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Qualifying for Round 3 of the 2004 F1 season at Sakhir.
Transcript
00:00:001,000 laps in his career, nobody else in history has led to 7,000, he takes the provisional pole, one vital man to run, no, no, third, Ferrari front row for the fourth consecutive year, all Ferrari front row,
00:00:21this could be P2, wow, let's see what Michael Schumacher can do about this, on the right side of the road as Weber did, 6, 10, and on the pole, yet again, Ferrari's Michael Schumacher, Schumacher, Schumacher, Schumacher, Schumacher, Schumacher, Schumacher.
00:00:51For the first time since the Grand Prix of Morocco, back in 1958, the Formula One World Championship has set up shop in the Arab world,
00:01:21and for the first time ever in the Middle East, welcome to the beautiful new Bahrain Grand Prix circuit in the town of Sakir, about 20 miles southwest of the Bahraini capital of Manama for final qualifying.
00:01:34Hello again everyone, I'm Bob Varsha, alongside David Hobbs and Steve Matchett as always.
00:01:39The circuit is fabulous, the weather is warm with a light breeze blowing, and we are ready for the second of two rounds of single car qualifying.
00:01:48There's a look at the starting order based on the first round, let's take a look at the highlights of that primary round of the day.
00:01:56First man on track is the winner of the most recent race, of course, Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari,
00:02:01who posted a time of 1 minute 30.751 seconds, actually slower than the quick times in the morning practice.
00:02:08He was followed by Juan Pablo Montoya, who on his opening lap locked up there going to turn one,
00:02:12but it certainly didn't put him off, didn't disguise him and didn't slow him down.
00:02:16He really put the pedals of the metal and took the pole.
00:02:19Then Fernando Alonso out in the Renault, the R24.
00:02:22This would see him in P3, he would end up in provisional qualifying at P6.
00:02:26Surprising run for Frenchman Olivier Panis in the Toyota, the slowest car in a straight line.
00:02:32Odd for the powerful Toyota engine, but he was great in the corners
00:02:36and managed to get a provisional P3 before he was bumped to fifth.
00:02:41McLaren have had an absolutely horrible weekend.
00:02:43Kimi Riker, they're only doing one lap yesterday in practice,
00:02:46but he got it all together for this run and ended up for a provisional, the second fastest.
00:02:52Then out in the BMW Williams FW26, Ralph Schumacher.
00:02:56Take the original P1 in that first qualifying session.
00:03:00And as a result, he will be the last man on track as we reverse the order for the second session.
00:03:05While we have a moment, let's take a look at this spectacular new Bahrain Grand Prix circuit
00:03:10with a Porsche track map.
00:03:12David Hobbs?
00:03:12Well, of course, it's very flat, as you can imagine.
00:03:15Very little elevation change.
00:03:16And it's a typical Herman Tilke type of track.
00:03:19It's very wide, over 50 feet.
00:03:21Turn one, they're getting there at nearly 200 miles an hour.
00:03:23Heavy braking, heavy braking for four, heavy braking for 11, and very heavy braking for 15.
00:03:29So it could be tough on brakes here.
00:03:30Overtaking should be pretty good into one, into four, and into 15, and possibly into 11,
00:03:36although 11 is a lot quicker than it looks on this map.
00:03:38As I say, it's very flat, very wide.
00:03:40The runoff areas are terrific.
00:03:41The curbs are nice and low, but it's difficult for the drivers, apparently, to remember where they are on this track.
00:03:47Because it does look, when you're sitting down there with your head 18 inches off the ground,
00:03:50it all looks a bit similar as they go into these corners.
00:03:53But I've no doubt these guys will suss it out.
00:03:57As you see, preparations underway, getting ready for the second and final round of qualifying
00:04:02to set the grid for tomorrow's race here on Speed Channel.
00:04:05Well, another warm day here in the Persian Gulf.
00:04:08Temperature about 90 degrees, but relatively low humidity.
00:04:12And the track temperature has been keeping the tire engineers busy.
00:04:16If you were with us for yesterday's show covering Friday practice,
00:04:20you know that McLaren became McLaren.
00:04:23In addition to McLaren, the Michelin engineers became concerned
00:04:26when no fewer than three rear tires punctured and went down.
00:04:30In fact, Jensen Button had a fourth Michelin tire problem,
00:04:33but they determined it was not the tire's compounds or construction.
00:04:37It was actually a piece of debris, actually a drain cover out of the backside of the track
00:04:42that protruded upward with a sharp edge that punctured the tires.
00:04:47So, apparently, we are ready to go.
00:04:50Jolt Baumgartner is now on track in the Minardi while he gets warmed up.
00:04:57We'll take a break and return with more of qualifying
00:05:00for the first-ever Bahrain Grand Prix in just a moment.
00:05:09Speed Channel's coverage of the FIA Formula One World Championship
00:05:12is brought to you by the all-new BMW X3 sports activity vehicle.
00:05:17BMW, the ultimate driving machine.
00:05:20Welcome back.
00:05:24Here is the young Hungarian, Jolt Baumgartner, in the Minardi.
00:05:31He continues his warm-up lap.
00:05:33You've got to look at this track.
00:05:34Very flat, as David mentioned,
00:05:35although they had to move an awful lot of rock
00:05:38to lay the racing surface.
00:05:40It is very, very smooth, but slippery.
00:05:44And very wide, Bob, especially from that shot.
00:05:47Hart, as well.
00:05:49Very good tarmac we've got down here.
00:05:51Brand-new, of course, because the circuit's brand-new,
00:05:53giving very good grip,
00:05:55although the tire suppliers are concerned that it is...
00:05:57Now the sand is cleaning away.
00:05:59It is quite an abrasive surface.
00:06:01And, of course, the sand could play a big part.
00:06:05The wind is out of the south at the moment where they're happy with that.
00:06:08Apparently that's good out of the south.
00:06:09But if it should turn north,
00:06:12which they're not expecting to do,
00:06:13it should...
00:06:13It could blow a lot of sand over this track,
00:06:15which, of course, would make it an absolute nightmare.
00:06:17Yesterday, when they first went out,
00:06:18there was a tremendous cloud of dust following all these cars.
00:06:21Yeah, the track from yesterday's practice sessions to today in qualifying
00:06:27has changed out of all recognition.
00:06:30As you rightly say, David,
00:06:30there was huge clouds of dust being thrown at us
00:06:33from the action of the diffuser underneath the car,
00:06:35that low-pressure area pulling the dust out of the tarmac itself.
00:06:39But now, it seems in fine condition.
00:06:46Lardi are making use of some new wide tyres supplied by Bridgeton.
00:06:56It's coming to this 11 complex.
00:06:58Pretty tough break there, down a couple of three gears.
00:07:01But then, very quick left and right sweep here,
00:07:05which just right here tightens up,
00:07:08so you're braking as you're trying to turn right.
00:07:11And you want to get this corner right,
00:07:12because it's quite a long straight following it
00:07:14down to the last corner.
00:07:17There's some elevation change here, as they put into it.
00:07:20It's not a great deal of elevation change,
00:07:22but it certainly has a bit of interest.
00:07:23This is the last corner,
00:07:24which is a kind of double right.
00:07:27Not a double apex,
00:07:27but it's a little sort of sting in the tail at the end of it.
00:07:31Not much expected from the Minardis,
00:07:33but Baumgartner has the honour of setting provisional pole time
00:07:37at a 135.7.
00:07:39Keep in mind,
00:07:40Ralph Schumacher was in the 129 zone
00:07:43at the end of the first round of single car.
00:07:47And of course, this morning,
00:07:48two or three cars were in the 29s,
00:07:49but of course,
00:07:50they were probably running very light on fuel.
00:07:53Now, of course,
00:07:53they've got race fuel in.
00:07:57And Articru getting a little time on camera.
00:08:01Here comes his teammate,
00:08:03the Italian Gianmaria,
00:08:05or Jimmy Bruni.
00:08:06Head-on shot right there,
00:08:13giving indication,
00:08:14look how wide those front tyres are now
00:08:16in comparison to what they were running before.
00:08:18Bridgestone arriving at this track
00:08:20with ten different variations of compounds
00:08:23and sidewall construction on their tyres.
00:08:27That's his turn, eh?
00:08:42None of these,
00:08:42of course,
00:08:43none of these turns have got names yet.
00:08:49Left-hand fingers,
00:08:50flicking the downshift lever,
00:08:52right-hand the upshifts.
00:08:53Very conservative reps
00:08:56from the Menardy there,
00:08:5717,500.
00:08:59That doesn't sound very conservative,
00:09:00somehow, does it?
00:09:01But once the Ferraris,
00:09:02the BMWs go out there,
00:09:03right up there around the 19 mark.
00:09:09That was all I'd see today,
00:09:10and I'd say that 17,000
00:09:12was conservative for any sort of car.
00:09:17The engine that Menardy are using
00:09:18is basically a three-year-old spec engine now.
00:09:23Well, ahead of his teammates' pace.
00:09:31Jimmy Bruni actually might be a bit of all right.
00:09:33A lot of teams look at these guys from Menardy.
00:09:35Oh, back to the garage
00:09:37to tell his teammate,
00:09:38how about that?
00:09:391.2 seconds quicker than you could do.
00:09:43Bruni is the real deal.
00:09:45Welcome back to the Bahrain International Circuit,
00:10:01final qualifying in preparation
00:10:03for the first Formula One race ever
00:10:05in the Middle East.
