2000 Monaco GP

OSRN 1

1 year ago

Round 7 of the 2000 F1 season at Monaco.

Transcript

00:00:00Welcome to the most beautiful racing venue in the world.

00:00:07Today, the world's greatest drivers come to the toughest street circuit in the world where

00:00:23Michael Schumacher is the self-proclaimed favorite and shares the front row with a surprising

00:00:28Yarno Trulli.

00:00:29It's the crown jewel of Formula 1.

00:00:55Welcome to the most exciting motor race in the world.

00:00:58Fox sports net is at the grand prix of Monaco in Monte Carlo for round seven of the Formula

00:01:031 world championship.

00:01:06The air here is electric and the scenery is breathtaking.

00:01:10Hi, everybody.

00:01:11I'm Mike joy alongside five-time Le Mans winner Derek bell and Peter Windsor from the London

00:01:16Sunday times and F1 racing magazine will join us in the pit lane.

00:01:22Let's have a look at our menu for our Mercedes-Benz pre-race today.

00:01:26There's a lot of news, a lot of things that have happened since the grand prix of Europe.

00:01:30Peter will update us and he'll get a look at some of the best seats in the house, give

00:01:34us an idea of what they cost here in Monaco.

00:01:36We'll have highlights of a qualifying that produced a surprise front row and we'll go

00:01:41one-on-one with Formula 1's party boy car owner, Danny Jordan.

00:01:48Cars are out on their reconnaissance laps.

00:01:51And this beautiful circuit through the street.

00:01:561928 was when the course was first laid out.

00:02:00The first grand prix was held in 29 and there have only been two minor changes to this circuit

00:02:04since in the principality of Monaco.

00:02:07The world championship stands with Michael Schumacher leading Mika Hakkinen by 18 points.

00:02:14David Coulthard, just four back of Mika, Rubens Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher and Fisichella

00:02:21are the top half dozen in the driver standings.

00:02:23Among the constructors, Ferrari now has a ten-point lead on McLaren, Mercedes, Williams

00:02:28a solid third and Benetton has displaced Jordan all the way back to fifth and then VAR at

00:02:34six points.

00:02:37Royalty is here and the stars of Formula 1, the world's greatest drivers are here.

00:02:42All the glitterary, lots of celebrities, more than we can identify in this short half hour

00:02:49of pre-race.

00:02:50But this is the place I think every auto racing fan would love to be is in Monaco for a grand

00:02:56prix.

00:02:57There's just no atmosphere like it at any other race course in the world.

00:03:00Well, let's get caught up on the news since the grand prix of Europe and there's lots

00:03:04of it.

00:03:05Let's go to the paddock and here is Peter Windsor.

00:03:08Big news from Ferrari's president, Luca Mondezemolo, is that under the guise of his additional

00:03:12job that is chairman of Maserati, he's going to take Maserati back to the United States.

00:03:17Not only in road car form, but he's also considering taking Maserati back to the Indy

00:03:22500.

00:03:23He points out that the Maserati engine was the last Italian engine ever to win the Indy

00:03:27500 and in the next five years he's looking very closely at taking Maserati to American

00:03:32motorsports and looking for that second win.

00:03:35Luca Mondezemolo spoke exclusively to Fox Sportsnet and we will be showing that interview

00:03:40in the next couple of weeks.

00:03:42Meanwhile at Ferrari, great news for Nigel Stepney, the chief mechanic injured in that

00:03:45accident in the pit lane, now back at Monaco, limping and doing what he says he should have

00:03:50been doing in the first place, which is actually controlling those pit stops from the front.

00:03:54Nigel was the repealing man because he felt that he was the best guy for that job, but

00:03:59really as chief mechanic, he should have been at the front of the car.

00:04:02Alan Jenkins, no surprise here really, Alan Jenkins, the designer for Prost, left just

00:04:07before the Monaco Grand Prix, so an empty seat for the Prost team there.

00:04:11And as we said from Silverstone, the future of Prost very much in doubt and Alan Prost

00:04:14is still trying to sell that team.

00:04:17Finally, Michael Schumacher, new helmet here for the Monaco Grand Prix, he's obviously

00:04:20not superstitious, he wants everyone to see him in his mirrors and it's bright red.

00:04:25Well very difficult for any team to go to any race, but particularly Monaco without

00:04:28a technical director, but then again, it's always been difficult between the French and

00:04:32the English, hasn't it?

00:04:33You know, Murray and Murray Walker suggested yesterday that Schumacher, why not make Barrichello

00:04:37change his helmet?

00:04:38Well, there is the issue of all these souvenirs to be sold, so a new look is pretty interesting.

00:04:44Blue-ish, star-ish helmet top is now adopted by at least four Formula One drivers, so I

00:04:50guess Michael decided time for a change.

00:04:53The pit lane at Monaco in pre-race looks like Times Square at New Year's Eve and there's

00:04:58just about that much room to walk around in.

00:05:00It's incredibly crowded down there.

00:05:02Well, last week, every major motor race circuit except Formula One was in action and a driver

00:05:07who will soon be with Williams won the Indy 500.

00:05:10What's Frank Williams' take on that, Peter?

00:05:13Frank, Juan Pablo Montoya won the Indy 500.

00:05:15The Indy 500 is also the venue of the US Grand Prix this year.

00:05:18Lots going on there.

00:05:19What are your thoughts about the 500, first of all, and then beyond that, Montoya?

00:05:23Well, I've never watched a full 500 event from start to finish, and this one was quite

00:05:29a marathon because in England it came on at 5pm our time and finished at 17 minutes past

00:05:3411.

00:05:35I truly can say I watched it all.

00:05:37I felt very sorry for the presenters, I had to fill in three hours, but the race I found

00:05:41very interesting and because of my personal keen interest in Juan Pablo, I was obviously

00:05:47gripped by his performance and all the drivers who could have beaten him.

00:05:53My son was there and he told me the excitement was palpable.

00:05:56It was real all afternoon and all I can say is that for September, like many of all of

00:06:02us really, we are very anxious to get out and put on an equally good show.

00:06:07Many parties here at Monaco and some major announcements, including one by Tony George,

00:06:11the president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, concerning the US Grand Prix that will be

00:06:16held at Indy in September.

00:06:18I can say with confidence that we will offer a world-class venue in a world-class city

00:06:25that loves and understands motorsport.

00:06:28And now I'm pleased to announce that we have reached a multi-year agreement with SAP, the

00:06:35world's largest enterprise software company, to become the title sponsor for the United

00:06:40States Grand Prix.

00:06:42The official name will be SAP United States Grand Prix Indianapolis.

00:06:52Welcome back to our Mercedes-Benz pre-race for the Grand Prix of Monaco.

00:06:57Rubens Barrichello being rolled back into position.

00:07:00No garages here.

00:07:01All the work is done just aside the pit lane.

00:07:04That's for cramped conditions, but boy, we've got some interesting shots down there.

00:07:08And Derek, this circuit, as we mentioned, 1929, first time it was used, hasn't changed

00:07:12much since then.

00:07:13But boy, the cars sure have and the speeds have.

00:07:15Well, they certainly have.

00:07:16It's the most wonderful circuit.

00:07:17The drivers love it.

00:07:18Everybody loves it.

00:07:19Really, it's the shortest circuit, 2.09 miles, 38 gear shifts per lap, 3,000 gear shifts

00:07:25per race, a gear shift virtually every 2.1 seconds, and 1,014 total corners.

00:07:31You've got to keep it off the guardrails to finish the race.

00:07:34You've got to concentrate.

00:07:35Let's go and do a lap with David Coulthard.

00:07:37We're going by the pits now as we're pulling up to 170 miles an hour, breaking down to

00:07:42second gear for Sainte-Dubose as we work our way up the hill to Beau-Rivage, up into Massenet

00:07:47Corner.

00:07:48The circuit, of course, is a road circuit.

00:07:50The surface is not very grippy at all as he works his way in third gear past the Hotel

00:07:54de Paris on the left, the casino on the right, down the road towards the Mirabeau Corner.

00:07:59The circuit has a lot of cameras, as you can see, as he tucks it right into that right

00:08:03hand camera there, down to the Loews hairpin, now called actually the Grand Hotel on the

00:08:06right there.

00:08:07Gets traction out of there at 25 miles an hour.

00:08:10Second gear as he works his way to the first part of Poitiers, the second part of Poitiers.

00:08:15Traction is what this place is all about.

00:08:16They set the cars up very soft through the tunnel, scream through the tunnel at 160 miles

00:08:21an hour, 180 as he breaks, down to second gear for the chicane, out onto the seafront.

00:08:25Careful again with the traction.

00:08:28Cars are set up very, very softly indeed as he goes his way through the Tabac Corner.

00:08:32Can't see the Tabac anymore, it's hidden by the stands.

00:08:35Past the Piscine, past the swimming pool as it is, down to second gear.

00:08:39Very high kerbing here, and of course the guardrail, be careful you don't graze there.

00:08:43Braking as they're turning into the Rascasse hairpin.

00:08:45Nasty bit of stuff as they work their way through here, 30 miles an hour.

00:08:49Second corner, here's the third corner coming up, watch for that traction as he works his

00:08:53way out onto the pit straight.

00:08:54That was a lap with David Coulthard.

00:08:59What a wonderful place for a motor race, as the minority mechanics are at work, and

00:09:05it's a beautiful day to go racing here as well.

00:09:09It's quite phenomenal, that pit wall has been the same, those trees have been there for

00:09:12the last 58 years, thinking it's the 58th Grand Prix, absolutely magnificent.

00:09:18I think they're talking to Jeunet there, sitting on the ground, they had a pretty alluring

00:09:21timing qualifying.

00:09:22Yes.

00:09:23Well, if this is the best place in the world to watch a motor race, where is the best place

00:09:29here?

00:09:30It's down at La Rascasse, the restaurant that lends its name to that corner at the lower

00:09:33left of your screen, and Peter gives us a look at the best seat in the house.

00:09:37If you're looking for the best seat in all of motorsports, then stop right here.

00:09:42I'm in the La Rascasse restaurant in the center of the La Rascasse hairpin.

00:09:46A fantastic piece of road you'd want to see anyway, let alone from a restaurant.

00:09:50As I look over my shoulder, the cars are approaching at around 145, 150 miles an hour into this

00:09:57left-hand kink, and then, of course, the right-hand hairpin.

00:09:59Now, the really quick guys get through the left kink, having just touched the brakes,

00:10:03and they're back on the throttle again in this middle section just here.

00:10:06A perfect place to watch differences in style and to see Grand Prix racing at its best.

00:10:12Interestingly, this restaurant today is full of Americans all over here, courtesy of Grand

00:10:17Prix Tours, fantastic interest from the United States now, and if you want this seat right

00:10:22here, $1,800 for two days, Saturday and Sunday, gourmet food, as much as you can drink, and

00:10:29breakfast.

00:10:30Well, you certainly really see the action at the Rascasse hotel, or the restaurant,

00:10:34should I say.

00:10:35Absolutely amazing as the cars are braking as they're coming through the turn from 140

00:10:39miles an hour.

00:10:41Look at the crowd that David Coulthard must weave through to get back to the attention

00:10:46of his West McLaren Mercedes mechanic.

00:10:51David's been running very well all weekend.

00:10:53He's been right at the top of the charts on Friday, and it's run extremely well, so it's

00:10:56great to see him so far up at the front of the grid, and let's hope he can pull off another

00:11:00win.

00:11:01I wonder how many pounds extra weight a horn would add.

00:11:04Well, they're so used to him in Monaco, it wouldn't really have any effect whatsoever.

00:11:08Nope, dodging TV crews, well-wishers, and beautiful people.

00:11:14As we close down on the start of the Grand Prix of Monaco, we'll be back with highlights

00:11:21of qualifying right after this.

00:11:29Welcome back to our Mercedes-Benz pre-race for the countdown to the Grand Prix of Monaco.

00:11:35In two weeks, we'll be live at the Grand Prix of Canada in Montreal, 12.30 Eastern time,

00:11:409.30 a.m. Pacific, except in Florida, Chicago, Wisconsin, and parts of the Pittsburgh area,

00:11:47so check your local listing.

00:11:50Monaco, beautiful people.

00:11:54Bring your own seat for the race.

00:11:56Is that Jacques looking out in the harbour?

00:11:57The mechanic is pointing out something of interest, perhaps the shot we just saw.

00:12:01Certainly very colourful and a wonderful place to be, I have to admit.

00:12:06Well, Jacques had a tough time in qualifying, a session that, Derek, produced quite a few

00:12:12surprises.

00:12:13Yes, qualifying at Monaco is always absolutely vital for everybody.

00:12:17You must get on the front row of the grid because there is very little overtaking done

00:12:21at this race.

00:12:22Nonetheless, it's all smiles at the beginning, but really these two drivers have got to get

00:12:26down to business as they know how important that pole position really is.

00:12:31Jacques Villeneuve, he was one of the first people out, but he succumbed to engine problems

00:12:35halfway around his first lap, and poor guy had to jog 1.9 kilometres back.

00:12:40He did it in eight minutes.

00:12:41Not bad, eh?

00:12:42Pretty good.

00:12:43Had time to shake hands with Richard Branson of Virgin Fame.

00:12:46And then, of course, we had David Courtauld getting back to business, flying up the road

00:12:50to, as they say, to Massenet, into the Casino Square.

00:12:53He finished third.

00:12:54Jarno truly surprised himself and everybody else by getting a magnificent second position

00:12:59on the grid.

00:13:00Eddie Irvine, he's out there.

00:13:03He had done a great job all weekend.

00:13:04In fact, one session was fourth quickest.

00:13:06He could only manage tenth.

00:13:08Eddie La Rosa, he was trying so, so hard, nails it at Rascasse.

00:13:12He wasn't the only one to go in there either.

00:13:15Gaston Mazzucati, he goes in there and touches the back of the car.

00:13:18Then in, of course, goes teammate, follows him, Marc Genet.

00:13:21He goes in and nails it there.

00:13:23In fact, both the Minardi drivers actually hit the fence three times.

00:13:27Mika Hakkinen, every time he went out, he had somebody in the way or a yellow flag.

00:13:31And here, poor guy, he qualified in fifth place.

00:13:34Not at all happy with that, but the time just ran against him.

00:13:37He just didn't get the run.

00:13:39Schumacher, meanwhile, was he on it?

00:13:41He was so on it, you can't believe.

00:13:43Grazes the wall on his way through, knocks the paint off.

00:13:47But as he says in this press conference, it was the fence that I was trying to repaint.

00:13:51I needed some repainting, so we did a bit of a job of that.

00:13:55David told me, I didn't know actually.

00:13:56I knew I was twice very close in the first run.

00:13:59The car wasn't perfectly balanced at this stage.

00:14:02And I might have just kissed it.

00:14:05With Jarno being next to me and Mika being fifth,

00:14:08it's a good starting base, honestly, for us.

00:14:12Adrian Newey is talking to Peter about Mika Hakkinen's third place.

00:14:17It's obviously a very frustrating qualifying session for Mika Hakkinen.

00:14:20Adrian, how was he handling it in the cockpit in terms of the radio messages you were getting?

00:14:25Well, there's not much he could do, really.

00:14:27We just had one of those sessions which he dreaded,

00:14:30where every time he went out, there was a yellow flag and he had to back right off.

00:14:35His very first run was on old tyres, so that was really just a banker run.

00:14:40Second and third runs, he had encountered accidents, so he couldn't do a time.

00:14:44So it was only really on his last runs that he was able to do a time.

00:14:48And on that last run, how was the lap?

00:14:50I think it was reasonable.

00:14:52He obviously had to be a little bit careful, because otherwise he would have been 17th on the grid.

00:14:55So it wasn't ideal.

00:14:57Well, Mika Hakkinen not on the pole makes for an interesting race.

00:15:00Back to you.

00:15:01It's the worst that Hakkinen has started since last year's French Grand Prix,

00:15:04when he lined up 14th and finished second.

00:15:06Keys to this race, Derek?

00:15:08Well, obviously, mechanically so, with all these thousands of gear changes.

00:15:11Conserve the gearbox and keep off those guardrails.

00:15:14If you damage the suspension, you're out.

00:15:16And concentration is paramount here.

00:15:18There is no time to relax at all.

00:15:24Getting the Jaguar buttoned up and ready to go.

00:15:27And you see folks leaning out the balconies and standing on the yachts.

00:15:31Leaning out of everything, actually.

