2008 Australian GP

OSRN 1

Round 1 of the 2008 F1 season at Melbourne.

Transcript

00:00:00On a blistering 100-degree day in Melbourne, the 11 teams that make up the Formula 1 World

00:00:13Championship have gathered to begin the 2008 quest for the most prestigious title in motor

00:01:19racing.

00:01:35For the 12th year, the Formula 1 season kicks off down under.

00:01:39Welcome to the Acura pre-race show for the opening round of the 2008 Formula 1 season

00:01:44live here on speed, the Australian Grand Prix.

00:01:49Hello, everybody.

00:01:50I'm Bob Varsha alongside David Hobbs and Steve Matchett.

00:01:53Peter Windsor is live down in the pit lane and we'll get to him shortly.

00:01:57There is so much that is new in Formula 1 this year and thus there are so many questions

00:02:01to be answered.

00:02:02In the next two hours or so, we'll begin to get some of those answers.

00:02:05As Kimi Räikkönen pointed out this weekend, his 2007 World Championship is old news.

00:02:11The points go back to zero in Oz.

00:02:13So we'll begin tonight with a look at how things shape up at the sharp end of the grid

00:02:17in 2008.

00:02:21After winning three of the last four races to snatch the 2007 title, Kimi Räikkönen

00:02:26hopes to establish an era of post-Michael Schumacher Ferrari dominance.

00:02:31Based on their form in pre-season testing, Ferrari entered 2008 as the championship favorites.

00:02:37We hope that we are the main team and everybody is trying to catch us and then it's me and

00:02:41my teammate.

00:02:42We work well together in testing and in the races, but in the end, always in the race,

00:02:48we try to beat each other and that's the way to push each other, go faster.

00:02:52And then, for sure, I think there is McLaren, like it was last year, and then probably there

00:02:58is somebody else, Renault or BMW.

00:03:01So I think the fight is between, in the team in a good way, and then also between the McLaren.

00:03:09While Räikkönen looks to emulate his performance from 2007, Felipe Massa will need more consistency

00:03:14and better luck to challenge his teammate.

00:03:17The problems we had in some races, some mechanical problems, also the problem I had in Canada,

00:03:26I think this was very important for the end of the championship and this is something

00:03:32we need to keep in mind to do different in 2008 and that's the way we need to approach.

00:03:39Ferrari's main opposition will no doubt be their perennial rivals, McLaren Mercedes,

00:03:44who will be led by last year's championship runner-up, Lewis Hamilton.

00:03:48Hamilton enters his sophomore Grand Prix season with a new teammate, Renault refugee Heikki

00:03:52Kovalainen.

00:03:54Both drivers are young, hungry, and with each having one season under their belt, they should

00:03:58be a formidable tandem.

00:04:01The great thing is we're both in our second year of Formula 1 and we've both got that

00:04:05year out of the way, the most critical year for any Formula 1 driver out of the way.

00:04:11And for me, going into this year, I've got the experience from last year, the circuits

00:04:16that I know now.

00:04:17Going into Melbourne last year, I didn't know the circuits, so everyone had all this pressure

00:04:22on top of me and also not really knowing whether I was going to do a good job.

00:04:27Now I know, through the reason of testing, obviously last year's experience, I know what

00:04:32to expect.

00:04:33When I join the McLaren Mercedes team, of course I want to be world champion.

00:04:37I want to bring good results for the team, victories and everything, but I still need

00:04:41to make my first pole position, I need to win my first race, and after that we can start

00:04:45to think about championships.

00:04:46So keep things simple, just improve from last year.

00:04:50After scoring points in every race last season, BMW Sauber have adopted an aggressive car

00:04:55design for 2008 in search of their first Formula 1 victory as a team, though Nick Heidfeld

00:05:01seems reserved about that prospect.

00:05:04It's difficult to forecast or expect anything in Formula 1, but obviously I hope that we

00:05:08can close the gap to the front.

00:05:10A lot of people have Renault in their mind as a team world championship not so long ago,

00:05:15with Alonso on board now again, so let's just wait and see.

00:05:19Another dark horse for the 2008 title is Fernando Alonso, back at Renault, although after winning

00:05:24two world titles together, it's tough to refer to this driver and team combination as a dark

00:05:29horse.

00:05:30I think after the success we had together here in the team with Renault in the past,

00:05:37now coming back here for sure is like coming back home, and for sure in 2008 the expectation

00:05:45is to fight for the championship again, to win races, to be in the podium regularly,

00:05:52and I think it's possible, so let's go for it.

00:06:00Well, as you watch local favourite Mark Webber chatting up some pleasant company, guys, we

00:06:05should point out we've already seen dramatic twists this weekend in qualifying.

00:06:08Fernando Alonso wound up 11th, Kimi Räikkönen 15th.

00:06:13Well, things are changing.

00:06:14Heiko Kovalainen there was on the second row of the grid, having a good run, but of course

00:06:19the big thing this year is going to be this no traction control, which obviously is going

00:06:22to be something these guys are going to have to fight, and today is going to be the first

00:06:25time they're all out there together, fighting each other with it, and there's a difference

00:06:28in braking attitude on these cars, and the traction control is going to make a difference.

00:06:32I'm waiting for the first wet race myself, Steve.

00:06:34Yeah, well, it's a big season, new drivers, new rules, so there's a lot going on, of course.

00:06:38I hope the all-four Stepney Gates Spy Saga is behind us, and I'm looking for a tremendous

00:06:43battle in the Constructors' Championship between Ferrari, 15 championships to their name, and

00:06:48McLaren with eight.

00:06:49It's going to be awesome.

00:06:50Well, adding to the complexities of Formula 1 in 2008 is the weather.

00:06:55100 degrees in Melbourne.

00:06:57We'll be back.

00:07:00Speed's coverage of the Australian Grand Prix Pre-Race Show is presented by Acura.

00:07:05Acura.

00:07:06Advance.

00:07:11Welcome back to a very hot and windy Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia, the start of the

00:07:15Formula 1 season now just minutes away.

00:07:17Let's get live to Peter Windsor.

00:07:19Thanks very much, Bob.

00:07:20I'm in a blisteringly hot starting grid here for the Australian Grand Prix.

00:07:23Jarno truly qualifying sixth of Panasonic Toyota.

00:07:26Jarno, it looks like the Toyota's going to be a good car this year.

00:07:30Don't want to tempt fate too much.

00:07:31Well, it's performing pretty well.

00:07:33Yesterday we were pretty good, sixth in the grid, so obviously today is an interesting

00:07:37race.

00:07:38First race of the season, anything can happen.

00:07:40I want to see you make a great start.

00:07:42It's down to the human being again.

00:07:44Half-half, I would say.

00:07:45Let's see.

00:07:46Let's see.

00:07:47Let you go.

00:07:48Thanks very much, Jarno.

00:07:49What I was saying there, of course, is that no launch control, no electronic launch control

00:07:52this year.

00:07:53Jarno truly always was great in Formula 3 when it came down to the old foot and the

00:07:57reflexes and the hand.

00:07:58Let's see what happens today off the grid.

00:08:00It's a big talking point, what's going to happen off the line here, because as Jarno

00:08:03says, it's 50-50 now.

00:08:05It's not all electronic.

00:08:07It is semi-human being.

00:08:10But nonetheless, those engineers that you see around have done a great job getting the

00:08:14clutch and the revs pretty easy for these drivers just to be able to floor the throttle

00:08:18anyway.

00:08:19We'll see what happens.

00:08:20I suspect somebody's going to have a problem off the line today.

00:08:22It's unbelievably hot.

00:08:23Anyway, we're just walking down towards past the two Red Bulls or past David Coulthard's

00:08:28Red Bull.

00:08:29Very good performance from Red Bull in general, although Mark Webber, of course, had a big

00:08:33problem yesterday with brakes.

00:08:36Nico Rosberg also had a problem on the outlap here.

00:08:38We're going to talk to him a little bit later, I think, to see what happened there.

00:08:41He also had a problem with the front brake pad.

00:08:43So brakes are going to be an issue today.

00:08:45It's going to be very, very difficult out there and unbelievably hot.

00:08:49This is the hottest Australian Grand Prix we've had since the history of the race in

00:08:52the World Championship.

00:08:54Big cluster of people around Fernando Alonso over there.

00:08:56We normally get to talk to Fernando.

00:08:58We might wait a little bit for them to go away.

00:09:00I just want to get down to Jean-Michel Blanc.

00:09:03I just want to get down, Jean-Michel.

00:09:05Let's go down and have a look at Kimi Räikkönen because Kimi qualifying 16th.

00:09:09Unbelievably disappointing for him.

00:09:11And we're going to get down there just past Isabel Conrad of ING there, the title sponsor

00:09:15of the race.

00:09:16Bob, we'll come back to you when we're down with Kimi, down with the Ferrari team, the

00:09:18new look Ferrari team.

00:09:19Back to you right now.

00:09:20All right.

00:09:21Thank you very much, Peter.

00:09:22As you can see, an enormous crowd on hand.

00:09:24The air show is underway.

00:09:26I can tell you from personal experience, the Aussies know how to put on a racing event.

00:09:31Action every minute through the day.

00:09:33Now, as you heard Peter Windsor mention, electronic traction control and engine braking are gone.

00:09:39The most critical element of the 2008 formula is what's officially known as the standardized

00:09:44electronic control unit or ECU.

00:09:47Let's learn more about it with the first edition of Racing Per Matches.

00:09:52Steve Matchett on board to tell us all about the SECU.

00:09:57Well, this is it, the black box.

00:10:00With its myriad of electronic components here and cooling fins, this is the ECU, the electronic

00:10:05control unit.

00:10:06This one is made by Magneti Marelli and was made for Red Bull 3 chassis last year.

00:10:11That's all changed as a new regulation come in to help us explain a little bit more about

00:10:15that.

00:10:16I'm pleased to say we're joined by Jeff Willis.

00:10:17Jeff.

00:10:18Hi, Steve.

00:10:19How are you?

00:10:20Good.

00:10:21How are you?

00:10:22Good.

00:10:24Yes.

00:10:25And also to help us explain a little bit more about that.

00:10:26I'm pleased to say we're joined by Jeff Willis, Technical Director at Red Bull Racing.

00:10:27Jeff, thanks very much.

00:10:28Tell us something about the ECU and the new boxes coming in, the common ECU.

00:10:33The common ECU, yes, very big change for us.

00:10:36This is the main control computer that runs all the systems on the car, engine, gearbox,

00:10:41and to make sure that we are, this year not able to use traction control and we have more

00:10:46control over the performance of the car.

00:10:48of the car, we're all obliged to use a common ECU, which is an ECU developed by McLaren

00:10:53Systems and Microsoft together, and we all have the same system and it's there to make

00:10:59sure there's only certain things that the driver can do.

00:11:02Now the box itself, the common ECU, what's the distribution system between the teams?

00:11:07Do you just all arrive at the track in a lottery? Is there a load of ECUs waiting to be delivered

00:11:11or do you keep your own? How does it work?

00:11:13Well thankfully we get to keep our own because as you can see these are, they may look big

00:11:18and chunky but these are quite delicate electronic components and we like to look after ours,

00:11:22keep them cool, keep them protected from vibration and we wouldn't really want to pick up somebody

00:11:26else's that they've just thrown in the lister.

00:11:28Now I can see a lot of cooling fins around here so it obviously runs very hot. Can you

00:11:33show us on your car whereabouts it would be fitted?

00:11:35Right, well this fits inside, underneath the bodywork, inside against the inside of the

00:11:41radiator duct and then the air flowing in the radiator duct flows over these fins and

00:11:46keeps it cool. This runs at nearly 100 degrees centigrade and so it's very important for

00:11:50us to keep it well cooled.

00:11:52Well there you have it guys, you may not be able to see it when it's mounted inside the

00:11:55chassis but now you know what it is and roughly where it is.

00:12:11That's Steve Matchett and it won't be all Red Bull this year, Steve will actually take

00:12:15us inside the McLaren Paragon Technical Centre, affectionately known as the Death Star.

00:12:21There's Nelson Piquet, following in the footsteps of his triple world champion father and speaking

00:12:26of sons of world championship winning fathers, Peter Windsor is standing by with one, Nico

00:12:31Rosberg of Williams Toyota.

00:12:34Nic, congratulations, qualifying seventh, first race for AT&T, Williams Toyota in 08

00:12:39but looked like a little bit of a moment there coming onto the grid.

00:12:42Yeah, we changed front pad material on the brakes because we had a problem on it yesterday

00:12:49in qualifying and so the front is new, rear is used and I came into the corner and it

00:12:55just locked up completely on the front which was very unexpected for me so we're going

00:12:59to have to check and probably run a more rearward brake balance than anticipated.

00:13:02Well braking a real issue this weekend, without that gear dependency under braking this year

00:13:07a big issue and of course we saw Mark Webber's brake failure yesterday. It's going to be

00:13:10a tough race on brakes here. Yeah, it will definitely, it's going to be tough on brakes

00:13:14also because of the heat and everything and brake wear yesterday was quite on the limit

00:13:18I think for many teams so maybe we might be seeing some drivers that have to be careful

00:13:23in the end. Very best of luck, let's hope you've had your moment for the weekend.

00:13:28You saw that pained look on Nico's face. Boy yeah, I could hear that scream from here, didn't you?

00:13:33Blame television for taking the earplug out of his ear. On top of the high temperatures

00:13:38we also have very low humidity today in Albert Park, just 11%. These drivers are really going

00:13:44to earn their money today. We'll be back.

00:13:49Speed's coverage of the Australian Grand Prix Pre-Race Show is presented by Acura. Acura Advance.

00:13:59Welcome back to the Acura Pre-Race Show on a beautiful day in Melbourne, Australia.

00:14:04If it weren't touching 100 degrees on the thermometer. I'm Bob Varsha with David Hobbs

00:14:09and Steve Matchett. Peter Windsor in his customary place down in the pit lane and he is standing

00:14:14by with two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

00:14:19Fernando, you looked like a good top ten yesterday but then this ridiculous differential problem.

00:14:23Tell us a bit about that. Yeah, well that diff problem sensor that I was reading not

00:14:29properly the diff. But, you know, anyway the performance of the car was on the limit

00:14:34to be into the Q3. So yeah, we lost the opportunity. Next week we try again.

00:14:38All right, best of luck. Thank you.

00:14:41There's Nick Heidfeld, BMW Sauber area. Those guys have been a story this weekend.

00:14:46They have their best ever qualifying performance as a team. We'll tell you more about that

00:14:51a little bit later. But Steve Matchett, that differential problem Alonso was talking about,

00:14:55I gather, was affecting his ability to get grip in some of these corners.

00:14:59Yeah, it was. And thinking back also what Nico Rosberg was just talking to our Peter Windsor

00:15:04there about the brakes. I can only assume that he was talking about changing the brake material

00:15:09prior to qualifying because the cars would have been technically in park for May.

00:15:12I hope Nico hasn't let something out of the bag that he shouldn't have as far as Williams are concerned.

00:15:17I'm sure he was talking about changing that material before qualifying.

00:15:20There's last year's pole sitter and race winner Kimi Raikkonen.

00:15:23He will start from 15th today. Right now, let's go back to Peter Windsor.

00:15:30Thanks very much, Bob. I'm actually with Sam Michael from William Sam.

00:15:33We were just talking to Nico about that problem he had on the outlap onto the grid here.

00:15:36He said there was a, well, he had a problem with the front brakes, basically.

00:15:39And he was saying that there was going to be some change made to the pad material.

00:15:43Can you just tell us exactly what he meant by that?

00:15:45We had a problem with vibration during the qualifying session, so we changed the front brakes.

00:15:50So it was just the fact that it was a new set, so we just had to bed him in.

00:15:53So he'll be fine.

00:15:54And no dramas going off the circuit? Pretty typical Nico, actually, onto the grid, I guess.

00:15:58No, no dramas. It'll be fine.

00:16:00Sam, a lot of engineers like you. I've just seen Bob Bell here, too, walking up and down the grid.

00:16:04Your first chance, really, to see all the cars together like this.

00:16:07An amazing day. So many new things. So many things to think about in this heat as well.

00:16:11Yeah, that's right. I think the main thing you try and see on the grid of the first race is the diffusers.

00:16:15You get around the back of the car because you can't really see that from the front of the garage.

00:16:18You can see it sometimes in the pit lane at night, but it's even as tricky there now.

00:16:21Whereas on the grid, you can get in there.

00:16:23You might get pushed out of the way sometimes, but you've just got to hang in there.

00:16:26Who's got the best-looking diffuser?

00:16:28Ferrari and McLaren at the moment, unfortunately.

00:16:30What an obvious answer. Thanks very much, Sam.

00:16:32OK, Bob, back to you for now.

00:16:34All right. Thank you, Peter. This is a home race for Sam Michael of Williams Toyota.

00:16:38He is a native Australian.

00:16:40And we've got our final break coming up.

00:16:43Now, nothing is so constant as change, including the drivers, team sponsors and liveries in Formula 1.

00:16:49So as we go to break, here's a small compilation of who's new in Formula 1 in 2008.

