- 6 months ago
The 2nd Thursday Practice session for Round 7 of the 2001 F1 season at Monaco
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00:00Hello and welcome to one of the special places in all of motorsports, Monaco, home of round
00:19seven of the Formula One World Championship as we kick off your big Memorial Day weekend
00:24of racing with Thursday practice from the Grand Prix of Monaco.
00:28I'm Bob Varsha along with Steve Matchett.
00:30As you can see, a huge crowd on hand for this one-time only Thursday practice.
00:35It happens only at Monaco.
00:37Let's go around the track, Steve.
00:39Well, Monaco is probably one of the most famous race circuits in the world.
00:43It's all about downforce on this car.
00:45It's a very twisting, turny circuit that goes in and out Monte Carlo, around the hotels and
00:50the harbor.
00:51Features the famous tunnel, of course, which is the only circuit, I think, in Formula One
00:54that uses a tunnel to this sort of extent is the crossover at Suzuka, but nothing like
00:58here.
00:59It's all about getting downforce on the car and getting grip from the tires.
01:02We'll see the teams using as soft as tires as possible, but the circuit is very, very
01:07difficult.
01:08Now to the highlights of the morning hour of practice.
01:10A little spring in the step there for Rubens Barichello, who has had his contract extended
01:14an extra year by Ferrari.
01:16Here is perhaps the biggest news of the weekend.
01:18Look at the front end of the Arrows car.
01:21The search for front end downforce has gone to fairly laughable extremes, Steve.
01:26Well, as we just said, talking about the track map, it's all about getting downforce on the
01:29car.
01:30That was Arrows' solution to it, to try and get rid of the understeer as well, but
01:33very unsightly.
01:34There was a look at what happens when you don't have it, as Tarso Marquez put the Minardi
01:38in the walls.
01:39There is Giancarlo Fisichella.
01:41The Benetons came out, turned one lap and then parked for virtually the entire session.
01:46They get out for a few laps at the end.
01:48The hour dominated by Michael Schumacher with a very professional approach.
01:53Come out, do a lap, come in, change some things, go back out.
01:55At the end of the day, he had set quick time at 1 minute 21.
01:59Barichello, after the controversy of giving up second place on the track in our most recent
02:03race at Austria, appears to be back in fine form at Ferrari.
02:07Here's a look at the morning session times.
02:09Michael Schumacher and defending Monaco champion David Coulthard at the top of the charts.
02:14Olivier Panis in seventh, once again, comprehensively outperforming his BAR teammate, the 97 world
02:20champion, Jacques Villeneuve.
02:22Jean Alessi in the frost, you see in 10th place, Alessi always very good on the unforgiving
02:27streets of the principality.
02:29We expect a big jump in times in the second one hour session as the track continues to
02:35rubber in.
02:37After that fairly uneventful morning hour, we'll be back for the second hour of practice, preparation
02:43for the Grand Prix of Monaco.
02:45Stay with us.
02:46Speed Vision's coverage of Formula One is sponsored by Bridgestone, a grip on the future.
02:59Welcome back to Monaco.
03:00Bob Varsha and Steve Matchett with you.
03:02The second hour of Thursday practice is underway.
03:05This is Olivier Panis, seventh in the morning hour, coming up to speed in his BAR Honda.
03:13Around the swimming pool.
03:20Car ratcheting on traction control.
03:23This is the Rescasse corner, named for that beige-colored restaurant that sits squarely in
03:29the middle of it.
03:32On to the broad boulevard, pits off to the left.
03:36You can see the BAR squirming around as he dives into Sandovot and up Beau Ravage.
03:43New debris fencing on the left, blind left-hander, casino corner, and now the famed casino square.
03:53Downhill, past the tip-top bar, avoiding the bump on the driver's left into Mirabeau, and
04:00down to the hairpin.
04:01Now the Grand Hotel hairpin, formerly the Lowe's, and before that, the station hairpin.
04:09Sliding the car.
04:10This is Poitier, the door, sighted by Ertin Senna's famed accident when he went into the
04:16guardrail while leading the race handily.
04:20No sound in the world like a Formula One car going through the tunnel.
04:27Back down at Harborside.
04:28Heading for Tabak, and what is arguably the toughest part of the racetrack.
04:32Blind left-hand turd, then a 130 mile an hour approach to these corners at the swimming pool.
04:38And it is all about pinpoint accuracy, Bob, isn't it, Randy?
04:42Because there's no runoff areas, the drivers have to be absolutely spot on to get that
04:46racing line correct to get a good time out of it.
