- 27 minutes ago
The 2nd Friday Practice Session for Round 4 of the 2005 F1 season at Imola.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:23After three races in as many far-flung corners of the world,
00:26the Formula One World Driving Championship has returned to its European roots, to Italy.
00:32The cars are now on track for the start of the second session of practice
00:35for round four of the World Championship, the San Marino Grand Prix.
00:39Hi, everybody. I'm Bob Varsha.
00:41I apologize for my springtime cold alongside David Hobbs, who has one of his own,
00:45and Steve Matchett.
00:46There's already been one free practice session earlier today.
00:49As always, let's take a look at what transpired.
00:53We started off with a little comic relief.
00:56Giuseppe with the flag says, no, the light, she is red.
00:58You cannot go. Ah, now the light, she is green.
01:00So off you go.
01:01Take advantage of that green flag.
01:03Pedro De La Rosa, who's one of the drivers standing in for one Pablo Montoya at McLaren,
01:06stood in three weeks ago at Bahrain, set the fastest up of the race.
01:10And true to form, early on in the morning session, set the fastest lap at Imala as well.
01:16Imala is, of course, Ferrari turf.
01:18And here is Michael Schumacher out in the F2005, trying to put in a quick lap.
01:23A little bit out of shape at the Variante Basse, but nevertheless, crossing the line,
01:27P1, half a second above the competition at that point in the session.
01:30Let's have another little look at that bubble.
01:32Definitely out of shape there, wouldn't he?
01:34Yeah, he's been trying hard with those breaking zones.
01:36This is his teammate, Rubens Barrichello, down at Tamburello, getting it all out of shape.
01:42On board with Barrichello going through that gravel trap.
01:46Mechanics' nightmare, as you say, David, because of the gravel.
01:49Absolutely everywhere.
01:50But at the end of the session, Pedro De La Rosa again in the McLaren went out
01:53and set what was to remain the fastest time of the morning session at a 1.21.
01:59And a little bit of change.
02:00And thereby calling into question the decision to have De La Rosa stand down
02:05and become the Friday driver this weekend in favor of Alexander Wurtz of Austria.
02:11So Wurtz will drive a Grand Prix in anger for the first time in four seasons.
02:16As you see, he was ninth in this morning's first practice.
02:19You will note also that the top three men in the Drivers' Championship,
02:23Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Cisichella of Renault and Jarno Trulli of Toyota,
02:28posted no time whatsoever.
02:31Now, did a quick installation lap or two, and that was that.
02:34Now we're watching Christian Kling going through the Variante Alta, the top chicane.
02:38And Christian Kling's another guy that's happy to stand down this weekend.
02:41Liuzzi is going to take his place for the next three races.
02:44It seems a shame to me.
02:45Christian Kling, I thought, did a very good job in both Melbourne and Malaysia.
02:49Qualified very well in Bahrain three weeks ago.
02:52And, of course, the jolly thing wouldn't start on the grid.
02:56But anyway, he's standing down, so he's just a Friday driver now.
02:59They've changed the rules slightly to allow him to become a Friday driver.
03:02Normally, a driver with his experience can't be a Friday driver,
03:05but they've changed something, which you know, doubt, no doubt, Bob.
03:09That's right.
03:09Sixth Grand Prix in the last two seasons would have disqualified him from eligibility to be a Friday driver.
03:15But now any driver with an FIA super license can drive on Friday,
03:19which may add to the coffers of some of the teams as a pay driver comes in to have his
03:2415 minutes of fame on Friday.
03:26And Christian Kling was, in fact, the quickest of the Red Bull cars this morning by quite a long way.
03:32But a huge sigh of relief from all the teams having gone to those first three races, far-flung international
03:38races.
03:39It's such a relief for everybody in the sport to be back, really, on home turf, really, as far as
03:44Formula One is concerned, back in mainland Europe.
03:47The teams have immediately gone out testing, of course, after the last race.
03:50Been a lot of work down in Ricard, in the south of France, and Mugello and Fiorano for Ferrari.
03:56A lot of new aerodynamic components onto the cars for this race.
03:59And there's just a great sense of relief.
04:01You could tell up and down the paddock talking to the engineers.
04:03They're so pleased to be back at San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.
04:07Not least of which because of the change in the weather.
04:09Recall, even in Australia, it was quite hot, over 100 degrees in both Malaysia and Bahrain.
04:14Today in Imola, Italy, a nice, toasty 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
04:20As you can see, a very nice spring day in Italy.
04:22Lovely blue sky, all the trees and shrubs and flowers coming out, looking very nice.
04:27It is a very attractive part of the world, and this is a great time of year to be there.
04:30Although they have had quite a bit of rain when the scene opened this morning.
04:33The track was still a bit damp for some overnight rain, but it certainly doesn't like rain at the moment.
04:38Now, when we were watching the first practice session, the track was still damp.
04:42They had a torrential downpour last night.
04:45The pits were flooded, but it does drain very quickly.
04:49And as soon as the sun came out today, you can see the track is now in fine shape.
04:53Green, of course, by which you mean very little to no rubber has been laid down.
04:58And, of course, these hard compound tyres that the sport's mandated for this year,
05:02there'll be a lot less rubber laid down than there used to be.
05:05This is Rubens Barrichello in the Ferrari, but as you see, the fast fan of the session thus far
05:10is Kimi Raikkonen, and he still has his foot in that McLaren Mercedes,
05:14setting fast time of the session in the first sector.
05:17Ferrari had problems on Barrichello's car this morning with some sort of transmission problems
05:23towards the end of the first session.
05:25Barrichello just locked up the transmission.
05:27He came in very slowly from the Varian Tabasa on the pit lane speed limiter button.
05:33We saw the fuel filler safety catch lift up as he operated the pit limiter button
05:38way out of the pit lane, which was indicative of problems with the transmission.
05:43But the car's on track again, as we can see.
05:45That's good news for Ferrari.
05:47Of course, the factory's only a stone's throw away from this track.
05:50So, unlike problems at Bahrain, where they had to fly those transmissions in
05:54for six or eight hours in clear customs,
05:56here it's just a matter of putting them in the van
05:57and batting down the autostrada for an hour.
06:00Raikkonen has shaved seven-tenths off his session best time,
06:03now down to a 1.22.2.
06:06Kayla Rosa did a 1.21.06.0 in this morning's first practice session.
06:11And Rubens Barrichello already seven-tenths off in that first sector.
06:15So, Ferrari on their home ground, obviously wanted to do well.
06:18Swooping down now to Aquaminerari, this double right-hander.
06:21Got to get the exit here right.
06:23There's a long uphill slog out of here.
06:25Quite a steep uphill along the top to the old Variante Alta,
06:30or the high chicane.
06:32These are some new shots we're seeing this year.
06:33A lot of new camera angles.
06:35We haven't seen these before.
06:36We haven't seen this shot before.
06:38And down to Rivarza.
06:40We have a whole new aspect of how it looks.
06:44Rivarza, another important corner.
06:46A real double apex left-hander.
06:50Rivarza in the background.
06:52Right about there is where Rubens Barrichello went off in 1984.
06:56The year of so much tragedy here at Imola
06:58when Ayrton Senna and Ratzenberger were both killed in that weekend.
07:01And Rubens Barrichello had a huge crash on that run down to the pit inn.
07:10Leading to this chicane at Tamburello.
07:15That chicane at Tamburello.
07:16And of course, this one coming up here, the villain of the chicane,
07:19which was put in to stop the run from Tamburello down to Tosa Hairpin,
07:24which he's about to go into now.
07:25That's where Ratzenberger was killed.
