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Qualifying for Round 17 of the 2004 F1 season at Suzuka.
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00:00:00may be just a tenth of that of their neighbors across the sea who played host to the first ever
00:00:04Grand Prix of China. The Japanese fans are no less passionate about Formula One. Today they come to
00:00:11see who will sit on pole for the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. Will it be the man who triumphed
00:00:16here last year and who's won the last two Grand Prix from pole? Perhaps his teammate looking to
00:00:24rebound from his disastrous weekend in China. Maybe he's not having the best weekend. Or in the land of
00:00:29the rising sun, will a native son capture his first ever career pole? Qualifying for the Japanese
00:00:35Grand Prix begins right now.
00:01:10Konichiwa, or hello, and welcome to Speed Channel's coverage of qualifying for round 17 of the 2004
00:01:15Formula One World Driving Championship, the Japanese Grand Prix from Suzuka, where history has been made
00:01:21before a car ever turned a wheel. I'm Bob Varsha. Joining me as always, David Hobbs and Steve Matchett,
00:01:27after an earthquake on Wednesday and a typhoon on Saturday that washed out all track activity
00:01:32for the first time ever in Formula One, qualifying is taking place on the morning of race day. And
00:01:38we're glad you're here with us. As always, one round of single car, single lap runs has already
00:01:44taken place to set the running order for the second round, which we'll be bringing you in just a
00:01:49moment to set the grid for the race. Right now, let's check out the highlights of the first round.
00:01:53As the winner of the recent race in China two weeks ago, Rubens Botticello and Ferrari rolled out first
00:01:59on a wet but quickly drying track. And of course, he posted the time everyone else would shoot for.
00:02:07Next on the track course, Jensen Button, who had a great second place in China last week in the
00:02:11VAR Honda. The track still pretty well, as you can see, drying out in some spots, but still basically
00:02:17very, very wet, actually. And these guys, he was second fast at the time and ended up 10th. Then his
00:02:22teammate, Takuma Sado, went out. An absolute delight of the huge Japanese crowd and, of course,
00:02:27his own crew. He ended up 6th overall. Then Giancarlo Fisichella out in the C23 Sauber.
00:02:34141.51. Good result from him. 7th spot. But Mark Webber, absolutely stunning in the lap. He was
00:02:40provisionally P1, finished 4th in the session, but a 139.170 stunning. And don't think that was lost on
00:02:47Michael Schumacher, the world champion coming off two of the worst races in recent memory, went out and
00:02:53took the provisional pole by 7 tenths plus at a 138. Another hometown favorite, Olivier Panis in the
00:02:59Toyota. Of course, this will be his second to last race ever. Olivier Panis ends up third on the day,
00:03:05which is pretty good for the Toyota team. And then Zolt Baumgartner, the only guy that spun.
00:03:11Yes, not a good result from him, but not a bad result from Ralph Schumacher. 138.864, the FW26 on
00:03:18Michelin's. And there's Pierre Duplassier, head of Michelin, looking on. But it was not over.
00:03:23And Pierre Duplassier was even more delighted when Yarno Trulli, back in a car, now in the
00:03:28Toyota, came through nearly 7 tenths quicker than anyone. And he will be the last man on,
00:03:34as I mentioned, a quickly drying track, putting him in great shape for pole position here in
00:03:41Japan. Now, this will be the running order the next time out. By being the only man going
00:03:44off in the session, as David mentioned, Zolt Baumgartner will start first.
00:03:48And look at that third to go. That's going to be one. Pablo Montoya had a terrible run
00:03:52there in the dry, in the damp conditions, but he didn't seem to make the most of it
00:03:55somehow. His teammate, Ralph Schumacher, a lot quicker there. Timo Glock, who was very
00:03:59quick on Friday when it was totally wet, but unfortunately, old Jordan showing up again
00:04:03while he got a lot more grip. And Heidfeld there, just a little bit quicker than him.
00:04:07Alonso didn't have a good run in the second of the Renaults either.
00:04:10In fact, Ralph Schumacher, five and a half seconds quicker than Juan Pablo Montoya in only his
00:04:16second race back from his injury suffered at Indianapolis earlier this year.