04:48And it means, of course, leaning onto the Armco as well.
04:51I remember Nigel Mansell coming out with comments that he actually feels the tires compressing
04:55against the Armco to know that he's got that pinpoint racing line to get a good time out
04:59of the car.
05:00To the line, a 1 minute 23.952.
05:03That's a couple of tenths off the Frenchman's best this morning.
05:06And of course, Olivier Panis is a former winner here.
05:09He had the astonishing upset back in the 90s when he drove for the Liget team.
05:151996, I remember seeing the Liget team at the Nice airport, and they, too, were absolutely
05:20stunned.
05:21Now, a moment ago, this was Ralph Schumacher locking up the Williams at Saint-Devaux.
05:27He has bad memories of that corner.
05:29You know, it's a very common fault to lock up going down.
05:31That's the start, end of the start, finish straight, before the climb up the hill.
05:34And of course, it was exactly that corner that Ralph Schumacher put the car into the Armco
05:37and damaged his leg with a suspension coming out of the car.
05:40That's right.
05:41It speared through.
05:42Got him in the leg.
05:43Once again, at Rescas, going slowly with the Williams.
05:47He lost brakes entirely two weeks ago in Austria.
05:49Now, here comes Juan Pablo Montoya.
05:52He will race in Monaco in a Grand Prix car on the first anniversary of his victory one
05:57year ago at the Indianapolis 500, which, of course, also takes place this weekend.
06:02Now, watch as the car comes round the Grand Hotel head, how tight that corner is.
06:07This is one race in the season where the engineers actually have to develop a tighter suspension
06:11system because of the lock that they need on the cars to get round that corner.
06:16The suspension, the track ones, will actually foul the inside of the wheel rim, so they have
06:19to develop new suspension components to allow them to put that extra lock onto the car.
06:23It's an interesting situation with regard to the brakes on the Williams, and we'll talk
06:28about that later on in the weekend as we bring you live coverage of qualifying and, of course,
06:32the race itself.
06:33Now, moments ago, Giancarlo Fisichella in the Benetton Renault, with very few laps this
06:37morning, moved up to fourth on the timesheet, while Montoya, who was 16th this morning,
06:47tries to move up.
06:48Well, Monaco is a circuit, really, of great leveling.
06:52There's no great advantage in having the most powerful power plant in the cars because you just
06:57can't use the power.
06:58You can't put the thing down.
07:00There's a look at our current order.
07:01We'll take a break and return to Monaco.
07:08Welcome back to Monaco.
07:09Be sure to join us on Saturday at 7 a.m. Eastern time for live coverage of qualifying for round
07:13seven of the World Championship, followed by our live race coverage, featuring Peter
07:17Windsor's pre-race reports beginning at 7.30 a.m. Eastern.
07:22On the track at Harborside, this is Michael Schumacher, the current World Championship leader and
07:27the fastest man in the morning hour session.
07:29While we were away, Mika Hakkinen in the McLaren Mercedes turned the quickest time of the weekend
07:34thus far.
07:35One minute, 21.380 seconds.
07:37Schumacher ahead of that pace, as you see through the second intermediate sector.
07:42At Rescass, oh, Fernando Alonso has his Minardi off the line, bringing out the yellow flag,
07:50and that will ruin the German's lap.
07:52And that's half of the problem of races at Monaco, of course, is that because all the corners
07:55are so blind, you can arrive on an accident, really a split second after it's happened,
07:59with no comprehension of what you're going to find around the corner.
08:03And not only does Michael Schumacher find out his lap was slowed, but his teammate, meanwhile,
08:07Ruins Barackello, has gone to quick time.
08:10And as we watch Fernando Alonso hitting the barrier at Rescass, we should also point out
08:16that David Coulthard just brushed the wall at Tabac, approaching the swimming pool heavily
08:22with the right rear, and he has limped it around to the McLaren pits.
08:25Here is Olivier Panis at Saint-Devaux sliding up into the cobblestone forecourt of the beautiful
08:31church down there at the corner.
08:33Now, have a look at this.
08:34What we're seeing here is the BAR garages at Monaco, where normally the people were working
08:39in an F1 would have these pristine, operating theatre-type conditions, but Monaco, absolutely
08:44not.
08:45This is all they get.
08:46It's a very tight, compacted pit lane, all there is room in the little garages at the
08:49back is for the computer racks and the tyres and nothing else.
08:52Come rain or shine, they're working out in the open.
08:54It's really difficult to convey the intimacy, and at the same time, the danger of Monaco.
