Round 3 of the 2012 Formula 1 World Championship took place at the Shanghai International Circuit, and once again the season’s unpredictable nature was on full display. The Chinese Grand Prix became a strategic masterpiece, filled with overtakes, tire management, and thrilling on-track battles.
Nico Rosberg claimed his first-ever Formula 1 victory — and Mercedes’ first win since their return to the sport — after delivering a flawless drive from pole position. Behind him, the field was locked in a fierce fight for the podium, with drivers like Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, and Sebastian Vettel constantly swapping positions in one of the most competitive races of the year.
This Grand Prix showcased the depth of talent and the incredible balance of performance that defined the 2012 season — where every team had a chance to shine and every race told a new story.
#F12012 #Formula1 #ChineseGrandPrix #Shanghai #Mercedes #NicoRosberg #Hamilton #Button #Vettel #F1Classic #GrandPrix #F1History #Motorsport #F1Highlights
Nico Rosberg claimed his first-ever Formula 1 victory — and Mercedes’ first win since their return to the sport — after delivering a flawless drive from pole position. Behind him, the field was locked in a fierce fight for the podium, with drivers like Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, and Sebastian Vettel constantly swapping positions in one of the most competitive races of the year.
This Grand Prix showcased the depth of talent and the incredible balance of performance that defined the 2012 season — where every team had a chance to shine and every race told a new story.
#F12012 #Formula1 #ChineseGrandPrix #Shanghai #Mercedes #NicoRosberg #Hamilton #Button #Vettel #F1Classic #GrandPrix #F1History #Motorsport #F1Highlights
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00:00Previously on F1
00:00:04Round 3, China
00:01:30What is this, EJ?
00:01:39This is a haven.
00:01:41You can never see more material in your entire life.
00:01:45Hey, EJ, there you go.
00:01:47Is that chilled and yellow?
00:01:48Does that work?
00:01:49Hello, Laurence.
00:01:50These are my friends.
00:01:51I'm not explained.
00:01:52See, I think we know each other quite well by now.
00:01:54I think I could pick something that you would quite like to wear.
00:01:56I'm not sure I trust either of you, too.
00:01:59I trust you.
00:01:59That's quite nice, isn't it?
00:02:03I'm really well known in England.
00:02:05In the UK, no, I'm Britain.
00:02:06Let's think of his racing career, right?
00:02:08So he raced for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull.
00:02:11Good measurement?
00:02:12Yeah.
00:02:12Yeah.
00:02:13We could just go stupid and have one of these.
00:02:15I've never had that done to me before.
00:02:17Stop smiling.
00:02:18In fairness, that could be a great fabric for Eddie.
00:02:23I have no confidence in those two at all.
00:02:29Here we are.
00:02:31Now, I know these are for women, but he'd give you a male version, couldn't he?
00:02:34He's quite feminine, though, isn't he?
00:02:35Something nice for me?
00:02:36Something amazing for you.
00:02:39Maybe a bit too serious.
00:02:42I think we should go for something a bit, you know, funky.
00:02:46We look forward to seeing the jackets.
00:02:48Well, here we are.
00:02:57Oh, hello.
00:02:59Thank you very much.
00:03:00Cher, Cher.
00:03:01Oh, boys.
00:03:02Oh.
00:03:04What a good choice.
00:03:05I've always said the curtain material, EJPX.
00:03:09That's very soft.
00:03:10I must say, I don't own a velvet jacket with a maroon lining.
00:03:14So thank you very much.
00:03:15This is called real style.
00:03:17Oh, I'm frightened to death.
00:03:18Come on, get on with it.
00:03:18If you two bandits got near any...
00:03:21Come on.
00:03:22Oh, rock and roll.
00:03:25Oh, here, boys.
00:03:26Come on.
00:03:27Right, get it on.
00:03:30Okay, right.
00:03:31Bit of Jordan yellow.
00:03:33Bit of a flash, because you're a bit flash.
00:03:35Let's have a spin.
00:03:38Come on then, David.
00:03:39Oh, come on.
00:03:41That's not fair.
00:03:42It's brilliant.
00:03:43It's Monaco.
00:03:45I tell you, it'll be the best thing that you've ever seen.
00:03:47You guys can wear those again.
00:03:48I can't wear that.
00:03:50Give me a kiss.
00:03:51I'm not giving you a kiss.
00:03:52Give me a kiss.
00:03:53You've got me a jacket I can't wear.
00:03:54Can I tell you one thing?
00:03:55You guys are doing the Chinese Grand Prix alone.
00:03:58Oh, that's a shame.
00:03:59That's a result.
00:04:00He looks good, though.
00:04:01That's a result.
00:04:01That's the best news I've heard all day.
00:04:03Welcome to the Chinese Grand Prix.
00:04:19Well, he certainly enjoyed himself last year, as did they.
00:04:23And if 2011 was anything to go by, trust me, 2012 could be equally as special,
00:04:27because the way the Gorillias lined up, it's set to give us the most compelling of Formula
00:04:32one races.
00:04:33The crowd are ready.
00:04:33The entertainment's in the house.
00:04:35The drivers are here.
00:04:36Are you ready?
00:04:40If you are what you say you are, a superstar, then have no fear.
00:04:49The crowd is here, and the lights are on, and they want to show, oh, oh, oh, yeah.
00:05:00If you are what you say you are.
00:05:09Everything's in place, and I think we will have our eye on that man today.
00:05:13You'll find out why, if you didn't see qualifying yesterday in just a moment.
00:05:15Delighted to have David and Eddie alongside me as ever, but where's the jacket, David?
00:05:20As I said, I can't wear that.
00:05:22I was really on fear.
00:05:23You know, I was excited I'd get something really nice from Canada.
00:05:25Very flattering, I thought.
00:05:26It's very you, actually.
00:05:27No, it's definitely you.
00:05:28We're going to make a lot of money with that.
00:05:30I've seen worse in Monaco, indeed.
00:05:31Well, let's talk about the racing, then, and let's talk about this place, Eddie, because
00:05:35you were at China right at the very beginning, and it can give us dramatic racing, this place.
00:05:39I think it's actually emerging, isn't it?
00:05:41It's actually found its feet.
00:05:43It's now comfortable with itself.
00:05:44The crowds are here.
00:05:45You know, the adoration, the kids running after him all weekend is amazing, because,
00:05:50you know, what's brilliant about here is they all watch BBC, and hence why they like
00:05:56us, for example, and we like them, and a real pleasure to come here.
00:05:59They can obviously remember you from your racing heyday as well, David, but we know
00:06:02that the red in the Chinese flag represents revolution.
00:06:05It feels, just after the first two races of this year, that we're seeing some serious
00:06:09evolution in Formula One.
00:06:11Well, undoubtedly, it's a very competitive season we've seen so far this year, and
00:06:15in qualifying yesterday, especially in the middle part of qualifying, we had 10 cars
00:06:19covered by 0.3 of a second.
00:06:21I don't think we've ever had that.
00:06:22So Formula One 2012 is throwing up a lot of surprises, and we're only at race three.
00:06:26Yeah, well, qualifying yesterday was a great example of how dramatic Formula
00:06:29one is at the moment, as is the way that the standings are looking after just two races.
00:06:33Remarkably, after Raak Ferrari having a real struggle at the start of this season,
00:06:37Fernando Alonso is the championship leader, just ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
00:06:41Lewis Hamilton, no win yet, but he is ahead of Jenson Button because of consistency.
00:06:45Mark Webber sits fourth, and would Sebastian Vettel have expected to be six in the standings
00:06:49after the first two races, and more than that, behind Sergio Perez of Sauber.
00:06:54Eddie, I know that you love the constructors' battle in Formula One, and when we have a
00:06:57look at this, this shows us just how competitive it is. Nine teams already scoring points.
00:07:02Well, and that's the really good thing about it. I think the teams, because we haven't had
00:07:06huge amounts of rule changes, I think the grid always tightens up, and I always enjoy that
00:07:11aspect of it. Keep the rules to the minimum if we can. Let's get the racing as hot and as heavy
00:07:17and hard as it can be, and we'll have a great championship.
00:07:20And even if the racing's not great, the entertainment on the pit straight before the race is normally
00:07:24quite good here.
00:07:26Various people wearing lycra out there, waving flags around, so they're really entertaining.
00:07:30There's a huge grandstand here, and there's some of them flapping away there. I'm not quite
00:07:33sure what that represents, but anyway, they're putting on a show for this.
00:07:36I think that's the dragon. Is that not the dragon, David?
00:07:38I don't know. That's why I said I'm not quite sure what that represents.
