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Qualifying for Round 14 of the 2004 F1 season at Spa.
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00:00:02Nestled within Belgium's Ardennes Forest is the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
00:00:07It's a track composed of sweeping turns, flowing elevation changes, and long straightaways.
00:00:16A perfect lap at Spa is a sweet symphony sung at 19,000 RPM.
00:00:22But there can be only one conductor, one man, to lead them away when the music begins on race day.
00:00:30Qualifying at the majestic Spa-Francorchamps circuit is next.
00:01:02All season long, the best minds in Formula One have dithered over how to make qualifying, quote, more interesting.
00:01:07Here in the Ardennes Forest at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, site of the Belgian Grand Prix, Mother Nature has accomplished
00:01:14it with a simple overnight rain shower.
00:01:16All hands on deck for qualifying for the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix.
00:01:21Hello everybody, I'm Bob Varsha. Joining me as always, David Hobbs and Steve Matchett.
00:01:25As best we can tell, this will be the first time since the French Grand Prix of 1999 that we
00:01:31have conducted a full qualifying session under wet conditions.
00:01:35At that point, Rubens Barichello took pole for the Stewart Grand Prix team.
00:01:39Let's take a look at the highlights of the first session of single car qualifying here at Spa.
00:01:45The crowd was not deterred by occasionally very heavy rain showers, but it stopped by the time the winner of
00:01:51the most recent race, Michael Schumacher, went on track in the Ferrari.
00:01:55Turned a lap at 153.7, good enough to last the session.
00:01:58Jensen Button went out, still mum about his plans for 2005.
00:02:03He put the BAR Honda fifth at that point.
00:02:06He would eventually wind up further down the grid.
00:02:10David Coulthard, a man of vast experience, the most experienced man in the field here other than Rubens and Michael
00:02:16Schumacher.
00:02:17Went around, finished up in seventh.
00:02:19Then Giancarlo Fischichello, of course, with the Ferrari engine and Bridgestone tires, had a very good run.
00:02:26As you can see, at that point, he was third, he ended up fifth.
00:02:29Yeah, it was, and here's his teammate, Felipe Massa, out in the C23 Sauber chassis.
00:02:34Again, with those Bridgestone tires, we think, approximately about three seconds quicker than the Michelin equivalents.
00:02:40Kimi Raikkonen on those Michelins, 55.371 in the MP4.19 McLaren.
00:02:48And Rubens Barrichello, basically the only man with a shot at his teammate in a session dominated by Ferraris or
00:02:54Ferrari-powered cars.
00:02:56Barrichello turned a lap at 154.913, second quick.
00:03:01Ricardo Zonta is the only car to go off track at the very high-speed Pouhon corner.
00:03:06He backed it into the tire wall, doing some small damage to the rear wing.
00:03:10The Toyota team was despondent. Things are not looking good in the Toyota camp this weekend.
00:03:18So here's how they will go out. We reverse the order of the first session to start the second one.
00:03:24So Ricardo Zonta will be the first man on track in a car that his technical director, Mike Gascoigne, insists
00:03:29is a lot better than his drivers are making it look.
00:03:33I don't think old Mike Gascoigne's got that exactly right.
00:03:37Ricardo Zonta's mechanics must be like one-armed paper angles in the gale in there, getting that car fixed up
00:03:42to get him out first.
00:03:43I'll tell you that.
00:03:44There's a look at the weather conditions.
00:03:46He somehow drove it back.
00:03:47He did. He got it out and got it all the way back around.
00:03:50There you see two Ferraris, the factory cars, then Kimi Raikkonen.
00:03:54Odd because his final time on his hot lap did not turn up on our timing and scoring screens, but
00:04:00we were assured by higher authority that it was third quick.
00:04:03And then the two Ferrari-powered Saubers.
00:04:05Thank you, Mr. Petronas, for all of your sponsorship dollars.
00:04:08But those are Ferrari drivetrains in those cars.
00:04:11This morning, the first 45-minute practice session was completely canceled due to a heavy downpour and low fog that
00:04:19prevented the medical evacuation chopper from flying.
00:04:21And that will always kill a Formula One session.
00:04:23The second session was reduced to just 15 minutes planned, but six laps in, two cars, Gianmaria Bruni and Antonio
00:04:31Pisonia, went off track into the gravel traps.
00:04:33There's Mike Gascoigne ripping somebody a layer of skin or so.
00:04:37And there's those one-armed paper hangers in the gale.
00:04:40So the second session produced just 13 minutes of running in the wet.
00:04:45Let's take a look at the Porsche track track, David.
00:04:47Well, there you see it.
00:04:4820 turns.
00:04:494.3 miles.
00:04:50The longest circuit in current use in Formula One.
00:04:53And an absolute driver's challenge.
00:04:55A driver's dream, really.
00:04:56O'Rouge, the fastest, most daunting corner in all of Formula One.
00:04:59Huge uphill climb up.
00:05:00Kemmel there.
00:05:01You need a lot of horsepower up to Lacombe.
00:05:03That's the highest point of the track.
00:05:05From there on, it's all downhill to Stavelo.
00:05:08Rivage, difficult.
00:05:08A lot of understeer.
00:05:09Pouhon, where we saw Zonta go off.
00:05:11Very quick left-hander.
00:05:12Fania, just a very typical S-curve.
00:05:15Then Stavelo.
00:05:16All uphill then, all through Blanchement, which used to be very blanching.
00:05:19But unfortunately, they've given a lot of runoff area now.
00:05:22Then, of course, the bus stop, which has been changed yet again this year
00:05:25before the start finish line.
00:05:26And, of course, Lac La Source.
00:05:28Very, very, very tight airfield.
00:05:31And, of course, it's subject to huge weather changes,
00:05:34because it's on the first high ground in Europe from the Atlantic.
00:05:37So it is subject to pretty dodgy old weather.
00:05:39Did you say, unfortunately, they put a whole lot of runoff at Blanchement?
00:05:44Well, as you can see, not raining right now,
00:05:47but we'll see whether a dry line will emerge.
00:05:50It doesn't look good.
00:05:51Ricardo Zonta will be first up in the Toyota when we return.
00:05:56The Formula One Belgian Grand Prix track map is brought to you by Porsche.
00:06:01Porsche, there is no substitute.
00:06:05Welcome back to qualifying for the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix.
00:06:08Ricardo Zonta is on track in the half-season new Toyota chassis.
00:06:14But as he pulled onto the racetrack to begin his warm-up,
00:06:16Steve Benchini had a problem.
00:06:18Yeah, look at this. Look at the rear wing.
00:06:19Something flies off the rear wing.
00:06:21We just saw the mechanics working flat out to get this car ready for qualifying.
00:06:25There, right there.
00:06:27Now, I'm not sure what that is, because it looks like it's got quite a lot of density to it.
00:06:32Some fairly major part.
00:06:33It didn't look to me like it was a little wickerbill or something off the rear wing.
00:06:37It looked too solid for that, but...
00:06:38Some dorky mechanic left a hammer on there.
00:06:40That's better, isn't it?
00:06:41Well, you just saw them working flat out, didn't you?
00:06:43And there's certainly a possibility they left something on the car in error.
00:06:47But, you know, one of the parts they've changed and the mechanic didn't take it away.
00:06:52Don't know.
00:06:53Not a good sign, is it, when things fall off your car?
00:06:56A bit nerve-wracking, to say the least.
00:06:58Well, as you mentioned, he backed the car into the fence on his first attempt at qualifying,
00:07:02so they had to do some repairs to that rear wing, particularly the end plates.
00:07:06I'm amazed they got that thing fixed, because, I mean, by the time he drove it back to the garage,
00:07:10and then he started working, I mean, that's a lot of work.
00:07:14This is on the Kemmel straightaway.
00:07:16Still big plumes of standing water coming off the tires.
00:07:19Other parts of the track appear to be drying fairly quickly.
00:07:25I think Michelin are going to have their work cut out here, guys,
00:07:28because the last wet-weather back-to-back test that I can remember the teams doing
00:07:33was a few months ago down in the south of Spain, where they wet the circuit,
00:07:38and the Michelin wet tires were, like, three seconds off the pace of Bridgestone.
00:07:43Well, old Kimi Raikkonen is the only one that seems to be able to put that to rights.
00:07:47He was a fraction slower than Barrichello this morning in the untimed session,
00:07:52and in the first of these qualifying sessions he was just a tick of the watch behind as well,
00:07:56so he seems to be able to handle it, but some of the other cars were desperately slow,
00:08:02like Olivier Panis in the second one in his Toyotas.
00:08:05Now, the weather forecast for tomorrow's race, which you'll see live here on Speed Channel,
00:08:09beginning at 7.30 a.m. Eastern Time, is expected to be dry, just a 10% chance of rain.
00:08:16Of course, that's as good as 100% here in the Haute-Fanje region of Belgium.