09:00The track is shorter than the international standards, certainly very, very dangerous, but
09:06because it is Monaco, Grand Prix racing keeps coming back here.
09:11Now, Heinz-Harald Frensen has just moved up to third on the timesheets in the Jordan Honda.
09:17Boy, that team needs a good result like they need oxygen.
09:20You see Montoya still down in 18th, as we watch Barrichello coming down to Mirabeau, and
09:30now down to the hairpin.
09:34Take the front straightaway at Indianapolis, or perhaps the same at Monza.
09:39One of the most familiar scenes in all of motorsports, right there.
09:43Now, there's Mika Hakkinen in the McLaren pits.
09:47For the teams, there's a plus and minus, of course, working in these conditions, because
09:52it's very difficult conditions for them to work in.
09:55But the engineers get the opportunity to walk them down the pit lane and look at what everybody
09:58else is doing.
09:59Cool.
10:00It's very difficult.
10:01You can't hide anything in Monaco.
10:03Here is Jean Alessi, who, as I mentioned earlier, is very good around these streets.
10:09He ran very well in the morning session 10th.
10:11He has now been bumped back on the cumulative time sheets to 13th, but he just loves coming
10:21to Monaco.
10:23Here's Montoya flashing up into Casino Square.
10:26Over the bump, down to Mirabeau, about a tenth of a second off of Barrichello's split time
10:39through the first intermediate sector.
10:40You start to see the racing line already, Bob, starting to develop as the soft tires put
10:50the rubber down going around this circuit.
10:51What a sound, through the tunnel, now alongside the harbor, lined this weekend with some of
11:03the most amazing yachts you will ever see afloat.
11:07This is to back, where Coulthard apparently hit the wall.
11:13Oh, the Columbian is really trying hard as you watch the car twitch.
11:16Added a little chrome section to his helmet paint job for the weekend.
11:27Remember when Alain Prost used to use that, everyone thought it was cosmetic, but he said
11:30it actually helped keep the heat off his head.
11:35Up to sixth goes Montoya in the BMW Williams.
11:39And that is by far the best lap yet for a Michelin-shod car this weekend.
11:44There's Eddie Irvine in the Jaguar, also off at Sandovot.
11:48A completely new rear aerodynamic package for the Jaguar that the team is desperately hoping
11:54will make them more competitive.
11:56Another look at the Irishman, locking him up and sliding off.
12:00Discretion, definitely the better part of valor there.
12:02We'll be back.
12:03Back at Monte Carlo, on board with Heinz Harald Frensen.
12:15Let's take a lap with this historic circuit.
12:17Let's take a lap with this historic circuit.
12:47Let's take a lap.
13:07Oh, my God.
13:37That is better than any computer game.
13:47Heinz-Herald Frensen does not improve.
13:49He remains third quick,
13:51which the Jordan team is certainly happy to accept right now.
13:56This is Rubens Barichello on track in the Ferrari through Rescasse.
14:00We expect a hot lap out of him shortly.
14:02His teammate is just behind him on the track,
14:07so we'll have both Ferraris in action at the same time here
14:10as Barichello goes on the clock.
14:16On board with Frensen,
14:17we got a feeling for the rev range that these engines are subjected to.
14:21Yeah, we are very much such a tight circuit.
14:26You know, this circuit more than any is all about driver input
14:29and that on board that we just saw of Frensen going around in the Jordan
14:32give a classic example of that.
14:35Barichello quickest thus far through that first intermediate sector.
14:38You know, to a large extent, really, throughout the Monaco weekend,
14:45it doesn't really matter what the engineers want to do with the cars,
14:48but it's all down to the driver input.
14:50It's all down to the accuracy of getting that racing line sorted between the Armco.
14:54It's not unheard of to leave the factories with one setup,
14:57try all sorts of different setups throughout the weekend,
14:59and on the grid on the Sunday afternoon,
15:01go back to what you had in the factory again.
15:03This is along the harborside, through to back,
15:08to the piscine, the swimming pool.
15:13Now he has slowed down quite a bit.
15:15Look at that, 2.6 seconds to the second intermediate.
15:18Meanwhile, here is his teammate, Michael Schumacher,
15:21who is even quicker still through that second intermediate.
15:24He has his teammate on the road ahead of him.
15:31Schumacher's contract has been extended
15:32by Ferrari through 2004
15:34to the tune of about $38 million a year,
15:38and he is earning his money today.
15:41Quick time by 75 thousandths of a second.
15:45The two Ferraris are at the top of the charts.