00:07:41I think it's a dragon.
00:07:42It is the ear of the dragon, so it may well be, but as much as we'd love to be talking about
00:07:45the entertainment and the driving and the fun of Formula One, as happens quite often
00:07:49in this sport, we've left ourselves in a situation where people are talking about the action off
00:07:53the track rather than on it.
00:07:54Now, this is the way that the calendar is looking for 2012, and there is continuing unrest in
00:07:59Bahrain. However, the sports governors are sticking to the calendar for 2012. They've confirmed
00:08:04we will race in the rather unsettled and volatile Ireland in just seven days' time. We wanted
00:08:09to know why. We spoke to Bernie Eccleston, and this is what he said.
00:08:12Imagine we said, no way we're going to be in Bahrain. Would whatever their problems are
00:08:22in Bahrain, would they stop? Would they say, well, Monday morning is perfect, everybody's
00:08:27happy. And the answer's no, because they're not protesting about Formula One, and that's
00:08:32why we're going to be in Bahrain.
00:08:35Well, that's Bernie's viewpoint, Eddie, and I think in some ways you'd have to agree with
00:08:38him there. There are some rather big egos in Formula One, but no one even involved in
00:08:41this sport would claim that we can solve Bahrain's problems. The issue for a lot of people is,
00:08:46are we going there and making their problems worse?
00:08:50Who knows? Really, who knows? I don't care who's in the grandstand. They'll all have different
00:08:55views on this. You know, we have a contract. Bernie and his people, particularly the FIA,
00:09:01Jean-Todd has gone there, and there are people on the ground, and they are confirming to us
00:09:05that everything is absolutely normal. You know, you have to take their side. We have
00:09:10to be in their hands. We trust them.
00:09:12And how should Formula One react to those people that are saying that this is a business decision
00:09:15by Formula One, rather than a sporting decision or a moral decision?
00:09:20Well, again, as Eddie's just said there, we have to rely on our governing body, just like
00:09:25any sporting organisation relies on their governing body, to make sure that the places we go to
00:09:29are, fit and safe for all of the team members and all of the drivers. Beyond that, how can we
00:09:36possibly, any individual, have all of the facts? We've got to rely on those people. And, you know,
00:09:41we will be there on a week's time, and hopefully we'll have a safe and, you know, trouble-free Grand
00:09:45Prix.
00:09:45Okay, well, the people that we rely on in this sport are the FIA, and Jean-Todd is the
00:09:50president of that organisation. He's here this weekend. You can see him in the paddock here with
00:09:54Christian Horner a little earlier on today. I can tell you, we approached the FIA. We wanted to speak
00:09:58to them. However, we were told no media interviews this weekend. So, a very big weekend for the
00:10:03sports, but the FIA not wanting to speak to the media. But we asked the question. Anyway, as much
00:10:09as it's kind of difficult at times in this sport, we must take a look at the action on the track.
00:10:12That's the real focus here this weekend, particularly after yesterday, when even after all the years
00:10:16that these boys have been in Formula One, they saw one of the most brilliant and baffling qualifying
00:10:21sessions. Lee McKenzie takes up the story.
00:10:23Sebastian Vettel came to China looking for his fourth pole position at the Shanghai track,
00:10:30but instead he was left looking for answers after going out in Q2 for the first time since
00:10:35Brazil 2009. He starts tomorrow's race from 11th.
00:10:39Ferrari may have won the last Grand Prix, but they knew this weekend was going to be tough.
00:10:44Felipe Massa was another Q2 casualty. Fernando Alonso did make it through, but has to settle for
00:10:49the 9th. Still delighted after Sunday in Malaysia, Saiba were given more reasons to smile after
00:10:55Kamui Kobayashi qualified his car fourth. It was a great performance and the best by a
00:11:00Japanese driver since Takuma Sato in 2004. Lewis Hamilton already knew before qualifying
00:11:06that he'd have to take a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change. He put his McLaren
00:11:11into second but will drop back to seventh. His teammate will start fifth. Mercedes knew that
00:11:16this track should suit them, but no one expected such a stunning time from Nico Rosberg, who claimed
00:11:21his first pole position of his career. Michael Schumacher put his car third and was a little
00:11:26surprised when he spoke to his engineer on team radio.
00:11:29What's the lap time for Nico?
00:11:31OK, Michael, so Nico's lap time is 35-1.
00:11:37So Lewis Hamilton's penalty means it's the first Mercedes front row since 1955.
00:11:46Kobayashi moves up to third and it was another strong performance from Kimi Raikkonen in fourth.
00:11:51Jenson Button starts fifth and Webber moves up to sixth. The Chinese Grand Prix has never
00:11:55been won from lower than sixth. Hamilton starts seventh. Alonso is ninth with Beto behind him
00:12:00and Mata in 12th. After that, all the teams are in two by two pairings. Williams are on the seventh row
00:12:06followed by Force India. Toro Rosso is on the ninth. But after changing some body work,
00:12:11Jean-Erik Verne starts from the pit lane, leaving a gap in 18th. Then come the usual suspects with HRT
00:12:16at the back of the grid.
00:12:20And from the back of the grid to the front, here it is, the fastest car in Formula One at the moment,
00:12:24Nico Rosberg's Mercedes. And we're here with Ross Braun. Well, Ross, huge congratulations.
00:12:29No points at stake when it comes to qualifying, but plenty of pride, I'm sure.
00:12:38Yes. Yeah. And there is, there is a, it does reflect on the potential of the car.
00:12:44Quite rightly, the points are scored today and we have to translate yesterday's performance
00:12:50into results today. But as always, I'll be much happier starting at the front of the grid
00:12:55and further back. Of course. Of course.
00:12:57Ross, you are the great inspiration behind the double diffuser. And now we've got this obviously brilliant
00:13:02piece of technology input, which is miles ahead of anybody else. How much does it make you happy
00:13:08to be able to keep producing this sort of stuff?
00:13:10Very happy. And I think it's the nature of Formula One. You know, innovation is, is part of the lifeblood
00:13:17of Formula One. And we're all trying to outdo each other. And you're not always at the forefront.
00:13:21But you know, on this occasion, I think our engineers have taken a lead and it gives me a great deal of satisfaction.
00:13:28Your friends in Stuttgart, your ultimate bosses, they must be breathing a sigh of relief.
00:13:33They're probably dumbfounded back there, perhaps. And obviously you brought some joy to them.
00:13:38Yes, although, you know, together we know that today is the important day. And we haven't performed the last two races.
00:13:44Qualifying has been pretty good, actually, the last two races. Not as good as this. But we've had some consistent conditions this weekend.
00:13:51So going into the race, we're not facing a dramatic change in conditions. So we can get a better measure of what we need to do after today's race.
00:14:00OK, well, I'm sure there's a big smile on the face of those bosses in Stuttgart because they've had to wait 57 years from one pole position to another.
00:14:06But it's not strictly fair because, of course, you haven't been in Formula One for 55 of those 57.
00:14:11But the last time you were on pole position, Fangio was driving the car right alongside him, a certain Sterling Moss.
00:14:17And I'm pleased to say we've been in touch with Sterling, who's, as always, tuning in and watching us this morning.
00:14:21Good morning to you, Sterling. He says, wonderful to see Mercedes-Benz on pole again after some 57 years.
00:14:26The team must be delighted and congratulations to Nico Rosberg. I guess it's just a reminder of the history that you carry with you in this team.
00:14:33It is. And I hadn't realized that fact until I was told after qualifying.
00:14:38And we're all very proud to be part of the Silver Arrows. And that's what we're trying to bring back into Formula One.
00:14:43And this is the very race. This is Monza 55. That was Sterling getting his overalls on. Fangio leading the race, taking the chequered flag.
00:14:50The question on our lips, can you emulate them? Can you take the pole and the win? What do you think?
00:14:55We didn't look the quickest car on Friday, to be honest, in race fuel. But we have improved the car since then.
00:15:01It depends, you know, really depends how the tyres work this afternoon. There's a very narrow window. If we can fall in that window, who knows?
00:15:08Two stops or three stops? Or four? One of them. One of them.
00:15:12So it's not four stops? Not four stops. Not intentional four stops, anyway.
00:15:16Well, we'll wait and see how it pans out. If you stop five times, we'll start to worry for you. But thanks ever so much for your time.
00:15:21OK, thanks.
00:15:22So it's been rather a long wait. 57 years from one pole to another for Mercedes. And I imagine it feels about as long for Nico Rosberg.
00:15:28110 attempts in Formula One. Finally, he gets there. He's talking to a man who's had a few of his own as well. David.
