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The Friday Qualifying session for Round 9 of the 2003 F1 season at the Nurburgring.
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00:00Hello and welcome to live coverage of the 2003 Formula 1 season on Speed Channel, today's
00:23pre-qualifying from an urban win for the European Grand Prix.
00:25I'm David Hobbs, joining me today is our technical analyst Steve Matchett, and already Michael
00:30Schumacher is on his warm-up lap, taking the lead in the World Championship point, so
00:35he goes out first today, hoping to be out last tomorrow.
00:40Weather permitting, of course.
00:43Now this morning's free practice, it was very sunny, David, wasn't it?
00:46But already up in the hills here, we started to see the clouds building up over this circuit.
00:52Well, it was an unusually brilliant day up here at the Nürburgring, and talking at the
00:57Nürburgring, let's take a look at the track map.
01:01Very, very twisty, as you can see, downhill to Turn 1, the new Castrol S-curve they've added
01:06that bit on last year, long run down to the forward curve, then Dunlop curve, which is
01:10the lowest point of the track, and then, Steve, it's uphill all the way then.
01:13Right up to the RTL curve and the bit curve there, going round the top of the track.
01:17It is very tight and winding, and doesn't it look like the layout of Monaco, quite frankly?
01:23You know, if you didn't really know Monaco that well, and you looked at that track map,
01:26you could only be convinced that that was the Monaco map right there, and it bears a
01:29lot in common.
01:30Tight and winding, very low grip, but there are one or two high-speed sections that make
01:36it different from Monaco.
01:37As far as the tires are concerned, though, bringing to this circuit, both Michelin and Bridgestone
01:42bring in more or less exactly the same compound of construction that they used at the Principality,
01:48by virtue of the fact that it is very low grip.
01:51And this morning, in the warm-up, as Michael Schumacher trips to start the timing button
01:57for the first time this weekend at the Nürburgring, and sets off on his pre-qualifying lap.
02:02Here's Castrol S-curve.
02:03Tight, tight, tight right-hander.
02:05Tight, tight, tight, tight, tight, tight.
02:11Very heavy cloud coming up there.
02:16This last bit here is important to get straight, because quite a long run down here now.
02:21You need to pick up some speed.
02:28Down to the forward curve.
02:30And another fast run down to the Dunlop curve.
02:35This is an important corner to get right going around here because from here on is a very fast uphill blast
02:42So you want to come off that
02:44Castle curve. Well, this one pretty much flat out. That's a fast corner David. Very fast. The next this one's fast
02:56And they gradually slow up and of course at the end of this complex got a good run downhill here
03:02this is the
03:04TT sweeper and then you come to the V to the
03:08NGK chicane used to be the old V-dell chicane. It's now been renamed NGK the spark plug fame
03:18And this is the coca-cola curve a long curve nearly 180 degrees
03:22It's important to get this one right because it launches you onto the front straight
03:29That is two seconds quicker than he was this morning
03:31Last year's poll was a 1.29.9
03:36And of course that was run under different regulations as what we'll see tomorrow when the guys are carrying the fuel
03:44But last year of course also saw the first the first year the new
03:48That's what they call the mercedes arena, which is really a continuation of turn one
03:56Of course that must remember as well with that cloud coming over David from this morning again
04:04It is really very different, but that cloud coming over will start to drop the temperature
04:09and it is at elevation this track and
04:13Temperature drops very quickly when it does drop as well and that will affect the grip from the tires and the performance from the engine
04:19Of course, that's one of the things about the old Nürburgring the weather here is always so incredibly changeable you are high up
04:24It's some of the first hills you hit in Europe in mainland Europe after the atlantic ocean
04:29So the weather here changes very very rapidly
04:31Kimi Raikkonen now out on the track line second of the world championship. So he runs second today
04:38Those clouds really are building up so temperature changing very rapidly here air temperature and track temperature, which obviously makes a big difference to the tire
04:46performance
04:49And again guys if you're looking at this car and thinking is this the new McLaren is it the mp4 18 we've all heard about in testing
05:07No, it is not. They are still sticking with the mp4 17d. They have had some problems to say the least with the new car McLaren
05:17They have failed the crash test the mandatory FIA crashed at the side impact test on the chassis
05:23They have failed it twice so far in the last couple of weeks
05:26They are now saying it will probably be
05:28Monza before that car is ready to be raced that is certainly not what they had planned there is still quicker
05:35They came your I could and heading here for a very quick lap this could this is going to get him into the easy into the 29s
05:43And now we see
05:51Just a hair slower than last year's pole
06:00Of course the times will all change tomorrow when they put fuel on board
06:04As we watch Ron Dennis looking on
06:08And there is one of the Ferraris will be going straight onto the FIA way scale to check the weight of the car
06:15That chicane David
06:22The NGK chicane right there where that plastic bollard is has caused some problems a couple of guys have lost front wings this morning
06:29Very interesting to see the shots i'm not entirely sure yet if it's the plastic bollard which has been causing the problem
06:34Or the guys have just been riding up on a curb a little bit before
06:38I have a feeling it's the chicane it's the it's the curbing itself which has been damaging the wings
06:43But the the drivers are going to have to realize that that is a problem and just stay a little bit to the right hand side of it
06:51But it's very difficult to do you know to be that precise because you you've got to hustle through those chicane
06:57Here's fernando alonzo going around the coca-cola curve prior to taking his qualifying lap coming up to the stripe
07:04The fast run down to turn one here and a very very very tight first
07:13First corner really really and it falls away badly there
07:17Tricky day get no help at all from the road shape for grip
07:21alonzo fifth quickest in this morning's free practice session
07:24But david looking at the free practice sessions from this morning
07:27We know that tires are playing an enormous role in the overall performance of cars right along the pit lane
07:32It was an absolutely nearly a hundred percent split
07:3650 50 between michelin and bridgestone this morning the first nine cars
07:41All michelin runners on the back of the field all bridgestone runners. There's only one two changes michael schumacher
07:48And montoya really split the tires in the middle of the field, but at the moment
07:52Judging by this morning's time michelin are looking well on form in comparison to the japanese rubber
07:58Alonzo a bit slower in that first sector than kimmy raikkonen. I thought the renos really might
08:04Do well here because this is certainly a handling circuit. Yeah
08:09But up here of course, it's all uphill this
08:11uh, so power obviously helps play a big part and uh
08:15We're pretty sure the renault is down a little bit on power a lot slower than I thought it'd be one and a half nearly 1.1 seconds off
08:22The old chicane whips through there
08:28Sun shining again now so track temperature at least will be going up 185 miles an hour for alonzo
08:34And these guys in this morning's private test
08:38In this morning's session which renault allowed to take part in by virtue of the heathrow agreement they signed at the start of the season
08:44These guys were struggling with a lot of understeer this morning alan mcnish who is driving for renault this year
08:50Had a throttle problem on the car. So they really weren't able to do the testing work that they wanted to do on the tires
08:58So they found that private test was very very useful to them indeed but
09:04Not being able to get the work done this one. This is a replay from this morning session. You just see ralph schumacher
09:11Nearly getting into trouble with his team. Look at this. He comes across the vidal chicane gets it wide then
09:15And of course his brother's just going into the pits nearly clipped him and there's alonzo
09:22Just got in a little bit a little bit early there which made him late for the
09:26Too early for the second section of the of the chicane there
09:30He just got a little bit of a head ran right over that to a cone that looks like rain
09:35That is definitely rain is it coming our way here is ralph schumacher who we just saw this morning
09:43Setting up on his hot lap on the front row last year alongside montoya his teammate
09:48They annex the front row he was just fifteen hundredths of a second slower than one pablo montoya last year
09:56They're going to be able to repeat that this year
09:59ralph schumacher was eighth quickest in this morning's free practice session these guys have been doing a lot of work after canada at silverstone
10:06working on mechanical grip
10:10For this race silverstone circuit not really suited
10:12Particularly to setting the car up here, but they trying to get the rear of the car to grip now a little bit slower than raikkonen on that first sector
10:22Not much slower
10:24And of course where the bmw should really come into its own
10:28It's after this corner here
10:30The castle the dunlock curve up the hill here the bmw
10:35Should have the grunt to pull him up the hill
10:38Little bit of a lift there but not much
10:40Still gonna pill
10:44Levels off a bit here
10:54Surprisingly lost a bit of time on that
11:02So there you see his top speed say
11:06191.4
11:10Miles an hour now on to that stop finish straight
11:15Sprint past the line 135.22 there is on your screen good enough for third spot in provisional qualifying
11:24Two seconds two full seconds quicker than qualifying and look there gerhard berger
11:30still in the williams pits with bmw despite the fact that he