15:48And that time of 1.20.8,
15:51still off of last year's pole lap set by Michael Schumacher,
15:551.19.4.
15:56We'll be back to Monaco.
15:57Back at Monaco, or more appropriately, Monte Carlo.
16:04Be sure to join us Sunday night here on Speed Vision
16:07for Speed Vision News Race Week.
16:097.30 p.m. Eastern Time.
16:10We'll have, of course, highlights of the Grand Prix,
16:12plus the Indianapolis 500, motorcycles, drag racing, and more.
16:16This is Heinz-Herald Frensen on a cool-down lap.
16:20Now, while we were away,
16:22Ralph Schumacher moved up to second place on the timesheet,
16:25splitting the Ferraris,
16:27while Trulli is now fourth.
16:28There you see the top eight.
16:30John O'Lacy right there in the eighth spot.
16:34Juan Montoya has been bumped back down to seventh.
16:36Eddie Irvine in the newly redesigned Jaguar runs ninth.
16:41David Coulthard, after tapping the wall,
16:43currently 10th and going backwards.
16:45Here is Jacques Villeneuve.
16:51Only Graham Hill, Jim Clark, Emerson Fittipaldi,
16:54and Mario Andretti hold the distinction of winning
16:56both the Grand Prix of Monaco and the Indianapolis 500.
17:00Villeneuve is halfway to joining that elite company.
17:03A little tire squeal there through Rescasse.
17:12Meanwhile, elsewhere on the course through Poitiers,
17:14this is Jean O'Lacy.
17:21Ooh, and I imagine that's just what it looks like
17:23to the drivers from the darkness of the tunnel
17:25bursting into the sunlight
17:27at about 170 miles an hour.
17:30It must be absolutely terrifying.
17:32And the inside of the tunnel is fitted with
17:33very large, very bright arc lights
17:35all facing away from the driver, of course,
17:37to help with that light change
17:38from the artificial light of the tunnel
17:40to the real light of sunlight
17:42coming back out into the open.
17:43But boy, it must shock them for a second.
17:46Currently eighth.
17:48Obviously on a cool-down lap,
17:49looking for a open piece of racetrack, perhaps,
17:53or perhaps headed to the pits
17:55as he passes Rescasse.
17:56And that restaurant is open
17:58during the weekend, by the way.
18:01Now let's join him for a lap.
18:05Now let's do this.
18:10Sons of jet.
18:18Sons of jet.
18:23Oh, my God.
18:53Oh, my God.
19:23Oh, my God.
19:53Oh, my God.
19:55Oh, my God.
19:57Oh, my God.
19:59Oh, my God.
20:01Oh, my God.
20:03Oh, my God.
20:05Oh, my God.
20:07Oh, my God.
20:09Oh, my God.
20:11Oh, my God.
20:13Oh, my God.
20:15Oh, my God.
20:17Oh, my God.
20:19Oh, my God.
20:21Oh, my God.
20:23Oh, my God.
20:27Oh, my God.
20:29Oh, my God.
20:31Oh, my God.
20:33Oh, my God.
20:35Oh, my God.
20:37this mclaren mechanics are actually in the process of changing the right rear suspension after that
20:41knocking out it's um rear track water is bent as well but what you've got to be very careful of is
20:46where the rear tire makes contact with the onco it can push the drive shaft through the gearbox
20:50casing so it can be a lot more involved than what we really think hakenen up to fifth but
20:55he probably could have had more without that minority in the road ahead of him we'll be back
21:07back at practice at monaco and mika hakenen is flying as you can see a third of a second
21:15under michael schumacher's session leading time at the second split
21:22this is a continuation of his previous lap in which he jumped up to fifth on the timesheet
21:26despite being slightly balked by a car in the road across the line he comes and moves into the lead
21:33by a full second that means he made up seven tenths of a second on michael schumacher's ferrari
21:40in one basically one-third of a lap from the second intermediate to the finish line
21:47an astonishing performance here's the ferrari pits
21:51and i mean the entire pits hopefully during the course of the weekend we'll get a look at the fire
21:57safety technology in the pit lane which is basically a bunch of water cannons mounted
22:02alongside the racetrack pointed at the pit area if a fire breaks out everybody and i mean spectators
22:09and everyone are going to get hosed down it looks i'll tell you when you're working in the pits it
22:13looks absolutely frightening to see that guy with the cannon pointing the thing down at you of course
22:17he's got all the gear on and the reflective face shield and whatnot here is schumacher into the ferrari
22:22pit well the pits are so narrow at monaco that the spare car is not going to be used today of course
22:27the spare car actually has to be stood on the opposite side on on the racetrack side in between
22:33the computer racks so the uh the perch is where the engineers are watching everything going off
22:37there's just no room at all a part of the spectacle at monaco every year is the parade of pit crews
22:44towing race cars from the paddock area which is out on the pier into the pit area for practice
22:50qualifying and of course the race itself yep in the morning absolutely everything every tool and
22:57piece of equipment you need from down on the harbor has to be carried up into the pit lane and once
23:01you're in there the track is sealed and it's almost impossible to get out it's such a rigmarole to walk
23:05through all the tunnels and whatever to get back to the harbor you're in there all day and when the
23:09formula one sessions are finished wheel everything all the way back down again into the harbor front it's a
23:13nightmare this is ralph schumacher currently third but a full second off the pace despite the fact that
23:20this is the shortest racetrack in formula one by far the gaps between cars can be disproportionately large
23:31and i think a lot of that gets back to the courage of the man behind the wheel
23:37going slowly saw the flags waving at the previous corners down to the hairpin
