Qualifying - Abu Dhabi

:00:08. > :01:17.MUSIC so here we are then, final race of the season, Abu Dhabi and it

:01:18. > :01:21.has been an eventful year both on and off the track but what about the

:01:22. > :01:29.defining moments of the year? I think we have picked up pretty much

:01:30. > :01:34.where we left off in 2014. Hamilton wins Round 1. Also with Nico Rosberg

:01:35. > :01:40.but not in a good way. He is nowhere. There was a glimmer.

:01:41. > :01:48.Straight win in Monte Carlo. I have lost this race. That spark never

:01:49. > :01:55.ignited. A lack of judgment, Hamilton, is he going for it? Can

:01:56. > :02:03.inspire decision. Meanwhile the. Of McLaren heralded the arrival. Man

:02:04. > :02:06.and machine in perfect disharmony. Dear old Kimi Raikkonen, bad

:02:07. > :02:22.starter, infrequent finisher, serial starter. And he was in good company.

:02:23. > :02:26.Paul rolled Kimi. Maybe it is time for the next generation. Enter Max

:02:27. > :02:32.Verstappen. He does not always play by the rules. But boy does he get

:02:33. > :02:37.the job done. You cannot go around the outside there shortly? There

:02:38. > :02:46.were other notable performances. Ferrari meaning in Malaysia. Lotus

:02:47. > :02:50.earning a podium. What a superb achievement for a team that has been

:02:51. > :02:57.fighting for survival. We have had comedians and villains. And

:02:58. > :03:02.finally, a three-time world champion. Lewis Hamilton has won his

:03:03. > :03:07.third World Championship! This is the greatest moment of my life. But

:03:08. > :03:13.this is not the end of the story, we are not quite done yet. Hello and

:03:14. > :03:18.welcome to Abu Dhabi, after 18 races, we are now in our final

:03:19. > :03:23.qualifying session here in the most expensive circuit ever built, the

:03:24. > :03:28.Yas Marina Circuit, $1.5 billion, and what an event it is. It is

:03:29. > :03:32.everything you have just said, it is everything, who would not want to be

:03:33. > :03:37.here? Glorious sunshine, end of November and it is wonder. White

:03:38. > :03:41.just about three and a half miles, it is very pretty at night. But we

:03:42. > :03:48.do hear disparaging comments sometimes from drivers, what do you

:03:49. > :03:56.make of it as a driving track? When you have elevation changes in a

:03:57. > :04:01.high-speed circuit, it gives movement, this is flat. So three of

:04:02. > :04:06.the cars are well over 350 kilometres an hour, but the rest of

:04:07. > :04:10.it is below average, that is where the drivers don't enjoy it. Lower

:04:11. > :04:14.average speed means low downforce, low grip and that is not a Grand

:04:15. > :04:23.Prix car. We still get a lot of action, vetoed Rosberg going for his

:04:24. > :04:32.sixth consecutive pole position. In your mind, you want to have

:04:33. > :04:37.proposition, it gives you an extra Philip, you feel good about it. Six

:04:38. > :04:41.in a row, you have beaten the team-mate who was supposedly be one

:04:42. > :04:47.and only Lewis Hamilton. Of course it is important to Nico. Let us

:04:48. > :04:53.backtrack to Brazil where this happened.

:04:54. > :05:02.COMMENTATOR: Lights out, away we go, Rosberg against Hamilton,

:05:03. > :05:06.Rosberg is in front, Hamilton moves to the outside and he is

:05:07. > :05:12.wheel-to-wheel for a moment but then decides against it. Lewis is trying

:05:13. > :05:18.quite hard. This is really putting Rosberg under more pressure than

:05:19. > :05:24.last year. Here comes Verstappen, he is trying to go around the outside,

:05:25. > :05:31.almost wheel-to-wheel. And he is through. Absolutely brilliant,

:05:32. > :05:35.first-class riding. Maldonado on the sabbath of Ericsson. My goodness,

:05:36. > :05:45.various contact, that is how it can go wrong. -- on the Sauber. He is

:05:46. > :05:52.having a look down the inside, that was so nearly contact. Massa,

:05:53. > :05:58.Verstappen, he is going to go around the outside and he did this to Perez

:05:59. > :06:04.earlier. Yes, Verstappen is going to go for it, on the Turn 1, Maldonado

:06:05. > :06:09.will try and fight it but he does not have the grip. And Verstappen

:06:10. > :06:14.moves up to 10th place to claim a point for Toro Rosso, Nico Rosberg

:06:15. > :06:17.wins in Brazil, it is back-to-back victories at the end to lug circuit,

:06:18. > :06:24.Hamilton crosses the line in second place. STUDIO: So Lewis Hamilton had

:06:25. > :06:33.to settle for second place, he could not get past Nico, there has been a

:06:34. > :06:38.lot of talk about that. What does he mean about the car? If you go into a

:06:39. > :06:43.corner with a belief as to where you want the car to go, if you give the

:06:44. > :06:47.input to the steering and you either get the feedback which it is taking

:06:48. > :06:54.the trajectory that you planned, or it doesn't give you the feedback. We

:06:55. > :07:00.know that there are changes to tire pressures, and that effectively

:07:01. > :07:05.stiffens the car. The teams can offset with the springs on the car,

:07:06. > :07:09.the portion bars, to give a similar wheel rate but if it is not just

:07:10. > :07:13.giving him the feel, if you preferred the feel of the rubber

:07:14. > :07:18.moving rather than the torsion bar twisting it can be as subtle as

:07:19. > :07:23.that. It has been a noticeable difference, Nico has stepped up all

:07:24. > :07:30.Lewis has stepped down. Can they just race? You had been quite vocal

:07:31. > :07:35.about letting them undercut each other, any chance? That would only

:07:36. > :07:40.work in Mexico where they had a pit stop in hand, but if it was in

:07:41. > :07:45.Brazil, where they were only second seconds behind, that could never

:07:46. > :07:48.work. We need Ferrari to be there more consistently because right now

:07:49. > :07:54.Mercedes are doing what they should do, securing a 12, giving priority

:07:55. > :08:00.to the lead car on the track, but what we want, is to see, the gloves

:08:01. > :08:06.are off. The championship is secure, Lewis has won it, Nico is second,

:08:07. > :08:12.give a gift to Formula 1. I don't often agree with David but he is

:08:13. > :08:16.absolutely right. Look, start interfering, let us have some

:08:17. > :08:22.enjoyment. Let us see what is happening out there -- stop

:08:23. > :08:29.interfering. So with Lewis Hamilton has the world champion the first

:08:30. > :08:32.three positions are secured, just one point is separating the straight

:08:33. > :08:44.talking Valtteri Bottas to the not so straight talking Kimi Raikkonen.

:08:45. > :08:48.Force India secured fifth place in Brazil, their best ever, and

:08:49. > :08:57.achievement considering they have last year 's car. The 2015 season

:08:58. > :09:02.belongs to Mercedes with 15 wins. We can catch up with Valtteri Bottas

:09:03. > :09:06.now. For those people who think that the Championships is done and

:09:07. > :09:10.dusted, you are still in a pretty big battle. One point between you

:09:11. > :09:16.and your friend Kimi Raikkonen, how much do you want that fourth place?

:09:17. > :09:22.For me I am racing for every single position. It does not matter, if it

:09:23. > :09:25.is a battle of The Fins, it is a position and it is nothing personal.

:09:26. > :09:36.I really wanted because it is Personal. So he will take the place

:09:37. > :09:40.if he finishes in front. Where do you think you are in the Williams,

:09:41. > :09:46.such a strong finish last season but Ferrari look strong this season.

:09:47. > :09:50.They do, to be honest we have been struggling with the pace a little

:09:51. > :09:53.bit this week, we still have something in the back pocket for the

:09:54. > :10:00.qualification but we will see if that is enough for a good result.

:10:01. > :10:03.Thank you very much. What are your thoughts on this, just one point

:10:04. > :10:08.between the two comedy desperately wants that fourth place? In terms of

:10:09. > :10:12.the position it does not matter who that person is. There is no love

:10:13. > :10:17.lost between those two guys. It would give them again bragging

:10:18. > :10:20.rights as they go into the winter. The bad news for Valtteri Bottas is

:10:21. > :10:26.that Ferrari look strong, maybe not strong enough beat Mercedes but Kimi

:10:27. > :10:31.Raikkonen does look more on it than he has done of late. Maybe Kimi has

:10:32. > :10:37.got his act together, he wants to be in front of Valtteri Bottas more

:10:38. > :10:41.than he is making out he wants to be in front of him. Valtteri Bottas

:10:42. > :10:45.will get the position, because I don't see it, the Iceman has cooled

:10:46. > :10:49.down an awful lot, identity where that performance has come from. I

:10:50. > :10:54.love the way that he has looked straight down the barrel of the

:10:55. > :11:01.lens. Let us catch up with the news, it has been dominated by engines

:11:02. > :11:04.this week. The Renault Formula 1 future is shrouded in mystery, they

:11:05. > :11:09.have already publicised their intention to buy Lotus but the story

:11:10. > :11:11.has been ominously quiet. They are believed to have reached an impasse

:11:12. > :11:15.with Bernie Ecclestone over money and they could pull the plug on

:11:16. > :11:19.Formula 1 after this race. We have already made it clear and we stand

:11:20. > :11:22.by that statement that we have no interest in being an engine supplier

:11:23. > :11:27.in the long term but we appreciate that we are between what we are now,

:11:28. > :11:31.there might be some form of transition. It might be that we

:11:32. > :11:36.simply get out of Formula 1 completely. There is a scenario

:11:37. > :11:39.completely on the table, it is not what I'm working towards but it is a

:11:40. > :11:43.scenario that is completely possible if we don't manage to convince the

:11:44. > :11:49.world that Formula 1 is a meaningful investment. The FIA proposal for a

:11:50. > :11:53.cheaper engine has been rejected by the commission, there will be no

:11:54. > :11:58.changes in 2017 but there is a requirement for the manufacturers to

:11:59. > :12:02.make the engine is cheaper and signify the technical specs. We did

:12:03. > :12:07.not decide in favour of the so-called independent engine because

:12:08. > :12:10.it is a balance of performance engine, it means somebody has a knob

:12:11. > :12:16.in his hand and can decide how much power there is in the engine, and in

:12:17. > :12:21.a squad with so much mistake, so much financial reward, so much

:12:22. > :12:24.global visibility, you should win on merit. And you should win because

:12:25. > :12:30.you are doing the best job on your car engine and driving the car. This

:12:31. > :12:33.is why it was voted down. The future of the US Grand Prix is in danger

:12:34. > :12:37.following reports of a financial trouble in the circuit of the

:12:38. > :12:40.Americas, a combination of the small crowd and the cut in government

:12:41. > :12:45.funding has led to speculation that the race will not be on the calendar

:12:46. > :12:50.next season. There is a lot of whispers here and there, it is

:12:51. > :12:55.always about finances, I can't see that it wouldn't happen. If it

:12:56. > :13:03.doesn't, I will have two pony up myself. Finally Red Bull has an

:13:04. > :13:07.engine for 2016, the team has stop short that it will use unbranded

:13:08. > :13:12.Renault has is expected, but team boss Christian Walton has put an end

:13:13. > :13:16.to the expectation of participation next year. So great news to hear

:13:17. > :13:22.that you will definitely be racing next year, as you said this weekend.

:13:23. > :13:27.Is this a short-term solution to a longer term plan? I think it has two

:13:28. > :13:33.B, we have got a contract without engine supplier, I cannot go into

:13:34. > :13:36.detail, who that is and what the basis is about. But it is not

:13:37. > :13:44.difficult to predict which one it is. It is very much an interim year

:13:45. > :13:48.for us before new regulations come in, I believe that we can make

:13:49. > :13:52.significant strides next year with that power unit with the

:13:53. > :13:57.introduction of each unit. In simple terms, what effect does this late

:13:58. > :14:01.announcement make next year 's plans. We have documented very well

:14:02. > :14:06.this year that the chassis has performed, the engine has not. What

:14:07. > :14:11.will the impact be next year? The design team have been installing

:14:12. > :14:18.almost every engine on the grid into the car for next year. It has

:14:19. > :14:22.delayed the process a little bit. To be honest with you we have already

:14:23. > :14:26.recovered that time, it is going to be tied to get to that first test

:14:27. > :14:30.but I have got every confidence, that the guys and girls back in

:14:31. > :14:34.Milton Keynes will pull out all of the stop. Can I ask you about the

:14:35. > :14:39.difference between last year, and next year, how will it be different?