00:10:06This is Giorgio Pantano,
00:10:09an Italian rookie in the Jordan.
00:10:11Boy, and every time we see this Jordan,
00:10:14it looks so twitchy.
00:10:17Yeah.
00:10:17On braking and...
00:10:19I don't know if there are aerodynamics.
00:10:21Probably is there aerodynamics.
00:10:22I don't think it's Giorgio Pantano,
00:10:24because both of them look pretty twitchy as well.
00:10:27He did good work with it on Friday.
00:10:28He was 13th on final time.
00:10:31Giorgio Pantano,
00:10:33a new recruit to Formula One
00:10:34out of Formula 3000.
00:10:36Oh, just clipping the...
00:10:37Bollard on the corner.
00:10:39There's Bruni,
00:10:40who wasn't quick enough on his in-lap,
00:10:44but he gets out of the way pretty.
00:10:46Actually, you can see as Bruni pulled over
00:10:48off the race in the line.
00:10:49There is still a lot of dust on that tarmac,
00:10:50even that very slow speed,
00:10:52Bruni cruising around.
00:10:54Starting to lift the dust out of the tarmac.
00:10:57But these guys...
00:10:59I don't know if it's just that
00:10:59everybody made a big improvement,
00:11:01and Bob and Jordan
00:11:02haven't made an improvement from Friday,
00:11:03but for some reason,
00:11:05I'm hearing that Jordan
00:11:07have declined to use
00:11:09the new specification.
00:11:12Michelin S Bridgestone tyres.
00:11:14That's sort of very stiff sidewall,
00:11:16wider tyre that Bridgestone
00:11:18had developed to get on terms
00:11:19with Michelin
00:11:19from their dominant pace of last year.
00:11:22Jordan don't seem to want to use the tyres.
00:11:25Pantano takes provisional pole
00:11:27away from Jimmy Bruni.
00:11:29I would say just at the moment
00:11:32that Jordan could do
00:11:33with every bit of help
00:11:34that he could possibly get.
00:11:35Well,
00:11:36they've gone at risk.
00:11:39Severe risk.
00:11:40There is a certain school of thought
00:11:42that the wider the tyre,
00:11:44of course,
00:11:45puts a lot more drag
00:11:46onto the car.
00:11:47It's always that trade-off
00:11:48between drag and downforce,
00:11:49and although the tyre
00:11:50may give better grip,
00:11:51Jordan might be convinced
00:11:52that in fact,
00:11:53the drag penalty
00:11:53is just too much for them.
00:11:56Well,
00:11:57I don't know.
00:12:01This is Nick Heidfeld,
00:12:03whose car rolled to a stop
00:12:04with an engine problem
00:12:07on Friday.
00:12:08The engine actually shut itself off
00:12:09to protect itself.
00:12:12It's handy, isn't it?
00:12:12Assuming we're all
00:12:14on the same page
00:12:15as to when it needs
00:12:16to get off.
00:12:17Yeah.
00:12:18Yeah, well...
00:12:19Have a recall on that
00:12:20if there's a production car.
00:12:22What, that it switch itself off?
00:12:23Yeah.
00:12:24Well,
00:12:24they tend to do that now
00:12:25because of this one engine
00:12:26for the Grand Prix weekend.
00:12:28They want it,
00:12:29if possible,
00:12:30in practice,
00:12:31avoid so much damage
00:12:33to the engine
00:12:33that it entails
00:12:34them having to change it.
00:12:35In the race,
00:12:36what they will do
00:12:36is disarm that system
00:12:38so that the engine,
00:12:39the engine's electronics
00:12:39won't automatically
00:12:40cut the lung off.
00:12:41it's a problem,
00:12:42but in practice,
00:12:43they want to use it.
00:12:46There you see the bollards
00:12:47still lying there
00:12:48from Giorgio Pantano's
00:12:49exploits a few moments ago.
00:12:51Nick Heidefelt
00:12:51going quicker
00:12:52than Giorgio Pantano.
00:12:56No doubt
00:12:56much to Nick Heidefelt's relief.
00:13:00Poor old Nick Heidefelt.
00:13:01I mean,
00:13:01just four or five years ago
00:13:03and he's in Formula 3000.
00:13:04He went under the wing
00:13:05of McLaren
00:13:07and unceremoniously
00:13:09got dumped
00:13:10for Kimi Raja.
00:13:11just a couple of years ago
00:13:12and boy,
00:13:14his career just
00:13:14sort of spiraled down
00:13:16ever since.
00:13:19Doesn't take long
00:13:20to go off the boil
00:13:21in Formula One.
00:13:22It sure doesn't.
00:13:23No.
00:13:27And he takes
00:13:27provisional pole
00:13:28as we work our way
00:13:29backward through the order
00:13:30of the first round
00:13:31of single qualifying.
00:13:33This is expected.
00:13:34And he is doing
00:13:3533s
00:13:35and we're fully expecting
00:13:37the pole to be
00:13:38hovering in the high
00:13:3929s.
00:13:41Why?
00:13:41You thought somebody
00:13:42going to pick that up,
00:13:42wouldn't you?
00:13:44Well, yeah.
00:13:45Only one guard at a time
00:13:46on the track.
00:13:47There we go.
00:13:48Somebody finally...
00:13:49They must have heard it.
00:13:50Oh, no, no, no.
00:13:50I hope they got that
00:13:52black rubber ring
00:13:54that was flying
00:13:54through the air as well.
00:13:58This is Felipe Massa,
00:14:00Brazil,
00:14:01in the Sauber.
00:14:04Coming into this race,
00:14:07all the teams are running
00:14:07computerized race simulations
00:14:10to try and get an idea
00:14:11of the downfall levels
00:14:12and primarily
00:14:13the grip
00:14:13and gear
00:14:14ratios need.
00:14:15The Renault engineers,
00:14:18they were looking
00:14:18at a lap time
00:14:19approximately
00:14:20about 1.30,
00:14:22there or thereabouts,
00:14:23but of course
00:14:23they said quite rightly
00:14:24that,
00:14:25you know,
00:14:26we're giving a
00:14:263D for a few drive
00:14:27model map of the track,
00:14:30which gives lengths
00:14:30of straights
00:14:31and radius of the corners
00:14:32and width of the track,
00:14:33but we don't know
00:14:34the grip level.
00:14:35That almost infamous
00:14:37factor X
00:14:38until you get to the circuit
00:14:39and run the car,
00:14:41you don't know
00:14:42how much grip
00:14:42you're going to get
00:14:43in that effective
00:14:43circuit.
00:14:45A couple of weeks' time.
00:15:05Yeah, now these guys
00:15:06on the Bridgestone tires
00:15:09have got the same
00:15:11specification tires
00:15:12as Ferrari,
00:15:13the brand new
00:15:14wide front
00:15:14and the brand new
00:15:16wide rears.
00:15:20And Massa,
00:15:21by nearly a full second,
00:15:23takes over
00:15:23Provisional Pole.
00:15:26Wow.
00:15:27So the times
00:15:28are dropping rapidly.
00:15:29We'll take a break
00:15:30and return with more.
00:15:32Stay with us.
00:15:33Welcome back to the
00:15:38Bahrain International
00:15:39Circuit
00:15:39as we continue
00:15:40with final qualifying
00:15:41for the Formula One
00:15:42Grand Prix of Bahrain.
00:15:44Now, addition to cars,
00:15:45speed is also your home
00:15:46for two-wheeled excitement.
00:15:48Tune in tomorrow
00:15:48at 5 p.m.
00:15:49Eastern
00:15:50for the AMA Superbike
00:15:51Series,
00:15:52the race from
00:15:52California Speedway.
00:15:54See if Daytona 200
00:15:55winner Matt Mladen
00:15:56can repeat the double
00:15:57as he did last season
00:15:59in SoCal.
00:16:00If he can,
00:16:01he'll become the
00:16:01winningest rider
00:16:02in AMA Superbike
00:16:03history.
00:16:04Don't miss it.
00:16:05Tomorrow at 5 p.m.
00:16:06Eastern,
00:16:06only on Speed.
00:16:09There's Mark Webber.
00:16:10Excuse me,
00:16:11there's Christian Clean.
00:16:12His teammate,
00:16:13Mark Webber,
00:16:13will be the next man
00:16:14on track.
00:16:16Webber in the Jaguar
00:16:17was the sensation
00:16:18of qualifying
00:16:19two weeks ago
00:16:20in Malaysia,
00:16:21putting the car
00:16:22in the front row
00:16:22of the starting grid
00:16:23for the first time
00:16:24ever.
00:16:26Both for him
00:16:26and Jag.
00:16:27Boy, oh boy,
00:16:28didn't it come
00:16:29unraveled after that.
00:16:30the anti-stool device
00:16:32kicking in
00:16:34when it shouldn't
00:16:34have done
00:16:34so he had
00:16:35a horrible start.
00:16:36Let's take a look
00:16:37at that moment
00:16:37two weeks ago
00:16:38in Malaysia
00:16:39at the start
00:16:40of the race.
00:16:42Having put the car
00:16:43on the front row,
00:16:49Webber was ready
00:16:50alongside Michael
00:16:51Schumacher
00:16:51at the start
00:16:52of the race.
00:16:55Oh, Webber!
00:16:57Webber has stopped.
00:17:00Barkello now
00:17:01drawing away.
