The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Formula 1

Previously on Formula 1... Hamilton wins! I'm OK. We've got an accident.

Incredible. The greatest moment of my life, thank you so much. Abu

Dhabi. I don't think anyone thought he was

doing the right thing, going to Mercedes.

Lewis is a very aggressive, very quick guide. He was almost

unbeatable. England! He just won the race. 2014 World Championship!

Why did he win it? He was more consistent. Qualifying, he did a

better job. That makes such a big difference in the battle.

Lewis is a very quick driver, I will give him back. Probably one of the

quickest guys ever in a Formula 1 car. Three World Championships, you

are in a very small group of individuals. Definitely one of the

great ones. Three world titles. The final race

in the afternoon sunshine, warming the Yas Marina Circuit. Before the

evening envelops the track and the sun sets on the 2015 championship.

Last year there was a championship at stake here and double points. Not

this time but there are plenty of reasons to want to claim victory.

Hello, and welcome to the season closer. Formula 1's final full rate

this year, and what a year it has been. This car, this driver and of

course this team. -- final foray. We know the 1-2-3, but what is this

race all about for you? Well, I want to see a big fight at the beginning.

I don't want to see team orders, I want to see Rosberg and Hamilton

fight it out there and square. I want to see Force India on the

podium again. I heard Toto Wolff say last night he would never let the

drivers do their own thing because he thought they would lose every

time. I'm not so sure about that, I think it is a defence mechanism, and

management have to do what they are doing, giving priority to the lead

car. That said, we want to see them go wheel-to-wheel, winner takes all,

with no championship at stake. What about the last race for a driver? Do

you take it into the winter with you or does it merge into the rest of

the season? If you have a good result, you take it with you, if you

have a bad result, you write it off. For the teams, this is when the hard

work starts, trying to manufacture the new cars. For the driver, it is

a time to unwind. We know Lewis goes to America and spends a lot of time

there. He says he is starting to ramp up his training before 2017,

can you believe, when the cars will be five seconds quicker. It is a

longer-term view, but as for the season as a whole, we know it is too

late for Nico, an amazing run, but he needed to deliver it a bit

earlier to take the championship. Back to Abu Dhabi, the crowd are

applauding. A band is playing. They make a really good job of this

event. It has emerged over the last seven years they have had it, it has

grown into now one of the most important races on the calendar. It

is up there with Monaco. We all love Silverstone. Some iconic races. Some

of them are no longer up there. Struggling for money, whatever. Abu

Dhabi has brought a new level to everybody, what they are aiming to

produce in terms of the circuit, the amenities and the welcome they bring

is quite simply amazing. A lot of British fans come. Craig David is

behind us, he is performing tonight. Lots of pop stars. It really is a

terrific atmosphere. Quite a good idea if we have a look at the

season, it has been a long old season. It seems like yesterday we

pitched up in Melbourne, moving from the East to Europe, a quick trip to

Canada before returning to the historical heart of the sport that

Eddie was talking about. After nine events, it was five wins to

Hamilton, three for Rosberg and one for Vettel. It is now ten wins for

Lewis, five wins for Nico and three for Sebastian Vettel, but not a good

day for the German yesterday. Here is lead, with qualifying. A puncture

right at the chequered flag, Alonso was pushed out by his team-mate

Jenson Button. He had his best session, qualifying in 12. Sebastian

Vettel did not have time for his quick lap and had to settle for

16th, but Ferrari have been strong this weekend. Kimi Raikkonen's lap

was good enough for third. Sergio Perez thought third-place might be

his, he sat behind the Mercedes for much of Q three, his best qualifying

of 2015. The Mercedes drivers had traded places throughout qualifying

and Lewis Hamilton looked like he would get his first qualifying pole

position since the Italian Grand Prix, but Nico Rosberg took pole

position by three tenths of a second. I was ecstatic with that

lap, it felt awesome. Very happy because usually Saturday, it doesn't

count for anything, so it's always OK and relaxed, but today it was

cool. It has not been the best run of qualifying, but I still have got

three wins out of those races. We'll be working as hard as I can.

Mercedes have had 15 front row lock-outs this season, the most in

Formula 1 history. Valtteri Bottas was disappointed

with the lack of speed in his Williams and could only manage

sixth. Sainz has out-qualified Verstappen

10-9 this year. It is Grosjean's last race for

Lotus. A personal test for Nico Rosberg, six on the bounce, but a

tiny and costly error for Ferrari and that could be difficult for

Vettel today. I expect him to be able to come through and give us

some excitement, a different strategy, and I expect him to use

his tyres which he has gained from not taking part in further

qualifying to good effect. That said, Kimi in third has not been

able to deliver the results for the team. Is it too little, too late?

Can he challenge Mercedes? What do you make of this mistake? Not the

first this year. It is disappointing for everybody. Disappointing for the

team and also for the driver. I don't know why this seems to happen

so often with Ferrari. Do you think it is arrogance at times? They can

be quite cocksure. Of course they are. All sorts of problems

yesterday, different penalties, the stewards were involved, but I think

they just took their eye off the ball. A massive mistake here. Think

about this, Vettel could have fought for the front row of the grid, and

we need to see action. We know Raikkonen is not as quick as Vettel

but yet he is third on the grid. Can he win? Unless the two in front

having big problem, I don't think he can. Vettel could have pulled it off

because it is his kind of clap. Not a good day for Sebastian Vettel but

a terrific day for Sergio Perez. -- his kind of crack. Sergio Perez has

been terrific all weekend and Lee caught up with him. The good news,

it is not just speed in terms of qualifying, great speed on Friday as

well which must bode well for this race. 20 of reasons to be

optimistic. The pace we showed yesterday, the conditions. -- plenty

of reasons. We have to be optimistic. I have nothing to lose,

the championship position is secure for the team and myself. We will

give it all, from Lap 1 onwards. Try to get a very strong result today.

If you get a good start, can you challenge the pace of Kimi's Harare

or will you be defending the people behind? I will possibly be defending

Kimi. It would be a big challenge to stay ahead of Kimi. On Friday,

Ferrari was fastest on the track. As you said, the championship and

driver places are almost guaranteed. Does that mean you can take a bit

more of a risk on strategy? We know how good you are on the tyres, and

we want an exciting race until the end. Me too, looking forward to

doing everything that is possible today. Certainly we will give our

best, we would be aggressive and tried to get a strong result to

finish what has been a great year for the team and personally also for

me. It certainly has, have a great Sunday. He looks confident, Eddie.

Nothing to lose, what a terrific season Force India have had. They

had to start with last year's car, but they are in fifth and that is so

vital. Absolutely. Securing fifth place. I love that Sergio Perez was

critical about his time at McLaren, he said they held him back, they

released him after one year. In most terms, the driver would be washed

up, but he has come back and made himself look good again. The guy who

won LeMond 's, Hulkenberg, he is beating him. -- Le mans. Not many

people would have believed that at the beginning of the year. Has

Sergio Peter in a step up in his personal driving craft this year? --

Sergio taken a step up. I think so. He has always shown this incredible

feel and ability to make his tyres last. That has been a trend growing

through his career. Jenson Button would be another driver that has

something special when it comes to the transitional weather conditions.

He clearly has that. Does he have the outright speed of Lewis

Hamilton, whoever your favourite fastest driver happens to be? We

have not had a chance to see that, but Hulkenberg is no slouch. He took

a pole position at Williams. We have to use that as a benchmark and it

would suggest he has matured into a great racing driver. The

championship standings going into the last race. The first three

places are consolidated but the fight for fourth place is

fascinating, just a point between the fantastic pair of Valtteri

Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen. Force India guaranteed fifth place,

the highest ever position, in Brazil. Toro Rosso could equal the

best position of six if they can beat Lotus. 2015, like last year,

was dominated by the powerhouse that is Mercedes. Yesterday, a story

broke in the paddock. Mercedes asked the Formula 1 governing body to

clarify certain rules, amid the relationship between Formula 1 and

the new American team HAAS. Their relationship. -- sorry, between

Ferrari and HAAS. When you are a new entrant, you are not official until

the next year's entry list is announced. HAAS announced two years

ago to the world that they were going to enter Formula 1, partnering

Ferrari with the world that they were going to enter Formula 1,

partnering Ferrari with their gearbox and engines, using their

wind tunnel. I don't have the restrictions in place for the other

teams, so there was a concern that HAAS were doing all of this testing

in the Ferrari wind tunnel and maybe Ferrari were gaining a benefit. It

would appear the stewards have given a long explanation as to why they

don't believe any penalty has to be applied, but retrospectively they

are going to close down that loophole for the future, because

Mercedes asked the question, technically they could enter another

team into Formula 1 and take the benefit for one or two years of

allowing them to test. A very grey area. Ferrari have got away with

this. Not gaining a direct benefit. We have got Toto with Tom.

It Six pages of a full. Mercedes were the ones who rode to the FIA

seeking an explanation, what have you learned? I was just trying to

get a clarification going forward. Some of the details of the

regulations are a bit vague and allows various interpretation and we

don't want to set a foot wrong. That is why we said going forward can you

explain to us how you would interpret that? Is this because

Mercedes 12 in Bach in a relationship with a third party

always at specific reference to Ferrari and their relationship with

the new HAAS team? It was about us and our relationship going forward

with a partner team, whether we can establish some kind of cooperation,

and to understand the framework. Are you disappointed that Ferrari

have been punished -- not been punished retrospectively, because it

seems clear that they have gained a relationship from their relationship

with HAAS. Quin I am not at all unhappy with what has gone out.