00:15:35Thanks, Jake. Well, I'm down here with the fastest man in Shanghai, Nico Rosberg. Stunning pole position.
00:15:40And we're going to look at this little monitor here. Are you going to talk us round?
00:15:43Yeah, thanks. It was a great day yesterday, for sure. For the whole team, really. So here, starting the lap now.
00:15:50It's a great track, this Shanghai track. I really like it. This first corner, very long, very long corner.
00:15:55And it just keeps on tightening. Tightens and tightens and tightens. Very difficult to get the apex right.
00:16:00And you can see my front just bites in right in the end. So it was just perfect.
00:16:04And then second part there, again, a very, very long exit where you need to go to power as soon as possible.
00:16:09And you have to be careful not to drift too far out. And then on the curves as soon as possible. On DRS as soon as possible.
00:16:15Braking into here, very tight corner. The braking is a bit difficult. A lot of bumps.
00:16:18Out there, again, on the power as soon as possible. Now comes the fastest section. Flat out. I think it was flat out.
00:16:26Not sure. Maybe I had a little bit of a lift. Left, right. Braking a little bit more here. Fourth gear, third gear.
00:16:32And then staying right for the next one. Second gear. The outside curb, it made the rear move out a little bit.
00:16:38But that was fine. All the way there. It was cool. Third gear. Now comes another one of these snail sections.
00:16:45Very tight left-hander. And then a really long right-hander. Which opens up more and more and more and more.
00:16:50And really important to get a good exit here. Because it's the longest straight after that.
00:16:53So even there, I was already a long time before on curves and DRS as I was still completely laterally loaded.
00:16:59And it's very difficult to get it right. Because as soon as you hit DRS, you lose so much downforce.
00:17:03And it's like, it's digital, you know. It's not something that comes in slowly. So it can really catch you out.
00:17:08And then here, braking for turn 14. Again, quite difficult on the brakes there.
00:17:14And that's going into the last corner now here. Third gear. Over the curb on the inside.
00:17:20Careful on the exit curb. And that's the end of the lap. And it was, yeah, a good lap.
00:17:24Was it the perfect lap? You're half a second quicker than anyone else out there. You did the run very early.
00:17:28A perfect lap. I don't think a perfect lap really exists. But it was definitely a good lap, yeah.
00:17:32Well, you definitely get the award, not only for pole position, but for cool character.
00:17:35Getting out of the car while the session's still going on. And walking down to the weigh-in scale.
00:17:39So congratulations on your first pole. It's a special moment.
00:17:41Thank you, thank you. Your phone is ringing.
00:17:43Yeah, sorry about that. Put it on silent next time.
00:17:44Back to Jake.
00:17:45I hope it was a new contract.
00:17:48Blimey. Three years and he's still not a professional. Can you believe that?
00:17:51Well, David will come back and join us in a moment, Eddie.
00:17:53But fascinating to hear Nico, for the first time there, saying how early he was. That's better.
00:17:57With both the DRS and the Kurs. And if you take a look behind you and have a look at this car,
00:18:01it's always a privilege to be so close to the pole-sitting car.
00:18:03Clearly, it was very impressive around that final call. And that made the big difference for Nico.
00:18:08Well, the point people were trying to allude to was that the temperature changed halfway through the session.
00:18:13I don't think it would have made any difference whatsoever.
00:18:16Nico Rosberg yesterday was absolutely superb. I don't think I've ever seen him drive as well.
00:18:21And who's under more pressure at the moment? This team?
00:18:23Because we know that Mercedes have put so much money into their return to Formula One. Or Nico?
00:18:28Oh, it's a little bit of both. Look, David knows his first pole position is always difficult.
00:18:34We are first pole position. We didn't finish. You know, there's going to be extra pressure.
00:18:38And who's sitting beside him? Michael Schumacher. That adds to the problem for him.
00:18:42It's going to be very sweet into the first corner. I cannot wait.
00:18:45We're just talking about the pressure. By the way, turn your phone off.
00:18:48Yes, I did. Sorry about that. Excellent.
00:18:50We're just talking about the pressure on Nico Rosberg.
00:18:52And I suppose it's not just from the Mercedes name and being in a German team and having Schumacher alongside him,
00:18:57but also the fact that his dad was a Formula One world champion.
00:19:00We've had a look at the first time his dad was on pole.
00:19:03And I'm afraid to say for Nico that this happened in 1982 when Keke was at Brandsatz.
00:19:08He was on pole and he ended up stalling on the parade lap.
00:19:11Let's hope that this is where the similarities end for the two of them, hey?
00:19:14Well, indeed. I think that unless there's an electronic failure on the Mercedes car,
00:19:17it's very difficult to stall these cars nowadays.
00:19:19They've actually got an anti-stall system, which will put the clutch in.
00:19:22And then he's obviously pushed and restarted there.
00:19:26But I would expect Nico, his focus will be on whether he can actually get the run to the first corner.
00:19:31Because we've seen on this track, it hasn't always been the pole man that's got into Turn 1 first.
00:19:35No, we'll have a good look at the starts, actually, if you stick with us ahead of the build-up.
00:19:38Not too long to go now, just about 40 minutes until the start of the race.
00:19:41But let's make our way out of the garage and soak up a little bit of the atmosphere out here
00:19:44and talk about your first pole positions. That's it, back in your rightful position.
00:19:48Belgium, Eddie, your first pole, 94.
00:19:52Rubens Barrichello, actually, and Gary Anderson is here.
00:19:55Actually, 100% down to Gary. He made the choice with Rubens.
00:19:59Let's go on to the slicks.
00:20:01He did that in those days, he used to qualify on the Friday and the Saturday.
00:20:05And we got pole on the Friday and no one went quicker on the Saturday.
00:20:08It was remarkable. But that was a team effort. It was very much...
00:20:11Yesterday, I thought a lot of that was down to Rosberg.
00:20:13It was a different set of circumstances.
00:20:15Whereas Rubens and Gary combined together to get the maximum out of the car.
00:20:19I just want to point something out very quickly for you that you might not see at home.
00:20:22If you wonder how they get those wonderful photographs of cars in pit stops,
00:20:25this is how they do it.
00:20:26The camera's put on here and this gentleman has a nice remote control.
00:20:29The car comes in for a pit stop. He presses the button. Just smile.
00:20:32Excellent.
00:20:33And that's how they get those lovely photos of the cars in the pit stops.
00:20:36So, yeah, let's get back to the racing.
00:20:38You didn't manage to win your first pole position. No.
00:20:41Keke didn't do his. David, give us your story.
00:20:44I didn't win either. I think I had an electronic problem.
00:20:46Argentina, should we take a look? Relive the start.
00:20:49Wonderful memories.
00:20:50You got the perfect start.
00:20:52Yeah, I was always a good starter and got away okay.
00:20:55But unfortunately, I think there was an electronic failure
00:20:58and it stretched the engine off coming into turn two.
00:21:00Look at that. God, I had an absolute flyer of a start.
00:21:02I didn't realise I had such a lead.
00:21:04Was that a jump start, Dave?
00:21:05I think it was obviously Martinal jump start, wasn't it?
00:21:08And that, thankfully, you got out of the way of when you were at the very front.
00:21:11Yeah, it did.
00:21:13Yes, those were the days.
00:21:15It was good until that point.
00:21:16We decided to cut off before it went bad and you retired from the race.
00:21:19Well, there you go.
00:21:20Keke, David, Eddie didn't have the best of first pole positions,
00:21:23but fingers crossed the day for Nico Rosberg
00:21:25because it would be wonderful to see him finally delivering for Mercedes.
00:21:28But how important is the start and how difficult is the start?
00:21:32Well, the Williams driver Bruno Senna has taken us inside the cockpit of a car for a race start
00:21:36and as he's about to explain, it's all about rhythm.
00:22:02Normally, during the morning, you're trying to, as much as possible, keep calm.
00:22:06The race day is a very nervous day.
00:22:08You know, it's important to keep the stress away from yourself before getting to the car.
00:22:13All you're hoping for is to, let's say, have a better result than possible.
00:22:19You have to talk to the engineers about what you think about the weather.
00:22:24You start thinking a bit ahead about the race
00:22:26and what you think about the tyre order for the race because of the strategy.
00:22:30Normally, you go for a quick pit stop in the toilet.
00:22:33I'm fairly religious, so I always have a little prayer,
00:22:36but the closer you get to the race time, the more the pressure builds up.
00:22:40But then, as soon as the engine gets turned on, everything comes down
00:22:43and it becomes much more peaceful.
