- 6 months ago
The 2nd Friday Practice session for Round 13 of the 2001 F1 season at the Hungaroring.
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00:00Welcome to Three Springs Valley in Unbaring, about 12 miles from downtown Budapest, Hungary,
00:23for round 13 of the Formula One World Championship and speed vision coverage of Friday practice
00:28for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
00:30I'm Bob Varsha, pleased to be back in the Formula One saddle alongside my colleague Sam Posey.
00:35Sam, let's talk a little bit about the racetrack here in Hungary.
00:38Well, Bob, first of all, welcome back.
00:40Now, this track has twice as many corners per mile as Hockenheim or Monza.
00:44So if you like to watch guys steering cars, this is the place.
00:48Unfortunately, the appellation Mickey Mouse also comes to mind.
00:51And if you look over there on the right of the screen, you can just see those famous ears.
00:56With eight slow corners and a dusty surface, you want all the downforce and traction control you can get.
01:01You'll see some new little wings sprouted.
01:03And watch out for that Turn 12.
01:05I won't give anything away, but there's going to be some action there.
01:07Racer-turned-broadcaster Martin Brundle calls it Monaco without the houses.
01:11The big news, of course, a driver's switch.
01:13Heinz-Herald Frensen now in the prost.
01:15While Jean-Olesi is in, Frensen's former Jordan reunited with his former Formula 3000 team owner.
01:22There is Heinz-Herald Frensen in the prost.
01:26Both men with just about 30 miles each of shakedown running to get used to their new teams and cars.
01:33Despite that, however, Alasi managed to put the Jordan at the top of the time charts early on.
01:38It was a definite trade-up for Jean-Olesi, and I think he realizes this may be his last best chance.
01:43Eddie Irvine, with the benefit of a few aerodynamic tweaks to the Jaguar, the engine cover and rear wing to be specific,
01:50allowed him to shave the top time to a 119.996.
01:54Jean-Olesi found the limits of adhesion by exceeding them.
01:57He would later say that was a silly mistake, and it looks like that's exactly what it is.
02:01He walks back planning to make the most of the rest of the opportunity of today.
02:06Out of the session after just five laps.
02:08Michael Schumacher looking forward to clinching his fourth world championship this weekend in great form with the Ferrari,
02:15setting the quick time early on.
02:17And then David Coulthard having a terrible opening session.
02:20Well, this is that infamous turn 12, and we're going to see more of it.
02:23And notice that the curbing on the outside is very abrupt.
02:26It's a new curb.
02:27The teams were not informed of it.
02:29And you see Coulthard not making, doing very well with it.
02:32Meanwhile, sliding the Ferrari like a dirt tracker, Rubens Barichello actually was quick for most of the first one-hour session,
02:39while Ralph Schumacher jumped from 10th to 5th, and then he threw the Williams BMW off the road.
02:45It's becoming a pattern to see even the top guys going off the road.
02:48The track is so dusty.
02:50Late in the session, Michael Schumacher, pit teammate Barichello for the quick time.
02:54A 116.995, better than his pole time a year ago.
02:58Then the big news, David Coulthard over that curb, tearing up the McLaren.
03:03He just shot the bottom of the car right off, and you see him pushing the photographers away.
03:08No, boys, this is up to me here.
03:10Let me handle this.
03:11Here's a look at the first-hour times.
03:13Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barichello, a comfortable 6 tenths of a second up on Mika Hakkinen,
03:18while David Coulthard hung on to 4th place over Ralph Schumacher and Nick Heitfeld.
03:23Well, Yono truly has said he likes this place and hopes his luck will change.
03:26Pannis and Villeneuve took different approaches to the setup with Pannis doing better,
03:30and Raikkonen oddly behind his teammate, Heitfeld.
03:33Jensen Button, one of the men whose future is on the line in the remaining five races of this season.
03:39Pedro De La Rosa will have the same aerodynamic setup as his Jaguar teammate, Eddie Irvine,
03:44when we come to you for qualifying on Saturday.
03:47John Alasi, 19th, with just those five laps on track,
03:51and you need every minute you can get on a track like the Hungaro Ring.
03:56Speed Vision's coverage of Formula One is sponsored by Foster's Lager, Australian for beer.
04:06Welcome back to the Hungaro Ring.
04:08Bob Barsha and Sam Posey with you for Friday practice from the Hungarian Grand Prix,
04:12ready for the second one-hour practice session.
04:14There's Olivier Pannis in the BAR, first man out of the pits.
04:18You know, it's 84 degrees ambient temperature and a track temperature of 100 degrees,
04:23so this is a tough afternoon here on a slippery, sandy track.
04:27It's all twists and turns.
04:29The track was built back in the early 80s just for Formula One.
04:34I suppose it's remarkable that they came up with a track that's pretty much universally disliked by the drivers and teams
04:40for its twisty turns and short straightaways.
04:44Here comes Ralph Schumacher.
04:46He was fifth this morning, doing a very good job here, as he did last year,
04:51and, of course, outshining at this point his teammate Montoya.
04:54Pannis is a very good man, of course, for setting a car up.
05:02He was McLaren's test driver, and he learned an awful lot there, and he's brought that knowledge to BAR,
05:08and I think he's really helped Villeneuve tremendously to Villeneuve's success so far this year, Bob.
05:13Eighth in the morning session.
05:15Pannis, along with Villeneuve, have both been confirmed.
05:18They'll be back with the BAR Honda effort again next year.
05:21And they still have plenty to race for this year.
05:24They're in the midst of a three-team battle for fourth place in the Constructors' Championship.
05:29Best of the rest, if you will, behind Ferrari, McLaren, and Williams.
05:33BAR has 16 points.
05:34Sauber has 19.
05:36Jordan has 15.
05:38I think that battle is going to be one of the most interesting things to follow in this last third of the season, Bob,
05:43because there really is a lot of prestige riding on that best of the rest.
05:46I mean, people understand the top three teams are juggernauts, basically,
05:50and exactly who can come up with the rest is going to be crucial.
05:54This is sharply downhill through this section.
