2004 United States GP Qualifying

OSRN 1

Qualifying for Round 9 of the 2004 F1 season at Indianapolis.

Transcript

00:00:07Just after high noon and the heartland and a huge crowd at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is ready to set

00:00:13the grid for round nine of the Formula One World Championship in 2004. Welcome to qualifying for the US Grand

00:00:21Prix at Indianapolis. Hello everyone I'm Bob Varsho welcome to our continuing live speed channel coverage of the FIA Formula

00:00:29One World Championship.

00:00:30I'm joined by Steve Matchett and David Hobbs. The winner last week in Canada Michael Schumacher the six-time world

00:00:37champion in his Ferrari is on track. He will lead the first round of single car single lap qualifying that

00:00:44will set the running order for a second round coming up at the top of the next hour that will

00:00:49set the grid for tomorrow's race. There is Jensen Button who will be the third man on track after the

00:00:56two Ferraris Schumacher and Barrichello.

00:00:59And once again we have fabulous weather conditions here at Indianapolis David. Boy I tell you what it has changed

00:01:05so much since yesterday all that humidity is gone we got a beautiful blue sky fairly stiff breeze head on

00:01:10to these guys that come down the main straight.

00:01:13Absolutely perfect racing temperatures which may well be good for the Ferraris who have been having blistering problems with their

00:01:19tires yesterday in the heat.

00:01:21Swinging through oval track turn one turn 13 on the oval and road course layout and Michael Schumacher is on

00:01:28the clock Steve.

00:01:29Yep well the last minute preparation has been made to these cars now. We've seen all the mechanics working very

00:01:34hard with the engineers to set the wing specifications. What the cars are set with now is what the cars

00:01:39will have to start the race with tomorrow.

00:01:46The running order in this first part of course is the way the race finished last week in Canada. Michael

00:01:51Schumacher quite a bit of steering input in there since they practiced this morning.

00:01:56The Porsche Super Cup cars have been out so if anybody put wheels over the edges they could have brought

00:02:01some debris onto the track.

00:02:08Schumacher's second quick after this morning's two 45-minute practice sessions.

00:02:22Using the rumble strips out of 11. Very important corner leading on to this huge 23-second flat-out line.

00:02:31Look at those refs climb over 18,000.

00:02:3618-2 into the headwind and before a huge pro Ferrari crowd.

00:02:42Schumacher laps at 1 minute 10.129 seconds to set the benchmark.

00:02:48That is not far off. The fastest time of the weekend was a 10 flat this morning.

00:02:54Now this is in that tricky turn six. One of the few left-handers in this 13-turn layout.

00:02:58Look at that. Almost complete right lock.

00:03:00Yeah. Putting a lot of opposite lock as he went into that corner. On brakes. He's braking there.

00:03:04The weight transfer to the front. He's turning left at the same time. So he's got weight transfer to the

00:03:08outside of the car.

00:03:10Now on the clock goes his teammate, Rubens Barrichello, who has been one of the fastest men on the property

00:03:17this weekend.

00:03:18Led three of the practice sessions before coming up just short in the fourth.

00:03:23Rubens Barrichello, five kilometers an hour faster than his teammate Michael Schumacher through the speed track.

00:03:33Schumacher tip in the timing light at 205 miles an hour in this provisional qualifier.

00:03:38Three thousandths of a second up on his teammate in the first intermediate.

00:03:50Fastest time of the weekend thus far came in that final practice this morning.

00:03:55One minute 10.056 seconds by Jenson Button, who will be the third man on track.

00:04:00Oh, well up on his teammate there. Rubens Barrichello over half a second quicker than Michael Schumacher.

00:04:10There is a definite drift in the thinking that this man, the number two driver at Ferrari, or 1A, depending

00:04:16on who you speak to,

00:04:17could be the pony to bet on this weekend, 109.454.

00:04:23That is a new lap record, and Barrichello remains one of only two men ever to lap this course at

00:04:30better than 70 seconds.

00:04:31The other will be coming up later on, Jarno Trulli in the Renault.

00:04:34What a lap from the Brazilian in the Ferrari.

00:04:37Boy, oh boy, that was it.

00:04:39Of course, Michael Schumacher got lost a little of time there on that turn six.

00:04:43Rubens Barrichello going through there very smoothly, and, of course, making that second sector nearly half a second quicker than

00:04:50his teammate.

00:04:52Now, here comes the man who was fastest in practice, Jenson Button in the BAR Honda.

00:05:01336 kilometers an hour through the speed track there.

00:05:04336, so yeah, he too is quicker than Michael Schumacher, 208.9 miles an hour.

00:05:10And with apologies to Tom Carnegie, the legendary PA announcer here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway,

00:05:15these lap times will do nothing more than set the running order for the second round of single-car, one

00:05:21-lap qualifying.

00:05:23But if you go quickest now, you will be last on track in the second run.

00:05:28This is the Holman straight with the wind at his back.

00:05:33Turn eight, a lot of people have had trouble with that this weekend.

00:05:37He was slower, two-tenths slower in the first sector.

00:05:40This vital sector with all the handling, really.

00:05:44Ooh, six-tenths off there.

00:05:56That's a great shot coming through, isn't it?

00:05:59Real idea of the speed these guys are carrying as they come onto the start finish straight.

00:06:03And what a sound.

00:06:05He lost time in the third sector, but he is quicker than Michael.

00:06:08Button slots in.

00:06:10P2 at 1 minute 10.115.

00:06:14Boy, that is all pretty close, so 1 minute 10.115, Michael Schumacher, 1 minute 10.129.

00:06:24Look at those quick hands, the adjustment going onto the straight.

00:06:29Well, the Honda engine just one mile an hour faster than the Ferrari through the speed trap.

00:06:35205, Michael Schumacher, 206, Jensen Button.

00:06:38Okay, we've seen the two Ferraris and one Honda.

00:06:40Here comes another Ferrari engine badged Petronas by the Malaysian National Oil Company that is the major sponsor of the

00:06:48Sauber team.

00:06:50And the Sauber team, in spite of having their great engine, Ferrari's last year engine, they were very slow here

00:06:57this morning.

00:06:58This is Giancarlo Fisichella, the frustrated Italian, who said his lifelong dream is to be a Ferrari driver.

00:07:06And when it's pointed out that the driveline in his car is pure Ferrari, he says, it's still not a

00:07:11Ferrari to me.

00:07:14He wants a red prancing horse.

00:07:33Very tough section there, turns 9, 10, and then the all-important turn 11, going up through the gearbox, hard

00:07:40on the gas,

00:07:40not lifting, not lifting, not lifting, all the way to the end of the front straightaway, over 3,000 feet

00:07:45away.

00:07:51Into the headwind, across the stripe, and fourth, but still in the 110 zone, 110.997 for Giancarlo Fisichella.

00:08:06Fisichella, 329 kilometers through the speed track.

00:08:08Remember, these guys have been working on a lot of two-stop strategies recently,

00:08:12and we heard Fisichella alluding to that yesterday, that the car seems to work better when they have fuel on

00:08:17board.

00:08:23Now, here comes last year's pole sitter, Kimi Raikkonen, and the much-troubled McLaren Mercedes.

00:08:363.35 through the track.

00:08:43They've had a terrible time scoring points this year.

00:08:46They've had chassis failures.

00:08:47They've had engine failures.

00:08:48They have a new car beginning testing next week in Jerez, Spain.

00:09:01A year ago, the fin, Kimi Raikkonen, was a world championship contender down to the last race of the year.

00:09:07This year, he is nowhere close.

00:09:14After eight races, he's got five points.

00:09:17Michael Schumacher, after eight races, has got 70 points.

00:09:21This time last year, Kimi Raikkonen was ahead of Michael Schumacher.

00:09:25Kimi's McLaren set with quite a lot of rear wing on the car to try and help that stability through

00:09:30the infield section.

00:09:33Let's see how that affects the overall straight-line speed from that Mercedes engine down the straight.

00:09:421.9 seconds off, a 1.11.415.

00:09:47That pull by Raikkonen last year here at Indy, by the way, was the most recent for the McLaren team.

00:09:54And that group of fin supporters there got a little bit down.

00:10:01Guys, that's a big difference between Rubens and Michael there.

00:10:05What do we think about that?

00:10:07Do we think it's maybe they're on different types of Bridgestone tyre or maybe Rubens has just gone for a

00:10:12much lighter fuel load,

00:10:13which means he's going to come in a lot earlier in the race.

00:10:16Of course, Michael has a chance now to readjust his thinking.

00:10:19They don't have to be locked into their fuel at the moment for qualifying.

00:10:22But I don't know.

00:10:24What do you guys think?

00:10:25Well, we've seen, Peter, as you know, we've seen Ferrari run two three-stop strategies so far this season.

00:10:32Two-stop strategies, a mixture of each.

00:10:34So there's no reason to believe that Ross Braun and the engineers wouldn't switch those guys around

00:10:39and put Rubens Barrichello on a three-stopper and leave Michael Schumacher out on a two-stop.

00:10:44I was going to say, the most usual thing this year has been for Barrichello to do the two-stops.

00:10:48But, boy, at that time there, that doesn't look like two-stop strategy field, does it?

00:10:52No.

00:10:53That is a huge difference.

00:10:56Kimi Räikkönen there at 204 miles an hour.

00:11:00About the slowest speed track time so far.

00:11:03And, again, I think that's significant and probably a result of the extra wing these guys are carrying

00:11:07to help the chassis through that infield.

00:11:221.6.

00:11:24So Coulthard bumps his teammate with a 111.068.

00:11:28Once again, these times are meaningless other than setting the running order in inverted order

00:11:33for the second round of single car, single lap qualifying.

00:11:37Steve Matchett, you know Dave Ryan from McLaren very well.

00:11:41He was saying this morning that the new car that they tested one time at Silverstone

00:11:44gives the driver much more feel, which is one of the indicators that they believe that McLaren

00:11:51will take them not to the front, but at least up a level.

00:11:54Well, Derek, as a driver, you know all too well that what you need in a car is that predictability

00:11:59and the confidence in the chassis, right?

00:12:01To know, to absolutely believe and trust what the car is going to do beneath you.

00:12:08Watching Nick Heidfeld of Germany in the bright yellow, Jordan Cosworth.

00:12:17A good result in Canada, but this car has been very twitchy all through the year.

00:12:22Yeah.

00:12:27So that's really the thing at the end of the day, David, again, like, as Derek, you know

00:12:31all too well, the best way to get the driver to perform is to give him the confidence that

00:12:36he can push the machinery to the absolute edge of the envelope.

00:12:40And this car won't do it.

00:12:43Well, it doesn't, but so much depends on the driver to get that input to make sure that

00:12:46the car is good.

00:12:47Right.

00:12:48And, of course, if this is a chassis, it's just not right up to it.

00:12:51And they're obviously having a struggle to get this car competitive this year.

00:12:54I can remember when John O'Lacy joined Benetton in 1996, his first comments after testing

00:13:01the car is, I just have no confidence.

00:13:02I've got no confidence to get a time out of it.

00:13:05And remember, David Coulthard is a driver who needs feel.

00:13:10He needs confidence.

00:13:11He will not commit himself through sheer bravery when you enter high-speed corners, which is

00:13:16why that McLaren, in addition to the one lap qualifying, has basically almost killed his

00:13:20career this year.

00:13:25There's another look at Heidfeld.

00:13:28Car sliding quite a lot there.

00:13:31Would indicate, obviously, lack of mechanical grip, but maybe they're trying to run a little

00:13:36bit too little wing.

00:13:38Here comes Christian Clean, the first of the two Jaguars.

00:13:44And the Cosworth lump in Heidfeld's car was slow, too.

00:13:47It's 201 miles an hour.

00:13:53205 through the speed trap there for Clean.

00:13:56Now these guys are running very small wing on the back of the car.

00:14:00Let's see how this chassis works around here.

00:14:02This is where you need the downpours on the car, and they're not running very much.

00:14:07That looks smooth.