00:15:36And getting set for what's going to be a wonderful race.

00:15:40Well, one of your e-mail questions was about the difficulty of racing here

00:15:46at this twisting street circuit on the Formula 1 mechanic.

00:15:49Peter explains.

00:15:51To American racegoers, there's nothing new about pit lanes remote from garage areas.

00:15:56In Formula 1, however, it happens only once a year here at Monte Carlo.

00:16:00What's the big deal, you may well ask?

00:16:02Well, for the teams that finished high up in last year's championship,

00:16:05there's lots of space on the waterfront.

00:16:07And, indeed, in the garage area here, multi-storey car park,

00:16:10there's lots of space for the other teams.

00:16:12The problem is that Monte Carlo, access to the pit lane is very, very limited.

00:16:16Indeed, once the track is closed,

00:16:18it's only via a tiny cluttered pedestrian bridge,

00:16:21which means that the teams have to plan ahead

00:16:24and unload a van well in advance of practice.

00:16:27And everything they take out of that van is what is going to be there for that session.

00:16:31It's a logistical nightmare.

00:16:33Secondly, it's at least half a mile from that multi-storey car park to the Monaco pit lane.

00:16:40And the only way that we could show you how far this really is before the race starts

00:16:44is to run this tape at four times the speed at which we recorded it.

00:16:54And when they are down here installed and ready to go,

00:17:17it's all about space, or lack of it, and people, too many of them,

00:17:20and keeping that radio link back at the garage.

00:17:22You never know when a new underbody is going to be needed or a new front wing.

00:17:26Anybody that complains about Monaco, just look at this picture,

00:17:29because that sums it up, you have to admit.

00:17:32You can't complain.

00:17:33The guys, the owners sit on their boats and have a great time.

00:17:36There's lots of activity, lots of parties, and it is an atmosphere unique to the world.

00:17:41We invite your email questions, and we can't respond to them all,

00:17:45but we'll try to address ones of general interest.

00:17:47We do read them all.

00:17:48We promise.

00:17:49Formula 1 at foxsports.net is our email address.

00:17:53As you see, John Lacey doing his pre-race preparation.

00:17:59Well, the yachts in the harbor come from all over the world,

00:18:02and of course our intrepid camera crew, Peter and Andrew,

00:18:05are out to have a look at where the beautiful people watch the race from.

00:18:11And Rupert out there as well, measuring some of those yachts at 160 feet or more.

00:18:16We'll be right back.

00:18:19Formula 1 on foxsports.net is brought to you by Mercedes-Benz,

00:18:24located on the web at mbusa.com.

00:18:30Another look across the harbor and up at the city.

00:18:34And when we leave Monaco, we'll be in Montreal in two weeks' time.

00:18:38Most of you will see that live at 12.30 Eastern time, 9.30 a.m. Pacific.

00:18:42And then we revert to 10 a.m. your local time in July,

00:18:45France, Austria, Germany, August, Hungary, and Belgium.

00:18:49Then in September, Italy at noon,

00:18:51and then the U.S. Grand Prix live at 2 p.m. Eastern time,

00:18:55and we'll be in Indianapolis all week long.

00:18:57Can't wait for the U.S. Grand Prix to return.

00:19:00Then Japan and Malaysia to close out our season in October.

00:19:06Well, the fans are ready. The drivers are ready.

00:19:08The teams are close to ready.

00:19:11And we're just 7 1⁄2 minutes from the start of the Grand Prix of Monaco,

00:19:16where Michael Schumacher earlier this week proclaimed himself as the favorite.

00:19:20That, Derek, is kind of a rare gesture for a driver to come out and say,

00:19:24I'm the man to beat today.

00:19:25Well, yes, I have to admit, he did say the car was the car to beat,

00:19:29which implied that he was too.

00:19:31One has to admit, David Coulthard's really on song as well this weekend.

00:19:35Missed out just yesterday, but obviously Jarno truly running.

00:19:38Let's face it, we know that Mercedes and the Ferrari drivers

00:19:41and also Jenson Button and Matsukane are all running the soft tires

00:19:46as opposed to everybody else running the extra soft.

00:19:48So that's why I think you'll find that Trudy was up there.

00:19:51Looking at Michael Schumacher as he gets ready to start from pole.

00:19:54When we go to Indianapolis, one of the most interested observers

00:19:57and sponsors of Formula 1 will be a fellow who grew up in Ithaca, New York.

00:20:09I think it's really exciting. It's about time.

00:20:12I grew up around Formula 1 at Watkins Glen many years ago.

00:20:16I've been waiting for it to come back for a long time.

00:20:19I'm a big fan.

00:20:21My company, Tommy Hilfiger, is one of the sponsors of Ferrari,

00:20:26and we design their uniforms, their clothes, their pit crew uniforms,

00:20:32and we're very involved in it. I'm a fanatic, actually.

00:20:35I just can't wait for it to come back.

00:20:37Americans love excitement, so I think it'll be great,

00:20:39and I think that they have waited for sort of the next wave to come around,

00:20:44and maybe 10, 15 years ago was too early,

00:20:48but I think they'll be very excited due to the success of the Indy

00:20:51and all the other races.

00:20:54Formula 1 may appear to be the European version of the Indy 500

00:21:00to fans in America, but in reality,

00:21:04it is sort of the upper echelon of racing,

00:21:07and the reason I'm a sponsor is because I have a big European and Asian business.

00:21:13Therefore, the association with Ferrari and Formula 1

00:21:18is quite respectable for my brand.

00:21:24They've raced now for more than a year,

00:21:26and if you haven't called or emailed to get your grandstand tickets,

00:21:29too late!

00:21:31They're sold out. For general admission information,

00:21:34there's the number on the website.

00:21:36As defending world champion Mika Hakkinen gets set to strap in.

00:21:41What Formula 1 team owner has the most fun?

00:21:44Who throws the best parties in Monaco?

00:21:47Who has Peter Windsor been hanging out with all weekend?

00:21:51Eddie Jordan, of course.

00:21:541999 was indeed a brilliant year for Eddie Jordan.

00:21:56He finished third in the World Championship.

00:21:58However, 2000, it's been difficult.

00:22:00Get to Monaco, sun shines, his cars have qualified second and fourth,

00:22:04so I took a step on board the 80-foot snapper, Eddie's boat,

00:22:07and asked him how tough life was.

00:22:11I knew you'd come up with some sort of rubbish like that.

00:22:13This is Monte Carlo, it's once in a season,

00:22:15and you all come along, you journalists, and you say,

00:22:18what a hard, tough life it is, and then you don't realise

00:22:20what has to go on out there all over the weekend,

00:22:22which is fairly tough, I tell you.

00:22:24Let's talk about points.

00:22:26Let's have your thoughts on the year so far.

00:22:28Well, they're not particularly great points.

00:22:31It's been a disappointment.

00:22:33There was a change at the beginning of the season.

00:22:36We made very, very strenuous strides to go down a certain route,

00:22:43and that route was to make the car a lot lighter,

00:22:46much more efficient, both from an aerodynamical point of view.

00:22:49Obviously, with some help from Mugen and Honda,

00:22:53we thought we'd be able to catch the big boys, i.e. McLaren and Ferrari,

00:22:56and clearly, to date, that hasn't happened.

00:22:59It was certainly a surprise to me when the technical director,

00:23:01Mike Gascoyne, announced that he was going to leave

00:23:03at the end of his contract.

00:23:05What's the impact of that within the team?

00:23:07Well, the impact of that is, quite simply,

00:23:09Renault wanted and chose him.

00:23:12Mike was particularly correct.

00:23:15In terms of professional etiquette,

00:23:17you couldn't find a better example of how to go about

00:23:20working out an agreement that has been struck in good faith,

00:23:23and that's what he did, and that's what we did with him.

00:23:26As a result, we'd like him to finish his contract with us.

00:23:29He's adamant that he would like to consider and finish his contract.

00:23:33Heinz-Harald Frentzen, is he under contract for next year?

00:23:36What's the situation there?

00:23:38No, his contract will expire at the end of this year.

00:23:41We have had preliminary words with him

00:23:43about what he felt he wanted to do and where he wanted to go.

00:23:48I think, at this moment in time,

00:23:51he assures me he doesn't want to talk to other teams

00:23:54until I can come up with a package,

00:23:56and I told him that I would be with him

00:23:59with a full and total comprehensive package

00:24:02that is signable or is lookable at,

00:24:05in terms of from a contractual point of view,

00:24:07by the end of June, and he finds that that's within his framework,

00:24:10time framework, that is.

00:24:12If the Jordan team was a woman, what sort of woman would she be?

00:24:15I'm not allowed to tell you that on this family type programme,

00:24:18but you know what I'm going to say.

00:24:20Anyway, this voluptuous young lady,

00:24:22I should tell you what the McLaren one would be like,

00:24:25and it should be a little bit cold and elegant, but frosty.

00:24:29The Jordan one would be young, vibrant,

00:24:32bursting out all over the place in many respects,

00:24:35and cuddly and happy, I hope.

00:24:39Thank you very much, Eddie.

00:24:41Thank you.

00:24:43It's always great talking to Eddie Jordan.

00:24:45He puts the Formula One life into perspective.

00:24:47He enjoys his racing life, and he enjoys his success.

00:24:50Let's hope he has plenty more of it.

00:24:52He certainly enjoys all he has.

00:24:54Prince Rainier is in attendance, as usual.

00:24:57Prince Albert, Princess Caroline,

00:24:59many members of the royal family here to enjoy their great sporting event,

00:25:03the Grand Prix of Monaco, the jewel of Formula One,

00:25:06and we'll have it for you next.

00:25:14Welcome back to the Grand Prix of Monaco on Fox Sports Net.

00:25:18We are closing in on the start on a beautiful day for racing,

00:25:21as you look from David Coulthard's car.

00:25:24The drivers are strapped in, and the grid is clearing.

00:25:29It's 78 degrees, high humidity, but very little chance of rain,

00:25:33and just the faintest of breezes off the harbour

00:25:37as we get set for this event.

00:25:43Time growing close to the formation lap.

00:25:46What a job it is to get all those people out of the track,

00:25:50and you don't want them all in the pit lane.

00:25:52You can normally dissipate them in the pit lane at normal races.

00:25:54They've got to get some of these people the other way,

00:25:57and this is where you don't want them tangling up to the wheels.

00:26:02So as the 22 drivers move off on their formation lap,

00:26:05Michael Schumacher has earned his 25th career pole

00:26:07in almost a perfect session, he said.

00:26:09The honour truly was very surprised,

00:26:11but after all, he did have Formula 3 pole here in 1996.

00:26:14David Coulthard thought he'd make the front row,

00:26:16but had yellow flags on two of his runs.

00:26:18And Hightower Frensham was bought by Owen on his last run,

00:26:21as were a lot of other people.

00:26:23One of those was Mika Haakonen, who starts deepest in the field

00:26:26since last year's French Grand Prix.

00:26:28Rubens Barrichello was slower than the morning practice,

00:26:30but he said the car just felt plain nervous.

00:26:32Jean Alessi had gearbox changes,

00:26:35and then had to go to the spare Prost, so he was happy with 7th.

00:26:38Fisichella, I think, still suffering from his 180mph aerobatics

00:26:41during the week. Testing had a lot of understeer.

00:26:44Ralf Schumacher, balked by Eddie Irvine on his last run,

00:26:47not happy with 9th.

00:26:49And Eddie Irvine, who had been balking,

00:26:50everybody said he even had traffic,

00:26:52but then his power steering went down when he really needed it.

00:26:55And there's Johnny Herbert with a good result,

00:26:57only 5.1 hundredths of a second off of his teammate.

00:27:00Wirtz a little better, but he still touched the guardrail

00:27:02at the swimming pool on his last run.

00:27:05Mika Salo's Sauber, he said, was better than a 13th-place car,

00:27:08but yellow flags slowed his runs.

00:27:10Jenson Batten, 14th, his first time here,

00:27:12and he said he's gaining useful experience.

00:27:15Just for stopping at Arrows, somewhat missed the setup.

00:27:18They need more front grip, he said.

00:27:20Pedro de la Ruza crashed, then had gear problems with the spare.

00:27:25Jacques Villeneuve qualified in the spare

00:27:27after blowing up the primary car and only got two runs in,

00:27:30so he's 17th.

00:27:31Nick Heidfeld had a crash early in the week,

00:27:33and then little practice time, 18th.

00:27:35Pedro Diniz, downshifting problems on his Sauber,

00:27:38knocked him back to 19th.

00:27:40Riccardo Zonta's B.A.R. lacking downforce in 20th.

00:27:44Marc Genet put on new tires for qualifying,

00:27:47was slower than the older ones,

00:27:49and Matsukane hit the barrier and had a bad run.

00:27:53We've just heard that Pedro Diniz stalled on the start line

00:27:56of that warm-up lap and has to start from the back of the grid,

00:27:58which is very unfortunate for him.

00:28:00Problems continue, and at McLaren,

00:28:03this morning, David Coulthard's McLaren

00:28:05developed an engine problem early in the practice session,

00:28:08so he went out in the spare time and was fourth fastest,

00:28:11but they put a new engine in his primary car,

00:28:14and that's how he'll start the race.

00:28:15Here's the morning warm-up.

00:28:16Barrichello quickest, Michael and Ralph Coulthard

00:28:19in the spare and Jarno Trulli.

00:28:25Derek, you've raced here at Monaco,

00:28:27that run to turn one, is there anything like it?

00:28:29Well, there's nothing like it in the world,

00:28:31but they actually have opened it up.

00:28:32It was a very tight corner with a sort of chicane.

00:28:35Now they've opened it up a little bit.

00:28:36Should make a little... They have had two non-starts.

00:28:38Looks like somebody's got a problem right in the middle with a...

00:28:40So you can see the car.

00:28:41Now, there's Nose out there trying to go around.

00:28:43It looks like it's one of the Benetons.

00:28:45He's waiting for Vertz.

00:28:46I think it is waving his arm in the air.

00:28:47Yeah, lots of yellows.

00:28:48Somebody's going to go around, and that is going to be very dodgy,

00:28:50but they can see everything.

00:28:51Oh, they're aborting the start, I believe.

00:28:54It looks like it is.

00:28:55Yellow lights blinking, so there will not be a start.

00:28:58The mechanics will come out, and I believe you're right.

00:29:01Right there at Vertz's 12th place position

00:29:04was where the first of the yellow flags were waving,

00:29:07and then also further down the grid,

00:29:10there's Jarno Trulli, the outside pole sitter.

00:29:14And so here we go.

00:29:17Yeah, there'll be a new formation lap in five minutes,

00:29:21and they'll go around and do through the same nausea again.

00:29:25And this will, Derek, reduce the race lap distance by one,

00:29:29will it, to 77 laps?

00:29:32I would imagine so, because there's no way that they can do any refueling,

00:29:35not that anybody's considering running the whole distance on their fuel as it is.

00:29:38Look at it. It's like Piccadilly Circus suddenly.

00:29:42The thing is now, sorry, Mike,

00:29:44is the fact that, of course, some of the cars might have got quite hot,

00:29:47because they were just building up,

00:29:49particularly the guys at the front that had been on the grid

00:29:51for some 15, 20 seconds before they came around,

00:29:53so they're getting some of the gravel and dirt away from behind the wheels

00:29:56so they don't chop any member.

00:29:58They've all done some sort of starts as they went off previous laps.

00:30:00There's a lot of dirt here, particularly the guys that are offline.

00:30:03And is that mainly because these are public roads during the week?

00:30:07This is not a dedicated race circuit?

00:30:09Well, it's very, very difficult to clean a track like this to the degree,

00:30:12because what happens, you know, having done,

00:30:14I haven't raced there myself, the dirt actually goes under the guardrail,

00:30:17and under those bits of the wall there,

00:30:19and as they go by, they actually drag the dirt out

00:30:21on that sort of, on that lap that they just did.

00:30:23Brings it out back on the track, and you can't brush it away,

00:30:26so you have to pick it up and take it away.

00:30:28There's a good look at the groove tires required by Formula 1.

00:30:31Michelin joins Bridgestone next year,

00:30:33and those four grooves in the front tire may become five.

00:30:36That's one of the changes that is being discussed.

00:30:38There at the top of the screen, one of the onboard cameras

00:30:41in its aerodynamic pod,

00:30:43and there's some dry ice being added to the radiators

00:30:46for a little bit of help in cooling things down.