07:28We may get a glimpse of the monument that now stands behind the concrete wall
07:32outside the Tamburello corner in the memory of Ayrton Senna,
07:36the three-time world champion from Brazil.
07:39There are the top men of the session thus far.
07:41We'll be back.
07:43Speed Channel's coverage of the FIA Formula One World Championship
07:46is brought to you by the new high-endurance oils from Mobil,
07:50the oil that's changing oil.
07:55Welcome back to Friday practice for round four of the 2005 Formula One season,
08:00the Grand Prix of San Marino.
08:01I'm Bob Barsha with Steve Machen and David Hobbs.
08:04Jensen Button has now supplanted Kimi Räikkönen atop the time charts
08:07with a lap at 121.052, fastest for the weekend thus far.
08:13And we know that Jensen Button likes it here
08:15because, of course, he was on the pole here last year at a 119.7,
08:19138 miles an hour, making his run in the fastest circuits.
08:22Officially the only lap under 80 seconds ever recorded at this track.
08:27On the climb up now to Piratella, a little right-hand sweep here.
08:32There's the team looking on.
08:34There is Nick Fry.
08:37Jensen Button has a new pit boss this weekend,
08:40former Champ Car champion and Indy 500 winner Zilda Ferrin
08:43assumes his duties as Sporting Director for BAR this weekend.
08:47I think he's going to find that a very strange job
08:52compared to what he's been doing.
08:54While Jensen continues on his way,
08:56let's take a look at our Porsche track map
08:58of the Ferrari circuit with David Hobbs.
09:00Well, it's certainly a very tricky little track.
09:03There's quite a bit of elevation change.
09:04It used to be a real flat-out line,
09:06but they've put in a lot of extra corners now,
09:08Tamburello, Villeneuve.
09:10Aquaminorale has always been that very downhill-tight right-hander.
09:12There used to be a chicane there as well.
09:14So from the start of this line through Tamburello,
09:16chicane, stays level all the way to Toza.
09:19Then it's uphill to Piratella.
09:20Lovely swoop downhill from Piratella to Aquaminorale.
09:23Then up again to the Variante Alta.
09:25Nice little chicane downhill to Rivazza,
09:27and then flat along the bottom there.
09:29You've got to use the kerbs here a lot.
09:31All those Variantes, you've got to leap over the kerbs.
09:34It just feels horrible to the driver.
09:35It's the only way to go quick.
09:37So it's got to get the suspension really right here,
09:39and it's very tough on brakes.
09:42Oh, a Renault at last.
09:44Nice, Fisi Keller takes you the track in the 2005 R25 Renault.
09:50Yeah, I only did an installation like this morning.
09:53I think they were very keen on not getting any bad data on their books
09:58because of that first session with the track being very green.
10:02After last night's rain.
10:03Of course, it's early in the season in Europe too,
10:05so a lot of these tracks haven't had any other races on yet.
10:08And of course, when the engine's going to last two weekends,
10:12you've also got to take that into account
10:13and really try and keep practice down to a minimum in any way.
10:18New aero treatment, particularly on the nose for the Renaults this weekend.
10:22If there was ever a temptation not to mess with a race car,
10:25don't fix something that isn't broken,
10:27I believe it would be the Renaults.
10:30But there is a new spec engine in the back of Fisi Keller's car.
10:35And here is the Italian working hard.
10:38Thanks, Wigny.
10:39Just a bit more front wing.
10:42Something from understeer there,
10:44so that new front wing will probably go under revision.
10:46You know, I wonder if that was such a bright move.
10:49Well, it's practice,
10:50and that's what practice sessions should be used for,
10:52for pushing the car as much as possible
10:54without damaging it, of course.
10:56Here's Riccardo Zonta in the Toyotas.
10:58The driver looks on the practice session
11:00as I also practice for the mechanics
11:01to see how good they are at rebuilding it
11:03after he's broken it.
11:05These guys have a spring in their step
11:07as they return to Europe.
11:10Second in the Constructors' Championship.
11:12Yarno Trulli, who became a father about a week ago.
11:15He and his wife Barbara
11:16welcomed little Enzo Trulli into the world.
11:19And they insist he is named for
11:22Yarno Trulli's grandfather, Enzo,
11:24and not the late Ferrari patriarch.
11:27I mean, he's not trying to get a drive with Ferrari.
11:30Trying to get some brownie points.
11:31Which is exactly what I'm not sure I believe in,
11:33but there it is.
11:35These are all new camera shots that we're looking at.
11:37We haven't seen any of these shots before.
11:38That's a great view under the bridge there
11:40as they go down to Rivazza.
11:42You know, to be honest, I prefer the old one.
11:44Looking at him coming at you.
11:46I do, yeah.
11:50Congratulations also, excuse me, David,
11:51to Juan Pablo Montoya and his wife Connie,
11:53who also gave birth to their first child together,
11:59Sebastian Montoya.
11:59The only trouble is that Juan Pablo himself
12:01can't hold the baby at the moment
12:02because he's got a broken shoulder.
12:03So he can't hold it with his left arm anyway.
12:08That's the new chicago, a new-ish,
12:10down at Cambarella.
12:12And here's the car that's on to the Toyota test driver
12:15who always does a good job.
12:17Wow, look at the...
12:19The damage to the paintwork or rubber clag, as you could call it, David,
12:23collecting underneath the side pods already.
12:25And that Toyota would have been in pristine condition about two hours ago.
12:30I can only assume he missed about a trip through the gravel trap and that is gravel damage.
12:34Yarno Trulli's been saying all week this would not be a good track for the Toyota because the drivers have
12:40to use the curbs as much as they do.
12:43And they didn't have a happy time here last year using the curbs.
12:47But, you know, with the whole new car and the whole new thought in the team and the way the
12:50car's been going so far this year,
12:53I would have thought that it probably wouldn't have been as bad over the curbs as before.
12:55Well, one possible reason for that is that Gascoigne is by profession an aerodynamicist.
13:02He's not a mechanical engineer.
13:03And the fast sweeping circuits we've been to in the past, such as Bahrain and such as Malaysia,
13:09really lend the car towards working well aerodynamically on these wide sweeping corners.
13:13Here, just as you guys have been saying, banging across these curbs as much as possible.
13:18It's really, it plays into the mechanical engineering department,
13:21getting the compliance of the suspension to work.
13:23And aerodynamics plays second fiddle to that.
13:26So that may be one reason.
13:28A lot of steering input there, yeah.
13:31Mike Gascoigne, technical director for the Toyota team.
13:37Now we're bound to see some other on-board shots.
13:40It'll be interesting to see the reactions from those guys.
13:43Gascoigne even said last week,
13:44you can't see why Toyota can't challenge for the World Championship this year.
13:49We'll be back.
14:00This is when you've got to push.
14:04Come on, push!
14:17Welcome back to Imola, Italy.
14:19This is Rubens Baracchello in the Ferrari
14:21in the second of two free practice sessions
14:23on the opening day of San Marino Grand Prix weekend.
14:27Officially, the track is known as the Autogromo Enzo y Dino Ferrari.
14:32It was built back in the 1950s.
14:34And the locals decided they would name the track for Dino Ferrari,
14:38Enzo Ferrari's son,
14:40in the hopes that Ferrari would patronize the track.
14:43And of course, they eventually did.
14:44This place is now one of the great home bases for the Tufosi,
14:49the die-hard Ferrari fans.
14:52And when the old man passed away in 1988,
14:54they added Enzo Ferrari's name.
14:57Once a road circuit, a true road circuit,
14:59in the sense these were all public roads.