00:14:11Well, it looked good, and yet it's eight tenths off in that 22nd sector.

00:14:19Turn eight.

00:14:20Caught a lot of people out this year, this weekend.

00:14:23Stiff tailwind into there this morning, too.

00:14:25So they're all arriving here a couple of three miles an hour quicker than they were yesterday.

00:14:35Big barge boards on this R5 Jagu in comparison to Renault.

00:14:38Remember, a little aerodynamic component that got blown off the Renault this morning.

00:14:41Compare that to the size of the barge boards on here.

00:14:47The flap of his shoulder harness waving about and the turbulence in that cockpit.

00:14:52Across the line he comes.

00:14:53He slots into seventh.

00:14:55Bumping Nick Heidfeld.

00:14:56We'll take a quick break and return with more Qualifying from Indy.

00:15:05Speed Channel's coverage of the United States Grand Prix is brought to you by BMW.

00:15:10BMW, the ultimate driving machine.

00:15:16Back live on a warm, breezy spring day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

00:15:21The world's greatest racetrack in the Formula One World Championship is qualifying.

00:15:25This is the end of a hot lap by Zolt Baumgartner of Hungary in the Minardi Cosworth.

00:15:30And there is his fan club.

00:15:34Cheering for Zolt.

00:15:35They see themselves on the big screen.

00:15:39And no surprise that Baumgartner weighs in with the slowest time of the session thus far.

00:15:44A 114.396.

00:15:47So he will be close to the front when we invert the order for the second round.

00:15:53Look at all that lock.

00:15:57Minardi has sent an awful lot of great drivers forward in this sport, including Mark Weber.

00:16:04Right now, Baumgartner and his teammate Jimmy Bruni are learning some hard lessons.

00:16:10This is Felipe Massa of Brazil in the other Sauber Petronas.

00:16:16Getting back earlier, Peter Windsor raised the issue of fuel loads on the Ferraris.

00:16:20Because Rubens Barrichello turned an unofficial lap record at 69.454 seconds.

00:16:27Michael Schumacher currently third at 110.129.

00:16:30In this first round of two in qualifying, we assume everyone is on very light fuel.

00:16:36because there's no consequence to the numbers other than setting the running order for the second half.

00:16:41So that number by Barrichello is probably legitimate.

00:16:47Legitimately very fast.

00:16:53Massa's trap time is very fast as well.

00:16:552.11.

00:17:00Nearly 1.7 seconds off at the second intermediate.

00:17:11Massa flies across the line.

00:17:14And into sixth place.

00:17:16Not bad at all.

00:17:171.11.315.

00:17:20There's one Pablo Montoya looking on.

00:17:22That'll get a big cheer and a wave from the big Colombian contingent.

00:17:27When Pablo calls this his home race,

00:17:29and he is very much at home here in Indianapolis,

00:17:31having won the 2,000 Indy 500 for car owner Chip Ganassi.

00:17:37Now on track, Takuma Sato in the other BAR Honda.

00:17:42A big moment for the young Japanese driver.

00:17:45He knows that he's got a car here probably capable of the pole he needs to deliver now.

00:17:49He's had a lot of pressure in the last few weeks.

00:17:52He's had Michael Schumacher in Grand Prix Drivers Association meetings saying,

00:17:56Taku, what are you doing?

00:17:57Calm down.

00:17:58Don't use other cars to bounce off before you get to the apex.

00:18:01You've got to give people room.

00:18:03We've had criticism of Taku obliquely, perhaps from the BAR Honda guy,

00:18:07saying that if he didn't spend as much time in the pits,

00:18:10maybe he's engine would be more reliable.

00:18:12Let's see how Taku delivers now.

00:18:13I think he's got a very strong personality,

00:18:15and I think he can withstand this,

00:18:16and I think he is potentially able to get the pole here.

00:18:20Blown engines in five of the last seven races,

00:18:23including the last three in a row.

00:18:24He had that big collision with Rubens Bartichello,

00:18:27lunging for second place in the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring.

00:18:30Had more contact last week in Canada.

00:18:33Before I forget, Peter Windsor, from whom you just heard,

00:18:36and Derek Daly are down in the pit lane,

00:18:38as they will be right through this weekend.

00:18:40A big one for all of us here at Speed Channel.

00:18:42There's a lot of wing on the bay.

00:18:44All 006 is Sato's car here.

00:18:53P-2 with a 110.002.

00:18:57Quicker than his teammate Button.

00:19:00So, Peter, I think Sato just answered that question.

00:19:05Yeah, that was a great lap from Takuma.

00:19:07It didn't appear to be any mistakes.

00:19:09As Steve accurately says,

00:19:11they seem to be running quite a lot of wing,

00:19:12but obviously not too much wing.

00:19:14We believe that the Honda is comfortably producing over 900 horsepower,

00:19:18and they are revving over 19,000 now.

00:19:21So, a very, very impressive performance there.

00:19:24Of course, that's the thing about power.

00:19:27There's absolutely no substitute for power

00:19:28because it can really improve the handling

00:19:30because you just crank on the wing

00:19:31that the other guys can't carry.

00:19:33Without losing any lap time.

00:19:34Oh, absolutely, you can, yeah.

00:19:35Horsepower will mask

00:19:36all sorts of chassis handling problems, to agree.

00:19:38Of course, you don't want to mask any of those problems.

00:19:40You want the chassis to be working in perfect harmony,

00:19:42but you're right, Hobbo.

00:19:44The more horsepower we have,

00:19:45the more wing you can crank onto the car

00:19:47and drive through the drag penalty

00:19:50that you would have to pay

00:19:50by running that extra downforce.

00:19:52That's the young Spaniard.

00:19:54Fernando Alonso using all of the curb

00:19:55and then, son, watch his hands.

00:19:57He has a very late turn-in in the Renault.

00:19:59He really cranks it in.

00:20:01Probably do it down here.

00:20:02Yeah, look at that.

00:20:03Pushing it right in.

00:20:04It looks like it's understeering like Bilio,

00:20:05but obviously it's not

00:20:06because he's hugging that curb all the way around.

00:20:09Well, exactly.

00:20:09It's a much tighter line

00:20:10than we've seen from anyone else

00:20:11through turn six.

00:20:15Down that straight.

00:20:18Towards eight.

00:20:19Good aerial shot there.

00:20:21This is the tightest corner on the track.

00:20:23One of the tightest corners in Formula One racing.

00:20:25Some do what drivers called

00:20:26sacrificing the corner

00:20:28using a much flatter line going in

00:20:29because he's more concerned

00:20:30about getting a good run

00:20:31out of the next corner.

00:20:43This is going to be a pretty good lap.

00:20:44Just drops a couple hundred revs

00:20:46on each one of those incredibly quick shifts.

00:20:51Third for the Spaniard,

00:20:53the youngest ever winner in Formula One.

00:20:55Provisionally third at 110.078.

00:20:58We'll be back to Indy after this.

00:21:04Welcome back to Indianapolis.

00:21:05You're riding on the front suspension wishbone

00:21:08of the Minardi Cosworth

00:21:09in the hands of Italian

00:21:10Gian Maria or Jimmy Bruni.

00:21:14Now, you'll notice on that shot

00:21:15that you can't see

00:21:16the forward leg of the top wishbone.

00:21:19It's hidden behind the track rod right here.

00:21:22You can't see the leg of the wishbone.

00:21:25That's no accident.

00:21:26They do that.

00:21:27They design it deliberately

00:21:28so that only the track rod

00:21:29is in the airflow

00:21:31so that they basically get a two-for-one deal

00:21:33so that the airflow disrupted by the track rod

00:21:35is the same as it would be disrupted

00:21:37by the wishbone.

00:21:38It saves a little drag problem.

00:21:40I feel a bit sorry for poor

00:21:41Gia Maria here

00:21:42because they're actually calling him

00:21:43on the big screen Bruno,

00:21:45which they may think is his first name.

00:21:46He's actually Bruni.

00:21:47And David, I've got a question for you.

00:21:49You said that Fernando

00:21:49was turning in

00:21:51like Bilio

00:21:52into that corner.

00:21:52I just wonder who Bilio was as well.

00:21:54Is he a mate of Bruni's

00:21:55or Bruno's perhaps?

00:21:56He's a friend of Derek Daly.

00:21:58He comes from Northern Ireland.

00:21:59I thought he was one of the hobbits.

00:22:03Bilio.

00:22:04That's spelled O-U-G-H-E-S.

00:22:07He's from Wales.

00:22:11John Maria Bruni may yet have a great career

00:22:13in Formula One.

00:22:16But not today.

00:22:17But not today, I'm afraid.

00:22:19I think he is pretty quick, actually.

00:22:20I think he is too.

00:22:21And in fact, he's kind of gone off the boil

00:22:23just a little bit

00:22:24because everybody expected him

00:22:25to blow his teammate

00:22:26Jolt Baumgartner in the weeds.

00:22:27That hasn't quite happened.

00:22:29But he is in at 113.776.

00:22:32His all eyes are now on

00:22:34Mark Webber of Australia

00:22:35in the other Jaguar.

00:22:36I'm talking of weeds.

00:22:38Right about here this morning,

00:22:40he went into those weeds

00:22:41on the outside there

00:22:42and stuffed it into the tire barrier.

00:22:44But this is the same car,

00:22:45so they obviously got it fixed up.

00:22:48Yeah, Dave Stubbs,

00:22:49the team manager from Jaguar,

00:22:51was explaining to us earlier on

00:22:53and they did manage to repair

00:22:54his race car.

00:22:55He was very keen to hang on

00:22:56to that chassis,

00:22:57but he was touching go

00:22:58whether or not they were

00:22:59going to have to replace it

00:22:59because of a slight tweak

00:23:00to the suspension mounts.

00:23:02But that first sector

00:23:04could get him in the top

00:23:05seven or eight.

00:23:07Don't know how this sector is.

00:23:08And again, look how relatively

00:23:09small the wing is

00:23:10on the Jaguar chassis

00:23:11in comparison to some

00:23:12of the other cars we've seen.

00:23:17That'll eat them right here.

00:23:20Through the short shoot

00:23:21and on at the straightaway.

00:23:29into 10th.

00:23:32Bumping his teammate

00:23:33and that, of course,

00:23:33is the first battle

00:23:34every driver wants to win.

00:23:36Be quicker than the guy

00:23:37in identical machinery.

00:23:38He beats Christian Clean

00:23:40by about three-tenths

00:23:41as Mark Webber weighs in

00:23:42at a 111.444.

00:23:45It's a very important battle

00:23:47that you absolutely do

00:23:48categorically have to beat

00:23:49your teammate.

00:23:50And Webber, you know,

00:23:52I still believe Webber's

00:23:53sitting a little bit

00:23:53too high in the cockpit.

00:23:55His helmet is coming

00:23:56very close to the air inlet

00:23:58on that Jaguar chassis.

00:24:00Sure, I mean, he's the tallest

00:24:02driver out there.

00:24:04Certainly the most normal

00:24:05driver out there, too.

00:24:06Jarno Trulli.

00:24:07In fairness to Christian Clean,

00:24:09Webber is driving,

00:24:10we are told,

00:24:11with an up-rated

00:24:11Jaguar Cosworth engine

00:24:13heading about 30 horsepower

00:24:15with more revs.

00:24:16On board,

00:24:17but this is Jarno Trulli,

00:24:18the other man along

00:24:19with Rubens Vatichello

00:24:20to have lapped

00:24:20this combined oval

00:24:21and road course

00:24:22at better than 70 seconds.

00:24:30Trulli, of course,

00:24:31the winner earlier this year

00:24:33in a dramatic Grand Prix

00:24:34of Monaco

00:24:35seen here on speed.

00:24:38Race, which,

00:24:39despite Michael Schumacher's

00:24:40accident colliding

00:24:41with one Pablo Montoya

00:24:42in the tunnel,

00:24:43Trulli really was

00:24:44as the class of that field.

00:24:48There's a lot more rubber

00:24:49going down on the track

00:24:50now.

00:24:50You can see it all over

00:24:52the...