:14:40. > :14:43.In terms of moving forward. Is it because you have more control over

:14:44. > :14:47.what is going on with the engine? I cannot go into too much detail but

:14:48. > :14:55.there will be differences can bet to what we have now. The development

:14:56. > :14:57.will be significantly different. What we can say, I'm sorry it is

:14:58. > :15:11.vague. You have been curtailed this year.

:15:12. > :15:18.Tell us what the problem has been buzzed up it is obvious. Is it just

:15:19. > :15:25.power? At the beginning of the year we had deficiencies in the chassis

:15:26. > :15:32.which we worked hard on. A lot has been said during the year and so on.

:15:33. > :15:36.There has been an awful lot of frustration surrounding the

:15:37. > :15:40.situation with our power unit. That is because we are all competitive

:15:41. > :15:45.people and the team wants to compete and it wants to run at a competitive

:15:46. > :15:49.level and the power unit in today's Formula One is such a crucial

:15:50. > :15:57.element. It is important we make progress by next year. Toto Wolff

:15:58. > :16:01.mentioned it was an aerodynamic by Milla and you want four

:16:02. > :16:06.championships on the run and now it is an engine formula. Do you feel a

:16:07. > :16:12.little bit behind in these closed doors meetings that you are being

:16:13. > :16:16.beat up a little bit because of the great revenue had. No one wanted to

:16:17. > :16:22.give you a PowerPoint. We are paying the penalty for that and there is a

:16:23. > :16:26.paranoia so any opportunity or excuse not to give us an engine is

:16:27. > :16:32.the one time they all seem very aligned with each other. That is

:16:33. > :16:38.life and at the end of the day there are changes coming for the future

:16:39. > :16:41.that will hopefully make the unit closer in performance. We do not

:16:42. > :16:45.want to see the difference at the moment between Mercedes and Honda.

:16:46. > :16:52.It is no good having Fernando Alonso at the back of the group. We want to

:16:53. > :17:00.see him competing for victories like Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat.

:17:01. > :17:06.It has got to work for you next year because you have got young drivers.

:17:07. > :17:13.You don't want them looking for a Ferrari or a Mercedes seat? For

:17:14. > :17:17.everybody we have to make progress. This year has been frustrating and

:17:18. > :17:21.there has been far too much action of contract and not on track and we

:17:22. > :17:27.need to swing that round next year and make progress. We have got great

:17:28. > :17:35.announcements coming up. We won't have a race after that! You will see

:17:36. > :17:41.it all unfold on the BBC website. And on that note, good luck this

:17:42. > :17:46.weekend. We have had a new story regarding Ferrari and Mercedes

:17:47. > :17:52.complaining about the use of the wind tunnel. Mercedes are seeking

:17:53. > :17:54.clarification about the relationship between an established Formula One

:17:55. > :18:00.team and a new entrant and specifically these guys and the new

:18:01. > :18:05.team coming in next year. Mercedes believes Ferrari have gained an

:18:06. > :18:12.unfair advantage by using the wintertime in Marinello to their

:18:13. > :18:18.benefit, exceeding the permitted wind tunnel time per week. Mercedes

:18:19. > :18:22.are asking what is permissible and the back has been passed down to the

:18:23. > :18:29.stewards of the meeting here in Abu Dhabi. Written submissions have to

:18:30. > :18:33.be in by five p.m., which is half an hour away from now and they will

:18:34. > :18:37.make a decision before the start of tomorrow's race. There is no

:18:38. > :18:44.precedent for this. If Ferrari are found guilty, how will they be found

:18:45. > :18:52.punished? In the past when teams have cheated, they have been given

:18:53. > :18:58.huge fines. In 2007 there was a $100 -- $100 million fine. What do you

:18:59. > :19:06.think will happen here? Would it be a fine for Ferrari? There are two

:19:07. > :19:10.sides of the coin. On one side you could have sour grapes coming from

:19:11. > :19:14.Mercedes and on the other side a young team has to come in and they

:19:15. > :19:20.have joined up with Ferrari. It would appear there are advantages to

:19:21. > :19:24.Ferrari in this system. Whatever the judges decide, it is not a clear-cut

:19:25. > :19:31.situation like the parrot in the old days. This is a different set of

:19:32. > :19:35.circumstances. The difficulty in the $100 million fine that McLaren had,

:19:36. > :19:39.is you cannot unlearn what you have learned. Ferrari still have the

:19:40. > :19:45.benefit if they have indeed this relationship with hazard to gain

:19:46. > :19:51.extra wind tunnel time. There is talk of whether people have been

:19:52. > :19:56.employed by them and have come back to Ferrari. They are doing it under

:19:57. > :20:01.the premise that they might start another team as well. They get the

:20:02. > :20:06.benefit of the year of extra testing, so this is a real issue and

:20:07. > :20:09.this will not be pretty behind closed doors. It will be a question

:20:10. > :20:16.of how much of that comes out into the public domain. The situation is

:20:17. > :20:21.we are in a championship whereby we are doing our best to control the

:20:22. > :20:25.costs. If you are circumventing the rules to go behind that and you use

:20:26. > :20:31.another team to give you information you are not entitled to, of course

:20:32. > :20:36.there will be a penalty. Cost is nonsense, they keep talking about

:20:37. > :20:40.controlling costs. People will spend what they have and what they do not

:20:41. > :20:45.have if they want to be competitive. The reward for getting one place up

:20:46. > :20:49.in the constructors, Eddie can tell us the financial benefits of that.

:20:50. > :20:56.It is risk versus reward and those who have or the appetite, the risk

:20:57. > :20:59.profile, to spend more, they will. Forget cost capping, it is a

:21:00. > :21:05.nonsense. These guys will always find a way to spend the money even

:21:06. > :21:12.if it is not seen. Before you fall out, let me ask you a question. What

:21:13. > :21:17.is going down with McLaren? Having heard all the this season I can tell

:21:18. > :21:20.you that Ron Dennis has confirmed he is unable to confirm that Fernando

:21:21. > :21:26.Alonso will drive for the team next year and reason for that is Fernando

:21:27. > :21:31.wants to see how good or bad the car is before he decides to do yet

:21:32. > :21:36.another season like this one. He could take a sabbatical? We have

:21:37. > :21:41.seen all that before and Michael Schumacher has done that. Everybody

:21:42. > :21:48.has done it at that high level. Are you on a sabbatical? I am

:21:49. > :21:51.permanently on a sabbatical. If I was Fernando Alonso I would not

:21:52. > :21:57.agree to raise a car like I had been given this year. The amount of time

:21:58. > :22:00.they get correlation between the numbers and the racetrack I do not

:22:01. > :22:06.recall that ever happening despite what teams will tell you. They will

:22:07. > :22:10.want to see the car in testing. That will tell him everything. He will

:22:11. > :22:14.know because of experience whether that car is talking to him and he

:22:15. > :22:20.will know the speed trap and all the other information in testing. That

:22:21. > :22:33.could give him points. Places where Alonso wants to be. We have been

:22:34. > :22:40.talking about Ferrari and Haas. Jean Haas has a very decorated motorsport

:22:41. > :22:46.history. What can the team expect? Tom went stateside to find out.

:22:47. > :22:51.Haas are going to be the new team on the great and while they are new to

:22:52. > :22:55.Formula One, they are not new to motorsport. For the last few years

:22:56. > :23:00.they have been racing and winning in the States and we have come to watch

:23:01. > :23:06.them in action. How do you think you will get on in Formula One?

:23:07. > :23:13.Wonderful. It is difficult to break in and he is an America and it is

:23:14. > :23:19.all in Europe. Does he have a lot of respect? Does everyone love him?

:23:20. > :23:23.Absolutely. He is a smart fellow and I do not think he will be making a

:23:24. > :23:29.move unless he thinks he can be successful. When did this Formula

:23:30. > :23:39.One dream strike a chord with you? It was after 2010. We talk to Bernie

:23:40. > :23:43.Ecclestone and John Todd and they seemed to encourage people to do

:23:44. > :23:48.things, but at the same time they were a bit cautious. To some degree

:23:49. > :23:55.they expect you to fail because so many teams have failed. We have

:23:56. > :24:00.spent 15 years in this and Formula One seems like the next conquest.

:24:01. > :24:05.Jean has accomplished everything he has wanted to in the US and he now

:24:06. > :24:09.wants to go more global. He is shipping teams around the globe and

:24:10. > :24:15.Formula One and gorgeous boys is a great platform to advertise your

:24:16. > :24:21.campaign. It has got to be a good thing for Formula One. It can show

:24:22. > :24:25.somebody can come in and compete with Ferrari and have fun. Talk us

:24:26. > :24:32.through the technical partnership with Ferrari. What is it and why

:24:33. > :24:38.Ferrari? Keep in mind we have been negotiating with them for a couple

:24:39. > :24:45.of years, and we are buying a lot of our parts from Ferrari, but we still

:24:46. > :24:51.have to build our own chassis and do our own testing, so there is quite a

:24:52. > :24:58.bit we are doing. We are not going to build our suspension, or our

:24:59. > :25:04.uprights. We are doing something other teams do in different levels.

:25:05. > :25:10.We are just taking it to the maximum. Did you talk to Mercedes

:25:11. > :25:14.about a partnership? Yes, we talked to Niki Lauda. Ferrari was willing

:25:15. > :25:21.to go beyond just supplying parts. They were also willing to help us

:25:22. > :25:29.and our team. Jean has developed a championship car. He will use that

:25:30. > :25:31.experience and he changed this programme to a championship

:25:32. > :25:38.programme and he wants to start off with that knowledge in Formula One.

:25:39. > :25:43.Success is nothing new to Haas. He currently has four teams and one of

:25:44. > :25:48.his drivers is favourite to take the title as the season reaches its

:25:49. > :25:53.climax. A technical tie-up with another team, such as Ferrari, is

:25:54. > :26:03.not a new concept for Haas. He has a similar alliance in Nascar. Are you

:26:04. > :26:09.trying to recreate that technical alliance with Hendrick in Formula

:26:10. > :26:15.One with Ferrari? It is what we did before. There is always this

:26:16. > :26:26.question about racing. Are we racing or building the things? In Nascar we

:26:27. > :26:29.want to race and we concentrate on racing and the people who are good

:26:30. > :26:40.at making the bits and pieces, we buy from them. That has worked well

:26:41. > :26:46.for us. They build a good product and we alter them and do things to

:26:47. > :26:48.make them better. That is how that relationship works. They have

:26:49. > :26:59.definitely helped us grow a lot quicker. What made you go for Romain

:27:00. > :27:06.Grosjean? We always said we wanted an experienced Formula One driver.

:27:07. > :27:09.We started talking to him. I look on YouTube and watched some of his

:27:10. > :27:16.races and I look at statistics and his history. He is a great driver.

:27:17. > :27:28.This is a fabulous drive by the Frenchman. Gutierrez was a Formula

:27:29. > :27:38.One driver all along. We asked if he wanted to be in our car and he

:27:39. > :27:47.considered that. He is only two car lengths behind. This is for the

:27:48. > :27:53.championship. He wins the title. Are you in Formula One to win the World

:27:54. > :27:58.Championship? We started in Nascar in the back and we did that for a

:27:59. > :28:04.lot of years. You have to pay your dues. It is the same in Formula One.

:28:05. > :28:08.You have to have the right engine, the right chassis, the right driver

:28:09. > :28:12.and the team and if you can put all those pieces together, you can

:28:13. > :28:18.compete for World Championships. Ultimately that would be our goal. I

:28:19. > :28:22.am not saying we will do that in one year or five years, maybe it will

:28:23. > :28:33.take ten years. It is that long in Nascar. Kyle Wood, the 20 15th

:28:34. > :28:39.champion. I am not sure why I pursue a lot of this because it puts the

:28:40. > :28:42.grind on you. It is a different lifestyle. A lot of people sit at

:28:43. > :28:50.home and have their friends round for a nice dinners and I sacrifice

:28:51. > :28:54.all that for Nascar. We have seen a great feature with your team to be.