05:57Long-time fans of Formula One will remember it was right here that Nigel Mansell threw one of the all-time great passing moves
06:03on the late Ayrton Senna back in 1989.
06:09Long right-hander.
06:12Turn after turn after turn.
06:13Most of them second and third gear turns.
06:16Eight second and third gear turns altogether.
06:18In fact, the drivers get into top gear, whether that be sixth or seventh, depending on your transmission,
06:24just twice around this entire circuit.
06:27In fact, they only get into fifth gear two additional times.
06:30And a top speed only of 175, whereas just three weeks ago at the Hockenheim, we were looking at 225.
06:37So a 50-mile-an-hour drop.
06:39Here you saw Panas' effort at the second intermediate.
06:42Two and a half seconds off the pace set by the current quick man, Michael Schumacher.
06:47You also saw Schumacher taking to the track in his Ferrari.
06:51You know, I'm not driving the track, but I kind of like it.
06:53I think it's got its own identity, which is really saying something, at least.
06:57I mean, it's twisty.
06:58It's slow.
06:58But at least you know you're coming here.
07:00That's what it is.
07:01It has a kind of character.
07:03I think it's okay.
07:03An improvement for Panasou.
07:05A puff of tire smoke there from Juan Pablo Montoya, the former kart champion and Indy 500 winner,
07:11has really had a tough time thus far here at the Hungaro Ring.
07:1516th currently.
07:16He has raced at this track before in Formula 3000, but only on one other occasion.
07:21And that was some time ago, and he obviously is having a tough time getting to grips with it here.
07:26The low downforce, the low grip, I should say, high downforce, but low grip,
07:31should suit Montoya's style, however, because he's very good with the car sliding all over the place.
07:38So I think time will tell, but I think he's going to come to grips with this thing before the weekend is over.
07:44His teammate, Ralph Schumacher, finished the first one-hour session in fifth place.
07:53He's looking more and more likely that the Williams-BMW team will keep Juan Montoya for next year.
07:59Now he's got traffic ahead of him, which is never a good thing around the Hungaro Ring.
08:05It was a good shot.
08:07It's Villeneuve.
08:10One other thing about this racetrack, as you look down, I was here for some of the Grand Frides.
08:15Oh, boy.
08:17Around goes Montoya.
08:18Quite a catch, though.
08:20That was a couple of times around.
08:22That gives you a good look at that new rear wing.
08:24Look just in front of the rear wing, and you'll see a white, banana-like wing just over the transmission housing there.
08:31See that?
08:32That's a good angle of it.
08:33And just a little to the left.
08:35There it is.
08:36That's quite a big wing to squeeze into that space.
08:40Getting back to my point, when this track was first opened,
08:44the first thing that struck you was that there is nothing on the infield
08:47and no spectator amenities to speak of as we look at Montoya losing the handle.
08:52Well, you can see everybody is losing it.
08:54I don't think it's any great disgrace.
08:56Obviously, the track is very slippery at this point, very hot.
09:00And the minute you try to push it all, you're at risk of losing it.
09:04Just quickly to finish my story, as Michael Schumacher comes around,
09:07the reason we were told that there were no added amenities inside or outside the actual racing surface
09:12when the track was built was that that land was owned by other landowners who refused to sell it to the track developers.
09:20No improvement for Michael Schumacher.
09:22We'll be back in just a moment.
09:24Stay with us.
09:24Welcome back to practice in Hungary.
09:27This is Luciano Berti, who jumped from 20th to 15th on the time charts,
09:33but then going for that little extra bit of speed, spun the cross off the track.
09:38As they say in NASCAR, he got a little bit behind in his steering.
09:41Nick Heitfeld also had a roundy round,
09:45though he is currently in sixth spot and looking very good in this Sauber,
09:49which the team says works much better in its high downforce aerodynamic configuration
09:53thanks to the electro-hydraulic gearbox that they have installed since the Grand Prix of Monte Carlo.
10:00You know, except for Michael Schumacher and Mika Hockinen,
10:03just about everybody we've seen has spun.
10:05Pretty much what we expected, a track that gets so little use.
10:09Be sure to join us for this Hungarian Grand Prix weekend tomorrow.
10:13Qualifying at 7 a.m. Eastern Time, and qualifying is critical.
10:17And then we'll have live race coverage at 7.30 a.m. Eastern Time
10:21with reports from Peter Windsor, including pit strategy at the Hungaral Ring
10:25and comments from both John Olesi and Heinz-Herald Frensen about their new rides.
10:31Juan Pablo Montoya on the track.
10:33He is slipping back, not moving forward, which you really wouldn't expect.
10:37He's slipping back to around 18th at this point.
10:41Whoops, there's Heinz-Herald Frensen, who has gone around.
10:44He's currently in 19th.
10:47Back to Montoya.
10:51Look at that washboard action on the pavement in that corner.
10:54This is where Coulthard had his big accident.
10:56Look at Montoya hustle a car, though.
10:58Whoa, I mean, he's really pushing this thing.
11:00It's startling that he isn't doing better,
11:02because this looks like a third or fourth place kind of run.
11:06Whoa!
11:07Hey!
11:08I love it!
11:09All right.
11:10Never lift.
11:11Get that guy a ride at Carahoe.
11:13Never lift, and he jumps to seven.
11:15All right, look at that.
11:15That's marvelous.
11:17With all that dirt track action, what if he'd had a clean exit there?
11:20He'd be up in fifth or fourth, maybe.
11:22Oh, he knew.
11:23He had a great lap going.
11:24Here's another look at what happened to Heinz-Herald Frensen
11:26at what is rapidly becoming Coulthard corner.
11:30Yeah, and of course, Frensen is now looking at the short end of the season
11:34with a car that is not going to do him any favors.
11:37There's been some interesting developments in that story
11:40of Jean Alessi and Heinz-Herald Frensen.
11:42We'll talk about that more as the weekend goes on.
11:45Here's a look at the current standings
11:46as Michael Schumacher makes his way around,
11:49approaching that same corner where Frensen went off.