15:02In the 60s, those roads were closed off
15:05to make it a permanent racing circuit.
15:06And it used to be extremely fast.
15:08It was pretty much of a flat-out blind.
15:10Other than this corner here,
15:12we're just coming up to Pirotello down to Akraminerale.
15:14I mean, there were some very, very fast runs here.
15:17All the way from the last corner,
15:19Rivazza,
15:21all the way round to Tufosi,
15:22was a flat-out blind.
15:23So it was like a huge half-oval.
15:25And of course, as you said, it's public streets.
15:27And when you see some of these high shots,
15:29you can see all these houses,
15:30which are just off the track.
15:32So it must be fantastic up there on the old balcony,
15:34watching the race on Sunday afternoon.
15:43A quick glimpse of a couple of the houses there.
15:47Now, it used to be,
15:48you go around this next left-hand apex,
15:51and then it was a flat-out blind,
15:52all the way from here,
15:54right back to Tufosi,
15:55right past the start-finish line,
15:56round Tamburello.
16:02Track has changed a couple of times over the years.
16:05Of course, most recently in 1994,
16:07on that tragic weekend,
16:08that not only saw the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger of Austria,
16:11and Ayrton Senna of Brazil,
16:14there were several other accidents that weekend.
16:16David mentioned that Rubens Barichello had one,
16:19driving for Jordan.
16:20They had a tremendous accident at the start of the race,
16:22when Pedro Lamy and a Lotus ran into the back of J.J. Leto's Benetton.
16:26And during the race,
16:27the late Michele Alvareto mowed down a couple of mechanics,
16:30fortunately without serious injury,
16:32in the pit lane.
16:33So it was just a black weekend from beginning to end.
16:39Yeah.
16:40It's still a great track,
16:42I have to say,
16:42you know,
16:43back then after 94,
16:45I really had no desire whatsoever to revisit this track,
16:48but seeing the pictures of it now,
16:50seeing the cars on it,
16:51it's a wonderful,
16:52it is a wonderful track,
16:53I have to say,
16:54I love it.
17:00This is the Villeneuve chicane.
17:04Big weekend for this team,
17:06and for their tire supplier,
17:07Bridgestone.
17:08Three weeks ago,
17:09in the Bahrain Grand Prix,
17:10Bridgestone scored no points.
17:12The first time that had happened
17:14since the 1997 European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring,
17:17a run of 119 consecutive races.
17:21Well,
17:22certainly Ferrari looking a bit better today.
17:24We'll just stay on board here
17:25as we whistle through Aquaman and I.
17:37And the Ferrari certainly doing better this weekend
17:40than they've been doing,
17:41at least Barrichello and Michael Schumacher
17:43are sort of hovering around the top five or six,
17:46whereas Melbourne and Malaysia,
17:48well,
17:48it's absolutely grotesque,
17:50and of course Bahrain,
17:51Michael Schumacher qualified second,
17:53but only lasted 12 laps.
17:54His first retirement since
17:55the German Grand Prix at 2001.
17:59That's right.
18:01Jensen Button remains the fast man of the session,
18:04but Rubens Barrichello is P2,
18:06not with that lap,
18:072.3 seconds off.
18:09Giancarlo Fisichella is now up to third in the Renault.
18:12We'll be back in a moment to Wimala.
18:18Speed Channel's coverage of the FIA Formula One World Championship
18:22is brought to you by the new high-endurance oils from Mobil.
18:25The oil that's changing oil,
18:27and by Michelin,
18:28a better way forward.
18:34Welcome back on board,
18:36the Red Bull Cosworth of Vitantonio Luzzi,
18:39who will race in front of his home fans
18:41as he begins his Formula One career this weekend
18:43in the San Marino Grand Prix.
18:47something, of course,
18:48which he absolutely just can't wait for
18:50to race in a Grand Prix car
18:52in front of his Italian home crowd.
19:06This thing is just dancing over the paddle shifts
19:09on the back of the steering wheel.
19:12I'll play on a keyboard.
19:23The top of that bodywork was very angular,
19:25wasn't it,
19:25in that view?
19:26It is very angular, yeah,
19:28and they've all followed that trend as well.
19:30I think the regulations fade to that a little bit,
19:32but the aerodynamicists have certainly
19:35all copied that trend.
19:36Because before,
19:37probably five or six years ago,
19:38it used to be much rounder
19:40bodywork on the top,
19:41but yeah,
19:42the radius of the corners is a lot bigger.
19:47So he picks up a couple of spots
19:49he was 18th before.
19:50Speaking of Red Bull,
19:52this weekend,
19:52the new GP2 series will debut
19:54at this racetrack,
19:56and if you think Formula One qualifying
19:57with its aggregate
19:58over two days of sessions is difficult,
20:00listen to this.
20:01The GP2 guys get a 30-minute practice
20:04followed by a 30-minute qualifying session,
20:06then a 110-mile long-distance race on Saturday
20:09and a 50-mile sprint race Sunday morning.
20:12The grid for the sprint race
20:13is determined from the results
20:14of the long-distance race
20:15with the top eight positions reversed.
20:17Okay, then.
20:19If you're scoring at home,
20:21forget about it.
20:23But good luck to Scott Speed this weekend
20:26as he tries to make his way
20:28to Formula One as an American driver.
20:31Well, talk about making it into Formula One,
20:33this track always has very fond memories for me
20:35because this was my debut
20:37back in 1990 as a Bannerton mechanic,
20:40my first race,
20:41and I tell you,
20:42talk about being thrown at the deep end,
20:44you know,
20:45such mixed feelings of excitement
20:47and anticipation,
20:47a little bit of trepidation,
20:49and I think of a fairly controlled
20:52and calm guy,
20:52and I understand how the cars were put together
20:54and how the team worked,
20:56but I tell you,
20:56as soon as that light turns green,
20:58it just appears to be pandemonium
21:00in the garage.
21:01It's all a very carefully controlled,
21:03orchestrated panic in a way,
21:05but to try and fathom out
21:06what everybody was doing,
21:07and of course,
21:08back then,
21:08we were also using the spare car,
21:10so it was swapping drivers in and out of cars,
21:12springs,
21:12roll bars,
21:13tires,
21:13wing changes
21:14for an hour and a half,
21:15and I had absolutely no idea
21:17what was going on.
21:21One more note on GP2
21:22and hard-working mechanics.
21:24That crew had their 30-minute practice this morning,
21:27and few, if any,
21:28cars
21:30were able to complete
21:31their 30-minute practice
21:32without some sort of
21:33mechanical or electronic difficulty.
21:35It's going to be an interesting
21:36first race for GP2.
21:40Well, as we always,
21:41you know,
21:41we talk about the Ferrari problems
21:43they had at the last race
21:44with reliability.
21:46Bob,
21:46you just hit the nail on the head.
21:47Until you can complete 20 laps,
21:49you don't know what problem
21:50you're going to find on lap 21,
21:52and that's always the problem
21:53of trying to get the cars reliable,
21:55and these guys,
21:56the GP2 cars,
21:57they're going to have
21:58their work attack
21:59to try and get a race distance.
22:00I don't know, I think.
22:02Marcello into the pit lane.
22:06Rubens lost his temper
22:08with their Bridgestone tire maker
22:10after the Bahrain race.
22:12He said,
22:13we simply have to have better rubber.
22:15Well, when you saw those pictures
22:17of his car after the race,
22:18the rear tires had no tread showing
22:21at all.
22:22No.
22:23So if he had been in the points,
22:24it's highly debatable
22:25whether it wouldn't have been...