:28:55. > :28:58.You have got a job to complete here in Abu Dhabi, but your new team is

:28:59. > :29:07.Haas and it is an impressive facility. It is really nice and it

:29:08. > :29:10.is big and I like it. I discovered Banbury and Marinello and it is a

:29:11. > :29:17.great project and very exciting and I have a lot to look forward to. I

:29:18. > :29:22.can start again. How much have you looked at what he has been able to

:29:23. > :29:26.do with his Nascar team and the facilities he has provided light

:29:27. > :29:32.wind tunnels? How much did you look at that in making the decision? The

:29:33. > :29:37.good thing about gene is he has been very successful in his life and he

:29:38. > :29:42.created a very strong partnership with Hendrix and he won the title.

:29:43. > :29:46.He knows what racing is and that is what I like about him when he

:29:47. > :29:50.approached me. Everything was straightforward and we agreed and we

:29:51. > :29:57.moved on. The more I discovered the more happy I am about going to Haas.

:29:58. > :30:01.But this team have given you your chance, but they have had so many

:30:02. > :30:06.difficulties. But you have kept smiling throughout it all. You must

:30:07. > :30:09.be looking forward to going to a situation where you know you will be

:30:10. > :30:14.paid and everyone is working together to build a team for the

:30:15. > :30:19.future. It is a new challenge, it will be a lot of work, but it is a

:30:20. > :30:25.good partnership with Ferrari, so everything looks great and it is to

:30:26. > :30:30.look forward to. It has been a wonderful time, ten years of iLife

:30:31. > :30:34.and lot of the guys are family, but they gave me the chance to fly with

:30:35. > :30:35.my own wings and that is that is what is happening now. We wish you

:30:36. > :30:49.all the best for the future. It seems realistic,

:30:50. > :30:55.multi-millionaire, when you came in here you were fifth, with Jordan,

:30:56. > :30:59.can he do the same? It depends how much information he's getting from

:31:00. > :31:04.Ferrari. It was vitally different in my day, you build your own car and

:31:05. > :31:09.built during wind tunnel, clearly he has not done that. As he jumped a

:31:10. > :31:13.few steps too far? I don't want to say too much, I want to give him the

:31:14. > :31:19.benefit of the doubt. It is more difficult for a team based in

:31:20. > :31:21.America, to come to Europe. If we came and did Nascar, they would whip

:31:22. > :31:32.us, can we whip them? My guess is yes,

:31:33. > :31:37.but then Ferrari might help them. He's not coming in, shouting we will

:31:38. > :31:43.win Formula 1. He seems to be quite sensible about the situation? He

:31:44. > :31:49.cannot win Formula 1 with a customer engine car, clearly Ferrari are

:31:50. > :31:55.helping them with aerodynamics. He says, "we will soon set up our Rome

:31:56. > :32:01.wind tunnels". So who is doing their own wind tunnel for them? Is it

:32:02. > :32:07.Ferrari? Mercedes and others are asking a question, what is the

:32:08. > :32:12.involvement, between Ferrari and Haas. As any of the advantages gone

:32:13. > :32:18.on to Ferrari as well? I don't know. They had been fascinating

:32:19. > :32:24.moments this season, but who has taken our breath away? Who has

:32:25. > :32:38.impressed? Our esteemed judges can tell us. MUSIC I haven't got a clue

:32:39. > :32:43.what we are doing actually. It is not question time, it looks a bit

:32:44. > :32:46.like question Time. We have had some great moments this season. Seeing

:32:47. > :33:03.your boys dancing around the pit lane was fantastic, seeing Toto,

:33:04. > :33:10.stroke Lewis's bottom. Did you do that? Yes we do that in Austria.

:33:11. > :33:19.Know what does it to me, I am quite upset. OK, we have got some awards

:33:20. > :33:23.to give out to the drivers and as our esteemed panel, we would like

:33:24. > :33:31.you to pick the winners. At the start of the year, clearly, Toto,

:33:32. > :33:35.you have one pretty much everything. I would say for me personally, I

:33:36. > :33:40.thought Austin was a great start because it was wet, there was a lot

:33:41. > :33:46.of action going on on the first corner, with

:33:47. > :33:51.Toto's two drivers. Hamilton getting the advantage. And then Williams,

:33:52. > :34:00.with a start at Silverstone. Williams getting

:34:01. > :34:05.both cars burst both Mercedes. You must have been going nuts? Your wife

:34:06. > :34:11.was going mad when she saw the start at Silverstone, it must be difficult

:34:12. > :34:16.for you, having your wife and then how cars overtaking yours and then

:34:17. > :34:18.your wife being so enthusiastic? We weren't on speaking terms for a

:34:19. > :34:26.while but then she invited me for dinner. The crowd went crazy, I know

:34:27. > :34:30.the engines this year are less noisy but you could hear the crowd is

:34:31. > :34:34.going mad. I don't think we expected to overtake the Mercedes going into

:34:35. > :34:37.the first corner but I think we knew that we weren't necessarily gay to

:34:38. > :34:42.keep those positions because the Mercedes were just so powerful and

:34:43. > :34:45.all of the rest of it. So you are sitting there waiting for them to

:34:46. > :34:49.come up behind you but you want to enjoy the moment while you are

:34:50. > :34:56.living in it. Toto, the opposite for you, when you are seeing your guys?

:34:57. > :34:59.Actually not, you want to see the underdog do well, especially in

:35:00. > :35:05.Silverstone, it was a very important race for Williams. You can't call us

:35:06. > :35:11.the underdogs, I hate people calling us the underdog. You are absolutely

:35:12. > :35:14.right, finishing third in the championships and not underdogs, but

:35:15. > :35:19.it is expected that wanted team has a dominant position, Red Bull has a

:35:20. > :35:24.couple of years to go and that is the race. In that particular

:35:25. > :35:28.situation, billions overtook us, we were surprised, I remember there

:35:29. > :35:33.were so many things that went through my mind. Are they having a

:35:34. > :35:38.different engine mode than house? How was that possible? I was a bit

:35:39. > :35:41.confidence that we would be able to regain the position. I shouldn't

:35:42. > :35:49.sound arrogant, it was a good moment, I think they deserved to be

:35:50. > :35:54.in believe. Is it fair to give Williams it? Please stop

:35:55. > :36:04.. Slam dunk. What was it like with the team? Wee one again, we are

:36:05. > :36:10.excited. What are you going to say to Williams? Can we have a piece of

:36:11. > :36:15.the trophy? That was a good start, we already gave a trophy to the

:36:16. > :36:19.clutch man absolutely. So you cheated a lot, well done to

:36:20. > :36:25.Williams, an unbelievable start, fantastic, bravo guys.

:36:26. > :36:38.Who do you think, Hamilton at Silverstone? What did he do? He won

:36:39. > :36:45.the race but that is fairly normal. There was a pit stop call. Leaving

:36:46. > :36:50.Rosberg out there, is for intermediates? My goodness that is a

:36:51. > :36:55.brave decision. Better start doing a rain dance if you want to see a

:36:56. > :36:59.British winner. As a result, that was the perfect lap to put

:37:00. > :37:03.intermediates on. Lewis Hamilton wins the British Grand Prix. He

:37:04. > :37:11.judged the British pit stop beautifully. Did heat or did he have

:37:12. > :37:16.two coming anyway? Did he know? Yes, key kind of felt it. He got the

:37:17. > :37:22.timing right. In racing, sometimes it is a little bit of luck, just

:37:23. > :37:28.realising where the weather comes from, seeing the drops on your

:37:29. > :37:32.visor. The crew was ready, he decided to pick just a couple of

:37:33. > :37:38.hundred metres before the pit actually. I think Sebastian Vettel

:37:39. > :37:43.drove an incredible race in Singapore, for me that was classic

:37:44. > :37:48.Vettel. Managing the tyre. What a dominant victory, he has done

:37:49. > :37:53.exactly what is needed to keep control. I think that Vettel was

:37:54. > :37:59.exceptional in Singapore, I think that he is very good around there.

:38:00. > :38:03.Of course, I can vote for a Vettel win in Singapore. What about

:38:04. > :38:09.something, that was not a win but made the podium, where we did not

:38:10. > :38:15.expect that to happen. I know that you are a big fan of Romain

:38:16. > :38:20.Grosjean? And that is how close Vettel is now, with Romain Grosjean

:38:21. > :38:26.now. It has gone wrong for Ferrari, what a superb achievement for a team

:38:27. > :38:31.fighting for survival. First of all nobody expected locus to be on the

:38:32. > :38:36.grid, they had locked up the truck. It was a big story, not Justin Britt

:38:37. > :38:41.on but throughout the world. I think that with bearing all of that in

:38:42. > :38:46.mind, for Romain Grosjean to put the car on the podium, for me it was an

:38:47. > :38:50.amazing race. If you are doing a race you need 100% clarity and

:38:51. > :38:54.focus, it must have been so difficult for not only the driver

:38:55. > :39:00.but for his engineer, for the strategy guide, yet still manage to

:39:01. > :39:06.pull it out of the bag. Driver of the year, Romain Grosjean for an

:39:07. > :39:10.unbelievable podium. Thank you, I think 2012 you offered me

:39:11. > :39:21.manufacturing, so it means a lot, thank you, it has been difficult but

:39:22. > :39:28.we did it. We have just come through to the marina side of the paddock,

:39:29. > :39:34.nice award there, given, well done. Well deserved. Let us now catch up,

:39:35. > :39:37.with the track. When it is night time it is party time in Abu Dhabi

:39:38. > :39:42.and we are here on the third sector of the track, we have got the first

:39:43. > :39:46.sector, some high-speed sections. And then the middle sector, with two

:39:47. > :39:52.huge long straights and then the final sector of the track, and this

:39:53. > :39:56.has got over 50% of the corners. That means for the tyres it is very

:39:57. > :40:00.difficult. We heard about tyres draining through the second part of

:40:01. > :40:05.practice and we have also seen quite a lot of people, having moments

:40:06. > :40:10.sliding wide. There are AQ reasons, one reason is the surface, it is a

:40:11. > :40:16.closed and compact surface, it does not give the tyre a lot of grip.

:40:17. > :40:19.Another factor is the camber of the section, especially on tunnel 14,

:40:20. > :40:32.making it difficult to turn into the corner. You have got to get to this

:40:33. > :40:35.apex point and then get the power as early as you can but with the

:40:36. > :40:38.sloping nature of the track it always falls away from you and it

:40:39. > :40:41.feels like the car will never get to the apex and you had to wait. If

:40:42. > :40:45.not, you will have some view it slides. Just to prove it, this is

:40:46. > :40:53.what the camber of the road does. LAUGHTER

:40:54. > :40:56.I have never seen him run so fast, congratulations, the world champion

:40:57. > :41:05.Mark Webber. How does that sound? Really great, to take algae on in

:41:06. > :41:11.our second year, it was a great team effort. Yes, a bit of a fight going

:41:12. > :41:16.on, being an ambassador for Alli. I'm sure we would like to know the

:41:17. > :41:22.difference between Formula 1 and current day sports cars -- Audi. How

:41:23. > :41:26.does it work? It is very minimal, the best person to talk to is Nico

:41:27. > :41:32.Hulkenberg, he said he has got to push every single lap and I said yes

:41:33. > :41:36.we do. In the 24 hour races, you have two came the car is much, there

:41:37. > :41:42.is very little discussion about looking after your tyres. It is a

:41:43. > :41:47.little bit more purist, I would love it to be like that here. I think

:41:48. > :41:52.that we can hedge our way back like that, but I really enjoy the cars,

:41:53. > :41:58.they are quick, sexy and mega lap times. Good for an old dog like me.

