1999 Australian GP

OSRN 1

Round 1 of the 1999 F1 season at Melbourne.

Transcript

00:00:00The champagne's been sprayed, the trophies engraved, and now the clock turns back to

00:00:10zero.

00:00:11It's 1999, a whole new season, and renewed optimism for the men and machines of Formula

00:00:18One.

00:00:19The quest for the FIA World Championship begins now on Fox Sportsnet.

00:00:49Welcome to Melbourne, Australia, for round one of the World Championship and our Toyota

00:01:01pre-race coverage of the Grand Prix of Australia.

00:01:07Round one of the FIA Formula One World Championship.

00:01:09Welcome.

00:01:10I'm Mike Joy, delighted to be with you once again this season on Fox Sportsnet.

00:01:16They're on the formation lap here at the Albert Park Circuit, or excuse me, as I'm

00:01:21joined by five-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Derek Bell.

00:01:27Reconnaissance lap, excuse me.

00:01:28I'm too excited, Derek.

00:01:29It's the new season.

00:01:30We're ready to go.

00:01:31There's several reconnaissance laps, Mike.

00:01:33No, it was very exciting last year.

00:01:35I must have made it right down to the wire, but at the end, a bit of a damp squib, I think,

00:01:39with poor old Schumacher's problem.

00:01:40But this year, I think it's going to be much closer, although I must say the Ferraris aren't

00:01:43quite up to par at the moment, but there's a long way to go.

00:01:46Well, it's a whole new year, and let's join our expert in the pit lane, the consulting

00:01:50editor of F1 Racing magazine, Peter Windsor.

00:01:56Thanks, Mike.

00:01:57Well, if you thought 1998 was good, if you were absorbed, as we all were, by the titanic

00:02:01struggle between McLaren and Ferrari, between Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen, in a

00:02:06struggle that went right down to the wire and resulted in Mika winning his first World

00:02:09Championship, then wait and see what we've got in store for you today here in Melbourne

00:02:13at the start of the 1999 Formula 1 World Championship.

00:02:16Ferrari have everything to prove.

00:02:18They've won races, now they need to win a championship.

00:02:21McLaren, however, appear still to be on top, even though everybody's now on the same tyres.

00:02:26Behind them, the three super-tech teams split by no more than a thousandth of a second.

00:02:31Prost, Jordan, Stewart, right up there with them.

00:02:34It's going to be close.

00:02:35New engines, new chassis, reliability in this heat's going to be at a premium.

00:02:39I can't wait.

00:02:40Back to you.

00:02:42World champion McLaren, Mercedes cars out on their recon lap, and you'll see a lot of

00:02:46new colours and new faces as we take you to this opening round of the World Championship.

00:02:53Let's have a look first, though, Derek, at some of the highlights of what was a tremendous

00:02:571998 season.

00:03:00The controversial 98 race season began when McLaren team orders dictator that David Coulthard

00:03:09would allow his team mate, Mika Häkkinen, to pass him for victory in the closing laps

00:03:13of the race.

00:03:14What David did was just remarkable.

00:03:18I don't have seen many drivers doing things like this.

00:03:22Häkkinen, Coulthard and Michael Schumacher each claimed victory in the following races.

00:03:27And then, of course, it was a showdown at Monaco.

00:03:29As always, the colour Monte Carlo provides the celebrities and the tense moments.

00:03:35Schumacher and Wurz battled at Lowe's.

00:03:37Wurz later crashed into the barrier.

00:03:39Coulthard blew an engine and Häkkinen stormed to his first Monaco victory.

00:03:47Winning Monte Carlo is always a dream, always has been a dream.

00:03:52As always, we witnessed a near disaster as the races collided at the first turn, not

00:03:57once but twice.

00:03:58Absolute shambles.

00:04:00And then at the British Grand Prix, it resembled a hydroplane race more than F1.

00:04:04Both McLarens had problems in the wet stuff as Schumacher takes the chequered flags in

00:04:08the pits.

00:04:09The Flying Finn and Michael Schumacher battled throughout the European circuit.

00:04:13And by the Hungarian Grand Prix, Michael was within seven points of Häkkinen.

00:04:16The maximum I was thinking to achieve was being first and make a second.

00:04:20What happened today is obviously ideal for the championship.

00:04:24Near disaster struck again in Belgium as the race cars literally broke apart at the start.

00:04:29And later on, Schumacher blows the lead when he crashes into a slower David Coulthard.

00:04:35But Michael came back, winning the Italian Grand Prix and tying Häkkinen for championship

00:04:40points.

00:04:41By the final race in Japan, Mika Häkkinen's lead over Schumacher is just four points.

00:04:46The stage was set, but the drama was short-lived.

00:04:49Michael stalls on the grid, suffers a puncture and hands the world championship to Mika Häkkinen.

00:04:53Ferrari will have to wait until next year.

00:04:58David Coulthard completing his reconnaissance lap coming around here.

00:05:03Big shower this morning, but it looks like it's going to be a beautiful afternoon for

00:05:07the race today.

00:05:08Well, McLaren-Mercedes have had a chance to savour this championship for some three months.

00:05:14Peter can give us an update on how they look forward to the coming year.

00:05:17Thanks, Mike.

00:05:19Yes, of course, the two key figures of the 1998 season were Mika Häkkinen and his team

00:05:25owner Ron Dennis.

00:05:26I caught up with them a couple of days ago at a McLaren-Mercedes lunch very nearby the

00:05:30circuit.

00:05:31I asked Mika how it felt to be racing as world champion.

00:05:34It feels really, really nice.

00:05:39It definitely feels better than, the feeling now is definitely better than last year, a

00:05:45year before.

00:05:46I've got much more confidence for the racing for the Grand Prix and more confidence for

00:05:53the team.

00:05:57It just feels like I do understand much more now how to do it, how to win the races and

00:06:03how to win the championship.

00:06:04I've got more confidence for that this year.

00:06:08How did it feel when you got back in the car for the first time?

00:06:10A piece of cake, really.

00:06:12It was easy.

00:06:13It was, it's so natural for me to drive the racing car and drive it fast, so it was easy.

00:06:22And that's it, really.

00:06:23It was great fun.

00:06:24For team owner Ron Dennis, of course, the job now is to win back-to-back championships.

00:06:28I asked him if it was easier to start the year as champions, or perhaps not.

00:06:32You have to be sharp, make sure there's no complacency creeps in and really ensure that

00:06:40when you leave a Grand Prix that you can look back on it and say you've given 100%.

00:06:47So they're cool, calm and very relaxed.

00:06:49At the moment it looks good for the reigning world champions, although as we saw on Friday,

00:06:53even Micka Hacken and gets a bit overconfident sometimes.

00:06:55Back to you, Mike.

00:06:56Well, McLaren enters the season as favorites once again.

00:07:00Eddie Irvine out on his reconnaissance lap.

00:07:03There are new contenders and new faces this season.

00:07:06There are some new safety rules and new paint schemes and lots to talk about.

00:07:11We'll show you how some of these faces fit into the Formula 1 picture when we come back.

00:07:20Welcome back to our Toyota pre-race in the Grand Prix of Australia.

00:07:23Some of the cars have been out for reconnaissance laps.

00:07:25The defending world champion McLaren and Mercedes have not.

00:07:29Micka Hacken back in, out of his car, having a few looks at things as we look at some of

00:07:35what is new for 1999, and there's a lot that's new.

00:07:41Let's start with drivers.

00:07:42Brazilian Riccardo Zonta is part of the new B.A.R. team, while Tom Walkinshaw of Arrows

00:07:46has hired Pedro De La Rosa.

00:07:49The most familiar new face to American fans, Alex Zanardi, who returns to Formula 1 after

00:07:54two car championships.

00:07:56The minority team has Luca Badour, Ferrari test driver, and Marc Genet, who will spend

00:08:03today's race out there.

00:08:06And then, of course, we've come to drivers aren't the only changes.

00:08:10The tires are their own story, and, of course, this year we only have Bridgestone as the

00:08:14tire supplier, but a fourth groove has been added, and, of course, Benetton has an all-new

00:08:17front suspension and some brakes that we're not too sure about.

00:08:21The Prost, of course, is sporting some new front wings on the, or little wings on the

00:08:25side pod.

00:08:26You can see them there.

00:08:27John Barnard has joined from Arrows.

00:08:28Always comes up with some tweaks, and now, of course, we've got some pretty colors coming

00:08:31on, Mike.

00:08:32Yeah, the color of money this year is orange at Arrows, not pretty, and there's a new blue

00:08:38joining the red of the Williams, and the B.A.R. car, they wanted to run one car in white and

00:08:43one car in blue.

00:08:44Formula 1 said no, so this is the compromise committee design solution.

00:08:50It is, to say the least, unique.

00:08:56McLaren Mercedes out on reconnaissance lap and back into the pits as we close in on the

00:09:00start of the 1991 season.

00:09:03One of the big changes here, a new driver, not new to Formula 1, returning to Formula

00:09:081, here is Peter with Alex Zanardi.

00:09:13That's right, Mike, a man who needs no introduction to American race fans, Alex Zanardi, or should

00:09:17it be Alessandro?

00:09:18Now you're back in Formula 1.

00:09:19No, no.

00:09:20We'll stick to Alex.

00:09:21Okay, so you're on the straight, you're approaching a tight corner.

00:09:24Tell us how different it is in a Formula 1 car compared with a car chassis.

00:09:29Initially not so different.

00:09:30When you get to the corner, as you slow down, it's quite different because the car has no

00:09:34grip at all.

00:09:35It's difficult to keep the car on the same line every lap.

00:09:39Nevertheless, somebody does it, so it's not impossible.

00:09:42Left foot braking, how are you getting on with left foot braking in Formula 1?

00:09:45Actually, I'm right foot braking now.

00:09:47I got a pedal, a big fat pedal that I can do both, and it was kind of funny that the

00:09:53first time I switched back to the system, I was now, at that point I was used then to

00:09:58left foot brake.

00:09:59And the first time I concentrated and I hit the brake with my right foot, it was natural

00:10:04to take my hand off the steering wheel and look for the gear lever, which wasn't obviously

00:10:07there.

00:10:08It's okay now.

00:10:09It's getting better.

00:10:10Now, have you had any good wishes from Chip Ganassi or Jimmy Vassa yet?

00:10:14Oh, indeed.

00:10:15I have plenty.

00:10:16From all the boys.

00:10:17I mean, I still have so much love from these guys, and I spoke to Chip last week, I spoke

00:10:21to Jimmy two days ago, and I hope they're going to do well, as I hope I'm going to do

00:10:26well over here.

00:10:27Alex Zidane, making his debut with Williams in Formula 1, and with a lot of support from

00:10:31North America.

00:10:32Back to you, Mike.

00:10:33Well, he shows great promise, and we'll be keenly interested in his progress.

00:10:37You may well wonder what the cars are doing right now.

00:10:39They have 15 minutes in which they're allowed to go out, do one lap, into the pits, do some

00:10:43alterations, back out of the pit lane, and go on until they're satisfied, then line up

00:10:46on the grid.

00:10:47But they only have 15 minutes in which to do it.

00:10:49That's what they're doing.

00:10:50That's Michael Schumacher on Ferrari that's on track right now, and by the way, he's an

00:10:52already-promised, so should he win in Formula 1, none of his car trademarked donuts.

00:10:57We're closing in on the start of the season, and we'll have a look at qualifying for this

00:11:03weekend's Grand Prix.

00:11:04Extremely close.

00:11:05We'll show it to you when we come back.

00:11:11Welcome back to our Toyota pre-race coverage for the Grand Prix of Australia from Melbourne.

00:11:16Our next telecast upcoming is from Brazil.

00:11:20The Brazilian Grand Prix is April 11th here on Fox Sportsnet, so make a note on your racing

00:11:25calendar and join us live for the Grand Prix of Brazil.

00:11:31What a beautiful day for a race down here in Australia.

00:11:35Mika Hockenheim and David Coulthard have both been out on track taking these reconnaissance

00:11:40laps as we close in on race time.

00:11:4266 degrees, track temperature just 72, low humidity, and a light breeze.

00:11:47No chance of rain the rest of the day.

00:11:51It's going to be a busy season here on Fox Sportsnet for Formula 1.

00:11:55We'll bring you the entire Formula 1 World Championship, Brazil April 11th, San Marino

00:12:00May 2nd, and on to Monaco.

00:12:02What a beautiful, storied, historic race that is, and so picturesque for us.

00:12:06To Spain, to Canada, France, Great Britain, and Austria through the summer months, Germany,

00:12:11Hungary, Belgium, Italy, Europe, the new Grand Prix of Malaysia in October, and we'll end

00:12:18the season once again in Japan at the end of October.

00:12:21Well, this is Mika Hockenheim just going out for another lap, just a reconnaissance to

00:12:25check everything out.

00:12:26They're obviously checking things out very heavily as David Coulthard slips up onto the

00:12:29grid.

00:12:30This sort of shambles at this moment.

00:12:33Well now the circuit, Albert Park, Melbourne, a lovely circuit, 3.95 miles round.

00:12:39It's of course in a park, it's only used once a year, so it's very green.

00:12:42The circuit is very dirty, but the grip continually improves as fresh rubber is put down, so the

00:12:47engineers and the drivers have to adapt the car for changing track conditions, but my

00:12:51goodness me, there's a lot of braking, a lot of high-speed stuff, so it's all down to the

00:12:56driver and the absolute technical side of the car, in fact.

00:13:01Well let's have a look at how they did in qualifying.

00:13:08Fifty thousand fans turned out yesterday for the first qualifying run of 1999, and Johnny

00:13:12Herbert was the first on track.

00:13:15Next was Alex Zanardi having his first run in the World Championship for some five years.

00:13:19Pika Hakanen went out and took the pole from early pole sitter Rubens Barrichello.

00:13:23And then of course up went Marc Genet and his Menardi 4, took some grass, and he's actually

00:13:28on his way back to France right now.

00:13:29Jacques Villeneuve had quite a wild spin, showing off all the livery on his car.

00:13:33Everybody having moments on the grass, here's Michael Schumacher having a lurid time trying

00:13:37to get up there on the front row, but failed, got third place.

00:13:40Heinz-Harald Frentzen had a great fifth place, sliding around a lot, Damon Hill wasn't happy,

00:13:44but Heinz-Harald did a great job.

00:13:46Big drama late in qualifying, Coulthard pips Hakanen for the pole by a thousandth of a

00:13:50second, but the flying fin comes back and knocks off pole position by nearly half a

00:13:56second from his McLaren Mercedes teammate.

00:13:59The big surprise of qualifying, let's meet him, here's Peter.

00:14:04Fourth position is just, I'm, is just so pleased for the team, you know, the car is giving

00:14:11a good chance for myself.

00:14:13When was the last time Rubens Barrichello enjoyed driving this much?

00:14:16Oh, it was a long time ago, I tell you, 97 was a good car, Stewart made a good car, but

00:14:20this one has all the thinking, it's so straight, and it's a good car, and I'm delighted to

00:14:27be part of the team right now.

00:14:29Congratulations, and have a great race today.

00:14:30I will, I will, thank you.

00:14:33Well, Derek, they've made a lot of changes with the tires over the last three years,

00:14:39but what has not changed so much, as we look at Mika Hakanen's championship-defending

00:14:43McLaren Mercedes, what hasn't changed much are the qualifying pole times here.

00:14:47Yes, they haven't indeed, as you can see, Jacques Villeneuve did a 1.29.3 in 97, Hakanen

00:14:52did a 1.30 last year, and he's done a 1.30 this year, and remember, it was on slicks

00:14:56in 97, they were on three-groove front tires last year, and they're on four grooves in

00:15:00the front tire this year, so it shows how actual technical development of the cars has

00:15:04come on.

00:15:05David Coulthard walking out, getting set for the start of this campaign, hoping to improve

00:15:09on his third-place points position from 1998.

00:15:13Well, Peter, must be a lot of anticipation and enthusiasm down in the pit lane as we

00:15:18get set for the start of yet another new season.

00:15:22Let's get your thoughts before we go green.