There is some ambiguity from that and if they have ridden that wave,

hats off to them. There is no bitterness about it. It is just

about clarity going forward. That is clear now. It is good for wall

teams. It doesn't sound like sour grapes from Mercedes, it sounded

like, am I being too kind? You had feelings about this all year about

this relationship, how do you feel about it now? It has come out it is

and the US. That is very generous towards Ferrari, because quite

clearly there is another way of interpreting it in that they did

gain an advantage. It doesn't matter if it is big or small, was there an

advantage gained? Clearly, in my view, I think there was. However,

clarity needed to be very clear to the teams, not just to Mercedes but

to everybody, that until you are registered, and once the acceptance

letter is there, it is deemed to be the cut-off period, you are then on

your own. At least we have the analogy on the situation, clarity.

Was there an advantage gained? I think there was, I think most people

do think there was an advantage to Ferrari but they got away with it. A

lot of fans might think it was quite good that Ferrari had been able to

close the gap. I wish they had done a bit more! The some calls for teams

like on that be able to catch up. This is an interesting track in Abu

Dhabi. Everyone going for proposition yesterday but the

question is is at the place to be here? Only one race in six has been

won from pole position. Pole position on the right-hand side got

the most grip, however it has been that inside line that seems to have

had the better start here with the junior formula. Also the last couple

of years. If we look back at last year, we have Lewis Hamilton on Grid

two on the right-hand side. On the left-hand side Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton is the one that gets the power-down, he makes the great

launch into the first corner. Also the Williams looking to go past Nico

Rosberg. Everybody in that inside track seems to get a good run in

towards Turn 1. One year beforehand, Sebastien Vettel doing exactly the

same to his Red Bull team-mate. Gets that inside launch. Very important,

especially this weekend, when Mercedes have said they will let

their two drivers race, however they will get them equal stress G options

between the two. One other thing about this race track, it has long

straights, however it doesn't actually offer up a tremendous

amount of overtaking opportunities. But we have seen on a couple of

occasions for example Daniel Ricciardo last year had a really

good run right from the back of the grid. Here he is diving down the

inside in to, one of the areas where there is a lot of overtaking,

squeezed through the chicane. At this moment he gets ahead. Because

the track is very wide, and because there are two DRS zones, they use

the first one to catch up, the second to attack. Here we have one

of the overtakes I think of the last few years on this track. Round the

outside by a young Sebastien Vettel, squeezing Jenson Button in a perfect

way. He gets a run into the baking area. Because the track is wide and

allows it, you can get it done. That area of the track, 11, 12, 13, 14,

is where you will see most of the overtaking. Vettel needs to do it.

16th on the grid, look for him to try an alternative tyre strategy.

Soft, soft, super-soft, think that the way he will go. We are joined by

motorsport royalty, a world champion, Mark Webber. For those who

did not watch yesterday, Mark was in, must have felt pretty good. It

was a great effort from Porsche. A tough battle from Audi to win the

amount of races that we did. It was a nice little result on the back of

a pretty tricky year. In the end we got the results quicker than we

expected. And exciting end to the season. You have been keeping your

ion this lot this year, what do you make of it, who stood out for you? I

think Lewis clearly deserves to be world champion. Got the measure of

Nico. He's back in the picture but unfortunately too late for all of us

neutrals. Ferrari have not quite been in the window against Mercedes.

You see the young guys coming through, particularly the young Red

Bull guys. Young Max is awesome and young Carlos. That is good. We need

that fresh blood coming in because they have a testy establishment

going on. These older guys will be there forever. We need these young

guys coming in to keep the excitement for the fans. Are you up

for a challenge, because we would like to get some work? Would you

like to give us a guided tour around your old garage? We will give you a

camera. Yes, here we are, it is about half an hour until the race

start, 35 minutes, but also five minutes before the pit lane opens.

We can see as usual a nice time for all the guests arrive in the garage,

his ever thing is ready, that is why we are here as well because we want

have a good look around the cars and the prep is in its final stages.

Daniil Kvyat's are here, I am still fascinated, having been away from

Formula 1 for a few years, but the detail on this front wing, look at

all the incredible front wing detail that we have, Adrian still has a bit

of love for this car, even though doesn't have the biggest engine in

the back it is still a beautiful chassis which is up and get some

results this year. The mechanics, all the work is done, looks pretty

relaxed in the garage. Danny is pretty relaxed, the race strategy

would have been done by now, they have gone through all that in the

prerace meetings. That is very important. I will have a quick chat

to Leroy. Number one mechanic on this car, he was my front end Balta

man as well. All of the work is done, just giving it a bit of a

Masood ready for the race? Yes, polished, all of the bodywork take

on, just trying to get the temperature down, waiting for the

green light can see how the race pans out. What do you generally do,

one lap to the grid laps to the grid? The pit exit is a bit

different here for a practised art, so how does that affect you, in

terms of getting organised? What are the mechanics doing from here to the

other side of the pit wall? We just take our equipment, all of the stuff

you see with us, we make sure when the car gets to the grid it is

cooled down but will probably do one that the grid. All sounds very

relaxed. Interesting point about the fuel, getting the temperature down,

there is a temperature of how close they can get to the ambient

conditions, because cool fuel is very important for the performance

of the car. They are just playing the numbers on that now. More and

more guests coming to the garage. For the drivers, to be honest, I

wasn't a big fan of having all this, just wanted to get my helmet on, you

can see him getting ready there, young Daniil Kvyat, he won't have to

focus too much on getting comfortable in the car, because when

he gets in the car for the real race, that is when he needs to take

more time and the guys will make extra detail to get him comfortable

for a long 90 minute, to our Grand Prix. Absolutely brilliant. Give

that man a job! We gave awards made up of our esteemed panel Christian

Horner, and Toto Wolff. We chose four categories, the first was for

start of the year and we awarded it to both Williams drivers at

Silverstone. Filipe, you were missed with a driver but what is it like as

a team? We won again! We are excited. What will you say to

Williams, can you have a piece of this trophy? Rayne that was a good

start. It was the best of the year. We already gave a trophy to the

clutch man. So he cheated a lot. Unbelievable start, Bravo, guys.

Then for drive of the year, after much deliberation, it went to Romain

Grosjean for his against all odds podium performance at Spa. Driver of

the year, Romain Grosjean for a number liveable podium. Thank you. I

think 2012, you offered me manufacturing or something like

that. It means a lot. It was difficult but we did it. What do you

think, did the judges make the right decisions? I think so, always tricky

when you have a full season. Sometimes, even race victories look

straightforward and boring when there is a lot going on. He is very

rarely wrong, Adam. I know the extra quid I page you would have value.

Romain Grosjean, it really, do you remember that weekend, he turned up

late and they had bailiffs at the door it was extraordinary. I don't

want to say there is a lot of similarity here, but when Jordan

went there in 91, we have the bailiffs on the door too. The great

Michael Schumacher did not qualify on the Friday because we couldn't

get the cars out until we had paid. They are situations that will last

forever. So the podium that Grosjean had, he will never forget it. The

team looked down and out. It gave him that extra spark to let him

continue. A special treat at the end of this from Toto Wolff. A couple

more awards. You are a bit like Phil and Holly

from, what is that programme? ITV This Morning. Quite sweet. You could

hold hands. Do you watch that I'm a Christian? Know I don't. Overtake of

the year, any suggestions? I love the move on Malton are the -- to do

what he did was fantastic. Everyone stood there holding their breath and

he managed to do it. I like the one where the starter and overtook him.

Taking somebody on the outside, they are just Howedes so that politely.

You have to be committed. That is what I meant. But then Valtteri

Bottas on Kimi Raikkonen in Mexico. COMMENTATOR: Reikan and is off! That

is what you would call payback. The one I really enjoyed this year was

Daniel Ricciardo passing your man Hamilton, who hasn't been passed at

all this year. That was an enjoyable moment, it was brief but it was

enjoyable. I am afraid Spa from me and Max. The best overtake of the

year, can you tell us which one it was? Leigh I guess it is Spa. Thank

you very much full stop in general lately I have not won many trophy so

I am very happy with this one. For a guy who can't even rent a hire car,

he has demonstrated he is a prodigious talent. You can see that

pattern in the great ones who stop they come into the sport very

talented, with less respect for all the big names. Somebody complaining

you can't overtake, we have seen races from Max where he was

extraordinary. Thank God we signed him up 12 months ago. For how long?

We won't go into this, that is not this programme. For at least the

next decade! Driver of the year. There can only be one winner, Pastor

Maldonado! He had some good saves this year. He has had some great

crashes as well. Max Verstappen has been clearly the Rookie of the year

and has provided ultimate racing entertainment, but we have got a

three-time world champion in Lewis Hamilton breaking records, equalling

Jackie Stewart, an extraordinary year for him. For me, he is driver

of the year. What I love about racing drivers is when they are able

to win a psychological war with 13 weight -- with their team-mate.

Equal machinery. I have loved watching him what he has done this

year. He has been fantastic. He is a personality who has sometimes been

seen as controversial but there is no doubt about his skill in the car.

John Surtees said something really nice about him. He said he just

loves him in the car. Whether you like him or not, in the car he is

exceptional. He gives us box office, he is huge entertainment. I remember

Bernie said he deserves everything he gets because he has earned the

right. The fact he has this lifestyle, hanging out with pop

stars and film stars, crashing his cars in the middle of the night,

doing all these things, it must be driving Toto completely mad because

it is everything you don't want as a team boss. But he turns up and

delivers, and Nico Rosberg must be thinking, what on earth have I got

to do? This guy is in Barbados hanging out with all these people, I

am in the gym everyday, but he still turns up and beats me. Anyone who

can have his hair like he does, that deserves an award in itself. You

have been voted by an esteemed group of team bosses and Eddie Jordan as

the driver of the year. Congratulations. Look after this. I

will, I cherish every one! The team have done a great job of making me

look good, just grateful for every award I get. It is still shiny.