00:30:51I think at this point one should also mention

00:30:53that there's obviously Michelin coming in next year,

00:30:55and there is talk of them going back to another type of tire.

00:30:58Bridgestone say they're not happy, and if that's the case,

00:31:00they're going to pull out, so cause mayhem with everybody then.

00:31:04So I think they're just putting pressure on people

00:31:06to stay with the rules as they are.

00:31:09All right, cars being refitted.

00:31:11Diniz will resume his normal starting position

00:31:14if he can go off on this next formation lap with the rest of the pack.

00:31:18You're watching Formula One on Fox Sportsnet.

00:31:20A brief delay. We'll be right back.

00:31:25Welcome back as we get set for the second formation lap.

00:31:28You see toward the right of your screen, beneath the lighting system there,

00:31:31beneath that red Ferrari flag, that empty spot on the grid,

00:31:34that's where Alexander Virch should be.

00:31:36But his car was smoking as it came around to the end of the formation lap,

00:31:40and right now he's getting fitted for the spare car.

00:31:43Now that's a difficult task, as it was set up for his teammate Fisichella,

00:31:47who is, what, eight inches shorter than Alexander Virch,

00:31:50so the mechanics have a lot of work to do to change that car over for Alex.

00:31:54It's quite a major problem for them.

00:31:56I have a feeling they're not going to get it done in time,

00:31:58but he has to start from the pit lane.

00:32:00And Pedro Diniz, of course, was starting from the back of the grid,

00:32:03because he couldn't get started on the warm-up lap.

00:32:05He actually is now allowed to start from his original place on the grid.

00:32:09Let's once again reiterate about tires,

00:32:11because the choices here may prove pivotal.

00:32:15There are two soft compound Bridgestone has brought to this race.

00:32:19The extra soft is being used by most teams.

00:32:22The harder of the two compounds is being used by both McLarens, both Ferraris,

00:32:27Jensen Button's Williams, and Mazzuccani's Minardi.

00:32:32It is felt that the extra soft tires are quicker to start,

00:32:37but they go away sooner and lap times go up,

00:32:41and it takes them longer to reach a stable lap time after they've been worn in

00:32:46than the soft tires, so it'll be really interesting.

00:32:50It certainly will, because it'll give Jarno Trulli that little bit of extra benefit at the start,

00:32:55as it probably did in qualifying.

00:32:57Hence, both the Jordans are so far up, not taking anything away from the fine driving.

00:33:01But, of course, we saw that the Ferraris and the McLarens

00:33:04will be running on the slightly harder of the two softs, as you said.

00:33:08This is the swimming pool complex as they come around there.

00:33:11Very, very far section.

00:33:13It's a fourth gear down to second gear for the exit,

00:33:15and this is the Rascat right underneath us there as they come around.

00:33:18The pit exit, pit entrance, right on your left there.

00:33:22Look at that. I mean, you can absolutely see nothing, can you?

00:33:25You can almost reach out and touch them.

00:33:26You have to be careful, because you're going at that speed,

00:33:28that you don't hook your right rear wheel onto the guardrail and whip the rear wheel off.

00:33:34But it is the most amazing place to race.

00:33:37The atmosphere is electric. There is nothing like it.

00:33:39And I guess it's just the same as being in Indianapolis, in its own way.

00:33:48And we're being told that the Benetton team cannot get that car switched over

00:33:53in time for Alexander Wurz to start this race.

00:33:56So, a shame for the Austrian, who's not had the best of seasons.

00:34:01His spot on the grid is empty, as it would have been.

00:34:03He would have had to start from the pit lane.

00:34:05Michael Schumacher to your left.

00:34:07Truly to your right, let's start the Grand Prix of Monaco.

00:34:20Just watch out on this corner. This is where it all happened in the past.

00:34:23But it's not as tight a corner as it was.

00:34:27Beautifully clean start.

00:34:29Casino Square. Have a beautiful casino in front of you there.

00:34:34You saw the Mercedes 430 Coupe there with the lights on top.

00:34:38That follows the opening lap of every Formula 1 race,

00:34:41in case there's an incident that requires medical attention.

00:34:43And then it'll pull off to the pit lane.

00:34:45Pass of Frentzen there.

00:34:47It's a red flag.

00:34:48Yes.

00:34:52Another stop.

00:34:53Oh, and a spin. It's a red flag.

00:34:56Another stop.

00:34:57Oh, and a spin. It's one of the arrows.

00:34:59And that's going to collect everybody up behind.

00:35:06Oh dear, oh dear.

00:35:07Because the guys won't be able to start.

00:35:09The cars will be overheating.

00:35:10Here we go. Let's watch it again.

00:35:13Oh, he gets touched there.

00:35:15By one of the Williams.

00:35:19I think I'm right in saying.

00:35:25Now, I'm not sure if we saw that, Derek, in real time.

00:35:28And there was another incident.

00:35:31I believe we saw that in replay, even initially.

00:35:34And that's the reason for the red flag.

00:35:35Even the course car can't get around.

00:35:36These guys will be overheating if they stall.

00:35:38Button hit Verstappen. I was correct.

00:35:40It was the Williams touch Verstappen.

00:35:42He probably can carry on, but he's got to get the car running.

00:35:45This is the next problem.

00:35:47Can they push start this car?

00:35:48The crane is above it, waiting to pick it up.

00:35:50All the tires go back on the track.

00:35:52The cars come round again.

00:35:53This is not good for any Grand Prix.

00:35:55But, of course, this is typical of Monaco because there is no way to go.

00:35:58And that's the great difficulty.

00:36:00You see that if a car spins sideways, there's nowhere for anybody to go.

00:36:04This would be the sixth time that a race has been stopped at Monaco.

00:36:08The third time, one has been stopped for a lap one accident three times.

00:36:13Or once the race was stopped for rain and twice the time limit was invoked.

00:36:17Here's a replay of the start.

00:36:18Well, a beautiful start by the top four.

00:36:21Excellent start by the top four cars.

00:36:24Fortunately, the incident with Verstappen and Button happened further down the grid,

00:36:28so it didn't involve too many other people.

00:36:30But it would have been awful if it had happened further up the grid

00:36:33because there would have been much more delay and much more chaos, I feel certain.

00:36:37And of the top ten, it appeared that only Fisichella did not get away cleanly.

00:36:42He lost a spot on the run to turn one, I believe, to Ralf Schumacher.

00:36:48Well, Michael Schumacher back in.

00:36:50There are the new colors of Schumacher's helmet.

00:36:52Still displays the German flag around the sides and the back.

00:36:55Red on the bottom.

00:36:56And that starburst pattern in red now atop his helmet.

00:37:00And there is Verstappen's arrows unceremoniously being lifted off course.

00:37:05Now, what do they do with these guys?

00:37:07Because all these cars need is a push start to get them going.

00:37:10Well, I wonder how badly damaged Button's car is.

00:37:13After the collision, he is out of his car.

00:37:18Well, DC thinks it's time to go and perhaps...

00:37:21Well, he's got a phone call.

00:37:23Perhaps a pub call, yeah.

00:37:25The trouble is you drink so many mineral drinks before the start of the race

00:37:29and you sit there for sort of 15 minutes all getting pumped up about it

00:37:33and suddenly you go, oh, my goodness, I need to go to the loo.

00:37:36And then, of course, Alf goes to start and you forget about it.

00:37:38Or else you go and you're overalls.

00:37:40In this case, you're back to the start and you think, I think it's time that I went again.

00:37:43So you have to go and find something.

00:37:45Too much around that pit area, I can tell you.

00:37:47And you're strapped in so tightly in these cars that the kidneys take a real pounding.

00:37:53So it's really when you've got to go, you've got to go.

00:37:56Oh, you have got to go.

00:37:57But actually, when you're actually racing, you don't have to go.

00:38:00But when you stop, you do.

00:38:02And it's funny how you can't do it with all that truss around your groin.

00:38:06They're holding everything together.

00:38:09That, I believe, is Mazzuccane Minardi being attended to

00:38:13as they try to bring the cars back around toward the grid.

00:38:16And they've got some work to do.

00:38:18You are watching Formula 1 on Fox Sportsnet.

00:38:24Welcome back to Fox Sportsnet coverage of the Grand Prix of Monaco.

00:38:27There's Alexander Wurtz's car being prepared.

00:38:30Pitside, we're about to start another formation lap.

00:38:33This will bring the cars around to their grid position.

00:38:37And because the race was started and less than two laps were completed,

00:38:42the race will be restarted now, and everything goes back to zero.

00:38:48Full race distance, 78 laps.

00:38:50All qualified drivers will be allowed to start.

00:38:53Now, let's take you through what was a bizarre set of circumstances

00:38:57after a very good, clean start here.

00:39:02Bit of jostling, but a clean run down through the first two corners.

00:39:05And then, inexplicably, what we're told is that for some reason,

00:39:11perhaps a computer malfunction, the signal was given to issue the red flag.

00:39:16That's a Mercedes CL500, by the way, not the CLK, I'm mistaken.

00:39:20It's only a $50,000 difference at the tail of the field.

00:39:23So here's the run, and we'll see the cars bunching up

00:39:27as they come to the hairpin at Lowe's.

00:39:30And now the red flag comes out.

00:39:33Before the accident, yes, at start-finish.

00:39:36Now, no red flag here in the area where the pileup is,

00:39:40just the yellow flags for the incident.

00:39:42So red flag was out at start-finish.

00:39:44Teams were so informed.

00:39:47Ferrari, McLaren, and Jordan quite upset at the red flag.

00:39:52Although, in hindsight, with the accident and the track blockage,

00:39:58the red flag would have come out anyway after the accident.

00:40:01But it is a somewhat bizarre set of circumstances

00:40:03that's going to cause us to completely restart this race.

00:40:06Well, it's always better to have the red flag after an accident.

00:40:08I always think we'll have it before.

00:40:10No, very unusual situation.

00:40:12Of course, really very tense for the drivers.

00:40:14Jenson Button has to start, I believe, from the pit lane,

00:40:16as does Alexander Wurz.

00:40:18And Genet had a difficult time getting back to the pits.

00:40:20Probably means he didn't have enough energy.

00:40:23So Heidfeld, Genet, Wurz, and Button will start from the pits.

00:40:29We'll have to get a ruling on this because my understanding was

00:40:32that if you revert to a complete restart and full race distance,

00:40:37all eligible drivers can go back to their original grid positions.

00:40:41But apparently the way the rules are being interpreted here,

00:40:44those drivers will have to start from the pit lane.

00:40:48So you see that new tires have been fitted.

00:40:50And we are once again set for the start.

00:40:53You'll see on the upper corner of the screen,

00:40:55all five lights will go red when they all go out.

00:40:59The race is started.

00:41:07Identical start to the last one.

00:41:09Oh, it's a bit tight on the right there.

00:41:12Three wide.

00:41:14It was Ralf Schumacher who made a great move.

00:41:17He came down the other side.

00:41:20Mikov to John Alese.

00:41:22Yes, Mikov to fifth from sixth.

00:41:34Schumacher, Trulli, Coulthard, Fredsen.

00:41:39Very, very difficult to overtake here.

00:41:41And look at Barry Kellow. He is well back.

00:41:44He had a terrible start.

00:41:45He had a look at Alese there, but could do nothing with him.

00:41:48He can't do much about it.

00:41:49There is just no room.

00:41:50Just no room.

00:41:51You hope on the first lap you might be able to make the most of it just by a dark

00:41:54when the other guys may be braking a bit early.

00:41:56But these guys are just too hot.

00:41:57As they go through the tunnel at 160 miles an hour,

00:41:59exerting up to 180 before they brake for the chicane.

00:42:08One has to say, this is just what Schumacher wanted.

00:42:10It was to have Trulli possibly holding up David Coulthard behind.

00:42:13He's doing that.

00:42:14And, of course, we have the other Jordan of Fredsen holding up Mika Hakkinen.

00:42:19Schumacher has got a second half to two second lead already.

00:42:22There's the Rascasser where Peter gave that report.

00:42:25On the second floor dining table.

00:42:29And the story of the race, to me, is right in this little group here

00:42:32with Schumacher being allowed to pull away

00:42:34in what I consider would probably be a one-stop strategy race.

00:42:38Remember, Schumacher is on the harder of the two soft compound Bridgestone tires.

00:42:43Trulli is on the softer of those.

00:42:47And it's expected that his lap times will fall off sooner.

00:42:50And that should prove quite frustrating for Coulthard

00:42:52if he's unable to find a way past.

00:43:04On the start.

00:43:06Ooh, look to the inside and nothing there for Mika.

00:43:10On the start, Alessi did pass Barrichello.

00:43:13But Ralph Schumacher passed Alessi.

00:43:16So, some good moves there from the fourth row.

00:43:25Is there a more beautiful sight in motor racing than that there?

00:43:28There certainly isn't. I have to admit it.

00:43:30It is magnificent.

00:43:31And such an atmosphere.

00:43:32Just an atmosphere electric.

00:43:35But, as we said before, qualifying is vital importance.

00:43:38We see the two Jags there.

00:43:40As vital important as qualifying was,

00:43:42and really dictates the line-up for the race,

00:43:45because it is so difficult to go by.

00:43:48As you can well see from this,

00:43:50the fact they're doing about 30 miles an hour

00:43:52around the Rascasse, accelerating in second gear,

00:43:54and then up to third, fourth, fifth,

00:43:56and up to 160 miles an hour as they go by the pits.

00:43:59As you see the two Jags, you'll note that there,

00:44:01Johnny Herbert pipped Irvine on the start.

00:44:04Oh, they're having a little look down the inside there,

00:44:06was Hackanen.

00:44:11Oh, there's just so few places here

00:44:13where the track is wide enough even to get two cars wide.

00:44:16Well, there really isn't.

00:44:17But all you can do is hope to chibi the guy in front,

00:44:19which is exactly what the two McLaren drivers are doing.

00:44:22They're really giving these guys in front a hard time.

00:44:24Oh, look here, he's having a look down the inside,

00:44:26is Mika Hackanen, but no, I'm sorry,

00:44:29but no, I'm sorry,

00:44:30as Heinz Harrell says, not just yet.

00:44:32I'm surprised that they're, of course,

00:44:34having this problem with the McLaren.

00:44:36You'd think that the two Jordans,

00:44:38with their extra soft tires,

00:44:39would perhaps ease away a little bit

00:44:41and not have the McLaren so close to attendance behind them.

00:44:44Yeah, at least in the opening laps.

00:44:46Now, right behind Mika is Ralf Schumacher

00:44:48and then Jean Alési.

00:44:50Jean Alési actually having a wonderful, wonderful weekend.

00:44:53Of course, he has driven here, I believe, ten times,

00:44:56so he's very experienced at this track,

00:44:58but to go out there in that cross car,

00:45:00which has had a terrible season,

00:45:02to go out there and do such a very, very quick time

00:45:04is marvelous, but they did say

00:45:06he was certainly exciting everywhere.

00:45:08We only saw him through a couple of corners,

00:45:09but my goodness, he was exciting.

00:45:11Alési was on the podium here in 1993

00:45:13with a third-place finish.

00:45:15That finished second in 1990

00:45:18and starts his 11th Grand Prix of Monaco today.

00:45:22As Mika Hakkinen knows,

00:45:24if he tucks his nose down the inside and gets a spin,

00:45:26he had a spin last year,

00:45:28it will cost him dearly,

00:45:30because there is no room to spin out here.

00:45:32The only place is about where they are right now.

00:45:34The only place there's any room to spin.

00:45:36There are no kitty litter traps at all.

00:45:39And while we do know tire choices, Derek,

00:45:41the one variable that we do not know

00:45:43is how much fuel each of these cars started with,

00:45:45but if you're going to run a one-stop race,

00:45:47don't you need to start on brakes?

00:45:49Don't you need to start on virtually a full tank?

00:45:51Very, very, yeah, very much so.

00:45:53You have to start on pretty full.

00:45:55You can see how full a tank Michael must have.

00:45:57One minute 25, when in warm-up,

00:45:59he actually went around in, I think, a 1.22,

00:46:02so he's three seconds slower at this point.

00:46:05Look at Herbert right up there,

00:46:07keeping pace with that second pack with Fisichella.

00:46:11Johnny needs a good run.

00:46:15Finished third here in 1996.

00:46:20Tell you what, you want to be walking through that tunnel

00:46:22when they're coming through.

00:46:24Unbelievable.