11:35has officially left his duties as sports director with bmw
11:41and had apparently sailed off into the distance to sail around the world on his yacht
11:45But still to be seen sporting a bmw
11:49And there are definitely no marinas at the nurburgring
11:54It's way too high if there's a marina at the nurburgring we're all in trouble
11:57Yeah water really has got high there hasn't it
12:00Yeah, but michelin at the moment
12:02I have to say seem to be doing a fine job and again thinking back to the performance of the tires at monaco
12:08Michelin definitely had the advantage in qualifying and during the race as far as tire construction and compound is concerned
12:15It didn't really go that way in Canada, which is a different sort of specification of circuit
12:20And of course michelin had those problems with two punctures
12:24In canada very unusual punctures as well where the entire tread of the tire came away
12:29But again, they seem to be on on the case here the same again David look at those clouds coming
12:36Boy that weather is definitely coming up quick. I mean, I can't believe how it's changed in the last couple of hours
12:41I mean, it was just beautiful for their
12:44Warm-up. Let's see how Montoya does this first sector on the pole here last year
12:53No, even he's a little bit slower than Kimi Raikkonen
12:57So Kimi Raikkonen must have got that chassis really set right. I mean that was a very what turns out to be an extremely fast runner his
13:09Although nobody has yet to beat michael schumacher on this second sector
13:19Look at it
13:21Doesn't bode well for the people are going to run at the end of the day. It does not end of today that is
13:34Still a little bit slower than Raikkonen so
13:36They're going to do an exceptional good 190 mile an hour
13:46Down the coca-cola curve and legging it down to the line
13:55He's there Montoya does take
13:58The quickest third sector with a 23 dead
14:02See Raikkonen's already up there as listed as a 23, but it's obviously
14:06Fractionally quicker if we break it down to the hundreds and thousands of a second
14:10Oh a little bit of a lock up there cost him a little bit of time not much
14:16So as all one Pablo Montoya starts his slow down lap we're going to take a little break
14:22But we'll be right back with more from the Nürburgring in just a minute. So stay right here
14:28Speed channels coverage of formula one is brought to you by bmw visit your local bmw center for a test drive
14:35bmw the ultimate driving machine
14:44Welcome back to friday qualified from the historic Nürburgring where some dodgy looking weather coming up, which is uh
14:50Pretty huge around here. You see all that unburnt fuel coming out of the back of the williams
14:55bmw car there what happens on closed throttle you get a lot of unburnt fuel that goes into the uh into the primaries
15:02And the exhaust on these cars now all exit on top of the bodywork all I should say excluding the new mclaren who have gone back to the
15:10Or I would say the more of a conventional layout with the exhaust outlets trapped between the bodywork and the diffuser
15:16But again, we haven't seen that car race yet unlikely to do now until monza
15:21But no problem
15:23Really with that fuel burning off but uh, it's quite dramatic didn't it?
15:27It looks very dramatic
15:30There's rubens on his warm-up lap and uh, let's have a look at him this morning going through the gk chicane
15:37Another one that fell foul of it just clipped this is where you think you might just clip the curb before it hits that
15:42It is very close. Yeah, I mean the pylon is certainly not going to do the car
15:47Good if you run over it
15:48But I think they're probably just catching the serrations on the curb before that
15:52I wouldn't have thought it would do that much damage that pylon would have done that sort of damage to
15:57These wings are pretty stoutly mounted
15:59They are the problem is david that they're pretty stoutly mounted and they they take a lot of aerodynamic load
16:04But they take it along the entire width of the wing element if you start to load it very dramatically right out of one side of it
16:11It sort of puts a yule load into the wing and that will cause the damage, but
16:15Okay, we have to look very close to that
16:17I'm sure the engineers will be still in that to say is it that pylon if it is the pylon on the grounds of safety
16:22We need to get the circuit officials to take that pylon away, but I I suspect
16:26That rain in the background rubens Barrichello in this first sector. How's he going to stack up here?
16:33He's uh, he's looking to do a 29 three or better
16:38Rubens only managing to do 17 laps this morning in practice
16:41But the result of some of that of course is going to be having to go in and get that wing change and check the car over
16:47But david from a driver's perspective
16:50How do you think these bridge stones are doing in the williams?
16:52The ferrara chassis normally looks very stable and very little steering up on the driver
16:58But Barrichello there really um to work at the car more than we've seen in the pass
17:02Well, as you said, it's a low grip circuit and uh unfortunately
17:06The bridge zones don't seem to be handling it quite as well as the michelin so far this weekend
17:12And of course the way the regulations are there's not much
17:15opportunities of a change between now and qualifying and um
17:19And of course no change at all after qualifying there you see him
17:23Over half a second slower than Kimi Raikkonen
17:27That is good enough to put him in there well so far
17:31It's going to be around about 189 miles an hour quick up the straight so the ferrari's got plenty of straight line speed
17:37Obviously hasn't got quite the calling speed they've been looking for now. It's debatable
17:42Whether or not the bmw or the ferrari engine is really you know which is the superior lump at the moment
17:48It looks probably like the ferrari's actually got the edge on bmw at the moment
17:52However, we have to bear in mind that I think williams are having to run considerably more downforce
17:58And the ferrari is I would say a superior car aerodynamically
18:02Which means they can trim the wing off and they're not suffering from the same amount of drag
18:05So we have to be careful looking at the comparison between the engines one car suffering from more drag than the other
18:11That's going to show up in the straight line the speed trap times as well
18:14However, there's no doubt me ferrari frankly have always built terrific engines. Yeah, they certainly have
18:20And they got tremendous amount of horsepower and
18:23Obviously touched wood over the last few years. Their reliability has been absolutely awesome. Yeah
18:30All right guys not looking overly happy about that. Kimi Räikkönen on the other hand
18:35No doubt very happy. Here's his teammate. Davey Kroodhard
18:38It's very difficult to compare eras really against each other in formula one, but
18:43One of enzo ferrari's great quotes is always aerodynamics aerodynamics are for people that don't build good engines. We build good engines
18:53Davey Kroodhard lying seventh in the world championship, which is why he's running seventh today with 25 points
18:59As opposed to his teammate Kimi Räikkönen with 51 and of course michael schumacher currently leading the championship just
19:06With 54 points in spite of having won four of the races the only repeat winner this year
19:13Oh
19:19David Kroodhard three tenths of a lap a second slower than his teammate on that first sector
19:24But still ahead quicker than Michael Schumacher so depending on this next sector
19:30David Kroodhard could jump into second spot. Well, he managed
19:36Seventh quickest time this morning David with a 1.31 9.18 did 22 laps
19:41And this morning's practice and David Kroodhard
19:44Really does need a good result. He doesn't
19:47You know, he keeps saying there's a year in and year out David Kroodhard always seems there or thereabouts and
19:56Well, he tries as hard as everybody there's no doubt about that, but he's heading at the moment. He's heading for
20:02Fifth at best more likely six. He's about the same speed at the moment as Fernando Alonso, so
20:08Unless he's picked up big time in this last sector David Kroodhard's going to end up about six
20:16What about that that's why you get the big bucks exactly
20:22That is yeah
20:24Norbert how not too happy with that, but
20:27Of course, I'm you know that the temperature must be affecting these guys a lot. It must have dropped like a stone
20:36Yeah, I think this temperature has caught a lot of them off guard
20:38Because that's one thing about the Nürburgring being up. Oh look at that rain coming the guys who running last must be really spreading on top line
20:48We just see Kroodhard clip this apex of the curb
20:51Just rides a little bit high didn't really show it on that shot
20:55But when we saw the overhead shot we saw the car drift a lot a long way out to the left-hand side of the track
21:01Nevertheless Kroodhard managing to keep it seemed to roll in order. It seemed to rotate through that chicane pretty well
21:08I don't know it looked a bit stiffer than the others to me. Looks a bit more about Kimi Rijken smirking
21:12Haha, so David
21:20Yano true
21:26There you go a good idea of just how tight that turn one is the reconfigured turn one and all this of course is new
21:37Truly back in 99 if you remember when he was driving from cross
21:42finished the race in second position here the last time he was on the podium here
21:51And that first and last time yeah
21:54If you think back to 99 it's been an extraordinary race because you remember johnny herbert
21:59Won the race when it was stuart grand prix
22:04Rubens Barrichello and the other stuart finished third stuart grand prix of course is now jaguar racing
22:12And of course jay stuart him very self or sir jackie stuart
22:20Won at the real
22:21Nürburgring where the real men race won it three times one in the wet when he won by like
22:30The 1968 won by a couple of minutes a country mile
22:33Of course they're good yeah
22:43I'm an 86 miles an hour
22:45Seventh owner a great uh
22:54Qualifying run for Yano truly although he does just pip his teammate Fernando Alonso now
23:01I thought they would have done better than that here I must admit a little bird was telling me the other day oh
23:06Oh, not one of those little birds.