00:17:02Oh, it's
00:17:03from the end
00:17:03of the wall.
00:17:03It's Webber!
00:17:06Oh, no, no, no.
00:17:07Oh, no, no, no.
00:17:07Oh, no, no, no.
00:17:07There's probably
00:17:08right where you're
00:17:08tired.
00:17:09Right where you're
00:17:09down.
00:17:10Oh, is that the Jaguar?
00:17:13There's a Jag.
00:17:15It's Webber.
00:17:15That's Mark Webber.
00:17:16Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
00:17:19Oh, no, no, no, no.
00:17:21Yeah, what a day he's had.
00:17:25It's very disappointing
00:17:26for Mark Webber
00:17:26that the whole thing
00:17:28just unraveled so badly
00:17:30because that tire
00:17:31really was,
00:17:32I think we had a bit
00:17:33of an altercation
00:17:33with Ralph Schumacher
00:17:34and cut the tire
00:17:35on Ralph Schumacher's
00:17:36front wing.
00:17:38It was interesting
00:17:39when the Jaguar
00:17:40explained the technical
00:17:41problem they had
00:17:42at the start.
00:17:42basically they underestimated
00:17:44the grip levels
00:17:45when they programmed
00:17:46their software
00:17:48for the start.
00:17:50And so the car
00:17:51sensed that
00:17:52they had gripped
00:17:54too well
00:17:55and it went into
00:17:56anti-stall
00:17:57to prevent the engine
00:17:58from stopping altogether.
00:18:00And as a result,
00:18:01it's like hitting
00:18:01the pit lane speed limiter.
00:18:02He just was in way
00:18:04too high a gear
00:18:06for the start.
00:18:08You see the little
00:18:09FIA sticker
00:18:10on the steering wheels.
00:18:13It's an inspection
00:18:14sticker by the FIA.
00:18:16Because of the new
00:18:17regulations
00:18:17that prohibit
00:18:19fully automatic
00:18:20up-shifts
00:18:21and down-shifts
00:18:22on the transmission
00:18:22and prohibit
00:18:24the use of
00:18:25launch control
00:18:25bars we were just
00:18:26talking about there,
00:18:27all the steering wheels
00:18:28have to be submitted
00:18:29at the start
00:18:30of each race
00:18:31weekend
00:18:32to be scrutinized
00:18:33by the FIA
00:18:33to make sure
00:18:34that there is no
00:18:35possibility of
00:18:35hidden software
00:18:36being stored
00:18:38in the steering wheels
00:18:38that can be actuated.
00:18:39That wouldn't happen,
00:18:41would it?
00:18:42No need to one shot
00:18:43on F1,
00:18:43that I thought.
00:18:45Tell you what though,
00:18:47old Christian Clean
00:18:48has had a pretty good
00:18:48weekend so far.
00:18:50He's been consistently
00:18:51quicker than
00:18:51Mark Webber
00:18:52all weekend.
00:18:53He's had a few
00:18:53offs,
00:18:55but then of course
00:18:56Christian Clean
00:18:57brand new
00:18:57to Formula One
00:18:58and 21 years old.
00:19:03Not a lad.
00:19:04I'll call you
00:19:10ger.
00:19:12Oh,
00:19:13he's had a pretty good
00:19:14fun.
00:19:14Uh!
00:19:15Uh!
00:19:22Uh!
00:19:23Uh!
00:19:24Uh!
00:19:24Uh!
00:19:25Uh!
00:19:26Uh!
00:19:26Uh!
00:19:27Uh!
00:19:28Uh!
00:19:28Uh!
00:19:28Uh!
00:19:30Uh!
00:19:30Uh!
00:20:31Like the performance of Malaysia, however, provisionally second, not as fast as Masa in the Sauber, with more than half the field still to come.
00:20:39How much fuel have they got on board?
00:20:44That's always the question.
00:20:46General consensus seems to be, it's another going to be two or three stops really dependent on the abrasion of the track.
00:20:53That's going to be the significant factor in what they're going to do tomorrow.
00:20:57Of course, they've actually made that decision by now.
00:20:59Absolutely no data to go on, of course.
00:21:03That's what's caught everybody off guard.
00:21:05You're absolutely right, David Hobbs, no data for the tyre suppliers.
00:21:10So they'll have to bring sort of every combination, really.
00:21:12High abrasion, low abrasion, high grip, low grip, and six of the compounds in between.
00:21:19Yeah, right.
00:21:22Wow, look at that.
00:21:24Well, Weber had that big push in the early part of his lap.
00:21:27Quick, oh, he can, Christian, he really has.
00:21:29Quicker than Weber yesterday.
00:21:34He's canning, canning hang it for the rest of the lap, because he has had quite a few offs as well this weekend.
00:21:41Oh, oh, being able to go quicker now, that's pylon's gone.
00:21:53There's those wide corners on the run out.
00:21:55And this is what I mean by the drivers are finding difficult to find exactly where they are.
00:22:00See that little bit of elevation change right there, it's pushing the cars down.
00:22:04You see a lot of plank marks, the dust coming off the FIA skid block underneath.
00:22:10Just on the elevation change, you'll see the suspension's really stuffed down onto the Packers.
00:22:15Ground clearance on these cars underneath that Megality skid block is down to about one millimeter.
00:22:20And by two-tenths, Clean takes over provisional pole.
00:22:29And there'll be a few more arched eyebrows in the garage area.
00:22:34We'll take a break.
00:22:35Return, next man on the track will be McLaren's David Coulthard.
00:22:39Stay with us.
00:22:43Welcome back.
00:22:44Bob Varshis, Steve Matchett, and David Hobbs with you for final qualifying for the Formula One Grand Prix of Bahrain.
00:22:50Round three of the 2004 World Championship.
00:22:54Now on track, representing the troubled McLaren Mercedes team, David Coulthard about to go on the clock.
00:23:00David Coulthard yesterday had one of those cut tyres from the drain cover, which induced a pretty big spin.
00:23:08It was a very high-speed cut, or a high-speed deflation, and he had a huge spin, nearly tipped the thing over.
00:23:15And then this morning, he had a brake disc explode going into Turn 1, which, of course, obviously deflated the right front tyre.
00:23:22It sent him off the road yet again.
00:23:23And he didn't take part in the second session.
00:23:25So he's had a bit of lack of time on the track and a couple of nasty scares.
00:23:30It's unusual to have a brake disc fail in practice.
00:23:35And a few years ago, when people were struggling for budget and brake discs were a very expensive component of the car,
00:23:41the teams would try and use in practice the discs that they could save from the previous race
00:23:46to try and sort of make the budget last as long as possible.
00:23:48But now, certainly in McLaren's case, budget is not an issue.
00:23:51What is an issue, however, and it's become an apparent at this track, the brake wear.
00:23:56Because of the long straights and heavy braking zones, it's got a lot of strain on those carbon discs.
00:24:02Coulthard, 29.9 at the first segment, intermediate.
00:24:05That's the quickest we've seen.
00:24:09By quite a bit, and there he is another.
00:24:12Up a good bit on that second sector.
00:24:14So he should easily get provisional pole.
00:24:16But it's still, well, it'll be about a 31 and change.
00:24:22What we're saying yesterday about the brake decks on these cars.
00:24:30Let's just wait for Coulthard to cross the line there.
00:24:32Good enough for provisional P1.
00:24:3431 and quite a bit of change.
00:24:35But I would think, as I say, I think pole could easily be in a high 29.
00:24:39Look how big the front brake is up.
00:24:41Sorry just to interrupt.
00:24:42Just yesterday we were talking about how McLaren, if they are struggling with brake wear and brake temperature around here,
00:24:50will put pretty colossal brake ducts onto their car.
00:24:54And there they are, right there, just inside the wheel rims.
00:24:56Big old snorkels.
00:24:57In fact, they're bigger than yesterday.
00:24:59Yeah.
00:24:59They have definitely gone up since yesterday.
00:25:00Here comes the former champ car champion, Cristiano Damada, in the Toyota.
00:25:07I'll tell you what, Toyota's got some pretty big brake decks on the front of their car as well.
00:25:11So it's certainly, it's not just McLaren that are struggling a little bit with trying to keep these things cool.
00:25:17And certainly if one team has a failure like that, remember all the brake discs are made by specialist companies.
00:25:23There's really only two companies that specialise in producing these brake discs because it takes such a long while to produce.
00:25:29It's like six months to produce one brake disc with a procedure to do that.
00:25:34And if one company's had a brake disc go, or one team, all the other teams up and down the pit lane will be thinking,
00:25:39well, we better follow suit and try and keep these a little bit cooler.
00:25:41Six months to make them and a race to completely root them.
00:25:44Right.
00:25:44Toyota's definitely gone off the boil since last year.
00:26:10Right, no joke.
00:26:14Mike Ascoigne, I think he's working towards introducing it to Toyota, a two-design team principle that he had running at Renault.
00:26:25There was a big advert in the British press Autosport last week from Toyota looking for everybody associated with aerodynamics and design.
00:26:34There it is, good enough for Corriginal P1.
00:26:38Well, as I said, they're going off the boil, so it's as quick as David Coulthard in the McLaren,
00:26:44which is obviously a huge achievement.
00:26:45It's an achievement, sure.
00:26:47Oh, McLaren, I don't know what's happened to McLaren.
00:26:50They're just all over the place.
00:26:53Well, you talk about the two-design team concept that Mike Ascoigne wants to institute at Toyota.