00:04:19There's Sato there. Sato through the speed track. This is incredible. It's 180 miles an hour,
00:04:25where most other people are averaging 163, 164. That's a Zooka special that Honda have built
00:04:30180 miles an hour. It was 17 miles an hour quicker than really the rest of the field.
00:04:37That's a pretty extraordinary stat. It is.
00:04:39Now, all of these laps turned on intermediate tires. The track is drying quickly. Look at that
00:04:44dry line right there. But it is not completely dry. So, what do you do for your second run?
00:04:50Do you go out on dry tires and risk it all, knowing that you have to start the race on
00:04:55whatever you run? Do you go with intermediates, knowing that in a couple hours' time, when the
00:04:58actual race is run, you would have to start the race on intermediates if you use them now?
00:05:04Now, just one of the questions to be answered. As a crowd estimated at 150,000 crowds, the
00:05:10Suzuka circuit. Now, while we have a moment, let's check out our Porsche track map with David
00:05:15Haab.
00:05:15Well, of course, this is probably everybody's favorite circuit. It's a toss-up between here
00:05:18and Spa. But as you can see, it's a very complex track. It's a very high-speed track, 3.6
00:05:22miles.
00:05:23So, it's nice and long. Lots of activity there. Going down to that first curve. It's a long,
00:05:27long right-hander. Then those S's just come on to you. Just one after the other. 3, 4,
00:05:325, 6, 6 and 7. That long, long right-hander turning into that long left-hander, the Dunlop
00:05:37curve. Then down to the Degna curve. Now we start to go downhill. Pretty steep. We go under
00:05:41the track there, down to the hairpin. First gear hairpin. And then out of there, all the
00:05:45way to the spoon curve. It's very undulating and very fast through that turn 12. Spoon curve,
00:05:50obviously, incredibly important because as you exit that, that long straight there is very
00:05:54steeply uphill. The 130R there, that left-hand sweep at the top one of the
00:05:57fastest corners in Formula One. And then 15. Very, very tight chicane. And then a flat-out
00:06:03blind down to the start-finish line again. And of course, as you were talking about tire
00:06:07selection, Bob, that's going to be so much easier for guys like Michael Schumacher and
00:06:11Jarno Trulli, who are going right at the end. Because by the time they go out, the track
00:06:14really should be pretty dry. And they're almost certain to go out on dry. The first guys,
00:06:18it's going to be difficult for them to make a decision. Keep in mind, the teams have had
00:06:21zero dry weather tire running to make their decisions. Well, there hasn't been any
00:06:27special dispensation. As I understand it from the FIA at the moment, the teams have had
00:06:31to make the choice between the hard and soft compound as pure guesswork. There is a little
00:06:37clause in the sporting regulations that says if the first two practice sessions were wet,
00:06:42they can delay the choice of tire compound from nine o'clock to one o'clock. But it really
00:06:47makes absolutely no difference in this situation. But it will be very interesting to see what these
00:06:52guys are going to do based on whether or not all the rubber being washed off the track. This track
00:06:57is pretty abrasive. So whether or not you're going to get away with that softer compound is very
00:07:01tricky. You saw the minority of Jolt Baumgartner, the Hungarian, sitting in the garage. He may be the
00:07:06luckiest guy on the racetrack. He's going to not go out at all, which means he will be able to
00:07:11make
00:07:11his decision before starting from the pit lane in the race later today. Stay with us.
00:07:17The Japanese Grand Prix. For round 17 of the Formula One World Championship, the Japanese Grand Prix.