23:09But these reports that were circulating a few months ago
23:12of Mike Gascoigne, the technical director of Renault,
23:16possibly linking up with Toyota,
23:18rumoured it was coming off, it wasn't coming off,
23:20then it all fell quiet.
23:21Well, I think we should watch that story very closely.
23:27Watch this space.
23:27I don't think that story is finished at all, quite frankly.
23:31We will see, Mr. Maché.
23:37We will see.
23:39Julian Carlo, who also so nearly won this race in 99, I think it was,
23:47and went spun right near the end, all on his own.
23:56Well, she did win the Brazilian Grand Prix this year,
23:59which is a bit of a fluke result.
24:01Yeah, a fluke result, but they all go in the record,
24:05but it's a win, right?
24:07Exactly.
24:08I think that's what's important at the end of the day.
24:11Certainly that's what the team thinks.
24:16That first sector ain't going to win him any points, I'm afraid.
24:19He looks like he's heading for, well,
24:21we'll see how he does in the second sector.
24:22Long uphill climb here with the forward engine.
24:35Fischer Keller, of course,
24:37the last four years,
24:38been hoping to get a really, really, really top-line drive,
24:41and, boy, he's getting to the age now
24:43where it may not happen for four old Giancarlo,
24:47who everybody says is one of the absolute best drivers out there.
24:51He's not been quiet in saying, you know,
24:54well, basically, he wants to drive a Ferrari.
24:56He's been quite open about it.
24:57No, Italian does not want to drive a Ferrari.
24:59Absolutely.
25:01But at 30 years old, only 183 miles an hour,
25:04so what's that?
25:04Eight miles an hour slower than the Ferrari.
25:08I don't think...
25:09And Kimi Räikkönen.
25:10I really cannot see that coming off, really,
25:14for Giancarlo Fischer.
25:14Not now, he's 30 years old,
25:16and it's just kind of done...
25:19seen his best life here.
25:22Eddie Jordan looking at him.
25:28Nick Heidfeld.
25:29Going to prepare himself.
25:33Well, as if the engine manufacturers
25:34are forced to make customer engines as well
25:37to try and reduce the costs in Formula One,
25:40there's a possibility that that team, Jordan,
25:43could well find themselves
25:45with a Mercedes engine
25:47in the back of that chassis.
25:51This is something the FIA are keen to do,
25:53desperate to try and reduce the costs,
25:55and say, look, guys,
25:56you're producing all these
25:57whoppingly expensive engines for your own team.
26:00How much more can it possibly cost you
26:01to produce a few more engines
26:02and sell them off at a reasonable price
26:04to the privateers?
26:06Their idea of a reasonable price
26:07is a mere $10 million,
26:09which I guess to Mercedes and BMW
26:11is not that much of a reason.
26:13Sounds hard to believe, doesn't it?
26:15They're not really thinking
26:16that's much help to them, are they?
26:17No.
26:18And I have to say,
26:19I agree with them, quite frankly.
26:20Formula One,
26:23you know, as Ron Dennis said the other day,
26:25talking about Paul Stoddard,
26:26it's not a soup kitchen.
26:27This is the absolute top end
26:30of international motorsport,
26:33and you survive or you go out of business.
26:37And I can think really of no other industry,
26:39really, where people would put their hand up
26:41and say, hey, we need more money.
26:43Well, in a sporting environment,
26:45the airline's doing quite a lot.
26:46Locking up there,
26:49front end washing out.
26:51Another car on Bridgestones here,
26:53as was Fischi Keller.
26:56See how it handles the old Dunlop
26:58curve down here.
27:16Oh, what a contrast in those clouds.
27:19Look at how bright it is
27:20just to the right of the screen.
27:22And how black as the camera turned around.
27:24We just missed it.
27:25How black it is over there.
27:27But no rain's fallen yet.
27:29Button's last at his first sector.
27:32One of the slowest today so far.
27:35Equally Fischi Keller's time.
27:39The second sector not much better.
27:41So it looks like Jensen Button's
27:43going to end up at about,
27:45but it'll be ending up
27:46like ninth or tenth, I think.
27:47He's 15th this morning
27:49in the free practice.
27:51188 miles an hour
27:52like that straight.
27:55What was that?
27:56Oh, that's wing damage.
27:58Oh, it is too.
27:59Now, did he damage that wing
28:00going through that last chicane, David?
28:02I didn't see it.
28:05But I think,
28:06I strongly suppose,
28:07because again,
28:08that is the left-hand side of the wing.
28:10The left-hand pylon,
28:12they've all damaged
28:13the left-hand pylon
28:14when they've gone over
28:14with that new,
28:15I'd say,
28:16the new named chicane.
28:17Now, he's dropping
28:18bits of fiberglass
28:20and carbon fiber,
28:22which is very sharp.
28:24And he's dropping bits
28:25all around the track.
28:26I wonder if they're going to have to
28:27have a bit of a red flat.
28:30There we go.
28:33That's it.
28:34Yeah.
28:35I still can't work out
28:37whether it's hitting the curve
28:37or hitting the curve.
28:37No, let's have a look
28:38from this angle here.
28:40Oh, no.
28:41It's the pylon doing it.
28:42It's the pylon.
28:42Yeah.
28:45Well, that pylon
28:45must be a lot tougher
28:46than it looks.
28:49Yeah.
28:49Well, it is plastic.
28:50No.
28:50I mean, it's,
28:51you know,
28:51it's not made of steel
28:52or concrete.