00:22:46Good work on the brakes.
00:23:04During this formation lap, the most important thing is to keep weaving,
00:23:07keep putting energy into the tyres and to the brakes.
00:23:09It's important to start the race on race start mode, which is these two switches here,
00:23:15so that it's easier to find the right revs on the engine.
00:23:18Just before you form up on the grid, you have to do a few burn-outs
00:23:22to make sure the surface of the tyre is warm enough.
00:23:25Find the right revs on the rev counter here, otherwise you have too much wheel spin or you have a bog down.
00:23:38So immediately, as soon as you start, you just drop the right clutch as fast as possible to react for the light.
00:23:43Mode one, mode one for the start.
00:23:47Before the start, there's always high adrenaline.
00:23:49I've been using my heart rate monitor and the heart rate gets up to 185 before the race starts.
00:23:53Last car is just getting to the grid now.
00:23:56But as soon as the lights are on, it's very funny because the focus just goes straight to the lights.
00:24:00Get ready.
00:24:01And you forget about everything else and then you just react to the lights and then race is on.
00:24:06It's just a lot of preparation, a lot of anxiety.
00:24:31But then after the race starts, it's all on it and you forget about everything else.
00:24:36A real example of the ferocity of a Formula One car.
00:24:45Bruno Senna starts 14th on the grid.
00:24:47This man behind us, Kamui Kobayashi, just settling into his cockpit now.
00:24:50He starts third. He qualified fourth, moved forwards because of Lewis Hamilton's penalty.
00:24:54His best ever start in Formula One.
00:24:56And we'll have a look at his starts in just a moment.
00:24:58But first, let's talk about the pole position here
00:25:00because there's a slight bone of contention that the pole sitter in the last two seasons
00:25:04has lost the lead going into the first corner and you think you know why, David.
00:25:08Well, I think it's very straightforward.
00:25:09If you actually look at the way the drivers finish their qualifying lap,
00:25:12they stay on the right-hand side of the racetrack.
00:25:15And therefore, the right-hand side, which is the second man, is the clean side of the track.
00:25:21So, there we see the start there.
00:25:23Pole man loses two positions in the run into Turn 1, which is a very open Turn 1.
00:25:27You tend to avoid any incident there.
00:25:29And then, once again, Pole man on the right, of course,
00:25:32and McLaren gets a much better drive off the turn
00:25:35and again drops down to third place on the run into Turn 1.
00:25:38So, not a great history here of converting pole into a lead.
00:25:41And there we have a replay of qualifying lap and they run right over the right-hand side of the track.
00:25:47Right, so all the dirt and the debris is on the pole side.
00:25:49Absolutely.
00:25:50So, normally the FIA can decide which side you'll have the actual pole man.
00:25:54But I think in this case, they've made a mistake.
00:25:56And for some reason, the drivers have actually, yeah, they've not questioned it.
00:26:00So, you know, this is one of those odd ones.
00:26:02So, it might not be a great starting position for Nico.
00:26:04It's clearly on the wrong side, certainly in my view.
00:26:07And I think if you asked all the drivers, they'd probably agree with that.
00:26:10But, you know, this is the way it is.
00:26:11And I think Nico is just happy to have actually finally got his pole position.
00:26:15He may disturb the order and wind up winning at the serve, getting to the first corner first.
00:26:19We shall see.
00:26:20Kamui Kobayashi, though.
00:26:21Jensen's already said it'll be interesting having him in third place.
00:26:24We can look at a couple of his starts, how to do it.
00:26:26And, first of all, perhaps how not to do it.
00:26:28Well, he's certainly very brave when it comes to overtaking.
00:26:30In the case of this start, he falls down a little bit in Melbourne,
00:26:33loses a place on the run down to the corner.
00:26:35But, of course, with the concertina effect when they get on the brakes.
00:26:38And this is an example of what not to do.
00:26:41He was so lucky to get away with that, touching another car.
00:26:44He could so easily damage your front wing.
00:26:46And then he gains positions as the incident happened through the turn.
00:26:50So, not a great run there.
00:26:53And as for Malaysia?
00:26:55He gets away a little bit better.
00:26:58Obviously, damp conditions here as he pulls away from the start.
00:27:00But, again, he hasn't actually gained positions off the start, per se.
00:27:03But, when the old concertina are up into turn one,
00:27:06he very winds it, takes the normal racing line,
00:27:09and then goes around the outside of several cars as he goes out of one.
00:27:13And that puts him in the right place as he runs in.
00:27:15Okay, it'll be interesting to see how many places
00:27:18Kamui can make up at the start here.
00:27:19If he makes up two, he'll be in the lead.
00:27:21And you can see behind us, they've gathered around the car,
00:27:23they've put the wheels on that are going to take him to the grid,
00:27:26getting very close now to lights out in the start of this Grand Prix.
00:27:29But what of Michael Schumacher, who starts just in front of Kamui Kobayashi?
00:27:32His last win came here. He's with Lee McKenzie.
00:27:36Michael, first pole position, first front row for Mercedes since 1955.
00:27:41What's the atmosphere like in the team?
00:27:43Yeah, obviously everybody is very excited and thrilled about what happened yesterday.
00:27:50And now we look forward to enjoy the afternoon.
00:27:54You've got a great record of starts, even in the last couple of years.
00:27:58You must fancy your chances down into turn one.
00:28:01I mean, absolutely, I will try, but then we're both clever enough to manage ourselves and not to harm ourselves.
00:28:10Because in the end of the day, we want to make it a good result for Mercedes.
00:28:13And do you think a good result for Mercedes is possible today?
00:28:16We will try.
00:28:17Thank you. Thanks.
00:28:19Well, a right smile at the end there, but Michael, a man of few words.
00:28:22Do you think that he'd be rather overexcited?
00:28:24His best qualifying since his return to F1?
00:28:26Well, I think there's a confidence that Michael has rediscovered in his qualifying form this year.
00:28:31That's been the weak spot over the last two seasons.
00:28:33But, you know, certainly he'll be inwardly happy with the front row start.
00:28:38But I think that it was very telling when he was on the radio yesterday during qualifying,
00:28:41and he asked, what time did Nico do?
00:28:43And when he heard it was half a second quicker, it was just a kind of, ah, okay.
00:28:47Yeah, I give up.
00:28:49He's not giving up because he qualified fourth for the first race, then third, now second.
00:28:54He's getting better.
00:28:55Do you think this is the best we've seen Michael since his return?
00:28:57Oh, without doubt.
00:28:58This is a joy to see.
00:28:59Michael is happier with himself.
00:29:01He's got that little swagger, and he's getting himself around the place.
00:29:04You know, we all remember what he was like when he was winning those races.
00:29:08He used to strut around with that arrogant style.
00:29:11It's nearly back.
00:29:12And it's quite cool.
00:29:13Do you think that will play into the hands of Mercedes?
00:29:15Because it was cool in qualifying.
00:29:16They could still heat their tires up.
00:29:18If it's hot, they tend to wear their tires out too quickly.
00:29:21Yeah, it is actually quite cool today.
00:29:23I'm not sure of the track temperature.
00:29:24I'll be able to see that when I get up into the commentary box.
00:29:27This is the perfect conditions actually for them.
00:29:29And they'll be hoping that it stays clouded over and it does get too warm.
00:29:32Okay, we better stop talking then because we're 30 seconds away from the pit line opening.
00:29:35It'll get rather fast and rather loud in here.
00:29:37So while the cars make their way to the grid, let's check in with Lewis Hamilton.
00:29:41He had a penalty, but as he proved when we caught up with him at the McLaren Technology Centre,
00:29:46this is a boy who's a born racer.
00:29:48Every day that I've walked past, I've always admired the cars that we have here.
00:30:00Especially my favourite car, the LM.
00:30:03Oh, yeah.
00:30:04What's the deal for that one again?
00:30:05Three championships?
00:30:06Three championships, but I feel like...
00:30:08I'm starting to feel that Ron is deliberately refusing me a good car.
00:30:13Good, okay.
00:30:14Or a championship.
00:30:15So he gives you a bad F1 car.
00:30:16Yeah, so that I don't win the championship, so I don't take his baby away from him.
00:30:19Interesting.
00:30:20No, but they've given me a good car this year, so we should be able to compete.
00:30:24Okay.
00:30:25It's Lewis Hamilton who's taken his second pole position of 2012.
00:30:29And if you, say, do another six seasons with McLaren and have six more strong seasons,
00:30:34but it doesn't deliver you another world title, is that enough for you?
00:30:37Oh, no.
00:30:38No, I'd be massively disappointed.