00:07:23It has been an absolutely amazing week in Japan. An earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale
00:07:29struck on Wednesday night. And then typhoon, a super typhoon called Ma-On or Typhoon 22 as the
00:07:37weathercasters reported it. Struck Japan, washed out all of the action on Saturday, recorded the highest
00:07:43ever wind gust seen in Japan at 142 miles an hour. But miraculously, the circuit, which was carefully
00:07:49buttoned down when Saturday was washed out, suffered no significant damage. And we are ready to go with
00:07:55qualifying and the Grand Prix on the same day. This is our first qualifier, Gianmarina Bruni of Italy in
00:08:02the Minardi. Yeah, but we're seeing Bruni there out on the intermediate tires. If I was to have a shrewd
00:08:09guess
00:08:09what will happen here. I imagine that Charlie Whiting, the FIA race director, and for all intents
00:08:15and purposes, the technical delegate as well, he, I imagine, will put up the change of climatic
00:08:21conditions board prior to the start of the race. He doesn't have to do that, but he's a pretty normal
00:08:26guy and he wants the teams to work as well as they can within the scope of the regulations. But
00:08:30I think
00:08:31because of these very unusual circumstances we've had qualifying prior to the race, to allow the teams
00:08:36to change from intermediate tires onto a dry weather tire, should it start to continue, well, if it
00:08:41continues to dry this before the start of the race, I imagine Charlie will help the teams out and put
00:08:45the change of climatic conditions board up. That will give them permission in the regulations, within
00:08:50the scope of the regulations, to run the dry weather tire as opposed to the intermediate.
00:08:55You can see it's really drying out there on the exit to the spoon curve. Right there, very, very dry
00:09:00now
00:09:00as he goes up the slope. It was ever so wet when they started. Barrichello actually cranked out a pretty
00:09:04good
00:09:05lap. He ended up 8th out of the 20 cars, but it was very wet when he went out. It
00:09:10was a little bit damp on the
00:09:11straight there. Down in Turn 1, it's actually very dry indeed. The turnaround to Turn 1 and then you start
00:09:17to come up through that left-right section. The track changing direction, very dry. And then, as you say,
00:09:22David, you come across that huge amount of just standing water, almost a river flowing across. Well,
00:09:27it's not to that spec any longer, but it certainly is very damp in certain parts of the track.
00:09:31Well, of course, one of the things, this track undulates a lot. It's got a lot of elevation
00:09:35changes. Of course, that always leads to water running across somewhere. You can see how dry
00:09:39it is down there in Turn 1. Jean-Maria Bruni is on the clock. Juan Pablo Montoya
00:09:45getting ready in the Williams garage. You saw those dry weather groove tires. Bit of a four-wheel
00:09:50slide there for the Italian. Juan Pablo Montoya was incredibly slow, really, this morning,
00:09:56compared to his teammate. He was 18th for the 144.3. Ralph Schumacher did 38.8. Now, it did dry
00:10:04out
00:10:04a bit, but because you've got to remember, when they went out for their initial qualifying this
00:10:09morning, it was, in fact, only 7 o'clock in the morning. Obviously, the air wasn't all that hot.
00:10:14It certainly wasn't drying out much. I think it says a lot for the Japanese enthusiasts. When you see
00:10:18that big crowd, you've got to remember, it's still only 8 o'clock in the morning. Right. Many of those
00:10:22were lined up outside the racetrack when the gates were open this morning. As our feed breaks up,
00:10:26we apologize for that. That's right. Darn dark. Cloud cover came out of that. Notice the location
00:10:31of the walls, the tire barriers, and so forth. In this new age of Formula One with circuits like
00:10:36Malaysia, Bahrain, and the new circuit in Shanghai, China, we saw for the first time two weeks ago.
00:10:42All eyes are now on the quality of the facilities of the racetrack, particularly from a safety perspective.
00:10:47And even though the Suzuka circuit is beloved to a man up and down the pit lane, the drivers
00:10:52love this place. They have to be very, very careful, particularly when the rain is heavy,
00:10:57because those walls are not far from the edge of the racetrack.
00:11:02This is the 130R, that left-hand sweep, which is where we saw McNish have that huge crash.
00:11:08A couple of years ago, Alan McNish in the Toyota.
00:11:10Backed into the wall, luckily.
00:11:11Went over the wall.
00:11:12Backed in and went over the wall.
00:11:14Yeah. Through the wall, I should say.