00:15:25Thanks, Mike.

00:15:27I hate to talk too much about technical aspects, but this weekend really has been defined by

00:15:32tires and by engines.

00:15:34Much harder compound tire this year for all the drivers, and it's brought a new catchphrase

00:15:38into the weekend, window of controllability.

00:15:41The window of controlling the car when it's sliding is now much smaller on this harder

00:15:45compound Bridgestone, partly because Bridgestone are a monopoly, partly because we have four

00:15:50grooves on the front.

00:15:51The cars are sliding all over the place.

00:15:52Ferrari had a problem with this, they tested in Europe on very grippy circuits, Fiorano

00:15:57and Mugello, came here to Melbourne, sliding all over the place.

00:16:00This is where engines came into play.

00:16:02Big talk now about how light all the engines are in the Formula One cars.

00:16:06The Ilmore engine, the Mercedes Ilmore engine, something like 97 kilos.

00:16:10That gives McLaren enormous scope to build a car underweight.

00:16:14Same with Ferrari.

00:16:15They then ballasted up to the weight limit, and that ballast is something they can move

00:16:18around in the car to solve handling problems.

00:16:20It took Ferrari a couple of days to get the handling right, but by the end of qualifying

00:16:24they were just about there.

00:16:25So tires, engines, it's a technology race as ever, but those guys out there are going

00:16:29to be the stars.

00:16:30Back to you.

00:16:31Well, it's been quite hectic.

00:16:33They're working on Hakkinen's car in the garage just now, pushed it out as if they were going

00:16:37to take it out as a spare car on the grid.

00:16:39Meanwhile, they've been working very hard on his car on the grid, had all the wheels

00:16:42off and doing a lot of work, but it seems to have quietened down a bit now, so maybe

00:16:46the drama's over.

00:16:47They're making adjustments to the end plate of the front wing.

00:16:49One of the mechanics there apparently banged into the computer display there.

00:16:55The United States Grand Prix will occur once again, here Mika Hakkinen walking out.

00:16:59Of course, what we are looking forward to is the U.S. Grand Prix in the year 2000.

00:17:04After many years' absence, Formula 1 racing will return to the United States at the famed

00:17:09Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

00:17:11F1 head Bernie Ecclestone had quite a number of suitors to choose from.

00:17:16San Francisco, Atlanta, areas were all in the running, but he decided on the mystique

00:17:21of the brickyard and the package put together by Tony George for the upcoming package beginning

00:17:27in the year 2000.

00:17:28They'll run clockwise at Indianapolis.

00:17:30That's never been done.

00:17:31New garages, new pit suites as required by F1 now under construction.

00:17:36They'll run through the infield adjacent the golf course and then back out onto the front

00:17:40straightaway and across the yard of bricks.

00:17:43The most impressive thing to me, first of all, is we're going to start on the start

00:17:47finishing line is going to be that strip of the old bricks that used to be there.

00:17:52Now, that's a bit of history.

00:17:53In 1911, that race was first held and those same bricks are there.

00:17:58We're going to cross them to start our race and then we're going to go the wrong way around

00:18:01the circuit up to turn, what is turn four for them will be turn one to us.

00:18:07The infield is very interesting.

00:18:09The safety that they're looking at is very good.

00:18:11The best debris fences in the world are at Indianapolis.

00:18:16So I think the total package is going to be very exciting.

00:18:24And we can't wait.

00:18:25A bit of drama here as Mika Haakonen has a misfire in his car.

00:18:29He will go to the spare that will be lined up for him for the start of this race.

00:18:34Well, Jeff Gordon, NASCAR star, wants to try a Formula 1 car and Jackie Stewart has extended

00:18:39an invitation.

00:18:40Hmm.

00:18:41We'll see.

00:18:42And we'll take a lap around the Albert Park circuit here when we come back to Melbourne.

00:18:52Welcome back to our Fox Sports coverage of FIA Formula 1 world championship racing from

00:18:57Melbourne, Australia.

00:18:58Brought to you by pep boys, cars like us, people love us.

00:19:03And by Toyota.

00:19:05Every day.

00:19:06Toyota.

00:19:07Well, a good bit of drama, Derek, on the reconnaissance laps with backup cars rolling out.

00:19:14Yes.

00:19:15And Artie had a problem.

00:19:16So he got out in his spare car.

00:19:17I couldn't quite understand.

00:19:18There was lots of incidents here with Haakonen getting in and out of the pits.

00:19:22One of the mechanics actually gets hit by that thing lowering down.

00:19:25See that?

00:19:26All that equipment.

00:19:27He dropped on the guy's head there.

00:19:28That's why he was holding that hot or sort of say rather hot but icy cloth to his head.

00:19:32He dragged an air hose out of the garage with him.

00:19:35What's it like to go around the Albert Park circuit?

00:19:38Let's ride along.

00:19:39Derek Bell.

00:19:40Well, John Alesi is doing the driving, I'm sad to say, and John didn't qualify terribly

00:19:44well.

00:19:45But we're coming down into turns three and four, working their way through this, sweeping

00:19:49out.

00:19:50As I said just now, it's a very smooth circuit, in fact, too smooth, and they have to put

00:19:53a lot of downforce into the cars.

00:19:55It seems to work very well for the McLaren.

00:19:57They're working their way up to 175 miles an hour, and he's going to shift down to fourth

00:20:01gear as he sweeps through this corner at about 120 miles an hour, going past a bit of the

00:20:06marina all the way around to the Clark curve.

00:20:09He's pulling 175, 180 miles an hour as he brakes all the way down to third gear, sweeps

00:20:14his way through, and then back through a left-hander up to 110, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh

00:20:20gear, in some cases in the Ferrari and the McLaren, 180 miles an hour.

00:20:23As you can see, it is smooth, but it's a green circuit because it's only used once a year.

00:20:27And he sweeps through here, his fifth gear, and he works his way down, right the way down,

00:20:33or should I say up to 180, but then down again, right down to a very slow corner called Ascari,

00:20:37coming up a right-hander up here.

00:20:39Could be very precise, the circuit is bumpy under braking.

00:20:42You see as he tries to get that 780 horsepower, get the wheels on the road, works his way

00:20:47through Stewart, and then, of course, coming back down now to, in fact, the slowest corner

00:20:51on the circuit.

00:20:52He's only right down to second gear, 45 miles an hour, and then, of course, out for the

00:20:56last turn, out onto the pit straight, vital to get it clear, there's your lap.

00:21:04A great circuit here, and a lot of great support events to put some rubber down on the track

00:21:08and thrill these fans.

00:21:09They've had Formula 4, a Ford, a Porsche event, a BMW celebrity race, and Bob Jane's ex-NASCAR

00:21:15Winston Cup cars were here from Thunderdome to run an eight-lap NASCAR-type event.

00:21:20Here's the starting lineup for today's race.

00:21:23Mika Hocken and David Coulthard in the McLaren Mercedes share the front row, as they did

00:21:27last year, just half a second apart.

00:21:30In row two, Michael Schumacher on Ferrari and Rubens Barrichello, the great surprise

00:21:34for Stewart with the new Ford engine.

00:21:37Row three, Heinz-Harald Frensen places the Jordan on the third row, and Eddie Irvine

00:21:41for Ferrari.

00:21:44In the fourth row, Giancarlo Fisichella for Benetton, and Ralph Schumacher in his first

00:21:47ride for Williams.

00:21:50Back at row five, Damon Hill in the Jordan Honda, and Alexander Wurz for Benetton, 2.3

00:21:55seconds off the pole time.

00:21:57Jack Villeneuve's debut for British American Racing finds him in row six with Jarno Trulli

00:22:01for Prost.

00:22:03In the seventh row, Johnny Herbert's first ride for Jackie Stewart, and Pedro Diniz now

00:22:07with Sauber.

00:22:09In the eighth row, Alex Zanardi returning to Formula 1 after two car championships,

00:22:16now with Williams and John Alesi, with Sauber carries our on-board camera today.

00:22:20Toro Takagi moves to the Arrows team at the last minute, ditching Mika Salo and Pedro

00:22:26de la Rosa, new with Arrows this year.

00:22:29Back at row ten, British American Racing's Riccardo Zonta makes his debut, and Olivier

00:22:33Panay for Prost with problems in qualifying.

00:22:37Luca Badour, the former Ferrari test driver for Minardi, and Marc Genet, the Spaniard,

00:22:42did not run fast enough to qualify.

00:22:45Well, they're working pretty hard here on David Coulthard's car as well, McLaren, and

00:22:51the slight amount of chaos just before the start.

00:22:54They're always normally so calm, but it looked a bit chaotic right there.

00:22:59And we'll be back, looking to the start of the Grand Prix of Australia and the 1999 Formula

00:23:05One racing season, right after this.

00:23:12Welcome back to Formula One racing coverage on Fox Sports Net.

00:23:15Mike Joy with Derrick Bell and Peter Winsor.

00:23:18All cars now to the grid, wheels fitted and drivers installed as we close in on the start

00:23:22of the 1999 racing season.

00:23:25This race last year was not without its controversy.

00:23:28In an effort to keep their cars reliable and have their drivers not race each other, McLaren

00:23:33and Mercedes had an agreement among their two drivers.

00:23:36Whichever one got to the first corner first would be allowed to win the race, and so David

00:23:40Coulthard stepped aside for Mika Haakonen, who got the victory and was en route to his

00:23:46championship season.

00:23:47There's a look at the start.

00:23:48Haakonen leading the run to turn one.

00:23:49And with three laps to go, David Coulthard stepped aside.

00:23:50Haakonen has made an inadvertent pit stop.

00:23:51What do you think?

00:23:52I wonder if I can win this thing.

00:23:53We'll tell you tomorrow.

00:23:54Maybe.

00:23:55Well, I think Coulthard is, uh, I wouldn't say he's out for blood, Derrick, but he is

00:23:56certainly out to, let's say, avenge what happened to his car.

00:23:57I think he's out for revenge.

00:23:58I think he's out for revenge.

00:23:59I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:00I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:01I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:02I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:03I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:04I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:05I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:06I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:07I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:08I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:09I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:10I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:11I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:12I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:13I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:14I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:15I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:16I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:17I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:18I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:19I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:20I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:21I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:22I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:23I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:24I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:25I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:26I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:27I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:28I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:29I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:30I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:31I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:32I think he's out for revenge.

00:24:34I'm going to compare them to Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa.

00:24:36I'm going to compare them to Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa.

00:24:37Mark McGuire went out last year to hit home runs.

00:24:39Mark McGuire went out last year to hit home runs.

00:24:40And nothing but.

00:24:41And look where his team finished.

00:24:42Sammy Sosa went out to hit home runs and get his team to the playoffs.

00:24:44Sammy Sosa went out to hit home runs and get his team to the playoffs.

00:24:46And the Cubs made the playoffs.

00:24:47And the Cubs made the playoffs.

00:24:48And he had a great season.

00:24:49So did David Coulthard.

00:24:50And he had a great season.

00:24:51So did David Coulthard.

00:24:52But part of his season was helping McLaren win that championship and supporting Hockenham.

00:24:53But part of his season was helping McLaren win that championship and supporting Hockenham.

00:24:54But part of his season was helping McLaren win that championship and supporting Hockenham.

00:24:55But part of his season was helping McLaren win that championship and supporting Hockenham.

00:24:56Now, it's a whole new year.

00:24:57Now, it's a whole new year.

00:24:58Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:24:59Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:00Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:01Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:02Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:03Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:04Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:05Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:07Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:08Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:09Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:10Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:11Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:12Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:13Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:14Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:15Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:16Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:17Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:18Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:20Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:21Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:22Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:23Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:24Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:25Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:26Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:27Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:28Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:29Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:30Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:31Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:33Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:34Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:35Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:36Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:37Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:38Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:39Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:40Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:41Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:42Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:43Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:44Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:46Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:47Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:48Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:49Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:50Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:51Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:52Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:53Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:54Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:55Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:56Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:57Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:58Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:25:59Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:00Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:01Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:02Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:03Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:04Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:05Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:06Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:07Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:08Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:09Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:10Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:11Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:12Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:13Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:14Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:15Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:16Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:17Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:18Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:19Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:20Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:21Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:22Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:23Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:24Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:25Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:26Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:27Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:28Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:29Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:30Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:31Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:32Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:33Let's have a look at some of the strategies we'll be following today.

00:26:35All right.

00:26:36The cars are now moving into position on the starting grid.

00:26:37And you'll see the tree of lights as it goes dark.

00:26:38We'll be racing here in 1999.

00:26:39Well, the 1999 world championship season, the last car rolls into position, is set to

00:26:40start.

00:26:41Who will win the race tonight?

00:26:42Who will win the race tonight?

00:26:43Who will win the race tonight?

00:26:44Who will win the race tonight?

00:26:45Who will win the race tonight?

00:26:46Who will win the race tonight?

00:26:47Who will win the race tonight?

00:26:48Who will win the race tonight?

00:26:49Who will win the race tonight?

00:26:50Who will win the race tonight?

00:26:51Who will win the race tonight?

00:26:52Who will win the race tonight?

00:26:53Who will win the race tonight?

00:26:54Who will win the race tonight?

00:26:55Who will win the race tonight?

00:26:56Who will win the race tonight?

00:26:57Who will win the race tonight?

00:26:59Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:00Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:01Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:02Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:03Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:04Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:05Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:06Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:07Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:08Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:09Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:10Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:11Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:12Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:13Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:14Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:15Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:16Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:17Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:18Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:19Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:20Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:21Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:22Who will win the race tonight?

00:27:24Has he blown it up?

00:27:25Yes, I think he has.

00:27:26Something's really expired on that brand new Ford engine.

00:27:28That is so sad.

00:27:30They just didn't need that at this point.

00:27:32Oh, look at it.

00:27:33They've got a fire underneath.

00:27:34Oil puking everywhere.

00:27:35Poor old Johnny Herbert.

00:27:36He'd done so well in early practice,

00:27:38didn't so well in qualifying yesterday.

00:27:40Let me tell you,

00:27:41when you get a fire around your rear end,

00:27:43you jump out pretty quick.

00:27:44Herbert looking to start his 130th Grand Prix race.

00:27:49And one of many drivers with renewed high hopes.

00:27:53A new team, a new arrangement.

00:27:55And here he was just seconds from starting the 99 season.

00:28:00And it's all gone up in smoke.

00:28:02Now they'll restart again.

00:28:04I think there's something like a 15-minute...

00:28:06Look at that crew uniform on the left of the screen.

00:28:08I can't believe British American Racing,

00:28:09not only did they paint the cars with one livery on each side of the car,

00:28:13they've done the crew uniforms like that as well.

00:28:15They're trying to make a point,

00:28:16but they're going to be in a spot of bother, I think,

00:28:18with the Motorsports Commission

00:28:20when they get hauled up by haul the beak on March the 12th

00:28:22to discuss it.

00:28:23Now, of course, they're going to run off with his car

00:28:25and they can bring the spare car out.

00:28:28And that is a lifesaver for Johnny Herbert.

00:28:30Let's just hope that the spare car is set up for him

00:28:33and we will see in just a moment...

00:28:36He's talking with Jackie Stewart there, of course,

00:28:38the team chairman, the chairman of Stewart Racing.

00:28:41No reasons why this happened.

00:28:44Jackie, they've had such a great weekend.

00:28:46They've had dismal two years.

00:28:48This weekend has been a fairytale story so far until we see this.

00:28:51All right, there will be a new formation lap now

00:28:54in just about four and a half minutes,

00:28:56so the teams will once again prepare.

00:28:59Take a breath, folks.

00:29:00We're going to get this season started,

00:29:02but it's going to take a few minutes.

00:29:03Time for us to take a pit stop here on Fox Sportsnet.

00:29:09Cars being rolled up to position here,

00:29:12either rolled up or rolled off,

00:29:13because that's Mike Hill, that's not Johnny Herbert.

00:29:15Climbing aboard the spare, which has had a nose pod put on it

00:29:18with his number, 16,

00:29:20and the spare car is set up for Rubens.

00:29:22I thought Johnny Herbert was the car on fire.

00:29:24There's Johnny.

00:29:25I think it was.

00:29:26I don't think Johnny's going to have a car.

00:29:27I think they've got a problem with Rarikelo's car as well,

00:29:30and when we saw that car being pushed,

00:29:32it was back up completely.

00:29:33And who's this that's failed to get off?