:41:59. > :42:03.We could give you driver of the year, we have got more of those

:42:04. > :42:09.awards tomorrow. Abu Dhabi, mixed emotions or do you sort of put it

:42:10. > :42:14.behind you? Yes it is all behind me pretty much, it was never a favour

:42:15. > :42:20.track but you cannot for the atmosphere. Twilight race, beautiful

:42:21. > :42:28.atmosphere, so that works really well. So yes, it is not Silverstone,

:42:29. > :42:30.it is not spark, but it is still a technical track. You need to get it

:42:31. > :42:37.right in the track temperature. We don't need

:42:38. > :42:41.to remind people that you should have won the

:42:42. > :42:51.title here AQ years ago. We heard from Sebastian saying there is

:42:52. > :42:59.tittle tattle, that the tweenie Coke and Lewis, it is Charles Blake,

:43:00. > :43:04.compared to you. -- Nico and Lewis it is child's play. Yes, we took

:43:05. > :43:09.each other rout for the lead of the race, tough moments, no question

:43:10. > :43:10.about it. I have not been following the whole Nico and Lewis scenarios

:43:11. > :43:21.super closely, Sebastian and I, deep down and there

:43:22. > :43:26.was respect, but there were scenarios where it was pretty

:43:27. > :43:30.intense and it got pretty personal. Then it gets ugly pretty fast, so I

:43:31. > :43:38.think it was a bit more tasty, probably than what is going on with

:43:39. > :43:44.Lewis and Nico. He always said there was great respect for you and him? I

:43:45. > :43:49.think the same, I came here when Sebastian won the championship,

:43:50. > :43:52.given the year in 2010 which was really hard for me to finally see

:43:53. > :43:59.the championships flip through my fingers, by July picked a pretty

:44:00. > :44:05.difficult year, -- mind you I picked it pretty difficult year, with

:44:06. > :44:10.Lewis, and Nico, and Sebastien, and the emotion of him winning his whole

:44:11. > :44:14.championships when I saw him and I went and shook his hand will stop I

:44:15. > :44:18.think the relief between the pair of us, it is over. One of us had to get

:44:19. > :44:25.it and he led the championships for one race in the end which was here.

:44:26. > :44:32.That is how it was. An extraordinary year, pole position today? I think

:44:33. > :44:38.Nico, two tenths is a decent margin, it is interesting, in the last few

:44:39. > :44:43.races, the first run in Q3, it is who gets that mark a first. It will

:44:44. > :44:54.be interesting to see the Q3, Howley goes. -- how it goes. We have got

:44:55. > :45:13.Q3, Abu Dhabi, the Yas Marina Circuit. Here it comes, Q1.

:45:14. > :45:20.The final Formula One weekend of Lewis Hamilton's triple Crown season

:45:21. > :45:26.takes place in Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. After nine months of

:45:27. > :45:31.globetrotting the F1 circuit takes its final performance on this modern

:45:32. > :45:39.track, situated 30 Minutes drive E. Of Abu Dhabi city centre. It was the

:45:40. > :45:46.place for the first day ever night race it in 2009. There are fast

:45:47. > :45:50.flowing corners leading to sector two, dominated by two long straights

:45:51. > :45:58.where the hybrid power units are delivering speeds in excess of 200

:45:59. > :46:02.miles an hour. The final sector is characterised by a right angled

:46:03. > :46:09.corners, more reminiscent of a street circuit. Pole position has

:46:10. > :46:16.only led to race victory once in six visits to the track. But top spot on

:46:17. > :46:22.the grid is very much the target in qualifying. It always looks stunning

:46:23. > :46:29.coming into twilight, coming up to 5pm local time, and we will be

:46:30. > :46:33.plunging into darkness as we go into qualifying itself. The track

:46:34. > :46:38.temperature is 30 degrees. It was 32 degrees in final practice in

:46:39. > :46:43.daylight, not as hot as we have seen in the past. The teams have some

:46:44. > :46:48.great data to go on. Nico Rosberg was fastest ahead of Lewis Hamilton

:46:49. > :46:53.who never seemed to get into his rhythm. He made a couple of

:46:54. > :47:00.mistakes. Sebastian Vettel was third fastest for Ferrari when Perez was

:47:01. > :47:04.outstanding. We are wondering whether Force India might spring a

:47:05. > :47:13.little surprise here today. Daniel Ricciardo completed the top eight.

:47:14. > :47:23.Valterri Bottas are separated by that solitary Finnish driver. But

:47:24. > :47:29.they were eighth and ninth fastest, which was a bit disappointing.

:47:30. > :47:33.Romain Grosjean and Max Verstappen are only three points behind

:47:34. > :47:38.Hulkenberg. Can Max Verstappen get into the top ten and become the

:47:39. > :47:42.second ever Toro Rosso driver to finish in the top ten in the

:47:43. > :47:47.championship. The other one to achieve that was a certain Sebastian

:47:48. > :47:51.Vettel. There is a whole weekend of qualifying racing to go before we

:47:52. > :47:56.decide the final outcomes of those positions, but there is no doubt

:47:57. > :48:01.about Lewis Hamilton. He has not been on pole position for a while.

:48:02. > :48:05.The last time was the Italian Grand Prix. David, he did not have a

:48:06. > :48:10.perfect session in final practice. There seems to be a similarity to

:48:11. > :48:16.some of the past race weekends where he has not got a decent run. He has

:48:17. > :48:22.not strung laps together at all. You cannot help but feel that Nico

:48:23. > :48:28.Rosberg having found a bit of momentum, is in a much stronger

:48:29. > :48:34.place. We can see two X Grand Prix drivers. The meeting of the chairman

:48:35. > :48:49.of the board on the left with Donati moustache. There is Niki Lauda. But

:48:50. > :48:53.I think Lewis is making it difficult for himself and Nico Rosberg has a

:48:54. > :48:59.bit of momentum and it gives you confidence going into qualifying.

:49:00. > :49:04.The driver gives the input and he does that with confidence about as

:49:05. > :49:10.to where the car is going to go. If it reacts as expected, you build up

:49:11. > :49:13.from there. If it does not give you the feedback, you doubt the next

:49:14. > :49:18.corner you come to because you do not know what the reaction will be.

:49:19. > :49:25.At this moment in time you feel that Lewis may be... That is party mode.

:49:26. > :49:32.That is on top of one of the yachts here, a fantastic setting. It is a

:49:33. > :49:35.stunning place. You are looking at the qualifying battles between

:49:36. > :49:55.team-mate on the bottom of your screen. Billy Payne as and Marcus

:49:56. > :49:57.Ericsson. It is the is focus and concentration from Sergio Perez who

:49:58. > :50:05.performed extremely well this morning. He went fourth fastest and

:50:06. > :50:12.he was third fastest yesterday. They can manipulate the amount of fuel on

:50:13. > :50:16.board these cars and ten kilograms means it is very powerful and from a

:50:17. > :50:23.strategic point of view it may be that the team have decided... That

:50:24. > :50:30.is Daniel Ricciardo. It is pretty slippy as you leave these painted

:50:31. > :50:36.surfaces. That means he does not have to use as much spearing. Niko

:50:37. > :50:42.Hulkenberg seems to be slightly behind Sergio Perez. This is his

:50:43. > :50:47.opportunity to make good. Yes, in the 10th spot in the championship.

:50:48. > :50:51.Hoping to hang onto that. The best position this year has been fifth

:50:52. > :50:57.place on the grid. What about the Red Bulls as Denmark Daniel

:50:58. > :51:02.Ricciardo was sixth fastest. But Daniil Kvyat had technical problems.

:51:03. > :51:08.He got out for a lap to try and do something. Tom has got news on that.

:51:09. > :51:14.How are Red Bull feeling? They have got both their cars on track. Daniil

:51:15. > :51:19.Kvyat had a very torrid session. He has gone out very early on the soft

:51:20. > :51:23.tyre to get some mileage and feel his way around the race track. I

:51:24. > :51:29.think we will see fast lap times in Q1. The track temperature is very

:51:30. > :51:35.similar to this morning and the wind has died down a bit. Both Mercedes

:51:36. > :51:39.have gone past week on the super-soft tyres. Everyone what have

:51:40. > :51:45.to go on to the super soft tyre which is something like 1.5 seconds

:51:46. > :51:55.faster than the prime tyre. We are looking at a cut off of we will see

:51:56. > :52:01.how many teams can do that. For McLaren Honda it has been tricky to

:52:02. > :52:10.get through. Jenson Button was 11th earlier on today. David, Daniel

:52:11. > :52:16.Ricciardo is onto a lap and we are following his progress. Talk us

:52:17. > :52:20.around a bit bus stop it is a fantastic section. High speed as you

:52:21. > :52:30.drop down into the braking zone at the chicane and turned five. It is a

:52:31. > :52:34.short shoot out into the hairpin. These hybrid Formula One cars

:52:35. > :52:44.generate a huge amount of torque in that initial phase of acceleration.

:52:45. > :52:49.That is where the benefit comes. The car is just over 700 kilograms by

:52:50. > :52:56.regulation. He stops the car down into town eight. This is the other

:52:57. > :53:01.fast section, another DRS zone and potential overtaking place during

:53:02. > :53:05.the Grand Prix. All this part of the lap has been straightforward, but

:53:06. > :53:11.now this is the section where at this stage of dusk we still have a

:53:12. > :53:17.setting sun which will be into their eyes as they run down towards town

:53:18. > :53:21.15. The shadow is being cast across the car. They have the sun in their

:53:22. > :53:31.eye at 16 and they get full site again at 17. This is as close as it

:53:32. > :53:38.gets to being a Monte Carlo copy. A fantastic end to the lap at 20.

:53:39. > :53:45.Click down on gear and a short run into the last turn, 21. A new drive

:53:46. > :53:52.for the line. That was a pretty tidy lap. Expect the times to continue to

:53:53. > :53:58.drop. He is on the soft tyre. You can see the excitement of all the

:53:59. > :54:05.engineers' faces! Watch too much data can do for you. Hamilton is on

:54:06. > :54:11.the lap already and he has gone fastest in the middle sector.

:54:12. > :54:16.Rosberg is behind. Both Mercedes on track at the same time. They have

:54:17. > :54:22.decided not to bother with the other tyre and have gone to the

:54:23. > :54:29.super-soft. That is an indication from the pre-trial temperatures. We

:54:30. > :54:35.can get into the whole strategy of what they might do tomorrow, but

:54:36. > :54:41.early indications are it is that one tyre is not enough, two is about

:54:42. > :54:49.right and three is too long. So, he is fastest. That Nico Rosberg is on

:54:50. > :54:53.a similar lap. He was a 10th up in the first sector and attend down in

:54:54. > :54:59.the second sector. Rosberg is coming out of the last corner now. Not

:55:00. > :55:07.quite as quick as Lewis Hamilton. But that gap of 0.1 something has

:55:08. > :55:11.been the gap of the weekend so far. Yes, the track is a living thing and

:55:12. > :55:16.it changes, the temperature, the wind direction and the humidity

:55:17. > :55:23.being all the factors. It is one thing being good in free practice,

:55:24. > :55:27.but as the track involves you have to second-guess. At this stage of

:55:28. > :55:34.the year, the last time these beautiful works of art will be out

:55:35. > :55:39.in a qualifying section before they get put into a museum somewhere.

