:01:08. > :01:16.Lewis Hamilton's opportunity to earn his third world title is before him
:01:17. > :01:20.in Austin. Lights out and away we go, Rosberg against Hamilton,
:01:21. > :01:26.Hamilton may have the chance to get up the inside. Rosberg trying to go
:01:27. > :01:30.wheel-to-wheel. Rosberg squeezed down to fourth place. Hamilton
:01:31. > :01:37.worked that to his advantage. The leaders have slowed down. This is
:01:38. > :01:42.the worst scenario for a team when the two drivers come together.
:01:43. > :01:49.Virtual safety car is over and Rosberg has got past Ricciardo.
:01:50. > :01:54.Mercedes running one and two. Rosberg goes wide. Ricciardo makes
:01:55. > :01:58.the move and Rosberg will be kicking himself there. Ricciardo having
:01:59. > :02:03.another go to get past Hamilton and Daniel Ricciardo has found the space
:02:04. > :02:07.and he has on past the Mercedes. Rosberg having a go down the
:02:08. > :02:13.inside, can he hold on? Will Hamilton fightback on the exit? They
:02:14. > :02:18.have to give each other space as team-mates, Rosberg has got past
:02:19. > :02:22.him, we do not see that often. Rosberg will reclaim the lead,
:02:23. > :02:27.getting past Daniel Ricciardo. Remember, if it were to finish this
:02:28. > :02:32.way, Lewis Hamilton would not be world champion, not with Rosberg
:02:33. > :02:38.winning the race. Rosberg -- Hamilton pulls alongside, it is
:02:39. > :02:44.Daniil Kvyat, he is into the wall. Surely that means the safety car is
:02:45. > :02:49.out. This might be a lifeline for Hamilton. You will have ten months
:02:50. > :02:53.remaining, keep it nice and clean. A bit of wheel spin on the restart as
:02:54. > :02:59.he launches it, Rosberg has made a mistake. Hamilton has taken the
:03:00. > :03:06.lead, it means Hamilton is where he needs to be to win the championship
:03:07. > :03:11.now. Lewis Hamilton has won his world World Championship, he is the
:03:12. > :03:20.20 15th world champion, he has done it in the USA -- the 2015 world
:03:21. > :03:28.champion. World champion, you have done it mate. How good does it
:03:29. > :03:33.sound, three-time world champion? Rightist moment of my life, time to
:03:34. > :03:43.celebrate, thank you. To my family, I love you all. Here is the man of
:03:44. > :03:46.the moment. We said he was relaxed in this championship campaign but
:03:47. > :03:55.now you can see that release of emotion. This is a moment of
:03:56. > :04:01.celebration, clearly in the class of the field race car and he has
:04:02. > :04:07.delivered. He will make the most of this now. There has been no doubt
:04:08. > :04:14.this year that Lewis Hamilton has dominated 2015. He certainly has,
:04:15. > :04:19.his 10th win of the year sealed the deal to match Ayrton Senna's triple
:04:20. > :04:23.World Championship crown and here we are at the Autodromo Hermanos
:04:24. > :04:27.Rodriguez circuit, 4.3 kilometres, a revamped track in the south-east of
:04:28. > :04:33.the sprawling metropolis that is Mexico City. The first time Formula
:04:34. > :04:37.1 has been here since Nigel Mansell's victory in 1992. What a
:04:38. > :04:41.weekend we are in for and what emotional scenes we saw last weekend
:04:42. > :04:45.in Austin. I do not think Hamilton could believe what happened to him
:04:46. > :04:49.and he has not had time to let it sink in? He said he parted on the
:04:50. > :04:53.Monday rather than the Sunday and then coming here, that is the
:04:54. > :05:00.downside of winning the championship so early, if there is a downside. Of
:05:01. > :05:05.the three championships he has one, is this the most straightforward? It
:05:06. > :05:11.has, the most dominant, the most dominant car of this generation and
:05:12. > :05:15.he has hit home the advantage he had over Rosberg. He got top qualifying
:05:16. > :05:20.and he has had a pretty straightforward run of victories.
:05:21. > :05:25.With it be difficult, he has reached his lifelong goal of equalling
:05:26. > :05:30.Ayrton Senna, will it be hard to get the fourth victory? I do not what it
:05:31. > :05:35.is like to have one. We had a fantastic interview with him
:05:36. > :05:39.afterwards, he showed the passion for driving that came through. That
:05:40. > :05:43.is what will drive him on to the fourth as if it is his first. He
:05:44. > :05:47.will look back on his achievements but he is such a driven racing
:05:48. > :05:52.driver that in the coming years we know he will be in good hands with
:05:53. > :05:59.Mercedes. A look at the standings so we can see him at the top, look at
:06:00. > :06:01.the battle for second. Four points separating Nico Rosberg and
:06:02. > :06:12.Sebastian Vettel. Looking for a touch of fan power
:06:13. > :06:25.this weekend, Sergio Perez, in his home Grand Prix. Constructors
:06:26. > :06:30.champions Mercedes are looking for their 43rd victory here. Force India
:06:31. > :06:38.are indeed in the news this week, let us get the round-up. One of
:06:39. > :06:43.Formula 1 's worst kept secrets was made official last night when
:06:44. > :06:49.Esteban Gutierrez was revealed as Haas racing's second driver next
:06:50. > :06:53.season, he has had a year out as Ferrari's the driver and will line
:06:54. > :07:00.up with Romain Grosjean in the new American team. We expect to have a
:07:01. > :07:05.good car, we are going to be very focused to achieve what we want to
:07:06. > :07:13.achieve next season. Can you be more competitive than with Sauber? Yes, I
:07:14. > :07:17.am convinced of that. Red Bull's 2016 engine saga goes on, linked to
:07:18. > :07:22.every manufacturer on the grid and Niki Lauda, who wanted them to link
:07:23. > :07:25.up with Mercedes is now telling them that their best option is to stay
:07:26. > :07:33.with Renault for a 10th consecutive season. Mercedes, Ferrari, have all
:07:34. > :07:37.said no, Honda. These things can happen, the problem now is that they
:07:38. > :07:42.cancelled their Renault contract and from what I can see, Renault is the
:07:43. > :07:47.last engine now to be available. They have to sort it out because it
:07:48. > :07:53.is one minute to 12, time is working against them and I hope they find a
:07:54. > :07:56.solution before Brazil. Force India could be rebranded as the Martin
:07:57. > :08:00.next year if a rumoured deal with the sports car manufacturer can be
:08:01. > :08:06.reached. They have long been looking at Formula 1 because they wanted and
:08:07. > :08:10.beat alongside Redcar rivals McLaren and Ferrari. It is a great brand but
:08:11. > :08:17.it is premature for me to say anything further. Would you still be
:08:18. > :08:22.very much involved in Formula 1? Absolutely, I am not going anywhere.
:08:23. > :08:27.The management at Manor Marussia is set to change after news that John
:08:28. > :08:31.Booth, Graham Lowden and Bob Bell have tendered their resignations.
:08:32. > :08:35.The team first appeared as Virgin racing in 2010 and they are not
:08:36. > :08:39.commenting on the reasons for the split. It is rumoured they have
:08:40. > :08:47.fallen out with the team over Stephen spit -- Stephen Fitzpatrick.
:08:48. > :08:50.Let us talk about Esteban Gutierrez, over our shoulder, we finally know
:08:51. > :08:55.he has signed for Haas racing along with Romain Grosjean. It is a great
:08:56. > :08:59.line-up, talented drivers but what is interesting with their team, they
:09:00. > :09:02.have put all the technology they can from Ferrari and now they have taken
:09:03. > :09:08.their test and reserve driver so I think they are the best prepared
:09:09. > :09:13.team coming into Formula 1. Mexican fans will be thrilled that they will
:09:14. > :09:16.have two drivers now. We have had a fantastic welcome to the city, you
:09:17. > :09:21.can understand why they call it the Mexican wave enthusiasm they have
:09:22. > :09:25.all of the teams but especially Sergio Perez and now they can
:09:26. > :09:29.celebrate having to drivers on the grid next year. They have been
:09:30. > :09:34.charging his name all weekend. They are full of beans which is difficult
:09:35. > :09:38.at this altitude, 2440 metres, higher than the village of Valder is
:09:39. > :09:42.there and you feel it going upstairs, you get out of breath. I
:09:43. > :09:49.do not think the drivers will find it too challenging, a 71 lap race
:09:50. > :09:53.but a fairly low speed circuit. The engine will suffer because you do
:09:54. > :09:57.not get as much bang for your buck, the electrical element is not
:09:58. > :10:00.affected at all but you have less downforce as the air thins, the cars
:10:01. > :10:05.are going much faster on the straight rather than -- even though
:10:06. > :10:10.they are running mode downforce, a high-speed circuit, 220 mph into the
:10:11. > :10:15.first corner. Let us go through some of the key features. They have
:10:16. > :10:19.retained a number of elements on the previous track, some of the great
:10:20. > :10:23.races of the past we have waxed lyrical about. The White area is the
:10:24. > :10:27.old circuit, they have straightened out the middle section to allow for
:10:28. > :10:33.more run-off but we come to the first section, 220 most brow in the
:10:34. > :10:37.braking zone, a big challenge for the drivers. We join Fernando Alonso
:10:38. > :10:44.and McLaren who are having a more competitive outing, look for them to
:10:45. > :10:52.knock on the door of the top ten. A fascinating section, taking
:10:53. > :10:58.Maldonado's alternative line, this is Bottas in the Williams, getting
:10:59. > :11:03.at with the rear wing not reattached and going for a high-speed spin.