00:29:35Yes, it's Schumacher.

00:29:37They can give him a push to start the formation lap.

00:29:41He has to start from the back.

00:29:44He has to start from the back.

00:29:45You see, this is a symptom.

00:29:46Remember when they were in Japan last year

00:29:48and he fouled up on the start?

00:29:49That was the clutch.

00:29:50They had a new clutch,

00:29:51and poor old Michael had to start from the back,

00:29:53and because the clutch got so hot

00:29:56that, in fact, it didn't function.

00:29:58A new system they used,

00:29:59and I think they had the same trouble there.

00:30:00He went to start and stalled it.

00:30:01Apparently there was a line, a hydraulic line on that clutch

00:30:04that ran adjacent to a heat transfer unit,

00:30:07and it overheated.

00:30:09Oh, another one.

00:30:10This is Zonta.

00:30:11This is not Zonta.

00:30:12I'm sorry.

00:30:13This is one of the two Arrows, Takagi.

00:30:16Takagi, who's got a problem as well.

00:30:18Yeah, he has that distinctive green helmet.

00:30:20It goes nicely with that orange.

00:30:21It does.

00:30:22It's the colors that threw me.

00:30:23We're having trouble getting this season started.

00:30:27Takagi came over from Tyrrell,

00:30:29bounced Mika Salo out of that seat.

00:30:31Salo was being paid over a million dollars a year to drive,

00:30:35while Takagi brought, was it five or six million dollars sponsorship

00:30:38with him rather than being paid to drive.

00:30:43Mika Salo's out of the way,

00:30:44but he is doing the test driving for Honda

00:30:47with a view to doing their racing season in the year 2000,

00:30:50of course, with Honda producing their own cars.

00:30:53So Takagi will go to the back of the grid as well,

00:30:56as will Schumacher.

00:30:57That is really some help for those two McLaren boys.

00:31:00They're now on their own.

00:31:02And we hope to get an update.

00:31:08An update on the Stewart team.

00:31:11Johnny Herbert's car caught fire.

00:31:13It was a pretty impressive blaze underneath the engine cover.

00:31:17Rubens Barrichello went running to the garage

00:31:19and he must have had a similar problem

00:31:21because he claimed the spare car.

00:31:23And we saw Johnny Herbert briefly standing in the garage

00:31:26without his helmet on.

00:31:27It was, in this game of musical chairs,

00:31:30it was Herbert that was left standing without a seat to climb into.

00:31:33Eventually we'll hear,

00:31:34but not exactly what the Blue Oval wanted this weekend.

00:31:37A good result.

00:31:38And it is so sad for Stewart Racing

00:31:40because they were doing so well all through the weekend.

00:31:43Those two Stewart cars have been in the top three or four places on the grid.

00:31:48Absolutely outstanding.

00:31:49Barrichello was qualified fourth.

00:31:51Johnny Herbert was scheduled to go off the grid in 13th position.

00:31:56Now for McLaren, it's going to make it somewhat easier,

00:31:59you can say, as they go,

00:32:00because they know they haven't got the tigering of Michael Schumacher behind them.

00:32:03And there is Rubens going out.

00:32:04Of course, he will be jolly nearly a lap behind.

00:32:06No, no, he'll wait at the end of the pit lane.

00:32:08Sorry, he will wait at the end of the pit lane

00:32:10until the grid go by.

00:32:12So he will start very last.

00:32:14Then we'll see how he gets on with Schumacher.

00:32:16Just, only just two cars in front of him at the start.

00:32:18Of course, Michael will already have a running go.

00:32:20He has to wait for the last car to go by this point.

00:32:23And for McLaren versus Ferrari, or versus Schumacher,

00:32:26it's Deja Suzuka all over again.

00:32:28With Schumacher starting at the back.

00:32:31Both the McLaren Mercedes on front.

00:32:33Jordan moves up to the second row.

00:32:35That's Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

00:32:38And then Eddie Irvine.

00:32:40So, let's just see what Eddie Irvine can do from the second row.

00:32:43We really, Ferrari's hopes pinned on his shoulders.

00:32:46And he hasn't been happy all weekend either.

00:32:48Not at all.

00:32:49Well, watch the lights now.

00:32:51Can we get the 1999 season started?

00:32:55Now, it's really up to see where the cool cars go.

00:33:00Yellow flag, yellow flag to the back of the grid once again.

00:33:04Two cars.

00:33:05And now just one failed to come off the grid.

00:33:07I believe it's Michael Schumacher.

00:33:08Failed to come off the grid again at the back.

00:33:10Unless he had a stormy start and came up that far there.

00:33:14Come on, Eddie.

00:33:20What a familiar sight.

00:33:21The silver arrows out front.

00:33:27And here it is firing.

00:33:29Oh, somebody is straight off.

00:33:31Is that a Jordan?

00:33:33Both stewards have had a wiring fire.

00:33:36That is so sad after all they got through this weekend.

00:33:39Now, just look at these two McLarens.

00:33:41And was that Damon Hill off the ground?

00:33:43Yes, I think it was.

00:33:44It certainly was a Jordan.

00:33:45I said, it is so precarious.

00:33:46If you have to take evasive action while you're braking, you're going to go off the road.

00:33:50Because you have the little envelope of control, as they call it.

00:33:53It's so small that they cannot get the car back under control again when it kicks out.

00:33:59McLaren, McLaren, Ferrari.

00:34:02As the season begins.

00:34:04Pretty much like it ended or like it began last year.

00:34:07Here's the beginning again.

00:34:08Damon Hill got punted there by what looked like one of the prosts.

00:34:13A lot of wheel spin there.

00:34:15Now, we'll have to see.

00:34:16It might have been Heinz Harrell.

00:34:17But I think it was Damon.

00:34:18We're just going to see how Heinz Harrell can make up some time.

00:34:21He should be right behind Eddie Irvine.

00:34:22Well, Mika Hockenden beat David Coulthard to turn one.

00:34:26Is that a harbinger of what's to happen at the end of this race?

00:34:30Well, I'm sure it is.

00:34:31Of course, the problem is, as we know, that with these tires as they are,

00:34:34if you run close behind the car in front, as he is doing right there,

00:34:37he loses a tremendous amount of downforce and power.

00:34:40Because the air is actually diverted away from the air box.

00:34:43Right behind the driver's head there, it's diverted away and you lose power.

00:34:46So he doesn't want to get too close behind the other McLaren.

00:34:50At the same time, he's not going to go by them.

00:34:52Now, it was also noted in the post-qualifying interview

00:34:56that the inside lane where Coulthard was starting is not the racing line.

00:35:00So it's perhaps not as apt to have as good grip getting off the line as the outside lane.

00:35:05But it didn't last year either, did it?

00:35:07No.

00:35:08Poor guy.

00:35:09But they've already lost three seconds in the first lap to the McLarens.

00:35:12And this is a bit galling for the rest of the field.

00:35:14But the writing was on the wall all weekend.

00:35:16There's something about those McLarens that when you have to put more downforce on,

00:35:19they can dial it in to get more mechanical grip better than any other car.

00:35:23And Peter felt that it was likely this idea of movable ballast.

00:35:27That the cars are built so far under the required FIA minimum weight

00:35:32that they carry a significant amount of ballast.

00:35:34And that allows them to place that within the wheelbase pretty much where they choose.

00:35:38In fact, Ferrari have actually lost 20 kilos, which is over 40 pounds, during this winter.

00:35:42So allow them to move it around.

00:35:44In fact, Michael Schumacher's up to 17th place.

00:35:47I think he might have moved up a bit further than that in those few laps.

00:35:50But, of course, there's a lot of barging and moving and roaring going on.

00:35:53So he has to be very cautious.

00:35:54He wants to get some points.

00:35:55And he's got to work his way through just to get in the top six.

00:35:58Which means he's only gained two spots.

00:36:00Because Johnny Herbert not starting.

00:36:03Takagi was in the back of the field behind him.

00:36:08Of course, we're seeing Heinz-Hauer-Frentzen, of course, in his new team.

00:36:12He had a very dismal time at Williams.

00:36:14He wasn't at all happy there.

00:36:16He's got back in the more family-type team of Jordan.

00:36:18Jordan have a big budget for this year.

00:36:20And he's in there.

00:36:21And he seems very, very happy, having qualified extremely well there in fifth place.

00:36:25And he's running now in fourth.

00:36:27One pundit wrote that Frentzen was not happy with the Williams way of running the race,

00:36:33which was a constant stream of infectives in his ear from the pit-side radio.

00:36:38Yes, you can do without that.

00:36:40Some people hate the radio.

00:36:41I hate the radio when I'm driving.

00:36:43Because you can't hear it properly.

00:36:45The radio systems aren't that good at 16,000, 17,000.

00:36:48You can't hear very much.

00:36:51Michael Schumacher up to 14th position.

00:36:54Climbing through the field, not having as easy a time of it as he did at Suzuka.

00:36:58But then again, on that day, the title was on the line.

00:37:01And here it's a brand-new book and a new page.

00:37:04And these drivers are anxious to make their own mark,

00:37:06not to move over for the driver contesting the final race of the championship today.

00:37:11Sadly for us, Damon Hill is out.

00:37:14Please, Schumacher, because he went out to try and overtake him,

00:37:16as he was trying to do in Japan.

00:37:19And, you know, interestingly, this week, Hill picked Schumacher to win the championship.

00:37:24The thing is, there is aggro between these drivers sometimes.

00:37:26It's very competitive.

00:37:27But in reality, they still respect each other enough to tell the truth when it comes to it.

00:37:31And, of course, time does heal.

00:37:35Michael Schumacher in 14th position.

00:37:39A really good shot at the Ferrari of Eddie Irvine.

00:37:43Sliding it through the corner.

00:37:44The point is, these tires seem to work better the longer you run on them.

00:37:49They're very hard compounds.

00:37:50Bridgestone are the only tire manufacturer in the series this year,

00:37:53so they can make the tires harder, which makes their racing safer.

00:37:56At the same time, it makes them a little bit cheaper, too, for Bridgestone.

00:38:00So there's a look at the running order in the Grand Prix of Australia.

00:38:03In the Grand Prix of Australia, the 1999 Formula 1 season is underway on Fox Sportsnet.

00:38:09We'll be right back.

00:38:13Back to the Grand Prix of Australia.

00:38:14Michael Schumacher from the back of the grid to 14th position, trying to move up.

00:38:19Every night at 10 on Fox Sportsnet, it's Fox Sports News Prime Time.

00:38:23All the scores, highlights, and breaking stories.

00:38:25Join Keith Olbermann for Fox Sports News Prime Time.

00:38:28Every night at 10, check your local listing.

00:38:31Three cars out of the race.

00:38:32Johnny Herbert for the fire after the end of the formation lap.

00:38:37They're on the starting grid.

00:38:38Damon Hill getting punted off course less than a lap into this season.

00:38:43And John Alesi in the Sauber is out with gearbox problems,

00:38:46and that is a big shame because FIA czar Bernie Eccleston has decreed

00:38:51that for the world feed, only one in-car camera picture shall be made available.

00:38:57There are others available for the digital Sky pay-per-view feed,

00:39:01but they designate one car per race to carry the in-car camera for you viewers.

00:39:06And this race, that was designated as John Alesi,

00:39:09and he is now by the roadside and will have no in-car for him.

00:39:14Didn't we know that when we discussed it?

00:39:16Schumacher's up to 12th.

00:39:18Intriguing to know just what lap times he's doing.

00:39:20He's carving his way up there, but the road's a little bit empty in front of him.

00:39:24Long way to go.

00:39:25This race shortened to 57 laps by the aborted start.

00:39:29It was originally scheduled for 58.

00:39:32Michael Schumacher in his 120th Grand Prix start.

00:39:37Seeking his 34th victory.

00:39:39Tried to bring Ferrari the first championship in, what, 19 years?

00:39:44Absolutely.

00:39:45That's Michael there watching.

00:39:46That's Eddie Aragon there watching.

00:39:55Six laps complete.

00:39:56McLaren Mercedes has led them all.

00:39:58Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard running 1-2.

00:40:03Last year, they lapped the field.

00:40:05Everyone thought that here, this year, that would be unlikely.

00:40:11Oh, look at it slide as he goes around there,

00:40:13trying to get the power on with the straightaway.

00:40:18And now he's beginning to catch up traffic.

00:40:26And an update from scoring posts him in 13th position.

00:40:31Now, once he closes on a car,

00:40:33what will change to the aerodynamics of Schumacher's car there?

00:40:37He's going to lose a tremendous amount of downforce,

00:40:39and he's going to lose some power.

00:40:41This is the problem.

00:40:42Remember, when they had more rubber on the road,

00:40:43they could still get away with it in the corners,

00:40:45but now they lose downforce and they've got less rubber.

00:40:47So, of course, they're going to get spoiled so badly,

00:40:50and, of course, as I said, the air going into his airbox,

00:40:53you can see right there above the driver's head,

00:40:55the ram effect is just going to be non-existent,

00:40:57and he's going to lose power as well.

00:40:58And you can see David Coulthard running about one second behind Mika there.

00:41:02That's just about right for him.

00:41:04And he's going to have to close up just before the pitstop,

00:41:06so he's right close behind Mika when they do their pitstop.

00:41:09So, with a bit of luck, he might come out in front, and we can have that.

00:41:12So it's not that Coulthard is necessarily slower than Håkonen,

00:41:15it's that he wants his car in clean air?

00:41:17Yeah, well, he's obviously...

00:41:19What normally happens, of course, is you also overheat the tires being behind,

00:41:22because you slide more.

00:41:23In this case, you do slide more, but you're not going to overheat the tires,

00:41:25because there isn't much power there, and they're a very hard compound.

00:41:29Eddie Irvine running third for Ferrari, Heinz-Harald Frenzen.

00:41:33He is fourth for Jordan Honda.

00:41:35Jordan Mugen Honda, I should say.

00:41:38Ralf Schumacher is fifth.

00:41:39Giancarlo Fisichello there at the top of the screen.

00:41:42Benetton in sixth.

00:41:48There's Ralf right there, as you can see.

00:41:51We've had an in-car camera here with Ralf Schumacher,

00:41:53which we didn't anticipate at all.

00:41:55Well, they've been good to us today.

00:41:56Excuse me, and thank you, Bernie.

00:42:03Thirteen and a half second lead. Let's just listen.

00:42:20Ralf Schumacher in second.

00:42:27Ralf Schumacher in third.

00:42:51Ralf Schumacher in fourth.

00:43:04Got a really wonderful shot here.

00:43:05Ralf Schumacher chasing Heinz-Harald Frenzen in front of him.

00:43:08Two young German drivers.

00:43:10Absolutely superb at the driving.

00:43:11You'll notice on the wheel all those buttons, of course, on there,

00:43:14as well as the buttons which do all sorts of different things,

00:43:16including just the mixture of things.

00:43:18He has his little gearbox button, and he keeps switching, changing the gears.

00:43:21Really a wonderful bit of driving.

00:43:23And watch him over those bumps, really jarring around over bumps under braking.

00:43:27Did I see your throttle foot quivering as you rode along there?

00:43:30Yeah, I was really sweating for it.

00:43:33But he was really on the limit.

00:43:34That's Ralf Schumacher giving it his best, the guy who's really developed.

00:43:37He's improved so much as a driver.

00:43:39It's his first drive in Williams.

00:43:41Last year he was with Jordan, you know, and did a very good job.

00:43:43This year he went to Williams.

00:43:45Next year, Williams will be running with BMW engines.

00:43:48Great future for Williams.

00:43:49That's why they're not using this as a tick-over year, believe me.

00:43:53But next year is very important for them as a BMW.

00:43:5635th Grand Prix start for Ralf Schumacher today.

00:44:01This season and a new career, so to speak.

00:44:04You can see the instability under braking,

00:44:06and the front end really jumping around there.

00:44:09After 8 laps, let's look at the top 12.

00:44:13And a bit of a long slide here, and off.

00:44:17Almost off, look at that one.

00:44:19Look at that one.

00:44:20Oh, he's really carving some people up, pulling back in line as he goes as well in the Menardis.