00:26:58That would be one team working on this year's car, one team working on next year's car.
00:27:02We're hearing, and McLaren denies it, they actually have three different teams at work, one to develop this year's car,
00:27:09one to develop something before the end of the season to get them back on track,
00:27:13and yet a third team working on their 2005 Challenger.
00:27:17That is manpower intensive.
00:27:21Yeah.
00:27:24Here's Rubens Batacchello,
00:27:27who has been right on a par with his teammate, the world champion, all weekend.
00:27:34For our technical director, Ross Braun,
00:27:36hinting yesterday that, you know, this circuit really shouldn't suit our car that well.
00:27:41No high-speed corners is what they like.
00:27:44It's a low-speed corners, but, however,
00:27:48I still think this car's working pretty well.
00:27:52Yeah, Rubens Batacchello was a bit off the pace this morning,
00:27:54which is why he's running in the middle of the pack.
00:27:56It's another seven or eight cars to go before we get down to Michael Schumacher.
00:28:1129.5 at that first intermediate.
00:28:14Best of the session.
00:28:22Nearly second in hand.
00:28:23Should be a substantial improvement.
00:28:411.1, almost 1.2 seconds.
00:28:46John Todd, seen it at the center of your picture.
00:28:49Well, that chassis seems to be working pretty well,
00:28:51even if the circuit's not supposed to suit the car, right?
00:28:54Now, if John Todd had the look on his face there,
00:28:56sort of, that's good, but not maybe quite good enough.
00:28:59There's Luca Badua, one of their test drivers.
00:29:02One of the men who puts in thousands of kilometers of testing
00:29:06just to prepare the cars for moments like this.
00:29:08The unsung heroes of Formula One.
00:29:12We'll take a break, and when we return,
00:29:14Giancarlo Fisichella will be on track in the Sauber.
00:29:18We'll see if they've cured their oversteer problems.
00:29:20We'll be back in a moment to Bahrain for more qualifying.
00:29:23Welcome back.
00:29:38Crowd beginning to fill the grandstands.
00:29:4165,000 seats in this magnificent facility,
00:29:45the Bahrain International Circuit.
00:29:46Here comes Giancarlo Fisichella in the Sauber.
00:29:49Fisichella's been suffering from a cold and fever all weekend,
00:29:52but he says he's fine when he's in the car,
00:29:55except for the fact that the Sauber's have been oversteering badly all weekend.
00:30:00Be sure to join us tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. Eastern
00:30:02for live coverage of the inaugural Grand Prix of Bahrain.
00:30:05As always, we'll start things off with the Acura pre-race show
00:30:08in which Peter Windsor will show us this $150 million debut circuit up close.
00:30:14Then at 7.30 Eastern, the cars will roll off
00:30:16for the first-ever Grand Prix of Bahrain,
00:30:18and the event is subject to blackout.
00:30:20I think Sauber's problems,
00:30:26Bob talking about this oversteer,
00:30:27yesterday when there was so much dust on the track,
00:30:30I think just putting the power down a little bit too early,
00:30:33despite the fact the car is running with traction control,
00:30:35there's no doubt about that,
00:30:36the urgency for the drivers to get on the power early,
00:30:38coming out of these wide corners,
00:30:40is putting a lot of lateral load on the tyres,
00:30:42and I think the back end of the Sauber,
00:30:43just being caught out with the drivers,
00:30:45just putting the power on a little bit too quick,
00:30:47you might find it should improve now,
00:30:51during these qualifying sessions.
00:30:53That's one of the misconceptions about traction control,
00:30:56is that somehow it makes everything right,
00:30:58which it doesn't.
00:30:59It simply maximizes the available grip.
00:31:02Does it create grip when there isn't any?
00:31:04Absolutely,
00:31:04and of course traction control can only really work longitudinally along the axis of the car.
00:31:10If you're carrying too much speed into the corner,
00:31:12and the driver turns in,
00:31:13of course,
00:31:13then it's just a matter of physics,
00:31:14the weight of the car and the mass of the car,
00:31:16just start to,
00:31:17mass,
00:31:17there's a pun,
00:31:18if everyone there was one,
00:31:18start to slide the car across the,
00:31:21the tunnel.
00:31:21Does Fischkeller's only aim is to be quicker than Felipe Massa,
00:31:27poor old Fischkeller,
00:31:28another one like,
00:31:29almost like Nick Heidfeldt.
00:31:30His career is sort of getting a bit out of control,
00:31:33he desperately,
00:31:33desperately wants to drive for Ferrari,
00:31:35which is why he went to Sauber,
00:31:36who's got Ferrari running gear,
00:31:38and of course,
00:31:38very closely affiliated with Ferrari,
00:31:41but of course,
00:31:41it's essential,
00:31:42this case is quicker than Felipe Massa,
00:31:44and I'm not sure that he is.
00:31:45Oh,
00:31:46a bit of a slide there.
00:31:47Ironically,
00:31:48it's that expressed desire to drive for Ferrari,
00:31:51that may skewer his chances of any of the other plum drives down the road.
00:31:55I would think he might be on Williams' short list for that empty seat,
00:31:59when Juan Pablo Montoya leaves next year,
00:32:01but the fact that Fischkeller says,
00:32:03I want a Ferrari,
00:32:03may make other teams think,
00:32:05well,
00:32:05yeah,
00:32:06why bother?
00:32:06Yeah,
00:32:07and he's,
00:32:07he's very good,
00:32:08I mean,
00:32:09boy,
00:32:09five or six years ago,
00:32:10everybody was talking about Fischkeller as the new Michael Schumacher,
00:32:13he definitely has the skills,
00:32:14but just,
00:32:15things haven't gone right for him.
00:32:17Well,
00:32:17the Ferrari engine in the back of this,
00:32:182004 Sauber chassis,
00:32:21fastest through the speed trap of the day so far,
00:32:24Fischkeller,
00:32:24198.7 miles an hour,
00:32:27that's 319.8 in new money,
00:32:30kilometers an hour.
00:32:33Boy,
00:32:34that new money is talking about,
00:32:3530 years old now,
00:32:37I came to England with a roadman.
00:32:38Speaking of new money,
00:32:46a lot of the teams are still grumbling about the American dollar and where it stands on the international exchanges.
00:32:52In a budget as large as $300 million,
00:32:54I mean,
00:32:55the effect is remarkable,
00:32:57the dollar,
00:32:57the distance it's fallen in one year,
00:33:00millions of dollars difference.
00:33:04A 31.7 for Giancarlo Fischkeller,
00:33:07so he completes job one,
00:33:08he out qualifies his teammate.
00:33:10And Christian Cleen in the Jaguar.
00:33:14He's very,
00:33:14very,
00:33:15very evenly matched with David Coulthard.
00:33:18Nice smile from Peter Sauber,
00:33:20and the Sauber brain trust along the pit wall.
00:33:22There is Jenson Button.
00:33:27Man of the moment.
00:33:28Absolutely.
00:33:29Coming off his first career podium two weeks ago in Malaysia,
00:33:32he was the fastest man in this morning's practice.
00:33:37Here's his teammate Takuma Sato.
00:33:39What an odd engine note.
00:33:41Yeah.
00:33:41Well,
00:33:41he's got his left foot on the brake,
00:33:43I think,
00:33:44slowing it down.
00:33:44Sorry,
00:33:45I can't imagine why he'd want to put heat in the brakes.
00:33:49Here he goes.
00:33:52Sato fourth fastest in the final practice this morning.
00:33:59Had a good run yesterday as well.
00:34:02New rear suspension this weekend on the BAR.
00:34:05Yeah,
00:34:05new rear suspension.
00:34:06He was running eighth in Malaysia last week,
00:34:09and we kind of ignored him two weeks ago,
00:34:11and he'd come from the back
00:34:12and was up there with Alonso in eighth spot
00:34:15when the engine expired.
00:34:17It was just four laps to go,
00:34:19so
00:34:19Tumasato actually doing pretty good this year.
00:34:22Two tenths up with that first intermediate.
00:34:30We talked about the preparations for this race
00:34:33and the computational fluid dynamics simulation,
00:34:35all that sort of thing.
00:34:37Honda did something interesting.
00:34:38They sent a team of engineers to this racetrack
00:34:41while it was under construction.
00:34:42They gathered samples of the dust and dirt
00:34:46from the four corners of the track
00:34:48and then took it back to analyze.
00:34:50This is what only happened in Formula One.
00:34:51Right.
00:34:52They analyzed it,
00:34:53including blowing samples of it
00:34:56into an engine on the dyno
00:34:58to see what it would do to the internal components.
00:35:00I can have a good guess
00:35:02what it's like to do to be different,
00:35:04but no matter which corner of the track
00:35:06the track came from.
00:35:07Well, this time is going to be good enough,
00:35:09I think, for second.
00:35:11Well, he was just a fraction slower
00:35:13through the speed track
00:35:15than the Sauber engine.
00:35:17197.9 miles an hour
00:35:20for the Honda.
00:35:21There you go.
00:35:26Second for Sato.
00:35:28Voila.
00:35:29Well done.
00:35:31And that will give his teammates
00:35:32something to think about
00:35:33because Jenson Button
00:35:34is the next man on track.
00:35:36There he goes.
00:35:37There's Sato.
00:35:38Button will be out momentarily.
00:35:41Our Honda team.
00:35:45Provisional second place now.
