- 1 year ago
Qualifying for Round 16 of the 2008 F1 season at Fuji.
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00:00:00The season final Formula One races offer 30 championship points, but for title contenders
00:00:06Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton, it's all about rewriting history.
00:00:11Hamilton would welcome a repeat of some history in Japan, namely the weather.
00:00:16This may be the best we've seen of Lewis Hamilton yet.
00:00:19A downpour could very well give the edge to McLaren, but rain was part of their downfall
00:00:24a week later in China.
00:00:26Whoa!
00:00:27He's beached it!
00:00:29In order to join the ranks of legendary drivers from McLaren who have claimed titles, history
00:00:34cannot repeat itself.
00:00:36Title rival Massa can only hope his team avoids adding more exploits to their recent history.
00:00:41Oh, Massa, the race leader, has lost the engine in the Ferrari!
00:00:46Whoa!
00:00:47Oh no!
00:00:48Oh no, boys!
00:00:49No!
00:00:50That's a fuel hose!
00:00:51Well, how do you toss not only a race win, but a possible championship away?
00:00:55If Massa is to become an immortal in the eyes of the Tifosi, like so many of the great Ferrari
00:00:59wheel men before him, it will take a complete, error-free team effort.
00:01:04But before you can race your way into history, you must qualify.
00:01:07We'll set the grid, as qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix starts now.
00:01:21Right now, boys!
00:01:22Right now!
00:01:24Victory, for the first time, it is to win!
00:01:26Come on, mate!
00:01:27He's ruining our race!
00:01:28Let's get past him!
00:01:29They touch there!
00:01:30Smoke coming off the track!
00:01:39Well, once again, rain may hold the key to the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix.
00:01:45Heavy overnight rain at the Mount Fuji Speedway has left us with a green racetrack and a slight
00:01:51sheen of moisture on the track as we get set for knockout qualifying to set the grid for
00:01:56Sunday's 16th round of the 2008 Formula One World Championship on Speed.
00:02:00Hello, everybody.
00:02:01I'm Bob Varsha with David Hobbs, Steve Matchett, and Peter Windsor.
00:02:04Formula One is back at the Mount Fuji Circuit for the second year following a 30-year absence
00:02:08from the schedule, but the teams have as many questions as they did a year ago due to the
00:02:13persistent rain last year that kept the engineers from learning much about the circuit.
00:02:17So, who has the hot hand in qualifying on a green racetrack?
00:02:20Well, it depends on who makes the best use of their tires as they prepare for and then
00:02:25execute their hot laps.
00:02:27Peter Windsor has a hot tip.
00:02:32Those green bands on the Bridgestone tires this weekend may well have the press talking
00:02:36about ecology, but amongst the teams, the big issue is the relatively conservative compound
00:02:41choice Bridgestone have made this weekend.
00:02:43It's the medium and it's the soft compound.
00:02:46That may favour McLaren slightly more than Ferrari in terms of one-lap speed, but it's
00:02:50also an issue for the teams, the many teams this year, which have been battling with the
00:02:54ever-elusive problem of the sweet spot of tyre temperatures.
00:02:59The tyres have been reasonably hard.
00:03:01I think there was a few races last year where they broke up quite bad and, you know, the
00:03:06life of the option tyre was very short, so perhaps they've gone a little bit conservative
00:03:11this year.
00:03:12I think, generally, it seems working with our car quite well.
00:03:16I think we can warm up the tyres better than other people and, especially in qualifying,
00:03:21it gives us a good benefit and maybe a bit more wear in the race, but the harder tyres
00:03:27seem to be working fine for us.
00:03:31The tyre choice is more in our favour in terms of it.
00:03:35The harder we go, the better it is for us, but Ferrari, obviously, they still look after
00:03:40the tyres better than us somehow and, yes, they do have a worse warm-up.
00:03:46But they're managing to do it in qualifying now and their pace in qualifying is also incredible,
00:03:51so how they're actually achieving that, I don't know.
00:03:54So it's very close.
00:03:55I think, for us, this weekend, we're in a strong position with these tyres.
00:04:00Given how McLaren seem to have a nice rhythm on their longer runs here, relative to their
00:04:05normal long runs, is there a feeling that maybe the Bridgestone compound choice here
00:04:10suits them more than you guys?
00:04:12Not sure.
00:04:13I think we were quite good on the long runs.
00:04:16We were quite good on the first lap as well, so it's not a big, difficult track to choose
00:04:21the tyres.
00:04:24The hard seems to last very well and the soft is going away a bit, so I would say that they
00:04:30are not bad for us.
00:04:33What's it going to be like on one-lap runs?
00:04:36Normally we don't have problems, but also here in Fuji there is a long straight, so
00:04:41for sure first sector can be some problems.
00:04:44But you have quite a lot of low-speed corners where you can heat up the tyres into the right
00:04:50temperature.
00:04:51But, you know, it depends a lot on your setup.
00:04:56When you bring two hard compounds, you don't have problems with graining or with overheating,
00:05:03you can test more things, especially on Friday, with a little bit of consistency.
00:05:06So, you know, I'm happy with the decision and it's the same for everybody.
00:05:10So, we need to make the tyre work.
00:05:15Well, you heard it from Robert Kubica from BMW Sauber.
00:05:17It's all about the setup.
00:05:18The teams are a little short of information after this morning's wet session.
00:05:22As you can see, very high clouds, lots of sunshine.
00:05:25The track is still a little damp as we get set for the first 20-minute qualifying session.
00:05:30Q1, at the end of which five drivers, the slow five, will be knocked out.
00:05:37There you can see some puddling down on the racetrack.
00:05:39So, what do you go with?
00:05:40Hard compound or softer?
00:05:41How do you get it heated up to optimum temperature?
00:05:44Peter Windsor has more.
00:05:47Well, Bob, as I speak, the sun is just trying to break through the clouds.
00:05:51It's definitely going to be a dry track, but it is a huge question mark for the teams.
00:05:55Really, not much information gained this morning.
00:05:57Well, no information gained this morning in terms of running on a dry track.
00:06:00The track is still very green, and the ambient temperature definitely down on yesterday.
00:06:04So, a lot of unanswered questions.
00:06:06But guess what?
00:06:07I think it was Robert that said it.
00:06:09No, Fernando said it.
00:06:10It's the same for everybody, and he's absolutely right.
00:06:12It's going to be a great qualifying session, I think, in that respect.
00:06:16I think you're right, Peter.
00:06:17And, of course, as we get closer and closer to the end of the season,
00:06:20qualifying could hardly be more important, especially for that man.
00:06:25Felipe Massa trying to close down a seven-point gap
00:06:28to championship leader Lewis Hamilton in the last three races of the year.
00:06:32We'll be back for the first round of knockout qualifying.
00:06:38Speed's coverage of the FIA Formula One World Championship
00:06:41is brought to you by Bridgestone, passion for excellence,
00:06:44and by Mobil 1.
00:06:46For almost any extreme, choose Mobil 1, the world's leading synthetic motor oil.
00:06:55...clock for Q1.
00:06:57Knockout qualifying session one means the track is now green,
00:07:01and the drivers will head on out.
00:07:03Once again, after 20 minutes, the slow five will be eliminated
00:07:06and take positions 16 through 20 on the grid.
00:07:09And we'll knock off five minutes, hold the Q2 session,
00:07:12eliminate five more, knock off another five,
00:07:15and leave the surviving ten drivers with ten minutes on race fuel
00:07:20to decide who will sit on pole for the Japanese Grand Prix.
00:07:24You'll see it live on Sunday here on Speed.
00:07:27There's Kaz Nakajima. He was pretty quick in this morning's session.
00:07:31Well, it was very damp. He was fifth fastest in his Williams,
00:07:35and he was quicker than Rosberg yesterday, too, in the dry session.
00:07:38So, obviously, Kaz Nakajima has been around this circuit
00:07:41many, many times in lesser formulas, but, well,
00:07:44it seems to be paying off very well for him this weekend,
00:07:47because he's been quicker than Rosberg all weekend.