:11:04. > :11:08.Into the middle sector, a fantastic selection of corners but there is
:11:09. > :11:13.low grip. This is Nico Rosberg going into turn seven, he goes into aid,
:11:14. > :11:17.than into nine. Those who are good at counting will know that number
:11:18. > :11:22.ten comes after that before opening out through 11 and down to the last
:11:23. > :11:25.section of this race track. This is the fans favourite and they have
:11:26. > :11:31.done something special here, putting the podium here rather than being on
:11:32. > :11:35.the start finish straight, this is a great natural amphitheatre where the
:11:36. > :11:39.cars will be speeding -- seen at low speed for some time. A terrific
:11:40. > :11:44.showpiece but they are going quite slowly through there. Look at that,
:11:45. > :11:49.look at the grandstands built around, it is a much tighter version
:11:50. > :11:55.of the natural stadium we have at Hockenheim in Germany. It has been
:11:56. > :12:00.renamed the Mansell curve in homage to that great party did an go hard
:12:01. > :12:04.burger back in the day. Gladiatorial section of 12,000 fans, fantastic.
:12:05. > :12:10.Three practice sessions this week in, let us get the latest news. It
:12:11. > :12:13.never rains but plausible Jenson Button and this is one of those
:12:14. > :12:17.unfortunate weekends when nothing has gone right for him, limited
:12:18. > :12:21.running in all three practice sessions and a sensor is issued in
:12:22. > :12:25.the final practice session has required a second engine change of
:12:26. > :12:28.the weekend. They have not finished it and they are in no hurry because
:12:29. > :12:32.they are not going to run during this qualifying session, they will
:12:33. > :12:37.focus on the race tomorrow because he already has a 50 place grid
:12:38. > :12:40.penalty. Also worked at Ferrari where Kimi Raikkonen had his final
:12:41. > :12:45.practice session cut short by a sensor issue as well. They are
:12:46. > :12:49.hoping to get him out for the start of Q1. No Jenson Button in this
:12:50. > :12:53.session, we will be reporting from the pits and Formula 1 is back in
:12:54. > :13:25.Mexico. A British driver took pole position
:13:26. > :13:31.the first time this track was used. Will Lewis Hamilton earned top spot
:13:32. > :13:36.on F1's returned to Mexico quest much down to Turn 1 come the first
:13:37. > :13:48.few cars. Massive grand slam 's on every corner. -- grandstands. The
:13:49. > :13:54.second part of the lap a fairly long straight down to a sequence of
:13:55. > :14:02.corners, turns four, five and six. A mass of grandstands surrounding the
:14:03. > :14:08.track. All newly resurfaced. They accelerate out of there and then
:14:09. > :14:12.down into the revised Ss. This used to be one of the most challenging
:14:13. > :14:15.tracks anywhere, a bit more simple now, but hopefully as the grip
:14:16. > :14:25.develops it was to be a fun place for drivers? They have slowed the
:14:26. > :14:31.apex is down a little bit. The old track had curbs like you would see
:14:32. > :14:35.on high Street, which made the car fly into the air. Modern Formula 1
:14:36. > :14:39.and the safety requirements means we have seen a lot of that character of
:14:40. > :14:44.the racetrack disappear. I still think it poses a great challenge for
:14:45. > :14:50.the drivers. I think this represents more of an Indianapolis style
:14:51. > :14:56.racetrack, they have had to compromise to join the major front
:14:57. > :15:02.Street. It will pose challenges in to Turn 1, but sadly it means we are
:15:03. > :15:06.going to the cars not really displaying high speed potential in
:15:07. > :15:12.those corners behind the pit is. What an atmosphere we are getting,
:15:13. > :15:16.that is also key to this layout. They are cheering for Sergio Perez,
:15:17. > :15:20.it is tremendous. Tom, you are down in the pits. Another beautiful, big
:15:21. > :15:25.grandstand. I'm sure you are seeing a lot of support for parents. Tell
:15:26. > :15:31.us what we can see and what the target time is? Perez cannot do
:15:32. > :15:35.anything without a massive roar following him where ever he goes. A
:15:36. > :15:39.wonderful atmosphere. We have nigh on 100,000 people watching this
:15:40. > :15:44.session. As the cut-off times, it is very difficult to predict. This
:15:45. > :15:48.racetrack is changing all the time. Look at the cars now, all out on the
:15:49. > :15:53.medium tyre, which is not the tyre most of them will get through to Q2
:15:54. > :15:58.on. They are still doing my homework. But based on what we have
:15:59. > :16:05.seen so far the cut-off to get to to be 1:21.9. Thank you very much.
:16:06. > :16:09.Sergio Perez continues around on the lap. These tires lasting well. They
:16:10. > :16:14.can put several laps together without losing lap time. That is a
:16:15. > :16:18.good point, they will be doing multiple laps to try and get the
:16:19. > :16:24.circuit and tyre to work in harmony. We know Lewis Hamilton has been told
:16:25. > :16:28.by his race engineer to go for a 3 lap run and then a cool down lap.
:16:29. > :16:36.Apps running more fuel than they normally would. A relatively short
:16:37. > :16:43.lap, which means we will have 71 laps tomorrow. Felipe Nasr has set
:16:44. > :16:47.the early benchmark. He and his team-mate, Ericsson, will be the
:16:48. > :16:50.ones looking to get out of Q1. We know Jenson Button will not make it
:16:51. > :17:03.through, will not start this session at all. At the moment the Saubers
:17:04. > :17:07.are using the soft tyre. Bottas now improve on that. Williams goes
:17:08. > :17:14.faster at this stage. They are hoping that Kimi Raikkonen will come
:17:15. > :17:18.out onto the track. We did see the engine fire up a little while ago
:17:19. > :17:22.that we gather Ricciardo is coming out on the soft tyre as well.
:17:23. > :17:27.Interesting, going straight out on the softer tyre. Perez goes second
:17:28. > :17:32.quickest as we go into the Lotus Garrard. Pastor Maldonado about to
:17:33. > :17:36.come out onto the circuit. The difference between the soft and
:17:37. > :17:41.medium tyre is expected to be about 1.5 seconds, in terms of lap
:17:42. > :17:45.performance. That is a big gap, a second would be
:17:46. > :17:52.the normal offset Pirelli would be looking for. I think it highlights
:17:53. > :17:55.how green the racetrack is. A big slide there from Felipe Nasr as he
:17:56. > :18:08.comes into this stadium section. In 216, they still have to pay
:18:09. > :18:11.attention, the pit lane entry will cause some issues, being so tight,
:18:12. > :18:18.on race day. They have to pay attention as they accelerate out of
:18:19. > :18:22.the final corner onto this hugely long start -finish straight into a
:18:23. > :18:25.challenging braking zone. Hamilton is fastest and Rosberg just went
:18:26. > :18:30.second fastest. They are using the medium tyres. Quite likely Mercedes
:18:31. > :18:33.will get their two cars through on this tyre. They may not need to go
:18:34. > :18:38.to that allocation of soft tyres to get through this first part of
:18:39. > :18:44.qualifying, saving those for later on. We are hearing Stevens has been
:18:45. > :18:49.reporting on the radio to his steamy has a sticky throttle. Remember we
:18:50. > :18:55.had that issue few weeks ago from Rosberg. Making his way back to
:18:56. > :18:59.pits, cautiously, to see if they can rectify that. It looks like we will
:19:00. > :19:04.have a few people dropping out of this first part of qualifying, not
:19:05. > :19:08.many cars taking part. Losing Jenson Button already. We hope to get Kimi
:19:09. > :19:23.Raikkonen out there. But I do not think it will offer the opportunity
:19:24. > :19:28.for the man a macro -- Manor Marussia team to get their drivers
:19:29. > :19:32.through. Ericsson, the Swedish driver, trying to put behind him a
:19:33. > :19:36.couple of not so good events. He had an electrical failure in Austin and
:19:37. > :19:41.it put him out of the race in the USA. And he crashed with Hulkenberg
:19:42. > :19:46.in Russia. He has been out in Q1 for the last four Grand Prixs. Rosberg
:19:47. > :19:52.is quicker than Hamilton. As we said, the tyres get better and
:19:53. > :19:57.better over a series of laps. You can expect to see this all the time.