00:24:52Renault chassis

00:24:53a little bit out of shape

00:24:54there.

00:24:55But it should start

00:24:56to pick up time now.

00:24:57The performance

00:24:58should start to improve

00:24:59out of this track

00:25:00and that rubber being put

00:25:01down in this

00:25:01provisional qualifying.

00:25:04Whoa.

00:25:05Yeah.

00:25:06Yeah.

00:25:19He's looking pretty strong

00:25:20here.

00:25:21Sixth,

00:25:22the 110.559.

00:25:23Imagine what he could have

00:25:24done without those

00:25:25two bobbles out there.

00:25:27So his young teammate

00:25:28still ahead of him,

00:25:29his young teammate

00:25:30doing the 110.078,

00:25:32Trulli doing the 110.559.

00:25:34A four-tenth slower

00:25:36than Michael Schumacher

00:25:37despite that big twitch.

00:25:38Watch this.

00:25:42Yeah, it's a little bit

00:25:43too much curb,

00:25:44I think.

00:25:44They're quite stiffly

00:25:45sprung round here.

00:25:46A couple of the cars

00:25:47have been running

00:25:48relatively soft suspension.

00:25:49Here's one of them

00:25:50right here,

00:25:50the FW26 chassis.

00:25:52The Renault chassis

00:25:53has been quite stiff

00:25:54and of course,

00:25:56when you drive

00:25:56over the curbs

00:25:57like that,

00:25:58and we saw earlier

00:25:58on one of the little

00:25:59barge boards

00:26:00being thrown off

00:26:01the Renault chassis

00:26:02by curb hopping,

00:26:03it really can

00:26:04unsettle the chassis

00:26:05very quickly.

00:26:06There's just no

00:26:07compliance in the car.

00:26:08It doesn't want

00:26:09to drive over those

00:26:10curbs.

00:26:11Well up over 200

00:26:12miles an hour

00:26:13in the speed traps

00:26:13as Ralph Schumacher

00:26:14bouncing off the curbs.

00:26:17208.3.

00:26:24Two tenths slow.

00:26:28This is the important

00:26:29sector,

00:26:30number two.

00:26:33That's good enough

00:26:34for about,

00:26:35could put him

00:26:36in the top

00:26:37three or four.

00:26:40little whisper of smoke

00:26:42up that left front.

00:26:45I'm just here there.

00:26:59Team Williams drivers

00:27:01have been saying

00:27:01the car just isn't

00:27:02fast enough.

00:27:03Earlier today,

00:27:03we heard BMW

00:27:04engine program

00:27:05director,

00:27:06Dr. Mario Thiessen

00:27:07saying,

00:27:07we think we've got

00:27:08one of the best

00:27:08engines out there.

00:27:12Half a second off,

00:27:14one ten point

00:27:15zero zero three,

00:27:17one one thousandth

00:27:18of a second

00:27:19slower than

00:27:21Takuma Sato.

00:27:23Third place

00:27:24for Ralph Schumacher.

00:27:29Here comes the boy.

00:27:38This is one

00:27:39Pablo Montoya.

00:27:44Look at the flags

00:27:45waving in the grandstand,

00:27:47urging the Colombian

00:27:48on.

00:27:52Look at those

00:27:53grandstands down

00:27:54in turn one.

00:27:55By consensus,

00:27:56whoa.

00:27:59Fellas,

00:27:59as you know,

00:28:00race engineers

00:28:02categorize drivers

00:28:03as technical drivers

00:28:04with good feedback

00:28:05or pure instinct

00:28:06reflex drivers

00:28:07who are brilliant

00:28:08and can drive

00:28:09the wheels off

00:28:09anything,

00:28:10but you better

00:28:10make sure the car

00:28:11is good.

00:28:12Montoya fits

00:28:13into that instinct

00:28:14reflex driver.

00:28:15He is flamboyant

00:28:16and that's why

00:28:17it's closed Colombia

00:28:18down for the day

00:28:19because most of the

00:28:19people seem to be

00:28:20here hoping

00:28:21that their man

00:28:22can at least,

00:28:23at least get

00:28:24on the front row

00:28:24here.

00:28:26So a little bit

00:28:26of plank smoke

00:28:28come up earlier

00:28:28on guys

00:28:29as the car

00:28:29was driving

00:28:30down the main

00:28:31straight.

00:28:31I think that's

00:28:33a result of running

00:28:34relatively soft springs

00:28:35on the car

00:28:36and the downforce

00:28:37loading pushing

00:28:37the car down.

00:28:38However,

00:28:39those soft springs

00:28:39that got on the car

00:28:40will help

00:28:41around the infield

00:28:41section,

00:28:43really helping

00:28:43the overall performance

00:28:44of that FW26.

00:28:46This could be

00:28:47a top three

00:28:48lap.

00:28:55P2 at 109.824.

00:29:01Montoya now

00:29:02in that very elite

00:29:0369 second club.

00:29:06Well,

00:29:07because Montoya

00:29:08is one of these

00:29:09guys who is just

00:29:10unbelievable on these

00:29:12outlaps and that

00:29:13sort of thing.

00:29:13I remember at the

00:29:14Indy 500 which he

00:29:15won,

00:29:15he was so quick

00:29:16on those cold

00:29:17tires.

00:29:17Every time he had

00:29:18a stop,

00:29:19a little whistle

00:29:19of smoke there.

00:29:21Of course,

00:29:21cold tires is a

00:29:22relative term in

00:29:23Formula One

00:29:23where tire warmers

00:29:24are used to

00:29:25preheat the rubber

00:29:26up to well over

00:29:26200 degrees

00:29:27but still,

00:29:28you've got to get

00:29:29some running on

00:29:30them.

00:29:31Here comes a big

00:29:32favorite here in

00:29:33America,

00:29:33former champ car

00:29:34champion,

00:29:35Cristiano De Mata,

00:29:36who was known in

00:29:37his camp car days

00:29:38as Shorty.

00:29:41And he went very

00:29:42well this morning.

00:29:44Yes,

00:29:44particularly in the

00:29:45middle sector.

00:29:46He's only three

00:29:46tenths off through

00:29:47the first one.

00:29:56Fellas,

00:29:57Richard Cregan

00:29:58is one of the

00:29:58team managers

00:29:59at Toyota.

00:30:00He believes

00:30:01Cristiano De Mata

00:30:02despite his

00:30:03one lap experience

00:30:04in America

00:30:04is not getting

00:30:06the best out

00:30:06of the car.

00:30:07They've actually

00:30:07gone to

00:30:08physiotherapists

00:30:09to bring his

00:30:09heartbeat up,

00:30:10to bring his

00:30:11adrenaline up

00:30:12before he gets

00:30:12into the car

00:30:13to try and

00:30:13physically prepare

00:30:14him for jumping

00:30:16into this

00:30:16one lap blast

00:30:17stuff.

00:30:18Lost a tenth

00:30:19in the middle

00:30:19sector,

00:30:20a little dust

00:30:20being blown up.

00:30:27De Mata

00:30:28comes to the

00:30:29line sixth

00:30:30and a

00:30:31110.1.

00:30:34Round of

00:30:35applause in the

00:30:35Toyota garage.

00:30:36We'll take a

00:30:36break and return

00:30:37live to Indy.

00:30:41It's coming

00:30:42on July 1st.

00:30:44Hockey

00:30:44teams up with

00:30:45F1 to give you

00:30:46the chance to

00:30:47win the trip

00:30:47of a lifetime.

00:30:49Watch the

00:30:49back live in Indy,

00:30:54looking down from

00:30:55high above the

00:30:55Indianapolis Motor

00:30:56Speedway at the

00:30:57Toyota of Olivier

00:30:58Panis, third place

00:31:00qualifier last year

00:31:01for the U.S.

00:31:02Grand Prix.

00:31:03and on his

00:31:04warm-up lap

00:31:04went through

00:31:05the speed,

00:31:05or excuse me,

00:31:06on his beginning

00:31:06of his time lap

00:31:07went through

00:31:08the speed trap

00:31:08at 210.7 miles

00:31:10an hour.

00:31:14His teammate

00:31:15qualified sixth

00:31:16provisionally

00:31:17and the Frenchman

00:31:19third.

00:31:23109.923.

00:31:25Perhaps third

00:31:26is a good omen

00:31:28for the elder

00:31:28statesman in the

00:31:29current Formula

00:31:30One crop of

00:31:31drivers.

00:31:34getting up into

00:31:35his doddering

00:31:36end of the

00:31:3730s.

00:31:38Exactly.

00:31:40Poor old

00:31:40Cogger.

00:31:42150th Grand Prix

00:31:43weekend for

00:31:44Olivier and the

00:31:44hard-working

00:31:45Toyota crew.

00:31:46Yeah, they'll

00:31:47take that lap.

00:31:48Now all they have

00:31:49to do is do it

00:31:49again in the

00:31:50session that

00:31:51matters coming

00:31:52up in less

00:31:53than 30 minutes.

00:31:54Here comes

00:31:55Giorgio

00:31:55Pantano.

00:31:56Whoa!

00:31:58That's what I

00:31:58mean about that.

00:32:00Jordan Carr,

00:32:02but that seems

00:32:02to be somewhat

00:32:03excessive.

00:32:04Some of that

00:32:05must be

00:32:05brought on by

00:32:06the driver.

00:32:07Bouncing along.

00:32:08It's a little

00:32:08puppy there in

00:32:09the braking area

00:32:09for Turn 1.

00:32:10Yeah.

00:32:11And that, Bob,

00:32:12is unsettling the

00:32:13aerodynamics

00:32:14underneath the car.

00:32:15Once you get the

00:32:16car started to

00:32:17rot like that

00:32:17front and rear,

00:32:19the airflow

00:32:19gets disrupted

00:32:20working across

00:32:21the diffuser.

00:32:22And the underside

00:32:23of the body of

00:32:23these cars is

00:32:24producing around

00:32:2430 to 35%

00:32:26of the overall

00:32:27downforce.

00:32:27You start

00:32:28messing with that

00:32:28under the

00:32:29braking zone,

00:32:30the car becomes

00:32:31very nervous.

00:32:33We saw

00:32:34Ferrari blister

00:32:35both the soft

00:32:36and the hard

00:32:36compound

00:32:37Bridgestone.

00:32:37Jordan is also

00:32:38on Bridgestone.

00:32:40They are

00:32:41qualifying on

00:32:42the softer

00:32:42compound.

00:32:44The cynic

00:32:45might say

00:32:45they're not

00:32:46going fast enough

00:32:46to blister the

00:32:47softer ones.

00:32:50Yes, but that

00:32:51wouldn't be any

00:32:52of us, would

00:32:52it, Derek?

00:32:55Pantano running

00:32:55last.

00:32:56He did not

00:32:56compete last

00:32:57Sunday in the

00:32:57Canadian Grand

00:32:58Prix due to

00:32:59shortfall in

00:33:01sponsor support.

00:33:02He's paying

00:33:03about $6 million

00:33:04for the drive.

00:33:05There's his team

00:33:06owner on the

00:33:07right, Eddie

00:33:08Jordan, the man

00:33:08he's paying that

00:33:09money too.

00:33:10Pantano weighs in

00:33:1117th quicker than

00:33:13his teammate.

00:33:14The much more

00:33:14experienced Nick

00:33:15Heidfeld beats

00:33:16him by three

00:33:17tenths, in fact.

00:33:18112.017.

00:33:21So all 20

00:33:22drivers have now

00:33:23run.

00:33:23We'll invert the

00:33:24order and do it

00:33:25again, this time

00:33:26for keeps.

00:33:32Welcome back

00:33:32everybody to

00:33:33Speed Channel's

00:33:33live coverage of

00:33:34qualifying for the

00:33:35U.S. Grand

00:33:35Prix.

00:33:36We just saw a

00:33:37spectacular run by

00:33:38Barrichello and

00:33:39Takuma Sato, but

00:33:40Peter, as you

00:33:41watched every lap,

00:33:43Michael Schumacher

00:33:44is really the

00:33:44story that you

00:33:45seem to have

00:33:46grasped onto.