28:53We've seen it deflect,
28:54but you're absolutely right.
28:55It is causing
28:56a lot of problems.
28:57The drivers are going
28:58to have to adjust, right?
28:59Well, as Jensen
28:59goes back into the pits
29:00with his broken wing,
29:02we'll take a short break here
29:03and we'll be right back
29:04with more from the
29:04URBURG wing
29:05in just a minute.
29:06Stay here.
29:06Welcome back
29:19to Revisional Qualifying
29:20for the European Grand Prix
29:21and a driver
29:22and team's nightmare
29:23has taken place.
29:25It is starting to rain
29:26just about the halfway point
29:28of the session.
29:29So,
29:30Heinz-Hell Frensen
29:31is going out.
29:32First guy to go out
29:33with the raindrops
29:35falling on his head.
29:37Not a good scenario.
29:38This is part of the
29:40new rules and regulations
29:41are to,
29:42obviously,
29:42the eventuality
29:43of this happening
29:43is part of the fun
29:45built in.
29:48Well,
29:48fortunately for all
29:49the big hitters
29:49for tomorrow's
29:50qualifying session,
29:52all the guys
29:52have been out,
29:53Raikkonen,
29:53Schumacher,
29:53Montoya,
29:54Raoul Schumacher,
29:55Barrichello,
29:55Coulthard,
29:57have all been out
29:58and set competitive times.
29:59So,
29:59even if it does start
30:00to open up the rain now,
30:01they should still be able
30:02to get out last
30:03in the session tomorrow.
30:06So,
30:06from that point of view,
30:07it hasn't really affected
30:09what's going off
30:10in this Friday
30:10provisional qualifying session.
30:12But,
30:12of course,
30:13these guys
30:13still want to set
30:15as competitive a time
30:15as possible.
30:16They won't be happy
30:17running around in the rain.
30:18Well,
30:18the problem is
30:19the guys who really
30:20were quick.
30:21I mean,
30:21Olivier Panis
30:21was quickest this morning
30:23in the free practice
30:24and Mark Webber
30:26was second quickest
30:27this morning.
30:28Those guys
30:29are going to be
30:29really ticked off.
30:31and Pizzonia
30:32was sixth.
30:34D'Amato was ninth
30:35in the second Toyota.
30:37So,
30:37it's really,
30:38really,
30:38really tough luck
30:39on guys like that
30:40who were maybe hoping
30:42to have their first
30:43really good shot
30:44of a good qualifying
30:45run tomorrow.
30:46you can just see
30:49those drops of rain.
30:50Not much yet,
30:51but,
30:51I mean,
30:51it's just,
30:52you always just have
30:53to be a little bit
30:54cautious when the rain
30:55and when you can see
30:56it in the sky like that
30:57because you just know
30:58it's coming.
30:59Look at that over
30:59to the left there.
31:00I mean,
31:00boy,
31:01it's going to be raining
31:01very hard shortly.
31:04Just about when
31:05Webber and Panis
31:06go out.
31:07Yeah,
31:07and you can see
31:08the amount of steering
31:09input that French
31:10is having to put
31:10into that Sauber
31:11as well.
31:12You see the road drops
31:12forming on the
31:13camera lens there.
31:14So,
31:15it's getting very greasy
31:17now.
31:17And again,
31:18it's up the straight though.
31:19We said at the top
31:21of the show,
31:21this is a very
31:22low grip track
31:23and there will be
31:24no rubber,
31:26so to speak of,
31:27into the track
31:28at the moment.
31:28So,
31:28it will get very greasy,
31:30very slippy,
31:31very quickly.
31:33So,
31:33Hightower Frensen
31:34just out qualifies
31:35Jensen Button,
31:36but of course,
31:36don't forget that
31:37today is just
31:38provisional qualifying.
31:42Doesn't get to join us
31:43tomorrow for coverage
31:44of the final round
31:45of qualifying
31:45for the European
31:46Grand Prix.
31:47Coverage begins
31:47at 8 o'clock
31:48Eastern time.
31:49As always,
31:50you'll not miss
31:50a second
31:51of qualifying action.
31:52Again,
31:53that's at 8 a.m.
31:54only here
31:55on Speed.
32:00There's the
32:01Sauber guy.
32:02Sauber engineers
32:03saying,
32:03yeah,
32:04it's raining.
32:04We just saw
32:04Peter Sauber
32:05on the radio
32:05to Frensen
32:06then.
32:07Pretty much,
32:07you know,
32:08his body language
32:08said it all.
32:09Not much you can do,
32:10guys,
32:10really,
32:11when it starts
32:11to get this greasy.
32:12just take care
32:12of the car.
32:16Yeah,
32:17you don't see
32:17any water
32:18coming off
32:18the wheels
32:19yet.
32:23Here's Mark Webber
32:24just keeping
32:25his fingers crossed
32:26so it's not,
32:26you know,
32:28this guy's not
32:28going to unload
32:29on him down
32:29to turn one.
32:30He had a spin
32:31there this morning
32:31going in.
32:34Good rotation
32:35there.
32:35Not much moisture
32:36on the camera
32:37of the helicopter
32:38yet.
32:39Oh,
32:40love it
32:40all moving
32:41there.
32:41So it must
32:41be raining
32:41hard somewhere.
32:42Yeah,
32:42he's got to be
32:43careful now.
32:44Mark Webber,
32:44what you're saying,
32:45David,
32:45what a shame.
32:46He was second
32:47quickest this
32:47morning.
32:48Again,
32:48on those
32:49Michelin tires
32:50in the Jaguar
32:50with a 131-224.
32:5319 laps
32:56as well
32:56so he was
32:57doing some
32:57running
32:57but
32:58Mark Webber
33:00to me
33:00is the find
33:01of the year.
33:01I mean,
33:02he really
33:02has just
33:03been extraordinary
33:04in the Jaguar
33:05which is still
33:06very much
33:06an unknown
33:07quantity.
33:08He has not
33:08been very good
33:08the last few
33:09years.
33:09That's for
33:10Deadshaw.
33:10Just look at
33:11that rain
33:11coming up
33:11the valley.
33:13But Mark
33:13Webber,
33:14he certainly
33:14doesn't have
33:15a lot of
33:15luck
33:16but I'm
33:17sure
33:17although
33:17he's
33:18re-signed
33:18to Jaguar
33:19for a
33:20multi-year
33:20contract,
33:21I'm sure
33:21he must be
33:22on a lot
33:22of people's
33:23shopping list.
33:24He'll certainly
33:24be on mine.
33:25Yeah,
33:25absolutely.
33:26But he's
33:27locked himself
33:28in to that
33:29Jaguar team
33:30hasn't he?
33:30Whoa!
33:30And there's
33:31a sure
33:32indication
33:32of how
33:33Borussia
33:33the tracks
33:34are getting.
33:34Oh,
33:35there it is.
33:36Wow.
33:37Very wet
33:37up there.
33:40Going to have
33:41to be
33:41tip...
33:41Yep,
33:41yep,
33:42yep,
33:42yep.
33:42There it is.
33:44Oh,
33:44what a shame.
33:45He would have
33:45been better off
33:46actually
33:46probably
33:46going straight
33:48through that
33:48chicane
33:48and taking
33:49that little
33:49escape route.
33:50Well,
33:52I'm afraid
33:52it's going to be
33:53like this for the rest
33:53of these guys.
33:54Olivier Panis
33:55must be just
33:55sick.
33:57As must be
33:58Mark Webber.
33:59I mean,
33:59there he is,
34:0012th.
34:00Yeah.
34:00second quickest
34:01this morning.
34:03Well,
34:03third sector
34:04time there
34:04was a 26-9.