:19:58. > :20:05.Meanwhile Massa fastest in the speed trap. 226 mph. We are seeing top
:20:06. > :20:11.speeds faster than at Monza despite the teams running a higher level of
:20:12. > :20:16.downforce here, all due to the reduced density of the air at
:20:17. > :20:20.altitude. Perez goes up cross the line, six faster. You saw him having
:20:21. > :20:24.to work the steering wheel as he came out through Turn 16. His father
:20:25. > :20:36.watching on, equally a celebrity in these parts. In Formula 1 for some
:20:37. > :20:46.time, about 30 years. Good job with the car, thanks guys. Same from me,
:20:47. > :20:50.thank you. That is nice that both Kimi Raikkonen and his engineer with
:20:51. > :20:53.thanking the mechanics are getting the car ready. They have sent
:20:54. > :20:56.Raikkonen out on the set of soft tyres because he did not get any
:20:57. > :21:02.running this morning so he doesn't know how the track feels. Exactly.
:21:03. > :21:08.1.5 seconds is a huge amount of time. The Bottas lock-up but
:21:09. > :21:14.superbly picked up the apex. Kimi Raikkonen, as you say, a nice touch,
:21:15. > :21:17.showing his human side. If you get him a Christmas present don't expect
:21:18. > :21:23.him to be all smiles and jumping around when he opens it. That is
:21:24. > :21:27.about as much appreciation as you'll get from him. A good lap from
:21:28. > :21:35.Bottas, not far off the pace. Yes, beautifully offbeat brake. You can
:21:36. > :21:41.see the rotation of the wheel, manages to pick up the apex. If you
:21:42. > :21:47.do not damage the tyre, it shows EU have judged it to perfection.
:21:48. > :21:56.Raikkonen sixth fastest at the moment, one point 21.9. Grosjean had
:21:57. > :22:00.a problem in second free practice yesterday afternoon but the car is
:22:01. > :22:05.running well and done almost the same lap time as Raikkonen, just a
:22:06. > :22:10.couple of thousands difference. The lap times are going to be very close
:22:11. > :22:15.to one another. A perfect example here. You saw Vettel slightly miss
:22:16. > :22:22.the apex at turn ten. What happens on these secreted curbs, it
:22:23. > :22:28.vibrates. You get some great slow motion images of how that looks. All
:22:29. > :22:31.that vibration through the axle and the wheel sees the brakes dropped
:22:32. > :22:35.back a little bit. It is an interesting feeling for the driver.
:22:36. > :22:40.It is all well but engineer saying dampen your brakes, but it gives
:22:41. > :22:48.away speed and you fight so hard for speed, a dab of the brakes can take
:22:49. > :22:52.away from that. It is that constant mental battle behind the wheel of
:22:53. > :22:57.trying to make the decisions, those calculated risks that are a large
:22:58. > :23:02.part of the sport. Hulkenberg into the stadium section. Getting quite a
:23:03. > :23:05.lot of support from the Mexican fans, being a team-mate of Sergio
:23:06. > :23:09.Perez. With three and a half minutes to go Hulkenberg is in the drop
:23:10. > :23:14.zone, I do not think that will last long. Yes, into eighth place,
:23:15. > :23:20.pushing Perez down but I don't think that will be for long. Maldonado 11.
:23:21. > :23:24.Those drivers around the 1:21.9, Alonso is going to be the
:23:25. > :23:29.interesting one, to see if he is going to be able to drag himself out
:23:30. > :23:34.of this first part of qualifying. Raikkonen has done so already.
:23:35. > :23:37.Button we know is out, not contesting this. The two Manor
:23:38. > :23:40.Marussia driver is unlikely to make it. Stevens had that throttle
:23:41. > :23:46.problem at the start of the session. They seem to have solved that. Back
:23:47. > :23:53.out on track and improving his lap times. Verstappen here, a pretty
:23:54. > :24:04.good lap, he goes six. He has had a little off time during free
:24:05. > :24:09.practice. Alonso. When they commit to the apex sometimes the rear axle
:24:10. > :24:13.steps out on them. Alonso at the moment in 16th. What is looking like
:24:14. > :24:19.-- what looks like a promising free practice is not translating now.
:24:20. > :24:27.Meanwhile we have the Mercedes's heading out. Rosberg on fastest of
:24:28. > :24:30.all. It is more about getting experience on the option tyre. The
:24:31. > :24:35.team feel they have done enough and quite clearly displayed in the lap
:24:36. > :24:38.times, to get through qualifying, but it is about gathering
:24:39. > :24:46.information on these tyres. Rosberg coming to the end of the
:24:47. > :24:50.lap. It is, 1:20.4. Vettel was on a good lap moment ago he decided to
:24:51. > :24:54.abandon it and coming to the pits. Romain Grosjean has got some work to
:24:55. > :25:02.do here. Only just in there, in 15th. In the first three corners
:25:03. > :25:08.Kimi was holding me up. -- Kvyat. Easy to catch traffic here. Grosjean
:25:09. > :25:13.running over the very edge of the kerb at that point. He is coming
:25:14. > :25:18.into the tight and twisty section. The first part it is easy to run
:25:19. > :25:27.wide. He does indeed. We thought Hamilton would be going out but he
:25:28. > :25:31.hasn't. Hamilton comfortable where he is, as Grosjean comes across the
:25:32. > :25:38.line. It is not an improvement, look at that. He could be knocked out by
:25:39. > :25:43.Sauber. Nasr is two tenths of a controller. He will have to find a
:25:44. > :25:47.bit there. It is not impossible for Nasr to find that. Got up to the top
:25:48. > :25:52.of that curb and it is not a lowered, so rated curb, it is bolted
:25:53. > :25:57.to the racetrack and completely flat. We have seen drivers straddle
:25:58. > :26:02.it and then lose the steering. Rosberg getting out of the way of
:26:03. > :26:05.traffic, cutting across the apex on the grass, an extreme way of getting
:26:06. > :26:10.out of the way of traffic. The chequered flag is out. Alonso has
:26:11. > :26:15.failed to make it through to Q2. It was not enough, try to get more on
:26:16. > :26:23.the last lap, but it was not enough to beat Romain Grosjean. Keep an eye
:26:24. > :26:28.on Nasr, he could displace Grosjean. Stevens, can he go quicker than his
:26:29. > :26:33.team-mate Alexander Rossi? No, but it was close. Alexander Rossi has
:26:34. > :26:36.now qualified him on this occasion. Rossi has been to Mexico City
:26:37. > :26:42.before, on the old version of the track, in a former BMW car. A
:26:43. > :26:47.slightly different equations are driving a Formula 1 car. Nasr has
:26:48. > :26:53.crossed the line are not managed to displace Grosjean. Ericsson has made
:26:54. > :26:56.it. He has done a good job in the other Sauber. 10th fastest. But
:26:57. > :27:08.Alonso will play no further part in this. RADIO: Still a few cars to
:27:09. > :27:15.finish but we are piece 16 -- P16. Fernando Alonso, Felipe Nasr,
:27:16. > :27:18.Alexander Rossi and Will Stevens are out in the first part of qualifying.
:27:19. > :27:23.Jenson Button did not go out at all. A tough weekend for him so far. We
:27:24. > :27:26.have done many interviews over the years, I am not sure if I have done
:27:27. > :27:30.a qualifying interview before qualifying. A rotten weekend so far?
:27:31. > :27:37.It is not qualifying for me. Even worse. Exactly. It has been a tricky
:27:38. > :27:43.one. We have run two different engines is weekend. On the engine
:27:44. > :27:48.this morning we had a system failure. A misfire. They have to
:27:49. > :27:54.change the engine to make sure everything is OK for tomorrow. Which
:27:55. > :27:56.means I won't qualify. You have a record number of penalties but
:27:57. > :28:01.ultimately it means you start from the back. It is going to be a tough
:28:02. > :28:06.race out there because it has been a tricky circuit? Yeah, it is a tricky
:28:07. > :28:10.circuit and when you haven't done any running, and I haven't done any
:28:11. > :28:13.high fuel running, it will be a difficult race. I am still looking
:28:14. > :28:16.forward to it. You always look forward to it. Whatever happened in
:28:17. > :28:19.qualifying I was still going to start last anyway because of the
:28:20. > :28:22.penalties. As a racing driver you wanted out there and do the best you
:28:23. > :28:27.can and get as high up as you possibly can but that is impossible
:28:28. > :28:30.today, this weekend. No Jenson Button and no Fernando Alonso
:28:31. > :28:37.through to Q2 but we can speak to the newly signed driver Esteban
:28:38. > :28:40.Gutierrez. Test driver for Ferrari. Congratulations. Were you listening
:28:41. > :28:48.to the cheers Sergio Perez was getting?