00:33:47Well, that's

00:33:47right.

00:33:48I think we'll

00:33:48have to look at

00:33:49Michael to see

00:33:49what's going on

00:33:50because he is the

00:33:51master, as it

00:33:51were.

00:33:52But Ferrari have

00:33:53just semi-confirmed

00:33:54that both Michael

00:33:55and Rubens are on

00:33:56the same type of

00:33:57Bridgestone compound

00:33:57so we can't explain

00:33:59the difference with

00:33:59tyres.

00:34:00So it's got to be

00:34:01fuel load at the

00:34:02moment.

00:34:02It'll be interesting

00:34:02to see whether

00:34:03Michael goes

00:34:04lighter now on

00:34:04fuel for qualifying

00:34:05and, of course,

00:34:06this will be the

00:34:07fuel load with

00:34:07which he has to

00:34:08start the race.

00:34:09But at the

00:34:09moment, you've

00:34:10got to say that

00:34:10he's in trouble

00:34:11because he was only

00:34:11ninth quickest

00:34:12and that means

00:34:13he's not going

00:34:13to be out when

00:34:14the track is at

00:34:15its fastest in

00:34:16qualifying.

00:34:17As we saw just

00:34:17then, the track

00:34:18was picking up

00:34:19grip all the time

00:34:20and the last

00:34:20guys out, the

00:34:21Toyotas particularly,

00:34:22very quick now.

00:34:23Very good point.

00:34:24Frank Durney, one

00:34:25of the senior

00:34:25technical engineers

00:34:26at Williams says

00:34:27they feel good.

00:34:28Montoya's good.

00:34:29They have no

00:34:29trouble with the

00:34:30Michelin tyres.

00:34:31We do know

00:34:31those Ferraris

00:34:32have picked the

00:34:32heart of the

00:34:33compound tyres

00:34:33and yet we still

00:34:35saw them blister.

00:34:36So qualifying

00:34:36will be one of

00:34:37their problems.

00:34:38Racing might be

00:34:39another.

00:34:40Don't go away

00:34:41because everything

00:34:42that happens

00:34:42live here in

00:34:43qualifying for the

00:34:44US Grand Prix

00:34:44will be on

00:34:45Speed Channel.

00:34:51Welcome back

00:34:52to the United

00:34:52States Grand Prix

00:34:53at Indianapolis

00:34:54where we've just

00:34:54finished pre-qualifying.

00:34:56BMW Williams

00:34:57second and fifth.

00:34:59Juan Pablo Montoya

00:34:59slightly ahead of

00:35:00Raul Schumacher

00:35:01there and we're

00:35:01honoured to have

00:35:01with us Sir

00:35:02Frank Williams.

00:35:03Frank, that

00:35:03looked pretty

00:35:03promising.

00:35:04Looks like

00:35:05it's going to be

00:35:05a very, very

00:35:06close qualifying session.

00:35:07Well, I think

00:35:08everyone was

00:35:08definitely very

00:35:09empty.

00:35:10just enough to

00:35:10do the three

00:35:11laps, which means

00:35:12that we are quite

00:35:13competitive at this

00:35:13time.

00:35:14At the next stage

00:35:15of course, how much

00:35:16fuel you put on

00:35:16for the race may

00:35:17spread the field a

00:35:18little bit more

00:35:19than you've seen

00:35:19to date.

00:35:20I think we're

00:35:21competitive as

00:35:21long as our tyres

00:35:22last for the

00:35:23full distance.

00:35:25Rubens Barrichello

00:35:26very quick there.

00:35:27You say everybody's

00:35:27running light, but

00:35:28he's presumably

00:35:29running lighter than

00:35:29anybody else.

00:35:30Well, we're

00:35:31trying to think

00:35:31maybe he's running

00:35:32more wing, which

00:35:33is not the quick

00:35:33way to go for the

00:35:34race, of course.

00:35:35Or maybe he's

00:35:36running a softer

00:35:36compound than his

00:35:37teammate.

00:35:39A very good

00:35:39showing in

00:35:40Canada.

00:35:41Do you think

00:35:41you're going to be

00:35:42as close to the

00:35:43Ferraris here on

00:35:44race day tomorrow?

00:35:45Well, we've heard

00:35:46they're blistering

00:35:47their tyres, but

00:35:48that's kind of

00:35:49clutching at straws

00:35:50a bit, I think.

00:35:51But Michael is much

00:35:51quicker than he was

00:35:52showing a few

00:35:53minutes ago, Peter.

00:35:54And I would imagine

00:35:55they'll just dominate

00:35:56the race as usual,

00:35:58sadly.

00:35:59Frank, I have to

00:35:59ask you, a

00:36:00disappointment after

00:36:01the race in Canada,

00:36:01the disqualification of

00:36:02both cars.

00:36:03The team has picked

00:36:04itself up beautifully

00:36:05from that.

00:36:06What was the mood

00:36:06like in the days

00:36:07after that race?

00:36:09Well, just behind

00:36:10us, there's no point

00:36:11crying about it.

00:36:12It was a major

00:36:12blunder.

00:36:13It's happened.

00:36:14It's in the past,

00:36:15there's a lot more

00:36:16races to go.

00:36:16Another nine or ten

00:36:18and four of one

00:36:18memories are very

00:36:19short.

00:36:20Well, they are

00:36:20indeed, especially

00:36:21if the races are

00:36:21one week apart.

00:36:23Very, very best of

00:36:23luck in qualifying and,

00:36:24of course, in the

00:36:25race tomorrow.

00:36:26Thank you very much,

00:36:26Sir Frank Williams.

00:36:27Thank you, Peter.

00:36:31And now, we will be

00:36:33coming up with

00:36:33qualifying soon.

00:36:34Stay with us on

00:36:35Speed Channel for

00:36:36live coverage of

00:36:36qualifying for the

00:36:37United States Grand

00:36:38Prix at Indianapolis.

00:36:43Welcome back to

00:36:44another gorgeous day

00:36:45at the Indianapolis

00:36:46Motor Speedway.

00:36:47Live qualifying being

00:36:49brought to you here on

00:36:50Speed Channel.

00:36:50Of course, the

00:36:51important session is

00:36:52coming.

00:36:53Single car, single

00:36:55lap, and with three

00:36:56drivers in the

00:36:5769-second zone.

00:36:59One second covers

00:37:00the top nine.

00:37:01Two seconds, the

00:37:02top 15.

00:37:03This could be a

00:37:04really exciting

00:37:05session coming up,

00:37:06David.

00:37:06I'm sure it's going

00:37:07to be very intense.

00:37:09The weather is

00:37:10absolutely perfect

00:37:10for qualifying.

00:37:11The humidity keeps

00:37:12going down every

00:37:13minute.

00:37:13The track temperature

00:37:14is looking pretty

00:37:14good.

00:37:15There is a pretty

00:37:16stiff breeze, as you

00:37:16can see from those

00:37:17flags on top of the

00:37:18pagoda there, and

00:37:19it's right into them

00:37:20going down the

00:37:21straight, but they're

00:37:21still doing 215

00:37:23mile an hour.

00:37:24Just look at that

00:37:25beautiful sky and

00:37:26beautifully groomed

00:37:27racetrack.

00:37:27Here's a look at the

00:37:28results of the

00:37:29pre-qualifying session.

00:37:31They will go off in

00:37:31reverse order for what

00:37:33we see here.

00:37:33Rubens Barichello, an

00:37:35unofficial lap record

00:37:36at 69.454 seconds

00:37:38on the Ferrari, and

00:37:39not far behind.

00:37:40Juan Pablo Montoya in

00:37:41the BMW Williams, and

00:37:43Olivier Panis in the

00:37:44Toyota.

00:37:45And right behind him,

00:37:46Takuma Sato in the

00:37:47Honda.

00:37:47This could be the

00:37:48battle of the next

00:37:49ten years in Formula

00:37:50One.

00:37:50Ralph Schumacher there

00:37:51in the second of the

00:37:52Williams.

00:37:53And then in sixth spot,

00:37:54Fernando Alonso in the

00:37:56Renault, which I think

00:37:57we could expect good

00:37:58guns from him this

00:37:59afternoon.

00:37:59Cristiano Marta in the

00:38:00Toyota.

00:38:01I expect those guys to be

00:38:02dropping down the list in

00:38:03real qualifying because of

00:38:04the extra fuel they will be

00:38:05carrying on board for a

00:38:06two-stopper.

00:38:07Let's see how that

00:38:07unfolds.

00:38:08He saw Michael Schumacher

00:38:09there in ninth place with

00:38:10Jensen Button ahead of him

00:38:11and Jarno truly behind him.

00:38:13Those are three hitters.

00:38:14Giancarlo Fisichella in the

00:38:15Sauber 11, followed by

00:38:17David Coulthard of the

00:38:18McLaren, Felipe Massa in the

00:38:19other Sauber, Petronas or

00:38:21Ferrari, and Kimi Raikkonen

00:38:23and Mark Webber.

00:38:25The final five, Christian

00:38:26Kling of Austria, the

00:38:27second Jaguar, Giorgio

00:38:29Pantano out-qualifying his

00:38:30vastly more experienced

00:38:32teammate, the German Nick

00:38:33Heitfeld, then Gianmaria

00:38:35Bruni and Jolt Baumgartner

00:38:37in the Minardi-Cosworths.

00:38:40There's the mechanics from

00:38:41the Renault team doing what

00:38:42mechanics typically do,

00:38:43getting out the old opera

00:38:44glasses to check out the

00:38:45girls in the grandstand

00:38:46across from the pit.

00:38:47There's a lot of girls here

00:38:49and the sun is shining and

00:38:50it's all looking very nice,

00:38:51I must admit, down there.

00:38:54It's like they found

00:38:55something.

00:38:56Ah, now everybody's rushing

00:38:57over.

00:38:58Ah, maybe that's who they're

00:38:58looking at.

00:38:59We'll take a break and

00:39:00return with live coverage of

00:39:02the important session from

00:39:03Indy.

00:39:09At the Indianapolis 500,

00:39:11it's four laps to qualify.

00:39:13For the Brickyard 400, you

00:39:15get two laps to try to put it

00:39:17on pole.

00:39:18In Formula One qualifying for

00:39:20the United States Grand Prix,

00:39:21you get but one lap.

00:39:23One lap for it all to come

00:39:24together.

00:39:25One lap to find the compromise

00:39:27between the longest flat out

00:39:28section in Formula One and its

00:39:30tightest infield.

00:39:31One lap that can put you on

00:39:32pole, putting you that much

00:39:34closer to winning the U.S.

00:39:35Grand Prix and adding your

00:39:37name to the list of Brickyard

00:39:38legends.

00:39:54As it has been for decades in

00:39:56Indy cars and in recent years in

00:39:58stock cars, it is becoming the

00:40:00rule that every Formula One

00:40:01driver wants to win at

00:40:03Indianapolis.

00:40:04But before you can race the U.S.

00:40:06Grand Prix at Indy, you must

00:40:09qualify.

00:40:10Welcome to the all-important

00:40:11session of single car, single

00:40:13lap qualifying to set the grid

00:40:15for tomorrow's running of the

00:40:16fifth United States Formula One

00:40:18Grand Prix at Indianapolis.

00:40:20I'm Bob Varsha along with David

00:40:21Hobbs and Steve Matchett.

00:40:23Derek Daly and Peter Windsor are

00:40:25in the pit lane and our running

00:40:26order has been set.

00:40:28Right now, let's take a look at

00:40:29our Porsche track map and set the

00:40:31stage, David.

00:40:32Well, the 2.6 miles is one of the

00:40:34short, it's the second shortest

00:40:35track on the circuit, but it also

00:40:37has the longest flat out from 11

00:40:39through 12, 13, down to 1.

00:40:41It's 23 seconds of full power.

00:40:44Very tough braking to turn 1, 2,

00:40:463, 4.