34:06Raikkonen's
34:07third sector
34:07time was a
34:0823 dead.
34:09Well,
34:09Mark Webber
34:10this morning
34:10did a
34:101.31
34:11and just
34:14now he's
34:15done a
34:1536 and
34:15there's the
34:16rain really
34:16coming down
34:17now.
34:17So,
34:18the day's
34:18shot for
34:19the rest
34:19of the
34:19runners,
34:19I'm afraid.
34:20Yep.
34:24Now,
34:24this will be
34:25a replay
34:25of Mark
34:26locking up.
34:27Just...
34:27Oh,
34:27oh.
34:28Well,
34:29that grass
34:30creek saved
34:30him really,
34:31didn't it?
34:31The woe factor,
34:33woefully inadequate
34:34there.
34:34Here,
34:35see him come
34:35here,
34:35see the rain
34:36on the
34:36camera.
34:38Did well
34:39actually to
34:40pull it in
34:42as he did.
34:43Yeah.
34:45Cristiano
34:46de Mara
34:46setting off
34:47on his lap.
34:50The old
34:50Nürburgring
34:51used to be
34:51famous for
34:52this rain
34:52on one side
34:53and not
34:53on the other.
34:54Of course,
34:54it was 14
34:54miles long
34:55and conditions
34:56would change
34:57incredibly
34:57from lap
34:58to lap.
34:58Whoa,
34:59whoa,
34:59whoa.
35:00That's where
35:00he had a
35:01little off
35:03this morning,
35:03but I mean,
35:04just absolutely
35:05hope.
35:05Well,
35:06you know,
35:08well,
35:08you can see
35:08the tyres
35:09there,
35:09look,
35:09they're on
35:10the slick
35:10tyres,
35:11really the
35:12dry weather
35:12groove tyres,
35:13I suppose,
35:14really we should
35:14have known
35:15as I've
35:15always known
35:15as slicks.
35:16I'm sure
35:16you have
35:16as well,
35:17David,
35:17right?
35:17Yeah.
35:18But too
35:20greasy out
35:20there for
35:21those tyres
35:21in qualifying,
35:22that's for
35:22sure.
35:23You know,
35:23if the track
35:24had more grip,
35:24more abrasion,
35:25you could probably
35:27this amongst
35:29Canada and
35:30Monaco,
35:31the three
35:31tracks where
35:32you have
35:33least grip
35:33throughout the
35:34weekend.
35:35Number one,
35:36Monaco,
35:36it's a street
35:37track,
35:37basically it's
35:38just a small
35:38holiday village
35:39in the south
35:39of France,
35:40then Canada,
35:41again by virtue
35:42of it's just
35:43not really
35:43used,
35:44and then the
35:45third track
35:46is here,
35:46very low
35:48grip.
35:48Which is used
35:49a lot here,
35:49but that's
35:51Demata spinning
35:51there at the
35:53exit of that
35:54turn one
35:54complex,
35:55and of course
35:55he had a bit
35:56of trouble
35:56there.
35:56But this
35:57morning as
35:58well,
36:00even when it
36:00was dry,
36:01this is on
36:01the onboard,
36:02you can see
36:02he keeps
36:02the old
36:03engine going
36:03there,
36:03the rear
36:04wheel's
36:04spinning.
36:05That pit
36:06lane sign
36:06always makes
36:07me think
36:07of space
36:08as babies.
36:08And this
36:09is this
36:09morning,
36:10Christiane de
36:10Mara,
36:11I think
36:11this is
36:11probably
36:11his first
36:12trip,
36:12he got
36:12very wide
36:13here,
36:13out onto
36:13the grass,
36:14did a bit
36:14of an
36:14overcorrection
36:15there,
36:16ruttled
36:17it across
36:17the kerb,
36:18bits of
36:18rubber and
36:19dust and
36:19fiberglass
36:21flying everywhere.
36:22Doesn't
36:22hit anything,
36:23thankfully,
36:23there you
36:24see the
36:24standing
36:25water
36:25picking up
36:25off the
36:26track,
36:26any
36:26reasonable
36:29qualifying
36:29performance
36:30now is
36:30pretty much
36:31out of the
36:31window,
36:31it's a matter
36:31of stopping
36:32on the
36:32black stuff.
36:34You see
36:34there the
36:35rear end
36:35of the
36:35car just
36:36getting
36:36out of
36:37shape,
36:38wanting to
36:38step out
36:39under
36:39braking,
36:39coming down
36:40into that
36:40chicane,
36:41just bring
36:42the thing
36:42in,
36:42boy.
36:42So,
36:45he aborts
36:45that,
36:45which means
36:46he'll have
36:46to start,
36:47he'll go
36:48last tomorrow,
36:50I mean
36:51first tomorrow,
36:52but of
36:52course,
36:52everybody
36:54else may
36:54have
36:54bought
36:55too,
36:55so,
36:55somebody's
36:58going to
36:58have to
36:58go first
36:59tomorrow.
37:03Ooh,
37:03and that's
37:04just getting
37:05the power
37:05down,
37:05right?
37:05Well
37:06held,
37:06yeah.
37:06Yeah.
37:10Disappointed
37:10with these
37:11guys,
37:11very
37:11disappointed
37:12to say
37:12the
37:12absolute
37:13least.
37:14This
37:14is
37:15Jack
37:15Villeneuve
37:15on his
37:16warm-up
37:16lap.
37:18The
37:18rain
37:18light
37:19on.
37:20David
37:21Richards,
37:21the team
37:22manager for
37:22BAR.
37:30See how
37:30Villeneuve
37:31manages to
37:31do
37:31under
37:31these
37:31conditions.
37:32I'm
37:32trying to
37:32look at
37:33the
37:33tyres,
37:33I
37:33have
37:33a
37:33feeling
37:34he's
37:34got
37:35intermediates
37:35on.
37:36See
37:37that
37:37white
37:38line,
37:39the
37:39conferential
37:40line
37:40going
37:40round?
37:40Yeah,
37:41I think
37:42that's
37:42the
37:42intermediate
37:43tyres.
37:43We'll
37:43have
37:43another
37:44look at
37:44the
37:44tyres
37:44when
37:45the
37:45car
37:45slows
37:45down.
37:47So he
37:47should be
37:48able to
37:48get some
37:48sort of
37:48performance
37:49out of
37:49it.
37:51But it's
37:52going to be
37:52nowhere close
37:53to those
37:53guys.
37:54But in
37:54these
37:55conditions,
37:55we're
37:55just
37:56saying
37:56how
37:56successful
37:57Michelin
37:57have
37:58been
37:58in the
37:58practice
37:59session.
38:01In
38:01these
38:01conditions,
38:02David,
38:02Bridgestone
38:03should have
38:04the
38:04upper
38:04hand.
38:05This
38:05is
38:05playing
38:05straight.
38:06If
38:06this
38:06weather
38:07continues
38:08throughout
38:08the
38:08weekend,
38:10Bridgestone
38:10I think
38:11will see
38:12flip-flop
38:13with
38:13Michelin
38:14and really
38:14come to
38:15the
38:15fore.
38:16Whoa,
38:16whoa,
38:16whoa,
38:16whoa.
38:17Boy,
38:18that's
38:18wet.
38:19Whoa!
38:19There's
38:22your clue
38:22on the
38:23tyres.
38:23We just
38:23saw as
38:24Villeneuve
38:25locks up
38:25going into
38:25the gravel
38:26there.
38:26They are
38:27intermediate
38:27tyres.
38:28Now he's
38:29beats for
38:30sure,
38:30isn't he?
38:31Yeah.
38:32Wow.
38:32You can
38:33see that
38:34thing.