23:44what else on track right now this could be a good opportunity for schumacher
23:54oh one of the arrows cars that's enrique bernoldi just getting away with one in front of the grand
24:02hotel that's actually the motor entrance on the left you see the entrance where the cars taxis what not
24:09drive in at the far right you see where they exit again well jean olasi in the blue cross
24:16meanwhile back in the pits you can see that the guys have got the front the nose section completely
24:22off and they're i think what they're doing there is changing torsion bars i think what they're going
24:26to be doing there is taking that suspension out and they'll be changing spring arrangements on there
24:31this ferrari has got torsion bars as opposed to coil springs because they work better there's less
24:36friction on them and they're mounted longitudinally inside the chassis so uh very similar to our vw
24:42beetle or an old citron traction avant without from the 1937 period but of course they're machined out
24:48for titanium of course and about exactly what ferrari wants you to be saying right now this is rubens
24:54barriquello in the other ferrari currently fourth 1.1 seconds off the pace
25:03meanwhile jacques villeneuve has jumped from 11th up to 7th in the bar honda
25:11flashing down the hill of course that grandstand will be full for qualifying and racing one of the many
25:18challenges to spectators here in monaco is walking to your seat
25:26around the swimming pool it's the tv compound to the right of your screen where all the world's
25:33broadcasters are crowded into a space about the size of your average fast food parking lot
25:39the final corner needs to be terrifying situation hanging the pit boards out there as the cars come
25:47around rascas and back onto the stock finish straight as you hang the board out for the driver
25:51to see the lap times in his position on the track the car is aiming straight for you have about half a
25:57millisecond to hang the board out and it's terrifying the thing there's the situation of getting it back
26:01before the car drives at the board she doesn't look terrified at all meanwhile they continue to work on
26:07michael schumacher's car now how about that for a shot how often do you see that throughout the
26:11formula one season there's so many covers and screens thrown over the cars normally again at monaco
26:16there's absolutely nowhere for anybody to hide
26:21jarno truly in the jordan on a hot lap
26:27check the front wing on this car look at that thing it's very very ugly
26:34uh the constant battle to find front end downforce of course the jordan has a long history a few years
26:43ago they built some absolutely bizarre front end arrangements specifically for monaco
26:49well everybody's trying to get more downforce on the car of course and the reason is the average
26:54speeds are much slower when speeds are slower there's less aerodynamic effect on the car so
26:58it swings and roundabout situation really you can go faster such as a circuit like monza or
27:03silverstone example where the average speed is higher but you can get the crazy create the same
27:08amount of downforce but here speeds are low there's less downforce effects on the car so you need to
27:13put more wing on jordan's not alone in coming up with some pretty creative wings remember the old
27:18tyrol x-wings that rose out of the side pods mclaren put a wing on top of the air box
27:23anything to get some help when it comes to downforce there's a good look at it convenient place to
27:33hurt your lunch i suppose too
27:37the reason they started coming up with these bizarre mounting points of course for the
27:41aerodynamic aids on the car is because the regulations the fia have tried desperately to trim
27:46the areas the building regulations if you like we're allowed to build wings and they thought that
27:50they'd trapped the situation off so that the aerodynamic engineers couldn't put wings where
27:55they wanted to well really jordan's engineers don't want to put that wing there but the building
27:59regulations of the current situation allow it to be fitted there truly three tenths off the pace
28:06through the intermediate currently in fifth on the time charts jarno truly has been going very
28:12quickly in practice and qualifying of late he just hasn't been able to get it done
28:15on sunday and of course two weeks ago in austria was perhaps the worst heinz arald frentzen lost the
28:23gearbox and truly had launch control problems as four cars were stranded on the grid making a total of
28:30six in the last two races
28:37we expect to get some input from peter windsor this weekend about the problems with launch and
28:43traction control that have been plaguing the grand prix teams thus far this season
28:50oh truly sliding a true carting style through the corner across the line he comes he improves his time
29:00but he remains in fifth spot the problem for the engineers as far as traction control and launch
29:06control is concerned is they have so little time track time to gain the information for which to set the
29:11car up and things could get worse because all of these odd wings that have sprouted on the cars are
29:17getting a close looking over by the technical officials of formula one they may not be there
29:22all weekend we'll have to wait and see
29:28welcome back to monaco here's the other man beside jock villeneuve with a shot at the indianapolis 500
29:34grand prix of monaco double juan pablo montoya flashing through to back in the williams
29:40around the swimming pool he has some experience of this racetrack having driven formula 3000
29:48finished sixth behind nick hypo oh he gets sideways and tags the tire wall heavily