00:08:21Nevertheless, if these cars all get locked up and parked for May tonight in full wet specification,
00:08:26and then they have a dry race tomorrow, it could be interesting.
00:08:36The approach to the bus stop looks so different from on board now,
00:08:39because they've cut thousands of trees down there, and it just looks like a different corner.
00:08:472.03.895 for Riccardo Zonta.
00:08:51That will not stand up well if Michael Schumacher can get anywhere close to the 1.53.755 he notched
00:08:58in the first lap session.
00:09:01Just to give a little clarification of what you were talking about there, Bob,
00:09:05with the dry weather settings and the wet weather settings, of course, now to the 2004 regulations,
00:09:10the teams are not allowed to touch the cars once they're in park for May.
00:09:13If it's going to be a dry race tomorrow,
00:09:15the engineers will have to have put at least semi-dry weather settings on the cars
00:09:20to give them some chance of performance in dry weather conditions tomorrow.
00:09:24Charlie White, in the race director and technical delegate for the FIA,
00:09:28will allow the teams to change the dry weather tyres and will allow them to change the brake duct cooling,
00:09:33the radiator duct cooling, but primarily the cars you see here are the cars that will start the race
00:09:38in that condition, that configuration.
00:09:40And they will have suspension settings and wing settings that would be entirely inappropriate for dry running.
00:09:47This is Gianmaria Bruni in the minority.
00:09:49He was one of the two cars that crashed,
00:09:52terminating the one abbreviated 15-minute session these teams had this morning.
00:09:58He destroyed the car in the old roof section.
00:10:03Yes, it's something the engineers, engineers like to send the cars out in wet weather conditions because they need the
00:10:10data.
00:10:11But it's pretty much guaranteed all you're going to achieve doing that in spa or in torrential rain,
00:10:15you're going to ride the chassis off.
00:10:18Driver comes back and says, okay, I'll watch the computer, you drive the car.
00:10:27Oh, look at those hands go.
00:10:38He's on the Stavolo road, here comes Blanchemal.
00:10:45What a corner.
00:10:55Oh, a little deep there and then he'll stop.
00:10:58A lot of stealing, as you said about that, Jimmy Bruni there.
00:11:04But well ahead of Zonta's performance, he will take over by 1.244 seconds.
00:11:10And bask briefly in the limelight until the next man comes on track.
00:11:14And that will be Olivier Panis in the other Toyota.
00:11:18We'll take a break and return to qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.
00:11:25Welcome back to the awesome Spa-Francorchamps circuit in the Ardennes Forest of Belgium.
00:11:30Even more awesome on a wet day such as we have today for qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.
00:11:35I'm Bob Varsha with David Hobbs and Steve Matchett.
00:11:37This is Olivier Panis somewhere, if the cameraman can find him.
00:11:41Coming over Radion, the corner at the top of the hill above Eau Rouge.
00:11:46This straight from this angle looks relatively flat, but in actual fact, it's a pretty steep old climb up there.
00:11:52Yeah.
00:11:54And that's it. This is the absolute highest point of the track.
00:11:58And now the dive down.
00:12:00This is where we saw yesterday those Michelin dryer weather tires really suffering.
00:12:05A few years ago.
00:12:06That's the old Toyota chassis suffering a little bit trying to fight the grip there, isn't it?
00:12:09That rivage is a difficult corner at the best of times.
00:12:12When it gets wet, it's very bad because it's a steep downhill corner.
00:12:15So the water runs across it all the time.
00:12:18And when it's really raining, it's even worse.
00:12:20Here comes Pujol.
00:12:21Double left-hander at incredible speed.
00:12:26A few years ago, while covering the Tour de France, which passed near the racetrack.
00:12:30I crawled under the fence with a couple of friends and stood at the top of the Kemmel straight away
00:12:34up at their Lacombe.
00:12:36And it is unbelievably steep.
00:12:38It doesn't come across that well on television.
00:12:41I also found that you can go over to the barriers at Lacombe.
00:12:43You look behind the barriers and there's any number of souvenirs you could pick up.
00:12:47Bits of people's race cars that were left there.
00:12:51Of course, Brian Redman had a very bad crash at Lacombe when it used to just go over the top
00:12:56of the hill and carry on down to Bernville.
00:12:57He had a crash there and the suspension broke on his Cooper and pitched him into the parked car of
00:13:02a Marshall, which broke his arm.
00:13:06Ticked Marian Redman off enormously.
00:13:08And I think Brian would have been in with a chance for a World Championship if he'd persevered at Formula
00:13:15One.
00:13:18And Olivier Panis goes into P1.
00:13:20Still only at 1.59, which is not going to shape up well compared to what you said earlier.
00:13:27Michael Schumacher is 1.53.
00:13:30It's hard to believe it's not raining a bit more because I can't believe there is absolutely no sign of
00:13:36a dry line yet.
00:13:39Well, half of this track, roughly half, was resurfaced in the one year that the circuit was off of the
00:13:46Formula One calendar.
00:13:47That may change the runoff a little bit too with new asphalt there.
00:13:50It's a little bit of a dry line running down into Eau Rouge, but you're right, David, the rest of
00:13:55the track hasn't really got a dry line.
00:13:58But this is one of those circuits, because of the length of it and the topography of the ground around
00:14:01here, it can be raining up at the top part of the track around Malmedy and Lacombe.
00:14:05Oh yeah.
00:14:05And it can be dry as a bone down in the pit lane.
00:14:08Very easy when you get up onto the high ground here at Lacombe.
00:14:12It's pretty high up here and a lot of these trees disappear in the mist half the time.
00:14:16Yeah.
00:14:21Rolf Baumgartner had a terribly disappointing weekend two weeks ago in his home race at Budapest, Hungary.
00:14:29Dropped out in front of his home fans.
00:14:34Here the traction control ratcheting in on all the cars on pretty much all the corners around here.
00:14:39Traction control in these sort of conditions.
00:14:43Whoa!
00:14:43I managed to hold on to it, didn't you?
00:14:45Don't I?
00:14:46Rose, that made me, I'm on that stuff.
00:14:48On that red and white painted that, because it's absolutely a zilch grip on that paint.
00:14:52Absolutely.
00:14:53I love that shot right there, Rufanius.
00:14:57That right left sweeping Fs.
00:14:59I wish the camera would remain a little bit further back and watch the car sweep right through the complex
00:15:03there.
00:15:04The essence of road racing.
00:15:06One of the last true circuits based on public roads.
00:15:09For many years you could drive most of this race track.
00:15:12In fact, all of it until 1983 when they added the section from Lacombe down to Stavelo that shortened the
00:15:18track from nine miles to about 4.2.
00:15:23Just to finish that thought on traction control around here, right here you'll see them using it bang back on
00:15:28the throttle.
00:15:29About a second and a half a lap and no more really.
00:15:33Traction control.
00:15:34I've seen it written down in different journals and magazines and newspapers over the time.
00:15:39Perhaps as much as four, even five seconds a lap, say through traction control in the wet.
00:15:43It just ain't so.
00:15:45Joel Baumgartner slots in just behind his teammate Gianmaria Bruni.
00:15:49The minority team owner Paul Stoddard has asked for permission to drive to or to run the 2004 cars next
00:15:57year.
00:15:59As Formula One continues to mess around with next year's technical regulations, the smaller teams are going to have a
00:16:06very hard time getting cars built to the new regs in time for next year's season opener.
00:16:15Well, the problem is, Bob, is we always, you know, we were talking about it at the last race.
00:16:19Well, let's just watch the car go through here.
00:16:31Now, yesterday, these guys were doing about 17.2 up the straights, just that a little bit slower.
00:16:43obviously getting on to it slower through that wet O'Rouge.
00:16:47Yeah, the design of the new cars, of course,
00:16:49will be pretty much 65% finished by now.
00:16:52The designers have got their CAD systems in operation,
00:16:55working to generate the new chassis,
00:16:57at least in the virtual world, by May, June.
00:17:01I mean, we're now getting to September time,
00:17:03and yeah, these designs are pretty much set in stone.
00:17:06And of course, Mario Tyson, the engine man from BMW,
00:17:09said if they go to this two-race...
00:17:12Whoa! Good Lord.
00:17:13Two-weekend per engine next year.
00:17:15He says we're going to have to bin the engine
00:17:17that we've already been on, the dyno, for a couple of months.
00:17:20And that's supposed to save money, is it?
00:17:22This is a big money-saving capital.
00:17:25Yeah, exactly.
00:17:25Throw it all out the window and start over.
00:17:27That'll save money.
00:17:28I don't understand the V8 regulation.
00:17:29Which, of course, makes it way, way, way worse for a smaller team.
00:17:33I don't know if Max Mosley or whoever it is at the FIA
00:17:36has come up with this idea thinks,
00:17:37you know, you cut two cylinders off the back of a V10,
00:17:39the price drops.
00:17:40I don't see that.
00:17:42I don't think the engineers see it either.