00:16:57Hi, this is Sebastien Bourdais.

00:16:59I guess you might remember me from Champ Cars, but very happy to be there in Melbourne.

00:17:03It's going to be the first time, obviously, first race in Formula 1.

00:17:07And I hope you'll still be cheering. Thanks.

00:17:11Hi, my name is Luca Ziggirassi.

00:17:13I'm the third driver for ING Renault Formula 1 team.

00:17:16And I'm looking forward to drive the car.

00:17:19I'll be going to all the races and all the tests.

00:17:22So it's a great year for me. It's my first year in F1.

00:17:25Looking forward to it.

00:17:26Hi, I'm Heikki Kovalainen.

00:17:28I'm driving for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team.

00:17:30It's my first year with the new team.

00:17:32Give the thumbs up for me.

00:17:34Hi, I'm Vittorio Liuzzi.

00:17:35I'm the third driver of Force India team in Formula 1.

00:17:38And I'm here in the Grand Prix.

00:17:40And I will be looking forward to come back soon.

00:17:42I will be at all the races around.

00:17:44And I will try to enjoy this period as much as possible.

00:17:46Bye.

00:17:47Hi, my name is Nelson Piquet.

00:17:48I'm racing with Renault ING Formula 1 team.

00:17:51And this is my first season in Formula 1.

00:17:53Hi, I'm Timo Glock from Panasonic Toyota racing team.

00:17:57It's my first full season in F1.

00:17:59And I hope I can put on a good show and keep the fingers crossed.

00:18:03Hi, I'm Jock Clear.

00:18:05Tenth year at Honda.

00:18:07And on the face of it, nothing's changed.

00:18:09But of course, we've got our new kit.

00:18:23We want to try again to win the World Championship.

00:18:26We expect the team to move forward.

00:18:28The expectation is to fight for the championship again.

00:18:33As long as we make progress throughout the year, I'll be happy.

00:18:36I'm more determined than I was last year.

00:18:37I'm more experienced.

00:18:38I'm more confident.

00:19:00Today, a play opens.

00:19:02Well off Broadway.

00:19:03It's called Formula 1 2008.

00:19:06There's an international cast of thousands.

00:19:08With stars such as Finland's Kimi Raikkonen,

00:19:11Englishman Lewis Hamilton,

00:19:13and Spaniard Fernando Alonso.

00:19:15Their costumes will be the height of fashion.

00:19:18Produced by the legends of the industry.

00:19:20Ferrari, McLaren, Renault.

00:19:23These costumes are the most expensive and intricate ever made for a play.

00:19:28There are to be 18 performances.

00:19:30Matinees mostly.

00:19:32Although there is to be a night engagement in Singapore.

00:19:35The scenery will change with each act.

00:19:37We'll see the sands of Bahrain.

00:19:39The glittering Mediterranean of Monaco.

00:19:42A glimpse of the future in Asia.

00:19:44In the orchestra pit, history's loudest.

00:19:46RPM 19 grand.

00:19:49The plot hasn't been finalized just yet.

00:19:52Although many theater goers think they have a general idea of how things might develop.

00:19:57They believe the chief protagonists will be actors wearing Ferrari, McLaren, and BMW.

00:20:02With just possibly a return to the limelight for Williams and Renault.

00:20:07Expect this play to be tense.

00:20:09Dramatic.

00:20:10Full of unforeseen twists.

00:20:12We'll see angry actors.

00:20:14Failed costumes.

00:20:16And we'll experience glory and fulfillment.

00:20:19And the emotions will be utterly convincing.

00:20:21The lights are dimming.

00:20:23The curtain is about to go up.

00:20:25The Grand Prix of Australia is next.

00:20:41It'll be hard to top the drama of 2007.

00:20:44But if practice and qualifying for the race about to unfold is any indication, settle in for another great season.

00:20:50Welcome to Speed's live coverage of the opening round of the 2008 Formula 1 season.

00:20:54The Australian Grand Prix from Melbourne.

00:20:57Hello again, everyone. I'm Bob Varsha with David Hobbs, Steve Matchett, and Peter Windsor.

00:21:01Let's get right to our BMW track analysis.

00:21:05Riding with our pole sitter, David Hobbs. Take it away.

00:21:08Okay, we have Lewis Hamilton going over the stripe at about 190 miles an hour.

00:21:12The two McLarens were the quickest into Turn 1.

00:21:14As you can see, a right-left complex.

00:21:16We've always seen a lot of crashes there.

00:21:19This is down to Turn 3, where Martin Brundle had that huge crash back in the 90s.

00:21:24Then you start winding back into the town here.

00:21:26The McLaren looking very good over the kerbs.

00:21:28Now, we've lost all our tracks in control this year.

00:21:31So you watch that Lewis Hamilton is putting a lot more steering input in than we're used to seeing.

00:21:35But even so, it still looks pretty good.

00:21:37Down to the corner where yesterday, Mark Webber, right there.

00:21:40His front disc exploded, sending him into a gravel trap on the left.

00:21:43Now, as you can see, this track moves around the whole time.

00:21:46The track is green. It's a street circuit.

00:21:48So obviously, they put more and more rubber down as the weekend goes on.

00:21:52And the speed should pick up.

00:21:54So it was very dusty on Friday.

00:21:56And of course, it makes life very difficult, especially now they've lost their track's control.

00:22:00Very tough on the brakes.

00:22:01Of course, made even worse today by the fact it's over 100 degrees.

00:22:04So it's going to be very tough on the drivers and the cars.

00:22:07No elevation change at all here.

00:22:09As you can see, that's pretty obvious.

00:22:11But for a street circuit, it's fairly long.

00:22:133.295 miles and a very high average speed.

00:22:16Nearly 140 miles an hour for pole position.

00:22:19So it's very quick for a street circuit.

00:22:21And as you can see, not a lot of runoff area in a lot of places.

00:22:24Coming down to the last corner.

00:22:26This is a very crucial one to get off well.

00:22:28Because really, at the end of this front straight, pit straight,

00:22:31it's really your best opportunity for overtaking in this 3.29 mile track.

00:22:37So there you see a great lap by Lewis Hamilton.

00:22:39But it's going to be interesting to see how all these cars handle themselves

00:22:43with no traction control out there together.

00:22:45Boy, and after all the sliding around we saw this week thus far,

00:22:49that car looked like it was on rails.

00:22:51Now, let's check our storylines for the race to come.

00:22:54David, once again, start things off.

00:22:56Well, we're expecting Ferrari McLaren to be top dog.

00:22:59But look at that, the BMW Sauber on the front row.

00:23:02There right behind him is the first of the Toyota.

00:23:04So maybe Toyota has finally turned the corner.

00:23:07Sauber, BMW looking good too.

00:23:09And the Red Bulls looking good.

00:23:11Well, for me, it's back to basics.

00:23:12And as David has just been explaining,

00:23:14we have lost traction control.

00:23:15We only have a limited version of launch control last year,

00:23:18but that is gone.

00:23:19And the engine braking assistance is gone.

00:23:21These cars are going to be a handful.

00:23:23But for me, we have to be very careful at the start.

00:23:26Remember, there's a lot of horsepower, very easy to stall,

00:23:29hand-operated clutches, Bob.

00:23:31Well, for me, the issue is failure to launch,

00:23:34lacking traction control and engine braking.

00:23:37The drivers on the right-hand column there,

00:23:39topped by Polsid or Lewis Hamilton,

00:23:41are on the clean line where the cars have been running all weekend

00:23:44and they've cleared the racing line.

00:23:46The cars on the left, on the dirty side.

00:23:48Without traction control, the dirty side will be a handful.

00:23:52With that, let's check the starting grid for today's race.

00:23:55Lewis Hamilton of McLaren Mercedes has his seventh career pole.

00:23:58The McLarens, as David mentioned,

00:24:00the fastest cars in the speed trap at 190 plus.

00:24:03Next to Hamilton, Robert Kubica of Poland

00:24:05has his career best start for BMW Sauber.

00:24:08But for running wide at just one corner,

00:24:10he might have taken his first pole.

00:24:12In third spot, Heikki Kovalainen has his best grid position so far

00:24:15and he's fastest in the speed traps and in the long sector three.

00:24:18In the Ferrari, Felipe Massa lines up fourth,

00:24:20his best start here too.

00:24:22But he's never scored a podium from outside the top three.

00:24:25On row three, Nick Heidfeld of the second BMW Sauber

00:24:28has the longest active streak of top ten finishes with his 23rd.

00:24:32Next to him, Jarno Trulli of Italy.

00:24:34In the Toyota, we suspect he's on light fuel

00:24:37and it hasn't always worked out well for the Italian.

00:24:39The Williams of Nico Rosberg starts in seventh.

00:24:41Five places further up the grid than last year.

00:24:43Might have a bit of fuel on board.

00:24:44Next to him, the much improved Red Bull of David Coulthard.

00:24:46A winner here twice.

00:24:48On row five, Sebastian Vettel in the Scuderia Toro Rosso.

00:24:51The 20-year-old might have qualified higher

00:24:53but for a mechanical issue in qualifying.

00:24:55Next to him, well, high fives in the Honda garage

00:24:58after nine-time Grand Prix winner Rubens Barrichello

00:25:00timed in 11th.

00:25:02Tells you just about where Honda is right now.

00:25:04Row six, Fernando Alonso now back with Renault.

00:25:06Missed Q3 for only the second time since 2006

00:25:09on the podium here for the last four races.

00:25:11Might have a very trying day

00:25:13alongside the second Honda of Jenson Button.

00:25:15A bit happier now on the pole here in 2006.

00:25:18On row seven, Kazuki Nakajima

00:25:20follows his father, Satoru Nakajima, into Formula One.

00:25:23He's driving the Williams Toyota.

00:25:25Next to him, local favourite Mark Webber of Australia

00:25:28in the Red Bull Renault.

00:25:30Outqualified by a teammate here in Australia

00:25:32for the first time in seven previous starts.

00:25:35Last year's pole sitter, Kimi Raikkonen, in his Ferrari

00:25:37started a very disappointing 15th

00:25:39after fuel feed problems in Q1.

00:25:41Change of last year for Masa.

00:25:42And next to him is the Force India Ferrari

00:25:45of Jean-Carlo Fischer-Keller.

00:25:46On row nine, Sébastien Bordet of France

00:25:49in the second STR

00:25:51alongside Adrien Sutil

00:25:53based on qualifying.

00:25:54But Sutil has gone to a spare car.

00:25:56He'll start in the pit lane. There he is.

00:25:58Row ten, Timo Glock in the second Toyota.

00:26:01Penalties for changing gearbox and blocking in qualifying

00:26:04put him back there alongside the woefully untested

00:26:07Super Aguri of Takuma Sato.

00:26:09And on the 11th and final row, Nelson Piquet Jr.

00:26:12in the Renault.

00:26:1321st is not good, but get this.

00:26:15It's the precise same spot.

00:26:17His father, Nelson, a three-time world champion

00:26:20qualified for his Formula One debut in Germany in 1978.

00:26:24Next to him, Anthony Davidson of Great Britain

00:26:26in the second Super Aguri

00:26:28driving very conservatively

00:26:30because his team is woefully low on spare parts.

00:26:33Weather conditions at post time.

00:26:35There you see it, 99 degrees ambient, 124 track temps.

00:26:39A light breeze, although those flags at the upper left

00:26:42are snapping quite smartly.

00:26:44This is the clean line.

00:26:46And this is a first for everybody out there today.

00:26:48First start off with no traction control

00:26:50and no launch control.

00:26:52Ron Dennis looking just a tad concerned.

00:26:55The cars are in place.

00:26:57The off-season is over.

00:26:58Turn up the volume and get set

00:27:00for the start of the Australian Grand Prix.

00:27:04Oh!

00:27:08Yellow flags at the back.

00:27:09Everybody away.

00:27:10No signs of tyre smoke.

00:27:12Robert Kubica is on the softer...

00:27:14No, he's on the hard compound, as is Hamilton.

00:27:16And Kubica...

00:27:17Oh, there's contact.

00:27:18Massa got clipped, I think, there by Kovalainen.

00:27:21Hamilton, Kubica.

00:27:24Kovalainen.

00:27:29And then Rosberg in the wheels.

00:27:30Raikkonen coming up on the outside there.

00:27:33Oh!

00:27:38Oh, the red bull going wide.

00:27:41David Coulthard.

00:27:45Oh, someone off.

00:27:46Yeah, more dust at the back.

00:27:47Oh!

00:27:49Safety car has been deployed.

00:27:50And I think that's going to be for Massa.

00:27:52But Kimi Raikkonen is the Ferrari you're looking at.

00:27:54If you think that Ferrari dashing up to the front is Massa,

00:27:57you're wrong.

00:27:58It's Raikkonen.

00:28:00Raikkonen just weaved his way through there.

00:28:03I think Massa got clipped by Kovalainen

00:28:06going through Turn 1.

00:28:07That's exactly what happened to Philippe Massa

00:28:09at Turn 1 two years ago.

00:28:11Very few of the cars on the soft compound tyres.

00:28:13There's one of them right there.

00:28:14Kimi Raikkonen.

00:28:15You see the white stripe designating the softer tyre.

00:28:18And boy, did he put that to good effect.

00:28:20He's up to 8th spot.

00:28:22Absolutely incredible.

00:28:25But you're right.

00:28:26Oh, there's Anthony Davidson.

00:28:28The right front damaged up to the right front tyres damaged.

00:28:32That was the car that was knocked sideways at Turn 1.

00:28:34Oh, Mark Webber there.

00:28:36Is that Mark Webber?

00:28:37His Grand Prix home.

00:28:42Jenson Button.

00:28:43The left rear tyre is flat, I believe.

00:28:45There's Davidson right front.

00:28:47Bridgestone has gone down.

00:28:48Mark Webber.

00:28:49What a weekend.

00:28:50Because he should never have been back there

00:28:51if that brake hadn't exploded in qualifying yesterday.

00:28:53Yep.

00:28:54The Williams crew has a nose out.

00:28:59We'll have to wait and see who pits.

00:29:01Ferrari has a nose handy.

00:29:03Presumably for Massa.

00:29:04Yeah, number 2 on the nose of the replacement nose cone.

00:29:08That's going to be for Massa.

00:29:09Now think about these crews.

00:29:11They've been practising all winter long.

00:29:13I wonder if they thought they'd go to Plan B on lap 1 of this race.

00:29:17Oh, missing the nose.

00:29:18Look at that.

00:29:22That's a lot of damage to the front wing.

00:29:25Left main plane on the car.

00:29:31You're right, I'm sure.

00:29:32Fresh, soft tyres going on to the F2008.

00:29:36But that was definitely damage caused by contact with McLaren.

00:29:41Oh.

00:29:42Somebody's come down.

00:29:43Oh!

00:29:45That's Kazunaka-Jima leaving the Williams pit.

00:29:47Well, that was bad.

00:29:48Letting him go out like that in front of...

00:29:50That was one of the Force India cars being lifted away.

00:29:53Giancarlo Fisichella, I believe.

00:29:55Oh, dear.

00:29:58On board with Massa.

00:30:00I was about to say, the Ferrari team did a great stop there.

00:30:03And then they sent him right into the side of the Williams, practically.

00:30:06Okay, here's the start.

00:30:08Watch mid-pack as they get down into turn 1.

00:30:17There it is, right there.

00:30:19Oh.

00:30:20Wow.

00:30:22I think that was Nelson Piquet.

00:30:23That's the Renault Nelson Piquet.

00:30:27You'll just see the car clip.

00:30:32Oh, no.

00:30:33Oh, he hits the wall.

00:30:34Wow.

00:30:35Exactly what he did two years ago.

00:30:36Almost to the spot.

00:30:38And there, I think that was that Vettel's car you saw sliding across.

00:30:41It may happen right in front of us from this camera angle.

00:30:44Kubica made a cracking start.

00:30:47Well, you know, again, looking at Massa,

00:30:50I'm not sure how much contact there actually was with the McLaren.

00:30:53I think he just lost it.

00:30:54I think you're right from that shot, David.

00:30:56It looked like he just lost it on his own.

00:30:58Okay, this is Kimi Räikkönen's on board.

00:31:00Wow, look at this going down the outside, these guys.

00:31:02Boy, oh boy, no court here.

00:31:05Absolutely amazing driving from Räikkönen.

00:31:08Oh, look at it.

00:31:10That was Kulthar getting hit left to the right.

00:31:13Shoved unceremoniously off to the right-hand side.

00:31:16Mark Webber in the Renault pits.

00:31:18Nelson Piquet came down the inside, couldn't get stopped,

00:31:21and he's the guy who spear-jumped.

00:31:22Oh, Webber out of his home Grand Prix.

00:31:25Terrible.

00:31:26I mean, he was so quick in qualifying practice.

00:31:28Safety car's in.

00:31:30Here we go.

00:31:32Hamilton, Kubica, Kovalainen, Rosberg, Heidfeld,

00:31:35Trulli, Barrichello, Räikkönen, Alonso, and Kulthar at the top ten.

00:31:39Kubica is right there.