22:26Well, it would have been
22:28impossible for Michelin,
22:29one of the Michelin shop teams
22:30to have protested.
22:31But, you know,
22:32dear old Barrichello,
22:33it's a little bit of a case
22:34of what have you done
22:35for me lately, isn't it?
22:36You can't say that
22:37the Bridgestone-Ferrour relationship
22:38has been poor
22:39over the last five or six years.
22:41All those championships.
22:43You're as good
22:43as your last race,
22:44I guess.
22:47M. Schumacher
22:49trying pretty hard by the other things.
22:56But still eight tenths
22:57slower than Button there.
22:59But of course,
23:00you can't tell on Friday,
23:01you know,
23:01they're obviously trying
23:02all sorts of stuff.
23:04Data collecting,
23:05tire wear,
23:06brake wear,
23:07fuel consumption.
23:08Yeah.
23:09Full tanks,
23:10light tanks.
23:11Again,
23:12primarily the biggest decision
23:13in this Friday session now
23:15is the choice
23:15between the hard compound
23:16or the soft compound tires.
23:20Whatever choice
23:21they make
23:21today,
23:22they'll have to run
23:23those tires,
23:24that compound of tire,
23:25for the rest,
23:26the remainder
23:27of the Grand Prix weekend.
23:28And 22-6
23:29for Michael Schumacher
23:31will put him into,
23:32well,
23:33he has a better,
23:33he has a 22-5.
23:35He's currently sixth.
23:36Behind Jensen Button,
23:37Rubens Barichello,
23:38and there you see
23:39the rest of the numbers.
23:40Thank you,
23:40Mr. Director.
23:41We'll take a break
23:42and return
23:43with more live
23:43Speed Channel coverage
23:44of practice
23:45for the San Marino Grand Prix.
23:53Ten years ago,
23:54the Monaco Grand Prix
23:55got off to a fairly rough start.
23:57Damon Hill
23:58led away from pole position
23:59with Michael Schumacher
24:00in second,
24:01but behind them,
24:01David Coulthard
24:02became sandwiched
24:03between the Ferraris
24:04of Jean Alessi
24:05and Gerhard Berger.
24:06The result was chaos.
24:08Here's a look
24:09from Alessi's
24:09onboard camera
24:12as the Scotsman
24:13comes flying
24:14across his bow.
24:15The race had to be
24:16red flagged,
24:17of course,
24:17and everyone involved
24:19went running
24:19for their spare cars
24:20to prepare for the restart.
24:22Now,
24:23in order to find out
24:23what happened
24:24after that restart,
24:25you'll have to join us
24:25this evening
24:26as we look back
24:27at the 1995
24:27Monaco Grand Prix
24:29on Formula One Decade.
24:30Steve Matchett
24:31will set the scene
24:32and add his perspective
24:33as a former
24:33Benetton mechanic,
24:34and then David Hobbs
24:35and I will join him
24:36to relive the race.
24:37It starts tonight
24:38at 10 p.m. Eastern.
24:39That's Formula One Decade,
24:40the 1995
24:41Monaco Grand Prix,
24:42tonight at 10,
24:43only here on
24:44Speed Channel.
24:48And, of course,
24:49there'll be a special
24:49poignant scene
24:50to tonight's show
24:52following the passing
24:52of Prince Renier III
24:54just a few short days ago.
24:58And I imagine
24:59Monaco this year
24:59will be awash in tributes
25:02to one of the great patrons
25:03of Grand Prix racing
25:04over the years,
25:04as well as the Monte Carlo rally
25:06and much more.
25:08This is the second
25:09of two free practice sessions
25:11on Friday
25:11at the Ferrari circuit
25:12in Imola, Italy,
25:13the San Marino Grand Prix.
25:15San Marino is actually
25:16one of the world's
25:17smallest sovereign countries
25:19about an hour away
25:20along the Adriatic coast.
25:22But since 1981,
25:25they have been
25:26the title sponsors
25:26of a Formula One round
25:28here at Imola.
25:35Pedro De La Rosa
25:36was the quickest man
25:37this morning.
25:38Three seconds off
25:39Button's time now.
25:40No one knew
25:41as quick as he was,
25:42well, at least Pedro
25:43was this morning,
25:44but obviously trying
25:44maybe some full tanks
25:46now and doing a tire run.
25:48He's the Friday driver
25:49this week,
25:49not taking part
25:51any further
25:52after today.
25:55So I wanted to put
25:55on a good show.
25:56He was very pleased
25:57with his fastest lap
25:58three weeks ago
25:59in Bahrain and said,
26:00well, if I never have
26:00a Grand Prix race again,
26:01I can say that
26:02I went out on top.
26:04He was awesome
26:05in Bahrain.
26:06He was awesome.
26:06And with all due respect
26:07to Alex Wurtz,
26:10I'll bet McLaren
26:10is probably shaking
26:11their heads.
26:12In fact, we understand
26:13that Norbert Haug,
26:13who runs Mercedes
26:14engine program,
26:16is a bit miffed
26:17that they did not
26:18leave Pedro De La Rosa
26:19in the car
26:20based on his performance.
26:23But apparently
26:24a promise was made
26:25to Alex Wurtz
26:25that after four years
26:27as a test driver,
26:28he would get a race.
26:29And this is the one
26:30they chose.
26:30And Alex Wurtz,
26:31over the years,
26:32has done some pretty
26:33extraordinary things
26:34in racing cars.
26:35And I think it's a shame
26:36that Alex never really
26:37got into a regular
26:38Formula One drive
26:39because he obviously
26:40came up very,
26:41very quickly,
26:42had a lot of good wins,
26:45went to Le Mans,
26:45won that straight off,
26:47did some good
26:47single-seater races.
26:48So they felt
26:49they had to give him
26:50a chance.
26:50There's no doubt about it.
26:51In fact, Ron Dennis
26:55was quoted as saying
26:56he did it
26:56for Alex Wurtz's morale.
26:58He's been promised
26:59year after year
27:00that he would get a drive.
27:02Pedro De La Rosa,
27:03of course,
27:03had a terrific run,
27:05came through the field,
27:06did a lot of overtaking,
27:07went off the road
27:07a couple of times.
27:08And of course,
27:09that really,
27:10you can put that down
27:10to lack of race practice
27:12very quick,
27:12but just not quite used
27:14to that manhandling
27:16of each other
27:16on the racetrack.
27:18So I thought
27:19he had an extraordinarily
27:19good race.
27:21Jack Villeneuve
27:21is now up to seventh place.
27:23Excuse me, Steve.
27:24Sorry, I was just
27:24going to say,
27:24absolutely,
27:25I think De La Rosa
27:26did have a good race.
27:28We were wondering,
27:29what are we seeing here?
27:30Oh, this is the reason
27:30for the yellow flag.
27:31I'm reckoning Robert Dornbosch
27:33of the Netherlands
27:34in the Jordan Toyota.
27:36Oh, he's got it.
27:38Oh, wow.
27:40That was a bit,
27:40oh, well,
27:42it could have been
27:43a lot worse than that.
27:44Boy, oh, boy.
27:47He wants to get
27:48that thing back.
27:49He stole it now.
27:52Oh, no.
27:55Never stand in front
27:56or behind
27:56an angry racing driver.
27:59Especially when he's not
28:00sure what gear he's in.
28:10Robert Dornbosch
28:11is Jordan's
28:11Friday driver,
28:13so he won't get
28:13many more laps
28:14of today anyway.
28:15Looks like he might
28:16actually bring it
28:17back around.
28:18We'll take a break
28:18and return
28:19with more from
28:19Imola in a moment.