00:17:44Coming up to Blanchemont, we're getting word
00:17:45that it's beginning to rain down there again,
00:17:47and that's another feature of this racetrack,
00:17:49is that it can be raining in one corner and not at the others.
00:17:53And, of course, it's the main feature
00:17:55of the single-lap qualifying that we have at the moment.
00:17:57The guys who go fastest in the first session,
00:18:00which we've already had,
00:18:01go last in the second session,
00:18:03so they're obviously hoping the track will dry out
00:18:05as we get down towards them,
00:18:06and, in fact, it may just do exactly the opposite.
00:18:09Olivier Panis' provisional pole position remains safe from Nick Heidfeld.
00:18:16And the next man on track is Eddie Jordan salutes his young driver.
00:18:22There is Giorgio Pantano, who has a very good shot at out-qualifying
00:18:25his more experienced teammate here.
00:18:28He had an interesting first lap.
00:18:31But next on track will be the Jaguar of Christian Kleen,
00:18:35followed by Giorgio Pantano in the Jordan.
00:18:38Stick around.
00:18:39We'll be back for more from a sodden Spa-Franklors on circuit.
00:18:48Speed Channel's coverage of the FIA Formula One World Championship
00:18:51is brought to you by BMW.
00:18:54BMW, the ultimate driving machine.
00:19:00Welcome back to qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.
00:19:03Along with Steve Matchett and David Hobbs, I'm Bob Varser.
00:19:05This is Christian Kleen in the Jaguar,
00:19:08about to begin his hot lap.
00:19:13The reports of rain appear to have abated.
00:19:17Not the reports, the rain.
00:19:20The rain.
00:19:44The driver's ultimate leap of faith.
00:19:46The engineers tell me it will work
00:19:48if I keep my foot down through here.
00:19:50So here I go.
00:19:52It does look a bit better, doesn't it?
00:19:53Doesn't it look like more spray around?
00:19:55Yeah.
00:19:56Even more spray.
00:19:57In case you're new to Formula One,
00:19:59that is not a brake light at the back of the car.
00:20:01It's a mandatory flashing rain light.
00:20:05Even Christian Kleen doesn't use the brake that much.
00:20:10Yeah, it's definitely weather there.
00:20:12A lot of spray coming up here.
00:20:15Kind of poo, huh?
00:20:23It's quite a trick light as well, Bob.
00:20:25Actually, it's made up of a series of about 50 little LEDs
00:20:28shining behind that lens.
00:20:30At one time, we just used to use a little
00:20:32single filament brake light bulb straight off a road car.
00:20:36But because of the vibrations from the engines,
00:20:38the filament would break very early on in the race.
00:20:41Eventually, the engineers came up with the LEDs
00:20:43and then they decided, well, let's make them flash an LEDs
00:20:45just to give everyone a better chance of seeing it.
00:20:50We see provisional pole setter Olivier Panis' time.
00:20:53He's the only man under two minutes at this point
00:20:56by a healthy margin.
00:21:01One of these cars are now on their race opening fuel loads.
00:21:11Keep your eye on the front brake ducts,
00:21:13not particularly on this Jaguar right here.
00:21:16But as the cars circulate, you'll notice that a lot of them
00:21:19have got either black or white tape on the outside of the brake
00:21:22ducts to try and close the ventilation down to reduce the
00:21:25amount of cooling to the brakes.
00:21:26There's that triangular brake duct right there on the inside
00:21:28of the rim.
00:21:29Nothing on Cleans' Jaguar there.
00:21:31But we've seen quite a few of the runners
00:21:32of strips of tape that they will take off in Park Fermé
00:21:37for tomorrow's race when they expect it to be hotter.
00:21:39But to try and increase the brake temperatures around the
00:21:42track on this single lap, they will close the cooling down.
00:21:47They're using white tape on the McLarens.
00:21:50So when you get to David Coulthard, he'll be the 14th man on track.
00:21:53You'll probably see them.
00:21:56Giorgio Pantano probably had an opportunity to out-qualify
00:21:59his teammate, but I think it's slightly damper now than when
00:22:01his teammate went out.
00:22:03So that could stymie him.
00:22:06This was the scene of the only 1-2 finish in the history of the
00:22:10Jordan team.
00:22:11Damon Hill and Ralph Schumacher.
00:22:16Boy, that seems like a long time ago.
00:22:18Doesn't it ever, eh?
00:22:201998.
00:22:24Well, he was 2 tenths of a second.
00:22:27He took in this teammate on that first 31 second sector.
00:22:31That handles the second sector.
00:22:33That revives that downhill right-hander.
00:22:36Water runs across it.
00:22:38One of the bubbling news stories in Formula 1 was the potential
00:22:41or rumored sale of the Jordan team to the ruling family
00:22:45in Dubai.
00:22:48Negotiations have apparently broken off.
00:22:55See Pantano's input on that steering wheel.
00:22:57He hasn't let up.
00:22:59Seesaw him with that wheel from the start of this lap
00:23:01to this point.
00:23:07These cars absolutely forever dancing on that knife edge
00:23:11of adhesion.
00:23:12Absolutely, yeah.
00:23:14You know, the TV pictures, sometimes, you know,
00:23:17they make the cars look so smooth and solid.
00:23:19But, of course, all the while, they're absolutely poised
00:23:21on that edge.
00:23:23Desperate to have the over-ambitious driver
00:23:27straight into the OMCA at a moment's notice.
00:23:29There's a good look at the new bus stop.
00:23:31That green swath there is where the track used to go.
00:23:35Which, of course, has taken away yet another
00:23:38out-breaking opportunity because it swerves right now
00:23:41before you take that first left.
00:23:43Which seems to be a bit of a dumb move
00:23:45to straighten the track up.
00:23:47And according to the crews in the pit lane,
00:23:49not a single driver was consulted
00:23:51before they made that change.
00:23:54So, Mr. Pantano is now in the field.
00:23:57We'll take a break and return with the birthday boy,
00:23:59Mark Webber in the Jaguar.
00:24:01Stay with us.
00:24:06Back at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium.
00:24:09I'm Bob Varsha with David Hobbs and Steve Matchett.
00:24:11This is Mark Webber in the Jaguar on his hot lap
00:24:15to find his place on the grid for the Belgian Grand Prix.
00:24:18He turned 28 yesterday.
00:24:20Webber will move on to the BMW Williams team next year.
00:24:25And at 28, he's going to have to get something done
00:24:29fairly quickly.
00:24:29Yes, because he's no spring chicken by Formula 1 standards
00:24:32when you consider his teammate, Christian Crean,
00:24:35is still only 21.
00:24:39Whoever's quickest through the first intermediate.
00:24:42Keep your eye on the water spray
00:24:44around the front suspension and underneath the keel.
00:24:46It'll give you a great idea of how the aerodynamics
00:24:48are working on the car in a very crude fashion.
00:24:50Of course, you can't see the airflow, of course,
00:24:52flowing around the chassis,
00:24:53but have a look at the way the wake of the rain
00:24:56and the mist operates around the keel.
00:24:58Give me an idea of what the engineers
00:25:00and the aerodynamicists are trying to achieve
00:25:01underneath the chassis.
00:25:02Right there, look.
00:25:06You can see how that spray on the inside the front wheels
00:25:09is being channeled through the barge boards.
00:25:13That's what all these little elements are for,
00:25:15right on the outside of the front wing end plates.
00:25:17All those little flick-ups are designed to channel
00:25:20the turbulence away from the front wheels.
00:25:23Of course, you're not allowed to shroud the tyres
00:25:25and the wheels in Formula 1.
00:25:26The aerodynamicists would love to do that, of course,
00:25:28where the regulations don't allow them to do that,
00:25:30which is why we have this open-wheel formula.
00:25:33But although the aerodynamicists could make the wing
00:25:36a little bit wider,
00:25:36they could make the main plane run
00:25:38right to the edge of the end plates there.
00:25:40They don't do that because it's more important
00:25:43to channel the turbulent air away around the tyres.
00:25:45Revers still ahead at the second intermediate.
00:25:49He loves this racetrack, but he has reason not to.
00:25:52He broke his ankle in a Formula 3000 crash back in 2000
00:25:57up on the hill above Eau Rouge.
00:26:04And then he goes to P1 by eight-tenths of a second.
00:26:08That's a pretty stout time.
00:26:10And quite a bit better than he did in his first single lap,
00:26:13although it was a bit wetter then.
00:26:19There's that climb up Radion,
00:26:21completely blind until he hit the top of the brow.
00:26:25That's the pit in for the support race pit,
00:26:28which are on the downhill run to Eau Rouge.
00:26:30Pit out.
00:26:32Here comes Antonio Pisonia,
00:26:34who was one of the cars who crashed this morning,
00:26:36but we understand now that he was on intermediate Michelin tires,
00:26:40not the full heavily threaded wets.
00:26:42I wonder what he's on right now.
00:26:43Bit of a slide there.
00:26:47Yeah.