00:35:47That's job one, too,
00:35:49that they outqualified
00:35:50at least Cristiano Di Marte
00:35:52of the Toyota,
00:35:52which is very important for Honda.
00:35:55Provisional pole sitter
00:35:56is Rubens Baracchella
00:35:57in the Ferrari,
00:35:58and here comes Jenson Button.
00:36:03His first podium
00:36:04two weeks ago in Malaysia,
00:36:05and I think the team
00:36:06and he are expecting
00:36:08a lot more podia
00:36:09this year.
00:36:12Well, this chassis
00:36:12is certainly coming together.
00:36:16I think Honda
00:36:16have finally got their act together
00:36:18after sort of mithering around
00:36:20over the last four years,
00:36:21which is totally unlike them
00:36:22when it comes to Formula One.
00:36:35Well, that's certainly
00:36:36good enough for second spot
00:36:37for him, too,
00:36:37on that sector dime.
00:36:39Oh, there you go there.
00:37:01I couldn't want you to get there.
00:37:02Oh, quick.
00:37:03It's going to be nip and tuck
00:37:18with his team, mate.
00:37:31No, it doesn't get to Sato.
00:37:36Button, provisional third.
00:37:40That's interesting.
00:37:43Well, you've got to assume
00:37:44that one of these cars,
00:37:45presumably Sato,
00:37:46is carrying less fuel.
00:37:48I mean,
00:37:48you can't put both
00:37:50the same amount of fuels
00:37:51in both cars
00:37:52and expect them to pit
00:37:52on the same lap.
00:37:53You've got to allow
00:37:54at least one car
00:37:54to do another lap
00:37:55to stagger the pit stops.
00:37:5610 kilos
00:37:58about four-tenths
00:38:00of a second.
00:38:04Keeping with
00:38:05Formula One's push
00:38:06into the Middle East,
00:38:09Honda launched
00:38:10a website
00:38:10in Arabic
00:38:11this weekend.
00:38:14Now on track,
00:38:15Jarno Trulli
00:38:16in the Renault.
00:38:17He had a water leak
00:38:21yesterday.
00:38:22They were able
00:38:23to avoid
00:38:24having to change
00:38:25the engine.
00:38:32Truck temperatures
00:38:32dropped a little bit
00:38:34and down to
00:38:35116.6
00:38:36which should give them
00:38:37maybe just a
00:38:39nats more
00:38:40engine power
00:38:41by virtue
00:38:42of cooler air.
00:38:44Boy, it would be
00:38:45a nats, too.
00:38:45And that's
00:38:48what is that?
00:38:50It's a very
00:38:51small amount.
00:38:56He's ahead.
00:39:05Again, Jarno
00:39:06truly a man
00:39:06with something
00:39:07to prove.
00:39:07Came into Formula One
00:39:08with the Pross team
00:39:09and led the
00:39:10Austrian Grand Prix
00:39:11and looked so strong
00:39:13a few years back
00:39:14and he also
00:39:15went into a bit
00:39:16of a period
00:39:16of decline.
00:39:17Wrong car,
00:39:18wrong time,
00:39:18wrong...
00:39:19And just
00:39:20not a lot
00:39:20of racing luck.
00:39:24Still regarded
00:39:25as a god
00:39:26among kart racers
00:39:28in his native Italy.
00:39:30Truly won everything
00:39:31there was
00:39:32a win in go-karts.
00:39:38Falling off the
00:39:39plot a little bit.
00:39:47On to the front
00:39:48stretch.
00:39:48The circuit
00:39:49designed so that
00:39:50the drivers appear
00:39:50to be arriving
00:39:51from the desert
00:39:52into an oasis.
00:39:53But no relief
00:39:54for Truly
00:39:55who continues
00:39:55to lose time
00:39:56in the third segment.
00:39:57He picked up
00:39:57some debris
00:39:58out the back.
00:39:58I think his
00:39:59helicopter tape, Bob,
00:40:00coming off the
00:40:00bodywork.
00:40:01The teams...
00:40:01Yeah, it is.
00:40:04The teams put
00:40:05helicopter tape
00:40:06around the body
00:40:08panels, I think,
00:40:08to seal it on.
00:40:09Although, you usually
00:40:11ever see that
00:40:11in the race conditions.
00:40:13I've never seen
00:40:13them do it
00:40:14in qualifying.
00:40:15That looked like
00:40:15it was coming off
00:40:16the leading edge
00:40:16of the wing.
00:40:17I think they put
00:40:17the helicopter tape
00:40:18on there.
00:40:19And they also
00:40:19stopped the gravel
00:40:21degradation, which
00:40:22we're going to get
00:40:22this weekend.
00:40:23All that sand
00:40:23is going to give
00:40:24these cars
00:40:24a real good
00:40:25sandblast.
00:40:27Here comes his
00:40:28teammate, Spaniard
00:40:29Fernando Alonso.
00:40:33Another very young
00:40:34gent, still in
00:40:36his 22nd year.
00:40:42Winner last year
00:40:43in Hungary.
00:40:44Riding up that
00:40:45right front
00:40:46Michelin and
00:40:46missing the apex
00:40:47at the first turn
00:40:49badly.
00:40:51Well, that's
00:40:51what we thought
00:40:52Juan Pablo Montoya
00:40:53did this morning.
00:40:54It certainly
00:40:54didn't seem to
00:40:55affect his time
00:40:56too much.
00:41:03The kerbs here,
00:41:04nice to get
00:41:05too disruptive
00:41:06to the car.
00:41:09That wouldn't
00:41:09be doing it
00:41:09much good.
00:41:15That's a terrible
00:41:16first sector.
00:41:17They'll never
00:41:18make up that
00:41:18time.
00:41:19He's looking
00:41:19at fifth
00:41:20right now.
00:41:21massive heading
00:41:34for the pole.
00:41:35You remember
00:41:35two weeks ago
00:41:36in Malaysia
00:41:37it spun
00:41:37with just
00:41:38two corners
00:41:39left.
00:41:40Had to start
00:41:40the back.
00:41:41Oh, Alonso you mean?
00:41:42I mean, Alonso,
00:41:43yeah, right.
00:41:45Just two corners.
00:41:46Oh, God.
00:41:47He's heading for
00:41:48a real mid-pack.
00:41:50Wow.
00:41:51But a good
00:41:51with Renault,
00:41:52you never know
00:41:52what fuel they're carrying.
00:41:53I know, you know.
00:41:54Their tactics
00:41:55changed weakly.
00:41:56Pat Simmons
00:41:57is one of those
00:41:58master technicians
00:41:59remembering...
00:42:00Oh, that's nothing
00:42:01to do with fuel.
00:42:02Well, the only thing you can say
00:42:15Well, just a disastrous lap, really.
00:42:16That's what you can say about that
00:42:17in every way.
00:42:19But yes, Renault are capable
00:42:21of running some peculiar strategies.
00:42:23Oh, that was nothing
00:42:26to do with strategy.
00:42:27Oh, right.
00:42:27Well, the only thing
00:42:28you can say for Alonso
00:42:29he does make
00:42:30absolutely demon stars
00:42:32but boy, he's going to need to.
00:42:33Going to need 15th spot.
00:42:35Yep.
00:42:35Currently 13th
00:42:36and he can expect
00:42:37to lose a few spots
00:42:39because the faster men
00:42:40are coming.
00:42:41Olivier Panis next
00:42:42followed by Michael Schumacher.
00:42:44Stay with us.
00:42:45The Bahrain International Circuit
00:42:47along with Steve Matchett
00:42:49and David Hobbs
00:42:49I'm Bob Varsha
00:42:50you're watching
00:42:51Final Qualifying
00:42:52for the first ever
00:42:53Formula One
00:42:54Grand Prix of Bahrain
00:42:56and now on track
00:42:57is Olivier Panis
00:42:59in the Toyota.
00:43:01Be sure to tune in
00:43:02to Speed
00:43:02every Monday
00:43:03through Thursday nights
00:43:04at 10 p.m. Eastern Time
00:43:05for Wind Tunnel.
00:43:06Join Dave Despain
00:43:07and the top names
00:43:08in motorsport
00:43:08as they discuss
00:43:09the issues of the day.
00:43:10This week
00:43:11Dave will chat
00:43:12with Ben Spies
00:43:12Max Pappas
00:43:13and Martin Truex Jr.
00:43:15Now there's a mix.
00:43:16You never know
00:43:16who else will show up
00:43:17on Wind Tunnel
00:43:18with Dave Despain
00:43:19again Monday
00:43:20through Thursday
00:43:20at 10 p.m. Eastern.
00:43:23Oh, Max.
00:43:23It should be interesting
00:43:24to listen to.
00:43:25He's always got
00:43:25a good tailor to tell
00:43:27in the old Max.
00:43:28Max.
00:43:29Yeah.
00:43:31Want to hear about
00:43:32that Contra-Ton
00:43:34with Jan Magnussen
00:43:35at Homestead
00:43:35and Grand Am cars.
00:43:37They were big buddies
00:43:38before that.
00:43:38I'm not sure quite
00:43:39how their friendship
00:43:40is hanging up.
00:43:41Michael Schumacher
00:43:42watching
00:43:43as Olivier Panis
00:43:44makes his run.
00:43:46Schumacher will be next.
00:43:48Then Kimi Räikkönen,
00:43:49Juan Pablo Montoya
00:43:50and Ralph Schumacher.