00:11:15I just saw Bruni have a bit of a moment there near that chicane, chaps, who've just been
00:11:19talking about. Bruni, of course, will take that provisional pole by virtue of being first
00:11:23car on track 148. But my concern is now we've just seen Montoya going around on those dry
00:11:29weather tires, the groove tires. It's going to be very difficult to control because you're
00:11:35going to have nowhere near the grip on these dry weather tires than Bruni had.
00:11:38Look at the car go right there. He's going to have his work cut out here to keep that
00:11:44thing on the tarmac. Now, of course, all the other drivers sitting in the pictures watching
00:11:47the same pictures we're watching. And obviously, everybody's assessing what tires they should
00:11:53be using when it comes to their turn. Schumacher and Jano Trulli, of course, Michael Schumacher,
00:11:57that is, have got a long time to wait. And Ralph Schumacher, for that matter. So the track
00:12:01will dry out more. But that time of Bruni's was three seconds slower than it was this morning.
00:12:06That's what I'm talking about right there through the Esses. And that first part of the track,
00:12:10as you go around turn one and you come onto the Esses, that's the key to a quick lap.
00:12:14If you screw up going through there and you get the car going, well, that was almost a tank
00:12:18slap, wasn't it, going through there? It's going to, it's going to wreck the rest of the lap.
00:12:23This is Juan Pablo Montoya's trademark. I mean, he just grabs a car by the scruff of the neck.
00:12:28He's fantastic on cold tires, always has been. That's how he won the Indy 500. I think his
00:12:32outlaps were always so good. And he's obviously struggled like heck here, but he's still three
00:12:37seconds quicker than Bruni. Qualified second for this race a year ago, led for the first handful
00:12:42of laps before he was let down by hydraulic failure. But he's obviously having to find this a handful.
00:12:48Now he's on the dry bit there, which is what he needs to get a good squirt up the straight
00:12:52here.
00:12:52So important to get up here quick. Contrao's coming off the rear wing. Obviously, it's very
00:12:59humid. It's difficult to know what these guys are thinking. And again, we're all second
00:13:04guessing, sitting here in the studio, wondering what the teams are doing. This is going to be
00:13:09a very quick time. This is going to be a 36 or something. Look at that. He just can't,
00:13:15can't feather that throttle lightly enough. But he loves it. That's what he loves.
00:13:23Oh, by 10 seconds, Juan Pablo Montoya takes over provisional pole. Not a lot of fuel on board to
00:13:31BMW Williams. I'm guessing a 137. We'll take a break. And when we return, the Jordans, Timo Glock and Nick
00:13:38Heifel. Welcome back to final qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix coming up in a couple of hours
00:13:45here on Speed Channel. I'm Bob Varsha with Steve Matchett and David Hobbs. Now coming around to go on
00:14:04in a slight groove around the center of the tire, right in the middle of the, uh, of the tread.
00:14:10See if we get him down in the, uh, in the hairpin, that first gear corner, we're going to get
00:14:14a good
00:14:14look. Yeah. The young German batting 500 in his two-race Grand Prix career in terms of scoring points
00:14:22is in the points of Canada and out of them two weeks ago in China after replacing Giorgio
00:14:28Pantano for the balance of the season. Telly Glock. Oh, not much grip on that green stuff.
00:14:35Old Timo on Friday when it was really wet and the chassis, you know, you didn't have the
00:14:40opportunity to use the chassis to its full grip and, uh, of course the engine power didn't matter
00:14:44so much. Uh, old Timo on, on Friday, I mean, he was seventh in the morning session, only, uh,
00:14:50four seconds lower than Michael Schumacher and in the afternoon he was sixth. Oh, he, in the real wet.
00:14:58No, no, no. Yeah. Oh, man. Well, Michelin runners and Michelin themselves really have admitted
00:15:07they've got a problem with our, with our wet weather tires. As we were talking about a couple
00:15:11of races ago, the difference between Bridgestone and Michelin on wet is quite remarkable. Maybe as
00:15:17much as three seconds a lap. Which is why, of course, Timo was so good on Friday. Absolutely.
00:15:22He had the right tires in that really, uh, very wet condition on Friday.
00:15:30Around the hill he comes.