00:31:41He is not giving any quarter at all.

00:31:51Somebody was asleep on that start.

00:31:52Look at these gaps.

00:31:57Nico Rosberg trying to go down the inside there.

00:31:59Here comes Nick Heidfeld.

00:32:12Massa back in the pits.

00:32:15Changing his fuel strategy, perhaps.

00:32:19They fill him up with fuel, send him on a long run.

00:32:22Didn't see which tires he was on.

00:32:24There are the changes in position from the starting grid.

00:32:26Sato and Piquet at the bottom, up nine places each.

00:32:30Kimi Räikkönen picked up eight.

00:32:34No change at the top.

00:32:35Hamilton, Kubica, Kovalainen.

00:32:38If you are wondering why Massa decided to come in for fuel

00:32:41after having worked in on the car,

00:32:43to the sporting regulations,

00:32:44you are not allowed to refuel under a safety car, period.

00:32:47You are allowed to work on the car.

00:32:49We are watching Jenson Button, Honda,

00:32:51being brought down into the pit lane.

00:32:53Rear suspension deranged.

00:32:54Under a safety car, you can work on the car.

00:32:57Mechanically, you cannot refuel.

00:32:59Jenson Button is done.

00:33:01Boy, he is so disappointed.

00:33:03I mean, just...

00:33:04Well, of course, that's one of the things with these first laps,

00:33:07these first corners.

00:33:08I mean, there's an awful lot of schmuzzle goes on there.

00:33:10People weaving in and out.

00:33:12Tremendous variations of speed.

00:33:14We didn't see it, but Sebastian Vettel

00:33:16also pitted the Scuderia Toro Rosso

00:33:19under that safety car.

00:33:22Kimi Räikkönen right behind Rubens Balotelli,

00:33:24about to blow him up, I think.

00:33:30This is another incident.

00:33:33Kaz Nakajima, the Williams,

00:33:35the second car in line, missing the wing,

00:33:37the front wing.

00:33:39Now, that was how Davidson got...

00:33:42clocked.

00:33:43Watch that red and white car.

00:33:45Ah, ooh.

00:33:48Well, it's how you...

00:33:54Boy, oh boy.

00:33:57Working on Mark Webber.

00:33:59Oh, wow.

00:34:00Webber's car, but...

00:34:02For all intents and purposes, the race over,

00:34:04they may well use the rest of the race duration

00:34:06as a test session.

00:34:07Absolutely.

00:34:08Remember, they go straight from here to Malaysia,

00:34:10so there's no test in between.

00:34:12But boy, oh boy.

00:34:19Everybody maintaining that line.

00:34:21Once again, hard to overstate the difficulty

00:34:23of the driver's job without those driver aids.

00:34:25Hamilton's last lap was a 29.2.

00:34:28Kubica's was a 30.4.

00:34:301.2 seconds quicker than Hamilton there.

00:34:33Let's get to Peter Windsor.

00:34:35Thanks, Bob.

00:34:36Yes, with the mayhem of the first lap behind us,

00:34:38the torque in the garage area now

00:34:40is that sensational choice by Ferrari

00:34:42of the softer of the two Bridgestone compounds,

00:34:44catching everybody in the pit lane by surprise.

00:34:46A brilliant move,

00:34:47allowing Kimi to have so much grip off the line

00:34:49and on that first lap.

00:34:50And remember, Ferrari had done this before.

00:34:52I think it was the Turkish Grand Prix last year,

00:34:54where they were much lighter on tires

00:34:56and able to get much more from the softer Bridgestone

00:34:58than any other team.

00:34:59And here again, Ferrari in nothing like the same trouble

00:35:02on the soft Bridgestone

00:35:03that say McLaren and BMW have found.

00:35:07You're absolutely right, Peter.

00:35:08I agree with you on that.

00:35:09It's a great technical, tactical move there

00:35:11by Ferrari to start on the soft tires.

00:35:14Sebastian Vettel for Scuderia Toro Rosso walking back.

00:35:17Boy, he looked so good too, didn't he?

00:35:19In practice and qualifying.

00:35:20Yeah.

00:35:21But Kimi Räikkönen, remember, started P15.

00:35:23And you're right, Peter.

00:35:24Absolutely blinding start.

00:35:27Wasn't faced at all by the traffic around him

00:35:29and the mayhem that was happening around him.

00:35:31Just kept his cool.

00:35:32Absolute ice man.

00:35:33And just went straight through it all.

00:35:34Absolutely forced his way past David Coulthard.

00:35:37Obviously, just punting him right out of the way

00:35:39on that left-hander.

00:35:42Of course, that's one of those things.

00:35:43If it works, it works.

00:35:44If it doesn't, of course, you lose your wing

00:35:46and a couple of end plates.

00:35:50You saw Sebastian Vettel walking in.

00:35:53His car obviously stopped on course.

00:35:55It's a tough break for the 20-year-old

00:35:57who's being mentioned in connection with this team.

00:36:00Ferrari.

00:36:01Everybody's so impressed with the way Sebastian Vettel

00:36:03has conducted himself in the eight Grand Prix

00:36:06on his resume thus far.

00:36:07Well, he's only 22.

00:36:10Pretty awesome.

00:36:11Another fastest lap by this man right here,

00:36:13Lewis Hamilton.

00:36:14Last lap, 28.556.

00:36:18The speed he's putting in is a pretty good chance.

00:36:21He's got a pretty light fuel load.

00:36:23Well, looking at the times in qualifying, David,

00:36:25yesterday, the difference between Q2 and Q3

00:36:27was kind of giving the fuel loads away to some degree.

00:36:30Again, we had that gap to like 1.6 slower in Q3,

00:36:33which would equate to around 10 laps there or thereabouts,

00:36:37which would make a very short opening stint for this race.

00:36:40Typically, this race has been run on a two-stop basis

00:36:43in the last three or four years.

00:36:45Well, let's see how deep they run

00:36:47before coming in for those fresh tyres.

00:36:49The key here, of course, is how much fuel

00:36:51has Kimi Räikkönen got on board,

00:36:52because he could well, having aborted after Q1,

00:36:56he could well have a lot more fuel on everybody else as well,

00:36:59which makes that opening lap even more extraordinary.

00:37:02Best battles on the track right now.

00:37:04The battle for fourth, Nico Rosberg has Nick Heidfeld

00:37:07just behind him.

00:37:09Further back, David Coulthard is ninth.

00:37:11He has Fernando Alonso all over his back with the Renault.

00:37:14Timo Glock is twelfth with Adrian Sutil just behind him

00:37:18and Sebastian Bordet, a part of that train,

00:37:20a car length or so behind as well.

00:37:23Actually, twelfth through sixteenth right now,

00:37:26just tenths of a second apart.

00:37:28The other thing we have to bear in mind as well

00:37:30trying to figure out this first-stop strategy

00:37:32is how much leeway the engineers are going to give the drivers

00:37:35as far as tyre wear is concerned.

00:37:38Again, going back to the fact

00:37:40there's no traction control on the car

00:37:42and the cars are sliding more,

00:37:43the same specification tyres are being used as were last year,

00:37:46but you've got to think these tyres are going to wear

00:37:48at a faster rate without traction control to help.

00:37:52Now, last year, two mistakes in the final two races in China

00:37:56and in Brazil cost Lewis Hamilton a world championship,

00:38:00but right now, he has got this race by the throat.

00:38:03We'll be back.

00:38:07Speed's coverage of the FIA Formula One World Championship

00:38:10is brought to you by BMW.

00:38:12BMW, the ultimate driving machine.

00:38:15And by Bridgestone.

00:38:17For drivers who want to get the most out of their cars,

00:38:19it's Bridgestone or nothing.

00:38:25Back live in Australia, you ride with Rubens Barrichello

00:38:28looking back at world champion Kimi Räikkönen,

00:38:31seventh and eighth place,

00:38:32as we work lap number nine here at the Australian Grand Prix,

00:38:36live on Speed.

00:38:37Well, Rubens Barrichello, the Honda,

00:38:39certainly showing better form than it has shown for the last year.

00:38:43Kimi Räikkönen, of course, made that dynamic start.

00:38:46He's on the softer tyres.

00:38:47And this tremendous temperature here,

00:38:49they may be going off a bit.

00:38:51Nobody could make them work very well yesterday,

00:38:53except Ferrari seem to do better than anybody else.

00:38:55But even there, probably finding the limitations on this first stint,

00:38:59especially if he's got quite a bit of fuel on board.

00:39:01Yeah, last two or three laps,

00:39:02Räikkönen's pace did drop off a little bit

00:39:04relative to the Honda ahead of him there.

00:39:07I don't think it's a result of just running in traffic.

00:39:09And I think you're right, David.

00:39:10I think he was just backing off a little bit

00:39:12to take...

00:39:13Oh, there he is now.

00:39:15When I said he was slightly slower,

00:39:16I mean he was slightly quicker on the last three laps.

00:39:18Well, that's what he meant. I know that's what he meant.

00:39:23But, good showing by Barrichello.

00:39:25Whatever happens, of course,

00:39:26terribly disappointing for Jenson Button to be out

00:39:28at the beginning there.

00:39:29I think we know what's going to happen.

00:39:31I think we do.

00:39:32I think we know the end of the story.

00:39:34Another guy who's doing well in 11th spot

00:39:36is Takuma Misato.

00:39:37You did mention it, Bob,

00:39:38but he went from 20th to 11th, basically, in the first lap.

00:39:41Yeah, we're all talking about...

00:39:42And he's hanging...

00:39:43And I reckon him making a great start,

00:39:44but Misato in the best friend chassis,

00:39:46shot from a cannon.

00:39:47And he's hanging right in there, too.

00:39:49Which is last year's old conquer chassis as well.

00:39:51Well, exactly.

00:39:52It's the old, much unloved Honda.

00:39:54Well, and of course,

00:39:55they haven't done any testing at all.

00:39:57Yeah.

00:40:00So they got here.

00:40:01Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton

00:40:03keeps racking up fast lap after fast lap.

00:40:06He just reset it at 1 minute 28.111.

00:40:11Someone looked very...

00:40:12Someone was either just about to go in the pits

00:40:14or going very slow getting to the pits.

00:40:16To finish the thought,

00:40:17Hamilton now 6.7 seconds in the lead.

00:40:19Let's take another look here.

00:40:21This is...

00:40:22That was Sutil.

00:40:23Adrian Sutil in the Force India,

00:40:25former Spyker car.

00:40:27Piquet being passed by his old GP2 rival.

00:40:31Spyker partner.

00:40:32Kaz Nakajima.

00:40:36Look at that hillside.

00:40:38Big crowd on hand in Melbourne.

00:40:42This race is struggling for its financial life right now.

00:40:45It lost 34 million Australian dollars last year.

00:40:49Most of that covered by the local government.

00:40:51Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has said

00:40:53if Australia is going to stay on the calendar,

00:40:55they need to light this park and run the race at night.

00:40:57Oh, there goes...

00:40:59That's the entire Force India team

00:41:01out of the race in their debut.

00:41:05Well, they still did pretty well.

00:41:07I must say, I mean,

00:41:08pretty poor performance in the race,

00:41:10unfortunately, in qualifying to get here.

00:41:12That team has been rejuvenated,

00:41:14but they're going to have to work on reliability, obviously.

00:41:16But pace in the car seems to be coming on.

00:41:18Well, Mr. Amelia has said

00:41:22that he's going to put some more money in,

00:41:24another 50 million in development,

00:41:27so they should improve quite a bit.

00:41:30Yeah.

00:41:31Peter Windsor.

00:41:33Well, as Rubens Barrichello completes yet another lap

00:41:36just ahead of Kimi Räikkönen,

00:41:37living with all that pressure,

00:41:39one has to imagine

00:41:40what's going through Rubens' mind at the moment.

00:41:42He's got a Ferrari behind him,

00:41:43a team he used to drive for.

00:41:44He's now working with Ross Brawn,

00:41:46the guy he used to work with at Ferrari.

00:41:48And guess what?

00:41:49Dear old Rubens is still braking with his right foot.

00:41:51One of the old brigade.

00:41:52Not going to have the greatest number of years ahead of him,

00:41:55I don't think,

00:41:56but wonderful to see Rubens driving this well

00:41:58and still braking in the traditional way.

00:42:00Yeah, yeah, it is.

00:42:01And it's good to see Honda.

00:42:03Absolute resurgence from Honda.

00:42:04I mean, look at Honda last year.

00:42:06Absolutely terrible position.

00:42:08Of course, this car was built and fixed

00:42:11before Ross Brawn came on board,

00:42:13so he can only try and improve this car,

00:42:15which I'm sure he just...

00:42:17Everybody is so much happier with him there

00:42:19because he's just so much better at running things

00:42:21than just...

00:42:22Ross Brawn.

00:42:23Yeah, right.

00:42:24Makes the work, make it go well.

00:42:25And obviously...

00:42:26Well, this is exactly what Honda and Ross will be enjoying,

00:42:29just seeing their car, the Honda,

00:42:31leading the Ferrari.

00:42:32Well, it's going to get better than that

00:42:34in the first race, isn't it?

00:42:35After the change.

00:42:36We talked about it during our qualifying show.

00:42:38Rubens Barrichello, knowing Ross so well

00:42:40for the reasons you mentioned, says,

00:42:42well, things will be better now.

00:42:43I mean, last year, I'd be called into the pits

00:42:45and you'd hear people in the background on the radio saying,

00:42:47no, no, no, don't call him in now.

00:42:49When I said pit, I mean, they're in pit.

00:42:51Nico Rosberg, if you look out here,

00:42:53had a good winter season testing.

00:42:56The car went pretty well.

00:42:58They still maintain,

00:42:59as we heard Sam Michael say at the beginning,

00:43:01they've got some improvements to make yet,

00:43:03but still in all,

00:43:04a pretty good showing so far for Nico Rosberg.

00:43:08I think what Sam Michael kind of cleared that confusion up

00:43:11about Nico's comments about the brakes,

00:43:13providing that the team changed like for like,

00:43:16they can get special dispensation from Charlie White

00:43:19and the FIA to change unreliable components.

00:43:22So if they had problems with the brakes,

00:43:23they could change to the same spec,

00:43:25but you could not change different specification brakes

00:43:28without incurring all sorts of rough.

00:43:31Felipe Massa in replay,

00:43:33going underneath his Brazilian countryman, Nelson Piquet.

00:43:38And of course, Felipe Massa also on the soft tires.

00:43:41There's Nicholas Toth, son of John Toth,

00:43:43no longer the team principal for Ferrari.

00:43:46We'll take a break and return.

00:43:48Lewis Hamilton about to set fast lap again.

00:43:54Welcome back.

00:43:56Working lap number 14 of 58

00:43:58that make up the Australian Formula One Grand Prix

00:44:00first round of the 2008 championship here on speed.

00:44:04With David Hobbs, Steve Matchett and Peter Windsor,

00:44:06I'm Bob Barsher.

00:44:07You're riding with world champion,

00:44:08Kimi Raikkonen in his Ferrari.

00:44:10He started 15th.

00:44:12Right now he runs eighth.

00:44:14Just heard Nico Rosberg's engineers

00:44:17having a little chat with the driver

00:44:18about the balance of the car,

00:44:19which I think will be a pre first pit stop chat

00:44:22to try and work out the tire pressures difference,

00:44:27and how to adjust the tire pressures

00:44:28which will affect the balance of the car

00:44:29prior to this first stop.

00:44:30And I think we must be getting right into that window.

00:44:32Watch the left front tire on this car too,

00:44:34because he's got these soft tires on here.

00:44:36And it's interesting that he should be having

00:44:38so much trouble with that Honda,

00:44:39because yesterday the Honda was the slowest car

00:44:42down the straight,

00:44:44which can't be very good for him.

00:44:46Lewis Hamilton has just reset fast lap.

00:44:49And now again, 1.27.785.

00:44:51First man in the one minute 27, though.

00:44:54And his lead over Robert Kubica's BMW Sauber

00:44:57is now nine and a half seconds.

00:45:03There's Barrichello and Raikkonen.

00:45:10That battle continues.

00:45:11Here's a note, fans.

00:45:12Stay up to date with mobile text alerts

00:45:13all season long.

00:45:14Speed Mobile gives you the latest news

00:45:16and results right to your cell phone.

00:45:18Text F1 to Speed 3,

00:45:20773333,

00:45:22using your mobile phone to sign up.

00:45:24Do it.

00:45:27Do it now.

00:45:28Do it.

00:45:31I was hoping somebody would get that.

00:45:33Ooh.

00:45:34Nice.

00:45:39Across the bottom of your screen,

00:45:40here's some new graphic information for you.

00:45:42Right, and then the quickest in the straight.

00:45:44Speed Trap.

00:45:45Where do you see Barrichello?

00:45:46We don't see Barrichello yet.

00:45:49Get your calculator out

00:45:50if you're not used to seeing things

00:45:52in kilometers per hour.

00:45:56Or just multiply by .6.

00:45:58Good, little Barrichello's 10 kilometers an hour,

00:46:00six miles an hour slower down the straight

00:46:02than the Ferrari behind him.