00:07:50Robert Kubica led this morning's damp practice for BMW Sauber,
00:07:53followed by Timo Glock. Now, he was quick in yesterday's
00:07:56second Friday practice for Toyota. Everybody thought,
00:07:59OK, that's a publicity stunt, but there he is again.
00:08:02Timo Glock has been going very quickly on a very important weekend
00:08:06for Toyota. Nelson Piquet in the Renault was third,
00:08:09Nick Heidfeld fourth in the other BMW Sauber.
00:08:12Then Kaz Nakajima, as David mentioned, David Coulthard,
00:08:16Felipe Massa, Mark Webber, Fernando Alonso,
00:08:19and Sebastian Vettel. Lewis Hamilton did just eight laps,
00:08:22the fewest of any driver, and clocked in 11th.
00:08:29Bob, just a quick update on the BMWs. They were very quick in the wet,
00:08:32but it does appear that they are running a longer first gear
00:08:35and therefore a shorter second than all the other teams on the grid.
00:08:38That is good for the wet. Be interesting to see what happens
00:08:41in the dry, if it is a start, what that longer first gear
00:08:44will be like off the line.
00:08:47The drivers are running on the dry weather compound tyres here,
00:08:51but this is the first time today that the track has been in a position
00:08:55to run on these tyres, as you guys were saying earlier on.
00:08:58P3, the morning practice session,
00:09:01was started to be run on full wets.
00:09:04Later on they switched to intermediates.
00:09:07You can see there's a dry line, the track is dry,
00:09:10very greasy out there, but also very cold
00:09:13in comparison to what we were used to yesterday.
00:09:16In fact, the track is 17 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than yesterday,
00:09:20humidity is up 11%.
00:09:23These are very difficult conditions for a driver to adapt to,
00:09:26and obviously for qualifying you've got to adapt pretty smartly.
00:09:29Obviously we've got three sessions, but everybody's got to get through
00:09:32this first session, and obviously the slowest five will be out.
00:09:35The track will be very slippery, the track is cool,
00:09:39as you can see there are definitely a lot of damp spots around.
00:09:42He's on the prime tyres, not on the soft tyres,
00:09:45Pique is also on the prime,
00:09:48but it's a tricky time for this, because the track obviously
00:09:51started to get some rubber down yesterday,
00:09:54but all that got washed away early on this morning.
00:09:57There's two or three parts of the track,
00:10:00and we'll see them as the cars circulate,
00:10:03where the water is still running over the track.
00:10:06There's a dry line almost all the way around,
00:10:09you see the back end of the Toyota coming out very readily there,
00:10:12free to move at the back.
00:10:15It's a couple of places where water's still running over the track.
00:10:18Here, look at this, this is it.
00:10:24And of course obviously the kerbs are still damp and slippery and cold,
00:10:29and of course if you put the wheel over the kerb and get on the grass,
00:10:32the friction goes down alarmingly.
00:10:35The other thing we have to factor in in qualifying,
00:10:38as we've touched on in a broadcast in the past,
00:10:41is the cars being technically now in park for May conditions.
00:10:44The gamble is, what will the weather be like tomorrow?
00:10:47If they believe it's going to be dry,
00:10:50you can run considerably less wing in qualifying,
00:10:53and set the car up for dry weather conditions.
00:10:56If they believe there's going to be more rain tomorrow,
00:11:00a compromised setup with a little bit more wing on board.
00:11:03There seems to be quite a lot of wing on these cars anyway.
00:11:06Look at the wing here on the McLaren, more than we've seen in the past.
00:11:10But of course, again as we were talking about in the practice show yesterday,
00:11:13you have to be careful of running too much wing,
00:11:16because of the long straight.
00:11:19Well it's a real compromised circuit.
00:11:22In all racing we know that it's a major compromise all the time,
00:11:25but here you've got some pretty high speed corners here,
00:11:28but then you suddenly pop out onto this huge straight,
00:11:31where they're flat stick for 15 seconds,
00:11:34it's a long time for a Formula 1 car to be on full throttle.
00:11:37Yeah it is, more than that, it's about 17 seconds,
00:11:40it's a click and a half, it's nearly a mile.
00:11:44Jarno Trulli goes to the top of the charts.
00:11:47As we mentioned yesterday, you see those green painted grooves in the tyres,
00:11:51symbolic of Bridgestone Tyre Company's
00:11:54new environmental initiative called
00:11:57Make Cars Green. It's been getting a lot of chatter
00:12:00this weekend in the media center.
00:12:03Timo Glock goes to P1, outdoing his teammate
00:12:06Jarno Trulli yet again.
00:12:09Very quick in that second sector,
00:12:12so when he snaps away that
00:12:15temporary honour for a minute.
00:12:19Yes, he does, 18.7.
00:12:25And then proceeds over the horizon.
00:12:28This morning when the track was damp,
00:12:31drivers were turning some pretty quick laps,
00:12:34but a number of them, 8 or 9 at least,
00:12:37had a problem getting it stopped down there in Turn 1,
00:12:40and a lot of drivers went off.
00:12:43Well, bottom there, right, Lewis Hamilton obviously overshot the corner there.
00:12:46I think that was Kovalainen,
00:12:49who was trying to stay out of the way.
00:12:52There was a lot of puff of blue tyres.
00:12:55Well, that's what I thought, yeah.
00:12:58There it is, that's what we're talking about.
00:13:01More than ever around here,
00:13:04again, there's these traction events around this track
00:13:07where you need to get on the power as soon as possible,
00:13:10of course, to get a good lap time out of the car,
00:13:13but getting on the power while the car is moving laterally as well,
00:13:16and that puts a lot of load into the rear tyres.
00:13:19It is difficult.
00:13:22Well, Lewis Hamilton is just at the 21.6 in Sector 1,
00:13:25which is the quickest in the session so far.
00:13:28Timo Block improved to second.
00:13:31And also the fastest in Sector 2 by quite a long way,
00:13:34six tenths quicker.
00:13:37And he's on the harder compound tyre once again.
00:13:41Sebastian Vettel goes to P5 in the Toro Rosso Ferrari.
00:13:44The car's moving around a lot, isn't it?
00:13:47Typically, you know, we say race after race,
00:13:50broadcast after broadcast, how stable the McLaren and the Ferrari are,
00:13:53but again, you have to take so much wing off
00:13:56for this part of the track,
00:13:59that when you come out of that at the end of Sector 3,
00:14:02around turns, well, so it's 14.50 in the next corner,
00:14:05and on 16 and coming out of there,
00:14:08that's where you need a little bit of downforce to help the car stay.
00:14:11Raikkonen to P8 behind David Coulthard's Red Bull Renault.
00:14:14Felipe Massa is on a quick one, too.
00:14:17He's just gone fastest in Sector 1.
00:14:20Kimi Raikkonen, well, his qualifying record this year
00:14:23has not been good, just nothing like we expect it to be.
00:14:26He's been outqualified by his teammate consistently.
00:14:29Raikkonen is going quickly, though. He went purple in Sector 1.
00:14:32Yeah.
00:14:35Yeah, 21.05 through Sector 1 for Raikkonen.
00:14:38Compare that to Hamilton's last time through the track,
00:14:41it was a 22.05, but 21.06 was Massa's time,
00:14:44so that's a competitive time.
00:14:47Kimi Raikkonen picking up the pace now.
00:14:50As we talk about during the Q1 sessions,
00:14:53it's not important to be first.
00:14:56What's important is not to be 16th through 20th,
00:14:59the knockout zone. In red on the left of your screen,
00:15:02it's still early in the session.
00:15:05Still waiting for both the BMW runners
00:15:08to get out on the track.
00:15:11You've got to be a bit careful playing it too cool.
00:15:14If something goes wrong, someone spreads oil
00:15:17or whatever could happen,
00:15:20you might not be able to get a good enough time to get in.
00:15:23Kimi Raikkonen goes to P3 in the Ferrari.
00:15:27Not a lot of celebration in the Ferrari garage, however.
00:15:30Let's take a break and return.
00:15:33Welcome back to the Fuji Circuit
00:15:36and knockout qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix.