00:40:47Up to 4 is quite a long

00:40:48corner, you need to put the power

00:40:50down, you need good mechanical

00:40:51grip there.

00:40:526 has been giving everybody fits

00:40:53all weekend.

00:40:54You really want to get 7 right

00:40:56because at Holman Boulevard, you've

00:40:57got a tailwind today into 8.

00:40:58We saw a few mistakes down at 8.

00:41:009 and 10, 2 of the slowest corners

00:41:02in Formula One.

00:41:03Out of that, into that 11, you've

00:41:05really got to get 11 right.

00:41:06If you come out of there 50 RPM up,

00:41:08you'll hold that 50 RPM for 23

00:41:10seconds.

00:41:11Obviously, there's no elevation

00:41:12change and it's not a bad track for

00:41:14overtaking, especially down at

00:41:16turn 1.

00:41:18All right, Steve Badger, let's talk

00:41:19a little bit about how these cars

00:41:21will differ from their race setup

00:41:22in this all-important one-lap

00:41:24qualifying.

00:41:25Well, it's very difficult now,

00:41:27really, to do an awful lot from

00:41:28qualifying to race.

00:41:30Previous years, before we had this

00:41:31one-lap qualifying and the cars

00:41:33went to Park Fermé, you would see

00:41:34a lot of the teams run more wing

00:41:36in qualifying to help them through

00:41:37that infield section.

00:41:38And then, as Frank Williams was

00:41:40alluding to in our interview with

00:41:41him there, they would prefer to take

00:41:43that wing off for race conditions

00:41:44because it allows them to optimize

00:41:46their overtaking possibilities.

00:41:47Going down the long straight into

00:41:49turn 1.

00:41:50Now, whatever the cars are set with

00:41:52in qualifying for this single-lap

00:41:53qualifying second lap, they will

00:41:55have to keep on for the race

00:41:57tomorrow.

00:41:58So it really is a compromise.

00:41:59The guys will be looking very

00:42:00carefully at the weather forecast

00:42:02for tomorrow to try and gauge what

00:42:04the weather will be tomorrow.

00:42:05If it's going to be colder than

00:42:06today, they're going to want to

00:42:07close the radiator ducting down.

00:42:09If they expect it to be hotter than

00:42:10today, they're going to have to run

00:42:11bigger ducts on the car than they

00:42:13would like to, particularly for this

00:42:15lap run here.

00:42:16Here's a look at the qualifying

00:42:17order.

00:42:18As you saw on the first page, team

00:42:19by team, it'll be the Minardies and

00:42:21then the Jordans and then the Jaguars

00:42:23and then a mix of Sauber's and

00:42:25McLaren's.

00:42:27And here are the last 10 on track.

00:42:30Topped by Rubens Baracchello, who

00:42:32set an unofficial lap record at 69.4

00:42:36seconds in the opening round of

00:42:38pre-qualifying.

00:42:39There's Italian Giorgio Pantano

00:42:41thinking over his first attempt to

00:42:43qualify for the U.S. Grand Prix at

00:42:45Indy.

00:42:46We'll be back.

00:42:52Welcome back.

00:42:54One o'clock central time.

00:42:55Sharp.

00:42:56And the first car is on track for the

00:42:58all-important one hot lap to find his

00:43:00place on the grid.

00:43:01This is Jolt Baumgartner of Hungary in

00:43:04the Minardi Cosworth.

00:43:05Look at that packed grandstand down in

00:43:07turn one.

00:43:08Everybody loves the action down there.

00:43:09Best overtaking spot on the racetrack.

00:43:12But this is going to be a very

00:43:13different kind of lap.

00:43:15Look at that humidity, too.

00:43:1636 percent.

00:43:17This time yesterday afternoon it was

00:43:18about 75.

00:43:20Which obviously helps these cars a lot.

00:43:23And the drivers.

00:43:32Once again, this racetrack complex is in

00:43:34beautiful condition just 14 working days

00:43:37after the Memorial Day weekend

00:43:39Indianapolis 500.

00:43:42Speedway vice president of operations

00:43:44Mel Harder and his staff

00:43:45did an amazing job converting from oval

00:43:49track to road course setup, including

00:43:51moving 138-ton concrete barriers,

00:43:55re-signing the entire place,

00:43:58setting up tire walls and more.

00:44:00There must have been some busy boys

00:44:01working those few, those couple of

00:44:03weeks.

00:44:03They must have been flailing away like

00:44:04one-armed paper hangers in a gale.

00:44:06And they had a lot of rain to work in.

00:44:11Off turn one on the oval track, turn 13 of

00:44:14this combined oval and road course

00:44:15complex, and here goes Jolt Baumgartner

00:44:17on the clock.

00:44:42Tricky turn six coming up.

00:44:50On to the Holman Boulevard straightaway down

00:44:53the center of the racetrack.

00:44:55Look at the folks on those berms and

00:44:56grassy knolls on either side of the

00:44:58track, great place to sit and watch.

00:45:02Just off to the left there, big crowd

00:45:04all the way around through eight, nine.

00:45:06Big new grandstand on the left.

00:45:08This is the new turn 10 grandstand,

00:45:10a stone sellout for tomorrow's Grand

00:45:11Prix.

00:45:13This is the very important corner turn 11

00:45:15because this is the one, if you get this

00:45:17right, you pick up speed up there, you

00:45:19hold it for such a long time.

00:45:21A little lockup, overcooked it just that

00:45:23little bit going good.

00:45:29Zolt was dead on 200 miles an hour

00:45:31through the speed track, going into this

00:45:33lap, and he will set

00:45:35the benchmark at 114.812.

00:45:39That will not last long in this crowd.

00:45:43I would say that his teammate, Jimmy

00:45:45Bruni, will probably make that look in

00:45:47second spot.

00:45:48Yeah, you were always a betting man.

00:45:52A real risk taker.

00:45:56Look at those adjustments.

00:46:00You hear the traction control on that car

00:46:02around that part of the track, really

00:46:03working overtime, trying to put the power

00:46:06down coming out of this corner.

00:46:08Here comes his teammate at the other

00:46:09Minardi Cosworth.

00:46:11This is Gianmaria Jimmy Bruni of Italy.

00:46:38And he's up on his teammate by nearly

00:46:40three-tenths in the first of the three

00:46:42intermediates.

00:46:42Yeah, he went a significantly quicker

00:46:44bump through the speed track as well,

00:46:45like four miles an hour up on his teammate

00:46:47there.

00:46:51Fingers of his right hand flicking the

00:46:53upshifts.

00:46:54He'll use his left hand for the downshifts,

00:46:55and you see the steering at work.

00:47:02Notice the shadows at the bottom of your

00:47:04screen.

00:47:04Not much suspension movement at all.

00:47:11Bruni's got this very distinctive way of

00:47:13flicking the gear paddles, hasn't he?

00:47:14It really accentuates his finger movement.

00:47:18It does, yeah.

00:47:18Left and right hands up and downshifting,

00:47:21yeah.

00:47:22Bring that pinky up the way Hobbs holds

00:47:24his teacup.

00:47:27And he bumps his teammate by a cool

00:47:29eight-tenths of a second.

00:47:32So Bruni and his countrymen in Italy are no

00:47:36doubt looking on in prime time.

00:47:40Here's a look at his corrections.

00:47:42Well, he's struggling with the chassis with the

00:47:44mechanical grip there, especially at those

00:47:46cars, the car here, the whole thing moving.

00:47:49It really, it's almost like it's dancing on

00:47:52ice, isn't it?

00:47:54Obviously a bit down on downforce, I'd say,

00:47:57there, and also suffering badly from

00:47:59mechanical grip, or lack of mechanical grip.

00:48:03Nick Heidfeld in the EJ14 underway.

00:48:08Of course, these cars after the qualifying lap all

00:48:10go to Park for May, and they have to remain

00:48:12at the Park for May conditions.

00:48:14And the teams are not allowed to work on the

00:48:16cars overnight.

00:48:18Now, the reason for that is that this was

00:48:20introduced by the FIA to prevent the teams

00:48:23producing one-off qualifying cars with very

00:48:26small radiators, very high, powerful engines,

00:48:29very lightweight chassis, which they would only

00:48:31use for this one qualifying period.

00:48:33And then they would scrap those cars and

00:48:35produce the race cars for Sunday.

00:48:37And to try and control the colossal cost that

00:48:40would incur to the teams, the FIA made the

00:48:42decision, you must use the car you're going to

00:48:44qualify, must be used for the race.

00:48:46And the way we've got to ensure that is we're

00:48:48going to lock it up for the night to make sure you

00:48:50don't change anything.

00:48:51And of course, now all the mechanics don't know what

00:48:53to do themselves on Saturday night.

00:48:54They're all in the bar in the restaurant by six

00:48:56o'clock.

00:48:57Well, they know exactly what to do.

00:48:58That's the problem.

00:49:00Yeah.

00:49:02They qualified sixth in 2001 for this race.

00:49:05Thinking about those qualifying chassis reminds me of

00:49:08my days covering the Tour de France cycling event in

00:49:11which great riders like Lance Armstrong will use a

00:49:14special lightweight carbon fiber bike for the time

00:49:17trials.

00:49:18A one-use bicycle.

00:49:19Toss it when it's done.

00:49:22Yeah.

00:49:23Well, these guys were thinking exactly along the same

00:49:25lines.

00:49:25The engineers were thinking of designing cars without any

00:49:29radiator or cooling system on them at all.

00:49:31They would just simply put water and seal it in the block,

00:49:34run the engine for one lap, and then scrap the engine

00:49:36because it would just blow itself to pieces by the end of the

00:49:39qualifying lap.

00:49:39But boy, it would have been quick for that one lap.

00:49:42Nick Heidfeld is now the provisional pole center at a

00:49:44113.142.

00:49:46Here comes his teammate, the Italian Giorgio Pantano.

00:49:49And look at that car again.

00:49:50Look at that dog hunt down in one.

00:49:52Oh, man.

00:49:54Boy, he struggles this car.

00:49:55He was quicker than his teammate, the small one in the

00:49:57pre-quarter line.

00:49:58But he certainly was putting all into it, didn't he?

00:50:01Hey, Steve, you talk about filling the engine with water.

00:50:04Yeah.

00:50:04That's just about how they qualify a NASCAR Winston Cup

00:50:07remember.

00:50:08Is that right?

00:50:08They completely tape off everything, fill it with cold

00:50:11water.

00:50:11As soon as they take the checkered flag at the end of it,

00:50:15they cut the engine immediately.

00:50:16Yep.

00:50:18Get that ghostly sound when they shut off the engine and

00:50:21coast in.

00:50:22Did I say Winston Cup?

00:50:24Of course I meant next helicopter.

00:50:29Yeah.

00:50:30And I'm sure a lot of our friends are going to be saying

00:50:32about the next five years.

00:50:34The Hendrick drivers who swept the top three spots for

00:50:37tomorrow's DHL 400 at Michigan International Speedway.

00:50:41Jeff Gordon, Brian Vickers, and Jimmy Johnson are slated to be

00:50:44here.

00:50:44I've not seen them, but they're only going to be here for

00:50:46qualifying.

00:50:47Then they'll head back to Michigan for happy hour.

00:50:49Boy, Pantana just a tick off his teammate on those first two

00:50:52sectors.

00:50:53Can you make it up on this third one?

00:50:56Nope.

00:50:57P2.

00:50:59Two tenths of a second.

00:51:00And a 1.13.

00:51:02Point three seven five.

00:51:05Well, the look on the Jordan's mechanic face is kind of says it

00:51:07all, doesn't it?

00:51:08What can we do with this car to try and help the driver?

00:51:12Well, probably scrap him, redesigning it, I think.

00:51:16Yeah, it needs a lot of work, does that, old Jordan, I'm afraid.

00:51:19Here's Christian Clean in the first of the Jags to run.

00:51:23Christian Clean, the youngest driver out there at the moment.

00:51:2821-year-old, and the Jag much more stable going down into turn one

00:51:37than the Jordan chassis.