:28:49. > :28:56.To see the whole crowd in Mexico enjoying the Grand Prix, it makes me
:28:57. > :29:00.feel very proud to have this kind of event. Especially because the people
:29:01. > :29:06.of Formula 1 that are coming from other countries, and seeing how they
:29:07. > :29:11.enjoyed the experience of Mexico makes me feel happy. It is fair to
:29:12. > :29:19.say already that this Grand Prix is a successful Mexico? Yes, for me it
:29:20. > :29:22.has exceeded my expectations. I do not know about the rest of the
:29:23. > :29:26.people but it seems everybody is really happy and there is a great
:29:27. > :29:33.atmosphere in the paddock. The people are cheering the Mexican
:29:34. > :29:36.drivers so I feel really happy. I want to congratulate all of the
:29:37. > :29:43.people were that were involved to make this happen. We still have both
:29:44. > :29:48.drivers in for Ferrari, we wish you all the best for next season. Thank
:29:49. > :29:56.you very much for having me here and I appreciate your support. Let us
:29:57. > :30:01.get back to the track. COMMENTATOR: Nico Rosberg was the fastest in the
:30:02. > :30:06.first part of qualifying but now they are aiming for the top ten,
:30:07. > :30:10.Toro Rosso and Force India will be hopeful of getting into that top
:30:11. > :30:16.ten, especially with Sergio Perez. It will not be easy against the
:30:17. > :30:20.might of Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari and Williams expected to get through
:30:21. > :30:25.to the top ten themselves. The tension begins to mount at this
:30:26. > :30:30.stage, Hamilton out early, he was third fastest in qualifying one.
:30:31. > :30:37.Sebastian Vettel was pretty close to Rosberg's time. Do not discount
:30:38. > :30:41.Ferrari, Singapore was the key one where Ferrari really came alive and
:30:42. > :30:46.they snatched a surprise pole position there. They did, although
:30:47. > :30:54.it is a temporary track in single ball, the road is used on a daily
:30:55. > :30:57.basis and the extra tarmac helped. The early days and weeks on the new
:30:58. > :31:02.surface, some oil comes out of it, the key thing is the difference in
:31:03. > :31:10.temperature, it is 32 degrees are so relatively cool conditions but to be
:31:11. > :31:18.expected at this altitude. We have enjoy to the welcome so far, we have
:31:19. > :31:23.seen good stability for that Toro Rosso from Verstappen. He did not
:31:24. > :31:27.have that yesterday. That is just a fraction slower than he did in the
:31:28. > :31:29.first part of qualifying. Daniel Ricciardo was quick this morning,
:31:30. > :31:34.third fastest and he goes quickest for the moment. We have seen faster
:31:35. > :31:41.times from Mercedes and straightaway, Hamilton goes faster
:31:42. > :31:47.on eight 1:20.1. He did not run the soft tyre for a fast lap in Q1 in
:31:48. > :31:52.the end so it is the first and we have seen him on that tyre. And we
:31:53. > :31:56.have seen him on that tyre. Evolving so it is difficult to work at the
:31:57. > :32:03.target times for the top ten? It is tricky. One driver out there now not
:32:04. > :32:06.going for a time, doing some race preparation, Kimi Raikkonen has gone
:32:07. > :32:11.past on the medium tyre looking to get some long mileage in, we will
:32:12. > :32:15.have to wait and see what he can do until later in Q2 but with this drop
:32:16. > :32:23.in track temperature it will be a moving target for the teams, they
:32:24. > :32:28.tell me we are looking at a 1.21 dead to get through to Q3. Hamilton
:32:29. > :32:33.already under that with his first run. This is Sergio Perez, half a
:32:34. > :32:38.second down on the fastest. Hamilton in the 19s now, the first some we
:32:39. > :32:44.have seen that so far this weekend. Teams are able to prepare for the
:32:45. > :32:49.thin air and the altitude here, seeing all those rooms completely
:32:50. > :32:54.and simulate the altitude, they know this has been coming for some time,
:32:55. > :32:57.bit like we have in Brazil as well, a higher altitude and they prepare
:32:58. > :33:03.as much as they can to make sure they neutralise the effects.
:33:04. > :33:07.Hulkenberg is over in sixth. The teams in late is prior to coming
:33:08. > :33:12.here predicted pole position to be at the 1.19 bracket which is where
:33:13. > :33:16.Hamilton currently is but after practice yesterday, the track was so
:33:17. > :33:20.slippery that people were saying there was no way they could get down
:33:21. > :33:24.to that so it is interesting how much the track is ramping up when
:33:25. > :33:31.every lap. Bottas goes across the line doing a 1:20.7, it is different
:33:32. > :33:38.from the last time we were here, Nigel Mansell taking proposition on
:33:39. > :33:41.a 1:16.3 on the old layout, that is interesting because the last corner
:33:42. > :33:46.was much faster, the track distances not much different but a much slower
:33:47. > :33:50.section in the final part of the lap and only three seconds away from
:33:51. > :33:54.that. And yorker via it has done a good lap to go third fastest,
:33:55. > :33:59.fastest of anyone in the middle sector but missing out on the first
:34:00. > :34:02.sector in particular. Red Bull were fastest in free practice three in
:34:03. > :34:10.the middle sector as well with Daniel Ricciardo. They clearly have
:34:11. > :34:14.good downforce in the middle section is but a little bit off in the first
:34:15. > :34:21.sector which is all about straight line speed. Massa saw his team-mate
:34:22. > :34:24.locking up first time around. He is taking a much earlier apex,
:34:25. > :34:30.interesting to see come the end of the lap, any signs of oversteer but
:34:31. > :34:36.he is taking a penalty in the exit, having to work the wheel a bit more,
:34:37. > :34:41.just ninth at the moment, about eight tenths slower than Bottas at
:34:42. > :34:45.this stage. It could be crucial, it will be tight at the lower end of
:34:46. > :34:50.the top ten. Maldonado and Raikkonen in the bottom part of the group. He
:34:51. > :34:54.is not going for a real qualifying run here, he is trying to do some
:34:55. > :34:58.work towards the race itself will stop interesting that Ferrari with
:34:59. > :35:02.Vettel did many more naps on the medium tyre in Friday practice than
:35:03. > :35:06.any other team. They seem to have set their mind to getting this tired
:35:07. > :35:12.to work best of all and it was effective. Vettel's long pace was
:35:13. > :35:17.impressive. A slightly different tactic to the other teams and doing
:35:18. > :35:24.work on race setup. Relatively late in this shorter part of qualifying
:35:25. > :35:29.for Vettel, confident he will do a time to get him into the top ten.
:35:30. > :35:33.You get a feeling they are still using this for testing and research,
:35:34. > :35:40.they can't actually alter anything on the car other than settings
:35:41. > :35:50.available, Raikkonen had a spin there, I think that is at Turn 1.