28:34Welcome back to Friday
28:35practice for the San Marino
28:37Grand Prix
28:37with Steve Matchett
28:38and David Hobbs.
28:39I'm Bob Varsha.
28:41Jenson Button
28:42remains fast man
28:43of the session.
28:44Rubens Barichello
28:44second for Ferrari.
28:46Giancarlo Fisichella
28:46third for Renault.
28:48And Fisichella's teammate,
28:49the world championship
28:50leader,
28:50Fernando Alonso,
28:51has yet to turn a lap,
28:53although he is on
28:54the second race weekend
28:55on that engine.
28:56So he was probably
28:57just conserving
28:58the mileage.
28:58And they obviously
28:59must be very,
29:00very confident.
29:00Fisichella did not
29:01do that many laps
29:02and jumped straight
29:03into third spot.
29:05So obviously letting
29:06Fisichella do all the
29:07running because he
29:07has got a new engine
29:08because his engine
29:09blew up in Bahrain
29:11three weeks ago.
29:12So he has a new
29:13engine this weekend.
29:14They haven't seen
29:15any shots of frantic
29:17pit lane activity
29:18inside the Renault
29:18garage indicating
29:19that they're on
29:21a desperate rush
29:21to try and get
29:22Alonso out.
29:23So yeah,
29:24I have to say
29:25I think they must be
29:26doing exactly what
29:27you guys say.
29:27though I do find it
29:28unusual that they
29:29would not want to
29:29get Alonso out
29:30and get him
29:30confident on the
29:31tyres and make
29:32the tyre choice
29:33for himself.
29:34We'll follow that
29:35story up.
29:37Talk to the Renault
29:38engineers later on
29:39and find out
29:39exactly what's going
29:40off.
29:41Here's a look at
29:41Pedro de la Rosa
29:42pounding those
29:43curbs.
29:44I think the
29:45Italian director
29:45must think that
29:46Pedro de la Rosa
29:47is an Italian
29:48because we've seen
29:49an awful lot of
29:49him.
29:51A lot of sympathy
29:52for Pedro this
29:53weekend I guess.
29:54His teammate
29:55Vertz,
29:56remember last race
29:57when he was
29:58taking over
29:58duties as the
29:59Friday driver
30:00and we're seeing
30:00McLaren usually
30:01trying to get a
30:02huge number of
30:02laps on the
30:03tyres to make
30:04that all
30:05important tyre
30:06choice today.
30:07He was saying
30:08he was uncomfortable
30:08in the car
30:09beforehand and it
30:11turns out he was
30:11still very
30:12uncomfortable in
30:13the car in
30:13Bahrain which is
30:14why he couldn't
30:15do those long
30:15runs.
30:16He was doing
30:1610-15 laps and
30:17he was just in
30:17so much discomfort
30:18he had to start
30:19and keep changing
30:20his position and
30:21working his legs
30:22to get feeling
30:22back in so
30:23they've made
30:24new modifications
30:25to the chassis
30:26again and he
30:27says now
30:27finally he is
30:28comfortable in
30:29the car so
30:29that may be
30:30another reason
30:30why they finally
30:31decided to give
30:32Royce a run in
30:32the chassis as
30:33the race driver
30:34this weekend.
30:35Of course he was
30:35happy to go through
30:36most of the corners
30:36in Bahrain one-handed
30:38because he couldn't
30:38get both hands on
30:39the wheel and turn it
30:40far enough to go
30:41through the corners.
30:42Well that ain't
30:42no good isn't it?
30:43Not very good is it?
30:44Who makes old
30:44modifications I want
30:45to know.
30:49You're right.
30:50Going back to
30:50Fernando Alonso
30:51we understand
30:52the Spanish round
30:53next round of the
30:54world championship
30:55in Barcelona
30:55is a stone sellout
30:57they expect over
30:57115,000 people
30:59there.
31:00Can you imagine
31:01if Alonso were
31:02doing no laps
31:03on the Friday
31:03in Spain
31:04with the place
31:05packed with his
31:05countrymen?
31:06Which of course
31:07is another good
31:08point here
31:08there's virtually
31:09nobody here today
31:10I mean it looks
31:11very very empty
31:12to me and of course
31:12that's probably
31:13because Ferrari
31:14are doing so badly.
31:15Well this track
31:16has always been
31:16a pretty accurate
31:17barometer of
31:18Ferrari's fortunes
31:19when the team
31:19is doing poorly
31:20nobody comes
31:20if you consider
31:2170,000, 75,000
31:23fans not coming
31:24and then when
31:25Ferrari's doing well
31:26you get 200,000
31:28people in the joint.
31:29Well just watching
31:29Barrichello's performance
31:30through the speed
31:31trap here
31:32it's 185 miles
31:34an hour from that
31:35Ferrari engine
31:35going through the
31:36speed trap
31:36but would you
31:37believe it
31:38190 miles an hour
31:39from Friesacker
31:40in the new
31:422005 specification
31:43PSO5 Minardi
31:44which we're not
31:45seeing
31:46we haven't seen
31:46it at all
31:47have we
31:47but brand new
31:48Minardi
31:49has been released
31:50onto track
31:50there are two
31:51running
31:51they did manage
31:53to
31:53they banged
31:54an awful lot
31:54of hours in
31:54to get two
31:552005 spec cars
31:56up and running
31:57they tested one
31:58last week
31:59and put 200
32:00kilometers on it
32:01but
32:01that new spec
32:03engine
32:03that Cosworth
32:04TJ 2005
32:05engine
32:05that they've got
32:06in the back
32:06of Minardi
32:07is at the moment
32:07still the quickest
32:08engine
32:10in this session
32:11well I guess
32:12that points
32:13to their lack
32:13of downforce
32:14to certain
32:14span as well
32:15but I mean
32:16Christian Albers
32:16has only done
32:17one lap
32:17all day
32:18so that's why
32:18we haven't seen
32:19much of him
32:19and Friesacker's
32:20only done nine
32:21so the old
32:22director has to be
32:22pretty quick to grab
32:24those while they're out
32:25I guess so
32:26yeah
32:27Friesacker now
32:27is down in P22
32:29and Albers
32:30as you say
32:31in 24 P24
32:33I'd like to have
32:33a look at the car
32:34just to have a look
32:35in the comparison
32:35between last year
32:36and this year
32:37speaking of Minardi
32:39there's a big group
32:40of American
32:40Minardi fans
32:41there's a
32:42Minardi fan club
32:43based in San Francisco
32:44I believe
32:44they made a trip
32:45over there
32:46to visit the factory
32:47in Fianza
32:47just down the road
32:48from Imola
32:50meet Paul Stoddart
32:52and Giancarlo Minardi
32:53the team principals
32:54and enjoy the race weekend
32:56hope they're having
32:57a good time
32:57a very nice fan club
32:58they are
32:58I remember them
32:59presenting this
32:59with some very nice
33:00key rings
33:01great with our names
33:02I still have my
33:03key fob from them
33:04which I use
33:04every day
33:08looking at the
33:09ruffles on the knee
33:10all the time
33:10looking at the
33:11timing screen
33:12do better
33:13key fobs
33:15Alonso has
33:15finally decided
33:16to take to the track
33:19this is not him
33:20of course
33:22that Ferrari
33:23front wing
33:23is a thing of beauty
33:28this however
33:29here's the man
33:30here's