Thank you. No problem. 2015, can you summarise it in a single word?

Mercedes. Four words. Greedy! We beat Red Bull! Anyway... Verstappen.

Can we do one thing for the British viewers who have been desperate for

this all year? Can Toto Wolff just say, I'll be back? It makes me look

silly... Hasta la vista, baby. I can't tell you the manner of

people that ask us to get Toto to say that. Live pictures of Lewis

Hamilton's car. The pit lane is open, the cars are going out. Mark

Webber, just peering over. How on earth does he fit this all into his

life, Mark? He is a busy boy. A bit of psychological games too, he likes

to understate the pressure of the job, comes and delivers every

fortnight and then goes and does what he does to release the

pressure. Exactly. Still waiting for him to go out. Eddie, what do you

think about today? Can he salvage a win from the last race of the

season? He said he would like to. Of course he would like to. My view is

he will do everything in his power to make sure that he does. There he

goes. In my view, it's a big task. Pole position is not is cut out to

be on this particular track. So the advantage is not quite as quite as

dominant as in other places. So he is in the right place? He is in a

really good place to take the fight on the first lap. It is a really

short run, it is definitely possible... The ideal line goes

through the middle of the front row, so neither of them have an ideal

starting position. Whoever is in the first corner and Leeds has the high

ground. Let's cross over to Tom. Before I talk about strategy, only

19 cars on the grid this afternoon. Roberto Merhi. On the pit lane

because his car was taken out of parc ferme to change the suspension.

Tyre wear is not going to be an issue. Tyre degradation am the rate

at which the performance drop off happens is an issue. That is why two

stops is 20 seconds faster than one stop. As for when they will take

place, you can inspect the first one very, very soon. And look out for

the gaggle, Red Bull, Williams and Force India... Force India ruined

the race of Daniil Kvyat when they undercut him in the first stop in

the Niko Kovac mode went on to beat him. The second stop maybe in the

mid-30s. -- Nico Hulkenberg went on to beat him. Deployment of the

energy Systems, two really long straights in sector to. So it is not

possible to do two laps with full deployment. So it is all about the

most efficient energy deployment system, which is Mercedes this

afternoon. Mark, nodding in agreement with that. What are the

drivers thinking right now? They are looking for clutch preparation to

get the confidence, talk to the engineers having taken the car to

the grid. Make sure the brakes are working well, the steering, the

fundamentals. Lewis is having a look at a few more things, but in terms

of the last little thing, getting together, the drivers have a little

toilet break and then full focus on the start of the race. The first

stint. What is your crystal ball telling you, Eddie? I still think

Nico has an advantage. Three tenths yesterday in qualifying, a big

margin. What was Lewis doing? Did he make a mistake? It was a mighty lap,

if he can show more of that pace, which he should have done during the

season when it was important, then he will win this race, Nico. I think

Rosberg will win, Lewis second, and who knows? Kimi kind of drops off in

the race, and maybe Perez can pull off a podium.

Hello and welcome if you are just joining us, Abu Dhabi, the final

race of the season. Nico Rosberg took his sixth consecutive pole

position. His team-mate could not match him yesterday, he lines up

alongside him. Arguably on the best side of the grid. The second row is

interesting. Kimi Raikkonen. Ferrari made a timing mistake yesterday so

Vettel is back in 15th. Sergio Perez on the second row of the grid. We

have been joined by Mark Webber today, this is a great prospect for

the start of the race. It is, the battle for strategy on the front

with the two Mercedes. In the last race in Brazil, Nico rebuffed the

challenge of Lewis Hamilton after the first stop, he even tested the

pit wall to a degree. Interesting to see how that goes, two long

straights when they can look at the DRS. And the battle for the podium

is awesome. Sergio is driving well, Kimi wants to finish well, and Seb

driving from the back. Anyway that Seb can end up on the podium today,

Eddie? We have seen such brilliant drives from him in the past. One has

to reflect a couple of years ago when he won the World Championship,

how he went about that. He has a relationship with this circuit, so

don't rule him out. He will take a different strategy and he will be

doing so quick. He is brilliant around here. Lewis is also

brilliant. We just saw him going wide, what did you make of that? He

might have been looking at a different braking point. The wind

direction looks similar to yesterday, so these things come into

play, the drivers trying to get some information. Next time he arrives

there, he could be side by side with Nico. He wants to know the absolute

point he could brake at, so he is gathering information. He is not a

triple world champion for nothing, he might have been digging for

information or he might have a problem with the car, who knows? The

braking, who knows? Not long to find out what he was doing. What about

this man, Sergio Perez? What a fantastic qualifying in fourth.

David is on the grid. The magic number, 44, the winning number for

the world champion, triple world champion Lewis Hamilton. A big year

for him also the 44th year of the UAE. A lot of British fans out there

have made the trip over. Anyone who has not told their loved ones they

are here at the Grand Prix have just got themselves in trouble! Hoping to

have a chat with Nico Rosberg later. He has just left the grid for a

comfort break. In the meantime, a word from Niki Lauda. A lot of talk

going into this race that you would do gloves off for the boys, the

championship is decided, but it is business as normal? Business as

normal, the last race. Lewis wants to prove in the last race that he is

the master. Nico was the master in the last couple of races, so I am a

bit nervous. I am a bit confused, Lewis is saying something has

changed in the car, how can that be? Is it a red herring? Has something

changed in the car? Lewis is not happy with the car, but at the same

time Nico went five tenths quicker. This is the problem he has, it was

the other way around at the beginning of the season, and

suddenly Nico woke up and drove outstanding. We will see how the end

of the race will be. Congratulations on your success. From one legend,

another legend, Mika Hakkinen. Welcome to Abu Dhabi, you don't come

to many Grands Prix. What do you make of 2015? I think it has been a

great year. A great result for Mercedes what they are doing, but

the season is not over. Really looking forward to seeing... It

feels to me like the first Grand Prix, a lot of excitement. Of

course, I hope a great result for Valtteri Bottas and the mitt and a

great race. They don't really speak to each other. -- Valtteri Bottas

and Kimi. Do they speak to you? Enjoy the race.

The middle of the grid... Nico Hulkenberg, talking to his host

broadcaster. We can see Sergio Perez, Lee had a

chat with him earlier. He is with his national broadcaster. Maybe a

word from a man we don't normally hear from. Listening to your

favourite music, sorry to disturb you, but reasonable qualifying, a

big gap from your team-mate. Not much more you can do really with the

car at the moment? Qualifying was good for me. Probably the biggest

gap I have had. Last race of the season, that is encouraging. Your

team-mate is starting from the pit lane, a suspension change, no

concern on your car? Not at all, they just needed to change a few

bits from the set-up. He will be coming from behind but I'm sure I

have got a good car. Racing drivers come in all shapes and sizes. He is

very petite, Will. Making their way down to the front for the national

anthem. I will stay around here, I would like a word with Nico when he

comes back to the grid. In the meantime, we will keep an eye out.

Actually... A quick word for the BBC? No! To be honest, I was asking

Kimi to do happy birthday to my goddaughter twice this weekend and

he kept saying bargeboard. -- he kept saying no. Checking something.

Maybe his bingo results. Not the smoothest of qualifying but you are

still in the mix. What are you looking for this afternoon? Hoping

to be in the mix and looked after the tyres. Make the strategy work

and hopefully it will bring us some good points. We wish you luck.

Meanwhile, I have seen Nico Rosberg has made his way beyond the rope.

I'm not allowed to go beyond that rope, but let me see... He is

talking to Bernie, so not much luck there. The drivers are pretty much

lined up. Let's see if we can grab any stragglers. Ron Dennis there,

seems to be causing a lot of controversy this weekend with his

drivers. Sir Jackie Stewart. You are regular at the Grands Prix. What

have you made of this event so far? This Grand Prix has a capacity

crowd, a record crowd, that is great for Formula 1, the last race of the

season. Fantastic attendance. It is a great event, enjoy it, Sir Jackie.

Let's see if I can get some clarity. Ron Dennis greeting the former

partners, the board member and CEO of Daimler. Three of the board

members. I wonder if he is ruling the move to Honda? -- regretting the

move to Honda? Jenson Button coming forward. A good qualifying, you must

be happy. I enjoyed it. Looking at the circuit, you would not say it is

a good one for us, but we did all right. In a rush? Yes. We will let

him go. It's see if we can find anyone bringing up the rear, so to

speak? Felipe Massa... They got told off last time... Congratulations on

your season. Very impressive. The man that has to sign the big checks

in Formula 1. Can't help but feel they have had a massive return on

that. Niki Lauda, we spoke to him earlier. The gentle man you can see

here with the natty hairstyle, he normally keeps out of the

limelight, Mr Donald McCain see. Look at him running away! -- Donald

McKenzie. Paul and Kevin, can I ask a question? You are a star of

television, I know. Very briefly, two stops this afternoon? Maybe Kimi

has another option with the set of super softs. Maybe that will make

the difference for him. Thank you very much. It is the last Grand Prix

of 2015. This is my sad face. So there we go, as the sun begins to

set on the 2015 season, those planes look amazing, that look so cold.

Very cool, I was staying down the road a couple of days ago and a

run-through, it was awesome. Look at that incredible smoke display. It is

ready to rock 'n' roll. Ready to rock 'n' roll. We heard Mika

Hakkinen saying it has been a great year. You would do if you were a

Mercedes ambassador. He got that plug in very appropriately. Of

course they know each other. To be fair, Hakkinen has been around and

has been a brilliant world champion so he is entitled to his view. But

very amusing grid walk, Kimi as bubbly and effervescent and chatty

as always! DC had a tough gig. Kimi, my God, he is hard work. I couldn't

get much out of him and I was racing against him. There is Lewis getting

ready now. Listening to his music. Fernando playing his role, meeting

all of the guests. All of the build-up. A pretty relaxed last

race, everyone is in a pretty good mood. That is what the event pulls

out in everyone, the last race. Let's have a closer look at the

track. Great pole lap from Nico Rosberg, four tenths faster almost

than Lewis Hamilton. Let's see where that difference was found.

