up slower than
:07:09. > :07:16.Sergio Perez. This is going to be very close for third and fourth
:07:17. > :07:21.races on the grid. Little bit disappointing for Williams, often
:07:22. > :07:25.they find a bit more in qualifying. They definitely need to find three
:07:26. > :07:33.tenths, four tenths, to get into the next group. Carlos Sainz Junior was
:07:34. > :07:43.10th fastest, Maldonado, 12. Alonso was disappointed being held up in
:07:44. > :07:47.the end. Some did not get a run, including Daniil Kvyat. Because of
:07:48. > :07:51.the way the pit lane is, we mentioned at the beginning, they can
:07:52. > :07:55.do one lap to practice, before they then finished the session. Final
:07:56. > :07:59.practice session completed. The sadist look to be dominating
:08:00. > :08:09.proceedings, in qualifying, at least, it may be a bit different.
:08:10. > :08:13.They have their own rivals in among the Red Bulls and the Force India
:08:14. > :08:16.and Williams may be with a bit of work to do, setting things up
:08:17. > :08:21.beautifully for the fine to come up a little bit later on here in Abu
:08:22. > :08:30.Dhabi. -- final qualifying. Lewis Hamilton desperate for pole
:08:31. > :08:35.position, seems hard to believe that he has not had a pole position since
:08:36. > :08:40.the Italian Grand Prix, way back in Munster, in September. Since then,
:08:41. > :08:43.Sebastian Vettel took Singapore, Nico Rosberg has had every pole
:08:44. > :08:47.position since then. -- Monza. We have had everything live for you
:08:48. > :08:52.across the BBC and we continue to do so, qualifying at 12:10pm, that is
:08:53. > :08:56.on BBC One, you can see if he can get the pole position, disrupt the
:08:57. > :09:01.flow, and if you stay with us, we have inside the F1 rewind, thank you
:09:02. > :09:06.very much for joining us, goodbye.