33:35look at that new wing
33:36you see the extra
33:36flap put onto the
33:37front wing
33:38that's what we're
33:38talking about
33:39with the new
33:40aerodynamic trends
33:41anything
33:41to try and get
33:43more downforce
33:44onto these cars
33:54the only
33:55the only
33:55really
33:56limited
33:56factor to
33:57design of the
33:57front wing
33:58is a
33:59virtual
33:59building
34:00box
34:00which the FIA
34:01put around the car
34:03you can do what you like
34:04within reason
34:05within that
34:05building box
34:07an ugly looking
34:08thing
34:08but if it works
34:09then I guess
34:10that's all that matters
34:11we've seen some
34:12monstrosities
34:13over the years
34:20Alonso
34:20is on his second
34:22flying lap now
34:22his first flying lap
34:24jumped him from
34:24obviously deadstone
34:25last to 11
34:27I wish they'd stayed
34:29on that shot
34:29longer in Bravac
34:30so it looked like
34:31he was really
34:31cranking it in
34:35this front wing
34:36revised front wing
34:37looks very reminiscent
34:38of the Sauber design
34:39they came out with
34:40at the start of the
34:40season
34:41sort of twin element
34:43reminiscent of the
34:44old bi-players
34:45in the 1920s
34:48what a big nose loop
34:50that Arrows came out
34:51with one year
34:52for Monte Carlo
34:54that was something wild
34:55and soon been
34:56fortunately
34:57we'll be back
35:18ah the passion
35:19of Formula One
35:20on board with
35:21Fernando Alonso
35:22as he brings his
35:23Renault into the pits
35:25currently
35:26eighth
35:27in the order
35:28Jenson Button
35:29remains the leader
35:30Kimi Raikkonen
35:30while we were away
35:31jumped up into
35:32second for McLaren
35:33Rubens Baracchello
35:34in the Ferrari
35:34is now third
35:35Alex Wirtz
35:36in the other McLaren
35:37Mercedes
35:37up to fourth
35:39Giancarlo Fisichella
35:40in the Renault
35:40is fifth
35:41Takuma Sato
35:42in the second
35:42BAR Honda
35:43is sixth
35:44Michael Schumacher
35:45for Ferrari
35:46seventh
35:46then Alonso
35:47and then the
35:48two Sauvers
35:48Felipe Maso
35:49Brazil
35:50followed by
35:50Jacques Villeneuve
35:51the 97th
35:52world champion
35:53from Canada
35:53regardless
35:54on to who
35:55we're looking at
35:55now
35:55is line 12th
35:56but who we have
35:57not seen much of
35:58are his teammates
35:59who are going to
36:00have to do the race
36:01as Jano Trilli
36:02is down in 13th spot
36:03in the Toyota
36:06and Ralph Schumacher
36:07is languishing down
36:08in 17th spot
36:09despite having done
36:1011 laps
36:11which obviously
36:12is not that many
36:13Princess Jenson Button
36:15has done 21
36:15but still are
36:16and Ralph
36:17is usually
36:17very good
36:18at this race
36:19and Ralph
36:19is very good
36:20at this racetrack
36:21he has won here
36:22before
36:24in fact
36:24his first win
36:25was here
36:26I believe
36:27in the Williams
36:37well finally
36:38somebody has
36:39overtaken
36:40Freizac
36:41190 miles an hour
36:42there
36:42it has stood
36:43for a long while
36:44through this session
36:44you see
36:45with 12 minutes
36:45to go
36:46Alonso
36:47and the Renault
36:48and the Renault
36:48the car
36:50S25 V10
36:52191.2 miles an hour
36:54so Renault
36:55currently quickest
36:56through the speed track
36:57at him
36:57well of course
36:58after years
36:59of complaining
36:59about lack of power
37:00from the Renault
37:01the Renault
37:01this year
37:02is actually cranking out
37:03probably the second most power
37:04to the Honda
37:05which they say
37:06has got the most power
37:07at 955 horsepower
37:08Renault I believe
37:09is next
37:11and then Ferrari
37:12after that
37:14and the Renaults
37:16have been quick
37:16everywhere they've been
37:17this year
37:17because they've obviously
37:18got a great aero package
37:19which gives them
37:19lots of downforce
37:20and there's least drag
37:21that they can
37:22have the least drag
37:24well we point it out
37:25every Friday
37:26and we should again
37:27this is practice
37:28so we don't know
37:29what fuel loads
37:29the cars are on
37:30they're going through
37:31their tire options
37:32they have to declare
37:33tonight
37:33which tire
37:34they will use
37:35for the balance
37:36of the weekend
37:38so times can be
37:39a little deceiving
37:40but as we get into
37:41the last 10 minutes
37:42you can expect
37:42the times to drop
37:43a little bit
37:45as everybody gets
37:46one last check
37:47of their qualifying setup
37:48yeah and love
37:49there's always
37:49somebody who wants
37:50to stick in a quick lap
37:52overnight
37:53and of course
37:54the track
37:54get all the others thinking
37:54the track improves
37:56and improves
37:56as more rubbers
37:57lay down
37:57as temperature increases
37:59we should expect
38:00to see the times fall
38:01on board with Mark Webber
38:1218th at the Williams BMW
38:17his teammate Nick Heidfeld
38:18is just 16th
38:21look at the brake ducts
38:22on the front of that car
38:23how big they are
38:25I'm saying
38:32now we know
38:33keeping the brakes
38:34cool around him
38:34there is of course
38:35very important
38:36but think back
38:37to Canada
38:37last year
38:39where Williams
38:40was so concerned
38:40about keeping the brakes
38:41as cool as possible
38:42that they actually
38:43put illegal
38:43oversized brake ducts
38:44on the car
38:45and were thrown out
38:47of the race results
38:48oops
38:48that is Ralph
38:49the one guy
38:51we just say
38:51we haven't seen much
38:52but now we've finally
38:53seen him
38:54not as he would like
38:55he was on a hot lap
39:04pushed it just that
39:05little bit too far
39:08that was up at the
39:09Variante Alta
39:10I believe
39:10I think it was
39:11yeah
39:12let's have a look
39:13at it
39:13there it is
39:15well we saw a lot
39:16of that last year
39:17but I think he's
39:18the first guy
39:18that we've seen
39:19through it this year
39:20right at the top
39:20of Variante Alta
39:21going through the
39:22chicane
39:22the thing just
39:23gets completely
39:24sideways on
39:28and one suspects
39:29we just saw
39:30Ralph Schumacher
39:31headed back
39:31in the right direction
39:32we'll take a break
39:33as the minutes
39:34continue to tick away
39:35here at Imbola
39:36stay with us
39:42Speed Channel's coverage
39:43of the FIA Formula 1
39:45World Championship
39:45is brought to you
39:46by the new
39:47high endurance oils
39:48from Mobil
39:48the oil that's
39:50changing oil
39:50and by Michelin
39:52a better way forward
39:57welcome back
39:58seven minutes
39:59remaining
39:59in the second
40:00and final Friday
40:01practice for this
40:02weekend San Marino
40:03Formula 1 Grand Prix
40:05I'm Bob Varsha
40:06with David Hobbs
40:06and Steve Matchett
40:07there's Nick Heidfeld
40:10nursing a sore muscle
40:11in his back
40:12he picked up
40:12at a Williams BMW