00:26:48And obviously,
00:26:49any speed you lose going through that La Source hairpin,
00:26:53tight as it is,
00:26:54you carry that speed all the way down that hill
00:26:56and through the uphill here at Eau Rouge.
00:26:58So it is crucial to get the exit of La Source right.
00:27:01And as you pointed out,
00:27:02if you come up slower,
00:27:03you're just never going to get to the revs you want on the straight.
00:27:06Oh.
00:27:08Look at those clouds in the background there.
00:27:10However,
00:27:11even quicker than Mark...
00:27:13Whoa!
00:27:13Well,
00:27:14scotch that then.
00:27:17It's on the side of the cockpit near his helmet.
00:27:19It says tobacco-free.
00:27:20The Williams team has been a real pioneer
00:27:22in trying to free up Grand Prix racing
00:27:27from the tobacco sponsorship money
00:27:29that has caused it so many problems of late.
00:27:31All that money is done well by Formula One,
00:27:34to be sure,
00:27:34but this race is a classic example
00:27:36of the tumult going on in Formula One
00:27:38over tobacco advertising.
00:27:40Last year,
00:27:40the race was dropped from the schedule
00:27:42because the Belgian government decided
00:27:44it was going to bring in anti-tobacco legislation
00:27:46ahead of the decisions made by the European Union.
00:27:51That got right up the nose of Formula One
00:27:53in a hurry,
00:27:53so they dropped the race.
00:27:56This year,
00:27:57they were given special dispensation
00:27:59to allow tobacco advertising
00:28:01and Cape Presto back on the calendar.
00:28:04Yeah,
00:28:05surprisingly enough,
00:28:05back on the calendar.
00:28:08Now,
00:28:09Pizzonia's car is looking very twitchy here.
00:28:11Now,
00:28:12that could be a set-up deal,
00:28:14but they have hedged their bet
00:28:16knowing the weather forecast for tomorrow
00:28:18is looking better.
00:28:21And they may not have the wing,
00:28:22which would explain why he was quick
00:28:23to do that first 30-second sector,
00:28:25which involves O'Rouge and that long climb.
00:28:27If they had a little bit less wing,
00:28:29that would explain why they're quick
00:28:30on that first sector
00:28:31and slower on this next two sectors
00:28:33which have all the handling.
00:28:34I think you're absolutely spot-on, Dave.
00:28:36You can see the rear wing element
00:28:37on the back of the FW26,
00:28:38not as steeply inclined as some of the cars
00:28:41and not as big as some of the other chassis are running.
00:28:43And that did give him fast
00:28:44his first sector, I believe, wasn't it?
00:28:4631.7 through sector 1,
00:28:4932.7 for Zonta.
00:28:50So, yeah.
00:28:53It's a real sort of double-edged sword.
00:28:56This whole single lap qualifying deal
00:28:58and park for me,
00:28:59you know, to me kind of takes away
00:29:01what F1 is about.
00:29:02I want the teams to be playing with the cars,
00:29:04swapping engines,
00:29:05swapping suspension,
00:29:06wings,
00:29:06getting the car set up perfectly
00:29:08for a single lap
00:29:08if that's what it needs to be,
00:29:09and then work on the cars overnight
00:29:11to get them ready for the race.
00:29:42You can't do that, Steve.
00:29:43He deserves a race seat next year
00:29:45if Jenson Button
00:29:46cannot get his contractual problems worked out.
00:29:53With Takuma Sato,
00:29:54he's been interesting to watch in the wet.
00:30:00Takuma Sato has had
00:30:02certainly desperate luck
00:30:03when it enters this year,
00:30:04unless it's something he does to them.
00:30:06Just quite what he does,
00:30:08I can't imagine,
00:30:09because they're all so controlled
00:30:10by the computerization of these days,
00:30:12but somehow he seems to have managed
00:30:14to blow up about six of them this year.
00:30:16Well, as you pointed out yesterday,
00:30:17he only finished the Hungarian Grand Prix
00:30:19because he was using a manual oil pump
00:30:22and was instructed by his engineer,
00:30:24Jack Clear,
00:30:25to keep hammering on that oil pump
00:30:27to keep fluid in the engine.
00:30:31This is why he's a bit slow
00:30:32towards the end that race.
00:30:33Well, actually, Clack's example
00:30:35of the engineers
00:30:36being a little bit serpentine
00:30:38with the regulations.
00:30:39We were sending yesterday,
00:30:40show that Formula 1 regulations
00:30:41don't allow any oil to be added
00:30:44throughout the duration of the race,
00:30:45as they do, for example,
00:30:46in Le Mans in endurance sports car races.
00:30:48He's often seen the crews
00:30:50adding oil into the sun to the engine.
00:30:52So the way they get around it in F1,
00:30:54they have an onboard auxiliary tank
00:30:56and then they simply move oil
00:30:59from one part of the car to the other.
00:31:00They don't add oil to the engine.
00:31:03Well, that is adding it to the engine.
00:31:06Just carrying it with you the whole way.
00:31:09I think moving swiftly on.
00:31:10His first sector was very quick,
00:31:12but he didn't do well
00:31:13in those second two sectors at all.
00:31:16Jeff Willis on the right,
00:31:18technical director for the team.
00:31:21So Sato slots into P5.
00:31:24Provisionally, Mark Webber
00:31:25remains the fast man at 158.729.
00:31:29We'll be back in a moment
00:31:30for Jensen Button.
00:31:46Welcome back on board with Jensen Button
00:31:49and the BAR Honda
00:31:50as he begins his hot lap
00:31:51here in qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.
00:31:54Through La Source
00:31:55and now plunging downhill.
00:32:10Well, that sure sounded like a lift to me.
00:32:12Well, he got a lift in the right eye.
00:32:14He went down a couple of gears.
00:32:18Imagine going at this clip
00:32:19right over the coming brow
00:32:21rather than turning right here
00:32:22and then straight on down
00:32:24into the next valley
00:32:25knowing that
00:32:26Bernville and the Master Kink
00:32:28and all those great turns
00:32:30were coming up at you.
00:32:32And of course,
00:32:32instead of having guardrail around the edge,
00:32:33it was a two-strand barbed wire fence
00:32:35to keep the sheep
00:32:36and the cows off the circuit.
00:32:39Which had a closed car
00:32:40wasn't too bad
00:32:40but an open-wheel car
00:32:41must have been a bit daunting.
00:32:44Well, that would certainly
00:32:44grab your attention,
00:32:45wouldn't it?
00:32:46Around the corner
00:32:46and a cow staring, eh?
00:32:50And of course,
00:32:50they moo in French here.
00:32:53So Kelo distilled them.
00:32:56Some of them, of course,
00:32:57moo in Flemish.
00:33:00Or Walloon.
00:33:06Well, Jentz has been tight-lipped
00:33:07again this weekend
00:33:08about his contractual situation
00:33:11and just about everything else
00:33:12for that matter.
00:33:13The British press in particular,
00:33:15who have been some of his biggest supporters
00:33:17in this great year,
00:33:21have been barred
00:33:22from talking with Jentz and Button.
00:33:24His team was actually going to hold
00:33:25a promotional event in London
00:33:28when it became clear
00:33:29that Jentz's management said
00:33:31no press would be allowed.
00:33:32They decided it probably
00:33:33wasn't worth the effort.
00:33:36Tough situation
00:33:37for actually a pretty good kid.
00:33:40Yeah.
00:33:42My personal opinion
00:33:43is he's getting some very bad advice.
00:33:45I think that's the real answer.
00:33:50Well, there again,
00:33:51like his teammate,
00:33:53Takumbasato,
00:33:54missed out badly
00:33:55on the last two sectors,
00:33:56especially that center sector,
00:33:58so, or the second sector,
00:33:59so,
00:34:01ended up third,
00:34:03but
00:34:04again, David,
00:34:05I think this is what you were saying
00:34:06about the Williams.
00:34:07You see the car sliding and twitching.
00:34:09I think this is just a lack of downforce
00:34:10on the car.
00:34:11The first sector,
00:34:12as you cross the start-finish line,
00:34:15until really,
00:34:16you come very close
00:34:17to the top of the hill at Le Cône,
00:34:19is almost flat out.
00:34:20You've got the Eau Rouge
00:34:20and then that fast climb,
00:34:22and that's where both Williams
00:34:23and BAR have been doing very well.
00:34:25And then that second sector,
00:34:26as you come back down the hill
00:34:28around Pouhon,
00:34:29Fanny,
00:34:29and down to Stavola,
00:34:30of course,
00:34:30is where you need the wing on the car,
00:34:32and that's where they're struggling.
00:34:34And they're also carrying
00:34:35Hever fuel loads,
00:34:36I'm guessing,
00:34:37because we had 15 cars
00:34:38break two minutes
00:34:39in the much wetter
00:34:40first session.
00:34:41Here we've only got two
00:34:43with nine cars to go.
00:34:44This is Yarno truly,
00:34:46quicker at the first intermediate.