00:44:25Now they're running the Ford engine that Jackie Stewart ran last year.

00:44:28We're riding again with Ralf Schumacher.

00:44:39Look at that one.

00:44:48Look at that one.

00:44:49He's going to get his powers before the other guy.

00:44:57Look at that one.

00:45:08Six places on this course for when you go from 175 plus miles an hour

00:45:12down to a second or third gear corner.

00:45:20This is Renault engine.

00:45:38Look at that one.

00:45:45He's moved up to 11th position in the running order.

00:45:48He's arrived with Ralf Schumacher in 5th place in the Grand Prix of Australia

00:45:52on Fox Sportsnet.

00:45:58Welcome back to Fox Sportsnet coverage of the Grand Prix of Australia.

00:46:01Mika Hakkinen leading David Coulthard by just under 2 seconds.

00:46:05Danny Irvine for Ferrari, 3rd.

00:46:06Heinz-Harald Fremsen in 4th.

00:46:08Ralf Schumacher, Jean-Carol Fisichella in the points-paying positions.

00:46:12Jarno Trulli's in 7th.

00:46:13Jacques Villeneuve, 8th.

00:46:15Pedro Doniz is 9th.

00:46:16Ricardo Zonta, 10th.

00:46:17Michael Schumacher up for 11th.

00:46:19And De La Rosa is 12th.

00:46:22And 10 laps in.

00:46:24That's a 57th, they'll run.

00:46:25And I'm wondering where my man Zanardi is.

00:46:28Ralf's American followers over here.

00:46:30We expect a little bit more of him this weekend.

00:46:32There's the gap.

00:46:331.2 seconds.

00:46:34Enough to keep Coulthard in clean air.

00:46:37Not to be aerodynamically hindered by Hakkinen's car.

00:46:41And in a position to run his own race.

00:46:43And would you say, are the McLarens on cruise control until this first pit stop now?

00:46:47They most certainly are.

00:46:48They're just going to run at a certain pace.

00:46:49And obviously David's going to go at the same pace as Mika.

00:46:52They know the gap there is between them and Eddie Irvine.

00:46:54And that's what they're going to do until the first stop.

00:46:56Or the stop.

00:46:58We're still not sure with this new type of tire.

00:47:00For truck, for louvers in the front tires.

00:47:03Whether we're actually going to see two stops or just one stop.

00:47:05There was even talk of Ferrari having no stops whatsoever.

00:47:08And we've seen this in the American Racing Series.

00:47:10Where a series has had a variety of tire manufacturers.

00:47:14And then for one reason or another, in this case,

00:47:16Goodyear decided to withdraw after the 1998 season.

00:47:20Leaving Bridgestone as the sole tire supplier.

00:47:22But there is always a period of adaptation.

00:47:25When the company now, as Peter said earlier, a virtual monopoly.

00:47:28On this particular facet of the sport.

00:47:31Can build a harder tire.

00:47:33Two dry compounds.

00:47:35And where last year there were three.

00:47:37This year only two wet weather compounds of tires.

00:47:41It makes for safer racing.

00:47:43Because there's not that competition.

00:47:44And you don't err on the side of speed instead of safety.

00:47:49But there's a period of adaptation.

00:47:52Goes on.

00:47:53Michael only a real go there.

00:47:55Trying to work his way through the field.

00:47:57Michael will push all.

00:47:58Michael only knows how to go flat out the whole time.

00:48:01And he'll be pushing all the way.

00:48:02Derek, it's been speculated that because Ferrari does all of their winter testing.

00:48:06On high grip circuits.

00:48:08That perhaps they're not as well prepared.

00:48:10For sliding those cars around here in Melbourne.

00:48:12As you see.

00:48:13As they might be.

00:48:14As some of the teams might be.

00:48:15That tested on low grip circuits this winter.

00:48:17Yeah, well in fact he did go to Barcelona as well.

00:48:20I mean they did do testing at other places.

00:48:21When it snowed at Fiorano.

00:48:23They went off there for some testing.

00:48:25And recorded quickest times.

00:48:26But the thing is about it.

00:48:28Is that this is exceptionally smooth.

00:48:30This surface.

00:48:31And they just have to put more downforce.

00:48:32And for some reason.

00:48:33McLaren and Adrian Newey.

00:48:35Is so clever.

00:48:36That designer.

00:48:37Getting the downforce onto a car.

00:48:38And still make it go fast.

00:48:42Mika Häkkinen leads David Coulthard.

00:48:44Much the way the 1998 campaign started out.

00:48:46But that turned into no.

00:48:49And of course went right down to.

00:48:52What happened at Suzuka in the final race.

00:48:55The lead now just 1.1 seconds.

00:48:58Michael Schumacher trying to move up.

00:48:59And Eddie Irvine in third.

00:49:01Peter you followed the testing.

00:49:03The winter testing very closely.

00:49:04And were on site for some of those events.

00:49:07As for Ferrari and their winter testing.

00:49:09What did you see?

00:49:13Of course one of the great things about Ferrari Mike.

00:49:15Is that they do test at Fiorano.

00:49:17At their own test track in Italy.

00:49:18And nearby at Mugello.

00:49:19A circuit they also own.

00:49:21The downside to that.

00:49:22Is that the car becomes very good.

00:49:23At those two circuits.

00:49:24And as soon as they take it out of that environment.

00:49:26They potentially face problems.

00:49:28They came to Melbourne here.

00:49:29The track has nothing like the same amount of grip.

00:49:31As Mugello and Ferrari.

00:49:32And they were just sliding all over the place.

00:49:34In the first couple of days.

00:49:35Michael Schumacher was not a happy man.

00:49:37On Friday.

00:49:38And early on Saturday morning.

00:49:39But they did move ballast around.

00:49:41Inside the car.

00:49:42They worked very hard at the set up.

00:49:43And Schumacher got the car.

00:49:44More or less to his liking.

00:49:45By the end of qualifying.

00:49:47But today.

00:49:48I have to say.

00:49:49My time was a little better.

00:49:50Back to you.

00:49:52Pit stops begin.

00:49:54Zanardi.

00:49:55Who courses quite well down.

00:49:56In the pecking order.

00:49:57Has come in very early.

00:49:58Now whether he had a problem or not.

00:49:59We don't know.

00:50:01He was certainly not doing terribly well back then.

00:50:04I would have thought he might have wanted to tag on the back of Michael Schumacher.

00:50:06And got some good.

00:50:07Interesting.

00:50:08Revealing moments.

00:50:10But his return to Formula 1.

00:50:11Found him in 13th position.

00:50:13When he made that pit stop.

00:50:14And it looks like he'll come out either just in front.

00:50:16Or just behind.

00:50:18Mika Hakkinen in the pit lane.

00:50:20Actually out there just in front.

00:50:23Michael Schumacher was so incensed.

00:50:24With the qualifying performance of his Ferrari.

00:50:27And.

00:50:28One.

00:50:29Oh.

00:50:30Climbing out.

00:50:31On the course.

00:50:32That's Jacques Villeneuve.

00:50:33There's something hanging off the back.

00:50:34Right there.

00:50:35Look.

00:50:36Something underneath.

00:50:37That's the end of that.

00:50:38But remember.

00:50:39They're running the Renault Superticket.

00:50:40Oh.

00:50:41And David Courtois.

00:50:42Straight in the garage.

00:50:43That was it.

00:50:44Not a pit stop.

00:50:45But in the garage.

00:50:46And out of the race.

00:50:48Well there you go.

00:50:49You've now got.

00:50:50A McLaren in the lead.

00:50:51And a Ferrari second.

00:50:52David will be absolutely destroyed.

00:50:54Just distraught.

00:50:55And so upset.

00:50:56Because.

00:50:57You know.

00:50:58He's out there with his one chance.

00:50:59To get some points.

00:51:00He's gonna be.

00:51:01One group of points behind.

00:51:02Provided Hakkinen doesn't have a simple problem.

00:51:04Remember.

00:51:05That they were working on David's car.

00:51:06As well as Mika's.

00:51:07Before the start of the race.

00:51:09And he was just maintaining pace.

00:51:10Behind Mika.

00:51:11It did not appear as if.

00:51:12Coulthard was overextending the car.

00:51:14Oh.

00:51:15Whoa.

00:51:16Look at this.

00:51:17Whoa.

00:51:18Lost the wing.

00:51:19That.

00:51:20Lost the wing.

00:51:21That was.

00:51:22That was.

00:51:23That was Jacques Villeneuve.

00:51:24Lost the wing.

00:51:25Or something.

00:51:26And they're going to bring out the safety car.

00:51:27Because that wing is littered.

00:51:28All down that straightaway.

00:51:29There have been a number of.

00:51:30Rear wing failures.

00:51:31During winter testing.

00:51:32So much so.

00:51:33That Max Mosley.

00:51:34Issued some very strong warnings.

00:51:35Here we go again.

00:51:36The wing just flying off there.

00:51:37Mike.

00:51:38Sorry to interrupt you.

00:51:39But look at it.

00:51:40Jacques Villeneuve.

00:51:41Sorry to interrupt you.

00:51:42But look at it.

00:51:43Jacques was a very lucky boy.

00:51:44Look at that.

00:51:45He hardly grazed the wall.

00:51:46But he's used to walls.

00:51:47Look at that there.

00:51:48Absolutely destroyed.

00:51:49When that wing came off.

00:51:50As you said.

00:51:51They're having so many problems.

00:51:52With these wings failing.

00:51:53And people are saying.

00:51:54It's because they're trying to.

00:51:55Make the wings flex.

00:51:56And lower down a bit.

00:51:57At the back.

00:51:58To get less drag.

00:51:59And therefore.

00:52:00More top speed.

00:52:01Yeah.

00:52:02NASCAR fans are familiar with that.

00:52:03From Daytona.

00:52:04How the teams will take the rear spoilers.

00:52:05And try to make them.

00:52:06So they will lay down.

00:52:07In the wind.

00:52:08For more top speed.

00:52:09And there is the thought.

00:52:10In some circles.

00:52:11That some of the Formula 1 teams.

00:52:12Have resorted to a similar strategy.

00:52:13Where some portion.

00:52:14Of the wing structure.

00:52:15Allows the wing to lay back.

00:52:16For more top speed.

00:52:17And then as the car slows.

00:52:18For the corner.

00:52:19The wing stands up.

00:52:20To give more down force.

00:52:21All of this would be highly illegal.

00:52:22And of course unsafe.

00:52:23Because these parts aren't designed.

00:52:24For that kind of flexing.

00:52:25Without fear of failure.

00:52:26Johnny Herbert had a bad crash.

00:52:27In winter testing.

00:52:28He was one.

00:52:29Just a number of drivers.

00:52:30To suffer.

00:52:31From that kind of.

00:52:32Flexing.

00:52:33And that's why.

00:52:34We're here.

00:52:35And we're here.

00:52:36And we're here.

00:52:37And we're here.

00:52:38And we're here.

00:52:39And we're here.

00:52:40And we're here.

00:52:41And we're here.

00:52:42And we're here.

00:52:43And we're here.

00:52:44And we're here.

00:52:45And we're here.

00:52:46And we're here.

00:52:47And we're here.

00:52:48And we're here.

00:52:49And we're here.

00:52:50And we're here.

00:52:51And we're here.

00:52:52And we're here.

00:52:53And we're here.

00:52:54And we're here.

00:52:55And we're here.

00:52:56And we're here.

00:52:57And we're here.

00:52:58And we're here.

00:52:59And we're here.

00:53:00And we're here.

00:53:01And we're here.

00:53:02And we're here.

00:53:03And we're here.

00:53:04And we're here.

00:53:05And we're here.

00:53:06And we're here.

00:53:07And we're here.

00:53:08And we're here.

00:53:09And we're here.

00:53:10And we're here.

00:53:11And we're here.

00:53:12And we're here.

00:53:13And we're here.

00:53:14And we're here.

00:53:15And we're here.

00:53:16And we're here.

00:53:17And we're here.

00:53:18And we're here.

00:53:19And we're here.

00:53:20And we're here.

00:53:21And we're here.

00:53:22And we're here.

00:53:23And we're here.

00:53:24And we're here.

00:53:25And we're here.

00:53:26And we're here.

00:53:27And we're here.

00:53:28And we're here.

00:53:29And we're here.

00:53:30And we're here.

00:53:31And we're here.

00:53:32And we're here.

00:53:33And we're here.

00:53:34And we're here.

00:53:35And we're here.

00:53:36And we're here.

00:53:37And we're here.

00:53:38And we're here.

00:53:39And we're here.

00:53:40And we're here.

00:53:41And we're here.

00:53:42And we're here.

00:53:43And we're here.

00:53:44And we're here.

00:53:45And we're here.

00:53:46And we're here.

00:53:47And we're here.

00:53:48And we're here.

00:53:49And we're here.

00:53:50And we're here.

00:53:51And we're here.

00:53:52And we're here.

00:53:53And we're here.

00:53:54And we're here.

00:53:55And we're here.

00:53:56And we're here.

00:53:57And we're here.

00:53:58And we're here.

00:53:59And we're here.

00:54:00And we're here.

00:54:01And we're here.

00:54:02And we're here.

00:54:03And we're here.

00:54:04And we're here.

00:54:05And we're here.

00:54:06And we're here.

00:54:07And we're here.

00:54:08And we're here.

00:54:09And we're here.

00:54:10And we're here.

00:54:11And we're here.

00:54:12And we're here.

00:54:13And we're here.

00:54:14And we're here.

00:54:15And we're here.

00:54:16And we're here.

00:54:17And we're here.

00:54:18And we're here.

00:54:19And we're here.

00:54:20And we're here.

00:54:21And we're here.

00:54:22And we're here.

00:54:23And we're here.

00:54:24And we're here.

00:54:25And we're here.

00:54:26And we're here.

00:54:27And we're here.

00:54:28And we're here.

00:54:29And we're here.

00:54:30And we're here.

00:54:31And we're here.

00:54:32And we're here.

00:54:33And we're here.

00:54:34And we're here.

00:54:35And we're here.

00:54:36And we're here.

00:54:37And we're here.

00:54:38And we're here.

00:54:39And we're here.

00:54:40And we're here.

00:54:41And we're here.

00:54:42And we're here.

00:54:43And we're here.

00:54:44And we're here.

00:54:45And we're here.

00:54:46And we're here.

00:54:47And we're here.

00:54:48And we're here.

00:54:49And we're here.

00:54:50And we're here.

00:54:51And we're here.

00:54:52And we're here.

00:54:53And we're here.

00:54:54And we're here.

00:54:55And we're here.

00:54:56And we're here.

00:54:57And we're here.

00:54:58And we're here.

00:54:59And we're here.

00:55:00And we're here.

00:55:01And we're here.

00:55:02And we're here.

00:55:03And we're here.

00:55:04And we're here.

00:55:05And we're here.

00:55:06And we're here.

00:55:07And we're here.

00:55:08And we're here.

00:55:09And we're here.

00:55:10And we're here.

00:55:11And we're here.

00:55:12And we're here.

00:55:13And we're here.

00:55:14And we're here.

00:55:15And we're here.

00:55:16And we're here.

00:55:17And we're here.

00:55:18And we're here.

00:55:19And we're here.

00:55:20And we're here.

00:55:21And we're here.

00:55:22And we're here.

00:55:23And we're here.

00:55:24And we're here.

00:55:25And we're here.

00:55:26And we're here.

00:55:27And we're here.

00:55:28And we're here.

00:55:29And we're here.

00:55:30And we're here.

00:55:31And we're here.

00:55:32And we're here.

00:55:33It's hard to get by!

00:55:46He stopped the engine!

00:55:47He stopped the engine!

00:55:48He's got a problem!

00:55:49They're doing something on the side!

00:55:50Technically, on the side.

00:55:51They're those engineers.

00:55:52Long stops after about 15 seconds already.

00:55:55This is one of the problems he was having.

00:55:57Maybe it's the same as DC!

00:55:58They don't know what to do.

00:56:00He's saying,

00:56:01Get out, off you go.