00:15:39Lewis Hamilton has just gone to P1
00:15:42in his McLaren Mercedes
00:15:45with a lap of 118.232.
00:15:48He's now followed by Nelson Piquet
00:15:51in 11th place.
00:15:54As you check the red zone, Nakajima Sutil,
00:15:57Button, Fisichella, Nick Heidfeld
00:16:00still yet to turn a lap, but he is on track
00:16:03in the BMW Sauber. You're riding with Fernando Alonso
00:16:06and the Renault, Peter Windsor.
00:16:09Bob, just a quick update on what we were talking about earlier
00:16:12with the tyre compound from Bridgestone.
00:16:15It is relatively hard. Ferrari needing two laps, it would appear,
00:16:18in order to try to get the best from the tyres.
00:16:21Whereas McLaren, Hamilton and Kovalainen
00:16:24are able to do their quick lap on their first flying lap out of the pits.
00:16:27So that is where it's making a difference right now.
00:16:30As Nelson Piquet goes up to P2 in his first qualifying session.
00:16:33Kovalainen, too, just did a two-lap run in the McLaren
00:16:36and did almost identical times on the second lap to the first lap
00:16:39bearing out what you just said, Peter. He was very quick on his second lap.
00:16:46Mark Webber getting serious, which he needs to down in 15th spot.
00:16:51But just highlight what Peter is talking about there
00:16:54with the tyre temperature.
00:16:57The difference between the suspension on the cars
00:17:00between the McLaren and the Ferrari.
00:17:03You look at a Formula 1 car from any construction
00:17:06and look at the rear suspension, you think,
00:17:09well, you know, it looks relatively simple.
00:17:12There's a top and bottom wishbone and an upright and a pushrod.
00:17:15How different can they be from car to car?
00:17:18A world of difference. There are so many parameters of adjustability,
00:17:21whether it's anti-squat, anti-dive,
00:17:24the camber that's built into the car,
00:17:27the spring rates on the back, the downforce that's on the back of the car.
00:17:30And again, the tyres that's on the car.
00:17:33There are so many things, the weight distribution, front to rear,
00:17:36across the axles, side to side.
00:17:39There are about 30 different things that you can play with
00:17:42to make this one chassis handle differently to another.
00:17:45Which is why they have all those engineers.
00:17:48That's why they all look at these sector times too.
00:17:51They get obsessed with sector times.
00:17:54Weber just set the fastest second sector time
00:17:57and his laps time for the lap, he's still down in 18th spot.
00:18:00So he's well and truly in that knockout zone
00:18:03in spite of being lightning quick in that second sector.
00:18:06So their handling obviously is very different for different corners.
00:18:11This third sector's got this long, long, long, long
00:18:15left-hander which puts a lot of heat into the right-side tyres.
00:18:18Up on the kerb there.
00:18:20And of course you've got this nasty uphill turn which flattens out.
00:18:23The camber drops away right there as you go onto the straight.
00:18:26Of course you want to come onto that straight with all speed on board
00:18:29you can get because every rev that you have on the rev counter
00:18:32when you come onto that straight, you maintain
00:18:35right down to the end of the straight.
00:18:38So that last corner's vital here because it's such a long straight.
00:18:41David Coulthard up to fourth in the Red Bull Renault.
00:18:44Nice run there.
00:18:46I'm going to have my eye on Kaz Nakajima who's out there in the Williams.
00:18:49The first car we've seen on the option tyre, the softer tyre.
00:18:52There's the second one we've seen, Coulthard.
00:18:55David Coulthard's qualified third and finished third here four times.
00:18:59So, well in the Japanese Grand Prix.
00:19:02Heidfeld has lifted himself out of the relegation zone.
00:19:05He's now 15th on the bubble.
00:19:08Yeah, Kubica, not a lot quicker
00:19:11but he's in, in 12th spot.
00:19:17Vettel's down there in 16th, which is not where we're used to seeing him lately.
00:19:22Timo Block looking pretty strong as he comes off that final turn.
00:19:26That's a good time at that part of the track.
00:19:29Yeah, he's setting his personal best in sector one and two.
00:19:3221.6 and 28.3 in sectors one and two.
00:19:35There he is, 18.1.
00:19:38This car, the Toyota chassis, the TF108 chassis here in Fuji.
00:19:42I mean, these times are legit. The car's moving.
00:19:46That's Frank Derny, the man with his arms crossed.
00:19:49Long time Formula One engineer.
00:19:52Yeah, I remember talking to Frank Derny at the Detroit Grand Prix
00:19:56when I was working for CBS back in about 1980.
00:20:00In Detroit?
00:20:02Detroit? Well, we're in the South, Bob.
00:20:09Coming to Monday.
00:20:12A little bit understeering, but 4th and 6th
00:20:18and some braking instability problems in the last three corners.
00:20:23Losing the rear a little bit.
00:20:26So I think maybe we can put a little bit more front wheel.
00:20:29A little bit in the front wing, but not much.
00:20:33Well, we've got some unusual names in that knockout zone.
00:20:36We've got Sebastian Vettel, who we're getting very used to
00:20:39being in the top five or six now in qualifying.
00:20:42Nico Rosberg, who had a good run two weeks ago in Singapore.
00:20:46Mark Webber being outpaced by his teammate, David Coulthard,
00:20:50which is also a little bit unusual.
00:20:53And Sutil de Fisichella.
00:20:56Steve, I was interested in that radio transmission from Fernando Alonso there.
00:21:00He's talking about instability under braking in the last few corners,
00:21:03those tight corners.
00:21:05That typically means a loose rear end.
00:21:07There's so much brake on the front of the car these days,
00:21:10and yet he's going for more front wing,
00:21:12and you would think in a way that that would make the car even more pointy.
00:21:15It definitely would make it more pointy.
00:21:17Well, again, it highlights the compromises around this track.
00:21:20The corner he was talking of there, suffering from understeer,
00:21:23it's the approach to the 100 R turn 4,
00:21:26which is one of the high-speed corners.
00:21:28There's not really many high-speed corners around here,
00:21:31but the 100 R is, and then there's also that turn 8
00:21:34as you come out of the hairpin
00:21:36and dive down towards the Dunlop corner.
00:21:38So you want a little bit of front wing on the car to control it there,
00:21:41but you're right, it will make the car worse
00:21:44round the next corner in sector 3.
00:21:46And this is, again, it's the fight that the engineers...
00:21:49I mean, a constructive fight
00:21:51between the engineers and the driver
00:21:53when they say, yeah, we can give you more wing.
00:21:56We can put a lot more downforce on the car
00:21:58and you'll be stable through those parts of the track,
00:22:01but you will lose out once you come out of turn 16
00:22:04and go down the straight.
00:22:05We'll find that our lap times are worse off for doing so.
00:22:08You'll feel the car's better, you'll feel more confident,
00:22:11more secure, but we won't have the top speed
00:22:14to be able to do anything with it.
00:22:16This is vital.
00:22:17Nick Heidfeld here is on the bubble, big time on the bubble.
00:22:20He has got to get on with the programme here.
00:22:24Just saw Heikki Kovalainen hoist himself from 7th to 2nd,
00:22:28slightly quicker than his team-mate Lewis Hamilton
00:22:31when he bumped to 3rd.
00:22:35As you said, it doesn't matter.
00:22:37You don't have to be quickest in this Q1,
00:22:40but you don't want to be in that bottom 5.
00:22:43Coming up on 2 minutes to go,
00:22:45Lewis Hamilton is back out on track.
00:22:47He had only done 3 laps.
00:22:49He is safely going to advance into Q2,
00:22:52but for some reason,
00:22:53Lewis is coming back out of the McLaren Mercedes.
00:23:02Ruipe Masa, new P1, with a 1.18.1.
00:23:05Well, yeah, him and Glock, both 18.1.
00:23:08That's the fastest time we've seen all weekend, 18.1.
00:23:15Ferrari brains just looking on there.
00:23:18We're picking up Heidfeld.
00:23:19Heidfeld is getting on with the programme,
00:23:21guys, like you suggested.
00:23:22He needs to.
00:23:23It just said it's two personal best sector times so far
00:23:26in 1 and 2.