00:46:06In replay, on board with Timo Glock,

00:46:09the reigning GP2 champion,

00:46:11struggling here with Takuma Sato.

00:46:19That was for 11th place.

00:46:21Nicely done.

00:46:22Yeah, very nicely done.

00:46:23That's going to happen a lot this year.

00:46:25You know, you're going to see people

00:46:27racing against each other,

00:46:29and the guy in front,

00:46:30they're going to make a mistake

00:46:31because of this lack of traction control,

00:46:33which is exactly what happened there.

00:46:34So, heavy wear to the left front tire

00:46:36on the Toyota as well.

00:46:37You were just talking about that earlier on, David,

00:46:39but that white stripe on Glock's car,

00:46:41almost gone.

00:46:42Just look head-on at that BMW Sauber.

00:46:46Radio first.

00:46:48Front wing.

00:46:51Yes, I have it.

00:46:52Front wing, front wing.

00:46:55Repeat, repeat.

00:46:58Car balance.

00:46:59Front wing.

00:47:01Okay, okay.

00:47:07Oops, we apologize for the loss of signal.

00:47:11I will take this opportunity for a break.

00:47:13As you heard, Robert Kubica

00:47:14discussing his upcoming pit stop with his team.

00:47:17Those pit stops expected to begin shortly.

00:47:19Stay with us.

00:47:23Back live in Australia,

00:47:24new Honda team principal, Ross Brawn, looking on.

00:47:27This is Rubens Barrichello,

00:47:29Brawn's man,

00:47:30and Kimi Raikkonen,

00:47:32the world champion for Brawn's former team.

00:47:34Ferrari, look at this battle.

00:47:36Raikkonen just cannot get by the Honda.

00:47:39Thank God.

00:47:40Meanwhile, during the break,

00:47:42Robert Kubica pitted his BMW Sauber from 2nd

00:47:45and rejoined in 8th behind that battle.

00:47:47This is Felipe Massa and Kaz Nakajima.

00:47:52Massa getting by for 14th.

00:47:54Kaz Nakajima just dusted off by Felipe Massa there,

00:47:57who's gradually coming up to the field.

00:47:59Massa now in 14th after that first lap off.

00:48:03Second time at lap 1 for Massa here.

00:48:06You've heard us talk about the white stripes

00:48:08on the Bridgestone tires.

00:48:09Raikkonen has them.

00:48:11The car ahead of him, Barrichello, does not.

00:48:13That means Barrichello is on the harder of the two compounds

00:48:17that Bridgestone brings to each Grand Prix weekend.

00:48:20Drivers must use at least one set of each dry weather compound.

00:48:24The prime or the option defined by that white stripe.

00:48:29Pit stop.

00:48:30This is Kubica earlier on.

00:48:32Replay of Kubica when we were in break.

00:48:34Seven seconds of fuel.

00:48:35Hard tires.

00:48:38Now, when we say hard,

00:48:40these are actually the medium and soft,

00:48:42the two intermediate ranges.

00:48:44Race leader Lewis Hamilton is in.

00:48:48Prime compounds coming off.

00:48:50Another set going on.

00:48:51Same compound.

00:48:56Hamilton came in with a 14-second lead.

00:49:00He has been dominant.

00:49:027.3 seconds of fuel,

00:49:04so we should expect about 23 laps worth of fuel on Hamilton.

00:49:07We should expect him to be out.

00:49:09Oh, Heidfeld got it.

00:49:10Heidfeld got past him.

00:49:11That's bad news,

00:49:12because obviously Heidfeld being Kubica's teammate.

00:49:15Yeah.

00:49:16You're right, David.

00:49:17Absolutely.

00:49:18But Heidfeld must be about to stop himself.

00:49:21So Hamilton rejoins in fourth.

00:49:23His McLaren Mercedes teammate, Heikki Kovalainen of Finland,

00:49:26is now the race leader for the third time in his career.

00:49:35Cars running deeper than I expected.

00:49:37Oh, he got him.

00:49:38He's gotten Barrichello.

00:49:40That's for sixth.

00:49:41Boy, it took some time to get past, didn't it?

00:49:43It did.

00:49:44I wonder how much that affected Raikkonen's race plan.

00:49:47Oh, enormously.

00:49:48I would think.

00:49:49Oh, I mean, he'd probably lose in the second lap.

00:49:51Close to it.

00:49:53Right now, Raikkonen is 25.3 seconds behind new race leader Kovalainen.

00:50:00That was not what he planned.

00:50:03That was not what he planned.

00:50:04Here's the pass from overhead.

00:50:05Yeah, let's have another look at it.

00:50:11That's forcing the issue.

00:50:13Yeah, yeah.

00:50:14I don't think Rubens thought he was going to come from that far back.

00:50:16No.

00:50:19Notice that tall dorsal fin on the back of the Honda.

00:50:26Well, we've seen it from every angle now.

00:50:30Rubens, there, discretion the better part of valor,

00:50:34not trying to make it a stupid issue of it and run into him,

00:50:37so that was good.

00:50:41There's Robert Kubica, the second white car in line.

00:50:44Notice all the aero treatment on the front.

00:50:46The BMW, more than any other car, is just covered with little curves

00:50:51and flick-ups and winglets and all that sort of thing.

00:50:54As Formula One teams, with the 2.4 liter engines now frozen in spec

00:51:01for a few more years, looking for any opportunity to grab more grip

00:51:06without increasing drag.

00:51:09Kovalainen is setting some good pace as well, certainly relative to Kubica,

00:51:13but remember, Kubica is heavy on fuel after making that early stop,

00:51:16or relative early to the rest of the pack.

00:51:19It's going to be interesting to see how many laps Kovalainen can keep going.

00:51:23Those are the pit stops completed thus far,

00:51:25for each driver across the bottom of your screen.

00:51:27Most of them still zero stops.

00:51:30Now, Raikkonen making best use of that free air

00:51:32and managing to get around the Honda 28.8, fastest first sector of the day.

00:51:37Sebastian Bordet is pitting the Toro Rosso from 16th place right now.

00:51:44This is Masa and Sato, contesting 12th.

00:51:47Sato giving their quarter there.

00:51:51That left front still have a white stripe on it.

00:51:53As you can see, it's gone.

00:51:54The tyre looks as if some feathering coming off there.

00:51:57The left front round here really takes a huge pacing on this 3.3 mile circuit.

00:52:04There's a lot of right handers and a lot of effort goes into that left front.

00:52:08You'll notice, really, it's in the corners where the rubber rolls off the grooves

00:52:11and covers it up right there.

00:52:12And as it goes down the straights, giving chance to clean up,

00:52:15you'll see it start to come back a little bit.

00:52:17Truly, pits from 5th.

00:52:21These guys have got to be concerned about the transmission.

00:52:24Oh, I wonder whether or not that's it.

00:52:27New wheel. Oh, he's done.

00:52:28You know, I was just going to say, they're going to be concerned about transmissions.

00:52:31We don't know what that was, but I think, you know, Williams had that gearbox problem.

00:52:35Meanwhile, Masa and Sato are still at it.

00:52:41OK, back to your point, Steve.

00:52:42Well, I was going to say, Williams changed two of their transmissions on the Friday

00:52:46and we know that Toyota are running the Williams internals inside their transmissions.

00:52:51And I was just thinking, you know, Glock...

00:52:52But that didn't look like a transmission problem.

00:52:54No, I'm not saying it was.

00:52:55They kept looking at the bottom of the car like something's in there.

00:52:57Yeah, I'm just putting it out there.

00:52:59I wonder whether or not, whether it come in, you know,

00:53:01heat build up or something, just nip the bearings.

00:53:03I don't know.

00:53:04I expect a mechanic left a spanner in there.

00:53:07But notice those barge boards to the left and right,

00:53:09under the mirrors, shaking like the Dickens.

00:53:12Peter Windsor.

00:53:14Well, yeah, Jarno's straight out of the car.

00:53:16To me, that suggests they wanted to get to the ECU,

00:53:18because that's right under the driver's legs there.

00:53:20And if they've got a transmission problem,

00:53:21that's probably the first area they'd be looking at.

00:53:25Yeah, well, it's the only thing you can really do, Peter, you're right.

00:53:27If you've got transmission problems,

00:53:28there's not much you can do to the gearbox itself, obviously, during the race.

00:53:32Nico Rosberg and Nick Hyde-Pell,

00:53:34pipped from second and third.

00:53:38Kovalainen remains the leader,

00:53:40now by 14.7 seconds over his teammate, Hamilton.

00:53:45Oh, this is going to be close.

00:53:47Oh!

00:53:51Eiffel got the position, but boy, oh boy, that was close.

00:53:55That was very close.

00:53:57Oh, and oh.

00:54:00Leading into that Formula 1 is a bit hair-raising, eh?

00:54:02Yeah.

00:54:04David Coulthard, there's Rosberg.

00:54:07Here comes Alonso around the outside in the ING Renault,

00:54:11with new helmet colors.

00:54:13There's some of that sliding we've been talking about.

00:54:21So the order is Kovalainen, Hamilton, Räikkönen now third,

00:54:25Hyde-Pell and Rosberg, fourth and fifth.

00:54:29We'll have to wait for them to recycle.

00:54:33Peter Windsor.

00:54:36Well, Bob, yeah, just looking at the situation right now,

00:54:38Heikki Kovalainen, lap 21, still no pit stop.

00:54:40Reflecting yesterday in Q3, McLaren's decision

00:54:43to let Lewis go for the pole and back off Heikki,

00:54:46just save fuel, be in the top three if he can,

00:54:48and did a fantastic job.

00:54:49And now he's in the pits after 21 laps.

00:54:51That's a really good run from Heikki Kovalainen,

00:54:53a great team job.

00:54:55A lot of brake dust being thrown out of those.

00:54:57Here's a new graphic look.

00:54:58There's where Hamilton is as he crosses start-finish

00:55:01and takes over the race lead.

00:55:03Oh, that was a very nice stop.

00:55:06Very nice and controlled.

00:55:09There's this Räikkönen coming down the road

00:55:11in the Ferrari.

00:55:16Kovalainen rejoins in second,

00:55:18Räikkönen in third.

00:55:19Räikkönen right up to P3,

00:55:21who also has yet to stop.

00:55:26Which makes that first lap rush of his even more

00:55:29because he's carrying so much more weight.

00:55:31And that's because when it counts,

00:55:32worst of all on that first lap.

00:55:35So the order now is Hamilton, Kovalainen,

00:55:39Räikkönen, Barrichello, Kubica, Heidfeld,

00:55:41Alonso up into seventh.

00:55:43Rosberg in the eighth and final points-paying position.

00:55:46David Pruldaard back out in ninth.

00:55:48Timo Glock up into tenth in the Toyota.

00:55:51The two Finns duking it out here for second and third.

00:55:54You remember last year in the rain,

00:55:56they had that incredible battle at Fuji.

00:55:59At Fuji in Japan.

00:56:00Yeah.

00:56:01Won by the younger man, Kovalainen.

00:56:03This is in the factors.

00:56:04How much fuel is on board this car?

00:56:12The combination of heavy fuel and the soft compound tires

00:56:15really puts a load on Räikkönen's driving skills.

00:56:21Tell you what, I obviously have a lot of fuel on board.

00:56:25Managing your tires with

00:56:29traction control and engine braking gone

00:56:33That's special.

00:56:34There goes Hamilton.

00:56:36Look at the gap back to this battle for second.

00:56:39Kovalainen ahead of Räikkönen.

00:56:42Fourth is Barrichello.

00:56:43Another six seconds back.

00:56:44Then Kubica, Heidfeld, Alonso.

00:56:47Barrichello now pits.

00:56:48He doesn't come around.

00:56:51So Kubica moves up to fourth.

00:56:53Heidfeld to fifth.

00:56:54Alonso to sixth.

00:56:55Rosberg to seventh.

00:56:58We'll see if David Pruldaard can grab eighth away from Barrichello

00:57:01before the Brazilian returns to the track.

00:57:11Come on, Kimi.

00:57:12You've got to take the fight to Kovalainen now.

00:57:14You've got to get past him.

00:57:18His tires must be pretty shot now.

00:57:23But, of course, he's got no weight on board either.

00:57:25Well, you know,

00:57:26I'd love to know how much fuel is on this car.

00:57:28If they've really put a lot of fuel,

00:57:30you know, they one-stopped Massa last year.

00:57:32He's going to have to pit at some point,

00:57:34of course, to the regulations to change tires.

00:57:36But if he's on a one-stopper and can run really deep,

00:57:39he could well be looking in the pound seats

00:57:41because Kovalainen's job now...

00:57:43Yeah.

00:57:44Well, Kovalainen's job is to try and just hold him up

00:57:46as much as possible relative to Hamilton's pace.

00:57:48So that's why I'm saying

00:57:49even if Räikkönen's got a lot of fuel on board,

00:57:52he really wants to get past this blocker up ahead of him

00:57:57and get into some clean air.

00:57:58A moment ago, I mentioned that we were going to see

00:58:00if DC could hold on to 8th place.

00:58:02In fact, Coulthard just did a lap at 1.35.

00:58:05That's 5 or 6 seconds, if not more,

00:58:07slower than anybody else.

00:58:08I wonder if DC has a problem.

00:58:10Barrichello resumes in 8th.

00:58:12Timo Block has taken 9th away from Coulthard.

00:58:14Peter Windsor.

00:58:16Bob, just looking at the great job

00:58:18that Heikki Kovalainen's doing so far

00:58:20for Vodafone, McLaren, Mercedes,

00:58:21one can't help thinking what would have happened

00:58:23if Fernando Alonso had stayed at McLaren this year

00:58:26and he was in Heikki's situation right now

00:58:28with a Ferrari right behind him

00:58:29and Lewis Hamilton walking away with the race.

00:58:31What do you think he'd be doing?

00:58:35Hands? Anybody?

00:58:37Crying?

00:58:40Well, that's probably the biggest tragedy

00:58:43of that whole mess last year.

00:58:45Yeah.

00:58:46Was the damage it did to Fernando Alonso's reputation.

00:58:4929.5 Kovalainen.

00:58:50I'm looking at the timesheet.

00:58:5129.5 Räikkönen.

00:58:5328.9 Hamilton up ahead of him.

00:58:56Lewis Hamilton reestablishes the lead

00:58:58by 12.2 seconds over teammate Heikki Kovalainen

00:59:01and Räikkönen a half second behind the fin.

00:59:07This is huge.

00:59:08Welcome back.

00:59:09Live to Australia's David Coulthard

00:59:11walks away from his mangled Red Bull Renault.

00:59:14You see debris on the track.

00:59:15The safety car is coming out.

00:59:16Here's how it happened.

00:59:18Felipe Massa up the inside of Coulthard

00:59:22and it all came to tears.

00:59:23Well, of course, now there you see

00:59:25that's exactly David Coulthard

00:59:28trying to shut the door.

00:59:30It's all too late

00:59:31and that's exactly what did not happen

00:59:32when Barrichello was passed by Kimi Räikkönen.

00:59:34I mean, there comes a point

00:59:36when you've got to give up

00:59:37and Massa was right there

00:59:38running down the inside

00:59:40and if you cut across in front of him

00:59:41you know he ain't going to stop

00:59:43because he can't.

00:59:44Incredible.

00:59:45But, of course, what this has done

00:59:46is brought out the safety car

00:59:48which for Kimi Räikkönen

00:59:50is unbelievably good.

00:59:53Well, you have to remember guys

00:59:55under the safety car period

00:59:57if he's aware that the safety car is coming out

00:59:59you're not allowed to refuel

01:00:00under the safety car.

01:00:01I wouldn't be at all surprised

01:00:02if he was right on the point

01:00:04of going in for fuel there

01:00:05and his engineers tipped him off

01:00:07don't come in now

01:00:08because if they put the safety car plug out

01:00:10you won't be able to refuel

01:00:11or if we refuel you

01:00:12I mean, you can be refueled

01:00:14the pit lane is open

01:00:15but there'll be a 10 second penalty applied

01:00:17if you do.

01:00:18I think that was absolutely nip and tuck

01:00:21Boy, he was close there, wasn't he?

01:00:22He would have had to go straight to the pit.

01:00:24I'm sure they were screenwriting

01:00:25come in, come in, don't come in.

01:00:30Well, that was messy.

01:00:32Let's listen to Fernando Alonso.

01:00:34Fuel mixture free, fuel mixture free

01:00:36save fuel, save car, save as much fuel as you can

01:00:39save as much fuel as you can, Fernando

01:00:42fuel mixture free.

01:00:44Now, this brings up a very good point

01:00:46because how long is a safety car going to be out?

01:00:48If Räikkönen was right on the point

01:00:50of running out of fuel

01:00:51you've just heard the same being applied

01:00:52to Renault from his engineers

01:00:54these guys are going to be really struggling now

01:00:56to keep going

01:00:58without running out of fuel.

01:00:59As I say, if it gets right to the point

01:01:02where they need to refuel

01:01:03or they will cut out on track

01:01:04you can go into the pits and be refueled

01:01:07but you will have a penalty as a result of that.