:35:51. > :35:57.Down over 220 mph as he hits the brakes, turns in and immediately
:35:58. > :36:01.loses the react so. Which is used to capture some of that energy that has
:36:02. > :36:06.been wasted through heat and the motor generator unit, pumping the
:36:07. > :36:09.power into the battery pack so it could well be a little bit too much
:36:10. > :36:16.harvesting going on in the braking phase. You would have thought his
:36:17. > :36:20.rallying experience when he had his sabbatical from Formula 1 would have
:36:21. > :36:29.helped him there. Wonder macro I wonder how long it will be before
:36:30. > :36:33.they bring him in. He kept it running and he will be back in,
:36:34. > :36:37.presumably they will get him on the soft tyre fairly soon with six
:36:38. > :36:40.minutes to go in the session. It is 100 Grand Prix since Kimi Raikkonen
:36:41. > :36:45.was last on pole position and I do not think it will happen here
:36:46. > :36:51.either. -- judging by the day he has had so far. He has had a lot of
:36:52. > :36:55.races since each has had a proposition, 2008 in France was the
:36:56. > :36:59.last time. Most of the front runners in the pits at the moment, we will
:37:00. > :37:03.see the group at the low end fighting to get into the top ten who
:37:04. > :37:07.are focused on what they are doing. Here comes Carlos Sainz, a good
:37:08. > :37:12.result last and add in Austin and he goes eighth at the moment, a pretty
:37:13. > :37:16.good lap. That is very much the cut-off area but what will he be
:37:17. > :37:21.able to do? He had to start at the back in Austin after he crashed in
:37:22. > :37:25.qualifying. He has had a series of accidents in either practice or
:37:26. > :37:29.qualifying, he had won in single ball, an accident in practice in
:37:30. > :37:34.Russia, he needs to put that behind him and get a clean qualifying
:37:35. > :37:39.session today. Vettel going on to a good lap now. Clear track ahead,
:37:40. > :37:46.Grosjean is down at Turn 4, so looking to get a tidy start to the
:37:47. > :37:50.lap. He looks very cautious through two. Did not look like he was on a
:37:51. > :37:59.hot lap there as he went through that turn. He does have BRS open,
:38:00. > :38:05.looking at that sector time -- DRS. Three times slower -- three tenths
:38:06. > :38:14.slower than Nico Rosberg, the fastest so far. Certainly enough to
:38:15. > :38:18.get him in the top ten. Particularly in this middle sector, such a
:38:19. > :38:21.difficult section for them because a Grand Prix car comes alive at 100
:38:22. > :38:26.mph and a number of these corners are just below that speed. You put
:38:27. > :38:30.together the fact that the track itself is quite green and you find a
:38:31. > :38:36.very thin line with which to place your tyre. He has done a maker
:38:37. > :38:42.middle sector. He is clearly going to get into the top ten but he has
:38:43. > :38:45.set the fastest middle sector of anybody, let us see where it puts
:38:46. > :38:50.him overall. Kimi Raikkonen just walking down the pits, could be the
:38:51. > :38:55.end of the session for him. Two tenths of a second slower than
:38:56. > :38:58.Hamilton, very impressive run from him but for his team-mate, Kimi
:38:59. > :39:02.Raikkonen, it looks as though the session is over. They managed to
:39:03. > :39:06.change the engine on his car but presumably there must be another
:39:07. > :39:10.problem and he will play no further part. He is in the drop zone and
:39:11. > :39:14.will not go through to the top ten. He had come to the garage without
:39:15. > :39:19.the car so he must be stopped somewhere down the pit lane and
:39:20. > :39:27.there is an area for weighing the car. Try to use the new tyre grip in
:39:28. > :39:31.all areas. You would think that would be an obvious thing to do but
:39:32. > :39:34.at least Marcus at Ericsson admitting it was not a great lap for
:39:35. > :39:40.him, trying to improve down in 13th place. We know Raikkonen is out
:39:41. > :39:49.already, Grosjean again is on the bubble, as he was in Q1. He is
:39:50. > :39:55.currently 10th, Massa 11th, science, trying to put together a better lap,
:39:56. > :39:59.maybe needing to find a 10th or two to be secure in the top ten. It's
:40:00. > :40:05.this lack an improvement? It is not. His previous lap was slightly
:40:06. > :40:09.better. He is still very much in the danger zone, Perez and Hulkenberg in
:40:10. > :40:12.the Force India cars are up ahead. You would think Massa is a danger
:40:13. > :40:18.because he has to be capable of a bit more looking at what Bottas has
:40:19. > :40:22.done so far. We would like to see more pace from the Williams car,
:40:23. > :40:27.meanwhile, Ericsson, is improving but is coming to finish the lap
:40:28. > :40:32.here. It is not enough, Verstappen improved but also not enough, 11th,
:40:33. > :40:36.being outqualified by his team-mate, Carlos Sainz. We hear there is some
:40:37. > :40:43.rain falling as well just to add to the fun and games. Like jocks will
:40:44. > :40:48.not affect their lap speed but if it comes down any more than it will. It
:40:49. > :40:53.looks from the commentary box window that the science of the job I can
:40:54. > :40:57.see, that will get the drivers's attention. More than a light
:40:58. > :41:00.sprinkling. That could be difficult for Max Verstappen to get into the
:41:01. > :41:08.top ten, just a minute and three quarters to go. Currently, Sainz is
:41:09. > :41:15.in there. Still plenty of space on tyres. Spots of rain. He is
:41:16. > :41:21.reporting the first spots of rain as well. Perez has made himself
:41:22. > :41:26.slightly more secure with a better lap to go fifth, Ricciardo in six,
:41:27. > :41:31.Bottas in seven, Hulkenberg in eight, not out of danger. Sainz is
:41:32. > :41:37.night, Grosjean, 10th, Verstappen, 11th, just a few thousandths would
:41:38. > :41:41.be enough to get him through. Massa currently in 12th, he needs to put
:41:42. > :41:46.together a decent lap. Check the split time here, is he up on 10th
:41:47. > :41:50.place? No, he is way outside. He might get one more lap in, he will
:41:51. > :41:55.cross the line before the chequered flag comes out so he will have one
:41:56. > :41:58.more opportunity. Verstappen has just crossed the line and has gone
:41:59. > :42:05.on to one more flying lap so it will all come down to the dying moments
:42:06. > :42:09.of the session again. A very wide line as he comes to the last turn
:42:10. > :42:13.and he will be set up now, he knows it is all or nothing, gets across
:42:14. > :42:17.the line with a good 30 seconds before the chequered flag. But you
:42:18. > :42:25.lose a bit of confidence when there are spits of rain on your visor.
:42:26. > :42:30.Into the apex, nice and tidy. They look deceptively slow on that camera
:42:31. > :42:34.angle in turn to. Maldonado not good enough, one more lap, I do not think
:42:35. > :42:38.he will be able to get through. Hulkenberg, waiting to see him
:42:39. > :42:42.through, good improvement right Bottas, he will be safe, well ahead
:42:43. > :42:47.of Massa. You would think Massa had the pace in the car to get in the
:42:48. > :42:52.top ten but he needs to deliver on this lap he is on right now. He is
:42:53. > :42:56.currently down in 12th place. Grosjean making a late charge here,
:42:57. > :43:01.Clooney not going to improve, he is the man in most danger in 10th place
:43:02. > :43:08.and he could lose that. Felipe Massa could lose it to this man as well.
:43:09. > :43:12.His first sector is not better, the middle is an improvement, he comes
:43:13. > :43:17.off the last corner but he gets up into eighth in the dying moments.
:43:18. > :43:21.Grosjean has been pulled out, Sainz in danger of being pushed out, a
:43:22. > :43:25.10th of a second faster than his team-mate, is Felipe Massa going to
:43:26. > :43:29.push Carlos Sainz out? It will be close. Trying to get out of the last
:43:30. > :43:33.corner and he has done it, going six, Carlos Sainz pushed out at the
:43:34. > :43:39.last moment and I don't think Maldonado will do anything, he is on
:43:40. > :43:42.a slow lap. Verstappen has just managed to get into the top ten, a
:43:43. > :43:49.brilliant lap by the youngster, Carlos Sainz nearly did enough but
:43:50. > :43:54.the margins are absolutely tiny. Seven thousandths of a second for
:43:55. > :43:56.that 10th place. My goodness, very close but in terms of the grid it
:43:57. > :44:08.will not make that much difference. I would imagine the Toro Rosso 's
:44:09. > :44:13.won't be separated by many but it is still good kudos format 's
:44:14. > :44:18.Verstappen, to make it into the top ten. Hamilton fastest in the session
:44:19. > :44:23.and Vettel and Rosberg with Bottas fourth and Marcus Ericsson unable to
:44:24. > :44:27.go through into the next part, the top ten shoot out in qualifying. Of
:44:28. > :44:32.course, we also know that sadly Kimi Raikkonen is going to play no
:44:33. > :44:37.further part. Ferrari looking towards the race and hoping they
:44:38. > :44:41.will have a very good race pace. The drivers are playing no further part
:44:42. > :44:47.in this are Carlos Sainz, will end up 11 on the grid not allow for
:44:48. > :44:51.penalties. 12 for Romain Grosjean, 13th, pastor model Amado. Then
:44:52. > :44:57.Ericsson and Kimi Raikkonen. Looking at the replay of Pastor Mao
:44:58. > :45:02.DiNardo, a big sideways moment. That is right, that is where we saw Max
:45:03. > :45:06.Verstappen lose it in free practice. Undoubtedly cost him time. Hamilton
:45:07. > :45:12.faster so far in qualifying, but will he be able to do that when we
:45:13. > :45:19.get into the top ten shoot out? Carlos Sainz edged out in the final
:45:20. > :45:25.seconds. We can hear from him now. Carlos, 7000 of a second is what
:45:26. > :45:30.splits you from talking to me or being on the track, very tight? Very
:45:31. > :45:34.tight, as we expected. We clearly got it a bit wrong with the timing
:45:35. > :45:39.of the new tyre. We put it on way too early, when the track was
:45:40. > :45:46.improving, and at the end I was sitting there trying to improve my
:45:47. > :45:50.lap time without any tyre life. When everything is so tight every detail
:45:51. > :45:55.counts. We got it wrong in that sense. But anyway, we are starting
:45:56. > :45:59.11th, we can choose the tyre for the start, not a bad position. How was
:46:00. > :46:04.your long run pace looking for tomorrow? Quite decent, a bit better
:46:05. > :46:09.on the short run pace. Hopefully we will have a good race tomorrow. We
:46:10. > :46:12.heard Kimi Raikkonen had a brake problem which is why he did not
:46:13. > :46:16.complete the session. He will be getting a new gearbox and he will
:46:17. > :46:25.get a 5 place grid penalty. Time for Q3. Clouds building up and rain is
:46:26. > :46:29.in the air. The teams keen to get their drivers out. Hamilton at the
:46:30. > :46:32.top of the queue. He will have two sets there for several seconds
:46:33. > :46:36.before the session gets underway. He engages the gears and will be
:46:37. > :46:42.underway any second now. Lewis Hamilton looking to take his 50th
:46:43. > :46:46.career pole. He has had a bit of a drought, by his standards, since he
:46:47. > :46:51.has last had a pole. The Italian Grand Prix was the last time he had
:46:52. > :46:55.pole position. Nico Rosberg has had a decent run, a hat-trick of pole
:46:56. > :47:00.positions recently, but Lewis would love to be the first man to take
:47:01. > :47:05.pole on the return to the Mexico circuit and follow-on from Nigel
:47:06. > :47:11.Mansell, on pole position the last time Formula 1 cars were here.