00:46:30I must mention one thing about qualifying here,

00:46:32we haven't mentioned it before,

00:46:34is that a lot of these cars run like a qualifying suspension setup,

00:46:39which is much lighter,

00:46:40which means they can move the excess weight around the car,

00:46:43or the weight around the car, to get a better balance.

00:46:45They run smaller brake ducts.

00:46:47The discs are 21mm thick rather than 28mm,

00:46:50and the calipers are lighter and thinner,

00:46:52which makes the equipment about 20% lighter

00:46:54at each corner of the car.

00:46:55That's an amazing amount.

00:46:56Of course, they can't run it for the race,

00:46:58because they wouldn't last the distance.

00:47:05You've got to wonder how much could be saved

00:47:07if they required the cars to qualify in race trim,

00:47:10but the policing those parts would be very, very difficult.

00:47:14Absolutely.

00:47:15Look at the distance that Schumacher has got.

00:47:17Four and a half seconds.

00:47:19Look at it.

00:47:20Michael Schumacher giving the Formula One field a driving lesson

00:47:24here in Monte Carlo.

00:47:26McLaren is so tidy down the inside,

00:47:28could pull away at any time, but can't get by.

00:47:34Round the hairpin and round the city streets

00:47:36of the Principality of Monaco.

00:47:38You are watching the Grand Prix of Monaco

00:47:40on Fox Sportsnet.

00:47:46Welcome back to Monaco.

00:47:47You're riding with third-place David Coulthard's McLaren Mercedes.

00:47:50That is second-place qualifier Jarno Trulli just ahead,

00:47:54and Michael Schumacher has opened up a gap of 9.7 seconds

00:47:58on these two battling for second,

00:48:00and it's a further three seconds back to Frentzen and Haakonen.

00:48:05Racing for fourth and fifth,

00:48:06Ralf Schumacher in sixth,

00:48:08John Alesi back in seventh,

00:48:10Barrichello eighth has lost touch with Alesi,

00:48:13up is Akella ninth, Johnny Herbert tenth,

00:48:16then Irvine, Salo, Verstappen,

00:48:19Denis, and Jacques Villeneuve fifteenth,

00:48:21Zonta, Mazzucani, and Wurtz,

00:48:24Jensen Button, Marc Genet, and Nick Heidfeld,

00:48:26who all had to restart from the pit lane

00:48:28because of the length of time it took them to get back to the pits

00:48:32after the accident that stopped the race on lap one.

00:48:37Pedro de la Rosa's arrows did not restart.

00:48:41So 21 cars are on track.

00:48:43We've now completed nine laps.

00:48:51Jim Rome tells it like it is.

00:48:53Weeknights at 6.30 and 11.30 p.m. on Fox Sportsnet.

00:48:57Jim Rome gets the last word.

00:49:05Mika Haakonen started sixth.

00:49:06He's only come up one spot to fifth,

00:49:09and he is 15 seconds behind Michael Schumacher.

00:49:12And Derek, it appears pretty clear as we watch

00:49:15Trulli and Coulthard that the Jordans

00:49:18may be impeding the progress of those two McLarens.

00:49:21Well, they certainly appear to be.

00:49:23Up to this point, this is where the extra soft tires

00:49:25may well be not working quite as efficiently.

00:49:28David Coulthard, of course, is on the harder of the two soft compounds,

00:49:31but as we well know, he cannot get by.

00:49:33So there's no point in David getting up behind him

00:49:35and destroying his tires, so he slides around too much.

00:49:38He's going to play it very cool and wait

00:49:40and really capitalize right towards the pit stops.

00:49:42Here we go.

00:49:43Eddie Irvine takes a shortcut across the kerbings,

00:49:46trying to catch up his teammate Johnny Herbert.

00:49:50Well, that second group is pretty well caught up.

00:49:52Frentzen, Haakonen, Schumacher, and Alessi.

00:49:55And I'm kind of surprised that Rubens Barrichello

00:49:57has lost touch with them.

00:49:58He's kind of wandering around back in eighth place,

00:50:01kind of bobbing on the waves of the harbor there

00:50:03and not making a lot of forward progress.

00:50:05Now, here you see this group, three of them,

00:50:07and then you'll see Alessi's blue cross,

00:50:10and you don't see Barrichello.

00:50:12No, he's not having a good weekend at all, Rubens.

00:50:14Thought he would go very well here.

00:50:16Remember, he finished second here for Stewart two years ago

00:50:18in their wonderful first season for Stewart.

00:50:20There he is.

00:50:21And there he is going through now,

00:50:23but he seems to go... He's a bit like the weather.

00:50:25He's up and down and runs hot and cold.

00:50:27He has some good weekends and some poor weekends.

00:50:29If he seems to get behind, he seems to stay behind.

00:50:32And I don't believe there's a real, real reason for that.

00:50:35They are best finished second in 1997.

00:50:40This is where the battle has joined,

00:50:41as Michael Schumacher has an 11-second lead now

00:50:46on Jarno Trulli,

00:50:47and then this battle, Frentzen and Haakonen.

00:50:50Mika has had a few looks at Heinz

00:50:52in various parts of the circuit.

00:50:54This is just about as close as he gets to him,

00:50:58but with so little passing opportunities.

00:51:01Very difficult task.

00:51:02Well, you have got scenario two.

00:51:03If you get too close,

00:51:04you can have a bit of overheating coming up there,

00:51:06and that's why Mika probably pulls out of the toe

00:51:08or the slipstream as he comes by the pitch.

00:51:10You notice he came down

00:51:11against the guardrail by the pits there

00:51:13to try and get some cooler air in the car.

00:51:15It is very humid, and it's remarkably warm.

00:51:17And these cars, of course,

00:51:19with using severe revs and the gearbox so hard,

00:51:21it's pretty tough.

00:51:23Ralf Schumacher you see in the Williams BMW,

00:51:26the white car,

00:51:27keeping a fairly close touch

00:51:30with the battle between Frentzen and Haakonen.

00:51:33This is where Mr. Ice-cool Haakonen

00:51:35has to keep it real cool,

00:51:36because he doesn't want to get too carried away,

00:51:38which he obviously isn't doing,

00:51:39but he doesn't want to get too carried away

00:51:42with Frentzen in front of him,

00:51:43because he just dare not hit anything or anybody.

00:51:45He just vitally needs some points,

00:51:47which he will get.

00:51:48I'm sure he'll pick up a couple of positions.

00:51:50This race is known for its attrition,

00:51:52and there's a long way to go yet.

00:51:57Mika's been on the podium both the last two years here,

00:52:00with a win and a third-place finish.

00:52:02We'll just reiterate one thing.

00:52:04Nobody for the last 11 races

00:52:06has gone from pole to victory

00:52:08since the end of last season.

00:52:10So, Michael Schumacher is...

00:52:12I don't think...

00:52:13Michael says he's never worried about records,

00:52:15but let's see today

00:52:16whether he can break yet another record.

00:52:23Fourth, fifth and sixth,

00:52:24and then the Frost of Alessi there, seventh.

00:52:33Well, is Michael Schumacher out

00:52:35to just decimate the field?

00:52:37I would say.

00:52:38Yes, fast lap on 11 of 13 laps,

00:52:40pretty remarkable, really.

00:52:41But then, you know,

00:52:42I think if they had Hacken in close behind

00:52:44or in a free bit of road,

00:52:45you wouldn't find it quite as easy for him.

00:52:47He would have been battling

00:52:48with a few fast laps himself.

00:52:50Of course, he'll be coming up to lap people

00:52:52in the not-too-distant future,

00:52:54will Michael Schumacher be able to do that?

00:52:56I don't know.

00:52:57I don't think he'll be able to do that.

00:52:59He'll be coming up to lap people

00:53:00in the not-too-distant future,

00:53:02will Michael Schumacher,

00:53:03and then he will see

00:53:04how just well his all-red helmet works

00:53:06as he comes up behind them.

00:53:08Well, I think two things contribute to that, Derek.

00:53:10One, the most obvious,

00:53:11is that the car is getting lighter

00:53:12as the fuel load is burned off.

00:53:14But the other,

00:53:15which we touched on at the top of the show,

00:53:17is that the soft compound Bridgestones

00:53:20appear to work better as they wear,

00:53:23that worn tires, or scuffed tires,

00:53:25have been faster than the new sticker tires.

00:53:28Yes, later on,

00:53:29they seem to come on really strong.

00:53:30I don't know whether it's because

00:53:31they're getting down to being nearly a slick again.

00:53:33Nobody will admit to that.

00:53:35But they certainly do seem to improve,

00:53:37and not that the McLarens exactly are hanging around,

00:53:40but, uh,

00:53:42Trulli's times aren't bad at the moment,

00:53:44one has to say.

00:53:48The gap now at 13 and a half seconds.

00:53:53And four seconds back to the fourth place battle,

00:53:56the Frentzen, Haakonen, Schumacher, and Alesi.

00:54:01Jean Alesi has not finished this race since 1994.

00:54:06Five straight DNFs,

00:54:08and I think everybody hoping for a good run for Jean here today.

00:54:11Uh, Cross certainly needs something to spark their season,

00:54:15today would be a good day to get it.

00:54:18Schumacher lowering the fastest lap standard again,

00:54:21he's now done so on 12 of the 14 laps.

00:54:27Another interesting statistic,

00:54:29Juan Manuel Fangio,

00:54:31of course you remember that wonderful Argentinian driver,

00:54:34uh, had pole, fastest lap, and victory

00:54:37at both his wins in 1950 and 57.

00:54:40Interesting to see if Schumacher could, uh,

00:54:42he won't equal that of course today,

00:54:44but it'd be interesting to see if he could do it,

00:54:45nonetheless, get all three,

00:54:47pole, fastest lap, and a victory.

00:54:49Long way to go.

00:54:52I don't know if they have a name for that,

00:54:54in baseball it's hitting for the cycle,

00:54:55or in hockey it's a hat trick,

00:54:57um, there ought to be a name for that.

00:54:59Well, there is a hat trick, of course.

00:55:01There is a hat, we do call it a hat trick.

00:55:03Okay.

00:55:11Second place battle, Trulli and Coulthard.

00:55:16David really catches him up under braking, doesn't he,

00:55:18coming in to, uh, send a vote.

00:55:20Whoa, look at, Frank Remsen got a little bit

00:55:22out of shape at the bottom there.

00:55:24Michael Schumacher, again, another fast lap.

00:55:26That makes it like 13 out of 15,

00:55:28of the laps he's had,

00:55:30he's created the fastest lap of the race.

00:55:33But of course he can do it as it, at his will.

00:55:36And at a certain point, he'll be able to probably

00:55:38just ease just a little bit,

00:55:40but then Schumacher doesn't very often ease, does he,

00:55:42and that's when he makes his incidents.

00:55:44And Radhe, you cannot ease,

00:55:46you've got to be so full of concentration.

00:55:49It was Nigel Mansell who said,

00:55:50the way to be fast at Monaco

00:55:52is to wipe the letters off the tires

00:55:54by using all the racetrack and a little more.

00:55:56Uh, like I think we saw Frentzen do

00:55:58coming out of, uh, Rascalsen.

00:56:00Well, Mike, uh, Nigel Mansell was the best person

00:56:02in the world for that. He was, had to be one of the bravest

00:56:04drivers you've ever seen

00:56:06taking chances ad nauseum.

00:56:08And Schumacher's one of these people that does

00:56:10or can concentrate just to the maximum.

00:56:12His concentration level is just unbelievably good.

00:56:14And you saw that in the rain,

00:56:16as we did see with Mika Hakkinen in the rain

00:56:18back at the European Grand Prix.

00:56:24Berricker,

00:56:26and Schumacher,

00:56:28and Schumacher,

00:56:30and Schumacher,

00:56:32and Schumacher,

00:56:34and Schumacher,

00:56:36oricellow

00:56:38and, uh, fizzikello

00:56:40And that is for

00:56:42eighth place.

00:56:44Here's your second place battle once again.

00:56:46Truly Coulthard.

00:56:54And it appears that, uh, Frentzen

00:56:56and Mika Hakkinen are catching up the battle

00:56:58for second and third. They've knocked half a second

00:57:00off it.

00:57:02And closing in gradually.

00:57:0416 laps complete in the Grand Prix of Monaco at Monte Carlo.

00:57:08You're watching Formula One on Fox Sports Net.

00:57:13Welcome back to the Grand Prix of Monaco

00:57:15on Fox Sports Net.

00:57:16Mike Joy with Derek Bell and Peter Windsor.

00:57:18Little has changed, you see, at the front of the pack.

00:57:21That is still Ralph Schumacher and ahead of him,

00:57:23Håkonen chasing Heinz-Harald Frensen.

00:57:27For fourth, fifth, and sixth, Schumacher with a big lead.

00:57:30Still over Trulli and Kulthard

00:57:32who are virtually nose to tail.

00:57:34But a lot has happened amongst the back markers.

00:57:37There are fewer of them.

00:57:38There are now five cars out of the race.

00:57:46And that gap back.

00:57:48Now, de la Rosa didn't start.

00:57:49Jensen Button pulled in with mechanical problems.

00:57:52Wurz nosed into the barrier.

00:57:54Marc Genet coasted to a stop with mechanical trouble.

00:57:57And his minority teammate, Matsukani,

00:58:00has just crashed and knocked the left front askew.

00:58:04Wasn't that Sandoval?

00:58:05Yeah, Sandoval, bottom of the hill, yeah, on the way up.

00:58:09Same place as Wurz went.

00:58:10They both went in here.

00:58:12So a difficult part of the track there for some of the cars

00:58:16that Schumacher was going to come up to lap.

00:58:18Now, as the yellow flag waved for Matsukani,

00:58:22and Jarno Trulli came into that area,

00:58:25perhaps it gave David Kulthard the thought of an opportunity.

00:58:28Well, I think David felt that maybe there'd

00:58:30be an opportunity there with Trulli losing

00:58:32a tad of concentration, wondering why the yellows were

00:58:35out as he came out to Coutinho Square.

00:58:38But David had a look down the inside.

00:58:39But Trulli is too much of a pro.

00:58:41Here goes Matsukani into the wall.

00:58:43Look, boom.

00:58:45See, once you get a look at all that dirt there,

00:58:47that's from the, I guess, the 3000 race.

00:58:49Bit of damage there and dirt all over the road.

00:58:51And of course, once you get on it, there is no grip.

00:58:5528 seconds between Schumacher and Hakkinen.

00:58:57That is one good pit stop right there.

00:59:01Mentioned that Bruno Gianchiero won the Formula 3000 race

00:59:04yesterday.

00:59:04He's making quite a habit of that.

00:59:06He's doing really, really well, isn't he?

00:59:08But I've got to tell it.

00:59:08Sorry, the button is out of the race.

00:59:10I've got to tell this brief story.

00:59:11Last Sunday, he was cited for speeding in France,

00:59:13141 miles an hour in a BMW diesel-powered sedan.

00:59:19Gerhard Berger heard that.

00:59:20He said, you know, we'll pay the $800 fine,

00:59:23because that's great publicity.

00:59:24That might be the world's fastest diesel.

00:59:27The button was going 61 miles an hour over the speed limit.

00:59:31And the real irony is that, because of his age,

00:59:34he's on a restricted driver's license.

00:59:36He drives Formula 1 cars.

00:59:37But on the road, he's on a restricted permit.

00:59:40And he can't drive a gasoline-powered car

00:59:42in mainland Europe, but he can drive a diesel.

00:59:45He was fined $700 for that little gem.

00:59:47I have to remember, the speed limit in France

00:59:50is 70 miles an hour.

00:59:52Ha ha.

00:59:55Well, we're coming into the pit window for teams that

00:59:58would be on a two-stop strategy.

00:59:59Remember, last year, Eddie Irvine stopped twice

01:00:02and came to second place in Ferrari's only one-two finish

01:00:06in Monaco, Schumacher Irvine, a year ago.

01:00:11You see Fisichella still keeping close tabs

01:00:13on Barrichello's Ferrari in that battle for eighth place.

01:00:21Derek, we've seen a lot of different driver visors,

01:00:24from clear all the way to a very, very deep, dark green tint.

01:00:28How difficult is it going in and out of that tunnel

01:00:31if you've got a tinted shade there, as Frentzen does?

01:00:34It's very, well, it's not that different.

01:00:35It's pretty well lit up in there.

01:00:37But of course, as you come out, the sun, actually,

01:00:38at the early part of the race, is right in your eyes.