00:23:27These guys need to get on with the programme.
00:23:29You're right.
00:23:30You can't afford not to get into Q2,
00:23:33otherwise your race is so compromised.
00:23:36He's only been knocked out in Q1 once
00:23:39since the knockout formula was adopted back in 2006.
00:23:43That happened this year in the Hungarian Grand Prix.
00:23:46Now, up to 11.
00:23:49Jesse Button on the bubble.
00:23:51Safely in.
00:23:53Fernando Alonso moves to the bubble in 15.
00:23:57Lewis Hamilton goes P1 with an 18.0.
00:24:00And, to go with Peter's story,
00:24:03on this, on his second lap,
00:24:05he's quickest of all in sector 1,
00:24:08so even on his second...
00:24:10It's not over yet.
00:24:11No.
00:24:12Kimi Räikkönen just went purple in sector 1
00:24:14in the Ferrari with a 21.4.
00:24:1619 of the 20 cars now on track.
00:24:19Nelson Piquet, the only driver not out there.
00:24:23I think he's open.
00:24:24There's Sébastien Bordet
00:24:27on the option tyre in the STR Ferrari.
00:24:30Timo Block comes back.
00:24:31He's turned more laps than anybody.
00:24:3311 laps in the Toyota with a 17.9.
00:24:39Now, Alonso is 16th,
00:24:40the winner in Singapore
00:24:41just 2 weeks ago is in the knockout zone.
00:24:45Wow.
00:24:51Seconds ticking away to the chequered flag.
00:24:54Bordet solidly, 10th place.
00:24:56Hamilton and Massa join Piquet in the garage.
00:24:59The chequers waves on the session.
00:25:01Hot laps currently underway will count.
00:25:04Nakajima, he's 14th.
00:25:06We're looking for Alonso.
00:25:08But his teammate is solidly
00:25:10in the knockout zone, Rosberg.
00:25:14Rosberg jumps to 13th.
00:25:16Alonso still down.
00:25:17Here's the two-time world champion.
00:25:23Sixth goes Alonso.
00:25:25Nakajima, the crowd favourite, is bumped.
00:25:29Here he comes.
00:25:30Rosberg jumps to 14th.
00:25:31Nakajima's back in.
00:25:32Heidfeld is bumped again.
00:25:42And Heidfeld, off the pace in sector 1.
00:25:46He may be eliminated again.
00:25:48He probably thought it was all over.
00:25:50He probably thought he was going to be fine.
00:25:52Jensen Button.
00:25:53Last guy with a shot at bumping Rosberg.
00:25:55But he won't do it.
00:25:56And that's not a surprise.
00:25:58The Hondas have been pitifully slow
00:26:00this weekend thus far.
00:26:05Wow.
00:26:06So Heidfeld, for the second time
00:26:08since the knockout procedure
00:26:10was instituted,
00:26:12is knocked out in sector 2.
00:26:14Heidfeld has been knocked out
00:26:16in sector 2.
00:26:18The knockout procedure
00:26:20was instituted,
00:26:22is knocked out in Q1.
00:26:2617th time he's raced
00:26:28in the Japanese Grand Prix
00:26:30and didn't make it out of Q1.
00:26:32Out of Q1 for the ninth
00:26:34consecutive race.
00:26:36Another example of how rough
00:26:38Honda is having it this year.
00:26:40We'll take a break.
00:26:42Go through the numbers when we return.
00:26:49Q1.
00:26:50The first round of Formula 1 knockout qualifying
00:26:52for the Japanese Grand Prix
00:26:54at the Mount Fuji Circuit
00:26:56has now been completed.
00:26:58Let's take a look first at the drivers
00:27:00who will advance to Q2.
00:27:02Well, Timo Glott will obviously advance
00:27:04in the Toyota.
00:27:05Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Masson,
00:27:07Kimi Raikkonen right there.
00:27:09Kovalainen in the second McLaren.
00:27:11Alonso saved himself on the last lap.
00:27:13Nelson Piquet, his teammate,
00:27:14right behind him.
00:27:15And David Coulthard doing a very good job
00:27:17The runners, 9th through to 15th.
00:27:18These fellas also go through.
00:27:19Mark Webber, Red Bull,
00:27:21Jarno Trulli, Toyota,
00:27:22Sebastian Vettel.
00:27:23The two Toro Rosso cars there,
00:27:24right behind him.
00:27:25Sebastian Bordet,
00:27:26Kazunaka Jima,
00:27:27Robert Kubica,
00:27:28Nico Rosberg.
00:27:29They all go through.
00:27:30These fellas, however,
00:27:31they go no further.
00:27:33Their grid positions are set.
00:27:35Knocked out after Q1.
00:27:37Nick Heidfeld for BMW.
00:27:39Big disappointment for Heidfeld.
00:27:40And, of course, BMW.
00:27:41The two Honda cars there.
00:27:43Rubens Barrichello, Jenson Button.
00:27:44Well, they've been slow all weekend.
00:27:46We expected those to be
00:27:47right there.
00:27:48Sutil and Fizikela
00:27:49right at the back of the field.
00:27:51There's Rubens Barrichello,
00:27:52who this weekend
00:27:54made an appeal for a contract
00:27:55to stay in Formula 1 next year.
00:27:58But the big surprise
00:27:59in that Q1 session
00:28:00is the speed
00:28:01of the BMW Saubers.
00:28:02Keep in mind,
00:28:03Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld
00:28:05are two of the five drivers
00:28:07still mathematically alive
00:28:08for the World Championship.
00:28:10In that session,
00:28:11Kubica only 14,
00:28:12Heidfeld eliminated.
00:28:16Speedway.
00:28:19Not far from
00:28:20the majestic Mount Fuji itself.
00:28:22There you see the track
00:28:23has now gone green
00:28:24for Q2.
00:28:25The second knockout
00:28:26qualifying session
00:28:27just 15 minutes long.
00:28:29As you can see,
00:28:30still spots of water
00:28:31on the racetrack.
00:28:33But a nice dry line
00:28:34for the drivers
00:28:35as they head out.
00:28:36There are the weather conditions.
00:28:37The yellow arrow
00:28:38is the direction
00:28:39from which the light
00:28:40breeze is coming
00:28:41right in the driver's faces
00:28:42as they go down
00:28:43that long, long,
00:28:45nearly one mile long
00:28:47straightaway
00:28:49that is the trademark
00:28:50of this circuit.
00:28:52No engines firing.
00:28:53No one in a rush
00:28:54to get out on track.
00:28:55So we want to remind you
00:28:56tomorrow,
00:28:57join David, Steve,
00:28:58Peter and me
00:28:59for live coverage
00:29:00of the Japanese Grand Prix.
00:29:01We'll kick things off
00:29:02at midnight eastern
00:29:03with the Acura Prix Race Show
00:29:04and at 12.30
00:29:05the cars will roll off
00:29:06and the race will begin.
00:29:07That's tomorrow at midnight
00:29:09live here on Speed.
00:29:12Yeah, in the break there
00:29:13we were watching
00:29:14Adrian Sutil
00:29:15obviously he's out
00:29:16but he's actually
00:29:17in 19th spot
00:29:19and he's exactly
00:29:20one second
00:29:21slower
00:29:22than Kimi Räikkönen
00:29:24who's fastest
00:29:26sorry, the Glock
00:29:28in that first session.
00:29:30So it really is
00:29:32terribly sorry
00:29:33to see a guy like that
00:29:34he's done exactly
00:29:35the same amount
00:29:36of races
00:29:37as Lewis Hamilton.
00:29:38Lewis Hamilton's
00:29:39got 193 points
00:29:40Sutil's got one.
00:29:42And just
00:29:43you know together
00:29:44they race together
00:29:45in the lower formulas
00:29:46they were very
00:29:47very evenly matched.
00:29:48There's Robert Kubica
00:29:49the sole remaining
00:29:50BMW Sauber
00:29:51in the field
00:29:52after Nick Heidfeld
00:29:53was knocked out
00:29:54in Q1
00:29:55for only the second
00:29:56time ever.
00:29:57One of the Ferraris
00:29:58heads out
00:29:59the action about
00:30:00to begin.