00:34:47And apparently,
00:34:49the team chemistry
00:34:49around the old
00:34:50Renault hospitality bus
00:34:53is in free fall.
00:34:57Truly accusing the team
00:34:59of favoring his teammate
00:35:01Fernando Alonso
00:35:02to justify their decision
00:35:04to allow Truly to leave.
00:35:05Of course,
00:35:06all of that against the backdrop
00:35:07of Truly declining
00:35:08to renew his personal
00:35:10management contract
00:35:11with Renault's team manager,
00:35:13Flavio Briatore.
00:35:14And the soap opera
00:35:15just goes on and on.
00:35:16I don't think
00:35:16there's a conflict
00:35:17of interest there.
00:35:18Oh, you don't think so?
00:35:18No, I don't think so.
00:35:19I do wish, though,
00:35:21Yarno truly would just
00:35:22remain tight-lipped
00:35:23and get on with the job
00:35:24and prove what he can do
00:35:25in the car.
00:35:26As soon as you start
00:35:27talking to the media
00:35:28about,
00:35:28I'm not getting
00:35:29fair equipment,
00:35:30I feel I've been
00:35:31let down by the other team,
00:35:33the atmosphere's
00:35:34bound to drop away
00:35:35with another team.
00:35:36I have to say,
00:35:36personally,
00:35:37I don't believe
00:35:38for a second
00:35:39that any team
00:35:40would compromise
00:35:41their own second car
00:35:42and risk losing points
00:35:44just to annoy the driver
00:35:46for some reason.
00:35:46It just beggars belief
00:35:48to me.
00:35:50Well, it said it
00:35:51to slow him down
00:35:51that second sector.
00:35:52Well, this is the best
00:35:53answer he could give.
00:35:54Absolutely.
00:35:56Drive the car.
00:36:00Locked in a battle
00:36:01with BAR Honda
00:36:02for second of the
00:36:03world championship,
00:36:04just nine points apart.
00:36:06You bet they're going
00:36:06to want two healthy cars
00:36:08out there.
00:36:08There you go.
00:36:09Hey, two and a half
00:36:10seconds puts
00:36:11Yarno Trulli on pole.
00:36:13The Monaco winner,
00:36:14and there's a smile
00:36:16from his nemesis,
00:36:18Senor Periatore.
00:36:19We'll be back in just a moment.
00:36:21Fernando Alonso next.
00:36:28Welcome back to qualifying
00:36:29for the Belgian Grand Prix
00:36:30here on Speed Channel
00:36:31with David Hobbs
00:36:32and Steve Matchett.
00:36:33I'm Bob Varsha.
00:36:34A moment ago,
00:36:34Yarno Trulli
00:36:35put the Renault
00:36:36on provisional pole.
00:36:37Here's his young teammate,
00:36:38the Spaniard,
00:36:39Fernando Alonso.
00:36:40Who, of course,
00:36:41is much more favored
00:36:42by the team
00:36:43than Yarno Trulli.
00:36:45Down shift there.
00:36:53Just one up shift.
00:36:58It went to a six-speed box
00:36:59earlier this year
00:37:00at Manicour.
00:37:01I suppose there's much point
00:37:02in doing that here.
00:37:05Quicker at the first intermediate
00:37:06slightly.
00:37:07If you can get away
00:37:08with six ratios in the box,
00:37:09then certainly that's
00:37:10the way to go.
00:37:11It all depends on the torque
00:37:12characteristics of the engine
00:37:13and the power band
00:37:14and where it is.
00:37:15You can get away
00:37:15with fewer ratios
00:37:16in the box.
00:37:17Great,
00:37:17because if you're not
00:37:18running in seventh gear,
00:37:19it can't fail on you.
00:37:21Right.
00:37:22One fewer thing
00:37:22to break.
00:37:24A bit twitchy there
00:37:24coming out of Bruxelles,
00:37:26I think I'm calling it
00:37:26called,
00:37:27on the run down
00:37:28to Pujan.
00:37:30If we can engage
00:37:31in a bit of
00:37:31national stereotyping,
00:37:32you expect the Scandinavians,
00:37:34the Finns,
00:37:35and so on,
00:37:35to be good
00:37:36in wet conditions
00:37:38because of their
00:37:38long histories
00:37:39of driving on ice
00:37:40in their home countries.
00:37:41You wouldn't expect
00:37:42to find that
00:37:43from a guy like
00:37:43Fernando Alonso
00:37:44from dry,
00:37:45sunny Spain.
00:37:46Yeah,
00:37:46right.
00:37:49Then again,
00:37:50if he loves rallying,
00:37:52he's used to watching
00:37:53the scenery go by
00:37:54sideways across the windshield.
00:37:55A little bit slower
00:37:56than his teammate
00:37:57in that second sector.
00:37:58So maybe he's trying
00:37:59to run away
00:38:00a bit less wing
00:38:00because we saw him
00:38:01twitch coming out
00:38:01of that corner
00:38:03down hill left-hander.
00:38:07Yeah, it's a bit
00:38:08of a roulette game
00:38:09this, isn't it?
00:38:10Of course,
00:38:10we don't believe
00:38:12it's going to be
00:38:12a lot dry tomorrow
00:38:13but we all know
00:38:14the only thing predictable
00:38:15about the weather
00:38:16at Spa
00:38:16is the unpredictability
00:38:17of the weather
00:38:18at Spa.
00:38:18Yeah.
00:38:25Second.
00:38:26Cost him getting up
00:38:27on that curb
00:38:28but still not
00:38:29a bad run
00:38:30for Alonso
00:38:31especially if he has
00:38:31a lot of fuel
00:38:32on board.
00:38:33So it's a Renault
00:38:340-1-2 right now.
00:38:44Yeah, those painted curbs
00:38:46are slippery
00:38:46at the best of times
00:38:47when they get wet
00:38:48yeah, just a little bit
00:38:49of a bobble
00:38:49not much
00:38:50but enough for him.
00:38:54Here comes the first
00:38:55of the McLarens
00:38:56David Coulthard
00:38:57of Scotland
00:38:5849 winner
00:38:59here at Spa
00:39:00and you'll see
00:39:01those little bits
00:39:02of white tape
00:39:02chaps on the break
00:39:03that's on the chassis
00:39:04on shore
00:39:05as we get a good
00:39:06shot from the front
00:39:07looking down
00:39:08Hey, single lap
00:39:09qualifying
00:39:13David Coulthard
00:39:14doing his 171st race
00:39:19There's a fan up there
00:39:20fist pumping
00:39:21on the fence
00:39:22despite the enormous
00:39:23speeds here at Spa
00:39:24you can get closer
00:39:25to the cars here
00:39:26than you can
00:39:27at just about
00:39:27any other circuit
00:39:28except Monaco
00:39:30It's a great race
00:39:31to go to
00:39:32if you think
00:39:32you're going to
00:39:36I think
00:39:36that's another example
00:39:39not running
00:39:39an awful lot
00:39:40of wing
00:39:40on this car
00:39:41in preparation
00:39:41for the dry race
00:39:42tomorrow
00:39:42so that's
00:39:43that's just
00:39:44the point
00:39:44of the track
00:39:44where you'll need it
00:39:45yeah, of course
00:39:46the track's
00:39:46very damp
00:39:47round there
00:39:47anyway
00:39:47so it's going
00:39:48to be a little bit
00:39:48greasy
00:39:48but
00:39:49Norbert Hogg
00:39:50on the right
00:39:51Ron Dennis
00:39:51on the left
00:39:52you need a bit of
00:39:52wing
00:39:53round here
00:39:53too
00:39:53very high speed
00:39:55but you need a little bit of downforce
00:39:58it's a very fine line
00:40:00setting the downforce
00:40:02on the cars
00:40:02around here
00:40:03and some of the engineers
00:40:04it's really
00:40:05the race throughout the season
00:40:07the fine line
00:40:08tuning the aerodynamics
00:40:09and the suspension
00:40:09around the car
00:40:10because this track
00:40:11has got absolutely
00:40:12everything
00:40:12high speed
00:40:13fast corners
00:40:14slow corners
00:40:15the source
00:40:15for example
00:40:16that very slow
00:40:17hairpin
00:40:18at the start
00:40:18and finish
00:40:19of the lap
00:40:19there
00:40:21long
00:40:21straight
00:40:21I mean
00:40:22everything
00:40:22so
00:40:23it's impossible
00:40:24to set the car up
00:40:25for just one particular
00:40:26section of the track
00:40:27you're going to lose
00:40:27out somewhere else
00:40:28so you really
00:40:29have to just
00:40:29fine tune
00:40:30get that balance
00:40:31of understeer
00:40:31and oversteer
00:40:32right through the weekend
00:40:34you want to run
00:40:35very low downforce
00:40:36but you want the car
00:40:37to stick everywhere
00:40:38yes
00:40:38that's right
00:40:39yeah
00:40:40we're getting reports
00:40:41of rain
00:40:41from Blanchimall
00:40:42corner David
00:40:43Kulkar
00:40:44just
00:40:45blasted through
00:40:51third
00:40:51at a 57.9
00:40:55he slots in
00:40:56behind the two
00:40:57Renaults
00:40:58you probably see
00:40:59sometimes the drivers
00:41:00struggle with a
00:41:01particular corner
00:41:02for example
00:41:03we're going to see
00:41:04a little bubble
00:41:04from the McLaren
00:41:05chassis right there
00:41:06and the driver