11:52And remember that last year's poll time was 1-17-5,
11:56so Schumacher well inside that already.
11:59He's going to really batter it by the end of the weekend.
12:03Bertie in 18th, Frensen's new teammate,
12:05so the two cross teammates right together.
12:08Apparently some money changed hands between the Jordan and cross teams,
12:12and that has been a godsend for the four-time world champion Alon Frost
12:16as he tries to keep his team alive to the end of the season.
12:20Hot lap now with Michael Schumacher.
12:22Just look at all that dust, rooster tailing up off the racetrack.
12:27Schumacher within reach of the championship this weekend.
12:33He only needs to score three more points than David Coulthard,
12:37and the championship is his.
12:38I say he does it this weekend.
12:40I expect he will.
12:41Just a moment ago, Enrique Bernoldi jumped from 14th to 11th in the Arrows.
12:48That splits the BARs at Tannis and Villeneuve.
12:53Michael just looking like a man completely in charge of the championship,
12:59which will be his fourth.
13:01He does it.
13:01He could clinch under any number of scenarios, and we'll be talking about them.
13:06In addition to David Coulthard, we should point out that two other drivers
13:09are still mathematically alive for the world championship in 2001.
13:13Michael's brother, Ralph Schumacher, who has 41 points,
13:16to his brother's 84,
13:18and Rubens Barichello, Michael Schumacher's Ferrari teammate,
13:21who has 40 points coming in.
13:22Those guys have a shot at the championship, Bob, like you and I do.
13:26Well, come on, Sam.
13:27I'm trying to build some drama here.
13:29Don't be.
13:29Work with me here, buddy.
13:31We'll be right back to the Hungaro ring.
13:33Welcome back to Friday Practice at the Hungaro ring.
13:46Bob Barsha and Sampozy with you.
13:48This is Ralph Schumacher with three victories to his credit in 2001,
13:52and he, like his teammate Juan Pablo Montoya,
13:56is working those Michelins hard.
13:58He's the front-running Michelin driver at the moment.
14:01He did really well here last year as well, Bob,
14:04and sometimes patterns assert themselves,
14:06particularly, I have noticed,
14:08on the very slow and very fast tracks.
14:12This obviously falls in the former category.
14:15Schumacher continues at the second intermediate,
14:171.6 seconds off of his brother's session-leading time.
14:22Jean Alessi just jumped up to 12th in the Jordan,
14:25so the Frenchman going well,
14:27despite the fact that he's a right-foot breaker
14:29in a car built for a left-foot breaker,
14:31and he got only five laps in the opening hour.
14:35Across the line goes Ralph,
14:361.764 seconds behind his brother.
14:40No improvement.
14:42Still in fifth spot.
14:44Peek into the Arrows garage.
14:46Enrique Bernalde,
14:47currently 11th.
14:49It's been announced this team will have
14:52Cosworth V10 engines next year,
14:54the same specification as the Jaguars use.
14:57Bobby Rahal, when he was asked about that,
14:59said, well, sure,
15:01I'm not thrilled to see someone else with our engine,
15:04but basically we have bigger fish to fry than that,
15:06and, well, I'm not too worried about it.
15:09Well, he might.
15:12Mika Hakkinen,
15:13currently third,
15:14but a full six-tenths of a second
15:16behind the Ferraris.
15:17Hakkinen has been very successful on this track,
15:22and he has a very good mindset,
15:26I think, at this point.
15:27I mean, his championship hopes are basically gone,
15:31and he is free to really take shots
15:33at trying to win races.
15:36He can kind of shoot from the hip.
15:39It's been such a bizarre season.
15:41He's won it the last two years, you know.
15:42That's a pretty good going for a hat trick.
15:44That gives you some steam.
15:45He improves by about a tenth,
15:49but does not move up in position.
15:51Still a half second behind the Ferraris.
15:53Here is Michael.
15:56The Ferrari looks very much the same as it has.
16:00No particular aerodynamic tricks.
16:03I suspect that they're going to use
16:06the advantage they have in the points
16:08to start working with their development car
16:11for next year, and we're going to see
16:12a pretty standard car for most of the rest
16:14of this year on the track.
16:16That's how the rich get richer.
16:18There's that tricky turn.
16:19Boy, that is.
16:20And there's a little bounce
16:21in the middle of it, too.
16:22It kind of reminds me of
16:23the last turn in Montreal.
16:25Boy, the Ferraris just look so planted,
16:28so solid,
16:29so stable,
16:31so red.
16:34Boy, I wish I had a red racing car.
16:36Don't you think it's the color to have if you're...
16:38I mean, I think that poor Lacey, you know,
16:41in that blue car,
16:42now he's jumped up to a yellow car.
16:44That's worth half a second right there.
16:45Don't take a Ferrari in any color.
16:4937 minutes, 20 seconds,
16:51counting down to the end of this second
16:52of two- or one-hour sessions
16:54here at the Hungarrow Ring,
16:56and when we come to you live
16:57from the U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis
16:59at the end of September,
17:00you'll be seeing these practice sessions
17:02live as well,
17:03so mark your calendar,
17:04or better yet,
17:05come to the track.
17:08Welcome back to the Hungarrow Ring.
17:10Speed Vision is now your home for NASCAR,
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17:14Weeknights at 6.30 p.m. Eastern,
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17:19and NASCAR Tech on Sundays
17:21beginning the 26th of August
17:22at 7 p.m. Eastern.
17:26Rubens-Badakello on track in the Ferrari.
17:28All of us at Speed Vision
17:29are proud to welcome NASCAR programming
17:31to our lineup,
17:33but we've been reading your emails
17:34and please do not worry,
17:35we're not going to cast aside
17:37Formula 1 sports cars
17:38and all the other great racing
17:39you're used to seeing.
17:40We're going to attempt
17:41to get the rights
17:42to Grand Prix racing
17:43back in 2002 and beyond,
17:45as well as bringing you
17:47kart,
17:48endurance sports car racing,
17:49motorcycles,
17:50and much more.