00:30:01We'll take a quick break
00:30:02and return
00:30:03back to Fuji
00:30:04in a moment.
00:30:06Back at Fuji
00:30:07just under 12 minutes
00:30:08to go in the second
00:30:09knockout session
00:30:10Q2
00:30:11and the ante
00:30:12is up
00:30:13you might say
00:30:14every car we've seen
00:30:15go out
00:30:16during the break
00:30:17is on the softer
00:30:18option tire.
00:30:19Here comes
00:30:20Lewis Hamilton
00:30:21he too
00:30:22on the white striped
00:30:23options.
00:30:28Bob and another
00:30:29stat
00:30:30interesting stat
00:30:31I think
00:30:32on Lewis Hamilton
00:30:33he has led
00:30:34the World Championship
00:30:35for longer
00:30:36than any other
00:30:37driver in history
00:30:38who's never won
00:30:39the World Championship
00:30:40if you see what I mean
00:30:41in that
00:30:42category right now
00:30:43is I'm sure
00:30:44you all know
00:30:45Carlos Reutemann
00:30:47Absolutely
00:30:49And there you see
00:30:50Kimi Raikkonen
00:30:51who has 10
00:30:52fastest laps
00:30:53of the race
00:30:54honors to his name
00:30:55this year
00:30:56one more
00:30:57will set a new
00:30:58Formula 1 record
00:30:59Lewis Hamilton
00:31:00the championship
00:31:01leader
00:31:02has set no
00:31:03fastest laps
00:31:04thus far this year
00:31:05and if that trend
00:31:06continues and
00:31:07Hamilton wins
00:31:08the World Championship
00:31:09without setting
00:31:11the record
00:31:12he's the first
00:31:13man to do that
00:31:14since K.K.
00:31:15Rossberg
00:31:16all the way back
00:31:17in 1982
00:31:18You do
00:31:19buy some
00:31:20stuff
00:31:21Bob I'll tell you
00:31:22I can't take
00:31:23all the credit
00:31:24Oh sure I can
00:31:25Well you might as well
00:31:26Actually
00:31:27Rossberg almost
00:31:28won that World
00:31:29Championship
00:31:30without winning
00:31:31a race
00:31:32he won one race
00:31:33that year
00:31:34didn't he
00:31:35Yeah
00:31:36he very nearly
00:31:37did win it
00:31:38without winning
00:31:39one
00:31:40Hamilton's
00:31:412009 schedule
00:31:42approved by the
00:31:43World Motorsport
00:31:44Council in
00:31:45Paris
00:31:46does not
00:31:47contain the
00:31:48Canadian Grand Prix
00:31:49for the first time
00:31:50in decades
00:31:51no races at all
00:31:52in North America
00:31:53but the fans
00:31:54have stood up
00:31:55there's a website
00:31:56created called
00:31:57Save the Canadian
00:31:58Grand Prix
00:31:59dot com
00:32:00that you can go to
00:32:01get information
00:32:02about how you
00:32:03can register
00:32:04your complaint
00:32:05that there will be
00:32:06no Formula 1 action
00:32:07in the world's
00:32:08biggest market
00:32:09next year
00:32:10You see that time
00:32:1117.2
00:32:12I thought 17.7
00:32:13was clocking in
00:32:14on there
00:32:15with Kimi Räikkönen
00:32:16Felipe Massa
00:32:17just did a
00:32:1817.28
00:32:19on the option
00:32:20tyre
00:32:21the quickest lap
00:32:22of the weekend
00:32:23by far
00:32:24so far
00:32:25Well we shouldn't
00:32:26be surprised
00:32:27Felipe Massa
00:32:28is on average
00:32:29the best qualifier
00:32:30in Formula 1
00:32:31this year
00:32:32The time
00:32:33is running out
00:32:34he needs to win
00:32:35out the rest
00:32:36of the year
00:32:37and even if he
00:32:38is second
00:32:39in each of the
00:32:40three remaining
00:32:41races
00:32:42Hamilton
00:32:43will be world
00:32:44champion
00:32:45Well of course
00:32:46the performance
00:32:47of both the
00:32:48second drivers
00:32:49in the team
00:32:50second now
00:32:51Kimi Räikkönen
00:32:52in Ferrari
00:32:53and Kurt Covaline
00:32:54in Paul McLaren
00:32:55is vital
00:32:56in the next
00:32:57three races
00:32:58for their
00:32:59teammates
00:33:00hopes of
00:33:01winning the
00:33:02championship
00:33:03On board
00:33:04with Hamilton
00:33:05See how
00:33:06more
00:33:07stable
00:33:08the McLaren chassis
00:33:09is on these
00:33:10tyres
00:33:11in comparison
00:33:12to how it was
00:33:13in Q1
00:33:14Remember
00:33:15all the cars
00:33:16were moving
00:33:17around
00:33:18both the Ferraris
00:33:19and the McLarens
00:33:20there
00:33:21far more
00:33:22than we get
00:33:23to see them
00:33:24I expect
00:33:25them to be
00:33:26a lot more
00:33:27stable now
00:33:28a little bit
00:33:29more rubber
00:33:30going down
00:33:31as well
00:33:32of course
00:33:33the sun's
00:33:34coming out
00:33:35the track's
00:33:36a little bit
00:33:37drier
00:33:38but
00:33:39as I said
00:33:40earlier today
00:33:41that if
00:33:42Formula 1
00:33:43in fact
00:33:44goes back
00:33:45to slick
00:33:46tyres
00:33:47no grooves
00:33:48next year
00:33:49Bridgestone
00:33:50will be able
00:33:51to produce
00:33:52a softer
00:33:53grippier
00:33:54tyre
00:33:55I'm sure
00:33:56that is good
00:33:57news
00:33:58up and down
00:33:59the pitlane
00:34:00Fred
00:34:01is starting
00:34:02to peel
00:34:03off there
00:34:04not an
00:34:05interesting
00:34:06line
00:34:07wow
00:34:08he was
00:34:09in the pitlane
00:34:10I hope
00:34:11he hasn't
00:34:12stepped on it
00:34:13did he cross
00:34:14that line
00:34:15he crossed
00:34:16that white
00:34:17line
00:34:18absolutely
00:34:19he did
00:34:20remember
00:34:21he was fine
00:34:22for that
00:34:23in Valencia
00:34:24a little
00:34:25bobble there
00:34:26I wonder
00:34:27what he thought
00:34:28he was going
00:34:29to accomplish
00:34:30by hammering
00:34:31along way
00:34:32over driver
00:34:33in the Renault
00:34:34garage
00:34:35you're thinking
00:34:36exactly the same
00:34:37that could
00:34:38cost him
00:34:3920 grand
00:34:40Sebastian
00:34:41Bornage
00:34:42went purple
00:34:43in sector
00:34:442
00:34:45yellow
00:34:46meaning
00:34:47his
00:34:48personal
00:34:49best
00:34:50sector
00:34:51time
00:34:52in sector
00:34:531
00:34:54purple
00:34:55meaning
00:34:56best
00:34:57of all
00:34:58in sector
00:34:592
00:35:00the Frenchman
00:35:01may be
00:35:02hoping
00:35:04to
00:35:06omit
00:35:08his
00:35:13best
00:35:15performances
00:35:20So the Nakajima improved from 14th to 12th there
00:35:23still
00:35:24quicker
00:35:25than
00:35:25Nico Rosberg
00:35:26just by a hair
00:35:27Nelson Pike
00:35:28in the knockout zone
00:35:29as is Robert Ku
00:35:30in the BMW
00:35:31BMW Sauber not having a good weekend at all, and Robert Kubrick of course only 20 points
00:35:37behind Hamilton in the World Championship. I mean he is in with a very very good shot
00:35:43at the moment but yeah you're right if he qualifies down you know if he doesn't even
00:35:47get to Q3 he's kind of out of luck. It's not a track that really suits the BMW chassis
00:35:54you know all year long these guys have liked the open tracks such as Monza such as Spa
00:36:00despite this long straight course you've got these winding sections we've talked about
00:36:03so it's not a track which favors the chassis but that said you're right they he absolutely
00:36:09needs to get into Q3 and as you say David he's not that far behind a fight a stab at
00:36:16the World Championship if something drastic happens to McLaren and Ferrari should they
00:36:20take each other out for example should they have engine failures and BMW keep running
00:36:25well he is right there remember they're third in the constructors championship so that's pretty
00:36:30much locked up but it's a shame for Heidfeld for the team that he didn't make it into Q2
00:36:35well those first two sectors he's half a second off it depends how how the BMW handles this last
00:36:40sector which as you can see he's got an awful lot of turning in it plus a half of the straightaway so
00:36:45it's a complex sector but he's looking like at the moment he could possibly jump into about
00:36:51six or seven spot assuming he wasn't very slow through sector three as I mentioned earlier five
00:36:58drivers still alive for the championship p7 not bad David three of them that man Robert Kubica
00:37:04Kimi Raikkonen and Nick Heidfeld could be eliminated in Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix
00:37:09Peter Windsor well Bob just still talking again about the gear ratio choice on the BMW going into
00:37:16turn six it's most notable that they it appears as if he almost has to slow the car more to get
00:37:21it into first before he gets to the apex and it looks uncomfortable it may not be slow but I was
00:37:26talking to Billy Ranth about it last night and he said well Massa's doing the same thing well
00:37:30Willie I'm sorry Massa isn't doing the same thing now they've definitely got different ratios on the
00:37:33Ferrari so it'll be interesting to see what how this weekend turns out for BMW in that case because
00:37:39they can't change it now Steve no no that's that they're set if they if they go inside the gearbox