Final qualifying of the season, the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

Five kilometre circuit. No surprise, a battle of the two

Mercedes team-mates, Nico Rosberg on the left, Lewis Hamilton on the

right, and we are about to witness to drivers at the top of their game

taking the maximum out of their cars. As we come up through the only

high-speed section, turn to, Turn 3, absolutely flat. You can see Nico

has just under a car length. Both neat and tidy. They then accelerate

out, a short shoot to the hairpin at seven. The risk is the second

earlier. -- Lewis goes to second earlier. You can see Nico Rosberg

has opened the distance to a full car length as they go down the 1.2

kilometre back straight, more than 200 mph, and an adjustment from

Lewis Hamilton, we saw his dashboard change. Both stopping the car

superbly as they go under more than five G underbraking. The second of

the DRS zones in this race track, opportunities for passing. Lewis

Hamilton has close the gap slightly. Five G into Turn 11, 12, both

incredibly tidy through this section. Now coming towards the

Monte Carlo style part of the track. Again, Nico Rosberg busy at the

wheel. 59.5 on his dashboard, going forward on his brake balance. Both

tidy as they go under the Yas Marina hotel. At the end of the lap, you

will see Nico Rosberg in these two corners, 20 and 21, a massive three

tenths of a second on Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton with a little

oversteer. When they come across the line Nico Rosberg takes his sixth

straight pole position of the season and once again Hamilton's

frustrated. Will he be able to convert second to first by the first

corner? That is the first corner, Nico Rosberg unmatched yesterday.

Mark Webber, where will the action happen? I hope there is a good

battle on track. I don't want them to be tested in the pit lane,

undercuts or over cuts, whoever is in second after the first lap, I

want to see a great battle on track. Get these DRS system 's going. It is

the last race, they both want to finish with a win. Maybe it is an

offence, why not. We don't disagree with that. We were starved of it

bit. Toto has told us he want anything other than the team

interference with what the team will decide. Who wins what. I am against

that, that is what I have to say. I remember so well, the Senna Prost

days. They were team-mates and fought hard against each other. They

are generating a lap time in a similar way but it will be a testing

to see how it unfolds. A cracking selfie on the grid. Claire Williams

walking past us, what about Williams, we have not mention them?

They were at it off the pace, the fight between Valtteri Bottas and

Kimi. I think Williams were slightly off the pace they were lucky they

were so strong in the beginning of the season because believe me the

team that has impressed me is Force India towards the end of the season,

and maybe they will make a big push for this next year. Valtteri Bottas

can beat Kimi Raikkonen? I don't think so, I think Kimi will hang on

to where he is. The crystal ball is being shined as we look at pictures

of Daniel Ricciardo. Christian Horner. The last race of the 20 15th

season. For the final time, Lee and Tom are pit side, DC and Ben are

commentating. Ladies and gentlemen, may the desert action comments.

This is a little bit tricky. What do you make of this season? What is not

to admire? Lewis Hamilton joins Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Nelson

Piquet, Ayrton Senna and three times world champions. Brilliant. You know

what's coming, don't you? Brilliant. But it is hardly the fault of

Mercedes. The car still way out ahead of the rest. 15 wins this

season. The Mercedes flying machine. Lewis Hamilton won ten races. Nico

Rosberg five, including the last two. But that was when the

championship was already one. Where was the drama, the tension? The

scrap for the spoils? Where were the others? McLaren, let's not even go

there. Fernando Alonso didn't join McLaren the car parked his car. --

didn't join McLaren to top up his candles. Red Bull, from ruling the

roost the squabbling with Renault about engines. Thank goodness for

the rush of youth. That is fantastic! Thank goodness for signs

of the giant awakening. Ferrari is back! CHEERING

But then get me wrong. It wasn't all bad. Not by a long chalk. That is

the greatest moment I will ever have.

COMMENTATOR: From Melbourne in March two at Derby in November -- to Abu

Dhabi, the sunsets over the spectacular architecture of the Yas

Marina Circuit. It only took 16 for Lewis Hamilton to achieve his dream

of winning a third title but he has fond memories here, having wrapped

up his second championship here 12 months ago and he will be all out

for victory to finish his season in style. The Mercedes car is well

suited to this circuit as it has been to nearly all the venues this

year. Fast in a strong line but nimble and grippy through the

technical final sector of the lap. Nico Rosberg made the most of that

to take pole position by a measurable marginalia and, but

Hamilton has twice won this race from second in the grid, and much

will depend on the first corner. Rosberg to maintain the advantage

she got in Mexico and Brazil but it could be more difficult. Looking

over the marina area, we are in the Yas islands, one of the many islands

that make up Abu Dhabi. Just going into twilight. Temper 27 degrees,

track temperature 29. The cars should not be struggling for grip

too much in these conditions and it really is a stunning place to look

over. Will it provide us with a good race? With Vettel starting in fifth

-- down in 15th position, that electrifies things a bit. We have

the battle up front between the two Mercedes team-mates. All the titles

are basically decided except for those little run-offs between the

two fins of Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas and perhaps for the

final spot in the top ten, Nico Hulkenberg hanging onto that at the

moment but Max Verstappen still with a chance of finishing top ten in the

championship. Rosberg on pole position, his seventh of the season.

Hamilton looking for his 11th victory to match last year. On the

second row, Kimi Raikkonen, who has won a before and Sergio Perez,

outstanding in qualifying for Force India. Daniel Ricciardo in fifth

place ahead of the Williams of Valtteri Bottas. Then Nico

Hulkenberg trying to hang on to 10th place in the championship, and

Felipe Massa, a 10th of Bottas. Carlos Sainz's team-mate Max

Verstappen lined up 11, and Jenson Button, one of his best qualifying

performances of the season ends well. Number 13 starts 13th, Pastor

Maldonado alongside Felipe Nasser, the same amount of points in the

championship. Sebastien Vettel will be starting on the harder compound

tyre, he has Fernando Alonso next to him. Marcus Ericsson in the Sauber,

Romain Grosjean starting in 18th, a gearbox change pushes him back. Will

Stevens starts on the final row, but his team-mate Roberto Merhi has got

to start from the pits. Sebastien Vettel, way further back than he

should have been. The other performance but Ferrari

miscalculated their timings. He comes from 15th position on the

grid. He has come from the back a couple of times in the past. Let's

see if he can perform well on this occasion. Massive concentration for

Sergio Perez. Can he possibly get a second podium finish for Force

India? They have never had two in a single season. Kimi Raikkonen won

this race in 2012 with Lotus. Famously he says leave me alone, I

know what I'm doing. He has got to try to do that again on this

occasion. That is pretty much what he just said to me on the great! Not

quite as politely! He just walked off. No big surprise. This is his

big opportunity to make good on what has been a difficult season.

Sebastien Vettel has come into that Ferrari team and made it his own. It

is most like he didn't even have time to say hello to Kimi on the way

in. So we expect him to try and get in amongst this battle at the front.

They will be difficult because the underlying pace different in

qualifying was half a second, and in the race we know Mercedes have some

extra engine modes to play with as well. Rosberg on that pole position

but what can Hamilton do? The 90th front row start in 167 Grand Prix

for Hamilton. A pretty phenomenal statistic. And of course Hamilton

has won this both in 2011 and last year when he won the race and won

the championship and Rosberg started on pole on that occasion as well. We

are waiting for the cars to get away. Lights flashing on the back of

their cars as they prepare to go away, and the sun just dropping

behind the grandstands as they read the engines up and get ready for the

off. There go the front row guys. Hopefully we get everybody away

cleanly. Roberto Merhi will stay in the pits during the formation lap

and join them after they have completed this entire lap. For

Rosberg, a 22nd career pole position, matching Fernando Alonso

now, in terms of number of pole positions in his career. On board

looking for a first victory for quite some time for stopping has not

won since his return to Ferrari. You might have won here for notice in

the past, took a victory in Australia as well but he hasn't won

since he came back to Ferrari. Looking mainly at aid to stop race,

three stops is a possibility. -- at a two stop race. Tom, interesting

that Vettel has decided to go for the harder tyre, the soft tyre,

going into this race? Last year, Massa finished second after a first

stint of 30 laps on the prime tyres. Expect something similar from Massa.

One thing to point out, the teams haven't been able to do any practice

starts at the exit of the pit lane this weekend, such is the unique

nature of the pit lane exit. So they might feel a bit underprepared

compared to other races. A one-point gap between Valtteri Bottas,

currently holding fourth place, and Kimi Raikkonen in fifth place. If

they finished where they are right now, Rosberg would move ahead of

Bottas. A close tussle for tenth between Hulkenberg, Grosjean and

Verstappen. Toro Rosso and Lotus are still fighting for position in the

Constructors' Championship. Nine points separating them, but if Lotus

failed to score and Toro Rosso came seventh and eighth, potentially they

could move into sixth and beat Lotus. Hamilton is complaining of a

vibration from his brakes, the team have said they are a bit cool. Going

around at safety car speed. Nico Rosberg, slowing down the whole

field. Doesn't want to sit on the grid any longer than he needs to.

Might ask very nicely to the last man on the grid to line up ASAP.

Will Stevens, last on the grid. Hamilton is actually making him wait

a little bit. Taking a bit longer to line up, which means Nico's tyres

will be a bit cooler by the time they unleash. National Day in the

UAE. A big celebration for them. Lewis Hamilton is looking for his

44th career win, so it would be a coincidence if it comes together for

him. The last race of 2015 is about to get under way in Abu Dhabi.