17:51You know, Bob,
17:52I think the NASCAR fan loves racing,
17:54and I think if they see NASCAR on Speed Vision
17:56and they see this other stuff, too,
17:58they're going to start to like it
17:59the way we do.
18:00Well, I know a lot of the NASCAR boys
18:01love Formula 1
18:02as Barrichello solidifies
18:04his second place
18:06in the current standings.
18:07Johnny Benson,
18:08often seen on Speed Vision,
18:09is a big Formula 1 fan.
18:12I know the late Dale Earnhardt
18:13was as well.
18:15Eddie Irvine in the garage,
18:17currently 15th.
18:19As you can see,
18:20in the darkness,
18:21both literally and metaphorically,
18:24they are struggling
18:25with that Jaguar.
18:26They have that wonderful
18:27third place at Monaco,
18:28and this track,
18:29as you pointed out, Bob,
18:30is a Monaco
18:32without the houses around it.
18:35Practice start there
18:36by Luciano Berti.
18:37A moment ago,
18:38Jarno truly jumped up
18:39to sixth in the Jordan.
18:41Then Nick Heidfeld
18:42in the Sauber
18:43leapt up to fourth.
18:45There you see confirmation
18:46right there.
18:48By the way,
18:48when I called the track
18:49Mickey Mouse,
18:50I was quoting Jarno truly.
18:52Says he likes it,
18:53but he admits
18:54it's a Mickey Mouse-like track.
18:58I think if we could just get
18:59door handles on these cars,
19:02then everyone could enjoy
19:04door handle to door handle racing,
19:05and the problems would be over.
19:06You're going to get us
19:07in so much trouble.
19:10Actually,
19:10it is a terrific racetrack,
19:12but it just doesn't allow
19:13these Grand Prix cars
19:14to do what they were designed to do.
19:17Well,
19:19to have a Formula One car
19:20on a track
19:21where the maximum speed
19:22is 175
19:23is ridiculous.
19:25Well, exactly.
19:25And, of course,
19:26the Hockenheim ring
19:27suffers from the other extreme.
19:28It's just all
19:29flat-out pedal-to-the-metal,
19:30if you will.
19:31These cars change direction
19:33like none other
19:33in the world.
19:34And as the Jaguar
19:36off,
19:37that is De La Rosa
19:38mired in 18th place.
19:40Doing a little change
19:42of direction.
19:43It's a good place
19:44to do it.
19:45This is Ralph Schumacher.
19:48I'm very impressed
19:49by Ralph's
19:50steadiness this year.
19:52He's been out-qualified
19:53a couple of times
19:54by Montoya
19:54at crucial moments,
19:56but he has not been
19:57out-raced by him
19:58when it counted.
20:00You could call that luck,
20:01but I think
20:03there's a steadiness
20:04to this guy
20:04that is going to carry him
20:06into the championship
20:07battle next year
20:08for sure.
20:11No question about that.
20:13There was a little bit
20:14of a dust-up
20:14within the Williams team
20:16after the events
20:16of the German Grand Prix
20:17where Juan Montoya
20:19led so regally
20:20before the engine
20:21let him down
20:22after that long pit stop.
20:23Afterwards,
20:24Ralph Schumacher,
20:25who, of course,
20:26finished on the podium,
20:27said,
20:27well,
20:27I took care of my engine
20:29to which the Williams team
20:30technical director
20:31Patrick Head
20:32jumped up and said,
20:33well,
20:33Montoya
20:34didn't hurt his engine.
20:36It was our fault.
20:38Our Peter Windsor
20:38has talked to all
20:39the principals
20:40in that little
20:40contratant.
20:41He'll have a report
20:42for us on Sunday morning
20:43at 7.30 a.m.
20:45Eastern Time
20:46so be sure
20:46to join us
20:47for the race.
20:48Well,
20:49your keenest rival
20:49in Formula One
20:50is always your own teammate.
20:53Ralph bumps it up to fourth,
20:55looking good
20:55as he starts
20:56that downhill
20:56part of the track.
20:58First half of the track
20:59pretty much downhill,
21:00still weaving
21:00from side to side.
21:03Montoya
21:04with that superb
21:06car control
21:07that we saw earlier,
21:08that wonderful lap
21:09where he came
21:10boiling out
21:11of the last turn
21:12in a full-on slide.
21:13Well,
21:13I'll tell you one thing
21:14about this racetrack.
21:15It's easy to get close
21:16to the cars
21:16if you have
21:17a media credential.
21:18You can stand
21:18right behind that fence
21:19and watch these cars
21:20change direction.
21:21It's magic.
21:23Montoya
21:23working a good lap.
21:25He takes
21:25three-tenths of a second
21:27off of his best
21:28but does not move up.
21:29He's still eight.
21:31Of course,
21:31your biggest rival
21:32in Formula One
21:33is always your teammate,
21:34Bob.
21:35I mean,
21:35he's the only guy
21:36with a car
21:36exactly like yours.
21:39He's the one guy
21:40you have got to be
21:41no matter what.
21:42That was Olivier Panisse
21:44in his garage
21:44and now,
21:46of course,
21:46we see Rubens Barrichello
21:47trying to improve
21:49which,
21:49of course,
21:50if he improves,
21:51will bring him
21:52right next to Michael Schumacher
21:53because he's very close
21:54so watch the time.
21:55Of course,
21:57what you just said
21:57about teammates,
21:58Sam,
21:58brings up that
21:59interesting dynamic
22:00in Formula One
22:00particularly in practice
22:02like this.
22:03Two teammates
22:03will often go
22:04in different directions
22:05on setup
22:06and then inevitably
22:07one teammate
22:08finds a better one
22:09and then you're expected
22:10to share it
22:10with your teammate.
22:12Panisse and Villeneuve,
22:12perfect case in point.
22:14As I said earlier,
22:15Villeneuve has gained
22:16an awful lot
22:17out of having Olivier Panisse
22:18on the team this year.