00:56:02Get out, off you go, off you go

00:56:05Eric, this could not have been a scheduled stop

00:56:07It would be folly to ride out the caution period and stop one lap later

00:56:11Well, he, to me, he came in very slowly

00:56:13He came in that pit road, normally they storm up to the line, put the red limiter on and drive over the speed limiter

00:56:18And then drive down the pit road at the speed limiter

00:56:21He came in really slowly

00:56:23Now I would say, basically, he's just lost his, the Grand Prix

00:56:26Which is going to cause, open up the whole thing

00:56:28Both McLarens and Toto

00:56:31And he doesn't look all that fast, at the moment, he doesn't look that fast

00:56:35Alright, now let's show you the restart

00:56:37Eddie Irvine is the leader

00:56:39And watch the red car, in second place

00:56:41On this restart, drop down to the inside

00:56:43And then the skirmish from there on back

00:56:48Look at him, passing by Hackel, he just couldn't get going

00:56:50He just could not get any power at all

00:56:52He's not even doing anything from where he is there

00:56:54Something went wrong, whether, there's something technically that he can, he has to switch on

00:56:59When he's on a pace lap, to stop ruining the mixture on the car

00:57:02We have this a lot in sports car racing

00:57:04You flick a switch, so you have a different mixture

00:57:06How about Jarno Trulli in third place, is that amazing?

00:57:09That is amazing, just what Cross needed

00:57:11They needed that, they had so much heart, heartbreak in that French team

00:57:16And of course it is a French team

00:57:18Now it was Ralf Schumacher who came up from fourth place to take second at the first corner

00:57:23On the restart, and then he was re-braked by Jarno Trulli

00:57:28Now is that, is Michael going to get by Ralf?

00:57:30It's going to be interesting to see

00:57:32We're going to see Ralf, now he's really trying to prove his point

00:57:36Look at Hackel going slowly, he's coming in

00:57:38Mika's really got problems

00:57:40He is coming in there

00:57:42Now David Coulthard, his teammate, is out of the race with hydraulic problems

00:57:46Now Mika Hakkinen surrendering the lead on the restart

00:57:50To Eddie Irvine

00:57:52Irvine has long said, and made a big point of saying all winter long

00:57:58That he is proud to be number two to Michael Schumacher

00:58:00And on any other team he would be the number one driver

00:58:04Well we'll see just how good he is out in front

00:58:06He's done this a few times of course, last year he did lead the Grand Prix

00:58:09And the year before, but he ended up having to surrender it to Michael for the points

00:58:13Now, it'll be interesting if Michael does happen to catch him up

00:58:16Whether Ferrari will get Eddie to move over to give Michael the maximum number of points

00:58:21Except for Michael's quest for the championship

00:58:23And Jarno Trulli is in a position to quadruple, of course

00:58:27Total point output of last year

00:58:29He had one 6th place finish to that

00:58:31Remember, Kroos was world champion

00:58:33He was one of the best drivers they called him

00:58:35The teacher, the doctor, the professor

00:58:37He was outstanding

00:58:39A real talent, a technical man

00:58:41And then he decided, rather foolishly

00:58:43To run his own Ferrari

00:58:45Rather like Jackie Stewart, who found it isn't quite as easy

00:58:47So Eddie Irvine is your leader, out of the race

00:58:49Johnny Herbert on fire

00:58:51Damon Hill punted by Jarno Trulli

00:58:53Johnny Lacey gear box

00:58:55Jack Villeneuve rear wing

00:58:57Coming off in the resultant spin and turn

00:58:59David Coulthard, hydraulic problems

00:59:01Remember of course that Jacques

00:59:03Was in the new part of the AI car

00:59:05With the Renault

00:59:07What used to be the Mechacronic

00:59:09Zanardi here has just gone off the road

00:59:11We don't know where, but we'll be figuring it out very shortly

00:59:15Here he goes

00:59:17A long slide

00:59:19Nasty in the wall

00:59:22Nasty in the wall

00:59:24Nasty crash

00:59:26Straight in the wall with the front

00:59:28He's trying to get it into neutral

00:59:30Trying to get it off the wall

00:59:32It's not going very far

00:59:34A long slide through the grass

00:59:36And he had it saved until it came cross track on him

00:59:40Mika Hakkinen is back in the pits

00:59:42And he has the same difficulty as his teammate

00:59:44Hydraulics

00:59:46These hydraulics, they run a major part of the engine

00:59:48The safety car is out again

00:59:50To pick up the debris

00:59:52Very wise, but of course this again

00:59:54He's going to play into Michael Schumacher's hands

00:59:56Here we go, look at Zanardi

00:59:58Out in the grass, catches that bank

01:00:00And of course he's lost probably

01:00:02Oh, he's losing it all the way

01:00:04I thought he might have lost something

01:00:06Straight across the road

01:00:08Once you're on that grass

01:00:10There's no way you can control it

01:00:12And once again the safety car gets a workout

01:00:14This is the end of the safety car

01:00:16Derek

01:00:18That's a pretty one

01:00:20You can buy that one

01:00:22Actually you can't

01:00:24Interesting that among all of the

01:00:26Equipment that Formula 1 sends over to Australia

01:00:28They do not use

01:00:30Local safety and medical cars

01:00:32They send their own safety

01:00:34Everything comes with a Formula 1 circus

01:00:38So we are under a full course caution

01:00:40Behind the safety car for the second time

01:00:43What a day it's been

01:00:45We'll be right back with you on Fox Sports Net

01:00:51Welcome back to the Grand Prix of Australia

01:00:53Pace car is off

01:00:55And we are back to racing

01:00:57Eddie Irvine

01:00:59Leaves heights Harold Frentzen into the first corner

01:01:01Single file restart this time

01:01:03Without the drama of overtaking

01:01:05We had on that last restart

01:01:07In third is Ralph Schumacher

01:01:09Michael Schumacher

01:01:11In fourth

01:01:13Follows his brother down into the corner

01:01:15Then it's Pedro Nunez

01:01:17Alexander Virts

01:01:19Ricardo Zonta

01:01:21Tiger Takagi

01:01:23Gosh the names that have vaulted to the front

01:01:25With both the McLaren Mercedes in the garage

01:01:27Mika Hakkinen has retired his car

01:01:29With the same hydraulic problem

01:01:31That befell David Coulthard

01:01:33So unlike last year

01:01:35When the McLaren Mercedes lapped the field

01:01:37Both of them lapped the entire field

01:01:39And one of the proses pulled over as well

01:01:43He had just been in the pits

01:01:45For an early tyre change

01:01:47It looked like it probably was

01:01:49One of the panniers

01:01:51Here we go, oh they tangled

01:01:53That was a tangle

01:01:55And a pannier at the back

01:01:57And Genet who started this race on appeal

01:01:59Was running up in 12th place

01:02:01An impressive debut

01:02:03He was doing a very good job

01:02:05But as you said at the top of the show

01:02:08When we talk strategies Derek

01:02:10You have to finish here

01:02:12Regardless of whatever else you do on the racetrack

01:02:14They've got to get the points

01:02:16Now Michael Schumacher at this point

01:02:18Here we go again

01:02:20He actually turned in

01:02:22You see total lack of experience

01:02:24This guy was working at Pricewaterhouse last week

01:02:26But it shows lack of experience

01:02:28All he's done is drive in a small series

01:02:30He had a 20 lap tryout

01:02:32With Minardi

01:02:34Which was long enough to find out

01:02:36Look at the run down

01:02:38Your top six point paying positions

01:02:40Betty Irvine out front

01:02:42For Ferrari

01:02:44Yellow's waving at that corner

01:02:46For the incident earlier

01:02:48Mika Hakkinen in the garage

01:02:52And moments ago coasted down

01:02:54The pit lane

01:02:56A quick left and a sharp right

01:02:58And out of the race

01:03:02He must be staggered

01:03:04I tell you what

01:03:06Without McLaren it's a hell of a good race

01:03:08I'm enjoying this

01:03:10But Michael has dropped back four seconds

01:03:12As you can see Michael is back there

01:03:14So he actually can't be running too well

01:03:16He's fallen right back

01:03:18From the trio in front

01:03:20So he maybe has a small problem

01:03:22Alright pick a winner

01:03:24Eddie Irvine hungry for victory

01:03:26The longest 0 for active streak

01:03:280 for 82

01:03:30Heinz-Harald Frentzen

01:03:33Schumacher's got a flat tire

01:03:35So that's why he was driving slowly

01:03:37Trying to get back to the pits

01:03:39I thought he was going super slow back there

01:03:41And he's damaged his front wing

01:03:43He's damaged his right front wing at the restart

01:03:45So it looks like this is going to be one of those races

01:03:47Not a good one for Michael

01:03:49Got some involvement I guess in turn one

01:03:51As he went in there

01:03:53Remember last year when he ran in the back of Coulthard

01:03:55And almost three wheeled his way around the course

01:03:57Almost got all the way back to the pits

01:03:59So as long as that tire doesn't flail

01:04:01Schumacher may be able to get back in this

01:04:03And it's been such a strange day

01:04:05Don't count him out of the points

01:04:07Oh no they could have more full course yellows

01:04:09Which of course brings you back into contention

01:04:11But Eddie Irvine looks pretty good up there

01:04:13He keeps whipping out that second lead when he needs it

01:04:15Alexander Wurz has come in the pits

01:04:17And he was in 7th position

01:04:19In fact in 6th position

01:04:21He would have been in 5th with Michael's dilemma

01:04:23He's come in for his quick stop

01:04:25Of course at this point we just do not know

01:04:27There's Eddie Irvine sweeping through

01:04:29Again with Heinz our friends hanging on

01:04:31Closely behind him

01:04:33Friends are trying to prove how good the Jordan is

01:04:35And of course how good he is

01:04:37And how bad it was that Williams treated him

01:04:39And in sight not far back of camera view

01:04:41Now here's a look at Michael Schumacher

01:04:43And watch the right rear tire

01:04:45Look at that

01:04:47Pits coming off

01:04:49I wonder why he was driving down the road

01:04:51As we did those close shots like that before

01:04:53And Pedro Diniz

01:04:55Is out of the race

01:04:58And his day is done

01:05:00He was doing obviously an excellent drive

01:05:02On the situation

01:05:04It's his first drive in a really competitive car

01:05:06They used last year's Ferrari Formula 1 engine

01:05:08To Sauber

01:05:10Quite a well financed team

01:05:12Should be very happy there

01:05:14Although there is a bit of a dilemma

01:05:16Over how much he still owes Arrows last year

01:05:18Diniz was poised to score his first Formula 1 points ever

01:05:20And there you see him pull the

01:05:22Sauber Petronas off the course

01:05:25Sadly out of this race

01:05:27Meanwhile Eddie Irvine

01:05:29Storms on and Michael Schumacher

01:05:31Is back out, fresh tires

01:05:33And they should have stuck fresh nose on

01:05:35And I believe they did

01:05:37So we'll see just how far back he is

01:05:39There shouldn't be a lap behind

01:05:41And we're coming up on half way

01:05:43So leaders pit stops will be not too far

01:05:45Schumacher will have done this

01:05:47He will now I would imagine have enough fuel

01:05:49To run through the course

01:05:51And tires, so everybody's got to stop

01:05:54So Pedro Diniz joins

01:05:56Alex Zanardi, Mika Hakkinen

01:05:58David Coulthard, Jack Villeneuve

01:06:00John Olasey, Damon Hill

01:06:02Johnny Herbert out of the race

01:06:07And Junaid, Mark Junaid

01:06:11Nearly half a Grand Prix

01:06:13That's pretty good experience for him

01:06:15Without too much excitement

01:06:17But he must admit it was partially his fault

01:06:19But it was a bit pushy I thought of Olivier Pannis

01:06:21To take that drop, take an inside line

01:06:24But Junaid at this point of his career

01:06:26The guy is so inexperienced

01:06:28You don't do that sort of thing

01:06:34Irvine I have to say so far

01:06:36Driving much more focused

01:06:38All that means up a tenth there

01:06:40On Jordan behind

01:06:43He's got to pull out a bit more than that

01:06:45Jordan of course knows

01:06:47He's not known for letting people by

01:06:51So it's really up to how the fuel stops

01:06:53Replenishment stops go in the next ten laps

01:06:55As to how this thing turns out

01:06:57Of course Ferrari have been pretty red hot

01:06:59As far as red pit stops are concerned

01:07:01You know if ever there's a driver

01:07:03Who has paid his dues

01:07:05And is deserving of a Grand Prix win

01:07:07Eddie Irvine would be near the top of that list

01:07:09Without a doubt, Eddie has battled through

01:07:11He's got a great sense of humour

01:07:13He's been a great support to Michael

01:07:15Ferraris have had no inside aggravation

01:07:17With that team since Eddie's been there

01:07:19Wherever Michael's been before

01:07:22So Eddie Irvine leads

01:07:24Heinz-Herald Frentzen, Ralf Schumacher

01:07:26What a Grand Prix this has been

01:07:28And it's only half over

01:07:30Stay with us

01:07:36Welcome back to the Grand Prix of Australia

01:07:38Fourth place Tiger Takagi came in

01:07:40Made his pit stop and now he's back on course

01:07:42Well last year in Brazil

01:07:44It was all McLaren Mercedes

01:07:46Hakkinen and Coulthard finished 1-2

01:07:48And after today in Australia

01:07:51Tune in to the Grand Prix of Brazil live

01:07:53Sunday April 11th

01:07:55Here on Fox Sportsnet

01:07:57Eddie Irvine

01:07:59Leads for Ferrari trying to score

01:08:01His first Grand Prix victory

01:08:03Heinz-Herald Frentzen in second

01:08:05Ralf Schumacher is third

01:08:07Luca Badour will move up to fourth

01:08:09With the Takagi pit stop

01:08:11Pedro de la Rosa

01:08:13Is now in fifth

01:08:15In his first ride for Arrows

01:08:17Ricardo Zonta, Michael Schumacher

01:08:20After a pit stop and a 10 second penalty

01:08:22For jumping the restart

01:08:24Drops him to fifth

01:08:26Back to about ninth

01:08:28Stop for Ralf Schumacher

01:08:36He came in, he was catching up

01:08:38Making up a lot of time on the guys in front

01:08:40Starting to pick up some good times

01:08:42On those last few laps

01:08:44But came in for his stop at this point

01:08:46Probably while the track was clear

01:08:49To make up the time if he lost it

01:08:51So Ralf gives up

01:08:53I believe he gave up third position

01:08:55To Badour

01:08:57He may not, there was quite a gap

01:08:59And as you see he has clear track

01:09:01Both ahead and behind

01:09:03Of course you have the situation with Eddie Jordan

01:09:05Eddie Irvine in front

01:09:07In the Ferrari

01:09:09And Heinz-Harald sat very close behind

01:09:11It makes you wonder whether he had been

01:09:13In front of Eddie Jordan

01:09:15Eddie Irvine, whether he would have got away

01:09:17No, maybe he would have pulled away

01:09:19But he cannot get by

01:09:21Before he loses downforce

01:09:23And loses some power

01:09:25I don't have enough time to look in the book

01:09:27To go as far back as I'd have to

01:09:29To find out when Minority scored

01:09:31A championship point

01:09:33But Luca Badour is in position

01:09:35To do that today

01:09:37Here's Irvine

01:09:39He is coming a little bit faster

01:09:41And so is Heinz-Harald Frentzen

01:09:43Right behind him

01:09:46Now this is going to be critical as to how they come out

01:09:48First and second place car

01:09:50So let's see Ferrari, see what they do

01:09:52This is going to make the difference at the end of this race

01:09:54Remember, Ralf Schumacher has done his stop

01:09:56And he is out there

01:09:58Come on boys

01:10:00Not bad, nine, ten seconds

01:10:02He's gone out ahead, only just ahead

01:10:04But he is, rev limiter on

01:10:06Now he can let it all go out

01:10:08Here they are coming out

01:10:10Pulling out ahead of

01:10:13Oh, right between them

01:10:15That is of course just what

01:10:17Eddie needed, he needed to have one of those

01:10:19Benetton's or a power between him

01:10:21The Benetton is going to try and go by Eddie

01:10:23Don't let him go by Eddie, it's going to cost you if you do

01:10:25No, he didn't until he trots him across

01:10:27The Benetton guy wouldn't be quite as stupid

01:10:29As to do that, Fizzy Keller who we haven't actually

01:10:31Seen much of lately

01:10:33He was well up at the early part of the race

01:10:35That's Fizzy, Alexander Wurtz

01:10:37Exited the race, broken rear suspension

01:10:39Had him sliding off course

01:10:42Fizzy Keller I assume probably hasn't done his

01:10:44Well he wouldn't have done his stop yet

01:10:46So he's got a pit stop to do

01:10:48Now I wonder where Ralf Schumacher is on the road

01:10:50Compared to these two, remember Ralf actually had a slightly

01:10:52Slower pit stop, a couple of seconds slower

01:10:54Than these two gentlemen

01:10:56But of course that's just what Eddie

01:10:58Needs, he needs

01:11:00Somebody in front of him

01:11:02To slow him down a bit and you can see

01:11:04He's got back a bit on these new tyres

01:11:06Remember they're all on the same tyres

01:11:08And of course he can play with tyre pressure

01:11:11It's got a different characteristic

01:11:13Well there are two choices of compounds

01:11:15Derek I believe Eddie Irvine

01:11:17Has chosen the soft compound

01:11:19As did Jarno Trulli

01:11:21Both Arrows, both Saubers

01:11:23And both of the British American Racing

01:11:25Entries so

01:11:27Tyres may be a factor with Irvine's

01:11:29On softs and the drivers chasing him

01:11:31On the harder compound

01:11:35There's Eddie Irvine

01:11:3782 starts in Formula 1

01:11:40Runner up finishes

01:11:42Never yet a win

01:11:48Fizzi's pressing him pretty hard

01:11:52Fizikela has yet to pit

01:11:58Where is Frizzi?