A great start by Rosberg! Hamilton really slow, under pressure for

second. Contact at the back. Spearing into a Lotus, Alonso.

Yellow flags in that area of the grid. A brilliant getaway by Nico

Rosberg. Raikkonen is in third, Perez is in fourth place. Right over

the curb, Kyvat. A brilliant pass from Sainz. Massa is on the outside

of Daniil as well. Tight down to the chicane. Hamilton in second, chasing

after Rosberg. Fanning out. Bottas trying to get involved. Ricciardo

tried to go outside Massa. On board with Felipe Massa. Great midfield

action. Massa in tenth I believe. Side-by-side! Max Verstappen,

challenging with Daniil Kvyat. I think he has made it. The cup the

corner so he will have to give the place back, which he does

reluctantly and then gets pushed off the circuit, allowing Bottas to get

past him. Vettel is right behind him already, look at this. Was that

contact? Vettel trying to fight his way through. He has Button and Nasr

chasing. A dramatic first lap. Vettel trying to make as much ground

up as he possibly can, but nearly contact. You can see the nervousness

in the drivers. You normally see this at the beginning of the season,

but this is the final bit of fun before the end of the season. A lot

of weaving around. Some winners and losers. Vettel, in 12th already.

Rosberg, leading from Hamilton, then Raikkonen.

Alonso, into the pits. A puncture on the front right. So difficult to get

the car up in the air to get the wheel off. Maldonado was the other

car involved. He is not playing any further part. No points for the

Lotus of Maldonado. Toro Rosso have one car in the points at the moment,

not the other one. We will see how that develops. Bottas in the

Williams, tucked in behind Daniil Kvyat in the Red Bull. Interesting

to get a replay of that first corner incident. It looked like Alonso

speared into the Lotus. Easy to jump to conclusions that Maldonado was

the root cause. An indication, the Williams has not

been as strong around this racetrack. Red Bull carrying more

speed in the corners. Noticeable how early he was on the brakes. Speed

advantage in the straight line but not able to convert it. They have

been suffering into the corners. He had to get more speed off the car to

get it turned into the corner. Settling down, as they burned

through this phase of the race. Some teams will be fuel limited. Chance

of the safety car, which neutralises the need for fuel. Bottas did not

get past Kyvat and he has Max Verstappen in his mirrors. DRS is

now enabled, so that could change things on the attacks down the

straight. Bottas with Mercedes power in the Williams, he should have good

straight-line speed. He has been topping the speed traps through

qualifying at 338 kilometres per hour, 210 mph. A lot faster than the

Renault powered cars. Rosberg still ahead of Hamilton, the gap is 1.6

seconds. Raikkonen is hanging in there. Carlos Sainz, attacking

Massa... The Brazilian gets past the Spaniard, only just gets turned in.

The Toro Rosso had better drive initially, but I don't see the

advantage of DRS. The Williams, with Mercedes power, still able to

outperform the Toro Rosso. Bargeboard has gone behind Kyvat...

Has he? He overshot the corner. -- Bottas has gone behind Kyvat. Almost

losing the flap as he comes back across the front of the Williams. A

feisty battle, this one, between Bottas and Kyvat. Kyvat is not going

to give up on ninth place at this early stage if he can avoid it.

Behind Bottas is Verstappen. Vettel has got stuck behind them. Button

hanging on in there at the moment, better than I expected. 13th place.

At the back of that group. They don't have to straight-line speed

because they can't harness as much energy, but the chassis, when you

look at the analysis, is around the third best chassis out there. I am

sure they have made further improvements. Not much wrong with

the car. Ron Dennis said it is not the best car based on the analysis,

it is part of a rebuilding process, they just need more horsepower and

then we would see Jenson more towards the front. Romain Grosjean

started from the back with a gearbox penalty, he is now in 15th at the

moment. The blue Sauber under attack. Grosjean in his final race

will want to throw everything into this.

Nasr, trying to fight back down the outside, for 14th place. Grosjean

should be able to hold on as they come into the brakes. Nasr getting

the advantage in the second DRS zone, able to sneak back but not

enough. Grosjean had the inside line. That is one ticked off for the

Frenchman. Rosberg aced the start. It looked to me that Alonso down

staff the Sauber of Ericsson. -- Alonso bounced off. Vettel doesn't

make a lot of progress initially. Alonso, contact, he just got

snagged. His rear wheel got caught by the Sauber. It unleashes him into

Maldonado. The sixth time Maldonado has been out on the first lap of a

Grand Prix this season, a completely innocent victim this time. Nasr has

just come into the pits. Massa, keeping it nice and tidy.

Building the speed. His team-mate Bottas, as he lifts, it allows the

Toro Rosso to go outside the both of them. It was Sainz. Sainz, around

the outside of the Red Bull, an amazing start. We have been talking

so much about Max Verstappen, but Sainz, three cars in the space of

two corners, fantastic. Almost contact between the Toro

Rosso of Sainz and Daniil Kvyat. It cost him initially, but with Toro

Rosso on the wide line, Daniil tried to sneak up the inside again.

He didn't give me any space... Max, I have to say, when you have a car

in front of you, they have the choice as to whether they stay on

the racing line. Because he knew there was no barrier, he knew he

could drive off the circuit. If it was Monte Carlo, we saw Max giving

Maldonado space... A fairly early stop. Daniil Kvyat.

We wondered who would be first to go for the undercut. A lot of teams

reckoned they would stop fairly early to get an advantage and switch

on to the new tyre, and it is Daniil Kvyat who has gone for it first.

Blink and you miss it stuff. Incredible. Tough qualifying for

Daniil Kvyat, but he is still aiming for points. The leader, Nico

Rosberg, by 1.7 seconds, from Lewis Hamilton in second. Kimi Raikkonen

very much staying in touch at the moment. On board with the other Red

Bull, Daniel Ricciardo. Having a go down the inside of Hulkenberg. He

has taken the place, a great move, using DRS down the straight, being

sucked along by the Mercedes powered Force India. The trouble is he may

lose the place... Yes, Hulkenberg has that much more straight-line

speed. And again, can Ricciardo hold on? Yes, he can. Anyone who think

that Red Bull are complaining for the sake of it... I think he was

tagged before he took out Maldonado, Alonso. There was contact between

him and the Sauber of Nasr. Not really sure that is entirely

justified. If you are the piggy in the middle, you are not the root

cause of the problem. We couldn't quite see the beginning of it.

Vettel, has he made a move on Verstappen? I think Vettel has taken

the position, yes, so he is now in 11th. More pit stops, Perez is in,

Ricciardo and Felipe Massa. Quite early stops, should still be a two

stop race for these guys. A slight delay for Massa.

It is early, but not entirely a surprise. We know the undercut is

incredibly powerful here. The slightly unusual and in my opinion

on necessary underpass. -- unnecessary underpass. Putting the

cars below ground where the fans cannot see them, I fail to see what

benefit that is. It does not give us as much wheel-to-wheel action as

they leave. That is my complaint over! Kyvat made the earlier pit

stop... The Williams had to respond to Kyvat making the early stop. On

board with Valtteri Bottas, who has not been in the pits yet. Hanging on

to sixth place at the moment. Putting Carlos Sainz under more

pressure now. The race leader. Pushing the tyres a bit more. Copy

that. We are happy. Rosberg, pushing a bit more, looking good in the

first sector, moving away from Hamilton, tenth by tenth. In that

statement lies the problem in Formula 1 right now. The management

reply was to look after the tyres, that has been a source of

frustration for many of the drivers over the last couple of years. As we

know, Toro Rosso heading to the pit, we will see whether they can use

that... Interesting to see whether Williams... A good example of how

powerful stopping earlier and getting a fresh set of tyres can be.

Carlos Sainz is in, so is Niko Hulkenberg. Rosberg has set a new

fastest lap. Where will Carlos Sainz come back out? He hasn't stalled,

has he? No the rear jack had the wheels off the ground, a bit of

confusion. 6.2 seconds, that will really hurt Carlos Sainz, a shame

because he has been putting together a brilliant weekend so far. We

handed out the trophy for the start of the year. Not in the classic

sense of getting to the first corner, but from turn two to five,

incredible from Carlos Sainz. Just ahead of Felipe Massa. Mighty

close. The Force India just getting out ahead of the Williams. Crucial

from the point of view. Perez is cutting a swathe through here,

getting past Ericsson. Fourth position because Ericsson has not

been in the pits yet. Daniil Kvyat is behind them. Out of sequence now,

some cars have stopped and some haven't. The leaders have definitely

stayed out. Rosberg continuing to open up an advantage, up to 2.7

seconds. It does look like Rosberg has a bit

more pace here than Lewis Hamilton. This is not quite the situation we

have seen in the last two races where Hamilton has been sitting

there unable to overtake. Or does he? Is this a different strategy

from Hamilton where he has been sitting 1.5 seconds behind in dirty

air, struggling to put the pressure on Rosberg? Is he taking a different

approach, will he run longer in the middle sector, as Bottas heads for

the pits, and put on a set of super-softs later when the car is

lighter. He has taken the front wing off, he has crashed into the front

of Button, I think it was, so Bottas's races effectively over, in

terms of getting a great result. What a shame that was! Is their

damage to Button's car? There are procedures in place and the front

jack man is watching to see whether you can release the car. They have a

marker on the pit wall. Claire Williams, she had mentioned her

frustration when some of the procedures have not quite worked for

Williams. They don't want to be considered the underdog because they

are a World Championship winning team and they want to win Grand

Prix. Sadly that looks like a procedural error. Really struggling

now. Front wing, and is telling horribly, just trying to get it back

to the pit. But contact made. Alonso is back in the pit. I don't know if

he has more of a problem but Fernando Alonso has just headed into

the pit. Meanwhile, Rosberg leads this race. The drive-through for

Alonso, the one we saw being handed out. Out on track now. Let's... He

gets released, and the point at which, I am surprised he didn't see

Jenson, maybe he didn't know that his car was the next one out. No

question, more the responsibility of Williams than McLaren. Button is

allowed to go near his box and it is the duty of the car being released

to wait. We can see Jenson gets the signal from his team, cut across,

and Bottas, that is going to make it a long afternoon. Such a shame.