22:19I think Villeneuve
22:20is in raw speed
22:21and General Savvy,
22:23the faster driver
22:24but you've got to
22:25position him
22:26in a car
22:27that's handling well
22:28and Panisse is able
22:29to do that for him
22:30so they work well together
22:31even if they are
22:32at odds
22:33from time to time.
22:34You just saw
22:35Michael Schumacher
22:36six-tenths of a second
22:37under his pull time
22:39from a year ago.
22:40This is Jensen Button.
22:42Button, of course,
22:43had a wonderful outing
22:44in Hockenheim
22:44three weeks ago,
22:45his best by far
22:46of the year.
22:47A fifth there
22:49and they have
22:50a new aerodynamic
22:51package
22:52and we hear
22:53that on tomorrow's
22:56qualifying session
22:57they will have
22:57an actual qualifying engine
22:59and that morale
22:59is very, very high
23:01right now.
23:03This team desperately
23:04needs to get
23:04something done.
23:06The team leader
23:07is Giancarlo Fisichella
23:08who has seen
23:11his team option,
23:13that is the team's
23:14opportunity
23:15to claim his services
23:17for next year,
23:18expires.
23:19So now it is up
23:19to Fisichella
23:21if he wants to stay
23:22possibly with
23:23Jensen Button
23:24as his teammate
23:24when this team
23:25becomes the full-fledged
23:27Renault factory
23:28operation next year.
23:30But he may wind up
23:32moving over to Jordan
23:33depending on what
23:34Jarno truly does.
23:37And there are rumors
23:38too about his
23:39going to Arrows
23:40but I don't think
23:41that's a step up.
23:42Do you?
23:42No, I wouldn't think so.
23:43I think Benetton,
23:44I mean, they're having
23:45their troubles
23:45but they are on track
23:46with the Renault
23:47connection to something
23:49that could be
23:49first rate.
23:51I'd be staying
23:51just where I am.
23:52Great technical lineup
23:53and you know
23:54that Renault is going
23:55to get it right
23:56sooner or later.
23:57There's your top six.
23:58We'll be back.
23:58Welcome back.
24:08Moments ago
24:08this was Juan Pablo Montoya
24:10who continues
24:11to struggle
24:12to find grip
24:13with his Williams BMW
24:14currently in eighth spot.
24:18And the young Spaniard
24:20Fernando Alonso
24:21just removed
24:22from his teenage years
24:23at the last race
24:24in Germany
24:25also found traction
24:28just that little bit
24:29too elusive.
24:30I'm surprised
24:31you can see
24:31out of that car.
24:32Look at how low
24:33his eyeline is
24:34in relationship
24:35to the front of the car.
24:36It really looks
24:37as if he cannot see.
24:40Maybe he can.
24:41Also while we're away
24:42Olivier Panis
24:42moved up
24:43into the single digits.
24:44The BAR Honda driver
24:45now in ninth place
24:46as we watch
24:47Michael Schumacher
24:48on a hot lap
24:49in the Ferrari.
24:52All tight turns
24:53as we've said.
24:54Top speed 175.
24:56If there's performance
24:57to be had
24:58around this track
24:58this is the man
24:59who is going
25:00to find it.
25:01His closest rival
25:02probably
25:02would be
25:03Mika Hockinen
25:04here is my guess.
25:07Hockinen
25:07with wins here
25:08the last two years.
25:09Schumacher
25:10with the hot hand
25:11so far this year.
25:12Including last year
25:13when Hockinen
25:14jumped ahead
25:15of Schumacher
25:15at the start
25:16and held him off
25:17the rest of the way.
25:18Schumacher hoping
25:19to become
25:19the first Ferrari driver
25:20to win back-to-back
25:22world driving championships
25:23since Alberto Iscari
25:24in 1952 and 53
25:26and he's three-tenths
25:28of a second quicker.
25:29Boy, he just helped
25:30his cause there.
25:31That was a masterful lap.
25:33The track must be getting
25:34a little...
25:35It's funny.
25:36The track looks clean
25:38and with a lot of grip
25:39when you're watching
25:40Michael Schumacher.
25:41It looks slippery
25:42and with no grip
25:43when you're watching
25:43everybody else.
25:46Wow.
25:47Look at that gap.
25:48Look at seventh.
25:49Pedro De La Rosa
25:49who was 18th
25:51up into the top ten now.
25:54People are starting
25:55to get serious about it
25:56at the end of this
25:57second one-hour session.
25:59Qualifying setups
26:00will be going on
26:01as they try a couple
26:02of laps on fresh tires
26:03probably
26:03to get ready
26:05for tomorrow morning's
26:06qualifying.
26:07And while all this
26:08is going on
26:09David Coulthard
26:10is sitting in the pits
26:11not running
26:12unable to do anything
26:14to improve his chances
26:16of staying alive
26:17in the championship.
26:18There's Sir Frank
26:19Williams who has
26:20come back alive
26:22as a racing car owner
26:23literally in the last
26:25few weeks.
26:26He's back in the hunt
26:27and we wish him
26:29all the very best.
26:31Amazing what having
26:32arguably the best engine
26:33in Formula One
26:34does for your results.
26:35Ralph Schumacher
26:36on a hot lap here
26:37looking very good
26:38off that final corner.
26:40Wow.
26:41Up to third.
26:42Just six-tenths
26:43of a second
26:43off of the Ferraris
26:45and he bumps
26:46Mika Hakkinen
26:47back into fourth.
26:48Williams may have
26:49won Hockenheim
26:50but they've not
26:50been resting
26:51on their laurels.
26:52Notice that in addition
26:53to that white wing
26:53at the back
26:54they've got another
26:54little wing
26:55right there
26:55at the roll bar.
26:57Frank Williams
26:57I guess
26:58has been staying up late.
26:59He has a yawn
27:00here in the middle
27:01of the session
27:01and McLaren
27:03has been doing
27:04some work as well
27:05Bob.
27:05They too have a wing
27:06it's painted black
27:07it's just in front
27:08of the big rear wing
27:09and just over
27:10the transmission area
27:11it looks like
27:12a small pencil line
27:13across there.
27:14It's very narrow
27:15in its cord
27:17we'll see how
27:18effective it is.