38:34Oh,
38:34my goodness
38:34me,
38:35my heart
38:35jumped to
38:36my mouth.
38:36I just
38:36knew exactly
38:37how he
38:37felt going
38:37down that
38:38hill.
38:39Suddenly
38:39hit all
38:39that heavy
38:40water and
38:41the
38:41intermediate
38:42is not
38:42enough.
38:43So a
38:44very,
38:44very,
38:45very upset
38:45as Jack
38:45Villeneuve
38:46gets out of
38:46his car.
38:47David
38:47Richards looks
38:48unperturbed.
38:50Villeneuve
38:50climbs out
38:51down the
38:51castle
38:51curve.
38:52While he
38:53walks away,
38:53we'll take
38:54a walk away
38:54too for
38:55just a
38:55moment.
38:55We'll be
38:56right back.
39:04Welcome
39:05back to
39:05pre-qualifying
39:06for the
39:06Nürburgring
39:07for the
39:07European
39:07Grand Prix
39:08where a
39:08disaster has
39:09struck for
39:10the later
39:10runners.
39:11Halfway
39:12through the
39:12session,
39:13the skies
39:14first of
39:14all just
39:15dribbled a
39:15bit.
39:15Just look
39:16at this.
39:16Oh,
39:16whoa.
39:17Come on.
39:18I got it.
39:18I got it.
39:18I got it.
39:20I got it.
39:20I got it.
39:20I got it.
39:21Oh,
39:21well,
39:21no,
39:22I haven't.
39:23Into the
39:23gravel.
39:25God,
39:26I thought
39:26it's absolutely
39:27floating on
39:28top of that
39:28water.
39:29Really,
39:29really great
39:30steering input
39:31there.
39:31here.
39:31You can see
39:32it's just
39:32very,
39:33very delicate.
39:34I mean,
39:34the thing
39:34is afloat
39:35here.
39:35I can
39:35guarantee
39:36on those
39:36tyres,
39:37they're
39:37intermediates.
39:38Obviously,
39:38it needs
39:38full wets down
39:39there.
39:40Significantly
39:40different down
39:41there than
39:41it was at
39:42the start-finish
39:42line.
39:43Raining at
39:44the start-finish
39:44line,
39:45absolutely
39:45tipping it
39:46down,
39:46down at the
39:47bottom here,
39:47at the
39:47castle curve.
39:48Just look at
39:49it running
39:49down the
39:50track.
39:50What we're
39:51talking about
39:51in Canada,
39:52when it
39:53started to
39:53rain there on
39:53the front,
39:54exactly the
39:54same.
39:55You know,
39:55you have to
39:56lift the
39:57right-eyed
39:57up,
39:57because
39:58otherwise
39:58the plank
39:58starts
39:59just
39:59surfboarding
40:00along on
40:00the water.
40:01So,
40:02as Villeneuve
40:02goes into
40:03the gravel,
40:04and the
40:05track is under
40:06red flag,
40:06we'll take a
40:07quick break
40:07and we'll
40:07be right
40:08back.
40:15Welcome
40:15back to
40:16what is now
40:16a very
40:17soggy
40:18provisional
40:18qualifying from
40:19the Nürburgring
40:20for the
40:21European Grand
40:21Prix.
40:24Join us
40:25tomorrow at
40:259.30am
40:26Eastern Time
40:27for live
40:27coverage of
40:28the fifth
40:28round of
40:29the International
40:29Formula 3000
40:30Championship,
40:31also here from
40:31the Nürburgring.
40:32Bjorn
40:33Werdheim has a
40:33big lead in
40:34the championship
40:35and will be
40:35even more
40:36determined
40:36following his
40:37blunder in
40:38Monaco.
40:39You don't
40:39want to miss
40:40it,
40:40that's at
40:409.30am
40:41only here
40:42on Speed.
40:45And Speed
40:46has dropped
40:46significantly,
40:47there's part of
40:48the bedraggled
40:48crowd.
40:50All very
40:51wet,
40:51as you can see
40:52the rain's
40:52extremely heavy,
40:53Olivier Panis
40:54has got full
40:55wets on the
40:55car now,
40:57leaving a
40:57huge rooster
40:58tail there.
40:59There is a
40:59lot of
41:00water on
41:00the Nürburgring.
41:01It caught
41:01poor old
41:02Jacques Villeneuve
41:02out badly
41:03because it
41:03swept across
41:04the bottom
41:05end of the
41:06circuit first.
41:07Here comes
41:08Olive,
41:08up to start
41:09his hot
41:11lap.
41:13Through the
41:13Castor curve,
41:14going wide there,
41:15staying offline,
41:16is the key in
41:17the rain.
41:17Well,
41:18that's a good
41:18shot of mist.
41:19down to
41:21this tight,
41:22tight turn
41:23one.
41:23Heavy,
41:23heavy braking
41:24here.
41:26Those old
41:26tyres pumping
41:27out hundreds
41:28of gallons
41:29of water a
41:30minute.
41:32Wet tyres are
41:33just like
41:34gigantic water
41:35pumps.
41:35They do pump
41:36literally hundreds
41:37of gallons a
41:37minute.
41:38Yeah.
41:38And again,
41:43when we're
41:44talking about
41:45lifting the
41:45ride height
41:46up to stop
41:46the car
41:48aquaplaning
41:49on the
41:49underside of
41:50it,
41:51these tyres
41:51are about
41:5210 millimetres
41:53taller,
41:54the wet tyres
41:54and the dry
41:55weather tyres.
41:57The idea
41:57behind that
41:58is that,
41:58of course,
41:58it lifts
41:59the car up,
42:00it raises
42:00the ride
42:01height,
42:01which prevents
42:01them from
42:02running in
42:02that water.
42:04And that
42:04is done
42:04really because
42:05if it starts
42:06to rain
42:07mid-race
42:07and they
42:08go from
42:08dry to
42:08wet tyres,
42:09of course,
42:09the engineers
42:10and the
42:10mechanics
42:10haven't got
42:11time really
42:11to change
42:12the ride
42:12height to
42:13lift it
42:13up.
42:15So the
42:15tyre manufacturers
42:16build that
42:17ride height
42:17increase into
42:18the design
42:19of the tyres.
42:21Olivier Pan
42:22is no doubt
42:22feeling very
42:23cheated after
42:24being fastest
42:24this morning
42:25in the free
42:25practice with
42:26a very,
42:27very good
42:27time,
42:29a time that
42:29would have
42:29been good
42:30enough,
42:30in fact,
42:30to have put
42:31him seventh
42:31on the grid,
42:32seventh so
42:33far,
42:34even though he
42:35would no doubt
42:35have gone
42:35faster up to
42:37those fast
42:37left-hand
42:38sweeps,
42:38not so fast
42:39now,
42:40but of course
42:40all is not
42:41lost because
42:42the real
42:42qualifying course
42:43takes place
42:44tomorrow,
42:45when they have
42:46to qualify
42:46with race
42:47tyres and
42:47of course
42:48race fuel.
42:48Now,
42:50what happens
42:50if it rains
42:50halfway through
42:51tomorrow?
42:52Do you have
42:52to start
42:53and you put
42:53wet tyres on?
42:54Do you have
42:54to start the
42:55race on wet tyres?
42:55tyres if it rains
43:04in qualifying?
43:05Check that
43:06figure for you.
43:07160 miles an hour
43:08up there as
43:08opposed to
43:09191 for the
43:10Ferrari and
43:11Kimi Rikan,
43:12so you can see
43:13just how much
43:14time has been
43:15lost.