00:51:41They've all got that tendency, they all want, the cars are desperate to

00:51:45have the drivers over at all cars, aren't they?

00:51:47So it's that constant fight between the driver and the car.

00:51:50Well, like Frank Williams said, this is probably one of the most

00:51:54technical circuits on the circuit, inasmuch as you've got this

00:51:57massive straightaway from turn 11 right around to turn one again.

00:52:02You've got a pretty long straight down the middle of the Holman

00:52:04Boulevard, then you've got these really tight corners, and it's just

00:52:08a real mess to get the car suited right for it, with an aerodynamic

00:52:13and mechanical grip.

00:52:19Because you've got to go fast down here on race day to be able to

00:52:23overtake people as you go in to turn one.

00:52:25Right.

00:52:26Have to, absolutely have to be quick down here.

00:52:29Joining is Austrian countrymen driving at Indianapolis, those

00:52:33countrymen being Alex Wirtz, who drove for McLaren, and the late

00:52:37Jochen Rint.

00:52:40Christian Clean is in.

00:52:41We'll be back.

00:52:48Welcome back to final qualifying for the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix.

00:52:52I'm Bob Varsha with David Hobbs and Steve Matchett.

00:52:54Peter Windsor and Derek Daly are in the pit lane.

00:52:56Mark Webber is on track in the Jaguar.

00:52:59Derek Daly is standing by with Jeff Gordon.

00:53:02Indeed, a very special guest.

00:53:04In fact, three special guests.

00:53:05Brian Vickers is here, Jimmy Johnson and Jeff Gordon.

00:53:07Jeff, we know since you drove the Williams, you've become a big fan of

00:53:10Formula One.

00:53:11Well, I was a big fan before, but after you get a chance to drive one of

00:53:14these machines, it's hard for you not to just fall in love with it.

00:53:19And we had a chance.

00:53:20Jimmy and I actually were over in Barcelona not too long ago and got to

00:53:24enjoy a race.

00:53:25So, man, we're like, hey, they're on our home soil.

00:53:27We're up in Michigan.

00:53:28We're one, two, three.

00:53:29We've got to come down here and see these guys.

00:53:32Jimmy, he tells you how good this is.

00:53:34Can we arrange for you to drive one of these things?

00:53:36I've been trying to get that opportunity.

00:53:39No one will listen to me.

00:53:40That was a problem.

00:53:41I would love to have a chance to drive one of these cars sometime, but this is a

00:53:44great experience to shoot on over and watch the cars a little bit.

00:53:47Hopefully, we have a good day tomorrow with all three of our Hendrick cars.

00:53:50And right now, it's just about watching some fast race cars here at India.

00:53:53Hey, Brian, what about having teammates like these boys here?

00:53:56What a learning curve for you.

00:53:58It has been.

00:53:59I couldn't have better teammates and be with a better organization.

00:54:02To be starting one, two, three tomorrow is going to be pretty cool.

00:54:04And to be here today is a lot of fun.

00:54:06Hey, Jeff, let me ask you one question.

00:54:08I put you on the spot a little bit.

00:54:09We're going to give you a month's testing in the Williams, all the support you need.

00:54:13Can you go as fast as Montoya?

00:54:16Yes.

00:54:17I say yes.

00:54:19Huh?

00:54:20I don't know an answer to that.

00:54:22You know what?

00:54:23I know that I would have loved to have spent more time in the car and really tuned on it

00:54:28with the mechanics and just to see how fast you can go.

00:54:31And, you know, it was a fun day when we were here.

00:54:33It was an older car, and I'm sure they were keeping everything safe.

00:54:36So who knows what could happen?

00:54:39But right now, I'm just enjoying being a spectator.

00:54:41Thanks, Jeff.

00:54:42Most people believe it definitely could happen.

00:54:44Jeff Gordon, Brian Vickers, Jimmy Johnson.

00:54:47Well, it's interesting.

00:54:48It might have happened a long time ago before Jeff became a four-time NASCAR Nextel Cup champion.

00:54:53He was invited over by Sir Jackie Stewart to drive and prepare for a Formula One career,

00:54:59and he's had other offers since then, he says.

00:55:01But, as he says, he is definitely a NASCAR driver now.

00:55:05But it's great to have him.

00:55:06Well, Jeff Gordon came up through single-seaters and all his midgets and short tracks in the Midwest

00:55:09and California, and was obviously very used to driving open-wheel cars,

00:55:13and I think he would be absolutely outstanding.

00:55:16You can't drive like he does in Nextel Cup and not be pretty outstanding.

00:55:19Guys, as we watch Kimi Räikkönen now out on the circuit getting ready for his qualifying run,

00:55:24I've got to tell you, the joke of the week after the Canadian Grand Prix,

00:55:27when you went up to Martin Whitmarshall and Ron Dennis after the race,

00:55:30was to say,

00:55:31Ron, do you think Kimi's five-stop strategy is going to catch on?

00:55:34And, of course, that was because Kimi did actually make five stops,

00:55:37still finished in the points, and beat his teammate, David Coulthard.

00:55:41Three scheduled stops, one to change the computer steering wheel,

00:55:44and one drive-through penalty.

00:55:48Well, here we have a sight that we wouldn't have been seeing this time last year.

00:55:52Kimi Räikkönen, a world champion elect at this time last year,

00:55:56slower than Mark Webber in the Jaguar.

00:55:59Webber, the provisional pole sitter at 111.286.

00:56:04And Räikkönen trips the clock at 111.137 and moves to P1.

00:56:09The old Mercedes engine, obviously, very quick around that very important last sector.

00:56:15Well, it was like three miles an hour quicker than both the Jags

00:56:19as it went through the speed trap.

00:56:21Clean and Webber, 206.5.

00:56:23We're getting all the way over that curb and into the first cut, you might say.

00:56:27Räikkönen, 209.

00:56:29Well, we're on the subject of McLaren's.

00:56:31All of you on the internet chat rooms and email listings about to tell me

00:56:35that Alex Wurtz was in a Benetton when he drove here at Indianapolis.

00:56:40You're right, but he is a McLaren driver now, the test driver.

00:56:43We met him yesterday.

00:56:47Now, does that time the Webber's tell you that he's carrying a bit more fuel than...

00:56:50Wow, Mazur, very quick, 212 miles an hour from the 2004 spec Ferrari driveline

00:56:58on the back of this C23 chassis.

00:57:28Looks like it's not an emergency.

00:57:32T

00:57:32Well, a long way slower through there than Kimi Raikkonen.

00:57:43Now, I wouldn't be at all surprised, David, to see these guys carrying a lot of fuel.

00:57:54Fourth place for Felipe Massa at a 112.721.

00:57:58And this is his first visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

00:58:02He was a test driver for Ferrari last year.

00:58:05The year before that, he was a Sauber driver.

00:58:07But he sat out this race to avoid a penalty for causing an avoidable accident.

00:58:12You see a replay of that lockup.

00:58:14You see the lateral side loads through the tire walls here.

00:58:17Look at the side walls are stretching.

00:58:19Just with the load of the chassis pushing against the grip of the tire.

00:58:23While David Coulthard goes on the clock in his McLaren.

00:58:26Let's talk more about Ferrari subjects.

00:58:28Here's Peter Windsor.

00:58:29Thanks, Bob.

00:58:30Yes, of course, we're all very focused on the lap that's being done now in the case of McLaren

00:58:35Mercedes David Coulthard right now.

00:58:37But we should also be looking at the in-lap.

00:58:39The lap on which they drive after that qualifying lap.

00:58:42Because there's a bit of an art to driving it as slowly as possible and conserving as much fuel as

00:58:48possible.

00:58:49And engineers estimate in Formula One that if you do a very good in-lap from your qualifying and a

00:58:54very good out-lap onto the grid, you can maybe save at least one lap's worth of fuel.

00:58:59Michael Schumacher came under some criticism in Canada after his qualifying lap.

00:59:03He drove such a slow in-lap that Jenson Button, who was next out, almost caught him.

00:59:08So there's a bit of a fine balance there between being slow enough but equally getting back into the pit

00:59:12lane quickly enough.

00:59:14Man, imagine conserving over two miles worth of fuel.

00:59:33Last dig of the 12s, eight-tenths off of his teammate.

00:59:41That's a disappointment.

00:59:42Fairly predictable look on the face of the mechanics there.

00:59:44Locking it up again, big time.

00:59:47P3.

00:59:48And a 112.026.

00:59:50David Coulthard's had a bit of a mixed-up weekend.

00:59:53Yesterday afternoon he went out and did one lap and the thing stopped on him.

00:59:58So he lost a lot of time there.

00:59:59Valuable time, set-up time on the first day, Friday.

01:00:03The McLaren chassis there, David, as it bounced over the curve,

01:00:06seems to take a long while to correct itself and regain its attitude on the track.

01:00:11It's the sixth time this year in nine races.

01:00:14Kimi Raikkonen has out-qualified David Coulthard.

01:00:16Now this is Giancarlo Fisichella in the Sauber.

01:00:21His teammate did a 1.12.7.

01:00:28Three-tenths off Raikkonen at the first intermediate.

01:00:31Fisichella, considerably slower than his teammate, about four miles an hour through the speed track.

01:00:38Slower than his teammate.

01:00:41Again, could this be indicative of the extra fuel they're carrying?

01:00:44Fisichella has been big lately on these one-stop strategy road.

01:00:52Or even two.

01:00:54And for anyone new to the sport, wondering why we keep talking and discussing about the amount of fuel that

01:00:59the cars are carrying in qualifying,

01:01:01in usual conditions where you'd expect to see them pretty much with next to no fuel in the car,

01:01:06the FIA regulations for this year, you have to start the race with the fuel you qualify.

01:01:11And you're not allowed to adjust the fuel load from this point on until the race is flagged underway.

01:01:181.3 seconds off ball into fifth place goes Giancarlo Fisichella.

01:01:23Giancarlo Fisichella, just nipping his teammate by three-tenths with a 1.12.470.

01:01:31We'll take a quick break and return in a moment.

01:01:34Yarno Trulli will be next on track in the Renault.

01:01:37We're about halfway through.

01:01:39Final qualifying for the U.S. Grand Prix.

01:01:48Back live at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, we have drama in the Renault camp.

01:01:52This is Yarno Trulli, who has set the trend as one of the fastest guys at the Speedway

01:01:57over the previous four runnings of the U.S. Grand Prix.

01:02:00But he had a terrible time getting his Renault to move in the pit lane,

01:02:03and he was very slow through the first couple of corners.

01:02:07Yeah, he had about three or four of the mechanics helping to push the car down the pit lane,

01:02:12some sort of selector problem with the clutch or whatever it was,

01:02:15but eventually it got into gear.

01:02:16And then Trulli went through a series of very rapid gear changes, upshifting and downshifting,

01:02:21and I think just trying to confirm that everything's okay with the gears

01:02:24so he can do the qualifying lap or whether to abort the lap and come back in.

01:02:32And it looks like he'll begin his hot lap.

01:02:40As Yarno Trulli goes on the clock, let's go to Derek Daly.

01:02:44Here with the president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Tony George, is right by the Williams Garage.

01:02:48Tony, you couldn't have a more perfect day to see the emotion of the people here.

01:02:53Obviously got to make you feel good.

01:02:54Yeah, it's a very good day.

01:02:56A lot of very enthusiastic Formula One fans out here, but the weather couldn't be better.

01:03:01I mean, it was a little high yesterday, but today, standing right here, doesn't get any better than this.

01:03:07Thank you, Tony. Exactly.

01:03:10Now, problems for Yarno Trulli.

01:03:12Well off the pace.

01:03:13He's just going to cruise it around and bring it in.

01:03:16Renault's engineers confirming there is a problem with first gear on the R24 chassis.

01:03:25Probably more than never.

01:03:26These guys would be best just to come straight back into the pit lane and work on this car.

01:03:31Start it from the pit lane or the back of the grid in tomorrow's Grand Prix.

01:03:37It's just a nightmare situation.

01:03:38You know, you work and work and work on the cars and hone them to perfection.