:55:40. > :55:41.There will be no interest in them whatsoever after this weekend

:55:42. > :55:48.because all the interest is in the potential of the new car. Yes, very

:55:49. > :55:54.good point, they get pensioned off. I do not think he has ever been

:55:55. > :56:03.outqualified by a team-mate. He won for Lotus some years ago. Keep an

:56:04. > :56:08.eye on him. He is pretty much punch-drunk at this time of the

:56:09. > :56:13.season. He is up against the ropes and Sebastian Vettel. There should

:56:14. > :56:17.not be too much surprised that Sebastian Vettel arrived with energy

:56:18. > :56:21.and enthusiasm. No matter how much of a fine you are of Kimi

:56:22. > :56:25.Raikkonen, this has been a lacklustre season for him. The team

:56:26. > :56:31.have shown confidence and they have re-signed him for next year, but you

:56:32. > :56:33.cannot help but feel he might be entering his last season if he

:56:34. > :56:40.delivers the same results as this year. Let's watch him in this final

:56:41. > :56:45.section. This next sequence is really demanding because it is fast

:56:46. > :56:53.in an ever tightening. It is so fantastic that the director has cut

:56:54. > :56:59.to Sauber going very slowly. It is a great section. A car at high speed

:57:00. > :57:02.generates high downforce and that allows you to connect with

:57:03. > :57:09.confidence to the breaks. At the low speed corners you are just ticking

:57:10. > :57:14.the box and try to keep it tidy. At high speed the driver can be

:57:15. > :57:20.creative. He has gone a third fastest, but he is on the harder

:57:21. > :57:25.tyre. He is the best of the rest. This is a replay at the hairpin. At

:57:26. > :57:32.Turn 7 he locked up and got a bit wide. That is a small correction for

:57:33. > :57:38.oversteer. That is a good display of what oversteer can look like. He

:57:39. > :57:43.came off the kerb and he drifted before he did the cup back to the

:57:44. > :57:47.next turn. In the case of Kimi Raikkonen it was a small

:57:48. > :57:53.correction, so not a full-blown oversteer. Tim, what do we think of

:57:54. > :57:58.Ferrari's chances? All we can say at this point is they are getting

:57:59. > :58:03.closer to Mercedes. The cat yesterday in second practice was 0.7

:58:04. > :58:10.and they reduced that this morning in final practice down to 0.3. They

:58:11. > :58:14.are eating away at the gap and they seem pretty bullish. And fourth in

:58:15. > :58:19.the and that great run of Perez, are we keeping an eye on him for

:58:20. > :58:24.something like that in qualifying? The team say they are confident in

:58:25. > :58:28.getting both cars into Q3. They have not got any new parts, it is the

:58:29. > :58:34.same chi they had in Brazil and they are maximising what they have. They

:58:35. > :58:39.are getting a lot or performance probe of the super-soft tyres. We

:58:40. > :58:45.are watching Jenson Button. He was 11th in final practice. A few more

:58:46. > :58:49.cars behind with more potential. No appearances in the top ten from the

:58:50. > :58:54.McLaren drivers. They might have ended up in the great, they have

:58:55. > :59:02.started in the top ten, but neither of them have made it into Q3. Jenson

:59:03. > :59:09.Button is nine tenths of a second down. It is a huge amount of time to

:59:10. > :59:14.lose in a short sector. With two fast corners you can see the images

:59:15. > :59:21.with him sparking his way up on the super-soft tyre. Again in the middle

:59:22. > :59:31.sector he is a good second down. 1.9 seconds. His team-mate Alonso is 2.2

:59:32. > :59:37.seconds off the fastest. Jenson Button is on something similar to

:59:38. > :59:42.that. Inside the top ten. Alonso is eighth, but we are waiting for some

:59:43. > :59:47.people to put in a representative lap. Jenson Button qualified third

:59:48. > :59:50.here in 2011 and he finished third in a couple of times and last year

:59:51. > :59:57.had a reasonable run into fifth place in a Mercedes powered McLaren.

:59:58. > :00:04.That is not great, he is in the drop zone. Six teeth. I think he will be

:00:05. > :00:12.disappointed with that. Half a second down and this is a replay of

:00:13. > :00:16.him coming up into Turn 3. It suggests the car is running very low

:00:17. > :00:25.to the ground. You can see the height of all of the cars nowadays.

:00:26. > :00:27.The front is pretty much rooted to and the rear of the car is very high

:00:28. > :00:40.and it is for aerodynamic purposes. Let us just see what Raikkonen

:00:41. > :00:47.finishes, he is still on the harder tyre. He is trying pretty hard. He

:00:48. > :00:53.stays third but it is a better lap. Decent work being done for the

:00:54. > :01:01.moment and the lap time, is the Tom, the target that we is going to be

:01:02. > :01:09.1.42. I think you would have to run again rather than go to the pit.

:01:10. > :01:15.Yesterday, Lewis's entire focus was on 2016, so he only reverted in

:01:16. > :01:20.final practice today. He has got some work to do, Daniil Kvyat is in

:01:21. > :01:25.the drop zone as well, he was hampered this morning or early on

:01:26. > :01:30.today with very few laps, Vettel has gone fifth fastest. So he has done

:01:31. > :01:38.one minute 42.9 which will not be enough. It is interesting, Kimi

:01:39. > :01:47.Raikkonen does seem to have a convert zone around this track. --

:01:48. > :01:50.comfort zone. He has had three victories so he always seems to go

:01:51. > :01:57.well. Kimi Raikkonen doing a good job. Let us see what Sebastian

:01:58. > :02:04.Vettel can do comedy is the only man to have won this race in pole

:02:05. > :02:10.position, that in 2010. There were some odd reliability issues, from

:02:11. > :02:14.pole position a couple of years ago. Perez is out on track and so is

:02:15. > :02:21.Daniil Kvyat, after the troubles he had. He is now on the super soft

:02:22. > :02:27.tyre. Most riders will be on that tyre now, as they aim to make sure

:02:28. > :02:35.that they get into the top 15. The two salvors are likely to be in

:02:36. > :02:42.danger. -- Sauber cars. And the Marussia cars are at the bottom of

:02:43. > :02:46.the heat. Roberto Mehri has been outpaced, he is back in, the

:02:47. > :02:51.American Alexander Rossi has been in the car recently, he's racing in the

:02:52. > :03:02.GP to series this weekend. Mehri has been back out, another driver, made

:03:03. > :03:07.his debut here for Caterham. So just getting an edge over his Spanish

:03:08. > :03:11.team-mate. Hamilton, I wonder if we will see Mercedes bothered to come

:03:12. > :03:18.out, they have used the soft tyre, they may sit out. Behind them, the?

:03:19. > :03:23.. Fourth fastest at this point. He has been going through free practice

:03:24. > :03:28.as well. Romain Grosjean, he has seemed a little bit of form around

:03:29. > :03:32.here. Lotus seemed to arrive a little bit late, we just don't

:03:33. > :03:38.know. Whether there is some other issue there. Grosjean has had to

:03:39. > :03:44.miss most of the Friday practice session. Jolyon Palmer will make his

:03:45. > :03:51.debut. Good news for British drivers. As Romain Grosjean heads

:03:52. > :03:55.off to team Haas. Looking at the speed traffic, about three Bottas

:03:56. > :04:01.and mass, it is not unusual to see Williams at the top. I wonder if

:04:02. > :04:07.they have changed the downforce already is it about engine power? It

:04:08. > :04:13.is a bad fuel level, engine power, when you contrast the speed. 210

:04:14. > :04:18.miles an hour and you have got Jenson Button at 191 miles an hour,

:04:19. > :04:24.huge difference in performance between Mercedes and the Honda power

:04:25. > :04:30.unit. Nico Hulkenberg coming around, to see what this lap is going to be.

:04:31. > :04:34.In 14th place at the moment so he certainly needs to improve. He is up

:04:35. > :04:43.to third, the best of everybody bar the Mercedes, he did use the super

:04:44. > :04:50.soft tyre. What Sadie 's did on the same tyre, backing up performance.

:04:51. > :04:54.On board right now, with Carlos is, in the Toro Rosso. Daniil Kvyat is

:04:55. > :05:00.on track as well but we will keep our right on Carlos is. Last corner

:05:01. > :05:11.clean, it is easy to run too wide. He moves up to fifth, that time, it

:05:12. > :05:18.is still not going to be easily him. So maybe he still needs a bit more

:05:19. > :05:23.pace. Ricciardo putting in a good lab, fifth, and Perez goes even

:05:24. > :05:30.further. He should be safe. Daniil Kvyat puts in a lab, so that might

:05:31. > :05:36.be enough. I think they would prefer to have a little bit more just to be

:05:37. > :05:43.fully safe. In the drop zone at the moment, we have got Felipe Massa

:05:44. > :05:50.random moment, Jenson Button, -- Felipe Massa Mac. And Massa, it is

:05:51. > :05:53.alluded from the result in the end after a tyre pressure problem. Back

:05:54. > :05:58.out to racing and that puts him into sixth place for the moment, double

:05:59. > :06:03.podium finish last year for William 's, they qualified well. Third and

:06:04. > :06:08.fourth on the grid, I think it will be tough with the pace on Ferrari in

:06:09. > :06:14.particular and indeed Force India. Yes, they were only half a second

:06:15. > :06:23.off the pace, just over one second off now. Kept abreast of the Veldman

:06:24. > :06:27.is, getting well out of the way. Valtteri Bottas, a clean run

:06:28. > :06:37.through. Who will benefit from a slipstream. A bit of slipstream from

:06:38. > :06:41.the Saba, pulling away early. Releasing, on his own. You can see

:06:42. > :06:48.the speed traffic on the graphic, Valtteri Bottas, his speed, and

:06:49. > :06:56.going down. Even Hamilton and Rosberg not as fast. Just to explain

:06:57. > :06:59.to those new to Formula 1, the speed on the straight can be a function of

:07:00. > :07:06.horsepower of course but also overall drag on the car. The drag on

:07:07. > :07:16.the car is pretty much the same. Negative, we have a problem.

:07:17. > :07:21.Negative. It looks like Marcus Ericsson will stay in the drop zone.

:07:22. > :07:27.I will say that the physical drag on the car, is the tyres, which is the

:07:28. > :07:31.same on all of the cars and then the efficiency which is how slippery,

:07:32. > :07:35.which gives you the load and allows you to get through the turn. And

:07:36. > :07:39.then of course the speed of the straight. It is a trade, it is one

:07:40. > :07:46.that Williams have always gone for higher top speeds. The downside,

:07:47. > :07:51.Alonso, get a big slide through the chicane. The downside for Williams

:07:52. > :07:56.of not having the drag, the downforce, it is difficult for the

:07:57. > :08:01.drivers to carry as much speed. It is backed off, why did he back off?

:08:02. > :08:09.Well spotted. What would have caused that, it was very unusual? He will

:08:10. > :08:17.have clipped a curb. As his partner looks on. It could have been the cut

:08:18. > :08:25.of a curb. It effectively means that he loses that set of tyres. He is in

:08:26. > :08:34.danger, 15th, and if Nasr, or button improve he will be pushed out. And

:08:35. > :08:39.button does improve, Alonso is out. 1.5 seconds off the fastest in the

:08:40. > :08:43.session, impressive but Alonso, pushing out Nasr. Pushing out

:08:44. > :08:53.Grosjean, he is on a lab, which is OK. Well can nothing go right for

:08:54. > :08:59.Alonso? The engine held right, Grosjean does make it out of the

:09:00. > :09:02.drop zone. That pushes Vettel down, Vettel has done a really slow

:09:03. > :09:09.mid-sector and I don't think he will make it. Yes he has backed out of it

:09:10. > :09:13.and there is a shocker. That is a huge shock, Raikkonen did not bother

:09:14. > :09:17.to come out, but he is safely through and it has gone completely

:09:18. > :09:21.wrong for Vettel who could actually push Mercedes if not in qualifying

:09:22. > :09:27.at least in the race, he is dropping out in the first part of qualifying.

:09:28. > :09:32.Both he and Alonso, but the big story is Sebastien Vettel. The

:09:33. > :09:37.closest pursuit all day long, the winner of three races, key is out.

:09:38. > :09:41.Pushed out by that great lap from Jenson Button. Who would have

:09:42. > :09:48.thought that? Maybe they miscalculated. It will remain to be

:09:49. > :09:54.seen, we will happen to see a replay. His first sector time was

:09:55. > :10:00.fine. This is Fernando Alonso, are we going to see it? You can see

:10:01. > :10:05.something either ran over, a function of the tyre, or you can see

:10:06. > :10:09.that tyre is off the rim. Was it the debris that caused

:10:10. > :10:18.the puncture. I think it was just debris, as Carlos Sainz Jnr locks it

:10:19. > :10:22.up to 17. Giving the people watching from the terrace of the hotel a

:10:23. > :10:29.close and personal view of the Grand Prix car. Stevens made it OK, they

:10:30. > :10:35.came very close to that barrier. It is a good effort. He has

:10:36. > :10:39.out-qualified his team-mate. Over one second. But Fernando Alonso is

:10:40. > :10:43.out, the puncture or whatever has certainly denied him because button

:10:44. > :10:48.did make it through. If it was debris and it certainly looks like

:10:49. > :10:54.it. The pure ready tyres do seem very sensitive, much more

:10:55. > :11:00.sensitive. We know who is out, it is big drama because Sebastian Vettel

:11:01. > :11:03.is out, Alonso joins him on the sidelines as stars Marcus Ericsson.