29:55rear wing is gone and that left rear tire is down i wonder if that contributed to the spin
30:00there's certainly a possibility of that i mean it was a riot rear corner that made contact with a tire
30:05barrier but you can see quite clearly there the left rear rim so i don't know whether or not there was some
30:09one with that just as it came around the corner he certainly lost the car well before coming into
30:13rascas as you can see the flaggers and the track marshals are quickly at work here's another look
30:20i think the tire i think he had a puncture i believe so you could see the tire roll off the
30:29rim as the car came to a rest but um yeah i would say that's a mighty fine bet there bob
30:36so montoya begins his walk home is kimmy raikkonen and one of the jordans continue on their way
30:41we'll take another look and this time listen closely see if we can learn something
30:53well i'm not sure we did but that gives you some kind of an idea of what it's like when
30:58a grand prix car comes to a bad end right in front of you at monaco
31:11welcome back about 10 minutes to go in this second one hour session now and david coolthard is on a
31:16hot lap in the mclaren mercedes he got 20 laps in the morning hour of practice but very little this is
31:23only his sixth lap in the second hour after tapping the wall at to back he spent a long time in the
31:29pits getting the right rear suspension fixed currently in 12th spot but we're at that time
31:37in the session when qualifying setups will go on and the times will begin to plummet we don't know
31:42that that's what coolthard is doing right now but he has certainly given it some stick
32:00round wrist gas with traffic ahead of him there's ralph schumacher
32:05one of the minorities
32:13up to sixth so coolthard going very well coming off a win two weeks ago in austria
32:221.2 seconds off of the quick time
32:28mclaren mechanics actually did pretty praiseable job there to get that car out because of changing the
32:32entire right rear suspension on one of these cars is pretty involved there's a massive grandstand
32:37behind this camera position and it too will be packed on sunday now here's vika hakenen climbing
32:43beau ravage into that blind left-hander very quick in fourth gear hold the gear through the square
32:53plunge down to mirabeau seven tenths slow chasing his own session leading time
33:02the traction control cut in there on the mclaren mercedes engine to try and pull some more traction
33:10out of it and again right there almost like a rev limiter same concept really pretty much the same
33:18concept yeah
33:22the chicane of course the big talking point we've had leading up to this race is going to be the launch
33:27control situation and how that's going to play out on sunday afternoon and as we touched on before
33:33you know it's the lack of data that the teams have had to work with you remember the launch control
33:37system only works for up to three seconds at the start of the race before the system kicks over to
33:41traction control so as far as the electronics engineer is concerned they've had two races using
33:46launch control that's a that's a grand total of six seconds of data they've got to work with
33:51you know okay they've done countless practice starts but there's no simulation like a grand prix
33:55start other than the grand prix start itself and speaking of starts in both spain and austria the
34:01drivers were allowed to practice their starts at a designated spot near the pit exit here in monaco
34:07the pit lane is so tight they haven't been able to do that so officials have been allowing the drivers
34:11after each of the practice sessions to practice their starts on the racetrack that caused a huge
34:18problem for michael schumacher right there when he came around to practice the start and heinz harold
34:23frentzen had stalled right in front of him with the jordan you know the reason they need to keep
34:28practicing those starts is because the grip level changes at the circuit and the grip level for each
34:33circuit is paramount information for setting the parameters enough of the launch control and of
34:37course you have to remember that the grip will increase at this circuit at monaco as the weekend
34:41goes on so what you're going to see on sunday is going to be different from what you're seeing now
34:45schumacher improves his time by more than two tenths but is still second
34:49to mika hakenen's terrific effort earlier in this session
34:56and the german continues on his way in the ferrari
35:03as a look at the current running order ralph schumacher third barakello fourth
35:08colthard up into sixth as we saw a few minutes ago juan montoya ninth but he is finished
35:15t cars are not allowed in practice and he crashed at rescas jensen button coming to terms with the
35:22benetton renault after a brutal one-hour session this morning in which they turned almost no laps
35:28at all they got a handful right at the end of the hour the intermediate
35:38still well off the finn's time to that point
35:44you're looking at a four-time winner of this race
35:47you're also looking at an incredibly bumpy race truck as well you know just watching the ferrari
35:54circulate around the swimming pool complex there coming around the harby you can see how the front
35:58and rear suspension has taken a pounding the reason for that of course is is because it's a small
36:03mediterranean holiday resort it's not a race track these are just public roads absolutely more
36:08improvement for schumacher but he remains in second spot now just under seven tenths slower than hackening
36:25so
36:28uh
36:30uh
36:36uh
36:38uh
36:40uh
37:12Man, to drive like that, when the slightest misstep could result in serious injuries.