00:30:40I don't want to get five, six years down the road and find that I've still only got one world championship
00:30:45or two world championships.
00:30:47I want to have more records.
00:30:49I want to have more wins.
00:30:51That's what it's all about.
00:30:52That's what we're here to do.
00:30:56Well, they're under starter's orders for the Blue Peter Mini Grand Prix.
00:31:00Three, two, one, go!
00:31:04Today, we're going to relive the glory days of when you appeared on Blue Peter with a remote control car.
00:31:08Okay, do I have to put the voice on?
00:31:10Hello!
00:31:11Yeah.
00:31:12Lewis Hamilton is only seven years old.
00:31:15How long have you been racing cars for already, Lewis?
00:31:18About a year.
00:31:19So, you must be pretty good at it.
00:31:20Is it easy to do?
00:31:21No.
00:31:23And we have a winner!
00:31:24Who won the race?
00:31:25Lewis, well done!
00:31:27The arrows are all important, okay?
00:31:33Okay.
00:31:34And you'll be pleased to know that Herman Toolker's got nothing to do with this circuit.
00:31:38So, it should be a good one?
00:31:39Yeah.
00:31:40Should be good for overtaking that.
00:31:41This should be good, yeah.
00:31:42Do you know what we could do?
00:31:43We could go out of the doors here and do once round the doughnut.
00:31:46Which way?
00:31:47I think either way.
00:31:48And then is it back down the same track?
00:31:50Yeah, but then straight.
00:31:51It's like a drag race to the finish.
00:31:52Alright.
00:31:53I think I maybe need a little practice, go.
00:31:58Yes!
00:31:59Check it out!
00:32:01I feel like I can be all over the place with this thing.
00:32:06Oh!
00:32:07I did drive into one of the cars.
00:32:08Do it!
00:32:12This is going to be massive.
00:32:13Just that he's cheating, you know?
00:32:15Why?
00:32:16Do we ever cheat it?
00:32:17He's over the line already.
00:32:18Oh, man.
00:32:20What would Charlie Whiting make of that?
00:32:24This is stupid.
00:32:25I'm going to be rubbish.
00:32:43Wait a minute.
00:32:44You want me to wait up here?
00:32:45I've missed out a few of the obstacles.
00:32:46There you see.
00:32:55Oh, shoot!
00:32:56Unlucky, Lewis.
00:32:58That wasn't good.
00:33:07Yes!
00:33:09Oh, Billy, the light!
00:33:16Oh, no!
00:33:17I can't help it, man.
00:33:18I've got to win.
00:33:19He's got to win that until your cameraman hit it.
00:33:20He's not doing very well, is he?
00:33:21It's pretty shocking, isn't it?
00:33:22Should I stop it just before the line?
00:33:23I think I won, Jake.
00:33:24I think I won, Jake.
00:33:25I should have done that.
00:33:26I've got to do it, man.
00:33:27I've got to do it, man.
00:33:28I've got to win.
00:33:29I've got to win that until your cameraman hit it.
00:33:31He's not doing very well, is he?
00:33:32It's pretty shocking, isn't it?
00:33:33Should I stop it just before the line?
00:33:34I think I won, Jake.
00:33:35I should have done two laps.
00:33:36I still would have beat you.
00:33:37I fell down the stairs.
00:33:38Do you know what, though?
00:33:39I was going to win that until it came in the door and caught someone's foot.
00:33:40Cameraman.
00:33:41Excuse us.
00:33:42Well done.
00:33:43I'm a hard boy, young man.
00:33:46I don't know.
00:33:47I should have done it just before the line.
00:33:49I know it's going to come out of me.
00:33:50You know what, though?
00:33:51You had to win that.
00:33:52You know what, though?
00:33:53I fell down the stairs.
00:33:55You know what?
00:33:56I was going to win that until it came in the door and caught someone's foot.
00:34:04Cameraman.
00:34:05Excuse us.
00:34:07Well done.
00:34:08Cameraman, how you going? So I'll do some BBC filming here. Jake, the useless remote
00:34:18control car driver, cameraman, cameraman, and moi.
00:34:24And what?
00:34:25Moi.
00:34:26Oh, I thought you called yourself a winner.
00:34:27Eh!
00:34:28I think it's fair to say the opposition will be a little bit tougher today. Here's
00:34:34Lewis Hamilton just leaving the garage a couple of moments ago. He starts seventh on
00:34:38the grid today after his penalty for a change of gearbox. So he's in an artificially low
00:34:42position, Eddie. Could be an interesting guy to keep our eyes on because he's got good
00:34:45race pace.
00:34:46I have to tell you this. I've seen him. I've watched the way he went around. I think he's
00:34:51my favourite for today. I really think he can do a big race here. He has obviously a great
00:34:55history here. He's won twice around this place before. He's already said he loves the place.
00:35:00It'll be a huge battle to come from seventh. As you rightly say, at the start of the show,
00:35:03no one has ever won the race outside the top six. So in this occasion, I think he's
00:35:07might prove us all wrong. Yeah, Fernando Alonso won here from eighth very impressively.
00:35:12He'll do well to win the race today. He started way down the field alongside Felipe Massa.
00:35:16But going back to Lewis, last year was surely one of his greatest ever drives because of
00:35:20the circumstances before the race.
00:35:22Well, indeed he had issues with the car before going to the grid. There was all the uncertainty.
00:35:27And that definitely unsettles the driver. You can see that he went to the grid, actually,
00:35:31with the rear of the engine cover missing. But in the end, he was able to do, I think,
00:35:36some great start and a very aggressive drive to come through. And classic Lewis pass towards
00:35:41the end of the race on Sebastian Vieto. I love this move. This was fantastic.
00:35:45I think McLaren to allow the driver to go wheel to wheel at 190 miles an hour into turn one.
00:35:50And then at the end of the race, a few laps to go, he set Sebastian up, used his car strategically
00:35:56and pulled the pass as he went into turn seven.
00:35:58It's another reason just to see those clips there. It's another reason I still believe
00:36:02that the grid is wrongly set up here because all those passing moves were undone on the inside of the track.
00:36:07We just have to pay their 90 miles an hour.
00:36:09OK. Well, talking of the grid, as long as it's safe that there's no cars coming,
00:36:12I think we should head out there and soak up the atmosphere.
00:36:15We've already had one close call with one of the Lotus cars.
00:36:18But Lewis has said that he's actually changed his approach to racing, David.
00:36:21He said that he's going to go for consistency. He's going to pick up points where need be.
00:36:25It's not just simply win or bust for him now.
00:36:28Is that a bit of a shame, do you think, because he's the kind of driver,
00:36:31as we saw there, could still go for it on the last lap?
00:36:33I don't think it's a shame. I think it's smart thinking on his behalf.
00:36:36And he's showing signs of maturity.
00:36:38He had too many silly little incidents last year, mainly with Felipe Massa, if we remember.
00:36:43And in the end, to win championships, he's got to have the consistency across the year.
00:36:48So we know he's got the speed. He's out of position today because of the gearbox issue,
00:36:52but two fantastic poles in the first two races. And, you know, he's playing a long game.
00:36:56And I think it's nice just to have a bit of a moment here, Eddie,
00:36:59because people talk a lot about no passion for Formula One in China.
00:37:02Well, if we have a look at the people lined up across the top of the pit building there,
00:37:05you can see that it couldn't be much busier. It's about two or three people deep.
00:37:09And the grandstand to our left is absolutely packed.
00:37:12I haven't been really surprised.
00:37:15It's a couple of years since I've been to this race in China for various different reasons.
00:37:19And I am very pleasantly surprised. I've never seen the grandstands are overflowing like they are.
00:37:25And obviously the ones at the ends of the pit, which is the really fast corner into the first corner, that is.
00:37:31It's absolutely chock-a-block. Great, great sign. I think Formula One is finally at home in China.
00:37:37Yeah, I think we better move out of exactly where we are because we're standing actually in Nico Rosberg's pit box.
00:37:41And I think that could cause us some trouble because he's got a race to get on with.
00:37:44So, Ian, if you go around the back, we'll follow you to the very front of the grid.
00:37:47Because I think it's important for us to talk about how this race may well play out, guys.
00:37:51We've just walked past both the sauber of Komui Kobayashi and also Kimi Räikkönen's Lotus.
00:37:57And the feeling is, if they can hop in front of the Mercedes at the start, David, they could have a really strong race here
00:38:02because the Mercedes are not fast in race pace, as Ross Braun has already told us.
00:38:07And also the top speed is not particularly good.