00:43:55Just joining us,
00:43:56Rubens Baracchello
00:43:57sits on pole
00:43:58in the Ferrari
00:43:58followed by
00:43:59surprise second place man
00:44:01Takuma Sato
00:44:02in the BAR.
00:44:05Now Olivier Panis,
00:44:06we are expecting him
00:44:07to probably out-qualify
00:44:09his teammate.
00:44:09Notice all the dust
00:44:11in that corner
00:44:12where Alonzo went off.
00:44:16Yeah, we were saying
00:44:17that the quality
00:44:18of the track
00:44:18has picked up
00:44:19and changed out
00:44:19of all recognition
00:44:20and yet,
00:44:22as you were saying,
00:44:22David Hobbs,
00:44:23you only just need
00:44:24to clip the apex.
00:44:26About 12 inches wide
00:44:27and there's a great
00:44:28dust cloud.
00:44:29He doesn't even
00:44:29fall offline.
00:44:30Yeah.
00:44:30No.
00:44:30Toyota desperately
00:44:49needs some performance
00:44:50here in round three
00:44:51of the season.
00:44:52They have yet to run
00:44:53in a points-paying position
00:44:54in either of the first
00:44:56two races this year.
00:44:58That first sector
00:44:58is just about level
00:45:00taking with his teammate
00:45:01Cristiano de Mada.
00:45:04Back end of the car,
00:45:05the mechanical grip
00:45:07giving up on that
00:45:08chassis as well there.
00:45:09Just what we're
00:45:09talking about earlier
00:45:10on where the driver's
00:45:11very eager to get
00:45:13the power down quick.
00:45:16Again, even with
00:45:16that electronic assistance,
00:45:18the tyre's just
00:45:18breaking loose.
00:45:20And of course,
00:45:21the wide track
00:45:21always sucks you
00:45:22into being a bit
00:45:24over-exuberant.
00:45:25And they are
00:45:26running the chassis
00:45:26soft as well
00:45:27to try and improve
00:45:28mechanical grip.
00:45:29You saw it on that
00:45:29previous corner
00:45:30the FIA plank smoke
00:45:32again coming up
00:45:33and the car pitching
00:45:34over rolling
00:45:34quite a lot.
00:45:37As they've got
00:45:37those soft springs
00:45:38built into the rear
00:45:39suspension on that car
00:45:40but it ain't enough.
00:45:42That car is not working.
00:45:43No, I think he's
00:45:44going to be down
00:45:44in about seventh.
00:45:48Fifth provisionally
00:45:49bumping his teammate,
00:45:50Cristiano de Mada.
00:45:51Well, he picked up
00:45:54quite a bit
00:45:54on that last sector.
00:45:59So, with only
00:46:00four drivers
00:46:01still to come,
00:46:02Olivier Penis
00:46:02has assured himself
00:46:03of a top-ten start.
00:46:06That'll be
00:46:07encouragement for Toyota.
00:46:08Here comes the man,
00:46:09Michael Schumacher.
00:46:10trying to get his
00:46:2458th pole
00:46:26and there's 94
00:46:28front row
00:46:30locking up
00:46:30into turn one.
00:46:33It's turn two,
00:46:33it's a lot tighter
00:46:34when you look at it
00:46:35in on the aerial shots
00:46:37than it looks on the mat.
00:46:38That little flick to the
00:46:39left there after turn one.
00:46:41Michael Schumacher,
00:46:42the first man out
00:46:43on track today
00:46:44to break the 200 mile
00:46:46an hour figure
00:46:46through the speed track,
00:46:47200 miles an hour
00:46:50from the Ferrari engine
00:46:51F2004 Ferrari chassis.
00:46:54It's unusual for Michael
00:46:55as he's ahead
00:46:56at the first intermediate.
00:46:57He's been the fastest man
00:46:58in each of the segments
00:46:59at one point or another
00:47:01through the weekend,
00:47:02but he has not been able
00:47:03to string three solid
00:47:04segments together.
00:47:06You know,
00:47:06his engine,
00:47:07his engine,
00:47:07big lock up there.
00:47:09Working on the three
00:47:10different sections
00:47:11with downforce levels
00:47:12and springs, Bob,
00:47:13and as you say,
00:47:14he's been able to get
00:47:14each section sorted out
00:47:16that then comes
00:47:17the difficult part
00:47:18of the engineers
00:47:18compromising the setup
00:47:20to try and get
00:47:20the best of all three.
00:47:24Ferrari engines
00:47:25to six over 19 grand.
00:47:38Well, the thing is,
00:47:39can Juan Pablo Montoya
00:47:41and his brother,
00:47:42Ralph Schumacher,
00:47:43who was quickest
00:47:43in the second practice today,
00:47:45knock him off the pole,
00:47:47which he's obviously
00:47:47going to just take
00:47:48from his teammates.
00:47:53Provisional pull
00:47:53for Michael,
00:47:54but not into the
00:47:55one minute,
00:47:5629 second zone,
00:47:57and that's where
00:47:58the Williams team
00:47:59has been living
00:48:01thus far today,
00:48:02and they top
00:48:03the Ferraris.
00:48:04Kimi Raikkonen
00:48:05will be next
00:48:05in the McLaren.
00:48:07Welcome back.
00:48:08Michael Schumacher.
00:48:10Boy, oh boy,
00:48:11and he was still
00:48:11quickest.
00:48:12I mean,
00:48:12now he collected
00:48:13that up.
00:48:14Well, I mean,
00:48:14these little old hands
00:48:15were working hard
00:48:16on that one.
00:48:17What happened here?
00:48:17Kimi Raikkonen
00:48:18has aborted
00:48:19his qualifying run.
00:48:22Oh, Kimi Raikkonen
00:48:23was very quick
00:48:24this morning, too.
00:48:25Now that is,
00:48:25oh, boy,
00:48:28that McLaren
00:48:29troubles just continue.
00:48:32Now,
00:48:32well,
00:48:33he,
00:48:34he broke the engine
00:48:36Friday,
00:48:37so he was guaranteed
00:48:38no higher than
00:48:40a 10th place start.
00:48:42Even if he took
00:48:43provisional pole
00:48:44or took pole
00:48:45here today,
00:48:46he would have started
00:48:46no higher than 10.
00:48:48So I'm wondering
00:48:49if,
00:48:50well,
00:48:50if he doesn't set a time,
00:48:52he'll be right there
00:48:53at the back of the group
00:48:53regardless of that.
00:48:55Now they might be
00:48:55taking the decision
00:48:56if we're going to,
00:48:57we're going to change engine.
00:48:58Again, right.
00:48:59If they change that engine,
00:49:00and this has been
00:49:01a point of contention,
00:49:02Ferrari's Ross Braun
00:49:03was getting towards
00:49:04this the other day,
00:49:05you know,
00:49:06is it right
00:49:07that a team should be
00:49:08allowed to change engine
00:49:09deliberately
00:49:09if there's not a fault
00:49:10in the car
00:49:11and take the hit
00:49:12and start from the
00:49:13back of the grid?
00:49:13A tactical engine change.
00:49:15And do what he did
00:49:16in Australia last year,
00:49:17start from the pit lane
00:49:18with new tyres
00:49:19and whatever amount
00:49:20of fuel you want.
00:49:21Whatever amount of fuel
00:49:21you want,
00:49:22and, yeah,
00:49:23nearly one in the race.
00:49:24Yeah,
00:49:25there's a nice shot
00:49:25for the front wing on that.
00:49:28Nice,
00:49:28simple little wing,
00:49:29isn't it?
00:49:29Nothing complex
00:49:30about that at all.
00:49:31How many dollars worth
00:49:33of wind tunnel time
00:49:34led to the development
00:49:35of that wind?
00:49:36Well,
00:49:36this is an interesting shot.
00:49:37We don't often see this.
00:49:38This is the FIA's
00:49:40weigh bridge
00:49:40where all the legality
00:49:42checks on the car
00:49:43are taken from.
00:49:44And you'll see
00:49:44there are positions.
00:49:45There's the four
00:49:46weigh pads
00:49:46underneath the tyres
00:49:48and the black
00:49:49carbon panels
00:49:49underneath the car
00:49:50will have
00:49:52where all the measurements
00:49:53of the stepped floor
00:49:54chassis
00:49:54and the plank
00:49:56where the front wing
00:49:57is allowed to sit
00:49:59and the height
00:50:00and the width
00:50:01of the rear wing
00:50:01are all measured
00:50:02off that.
00:50:03Very interesting
00:50:04to see that.
00:50:04I don't know
00:50:04if I can get the camera
00:50:05in there,
00:50:05did I?
00:50:05Yeah.
00:50:06Yeah.
00:50:08The bridge of doom
00:50:09as it's known as
00:50:10on the other half
00:50:11one bit later.
00:50:11The what?
00:50:12The bridge of doom.
00:50:14Juan Pablo Montoya.
00:50:16The Nascar
00:50:17it's known as
00:50:18the room of doom.
00:50:19Ah.
00:50:22Here comes Montoya
00:50:24who says he likes
00:50:26this new track
00:50:26very, very much.
00:50:30The Williams team
00:50:31has had an odd
00:50:34development this weekend.
00:50:36Those of you who
00:50:37watched our
00:50:38Formula One decade episode
00:50:39reliving the weekend
00:50:41of 1994
00:50:42at San Marino
00:50:43in which Roland Rathenberger
00:50:44and Ayrton Senna
00:50:45were killed.