01:00:40And that is tough.

01:00:41As we go later into the race, of course,

01:00:43the sun drops behind the Alps there, and it's not so bad.

01:00:52Seeing the Jags running well today is rather a relief

01:00:55after their last race, as Herbert doing a very good job.

01:00:58And Eddie Irvine, of course, we saw go out

01:01:00in the European Grand Prix.

01:01:02When he was talked to after the race, he said,

01:01:06of course, Jags, of course, have still got no points either.

01:01:08He said, yeah, in six or seven years,

01:01:09this could be a good team, which looks a little bit poor

01:01:12on poor old Jags.

01:01:13Nonetheless, remember that Jackie Stewart had a first

01:01:16and a third at that race before.

01:01:18And of course, they had a second here in 1996.

01:01:21In 1997, as we've showed you just now.

01:01:25Irvine has moved up to 10th.

01:01:26He's passed Johnny Herbert.

01:01:29And runs about six seconds behind Pizzichello.

01:01:34Sorry, Mike.

01:01:35Mike Irvine was very quick, actually, in early practices.

01:01:39Remember, they practiced on Thursday,

01:01:40rather than on Friday.

01:01:42They have Fridays a free day for everybody.

01:01:45But he ran very well.

01:01:47It's a free day.

01:01:48But again, this year as last,

01:01:50Ferrari went back to their home test track, Fiorano,

01:01:53to do some testing on Friday.

01:01:56And there was a bit of grumbling as to whether or not

01:01:58they had exceeded the 50 kilometer per car

01:02:03shakedown limit and all that.

01:02:07You'd think at your own private test track,

01:02:10you could have a private test, wouldn't you?

01:02:11Exactly.

01:02:12And they said he did.

01:02:13Somebody reported something.

01:02:14Remember, this is a private test track.

01:02:16Remember, this is a secure test track,

01:02:18the Fiorano near Modena.

01:02:20And supposedly he did eight practice starts,

01:02:22which he valuably needed

01:02:23because he hasn't had such great starts

01:02:24in the earlier part of this year.

01:02:26And somebody reported it.

01:02:27And they say that isn't part of a shakedown doing starts.

01:02:29But I don't know what shakedown really means

01:02:31if you can't do some starts.

01:02:35Sounds like at least a small loophole in that rule.

01:02:40Here again is Frenzel, Hockenden, and Ralph Schumacher.

01:02:44Johnny Herbert is making a pit stop.

01:02:48Button is out with electronic problems.

01:02:50Now, Herbert had dropped to 11th.

01:02:51And they weren't ready for him, Mike.

01:02:53They were not anticipating him coming in.

01:02:55So either his radio didn't work

01:02:56or something happened as he came through the Rascasse.

01:02:59They didn't seem prepared for his stop.

01:03:07Oh, this is forever.

01:03:09Oh, they got the front end still up,

01:03:10coming around to change tires.

01:03:12He's totally unprepared for Herbert to come in.

01:03:15And Johnny's dream season continues.

01:03:21It's not good.

01:03:22It's about as bad as Alexander Wurtz's.

01:03:24Yes.

01:03:25Johnny's talking about, well,

01:03:26he wouldn't mind doing IndyCar or Kart,

01:03:28but he would love to do Indianapolis.

01:03:30It's every driver's, Formula One driver,

01:03:32racing driver's dream is to drive at Indy

01:03:34and compete there and be second.

01:03:36And he's got a dream.

01:03:37He wants to drive at Indy and compete there

01:03:38and be successful.

01:03:39But he will do the United States Grand Prix at Indy.

01:03:42That's one part of it this year.

01:03:43And so I guess he'd love to go back

01:03:44and do the Indy 500 next year,

01:03:48as we see Herbert leaving the pits.

01:03:52And what Johnny spoke of was that he's won Le Mans.

01:03:55He's won in Formula One.

01:03:56And if he could win the Indy 500,

01:03:58you know, what a career that would make.

01:04:00Incredible.

01:04:02But here we got Johnny out in front now.

01:04:03He pulled out just in front of this group.

01:04:06Not this group.

01:04:06This one here is truly in Kulthar,

01:04:08but in front of the group behind

01:04:10are Frentzen and Hakkinen.

01:04:12And I hope he does get out of their way to let them through

01:04:15because there's nothing worse than causing havoc.

01:04:17That's Alexander Wirtz strolling around,

01:04:20wondering whether or who and where

01:04:22he's going to drive next year.

01:04:28Kind of leaves you wondering about Jenson Button,

01:04:30if there are several scenarios.

01:04:32One is that Frank Williams would bring Montoya

01:04:35to Formula One in 2001

01:04:38and pay a cart and now IRL team owner,

01:04:41Chip Ganassi, a hefty fee

01:04:43for a short pitting on the contract

01:04:46that has allowed Ganassi the use of Montoya

01:04:50through the 2001 season.

01:04:52In that case, Button would stay at Williams.

01:04:54The other scenario is that if Williams

01:04:57is able to reach terms with Ganassi

01:05:00and Montoya comes over,

01:05:02it looks like Button may have his choice

01:05:05of several seats that are going to be open

01:05:08and there may be a lot of jumping around for next year.

01:05:10Just remember that Button doesn't know

01:05:12two thirds of these circuits that he's running on this year,

01:05:14probably three quarters of the circuits he's running on.

01:05:17He's only at the last race,

01:05:18the last Grand Prix, the European,

01:05:19was his 50th circuit road race.

01:05:22So, you know, the guy's terribly inexperienced

01:05:26and every track he goes to he has to learn.

01:05:27Gerhard Berger, the competition director of BMW

01:05:30showed him the way around this fantastic track

01:05:33here at Monaco, took him around on bikes,

01:05:35took him around in a car, even walked part of it

01:05:38to try and teach him the way.

01:05:39And he's learning all the time,

01:05:41hence he's not that well up in qualifying,

01:05:43which means there can be incidents.

01:05:47Here again, Frenson Hockennan, Ralph Schumacher

01:05:49and the blue frost of Jean Alessi.

01:05:51This race has been going on ever since the start

01:05:55as they battle for fourth.

01:06:01Oh, where's Alessi? Where's Alessi?

01:06:03We've lost him. Oh, look.

01:06:04We've lost Alessi. There's Barrichello and Fisichella.

01:06:06Fisichella nearly went inside him,

01:06:08coming into the hairpin, into the chicane there,

01:06:10and Barrichello just kept himself clean.

01:06:13My goodness, that was a close thing.

01:06:15Oh, but Derek, I didn't see the frost.

01:06:16There he is, there he is, going very slowly.

01:06:18That's why.

01:06:19That is a great pity, Jean Alessi,

01:06:21another non-finish for him.

01:06:23Well, no, wait.

01:06:24He's gone down the escape road,

01:06:25he's gone down the escape road.

01:06:26He's gone down the escape road.

01:06:27He's gone down the escape road.

01:06:28He's gone down the escape road.

01:06:29He's gone down the escape road coming out of the tunnel.

01:06:31Oh, that's such a shame.

01:06:33It would be the sixth consecutive Monaco race

01:06:37that he has failed to finish.

01:06:39And Prost really are in a lot of problems.

01:06:41They're not going to have Peugeot engines next year.

01:06:44They may have been sold to a Japanese investor,

01:06:46Asian Motor Techniques,

01:06:48and then they may well be sold on to Minardi

01:06:51to race next year,

01:06:52which sounds not really an uphill trend for their engines.

01:06:56Mercedes-Benz have said that they were not,

01:06:58or McLaren have said they won't supply Prost

01:07:00with engines next year,

01:07:00having indicated that they may well do so.

01:07:03Ferrari have said they won't.

01:07:05And Renault have said, yes, you can have them for 2001,

01:07:07but on the proviso that in 2002,

01:07:10you have a contract to go somewhere else.

01:07:11So Alan Prost is in a spot of bother,

01:07:13plus he hasn't got Alan Jenkins,

01:07:14technical director anymore.

01:07:16And that Asian Motor Technologies

01:07:18is an interesting story there.

01:07:19Bugan, the Honda tuning company,

01:07:21is owned by the son of Toshiro Honda.

01:07:23And this Asian Technology Group

01:07:25is run by the son of Mr. Sony.

01:07:27So you know that we'd be well-funded.

01:07:3030 laps complete.

01:07:31There's the top six.

01:07:32You're watching Formula One on Fox Sportsnet.

01:07:35In a race where McLaren and Mika Håkonen

01:07:38said they must score more points than Ferrari,

01:07:41Håkonen's car is now limping around the circuit.

01:07:45There's activity in their pit.

01:07:48Yes, Mika backed off going down the hill into Mirabeau

01:07:51and was overtaken then pretty soon afterwards.

01:07:55But the two guys just behind him and David Coulthard...

01:07:58Oh, David nearly overcooked it going through Sainte-Dévote.

01:08:02And is he in trouble or did he just lose his momentum there?

01:08:05He overcooked it going in under brakes, I thought.

01:08:07Yeah, he nearly hit him up the backside.

01:08:09He's so quick into these corners, this David,

01:08:11but of course it foils you on the way out.

01:08:13And Håkonen is in the pits.

01:08:14They're having a good look around.

01:08:15They're refueling and towering him.

01:08:18Can't believe he ran out of fuel.

01:08:20Or got low on fuel, should I say.

01:08:22Well, we're at 36 laps.

01:08:26Oh, the Jordan going slowly.

01:08:28Yes, and Håkonen had just fallen back into the clutches of that Jordan.

01:08:31Is that Frentzen?

01:08:32And now he's in trouble.

01:08:35This is a race of attrition.

01:08:36It's all falling apart around there.

01:08:39One shouldn't laugh.

01:08:40It's very unfunny, very serious.

01:08:42This is a race that you really want to do well at.

01:08:44They're working in the front of Mika's car,

01:08:46somewhere around the brake balance area.

01:08:48I don't know if that's anything to do with it.

01:08:50Putting the cover back on again.

01:08:52Here we go.

01:08:53As you see, Frentzen slowing down on the outside there.

01:08:57Isn't it ironical?

01:08:58He's been dicing with McLaren and Håkonen the whole race.

01:09:04And I think that was Frentzen.

01:09:06They're both going out within two laps.

01:09:11Now we're told that that was Trulli who was slowed in that last replay.

01:09:15Well, I knew it was a yellow car.

01:09:17I wasn't far out there.

01:09:18Side of the course.

01:09:20So Håkonen is back on track after a 53-second pit stop.

01:09:28Oh, in the wall!

01:09:29That's Ralf.

01:09:30Ralf Schumacher's in the wall.

01:09:32Good place to back out to, Ralf.

01:09:34Goodness, they are going out there.

01:09:35It's so slippery going in there.

01:09:36And of course, as they go through the tyres,

01:09:38you're getting this bit of push coming in.

01:09:40Here we go.

01:09:41Ralf tries to go around the outside.

01:09:45It's coming out of the pits and goes in the barrier.

01:09:47Very poor job.

01:09:50Dirt does build up there.

01:09:51I said it earlier.

01:09:52It does get bad on the outside of these tracks.

01:09:54Same place where Wurz hit.

01:09:56Yeah, Wurz hit.

01:09:59So here's Trulli in the pits.

01:10:00It was Trulli's car, which slowed.

01:10:03So he's in the pits and nothing's going on.

01:10:07And he's upset about something.

01:10:09And it's not the guy in charge of Ara's racing team.

01:10:11No.

01:10:12That is...

01:10:13That was trying to get a shot of Ralf over the fence there.

01:10:16I think he was telling the cameraman to move.

01:10:18But...

01:10:20Jarno Trulli, after starting on the outside pole.

01:10:22There's Ralf Schumacher.

01:10:23He is OK.

01:10:24After a bout with the tyre wall.

01:10:26Yes, he was just going around the outside of Mika Hakkinen.

01:10:29Mika was coming up the pits.

01:10:30And it just threw him.

01:10:31And he just got on the outside line.

01:10:33And it wasn't good for him at all.

01:10:34That blew it for him.

01:10:35So Trulli is out.

01:10:37After starting from the front row.

01:10:39Ralf Schumacher is out.

01:10:41After running in the points all day.

01:10:44And Mika Hakkinen is a long way back.

01:10:46Having had a 53-second stop.

01:10:50It looks like there's some action there behind the guardrail.

01:10:52I don't know what it is.

01:10:53Ralf Schumacher calling for some help for some reason.

01:10:55I believe, Derek, he's motioned.

01:10:57I believe he's marshalled down.

01:10:58Oh, really?

01:10:59Because...

01:11:01He did look like it.

01:11:02Ralf looked very concerned about somebody.

01:11:04David Coulthard just got fastest lap.

01:11:05Now he has a clear road ahead of him.

01:11:08The other possibility is that Schumacher may have injured his foot

01:11:12when the car went into the barrier there with the left front.

01:11:17I believe it looked as if he was motioning for help for some reason.

01:11:21Well, he looked in pain or looked pained about something.

01:11:25Hopefully it's nothing serious.

01:11:29It must have been a jarring because he managed to get out of the car

01:11:31and so he racked something inside and got out.

01:11:34Racked an ankle bone or something.

01:11:37Well, here's the new top six after the retirements of Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli.

01:11:42Behind Michael Schumacher is now Coulthard's McLaren.

01:11:44Frentzen's Jordan.

01:11:45Barrichello's Ferrari.

01:11:47Fisichella's Benetton.

01:11:48And Eddie Irvine.

01:11:50Looking poised to score Jaguar's first point of the season.

01:11:55And I want to put in here a plug for the marshals.

01:11:58At most of the circuits, they are volunteers.

01:12:01They flag for races for one of the local sanctioning bodies.

01:12:05And the best of them are handpicked to work the Formula One races.

01:12:09And here in the United States,

01:12:11most of those marshals are members of the Sports Car Club of America

01:12:14and officiate on the corners at their regional and national and pro races.

01:12:19Some of them go up and work the Grand Prix in Montreal.

01:12:22And they'll all be out in force in Indianapolis.

01:12:25There is no way to get closer to the action of big-time professional racing

01:12:31than as a pit steward or corner worker in one of these organizations.

01:12:35If you'd like more information, you can go to the scca.org website

01:12:40and hopefully we'll see you at one of the SCCA amateur races.

01:12:44You can get a set of white coveralls and become a volunteer race official.

01:12:47And one of these days, that may be you standing on one of those corners

01:12:50flagging down Formula One drivers.

01:12:52I tell you what, it's quite a discipline.

01:12:54It's not something that can be taken lightly.

01:12:56It's a tremendous responsibility and the guys get very little payment, if at all.

01:13:00And they really are very dedicated people.

01:13:02But I tell you, you have to be serious about it.

01:13:04It's nothing to be laughed at and have a barbecue all the time.

01:13:07It's a very serious job you're doing out there.

01:13:09Because you're really policing the racetrack.

01:13:11Yeah, you're the eyes and ears of the drivers.

01:13:13We rely on the marshals much more than I think they believe.

01:13:17Absolutely.

01:13:19Ralf Schumacher trying to take advantage.

01:13:22He had just passed over Mika coming out of the pits.

01:13:25And I wonder, Derek, did he get in the grey coming into that corner

01:13:28or was he just carrying too much speed coming out?

01:13:30It's really strange because he was out a little wide

01:13:32as he came around the bottom.

01:13:34And here we go, let's go and watch it.

01:13:36Here he is, he's around the outside and then he just can't get back in.

01:13:38Uncanny, really.

01:13:40Very, very strange.

01:13:41He just got on that grey, the light grey out there,

01:13:44and it's so covered in dirt.

01:13:45And as I said before the start of this race,

01:13:47what happens is the cars go by that guardrail so close,

01:13:50they bring out the dust.

01:13:51They bring out the dirt that's in the gutters,

01:13:53because they can't get the machines in there to clean it.

01:13:56And it whisks it out of the track.

01:13:57And offline, it is very, very slippery indeed.

01:14:01So it did look, the camera look wasn't conclusive,

01:14:05but it did look as if his turn-in was so late

01:14:07that he was already out in the grey stuff.

01:14:09David Coulthard's got the quickest lap, 22.3 at the moment.

01:14:12That's very good for David.

01:14:13Just shows what he could have done

01:14:14had he not been behind truly at the start.

01:14:16But that's the price you pay for being on the second row of the grid.

01:14:19De La Rosa did not start.

01:14:21Button with electronics.

01:14:23Verts into the barrier.