00:38:09We've got Komui Kobayashi. It's six kilometres an hour faster in qualifying with the DRS open.
00:38:14One DRS zone here on the long back straight.
00:38:17So that will give them an opportunity to try and have a pass at the end of the second lap, of course, when DRS is activated.
00:38:23OK, it's an interesting car, that sauber. Fast in the straight line, easy on its tyres.
00:38:26Shown great race pace as well here this weekend.
00:38:28But there are plenty of people on the grid, plenty of people for you to track down, gentlemen.
00:38:31And I believe that Jenson Button is on the grid.
00:38:34So maybe go and track him down so you can find him, David.
00:38:36Yeah, indeed. We'll take a little walk.
00:38:37I think what we might do is, Ian, if you follow me this way, we'll go down the right side.
00:38:42I don't fancy going down the scrum when I saw Mr. Eccleston.
00:38:45Had some local dignitaries.
00:38:49So let's leave all that action there at the front.
00:38:53Spectacular grandstand here that creates a sort of atmosphere that the drivers really feel that buzz before the Grand Prix starts.
00:39:02All right. Look at that. There we've got a Mr. Button there.
00:39:07JB, Jenson, sorry, quick words. You're a little bit out of position here. How are you feeling for the race?
00:39:13I feel pretty good. You know, yesterday it got quite cold in qualifying, which hurt us quite a bit.
00:39:20I think it hurt a lot of people. But it's warmer today, which is nice.
00:39:23And hopefully, fingers crossed, it's going to stay there.
00:39:26It does seem that the teams have been talking a lot about this temperature affecting the tires and qualifying by only a couple of degrees.
00:39:32Is it really that sensitive? I don't recall it ever being that much in the past.
00:39:36I can't hear a word you're saying, but I'm lip reading and I think you're talking about tire temperatures.
00:39:40It's critical. I mean, four degrees drop in track time makes a massive difference around here.
00:39:46So, yeah, it's tricky for us. And I struggled with that yesterday.
00:39:51Well, have a good race. Where do you reckon you're going to go at the start? Inside, outside?
00:39:55Inside or outside at the start?
00:39:57Oh, whichever way he doesn't go. OK, good luck.
00:40:00Well, whatever way he doesn't go, let's see if we can find him.
00:40:03He's pointing to Kamui Kobayashi, who's sitting there.
00:40:06Sauber having a great season so far, aren't they? Well, it's spectacular.
00:40:10Right, he looks like he might be quite busy with some people here.
00:40:14Let me just hang fire a minute, because I'd like to get a word with this man.
00:40:18He's pulled some spectacular overtakes in his short career in Formula One.
00:40:21Kamui, sorry, just a quick word. What's your strategy for the start?
00:40:25You've been pretty handy at the start so far this year.
00:40:28Well, I mean, for the start, I think definitely not to take risk,
00:40:31because the race is definitely long.
00:40:33And I think our car is probably quite strong for the long run.
00:40:37So I think we can approach in the end of race.
00:40:39This is, I think, a great result for us.
00:40:41I think the target is really on the podium.
00:40:44And, yeah, I mean, try to bring it back home.
00:40:46You've got great top speed in comparison to the Mercedes.
00:40:48So you'll be aiming them down into turn 14?
00:40:52I think in the top speed itself, I think our car is not too bad,
00:40:55because we had the long gear.
00:40:57So I think actually we have a chance to overtake as well.
00:41:00Good luck.
00:41:01Right.
00:41:02Let's just take a little wander.
00:41:04Try not to get poked in the eye there.
00:41:07It's dangerous being on the grid, actually.
00:41:09Much safer sitting in the car.
00:41:11All right.
00:41:12We've got to your Adrian Newey, actually.
00:41:15What's he looking at a Lotus for?
00:41:17Adrian, sorry.
00:41:18What are you doing looking at the Lotus?
00:41:20Are you...
00:41:21Sorry?
00:41:22What are you doing looking at the Lotus?
00:41:23Is there something interesting there we should know about?
00:41:25I mean, it's the usual thing.
00:41:26We all have a look at each other's cars,
00:41:28see if there are any interesting features that unlikely you'd just directly copy them.
00:41:34Well, I guess we've all now got to think about the Mercedes DRS system.
00:41:38But it's just looking around, seeing what other people are up to, really.
00:41:42You've been around Formula One a long time.
00:41:44You've had a great deal of success, but you also know that you can't win them all.
00:41:47How are Red Bull, as a relatively young team,
00:41:49dealing with, you know, what has not been a spectacular start to the year?
00:41:52The car's quick, but you've been used to getting regular podiums and victories.
00:41:56Well, we are a young team.
00:41:58I mean, we've been...
00:42:00had a great deal of success over the last couple of years,
00:42:02but Formula One dictates that's not going to last forever, I think.
00:42:06We managed to develop some toughness and some depth over the years,
00:42:11so it's just heads down and get on with it.
00:42:14Yeah, congratulations to your MBE, by the way.
00:42:16All right.
00:42:17Let me take a little wander down.
00:42:19Let me take a look at one of his cards.
00:42:21Well, we've got Mark Webber over there.
00:42:24Let me try and grab a quick ward with him.
00:42:27He's with his engineers, but I think I'm just going to dive in.
00:42:31Excuse me, gentlemen.
00:42:32How are you, Mark?
00:42:33You feeling good?
00:42:34Yeah, yeah, mate.
00:42:35Yeah, it's a few balls in the air today,
00:42:37but looking forward to, you know, seeing how the race will unfold.
00:42:40Obviously, the tyres around here are going to be pretty important.
00:42:42We don't know how much of a role they're going to play,
00:42:45but, you know, they have done in the past, and, I mean, at this venue,
00:42:48and we'll see how they go today.
00:42:50You're on the clean side of the grid here
00:42:52because everyone runs on the right-hand side.
00:42:54So are you expecting to be able to get the jump in, GB?
00:42:57Yeah, well, obviously, starts are something we're still working on.
00:43:01Look forward to having a good one today.
00:43:03McLarens have been pretty good off the line.
00:43:04Kimi, not so.
00:43:06So hopefully I can...
00:43:08Yeah, long GP from there, mate.
00:43:10All right. Good luck.
00:43:11All right.
00:43:12Where will we want to know?
00:43:13Well, we've got Eddie Jordan here.
00:43:15He's just been given an honorary OBE.
00:43:17So, Eddie, you've got the President with you.
00:43:19Well, I've got somebody much more important than that here,
00:43:21with no disrespect to Her Majesty, of course.
00:43:24Jean-Todd, our President.
00:43:26Bahrain, everybody happy about going to Bahrain?
00:43:29I mean, first before Bahrain, I think it's very exciting to see here
00:43:33this race in Shanghai, and we must congratulate all the people involved.
00:43:38And good to see a different front row.
00:43:42And it looks to be a very exciting race,
00:43:45as I hope we will have one exciting race in one week in Bahrain,
00:43:50where we must privilege the interest of the sport.
00:43:53Absolutely.
00:43:54Jean-Todd, thank you for that.
00:43:55And we'll let you go on and enjoy the weekend racing.
00:43:58And I take your point about the race here.
00:44:00I'm going to go because I have a little surprise, maybe,
00:44:03that's tucked away in my sleeve,
00:44:05because tomorrow, probably one of the all-time greatest legends,
00:44:11certainly in my racing time, is having a little birthday.
00:44:14He's not here with us today,
00:44:16but he has promised to come and celebrate with us in Spain.
00:44:19And that's none other than Sir Frank Williams.
00:44:22Now, I actually believe that his people have got together to be on the grid,
00:44:27and I don't know whether I'm a touch bit too early to do this,
00:44:30but we're going to have a try,
00:44:32because Williams' fortune has absolutely moved forward.
00:44:35We had a horrible season last year.
00:44:37Any of you people who watched with anguish,
00:44:39none of us wanted to see what was happening,
00:44:41but this particular year, there's a swagger in that team.
00:44:44We saw Maldonado, sadly, on the very last lap,
00:44:47lose out sixth place in Australia.
00:44:50However, a certain car, Williams finished sixth at the last race,
00:44:56and we're just looking to see where the boys are.
00:44:59Where am I going to find?
00:45:02Where is Maldonado?
00:45:05Pastor.
00:45:06You're right.
00:45:08I haven't spoken to you since Australia, so I'm not going to mention it.
00:45:12We've just been talking about a very special moment this weekend,
00:45:15which tomorrow, Frank is 70.
00:45:17Yeah.
00:45:18And I think that the team is going to gather up in front of him,
00:45:21and Bruno is there as well.