40:13test at the
40:14Paul Ricard circuit
40:15in southern France
40:16last week
40:17he had to
40:18take himself
40:19out of the car
40:21he was cranking in
40:22some opposite lock
40:23when he said
40:23his back
40:24just seized up
40:25on him
40:26the muscle
40:27went into spasm
40:28and now he says
40:30it won't hamper
40:31him this weekend
40:32I hope not
40:39seems to take
40:40those bumps
40:40pretty well there
40:43Heidfeld remains
40:4414th
40:45and that's four spots
40:47ahead of his teammate
40:47Mark Webber
40:50intense rivalry
40:51between these two
40:52this year
40:52obviously there's
40:53always intense rivalry
40:54between all teammates
40:55but Mark Webber's been
40:56spoken up so much
40:57over the last
40:58two or three years
40:59now he's finally
40:59got himself a really
41:00good car
41:00and as has
41:01Nick Heidfeld
41:02so it's going to be
41:04a very important
41:05year for both
41:06these guys
41:07Williams tell me
41:08that they've put
41:09some new
41:09redesigned barge boards
41:11onto this FW27
41:12chassis
41:12as we look inside
41:13the Williams pit
41:16Mario Tyson
41:17the BMW engine
41:18expert there
41:19watching the monitor
41:19we haven't really
41:20had a good shot
41:21of the barge board
41:22to be able to point
41:23out what the
41:23differences are
41:25but they are
41:26well there's
41:26a good shot
41:27of the barge board
41:27a little bit wider
41:28a little bit longer
41:30Delarosa
41:30goes up to P1
41:34120
41:36fastest lap
41:37of the weekend
41:38120.484
41:42a lot of the teams
41:43have been
41:43keeping the cars
41:45in a set configuration
41:45for the first three
41:46races
41:47I think really
41:48because of just
41:49the logistics
41:49nightmare
41:50trying to work
41:51on wind tunnel
41:51models
41:52and then ship
41:53components out
41:54to tracks
41:54where they
41:54haven't done
41:54any testing
41:55on
41:56and now
41:57because everyone's
41:57now back in Europe
41:59we've seen a lot
41:59of those things
42:00that they've been
42:00working on
42:01for the last
42:01six weeks
42:03been put on
42:03to test chassis
42:04and now put on
42:05to the cars
42:06for real
42:06that was Delarosa's
42:0829th lap
42:09so even if he's
42:10on the cool
42:11down now
42:11he's 30 laps
42:12that's a half
42:13race distance
42:13basically
42:14several other
42:15drivers have got
42:16a lot of laps in
42:17Riccardo Zonta
42:17has done 32
42:18for Toyota
42:19Christian Clean
42:2133
42:23doing leg work
42:24for Red Bull
42:27a 62 lap race
42:29they would love
42:30if possible
42:31if there was
42:31sufficient time
42:32they crank out
42:33a full race distance
42:34there's no doubt
42:35about that
42:37Delarosa
42:38still got his foot
42:39in it
42:39fastest first sector
42:40a 23-1
42:44I still think
42:45really
42:46what they should
42:46do is just
42:47make Friday
42:47an absolute
42:48free testing
42:49session
42:49at the circuits
42:50and ban
42:51testing at all
42:51other circuits
42:52so that the guys
42:53are forced to
42:54test
42:54at the track
42:55where they're
42:55going to race
42:56I think that'd
42:56be a great idea
42:57they'll complain
42:58about doing
42:58any more Grand Prix
43:00but that would
43:00be the best way
43:01to do it
43:01Alonso up to
43:02fourth in the Renault
43:11and while Pedro
43:12De La Rosa
43:12came through
43:14slowed down
43:14in the second
43:15two sectors
43:16so he did not
43:17improve
43:26if they stay
43:27with the onboard
43:27listen for him
43:28to hit the bumps
43:29in the corners
43:37first sector
43:38of 23-5
43:38is one of the
43:39fastest this
43:40weekend so far
43:52a lot off
43:53in that second sector
43:58Flavio Briatore
43:59looking on
44:04wow
44:05that's a Red Bull
44:12Di Antonio Luzzi
44:24give it another try
44:27that just looks so
44:29so cool
44:30going down there
44:31towards Tamborale
44:32on that straight
44:34get a real
44:35idea of the speed
44:36because of
44:36how narrow the track
44:38is and the trees
44:39and the buildings
44:39on the side
44:40give some perspective
44:41to the speed
44:41of the cars
44:42which of course
44:43we lose
44:43at tracks like
44:44Barade
44:45and Sepang
44:46Lazy
44:46well this car
44:47looks pretty good
44:48over those curves
44:49doesn't it
44:49well it certainly
44:50handled a lot better
44:51than Ralph's Toyota
44:52didn't it
44:52yeah
44:53remember
44:54the Varianta
44:55we just saw
44:56Ralph Schumacher
44:56and Toyota
44:57get it out of shape
44:58but the R25
45:00chassis
45:00works very well
45:02very compliant
45:03over those curves
45:04and I wonder
45:05whether or not
45:05a lot of that
45:06again is down
45:06to the fact
45:07that Pat Simmons
45:07who's head of
45:08engineering
45:08is a mechanical
45:09engineer
45:10as opposed to
45:11an aerodynamicist
45:12bar train
45:13Michael Schumacher
45:14tosses in
45:15a 22 flat
45:16jumps from
45:179th to 5th
45:18in the Ferrari
45:22they've added
45:23some little
45:24extra
45:25winglets
45:26to the barge
45:26boards
45:26just in front
45:27of the
45:27radiator inlets
45:29but the 22 flat
45:31is still
45:341.6 seconds
45:35slower
45:35than Pedro
45:36De La Rosa
45:37and I wouldn't
45:37have thought
45:37they would want
45:38to go to bed
45:38on Friday night
45:39with that sort
45:40of gap
45:42they have
45:43that sort
45:43of gap
45:43somebody's
45:44not going
45:44to bed
45:45yeah right
45:46yeah
45:47about 80
45:48mechanics
45:50well this race
45:51traditionally
45:51always used
45:52to be
45:52the launch
45:53of the new
45:53car
45:54we'd use
45:55last year's
45:56car
45:56if the regulations
45:57allowed
45:57we'd use
45:57last year's
45:58car
45:58through the
45:59flyaway races
45:59because we
46:00knew the car
46:01and it was
46:01reliable
46:02and we had
46:02the components
46:03for it
46:03we never
46:04wanted to
46:04risk anything
46:05new
46:05when you
46:05had to
46:06fly 12
46:06or 15
46:07hours
46:07to Brazil
46:08or Argentina
46:08to Mexico
46:09or Australia
46:10so this
46:11was always
46:12the launch
46:12of the new
46:13car
46:13which meant
46:13three all-nighters
46:15basically
46:16and now the
46:17regulations
46:17change so much
46:18that from year
46:19to year
46:19it's impossible
46:20to use
46:20last year's
46:21car
46:23187 miles
46:23an hour
46:24plus
46:24through the
46:25speed trap
46:25so certainly
46:26not the
46:27fastest car
46:27out there
46:29this car
46:29this car
46:29looks so
46:30unlike
46:30Michael
46:31it looks
46:31so
46:31knife-edge
46:32so
46:32so unstable
46:34he's normally
46:35so smooth
46:39just get the
46:39impression
46:40that he's
46:40struggling
46:40with it
46:41a little
46:41bit
46:48although Michael
46:48does like a car
46:50on the knife-edge
46:50but normally
46:51he doesn't have
46:51that much trouble
46:52controlling it