37:24Just breathtaking to watch.
37:27We have about five minutes to go in this second one-hour session of the day.
37:36This is Yano Trulli.
37:37A bizarre front wing perched on the car in front of him.
37:44Well, it's a classic example, that, of how the engineers will try and exploit the regulations,
37:49be it aerodynamical or electronics, to the absolute maximum they can.
37:53And, of course, the situation with launch control is, if anyone's got a problem, will they switch it off?
37:58Well, you would expect the teams to take that sort of decision themselves.
38:01But, of course, they're all out to get the maximum performance they can.
38:04So I don't think you can always rely on the engineers to play to the rules of the game
38:08unless they're absolutely rigidly enforced by the FIA.
38:11No improvement for Trulli.
38:141.4 seconds off of Hackenden's time.
38:20Schumacher on the road ahead of him.
38:22Moves aside.
38:22You can see where the rubber is being laid down now.
38:24As they head into the casino, that's the dome of the casino to the right.
38:32Now, here's a comparison of Jasper Stappen's arrows on the road here at Monaco.
38:36On the left, without that bizarre front tray arrangement.
38:40On the right, the bits they've added to try to get down for us at the front of the car.
38:46You see the guys putting fuel in.
38:49And where they're putting fuel in, of course, is where on Sunday afternoon
38:53they will put the race-free fueling valve in.
38:55But, of course, on the practice sessions, that race-free fueling valve is removed.
38:58And they put that very small, much lower pressure valve on
39:01just so they can top the car up for practice runs.
39:06This is Michael Schumacher again.
39:09Still turning quick laps.
39:10Again, the squeal of the tires.
39:12Lots of buildup there through the Anthony Noe corner,
39:18the final corner before the start-finish stretch.
39:21Again, he lops time away,
39:24down to four-tenths of a second off of Hackenden's time.
39:29Schumacher remains in second spot.
39:32And he still is pushing hard.
39:42I think about three minutes to go in the session.
39:53If, in fact, Schumacher gets Hackenden,
39:56he will certainly have worked hard to do it.
40:02He turned 18 laps in the morning session.
40:04And he is now approaching his thirtieth lap in the afternoon.
40:19Oh, around the swimming pool,
40:20and he's got one of the Jordans in front of him.
40:22You see how the Ferrari mechanics are so timid
40:40at putting that board lower.
40:41They'd love to put that board down
40:43so the drivers can see it.
40:44But, of course, Schumacher is going straight for it.
40:47He lost a couple of tenths on that lap.
40:51Here's David Coulthard now,
40:53currently in sixth spot.
40:56Just over four-tenths off of his teammate's time
40:59to the second intermediate split.
41:01He, too, has a Jordan in front of him on the road.
41:05That was Jarno truly
41:07come through the final corner
41:10like bicycle riders in the peloton.
41:14Just snaking through there.
41:15And Coulthard remains sixth.
41:21Two minutes to go in the session now.
41:25Coulthard eases off.
41:26Truly continues on his way on a hot lap.
41:30There you see the order.
41:31Hackman, the Schumacher brothers,
41:33Michael leading, then Rubens Barichello,
41:35Jarno Trudy.
41:37David Coulthard, Heinz-Herald Frensen,
41:39and Jacques Villeneuve.