43:16Very good time
43:17there for the
43:18wet, but
43:18obviously not much
43:19good for the
43:19rest of the day,
43:20so as Olivier
43:21Panis slows down,
43:22we'll take another
43:23quick break and
43:24we'll be right
43:24back with more
43:24Provisional Qualifying
43:25in a minute.
43:30Welcome back to
43:31Provisional Qualifying
43:32from the Nürburgring,
43:33there you see the
43:33current order,
43:35things have slowed
43:35down a lot here,
43:36so while they're
43:37slowing down,
43:37we'll take a quick
43:38break and we'll be
43:39right back with more
43:39from the Nürburgring
43:40in just a moment
43:41for Provisional Qualifying
43:42for tomorrow's real
43:44qualifying, which
43:44you'll see here live.
43:53Welcome back to
43:58Provisional Qualifying
43:59from the Nürburgring
44:00for the European
44:00Grand Prix, a very
44:02wet pre-qualifying,
44:03I might add, as we
44:04watch Nick Heidfeldt
44:05tiptoe round in the
44:06second to the Sauvers,
44:07and of course this
44:09morning Nick Heidfeldt
44:10had a little bit of
44:11drama, the weather
44:12conditions were
44:13significantly better
44:14than this, as you'll
44:15see, the sun was
44:16shining, but he was
44:17one of the first
44:18victims of the NGK
44:19chicane, he clipped
44:20that cone, boy oh boy,
44:22it did some desperate
44:23damage there, Steve,
44:24didn't it?
44:25I mean, he ripped that
44:25wing right off.
44:26He really did, and
44:27we've seen that the
44:28course workers have
44:29changed those plastic
44:31pylons, I think, about
44:32five times so far this
44:33morning.
44:35They're getting quite
44:36quick at it now,
44:37actually.
44:37They're getting very
44:38quick at it, as we
44:39watch Ralph Furman
44:40sitting in the pits
44:41there, waiting his
44:42turn, no doubt a
44:43little bit brassed off
44:44that weather conditions
44:45have turned against
44:45him, but of course it
44:46probably wouldn't have
44:47made much difference to
44:47him anyway, because he
44:48would have been running
44:49in the, you know, in
44:50the last four or five
44:51anyway, but Nick Heidfeldt
44:52I think the rain has
44:54actually eased off a
44:55little bit, because
44:56going through the
44:56Castle Curve, there
44:58didn't seem to be as
44:59much water around as
45:00when poor old Jack
45:01Doolander got caught
45:02out.
45:02This is on the uphill
45:03run after the Castle
45:04Curve, lots of water on
45:05the track here, you can
45:06see it pouring off those
45:07front tyres, going to
45:10these fast left-handers.
45:11run after the
45:16run after the
45:17television people, he's
45:17gone through the
45:19chicane, he's now about
45:20to go through the Castle
45:21Curve, a lot of water
45:21lying around there too.
45:29Now, see how Heidfeldt does
45:33under these conditions.
45:35The difference in times is
45:37really quite amazing, Kimi
45:38Räikkönen's time of 29.9
45:40in those dry conditions, and
45:42Olivier Panis 57.3.
45:47Just a tad slower.
45:49There's been a lot of talk
45:59in the last few weeks
46:00about the tyre situation
46:03between Bridgestone and
46:05Michelin, and reading
46:06between the lines of
46:07everything that's going
46:08off, it's clear that the
46:10battle of technology, the
46:11war between these two
46:13giant concerns produced the
46:15best tyre has really been
46:16advancing a lot.
46:17We saw those two fairly
46:19dramatic tyre failures,
46:21Michelin tyre failures at
46:22Canada with Jarno Trillian
46:23and Kimi Räikkönen both
46:24losing the complete tread
46:27off the sidewalls.
46:29And what struck me after
46:30the race was that both
46:32Renault's press release and
46:33McLaren's press release made
46:35almost no mention of the
46:37fact that it happened.
46:38It kind of tipped you off
46:39that they must be a little
46:41bit concerned about us, and
46:42Michelin must be concerned
46:43about it, to want to sort of
46:44keep the noise down as much
46:47as they can about it.
46:48I think they'd be very
46:49concerned about it.
46:50I made a couple of
46:51investigations.
46:53Riccardo Zonta driving
46:54the Toyota in testing at
46:59Monza when Michelin were
47:01testing the tyres for
47:02Canada had a similar
47:04failure as well.
47:06That's the only other time
47:07as far as I'm aware that
47:08that sort of failure has
47:10happened on the tyres.
47:10175 miles an hour up the
47:12straight there, a lot quicker
47:14than Olivier Panis, and his
47:15first sectors were quicker.
47:16I think it is really is
47:17drying out just a little bit.
47:19Now, Nick Heidfeldt could
47:20end up with that 13th.
47:23And, in fact, you can still
47:24see his tyre track from when
47:25he went out on this, so it
47:27obviously seems to have
47:28stopped raining.
47:30Yeah, it has.
47:31I think the downpour's
47:32stopped.
47:33Michelin, again, it seems to
47:35be both tyre constructors now
47:37are very concerned about
47:39what the teams are doing
47:40with pressure adjustments.
47:41Pressure within the tyres
47:42has become critical.
47:44Because a few years ago,
47:45the engineers were
47:46constantly taking a little
47:47bit of tyre pressure out
47:48the back to try and create
47:49a little bit more
47:49mechanical grip.
47:51Well, now the tyre
47:52manufacturers and the
47:53teams have got to work
47:54very closely together to
47:55carefully control the
47:58pressure within the tyres.
47:59And it seems that the
48:00weakest link in the
48:03construction of the tyre is
48:04right round where the tyre
48:06sidewall hits the main
48:08part of the tread.
48:11Well, it's something
48:11they're going to have to
48:12work on, and obviously
48:13they're going to have to
48:14work very diligently with
48:15the car designers and
48:18manufacturers, as you
48:20can't just go doing your
48:21own things with tyre
48:22pressures, as we've seen
48:24in the same thing in real
48:25life.
48:26You know, you see so many
48:26people driving out with
48:27under-inflated tyres.
48:28Ralph Furman, at the
48:29moment, probably not too
48:31worried about under or
48:32over-inflation, just
48:34worried about keeping the
48:35thing on the island or on
48:37the black stuff.
48:38But, I mean, Michelin, to
48:40their credit, are taking
48:41great, great care of the
48:43tyres that they're
48:43bringing to the circuit.
48:44They are now, I
48:45understand, storing the
48:47tyres in air-conditioned
48:48storage units to control
48:51the ambient temperature
48:52around the tyres
48:52throughout the weekend,
48:54something that I
48:55understand Bridgestone have
48:56not done so far, but
48:58maybe Bridgestone will
48:59start to move that
48:59direction as well.
49:00So, again, it's an
49:01indication that the
49:02quality and condition of
49:03the compound is vital to
49:05keep it stable right
49:07throughout the duration of
49:08the three-day of the race
49:09event.
49:09Yeah, they take it out of
49:10the air-conditioned
49:11container and stick it on
49:11the track.
49:12That's right.
49:13Well, air-conditioned, I
49:15should say, climate-control
49:16conditions.
49:17Well, Ralph Furman so far a
49:19little bit quicker than
49:20Nick Heidefeld.
49:22Quite a bit quicker on that
49:23first sector.
49:25So, conditions must be
49:26improving rapidly.
49:27Of course, they will do.
49:31But still, as you can see,
49:32an awful lot of water
49:33coming out the back of
49:34that car.
49:35Look at it, just being
49:36pumped up there.
49:40Slower than Heidefeld in
49:41that second sector.
49:42A lot of water still lying
49:43on that chicane.
49:45But you can see the tyre
49:46marks in the previous
49:47runners, so there's
49:50obviously no more water
49:51being added to the
49:52excessive amount of
49:53water on the track
49:54already.