01:14:26Marc Genet, gearbox trouble.

01:14:27Mazzacani crashed and he's crashed.

01:14:30A Lacey coasted in.

01:14:33And yeah, it is Ralph.

01:14:34It is Ralph.

01:14:35He is limping after hitting the wall with the left front.

01:14:39You see the padding that he wears there for his knees and his shins.

01:14:43And is that blood?

01:14:44Perhaps.

01:14:45It looks like blood to me.

01:14:46It doesn't look at all good to me.

01:14:48Please come and help me, somebody.

01:14:49My leg hurts like crazy.

01:14:53Must have been quite a whack

01:14:54if he's bleeding right through his driver's suit that quickly.

01:14:56I would say.

01:14:57There's John Lacey after a superb drive

01:15:01in the Prost.

01:15:05And the attrition continues to climb.

01:15:07And look, here's Mika Hakkinen

01:15:08with the fastest lap of the race

01:15:10at 1.22.1.

01:15:16We're past 40 laps.

01:15:18They probably won't come into a 46.

01:15:2046 or so.

01:15:21Around 45, 46.

01:15:22There's no point in coming to halfway

01:15:24as long as he can keep the car...

01:15:25I mean, as long as his car is working

01:15:27and he's not being held up,

01:15:28you continue on as one of the Jags.

01:15:30They look like Johnny Herbert again, actually.

01:15:32Coming into the pits.

01:15:34Herbert was in at 27.

01:15:36Irvine has not been in,

01:15:37and you're right, it is Herbert

01:15:38who is back in now at lap 41.

01:15:48Looked fairly routine.

01:15:51Routinely slow.

01:15:539.4 is a good time, actually,

01:15:54but it's not that good

01:15:56if you're only having a slash and dash.

01:15:57It should have been down in the 6s or 7s.

01:16:02And Johnny's back out.

01:16:09Full time has pulled a second off Michael

01:16:11in the last two.

01:16:16Remember, both these guys are on the same

01:16:19soft compound tire.

01:16:33Welcome back to the Grand Prix of Monaco,

01:16:35where David Coulthard and Michael Schumacher

01:16:37have been trading the fastest laps

01:16:39of the race back and forth.

01:16:41DC at 121.9.

01:16:43Michael responded a couple...

01:16:47...at 121.7,

01:16:48but the gap between them stands

01:16:50at 33.5 seconds.

01:16:52Activity in the Ferrari pit.

01:16:54Nick Heitfeld was in the lap 46

01:16:57for Prost and Riccardo Zonta's V8.

01:17:00For Prost and Riccardo Zonta's VAR

01:17:02was in at the same time

01:17:04as David Coulthard was coming up to lap them.

01:17:06They both peeled off to the pit lane.

01:17:07That was a break for Coulthard.

01:17:09But Ferrari is setting up.

01:17:10Is it for Schumacher?

01:17:11Yes, it is.

01:17:15This has got to be an immaculate stop.

01:17:19Remember, Nigel Stepney hurt himself

01:17:20three races ago.

01:17:21He is not refueling.

01:17:23He is the chief mechanic.

01:17:25Wonderful stop, 7.7.

01:17:26That is damn good stop,

01:17:28I have to say,

01:17:29for filling up the tank.

01:17:30Normally it is about 9

01:17:32for a one-stop strategy.

01:17:35That is a two-stop strategy time, 7.7.

01:17:38Excellent.

01:17:39Speed limit in the pit lane.

01:17:40Very slow here at Monaco.

01:17:43He goes out in the lead.

01:17:4437 miles an hour,

01:17:46which is 50 kilometers.

01:17:51So Schumacher

01:17:53should retain the lead.

01:17:55Well, there is Coulthard

01:17:56and Michael will be at the top of the hill.

01:17:58Yes.

01:17:59Davy goes round,

01:18:00Sandovaux at the bottom.

01:18:01Frentzen is third,

01:18:02Barrichello fourth,

01:18:03Fisichello,

01:18:04Eddie Irvine is up to sixth,

01:18:06largely through attrition.

01:18:07Mika Salo is seventh,

01:18:08Villeneuve is eighth,

01:18:09Hakkanen ninth,

01:18:11and Riccardo Zonta is tenth.

01:18:13Only the first seven cars

01:18:15are on the lead lap.

01:18:17And there are only 13 running.

01:18:22Now, update on Ralf Schumacher,

01:18:25whose leg was injured.

01:18:27You saw the close-up of his left leg

01:18:29as he climbed over the barrier.

01:18:32And in the barrier, Zonta,

01:18:34in the same place.

01:18:36How many cars have gone off there?

01:18:37Is it four or five cars have gone off today

01:18:39in that same place?

01:18:40Here he comes.

01:18:41He's on a right line,

01:18:42but he's just going too fast.

01:18:43Oh, he did whack it.

01:18:45He whacked it worse than Ralf did.

01:18:47But he got out and walked.

01:18:48Look at the cars stacked up

01:18:49in that little Parc Fermé

01:18:50at the side of the track.

01:18:53So Zonta, who was the tenth-place car,

01:18:55is out.

01:18:56And now there are 12.

01:18:58Twelve cars running.

01:18:59That's half the field.

01:19:00Or almost half the field.

01:19:02Eleven would be half.

01:19:14So we can only speculate

01:19:15on Ralf Schumacher

01:19:16that he received some sort

01:19:17of puncture wound

01:19:18when the left front of his car

01:19:20hit the end of that tire wall.

01:19:22You see Zonta being lifted away.

01:19:25And Ralf has been placed on a stretcher,

01:19:28attended to and removed,

01:19:30but he does appear to be

01:19:31in considerable pain

01:19:34as he's taken off on the stretcher.

01:19:37Zonta OK, but...

01:19:40We're lucky, considering Ralf's incident.

01:19:42And Zonta went in a lot harder than Ralf.

01:19:45But obviously just the angle,

01:19:46I guess, is what did it.

01:19:47As we arrive with...

01:19:49There's Ralf being carried away

01:19:50just a few moments ago.

01:19:52Touching his head.

01:19:53He's obviously in a lot of pain.

01:19:54Must be more than a cut,

01:19:55I have to say,

01:19:56holding your head that strongly.

01:19:58Here is Irvine,

01:19:59the sixth-place car,

01:20:01in for his one and only stop,

01:20:04lap 50.

01:20:06And now Zonta...

01:20:16And out he goes and he joins the race.

01:20:18We have mentioned Mika Hakkinen for a while.

01:20:20He in fact is in ninth place

01:20:21and he's one complete lap behind

01:20:24Michael Schumacher.

01:20:26And despite the dismal day he's had,

01:20:28if this attrition continues,

01:20:29he could well end up in the points here.

01:20:31You wouldn't believe it, would you?

01:20:347.6 between Schumacher and Coulthard, of course.

01:20:37But remember, David Coulthard

01:20:38has yet to pit for fuel.

01:20:39And they're going to have to do

01:20:40a pretty quick stop in that McLaren pit.

01:20:42They'll have to be at their best.

01:20:43Same for these two,

01:20:44Frenzen and Barrichello,

01:20:46neither of whom have pitted.

01:20:48And now they have moved up

01:20:49to third and fourth in the running order.

01:20:53Barrichello actually doing a better job now,

01:20:55pulling his way up to the back of Frenzen,

01:20:58which is what he needs to do

01:20:59and get a cracking pit stop

01:21:00to get out in front of him.

01:21:04Activity at Benetton for Fisichella,

01:21:08who is in fifth place,

01:21:10and surrenders that to make this stop.

01:21:12A lot of brake dust.

01:21:13All that carbon coming off those brakes,

01:21:15my goodness me.

01:21:17Good stop there, too.

01:21:19There's some pretty darn quick stops

01:21:20going on this afternoon.

01:21:26But the fuel consumption here

01:21:27is a lot lower than other circuits.

01:21:30These two are battling it out,

01:21:31that's for sure.

01:21:34And that's Nieke Haakonen

01:21:35just behind them,

01:21:36who is one lap off the pace

01:21:37in ninth place.

01:21:41Last year,

01:21:42Eddie Irvine, a championship contender,

01:21:43and coming here,

01:21:44he turns to one of the Masters of Monaco,

01:21:46Jackie Stewart,

01:21:47for some advice.

01:21:48Peter Windsor.

01:21:49Yes, Jackie Stewart,

01:21:50a past Master of Monaco,

01:21:51helping Eddie Irvine this weekend.

01:21:53Gave him a few hints before practice,

01:21:55and it showed in Eddie's driving.

01:21:57Jackie recommending to Eddie

01:21:58that he start his turn-in point

01:22:00for the area

01:22:01just around the Hotel de Paris

01:22:03to the left of center.

01:22:04Irvine was turning in

01:22:05at about the center,

01:22:06or just right of center.

01:22:07So Irvine going into that corner earlier,

01:22:09and Jackie also telling Irvine

01:22:11just to slip off the throttle

01:22:12a fraction sooner than he was,

01:22:15but not to come off the throttle completely

01:22:17and destabilize the car.

01:22:18Irvine responding to that

01:22:19and looking very good in the car.

01:22:22Well, having heard that,

01:22:23it makes you wonder about Eddie Irvine.

01:22:25Well, having heard that,

01:22:26it makes you wonder about Eddie Irvine,

01:22:27but he must be the only person in the world

01:22:29that Eddie Irvine would pay any attention to

01:22:31is Jackie Stewart.

01:22:37Last year at this time

01:22:38for Ferrari,

01:22:39Eddie Irvine had 26 points

01:22:41and a firm shot at the World Championship.

01:22:45Today, there's that goose egg,

01:22:47or duck egg,

01:22:48if you're British.

01:22:50For Irvine and for Jaguar as a team,

01:22:52no points thus far.

01:22:53Perhaps today is the day.

01:22:56Go, go, go!

01:23:07Frenson and Barrichello

01:23:08continue to battle

01:23:09third and fourth.

01:23:13It's pretty tough for Mika Häkkinen

01:23:14because he, as you say,

01:23:15is one lap behind,

01:23:16but he's running quite easily

01:23:17with these two.

01:23:21Here we go, waiting for Barrichello

01:23:22in the Ferrari pit.

01:23:24Makes you still wonder

01:23:25why Mika went in

01:23:26for such a long pit stop.

01:23:27We haven't heard

01:23:28what they did to that car yet.

01:23:29I'm intrigued to know

01:23:30what they did.

01:23:32Oh, they're both coming in.

01:23:33Oh, gosh.

01:23:37Now then, who gets out in front?

01:23:39Jordan or Ferrari?

01:23:40It's too tight in there

01:23:41if they start.

01:23:42You must remember,

01:23:43it's 37 miles an hour.

01:23:44It better be a sharp stop

01:23:45for both of them.

01:23:46No heroics.

01:23:47Ferrari's gone.

01:23:48Jordan, oh,

01:23:49Jordan's out in front of him.

01:23:51Not what Barrichello

01:23:52wanted.

01:23:53Wonderful stops again.

01:23:547.2.

01:23:56Derek, I'm guessing

01:23:57that they may have been

01:23:58each trying to outweigh

01:23:59the other,

01:24:01but probably got to the point

01:24:02where,

01:24:04when Frenzel came to pit lane,

01:24:05Barrichello was close on fuel

01:24:06and perhaps had no choice

01:24:08rather than wait a lap

01:24:09and have a clear shot

01:24:10to get out.

01:24:11Absolutely.

01:24:12Look at the dirt on the track.

01:24:13You can see it

01:24:14coming up the hill.

01:24:15The track does get

01:24:16so much faster

01:24:17as the race persists

01:24:18because it has

01:24:19so much rubber on it.

01:24:20The rubber gets

01:24:21remarkably warm,

01:24:22but off-line,

01:24:23there are those marbles,

01:24:24all that rubber,

01:24:25and it is foul.

01:24:26And we've seen that

01:24:27with those cars

01:24:28that have all gone off

01:24:29and sent a vote

01:24:30just after the pits.

01:24:32Johnny Herbert moves aside

01:24:33as this battle resumes

01:24:34for third place.

01:24:38There's the gap

01:24:39first to second.

01:24:43And Mika Salo

01:24:44comes in for Sauber.

01:24:46Salo is in sixth place.

01:24:49At the time of the stop,

01:24:50he'll not be able

01:24:51to hold it.

01:24:52Eddie Irvine will go past

01:24:54before Salo gets back out.

01:24:56Coulthard gets

01:24:57the fastest lap

01:24:58at 1.28.7.

01:24:59Remember, he's on

01:25:00extremely warm tyres,

01:25:01but on a low tank of fuel,

01:25:03doing wonderfully well

01:25:04at this time.

01:25:05Schumacher holds the record

01:25:06for the fastest lap

01:25:07at Monaco,

01:25:08set in 1994

01:25:09at a 1.21.0.

01:25:11But remember,

01:25:12he did a 1.19.4

01:25:13in qualifying.

01:25:14I don't think we're going

01:25:15to see that again

01:25:16this afternoon.

01:25:17But you can see

01:25:18if one of them

01:25:19can do a 1.21.0

01:25:20from 1.94.

01:25:21Which, of course,

01:25:22is when they're running slicks.

01:25:25And he was in a Benetton,

01:25:26I'm sure I'm right in saying.

01:25:30Barrichello trying hard,

01:25:31but you saw him

01:25:32slide the nose there

01:25:33coming out of Rascassin,

01:25:35losing a bit of ground

01:25:36there to Frenzel.

01:25:41Lonely day for Mika.

01:25:42Lonely weekend, really.

01:25:43Yes.

01:25:44He had such a poor time

01:25:45in qualifying.

01:25:47It wasn't totally his fault.

01:25:48He just went out

01:25:49in the wrong time,

01:25:50met traffic,

01:25:51met yellow...

01:25:52And then, of course,

01:25:53yellow flags.

01:25:54And then, of course,

01:25:55he had to try and get

01:25:56a lap in the bag

01:25:57so that he had something

01:25:58because he was qualified

01:25:59at 17th.

01:26:00And then you get to the end

01:26:01and you're trying to go

01:26:02for a quick lap

01:26:03and in the back of your mind

01:26:04going,

01:26:05if I put this in the fence,

01:26:06I'm going to be 17th

01:26:07so I better go gently.

01:26:08Oh.

01:26:09Michael going slowly.

01:26:10Oh, my goodness.

01:26:11Very slowly.

01:26:12Very slowly.

01:26:13He was shaking the car

01:26:14back and forth

01:26:15and then just rolled

01:26:16way off the pace.

01:26:18He's pulling out of the line

01:26:19as he goes up the hill.

01:26:20Something is not well

01:26:21with the Ferrari.

01:26:23And it's not going to be

01:26:24a perfect ending

01:26:25to what had been

01:26:26a perfect weekend so far

01:26:27for Schumacher.

01:26:28Oh, look.

01:26:29Look at his something

01:26:30at the front right.

01:26:31It looks like

01:26:32the suspension's broken.

01:26:33Something looked like

01:26:34the front right wheel

01:26:35was off the road.

01:26:36Yes.

01:26:37Whether he touched

01:26:38a guardrail on the way,

01:26:39we don't know.

01:26:41Field nerve in and out.

01:26:43Well, there goes your...

01:26:45McLaren's getting ready

01:26:46for David Coulthard.

01:26:47Very good time for that.

01:26:48And, of course,

01:26:49looks like we're going back

01:26:50to that thing

01:26:51the Poleman hasn't won

01:26:52for 11 races.

01:26:53It'll be the Poleman

01:26:54hasn't won for 12 races

01:26:55after this,

01:26:56and David Coulthard

01:26:57will be looking good

01:26:58in those World Championship points

01:26:59if he can keep going.

01:27:00He is the new leader

01:27:01and he has 43 seconds

01:27:02over Heinz-Harald Prensing.

01:27:03It's the first lead change

01:27:04of the day.

01:27:06And it comes at the expense

01:27:07of Michael Schumacher.

01:27:08And Ferrari are getting

01:27:09a suspension part ready,

01:27:10which probably possibly means

01:27:11Michael has touched a fence.

01:27:13Here we go.

01:27:14Look.

01:27:15Oh, look at that

01:27:16front left...

01:27:17right wheel.

01:27:18Something is astray there

01:27:19and the wheel is nearly

01:27:20off the road.

01:27:21Well, it is off the road now.

01:27:23So, I hate to say it,

01:27:24but I have a feeling

01:27:25he must have touched the fence.

01:27:28It's...