00:50:47There is an update.
00:50:49An Italian high court
00:50:51has thrown out
00:50:52the most recent annulment
00:50:53of the manslaughter charges
00:50:55originally filed
00:50:56against that man,
00:50:57the Williams technical director
00:50:58Patrick Edd,
00:51:00his co-owner,
00:51:01Sir Frank Williams,
00:51:02and Adrian Newey
00:51:03who was the
00:51:04chief technical officer
00:51:07for the team
00:51:08at the time.
00:51:08Of course,
00:51:09now he's at McLaren.
00:51:10They were charged
00:51:13with manslaughter
00:51:14in the death
00:51:14of Senna.
00:51:16And they were tried
00:51:17on several occasions
00:51:18over the last 10 years,
00:51:20acquitted on each occasion.
00:51:22But now,
00:51:23yet again,
00:51:24the Italian justice system
00:51:25has decided
00:51:26they're going to reopen
00:51:27the Senna trial.
00:51:30Wow, look at that.
00:51:34I don't know
00:51:34what your take is, Bob.
00:51:35I think this is just
00:51:37pure madness.
00:51:37Madness.
00:51:38This whole Senna thing
00:51:39and this trial
00:51:40for manslaughter
00:51:41is just let it lie.
00:51:43Let it rest.
00:51:46Well,
00:51:46JPM Montoya,
00:51:48Juan Pablo Montoya
00:51:49fastest through
00:51:50the speed trap
00:51:50of the day,
00:51:51201.1 miles an hour
00:51:54for the BMW V10.
00:51:56And a full tenth
00:51:57of a second
00:51:57quicker than
00:51:58Michael Schumacher
00:51:59in that first sector too.
00:52:00again,
00:52:06signs of that
00:52:07Williams chassis.
00:52:07He's been running
00:52:08soft right there.
00:52:09Did you see it pitch over?
00:52:10Uh-huh.
00:52:12More roll
00:52:12than you ever see
00:52:13in a Formula One car.
00:52:14Right.
00:52:14And it's looking,
00:52:15it looks a bit hard
00:52:15to drive.
00:52:16He's putting a lot
00:52:17of effort into it.
00:52:19Well, if there's one guy
00:52:20who can drive it,
00:52:20this guy can.
00:52:22Incredible reflexes.
00:52:24How fast?
00:52:32Oh, he lost
00:52:33all sorts of time.
00:52:35In that last sector.
00:52:36Why did it look twitchy?
00:52:37He was,
00:52:37wow.
00:52:38He was slow
00:52:38through that corner
00:52:39onto that straight
00:52:40just as we were
00:52:41looking at the time.
00:52:44His wife, Connie.
00:52:47Looking a bit perplexed.
00:52:48Yeah.
00:52:50That was unexpected.
00:52:51I think he got
00:52:52onto that last straight
00:52:53slow.
00:52:54And it got him.
00:52:56And it looked twitchy
00:52:56at the end of the straight
00:52:57when he braked
00:52:57for the last corner.
00:52:59So here's the last man
00:53:00with a shot
00:53:01at Michael Schumacher.
00:53:02His brother,
00:53:03Ralph,
00:53:03in the Williams.
00:53:06Ferrari team looks on.
00:53:08We're hearing
00:53:08that McLaren's
00:53:11decision to pull
00:53:12Kimi in
00:53:13was deliberate.
00:53:14There was no
00:53:15apparent technical
00:53:16reason
00:53:17to abort that lap.
00:53:19Kimi's decision
00:53:19was a deliberate one
00:53:21to come in
00:53:21and not take part
00:53:23in the second qualifier.
00:53:24session post-of-time.
00:53:26Ralph Schumacher
00:53:27picked his team-mate
00:53:28Juan Pablo Montoya
00:53:29this morning.
00:53:30Can he do it again
00:53:31this afternoon
00:53:31with race fuel
00:53:32on board?
00:53:33Ralph Schumacher
00:53:40just one click,
00:53:42one kilometer
00:53:42an hour slower
00:53:43through the speed track
00:53:44than Juan Pablo Montoya
00:53:45which could be indicative
00:53:46of just a tad more fuel
00:53:49on board.
00:53:49exactly the same time there.
00:53:51up on Michael Schumacher
00:53:53and his brother
00:53:53as Juan Pablo Montoya.
00:53:55at 0.118.
00:53:56the same to the 1,000th of a second
00:54:00as Montoya.
00:54:04That's where his brother
00:54:05Michael had problems.
00:54:06At the moment
00:54:07we've got a Ferrari
00:54:08lockout on the front row.
00:54:09Schumacher
00:54:09with the Barrichello.
00:54:12Ralph just adjusting
00:54:12the diff pressures
00:54:13for this corner
00:54:14on the steering wheel.
00:54:16At 29.3
00:54:17in the first sector
00:54:18it was the quickest
00:54:19of the session.
00:54:22This is the end
00:54:23of the second.
00:54:24Wow,
00:54:25lots of bit of time
00:54:25to do there.
00:54:26I tell you,
00:54:27there's not much
00:54:27elevation change
00:54:28around here
00:54:28but you can certainly
00:54:29hear the engine note
00:54:30change on that
00:54:30little upward section
00:54:31there, can't you?
00:54:32Once the cars
00:54:33push down
00:54:34onto the Packers.
00:54:35I suppose
00:54:36I should have said
00:54:37that the track
00:54:38does ungulate
00:54:39somewhat.
00:54:41Under the front stretch.
00:54:43Good bit of road
00:54:43left at the edge
00:54:44of the exit there.
00:54:45Does he have it?
00:54:46No,
00:54:47worse than Montoya.
00:54:48Wow,
00:54:49where are they losing
00:54:50the time?
00:54:50All in that third sector.
00:54:52Wow.
00:54:53In his case
00:54:54the second and third.
00:54:55Yeah.
00:54:56Schumacher's time,
00:54:57Michael Schumacher's time
00:54:58I should say
00:54:5821.9
00:55:00in sector 3
00:55:01Barrichello
00:55:0122.2
00:55:02Wow.
00:55:03On a weekend
00:55:05when they appeared
00:55:06least likely
00:55:07to continue
00:55:07their streak
00:55:08of front row
00:55:09lockouts
00:55:10in qualifying
00:55:10this year
00:55:11once again
00:55:12Schumacher
00:55:13and Barrichello
00:55:14will have Ferrari
00:55:15on the front row
00:55:16over the Williams
00:55:16teammates
00:55:17Montoya
00:55:18and Ralph Schumacher
00:55:20and behind them
00:55:21Takuma Sato
00:55:22has his best
00:55:23ever qualified
00:55:23position
00:55:24in fifth.
00:55:25His previous best
00:55:26was seventh.
00:55:28There's Willie Weber
00:55:28Michael Schumacher's
00:55:30manager
00:55:31his brother Ralph
00:55:32as well.