27:19After those
27:19contraptions we saw
27:20at Monaco
27:21those big nose
27:22mounted wings
27:23on the Jordan
27:23and the arrows
27:24profoundly ugly.
27:25Oh my goodness.
27:27I think sometimes
27:28they make those
27:29things up
27:29just to get
27:30the pictures
27:31in the technical
27:32sections of the
27:33magazines
27:34don't you think?
27:35You see notice
27:35there's always
27:36a sponsor decal
27:37very prominently
27:38displayed on those
27:39bizarre things.
27:42Mika Hakkinen
27:42going well.
27:46Hakkinen
27:46feeling very good
27:50here.
27:50He's tidy
27:50as a driver
27:52and that really
27:52pays dividends
27:53on this track
27:54which is
27:55kind of tight.
27:57He doesn't
27:57slip around
27:58he doesn't
27:59waste any time
28:00anywhere.
28:01He's obviously
28:02backed off
28:02more than four
28:03and a half seconds
28:04off of Schumacher's
28:05best at that point.
28:07While we're watching
28:08Mika Hakkinen
28:09Eddie Irvine
28:10jumped from
28:1111th to 4th
28:12so the Jaguar
28:14may have
28:15something to
28:16say in
28:16qualifying tomorrow.
28:18They may
28:18but we have
28:19noticed that
28:20they flattered
28:20only to deceive
28:21several times
28:22in the last
28:23three or four
28:24races Bob
28:25been very quick
28:25on Friday
28:26even the quickest
28:27in a couple of
28:27cases.
28:28Well I guess
28:28the reason I say
28:29that is because
28:29Eddie Irvine
28:30went so well
28:31taking third
28:32place at Monaco
28:33the only track
28:34that bears a
28:35resemblance
28:35to the Hungaro
28:36ring in terms
28:38of high down
28:39for setup.
28:40also traction
28:42it's key that
28:43you have good
28:43traction here
28:44and the traction
28:44control devices
28:45are a lot more
28:46developed now
28:48than they were
28:48at Monaco.
28:51Now look at
28:51the McLaren
28:52Mercedes
28:53brain trust
28:54there's a wild
28:54rumor going
28:55around that
28:55McLaren and
28:56Mercedes may be
28:57going separate
28:58ways in the
28:59not too distant
29:00future.
29:01Here we have
29:02Yarno Trulli
29:03running ninth.
29:06Yarno Trulli
29:07is going to
29:08really have
29:09his hands
29:09full I think
29:10with John
29:10Alacy as
29:11the season
29:12winds down.
29:13Not that
29:14Franson wasn't
29:15a great driver
29:16but Alacy is
29:16a real fighter
29:17and a man
29:18that will come
29:18up with a
29:19result.
29:20I think we're
29:21going to see
29:21a big result
29:22for John
29:23Alacy and
29:24Jordan by the
29:25end of this
29:26year.
29:26That's my
29:26strong gut
29:27feeling.
29:29Trulli has
29:29also gotten
29:30out of it
29:30letting other
29:31cars go by.
29:32This is at
29:33the top of
29:33the hill
29:34at the far
29:34end of the
29:35race.
29:35He's
29:36working a
29:37fast one.
29:37Trying hard.
29:39Coming up.
29:40Wow.
29:41Second.
29:42That bumps
29:42Barrichello.
29:43Splitting the
29:44Ferraris.
29:45Good enough.
29:47And he
29:47talked about
29:48how neat
29:49he is in
29:50his style.
29:51Oh boy.
29:51Luciano Berti
29:52has gone around
29:53again.
29:54In 20th place.
29:56But that
29:57was a
29:57very energetic
29:59lap by
30:01Hocken.
30:02Boy these
30:02guys have
30:03car control.
30:04Oh boy.
30:04You could
30:05do that
30:05right in
30:06your
30:06driveway.
30:07Yeah with
30:08my
30:08Formula 1
30:09car.
30:09Yeah.
30:12Take another
30:13look.
30:13This is down
30:14in turn
30:1413 where
30:15the road
30:16turns fairly
30:16sharply
30:17uphill.
30:21Meantime
30:21Frensen
30:22has jumped
30:22up from
30:2318th to
30:2412th.
30:25Birdie I'm
30:26sure radiating
30:27and he
30:27said my
30:28traction
30:28control
30:28just failed.
30:31It's at
30:31the end
30:32of my
30:32right leg.
30:34Here is
30:35Michael
30:36Schumacher
30:36hoping to
30:37improve.
30:38He does
30:38not by
30:38eight-tenths
30:39of a
30:39second but
30:40he's still
30:40quicker than
30:41his poll
30:42time of
30:42a year
30:42ago.
30:45Back at
30:45Friday
30:46practice in
30:46Hungary.
30:47Bob
30:47Parcher and
30:47Sam
30:48Posey glad
30:48to have
30:49you with
30:49us.
30:49We're
30:49watching
30:50Nick
30:50Heidfeld
30:51currently
30:51sixth on
30:52the time
30:53sheets.
30:531.27
30:54seconds off
30:55of the
30:56quick time
30:56set by
30:57Michael
30:57Schumacher.
30:58Nick
30:59Heidfeld did
30:59qualify sixth
31:00once this
31:01year but
31:02he's
31:03obviously
31:03doing a
31:04superb job
31:04today and
31:05surprisingly he's
31:06ahead of his
31:06teammate Kimi
31:08Raikkonen who
31:08generally out
31:09qualifies him.
31:15Well up in the
31:16pit lane
31:17this is Michael
31:19Schumacher bringing
31:20the Ferrari in.
31:26Adjustments
31:27adjustments
31:28adjustments
31:29very calm.
31:30Heidfeld
31:31again.
31:34He has
31:35benefited I
31:35think tremendously
31:36from having
31:37Raikkonen as
31:37his teammate.
31:39The two men
31:39young
31:40inexperienced
31:41but they
31:42pushed themselves
31:42hard and
31:43they've been
31:43very level
31:44headed.
31:45Good morale
31:46on that team.