00:45:23This is, you know, you're a young guy, but I've been around for such a long time.
00:45:27This man has done everything in our business.
00:45:30Won twos, championship after championship.
00:45:32He's made so many world champions,
00:45:34and we want to make sure that we pay the rightful respect to Sir Frank Williams.
00:45:39Let's see the team here.
00:45:40Frank, this is for you.
00:45:44Wow.
00:45:45The drivers.
00:45:46But your team, Frank.
00:46:01Hip, hip.
00:46:03Hip, hip.
00:46:05Hip, hip.
00:46:06Hip, hip!
00:46:07Sir Frank, this team, and this whole grid, adores you, loves you.
00:46:10We want you back here among us and among your friends.
00:46:12We've had Bernie up to say happy Batt Day
00:46:14Happy birthday, and of course, everybody, Adrian Newey in particular as well.
00:46:19We have to move on, but anyway, have a great day tomorrow.
00:46:23I'm going to just go around, because I think this is where the melting pot here is.
00:46:27Look, we have just over here the Ferraris around the thing.
00:46:30Felipe Massa. Is Felipe under as much pressure as we believe?
00:46:34I'm going to have a quick word with Charlie Whiting, if I may.
00:46:38Excuse me a second.
00:46:39Paul Hemsbury from Pirelli, but I'm going to try and, if I may, Charlie, could I have a quick word here, please?
00:46:48Are you going to talk to me?
00:46:49No.
00:46:50Oh, please.
00:46:50No, I can't.
00:46:51You can't? Okay, well, I think there are some rules and regulations prohibits the legislators,
00:46:57and I'm going to hand back to Jake to make sure he gets on with whatever we're doing down at the front of the grid.
00:47:04Thanks, Elliot. I think that's what you call not getting an interview, isn't it?
00:47:08Yes, indeed.
00:47:08That didn't quite work out, but anyway, in fairness, Charlie did step forward as if he was going to do the interview.
00:47:15Very true. I think he was chancing his arm there with Eddie, but I'm glad that he didn't speak,
00:47:19because he'd be in serious trouble with a Bernie.
00:47:21But let's talk about Frank Williams then. Happy birthday to Frank, 70 years old.
00:47:24I know that was an important moment for Eddie, and the same applies to you.
00:47:27You made your debut in Formula One for Williams.
00:47:29Well, Frank has given, and Patrick Head, of course, his partner, have given so many young drivers that opportunity.
00:47:34They gave me the opportunity to be the test driver, and then that led to me racing for the team for a couple of years.
00:47:38And, you know, Frank is such a racer.
00:47:41He would never, ever say to you, sort of, hold station, you know, be really careful.
00:47:46He would just say, go for it.
00:47:48You know, race the wheels off that car, and that's what he really loves.
00:47:50A boss that inspires people.
00:47:51Well, indeed, absolutely.
00:47:52You know, all of these team bosses in Formula One, they have to be able to motivate the teams of people
00:47:56to put in the hours that they do to try and stay ahead with the development.
00:48:00Okay.
00:48:00Well, as we get close to the race, the Williams are starting 13th and 14th on the grid.
00:48:03I'm sure that's not the best of news for Frank, but we hope they fight through the field today.
00:48:07Just behind them, Paul de Resta starts 15th.
00:48:09And Four Senior have picked up points in 11 of the last 12 races.
00:48:12So is Paul feeling confident?
00:48:13Let's hear from him ahead of the race.
00:48:15Well, Paul, your car's in the middle of a very packed grid.
00:48:19It's always busy, but it seems to be even tighter than normal out there.
00:48:22It is very tight.
00:48:24This race, I think, is one of the closest we've had in Formula One for years.
00:48:27I think you'll see a few different strategies, and certainly the field is a bit more mixed up than normal.
00:48:32Unfortunately, we were just at the back of that group, but our race car performed quite well on Friday afternoon.
00:48:37So with the temperatures being close to that, we're fairly optimistic that we can hopefully go out there and certainly go forward.
00:48:44If not, at least put them under pressure just to try and grab any points if they're available.
00:48:49It's your birthday tomorrow, so a few points would be quite a nice little early birthday treat.
00:48:53It would, but we've got more important things to think about.
00:48:55My birthday, I'm just getting older, and that's the worrying part.
00:48:58As long as you're getting faster. Thanks, Paul.
00:48:59Absolutely.
00:49:01Well, it's everyone's birthday at the moment in Formula One.
00:49:03Good luck to Paul today, and he would love to pick up an early birthday present.
00:49:06And his DRS on his Force India may well help him, David, because we saw a lot of overtakes in this DRS zone last year.
00:49:12Yeah, it's a great zone, actually.
00:49:14It starts halfway down the back straight in between 13 and 14, gives them time to get off that turn 13, pick up a bit of a slipstream from the car in front.
00:49:21And then when they open DRS, of course, they'll gain anything from 15 to 20 kilometers an hour on top speed.
00:49:26They'll be touching almost 200 miles an hour when they hit the braking zone in 14, and that should be a good place to overtake.
00:49:31Yeah, we'll keep our eyes on what happens down at turn 14.
00:49:33But in terms of the Mercedes DRS, they've used it a lot in qualifying to speed that car up.
00:49:38But if you're at the front, of course, you don't get the benefit of using that DRS.
00:49:41So how will that affect them, do you think?
00:49:43Well, that's why I mentioned to Kamui on the grid.
00:49:45He's six kilometers an hour faster with the DRS open and qualifying.
00:49:49So in the race itself, if he's in the slipstream of the Mercedes car, he'll be more than 20 kilometers an hour faster, and that will just make it easy for him to overtake that car.
00:49:58So Mercedes have obviously gone with a slightly different strategy on their wing settings, and that's worked well for qualifying.
00:50:03Whether it works well for the race or not, it remains to be seen.
00:50:05OK, well, Eddie's come back to join us.
00:50:07Nelly, we're looking at shots here of Lewis Hamilton gearing up for his opportunity to push through the field.
00:50:11He qualified second.
00:50:13He starts seventh.
00:50:14He's talked about lots of confidence and patience this year, and he may well need it today.
00:50:19Yes, I think the start is crucial for him.
00:50:22We know how talented he is.
00:50:23We don't have to go through that again.
00:50:25But he is absolutely on fire, in my opinion.
00:50:28You know, the two poles at the start and effectively second yesterday, the gearbox change puts him back.
00:50:33But it doesn't take away from the ultimate speed that he's got in that car, and I think he is in better shape than we believe.
00:50:39OK, this man, Fernando Alonso, has won here from eighth.
00:50:42It would take quite a drive to do it from ninth.
00:50:45I just don't think the car is good enough.
00:50:47We were critical of the car yesterday.
00:50:49It hasn't jumped out of its box overnight, and it's not going to be that much quicker.
00:50:53But they do race better.
00:50:55Their qualifying is pretty shocking by Ferrari standards.
00:50:58But, you know, who knows?
00:51:00He is such a talented driver.
00:51:01He can do anything, as we saw in Malaysia last week.
00:51:04What do you think of that?
00:51:04You like a bit of rock and roll.
00:51:05That's quite a rock and roll helmet, isn't it?
00:51:07Well, you know, Kamui is rock and roll anyway, and he's just such a gung-ho character.
00:51:14We see that the way he drives.
00:51:16He drives with the seat of his pants.
00:51:17If there's a slightest sniff of going by a car in front of it, he takes it.
00:51:22And that's what I like about him.
00:51:24He's really a fired-up driver.
00:51:25He's a new breed for me.
00:51:27And it's great, because he's never fazed by the guys who are around him.
00:51:29Now, this is the first time since 2006 that Mark Webber has out-qualified his teammates.
00:51:34He'll be looking for a strong drive today.
00:51:36Many people, including Gary Anderson, tipping him to win.
00:51:39Well, you see, there's a conflict in this team.
00:51:42At the moment, Adrian Newey has actually brought this car and developed a car.
00:51:47Mark Webber, very cleverly, has gone along with that, because we all know how good Adrian Newey is.
00:51:51And Sebastian has gone with the old set-up.
00:51:54I think it's a mistake.
00:51:55I think Sebastian may rue the day.
00:51:57OK, well, we mentioned Gary Anderson.
00:51:59He's our new technical analyst.
00:52:00He used to design the cars for Eddie's team.
00:52:02And he's with Stefano Domenicali of Ferrari ahead of the race.
00:52:04Gary.
00:52:06Stefano, ninth and twelfth on the grid.
00:52:09Can you do pull off what you did three weeks ago?
00:52:12We need to be realistic.