01:01:09Timo Glock and Nelson Piquet

01:01:11also have not yet pitted.

01:01:19This situation...

01:01:23Rubber to rubber contact.

01:01:24I mean, David had plenty of room

01:01:26but he just didn't want to let him through.

01:01:28But how much...

01:01:29how did Massa manage to avoid

01:01:31similar collision damage to the car?

01:01:33See, David comes right across there.

01:01:36I mean, we saw the rear of the red bull

01:01:38go right over the front suspension of the Ferrari.

01:01:40I can't believe that suspension is not completely knackered

01:01:42but it didn't seem to be.

01:01:44Look at all the damage it did to the car.

01:01:46Look at all the damage it did to the red bull.

01:01:48The red bull is destroyed.

01:01:50The Ferrari just seems to plod along on its merry way.

01:01:56But just to give a little more explanation

01:01:58when I'm talking about this fuel situation

01:02:00with the safety car.

01:02:01You remember they used to stack the cars up

01:02:03when the safety car was out.

01:02:04There was a mad dash to get into the pits

01:02:06and you would see the teams stacking cars

01:02:09to refuel.

01:02:11Well, to avoid that incident happening

01:02:13again, they've introduced this new rule

01:02:15last year, where when the safety car comes out

01:02:18you're not allowed to be refuelled.

01:02:20The only exception to that is

01:02:21if you're already in the pit lane

01:02:23going to be refuelled when the safety car was deployed

01:02:26well, you are allowed to be refuelled.

01:02:28That is not using the safety car as strategy

01:02:30for refuelling.

01:02:34Hey Robert, currently you are P4.

01:02:37P4.

01:02:38Raikkonen ahead of you

01:02:40but he has not stopped.

01:02:42Raikkonen has not stopped.

01:02:44He's got three more laps.

01:02:46Three more laps of fuel for Heifel.

01:02:48Copy, copy.

01:02:54N4, good buddy.

01:02:55There's a look at the new Mercedes-Benz safety car

01:02:58this year.

01:02:59The newly launched SL63 Roadster from AMG.

01:03:03Near 525 horsepower.

01:03:05Bernd Maylander of Germany remains its driver.

01:03:08We'll be back.

01:03:10Now, if I'm McLaren, I'm telling Eike Kovalainen

01:03:13take your time, keep the Ferrari behind you,

01:03:16let Lewis get away.

01:03:19Looks like Raikkonen just cannot wait.

01:03:22No.

01:03:23But is it for the pit lane or the front straightaway?

01:03:25Safety car is in.

01:03:27The Ferrari stays on track.

01:03:34That's curious.

01:03:36Oh, wow.

01:03:37Oh, wow.

01:03:39Hamilton gets away.

01:03:40Kovalainen doing everything to keep the Ferrari behind him.

01:03:45Oh, boy.

01:03:48Just behind

01:03:49Heidfeld and Rosberg.

01:03:51Boy, Kimi Raikkonen is just incredible.

01:03:55Yep, they got him.

01:03:56Yep.

01:03:57Oh, and off.

01:03:58Outbrakes himself into the gravel.

01:04:00Can he keep it going?

01:04:01Oh.

01:04:04Uh-oh.

01:04:05Oh, that was a brave move.

01:04:06But the tyres were cold after the safety laps.

01:04:10And it just wasn't enough to warm them.

01:04:12Just after getting by Kovalainen.

01:04:15Oh, that's...

01:04:19Well, he's done for now.

01:04:20Coming for the pitch this lap, obviously.

01:04:21Here we see it again.

01:04:22One would think.

01:04:23I mean, it was a terrific effort.

01:04:24He really snooped at him.

01:04:25Boy, just shot by.

01:04:26But just way, way, way over the top.

01:04:31Oh, I tell you what.

01:04:32He was lucky he didn't hit that wall.

01:04:35Here we see it again.

01:04:36Shows him the outside.

01:04:38Look how quickly.

01:04:39Oh, oh, oh, oh.

01:04:41Well, I guess as long as you don't hit the brakes,

01:04:43you're going to go by at a tremendous rate of knots.

01:04:45But sooner or later, you're going to run out of tarmac.

01:04:49Faintheart, never one fair lady.

01:04:51And Massa's got a problem.

01:04:53Massa's with a problem.

01:04:54What's going on with Ferrari?

01:04:56I expect his front suspension's finally given up, because...

01:04:58Well, I wouldn't be at all surprised with that.

01:05:00I don't think it is, but whatever.

01:05:03Is this going to bring the safety car out again?

01:05:05Well, I would think.

01:05:09Probably wondering what they should do.

01:05:20Oh, boy.

01:05:21Things going from bad to worse for Kimi Raikkonen and the Ferrari team.

01:05:27Is it possible?

01:05:29Did you get that fuel stop on Barrichello last time, Steve?

01:05:32I'm wondering if he ran out of fuel.

01:05:40I mean Massa, sorry.

01:05:42Got me.

01:05:43Exactly.

01:05:44So Kimi's good to go with that fuel stop.

01:05:46Kimi's good to go.

01:05:47I think he is.

01:05:49He's probably also fit to be tied.

01:05:52Now, we also have to keep our eyes on Kubica,

01:05:54because he could be in a very strong position as well.

01:05:57If Kubica's got enough fuel to go the rest of the race distance,

01:06:01bearing in mind the number of safety laps they've been running behind the safety car,

01:06:04using about 30% less,

01:06:06who else is off here?

01:06:07Is that one of the Renaults?

01:06:09It is.

01:06:11Is it Piquet?

01:06:12Yes, Piquet.

01:06:15He just...

01:06:16I thought he had pitted...

01:06:18No.

01:06:21Didn't Piquet...

01:06:22Yes, Piquet stopped before we went green.

01:06:25And now his car is parked.

01:06:26He joins Massa, Coulthard, Trulli, Sutil, Weber, Button, Davidson, Vettel, and Fisichella

01:06:32out of the Australian Grand Prix.

01:06:42Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton with his wingman, Henke Kovalainen.

01:06:47Then, Nick Heidfeld of the BMW Sauber, Nico Rosberg of the Williams,

01:06:51Rubens Barrichello's Honda, Sebastian Bordet up to sixth.

01:06:57Kubica seventh, Alonso eighth.

01:07:11Sato comes to a stop from eleventh.

01:07:16Well, he's not their strong point today,

01:07:18because these two guys have stopped twice,

01:07:21so everybody else is going to stop again.

01:07:23They haven't, and they're only like ten seconds out of the lead.

01:07:28And they're cranking in some pretty good laps.

01:07:30There's Sebastian Bordet ahead of the Kubica-Alonso battle,

01:07:33so the Frenchman very much in the thick of things.

01:07:38There's been no word from the stewards that his pit stop under the caution might have been a...

01:07:44Well, they all stopped under the caution.

01:07:47What we're missing with the pit lane thing,

01:07:49I don't think we see a message that...

01:07:51Charlie Whiting puts out a message saying pit lane is open

01:07:54on the timing and scoring screens at the track.

01:07:56But he only does that once all the cars have formed up behind the safety car.

01:08:00So for that initial period, once the safety car's out,

01:08:02you cannot go in and be refueled, as if you do, you'll incur a penalty.

01:08:06Then there's a message given by Charlie Whiting to the teams to say pit lane is open,

01:08:10and we didn't see that.

01:08:11Whiting being the FIA race director.

01:08:14Exactly, yeah, but that would have been displayed to the teams,

01:08:16and that's what brought all the cars in at the same time there.

01:08:19So that's how they get around that, but boy...

01:08:26Boy, I tell you what, Alonso's suddenly come to life.

01:08:29Kubica, who was so quick in qualifying, and now being hounded by Alonso.

01:08:35Kubica on the soft tyres.

01:08:38To Peter Widzer.

01:08:40Well, Bob, just to add to what Steve was saying,

01:08:42what, of course, isn't explained yet is why Ferrari didn't bring Kimi in,

01:08:46because it's pretty obvious he was going to have to stop within a lap or two.

01:08:48His tyres were not fantastic in terms of out-braking people like Heikki Kovalainen.

01:08:53And if you're going to stop, it's much better to stop in the pit lane

01:08:55when the field's going slowly behind the safety car than when they're going at race speed,

01:08:58so I still don't understand what that strategy was.

01:09:02There's our pit counter back.

01:09:0325 laps to go early in the second half of this race.

01:09:11Oh, there's the Osbournes.

01:09:12Kelly and Jack.

01:09:14And she knows she's on television.

01:09:17I don't recall her being so shy.

01:09:20She's never been on the telly before.

01:09:22Oh, yes, she has.

01:09:25Oh, boy.

01:09:26Alonso.

01:09:27Oh, look at him squirming under braking in the turbulent air behind the Sauber ahead of him.

01:09:33So the BMW suddenly seems...

01:09:34Kubica's BMW seems to be a bit off the pace.

01:09:37I mean, he's got the soft tyres,

01:09:40and he's having a job to keep up with Sebastien Bordet,

01:09:43so they could be graining.

01:09:45Mr. Kumasato walking in.

01:09:5311 cars remain circulating of the 22 starters.

01:09:5650% attrition thus far on a blistering hot day in Melbourne.

01:10:02We'll be back to the Australian Grand Prix.

01:10:08Welcome back live in the office with Lewis Hamilton leading by 4.7 seconds

01:10:13in the Australian Formula One Grand Prix over his McLaren teammate, Heikki Kovalainen of Finland.

01:10:19Here comes the Finn.

01:10:20Behind him, the white machine, BMW Sauber of Nick Heidfeld,

01:10:24followed by Nico Rosberg and Rubens Barrichello,

01:10:27and then an interesting group of drivers

01:10:29who could figure in the podium finishes of this race,

01:10:32depending on how the pit stops play out.

01:10:34Sebastien Bordet in his Formula One debut is sixth,

01:10:37Robert Kubica seventh, and Fernando Alonso eighth.

01:10:40And those are the three cars you're looking at now.

01:10:42That's Sebastien Bordet.

01:10:45They've all done with their stops.

01:10:48Kovalainen, Hamilton, Heidfeld and Rosberg.

01:10:51More importantly, they've got to stop.

01:10:53Hamilton, of course, is pulling away at a fairly good lick.

01:10:55He's now got a 22-second lead on Sebastien Bordet.

01:11:02If Bordet can hold on, just score points.

01:11:04Just finished in the top eight positions.

01:11:06Oh, it'll be remarkable.

01:11:07Yep.

01:11:08Absolutely remarkable.

01:11:09He'll be the first man to score points in his Formula One debut

01:11:12since his teammate, the other Sebastien Vettel,

01:11:15who did it, of course, last year

01:11:17at the U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis

01:11:19when he finished eighth,

01:11:20substituting for Robert Kubica

01:11:22after the Poles' big accident in the Canadian Grand Prix.

01:11:25Well, Hamilton scored points in his first Grand Prix.

01:11:28Well, of course he did.

01:11:30And I thought that was such a good start.

01:11:32Well, yeah.

01:11:35How about this one?

01:11:36We've lost 11 of our 22 starters

01:11:38even of all the 11 cars still circulating finish.

01:11:41It'll be the fewest finishers in any race

01:11:44since the 06 U.S. Grand Prix when nine finished.

01:11:47Wow.

01:11:49Looking at the front brakes on the Renault,

01:11:51we're not seeing that in shot now,

01:11:52but there's a lot of afterglow on the brakes.

01:11:54After Alonso comes off the brake,

01:11:56the brake discs themselves are keeping their heat for a long while,

01:12:00which is indicative that they're suffering heavy wear,

01:12:04which we'd expect around here anyway.

01:12:06But I hope for Alonso and Renault's sake

01:12:08that the car holds together.

01:12:10The other car's doing similar,

01:12:12but not as much as I've seen coming off the Renault.

01:12:14There's a very bright orange glow on the inside of the rims.

01:12:17Wait a minute, David. That stat was OK.

01:12:20Lewis Hamilton scored points in his Grand Prix debut,

01:12:22but that was here a year ago.

01:12:24Vettel did it at Indianapolis in June.

01:12:28So he is the most recent man to score points.

01:12:30Well, the most recent man.

01:12:31Well, yes.

01:12:32Don't you listen to the entire sentence?

01:12:34Ever?

01:12:35Well, I tend to tune you out a bit,

01:12:38but I know what you mean.

01:12:41Kimi Räikkönen head down an 11th spot.

01:12:44That off has cost him dearly,

01:12:46and he'll be lucky to score points.

01:12:50Ferrari getting off to the most gruesome start for the...

01:12:53Whoa!

01:12:54There's old Sébastien Bordet having a bit of a twitch there.

01:12:57Well, all of a sudden,

01:12:58Bordet can't quite believe what's happening to him,

01:13:00I don't think.

01:13:01He didn't expect to be in this position.

01:13:03What do I do now?

01:13:04He's had a good first race with Rossi.

01:13:06He's won a lot of races.

01:13:07He knows what to do now,

01:13:08but his car is looking very twitchy.

01:13:11Peter Windsor.

01:13:13Thanks, Bob.

01:13:14Yes, that's an update on that retirement for Toyota's Jarno Trulli.

01:13:17Quite early in the race,

01:13:18he felt his seat beneath him hotter than it should have been.

01:13:23He wasn't quite sure what it was coming from,

01:13:25but it got worse and worse and worse,

01:13:26and then the engine started to lose power,

01:13:28and it was pretty obvious it was some sort of battery problem.

01:13:30And indeed, to use his words,

01:13:32he then basically exploded,

01:13:33and he lost all electricity.

01:13:35So this apparently happened a little bit over the window,

01:13:37so very frustrating and very hot,

01:13:39and very annoyed Jarno Trulli.

01:13:42That's what they call a hot bot.

01:13:45Yes, indeed.

01:13:48Pit stops still to come,

01:13:49and they will be key,

01:13:50as Lewis Hamilton has a gap of 28.4 seconds

01:13:55over 6th place Sebastian Bordet.

01:13:58Hamilton, lap after lap at 1 minute 27.

01:14:02Nobody else in that zone.

01:14:05We'll be back after the break here on Speed.

01:14:18Welcome back.

01:14:1918 laps to go in the Australian Grand Prix.

01:14:21First round of the 2008 Formula 1 season live here on Speed.

01:14:25David Hofstede-Matchett and Peter Windsor,

01:14:27I'm Bob Varsha.

01:14:28While we were in break,

01:14:29Lewis Hamilton reset fast lap.

01:14:33Come on, mate.

01:14:34Try and have a go at him.

01:14:38It's been a while since Fernando Alonso has heard that.

01:14:41Yeah.

01:14:42Well, he just was having a go a few moments ago.

01:14:45Look at this.

01:14:46When he comes out of this corner,

01:14:47you watch Fernando Alonso.

01:14:48That is El Twitcho.

01:14:56Which, of course, is Spanish for very twitchy.

01:15:02Lewis Hamilton leads Heikki Govalainen by 6 seconds now.

01:15:08Nick Heidfeld, third.

01:15:09Nico Rosberg, fourth.

01:15:10Rubens Barrichello, fifth.

01:15:11Sebastian Bordet, sixth.

01:15:13Robert Kubic is seventh.

01:15:14Alonso, eighth.

01:15:16Then Kaz Nakajima, Timo Glock, and Kimi Raikkonen,

01:15:1948 seconds behind Hamilton.

01:15:22Two and a half seconds behind Glock.

01:15:26And at this point, a non-factor.

01:15:30Alonso surely must have to pit again to put those

01:15:35soft tyres on the car, yeah.

01:15:40Why he's taking the fight now.

01:15:44Now we're pretty sure that Rosberg,

01:15:45who we're looking at now,

01:15:46and Heidfeld, who's just in front of him,

01:15:48we're pretty sure they're going to have to stop again.

01:15:52So they'll probably drop out,

01:15:53which could put Barrichello into third spot.

01:16:00This is Kimi Raikkonen trying to track down Timo Glock.

01:16:03Let's get more on Bordet with Peter Windsor.

01:16:07Well, yeah, back at the Toro Rosso garage here, Bob.

01:16:10The news is that they've done a fantastic job,

01:16:12similar to Takumu Sato in the Canadian Grand Prix last year.

01:16:15They got rid of their stint on the soft tyre

01:16:17during the safety car.

01:16:18So Sebastian Bordet, good to go now.

01:16:20He does not need to stop again.

01:16:23If you weren't with us for the Canadian Grand Prix last year,

01:16:25Takumu Sato came in,

01:16:27changed to the option tyre under the safety car,

01:16:31did a lap, came in, changed again,

01:16:33topped up with fuel,

01:16:35wound up with a good finish.

01:16:38Kimi Raikkonen deciding he's not going to come

01:16:40from 100 yards back into that same corner this time.

01:16:45So Barrichello could end up on the podium

01:16:48and Sebastian Bordet could be right behind him

01:16:51in fourth spot.

01:16:56Well, typically the Australian Grand Prix,

01:16:58because it's the first Grand Prix of the year,

01:17:00always, you know, tends to bring,

01:17:01I won't say always, it tends to bring up odd ball results.