00:37:46and change ratios now um they're going to incur a five spot grid penalty
00:37:53these new decronium rules on the transmissions you're only allowed to change the ratios once
00:37:57per Grand Prix event if you do any more work inside the gearbox each time you go inside if
00:38:02you want to change the ratios once twice you want to change a bearing you'll be you'll be uh you'll
00:38:06be penalized with a five spot penalty every time you do it good change yeah less than four minutes
00:38:13to go now there are the drivers in the relegation zone Coulthard, Webber, Nakajima, Rosberg and Piquet
00:38:28on board with Piquet junior Nelson Piquet yeah really his his teammate Alonso's tenth so
00:38:34Alonso is definitely on the bubble as is Bordet
00:38:38lock two down there in eighth spot I'm not sure if it was him I'd be too happy with that I mean
00:38:43it's a good time but he's got to be a bit careful because something somebody could sneak up on him
00:38:53right now Timo Glock is the only driver in the session who is slower than he was
00:38:57in the q1 session that may change in the next three minutes
00:39:08those numbers right there refer to the only two drivers on track right now
00:39:13and Nelson Piquet Kovalainen's times they couldn't be more equally matched to his teammate Hamilton
00:39:1821.3 and 28.1 for sector one and two exactly the same for both cars just by a tenth Kovalainen
00:39:28takes Hamilton in that third sector fastest third sector so far by a tenth over Hamilton
00:39:34Piquet's plate grows increasingly desperate he is still in the relegation zone in 12th and here
00:39:40comes everybody on to track yeah they'll all come flooding out now
00:39:47Nelson Piquet in 12th spot there
00:39:51boys will be boys on camera mechanics obviously steely tension in the Renault garage
00:39:59Felipe there is some steely tension right there look in Massa's eyes my goodness
00:40:04yeah so the run in order now Massa currently at the top of the time sheet so again all he has to
00:40:09do is advance into q3 well he looks pretty much set to do that right now Kovalainen
00:40:13and Hamilton Raikkonen so it is Ferrari McLaren McLaren Ferrari those four cars
00:40:19they're set top finest Massa's saying let's start q3 right now and you know what I reckon that's
00:40:27what Felipe Massa is thinking about right now how much fuel to put in the car for q3 how important
00:40:32is the pole here how important is race strategy what's the weather going to do so many unanswered
00:40:37questions as we go into q3 and those top runners have to think about their fuel load
00:40:43Nico Rosberg
00:40:47see
00:40:50I don't know why he's just giving himself a run or maybe give himself a gap to that car in front
00:40:55maybe well this is how he likes to try to bring the tires up to temperature he's on the option
00:41:00compound he comes around to start his lap with one minute to go in the session
00:41:07well our top three runners in the session so far Massa Kovalainen and Hamilton those three
00:41:12fellas are in the in the garage they're not coming out they're sitting on their times and
00:41:15Piquet has now gone into the pit so he is done Massa Kovalainen Hamilton also in the garage
00:41:25well Rosberg's got a pickup
00:41:31it's off the pace to 10th place by more than two tenths of a second
00:41:34on board with his teammate Nakajima
00:41:46he too off the pace to the bubble
00:41:55not long to go seven seconds in the on the time to go very nearly out of time but all these guys
00:42:02are now setting their personal best as they're desperate to try and break into q3 there it is
00:42:06zero time left on the clock these laps will count Alonzo's on the bubble down there in p10
00:42:13oh wow Nakajima there struggling like heck to get some time out of the car
00:42:18Mark Webber is done somebody heads for the pit lane I think that might have been Nico Rosberg
00:42:24nope he comes across he is not going to advance
00:42:27oh truly improves to fourth Nakajima come up to the line here he comes
00:42:34Vettel up to fifth Glock to fifth bumping Vettel Alonzo Alonzo goes from the bubble to eight
00:42:43Nakajima doesn't do it Coulthard cannot advance Nakajima is done Coulthard is done with Piquet
00:42:51Webber and Rosberg so both Williams cars out and both Red Bulls and both Toro Rosso's are in
00:42:57Vettel with sixth position again where we used to see him now and Sebastian Bordet doing a good
00:43:02job there intense so both Toro Rosso's in and both Red Bulls out that'll be a disappointment
00:43:08for Nakajima two weeks ago in Singapore he made q3 for the first time and I'm sure he had high
00:43:13hopes here in front of his home audience well he's been quick all weekend yes he has but you're right
00:43:18David I mean look at that situation between Toro Rosso and Red Bull yet again I mean it's all very
00:43:23row well the Red Bull runners coming out and saying well yeah we're really thrilled that
00:43:28Toro Rosso are doing so well well you ought to be getting on with your own program boys
00:43:34so 10 are out 10 are in it will load up on race fuel plus whatever they feel they need for
00:43:40qualifying and prepare to bid for pole we'll be back in a moment as qualifying continues here
00:43:46at the mount fuji speedway in japan this mail and get the temp my name's
00:43:54the international speedway in japan the cars stream back into the pits 10 will prepare for
00:43:59the run for pole let's check out the 10 who will bid for pole and then the drivers who are out
00:44:06well Felipe Amasa looking awfully quick in that Ferrari is he going to get yet another pole Heike
00:44:11Kovalainen the McLaren and Lewis Hamilton just a tenth of a second apart Jarno truly coming to life
00:44:16being quicker than Timo Glock about the first time this weekend Sebastian Vettel also in the
00:44:20Toro Rosso looking really good Kimi Räikkönen down there in the Ferrari and Alonso got a last
00:44:25minute gas there Robert Kubica also just getting in and Sebastian Bordet making it two Toro Rossos
00:44:31into Q3 well there you fellas that go through these fellas do not go through knocked out after
00:44:36Q2 David Coulthard and Mark Webber there for Red Bull they're out Nelson Piquet jr for Renault
00:44:42also grid position set at 12 and Kaz Nakajima and Nico Rosberg 14th and 15th there for Williams
00:44:49these fellas knocked out after Q1 the first period Nick Heidfeld with BMW very disappointing
00:44:55Bruce Barrichello Jenson Bunn and then Sutil and Fizzi Keller 19th and 20th and among the notes
00:45:02on that session P15 is actually one place higher than Nico Rosberg qualified for this race last
00:45:08year but he will not be happy to be outdone by his teammate Nakajima and Heikki Kovalainen
00:45:14quicker than teammate Lewis Hamilton interesting
00:45:22welcome back to the Fuji International Speedway ready for the 10 minute long
00:45:27Q3 qualifying session to determine the first five rows on the grid for Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix
00:45:37live here on speed beginning at midnight notice how that pit lane kind of steps down
00:45:43it looks very wavy doesn't it yeah i think it's a step pattern this track has a lot of elevation
00:45:50change to it a lot like its sister circuit Suzuka with which it'll share the Grand Prix beginning
00:45:56next year running it in alternating years much like the Germans do with their Grand Prix
00:46:02at Hockenheim and Nürburgring
00:46:08Lewis Hamilton looks happy fans stay up to date with mobile text alerts all season long
00:46:15Speed Mobile gives you the latest news and results right to your cell phone
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00:46:25down to the BMW Sauber garage Robert Kubica managed to right his ship get through to Q3
00:46:42yeah they've got interesting sort of fuel strategy there
00:46:47if they just knock it out of the speed are they gonna
00:46:51just go for a heavier car can be reckoning down the pit lane both of the Toyotas are out
00:46:58one or two are lost like that yeah Sebastian Bordet the key here guys really coming into Q3
00:47:05I believe is fuel strategy McLaren versus Ferrari particularly Hamilton versus Massa
00:47:13remember Massa Massa has to win all of these races or certainly has to finish it in front of
00:47:19Lewis Hamilton Hamilton does not have to finish ahead of Massa so Hamilton technically now he
00:47:25doesn't have to shoot for pole he just has to carry enough fuel to make sure that he's finishing