49:54exits the last turn.
49:56Plenty of room spare.
49:5940.
50:02So, Ralph Furman just a
50:03little bit quicker than
50:04Olivier Panis, who really
50:06had it the wettest of all,
50:08but not quite as quick as
50:09Nick Heidefeld.
50:09a lot of vibration through
50:25that front wing, David,
50:26isn't it?
50:26Even just riding the curbs.
50:30Yes, when they hit those
50:31curbs, the front wing really
50:33does do a jig, doesn't it?
50:35It dances around there.
50:36as does the suspension.
50:38You can see the wheels
50:39wobbling around because the
50:41Germans are very, very keen
50:42on that super slow-mo camera
50:43and it looks great.
50:45Here's Pisonja on his, well,
50:49those guys are taking an
50:50overcoat to extremes.
50:51Pisonja is 6 this morning, so he's
50:59no doubt a little bit upset that
51:01he had an opportunity to show
51:04well, because obviously now they've
51:06all got their fingers crossed that
51:08it's dry tomorrow, or at least
51:11whatever it is, it's either wet or
51:13dry for the whole time.
51:14R4, Michelin shot R4, Jaguar.
51:23Let's see how Michelin's wet
51:24weather tyres work in comparison
51:26to Bridgestone's.
51:27Pisonja finished third here last
51:29year in the Formula 3000 race, so
51:31he was on the podium.
51:32Don't forget, you're going to see
51:33the Formula 3000 race here from
51:36the Nürburgring tomorrow morning
51:38at 9.30.
51:41Eastern.
51:42There's only a rushing down to the
51:47Castle Curve, still lots of water
51:48down there, but.
51:58It was a little bit slow on Olivier
51:59Pannis in that first flip.
52:06Fascinating to see the rooster tails
52:08of the water, isn't it, spilling off
52:10the back of the car.
52:12I have to say, I enjoy watching
52:13race cars in wet conditions.
52:14I think it just adds something that
52:16you can't normally see, of course.
52:18You can't see how the air works
52:20around the car, unless you've got
52:21those smoke trails in the wind
52:23and all it.
52:23I like to see this.
52:25These really show, and of course
52:27what they also show is how much
52:28effect the tyres, those great big
52:32rotating lumps of rubber have
52:34on the aerodynamics of these cars,
52:36which is why, of course, they have
52:37those rolling road wind tunnels.
52:38Pizzonia coming into the last turn here.
52:42Obviously going to be way off
52:44Reichenstein, they're using that as a comparison.
52:47Obviously he's going to be more
52:47interested in how he compares to the
52:49other guys who took it in the wet.
52:51A 1.57.
52:51Ooh, just a hair slower than Olivier Panis.
52:57A 1.57.3.2 for Panis.
52:58A 1.57.435 for Pizzonia.
53:04Ralph Furman did a 1.53.8.
53:05So that suddenly makes Ralph Furman's time,
53:08who was the previous runner, look very good
53:10and goes back to what you were saying,
53:13the Furman, of course, being on Bridgestone,
53:15Pizzonia being on the Michelin.
53:16Well, that seems to be the way
53:18it's been panning out really this season
53:20that Michelin at this stage of the season
53:23have got the upper hand on dry weather tires,
53:25but on intermediates, I'll give the nod to Bridgestone,
53:28and it's also looking that way
53:30for the Furwex as well.
53:31So again, I think it's absolutely fascinating
53:34that these guys are all brilliant engineers
53:36in what they do by producing these racing tires,
53:39and yet look at the different ways they excel
53:41and fail to excel against each other.
53:43Yep.
53:47I guess that Michelin have taken the attitude
53:50that really there are a lot more dry races
53:53and wet races as Jos Verstappen goes out.
53:56Jos Verstappen also on Bridgestone tyres.
53:59He's going to be interested to see
54:00if he could be quicker than Pizzonia and Panis,
54:03which normally you would not expect him to be.
54:05Yeah.
54:05But Heidenbelt and Furman
54:10significantly quicker than Panis and Pizzonia,
54:12and they've all got out in very, very similar conditions.
54:19The old tail wagging there
54:20goes down towards the forward corner.
54:26It's left and right complex here.
54:28And then sucking off down to the Castle Curve.
54:40So not quite as quick as
54:42Ralph Furman in that first sector
54:46or Nick Heidfeld.
54:48Just a little bit quicker than Pizzonia
54:52and not quite as quick as Olivier Panis.
54:55So far the results are a bit mixed
55:00on Verstappen.
55:02Well, they're still kicking up
55:03a huge rooster tail, aren't they?
55:05They are.
55:05Normous.
55:08Yeah.
55:09Of course, in race conditions,
55:11the following driver
55:12has all that turbulence
55:14to contend with
55:15right over the main plane
55:17of the front wing.
55:18Well, not only all that turbulence
55:19but all that...
55:20But in the rain, of course,
55:22all that lack of visibility.
55:24It's a complete lack of visibility.
55:27Jos Verstappen really put some steering
55:29he put in there now.
55:31That was a pretty good lap.
55:32He could end up here 15th.
55:34He could end up quicker
55:35than Pizzonia.
55:35San Fizzonia.
55:36He does.
55:45So that is terrific
55:46for Jos Verstappen
55:47to be a little bit quicker.
55:49So no doubt the...
55:51No doubt the Bridgestone runners
55:53at this stage
55:54may be hoping for a wet qualifying
55:56and a wet race.
55:57I think so.
55:58I agree with you.
56:00Yeah.
56:01So 55-9 for Verstappen.
56:03Olivier Panis 57-3.
56:06And Pizzonia 57-4.
56:11Christiana Damara
56:12to go.
56:14I'm sorry.
56:20Justin Wilson to go.
56:26Now, we're going to see him
56:27go through the chicane here
56:28on this super slow-mo.
56:30Let me see it on board.
56:34Clip.
56:35Clip.
56:36Did he miss on both, David?
56:37I think so.
56:38Yeah.
56:38Mr. Wilson.
56:51As you know,
56:52Mr. Wilson
56:53bought himself
56:55into a limited company,
56:58put his shares
56:59on the market
57:00and apparently
57:00oversubscribed.
57:02People have
57:03put in a lot of money
57:04into Justin Wilson's
57:05effort here,
57:06all hoping that he will
57:07one day be world champion
57:09or close to it
57:10make lots of money
57:11and he'll make some money
57:12on their shares.
57:14Probably a worthwhile venture.
57:16Former 3,000 champion.
57:24But if he does well
57:25and these guys start
57:26to make money
57:26off those shares,
57:27it could well be
57:28the start of a trend.
57:29I can't say any reason
57:30why not.
57:37You'd have to choose wisely
57:45to put your money
57:46on a drive,
57:46wouldn't you?
57:46But still,
57:47as I say,
57:48he had a certain amount
57:49of shares available
57:50and they were
57:51oversubscribed.
57:52Justin Wilson's first sector,
58:05quicker than Pizzonia,
58:07not as quick as Panis,
58:09but slightly quicker
58:10than his teammate.
58:12Yeah,
58:13Jos Verstappen's
58:14first sector times
58:15are 39-3.
58:17Justin Wilson's
58:18a 38-8.
58:19And quicker again
58:21in the second sector,
58:22David.
58:24And he could end up
58:2515th.
58:27Depending on how
58:28he handles this last curve.
58:30Woo!
58:30Woo!
58:36There you go.
58:37Justin Wilson,
58:38the last man to cross
58:39the line today,
58:39ends up in 15th spot
58:41as he slows down
58:42in the rain.
58:42We'll take a quick break.
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