01:17:05You know, typically it's due to reliability,

01:17:07but I just can't, you know,

01:17:10Bordet must be absolutely amazed at his position in this race.

01:17:14Barrichello doing a fantastic job for Honda.

01:17:17For the first time since I can recall,

01:17:18the second and third place cars of Henke Kovalainen

01:17:21and Nick Heidfeld were faster on that lap

01:17:24than race leader Lewis Hamilton.

01:17:27Rubens Barrichello, who this season will become,

01:17:31barring disaster,

01:17:33the most experienced Formula One driver of all time,

01:17:36passing Riccardo Petrezzi's

01:17:38once considered unapproachable record

01:17:40of 256 Formula One starts.

01:17:44It's pretty staggering, isn't it?

01:17:49Now, Kimi Räikkönen determined to get past

01:17:52Timo Bloch in the Toyota.

01:17:55But the Toyota definitely showing a lot more sign of performance,

01:17:58and we know that Jarno Trulli dropped out,

01:18:00but he was running very strongly.

01:18:01I mean, they're looking much better than they've looked before.

01:18:04And, of course, the BMWs again.

01:18:06Whoa!

01:18:08Kimi!

01:18:10He did that in qualifying.

01:18:12When he brakes, I mean, he's using all the road,

01:18:14which obviously you've got to do that.

01:18:16And you run right to the edge.

01:18:17But he keeps putting his brakes on,

01:18:18with his wheels off the road on the grass.

01:18:20Well, that's no way, you know, it doesn't work that.

01:18:22Hamilton is in from the lead.

01:18:25A six-second lead over teammate Kovalainen.

01:18:35It's going to be quick,

01:18:36like four and a half seconds of fuel.

01:18:39Well, fuel nozzles out.

01:18:41Wow, Kovalainen just reset fast.

01:18:44Wow, Kovalainen just reset fast lap,

01:18:46took it from Hamilton with a 27.418.

01:18:50Nico Rosberg pits as well.

01:18:53Oh, wow, he's going to get beaten to the line here

01:18:55by Rubens Barrichello.

01:18:59That's the last guy who wants to be in front of it.

01:19:02We think Rubens Barrichello's got to pit again,

01:19:04but he's also extremely difficult to overtake,

01:19:07as Kimi Raikkonen found out.

01:19:09Well, Hamilton has a reputation as a ruthless passer.

01:19:13Let's see what he can do

01:19:14with Rubens Barrichello in the Honda.

01:19:21So Hamilton's now down in fifth spot

01:19:23behind Rubens Barrichello,

01:19:25Kimi Raikkonen starting all over again

01:19:27to wind Timo Glock in.

01:19:30Boy, oh boy, what a dis...

01:19:31Here we go, look, see,

01:19:32he goes to outbrake him, look.

01:19:34He gets right up on the grass,

01:19:35and you can't brake with two wheels on the grass

01:19:37and two on the asphalt.

01:19:38But not much on the grass.

01:19:40Well, again, that traction control

01:19:42probably would have helped in the old days.

01:19:44Yeah.

01:19:47Without the computer

01:19:48to help keep the car stable at the back.

01:19:50Well, of course, the big thing is that you've got...

01:19:52We keep on saying we've lost engine braking.

01:19:54We've actually got more engine braking

01:19:56than we've ever had before,

01:19:57because when you lift off now,

01:19:58the engine does its job and slows the car down.

01:20:01Right.

01:20:02Where in the old days,

01:20:03your computer kept the wheels from locking.

01:20:07Right.

01:20:08And I can't believe that

01:20:11Kovalainen won't be right behind him.

01:20:14Soft tyres off.

01:20:17Send him, boys.

01:20:23Whoa!

01:20:25Timo Glock.

01:20:26That's going to bring a safety car out.

01:20:28Definitely bring a safety car out.

01:20:30Oh, wow.

01:20:31That will.

01:20:33Do you know, and I wouldn't be surprised at all

01:20:35if that's why Hamilton pitted a little earlier.

01:20:37He got a reasonable gap,

01:20:38and we've seen time and time again

01:20:40safety car out in this race,

01:20:41the Australian Grand Prix,

01:20:42safety cars deployed.

01:20:44If he hadn't have pitted,

01:20:46if he'd have waited a little bit longer,

01:20:48he would have been caught out by this safety car period.

01:20:50I wouldn't be at all surprised

01:20:51if that's what McLaren and Hamilton were thinking.

01:20:57Boy, oh boy.

01:20:59That was a big wreck.

01:21:00Here comes the safety car

01:21:01for the third time in this race.

01:21:03I think that was on the golf course sweeper.

01:21:06It was either that or the sort of hill sweeper.

01:21:09Now, again, remember,

01:21:10once this safety car's deployed,

01:21:12it is now...

01:21:14Glock is not getting out quickly.

01:21:19I think he's OK.

01:21:21There's a lot of debris coming off the car,

01:21:23but not a...

01:21:24Well...

01:21:25No sudden stopping.

01:21:26No, exactly.

01:21:27Not a big sudden impact stop.

01:21:30Got over on the grass creek,

01:21:31then onto the grass.

01:21:33Oh!

01:21:34That's where Adrian Sutil had a big one in qualifying,

01:21:38and that was an even bigger one.

01:21:41Yeah, you see,

01:21:42there was a lot of bits coming off the car,

01:21:44but there's no...

01:21:45That's something that needs to be done for next year,

01:21:47that horrible step.

01:21:48You know what?

01:21:49She gets onto the grass.

01:21:50You have every right to expect

01:21:51there's not a great big ditch like that to hit.

01:21:54Oh, my gosh.

01:21:55You're right, David.

01:21:56That shouldn't be there.

01:21:57No.

01:21:58That's what happened to Michael Schumacher two years ago,

01:22:00coming onto the straight,

01:22:01and that's been all ironed out.

01:22:04That's Timo Glatt walking away, so...

01:22:07Barrichello pits from...

01:22:08Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

01:22:10Oh, no!

01:22:12Oh, God.

01:22:13How many times have you done that, Rubens?

01:22:16Well, we don't know what happened.

01:22:17I may be speaking out of order

01:22:19to say that the chief mechanic

01:22:20probably lifted the lollipop too early.

01:22:22Oh, Lord.

01:22:25Barrichello left under the red light as well.

01:22:28He was probably looking at his rear-view mirrors.

01:22:30You know, I remember what we were talking about earlier on

01:22:33under this first stage of the safety car period

01:22:36until the message is displayed

01:22:38that the pit lane is open.

01:22:39A, you're not allowed to refuel the car,

01:22:41but if the red light is on

01:22:43when the safety car is about to cross...

01:22:45Yeah, the fuel hose did not come out.

01:22:47Oh, the fuel is still plugged in.

01:22:49Oh, yeah, absolutely.

01:22:50Did they raise the lollipop?

01:22:52They raised the lollipop.

01:22:53Now, Alistair Gibson,

01:22:54our friend at Honda from previous years,

01:22:56has retired as the chief mechanic,

01:22:58but he is in the team trying to...

01:23:02That's fuel coming out of the rig, guys.

01:23:04That's fuel coming out of the rig.

01:23:05Alistair Gibson is on the right rear during this race

01:23:10trying to train the new chief mechanic

01:23:13of how to operate in a pit,

01:23:15so it wouldn't be Alistair Gibson

01:23:16on the brakes on board there.

01:23:18Boy, what a disaster for Honda.

01:23:20Oh, my gosh.

01:23:21Not what you expect with Ross Brawn there either.

01:23:26Now, here is Barrichello

01:23:28leaving the pit lane against the red light.

01:23:31Can't do that, boys.

01:23:32That's a DQ.

01:23:34Fisichella and Massa were black flagged

01:23:37and disqualified from the race for doing exactly that.

01:23:39At the top of the show, if you remember,

01:23:41Felipe Massa said,

01:23:42a few things went wrong last year, like Canada.

01:23:45What he really meant was

01:23:46he couldn't see a red light.

01:23:48I made a mistake in Canada last year.

01:23:50Yeah, I made a terrible mistake in Canada last night

01:23:52because I didn't stop when the light was red.

01:23:54Watch Timo Glock,

01:23:55just where he reaches the pavement here.

01:23:57Oh, that is a terrible bump.

01:23:58They're going to have to do that.

01:24:00Wow.

01:24:01Boy, that must have given him...

01:24:03When that car hit the floor there,

01:24:05that would be a tremendous shock right through him.

01:24:07Right through the base of the spine.

01:24:09Oh, yeah.

01:24:12Yeah.

01:24:13But he was so, so lucky not to hit the wall.

01:24:16Yeah.

01:24:17That was the impact I was worried about.

01:24:19And that's a lot of debris there scattered around.

01:24:22Kimi Räikkönen rocketed through in his Ferrari.

01:24:26Well, 12 cars now out of the Australian Grand Prix.

01:24:30Barrichello will make it 13 when he's black flagged.

01:24:56So hold on.

01:24:58We're about to light it up.

01:25:03Welcome back.

01:25:05Behind the safety car with 12 laps remaining

01:25:08in the Australian Grand Prix,

01:25:10a race that has been about as chaotic

01:25:13as last year's Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji in the rain.

01:25:16As it ever, Bob.

01:25:17A little earlier on, we saw this time on screen

01:25:20the graphic from the FIA FOM saying pit lane open,

01:25:23which is a signal that the guys can dive into the pits.

01:25:26And there they go.

01:25:27We didn't see that on the first safety car period,

01:25:29which gave a little bit of confusion

01:25:31about the potential penalties.

01:25:32But there is definitely a situation,

01:25:35incident under investigation for Rubens Barrichello.

01:25:38We've seen that graphic on display.

01:25:40Kovalainen.

01:25:41Kovalainen pits, Alonso pits.

01:25:44It may well be in Barrichello's case

01:25:46that he was really right on the point of running out of fuel

01:25:50and was prepared to take the penalty.

01:25:52Had to take the penalty for risk of running out of fuel.

01:25:54But I must say apologies from me to Rubens Barrichello.

01:25:57That was all down to the pit crew.

01:26:00The new guy on the brakes on board lifted the board away.

01:26:03Rubens did exactly as he's told to do, trained to do,

01:26:06hit the gas and left.

01:26:07And unfortunately, the refueling hose was still on board.

01:26:10Here it is.

01:26:11Keep your eye on this guy right here.

01:26:13The brakes on board lifted out the way.

01:26:15Awful.

01:26:16This guy right here still working on the car.

01:26:19Rubens Barrichello absolutely had nothing to do with that.

01:26:22He was just doing exactly what he's trained to do.

01:26:24Disaster for the new chief mechanic at Honda.

01:26:27It's not his job to look in the mirror.

01:26:29His job is to look at that brakes on board.

01:26:31And when it moves, he moves.

01:26:33It's just like a hair trigger.

01:26:34If he looked in the mirror,

01:26:35all he'd see is some of the 16 or 17 bodies

01:26:38who descend on the Formula One cars at a pit stop.

01:26:41But all of that aside,

01:26:42then to actually get out of,

01:26:44to attempt to leave the pit lane with a red light on,

01:26:47that'll kill his race, I'm sure.

01:26:48That's why there'll be a black flag for that.

01:26:50We expect the Mercedes-Benz safety car in.

01:26:53As you see, the order is Hamilton,

01:26:55Heidfeld, Barrichello.

01:26:57For now, Rosberg, Bordet, Kubica, Nakajima,

01:27:00Raikkonen, Kovalainen, and Alonso.

01:27:03The only cars remaining.

01:27:04Those ten.

01:27:07Boy, Raikkonen's lucked out with that, hasn't he?

01:27:09Now he's in front of Kovalainen.

01:27:11Kovalainen's going to have a heck of a job

01:27:12to get around him in 11 laps.

01:27:19Not hard to differentiate the sound of that big Mercedes V8

01:27:23in these 2.4 liter Formula One engines.

01:27:36Ron Dennis looking on.

01:27:38He has announced to the press this weekend

01:27:40that he intends to stay on as team principal at McLaren,

01:27:44at least for this year.

01:27:45There were many rumors

01:27:46that Ron Dennis might step down last week,

01:27:49but he did not.

01:27:51Sun going to be a problem for these guys

01:27:53as they come down into Turn 1 now.

01:27:54Very, very glary.

01:27:57Car number 17.

01:27:5910 second penalty for refueling under the safety car period.

01:28:03But I think that's the least of his troubles

01:28:05because we saw him quite clearly leave the pit lane under red.

01:28:09So I think I wouldn't be at all surprised

01:28:11if we see another graphic in a little while

01:28:13come up saying that we black flagged.

01:28:15Kubica in and Nakajima.

01:28:22Oh, damage. No wing on the car.

01:28:24No wing. Front wing.

01:28:27Oh, they weren't ready for that.

01:28:29Oh, Robert Kubica's day has come terribly unraveled.

01:28:31I mean, he was such a running qualifying.

01:28:34Take it easy, boys.

01:28:35The BMW crew was ready.

01:28:36The Williams crew was not.

01:28:39Did I see someone at the back

01:28:40giving the old throat slash

01:28:42saying, cut it off.

01:28:46I think he's been told he's done.

01:28:50Yes, he is.

01:28:54Behind the safety car?

01:28:56How's that possible?

01:29:00Somebody warming their tires,

01:29:01not paying attention.

01:29:02Yeah, exactly.

01:29:03He'll be mad. He'll be mad.

01:29:07Oh, that wing's not on.

01:29:09Well, he ran over somebody then, didn't he?

01:29:11I think maybe the gun.

01:29:12Maybe the wheel gun.

01:29:16Wow, we're talking about chaotic race.

01:29:18Meanwhile.

01:29:19Oh, my God.

01:29:24And they both got around Kimi Räikkönen.

01:29:31Rubens Barrichello is pitting for his 10 second penalty.

01:29:37There he is.

01:29:39Uh-oh.

01:29:43Now, that's Alistair Gibson

01:29:46with the brakes on board there.

01:29:47Oh, that clutch.

01:29:49I loved that.

01:29:50Screaming, like, come on, Ike.

01:29:52How can you let Alonso get by that?

01:29:55So now it's Hamilton, Heidfeld, Rosberg, Bourdais.

01:29:59What a debut for Sebastian Bourdais.

01:30:01Alonso, Kovalainen, Räikkönen, Barrichello.

01:30:05Oh.

01:30:06Kovalainen passed Räikkönen.

01:30:08And so he got by.

01:30:09And then Alonso got...

01:30:10How did Alonso do that?

01:30:15Oh, there's Nakajima taking his own wing off.

01:30:20And that's right out in the middle of the racetrack.

01:30:23How did Kubica have his problem?

01:30:27Let's see if it happens out in front of us here.

01:30:29Is everybody...

01:30:30Oh, yeah, there it was.

01:30:32As they accordioned up.

01:30:34Kubica got on the gas too soon.

01:30:39Yeah.

01:30:40Dear boy.

01:30:44Well, this gives new meaning to the phrase

01:30:46knocking off the rust.

01:30:48Oh, my God.

01:30:53And like that race at Fuji last year,

01:30:55while all about him were losing their minds,

01:30:58Lewis Hamilton...

01:30:59Well, at least it did not rain.

01:31:01At least in that race,

01:31:03it was absolutely torrential rain.

01:31:05I mean, that was a very different kettle of fish from this.

01:31:08I mean, you know, nobody could see anything

01:31:10and half the drivers wanted the race to be stopped.

01:31:13And I mean, that was extraordinary circumstance.

01:31:16This is just...

01:31:17Chaos.

01:31:18Chaos.

01:31:19Well, I suppose just lack of practice, you know.

01:31:20But I mean, Alonso is going to get around Bordet.

01:31:23We got a battle of champions now.

01:31:25Four-time Champ Car World Series champion,

01:31:27Sebastian Bordet,

01:31:28with two-time Formula One world champion,

01:31:31Fernando Alonso behind him.

01:31:32Boy, Alonso is trying hard.

01:31:34That was him getting off the road up ahead.

01:31:36Well, I still don't know how McLaren managed to get

01:32:04Kovalainen back here in the first place.

01:32:07It's just...

01:32:08Well, I mean,

01:32:09one minute he's swanning along in second spot,

01:32:11ten seconds clear of anybody else.

01:32:13The next minute, he comes out of the pits

01:32:15when the flag drops after the safety car

01:32:17and he's back in like ninth spot.

01:32:20And of course, the problem with that is,

01:32:21like Lewis Hamilton has been in the front all the time,

01:32:23so you're out of all this flack and trouble

01:32:26and you don't get people rushing into you

01:32:28and crashing into you,

01:32:29which just shows how important qualifying is.

01:32:35Of course, Patrick Head's idea now, of course,

01:32:37is to reverse the grid,

01:32:39so that would be good, wouldn't it?

01:32:41Well, it seems to me in all this confusion

01:32:43that the stewards' eyes have been everywhere,

01:32:45but they seem to have missed that red light incident

01:32:47with Barrichello

01:32:48because we've still not seen any notification

01:32:50about that from the stewards.

01:32:52It looks like he's touched a bullet.