:11:04. > :11:12.Will Stevens and Roberto Mehri. -- as does Marcus Ericsson. Big drama

:11:13. > :11:17.in Abu Dhabi, a puncture for Alonso but Sebastien Vettel, this is going

:11:18. > :11:24.to destroy his weekend? Not only that but there was nothing obvious,

:11:25. > :11:28.we did not see anything there. Can we see anything? Suzie I am not sure

:11:29. > :11:35.but it looks OK at this stage. He just backs out of it, doesn't he?

:11:36. > :11:40.And they just go slower. He is not on the throttle. When was the last

:11:41. > :11:45.time we saw Doswell champions not making it to Q2? Normally it would

:11:46. > :11:50.be Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso. It was a mighty lab, that

:11:51. > :11:56.was fantastic. Let us cross over to the paddock, sporting director with

:11:57. > :12:01.McLaren. And now his race director with manner. It is great to see you

:12:02. > :12:06.back in the Formula 1 paddock, what is it about the Manor project that

:12:07. > :12:11.you find so exciting? Everything ready, they are a great little team,

:12:12. > :12:15.they struggled in the last few years, it is a great opportunity to

:12:16. > :12:24.help to see if I can contribute in some way and move up the grid. What

:12:25. > :12:27.is your role as race director? It gives me a free range to look at

:12:28. > :12:32.different areas, to see what I can do to look out and generally run

:12:33. > :12:37.things, in the Garrard and make sure that we operate well. Perennial

:12:38. > :12:43.Taylor Enders, we get the Mercedes engine next year, what you think

:12:44. > :12:52.that will do? The Mercedes is the current engine, it will be a huge

:12:53. > :12:56.step performance wise. It is a pretty good package, a lot of

:12:57. > :13:01.teams, looking at us now and thinking what will we do and I hope

:13:02. > :13:04.that we surprise them. There is a lot of management changes in the

:13:05. > :13:10.team, what can you tell us about team principal? You would have to

:13:11. > :13:16.talk to Steve, nothing really. I know that he's taking a considered

:13:17. > :13:23.look at options, I think that you will see a measured approach to

:13:24. > :13:30.that. Which drivers are you taking? Good one. When will we here? You

:13:31. > :13:36.will hear in good course, most drivers are sorted out. It is about

:13:37. > :13:41.making the best choices available. Thank you very much. Good to be

:13:42. > :13:48.back. Will they had to look at drivers with money? -- will they

:13:49. > :13:51.have to look. This is a team, where they will have quality drivers, who

:13:52. > :13:54.will have to have sponsorship for driving

:13:55. > :14:05.on their own, otherwise they can't do it. Moving forward, looking at

:14:06. > :14:12.Force India, they look strong, it seems to be the bat and exchanging

:14:13. > :14:17.over the weekend? -- bat on. Yes, there is a great cease all looking

:14:18. > :14:21.to be going on between those teams. I want to see it extend into the

:14:22. > :14:27.race, where there is a free flow and the best drivers get to the best

:14:28. > :14:33.positions. Let us see who makes it through to the next session. This is

:14:34. > :14:39.due to. So Roberto Mehri was outqualified by Will Stevens, he has

:14:40. > :14:43.done a good job as he comes back to Abu Dhabi. Sebastien Vettel, a

:14:44. > :14:48.couple of times he started in the back, when he was driving for Red

:14:49. > :14:52.Bull. He had to start from the back in 2012, that was an exclusion. They

:14:53. > :14:58.didn't have enough fuel in the car, last year he ended up starting in

:14:59. > :15:02.the pit lane, they had flexible front wings, so he has always had a

:15:03. > :15:17.good record here. He seems to have two were quite hard here.

:15:18. > :15:26.It will be a long shot for him to get to the podium, but say never.

:15:27. > :15:32.Ferrari have never won here and it will be pretty hard to do it from

:15:33. > :15:37.back there on the grid. There was a video that was put out of the

:15:38. > :15:42.Ferrari team showing the two drivers and Kimi Raikkonen sitting on the

:15:43. > :15:46.front of the Ferrari roller-coaster, which you can see in

:15:47. > :15:52.the distance. They were getting into it and smiling, that Kimi Raikkonen

:15:53. > :15:58.was looking pretty deadpan, sticking to character. Kimi Raikkonen will

:15:59. > :16:03.get to outqualified Sebastian Vettel here today one way or another. The

:16:04. > :16:09.other time Sebastian Vettel failed to get through Q1 was in Canada, but

:16:10. > :16:12.that was a power problem. This time it looks like they miscalculated.

:16:13. > :16:17.Presumably they thought they were saved and they were not. It was the

:16:18. > :16:25.miscalculation that got it all wrong. That has affected how the

:16:26. > :16:29.grid will line up. This is about getting into the top ten and here

:16:30. > :16:34.comes Nico Rosberg to join the circuit with Hamilton already out.

:16:35. > :16:40.We have got six cars on track. Mercedes decided to go out quite

:16:41. > :16:43.early in both sessions. The temperature now is currently 28

:16:44. > :16:49.degrees. I expect it to drop a bit more before the final end of

:16:50. > :17:01.qualifying. For Mercedes it is a case of ticking the box. It gets

:17:02. > :17:09.easier as the qualifying sessions go on with less cars on track. This is

:17:10. > :17:14.Felipe Massa driving off the final race track before entering the last

:17:15. > :17:21.corner. It is a straight drive down into Turn 1 as possible. Listen as

:17:22. > :17:32.he goes through town two. Just straining on the rear axle. It is

:17:33. > :17:39.flat over the rise. Dashed turn to. That he keep it tidy? A little under

:17:40. > :17:46.rotation. He will be of two another world record beating top speed. A

:17:47. > :17:55.beautiful sign of a clear track and fresh tyres. Felipe Massa is coming

:17:56. > :18:04.to the second sector. On a good speed, but not as high as his

:18:05. > :18:08.previous. You cannot change the wing during the session, so maybe they

:18:09. > :18:13.got a bit of a slipstream and the previous top speed. Tom, what we

:18:14. > :18:20.think in terms of the target time for getting into the top ten? The

:18:21. > :18:24.engineers are saying the track is performing pretty much as expected.

:18:25. > :18:32.To get through to Q3 we are looking at 42.3. It will be mighty close

:18:33. > :18:37.around that area as well. We saw lots of cars on 42.5 in the last

:18:38. > :18:42.session and the track is getting a bit quicker. I think it will be very

:18:43. > :18:46.tough. It looks as though Mercedes will have the edge. Nico Rosberg has

:18:47. > :18:55.a slightly better sector than Hamilton. Felipe Massa is the first

:18:56. > :19:00.to complete the lap at 1.42.3. That is exactly the target time. Williams

:19:01. > :19:09.are struggling a bit to make sure of the top ten. They are not looking as

:19:10. > :19:18.composed and comfortable as we would expect. Felipe Massa is not expected

:19:19. > :19:22.to make it into the top ten. Hamilton is a fraction quicker than

:19:23. > :19:27.Nico Rosberg. Let's see what Valterri Bottas does. That will not

:19:28. > :19:39.be enough. Hamilton to cross the line to go fastest. 1.40.7. He hit

:19:40. > :19:45.1.40.4 last year. But it is the fastest of the weekend. Waiting for

:19:46. > :19:53.Rosberg to cross the line. He will be out of the corner any mammon. Yes

:19:54. > :20:00.commonly goes second. 1.40.9. The same form that we saw in the first

:20:01. > :20:07.part of qualifying. Hamilton clawed it back in the second. In the final

:20:08. > :20:12.sector Hamilton got the fastest time. Nico Rosberg will come in and

:20:13. > :20:18.look at the data and understand where he is losing time. Then he

:20:19. > :20:27.will see if he can go out and replicate that. Niko Hulkenberg is

:20:28. > :20:35.third and Perez is fourth. A good lap by Daniel Ricciardo. But it is

:20:36. > :20:42.only a 10th faster than Niko Hulkenberg. This is where the camera

:20:43. > :20:50.is set up, so we get great shots of the cars bouncing through the kerb

:20:51. > :20:56.and the chicane. That curb is pretty brutal and it is a calculated risk

:20:57. > :21:00.from the drivers. The downside of getting it wrong so early in the lap

:21:01. > :21:06.means you know it is gone and you have to wait. Jenson Button was

:21:07. > :21:15.pretty impressive in the first part of qualifying. Can he deliver M

:21:16. > :21:25.RADIO: You have a deflating front left tyre. Caution on the straights

:21:26. > :21:36.Jenson Button is ninth at the moment. He is slower than he was

:21:37. > :21:44.earlier. That is a reasonable effort from the Toro Rosso. With McLaren we

:21:45. > :21:53.do not know what Honda are able to unleash. There was quite an offset

:21:54. > :21:57.between his first and his second run. That run was six times slower

:21:58. > :22:02.than what he achieved in the previous section. Unless it was an

:22:03. > :22:08.actual mistake, it is a significant amount of time to be slower. The top

:22:09. > :22:23.ten to build. Let's listen to Romain Grosjean. RADIO: We have a problem.

:22:24. > :22:29.Now he is being told to put it back slowly. He has still got a few

:22:30. > :22:35.corners to get back to the line. Daniil Kvyat has gone six. A little

:22:36. > :22:39.bit of his team-mate on that particular run. There is Romain

:22:40. > :22:44.Grosjean. It is a shame because this is his final weekend with the team.

:22:45. > :22:51.It is not all coming together at this point. His team-mate Maldonado

:22:52. > :22:57.is on track. He is outside the top ten at the moment in 12th position.

:22:58. > :23:01.Let's see whether they will be able to get Romain Grosjean back out on

:23:02. > :23:06.the circuit for a final attempt to get into the top ten. It would be a

:23:07. > :23:15.shame if they could not get the car back out in the closing minutes of

:23:16. > :23:20.the session. Hulkenberg and Perez are showing well for India. Felipe

:23:21. > :23:26.Massa is in seventh place. He has done well to outpace Valterri

:23:27. > :23:34.Bottas. Jenson Button is just outside the top ten. Kimi Raikkonen

:23:35. > :23:39.is yet to do a flying lap. He is building up at the moment. He has

:23:40. > :23:48.just come out of the pits and is going for one attempt. With one lap

:23:49. > :23:52.and the time that is left, he has been delivering, so he has got

:23:53. > :24:00.confident he can find some speed and get himself into the top ten shoot

:24:01. > :24:03.out. He is one point behind Valterri Bottas in the drivers' championship.

:24:04. > :24:10.Valterri Bottas is struggling a bit at the moment, he is ninth fastest.

:24:11. > :24:15.He should be challenging Daniel Ricciardo and Hulkenberg. There is

:24:16. > :24:20.only one Ferrari left in qualifying. We lost Sebastian Vettel in the

:24:21. > :24:25.first part when they miscalculated. We will get the full story at the

:24:26. > :24:29.end of the session. Daniel Ricciardo has done enough and the team are

:24:30. > :24:32.happy that he can sit out the rest of the session and they will get the

:24:33. > :24:41.car ready for the final top ten shoot out. This is Kimi Raikkonen on

:24:42. > :24:47.his fast lap. More or less flat out. Down to the chicane. This is where

:24:48. > :24:56.Lewis Hamilton was having problems this morning. A little bit wide as

:24:57. > :25:00.he came out of Turn 6. You can see the slight awkwardness to the

:25:01. > :25:06.steering. It does not look like the Ferrari is entirely comfortable at

:25:07. > :25:12.low speed. He was keeping it all tidy through two and three. It is

:25:13. > :25:19.like a sledgehammer hitting the back of the helmet. Nice and tidy as he

:25:20. > :25:26.presented the car out on the run down to ten. Not much of the driver

:25:27. > :25:29.can do at full power. Just pick the path of least resistance. This is

:25:30. > :25:31.tricky in to ten. Not much the driver can do at full power. Just

:25:32. > :25:34.pick the path of least resistance. This is tricky into town 11. Pity

:25:35. > :25:42.cautious as he turned the car. Good use of the kerb as he goes through

:25:43. > :25:46.the chicane. So far, so good. His lap time is going to be reasonable.