:47:12. > :47:15.Sebastian Vettel still in the hunt, perhaps. Ferrari have had one pole
:47:16. > :47:29.at this track in the past, ack in 1970. They also had a couple of
:47:30. > :47:33.wins, Alain Prost in 1990. A lot of great history about this track. Even
:47:34. > :47:37.though it might be a new layout, it is the passion from the Mexican
:47:38. > :47:43.found, many of the fans here today might have come here as kids in the
:47:44. > :47:47.past. And they have continued that enthusiasm for Formula 1 and it has
:47:48. > :47:51.just come alive immediately with this first revived Grand Prix.
:47:52. > :47:56.Lovely to see. They are into that stadium section now, looked down
:47:57. > :48:01.upon by thousands and thousands of people. Building up to the climax of
:48:02. > :48:06.this qualifying and Lewis Hamilton will be the first to give us a time.
:48:07. > :48:09.He will have lost quite a bit of temperature from his tyres sitting
:48:10. > :48:15.in the pit lane but he has a nice clear, open track. Only ten cars
:48:16. > :48:19.allowed to be out there. You don't have the same anxiety about finding
:48:20. > :48:27.space on the track. Next man up is Vettel. Saying that, Perez and
:48:28. > :48:33.Hulkenberg have not gone out as yet. Vettel is just exiting Turn 11 as we
:48:34. > :48:38.see Hamilton come down to turn four. Deep breaking and into this stadium
:48:39. > :48:43.section here, through five. Turn sixes classed as one corner but it
:48:44. > :48:48.is pretty much two Apex is, the first fair and then the second.
:48:49. > :48:53.Excel rating out towards turn seven. Very important not to go wide on the
:48:54. > :48:59.exit. Important to get the first Apex at seven just right and at turn
:49:00. > :49:02.ten we have seen a number of cars running wide. You can see him
:49:03. > :49:10.working for tyres and struggling for grip as he tries to get the
:49:11. > :49:13.temperature. Let's see how he completes the lap. He has a little
:49:14. > :49:17.lock-up, just about manages to get back in the corner so will not have
:49:18. > :49:22.lost too much time as a result. The last corner, trying get on the power
:49:23. > :49:28.early enough. The back end does move around a little bit. He did a 1.19
:49:29. > :49:36.earlier, it is a 1.21. Whatever it is about to be beaten by Rosberg. A
:49:37. > :49:44.good lap by Nico Rosberg, 1:19.6. Still some time to go. Getting laps
:49:45. > :49:49.in before any potential rainfall. Verstappen goes third fastest, head
:49:50. > :49:54.of Ricciardo. Both unused tyres, I think. We can keep an eye on Kvyat,
:49:55. > :49:59.goes faster than both of them. He goes into third position. The gap to
:50:00. > :50:05.Mercedes indicates it is going to be either Rosberg or Hamilton to take
:50:06. > :50:10.pole. Hamilton has improved in his first sector but Rosberg has also
:50:11. > :50:15.improved. A 10th down already. Didn't look like a tidy first lap.
:50:16. > :50:21.Looking like he is starting to build the grip and finding momentum now,
:50:22. > :50:28.but it does seem like that momentum is with Rosberg. There is a stride
:50:29. > :50:32.about him, and impatience to get out there and deliver. Again, Rosberg
:50:33. > :50:38.quicker than Hamilton in the middle sector. This morning it was the
:50:39. > :50:41.third time that was their fastest. The tyres hanging together very well
:50:42. > :50:48.over a series of laps. Let's wait and see. Hamilton does a 1:19.6.
:50:49. > :50:52.Rosberg appears to be going quicker and it is a 1:19.4. And that
:50:53. > :51:09.distance between the cars, Rosberg will get a decent tow.
:51:10. > :51:13.Quite a tidy drive. Can Williams get up their quest might yet they can,
:51:14. > :51:17.third place for the moment, beating the Red Bull of Kvyat. It could be
:51:18. > :51:20.between Red Bull, Ferrari and Williams to get that third position.
:51:21. > :51:25.It will be a very tight contest. Still waiting to see what Vettel can
:51:26. > :51:30.do. Just one Ferrari in the top ten, after we lost Kimi Raikkonen. Still
:51:31. > :51:35.no times recorded for Perez and Hulkenberg in the Force Indias.
:51:36. > :51:41.Let's see what Vettel does. Can he challenged the Mercedes at all? Not
:51:42. > :51:50.that far off. Yes, fastest of all in that last sector. Some opportunity
:51:51. > :51:56.there. Box at the end of this lap. Another set of the soft tyre that
:51:57. > :52:01.they have available. They are coming in relatively early, to make sure
:52:02. > :52:05.again that they can get a decent run of laps. Tom, what is the weather
:52:06. > :52:10.like where you are, any rain in the air? Definitely rain in the air but
:52:11. > :52:15.not falling where I am in the pit lane. The wind is picking up, which
:52:16. > :52:19.could play havoc with the car set up. A lot for them to be thinking
:52:20. > :52:23.about as they go on to the final set of tyres. Building up towards the
:52:24. > :52:27.climax of qualifying. Rosberg and Hamilton both back in the pits.
:52:28. > :52:32.Vettel is currently third, and not going quickly at this point. The act
:52:33. > :52:37.is on a lap which may see him improve. It seems to me in the past
:52:38. > :52:41.the Mercedes driver who gets first blood delivers the time in the first
:52:42. > :52:45.part of qualifying, is able to maintain it towards the end. The
:52:46. > :52:49.pressure, if there is such a thing on a three-time world champion,
:52:50. > :52:57.having celebrated just six days ago, the pressure does seem to rest
:52:58. > :53:05.on Hamilton's 's shoulders. He needs a clean lap. Rosberg at that
:53:06. > :53:08.opportunity to be pulled through the air, but you mentioned he was behind
:53:09. > :53:13.Hamilton when they went out last time. I wonder if Hamilton might not
:53:14. > :53:14.be too keen to help his team-mate with a little bit of a slipstreaming
:53:15. > :53:28.is -- slipstream in the same way. Daniil Kvyat nine seconds away.
:53:29. > :53:36.Looking like it might be a tight contest with Ferrari. When engine
:53:37. > :53:40.modes are at their best. His entry to the pit lane, just highlighting
:53:41. > :53:45.the difficulty on that tight line. The car is loaded to the left, the
:53:46. > :53:48.Mercedes of Rosberg locking up on the inside right. He will not be
:53:49. > :53:56.worried about this set of tyres, will set on earth -- he will start
:53:57. > :53:59.on the one to used in Q2. Daniel Ricciardo slightly out of sequence.