01:32:55Well, we've got one more break

01:32:57before the chequered flag.

01:32:58Stick around.

01:32:59Lewis Hamilton has led

01:33:00all but five laps of the race thus far

01:33:03and the chequered flag is coming.

01:33:08Welcome back.

01:33:09Six laps to go,

01:33:10five next time by the flag stand

01:33:12for race leader Lewis Hamilton

01:33:16here at the Australian Grand Prix.

01:33:18With Peter Windsor, David Hobbs, and Steve Matchett,

01:33:20I'm Bob Varsha.

01:33:21There is your race leader, Hamilton.

01:33:22Nick Heidfeld is second for BMW Sauber.

01:33:25Nico Rosberg looking for his first podium.

01:33:28That'll be a big relief for the Williams-Toyota team.

01:33:31Sebastian Bordet in fourth right there.

01:33:33If he can hold on to it,

01:33:34will match his teammate Sebastian Vettel

01:33:36for the best ever finish

01:33:38for a Scuderia-Toro Rosso car.

01:33:40Boy, oh boy, he's getting under pressure now.

01:33:42Here comes Rubens Barrichello.

01:33:44He's down 15 seconds off Raikkonen,

01:33:47but he's in eighth spot,

01:33:48so still getting a point.

01:33:53Raikkonen doing 34s, mid-34s.

01:33:56You will catch him if you can do 31s, 31s.

01:33:5931s.

01:34:03Because Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari

01:34:05is emitting a horrible engine note.

01:34:08Whoa!

01:34:10Alonso's car,

01:34:11he's, I tell you what,

01:34:12Alonso has driven like the world champion he is today.

01:34:15That car is very, very squirrely.

01:34:20He was unable to qualify it very well,

01:34:22and it's just,

01:34:23boy, we've seen him really, really

01:34:25under pressure this afternoon from that car.

01:34:27I wonder if he's having a resumption

01:34:29of that differential problem

01:34:31that he suffered in qualifying.

01:34:36Flavia Briatore looking on.

01:34:40I don't know, Bob.

01:34:41I can't speak to him.

01:34:45But Kovalainen has the fastest lap of the race,

01:34:48a 27.418.

01:34:51Hamilton's best lap was a 27.457

01:34:54or something, so pretty close.

01:34:58Boy, credit Sebastian Bourdais.

01:35:00I mean, these guys are behind him.

01:35:02He's put a bit of daylight between himself and Alonso.

01:35:04He has.

01:35:05Again.

01:35:07At this point, Bourdais

01:35:10will give Ferrari its best finish of the day.

01:35:13All four Red Bull,

01:35:14the Red Bull,

01:35:15the official Red Bull team.

01:35:16Whoa, here he goes!

01:35:18Alonso really making life difficult now.

01:35:20I don't think Alonso's car is right.

01:35:22It's not.

01:35:23Uh-oh.

01:35:24I mean, it's not as healthy as it was

01:35:26a few laps ago.

01:35:30Well, he's on the soft tires,

01:35:32and it may be very hard on the soft tires, his car.

01:35:35Looking across the bottom of the screen.

01:35:37He's bound and determined

01:35:39not to let a McLaren get by him.

01:35:42Or the other one.

01:35:49We have nine cars remaining in the race.

01:35:51The point scorers plus one.

01:35:53Plus one.

01:35:57As I was saying, eight cars still remaining.

01:35:59So Barrichello is going to get a couple of points.

01:36:02Is this a fuel pressure problem,

01:36:04just like the qualifying issue?

01:36:05I wonder.

01:36:10No smoke in the air,

01:36:11no oil coming out behind.

01:36:12Left a trail of oil.

01:36:14I don't think there's any

01:36:17damage to the fin.

01:36:18Just rolled into pit lane.

01:36:21I don't think there's any fire in the hall.

01:36:23Boy, Ferrari just having a desperate start

01:36:26to the 2008 season.

01:36:27Coming off world champions,

01:36:28both for the driver and constructors.

01:36:30Rubens Barrichello now takes up spot.

01:36:34Now, what are we going to see here?

01:36:36Oops.

01:36:37Well, what are we showing that for

01:36:39at this stage of the race?

01:36:40Have the stewards suddenly got hold of it?

01:36:42The international feed has finally picked up on that.

01:36:45Oh, look at this now.

01:36:46Kovalainen all over.

01:36:47Alonso, Alonso.

01:36:49Just making it very difficult.

01:36:51Like I said,

01:36:52when we had a look at this track

01:36:54on board with Lewis Hamilton,

01:36:55this is not an easy track to overtake on

01:36:57because it moves all the time,

01:37:00which makes it very challenging,

01:37:01but also very difficult to overtake.

01:37:07This brings up a scoring nuance.

01:37:08If Rubens Barrichello winds up getting

01:37:11disqualified from a points-paying position,

01:37:14that will toss a point in the direction of

01:37:16Kimi Raikkonen.

01:37:17It will.

01:37:18There's that red glow from the brake again.

01:37:20Did you see that on the Renault?

01:37:21Well, there's a lot of brake dust

01:37:23coming out during the pit stops by everybody,

01:37:25but the Renault does seem to be

01:37:27carrying more heat in the front brakes

01:37:29than they want to.

01:37:30That said, with three laps to go.

01:37:32Oh, smoke!

01:37:33That's out of board.

01:37:34No!

01:37:35No!

01:37:36No!

01:37:37No!

01:37:38Cool fate, man.

01:37:42He could still score a point

01:37:43if Barrichello's disqualified.

01:37:45Oh, a desperate two laps to go.

01:37:49Well, Sebastian, welcome to Formula One.

01:37:54And that means,

01:37:55of the six Ferrari engines in this race,

01:37:58a grand total of zero will finish.

01:38:02Well, you've done everything

01:38:04that could have been expected of you more there, son.

01:38:06Yeah, he's done a very, very, very good job.

01:38:09I think that all four Red Bulls,

01:38:11I was saying earlier on,

01:38:12you're going to see the old house poof

01:38:14and a big poof of...

01:38:17There it goes.

01:38:18Ouch.

01:38:19Left bank.

01:38:20Starts to chew itself up.

01:38:22That has done blowed up.

01:38:27How unbelievably disappointing.

01:38:30But in all of this attrition,

01:38:32keep in mind,

01:38:33these guys are racing again in a week.

01:38:36Yeah.

01:38:37Thousands of miles away in Malaysia.

01:38:39The old mechanics are going to have

01:38:41And there's Raikkonen walking in.

01:38:43There's the dimster.

01:38:44You may get a point out of this yet.

01:38:46Striding back to have a convivial conversation with the team.

01:38:50Who, of course, will maybe ask him

01:38:52why he went off the road a couple of times.

01:38:54Unbelievable.

01:38:55I'll tell you what,

01:38:56old Kovalainen is quicker than Alonso

01:38:59in three or four spots,

01:39:00but unfortunately,

01:39:01he's not quicker in the right spots.

01:39:04Well, he's not quicker in the right spots.

01:39:07It's the old over-under.

01:39:11Well done, well done, well done.

01:39:13That's it.

01:39:14Stick it to him.

01:39:16Good man.

01:39:20But I tell you what,

01:39:21to be fair,

01:39:23we know that McLaren,

01:39:24he's got the fast lap of the race.

01:39:25They're now first and second.

01:39:26Is he giving up?

01:39:28He's got a problem.

01:39:29He must have a problem.

01:39:31Was there a yellow flag?

01:39:33No.

01:39:35This is the final lap of the race.

01:39:38Oh, my goodness.

01:39:39What on earth happened there?

01:39:41Do you think the race was over?

01:39:43He might have done.

01:39:45Oh.

01:39:46Because whatever.

01:39:48I mean, the McLaren we know

01:39:49is the class of the field at the moment.

01:39:51Let's have another look.

01:39:52Here's the pass,

01:39:53as he takes the lead.

01:39:55Oh, my goodness.

01:39:56Oh, my goodness.

01:39:57Oh, my goodness.

01:39:58Oh, my goodness.

01:39:59Oh, my goodness.

01:40:00Oh, my goodness.

01:40:01Oh, my goodness.

01:40:02Oh, my goodness.

01:40:03Here's the pass,

01:40:04as he takes the position away initially.

01:40:06No sign of any yellow flags.

01:40:08I mean, this was a great pass.

01:40:10Very well judged.

01:40:11Look at Alonso

01:40:12trying to put the blocker on there.

01:40:14That's all clean.

01:40:16Now, Ron loves that.

01:40:18He needs something to smile about these days.

01:40:20Yeah.

01:40:21Look at that now.

01:40:23But what is this?

01:40:24I don't know.

01:40:25Well, he can't think the race is over

01:40:27because he didn't get the start finish.

01:40:29Something must have gone wrong.

01:40:30It must have just lost...

01:40:33Meanwhile, final corner for Lewis Hamilton.

01:40:38A dominating performance

01:40:40nearly eclipsed by the chaos

01:40:42of the Australian Grand Prix.

01:40:44But Lewis Hamilton will open his attempt

01:40:47at the 2008 World Championship

01:40:49with a win from pole.

01:40:52Nick Heidfeld second.

01:40:54Nico Rosberg picks up his first career podium in third.

01:40:59Nakajima's a lap down,

01:41:00but he will score points for the Williams-Toyota team.

01:41:03Fernando Alonso, fourth.

01:41:06And we'll have to wait to find out

01:41:08what happened to Heikki Kovalainen

01:41:10who finishes fifth.

01:41:12Unofficially, Rubens Barrichello in sixth.

01:41:17Followed by Nakajima and Sebastian Bourdais

01:41:20despite the fact that he will not see

01:41:22his first Formula 1 checkered flag.

01:41:27Look at the Williams boys.

01:41:28That was a great run for Nico Rosberg.

01:41:30There's no doubt about it.

01:41:31But it was a fantastic run for Lewis Hamilton.

01:41:34We really didn't speak much about Lewis Hamilton

01:41:36because we never saw much of him.

01:41:37Exactly.

01:41:38I mean, as you said, Bob,

01:41:40all that chaos going around

01:41:41and people throwing their cars off the road.

01:41:43Kimi Räikkönen driving up a couple of times.

01:41:46Felipe Massa running right over the top of Coulthard.

01:41:48Although I think that was mostly Coulthard's fault.

01:41:51All sorts of diabolical action going on.

01:41:54Fantastic job, guys.

01:41:56The car was incredible.

01:41:58The car was incredible.

01:41:59It was a breeze.

01:42:00Thank you very much.

01:42:03OK, Lewis.

01:42:04That was...

01:42:05That's pretty good.

01:42:06Normal service has been resumed.

01:42:08Another 17 races like that.

01:42:10And...

01:42:11Be sweet.

01:42:12Well done.

01:42:13Great job.

01:42:14OK, Lewis.

01:42:16Another 17 races like that.

01:42:18It would be, yeah.

01:42:19Well...

01:42:20I don't think I can cope with that.

01:42:22He did drive an absolutely impeccable race.

01:42:25There are your unofficial results.

01:42:26We still don't know what's going to happen

01:42:28to Rubens Barrichello.

01:42:29And consider Kaz Nakajima.

01:42:31His father, Satoru, also scored his first career points

01:42:35in his second Grand Prix start

01:42:37in Ibella, Italy, in 1987.

01:42:39Congratulations to the Nakajima family.

01:42:42We'll be back.

01:42:45Speed's coverage of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship

01:42:48is brought to you by Mazda.

01:42:50On any given weekend,

01:42:51there are more Mazdas road race than any other brand.

01:42:56Welcome back.

01:42:58There you see the Constructors' Championship standings

01:43:01on your screen.

01:43:02And look at place 8.

01:43:03For the first time in 16 years,

01:43:06Ferrari missed picking up a single point

01:43:09in a Formula 1 season opener.

01:43:11Wow.

01:43:12That is a long time, isn't it?

01:43:14And there's Nico Rosberg.

01:43:16Big moment for this guy.

01:43:20Nick Heidfeld.

01:43:22Getting BMW Sauber off to a good start.

01:43:24His teammate is probably talking to himself.

01:43:28Robert Kubica had a great race going.

01:43:31And there is the winner from pole,

01:43:33leading all but five of the 58 laps.

01:43:38Lewis Hamilton.

01:43:45Don't fence me in.

01:43:54And giving validity to the open wheel ladder

01:43:57leading to Formula 1,

01:43:59our podium will feature two GP2 champions

01:44:04and one Nick Heidfeld

01:44:06from its predecessor series, Formula 3000.

01:44:10That's the way the system is supposed to work.

01:44:16Sebastian Bourdais, back in eighth,

01:44:18has the distinction of being

01:44:20the next to last Formula 3000 champion

01:44:23and the last Champ Car World Series champion.

01:44:33Lewis Hamilton putting his imprint

01:44:36on the 2008 season in the biggest possible way.

01:44:40We'll be back for the podium in a moment.

01:44:46Back in Australia, time for the podium ceremonies.

01:44:50Ron Dennis yanks the water bottle

01:44:52away from Lewis Hamilton

01:44:53and says, go out and meet the crowd.

01:44:56Leaping about like a gazelle

01:44:57in spite of doing an hour and 34 minutes

01:45:00around this very demanding track

01:45:01in over 100 degree heat.

01:45:03So a very fit young man.

01:45:05Absolutely.

01:45:06There's his pal from GP2, Rosberg.

01:45:11I'm exhausted just trying to keep up

01:45:13with what was happening on track,

01:45:14let alone driving it.

01:45:16Time for the anthems.

01:45:22ANTHEM PLAYS

01:45:52Well, I guess you could tell

01:45:59it's Nico Rosberg's first podium.

01:46:01He forgot to take his hat off

01:46:02in the anthems.

01:46:03Yeah.

01:46:04I would imagine someone will clue him in.

01:46:10The trophies based on a steering wheel

01:46:13from one of Jack Brabham's

01:46:16eponymous Formula One cars.

01:46:23Australians are intensely proud

01:46:24of their Formula One history.

01:46:27And rightfully so.

01:46:30Ron Dennis, collecting the

01:46:32Constructor's Trophy.

01:46:36That's got to be a moment

01:46:38of enormous relief for him.

01:46:40Oh boy, I'll say, yeah.

01:46:41Back to business after all those problems.

01:46:43Getting off to a great start

01:46:44with both guys scoring points.

01:46:46And Ferrari, of course, scoring none.

01:46:47Great run there by Nick Heidfeld

01:46:49in the BMW.

01:46:51That was Ron Walker,

01:46:52who just presented that trophy

01:46:53to Nick Heidfeld.

01:46:55He's the chairman of this organization.

01:46:57And this past day or so,

01:47:00he backed away from their position

01:47:04in Australia that they would not

01:47:06light this racetrack in order

01:47:07to hold a night race for the benefit

01:47:09of the Formula One television audience

01:47:12back in Europe.

01:47:13Apparently it is now once again

01:47:15a possibility.

01:47:16Champagne time.

01:47:18Well done, gentlemen.

01:47:21That's the thing you want to do.

01:47:23Shake the champagne.

01:47:29There's that famous line

01:47:30you gave our old friend

01:47:31Ken Squire once.

01:47:32Time to kiss the girl,

01:47:33spray the champagne,

01:47:34accept the check, all that jazz.

01:47:37Something like that.

01:47:39Oh, Lewis having a quiet slug there.

01:47:41Now, is he going to drop it

01:47:42over there to the men?

01:47:43Don't drop it, lad.

01:47:46Oh!

01:47:51Easy, boys.

01:47:52These guys are not so used to that.

01:47:54Oh!

01:47:55That's it.

01:47:57Use your body.

01:48:04Oh!

01:48:07But did he have possession

01:48:08before he stepped out of bounds?

01:48:10We'll take a break,

01:48:11and our Peter Windsor

01:48:12will talk to the top three

01:48:13in just a moment.

01:48:14Stay with us for more from Melbourne.

01:48:17Formula One.

01:48:20Welcome back.

01:48:22The track at Albert Park,

01:48:23Melbourne, Australia,

01:48:24has been returned

01:48:25to the spectators

01:48:26after the Australian Grand Prix.

01:48:28Let's take a look

01:48:29at the results

01:48:30of one very chaotic race,

01:48:31gentlemen.

01:48:32Well, it certainly was chaotic.

01:48:33There's the winner,

01:48:34Lewis Hamilton,

01:48:35in the McLaren,

01:48:36Nick Heidfeld,

01:48:37having a good run

01:48:38in the Sauber second.

01:48:39Nick Rosberg,

01:48:40a great run for him.

01:48:41Fernando Alonso

01:48:42in the Renault,

01:48:43a fantastic run

01:48:44for him.

01:48:45And the winner

01:48:46of the Australian Grand Prix

01:48:48Fernando Alonso

01:48:49in the Renault,

01:48:50a fantastic run for him.

01:48:51Very, very qualified.

01:48:52Heike Kovalainen

01:48:53should have been fourth,

01:48:54but we don't know

01:48:55what happened

01:48:56on that last lap.

01:48:57Rubens Barrichello,

01:48:58who may yet be disqualified.