00:52:14I don't think so, but we are here to try to maximise what we have.
00:52:17And that's the approach that we're going to have it.
00:52:19Do you think that is the pace of the car where you've qualified?
00:52:22Is that it?
00:52:23Or was there a better lap there?
00:52:24No, I mean, in terms of position, I think that realistic we are from the seventh to the twelfth position.
00:52:30The gaps are so close.
00:52:31If you see yesterday, you need to understand the type behaviour, because in Q2 we were all around four tenths.
00:52:37Then with different situations, we are going back to normal gaps.
00:52:40So we know what we have to do.
00:52:41It's a long way to be on top of our performance.
00:52:45But that's what I'm expecting from my engineers to do.
00:52:48Okay, Stefano, good luck.
00:52:49Cheers.
00:52:49Thanks.
00:52:50And once again, all eyes on Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa in Italy as they gear up for what they hope will be a successful race after a difficult season so far, despite that win in Malaysia.
00:52:58We had a small shot there, didn't we, of Michael Schumacher sitting in his car gearing up.
00:53:02He knows what it's like to start a race, as are these two men.
00:53:05The man who does start the race and the man who's running Mercedes.
00:53:08What will he be thinking right now?
00:53:09Well, a lot of pressure in some ways off his shoulders, and yet a big heap more back on his shoulders, because he'll have glad this front row is amazing for them at this stage of the season.
00:53:20But nevertheless, now, if he doesn't perform in the race, and if the tyres disintegrate on this particular car like they have been doing, then he could be back in more pressure zones.
00:53:31Okay, just to remind you, there are plenty of ways that you can watch the action with us this weekend on Formula One.
00:53:36Of course, if you go online, you can check out the driver tracker.
00:53:38There's loads of action on there with the cars stopping and starting, see how the race is going to play out if you want to head online and check out the driver tracker.
00:53:45You can have your own on-board feed as well.
00:53:47You can ride along with your favourite driver if their driver feed is available.
00:53:50You can ride the race from their angle, and the pit lane feed is fascinating.
00:53:53We stay in the pit lane, and you hear team radio with no commentary, and, of course, loads of other stuff online, including various blogs.
00:54:00And all kinds of other bits and pieces from the BBC, including news.
00:54:03And, of course, for the next seven days after this, check out the BBC iPlayer.
00:54:07All the action will be right there.
00:54:09Okay, here we go, then.
00:54:11In high definition and available on BBC One and BBC One HD, in the company of both David Coulthard and Ben Edwards, this is the Chinese Grand Prix Live.
00:54:19With 77 overtakes 12 months to go, taking pole is one thing, keeping hold of it, quite another.
00:54:26Nico Rosberg, prepare for the fight of your life.
00:54:30To be continued...
00:54:31To be continued...
00:55:00There may well be six world champions on the grid here in China,
00:55:19but they have all been beaten to pole position
00:55:21by a man who has yet to win a race in 110 attempts.
00:55:25The Chinese Grand Prix continues the early season Asian tour of Formula One
00:55:29and after the changeable conditions of Malaysia,
00:55:32the key factor today is likely to be just how warm or cool the track is going to be.
00:55:39The 3.4 miles Shanghai International Circuit with its long, long straight 1.1 kilometers long
00:55:45and speeds approaching 200 miles an hour at the end of Sector 3, towards the end of Sector 3.
00:55:51But some twiddly sections to deal with as well where downforce is key.
00:55:55The Mercedes working brilliantly in qualifying trim,
00:55:58but there is a question mark as to whether that Mercedes car will be as fast in race conditions.
00:56:04The DRS zone towards the end of that long straight.
00:56:07We will see lots of overtaking today, but we'll also see a great race, I think,
00:56:12because we've talked to lots of the teams and everyone feels the uncertainty
00:56:15of exactly which cars are going to work well in the conditions we've got.
00:56:19A track temperature at the moment of 24 degrees.
00:56:22Now that's similar to what we saw in qualifying, definitely warmer to what we saw on Friday afternoon in free practice.
00:56:28It seems as though the likes of Sauber and Mercedes, who as we know are well up on the grid,
00:56:33suit the cooler conditions, whereas McLaren and Red Bull perhaps want the conditions a little warmer.
00:56:39Well, at the moment, as you can see, it's overcast.
00:56:41There's that slight mist that we tend to have here at Shanghai.
00:56:45There's no sunshine poking through, so if anything, we're on the cooler part of the whole scenario,
00:56:51and that's what teams will be looking at now.
00:56:53Remember, they haven't been able to change the cars from qualifying.
00:56:57They're under part ferme regs coming into the race.
00:57:00The only slight change they can make is to the front wing and, of course, to tyre pressures as well.
00:57:05Sebastian Vettel, then.
00:57:06He starts down in 11th place, and he has won this race in the past,
00:57:10but to win it from 11th is going to be tough.
00:57:12There is our championship leader, Fernando Alonso, starting in 9th position.
00:57:17He's won here in the past, but again, to do it in the current Ferrari in dry conditions, it's going to be tough.
00:57:22He's looking for his 75th podium finish of his career.
00:57:26Lewis Hamilton, second fastest in qualifying, but with that 5-place penalty on the grid
00:57:31as a result of having a gearbox change.
00:57:34He's never won from as low down that on the grid, but he's got to have a chance here today.
00:57:39Kobayashi, third on the grid.
00:57:41Previous best on a grid was 7th place.
00:57:44His best ever finish is a 5th place, so to get on the podium would be a major achievement for this young Japanese driver.
00:57:50Has been done by both Takuma Sato and Agudi Suzuki in the past.
00:57:55Michael Schumacher starts on the front row.
00:57:57His last win, then, was here back in 2006 when he started from 6th position.
00:58:03He'll be going into his 289th Grand Prix here today, but starting on pole position.
00:58:08That first Mercedes pole since 1955, it's going to be Nico Rosberg.
00:58:15Let's take a look at that grid in a little bit more detail, then.
00:58:18So, Rosberg starting up front with Michael Schumacher alongside.
00:58:22It's an all-Mercedes front row.
00:58:23Kobayashi in the Sauber, and Kimi Raikkonen, let's not forget, in the Lotus.
00:58:27He starts in 4th place.
00:58:29Jenson Button is 5th with Mark Webber alongside in the Red Bull.
00:58:32Lewis Hamilton starts 7th, but he's shown great pace all weekend.
00:58:35And 2nd place finisher last time, Perez starts 8th.
00:58:38Alonso and Grosjean on the row 5.
00:58:40Then Vettel and Massa on row number 6.
00:58:43Massa still with some work to do, obviously, to re-establish his position there.
00:58:47Maldonado and Senna in the Williams are on row 7.
00:58:49Row 8, Paul de Resta and Nico Hülkenberg in the two Force Indias.
00:58:53Then Daniel Ricciardo with Heikki Kovalainen now starting in 18th place.
00:58:57Petrov in 19th, then Timo Glock in the Marussia, followed by Charles Peek, Pedro de la Rosa, and Noreen Karthikeyan in the HRTs.
00:59:05And starting from the pit lane is Jean-Erik Verne.
00:59:08Now, they made a lot of changes to the bodywork of his car.
00:59:12And as I was saying earlier, you're not allowed to change a car between qualifying and race.
00:59:15But if you do, then the rules say you have to start from the pit lane.
00:59:19And that's what Jean-Erik Verne will be doing.
00:59:20He really wasn't happy with the handling of his Toro Rosso yesterday.
00:59:24And the young French rookie will therefore start from the pit lane once everybody has gone into that first corner.
00:59:30So now we're building up to the start of this Grand Prix.
00:59:33And for Nico Hülkenberg, David, this is where the nerves surely begin to tell on pole position in Formula 1 for the first time.
00:59:40Yeah, well, and apologies if I'm repeating anything you've said, Ben.
00:59:43It took me a long time to get up here to the commentary box.
00:59:45And it's seven years, as you say, since he hit a pole position in GP2.
00:59:50So, 110 Grand Prix starts.
00:59:52And what he'll need to be watching out for, and I'm sure his engineers have told him,
00:59:56is that when he comes around and sits on that pole position, it can be anything up to a minute before the last car.
01:00:01In this case, it'll be Jean-Erik, well, actually, it'll be the HRT.
01:00:04Jean-Erik Verne will be starting from the pit lane.
01:00:06And you've got to make sure that you don't arrive at the grid with too much temperature in your engine
01:00:11because that'll affect performance around the first lap.
01:00:13So, a few other little procedures he has to work with.
01:00:16So, the car...
Be the first to comment