01:12:00Well he's two and a half seconds behind

01:12:02During that lap so he lost a lot of

01:12:04Time early on there

01:12:06These tyres do take some time to really warm up

01:12:08The very hard compound as we spoke about earlier

01:12:10Richland do have a monopoly

01:12:12There you go Fizikela is now second

01:12:14That's because he hasn't stopped

01:12:16And there behind you you'll see

01:12:18The orange car of Michael Frenzel

01:12:20But he is dropping back

01:12:24Maybe it takes some time to settle into those tyres

01:12:26Didn't take Eddie any time to warm up

01:12:28He warmed them up in the pit lane

01:12:30Here we are we're waking probably for Michael Schumann

01:12:32No they're just talking

01:12:34I don't think Michael's going to have to come in

01:12:37But with some of these stops it's going to push Michael up the grid just a little bit

01:12:43Now this is where I'd like to see Fizikela really

01:12:45Showing himself

01:12:47We've seen, we expected great things of him last year

01:12:49He's a great talent but he seems to lose

01:12:51The trip somewhere in the middle

01:12:53And he just backs off a little bit

01:12:55Doesn't seem to have that push that the other drivers have

01:12:57But he does have a magnificent talent nonetheless

01:13:01Fizikela finished ninth in the championship last year

01:13:03And I think most observers

01:13:06Have placed him up at least two or three spots higher

01:13:08Than that in the pre-season break

01:13:10Just remember

01:13:12Probably somebody's saying

01:13:14But why is he so close to Eddie Irvine

01:13:16The reason is that Eddie Irvine has got full tanks

01:13:18Or fairly full tanks

01:13:20And Fizikela's probably running low tanks of fuel

01:13:22And of course his tyres are very warm

01:13:24And we just hear they're getting ready for Fizikela

01:13:26So aren't I clever

01:13:28But that's what's happening

01:13:30He's running on a pint of fuel

01:13:32And Eddie's running on something like 50 pounds of fuel

01:13:35And Fizikela wouldn't be stupid to overtake now

01:13:37He's just trying to stay with him

01:13:39So when he comes out he isn't too far back

01:13:4121 laps to go

01:13:43Here in the Grand Prix of Australia

01:13:4516 events on the Formula 1 schedule

01:13:471999

01:13:49You'll see them all here on Fox Sportsnet

01:13:5321 laps remaining

01:13:54And Eddie Irvine is actually

01:13:56Easing away

01:13:58From that orange car, the orange Jordan

01:14:00Of Heinz-Harald Frentz

01:14:02Nonetheless a great result

01:14:05For Jordan

01:14:07They really deserved the results

01:14:09They did well last year

01:14:11For both

01:14:13Damon Hill and Paul Klaus Schumacher

01:14:15But here we are

01:14:17Remember it's an engine

01:14:19Which is highly developed

01:14:23Five years in Formula 1 for Eddie Irvine

01:14:25And today could be his day

01:14:27How about De La Rosa in 5th

01:14:29And Tiger Takagi in 6th

01:14:31You know for

01:14:33I don't want to demean them by calling them red erasers

01:14:35But the idea of the drivers who come

01:14:37And pay for their rides by bringing sponsorship

01:14:39Are not expected to score

01:14:41In the points

01:14:43But of course he has got a talent

01:14:45I mean a tremendous amount of drivers have to bring money with them

01:14:47Fizikela in the pit lane

01:14:49So he should draw back, he'll draw back two or three places

01:14:51He'll lose about 25 seconds with his jaunt into the pits

01:14:53But De La Rosa

01:14:55I mean he hasn't got much experience

01:14:57But he was the European Formula 3 champion

01:14:59Formula 3000 champion I do beg your pardon

01:15:02And that's tough competition

01:15:04And he won the Japanese championship

01:15:06Which is the same thing that Ralf Schumacher did

01:15:08Before he came into Formula 1

01:15:10So 11 seconds stop

01:15:12Plus you know

01:15:14He's lost 20 odd seconds

01:15:16He puts him back some positions

01:15:20A likely drop into a round court

01:15:24Let's see if he comes back onto the circuit

01:15:27Fizikela

01:15:31Fizikela 26

01:15:33Starting his 42nd Grand Prix today

01:15:41One thing we did notice of course

01:15:43Is that Pedro De La Rosa was the Jordan test driver

01:15:47De La Rosa was his test driver

01:15:49So he's accustomed to driving good cars

01:15:51So he obviously managed to get

01:15:53Oh look who's coming in a bit slowly there

01:15:56He's coming in again

01:15:58Very slowly

01:16:00This is astonishing

01:16:02The top contestants of the World Championship

01:16:04Are not getting the points today

01:16:08He obviously had a problem

01:16:10As he came around

01:16:12Thought I better go in

01:16:14And figured did something

01:16:16Probably flicked a switch

01:16:18Found it all works and carried on

01:16:20Don't think he lost too many places

01:16:23He would not

01:16:25Certainly not be low on fuel

01:16:27At the stop that he's already made

01:16:29So perhaps he sensed a problem

01:16:31Oh he's got gear problems

01:16:33You can hear him he's not getting gears

01:16:37Gear as we've seen before

01:16:41Magnificent drive running in 5th gear the whole way

01:16:53Sounds like he's shifting there

01:16:55Shifting there but he says low gears

01:16:59Problem is if you have sequential gearbox

01:17:01You cannot miss gears

01:17:03Here we are replaying

01:17:05He's looking down

01:17:07Decided the last minute to come in

01:17:09And he's going down to 2nd gear

01:17:11In fact down to 3rd gear

01:17:13Can't get the gears

01:17:18Well what may be the strangest day

01:17:20In the history of Formula 1

01:17:23And it continues on Fox Sportsnet after this

01:17:29Welcome back to the Grand Prix of Australia

01:17:3116 laps to go, Eddie Irvine

01:17:33Leading Heinz-Harald Frentzen

01:17:35And Ralf Schumacher

01:17:37Last year Mika Hakkinen won the World Championship

01:17:39With 100 points

01:17:41And if you have a look at the top 6

01:17:43Eddie Irvine was 4th in that championship

01:17:45He's the race leader, nobody behind him

01:17:47Even figured in the championship

01:17:49Chase, Heinz-Harald Frentzen

01:17:51Frentzen was 7th, Schumacher

01:17:53Back at 10th

01:17:55In the final tally

01:17:57Fisichella was 9th

01:17:59And here they all are in contention

01:18:01Della Rosa in his first ever Grand Prix

01:18:03In a position to pick up 2 points

01:18:05And Tiger Takagi is in 7th

01:18:07Just one spot away from the points

01:18:09In his first drive for Arrows

01:18:11The new driver is doing incredibly well

01:18:13To be honest with you

01:18:15But Michael Schumacher, we saw him having a bit of trouble

01:18:17With his car and slowing down

01:18:20He came in the pits, found the gears

01:18:22Carried on out again, but was looking down at the

01:18:24Electronics in the car

01:18:26He then came in the next lap

01:18:28And they prepared a new steering wheel for him

01:18:30One thing about electronics, he bolted it on

01:18:32Four new wheels and off he went

01:18:34So he's back in the hunt with all the gears working

01:18:36But obviously way back on the field

01:18:40With those lever activated gear changes

01:18:42From the, everything from the steering wheel

01:18:44It's really, it's remarkable

01:18:46That a problem of that magnitude

01:18:49Could be solved just by swapping out the steering wheel

01:18:51But that's just what happened

01:18:53That's the way it is, just change electronics

01:18:55And all's good again, like the old days

01:18:57You have to go around to change the steering wheel

01:18:59But of course the thing we must note

01:19:01Is that both the McLarens

01:19:03Were the latest spec cars

01:19:05They were the last cars to go

01:19:07Doing their testing, their shakedown tests in Europe

01:19:09Vastly changed from last year

01:19:11Let me tell you, lots of changes

01:19:13And of course here we want Barry Keller

01:19:15Really working hard on the back of the Arrows

01:19:18In front of him

01:19:22And that's for 5th place

01:19:24That is for 5th place

01:19:26Remember he was the test drive for Jordan last year

01:19:28We were saying what a great drive

01:19:30But remember Barry Keller

01:19:32Qualified incredibly well, he was up there in 4th place

01:19:34Had a problem on the grid with a fire

01:19:36Jumped in the spare car, Johnny Herbert didn't start

01:19:38And he had to start from the back of the grid

01:19:40And he's worked his way out doing a wonderful job

01:19:42You see this number on the side plot of the Arrows

01:19:44And it says minus 053

01:19:47That number has changed every day

01:19:49It's dropped down one digit

01:19:51We're told it signifies 53 days

01:19:53To a major announcement

01:19:55By the Arrows team

01:19:57We suspect for sponsorship

01:19:59This is otherwise that side plot

01:20:01Is pretty blank

01:20:03And I think that's just the day before

01:20:05Practice for the San Marino Grand Prix

01:20:07When that 53 day countdown

01:20:09Now at 53

01:20:1154 was on the card

01:20:13They have got a certain

01:20:16Nigerian Prince Malik

01:20:18Who has put a tremendous amount of money

01:20:20And support into this Arrows team

01:20:22Big shake up, big changes during the winter

01:20:24The outcome was that they still required money

01:20:26And they had Mika Sala

01:20:28Who is a great talent

01:20:30But they say that during testing

01:20:32It hasn't been running that well this winter

01:20:34And that Takagi had been running exceptionally well

01:20:36And he was bringing in about 6-7 million dollars

01:20:38So why pay out 3 million dollars

01:20:40To Sala when they could bring in 7 million

01:20:42From a Japanese driver called Takagi

01:20:44So that is really the story

01:20:46These guys bringing the money

01:20:48Are doing an excellent job

01:20:50Of course Petro

01:20:52Drove also last year

01:20:54For Arrows

01:20:56He brought in 10 million dollars too

01:20:58So often times it's not about

01:21:00Whether the driver is posting good enough times

01:21:02It's whether the posting is in the right column

01:21:04Of the checkbook

01:21:08Oh, one of the minorities

01:21:10That's Badoa

01:21:13That's sad, he was having a really good run

01:21:15A really very very good run for him

01:21:17And he was right at 8th place

01:21:19Posting off course

01:21:21Minardi

01:21:23They had a chance of picking up a championship point today

01:21:25Jeunet out of the race early with a crash

01:21:27He is the 13th retiree

01:21:29From the 22 starters

01:21:31A very talented driver in fact

01:21:33He is the test driver for Arrows

01:21:35He had to get a special concession from Ferrari

01:21:37To drive for Minardi

01:21:39And I guess it points out

01:21:42That they would sign Badoa

01:21:44Rather than one of the checkbook waving drivers

01:21:46Who was in search of a seat

01:21:48That was about the last seat to be filled this year

01:21:55Second to third

01:21:574.7 seconds

01:21:59Frenzen back to Ralf Schumacher

01:22:01Well he hasn't got many laps to go now

01:22:03He's got about 14

01:22:05And a half laps to go

01:22:07He's got 5 seconds lap lead over Frenzen

01:22:09Another 5 seconds over

01:22:12Ralf Schumacher, he has a nice cushion

01:22:14And I think he's going to pace himself really well

01:22:20What's it going to be like inside the cockpit

01:22:22Of that Ferrari, Derek?