:25:47. > :25:50.He is not as quick in the middle sector as the Mercedes, but he is as

:25:51. > :25:58.quick as pretty much everyone else up there. He is down on the Mercedes

:25:59. > :26:05.Grand Prix cars, but it is respectable. The tyres are hanging

:26:06. > :26:14.on in there. Is this enough to beat Daniel Ricciardo? It is. Third place

:26:15. > :26:18.for Kimi Raikkonen. Eight tenths away from Lewis Hamilton's fastest

:26:19. > :26:24.lap. That is what we thought Ferrari should be able to deliver. But the

:26:25. > :26:30.sadness is there is only one of them out there. Some interesting strategy

:26:31. > :26:35.choices from Ferrari. That is Kimi Raikkonen's fastest lap of the

:26:36. > :26:42.weekend so far. They used the prime tyre in Q1. When you talk to Pirelli

:26:43. > :26:47.they say two stops is the way to do the race with two stints on the

:26:48. > :26:55.super soft and one stint on the prime. Valterri Bottas is trying to

:26:56. > :27:01.beat him in the championship and he is going on to the lap now. He comes

:27:02. > :27:06.through turn on and get that oversteer again. He does indeed and

:27:07. > :27:16.the G forces are pulling up through town to. There was a small

:27:17. > :27:21.application of break. 17.6 in the first sector. That compares well

:27:22. > :27:26.with Kimi Raikkonen. A couple of tenths down on Hamilton who is the

:27:27. > :27:35.fastest. Excuse me, Nico Rosberg is the fastest. Slipstream for Toro

:27:36. > :27:42.Rosso. As the darkness descends, you can see the dashboard so clearly. It

:27:43. > :27:48.is fantastic with Formula One now. We have these great opportunities.

:27:49. > :27:53.Singapore, here, Bahrain, to mix it up a little bit. It is something in

:27:54. > :27:57.this part of the world where they are used to coming out at night

:27:58. > :28:01.because they hibernate during the day during the hot temperatures.

:28:02. > :28:06.They come out at night and lived in a different time to where we are

:28:07. > :28:13.back in Europe and live a different schedule to the day. This is the

:28:14. > :28:20.tricky last section where it is all about these 90 degrees corners. He

:28:21. > :28:30.is the real .3 of a second quicker than his previous best lap. I am not

:28:31. > :28:45.sure what that is. We will find out. -- 0.3. RADIO: Fast as black as

:28:46. > :28:50.quick as you can. They have got the Lotus out in time before the

:28:51. > :29:00.chequered flag comes out. Let's hope he will be able to put in a proper

:29:01. > :29:05.attempt. Felipe Massa was very wide. They are struggling for rear end

:29:06. > :29:14.grip, he is only nine. He had an issue with his gearbox. They have

:29:15. > :29:22.not managed to fix it. RADIO: We have lost everything. Qualifying is

:29:23. > :29:31.done and dusted for Romain Grosjean. He is in theory 50s, depending on

:29:32. > :29:35.penalties. It has come to a much earlier conclusion that anybody

:29:36. > :29:39.would have wanted. He moves to a new team for next year and he has just

:29:40. > :29:44.got the race to go for tomorrow. Let's hope that things go better for

:29:45. > :29:55.him then. Carlos Sainz is in 11th place. Jenson Button is in 12th.

:29:56. > :30:01.Maldonado in the other Lotus is in 13th and leaping us is in there. You

:30:02. > :30:12.can see just before he made the adjustment he was less than a 10th

:30:13. > :30:24.faster. -- Felipe Massa. The driver is seeing the feedback.

:30:25. > :30:32.Can he carry it to the line? He has done it just. Max Verstappen,

:30:33. > :30:36.remember they are nine all in terms of fine battle. Jenson Button is

:30:37. > :30:45.across the line and I don't think it is enough. It would have been a

:30:46. > :30:49.little bit of a fairy tale. What about Max Verstappen? Four

:30:50. > :30:55.hundredths of a second off his team-mate and that means that Carlos

:30:56. > :31:07.Sainz Jnr is in, and Verstappen as failed to make it.

:31:08. > :31:14.Perez goes first. He took him to the last three corners before he

:31:15. > :31:21.improved his lap and got into the top ten, can you imagine

:31:22. > :31:28.psychologically where he was? That is a great effort from Carlos is,

:31:29. > :31:33.over the year in the end, 10-9. Carlos I spy such a tiny margin has

:31:34. > :31:37.made it into the top ten, Verstappen, so many reliability

:31:38. > :31:45.problems, it has to knight him opportunities to show how good he

:31:46. > :31:49.is. It is a redress of balance. Out of qualifying after some superb

:31:50. > :32:00.attempts. Max Verstappen, Jenson Button. Grip, especially from the

:32:01. > :32:04.year. Yes he was a bit slow, joining him in the exclusion zone from the

:32:05. > :32:13.rest of qualifying, Pastor Maldonado, Felipe Massa and of

:32:14. > :32:20.course Romain Grosjean. Fireworks in the desert in Q2, Sebastian Vettel

:32:21. > :32:25.is just walking by. He is having a little chat with Mark Webber. I am

:32:26. > :32:30.sure that Mark will not ask in what has happened, maybe he will,

:32:31. > :32:42.unfortunately for us. Anything interesting? Qualification didn't

:32:43. > :32:45.work out basically. That second qualifying session, it looks as

:32:46. > :32:52.though there are some winners and losers, were Williams struggling?

:32:53. > :32:56.They were struggling a bit for pace, the car is pretty competitive on

:32:57. > :33:03.long straights, but in the last sector they might be losing a lot of

:33:04. > :33:10.time. Let us go back to Q1, Fernando Alarza so with this puncture.

:33:11. > :33:16.Frustrating when this happens. Yes he has lost a bit of debris in the

:33:17. > :33:21.left rear. There you go. We have seen it before. Pyrenees looked like

:33:22. > :33:29.they are very sensitive to side wall damage or cuts, it has not

:33:30. > :33:38.completely disintegrated at high speed. Low speed failure if you

:33:39. > :33:45.like. Let us get his thoughts now. Fernando, bad luck, any idea what

:33:46. > :33:50.caused the puncture? Not really, sometimes you get grip, sometimes

:33:51. > :33:56.another, we will see what you can do to know. One Dennis has been saying

:33:57. > :34:01.that he gave a quote, he said he did not know whether you will be racing

:34:02. > :34:05.at McLaren next year, a sabbatical has been discussed, what can you

:34:06. > :34:11.tell us, will you be at McLaren on the grid? Yes, I will be, I have

:34:12. > :34:16.answered all of the questions to your colleagues, when Ron says

:34:17. > :34:20.something, you have a perfect opportunity to asking to clarify

:34:21. > :34:24.some of his quotes. I don't know what he means, with some of the

:34:25. > :34:29.things, but of course, we all want to improve and put the car on winter

:34:30. > :34:35.testing and see how competitive we are. We are hoping for the best.

:34:36. > :34:43.Sorry to put you on the spot but you do know Fernando world, what do you

:34:44. > :34:47.think? I think he is a time bomb, ticking over very frustrating for

:34:48. > :34:52.him, their relationship in the past, we are seeing some of it. The

:34:53. > :34:59.tension is building. Fernando, saying that I'll see the testing, if

:35:00. > :35:06.he could have two or three days in the car. Whatever they are testing.

:35:07. > :35:11.He could have a year off. Do you think that he is aggravating Honda,

:35:12. > :35:16.because I think most people realise that Honda are playing Fernando's

:35:17. > :35:24.bills, we saw in the past, that Ron did not take on button, is that the

:35:25. > :35:28.same for Alonso? Yes, when things are not going his way he will create

:35:29. > :35:36.pressure, he will put immense pressure on all of the departments.

:35:37. > :35:41.He hates losing. The timing unfortunately for him, was really

:35:42. > :35:45.nasty for him to see that unfold, Ferrari now in the ascendancy. I

:35:46. > :35:53.think, it is brutal for a racing driver. Sebastian Rode it out there

:35:54. > :35:59.timewise, what would you do for Fernando? I think for Fernando it is

:36:00. > :36:05.difficult for him to sit and wait for the progress, for me, Honda need

:36:06. > :36:10.a bit of a birthday, to see these guys put up in front of the grid.

:36:11. > :36:14.Forget these fine details, get these world champions back out there. For

:36:15. > :36:20.them to be punching at the back, they have lost a lot of technical

:36:21. > :36:23.partners, commercial partners, and for me, Fernando comedy has got

:36:24. > :36:31.enough zeros in the bank. It is not about that comedy just wants to win

:36:32. > :36:34.races. The same for button, two world champions in the team, what do

:36:35. > :36:40.they want to do floundering around at the back of the grid, it is not

:36:41. > :36:47.acceptable. Especially, that the cars are not that rewarding to

:36:48. > :36:52.drive, you have seen the lap times. Let us catch up quickly with

:36:53. > :36:57.Sebastian Vettel. We could not see what happened, we just saw that you

:36:58. > :37:02.were out, could you shed any light please? Nothing dramatic, it was not

:37:03. > :37:07.the plan to go out straightaway. We thought that the lap on the soft was

:37:08. > :37:10.good enough but it turned out not to be. Ferrari are looking strong, you

:37:11. > :37:16.started from the back if you started from the back your way through, I

:37:17. > :37:23.guess that is the main target? I guess that Kimi Raikkonen is still

:37:24. > :37:27.there, hopefully he can get at least PIII, then tomorrow ideally we have

:37:28. > :37:31.one car up front and another one sitting further back. It is possible

:37:32. > :37:38.to overtake here, I think that we have the speed to make progress.

:37:39. > :37:50.Pole position, are you still sticking with Nico? Yes. What do you

:37:51. > :37:56.think? Force India in the top three. Swapping the power between Nico and

:37:57. > :38:03.Lewis. That RC, who will take pole position. It is fully floodlit as we

:38:04. > :38:10.are into darkness, it is coming up for 6pm, who is going to end up in

:38:11. > :38:14.pole position? Hamilton, I am very glad to say from the Williams side

:38:15. > :38:19.of things, the chief technical officer Pat Williams is joining us

:38:20. > :38:23.from the pit wall. It does look as if Williams, are struggling a bit

:38:24. > :38:29.more than usual. It does not look as if you have quite got that pace this

:38:30. > :38:35.time? Indeed it doesn't, that half second that is sitting between

:38:36. > :38:43.fourth and seventh, is the interesting part of the final bit of

:38:44. > :38:50.qualifying. But yes, we haven't quite got the pace of last year, we

:38:51. > :38:56.have moved on a little bit. It is quite a tough fight. Just explain to

:38:57. > :39:01.us, we have been looking at the speed traffic. Valtteri Bottas,

:39:02. > :39:06.Massa next up, we have got lost long straights, why isn't that being

:39:07. > :39:13.converted into lap times? That is only part of the equation, and a lot

:39:14. > :39:17.of it is also down to aerodynamics. Particularly tyres. I don't think

:39:18. > :39:23.that we have got our tyres worked quite as well as we could have.