Effectively that is fourth place in the championship decided, if Reikan

and finishes this race anyway. If he were not the finish, that would

change things. They had a great double podium finish here last year,

Williams, that situation under investigation by the stewards. Into

the pits again comes Valtteri Bottas and a new front wing is prepared.

RADIO: Can we box this lap? Kimi Raikkonen comes into the pits. A

clean except for Valtteri Bottas but Reikan and has managed to stay in

touch with the leaders, four seconds behind Hamilton at this point, not

quite close enough to challenge but still in the hunt to a certain

extent. Felipe Massa, still behind Nico Hulkenberg. At the moment, that

puts him in 10th position. Vettel running in fourth place with a round

of, great progress through the field. Nico Rosberg is the first of

the two Mercedes to make the pit stop. Always gets initial choice of

pit stop. Another great won by the team. 2.6 seconds. So much quicker

than that. -- it looks much weaker than that. Ferrari, a fantastic job

as well, Reikan and back on his way. Rosberg on the set of soft tyres.

You have to be careful if you go side-by-side with somebody.

Sebastien Vettel, as you mention, has not made a pit stop. Using that

different shutter j to good effect, this is the module will of the

tyres. They will be taking a hit early with a heavy fuel. So it will

be interesting. Will Hamilton come out behind Vettel? It is quite

likely I would think. Because Vettel has moved up in the order. Kimi

Raikkonen, we will see what happens with him. Certainly going to be

quite tricky for Lewis Hamilton. Perez trying to make his way down

the inside of Romain Grosjean. Doesn't quite make it. Grosjean

careful to give him a little bit of face. That is for fifth position in

this race. Someday bray was flicked off the circuit. Didn't look like it

came off his car. Maybe a piece of daybreak offer Williams. Contrasting

lines. Felipe Massa attacked in behind.

Dani Kvyat had a chance to catch up. This is all helping Hamilton for his

pit stop. Will he be able to come out ahead of Sebastien Vettel?

Rosberg just passing the start-finish. Vettel not far behind

him. I think Vettel will get behind Hamilton. Looking good for the

Ferrari. He has not made his pit stop yet. There will be a 5 second

penalty for Valtteri Bottas. He will have that five seconds added to his

next pit stop. His pit stop wasn't slower earlier, if anything it was

too quick. Got out at just the wrong moment to clatter into the back of

Jenson Button. So come Vettel is the one following Rosberg, in second

place, Hamilton in third with Reikan and in fourth. That collision

between Valtteri Bottas and Jenson Button have them straight in front

of me, I don't want to influence the stewards but to me it looked like a

civil case of mirror, signal, manoeuvre. Bottas should have seen

Jenson coming in in my opinion, but he has a 5 second penalty. There you

go, he is indeed deemed to be at blame. I am looking at the Ferrari

pit wall, and thinking how long can Sebastien Vettel go on these tyres?

Daniel Ricciardo makes the move on Marcus Ericsson, so he is released a

little bit but is Hulkenberg going to be a will to do likewise?

Meanwhile Perez and Grosjean, there is a little puff of smoke. I think

he has made the move. They ended up crashing here if you years ago back

in 2012. Perez and whether collided with each other and it took Grosjean

out of the race. Thankfully this time they get through the section

cleanly with no repeats. Dani Kvyat back of this group has caught up

with Felipe Massa now. RADIO: Time to get stuck into it, tyres will be

fine. Yes, you can see Hulkenberg has got past him. At times, fettle,

just on a 47.8 on those prime tyres. Reikan and 40.7. -- 47.7. He has hit

it hard to try to close the gap to Hamilton. It doesn't look like

Vettel's lap times, about half a second down on Rosberg and also to

be a will to stay out there for quite a long run. Whether he can get

out with one-stop or not remains to be seen. From a time point of view,

it is quick, so much complication with traffic. Reikan and has had a

couple of fastest laps at the end of a Grand Prix. I wonder if he will be

up to hang on the fastest lap here. Felipe Massa now bottled up behind

Marcus Ericsson, who started on the harder compound tyres. He is just

staying out there for the moment. Massa and Kvyat are queueing up

behind the stop it is interesting that it can be quite demanding the

past that Sauber. Massa takes the move down the inside to slip past

the Sauber. I don't think it will be too long before Dani Kvyat is the

same. He should pick up the DRS and be in a good position to an

out-brake the Sauber into town 11 here. Heading down the straight.

Here comes Dani Kvyat looking, but not enough space, though Eriksson

locks up a wheel, almost an opportunity for Kvyat to complete

the manoeuvre. He has a look up the inside now, side-by-side, we have

seen it go wrong there before but that was brave stuff from Dani Kvyat

. Good stuff from Eriksson as well. It was pointless trying to close the

door. That would have been contact for sure. It comes Massa, big on the

brakes down to 11. That is how he managed to make the move. Still

fighting the car a bit on the corner. Tricky off-camera corners, I

have had this conversation with designers before. There is a theory

with some circuit scientists, as Vettel, a costly lock-up, has a

damage that front tyre? Certainly put him under pressure from

Hamilton, look at that. Hamilton needs to get past him pretty

sharpish. He is going to go for it. Down the inside past Sebastien

Vettel, and this is the second place. Vettel is on tyres that have

been working pretty hard from the start of the Grand Prix. Hamilton is

on a fresh set. Vettel will get DRS because of the activation point as

well. Although he has lost out on the run to the chicane, you gain

speed down the inside. As Hamilton damaged the tire by locking up in

front of that section by the hotel on 17? It shows he is pushing. If

you can use the slipstream from Hamilton able help them catch

Hamilton ultimately and maybe take third. That is how the overtake took

place. Last time around for Reikan, it was a 46.9. Reikan and you can

see in the background is continuing this great form we have seen through

qualifying. I wonder if anyone forgot the toll Kimi that the World

Championship started in March. Still try to take fourth place, but that

is looking much more straightforward now Bottas has had his troubles.

Bottas is down in 17th place. Let's run through the entire order at this

point. Rosberg ahead of Hamilton, Vettel in third place but waiting to

make his first up. Reikan and is four. Perez hanging in there in

fifth place ahead of Grosjean, who has also not made a pit stop yet.

Ricciardo in seventh, Hulkenberg eight, Massa is ninth, panic fired

complete the top ten. Eriksson is in 11th, waiting for him to pit stop,

then in 12, Carlos Sainz ahead of first up, but only just. We are

riding on board with Max Verstappen. Then we have Button in 14th place.

Massa is 15. Roberto Merhi is 18th, Alonso at the lack of a field and

one retirement, Pastor Maldonado. Saint IS needs to get past Eriksson

ASAP otherwise he will -- I suspect that this point in the

season, they need to get on with it. Might be a opportunity now for

Carlos Sainz. That Sauber in a straight line is pretty handy. In

the slipstream, get down the inside if he can. That should secure it in

the braking zone. Carlos Sainz makes the move on Marcus Ericsson. Max

Verstappen is the next tragedy so. It brings Carlos Sainz into 11.

Still an opportunity for Toro Rosso to get some points finishes out of

this Grand Prix. With Lotus not having a great time, a little bit

hard to judge Romain Grosjean at the moment because he is sixth, but he

is due a pit stop. Slightly out of sequence with the Toro Rossos. A bit

of a lock-up from Max Verstappen. That is why we saw Vettel make a

mistake a little while ago. That clean air is not running of your

front wing. The consequence of that is always difficult to break into a

corner, because the turning circle of the tire, as the Sauber heads for

the pit. Max Verstappen released. With the turning circle of the tire,

if you are breaking in a straight line, you can potentially have 100%

of that tie available. As soon as you start to turn you have to

release the brake. Finding the balance while trying to

judge how much downforce you are losing, it is tricky. Kimi Raikkonen

has caught team-mate Sebastian Vettel now, fighting for third.

Different strategies from the two cars. They have both fought hard

this year. In Russia, Raikkonen was pretty hard on Vettel but in the end

Vettel did get past when he was quicker. He is going to let

Raikkonen around the outside. Sensible, because they are on

different strategies. If effectively fighting for third, but no point

doing it right now. That means Vettel is 23 seconds plus the gap

you can see behind his team-mate, who is one-stop behind. The time in

the pit lane if you perform well is about 23 seconds, so Raikkonen needs

to try and open up a 23 second gap to his team-mate to be able to

effect his second stop if Vettel is only doing one stop. Raikkonen

should find himself with better tyres and quicker at the end of the

race, to try to overtake his team-mate. That is the theory and

difference between one-stop two stops. Perez could still beat

Sebastian Vettel if the Force India keeps going well. Ericsson, only did

15 laps on the soft tyre. Would be very difficult for Vettel to make it

a one-stop race. Teams thinking you have to do to stops minimum today. A

6.7 second advantage over Lewis Hamilton now, Rosberg. Raikkonen has

moved up into third. Fourth for Vettel. Let's see how far Grosjean

can go before a pit stop. Keep pushing like this, try to stay on

plan A. Interesting that Vettel would ask retrospectively... Not

something you would normally associate with Seb.