00:55:32I did brother Ralph
00:55:33making a lot of waves
00:55:34at the moment
00:55:35making some odd statements
00:55:37about what he's going to do
00:55:38with Ralph Schumacher
00:55:38Michael Schumacher
00:55:39looking extremely happy there
00:55:41but that's one thing
00:55:42I like about Michael
00:55:42always have
00:55:43he just really looks
00:55:45happy all the time
00:55:46when he does well
00:55:47and he goes to
00:55:48every member of the crew
00:55:49to thank them
00:55:50well
00:55:53the more things change
00:55:55the more they remain
00:55:56the same
00:55:56look at all those
00:55:59Michelin tired cars
00:56:00lined up
00:56:01behind the two
00:56:02Bridgestone
00:56:02shot Ferraris
00:56:03the times are fairly close
00:56:06across those first
00:56:07two rows
00:56:08we'll be back in a moment
00:56:10with more from Bahrain
00:56:11welcome back
00:56:15good seats
00:56:16huh
00:56:16quite a place
00:56:19Bahrain
00:56:19an island nation
00:56:21actually an archipelago
00:56:22but the country itself
00:56:23the main island
00:56:24on which
00:56:26the town of Sakhir
00:56:27and this beautiful circuit
00:56:28rest
00:56:29is only about
00:56:3010 miles by 30
00:56:31in the Persian Gulf
00:56:33surrounded by water
00:56:36and not far away
00:56:37the nations of Qatar
00:56:38and Saudi Arabia
00:56:39right now
00:56:41we await
00:56:43our Peter Windsor
00:56:45in the interview room
00:56:46with pole sitter
00:56:47Michael Schumacher
00:56:48Rubens Botticello
00:56:49and Juan Pablo Montoya
00:56:52your friend Nigel Stepney
00:56:53already on the phone
00:56:54now I notice
00:56:54yes
00:56:55and Max Flukage
00:56:56there
00:56:57both former colleagues
00:56:58of mine from
00:56:58Benetton days
00:56:59Max Flukage
00:57:00now the chief mechanic
00:57:01with BMW
00:57:02on the engine side
00:57:03and Nigel Stepney
00:57:04now race team manager
00:57:05with Ferrari
00:57:06Willie Webber once again
00:57:08the guy
00:57:08I just don't know
00:57:10what he's thinking
00:57:11this whole Ralph Schumacher
00:57:12negotiation
00:57:14with the Williams team
00:57:15interesting to see there Bob
00:57:17on the left rear
00:57:18of that car
00:57:19of the BMW
00:57:20Williams there
00:57:21they put brake
00:57:22cooling fans on there
00:57:23battery powered
00:57:24while the car's in park
00:57:25for May
00:57:26to try and dissipate
00:57:27the heat off the car
00:57:28we'll have a look
00:57:29let's see if we can get
00:57:29another shot of that
00:57:31it's something we don't
00:57:32see very often
00:57:33well we'll have a look
00:57:34later
00:57:34Golf Air Bahrain Grand Prix
00:57:35a warm welcome
00:57:36to our fastest
00:57:37three qualifiers
00:57:37third quickest
00:57:38for BMW Williams
00:57:39one Pablo Montoya
00:57:40on the front row
00:57:42for Scania de Ferrari
00:57:43Marlborough
00:57:43Rubens Barrichello
00:57:44and on the pole
00:57:45yet again
00:57:46Michael Schumacher
00:57:47Michael congratulations
00:57:48it looks as if
00:57:49it's been a reasonably
00:57:50hard two days work
00:57:52so far
00:57:52Ross Braun was saying
00:57:53yesterday that perhaps
00:57:54the circuit characteristics
00:57:55here don't favour
00:57:56your car particularly well
00:57:57well possibly
00:58:00but all it matters
00:58:02is that we are
00:58:04where we are
00:58:04and we finally
00:58:06got everything together
00:58:06although I wouldn't say
00:58:09that was one of my best
00:58:10lap
00:58:10honestly
00:58:11but nevertheless
00:58:12it was enough
00:58:13are you talking about
00:58:16your own performance
00:58:16there
00:58:17or are you saying
00:58:17you could have got
00:58:17more from the car
00:58:18given more time
00:58:19with set up
00:58:19and so forth
00:58:20no I think we all
00:58:21sort of struggled
00:58:22in some way
00:58:23to get the perfect
00:58:24lap in
00:58:25all of us
00:58:26somewhere
00:58:27somehow
00:58:27lost some time
00:58:28I guess
00:58:29because it is
00:58:30very tricky
00:58:30to get everything
00:58:32out of the circuit
00:58:33as the circuit
00:58:33is very demanding
00:58:34are we talking about
00:58:36it being very dirty
00:58:37offline for example
00:58:38it's not about that
00:58:40I mean
00:58:40I don't think
00:58:41too many of us
00:58:42went offline
00:58:43it's just that
00:58:44it is very tricky
00:58:44even online
00:58:45because it is
00:58:46technically
00:58:48a difficult circuit
00:58:49Rubens
00:58:51Michael seemed to be
00:58:51a little bit quicker
00:58:52on sector 3
00:58:53certainly on the times
00:58:54how was it
00:58:54from your point of view
00:58:55I had a reasonable
00:58:57lap
00:58:58I didn't have
00:58:58a very quick one
00:58:59you know
00:59:00I had a little bit
00:59:01of a problem
00:59:02with the brakes
00:59:02on the first session
00:59:03so I didn't expect
00:59:05to be that different
00:59:08and the brakes
00:59:09were a lot different
00:59:10a lot better
00:59:10so in many ways
00:59:12I was a little bit
00:59:13too conservative
00:59:14on it
00:59:14and the last corner
00:59:17it was pretty much
00:59:18where I lost
00:59:19I mean
00:59:19Michael had a phenomenal
00:59:20sector 3
00:59:22where I was a little bit
00:59:24too conservative
00:59:24and basically
00:59:26that's where
00:59:27I lost the time
00:59:28well Pablo
00:59:30how's qualifying
00:59:30been for you
00:59:31it was good
00:59:32the first two sectors
00:59:33you know
00:59:33I think the lap
00:59:34itself was very good
00:59:35until I got
00:59:36to the last corner
00:59:36I just thought
00:59:38you know
00:59:39I had too much
00:59:40on this year
00:59:40when I went in
00:59:41and had to wait
00:59:42for the throttle
00:59:42and all the time
00:59:43was lost
00:59:44you know
00:59:44you look at
00:59:44with Ralph
00:59:4522-1
00:59:45and I did
00:59:46I lost four times
00:59:47to Ralph
00:59:47in the last sector
00:59:48now gladly
00:59:49I made enough time
00:59:50in the first two sectors
00:59:51at least to be third
00:59:52Michael
00:59:54here we are
00:59:55in Bahrain
00:59:55for the first time
00:59:56there's been talk
00:59:57about problems
00:59:58with sand perhaps
00:59:59or the heat
01:00:00just give us your take
01:00:01on the weekend so far
01:00:02and the circuit
01:00:03and the conditions here
01:00:03I think they're very good
01:00:05we have found
01:00:06a very well prepared circuit
01:00:09for the conditions
01:00:10and the situation
01:00:11here
01:00:12if you imagine
01:00:13the time they had available
01:00:14and how much time
01:00:15they built the circuit
01:00:16everybody
01:00:18I have heard so far
01:00:19is very happy
01:00:20of coming here
01:00:21the circuit is difficult
01:00:22it's technically demanding
01:00:24but that's what we're
01:00:24looking for
01:00:25I mean we don't look
01:00:26for easy business
01:00:27and I hope we're going
01:00:29to be able to have
01:00:30a good show
01:00:30for all the spectators
01:00:32obviously it's a new country
01:00:33where we deliver
01:00:35Formula 1
01:00:35and it will be good
01:00:37to show something
01:00:38to those people
01:00:39thank you
01:00:40now if we could have
01:00:41some words from you
01:00:42in your own language
01:00:42while Michael Schumacher
01:00:44shifts into German
01:00:45for his home viewers
01:00:47the new lap record
01:00:48has been set at Bahrain
01:00:49130.139
01:00:51back to the Bahrain
01:00:52international circuit
01:00:53Bob Varsha
01:00:54David Hobbs
01:00:55and Steve Matchett
01:00:56with you
01:00:56qualifying is now complete
01:00:58let's watch
01:00:59the pole lap
01:01:00authored by
01:01:01Michael Schumacher
01:01:02fastest car in a straight line
01:01:09at that point
01:01:10is that correct Steve
01:01:11it was yeah
01:01:12just got
01:01:12ticked off
01:01:13the fastest speed track
01:01:15timed by the BMW engine
01:01:16but nevertheless
01:01:17very quick
01:01:20straight line speed
01:01:21off this car
01:01:21there's an indication
01:01:22of how wide the track is
01:01:24look
01:01:24I mean these guys
01:01:24have just got
01:01:25no reason to complain
01:01:27whatsoever
01:01:28they can't find
01:01:28somewhere on that
01:01:29width of track
01:01:31to put a line down
01:01:31he was quick
01:01:35through all sectors
01:01:36there's no doubt
01:01:36about that
01:01:37but what really did it
01:01:39for Michael Schumacher
01:01:41certainly against
01:01:42Juan Pablo Montoya
01:01:43was in this sector 3
01:01:44further around the lap
01:01:45he was 0.6 quicker
01:01:46but he also had this
01:01:49huge moment
01:01:50right there
01:01:50locked up big time
01:01:52and just swiveling around
01:01:53at the wheel there
01:01:54he was scrabbling
01:01:55when we saw a replay
01:01:56of that early on
01:01:57I mean the car
01:01:58was absolutely
01:01:59on the point
01:02:00of going around
01:02:01but he was quick
01:02:04and he still was quickest
01:02:05in that whole sector
01:02:06and like he said
01:02:09in the interview
01:02:09there it wasn't
01:02:10his best lap
01:02:11but a beautiful exit
01:02:17off that last
01:02:17well second to last
01:02:19corner
01:02:20which is very important
01:02:20it leads this long
01:02:21straight
01:02:22down to last corner
01:02:23Juan Pablo Montoya
01:02:24said he had a lot
01:02:25of understeer here
01:02:26and it slowed him up
01:02:26Michael Schumacher
01:02:28just judged it
01:02:28to a nice take
01:02:29you know 4 or 5 inches
01:02:30over the white line
01:02:31and had a great lap
01:02:33fastest in every sector
01:02:35and there it was
01:02:38withstanding
01:02:39the best efforts
01:02:40of the Williams team
01:02:41we'll take a break
01:02:43and return with more
01:02:44from Bahrain
01:02:45in just a moment
01:02:47stay with us
01:02:47qualifying is now
01:02:48complete for Sunday's
01:02:50first Bahrain Grand Prix
01:02:52and now
01:02:53the moment we know
01:02:54you Speed Channel
01:02:55viewers all wait for
01:02:56when the announcers
01:02:58fall silent
01:02:59for the sounds of speed
01:03:00and now
01:03:08come back
01:03:08now
01:03:09and now
01:03:09we're here
01:03:10and now
01:03:10we'll watch
01:03:11you
01:03:12as we go
01:03:13as we go
01:06:17Remember to join us tomorrow at 7 a.m. Eastern Time.
01:06:20And don't forget tonight, before you go to bed, to reset your clocks one hour ahead.
01:06:25Live coverage of the Grand Prix of Bahrain begins with the Acura pre-race show.
01:06:28Peter Windsor will bring us all the latest from the paddock.
01:06:31Eight of the last nine Grand Prix have been won from pole by five different drivers.
01:06:36So just because Michael Schumacher is up there doesn't mean he'll be on the top step of the podium.
01:06:42Until tomorrow, for David Hobbs and Steve Matchett, I'm Bob Barsha.
01:06:46We'll see you tomorrow for the first Grand Prix of Bahrain.
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