01:22:24Well, it'll be absolutely spectacular for him

01:22:26He has to, in my experience

01:22:28I've never driven a Formula 1 in this way

01:22:30But you have to concentrate, focus totally

01:22:32On getting absolutely immaculate

01:22:34Every corner, every braking point

01:22:36And still go very, very fast

01:22:38But not stress the engine

01:22:41Just to save it

01:22:43But he's in a very strong position

01:22:45And as we talked at the start of the show

01:22:47This is such a demanding circuit

01:22:49There are 6 maximum speed areas

01:22:51Of 170 to 180 miles an hour

01:22:53Followed by deep braking zones

01:22:55And downshifting from 7th down to 3rd

01:22:57Or even 2nd gear

01:22:59So I guess there are a lot of opportunities

01:23:01To make a mistake here

01:23:03Or to have a mistake

01:23:05You know, end up costing you either time

01:23:07Track position or sliding off track

01:23:09Absolutely, they only come here once a year

01:23:11And there's never any testing done

01:23:13So there's no feedback from anybody else

01:23:15He tests quite a lot

01:23:17But, you know, they have a new car as well, do Ferrari

01:23:19Lots of these teams have new cars

01:23:21Which we will talk about at some point

01:23:23Alright, now last year's car was the F300

01:23:25They have a new numbering system

01:23:27This year's car is the F399

01:23:293 litres, 1999

01:23:31Now if you follow that system

01:23:33Next year's car would be the F300

01:23:35Well, we'll have another new numbering system

01:23:38Look at the list out of the race

01:23:42Damon Hill, crashed out

01:23:44Johnny Herbert, engine fire on the formation lap

01:23:46Giannullisi, gearbox lap one

01:23:48Jacques Villeneuve, losing the rear wing

01:23:50Coulthard and Haakon in hydraulics

01:23:52Alex Zanardi slid off

01:23:54The course and crashed on the opposite wall

01:23:57Olivier Penney, overheating

01:23:59Garneau, truly spun

01:24:01Marc Genet, spun out of contention

01:24:03Alexander Wurz broke the rear suspension

01:24:05Pedro Diniz, gearbox problem

01:24:08And Luca Badour, gearbox as well

01:24:12That's a dozen cars out of the race

01:24:14And ten running

01:24:16What an interesting ten that are out there

01:24:18Such an amazing bagatelle of cars

01:24:20That are out there, I just can't believe it

01:24:22Eddie Irvine's Ferrari leads

01:24:24From Height's Harold Frentzen

01:24:26In the Jordan Mugen Honda

01:24:28This man, Ralf Schumacher

01:24:30Running in third

01:24:32In me, Winfield Williams

01:24:34Supertech power

01:24:37Can I just say one thing about the Supertech

01:24:39Maybe our listeners or viewers have not realised

01:24:41Supertech was the Renault Mechachrome company

01:24:43Renault Mechachrome ran these

01:24:45Semi-works engines for Renault

01:24:47And now they are in the other team

01:24:49Here we go

01:24:51One of the arrows off the road

01:24:53It's a lovely bit of grass there

01:24:55We had a lot of that qualifying

01:24:57That was Takagi, he had a lot of experience

01:24:59Doing that with the Turtles

01:25:01He's really getting sideways

01:25:03But don't be fooled, these engines

01:25:06Takagi has got the Supertech engine

01:25:08So has the B.A.R. car and so has Benetton

01:25:10It is the Renault engines

01:25:12Built under licence

01:25:14So behind Schumacher here comes

01:25:16Fisichello in the Benetton

01:25:18Then De La Rosa

01:25:20In the arrow

01:25:22Poised to pick up two points

01:25:24Then Rubens Barrichello

01:25:26Who started poor

01:25:28Made a pitstop, had a ten second penalty

01:25:30And now he's working his way back up through

01:25:32And into the final points paying position

01:25:35Occasioned by the fact that he's in seventh place

01:25:37Just one spot away

01:25:39From scoring points

01:25:41And that would be just

01:25:43Such a wonderful accomplishment

01:25:45For the young Japanese driver

01:25:47Again his first day

01:25:49With the new team is today

01:25:51For Arrows

01:25:53And finishing the points

01:25:55That would really be tremendous for him

01:25:57Fastest lap for Schumacher in the race

01:25:59132.6, who said the boy doesn't try

01:26:01I was intrigued to know

01:26:03Just how he's pressing on back there

01:26:05I guess that shifter is working perfectly now

01:26:09That's quicker than the McLaren's

01:26:11That's not bad because he's had a lot of fuel on board

01:26:13Just the same as the McLaren's did

01:26:15So it shows that the Ferrari

01:26:17The work they've done on the car this week

01:26:19Has improved it bit by bit

01:26:21Starting from the back

01:26:29Well what a difference a year makes

01:26:32One year ago McLaren Mercedes

01:26:34Both cars lapped the entire field

01:26:36Here in Australia

01:26:38And now both cars are in the garage

01:26:42And it's Eddie Irvine

01:26:44Who is in position

01:26:46To pick up his first Grand Prix victory

01:26:50And this his 82nd start

01:26:56There was talk of course of would Michael Schumacher move over

01:26:58At a certain point if Michael had

01:27:01A substantial lead in the championship

01:27:03But here we have Eddie winning it

01:27:05On his own ability

01:27:11Well certainly the press will play a lot of what ifs

01:27:13What if the Mercedes and McLaren's didn't break

01:27:15What if the race had started on it's first try

01:27:17What if there hadn't been a restart

01:27:19And to all those what ifs I would say

01:27:21So what

01:27:25He has a 10.3 second advantage on the third place car

01:27:27Frentzen is kind of split right between those two

01:27:30At about 5 seconds back

01:27:34Irvine has led 30 of the 47 laps so far

01:27:36Taking the lead from Mika Hakkinen

01:27:40And we're now showing 9 cars

01:27:42Still running on course

01:27:52Michael getting it very sideways

01:27:54Coming in he got in a mad shape there

01:27:56Under braking coming in

01:27:59Carried on

01:28:03So Michael Schumacher still trying to move up

01:28:05Through the field

01:28:07We'll be right back with you on Fox Sportsnet

01:28:17Welcome back to the Grand Prix of Australia

01:28:19Eddie Irvine trying to lap past

01:28:21Ricardo Zonta

01:28:239 cars left running in what's been a wild day

01:28:25It gets wild tonight on Going Deep

01:28:27Chris Myers takes you past the headlines

01:28:29And inside the biggest stories for insight

01:28:31You just can't get anywhere else

01:28:33It's like the 60 minutes of sports television

01:28:35Join Chris Myers for Going Deep

01:28:37Sundays at 9 on Fox Sportsnet

01:28:39I've just got to say this is a major problem

01:28:41For Eddie Irvine right now

01:28:43He's lost nearly a second

01:28:45In the last two laps

01:28:47To Heinz Frentzen who's catching him behind

01:28:49Zonta in front of him in his first Grand Prix

01:28:51And points played position, well not quite

01:28:53But he's getting close, he's holding Eddie up

01:28:56See in the background there, Heinz Harrow catching him

01:28:58And Zonta should make a move

01:29:00At some point to let Eddie by, it's just not good enough

01:29:02And a lot of angry waving of the blue flags

01:29:04By the corner marshals

01:29:06Well he will get penalised by the organisers

01:29:08If he doesn't, here he goes

01:29:10Yes he'll get penalised, he'll get penalised

01:29:12But look at that, he's got just a second and a half

01:29:14To Frentzen, Frentzen needs that

01:29:16But Frentzen's got to get by Zonta as well

01:29:18They could be pals

01:29:20Now Zonta is a lap down but he is the 7th

01:29:22Place car trying to catch up

01:29:25Check that, he's the 8th place car

01:29:27Takagi in 7th

01:29:29And this is when it's really frustrating

01:29:31Eddie had not been cruising, he'd been driving very positively

01:29:33Not thinking about the victory

01:29:35Being very very serious about taking the victory

01:29:37At the end of the race

01:29:39But every lap has to be immaculate

01:29:41And there he is losing major time

01:29:43Having worked his way ahead of Heinz Frentzen

01:29:45Now he's got to contend with the fact he's caught up

01:29:47And we saw that Frentzen had a much easier time

01:29:49With Zonta

01:29:51Than did Eddie Irvine

01:29:55I would say that Zonta probably wasn't looking too much in his mirrors

01:29:57He probably didn't see too many blue flags

01:29:59The guy was too preoccupied with driving

01:30:03Get the watch on Irvine and Frentzen

01:30:05This time by, 7 laps remain

01:30:09Irvine has not finished better than 3rd here

01:30:11That was back in 1996

01:30:19Finished 4th here last year, his other 4 trips to Australia

01:30:21He failed to finish

01:30:24And this, Eddie Irvine

01:30:26Is the guy that actually thumbed his nose at Ayrton Senna

01:30:28His first Grand Prix

01:30:30He was out there driving, I believe he may well have been in a Jordan

01:30:32And he was out in his first race

01:30:34And it rained

01:30:36And he actually tried to un-lap himself past

01:30:38The great Ayrton Senna

01:30:40Ayrton was really upset and had a bit of a punch-up afterwards

01:30:42Well Eddie Jordan has to be pleased

01:30:44With the run

01:30:46Here of Heinz Harald Frentzen

01:30:48In his first drive for the team

01:30:50Currently posted in 2nd

01:30:53And Ricardo Zonta holding up the race leader

01:30:55Now pulls Frentzen

01:30:57Well within sight of Eddie Irvine

01:31:01Catch is one thing, overtaking is another

01:31:03And Eddie is not easy to overtake

01:31:05As anybody when leading a Grand Prix

01:31:07That first lap

01:31:09Well, the 100,000 fans here

01:31:11Have gotten more than their money's worth today

01:31:15Just an incredulous day

01:31:17You could not have scripted

01:31:19Who would believe that both Mercedes-McLarens

01:31:22Would be out of this race

01:31:24Or that only 9 cars would be running

01:31:26Or that several drivers would be in a position

01:31:28To score their first ever championship points

01:31:30Or in the case of Irvine

01:31:32Perhaps his first win

01:31:34What's astonishing too is that both the Mercedes

01:31:36Went out with the same engine problem

01:31:38Or hydraulic problem

01:31:40Six to go

01:31:42Irvine has opened up another, nearly another second

01:31:44On Frentzen on that lap

01:31:46He was 4.0, he's now 4.9

01:31:48Eddie's streaking away again

01:31:50Irvine has long been

01:31:52The most quotable pundit

01:31:54Along the pit lane

01:31:56So I can't wait to hear the interview

01:32:02Well last year it was Ferrari

01:32:04Who kind of left Australia

01:32:06With their tail tucked between their legs

01:32:08They got lapped in the race, Schumacher lost an engine

01:32:10And they had a lot of work to do for Brazil

01:32:12And now it's going to be Ron Dennis' crew

01:32:14With McLaren-Mercedes

01:32:16No way to tell at this point

01:32:19How simple or how complex the problem might be

01:32:21To put them out of the race

01:32:23Certainly the cars were fast

01:32:25But you don't score any points if you don't finish

01:32:27But it is Mercedes and they will not make the same mistake twice

01:32:29I would say

01:32:31We had this once before with some engine problems

01:32:33And it never appeared again

01:32:35The sad thing for Schumacher is that he's not picking up a point

01:32:37Which of course happened to be over the moon about

01:32:39If Michael could have picked up a point or two

01:32:41You know how vital they are

01:32:43Yeah that would have made a huge difference

01:32:45This man, Ralf Schumacher

01:32:48He's really showing such maturity now

01:32:50Absolutely outstanding

01:32:52When you think Zanardi's in the same team

01:32:54He's totally outcasted this weekend

01:32:56And we really expect a lot more from him

01:32:58The drivers running 1, 2, 3 in this race

01:33:00Qualified and started

01:33:026th, 5th and 8th

01:33:06You'll have to go a long way back

01:33:08To find the last time something like that happened

01:33:12I'm really glad they've had a good race

01:33:14It was a bit dull at the beginning

01:33:17Poor old public

01:33:19Paid all that money to come to these races

01:33:21Well one thing we learned last year

01:33:23Everyone was afraid that after McLaren and Mercedes

01:33:25Lapped the field that the whole season would be a snoozer

01:33:27That they would just run away

01:33:29And everybody else would fight for scraps

01:33:31Of course Ferrari rose to the occasion

01:33:33Jordan won a race

01:33:35The season turned out to be anything but dull

01:33:37So the one thing you can always safely say about Australia

01:33:39Is that it is the predictor

01:33:41Of nothing

01:33:43As far as the season goes

01:33:46Eddie is the one that proves the point

01:33:48That he can win the world championship after this

01:33:50I did mention earlier of course about the Ferrari engine

01:33:52Being 20kg lighter

01:33:54That's 44lbs lighter than it was last year

01:33:56And they've lowered the centre of gravity

01:33:58Which of course meant the car is far far better

01:34:00Going around the corners

01:34:02And of course that means they can move the weight

01:34:04This weight ballast they need to around the car

01:34:06So the car is quite dramatically different

01:34:08New suspension on the front and new suspension on the rear

01:34:10Well no Argentine Grand Prix this year

01:34:12They'll go to Brazil

01:34:14The other thing they wanted to do was dollars

01:34:16And with some of the financial climate

01:34:18In South America being what it is these days

01:34:20The FIA

01:34:22Or rather Formula 1

01:34:24Wanted some circuit improvements

01:34:26Those would have been expensive

01:34:28And also the money that Formula 1 wanted

01:34:30To stage the race

01:34:32They came to a parting of ways

01:34:34And no Argentine Grand Prix this year

01:34:36The next stop will be Brazil

01:34:38And then we move on

01:34:40So Irvine's Ferrari

01:34:43Continues to lead at about

01:34:45Four and a half seconds

01:34:47From the Jordan

01:34:49Of Frentzen

01:34:51And then

01:34:53Ralf Schumacher

01:34:55Having an inspired drive in the Williams

01:34:57This could be of course Ferrari's

01:34:59120th win

01:35:01And what a feat for Bridgestone

01:35:03Who would love to see Ferrari win some races

01:35:05On their tyres

01:35:07Because without anything in the world

01:35:09The Bridgestone tyres

01:35:12Ferrari Ferrari

01:35:18Continuing to watch Ralf Schumacher here

01:35:20In third place

01:35:22By himself on the track right now

01:35:24But what a day it's been

01:35:26The start of the race

01:35:28Aborted

01:35:30Cars stalling on the grid

01:35:32Michael Schumacher having to go to the back of the grid

01:35:34Takagi, Johnny Herbert's car

01:35:36Going up in flames

01:35:38And Herbert a spectator

01:35:41They started sliding off

01:35:43A Lacey lost a gearbox

01:35:45Later Jacques Villeneuve

01:35:47Broken rear wing

01:35:49And a crash

01:35:51Both McLarens with hydraulic trouble

01:35:53Zanardi crashed

01:35:55Verts broke a rear suspension

01:35:57And it goes on

01:35:59Three laps to go for Eddie Irvine

01:36:01He's got over a five second lead

01:36:03So he's just stroking it through

01:36:05They're going to be happy in Belfast tonight

01:36:07Or should I say Dublin tonight

01:36:10They're going to be absolutely going wild

01:36:12He's such a popular driver

01:36:14He's the sort of guy that a lot of drivers

01:36:16A lot of people would like to be

01:36:18He's so natural

01:36:20He just takes life as it comes

01:36:22He doesn't really suffer fools

01:36:24Just enjoys life

01:36:26His first Grand Prix was for Eddie Jordan

01:36:28At Japan at Suzuka

01:36:30October of 1993

01:36:34In his fourth and last year's championship

01:36:36Moving to Ferrari

01:36:39Today

01:36:41The accolades and a tremendous drive

01:36:43For Eddie Irvine

01:36:51What a manufacturer's championship

01:36:53We could have here with Ferrari

01:36:55Leaving here with the championship

01:36:57Jordan

01:36:59Williams

01:37:01McLaren with no points

01:37:05Totally unlike what we thought at the top of the day

01:37:09To sum up Eddie Irvine

01:37:11A little brief story

01:37:13I met him just a few weeks ago

01:37:15We were discussing

01:37:17He said you know I love living in Milan

01:37:19It's absolutely magnificent

01:37:21The girls absolutely love me

01:37:23I have no trouble with the girls

01:37:25There's so many of them

01:37:27I said but Eddie

01:37:29I said you are a multimillionaire

01:37:31You race for Ferrari

01:37:33And you're single

01:37:35And you live on your own

01:37:37Well Stewart and Arrows also figure to be in the points today

01:37:39Rubens Barrichello

01:37:41Has just done a tremendous job

01:37:43Qualifying fourth

01:37:45Overcoming a ten second penalty

01:37:47Climbing up into the top five

01:37:49Two laps to go

01:37:51I must admit I think Schumacher

01:37:53Michael Schumacher

01:37:55Is going to be so thrilled for his brother

01:37:57Doing so well in his first outing

01:37:59And of course he's going to be delighted for Eddie Irvine

01:38:01Doing such a great job up front

01:38:03Because of course really that is

01:38:06Which is very very important

01:38:10Takagi in seventh

01:38:12Riccardo Zonta in eighth

01:38:14For British American Racing

01:38:16They'll have something to salvage from this day

01:38:18And then Michael Schumacher

01:38:20Posted ninth

01:38:22It's amazing

01:38:24That Ferrari just has to be the most popular name

01:38:26In road racing in the world

01:38:28And that sound is just unique

01:38:30It's the lust factor Derek

01:38:32There is not a man alive

01:38:35Snicked the car into gear

01:38:37And didn't think that it was his own personal Ferrari

01:38:39You can't

01:38:41How do you lust after a Williams

01:38:43You can't really go out and buy one or drive one

01:38:45But everybody

01:38:47Can lust for a Ferrari

01:38:49I mean if you have any car sense

01:38:51You cut your wrist it bleeds Ferrari red

01:38:53Now come on

01:38:55You've owned them

01:38:57I drove for them

01:38:59I mean there is just

01:39:01I think more Walter Mitty

01:39:04Look right behind him

01:39:06You'll notice that the Jordan

01:39:08Has caught up right up on those last laps

01:39:10There's one lap to go but not for many feet

01:39:12Behind him is that orange car

01:39:14Pretty close behind him

01:39:16He's not going to catch him I don't think unless Eddie does something wrong