:54:00. > :54:04.He seems to have done something slightly different way to his
:54:05. > :54:08.team-mate Daniil Kvyat. They have been pretty well matched throughout
:54:09. > :54:12.the weekend so far. Ricciardo slightly quicker than Kvyat this
:54:13. > :54:18.morning but to be at had the edge little bit through qualifying this
:54:19. > :54:23.afternoon. Perez and Hulkenberg I get to run in this session. One
:54:24. > :54:28.final glory run in the dying minutes, let's hope they are going
:54:29. > :54:32.out with only four minutes to go. Pleased to have both cars in the top
:54:33. > :54:35.ten but if they can challenge the likes of Williams... Verstappen is
:54:36. > :54:39.in the top ten as well. We need to see what he can do. He is currently
:54:40. > :54:45.seventh fastest. Ricciardo, this is a crucial lap for Daniel Ricciardo
:54:46. > :54:48.full study will probably get a couple of laps on these soft tyres
:54:49. > :54:53.but he needs to get a good mentor them and rhythm going on this flying
:54:54. > :54:58.lap and try to build up for the second one. Tidy so far as goes
:54:59. > :55:04.through four. 20 of clean track aired of him, no cars to get in the
:55:05. > :55:13.way. Double apex at six. Let's see how he goes through this Middlesex.
:55:14. > :55:19.-- this middle sector. You can get yourself back online for ten but he
:55:20. > :55:25.will have dropped some time. Ricciardo led some laps in Austin
:55:26. > :55:28.last time, seven laps, but that was in wet conditions on the
:55:29. > :55:32.intermediate tyres when Red Bull well working effectively. Never had
:55:33. > :55:38.a pole position in his career. It won't happen in Mexico, but how far
:55:39. > :55:42.up can he get? Going well in the Middlesex but a massive amount of
:55:43. > :55:47.time off in the first sector. Is up there with Kvyat might guess, by
:55:48. > :55:54.thousands of the second. He still has another couple of laps he can do
:55:55. > :55:58.on these tyres. Losing seven tenths of a second alone in the first
:55:59. > :56:04.sector. Just highlighting their lack of horsepower. Hamilton and Rosberg
:56:05. > :56:08.are out on track, not together this time. Rosberg has just got past
:56:09. > :56:14.Perez. I do not think either of them will get the benefit of a tow. Let's
:56:15. > :56:19.see what this lap is like for Max Verstappen? Is it an improvement?
:56:20. > :56:26.No, it's not. It keeps him in eighth place. The car we saw in the
:56:27. > :56:33.distance was Lewis Hamilton. Bottas going on the short stream between
:56:34. > :56:39.three and four. Hamilton just coming out on Turn 3. Interesting to see if
:56:40. > :56:44.he can get a clean lap. Perez has Rosberg a bed of him, probably too
:56:45. > :56:48.far ahead to help them. It is amazing how far back as slipstream
:56:49. > :56:59.can sometimes help. Hamilton three temps down on Rosberg in the first
:57:00. > :57:04.sector. Riding on board with Lewis Hamilton through the middle section.
:57:05. > :57:10.This could be all part of the strategy, a warm up time lap, trying
:57:11. > :57:18.to get an even spread of temperature across these tyres and a clean track
:57:19. > :57:24.to deliver. Rosberg as well a couple of tenths down on his bus. Hamilton
:57:25. > :57:30.trying to get good track position, he has space behind Massa.
:57:31. > :57:34.Hulkenberg has gone ninth fastest. What about Perez? Still quite a lot
:57:35. > :57:44.of the lap to complete. Not a good first sector. Again, this could well
:57:45. > :57:50.be part of the strategy. Get a warm up lap before then delivering
:57:51. > :57:57.everything, the massive maximum deployment from the battery pack.
:57:58. > :58:02.Ricciardo trying to presumably make it round to get one more lap in
:58:03. > :58:08.before the chequered flag comes out. He will, I think, time it dust about
:58:09. > :58:12.right if he wants to do another lap. We are watching Hulkenberg here.
:58:13. > :58:19.Hamilton not quick in that first sector. Running out of time. This
:58:20. > :58:26.will be his last timed lap. He did hit 200 mph towards turn four. That
:58:27. > :58:33.is quite impressive, the first man to do that. But not as quick as he
:58:34. > :58:36.need in the first sector. Not quite achieving the sector times they did
:58:37. > :58:39.in the first part of the practice session will stop Rosberg looking
:58:40. > :58:46.comfortable. Hamilton has matched him in the middle sector. That is
:58:47. > :58:50.his best personal sector. The chequered flag is out. Perez might
:58:51. > :58:56.be able to improve on that. Done almost an identical sector to his
:58:57. > :59:03.team-mate fostered Kvyat is still on a lap. Hamilton and Rosberg boat on
:59:04. > :59:05.laps at moment. Neither seem to be improving significantly. Lewis is a
:59:06. > :59:15.little better than his personal best in the previous lap. It looks as
:59:16. > :59:20.though it is Rosberg's pole. Kvyat crosses the line and no further
:59:21. > :59:25.improvement. Both fourth and fifth. Rosberg has taken pole position here
:59:26. > :59:30.in Mexico. I don't think... He has crossed the line. Rosberg on pole
:59:31. > :59:35.position. Perez has qualified ninth, and will get a cheer for that. It is
:59:36. > :59:36.Rosberg again who has beaten Lewis Hamilton in qualifying, four in a
:59:37. > :59:50.row. The gap to Lewis Hamilton was two
:59:51. > :59:55.tenths of a second, was there a mistake here? This is to the infield
:59:56. > :00:02.section, just the wrong side of the cup, no visible lock-up, is it the
:00:03. > :00:06.rear wing? That activated as it went over. It may just have been a
:00:07. > :00:12.reflection on the underside of the wing but a mistake was made and pole
:00:13. > :00:16.position gifted to Nico Rosberg. An excellent performance by Rosberg
:00:17. > :00:27.again. Pole position, good effort, well done. Yes, yes. Thank you very
:00:28. > :00:30.much. Mercedes have never been to the Mexican Grand Prix before
:00:31. > :00:36.because it was not on the calendar when they last raced in the 1950s
:00:37. > :00:40.and it was off the calendar until now, first pole position for
:00:41. > :00:45.Mercedes in Mexico, a massive market for them, they have their own
:00:46. > :00:49.factory out here. 20th career pole position for Nico Rosberg. And he
:00:50. > :00:54.becomes the first ever German driver to take pole position in Mexico. We
:00:55. > :00:58.talked about how successful it has been for British drivers but it is
:00:59. > :01:04.German driver Nico Rosberg who has claimed top spot here. Sebastian
:01:05. > :01:08.Vettel has done a solid job to claim third on the grid and I think they
:01:09. > :01:16.have good race pace. I tried everything. I had to take all the
:01:17. > :01:21.risks but it did not work. I was trying harder but eventually it was
:01:22. > :01:26.sliding a bit more. A good effort nonetheless for Sebastian Vettel. It
:01:27. > :01:29.is Nico Rosberg who has beaten Lewis Hamilton, three-time world champion
:01:30. > :01:36.in a straight fight for pole position here in Mexico. Rosberg
:01:37. > :01:50.takes pole position in Mexico with Hamilton second and Vettel third.
:01:51. > :01:53.We are not allowing for any penalties that might be added until
:01:54. > :02:05.afterwards. Kimi Raikkonen with a give box
:02:06. > :02:16.penalty and Alonso with an engine penalty so in the end, Nasa will
:02:17. > :02:24.move up. The McLarens will have plenty of work to do from the back
:02:25. > :02:29.of the grid. Nico Rosberg, pole position, congratulations, four in a
:02:30. > :02:33.row, have you felt comfortable around here this weekend? It has
:02:34. > :02:37.been a good weekend. It is always a challenge coming to a new track
:02:38. > :02:42.because you do not know what to expect, you need to adapt or what is
:02:43. > :02:46.coming, the track changed completely from the first to qualify, we got
:02:47. > :02:51.eight or nine seconds quicker, but keeping everything else the same,
:02:52. > :02:56.the track changes so much and you try to catch up and make sure your
:02:57. > :03:00.car is suited to the conditions, I am happy with how it went in the
:03:01. > :03:06.end. My engineering team did a great job and the setup was good. I am
:03:07. > :03:12.pleased with that. You look very calm right now with a job well done
:03:13. > :03:16.on Saturday. You do as well. I do not have the same pressure, the way
:03:17. > :03:19.you have been talking to the tin, it seems you hit this track with a
:03:20. > :03:23.point to prove, a short time since the last Grand Prix, watching your
:03:24. > :03:28.pole position lap and to me it looked into perfect, do you think
:03:29. > :03:33.you left anything behind? Thank you, that is a great condiment, it was
:03:34. > :03:39.good, I am happy with that, my last lap was pretty good but I could not
:03:40. > :03:43.improve on this one. It worked out really well. Tell us about the
:03:44. > :03:48.challenge it, Turn 1, huge amount of speed into the braking zone and then
:03:49. > :03:53.tight and twisting. It is tough to get right because of all the Cubs,
:03:54. > :03:58.half a metre off and you lose a lot of time in the sequence, that makes
:03:59. > :04:03.it quite challenging. Coming in to turn four, the sequence starting at
:04:04. > :04:09.seven, it looked way you improved on the lap compared to Lewis, he seemed
:04:10. > :04:14.wide and you seemed to manage it. It is difficult because the asphalt is
:04:15. > :04:20.so smooth and the rear is snappy, it is unpredictable. It is quite
:04:21. > :04:25.challenging. But I finally got a good setup their and it was pretty
:04:26. > :04:37.much spot on so I was happy with that. You are almost doing the salsa
:04:38. > :04:44.around the race track. Not much of a dancer? But you are a good driver,
:04:45. > :04:51.well done if. Can I ask you about Turn 1. As a team, have you had a
:04:52. > :04:57.conversation about going into Turn 1 after Austin? It has been talked
:04:58. > :05:01.about in the past and we are not really thinking about that any more.