31:47That's the kind
31:47of thing Nicky
31:48Lauda began
31:48talking about
31:49when he was
31:49questioned
31:50about his
31:50decision to
31:51sell or
31:52lease Cosworth
31:53engines to
31:54the Arrows
31:54team next
31:55year.
31:55He said
31:56competition is
31:57what brings
31:57out the best
31:58in everyone.
31:59And we hope
32:00it will do
32:00so for Ford's
32:01proprietary team
32:02Jaguar.
32:05Meanwhile
32:05Olivier Panis
32:06has jumped
32:07from 11th
32:08up to 7th
32:09Sam.
32:09And you
32:10know Villeneuve
32:11is languishing
32:11back in 19th
32:13so that's
32:13about the
32:14biggest split
32:15between Panis
32:16and Villeneuve
32:16we've seen
32:17all year.
32:17Villeneuve
32:18has obviously
32:18gone totally
32:19the wrong
32:20direction on
32:20his setup
32:21and I
32:22imagine
32:22tonight
32:22there will
32:23be a
32:23transfer of
32:24Mr. Panis'
32:25setup to
32:26Mr. Villeneuve's
32:27car.
32:27Wouldn't you
32:27suspect that?
32:28I suspect
32:29something like
32:30that.
32:30That's what a
32:30smart team
32:31would do.
32:33There you see
32:33Heidefeld
32:331.8 seconds
32:35off at the
32:35second of the
32:36three intermediate
32:37points on each
32:38lap.
32:39The timing
32:39sector that is
32:40the speed
32:41trap is down
32:42near turn
32:43one where the
32:44cars reach
32:44their highest
32:45speed which
32:47doesn't happen
32:48often around
32:48the Hungarrow
32:49ring.
32:502.1 seconds
32:52off of
32:52Schumacher's
32:53time.
32:53No improvement
32:54there.
32:54He's still
32:55in sixth
32:55place.
32:56And there
32:57is the
32:57man we
32:57were just
32:57speaking of
32:58Jacques Villeneuve
32:59former world
32:59champion
33:00Indy 500
33:01winner.
33:01Let's ride.
34:32Bob, I can tell you exactly what's wrong with that car, watching that lap.
34:37There is no grip there.
34:38Jacques can't get his foot in it.
34:40He's having to drive as if the whole thing was on ice.
34:43You can just see he can't attack anything.
34:45Anytime he does attack at all, he starts to lose control of the car.
34:49Just in that fast right-hander that Rubens Botticello has just negotiated, he almost diamonded it off.
34:54Didn't he?
34:55Make the corner and then get back on.
34:57You could see him trying everything.
34:59Early in, late in, everything to get some kind of grip going with that car, and it just wasn't there to be done.
35:06We'll definitely need to work on that setup overnight.
35:10Botticello, currently in third place, but now just a tenth off of that second intermediate.
35:15Mika Hakkinen is ahead of him.
35:21Here we go, last turn.
35:24Marichello working a very good lap here.
35:26To the line and back into second place by 83 one-thousandths of a second.
35:35Marichello giving very good account of himself here.
35:38This is Bernoldi in the garage.
35:42Currently 18th.
35:44That was a great lap by Rubens Botticello.
35:47Wasn't it?
35:47Because that's exactly what the team wanted him to do.
35:49Get back on row one, if only to ride shotgun for your team leader.
35:53Well, they did right now pretty much have all the cards in this game.
36:00Well, I would say so.
36:01That's Pedro de la Rosa and the Jaguar being pushed back in.
36:06Bex beer changed hands recently.
36:08I wonder how long that sponsorship will stay on the Jaguars.
36:13Well, as you know about beer, it's something you never really own.
36:18You just rent it.
36:19Maybe that way works with beer sponsorship, too.
36:24This is Akenen trying to claw his way back onto row one between the Ferraris, if not ahead of both of them.
36:31A hot lap with a two-time world champion.
36:37His teammate, David Coulthard, after that heavy wreck in the first session,
36:43in which he basically took the bottom off his McLaren on a curb at the cheese grater,
36:49has turned no laps whatsoever in this second hour.
36:53Come race day, Mika Hakkinen will see a lot of support in the fans here.
36:57The Finnish fans come down over the border.
37:00You're hearing very great numbers, and he will not want to disappoint them.
37:04And he hasn't the last couple of years, and this could be a great day for him with Michael Schumacher inclined,
37:11I would think, to be just a little bit cautious, sew up the championship,
37:15and free himself up to do whatever he wants for the rest of the year.
37:18While we watch Hakkinen, Giancarlo Fisichella has jumped from 16th to 6th.
37:22And Jean Alessi then bumps him, and now Alessi is in 6th place.
37:29So the Frenchman really coming to terms with the Jordan in his first appearance with the team
37:34since he won the Formula 3000 title back in 1989.
37:38That is big for Alessi, because now watch Hakkinen as he comes up to cross the line.
37:45Nope, doesn't do it.
37:47Improves on time, but does not get back on the front row.
37:50Back for just a second to that sparkling performance by Gian Alessi.
37:54Remember that in the first hour of practice today, he got only five laps of practice.
37:58So this is particularly good that he's outperforming Gianro Trulli,
38:02who's, of course, been with the team for quite some time.
38:07Michael Schumacher heads back out, looking for that one last tweak in his qualifying setup.
38:13Pretty tight among the top three.
38:15A tenth of a second covers Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barichello, and Mika Hakkinen.
38:20And it's in ninth, overshadowing his teammate, Jack Villeneuve, not even on the same page.
38:29And here is John Alessi.
38:31Boy, I think this could be just what the Jordan team needs mid-season.
38:35Instead of Frensen kind of up and down, somewhat downhill, suddenly a new guy in the mix,
38:41really eager to prove himself.
38:42Maybe his last hurrah as a Grand Prix driver, possibly.
38:46But I think he's going to inject a great sense of spirit and fighting into this team.
38:53No question about it.
38:54All I can say, though, as I watch him go around, is that his helmet in the sponsor colors
38:59looks an awful lot like Yarno Trulli's.