00:41:07and the engineer
00:41:07will have to get together
00:41:08and just decide
00:41:08can you live with it
00:41:09or not
00:41:10we want you to live with it
00:41:11we don't want to put
00:41:12that extra little bit
00:41:12of wing on
00:41:13so if the driver can
00:41:14all well and good
00:41:15if he can't
00:41:16you're going to have
00:41:17to compromise the car
00:41:18towards that corner
00:41:19this ought to be fun
00:41:20here's one
00:41:21Pablo Montoya
00:41:22the BMW Williams
00:41:23here's a man that manhandles
00:41:25things wet dry
00:41:27I mean he's one of the most
00:41:29aggressive drivers out there
00:41:30and I think he's one of the guys
00:41:32with the absolute most car control
00:41:33his absolute speciality is going fast on cold tires
00:41:37i.e. when he won the Indy 500
00:41:41it's magic after all his pit stops
00:41:43but of course in Indy they don't have any tire warmers
00:41:45see umbrellas open there on the hillside
00:41:47yeah
00:41:48about to say the sky
00:41:50appears much lighter
00:41:51the light conditions have changed
00:41:52I wonder if there's a break
00:41:53in the clouds coming
00:41:59the weather front round here
00:42:00we've all seen the change so quick
00:42:02the clouds just roll up
00:42:03into the hills
00:42:04into the bottom of the trees
00:42:05and then drop down again
00:42:06lift and drop
00:42:07the weather can be changing
00:42:08from bright sunshine
00:42:09to really dense black clouds
00:42:11within five minutes
00:42:13tremendous amount of air currents running through these
00:42:15yeah it's obviously
00:42:16it looks wetter to me
00:42:17that looks like more spray
00:42:202001 pole sitter here at Spa
00:42:25more reports of rain coming in
00:42:27obviously quite wet there
00:42:28look at those rooster tails
00:42:29yeah
00:42:35should expect great things from Montoya really
00:42:37in this race in this chassis around here
00:42:39again if it's like this tomorrow
00:42:40as you were saying
00:42:41he's got that ability to just
00:42:43take the car by the scruff of the neck
00:42:45and wring the most out of it
00:42:47and it's a great driver's track
00:42:49there's no doubt about it
00:42:50it's great for engineers
00:42:50it's great for engineering
00:42:52it's great for the mechanics
00:42:53and a wonderful driver's track as well
00:42:55there's the rain
00:42:56you can see a lot wetter now
00:42:58there's no way he'd be three seconds slow
00:43:00than Jano truly
00:43:01in that second sector
00:43:06another car on Michelin tires
00:43:14now we're hearing it's raining heavily on part of the racetrack
00:43:18sixth
00:43:20splitting Jenson Button
00:43:22excuse me Olivier Panis
00:43:24and Jenson Button
00:43:26the reaction from the Williams boys
00:43:28we'll be back in just a moment
00:43:29five to go
00:43:30next up Giancarlo Fisichella
00:43:36welcome back to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit
00:43:38in extreme eastern Belgium
00:43:40site of the 14th round of the Formula One World Championship
00:43:44Giancarlo Fisichella preparing to start his hot lap
00:43:48be sure to join us tomorrow morning
00:43:50for live coverage of the Belgian Grand Prix
00:43:52beginning at 7.30 a.m. Eastern
00:43:53with the Acura pre-race show
00:43:55featuring Peter Wintzer
00:43:56this week Peter will chat with the drivers
00:43:58to see how they feel about returning
00:43:59to the Spa-Francorchamps circuit
00:44:01after a year away
00:44:027.30 a.m. Eastern tomorrow
00:44:03live only on speed
00:44:05but subject to blackout
00:44:20more rooster tails
00:44:22mean more water
00:44:23out there on the racetrack
00:44:24they look bad to me
00:44:25it's getting darker again too
00:44:27yeah and that's what we're
00:44:28talking about earlier on
00:44:29how it can be raining at one part of the track
00:44:31and not at the other
00:44:32right at the top of the track
00:44:33now Lacombe Malmedie
00:44:34now that dive down to Ruvage
00:44:36we saw an awful lot more standing water
00:44:39than there was down at the rundown
00:44:40from LeSource through Eau Rouge
00:44:42and through Radion
00:44:43and the climb up the hill
00:44:44the sky has definitely gone a lot darker too
00:44:47as you can see it over the background
00:44:48at just a moment
00:44:49it goes very black
00:44:53well these guys went pretty well
00:44:55in the first session of course
00:44:57which is why we're seeing them
00:44:57going out in this position
00:44:58in the second session
00:44:59and again I'm going to say
00:45:00that's mainly down to the
00:45:02superior quality of that
00:45:04Bridgestone wet weather compound
00:45:06Montoya by the way
00:45:07who just ran
00:45:08was on intermediate
00:45:09Michelin tires
00:45:13Fisichel is on full wet Bridgestones
00:45:17difference of course
00:45:18is the tread pattern
00:45:19and the depth of the tread
00:45:21these full wets
00:45:22can move an astonishing
00:45:23amount of water
00:45:24yeah
00:45:25well right there
00:45:26look at it
00:45:28hundreds of gallons a minute
00:45:29air pump
00:45:33if ever there was a demonstration
00:45:34of the capability
00:45:35of these Formula One cars
00:45:37this is it
00:45:38the way they grip
00:45:42especially in the wet
00:45:46they see some standing water
00:45:48on the exit of the bus stop
00:45:54158.04.0 for Fisichela
00:45:57so he bumps Mark Webber
00:45:59and slots in alongside David Coulthard
00:46:02on the provisional grid
00:46:04that wasn't a bad effort really
00:46:05considering it is
00:46:07look at that sky
00:46:08that rooster tail behind
00:46:10that cuts off there
00:46:11that incredible cutoff
00:46:12at the top of the rooster tail
00:46:13with the aerodynamic
00:46:19this is Felipe Massa
00:46:22Fisichela's teammate
00:46:29Felipe Massa
00:46:29tackling O'Rouge
00:46:31for the first time
00:46:32and Radeon
00:46:33he comes out there
00:46:33it may have been
00:46:34an optical illusion
00:46:35but it sure looked like
00:46:36the car was going sideways
00:46:37there in O'Rouge
00:46:39it was
00:46:39there was a little bit of movement
00:46:40on the front of the car
00:46:42boy yeah you're right
00:46:43you've got to be so committed
00:46:44I mean like you say Bob
00:46:45you can't see your way out of it
00:46:47until you're absolutely
00:46:48full on the throttle
00:46:49and just hope
00:46:50that the feet stop together
00:46:54because at the moment
00:46:55these guys don't have any spray
00:46:56to drive through
00:46:56just think of the races like this
00:46:58of course you've got all that spray
00:46:59somehow
00:47:00you've got to find your way
00:47:01through from behind
00:47:07Felipe's last wet race
00:47:08with Silverson
00:47:08a couple of years ago
00:47:09when he had quite a few spins
00:47:10to his crillet
00:47:13he's improved a lot since then
00:47:15but he's not
00:47:15I thought old Felipe Massa
00:47:17was going to be the real deal
00:47:18but somehow
00:47:19even with the year of testing
00:47:20Ferrari behind him
00:47:21under his belt
00:47:22doesn't seem to have been able
00:47:23to beat his teammate
00:47:25Fisichela consistently
00:47:26which is what he needs to do
00:47:27notice we're getting rooster tails
00:47:29just about everywhere now
00:47:32it's going to be interesting
00:47:33to see what this sector
00:47:34comes out at
00:47:391.38 behind
00:47:41remember the factory boys
00:47:42from Ferrari still to come
00:47:46wow look at the water
00:47:47I'll tell you what
00:47:48those factory boys from Ferrari
00:47:49are going to have their work
00:47:50cut out
00:47:50this could make for a very
00:47:52interesting end
00:47:53to the qualifying session
00:47:55Ferrari are going to have to go
00:47:56like the Blazers
00:47:57to get on pole
00:47:58from this position
00:47:59Jimmy Reikers
00:48:01who's also on Michelin
00:48:03is going to be interested
00:48:03to see how he handles it
00:48:08this will be a pretty good lap
00:48:10for Massa I think
00:48:11under the conditions
00:48:11oh 6th
00:48:13not as good as I thought
00:48:14he bumps Olivier Pannis
00:48:16and lines up next to Mark Webber
00:48:18but there are 3 drivers
00:48:19still to come
00:48:20Raikkonen on Michelin
00:48:21then Barrichello
00:48:23and Schumacher
00:48:24on Bridgestone