:39:24. > :39:28.Bearing in mind, the lap in Q2 was not a good one. A problem in the

:39:29. > :39:35.end. All the same, I would like to see us with a bit more in the tyres

:39:36. > :39:40.in this final session. Thank you for joining us, let us hope that it

:39:41. > :39:44.comes together for you. The session underway, the cars on track and

:39:45. > :39:49.Lewis Hamilton is the fastest in the first two parts of qualifying, he

:39:50. > :39:55.has been on pole position before. Last year it was Nico Rosberg who

:39:56. > :39:59.snatched it away. And error for Hamilton, in the final part of the

:40:00. > :40:05.last sector, the fastest ever lap by Sebastian Vettel. So I am afraid he

:40:06. > :40:10.is not in the hunt comedy has certainly well. This is one to

:40:11. > :40:17.watch, Sergio Perez has been quick all weekend. He feels at home. He

:40:18. > :40:27.makes his way through the exit of term three, visibly tidier, not

:40:28. > :40:33.using much of the road. This Force India is hooked up fantastically

:40:34. > :40:37.well. He does indeed. This is the first opportunity for the driver to

:40:38. > :40:42.take stock of how the first sector has gone, what the feedback is, what

:40:43. > :40:47.is his confidence level as he heads for the biggest opt in the race

:40:48. > :40:53.track. Certainly based on how he has been going through free practice.

:40:54. > :40:59.Don't expect any issues. Textbook Apex, a bit of wobble. He has gone

:41:00. > :41:03.well in the past, he has not been out-qualifying, he has been up

:41:04. > :41:12.against Jenson Button, against Nico Hulkenberg. It is the 90 degrees

:41:13. > :41:18.Corners. Qualified eighth with McLaren and don't forget comedy has

:41:19. > :41:23.never actually qualified top three in his career, fourth on the grid is

:41:24. > :41:28.his best ever. There is a real chance but to do it he will have two

:41:29. > :41:36.beat Raikkonen. Is only three tenths slower than the best on the track.

:41:37. > :41:40.About eight tenths down, in the last part of qualifying. Depending on

:41:41. > :41:46.this last sector, using it all and more. A bit of oversteer, maybe he

:41:47. > :41:53.has lost a bit of time through the last corner. It is a good lap. He

:41:54. > :41:59.did 141.5 last time, that is a really good lap. He really attacked

:42:00. > :42:04.those last corners. How is Hamilton's lap? Interesting we have

:42:05. > :42:11.got Hamilton and Rosberg, in the second sector, Rosberg is quicker I

:42:12. > :42:16.a 10th. Rosberg currently doing a better lap than Hamilton. Perez is

:42:17. > :42:21.fastest at the moment, Hamilton goes fastest. Not by much though. Peres

:42:22. > :42:28.within one tenth. What about Rosberg? He is quicker, if he keeps

:42:29. > :42:33.it tidier, maybe Mark Webber has got his crystal ball working well.

:42:34. > :42:38.Hulkenberg's lap is a second slower than his team-mate. He really needs

:42:39. > :42:44.to dig deep. Has he done enough to beat Hamilton? Across the line he

:42:45. > :42:49.goes, he is fastest. Still not as fast as he was last year. One more

:42:50. > :42:54.go at it in the final part of qualifying. Mercedes are one and

:42:55. > :43:00.two, Raikkonen goes across the line and he is not as fast as Perez.

:43:01. > :43:03.Perez is currently third. It looks like both Eddie Jordan had Mark

:43:04. > :43:08.Webber's crystal balls are working well because I do believe that Eddie

:43:09. > :43:15.Jordan said that Force India would be in the top three. One more run

:43:16. > :43:20.for them all. And Williams, evenly matched, not quite in that hunt,

:43:21. > :43:25.certainly for a top four position right now. Ricciardo faster than

:43:26. > :43:33.both Williams, Kvyat is not as quick. The one who hasn't done a lap

:43:34. > :43:37.yet is Carlos I is and of course Carlos I may decide to save tyres. I

:43:38. > :43:42.think that he may do at least one run. That is Carlos

:43:43. > :43:50.. His major achievement is having got there, his team-mate Max

:43:51. > :43:53.Verstappen is going to be starting 11th, not allowing for any penalties

:43:54. > :43:58.that might be applied, everyone starting to make their way back to

:43:59. > :44:03.the pits after that initial flurry of times which has got in the way of

:44:04. > :44:07.Nico Rosberg. Yes we have seen Perez with better communication on the

:44:08. > :44:11.radio, asking how is the balance and he is saying, yes I am happy. We

:44:12. > :44:18.would think that he would be very happy with that. Does he have enough

:44:19. > :44:20.to fend off Kimi Raikkonen? No pressure in comparison to his

:44:21. > :44:26.team-mate. What a great job this team have done. Perez was talking

:44:27. > :44:30.earlier this week and saying that he definitely feels this has been his

:44:31. > :44:33.best season in former one. McLaren, top team, they were not going

:44:34. > :44:39.through the best period. The best period. Is driving better now than

:44:40. > :44:44.he did at that stage. Openly critical of Ron Dennis, he felt it

:44:45. > :44:50.set him back quite a considerable amount in his career. He was known

:44:51. > :44:56.to be always missed a consistent, the man that could get away with

:44:57. > :45:02.one, when others could get to. Certainly can work well, all of the

:45:03. > :45:03.cars are back in the pits, and I think that Carlos Sainz Jnr will

:45:04. > :45:16.have a go. He Tom, this is standing for Force

:45:17. > :45:23.India to be ahead of Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari? Yes, Ferrari

:45:24. > :45:29.were saying they had fresh engines for both of their cars. A great

:45:30. > :45:34.effort from Perez and Force India. But he is using an old engine, so it

:45:35. > :45:46.will be three tenths down on his pole position from last year. There

:45:47. > :45:49.will be more to come from him. Even other teams are applauding Perez's

:45:50. > :45:55.efforts because that was quite something. He loved the fact that

:45:56. > :45:58.Formula One came back to Mexico this year and it was one of the

:45:59. > :46:04.highlights of this season for so many people to see the level of

:46:05. > :46:08.support he enjoys. He is delivering quite a performance here. Can he

:46:09. > :46:14.hang on to a top three star for the first time in his career? He will

:46:15. > :46:18.have to be Kimi Raikkonen. The track temperature is pretty consistent as

:46:19. > :46:28.the night settles in. We are building up to the final qualifying

:46:29. > :46:32.session of the year. Hamilton is on a remarkable run of five consecutive

:46:33. > :46:37.pole positions, sorry, Nico Rosberg. He had the edge in the final part of

:46:38. > :46:40.the season were Lewis Hamilton definitely had the edge in

:46:41. > :46:46.qualifying in the early part of the year. It is interesting to try and

:46:47. > :46:53.understand. Is it because Niko has upped the pace? Or has Lewis

:46:54. > :46:59.mentally detuned slightly, having put so much effort into the

:47:00. > :47:03.championship? Neither of them will either confirm or deny either of

:47:04. > :47:08.those scenarios. It seems more than coincidence that since blue is the

:47:09. > :47:15.title he just has not looked as sharp. Maybe mentally for Niko the

:47:16. > :47:20.release of not being in the battle for the championship has allowed him

:47:21. > :47:23.to relax a little bit. We know from asking him that he pretty much

:47:24. > :47:30.denies anything has changed. Interesting one. It is, and as Tom

:47:31. > :47:35.made reference to, it is interesting that Rosberg's engine in theory is

:47:36. > :47:39.not quite as strong as Hamilton's. He lost an engine earlier this year

:47:40. > :47:45.and they have had to spread the milage this season over his other

:47:46. > :47:49.three engines. They are allowed four. Rosberg is at a slight

:47:50. > :47:54.disadvantage on engine power, but let's see how this all plays out. It

:47:55. > :48:01.may be that they can all turn it up for the final part of qualifying.

:48:02. > :48:05.Rosberg with that slight advantage, but Hamilton faster in the first two

:48:06. > :48:13.prize of qualifying. Hamilton did 1.47 in Q2, so he has matched

:48:14. > :48:20.Rosberg's time, so it is all about putting it together when it matters.

:48:21. > :48:25.We are building up to the climax. Daniel Ricciardo goes on to the lap

:48:26. > :48:36.now. His team-mates Daniil Kvyat will be following him. A little bit

:48:37. > :48:41.of team rivalry. Daniil Kvyat has a tidy lap so far. Interesting that

:48:42. > :48:48.Hamilton has gone out ahead of Rosberg. That allows Rosberg the

:48:49. > :48:56.mental boost if Hamilton is not delivering the lap time, that he can

:48:57. > :49:07.call his lap time early and it takes away a bit of the uncertainty. He

:49:08. > :49:21.manages to get to over 200 powers -- 200 miles an hour. Hamilton is not

:49:22. > :49:26.quicker than his first sector. It is an indication that the beginning of

:49:27. > :49:30.the lap has not gone to plan. We saw that display on Carlos Sainz's

:49:31. > :49:36.dashboard. That feedback is given to Hamilton. You do not throw in the

:49:37. > :49:42.towel, but it is the reassurance that you are building a faster lap.

:49:43. > :49:47.Kimi Raikkonen has had a good sector, so Perez's third place is

:49:48. > :49:53.not secure yet. Kimi Raikkonen is quicker than Hamilton. But Rosberg

:49:54. > :50:00.as well is not quite as quick as his previous best. It is the second

:50:01. > :50:07.sector and Hamilton is up slightly by tiniest the of fractions. He is

:50:08. > :50:10.just ahead of Nico Rosberg's time. Which of the two Mercedes drivers

:50:11. > :50:16.will take the final pole position of the year? Will it be the three times

:50:17. > :50:22.World Champion who has had a remarkable season, but who has been

:50:23. > :50:27.beaten in the last few races to the top spot in qualifying? Or are well

:50:28. > :50:33.Nico Rosberg take the final one? He is a bit wide, but he might not have

:50:34. > :50:40.lost any ground? Has he done enough to go faster than Rosberg? Yes, he

:50:41. > :50:47.has. Nico Rosberg is quicker in the middle sector. Well Kimi Raikkonen

:50:48. > :50:53.take third? Is this good enough for Harare to be best of the rest? Yes,

:50:54. > :51:01.he has beaten Perez. Still a few corners to go. Yes, he is under the

:51:02. > :51:06.hotel with two corners to go. Rosberg on the attack, can he claim

:51:07. > :51:14.the final pole position of the season? He has done it! He has taken

:51:15. > :51:22.pole position again. Look at the reaction. He punches the air. He has

:51:23. > :51:27.done it. Six in a row to finish off the season. Absolutely stunning and

:51:28. > :51:31.back-to-back pole positions. Perez has missed out on the third place.

:51:32. > :51:38.Still brilliant by him to qualify for. Kimi Raikkonen stole third in

:51:39. > :51:46.the closing moments of the session. Ricciardo is in fifth, Bottas is

:51:47. > :51:58.sixth. RADIO: Pole position, charge the battery. Good job, Niko. Great

:51:59. > :52:03.job, Niko. Amazing. Bear in mind that is 37 pole positions out of 38

:52:04. > :52:07.Grand Prix in the last two years. They have only been beaten once by

:52:08. > :52:12.Ferrari and that was this year in Singapore. Niko Hulkenberg was

:52:13. > :52:18.seventh, Marceau was eighth and Carlos Sainz was terrible.

:52:19. > :52:31.Verstappen was 11, but in 12, mild and I don't 13th. -- Carlos Sainz

:52:32. > :52:35.was 10th. Sergio Perez just missing out on

:52:36. > :52:41.that third spot, your crystal ball needs a polished. Yes, but what an

:52:42. > :52:50.amazing job he did to be on the second row for this Grand Prix.

:52:51. > :52:55.Fantastic. RADIO: Great job. It was a great job for Kimi Raikkonen and

:52:56. > :53:02.he is looking good for tomorrow. I think Ferrari will be very strong,

:53:03. > :53:07.but Niko, I got that right, I was lucky. You did get that right. That

:53:08. > :53:13.was a cracker to go out in a qualifying section. You saw the guys

:53:14. > :53:18.pushing finally. That is what it should be about. Thank you for your

:53:19. > :53:23.company and for joining us this weekend and what a session that was.

:53:24. > :53:28.We have become of air because it is the Davis cup. We will have all the

:53:29. > :53:32.reaction for you on the website as things unfold and tomorrow we will

:53:33. > :53:39.be live with you at the same time, the same place. But as the night

:53:40. > :53:43.fell on the desert track it was Nico Rosberg who grasped pole position,

:53:44. > :53:48.his sixth in a row. But is pole position the right place to be here?

:53:49. > :53:54.Join us tomorrow for the last race of the season.