41:40Juan Montoya remains in the ninth spot.
41:42I thought he'd slip back a bit farther
41:44since he's not running at this point in the session.
41:47A lazy there in tenth.
41:48And Fisichella doing very well.
41:50His teammate Jenson Button is 17th.
41:53And while Eddie Irvine is 12th in the revised Jaguar,
41:56Pedro de la Rosa is 22nd.
41:59He crashed in this morning's one-hour session
42:01and has turned no laps at all here in the afternoon.
42:04Here's Mika Hakkinen.
42:09See a pair of ominous streaks going straight on there
42:13at Poitiers into the wall.
42:15That was Pedro de la Rosa's accident scene,
42:17and here's Ralph Schumacher into the tire wall.
42:21Not sure exactly where this is.
42:24Down at the swimming pool.
42:25On the exit.
42:30The quick right- and left-handers to exit the swimming pool.
42:34Oh, and there's bits of race car all the way up the track.
42:36Oh!
42:37Here's how he did it.
42:38He hit it going in,
42:40went across the track like a billiard ball,
42:44and pounded the wall on the driver's left.
42:48Boy, oh boy, that's so easy to do.
42:50You see, the car's unsettled
42:51before it becomes sighted onto the screen,
42:53so the thing's all out of control
42:56well before it hits the tire barriers.
42:59This with one minute to go in the session.
43:01There you see, well, less than that.
43:0315 seconds to go,
43:05and that will end the session, no doubt.
43:08There is Ralph.
43:09He appears to be all right.
43:11Quick wink to the crowd.
43:13Quick look at that left leg.
43:14That's the one that was injured at Saint-Devote
43:16here in Monaco last year.
43:19But as you can see,
43:20he, like David Coulthard,
43:22has gone in for some very high-tech
43:24and certainly very soft-looking knee pads.
43:31But the best news is,
43:32he is all right.
43:35So the session ticks down
43:37to the final moments.
43:38The checkered flag will be out.
43:40And perhaps these teams haven't learned
43:42everything they would have liked to.
43:44There is the checkered flag.
43:45Here is a replay.
43:51One of the Sauber's through the chicane.
43:52Here's Eddie Irvine and the Jaguar
43:54getting it sideways.
43:56Will he hit the wall?
43:57No, he will not.
44:00And down the hill comes Michael Schumacher
44:02in the Ferrari.
44:04Oh, that was close.
44:07Followed by Enrique Bernoldi
44:08in one of the arrows.
44:09Right there at the Nouvelle Chicane,
44:12one of the few spots on the racetrack
44:14here at Monaco
44:15where there is room
44:16to get around someone.
44:18We'll be back in just a moment.
44:24Back in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
44:26Earlier we mentioned
44:26that the drivers are allowed
44:28to practice their starts
44:29on the racetrack.
44:30There goes Michael Schumacher,
44:32Eddie Irvine,
44:33and Enrique Bernoldi
44:34doing exactly that.
44:36And you notice that
44:36Bernoldi's car
44:37does not have that bizarre
44:38front wing that Verstappens did.
44:40More on that in a moment.
44:41Here's a look
44:42at the Thursday afternoon
44:44practice time.
44:45Mika Hakkinen leads
44:46Michael Schumacher
44:46followed by Ralph Schumacher
44:48and Rubens Barichello.
44:51Donna Lacy
44:52up in eighth spot.
44:55Jacques Villeneuve, ninth,
44:57outperforming his teammate
44:58Olivier Panis.
44:59Although it bears repeating
45:00once again, Steve,
45:01that this was purely
45:02a practice session
45:03and the engineers and drivers
45:05are about to go to work.
45:06Absolutely, yeah.
45:07It's very important
45:08to collect as much data
45:09and it's very difficult
45:10to say that the times
45:11are that meaningful.
45:12Certainly at the start
45:12of the session,
45:13towards the end of the session
45:14you get an accurate
45:15qualifying results, I guess.
45:17And after a close look
45:18at those wings on Trulli
45:20and Verstappen's cars,
45:21that device has been banned
45:24for the weekend.
45:25Be sure to join us
45:26on Saturday
45:27at 7 a.m. Eastern time
45:28for live coverage
45:29of qualifying from Monaco.
45:31And of course,
45:31the race begins
45:32at 7.30 a.m. Eastern time
45:34on Sunday.
45:35We'll see you then.
45:36I'm Bob Barsha
45:37for Steve Matcha.
45:38Thanks for being with us.
45:39See you at qualifying
45:40for Monaco.
45:41Go.
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