00:48:25stay with us
00:48:31back at Spa
00:48:32Frank Rochon
00:48:33the rain is falling
00:48:34but Kimi Reikkonen
00:48:35is on track
00:48:35in the McLaren
00:48:36Mercedes
00:48:36on Michelin tires
00:48:39fastest man of the day
00:48:40on Friday
00:48:41in practice
00:48:48clocked a 1.44-7
00:48:50yesterday
00:48:53but that was in the dry
00:49:03well I'm impressed
00:49:04I expected the chassis
00:49:05look a lot more nervous
00:49:06as it came down the hill
00:49:07from Malmedy
00:49:09it actually looked pretty stable
00:49:10it looked very stable
00:49:14Ron Dennis looking on
00:49:26it is sopping out there now
00:49:29couple of years ago
00:49:30Kimi's drive
00:49:31first race for McLaren
00:49:32at Spa
00:49:33coming off that Puhan
00:49:34he had a most incredible
00:49:35tank slapper
00:49:36somehow got away with it
00:49:37God love it
00:49:38I'll never forget that one
00:49:40he's a Finn
00:49:45because I did a thousand kilometers
00:49:46here in 1968
00:49:47in a Ford GT40
00:49:49a Gulf Ford GT40
00:49:51and it was like this
00:49:51for the entire
00:49:52thousand kilometers
00:49:54or 600 miles
00:49:56that got your attention
00:49:57Jean Taude looking on
00:49:58for Ferrari
00:50:00still savoring
00:50:01the big party
00:50:02that Ferrari held
00:50:03a week ago
00:50:04last Monday
00:50:04with the whole factory crew
00:50:06to celebrate their
00:50:06sixth straight world championship
00:50:08it was slow there
00:50:10in the bus stop
00:50:13see how much it costs him
00:50:18oh looks like our timing
00:50:19and scoring has gone down
00:50:20why does it keep going down
00:50:22with Kimi
00:50:22well exactly
00:50:26Ron how fast do you think
00:50:27he was
00:50:29fast enough for pole
00:50:31anybody got a stopwatch
00:50:32no doubt
00:50:32there are lots of stopwatches
00:50:34there that are
00:50:34timing these
00:50:36mechanically
00:50:36got very wide
00:50:37deep into the
00:50:38bus stop
00:50:39which cost him dear
00:50:40I would imagine
00:50:40here we go
00:50:43come back
00:50:43come back
00:50:44come back
00:50:44come back
00:50:44come back
00:50:51I think these guys are going to
00:50:53have their work cut out
00:50:53as Steve just pointed out
00:50:55and they could find
00:50:56themselves
00:50:57mired down in like
00:50:58sixth, seventh
00:50:59fifth, sixth, seventh spot
00:51:01they could
00:51:02they have got the right rubber on
00:51:04in these conditions
00:51:04there's no question
00:51:05about that
00:51:06so let's see
00:51:07where they finish up
00:51:09on this lap
00:51:10it doesn't appear
00:51:11to be raining
00:51:12a 159.635
00:51:14we are told
00:51:15for Kimi Räikkönen
00:51:16a lot of brollies
00:51:17a little bit slower
00:51:26but that's pretty close
00:51:282700
00:51:30Arkello is good
00:51:31in the rain
00:51:32recall that race
00:51:33at Hockenheim
00:51:33a few years ago
00:51:34when he stayed on
00:51:35slicks
00:51:36on a combined
00:51:37wet dry
00:51:38racetrack
00:51:39managed to get up
00:51:40a pit stop
00:51:41on the field
00:51:41and win the race
00:51:42for Ferrari
00:51:43well this first pole
00:51:44here was in 1994
00:51:45driving the Jordan
00:51:46and that was a wet
00:51:47dry qualifying session
00:51:49it was one he's
00:51:50drying out
00:51:50at which point
00:51:55he was the youngest
00:51:56pole sitter
00:51:57ever in Formula 1
00:51:58that was a different
00:51:59qualifying format
00:52:00he was fastest
00:52:01on day one
00:52:02which used to be
00:52:03a throwaway day
00:52:03but then the second
00:52:04session came on
00:52:05Saturday
00:52:06and it was pouring
00:52:07down rain then
00:52:09and it preserved
00:52:10his pole
00:52:10because no one
00:52:11could get close
00:52:12to him
00:52:12it was Friday
00:52:13time
00:52:13now quick
00:52:14in that
00:52:14very important
00:52:15handling section
00:52:16which includes
00:52:17Puhan
00:52:17Rivage
00:52:20the end
00:52:21of the year
00:52:21take these cars
00:52:22lock them up
00:52:23in a museum
00:52:23somewhere
00:52:25we haven't seen
00:52:26anything like these
00:52:27in a long time
00:52:29and with the new
00:52:30regulations coming
00:52:30on next year
00:52:31we won't see
00:52:32anything like them
00:52:32for a long time
00:52:34oh he runs too deep
00:52:35he runs it wrong
00:52:36he runs deep
00:52:39he just put a
00:52:40frown on the
00:52:41Mona Lisa
00:52:46oh
00:52:47fifth
00:52:47wow
00:52:49gosh
00:52:51so just
00:52:52displaced
00:52:52but he's got
00:52:53Fischer Keller
00:52:53Coulthard
00:52:54Alonso and Trulli
00:52:55in front of him
00:52:55and Alonso and Trulli
00:52:57aren't going to give up
00:52:57easy
00:52:58there it is
00:53:00there's also
00:53:00somebody else
00:53:01yet to go
00:53:02don't forget
00:53:02there is
00:53:03yeah
00:53:04you may have
00:53:05heard of him
00:53:05oh
00:53:06what's his name
00:53:07Michael Schumacher
00:53:09and here he comes
00:53:1962 polls
00:53:20to his credit
00:53:20so far
00:53:34great shot
00:53:34from the helicopter
00:53:35up that
00:53:36using more
00:53:36road day
00:53:37haven't seen
00:53:37anybody else
00:53:38haven't seen
00:53:38many people get
00:53:39on the red and
00:53:40white curb
00:53:40at Radeon
00:53:46so much
00:53:47for the first
00:53:47intermediate
00:53:50well I'll tell
00:53:51you what
00:53:51you don't normally
00:53:51see that
00:53:52from Michael Schumacher
00:53:53and Ferrari
00:53:53Chastity
00:53:54they're steering
00:53:55into the car
00:53:56to keep his
00:53:58line correct
00:54:00he had a
00:54:01100 mile an hour
00:54:02spin in this
00:54:03section of the
00:54:03racetrack
00:54:04yesterday
00:54:05he's down in
00:54:06the
00:54:07Fania section
00:54:09you're right
00:54:10David
00:54:10we came on
00:54:11to this lap
00:54:11you said
00:54:12they're going
00:54:12to have their
00:54:12work cut out
00:54:13and we're
00:54:13sitting here
00:54:17Schumacher
00:54:17really
00:54:18having to
00:54:19work for his
00:54:19money
00:54:21what did
00:54:21he say
00:54:22at France
00:54:22before barking
00:54:23on that
00:54:24four pit stop
00:54:24strategy
00:54:25no risk
00:54:25no fun
00:54:33and that's
00:54:34the view
00:54:34everybody else
00:54:35is going to
00:54:35have him
00:54:35tomorrow
00:54:36I suspect
00:54:42but he's
00:54:42going to get
00:54:43to that
00:54:43bust-up
00:54:43which is
00:54:44obviously
00:54:44very slippery
00:54:45the approach
00:54:45to bust-up
00:54:46here he goes
00:54:46up to
00:54:46Blanchimont
00:54:47there's no doubt
00:54:48that Ross
00:54:49Braun would have
00:54:49been on the
00:54:49radio term
00:54:50and advised him
00:54:51that Barrichello
00:54:51had suffered a
00:54:52little bit
00:54:52in the
00:54:52braking zone
00:54:53just that
00:54:54little bit
00:54:55earlier
00:54:55gives himself
00:54:56a margin
00:54:58is he getting
00:54:59it right
00:55:00yes
00:55:00yeah
00:55:04very coarse
00:55:05essentially
00:55:06down to the
00:55:07line
00:55:07how fast
00:55:08will Michael
00:55:09Schumacher
00:55:09B
00:55:11oh
00:55:12he doesn't
00:55:13get there
00:55:14wow
00:55:17now about
00:55:18that contract
00:55:19Mr. Renaud
00:55:20Jarno truly
00:55:22picks up
00:55:23the pull
00:55:23Jan Todt
00:55:24I'm sure
00:55:25cannot believe
00:55:26it
00:55:26I don't care
00:55:27what fuel
00:55:27load he was
00:55:28on
00:55:28he keeps
00:55:29checking his
00:55:29script
00:55:29and he can't
00:55:30see it
00:55:30written down
00:55:31there at all
00:55:32he was so
00:55:33much quicker
00:55:34in that second
00:55:34sector
00:55:35and a little
00:55:35bit quicker
00:55:36in the first
00:55:36so he lost
00:55:37it all
00:55:37he had nearly
00:55:38four tenths
00:55:39coming into
00:55:39that third
00:55:40sector
00:55:42that's the
00:55:43that's the
00:55:43bobble up
00:55:44in Lacombe
00:55:44but that's
00:55:44before he
00:55:45was
00:55:45we'll see
00:55:46that on
00:55:46board
00:55:47shot now
00:55:47watch
00:55:47watch
00:55:48Michael's
00:55:48hands
00:55:48working
00:55:49overtime
00:55:49now
00:55:50to keep
00:55:50it
00:55:50together
00:55:53man
00:55:58and
00:55:58there's
00:55:59the chaos
00:56:01there's
00:56:02Flowie
00:56:02that's
00:56:02my boy
00:56:03I've
00:56:04always
00:56:04said
00:56:04he's
00:56:04my
00:56:05boy
00:56:05that's