01:27:29And here is Coulthard

01:27:30coming in at lap 56.

01:27:31Now, with 43 seconds

01:27:32on Prensing,

01:27:33he should be able

01:27:34to get in and out

01:27:35and retain the lead.

01:27:36Quick stop.

01:27:37Super stop.

01:27:387.1.

01:27:39Keep that speed down, David.

01:27:40You don't need to be penalized

01:27:41for that.

01:27:42That was half a second

01:27:43under Schumacher's,

01:27:44but he has come in

01:27:45a lot later,

01:27:46so, assumingly,

01:27:47he didn't have to put

01:27:48as much fuel in.

01:27:56And this will be Prensing,

01:27:57who now picks up

01:27:58the mantle of second place.

01:28:00And a lap ago,

01:28:01he had just one second

01:28:02on Barrichello.

01:28:03Now it goes to 2.4.

01:28:04Look at that upper suspension.

01:28:06Yeah.

01:28:07Oh, he just carries that...

01:28:09that front wheel.

01:28:10It's freewheeling.

01:28:11It's off the ground.

01:28:12Yeah.

01:28:13Yeah.

01:28:14He's trying to do something.

01:28:15Here he comes,

01:28:16trying to get back to pits.

01:28:19Now, with the attrition today so far,

01:28:21if this car can be fixed,

01:28:22it's not inconceivable

01:28:25that he could come back up

01:28:26for a point,

01:28:27or perhaps two.

01:28:28Doubtful.

01:28:30Oh, boy.

01:28:31That's really bad.

01:28:32Do you remember at Spa?

01:28:33Yes.

01:28:34Yep.

01:28:35Something is really bad.

01:28:40Now, it was the right front

01:28:41that was off the ground,

01:28:42but is that

01:28:43the wheel damaged,

01:28:44or is it because

01:28:45maybe the right rear is down?

01:28:46Well...

01:28:49Now, they're just replacing

01:28:50the tire on the right front,

01:28:51Derek, so...

01:28:52must be something on...

01:28:53well, it would be the left rear.

01:28:55If the right front's in the air,

01:28:56the left rear has got to be down.

01:28:57Yeah, it looks like

01:28:58that's what they're working on

01:28:59back there.

01:29:00Yeah, doesn't look to be

01:29:01any problem there

01:29:02at the right front

01:29:03or the left front.

01:29:05They're working on something.

01:29:08Yeah.

01:29:09I mean, there's always

01:29:10the possibility

01:29:11the shock absorber could collapse,

01:29:12but...

01:29:18They're taking the side box

01:29:19off there.

01:29:21Well, the encouraging thing

01:29:22is they're just not rolling it

01:29:23back into the garage.

01:29:24Oh, there are no garages.

01:29:25No.

01:29:26Well, they can't...

01:29:27No, they can roll them back.

01:29:28Yeah.

01:29:29But at the same time,

01:29:30there's always a chance

01:29:31of this attrition

01:29:32of him getting through

01:29:33to the finish.

01:29:34So, here's Barrichello

01:29:35now finding himself

01:29:36in a fight for second

01:29:38rather than third

01:29:40as he trails Frenson.

01:29:43Before this drama,

01:29:44we were talking about

01:29:45Hockenheim's week.

01:29:47He brushed off questions

01:29:48from the press

01:29:49about whether or not

01:29:50his wife is pregnant

01:29:51and said they asked...

01:29:53Looks like that's it.

01:29:54Schumacher's out.

01:29:55Schumacher's out of the car.

01:29:58Something is well damaged.

01:30:00The press asked Mika that

01:30:01and he said,

01:30:02let's talk about

01:30:03my race car instead

01:30:04and not my wife's stomach.

01:30:06Interesting.

01:30:09Oh.

01:30:10Oh.

01:30:12Well, game effort

01:30:13by the Ferrari mechanics

01:30:14to fix that

01:30:15left rear suspension problem

01:30:16but Michael Schumacher

01:30:17who has pretty thoroughly

01:30:18dominated this weekend

01:30:20will not be around

01:30:21at the finish.

01:30:23David Coulthard

01:30:24is the new leader

01:30:25of the Grand Prix

01:30:26of Monaco

01:30:27from Heinz-Errol Frensen

01:30:28and Rubens Barrichello.

01:30:30You're watching

01:30:31Formula One

01:30:32on Fox Sportsnet.

01:30:41Waving yellow flags

01:30:42at the Grand Prix of Monaco

01:30:43that is Joss Verstappen's

01:30:44Arrows

01:30:45which is just fun

01:30:46at the swimming pool complex

01:30:47an area where there is

01:30:48no convenient frame

01:30:50to lift it off the racetrack.

01:30:53A safety car standing by

01:30:55but for now

01:30:56the course remains

01:30:57under green.

01:30:59And Verstappen out of the car

01:31:00becomes the latest retiree.

01:31:03Let's have a look

01:31:04at what happened to

01:31:06Joss Verstappen.

01:31:11As Coulthard

01:31:12leads Frensen

01:31:13now by 17 seconds

01:31:15Barrichello third

01:31:16Fisichella Irvine

01:31:17Mika Salo

01:31:18Mika Hakkinen

01:31:19has been taking

01:31:20a second a lap

01:31:21from Mika Salo

01:31:22in that battle

01:31:23for the last championship point

01:31:25sixth and seventh.

01:31:27They were just

01:31:28three and a half seconds apart

01:31:29last time by.

01:31:31The word from

01:31:32the Ferrari pit

01:31:33is that Michael Schumacher's

01:31:35retirement was caused

01:31:36by a breakage

01:31:37of the left rear suspension

01:31:38but there was no sign

01:31:40that Schumacher

01:31:41had hit one of the barriers.

01:31:44So apparently

01:31:45there was a part failure.

01:31:48The only thing I can think of

01:31:49Derek is to look back

01:31:50to yesterday's qualifying session

01:31:51when he brushed the wall

01:31:52with the left rear

01:31:54but you would reasonably expect

01:31:56that having done that

01:31:57all of those parts

01:31:58would have been replaced

01:31:59between that qualifying session

01:32:00and the race.

01:32:01I'm sure they were

01:32:02but there's no telling

01:32:03whether he didn't graze it.

01:32:04I know they said

01:32:05he didn't graze it

01:32:06but they do get mighty close

01:32:08Yes.

01:32:09And things do break anyway

01:32:10I mean, they do have

01:32:11these breakages.

01:32:12Alright, let's have

01:32:13another look here.

01:32:14What's made

01:32:16Gelsber's stop

01:32:17in the latest retiree?

01:32:18Well, they're just

01:32:19sort of coming out of

01:32:20to back into the

01:32:21swimming pool there

01:32:22and look at him.

01:32:23Boy, does he go around

01:32:24and he just

01:32:25then right at the end

01:32:26just touches that wall

01:32:27and Nick Heidfeld

01:32:28I think it was

01:32:29just zaps by him.

01:32:31There is Salo

01:32:32and Håkon

01:32:33and this is the battle

01:32:34for one world championship point

01:32:35sixth and seventh place.

01:32:37And there is

01:32:38they're both finish

01:32:39and there is no

01:32:40great love lost between them

01:32:42they say.

01:32:43No, and that goes back

01:32:44to what, Formula 3?

01:32:45Yeah.

01:32:46And they both live in Monaco

01:32:47as do

01:32:48eleven other drivers

01:32:51and they can't help

01:32:52but meet occasionally

01:32:53socially.

01:32:54Right.

01:32:55As we watch this battle

01:32:56let's have a look

01:32:57team by team

01:32:59at how things are

01:33:00fairing today.

01:33:01Coulthard the leader

01:33:02Håkon in seventh

01:33:03going for sixth

01:33:04for McLaren

01:33:06Barrichello third

01:33:07after Schumacher

01:33:08has dominated this race

01:33:09all day

01:33:10but is now out.

01:33:13For Jordan

01:33:14Frentzen started

01:33:15fourth running second

01:33:16Jarno Trulli

01:33:17was on the front row

01:33:18but he's out of the race.

01:33:19For Jaguar

01:33:20Eddie Irvine

01:33:21fifth

01:33:22Herbert tenth

01:33:23Jaguar may get

01:33:24its first points

01:33:25of the season today.

01:33:26For Williams

01:33:27Ralf Schumacher

01:33:28out and injured

01:33:29his left leg

01:33:30Jensen Button

01:33:31is out.

01:33:33Benetton

01:33:34Fisichella

01:33:35running in fourth

01:33:36Verts

01:33:37into the fence.

01:33:40For Prost

01:33:41De Lacey

01:33:42had a fine drive going

01:33:43but the car failed on him

01:33:44and Nick Heitfeld

01:33:45is running in ninth.

01:33:48For Salvo

01:33:49Pedro Diniz

01:33:50is out

01:33:51and Mika Salo

01:33:52you see here

01:33:53the blue car

01:33:54trying to hold on

01:33:55to sixth place

01:33:56against the charge

01:33:57of Hakkinen.

01:33:58For Aeros

01:33:59tough day

01:34:00Pedro de la Rosa

01:34:01and Josper Stoppen

01:34:02both out of the race.

01:34:05As are

01:34:06Genet

01:34:07and Mazzuccani

01:34:08the two minorities

01:34:09and finally

01:34:10B.A.R.

01:34:11Jacques Villeneuve

01:34:12running in eighth.

01:34:13He has

01:34:14not had

01:34:15a particularly

01:34:16impressive day

01:34:17and Riccardo Zonta

01:34:18running hard

01:34:19but also out.

01:34:21Jacques had such

01:34:22a miserable weekend

01:34:23he's not run well

01:34:24particularly all weekend

01:34:25and then in qualifying

01:34:26yesterday the engine

01:34:27failed on the first lap

01:34:28he had to run back

01:34:29that 1.9 miles

01:34:30to the pits

01:34:31and when he gets back there

01:34:32of course the car

01:34:33was overheated

01:34:34because he'd been sitting

01:34:35in the sunshine

01:34:36he had to cool it down

01:34:37he went out

01:34:38and had the wrong tyres on

01:34:39and only getting

01:34:40a couple of short runs in

01:34:41and didn't qualify well

01:34:42at all.

01:34:43He seems to have

01:34:44lost a lot of his incentive

01:34:45to do something spectacular

01:34:46which he is capable of.

01:34:49Riccardo Zonta

01:34:50had the hardest hit

01:34:51of the day

01:34:52going pretty well

01:34:53straight into the tyre wall.

01:34:54Look at that dirt

01:34:55on the track, Mike.

01:34:56Sorry, I just wanted

01:34:57to point that out.

01:34:58Yep.

01:35:01But Zonta was OK.

01:35:03Ralf Schumacher

01:35:04who hit the end

01:35:05of that same tyre wall

01:35:06with the left front

01:35:07with a wound

01:35:08to the left leg

01:35:09and off to the hospital.

01:35:23And just to clarify

01:35:24that's Ralf Schumacher

01:35:26who sustained the injury

01:35:27Michael Schumacher

01:35:28with left rear suspension

01:35:29damage.

01:35:30He is out of the race

01:35:31but did not impact

01:35:32the wall we're told.

01:35:36Nightly at 10 and 12

01:35:37on Fox Sportsnet

01:35:38the all new

01:35:39national sports report

01:35:40with a complete wrap up

01:35:41of all the day's sports news

01:35:42with internet interaction.

01:35:44Nightly at 10 and midnight

01:35:46only on Fox Sportsnet.

01:35:52Amazing.

01:35:53Mika Sala really seems

01:35:54to get away

01:35:55on that run out

01:35:56of the tunnel

01:35:57down to the tabac

01:35:58and into the

01:35:59swimming pool area.

01:36:00Mika Hakan

01:36:01makes no impression

01:36:02on him at all.

01:36:03And this of course

01:36:04is I believe

01:36:05is David Coulthard

01:36:06who's not that far

01:36:07behind him.

01:36:08There they are

01:36:09and David Coulthard

01:36:10just coming into

01:36:11Rascasse at this point.

01:36:14Frentzen

01:36:1516 seconds off the lead

01:36:16Barrichello

01:36:17another three and a half back

01:36:18then it's six more

01:36:19to Fisichella

01:36:20and 30 seconds

01:36:21back to Irvine.

01:36:23I bet David Coulthard

01:36:24never thought the day

01:36:25would come

01:36:26when he would be

01:36:28current world champion.

01:36:32Hakan now

01:36:33is back on the lead lap

01:36:34with the retirement

01:36:35of Schumacher.

01:36:36So Schumacher

01:36:38came in here

01:36:39with an 18 point lead

01:36:40in the world championship.

01:36:41Hakan won't make much

01:36:42of a dent in that today.

01:36:44But Coulthard is poised

01:36:45to move past his teammate

01:36:46into second place

01:36:48in the drivers championship

01:36:49if he can keep that

01:36:50McLaren Mercedes

01:36:51underneath him

01:36:52and away from the barriers.

01:36:55I'd still love to know

01:36:56what it was that happened

01:36:57to Mika Hakan

01:36:58early in the race

01:36:59when he had that 55 minute

01:37:00loss of time

01:37:01which cost him this whole lap

01:37:02really.

01:37:03Well Derek

01:37:04isn't that the third time

01:37:05that something has happened

01:37:06to slow the McLaren

01:37:07on track during the race

01:37:08get it back running again

01:37:09there was that one race

01:37:10where he lost four seconds

01:37:11on one lap

01:37:13the car just mysteriously

01:37:14slowed

01:37:15then picked up again

01:37:16and ran.

01:37:17Yeah, it's quite amazing

01:37:18really.

01:37:19I guess we'll find out later

01:37:20but they were working

01:37:21what appeared to be

01:37:22in the footwell

01:37:23certainly in front of his knees

01:37:24anyway

01:37:25when he was in the car.

01:37:28I bet that Rubens Barrichello

01:37:29didn't think he'd be

01:37:30pulling up into third place

01:37:31in this race.

01:37:32No, not the way he started

01:37:33the day

01:37:34back around 8th and 9th.

01:37:35Yeah, he wasn't at all

01:37:36impressive to start with

01:37:37but

01:37:38like we all know

01:37:39that you really cannot

01:37:40overtake

01:37:41at this track

01:37:42which is very sad

01:37:43still hundreds of thousands

01:37:44of people come to watch it

01:37:45millions watch it on TV

01:37:46because it is the spectacle

01:37:48and the racing is

01:37:49almost incidental.

01:37:55You see the black marks

01:37:56on the road

01:37:57where the cars are just

01:37:58laying this rubber down

01:37:59which of course

01:38:00does help them so much

01:38:01in getting traction

01:38:02and their times start

01:38:03to come down well.

01:38:05Michael Schumacher

01:38:06has reported to

01:38:07German television

01:38:08that his Ferrari

01:38:09suffered a left bank

01:38:10exhaust system failure

01:38:13that damaged the suspension.

01:38:15He didn't elaborate further

01:38:16but

01:38:17he did say

01:38:18that he was

01:38:19going to have to

01:38:20get a new exhaust system

01:38:21installed

01:38:22and that's what

01:38:23he did.

01:38:24He didn't elaborate

01:38:25further but

01:38:26well either

01:38:27a pipe broke loose

01:38:28and got in the middle

01:38:29of things

01:38:30or a pipe broke loose

01:38:31and put extreme heat

01:38:32to the suspension.

01:38:33I think you're right.

01:38:34It's the extreme heat

01:38:35that got diverted

01:38:36onto the suspension.

01:38:37We've had this trouble

01:38:38with other cars before

01:38:39and they've all had to

01:38:40try and reroute

01:38:41the suspension.

01:38:42Remember the exhaust

01:38:43used to come out

01:38:44of the top of the bodywork.

01:38:45Sixth place battle

01:38:46is the best one

01:38:47on the racetrack.

01:38:48Mika Salo

01:38:49is still holding back

01:38:50Mika Hakkinen

01:38:51with ten laps to go.

01:38:52You're watching

01:38:53NASCAR Sportsnet.

01:38:57Welcome back to

01:38:58Monaco.

01:38:59This battle was for

01:39:00sixth.

01:39:01When we left you

01:39:02it's now for

01:39:03fifth place.

01:39:04As now

01:39:05Coulthard,

01:39:06Barrichello,

01:39:07Fisichella,

01:39:08Irvine,

01:39:09and this battle

01:39:10of Salo and

01:39:11Hakkinen.

01:39:12The party is over

01:39:13on Eddie Jordan's

01:39:14yacht.