00:47:30behind the Ferrari of Massa so he doesn't need to be on pole so he may be carrying more fuel
00:47:38now if I was McLaren I'd be thinking the best thing to do here is put Kovalainen light but
00:47:44try and get Kovalainen on pole to slow down the Ferrari of Massa and then Hamilton just stay right
00:47:50in the wake of Massa and follow him around the track well Steve I agree with you 100% I think
00:47:57the mistake Hamilton could make here would be trying to go for the pole having said that Felipe
00:48:03Massa might try to force that issue they might be trying to second guess McLaren and I think
00:48:09the interesting thing will be Felipe wants to be on the pole but what will be his fuel load what
00:48:13will they imagine Lewis will do there's a lot of second guessing going on here and it's going to
00:48:18be a fascinating next 10 minutes well the thing is that Hamilton has to be very careful of too he
00:48:24has to make sure that he stays in front of Kimi Räikkönen that's the that's the he's a joke in
00:48:29the pack is Kimi Räikkönen because if he gets in front of Hamilton then Hamilton's going to have
00:48:34his work cut out because he has got to finish at least second he can't go finishing third
00:48:38this is such a fun time of year
00:48:43Hamilton's going to be watching Massa Massa's going to be watching Hamilton
00:48:47Räikkönen's going to be watching them both and Kovalainen's got to be in there too helping Hamilton
00:48:53you mentioned Sebastian Bordet a minute ago two weeks ago in Singapore Bordet failed to
00:48:59make two three for the first time in four races so after a rough start to the season
00:49:04Sebastian Bordet has been coming on strongly finished the last nine races
00:49:08after retiring from five of the first six once again Bordet is back in q3
00:49:22getting late in the afternoon now the sun going down
00:49:26strong headwind we saw the flags really snapping in that break
00:49:33so
00:49:42see if Räikkönen can bump yes he does knocks Timo Glock out of p1
00:49:48Miano Trulli slots into third
00:49:53boy the first four and a half minutes of this session went by quickly
00:49:57Sebastian Bordet takes over third spot Miano Trulli
00:50:00now Massa Hamilton Cooper Sir Alonso have yet to have a lap would it be something of Räikkönen took pole
00:50:11well that would definitely not be on the play sheet of this team
00:50:15exactly Räikkönen got the pole that was a dead joke
00:50:19it's been eight races since Kimi Räikkönen last sat on pole and he was once considered hands down
00:50:25the best qualifier in formula one that honor now goes to his teammate Felipe Massa
00:50:36of course race fuel loads will be different Hamilton goes to third on his first effort
00:50:46the teams will be carefully back timing from the end of the session
00:50:49in order to get two runs in on fresh rubber
00:50:56Alonso winner two weeks ago
00:51:00he's on the prime tire
00:51:06slots in pushing Vettel down to six Trulli seven Bordet eight
00:51:12Cooper is on his first flying lap there goes Robert Kubica
00:51:18four oh he'll be fairly if he could stay in the top if he could stay in the front two rows he'd
00:51:23be ecstatic I think after the way the cars perform this weekend he is also on the option
00:51:29tire Kovalainen goes to fourth bumping Kubica Kovalainen's on the primes I don't think so
00:51:39it's so difficult to see for me I mean I don't know if I'm slightly colorblind with
00:51:44with green and white but I struggle to see the difference between these tires
00:51:48well here we go boys for the first tire change option tires going on the softer tire onto Massa's
00:51:55car well they all had options at uh q2 and they were all quick and they weren't cute
00:52:02yeah they brought the lollipop back for just that reason Ferrari are not very good at letting
00:52:06their cars out of the pit goodness boy that was well unfortunately the chief mechanic just didn't
00:52:12really show any leadership there the board was sort of up and down and waving around the middle
00:52:16Massa's just pulled away you've got to control it if you're using it if you're using a lollipop
00:52:21you have to be in control of the pit stop that's the sole reason you're there sort of like
00:52:27Wednesday you know with Manson I mean well well we've all made mistakes in the pit stops and
00:52:33I've been you know burst into flames and dragged behind but uh Herbert's car down the pit lane on
00:52:39the jack I can say hand on heart I've never made a mistake in a pit stop well there's plenty of
00:52:45time yet Bob who knows I ran over a mechanic once he was very uh very off about it took it
00:52:53personally I didn't know what he was so upset about when he ran out of his thoughts see if
00:52:59Raikkonen heads for the pits or is he already shod for his final effort he's on the options
00:53:05gonna keep trucking hot lap time
00:53:15somebody coming out not a problem one of the Toyota's I think it was truly coming out
00:53:19certainly Toyota chassis only two minutes left of course this final q3 is very short
00:53:25you've got to get the you've got to get the program done and get those tires up to temperature
00:53:30Raikkonen looking good boy Kimi Raikkonen in a very very quick first sector and the Ferrari
00:53:35seems to be able to make better use of these option ties it seems to be able to get
00:53:39nigh on two good laps out of it
00:53:45Massa just coming off a purple third sector so we got a great launch onto the front straight away
00:53:54I believe Ben Massa on the lap that he's hoping to get in pole position
00:54:00Raikkonen sets fastest first sector and second sector 10th faster than Massa in sector one
00:54:0821.4 sector 127 and Hamilton equals it in sector one yes sir 21.4 yes for Hamilton in that first
00:54:18sector currently p3 in timing and scoring for McLaren has Kimi come alive as the Iceman
00:54:24and finally gonna put himself back into this championship as best he can a big gap of 18.6
00:54:34here comes Massa
00:54:3890 40 Hamilton green to the provisional pole yeah Hamilton fastest in sector one and two
00:54:46Massa a little bit off a 10th off in sector one and a 10th off in sector two to his teammate
00:54:52Raikkonen has Massa gone heavy on he'll get another lap if he needs it second the Ferrari
00:54:59front row as of right now and here comes Hamilton how was that third sector the first two were very
00:55:05quick how much yeah a quarter of a second wow there's another lap for everybody in hand yet
00:55:15Kimi's well off the pace in sector one he's just set to sector one pace of 28 seconds while 21.4
00:55:21is a competitive time both right yeah both Ferraris are done everybody else still pushing
00:55:27pretty hard here comes Trulli no excuse me Glock
00:55:35fourth run for the German yeah better than Kovalainen so Kovalainen
00:55:42Kovalainen that's not we got another lap in we need Kovalainen McLaren need Kovalainen up there
00:55:50to help them out against that Ferrari onslaught what can Robert Kubica do Alonso goes to third
00:55:57and bumps Massa wow Trulli bunches teammate Glock what will Kubica do
00:56:02to fifth so Massa dodges another bullet though Kovalainen this is critical for the world
00:56:13Massa back to fifth wow
00:56:19first and fifth for the two championship contenders well guys we were just saying
00:56:24that a lot of it will depend on the teammates helping out and helping out they have Raikkonen
00:56:29out qualifies Massa easily Kovalainen slots into third spot doing a great run for McLaren
00:56:36it is Hamilton Raikkonen Kovalainen and Alonso Massa fifth on the grid well that was a brilliant
00:56:44qualifying run by the McLaren team and it was also a great qualifying run from Kimi Raikkonen
00:56:50the best we've seen for a long time who wants a little irony after all the problems between
00:56:55Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso when they were teammates at McLaren Mercedes Alonso could
00:57:03wind up playing a significant role in Hamilton's championship chances this year if he stays ahead
00:57:09of Felipe Massa back there in fifth funny how the world works sometimes yeah so Lewis Hamilton
00:57:17takes pole for the Japanese Grand Prix solidifying his grip on the world championship unless that man
00:57:24has something to say about it we'll be back to Fuji
00:57:36welcome back to Fuji International Speedway for the second consecutive year Lewis Hamilton
00:57:40will start from pole in the Japanese Grand Prix let's join Peter Windsor congratulations to the
00:57:47fastest three qualifiers for the Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix third for Vodafone McLaren