:05:02. > :05:05.I am in full attack mode as always and trying to win the race and it
:05:06. > :05:09.will be a great battle tomorrow that I am looking forward to and I think
:05:10. > :05:13.it may be a battle between the top five because I am expecting Vettel
:05:14. > :05:18.and the Red Bull drivers to be quick as well. We did not get perfect
:05:19. > :05:23.preparation on Friday so there are some unexpected things that might
:05:24. > :05:26.happen, tyre degradation could be interesting, let us see.
:05:27. > :05:32.Congratulations today and we look forward to the race as well. Let us
:05:33. > :05:36.hear from his team-mate. I am sure you are hoping for pole position but
:05:37. > :05:43.we have seen what you can do from second in the last three races? It
:05:44. > :05:47.was great, I enjoyed driving today. It is a new track so it is more fun
:05:48. > :05:53.to drive and quite a relaxing qualifying generally, no real
:05:54. > :05:59.stress. Second, some races, pole position makes a difference but this
:06:00. > :06:05.one, going into qualifying, you do not mind being second. It is a long
:06:06. > :06:10.way down to Turn 1 so I plan on getting a good start tomorrow. How
:06:11. > :06:15.much of this race is an unknown quality because the track seems to
:06:16. > :06:19.be changing on every lap? It is evolving and a great crowd out there
:06:20. > :06:24.cheering us on which is great to see. The track is improving bit by
:06:25. > :06:29.bit and I do not know if it will rain tonight but it was a cooler
:06:30. > :06:34.chat, it will be a real challenge, we don't know what kind of strategy
:06:35. > :06:40.it will be or how long the tyres will last, we will see tomorrow. I
:06:41. > :06:43.think we were hoping for a close qualifying with the Red Bull and
:06:44. > :06:49.Williams but tomorrow could be a very close race. There are five or
:06:50. > :06:55.eight cars in the back with a similar pace which makes it tough
:06:56. > :06:59.because you do not have the luxury of empty space behind you, a lot of
:07:00. > :07:04.people pushing up so it should be exciting tomorrow. We saw you having
:07:05. > :07:08.a good look at the cars and crouching down, were you looking at
:07:09. > :07:14.the tyres? I was, I have to look down otherwise it is different to
:07:15. > :07:18.what I usually see. I got my answer is, we have seen the cars sliding a
:07:19. > :07:25.lot yesterday and some people have struggled with that. I think it will
:07:26. > :07:29.be the tomorrow, who is sliding the least will be in a good position for
:07:30. > :07:36.pace and tyres so let us see what happens, it should be an interesting
:07:37. > :07:40.race. David, he clearly thinks this will be a race and a half tomorrow
:07:41. > :07:46.and so does Nico, who will be in the mix? Track position is so important,
:07:47. > :07:51.incredibly dusty, I think strategy will be the winner here rather than
:07:52. > :07:56.any big passes on the track. A Mexican stand-off into Turn 1? Yes,
:07:57. > :08:00.it is a long way down to the first corner, getting off the line will be
:08:01. > :08:06.crucial, it should help Nico Rosberg on the clean part of the track, cold
:08:07. > :08:12.brakes and 220 mph from a standing start? Sergio Perez, the man of the
:08:13. > :08:16.moment here, every time you go out on track, we know because we can
:08:17. > :08:26.hear the crowd, do you get the sense of that? Won I know how supportive
:08:27. > :08:30.my country is. I am so proud and privileged to have experienced this.
:08:31. > :08:33.Very few drivers have experienced this kind of support so I am very
:08:34. > :08:39.happy and I want to do well for them. We can feel your passion and
:08:40. > :08:43.enjoyment of that support, it makes it difficult to be objective on the
:08:44. > :08:50.track, where would this rate among the top tracks in the world? I would
:08:51. > :08:53.put this one among the top ones, especially the atmosphere. We have
:08:54. > :08:58.not seen this atmosphere anywhere else so it is a very popular place
:08:59. > :09:04.already for Formula 1 and the passion is growing and getting
:09:05. > :09:09.better and better. Very happy for that. Conditions out there are
:09:10. > :09:14.improving every lap you go out, what was it like? They have improved
:09:15. > :09:18.massively, every lap out there was important, to be on the track at the
:09:19. > :09:23.right time, we changed our strategy and tried to go for an extra lap
:09:24. > :09:27.which I think was not the ideal strategy but still, a good result
:09:28. > :09:36.for us and we have a very long race ahead of us. What can you do from
:09:37. > :09:43.ninth? We can aim for higher than that. It will be a tough race with
:09:44. > :09:47.the brakes and the engines but there is every chance that anything could
:09:48. > :09:52.happen, we have a very long run to Turn 1, if we get a good start, we
:09:53. > :09:56.can get a couple of positions and from there, anything can happen.
:09:57. > :10:02.What we do know is that it will be allowed race with the crowd. It
:10:03. > :10:07.will. Thank you. Let us check over the grid for tomorrow. Nico Rosberg
:10:08. > :10:39.will start from pole position with Lewis Hamilton alongside him again.
:10:40. > :10:47.Kimi Raikkonen is 18th after his five place grid penalty. Nico
:10:48. > :10:51.Rosberg in pole position, giving himself the best chance for
:10:52. > :10:58.tomorrow. He has been fantastic, a runner-up positions but he needs to
:10:59. > :11:03.convert that. Much has been made of the relationship between the two
:11:04. > :11:10.drivers but this is what Niki Lauda has said. Talk us through the
:11:11. > :11:15.performance of Nico Rosberg. After last weekend, how significant is
:11:16. > :11:21.that? After last weekend, he was deeply depressed because to make a
:11:22. > :11:26.mistake and lose the race and make the other guy world champion is the
:11:27. > :11:33.worst for a racing driver. He was miserable the whole weekend between
:11:34. > :11:38.the two, it kept going on, I said it makes no sense. And I wish for
:11:39. > :11:42.Nico, if he gets pole position here to get all of the points and thank
:11:43. > :11:46.God he did. Their relationship, so much is made of it, is it any
:11:47. > :11:52.different this weekend, are they friends again? First of all, they
:11:53. > :11:55.have never been friends, they are different characters, they can't be
:11:56. > :12:02.friends. One is home with a family and the other is flying around the
:12:03. > :12:07.world. It is all of these kinds of things. Nevertheless, for me it is
:12:08. > :12:13.important that Nico comes back in this last race, let us wait and see
:12:14. > :12:15.the race because he has had opposition a couple of times and
:12:16. > :12:23.Lewis has won the race, tomorrow will be a hard race, Vettel could be
:12:24. > :12:27.good tomorrow so we have to be careful but it will be an
:12:28. > :12:31.interesting race. The wise words of Niki Lauda. Straight talking, never
:12:32. > :12:37.afraid to say what he means and as a driver, it is probably good to have
:12:38. > :12:40.that. It is a good position to have someone like Niki Lauda who has been
:12:41. > :12:45.there and done that, they know those words have to be respected. This
:12:46. > :12:48.ongoing conversation about them being friends and the length of time
:12:49. > :12:52.they have known each other, does it really matter? It is what is on the
:12:53. > :12:57.track that matters? Piller wrote the only reason we talk about it is
:12:58. > :13:01.because they were friends when they were younger but when you get older,
:13:02. > :13:05.you drift apart and specially when you are competing, if it is a
:13:06. > :13:11.champing chip involved, that will make it strange. We will have all of
:13:12. > :13:17.the best bits for you tomorrow night on BBC One, but, five pole positions
:13:18. > :13:20.will Nico Rosberg, proving that today he was Speedy Gonzalez, the
:13:21. > :14:01.fastest driver in all Mexico, thanks for watching.
:14:02. > :14:04.Rosberg has taken pole position here in Mexico. Good man.