01:39:15Heinz-Harold

01:39:16Frentzen

01:39:17running in

01:39:18second place

01:39:19has slapped the

01:39:20wall at Calamity

01:39:21Corner.

01:39:22I mean, his mind

01:39:23just went spare.

01:39:24He came through the

01:39:25corner, went out too

01:39:26wide, lost concentration

01:39:27because he thought

01:39:28there was only

01:39:2912 laps to go.

01:39:30And that was it.

01:39:31He went in the fence.

01:39:32And both Jordans

01:39:33are now out.

01:39:34There are nine

01:39:35cars left running.

01:39:36Same as at the end

01:39:37of last year's race.

01:39:38And I have to say

01:39:39I just actually

01:39:40we were watching

01:39:41Hakkinen actually

01:39:42missed the chicane

01:39:43having come through

01:39:44the tunnel

01:39:45and might have

01:39:46damaged something

01:39:47under the car

01:39:48at that point

01:39:49because he's dropped

01:39:50back quite a lot now.

01:39:51He seems all right

01:39:52now.

01:39:53Davy Coulthard, of course,

01:39:54is right behind him

01:39:55in the lead.

01:39:56But Hakkinen

01:39:57actually missed

01:39:58the chicane

01:39:59as he came down

01:40:00into

01:40:01came out of the

01:40:02tunnel, shall I say.

01:40:03Now he has more than

01:40:04half a lap on

01:40:05Jacques Villeneuve

01:40:06who is the

01:40:07seventh place car

01:40:08with just three laps

01:40:09remaining of Hakkinen

01:40:10to keep going.

01:40:11He's all set.

01:40:12Let's ride with the

01:40:13leader.

01:40:15You can just see

01:40:16his teammate

01:40:17ahead of him

01:40:18going down there

01:40:19just to the top

01:40:20of the car up front.

01:40:21Davy obviously

01:40:22doesn't need to go

01:40:23by Mika

01:40:24and no necessity

01:40:25at all to push

01:40:26it at this point.

01:40:27He has a substantial lead.

01:40:28There's the attrition.

01:40:29Same as last year.

01:40:30And so Hakkinen

01:40:31can pick up a point

01:40:32that would give

01:40:33McLaren

01:40:34a chance

01:40:35to get

01:40:36to the top

01:40:37of the car

01:40:38up front.

01:40:39And so

01:40:40Hakkinen

01:40:41has a chance

01:40:42to get

01:40:43to the top

01:40:44of the car

01:40:45up front.

01:40:46That would give

01:40:47McLaren

01:40:4811 today,

01:40:496 for Ferrari.

01:40:50Should Barrichello

01:40:51hold second?

01:40:52Davy right behind

01:40:53Hakkinen there

01:40:54as they come down

01:40:55the road.

01:40:56Yes, Mika's

01:40:57letting him by

01:40:58because he knows

01:40:59it's more important

01:41:00for Davy to have

01:41:01clear road ahead

01:41:02of him.

01:41:03And Mika may

01:41:04well have had

01:41:05a little problem

01:41:06with his gearbox

01:41:07or something similar.

01:41:08They do get a jarring

01:41:09when they go over

01:41:10those kerbs

01:41:11even though

01:41:12that one point

01:41:13should be safe

01:41:14barring further

01:41:15trouble.

01:41:16Coulthard's lead

01:41:17on Barrichello

01:41:1820 seconds.

01:41:19Another 3 seconds

01:41:20back to Fisichella

01:41:21who stays tight

01:41:22on the Ferrari.

01:41:2340 seconds

01:41:24back of Fisi

01:41:25is Eddie Irvine's

01:41:26Jaguar.

01:41:27Then it's 15

01:41:28back to Mika Salo

01:41:29and then

01:41:30Hakkinen.

01:41:31And so

01:41:32Fisichella

01:41:33has a chance

01:41:34to get

01:41:35to the top

01:41:36of the car

01:41:37up front.

01:41:38And so

01:41:39Fisichella

01:41:40has a chance

01:41:41to get

01:41:42to the top

01:41:43of the car

01:41:44up front

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01:45:04Barney going a bit in Herbert and Heidfeldt there, did you see them side by side?

01:45:07And that was for position, that was for position.

01:45:09They were having a real go on the last lap.

01:45:12As Eddie comes through quietly on his own,

01:45:14Heidfeldt and, uh,

01:45:16Heidfeldt and Herbert, Herbert was behind.

01:45:22So there's Irvine to complete the race in fourth place.

01:45:25First points of the year for Jaguar.

01:45:27We'll be right back.

01:45:28Formula One on Fox Sports Net is brought to you by Toyota, on the edge every day.

01:45:40David Coulthard celebrates his eighth career win,

01:45:42while Mika Håkonen ponders Jack Villeneuve's car and wonders what happened to his day.

01:45:47Coulthard, the winner for McLaren Mercedes, ten important points.

01:45:50Barrichello for Ferrari, Fisichella's Benetton.

01:45:53Irvine, Jaguar's first points of the season.

01:45:55Salo for Sauber, and Håkonen's McLaren.

01:45:58Also classed, Villeneuve, Heidfeldt, Herbert, and Frentzen.

01:46:03So Schumacher's lead is now cut to twelve in the World Driving Championship.

01:46:06Coulthard, the new second place man.

01:46:08Håkonen, Barrichello, Fisichella, Schumacher, Ralph.

01:46:12Frentzen, Villeneuve, Trulli, Button, Salo, and Irvine gets his first points of the season.

01:46:16Zonta de la Rosa.

01:46:18And the constructors, well, Ferrari, they have a lead, but it's been reduced.

01:46:21They have 68, McLaren 63, Williams 15, Benetton 14,

01:46:25Fusion Honda 9, BR Honda 6.

01:46:29Jaguar picking up valuable points of three.

01:46:31Sauber three, and Arrows one.

01:46:36And the podium celebration, very different from other Formula One venues,

01:46:40and always very special, with the Royal Family to present the hardware.

01:46:44There's Prince Regnier with the winner's trophy for David Coulthard.

01:46:56Rubens Barrichello taking Prince Regnier the third's hand,

01:46:59and now Giancarlo Fisichella.

01:47:02And Ron Dennis coming up to receive the constructors' title,

01:47:06a championship for the weekend.

01:47:14And Prince Albert presenting Ron, helping out with Ron Dennis there,

01:47:18and now Barrichello to receive his second place trophy from Princess Caroline.

01:47:26Ron should be happy with David.

01:47:28He's done a wonderful job this weekend for McLaren.

01:47:35And the president of the Automobile Club de Monaco

01:47:39with Fisichella's third place trophy.

01:47:42With Fisichella's third place trophy.

01:47:54Jubilant Fisichella, who in no way did anything, is going to do that well this weekend,

01:47:58after a way spent upside down at Valencia in the week.

01:48:13FISICHELLA

01:48:16FISICHELLA

01:48:41Well, they normally play, of course, the constructors' national anthem as well,

01:48:44but they won't do that as they're one and the same this weekend,

01:48:47which is a relief, I have to say.

01:49:09Now, there's one thing for sure today,

01:49:10they won't be splaying their champagne all over the royalty up there on the podium,

01:49:13will they?

01:49:14They'll probably go down to the road and spread it around.

01:49:16Fortunately, all the mechanics are close at hand, which is wonderful,

01:49:19because the mechanics are just down those six steps.

01:49:22And we saw the Benetton team had already broken out their champagne.

01:49:25Yes, they were serving it around already.

01:49:28OK, David winds it up, and here we go.

01:49:35Very few of the fans can actually see what's going on here,

01:49:38because they're in the pit lane between the pits and all the press rooms,

01:49:42and there just aren't many fans there.

01:49:44They're all in the grandstands facing the other way.

01:49:47Norbert Haug, the Motorsport Director of Mercedes-Benz,

01:49:50who's done so much for Mercedes in the last five years.

01:49:55And, of course, Joe Ramirez, who used to be my mechanic at Porsche 30 years ago,

01:49:59and he's now a very, very important person in the McLaren-Mercedes organization.

01:50:07Well, this must be just such a wonderfully satisfying day for David Coulthard,

01:50:10as it is a heartbreaking one for Michael Schumacher,

01:50:13whose Ferrari failed him after dominating the weekend.

01:50:22So we'll be back to hear from the podium finishers

01:50:25as David Coulthard celebrates his win in the Grand Prix of Monaco on Fox Sportsnet.

01:50:32Welcome back to Monte Carlo, where the celebrating begins in earnest.

01:50:35This is only the second Grand Prix of Monaco that David Coulthard has finished,

01:50:39but those finishes have been a second, and today, a first.

01:50:43Let's go to the unilateral press conference.

01:50:47Welcome to the top three finishing drivers in the incident-packed Monaco Grand Prix 2000.

01:50:52David Coulthard, Rubens Barrichello, and Giancarlo Fisichella.

01:50:55David, many congratulations. Your second win of the year, your eighth win overall,

01:50:59I believe, completing your own personal Grand Slam.

01:51:02Absolutely. I've always said there's a few big Grand Prixs for me personally that I'd like to win,

01:51:08and that's Spa, because it's my favourite track,

01:51:11the British Grand Prix, of course, because it's my home Grand Prix,

01:51:13the Italian Grand Prix, because there's nothing quite like an Italian crowd for Formula One,

01:51:18and Monaco, because it's technically one of the most challenging and difficult tracks for any driver.

01:51:22And, OK, I've benefited today from problems with Michael and with Giancarlo,

01:51:28but that's Monaco, and I've had my fair share of bad luck over the years,

01:51:32so I'm quite happy to take this win today.

01:51:35You said it was a lucky win, but when you were that far behind Jarno and Michael,

01:51:42did you think you could get through either of them?

01:51:44Yeah, I thought there was an opportunity to get past Jarno,

01:51:47it was just a question of how far down the road Michael would be.

01:51:50The tyre felt good. Pat and Paul, my two engineers, did a great job on setup,

01:51:55made an adjustment on the grid, and that really helped the balance.

01:51:58So I was able to run quick lap times as and when I wanted to.

01:52:01OK, Michael had a big lead, but obviously that took a toll on his car,

01:52:05and you've got to have a reliable car and you've got to keep away from the barriers,

01:52:09and today I was able to do that, and McLaren gave me the car to do that.

01:52:12Now, interestingly, Michael actually went out with a suspension failure.

01:52:15I know in the past, where Karen had bought tougher suspension components,

01:52:17did you do it again this year?

01:52:19To be honest, I'm not sure, because I haven't done the last few tests since Barcelona,

01:52:27so there could well have been some different suspension,

01:52:30but I didn't ask the question, there's no need for me to know that.

01:52:33You don't go and try and hit barriers anyway,

01:52:35but clearly the built car was strong enough to go the distance for me.

01:52:38I don't know what Mika's problem was, but nonetheless,

01:52:41it's a great day for my side of the garage and for the whole West McLaren Mercedes team.

01:52:47You're now very firmly in second, you're 12 points behind Michael still,

01:52:50but 5 points ahead of Mika, and more importantly,

01:52:52you've seemed, over the last few races, to be gaining the upper hand.

01:52:55Do you feel you now have the psychological advantage over your teammate,

01:52:57and more importantly, do you think you now deserve to get the more focused attention

01:53:01that Mika got for the last two years when he established the lead?

01:53:04Well, first of all, Mika is a two-time world champion,

01:53:07so I think that must be a fair confidence boost to one's mind,

01:53:12to have two world championships under your belt,

01:53:14but I've never been at all psyched by his achievement,

01:53:17or Michael's, or whoever it happens to be that I'm competing against,

01:53:19because personally, I've just been working towards achieving my maximum

01:53:23and improving as a driver.

01:53:25I've always said that I still feel that I've got more to give,

01:53:28and I think that slowly, as my confidence grows,

01:53:30I'm giving more and more all the time.

01:53:32So, as that happens, I'll expect more from the team,

01:53:35but today, obviously, there's no complaints.

01:53:39It's a great day for us.

01:53:41David, thank you.

01:53:42Rubens, many congratulations, a very hard-earned second place,

01:53:45but both of the starts were very bad for you.

01:53:47Was there a problem?

01:53:49Well, actually, the start wasn't too bad.

01:53:52I was just blocked with people in front.

01:53:54I had to brake, and, you know,

01:53:56Ralph made a really good start from the outside,

01:54:00so I had to back off, so I lost time with that,

01:54:03and, unfortunately, that was the story.

01:54:05I mean, I had such a bad qualify.

01:54:08I took the wrong decision for qualify,

01:54:10and then I was penalised with a bad start as well,

01:54:13and the race was catching up the whole time.

01:54:17I was conserving the tyres and fuel for much of the time.

01:54:21It was unlucky that we didn't do one more lap than Frentzen

01:54:25because I would have caught him,

01:54:27because I think we were really faster than him.

01:54:30But then, you know, he had maybe good tyres at the end,

01:54:35and, you know, I was just catching up again.

01:54:38I almost went into the bars before the tunnel,

01:54:42but I was pushing, pushing, pushing.

01:54:44At the end, Ross told me to back off

01:54:46because we had a problem, so we had to keep low revs.

01:54:50But, you know, apart from that,

01:54:52it was a good race, catching up the whole time,

01:54:55proving that qualify just went wrong.

01:54:58Rubens, thank you.

01:54:59Janko, when I spoke to you on the grid a couple of hours ago,

01:55:02you told me there's no way you'd be on the podium.

01:55:05How do you feel?

01:55:06I was not optimistic, obviously,

01:55:10but now I am very pleased about the result.

01:55:14The target was to score some points.

01:55:17Obviously, my dream was to get on the podium,

01:55:20and now I am third.

01:55:22It's fantastic.

01:55:24We did a very good job, especially this morning in the warm-up.

01:55:29I found out a very good set-up for the race,

01:55:33and there was very good balance,

01:55:35apart from the last ten laps.

01:55:38No, I think when I did about 45, 46 laps,

01:55:43I had a puncture in my rear tyre,

01:55:47so I did my first pit stop ten laps before the normal,

01:55:52and I lost seven, eight seconds.

01:55:58But then, at the end,

01:56:01with the new tyres,

01:56:05and well after the first pit stop,

01:56:09I was quite confident.

01:56:11There was good balance,

01:56:13and I was pushing very hard.

01:56:15I was quite quick,

01:56:17and I was catching Rubens.

01:56:20Thanks, Janko.

01:56:21Back to David.

01:56:23We move on now to Canada,

01:56:24which has been a circuit which, historically,

01:56:26Ferrari have been very good at.

01:56:27In fact, McLaren have been very, very close.

01:56:29How do you feel going on there?

01:56:31I feel very positive going to Montreal.

01:56:34It's a track that I think I've particularly gone well at in the past,

01:56:37although I've broken down twice whilst leading that race,

01:56:41so hopefully luck is changing,

01:56:43and it's a good track for me personally.

01:56:46I expect it to be close with Ferrari again.

01:56:49It's going to be close all year,

01:56:51so stay tuned.

01:56:54Well, what a great victory for David Coulthard,

01:56:56but, of course, it really puts him ahead of Nico Häkkinen,

01:56:58which will make it very enlightening for the rest of the series.

01:57:00And stay tuned, because we'll be right back to wrap things up,

01:57:02and then, of course, we'll be live with you in Canada.

01:57:12Welcome back to Monaco.

01:57:14In two weeks' time, we'll be at the Grand Prix of Canada, Montreal,

01:57:17and you'll see it live, 12.30 Eastern, 9.30am Pacific,

01:57:21except in some sections of the Pittsburgh area.

01:57:24Check your local listings later in the day

01:57:27in Chicago, Florida, and Wisconsin.

01:57:31Eighth win for David Coulthard.

01:57:33Barrichello and Fisichella.

01:57:34It's the first race of the season

01:57:36in which Michael Schumacher has not finished in the points,

01:57:40so things begin to tighten up for the world championship.

01:57:43We invite your e-mails.

01:57:45Our production staff and all the talent read every one of them.

01:57:48Formula1 at foxsports.net is our e-mail address.

01:57:52We'll take items of general interest

01:57:54and incorporate them into future telecasts,

01:57:56so we'd like to hear from you.

01:57:59Well, sadly, we say so long to Monaco,

01:58:01and we head for Montreal in two weeks.

01:58:03For Peter Windsor and Derek Bell, I'm Mike Joy.

01:58:06You've been watching Formula 1 on foxsports.net.

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