01:03:43And then just when you want to use the thing, fate takes its play.

01:03:48Of course, his teammate, Fernando Alonso, is sitting in the garage wondering,

01:03:52is this going to happen to me?

01:03:53He comes up four drivers from now in the running order.

01:03:58And he heads on in.

01:04:01Tough, tough break for Yarno Trulli, the winner at Monaco this year.

01:04:04We'll be back to Indianapolis live in a moment.

01:04:13Welcome back to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

01:04:15Bob Varsha, along with David Hobbs, Steve Matchett, Derek Daly, and Peter Windsor.

01:04:19And here's the moment the Ferrari fans have been waiting for.

01:04:22Michael Schumacher on track.

01:04:23The six-time world champion trying to top Kimi Raikkonen's current provisional pole lap

01:04:29of 111.137 seconds.

01:04:37It's a difficult turn six, and just look at him through there.

01:04:40Smooth as silk, hardly any steering input, a little bit there.

01:04:44He put the wheel on the curb, and Jackson wait into the car.

01:04:48But significantly quicker through there than Kimi Raikkonen in the McLaren.

01:04:52Yeah, 0.78 up there on the McLaren.

01:04:57Of course, Schumacher's won six world championships.

01:05:00He hasn't just quite as a good run here.

01:05:02He's only won it twice and come second than the other two.

01:05:04So I guess, you know, a bit of average, really.

01:05:06Lost a little bit, but still a half second up on provisional pole.

01:05:09This is where he spun yesterday.

01:05:14Those RPM numbers.

01:05:24Accelerating all the way to the stripe and seven-tenths quicker, Michael, at a 110.4.

01:05:30And that's a new pole record for the U.S. Grand Prix at Indianapolis.

01:05:36And the Ferrari fans are smiling now.

01:05:38And they've still got another bullet.

01:05:40They've got Barrichello coming.

01:05:41They have got Barrichello, but we've also got the two BAR Hondas who've been going very quick this weekend.

01:05:46So they may yet sneak in there.

01:05:50A sneak attack.

01:05:52Let's have a look at Michael Schumacher in this car.

01:05:55That's at 7.

01:05:56He puts a wheel well up on that curb, and it obviously transfers enough weight to the car to give

01:06:02him just a little bit of steering input.

01:06:03Not much, though, really.

01:06:04Yeah, the car is working well, David, no doubt about that.

01:06:07But I think they have got it relatively stiffly sprung.

01:06:10And as we've seen through a couple of the other cars, other teams, once they've gone on that curbing, just

01:06:15unsettles them a little bit.

01:06:16But Michael managing to work that car.

01:06:19Look here.

01:06:20This is Jenson Button in the BAR Honda.

01:06:23A bit of a twitch coming through that Turn 5, which is a pretty fast right-hander.

01:06:28Read previous seasons in Formula 1.

01:06:29He had no poles, no podiums now in just eight races.

01:06:33He has his first career pole and six career podiums.

01:06:37Now he's looking for that first win.

01:06:40Remember what Gary Savage was saying about the composite transmission on here.

01:06:44All the detailed work that they've put onto this chassis has turned a very average racing car into a flying

01:06:50machine.

01:06:52Yep.

01:06:53Jenson's next step is the top step on the podium.

01:06:55Just one-tenth off there, so that'll certainly be good enough for second spot so far.

01:07:00I don't think he's going to out-qualify Michael, unless he's a lot quicker on this long, long, fast run

01:07:06down to the flag.

01:07:07Well, they've got the grunt for it.

01:07:09Great second sector.

01:07:11Go on, sir.

01:07:13Two, but by four-tenths slower than Michael.

01:07:19Well, Williams Mechanics and Juan Pablo Montoya having a little bit of a laugh about that or something else.

01:07:25I think Montoya thinks he can do better than that.

01:07:28Well, the door is definitely open.

01:07:30Four-tenths from first to second on that front row.

01:07:33Yeah, he can jam a lot of people in that four-tenths.

01:07:36One-tenths.

01:07:45Saw his reaction.

01:07:46Montoya will be the second-to-last runner, and of course, Michael Schumacher's teammate, Rubens Barrichella, will run last.

01:07:54Here's a guy who's been quick on and off through the weekend.

01:07:58Cristiano D'Amata in the Toyota.

01:08:01at eight tenths off at the first intermediate yeah fuel i'm going for fuel on this i think

01:08:07these guys are going to be running a lot of fuel and going for that two stopper

01:08:13his teammate panis will be the third to last driver out so you're guessing a two-stop strategy

01:08:19steve well i'm thinking so and after the provisional qualifying run we saw the guys

01:08:24have the setup equipment on the car in the garage and i know they'll be doing a standard check

01:08:29around the car to make sure everything's in working order but i saw them carrying out a

01:08:32ride height check as well and i think they were lifting the ride height and putting extra fuel

01:08:37into the car which would then lower the ride height back damage because of the mass of the fuel to

01:08:42bring the ride height back to the same position if you see what i mean so i think a ride

01:08:46height

01:08:46adjustment and more fuel on the car this will be a two-stopper strategy and he slots in fifth

01:08:54111.691 brought a lot of wing on the car there you can see the big panasonic sponsorship deckles

01:09:01across the back of the thing if this were to hold up he'd be in good position but remember

01:09:06the fastest guys in the first round of qualifying are still to come

01:09:13the reaction to the crew yeah what do you read out of that i don't know half the job done

01:09:18i guess yeah

01:09:22now here comes fernando alonso 22 years of age the winner at the hungaro ring last year

01:09:29to become the youngest formula one winner of all time he's already seen what happened to his teammate

01:09:35yarno truly who appeared to have gearbox problems and will start from the back of the field of course

01:09:40at the japanese grand prix at suzuka last year truly went from last to fifth

01:09:48fernando alonso a man with a very very bright future of course he had his first pole

01:09:52from last year at malaysia when he was still 20 i think just amazing he's been a sensation in his

01:10:00native spain which is normally more attuned to motorcycle racing and rallying boy this year at

01:10:07barcelona the place was a wash in the colors of his native asturias very much like that blue of the

01:10:15renault

01:10:18you might be able to see that black area underneath the mild seven of the blue sponsorship on the top

01:10:23that is that second element of the rear wing the teams are restricted to

01:10:28two elements on the rear wing one blue and one black in the case of reno

01:10:36using every inch of the racetrack leaning his head forward like a cart racer would go go go

01:10:45good run for alonso he slots into fourth we'll be back

01:10:53back live and qualifying for the us grand prix at the indianapolis motor speedway bob barsha david hobbs

01:10:59steve matchup peter windsor and derek daly with you this is ralph schumacher in the bmw williams

01:11:05as we get down to the final five drivers in the running order the fastest five from our earlier session

01:11:12of single car single lap qualifying he lost a little time in that second intermediate

01:11:16now a half second behind provisional pole center big brother michael in the ferrari

01:11:22but the the williams the bmw williams got prodigious power down there straight

01:11:27so pulls himself up to third

01:11:31one eleven point one oh six well these times are pretty close to that third one eleven point

01:11:37one oh six fourth one eleven one three seven fifth one eleven one eight five

01:11:45so look at ralph at work in the office they could see the the side of the cockpit surround right

01:11:52at

01:11:53visor level for the driver when takuma sato came together with felipe masa yesterday in practice

01:11:59b.a.r team principal david richard said it's very difficult to see out of these cars you can see

01:12:04why

01:12:04that mirror just above that cockpit surround can be very tough to see behind particularly if somebody

01:12:11swings well wide a couple of car widths yeah so sato out in the bar 206.9 through the speed

01:12:20trap still quickest of the day is masa in the sauberk 212.

01:12:28three tenths slow almost four

01:12:41one

01:12:42three tenths slow over there

01:12:49hear that traction control again trying to pull the car out of that corners who is up on that

01:12:55he was very smooth through those previous two corners let's see where the honda power will take him

01:13:04Remember, Honda swept the top seven spots at the Indy 500.

01:13:07Here is Honda back at the speed.

01:13:10Sato makes his bid for pole.

01:13:12Second.

01:13:14Just nudging his teammate.

01:13:16There you see his teammate giving a desultory clap.

01:13:19Well, hold on.

01:13:20If that wasn't 83 applause, I don't know what it was.

01:13:23Where did he come from suddenly?

01:13:25He was just going swimmingly to lead during the team.

01:13:28A little mild golf applause.

01:13:29Well done, Takuma.

01:13:30Yeah.

01:13:32Now we've got Schumacher on a 1-10-4.

01:13:35Sato 1-10-601.

01:13:37Button 1-10-8.

01:13:39Well, like Nigel Mansell before him, you know when Takuma Sato is in the car.

01:13:43He is giving it everything, every moment.

01:13:46He always does.

01:13:47I think he's going to be good.

01:13:49He's had a bit of bad luck this year.

01:13:51He's blown up a lot of cars.

01:13:53Here, of course, another Japanese manufacturer, Olivier Panis, in the Toyota.

01:13:57I think we're going to see over the next four or five years a huge head-to-head struggle

01:14:01between those Asian giants, personally, of Toyota and Honda.

01:14:07Both of them have enormous amounts of cash, particularly Toyota.

01:14:10David, Adrian Raynard is here.

01:14:14He is still a board member for BAR and BAT.

01:14:17He believes Sato in the next two years will be potentially faster than Jensen Button.

01:14:24He said he is so committed and he is technically very, very accurate, which bodes well for car development.

01:14:32Absolutely, he certainly started to show signs of being quicker than Jensen Button now.

01:14:36There's no doubt about it.

01:14:37If he just knocked a few rough edges off without losing speed, then he's going to be a major threat

01:14:42to Jensen.

01:14:46But good for Formula 1.

01:14:48Absolutely.

01:14:49This could be a second row starting position for Panis and a big boost for Toyota.

01:14:54No third row.

01:14:56Sixth.

01:14:57Seven-tenths off.

01:14:59So he splits Kimi Räikkönen in the McLaren Mercedes and Fernando Alonso in the Renault.

01:15:04And a 111.167.

01:15:06Another one of those 111s, David.

01:15:08Yeah, look at them all lining up there.

01:15:10Boy, oh boy.

01:15:11He was reasonably quick through the speed trap.

01:15:13It's like 210 miles an hour for the Toyota lamp.

01:15:16Pushing the car along.

01:15:17But again, I'm guessing a lot of fuel on board.

01:15:20Now Montoya takes the track.

01:15:22Certainly a man in favor of the crowd here.

01:15:24Previous winner of the Indy 500 and somebody who could certainly snag this pole position.

01:15:29Williams has no poles here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in four previous runnings of this event.

01:15:35Their last pole at the U.S. Grand Prix.

01:15:36Detroit, 1987.

01:15:40Nearly 341 kilometers an hour.

01:15:42It's Nigel Mansell that authored that last Williams pole in America, by the way.

01:15:47211.8.

01:15:49David Miles are now through that speed trap.

01:15:51That's P2 just behind Massa on the 212.

01:15:53So he is flying.

01:15:55But still down on that first sector.

01:15:58So how's the handling?

01:15:59It's slightly softer suspended.

01:16:01Williams is going to compare to the Michael Schumacher stiffer Ferrari.

01:16:07Through his prime handling set to the circuit.

01:16:16Nice and smooth.

01:16:21No, it's still up a bit.

01:16:26But this is a very important part of this sector.

01:16:28From 11, it's a long way down to the start-finish line.

01:16:31And a bit of extra grunt from the lump will get you there.

01:16:41Fourth, behind Michael Schumacher, Takuma Sato, Jensen Button.

01:16:47A 111.062.

01:16:57Perhaps a lap you might describe as always good, but never great.

01:17:06And Rubens Barrichello pushes his teammate down to second spot.

01:17:13From 11 flat to 1.11.2.

01:17:17Two-tenths of a second.

01:17:18Well, call it three-tenths of a second.

01:17:20To 11.3.

01:17:22We have six cars.

01:17:26Whatever happens, Michael Schumacher will be on the front row yet again.