01:48:59Nakajima in the Williams,

01:49:00in the seventh spot there.

01:49:01And Sebastian Bordet

01:49:02is going to get

01:49:03points for eighth,

01:49:04but, of course,

01:49:05he did not actually finish the race,

01:49:06dropping out of two laps to go.

01:49:07And Kimi Räikkönen,

01:49:08ninth,

01:49:09had a great start to the race,

01:49:10but a very poor finish to the race.

01:49:11Robert Kubica,

01:49:12Timo Glock,

01:49:13Takuma Sato,

01:49:14Nelson Piquet,

01:49:15Massa,

01:49:16Coulthard,

01:49:17down in 16th.

01:49:18Sutil, Webber,

01:49:19Jensen Button,

01:49:20Anthony Davidson,

01:49:21Vettel,

01:49:22and Giancarlo Fisichella

01:49:23shown at 22nd.

01:49:24Now, with that,

01:49:25let's go to the interview room.

01:49:26Peter Windsor

01:49:27is with our top three finishers.

01:49:28Congratulations.

01:49:29The first three finishers

01:49:30of a spectacular

01:49:31ING Australian Grand Prix,

01:49:32scoring his first ever

01:49:33career podium

01:49:34for the AT&T

01:49:35Williams Toyota team,

01:49:36Nico Rosberg.

01:49:37Second for BMW Sauber,

01:49:38Nick Heidfeld,

01:49:39and scoring his fifth

01:49:40career victory

01:49:41for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes,

01:49:43Lewis Hamilton.

01:49:44Lewis,

01:49:45from where you were,

01:49:46it was probably

01:49:47a relatively straightforward race,

01:49:48but it was a chaotic,

01:49:49dramatically hot

01:49:50Australian Grand Prix.

01:49:51Talk us through,

01:49:52Robert Kubica,

01:49:53right behind you

01:49:54in the early stages

01:49:55of the race.

01:49:56Yeah,

01:49:57we got away

01:49:58to a really good start,

01:49:59and I actually had

01:50:00a little bit of wheel spin,

01:50:01so I think we were quite close

01:50:02going into the first corner,

01:50:03but I was able

01:50:04to put a good gap

01:50:05on the exit of the first corner,

01:50:06just had to keep it cool,

01:50:07and I think

01:50:08I was able to

01:50:09keep the car

01:50:10on the exit

01:50:11of the first corner,

01:50:12just had to keep it cool,

01:50:13and just look after

01:50:14the tyres from then on,

01:50:15and from then on

01:50:16I really just

01:50:17paced myself

01:50:18and didn't overdo it.

01:50:19I had plenty of time

01:50:20in me,

01:50:21so it was just

01:50:22to use that

01:50:23to my advantage

01:50:24and try to look

01:50:25after the tyres,

01:50:26and there was a point

01:50:27in the second stint

01:50:28where I had to put

01:50:29my foot down

01:50:30due to the safety car,

01:50:31but I guess

01:50:32it was a bit like

01:50:33my first win

01:50:34last year

01:50:35in Montreal

01:50:36where we had

01:50:37four safety cars,

01:50:38it was pretty similar

01:50:39to that where we had to,

01:50:40it was difficult

01:50:41to heat the tyres

01:50:42and the brakes up,

01:50:43so yeah,

01:50:44a good challenge,

01:50:45but we've all done

01:50:46a great job.

01:50:47It looked as if

01:50:48the timing of the team

01:50:49was perfect

01:50:50when it came

01:50:51to your pit stops

01:50:52relative to the safety cars.

01:50:53Yeah,

01:50:54they did a fantastic job

01:50:55as always,

01:50:56but I have to say

01:50:57a big huge thank you

01:50:58to Vodafone,

01:50:59McLaren,

01:51:00Mercedes,

01:51:01the car was phenomenal,

01:51:02it really was.

01:51:03A complete dream

01:51:04to drive compared

01:51:05to the car

01:51:06we had last year

01:51:07but pulling me in early

01:51:08on both my pit stops

01:51:09really did help us

01:51:10in terms of

01:51:11safety cars

01:51:12and kept us

01:51:13out of trouble.

01:51:14Well,

01:51:15difficult to anticipate

01:51:16safety cars,

01:51:17but talk us through

01:51:18that strategy,

01:51:19is that something

01:51:20you would have

01:51:21looked at

01:51:22before the race?

01:51:23Yeah,

01:51:24absolutely,

01:51:25the teams go into,

01:51:26they look at all angles

01:51:27and try to analyse

01:51:28exactly what

01:51:29could go on in the race

01:51:30and they plan

01:51:31for the worst,

01:51:32but we've got

01:51:33a fantastic

01:51:34team,

01:51:35strategic team,

01:51:36so they did

01:51:37a great job

01:51:38pulling me in early,

01:51:39it was really,

01:51:40I was very very fortunate

01:51:41and it was unlucky

01:51:42for Heikki

01:51:43getting caught

01:51:44in the safety car.

01:51:45Lewis,

01:51:46it was a long

01:51:47hot race as well,

01:51:48you look pretty fit,

01:51:49how do you feel

01:51:50and what was it like

01:51:51in the cockpit?

01:51:52I feel fantastic,

01:51:53never would have

01:51:54thought it would

01:51:55have been

01:51:56as physically

01:51:57a breeze

01:51:58as it was just there,

01:51:59but great preparation

01:52:00for Malaysia,

01:52:01you know,

01:52:02bring it on,

01:52:03I'm really looking

01:52:04forward to it.

01:52:05Congratulations to you

01:52:06Lewis,

01:52:07Nick,

01:52:08very well done

01:52:09to you too,

01:52:10looked as if you

01:52:11perfectly weaved

01:52:12your way through

01:52:13the dramas of the

01:52:14afternoon,

01:52:15but of course

01:52:16a very close race

01:52:17early on with

01:52:18Nico Roszweig

01:52:19and both of you

01:52:20coming into the pits

01:52:21at the same time

01:52:22for your first

01:52:23fuel stop.

01:52:24Yeah,

01:52:25exactly,

01:52:26after the start

01:52:27I thought that's

01:52:28not going to be

01:52:29a very good race

01:52:30because I knew

01:52:31that Nico was

01:52:32quite long,

01:52:33actually came in

01:52:34again similar

01:52:35to last year,

01:52:36I did a fantastic

01:52:37stop to just

01:52:38get me out

01:52:39in front of

01:52:40Nico,

01:52:41and then I was

01:52:42lucky on the

01:52:43pit stops

01:52:44in terms of

01:52:45safety car,

01:52:46but I think we also

01:52:47had a very good pace

01:52:48and deserved

01:52:49second position.

01:52:50Quite a chaotic

01:52:51first corner

01:52:52and indeed

01:52:53first couple of

01:52:54laps as well,

01:52:55what was it like

01:52:56from your point

01:52:57of view there?

01:52:58Well,

01:52:59I had a lot

01:53:00of wheelspin

01:53:01on the start,

01:53:02tried to close

01:53:03the gap,

01:53:04then he got by

01:53:05and I just saw

01:53:06Felipe spinning

01:53:07and that was

01:53:08all the drama

01:53:09I saw.

01:53:10Well done,

01:53:11Nic, congratulations

01:53:12to you and the team.

01:53:13Nico,

01:53:14fourth in Brazil

01:53:15and now next race,

01:53:16third here in the

01:53:17Australian Grand Prix,

01:53:18what an amazing

01:53:19day for you.

01:53:20I know,

01:53:21I'm really,

01:53:22really happy,

01:53:23it's amazing

01:53:24to be on the

01:53:25podium in F1,

01:53:26it's just great

01:53:27and it's been

01:53:28a while also,

01:53:29nearly three years

01:53:30or something,

01:53:31so it's just

01:53:32really done a

01:53:33good job,

01:53:34really done

01:53:35good progress,

01:53:36so it's just

01:53:37great.

01:53:38Well,

01:53:39Nic Heidfeld

01:53:40just said that

01:53:41you came in

01:53:42earlier than

01:53:43expected for that

01:53:44first stop,

01:53:45how do you

01:53:46react to that?

01:53:47I don't know,

01:53:48I mean,

01:53:49my qualifying

01:53:50could have been

01:53:51slightly better

01:53:52probably,

01:53:53but everything

01:53:54happened as

01:53:55planned really

01:53:56and I was a

01:53:57bit surprised

01:53:58to see him in

01:53:59right behind me

01:54:00and I was

01:54:01a bit surprised

01:54:02to see him in

01:54:03right behind me

01:54:04and I was

01:54:05a bit surprised

01:54:06to see him in

01:54:07right behind me

01:54:08and I was

01:54:09a bit surprised

01:54:10to see him in

01:54:11right behind me

01:54:12and I was

01:54:13a bit surprised

01:54:14to see him in

01:54:15right behind me

01:54:16and I was

01:54:17a bit surprised

01:54:18to see him in

01:54:19right behind me

01:54:20and I was

01:54:21a bit surprised

01:54:22to see him in

01:54:23right behind me

01:54:24and I was

01:54:25a bit surprised

01:54:26to see him in

01:54:27right behind me

01:54:28and I was

01:54:29a bit surprised

01:54:30to see him in

01:54:31right behind me

01:54:32and I was

01:54:33a bit surprised

01:54:34to see him in

01:54:35right behind me

01:54:36and I was

01:54:37a bit surprised

01:54:38to see him in

01:54:39right behind me

01:54:40and I was

01:54:41a bit surprised

01:54:42to see him in

01:54:43right behind me

01:54:44and I was

01:54:45a bit surprised

01:54:46to see him in

01:54:47right behind me

01:54:48and I was

01:54:49a bit surprised

01:54:50to see him in

01:54:51right behind me

01:54:52and I was

01:54:53a bit surprised

01:54:54to see him in

01:54:55right behind me

01:54:56and I was

01:54:57a bit surprised

01:54:58to see him in

01:54:59right behind me

01:55:00and I was

01:55:01a bit surprised

01:55:02to see him in

01:55:03right behind me

01:55:04and I was

01:55:05a bit surprised

01:55:06to see him in

01:55:07right behind me

01:55:08and I was

01:55:09a bit surprised

01:55:10to see him in

01:55:11right behind me

01:55:12and I was

01:55:13a bit surprised

01:55:14to see him in

01:55:15right behind me

01:55:16and I was

01:55:17a bit surprised

01:55:18to see him in

01:55:19right behind me

01:55:20and I was

01:55:21a bit surprised

01:55:22to see him in

01:55:23right behind me

01:55:24and I was

01:55:25a bit surprised

01:55:26to see him in

01:55:27right behind me

01:55:28and I was

01:55:29a bit surprised

01:55:30to see him in

01:55:31right behind me

01:55:32and I was

01:55:33a bit surprised

01:55:34to see him in

01:55:35right behind me

01:55:36and I was

01:55:37a bit surprised

01:55:38to see him in

01:55:39right behind me

01:55:40and I was

01:55:41a bit surprised

01:55:42to see him in

01:55:43right behind me

01:55:44and I was

01:55:45a bit surprised

01:55:46to see him in

01:55:47right behind me

01:55:48and I was

01:55:49a bit surprised

01:55:50to see him in

01:55:51right behind me

01:55:52and I was

01:55:53a bit surprised

01:55:54to see him in

01:55:55right behind me

01:55:56and I was

01:55:57a bit surprised

01:55:58to see him in

01:55:59right behind me

01:56:00and I was

01:56:01a bit surprised

01:56:02to see him in

01:56:03right behind me

01:56:04and I was

01:56:05a bit surprised

01:56:06to see him in

01:56:07right behind me

01:56:08and I was

01:56:09a bit surprised

01:56:10to see him in

01:56:11right behind me

01:56:12and I was

01:56:13a bit surprised

01:56:14to see him in

01:56:15right behind me

01:56:16and I was

01:56:17a bit surprised

01:56:18to see him in

01:56:19right behind me

01:56:20and I was

01:56:21a bit surprised

01:56:22to see him in

01:56:23right behind me

01:56:24and I was

01:56:25a bit surprised

01:56:26to see him in

01:56:27right behind me

01:56:28and I was

01:56:29a bit surprised

01:56:30to see him in

01:56:31right behind me

01:56:32and I was

01:56:33a bit surprised

01:56:34to see him in

01:56:35right behind me

01:56:36and I was

01:56:37a bit surprised

01:56:38to see him in

01:56:39right behind me

01:56:40and I was

01:56:41a bit surprised

01:56:42to see him in

01:56:43right behind me

01:56:44and I was

01:56:45a bit surprised

01:56:46to see him in

01:56:47right behind me

01:56:48and I was

01:56:49a bit surprised

01:56:50to see him in

01:56:51right behind me

01:56:52and I was

01:56:53a bit surprised

01:56:54to see him in

01:56:55right behind me

01:56:56and I was

01:56:57a bit surprised

01:56:58to see him in

01:56:59right behind me

01:57:00and I was

01:57:01a bit surprised

01:57:02to see him in

01:57:03right behind me

01:57:04and I was

01:57:05a bit surprised

01:57:06to see him in

01:57:07right behind me

01:57:08and I was

01:57:09a bit surprised

01:57:10to see him in

01:57:11right behind me

01:57:12and I was

01:57:13a bit surprised

01:57:14to see him in

01:57:15right behind me

01:57:16and I was

01:57:17a bit surprised

01:57:18to see him in

01:57:19right behind me

01:57:20and I was

01:57:21a bit surprised

01:57:22to see him in

01:57:23right behind me

01:57:24and I was

01:57:25a bit surprised

01:57:26to see him in

01:57:27right behind me

01:57:28and I was

01:57:29a bit surprised

01:57:30to see him in

01:57:31right behind me

01:57:32and I was

01:57:33a bit surprised

01:57:34to see him in

01:57:35right behind me

01:57:36and I was

01:57:37a bit surprised

01:57:38to see him in

01:57:39right behind me

01:57:40and I was

01:57:41a bit surprised

01:57:42to see him in

01:57:43right behind me

01:57:44and I was

01:57:45a bit surprised

01:57:46to see him in

01:57:47right behind me

01:57:48and I was

01:57:49a bit surprised

01:57:50to see him in

01:57:51right behind me

01:57:52and I was

01:57:53a bit surprised

01:57:54to see him in

01:57:55right behind me

01:57:56and I was

01:57:57a bit surprised

01:57:58to see him in

01:57:59right behind me

01:58:00and I was

01:58:01a bit surprised

01:58:02to see him in

01:58:03right behind me

01:58:04and I was

01:58:05a bit surprised

01:58:06to see him in

01:58:07right behind me

01:58:08and I was

01:58:09a bit surprised

01:58:10to see him in

01:58:11right behind me

01:58:12and I was

01:58:13a bit surprised

01:58:14to see him in

01:58:15right behind me

01:58:16and I was

01:58:17a bit surprised

01:58:18to see him in

01:58:19right behind me

01:58:20and I was

01:58:21a bit surprised

01:58:22to see him in

01:58:23right behind me

01:58:24and I was

01:58:25a bit surprised

01:58:26to see him in

01:58:27right behind me

01:58:28and I was

01:58:29a bit surprised

01:58:30to see him in

01:58:31right behind me

01:58:32and I was

01:58:33a bit surprised

01:58:34to see him in

01:58:35right behind me

01:58:36and I was

01:58:37a bit surprised

01:58:38to see him in

01:58:39right behind me

01:58:40and I was

01:58:41a bit surprised

01:58:42to see him in

01:58:43right behind me

01:58:44and I was

01:58:45a bit surprised

01:58:46to see him in

01:58:47right behind me

01:58:48and I was

01:58:49a bit surprised

01:58:50to see him in

01:58:51right behind me

01:58:52and I was

01:58:53a bit surprised

01:58:54to see him in

01:58:55right behind me

01:58:56and I was

01:58:57a bit surprised

01:58:58to see him in

01:58:59right behind me

01:59:00and I was

01:59:01a bit surprised

01:59:02to see him in

01:59:03right behind me

01:59:04and I was

01:59:05a bit surprised

01:59:06to see him in

01:59:07right behind me

01:59:08and I was

01:59:09a bit surprised

01:59:10to see him in

01:59:11right behind me

01:59:12and I was

01:59:13a bit surprised

01:59:14to see him in

01:59:15right behind me

01:59:16and I was

01:59:17a bit surprised

01:59:18to see him in

01:59:19right behind me

01:59:20and I was

01:59:21a bit surprised

01:59:22to see him in

01:59:23right behind me

01:59:24and I was

01:59:25a bit surprised

01:59:26to see him in

01:59:27right behind me

01:59:28and I was

01:59:29a bit surprised

01:59:30to see him in

01:59:31right behind me

01:59:32and I was

01:59:33a bit surprised

01:59:34to see him in

01:59:35right behind me

01:59:36and I was

01:59:37a bit surprised

01:59:38to see him in

01:59:39right behind me

01:59:40and I was

01:59:41a bit surprised

01:59:42to see him in

01:59:43right behind me

01:59:44and I was

01:59:45a bit surprised

01:59:46to see him in

01:59:47right behind me

01:59:48and I was

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