39:02We're going to have all kinds of fun this weekend with those two.
39:05We'll be back.
39:15Welcome back to Friday Practice at the Hungaro Ring.
39:19This was Juan Pablo Montoya moments ago in Calamity Corner, turn 12.
39:24He didn't rip the bottom off of his Williams the way David Coulthard did with his McLaren
39:28in the first hour, but he did waste another lap.
39:33Michael Schumacher, whose last lap was, last quick one, was disappointing,
39:39about eight-tenths off of his best.
39:41I would suspect he's now looking to reestablish the setup that worked,
39:46try to get back to where he was.
39:50Again, the tidy driving.
39:52We saw Montoya spin there and so many others.
39:56We saw Villeneuve struggling for adhesion.
39:59This man just seems to be operating in a different world,
40:03along with his teammate Barrichello.
40:05Let's see how it comes out.
40:08Through the line and just under a tenth of a second off of his best time.
40:15So Schumacher is circling around it.
40:18It makes you wonder, did he come back to his earlier setup
40:21or did he try a new setup which gave him about the same time?
40:26Well, that's exactly what I'm thinking.
40:27That's the advantage of posting a quick early time
40:29is that you can play around the rest of the time with your setup.
40:34Here's Ralph Schumacher.
40:37Out on the back side of the course.
40:41He has been so clean today and kind of together,
40:45whilst Montoya, as we've seen, has not found the answer at all.
40:50Montoya, just like Villeneuve, coming up second best
40:54on a very intensely competitive team.
40:58It's interesting when you see those two drivers break apart
41:02in the setup directions and one of them gets it right
41:05and the other doesn't.
41:06Not necessarily the driver.
41:07It could be the engineer or it could just be a team decision
41:10to try this path with one car and that path with the other.
41:14But one thing is sure, if your car isn't handling,
41:21if it isn't set up well, you're not going to be fast.
41:24There's just no question about it.
41:26Despite the fact that the Williams cars
41:28do not seem to be able to threaten
41:31the one McLaren and two Ferraris at the front,
41:34they remain the quickest cars in a straight line.
41:36The BMW engine is a product of very intense development work,
41:44but, you know, they lean heavily on 40 years or more
41:48of engine work.
41:50They really know what they're doing over there.
41:52Well, exactly.
41:53I mean, it was barely a year and a half ago
41:54that these engines were blowing up left, right, and center.
41:57They needed to bring them by the truckload
41:59in order to get through a test session.
42:00And remember, they were too big for the car.
42:03Right.
42:03They had all sorts of problems with it.
42:05Well, they obviously learned from every mistake they made.
42:10Vast experience there in the year.
42:12BMW really originally was an engine building firm
42:16before they built cars.
42:18BMW power, it says, on the rear wing.
42:21That's with the rondelle that you see on the BMWs,
42:23the little round circle with the alternating blue and white quarters.
42:27It's meant to indicate an airplane propeller.
42:30Less than two seconds off of his brother's time.
42:35Ralph Schumacher remains.
42:37No improvement in his position on the time sheet.
42:43This is Mika Hakkinen climbing the hill at the backside.
42:46Long right-hander coming up.
42:49We are very, very close to the end of the session now.
42:51And I suppose they will all go back to the garages immediately
43:01after, of course, a debrief in the motorhomes.
43:05There you see the end of the session.
43:08Kind of a relief on such a hot day.
43:12Get out of the cockpit.
43:14Have a cool drink and talk it all over.
43:16Particularly if you're Mika Hakkinen and you've got something to talk over,
43:19David Coulthard has just sat around all day having cool drinks.
43:22Oh, boy.
43:23He's going to be listening in very closely at that debrief.
43:26Yeah.
43:31This will count.
43:33To the line comes Hakkinen with one of the Jaguars just ahead of him.
43:37No improvement.
43:37He remains third.
43:39But very much a threat in the scramble with the Ferraris
43:44that tomorrow's qualifying session will surely entertain us with.
43:49A little bit of traffic on the road just ahead
43:51as Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari remains on a hot lap.
43:54This one also will count since it began before the checkered flag came out.
44:00He's off the pace.
44:01He got a break there from the DAR.
44:03Just might have gotten off the racing line onto that dusty part of the racetrack.
44:10It doesn't take much to throw the lap off.
44:121.8 seconds off.
44:15Schumacher remains at the top of the time charts
44:18with his teammate Rubens Barichello right there.
44:21We'll take a break and come back to some things up.
44:25Welcome back.
44:26Michael Schumacher climbs out of his Ferrari,
44:29the fastest man on what should be a very good weekend for him.
44:33Here are our Bridgestone Friday practice results.
44:36Schumacher, Barichello, Hocken and all the usual suspects.
44:39But look at there in fifth, Eddie Irvine,
44:40and more importantly in sixth,
44:42Jean Alessi in his debut with Jordan.
44:44And a great performance by Fischer-Kellar in the Benetton,
44:48finishing seventh in the practice session.
44:50But a bad day for David Coulthard.
44:52Pursuing Schumacher in the championship,
44:55he gets almost no practice today.
44:56And remarkable that he remained just tenth in the running order.
45:00Juan Pablo Montoya, after spending as much time going backwards as forwards,
45:04it seemed, winds up 13th.
45:07There's Enrique Bernoldi, 19th.
45:08Fernando Alonso, 20th,
45:10with a special titanium differential in that car.
45:13We'll talk about that more this weekend.
45:15Be sure to join us for the rest of the Grand Prix weekend
45:18here on Speed Vision.
45:19Tomorrow, qualifying live at 7 a.m. Eastern time,
45:23followed by our race coverage on Sunday.
45:25Also live, beginning at 7.30 a.m.
45:28with stories from behind the scenes
45:30at the Hungaro Ring with Peter Windsor.
45:32I'm Bob Barsha for Sam Posey.
45:34Thanks for being with us.
45:35We'll see you tomorrow morning for qualifying live,
45:38only here on Speed Vision.
45:39So long, everyone.
45:40Speed c'mon.
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