01:17:33210 miles an hour.

01:17:35210.4 for Barrichello.

01:17:37208.8.

01:17:38So he is quicker through the speed trap.

01:17:41Barrichello is quicker than Schumacher.

01:17:43But a little bit slower through the sector.

01:17:45So how is his handling on this second very important sector with these corners from here on?

01:17:54Eight, nine, ten.

01:17:55Come up real quickly on each other.

01:17:58You've got to have really good transit from one direction to the other.

01:18:02He needs to keep a contention here, David Wright.

01:18:03And then he needs to make it up all in that last blast down the straight.

01:18:07Oh, quicker through there.

01:18:08Aha.

01:18:09It's on the cards.

01:18:11It is.

01:18:11It is on the cards.

01:18:14This is going to be very, very close.

01:18:16Push some.

01:18:24To the line.

01:18:26Yes!

01:18:27He did it.

01:18:35Listen to the air horns for Rubens Barrichello.

01:18:39And the checkered flag waves as the Brazilian comes through.

01:18:43And he, too, has a horde of his countrymen here.

01:18:46The U.S. Grand Prix is the home race for an awful lot of territory here in the Western Hemisphere.

01:18:53And a little wave at the onboard camera.

01:18:56Wow.

01:18:57I'm surprised you could even hear the engine because the cheer when he broke that, when he beat Schumacher, I

01:19:04don't know whether they're glad he beat him or Schumacher didn't get the pole.

01:19:09What a boost it'll be for a great guy and a guy who has labored so long and so loyally

01:19:16in Michael Schumacher's shadow.

01:19:19Just a little bit slower on that first sector, but quicker on the next two by just less than two

01:19:27tenths of a second.

01:19:28And they came two by two.

01:19:30Ferraris, B.A.R. Hondas, and Williams BMWs.

01:19:38Well, this should make for an interesting first corner, Stephen.

01:19:43Yes, absolutely it will.

01:19:45Because look how close the times are.

01:19:48The first pole for Rubens Barrichello since the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka last year.

01:19:54And he has won the last two races he started from pole.

01:19:57This is the first time he has outqualified his teammate in the 2004 season.

01:20:02To Sato, a lineup directly behind Barrichello.

01:20:05And remember that incident from a couple of races ago.

01:20:08And Sato is very adamant.

01:20:10He says, you know, should that situation come up again, I will make the move if I think I can

01:20:14benefit by it.

01:20:15And behind Sato will be Juan Pablo Montoya.

01:20:19And behind him, Kimi Raikkonen.

01:20:21And behind him, Fernando Alonso.

01:20:24Not a lot of patience in that particular column of drivers at the start of tomorrow's race.

01:20:30It should be a great one.

01:20:31We'll step away briefly and be back with more live from Indianapolis.

01:20:41Welcome back live to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where qualifying is now complete for Sunday's United States Formula One Grand

01:20:48Prix.

01:20:49Rubens Barrichello dropped off his pole-winning Ferrari at Tech Inspection and was driven the length of the pit lane

01:20:56here at Indy in a beautiful silver Mercedes-Benz course car.

01:21:00And the crowd was going absolutely nuts all the way.

01:21:03There's Michael Schumacher to congratulate his teammate for the second straight week.

01:21:07And these are the first two times it's happened this year.

01:21:10The provisional pole-sitter from the first round of qualifying went on to take P1 in the second.

01:21:16Here comes Jean Taute, the Ferrari team manager.

01:21:19There is a lot of good feeling down there in the pit lane.

01:21:22There's absolutely no excitement from this side of the crowd at all, the Brazilians here.

01:21:28Wow, what a moment for Rubens.

01:21:29While we await him moving up to the press room to speak to us, we want to remind you,

01:21:34Speed Channel is teaming up with Mattel in AutoZone to create the ultimate Formula One fan promotion,

01:21:39a sweepstakes in which the winner will get a VIP trip for two to the 2005 season opener in Melbourne,

01:21:45Australia.

01:21:46So stand by for more information on that.

01:21:48It'll all happen around the French Grand Prix on the July 4th weekend.

01:21:55Listen to the buzz from that crowd.

01:21:58Boy, that was pretty exciting.

01:21:59Now you've got to hand it to Rubens.

01:22:01He was a little bit slower on that first set and then pulled it out on the second two.

01:22:04And then Takuma Sato also out, shadowing his teammate, Jenson Button.

01:22:10Good bit more experience than Takuma, but he did a terrific job in the B.A.R. Honda.

01:22:15And Honda themselves are really girding up now for the long haul.

01:22:19I think they're going to get some more power, a lighter engine.

01:22:21A lot of stuff's coming down the pike.

01:22:24Remember after their collision.

01:22:26They're looking very smooth.

01:22:27The collision at the European Grand Prix where Sato ran into Rubens fighting for second place.

01:22:32There was a lot of talk about amateurish this and he should know better that.

01:22:36But Sato came over to give Rubens a big attaboy after he took that pole.

01:22:43This is a big moment in the Formula One season.

01:22:47And well earned by Rubens Baracchello.

01:22:49Let's go up to Peter Windsor now in the interview room.

01:22:53Congratulations to the fastest three qualifiers for the United States Grand Prix.

01:22:56Third quickest for Lucky Strike, B.A.R. Honda, Takuma Sato.

01:23:00Second quickest for Skaderia, Ferrari, Marlborough, Michael Schumacher.

01:23:04On the pole for the first time this year, his teammate, Rubens Baracchello.

01:23:08Rubens, a great, great lap.

01:23:10A fantastic crowd here too.

01:23:12A wonderful atmosphere.

01:23:14It feels nice to be here.

01:23:16I think it's a wonderful time where, you know, I just, there's loads of Brazilians out there.

01:23:23And, you know, I had quite a positive run just going out.

01:23:28And it was nice.

01:23:29I could almost hear them shouting.

01:23:32You were very, very quick this morning and quick yesterday, of course.

01:23:35How's the weekend progressed for you?

01:23:37And how do you feel about the race?

01:23:40I think the car has been good all time.

01:23:44We made some progress since yesterday.

01:23:47But I think Michael has made more progress, even so.

01:23:51So we were very close together this morning.

01:23:55And then just before pre-qualify, we made a small change.

01:23:59The car became a bit better.

01:24:01And in qualify, I think it was difficult for everyone because the wind was picking up.

01:24:05And it was quite difficult driving in the qualifying lap there.

01:24:11I didn't have much of a reference because as you go out last, you're just trying to do your best.

01:24:18But it was just an easy lap now making, trying to make a mistake on the limit.

01:24:25And finally, my first ball of the season.

01:24:28Congratulations.

01:24:28Michael, you spoke yesterday of having a reasonably difficult day.

01:24:31And, of course, you were not out when the track was quickest in qualifying.

01:24:35You must be very pleased to be P2.

01:24:38In a way, yes.

01:24:40I'm pleased.

01:24:41I mean, we're both on the front row.

01:24:43Naturally, I would have preferred the other position.

01:24:46But Rubens did a better job.

01:24:47So, that's where we are.

01:24:49What were your thoughts as you were waiting for Rubens to go out?

01:24:51Did you think he had a realistic chance of beating you?

01:24:53I did.

01:24:54He had, yeah.

01:24:55Because I struggled in the mid-sector.

01:24:57I had to fight far too much oversteer in there.

01:25:00And I lost a reasonable time.

01:25:03And there was obviously the doubt that I would keep that position.

01:25:07Actually, I was expecting to drop further back.

01:25:11Takeomo, your third top three qualifying position of the year.

01:25:15And here you are right next to the two Ferrari drivers at Indianapolis.

01:25:18Doesn't get better than that.

01:25:19I think great, great result today for the teams as well.

01:25:25You know, considering about I lost yesterday the practice session in half.

01:25:30I really pleased myself to get back on the pace.

01:25:33And also, you know, the team done a fantastic job so far.

01:25:36And put us for a second low.

01:25:39And that's a really good result.

01:25:41Do you think you can take the race tomorrow to the Ferrari drivers?

01:25:44I mean, they're always very strong in the race pace.

01:25:49But I think we improved for some consistency through the long run.

01:25:54So we pretty much hoping, you know, we can, you know, getting closer to the gap.

01:25:59That's what we all have to do tomorrow afternoon.

01:26:02Rubens, you pushed Michael very hard in the Canadian Grand Prix.

01:26:05We saw you racing closely there.

01:26:06Ferrari on record is saying they're looking forward to seeing you racing.

01:26:09What are your thoughts tomorrow about the fight with Michael?

01:26:14You know, being in front, I hope he doesn't get as close as I got to him in Canada.

01:26:19But it was, it's always a nice fight.

01:26:22As I said, I have no problems with Michael.

01:26:25I'm always proud to be racing against him.

01:26:27If I've done the pole today, I've done against the best.

01:26:30So I think it's, it's just a positive side.

01:26:33I'm starting on a good, good place tomorrow.

01:26:38It's going to be a lot of, a lot of people cheering up us here, especially the Brazilians.

01:26:43So just a good night's sleep.

01:26:45And off I go trying to win tomorrow.

01:26:47We look forward to it.

01:26:48Now if we could have some words from you in your...

01:26:50All right, now as the drivers turn to their native languages,

01:26:52we should correct that graphic on Takuma Sato.

01:26:55His best start this season was a front row at the European Grand Prix.

01:26:59Still, third is pretty cool.

01:27:06Welcome back on another glorious day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

01:27:09The stage is now set, and dramatically so.

01:27:12It's an all-Ferrari front row for the U.S. Formula One Grand Prix at Indy,

01:27:16but not the Ferrari front row we expected.

01:27:18Rubens Botticello over teammate Michael Schumacher, the six-time world champion.

01:27:23David Hobbs and Steve Matchett.

01:27:24It should be a great race on Sunday.

01:27:26Well, it's going to be a terrific race because we've got the two Ferraris,

01:27:29then we've got the two BAR Hondas, and then we've got the two BMW Williams,

01:27:34all of which have got strong engines.

01:27:36I can see some nasty action going on into Turn 1 if we're not careful here tomorrow.

01:27:41A great result from both the BAR drivers.

01:27:45I had Sato as my pick for pole there, unfortunately.

01:27:47Ended up in third spot, but wonderful performance out of Barrichello.

01:27:51We thought he'd lost it in the middle section.

01:27:53He had to pull it and pull it back,

01:27:54but it was a little bit quicker down the straight than Michael Schumacher.

01:27:57Possibly a couple of kilos,

01:27:59or maybe about five kilos less fuel on board for Barrichello.

01:28:02Just giving him the edge and managing to pit post by 1.77.

01:28:07And further down the list, David Hobbs, there's Ralph Schumacher,

01:28:11and then Kimi Reikman in McLaren.

01:28:13Olivier Panis having a pretty good qualifying in the Toyota.

01:28:16Alonso in the Renault, they had a bit of an upsetting weekend.

01:28:19Of course, Jano truly not making a qualifying run at all.

01:28:21He'd have to start at the back.

01:28:22There's the second Toyota of Cristiano Di Mara.

01:28:24David Coulthard in the second McLaren.

01:28:26And Giorgio Pantano not out-qualifying his team-mate.

01:28:30No, Pauro Jano truly with problems on the transmission.

01:28:34And so we are ready.

01:28:36After two days of practice and qualifying,

01:28:38all the fans will be in their places cheering for their favorites,

01:28:42and we hope you will be with us.

01:28:44That does it for our coverage today from Indy,

01:28:46but join us tomorrow at 12.30 p.m. Eastern time

01:28:49when we'll bring you live coverage of the fifth annual United States Grand Prix,

01:28:54the 59th U.S. Grand Prix in history,

01:28:56this one coming from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

01:28:59We'll have reports from Peter Windsor and Derek Daly in our pregame show,

01:29:03and then we will run the race.

01:29:05For David Hobbs, Steve Matchett, Derek Daly, and Peter Windsor,

01:29:08I'm Bob Varsha.

01:29:09See you tomorrow for the U.S. Grand Prix from Indy.

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