00:57:52Mercedes Heikki Kovalainen second for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Kimi Raikkonen and on the pole
00:57:56for the sixth time this year and for the second consecutive year here at Fuji Lewis Hamilton for
00:58:02Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Lewis congratulations on that pole it looked pretty close you were just
00:58:07behind Felipe in q2.2 slower but a great run in q3 for you yeah we had quite a good qualifying
00:58:16session quite a bit different to Singapore and to Monza but we didn't have any problems
00:58:22through q2 so it was pretty straightforward we were very quick in q1 and we were also very
00:58:28quick in q2 but Felipe obviously was 0.2 quicker but at least that got us through and
00:58:35usually when you put heavier fuel in it gets tougher and the first lap didn't seem to be
00:58:41very good I think Kimi was just ahead of me I think I was third and the last lap I managed
00:58:46to put all the sectors together and pick up my last sector and bring it home so I was very
00:58:52very happy the team have done a phenomenal job as you know the reliability of our car
00:58:57has been phenomenal for the last two years so without them obviously we wouldn't have this so
00:59:02it's all done thanks to them tell us about that phrase put the sectors together what is it about
00:59:07you and Fuji you seem to love this place you've had a smile on your face ever since you got here
00:59:11I do like Fuji I love it here in Japan it's my third time in Japan but just the
00:59:18the whole atmosphere here is it's quite unique I think I think the people here are probably
00:59:24the nicest people I've ever met and they just the food is great we're out in the mountains
00:59:30next to Mount Fuji which is a spectacular view and the track yeah it's really cool so
00:59:37the whole feeling around here just feels good and it's great to be here again what was the mood
00:59:44like between q2 and q3 as I say Felipe had been slightly quicker in q2 obviously fuel load
00:59:49for q3 and going into the race a critical subject of discussion your thoughts on that
00:59:54I would go into into q3 we we'd already decided going into qualifying what our strategy would be
01:00:01and we believed that it would be competitive and put us in a good in a good position for the
01:00:08race and but as you know always in qualifying it's down to you not making mistakes and putting
01:00:12the sectors together and really pulling out the lap and so it can be very tough and but again
01:00:20we've had very good pace here been able to outpace the Ferraris which is which is great for us and
01:00:25I think really a really strong showing from from me and Heikki so hopefully tomorrow we can
01:00:30push forward with the strategy we have and uh and really challenge for the front congratulations to
01:00:35you and Kimi turning to you congratulations back on the front row for the first time since
01:00:40mainly cool quite a long break but a good run for you Ferrari look very good on the option tire too
01:00:46um yeah it's nice to be back but I mean it's still not not where I want to be hasn't been
01:00:52easy lately and still still I mean second but still not very happy how how things are
01:01:00going I'm still not 100% happy with the car and this is quite frustrating but I mean we're in a
01:01:06good place usually the qualifying has been the worst worst thing for us and we should be strong
01:01:11in the race but we see what we can do tomorrow hopefully we get a good race like I said hasn't
01:01:17been easy in the lately races but I mean we we've done a lot of work and finally we got a little bit
01:01:25results out of it so it's good to be here and a good place to start for tomorrow Kimi you were
01:01:31quickest for a while in q3 tell us about the second lap on on the Bridgestone option how it
01:01:36went for you say problems with the car perhaps be a little bit more specific about how it went
01:01:40um I mean the the issues what we have is been there today all day so hasn't really changed much
01:01:47this is something that of course when you go in qualifying you cannot change much things anymore
01:01:53so you need to live with it and try to get best out of it I mean both laps were pretty okay but
01:02:00I know that there's for sure improvements if you if you get the things as we want but
01:02:06anyhow like I said we're in a good place for the race and that's the main thing what's your
01:02:11mindset going into the race a lot of talk certainly from your own team as well about the team
01:02:15situation and trying to help Felipe but of course mathematically you can still win the championship
01:02:19you are on the front row there how are you going to go into the race I mean like I said I don't
01:02:23have much to lose for sure we want to try to win both championships and it's not going to be easy
01:02:30against McLaren but I do the best what I can tomorrow hopefully we can fight for win and
01:02:36if we can get it would be nice I don't really look the championship too much now just try to go
01:02:41and try to win some race and finish with a with a nice last three races this season and that would
01:02:46be good congratulations to you Kimi and Hecky well done to you too a strong qualifying performance
01:02:53all around from Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and Felipe Massa Lewis's nearest challenger down
01:02:57down in fifth place next thanks to Fernando Alonso in the Renault between you and Felipe but
01:03:01a great qualifying run from you too yeah it was a pretty good session all the way through
01:03:08took a little bit of time to get up to speed in q1 but then by q2 everything felt
01:03:13felt pretty good the car felt well balanced and then on the last session or last part of
01:03:18the qualifying I felt I put two pretty good laps together there's always small mistakes
01:03:24or small moments but I think the third was the maximum that we could get today and
01:03:30hopefully tomorrow things work out fine for us and of course you know we have also both
01:03:36championships on on table so for myself it's also important to try to score as many points as
01:03:41possible and and you know we target to to the maximum points for tomorrow do you agree with
01:03:48Lewis in terms of how good the McLaren feels around here at Fuji as a just a pure race car to drive
01:03:55yeah it's not only in Fuji to be honest it's felt pretty good all the way through the season and
01:03:59and perhaps there's a couple of races earlier in the season where we thought that
01:04:04you know the gap to Ferrari seemed to be quite big but the team reacted really really well
01:04:08and and we made huge improvements on the before the halfway through the season and since then
01:04:15I think we've been on the right track and the whole team has put a huge effort in and it's
01:04:19been just a continuous improvement up to today and it will probably oh it will carry on until
01:04:25the Brazil and it's just a fantastic effort from everybody and the car feels good everywhere but
01:04:31it still means it's pretty close fight and you know you fall off a little bit and you lose three
01:04:35four places in qualifying straight off straight away so you gotta you really gotta nail everything
01:04:41but I'm really really happy in this team congratulations to you and Lewis returning
01:04:46to you for some final thoughts as we go into to the race obviously a strong looking qualifying
01:04:50for you in terms of the championship everyone wants to know how you're thinking at the moment
01:04:55you're thinking about the championship are you feeling the pressure what is your your mindset to
01:05:01um I just try to take every race as it goes as it comes and um I'm definitely compared to last
01:05:08year definitely looking at the championship and uh and what I need to do to to win it it's um
01:05:14it's obviously within my grasp but we as a team have to put a really strong effort in to continue
01:05:20with the momentum we have and and I think for me I'm approaching every race exactly the same as I
01:05:25have throughout the season I don't think I need to change anything and um you know just keep the car
01:05:31on the road and um try and bring it home and score some good points well the job is half done last
01:05:37year Lewis Hamilton scored a dominant victory from pole he will start from pole sunday at Fuji
01:05:43we'll be back speed's coverage of the fia formula one world championship is brought to you by
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