46:53yeah
46:53well Alonso
46:54in just
46:54ten laps
46:55of which
46:55obviously
46:56only
46:57eight
46:58the most
46:58of flying lapses
46:59in front of
47:00Michael Schumacher
47:00who's done
47:0123 laps
47:02in this session
47:15but it could
47:16well be
47:17we know
47:18that Ferrari
47:18and Bridgestone
47:19have struggled
47:19with their tires
47:20as a partnership
47:22and I wonder
47:22whether or not
47:22Ferrari are working
47:23on exactly that
47:24it's not all
47:25outpaced
47:25they may well
47:26have race fuel
47:27on board
47:27and they just
47:28want to crank out
47:29consistent
47:30constant laps
47:31and have a good
47:32look at the
47:33tire data
47:33to really find out
47:34where they are
47:35with these new
47:35spec Bridgestones
47:43John Tote
47:43looking on
47:44the man under
47:46a bit of pressure
47:47now
47:47these are not
47:48good days
47:49for Fiat
47:49the parent company
47:50of Ferrari
47:54very suffering
47:55in the world
47:55financial markets
47:58those beautiful
47:59slow-mo shots
48:00there
48:00look at
48:00the body
48:01work on the
48:02car
48:02as you guys
48:02were saying
48:03earlier on
48:03all the little
48:04intricacies
48:06barge boards
48:06and flip-ups
48:08fluting down the
48:09side of the body
48:10work and around
48:10the rear suspension
48:11it is just a
48:12work of art
48:13and not just the
48:14Ferrari
48:14of course
48:14they're all
48:15working towards
48:15the same goal
48:17just wonderful
48:17pieces of engineering
48:18they've advanced
48:19so so much
48:20in the last five
48:21years with
48:22aerodynamics
48:23so the checkered
48:24flag has flown
48:25as Ralph
48:26Schumacher
48:26has Felipe
48:27Massa
48:28behind him
48:28going up
48:29the hill
48:29one last time
48:30Pedro De La Rosa
48:31is the fast man
48:32of the session
48:33followed by
48:33Jensen Button
48:34Kimi Raikkonen
48:35Ricardo Zonta
48:37then Fernando
48:38Alonso
48:38Michael Schumacher
48:41Rubens
48:41in the McLaren
48:43Giancarlo Fisichella
48:44and Takuma Sato
48:45rounds out
48:46the top ten
48:52yeah Ralph Schumacher
48:53still down there
48:54in 15th spot
48:55and I think
48:55he's holding
48:55Felipe Massa
48:56up at the moment
48:57who's 11th
48:59and probably
48:59will obviously
49:00stay there now
49:00with a 22-7
49:07notice nobody
49:08out on the
49:09balconies
49:10of those
49:11buildings
49:11just outside
49:12the track
49:12I imagine
49:13they'll be
49:13packed this
49:14weekend
49:14and somebody
49:14is going
49:15to pay
49:15a few
49:15zillion
49:16lira
49:16for the
49:16opportunity
49:18Alex Wurtz
49:19being pushed
49:19back into
49:20the garage
49:22nobody's
49:23cell phone
49:23ringing
49:24that noise
49:24is the
49:25pit lane
49:26siren
49:26at the
49:27entrance
49:28of the
49:28pit lane
49:28to indicate
49:29the mechanics
49:29of another
49:30car's
49:30coming down
49:32it's really
49:33annoying
49:33after about
49:34an hour
49:34yes
49:35incredibly
49:36tires
49:38Michael
49:38Schumacher
49:39has only been
49:40off the
49:40podium
49:40three times
49:42at Imola
49:43in 13
49:44races
49:45this will be
49:45his 14th
49:46attempt here
49:47the only three
49:48times he's been
49:48off the podium
49:49he's retired
49:51Ferrari is pushed
49:53backward into the
49:54garage under the
49:54gaze of its
49:55adoring fans
49:56and mechanics
49:56we'll take a
49:57break and return
49:58with more from
49:59Imola in a
49:59moment
50:06welcome back
50:07Friday practice
50:08is now complete
50:09the San Marino
50:10Formula One
50:11Grand Prix
50:12let's take a look
50:13at the time sheets
50:13David Hobbs
50:14and Steve
50:14Matchett
50:15McLaren
50:16looking pretty
50:16good
50:17first
50:17third
50:18and eighth
50:18there
50:18with
50:18Alexander
50:19first
50:19down there
50:20he's going to
50:20take over
50:20the driving
50:21duty this
50:21weekend
50:22Pedro De La
50:22Rosa
50:22having a
50:23really good
50:23run there
50:24for the
50:24fastest
50:25Jenson
50:25Button
50:25looking better
50:26than he's
50:26looked in
50:26the last
50:27three races
50:27Ricciardo's
50:28on to doing
50:28a good
50:29strong job
50:29for Toyota
50:30there
50:30as a test
50:31driver
50:31and Alonso
50:32is just
50:32ten laps
50:33under his
50:33belt
50:33fifth
50:33so they're
50:34looking pretty
50:34strong as
50:35well
50:35there you
50:35see the
50:36two
50:36Ferraris
50:38Sato
50:38there in
50:39tenth spot
50:39and then the
50:40two
50:40Sauber's
50:40Villeneuve
50:41behind his
50:42teammate
50:42Massa
50:43Sato
50:44really unbuttoned
50:45they were both
50:45looking very
50:46positive coming
50:46into this
50:47weekend
50:47BAR
50:48engineers
50:48saying we
50:49will be in
50:49fine
50:50shape for
50:51this race
50:51well they need
50:52to do some
50:52more work
50:52in the
50:53moment
50:54Williams
50:54with Mark
50:55Webber
50:55down in
50:5518th
50:56and then right
50:56down the
50:56bottom
50:57with their
50:57brand new
50:582005 spec
50:59PSO5
51:00Bernardi
51:00is here
51:01it's on
51:01track
51:01Freysacker
51:02and Albers
51:03P23
51:04and P24
51:05you can be
51:05sure that's
51:06not the
51:06kind of
51:07performance
51:07on Friday
51:08that Williams
51:08BMW was
51:09looking forward
51:10to this
51:10weekend
51:11but our
51:11story has
51:12only just
51:13begun
51:14be sure to
51:15join us
51:15again tonight
51:15at 10
51:16p.m.
51:16eastern time
51:17when we'll
51:17continue our
51:18season of
51:18Formula One
51:19decade here
51:19on Speed
51:20Channel
51:20this time
51:21it's round
51:21five of the
51:221995 season
51:23the Monaco
51:24Grand Prix
51:25then tomorrow
51:26at 7 a.m.
51:27eastern time
51:28we'll have
51:28coverage of
51:29the first
51:29round of
51:30qualifying
51:30from Imola
51:31for the
51:31Grand Prix
51:32of San
51:32Marino
51:32then Sunday
51:33at 12
51:33noon
51:34check out
51:34coverage of
51:35the second
51:35round of
51:36qualifying
51:36note that
51:37time change
51:3712 noon
51:38because coverage
51:39of the
51:40San Marino
51:40Grand Prix
51:40can be seen
51:41same day
51:42delay at
51:421 p.m.
51:43eastern
51:43on CBS
51:43however on
51:45Friday
51:45April 29th
51:46at midnight
51:46you can check
51:47out our
51:47coverage of
51:48the San
51:48Marino
51:48Grand Prix
51:49and you
51:49will not
51:49miss a
51:50moment of
51:50the on
51:51track action
51:51and we'll
51:52bring you
51:52more in
51:53depth post
51:53race reports
51:54from Peter
51:54Windsor
51:55you definitely
51:55want to
51:56check that
51:56out
51:58until first
51:59qualifying for
51:59David Hobbs
52:00and Steve
52:01Matchett
52:01I'm Bob
52:02Barsha
52:02we'll see
52:02you tomorrow
52:03and when we
52:04go on the
52:05clocks at
52:06Imola
52:06qualifying for
52:08the San
52:08Marino
52:08Grand Prix
52:09until then
52:09so long
52:10everyone
Comments