01:39:18The crowd are loving it

01:39:20They all love a Ferrari victory

01:39:24Just keep in front Eddie

01:39:26Keep it cool

01:39:28This is really the most difficult part of the whole race

01:39:30This is the most difficult part

01:39:33He's got victory in his grasp

01:39:35But he can so easily goof it

01:39:37He doesn't want to wave to the fans

01:39:39He doesn't want to wave to the corner workers

01:39:41He just wants to bring it home

01:39:43And there's a great drive behind

01:39:45He's not going to get Eddie at this point

01:39:47And he's just got another 67 corners to go

01:39:49Marston important lap in

01:39:51Eddie Irvine's life

01:39:57Too many Ferraris in Australia

01:40:03Quick left right

01:40:05You can see the gap down to 2.3 seconds

01:40:07Trenton doing all he can

01:40:09He's just going to run out of laps here

01:40:11As long as Irvine keeps it on the pavement

01:40:13It's really an outstanding moment

01:40:15Actually for British Motorsport

01:40:17For Eddie Irvine

01:40:19For British Motorsport

01:40:21Because Eddie really really deserves

01:40:23Here he comes, one more corner to go

01:40:25He's got it

01:40:27He's got it

01:40:29He's got it

01:40:31One more corner to go

01:40:33Boy this is going to get so much cheering

01:40:35So much applause

01:40:37So many people are going to be happy

01:40:39Absolutely brilliant

01:40:41Bob Jane waves the chequered flag

01:40:43And in his 82nd Grand Prix start

01:40:45Eddie Irvine is at last a Formula 1 winner

01:40:47You'd never believe that before

01:40:49But it is wonderful

01:40:51Look at that

01:40:53Look at those Ferrari fans

01:40:55With both hands

01:40:57You can't believe it

01:41:00Absolutely brilliant

01:41:02Look at him smoking those tyres

01:41:04Brilliant drive from the two drivers behind him

01:41:06Heinz Howard with young Ralf Schumacher

01:41:08Brilliant look at Ferrari

01:41:10Are they going to be over the moon

01:41:12I bet they never imagined

01:41:14They would come through the race

01:41:18Immaculate race by Eddie Irvine

01:41:20Michael coming up the inside there

01:41:22I think trying to

01:41:24Michael's coming up to give him some congratulations

01:41:26I assume

01:41:29He's got to be so happy for Eddie

01:41:31I don't think he does

01:41:33He certainly isn't looking in his mirrors

01:41:35Eddie is not looking behind

01:41:37Here he comes

01:41:39He's so happy for him

01:41:41Look at Michael waving his fist for him

01:41:43Absolutely brilliant

01:41:45Outstanding

01:41:47Greatest moment in his life

01:41:49Well we'll be back with more

01:41:51From the Grand Prix of Australia

01:41:53What a way to start a season

01:41:55Stay with us

01:41:59Eddie Irvine

01:42:01Climbs out to the cheers

01:42:03Of the Ferrari faithful

01:42:05And all the fans here at Melbourne

01:42:09What a tremendous day

01:42:11There's his sister

01:42:13That's his sister

01:42:15Is it like his masseuse

01:42:17He looks after her

01:42:21She must be so happy for him

01:42:24Great to see this enthusiasm

01:42:26That is obviously like his crew chief

01:42:28Is actually hugging him

01:42:30He's the man that he talks to

01:42:32For the whole race

01:42:34The whole way through

01:42:36I mean wonderful

01:42:38The Ferrari enthusiasm

01:42:40You have no idea what it's like

01:42:42To win in a Ferrari

01:42:44For Ferrari

01:42:46And that's such a big win for them as well

01:42:48Because like Eddie Irvine

01:42:50They too have supported Michael Schumacher's efforts

01:42:53He must be so happy too

01:42:55He's just proved the doubters that he can do a good job

01:43:03Eddie Irvine the winner for Ferrari

01:43:05Heinz-Harald Frensen

01:43:07Finishing in 2nd for Jordan

01:43:09Ralf Schumacher 3rd for Williams

01:43:11Both in their first drives for those teams

01:43:13Giancarlo Fisichella 4th

01:43:15And Rubens Barrichello up for 5th

01:43:17Overcoming that 10 second penalty for jumping the restart

01:43:19Pedro de la Rosa will pick up the final

01:43:22Toro Takagi 7th

01:43:24In his first ride for Arrows

01:43:26And Michael Schumacher comes home

01:43:28In 8th, Ricardo Zonta was 9th

01:43:30So driver points

01:43:32Heading for Brazil

01:43:34Eddie Irvine, Heinz-Harald Frensen

01:43:36Schumacher, Fisichella

01:43:38Barrichello

01:43:40And the constructors

01:43:42Lead the Ferrari of course

01:43:44Jordan, Williams, Benetton

01:43:46Stewart

01:43:48In the points

01:43:52What a sight

01:43:54This is almost like being at Monza

01:43:56Isn't it?

01:43:58With the crowd's enthusiasm

01:44:00But they don't see any real international motorsport in Australia

01:44:02And that's what it is

01:44:04And you have to give it to them

01:44:06They drag all these cars all that way

01:44:08Now according to regulation

01:44:10Fans are not allowed out on the circuit at the conclusion of the race

01:44:12But how do you hold back 100,000 people

01:44:14Who are all as excited

01:44:16As Eddie Irvine is right now

01:44:18Oh it's wild

01:44:20There you go Bernie, try and sort that on out

01:44:22I didn't know there were that many Irish flags

01:44:26There's a lot of Italian flags as well for Ferrari

01:44:32They're loving it, here they go

01:44:34This is the moment, great for all three of them

01:44:38Eddie was up there a lot of times

01:44:40But he's never been up there on pole position as they say

01:44:42I'll bet the view looks good from up there

01:44:44He's never seen that view from that

01:44:46Quite that high before

01:44:49There's Jean Tocq, head of the team

01:44:51He's come up to get the Constructors Trophy

01:45:19Oh

01:45:21Oh

01:45:23Oh

01:45:25Oh

01:45:27Oh

01:45:29Oh

01:45:31Oh

01:45:33Oh

01:45:35Oh

01:45:37Oh

01:45:39Oh

01:45:41Oh

01:45:43Oh

01:45:45Oh

01:45:48Oh

01:45:50Oh

01:45:52Oh

01:45:54Oh

01:45:56Oh

01:45:58Oh

01:46:00Oh

01:46:02Oh

01:46:04Oh

01:46:06Oh

01:46:08Oh

01:46:10Oh

01:46:12Sh rush

01:46:14Oh

01:46:16["Pomp and Circumstance"]

01:46:46["Pomp and Circumstance"]

01:47:16["Pomp and Circumstance"]

01:47:46the team, presentation team, leave the rostrum. And now... Champagne!

01:47:58He's going to have to get his hair wet.

01:48:05Eddie, you ain't going to get away from it now.

01:48:07Oh, it's the best shower he's ever had.

01:48:09Sweet.

01:48:14He doesn't want to drink any of this.

01:48:18I think he's soaking his crew.

01:48:20Yeah, sure he is.

01:48:27Everybody have a taste.

01:48:29I don't care what kind of racing series it is, whether it's SCCA Regionals or whether it's Formula 1, you've got to love a first-time winner.

01:48:46Great.

01:48:55We'll be back to hear from Eddie Irvine, Heinz-Harald Frenzen, and Ralph Schumacher.

01:48:59You're watching Formula 1 Racing on Fox Sportsnet.

01:49:08Welcome back to Formula 1 coverage on Fox Sportsnet.

01:49:11118,000 people in Melbourne celebrating Eddie Irvine's first-ever Formula 1 victory.

01:49:21Drop us an email if you have comments or suggestions about our Formula 1 coverage.

01:49:25Our email address is formula1 at foxsports.net. We'd like to hear from you.

01:49:32Well, let's go to the press conference and hear the comments of a happy first-time winner, runner-up, and third-place finisher.

01:49:42Congratulations, Eddie Irvine. 82 attempts in your first win. How does it feel?

01:49:46It's fantastic. To do it with Ferrari is amazing.

01:49:50It was incredible. All weekend, me and my engineer, we've been just working away, doing our own thing.

01:49:56We've made different choices from a lot of people on various things.

01:50:00We were convinced we were going the right way.

01:50:02Apart from McLaren, we proved we were.

01:50:06It's fantastic to do it with Ferrari after such a long time.

01:50:09All the people have helped me from Formula 4 all the way up.

01:50:14A big thank you to everyone who helped me. They all know who they are.

01:50:18There's so many, I'd be here for a few hours. I needed a lot of help to get here, believe me.

01:50:23Eddie, the key moment seemed to be at the end of the first safety car period. How did you see that?

01:50:29Well, Mica, I don't know, I think he had a problem.

01:50:31He went very slow and I knew the rule. As long as I didn't go ahead of him, it wasn't classes overtaking.

01:50:35He was going so slow and I did him. That was great, thank you very much, and off I went.

01:50:40I knew I had to build a lead up for Heinz because I didn't want to have him doing me at the pit stop.

01:50:46I pushed like hell.

01:50:48Just as I was building up a gap, the pace car came out again.

01:50:51I was lucky enough to be able to build up a big enough gap to get out ahead of him for the second run.

01:50:57I think it was a B.A.R. held me up for about four laps.

01:51:03It looked like his engine was about to blow, which was really worrying because I thought if that goes,

01:51:07I'd have a good chance of going off on the oil, but everything worked out OK. I can't complain.

01:51:14Were you using a different race setup from Michael?

01:51:18My car, we started off fairly similar.

01:51:23Then we made a fairly fundamental change in the car, which I felt would be better.

01:51:26I tested the Fiorano. We came here, we tried it, and immediately I felt it didn't work.

01:51:31Michael wasn't sure, so I went back to what I was happy with.

01:51:35Even on the Friday, I kept saying the car feels good, the car feels good.

01:51:38I don't understand why we're slow.

01:51:40Then Saturday again, the car felt good. I just couldn't do it. It went quick.

01:51:43Today, the car felt good. It's a little bit unstable, a little bit quick change of direction,

01:51:48but actually the balance is fundamentally fantastic.

01:51:51To be honest, this is the best car I've ever driven, for sure.

01:51:54Thanks, Eddie.

01:51:55Heinz Harald, your first race with Jordan and straight away a podium in second place.

01:51:59Tell us the story of your race.

01:52:02Well, first of all, I'm very pleased with the second place with Jordan together.

01:52:09It's great to be on the podium.

01:52:12The race situation, like Eddie explained, the key point was the safety car situation.

01:52:20All of a sudden, Michael Hackenham went slow, and I don't know why.

01:52:25I thought it was a bit of confusion, because I didn't see any green flags at the end on the last lap,

01:52:31and I wasn't quite sure if it's really the end of the safety car time.

01:52:36But then I saw Ralf coming up on the long side, and I said,

01:52:40Jesus, he's going to overtake me just before the line, but luckily it didn't for him.

01:52:46But he passed me on the end of the straight.

01:52:49I could pass him back to the second corner, and I think that was the key point.

01:52:54And then Eddie was pushing like hell at the beginning, and I tried to keep up with him.

01:52:59That's the strongest race I saw from Eddie so far.

01:53:02I have to say, really, it was really going like hell.

01:53:06I was trying to keep on with him, and I was thinking he has on soft tyres,

01:53:11he must be tired, well, at least the tyres must be tired after a couple of miles.

01:53:17But he kept on going, and I thought it's pretty difficult to beat Eddie today.

01:53:22And I tried to make my own race.

01:53:26I tried to do my own race then, and try to save the tyres,

01:53:31and just drive behind Eddie. That's the only tactic I had.

01:53:36Thanks, Hans-Harald.

01:53:37Ralf again at podium on the first race of Williams,

01:53:39but at the end of the race a part of your car fell off.

01:53:41What happened there?

01:53:43Well, I lost one of the barge boards, really.

01:53:46I mean, a few things of my car fell apart this race,

01:53:50and I had to slow down towards the end.

01:53:52I mean, I think everything went really good for us.

01:53:54I had a good start, safety car could gain a few positions,

01:53:57gained Heinz' position, and he gained it back,

01:53:59which I promise you is the last time that happens to me.

01:54:02But anyway, so I think, you know, I'm pretty happy the team is.

01:54:06And looking at Friday and Saturday's practice, we wouldn't have thought that.

01:54:10So I'm really pleased.

01:54:12Thanks, Ralf.

01:54:13Eddie, you're leading the World Championship. What now?

01:54:16Yeah.

01:54:17Big party.

01:54:18I'll have to speak to Jean-Todd to see where I go from here.

01:54:22No, it's great.

01:54:24Just keep on doing it.

01:54:25You know, if I'm a bit lucky and Michael and the rest of them are a bit unlucky,

01:54:28you never know.

01:54:31I came here with very little testing,

01:54:33and I'm really pleased the way me and Luca worked together, my engineer.

01:54:37We really just did our own thing.

01:54:39We were very confident the way we went,

01:54:41and there was a lot of things that we had to improvise today,

01:54:44really, at the start and that,

01:54:46which I managed to remember all the sequences,

01:54:48which I was a bit worried about.

01:54:50So, really, everyone went well.

01:54:52And I'm glad my dad didn't come to this one,

01:54:54because he never comes to my first victories.

01:54:57Congratulations, gentlemen.

01:54:58Perhaps now a word in your own language from Heinz and Ralf.

01:55:02Eddie Irvine, his first Formula 1 victory,

01:55:04fourth year last year, got Ferrari's only points,

01:55:06and today scores a win.

01:55:08Heinz-Harald Frentzen, third last year, second.

01:55:12Today, Ralf Schumacher crashed in lap one here last year.

01:55:15Fisichella, Rubens Barrichello in the spare car up for fifth,

01:55:19and Pedro de la Rosa got the final point,

01:55:21then Takagi and Michael Schumacher.

01:55:24Well, I thought the drive from the, uh, Stuart Ford,

01:55:27the drive of Barrichello was outstanding.

01:55:28They had right up there, fourth in practice,

01:55:30fourth in qualifying.

01:55:32They have this disaster on the start line.

01:55:34Starts from the back, does a great job.

01:55:36I was really thrilled for Ford, for Jackie Stewart,

01:55:38and, of course, Barrichello.

01:55:39And that VAR that Eddie Irvine mentioned was Riccardo Zonta,

01:55:42and he did blow up just prior to the checkered flag

01:55:45and was not classified as a finisher.

01:55:48Our coverage from Melbourne will continue after this.

01:55:56Welcome back to Melbourne, Australia.

01:55:58The teams will pack up from here,

01:55:59and they'll have a month to think about a very long day

01:56:02before we go to Brazil in the Grand Prix.

01:56:04Sunday, April 11th, you'll see that live on Fox Sportsnet

01:56:07at 10.30 a.m. Eastern Time.

01:56:10Then in May, it's on to San Marino, Monaco, and Spain.

01:56:14In June, we'll be in Canada and the Grand Prix of France.

01:56:17In July, promise it won't rain in England.

01:56:20This year, and then the Grand Prix of Austria.

01:56:23In August, we'll be at Germany, Hungary, and Belgium.

01:56:26September, Italy and the Grand Prix of Europe.

01:56:28The new track in Malaysia gets its first Formula One race

01:56:31in October, along with a season-ender in Japan.

01:56:36Well, we saw all those yellow flags at the initial attempt at a start.

01:56:40We should have known it was going to be a very interesting and strange day.

01:56:43Johnny Herbert never got a lap, but Raquello took the spare car.

01:56:47Mika Häkkinen had to come in the pits, having led the race in quite a strong way.

01:56:51Problems the same as his teammate, David Coulthard,

01:56:54who had previously retired, and that left both McLarens out of the running.

01:56:59Michael Schumacher was unable to capitalize, however.

01:57:02First, he had to start from the back of the grid,

01:57:04then he shredded a tire, and finally had problems with his steering wheel-mounted shifter,

01:57:08relegating Schumacher to ninth at the finish.

01:57:11But it wasn't Michael, it was Ralf Schumacher that did pretty well today,

01:57:14and he had a fine, fine race in his first drive in the Williams.

01:57:18He finished third, he was in that position most of the race,

01:57:21chasing Heinz-Harald Frenzen all the way.

01:57:23At the end of it, he was third, and Heinz-Harald Frenzen a fine second.

01:57:28Well, it took five years of trying for Jordan and Ferrari,

01:57:3182 starts, but now Eddie Irvine is a Formula One winner.

01:57:35Yes, and I think the whole motor racing world will be really happy for him.

01:57:38Everybody will be over the moon.

01:57:41For Derek Bell and Peter Windsor, I'm Mike Joy.

01:57:43Thanks for joining us at the Australian Grand Prix,

01:57:45as we congratulate Eddie Irvine, the winner for Ferrari.

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