In the end, confirmed as the right thing to do. A pretty good

relationship between Vettel and Raikkonen at Ferrari this year. I

loved all my slower team-mates! Unfortunately most of mine were

faster, so I hated them. It is an unusual one, isn't it? Anyone

listening will know that I beat up on Kimi from time to time, but that

is only because I have such a high regard for what he achieved early in

his career, winning a World Championship. One of the fastest

drivers of his generation. Doesn't seem to have been at the races for a

lot of the season, but this is a great performance, something you

expect from him. And of course he performed well to take the victory

here a few years ago for Lotus. Mercedes in total control with

Rosberg and Hamilton, although Raikkonen is only 3.7 seconds behind

Hamilton, ready to pick up the pieces if anything goes wrong for

the leaders. The top three, in fact the top four, heading down the

straight at the same time. Vettel also in the shot. A quiet race by

his standards, Hamilton. Trying to end the run that Nico

Rosberg has had, maybe it has backfired a bit for Lewis. Sergio

Perez in fifth place, Romain Grosjean in sixth place, beginning

to be caught by Daniel Ricciardo, who was a bit quicker on the last

lap. Closing on the Lotus. Behind him, Hulkenberg in eighth place and

Felipe Massa in ninth place and Daniil Kvyat in tenth. The Toro

Rossos, Sainz and Verstappen, chasing each other around, 0.9

seconds between them. Relatively early stages of the Grand Prix,

about one third distance. Verstappen goes past Sainz quite easily, it

looked like Sainz let him through. Not only let him through but he

drove down all of the discarded rubber... Alonso in the pits yet

again. Third pit stop, because he had a drive-through, of course. I

hope Sainz doesn't have an issue. He went out of his way to let his

team-mate through. It means Verstappen has moved into 11th. The

most effective way to let someone go past without losing much time is to

lift early. As we saw with Seb, allowing Raikkonen to go around the

outside. You really don't want to run off-line, potential debris on

your tyres. A bit subservient. Maybe we can get a line from Tom if he is

able to find out exactly what is going on there. Massa still being

chased by Daniil Kvyat, just inside the top ten. The Brazilian and the

Russian, who has had one podium finish. Sainz, just hearing on the

radio, there was a command to let Verstappen go through. Unlike

Verstappen in Singapore, who said no, Sainz decided to take the other

option. The team have the right to operate as they see fit. But given

what we have seen so far in this Grand Prix, it seems a bit harsh on

Sainz. And it's see how the next few laps turn out, maybe the tyre wear

is different on the two cars. Verstappen just going a bit quicker

now he is past his team-mate. In front, still Nico Rosberg trying to

take the final victory of the season. Rosberg also trying to earn

his first ever hat-trick of Grand Prix victories. Can he make it three

in a row to finish off the season in style? Hamilton of course already

three times world champion, but he won't like to be beaten in these

last few races. It might be irrelevant in terms of the World

Championship, but it would give Rosberg a boost of confidence going

into the winter break. 20 of time to go in this race. Rosberg, six

seconds ahead of Hamilton. Raikkonen, four seconds behind

Hamilton. Vettel, holding on to fourth place. Waiting for his first

pit stop. Lap 20 out of 55. He started on the harder compact tyre.

Last year, Daniel Ricciardo started from the pit lane and finished in

fourth place, he waited until lap 27 before making his first stop. Just

one retirement, Pastor Maldonado, talking to lie. What a frustrating

way for your season to end. It looked like you were in the wrong

place at the wrong time. Exactly. This is racing. Imagine it was the

other way around, big news, you know? But anyway am a it's racing,

it can happen. -- but anyway, it's racing. Next year, we will work hard

to try to get better and better. We have all the tools and the chances

as a team to become much stronger than this year. Still confident that

Lotus will become Renault shortly? Hopefully yes, it's what we need.

Still a big question about that team and the future, whether a deal will

be done by Renault. A big lock-up from Verstappen there. They rather

uncomfortable flat spot. Will it to head into the pits early? Having got

past his team-mate, he was trying to get a move on and hammer home the

fact that he was quicker. Seven seconds over his team-mate, but he

now has an issue. Ricciardo is still tucked in behind Romain Grosjean.

The Verstappen. A flat spot... He has created a huge flat spot in the

tyres and he has to come into the pits. He was six tenths faster than

his team-mate but he has paid the penalty because he has ruined the

tyres. It has been a great debut season and all is not lost.

A fresh set of boots on, see how well the Toro Rosso team can do. A

relatively short stint on what should be the harder tyre. So it may

become a three-stop race for Max Verstappen. We will have to wait and

see. 13 laps on those tyres. Much less than the projected life.

Grosjean still hanging on in there, having not start stopped yet.

Looking after his tyres pretty well, 20 laps, so has Sebastian Vettel.

Decent mileage, being very careful. We did see Vettel lock the inside

front at one point but he has got away with it. Vettel has dropped six

seconds behind his team-mate now. Rosberg, the gap is 5.5 seconds.

They are pretty much trading lap times. 47.1. 46.9 for Hamilton. Only

a couple of tenths, not enough to really put any pressure on Rosberg.

Raikkonen is five seconds behind Hamilton. Continuing his impressive

run. About six tenths of a second per lap slower. Into the darkness in

Abu Dhabi. It is all about Nico Rosberg, leading this race, doing

what he so much wanted to do here 12 months ago in the battle for the

title with Hamilton. On that occasion, Hamilton got in front and

Rosberg suffered problems with the power unit, losing a large part of

the hybrid system of the engine. That is not happening at the moment.

Rosberg maintaining a 5 second advantage over Hamilton. Raikkonen

hanging in for Ferrari in third. Vettel currently in fourth, may have

to fight his way up the order after he has made a pit stop. 11 seconds

ahead of Perez, so he will lose a place to them, and a whole bunch of

cars when he comes into the pits. We'll come out behind the likes of

Hulkenberg and Ricciardo as well, so plenty of work for Sebastian Vettel.

As we have seen in Abu Dhabi in the past, he has been able to fight his

way through to decent results from poor starts in the past. I am sure

he will try to do that again today. The circuit comes alive even more in

the night-time, as the floodlights bring the slightly different look to

it. Ericsson now in 14th place after the late pit stop. Being chased by

Verstappen, who has now made a second pit stop. Quite a lot of work

for Verstappen. He is on a three-stop strategy, we should be

able to enjoy some classic Verstappen overtaking manoeuvres.

Indeed. The fastest lap from Hamilton, 46.7, half a second

quicker than Rosberg last time around. The gap is down to 4.8

seconds. That will not worry Rosberg much. It is when it gets down to two

seconds, you get a bit more cautious. More considered with your

brakes. One little error and you can easily lose a second and a half.

Rosberg has been here before. We have seen Hamilton play cat and

mouse, applying the pressure and then dropping back and building

again. Rosberg will be wise to it. People enjoy in various wanted

points around the circuit, as the race continues, lap 23 out of 55.

Just short of half distance. Max Verstappen closes up on the Sauber

of Marcus Ericsson. On board with the race leader, sorry, with Lewis

Hamilton. Rosberg is still the race leader. Hamilton, another fastest

lap. Is he going to be able to close the gap a little more? A personal

improvement in the first sector once again.

Rosberg, with a 3.8 second advantage, the gap has come down

quite a lot in the last lap. Will Stevens is in between the two cars,

in the Marussia, 17th place. There is no doubt Hamilton is going very

quickly. Another six tenths out of Rosberg in the middle sector of the

race. Ferrari preparing for Vettel's first stop. Tom, clearly

Vettel starting on the harder tyre, could be coming your way. I can do

one more... They have another set of time to Mac ready, so we know

Sebastian Vettel is going to have to make a second pit stop. -- set of

primes. He comes passed me now. A brilliant stop from the Ferrari

mechanics. Another stop from Sebastian Vettel later on. He will

have to switch onto the super soft at the end. This strategy has worked

well in the past. Romain Grosjean. Close to the wall as he goes

through, Vettel, and the exits back out onto the circuit. He is in front

of Hulkenberg. Max Verstappen still chasing after

Eriksson in the Sauber. Where will he try to find a spot to get

through? That is the question. Was burgers responding to Hamilton in

the last lap, the lap they are on right now, he has definitely

responded in the first sector. Middle sector Hamilton is coming

back at him. Definitely up front the two Mercedes drivers are pushing

each other. The cars are getting lighter, we are in the darkness so

cooling becomes easier. Your engine temperature start a lower com you

deliver a bit more horsepower. That is relative to your competitors as

well. Gives you a change, a difference in feeling, as you see

Jenson at an attacking with the DRS. That is a welcome sight that he is

not just getting nailed on the straights. Grosjean has just come

out of the pits and Button trying to fend him off here but I don't think

he will be up to do so on the second part of the straight. No. Grosjean

sweeps past. Jenson Button hoping the Honda power unit will give him a

bit more to play with when the new season starts. Max Verstappen still

not close enough. Into the pits has come Will Stevens.

Alonso is still running but way down at the back as well. Rosberg is the

race leader. 3.4 seconds, the gap. Into the pits comes Hulkenberg. We

saw Vettel came out ahead of him. A second stop for Nico Hulkenberg,

going on to another set of the soft tyre, the harder tyre. Again, a

relatively early time which to do that for Hulkenberg. We are only on

Lap 24. It may have to be a three-stop race as well. Maybe more

teams are finding that the decoration on the soft tyres is a

little bit greater than expected. The projected life of the soft tyre,

the prime Hulkenberg has just put on, is about 30 laps. I spoke to the

guys at Force India prior to the start, they definitely came into

this race planning an aggressive to stop, -- two stop. Talking of

aggressive, Max Verstappen has just snatched a place from Eriksson by

going inside into the hairpin but he did get DRS, that was clever,

because that section pointers before the hairpin. He is the one that

ended up with the rear flap opening on his wing to help his

straight-line speed. That was clever stuff by Max Verstappen. Another

great move by the Dutchman who has managed to get past the Sauber.