00:56:05right
00:56:06I knew
00:56:06he could
00:56:06do
00:56:07it
00:56:07second
00:56:08career
00:56:08pull
00:56:09for
00:56:09Jarno
00:56:09Truly
00:56:10the first
00:56:10game at
00:56:10Monaco
00:56:11earlier this
00:56:11year
00:56:12where he
00:56:12beat
00:56:12Michael
00:56:13Schumacher
00:56:17there'll be a lot of different captions on that photograph
00:56:21and of course Jarno's on the cell phone
00:56:23Jarno truly suffers from polyps on his vocal cords
00:56:27he's going to have to have surgery to correct it
00:56:28we heard him after his on the race weekend at Monaco
00:56:32he could not speak at all
00:56:34most of the season on and off he's been communicating with his engineers
00:56:38with pad and paper or on a laptop computer
00:56:42well we'll find out in a moment what he sounds like here at Spa
00:56:45Frankershaw because he'll be in the post qualifying interviews
00:56:49Trulian Schumacher on the front row
00:56:51Alonzo and Coulthard on row two
00:56:54and not a Williams to be seen in the top ten
00:56:56we'll be back in a moment
00:57:03hey what's the problem
00:57:04I don't know it just died on me
00:57:18welcome back to the damp spa
00:57:20Frank Rochon circuit
00:57:21the top three qualifiers have made their way to the television interview room
00:57:24where our Peter Windsor awaits them
00:57:26let's go on up
00:57:28congratulations to the fastest three qualifiers in the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa
00:57:31third quickest for mild 7 Renault Fernando Alonso
00:57:34second quickest for Scuderia Ferrari Marlborough Michael Schumacher
00:57:37and on the pole as he was at Monaco
00:57:39for mild 7 Renault Jarno truly
00:57:42Jarno I have to say a great lap
00:57:43but it was well timed
00:57:46yes I've been also very lucky
00:57:47I took the gamble to use intermediate ties
00:57:50the decision came a few seconds before I had to leave the pit
00:57:54so the mechanics did a very good job
00:57:57and obviously it was a difficult condition because it was
00:57:59you know right about the time to use for one lap intermediate ties
00:58:05it worked well for me and Fernando
00:58:06so I'm definitely very happy for this result
00:58:10which put me on the first row for tomorrow
00:58:13fantastic congratulations
00:58:15Michael you've spoken often about Spa and the respect you have for this circuit
00:58:18the conditions weren't too kind to you today
00:58:21well I mean that's the way it is
00:58:23it is a lottery in a way
00:58:27just 10 minutes to the end
00:58:28we get this extra splash of rain
00:58:30which wasn't supposed to be
00:58:33but anyway
00:58:33we're in the first row
00:58:35second position
00:58:36with the conditions
00:58:37I think we can be quite happy
00:58:41we obviously have a big challenge in front of us tomorrow
00:58:44we know that both of the guys are good starters
00:58:47so we hope that our situation can compete
00:58:51and then we will find out how the race goes
00:58:54it was by any standard a fantastic lap in those conditions
00:58:57can you talk us through it?
00:58:59it was actually not so fantastic
00:59:00I struggled a little bit right at the top of the hill into turn 5
00:59:06I got a little bit sideways
00:59:07I lost the grip there
00:59:09lost a couple of tenths
00:59:14and as you saw that the condition before seemed to favour to be a little bit quicker in the last
00:59:20sector
00:59:20and I didn't have the traction out of the last corner anymore
00:59:23compare what those guys have
00:59:25and that's what cost us the time
00:59:27but I don't think we need to complain
00:59:29because for the condition to be still in that position
00:59:32I'm pretty happy
00:59:33it was a nice lap for that
00:59:36and we can do everything from there on
00:59:39Congratulations indeed
00:59:40Fernando, it's going to be an interesting start
00:59:42you've got the two Renaults there with Michael between you
00:59:44and you usually make very good starts
00:59:46yeah, it will be very interesting tomorrow I think
00:59:50we know that usually we start very good
00:59:53and tomorrow we have the chance to arrive maybe
00:59:561-2 to the first corner
00:59:58and it will be important for the team
01:00:00but you know we have to prepare the race properly
01:00:03we had a very difficult day today
01:00:05with no practice this morning
01:00:08and then one single lap qualifying with this changing weather conditions
01:00:12it's always difficult for any driver
01:00:14and I think to be in the top three for me is a fantastic result today
01:00:19I was lucky also with the weather conditions in my lap
01:00:22and you know for tomorrow I think I have a good car, a competitive car
01:00:28in dry conditions, in wet conditions
01:00:30and I'm really happy
01:00:32well then I could have some words from you in your own language starting
01:00:36well everybody sounds a little bit upbeat
01:00:38probably just glad to be off the track and into the dry after that session
01:00:42we'll be back to Spa in just a moment
01:00:48welcome back to Spa
01:00:49time to take a lap of this awesome race track
01:00:524.2 miles around with pole sitter for the Belgian Grand Prix
01:00:56Yarno Trulli in the Renault
01:00:59on it turns out, intermediate tyres
01:01:02and of course you can see why the rooster tail is there
01:01:04but nothing like it was just a little bit after this
01:01:06and in fact just a little bit before this
01:01:09so their timing was impeccable
01:01:11it was, I mean that's all a little bit of a lottery
01:01:13because they're just given that slot to go out
01:01:16because of the first session
01:01:18however right up to the top of the first session
01:01:20right here
01:01:21Michael Schumacher and Trulli exactly the same time
01:01:24that first sector, 31.2 for each driver
01:01:28and now the dive
01:01:29from the top of the track
01:01:32down to Rivage
01:01:34and through Pouhon
01:01:36Rivage there
01:01:38giving him maximum grip for
01:01:40really for this afternoon session
01:01:41but it's interesting to point out that his pole lap
01:01:45in these conditions was a 1.56.2
01:01:47now it's a long way around here
01:01:484.3 miles
01:01:4920 odd turns
01:01:51a lot of elevation change
01:01:53multiple, multiple gear shifting
01:01:55and they're only
01:01:56he's only 12 seconds slower
01:01:58than they were in the dry
01:01:59yesterday afternoon
01:02:00which just shows the ability of these wet tyres
01:02:03and the amount of downforce
01:02:05and grip you can crank into these cars
01:02:06it's extraordinary to be only
01:02:08only 12 seconds slower in the dry
01:02:11and this is such a great story
01:02:13given the problems Trulli has had with his team
01:02:15since he announced he will not be with Renault next year
01:02:17refused to renew his personal services contract
01:02:20with his manager Flavio Briatore
01:02:22all the recriminations and accusations back and forth
01:02:25people wondering whether or not he could have won that race in Monaco
01:02:29if Michael Schumacher hadn't crashed in the tunnel with Juan Pablo Montoya
01:02:34what a great story
01:02:35what a great story that Yarno Trulli
01:02:36on intermediate Michelin tires
01:02:38puts the Renault on pole here at Spa
01:02:41and of course we know they make dynamic stars these Renaults
01:02:45oh yeah
01:02:47which is perhaps why Yarno Trulli
01:02:49and his teammate Fernando Alonso
01:02:50were so smiley in the post qualifying interviews
01:02:55as was old Flav
01:02:57great job for Trulli
01:02:58it's going to be an interesting race tomorrow to be sure
01:03:02well they're getting ready for the Formula 3000 event at Spa
01:03:05those boys are going to have some work to do as well
01:03:08stay with us
01:03:11right now you can find the soul of a sports car
01:03:13in more new Mazdas than ever
01:03:15and during Mazdas Choosing Crew sales event
01:03:17welcome back
01:03:21as preparations continue on the alternate grid
01:03:24used for support races here at Spa
01:03:26it's time for everybody's favorite segment
01:03:28no we're not going to look at the grid girls
01:03:30crank it up for the sounds of speed
01:03:46no we're not going to look at the Élite
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