Again, just shows his racial awareness, the opportunities as he

is taking that wide line into the hairpin. He has chucked it down the

inside, that is an old karting move, and anyone who follows him on

social media will know he was out doing a bit of karting in the week

leading up to this race. It gives him an opportunity in a formula like

that where there are multiple passes, it just keeps you mentally

sharp. Hamilton has gone faster again. But the gap down to 4.6

seconds between himself and Rosberg. Not giving up on the chase for

victory. Alonso stating if we don't get a

safety car, which would give them a chance to catch up, he will retire

the car. He has had enough pretty much full stop it may well be that

his 2015 season well end would much as it has been throughout the year,

sadly. We saw Hulkenberg go through the shot. Max Verstappen now ahead

of Eriksson. It brings Max Verstappen in the 18th place. Bottas

still trying to fight his way through the order and trying to come

from a long way back. In 16th place at this stage was stop Hulkenberg

here tucked in behind Felipe Nasr. He will have a fairly

straightforward run to overtake the Brazilian snake go down the first

chicane. Kicking up some of the little tyre marbles, easily through

there, back onto the brakes and into the chicane. A winner at the mum

earlier -- at Le Mans earlier this year. Porsche have decided to cut

back, they are only going to run two at Le Mans anyway, so he would have

missed out because he is not one of their regular drivers. It was the

third car. Out of an opportunity to drive and defend their victory at Le

Mans next J. A bit of a shame but the side unfortunately needs a cup

back to two cars were stopped on board with Sebastien Vettel, on this

different strategy, just coming in ahead of him was Daniel Ricciardo.

Ricciardo in the Red Bull coming in, and around the half point of this

Grand Prix. Is he going to make it a two-stop from here? That is what is

presumably planning to do but it is early and he has a long way to go on

that set of tyres. Also in, Felipe Massa in the Williams. Let's hope

they get a clean pit stop this time and no repeat of the incident we saw

between Bottas, although it was not that clean. Hamilton fastest in the

first sector. Three tenths quicker than Rosberg last time around. As we

were discussing earlier in the race, was at a slightly different approach

to everyone in this Grand Prix? RADIO: Nico, looks like you're

suffering with front right grading. That engineer giving him information

would have access to tyre potential temperatures that would be in the

garage, both me Koke's data engineer will be able to -- both

interesting to find out what the line is between aiding the driver on

the race track and giving tactical information. Hamilton on the move.

Definitely catching now by quite a margin, six tenths of a second he

gained. Still going quicker than Nico Rosberg. Has Lewis Hamilton

looked after his tyres better? Will he be in better shape as we go

through this race? No doubt about it. We will expect a pit stop for

Force India. This is presumably going to be Perez to make his second

stop. Yes it is. In from fourth place. Meanwhile, Sebastien Vettel

has set the fastest lap in the race. Still lots to look forward to hear.

Perez, beautiful effort in qualifying yesterday, fourth on the

grid, accelerate away. Now will he be able to get to the end? Perez is

the kind of driver who could do this long stint of half the race on a set

of tyres but he will have to really look after them. That is his skill

of course. We have seen many times before. Can he really get to the end

of this set of tyres? Let's see where he rejoins. Ahead of

Ricciardo. He has responded to that pit stop and is out ahead of it.

Exactly the of tactical decisions being run through the simulation

programmes that the teams have. You don't rely on the data as a fullback

at all times. They instinctively know what is the right thing to do.

Hamilton still closing the gap but not quite as quickly as he was. 1.4

seconds the gap around the circuit at the moment. He needs to get

within one second to have the advantage of the DRS down the long

straights here. Vettel fast on that last lap, although Ricciardo, great

first section for him. Ricciardo has picked up an advantage of the slips

came from Perez. You can see him running behind the Force India. It

is interesting in this phase, we often see this, step changes in lap

time, in a normal race as the fuel burns off, the cars get a bit

quicker, and depending on the degradation depends on whether we

see improved lap times during the Grand Prix or not. This circuit,

because we see, sun setting a long time ago, happy hour is now over,

the lap times the starting to come down. The Toro Rosso of Carlos Sainz

coming into the pits. Maybe going for the long stint. A bit of a

slo-mo here. Clearly I -- clear prizes in use at night-time, give

some great viewing. This is into the uncomfortable zone. Although Nico

has managed this fantastically well in the last few Grand Prix, he knows

with the double DRS zone that it does make it tricky. You will have

the opportunity to save some of his energy that would be wasted

otherwise and use it in the DRS zones. RADIO: Just can't get

through. Impossible to overtake. Copy that, we're looking at it now.

There is best way to the electrical energy. The most efficient way to do

that if you are running a qualifying lap or a race lap on your own, as we

see another DRS pass. Sainz getting past Eriksson. A crucial manoeuvre

as he has been into the pit. Just to finish on that. What Nico can do is

not used some of that electrical energy where he knows in areas where

Lewis can pass on, then he can deploy more of it for longer when he

is coming into the two zones where the DRS is. It would neutralise the

effect of DRS entirely but will give them a bit more horsepower for

longer in those areas. Carlos Sainz has moved into 12 position. Max

Verstappen is the car ahead of him in 11th. RADIO: We will box at the

end of this lap. We have a 5 second penalty to serve as well. That will

be taken out, the mechanics will pause for five seconds before they

can get to work on the car. Still a difficult time for Valtteri Bottas.

You can imagine how it feels for five seconds, to a racing driver

when he has just improved by 2.5 seconds. The frustration of that

mistake that lies with whoever decided to raise the car, and

Formula 1 doesn't have a blame culture, it has a responsibility

culture. If the driver bins it into the double -- the gravel, he takes

the blame. Whoever released that car will hold his hand up. The team will

know who that individual is. They won't shine the spotlight on him in

the same way you wouldn't the driver. They are all in a

high-pressure situation and know the teams get it right. Perfectly

sample, Vettel started well done that with having taken a team that

had been in the World Championships in the very beginning. All of that

data to draw on manager shows a human element still comes into play.

Sebastien Vettel, fourth place, quite a long way behind Raikkonen.

Don't forget he will have to switch to the super soft tyre at the end of

the Grand Prix. You would expect him to stop around Lap 40. We have been

joined by Aaron Williams on the pit wall right now. Pat Symonds, that

was a tough call on the pit stop with Valtteri Bottas. Talk is true

what happened? With the release? We made a mistake, simple as that. It

was our fault and the penalty was a valid one. In that situation, it

must be very difficult to judge. How is the determination made? We have

go, no-go gauges, we have markers, I think probably got distracted by the

first car through. Not sure what it was, think it was a Red Bull, and

missed the second one. I suppose if you are in a different pit box,

sometimes the layout of the pits, which when you are income makes

quite a difference. Just talk is through Masoe's race at the moment,

he is really struggling. -- talk us through Felipe Massa's race. It is a

difficult circuit to overtake on, you hit some tough traffic. Pat,

just to enter up for a second, Rosberg is coming in, this is quite

early for a second stop from them? Let's just watched the pit stop take

place, on his way once again, that was very controlled. Pat, if you are

still with us, what are you thinking about the strategy? It seemed like

quite an early second stop. I don't think so, we were expecting early

30s. I think that is on their target. OK, and they should be of

the run to the end now. Yes, no problem, they will go beyond the end

of the race. Halton has responded, going turtle in the first sector, he

will have some tools at his disposal. Ash macro Hamilton has

responded. Maybe he has just turned up the engine mode to neutralise the

effect of the new tyres. The gap was, as it was recorded because

Rosberg had headed to the pit lane, it was recorded at .7 recession, it

was actually a bit more than .7. I would expect that gap to have opened

slightly after the round of stops. This is a classic example of fresh

tyres, you go out, and this out lap, provided he does not hear traffic or

make a mistake, will be quicker than Hamilton's in lap. Certainly in

clean air. Nobody up ahead of him really. Kimi Raikkonen has just gone

through Turn 11, plenty of space here in which to put together a fast

lap or so. Meanwhile, Hamilton still pushing on of course in his car

before he makes his own pit stop. We are on board with Kimi Raikkonen.

RADIO: Group eight on the dash. Box. Ferrari responding to the Mercedes

pit stop. Is there anyway Raikkonen can close the gap? Not looking

likely. Really just try to take third place here. Continuing a good

run, only a shade under ten seconds behind the lead car last time

around. Like we saw from Vettel in Brazil,

keeping Mercedes honest. A problem on the right front, they

could not get the wheel off. Oh, Ferrari, logistically and

operationally, just not on best form this weekend. It has cost them four

seconds at least. That will have an effect on the battle with Vettel.

Was running 16 seconds behind his team-mate. Certainly going to put

him under a little bit of pressure to come out in front. Behind

Vettel, actually, but by the time they do the stops, Vettel has

another one. That is Vettel just in front of him, going past Alonso, who

is in no mood to continue this Grand Prix. We have not seen a safety car.

This is interesting, under normal conditions, Vettel did not make it

difficult for Raikkonen, and he has ended up kind of him because of the

long stop. Hamilton has gone through the second

sector. Lewis, try to extend this stint. He is obviously putting on

good lap times if they are trying to extend the stint. Hamilton,

interesting tactic. It is not enough, though, he is half a second

slower in the middle sector than Rosberg. Extend the stint and give

yourself fresh tyres later in the race, but you are having to use up

some of the potential... Raikkonen, the front right, it just didn't seem

like the wheel would release. Eventually they get it on. Able to