00:15:35Moves into provisional second on what is for the moment a three-car grid.
00:15:42There's more state-of-the-art track maintenance.
00:15:49How about your little dog, Dorothy?
00:15:55Little dog here.
00:16:00Here comes Nick Heidfeld.
00:16:02Rick Nick.
00:16:03Boy, Nick Heidfeld's a man who's, uh, I don't know what sort of a future he's got looking at him
00:16:09in the face, square in the face. He just,
00:16:11life hasn't worked out right for old, uh, Nick at all.
00:16:15Well, this is just sport after all. Life is going to matter.
00:16:21I'm guessing he's on intermediates if he's going looking for the water.
00:16:24Yeah.
00:16:25Again, you can just see that telltale line around the center of the tire, which is the giveaway.
00:16:29It's not always easy to see and certainly not when they get a lot of water on there.
00:16:32Cooling them off before he got to what he already knows is a dry turn one.
00:16:36And right about here it dampens down a bit through the S's.
00:16:42He did a 42.434 on his first run as Fernando Alonso rolls out.
00:16:49So with Alonso on dries and Montoya on the dry groove tires, all the Bridgestone runs we've seen are on
00:16:54the
00:16:54intermediates. I think that's playing into that, the storyline really that Michelin had just given
00:17:00up on any idea of getting performance advantage on Bridgestone runners by using their intermediates.
00:17:05The best thing Michelin can do is try and keep the thing on the track and use those dry grooved
00:17:09tires.
00:17:11But as we get down to the final two, Michael Schumacher will be going penultimate runner.
00:17:16He'll be on Bridgestone's and of course Gianna Trulli, who put in a stout performance this morning,
00:17:22will be on Michelin. So it's going to be interesting to see what tire choices owes to them.
00:17:26By then it will be drier than it is now, of course.
00:17:28And again, as we're saying at the top of the show, it's possible that Charlie Whiting, the race director,
00:17:33will give them that dispensation to change tires by putting up that change of climatic conditions.
00:17:37But he's not obliged to do that. And you've got to think, well, some of the Michelin runners,
00:17:41for example, Williams, could be thinking, well, if he doesn't do that,
00:17:44and they start us on intermediate, if we're on dry wear tires, we're going to be looking in great shape.
00:17:52Into the Casio Triangle, scene of so much drama in the previous runnings of the Japanese Grand Prix.
00:18:01Heitfeld comes down the hill.
00:18:0541-9-5-3, taking over. Second spot on the provisional grid from his teammate.
00:18:11After the break, Fernando Alonso, followed by the first of the Jaguars, Austrian Christian Kling.
00:18:17The coverage of the FIA Formula One World Championship is brought to you by BMW.
00:18:22BMW, the ultimate driving machine.
00:18:27Welcome back to final qualifying.
00:18:29The sun beginning to poke through for the first time at the Suzuka circuit.
00:18:33That will continue to dry this damp racetrack as we try to set the grid for the 17th round.
00:18:40Next to last round of the 2004 season here on Speed Channel.
00:18:44It's Steve Matchett and David Hobbs on Bob Varsha.
00:18:47This is Fernando Alonso of Spain in the first of the Renaults.
00:18:52Boy, this tire choice is going to be a real chess game as we come down to those final three
00:18:57or four runners.
00:18:59Two tenths up on that first, relatively short sector, so...
00:19:05Good for Alonso there.
00:19:07Down to the hairpin.
00:19:08Tricky approach that hairpin through that right-hand sweep while you're trying to break and slow down to that very
00:19:12slow hairpin.
00:19:14This is the undulating sector between the hairpin and the spoon curve.
00:19:28That's what you call the double apex corner.
00:19:32Yeah.
00:19:36Celebrating his 50th career Grand Prix, as is Kimi Raikkonen this weekend.
00:19:42And Alonso, 6-3-4, ahead.
00:19:48Well, that's a bit of a...
00:19:51Montoya on the dry tires looked a bit twitchy into the Casio trail, a little bit twitchy out of it,
00:19:55but...
00:19:56Difficult corner, it's blind on the entrance.
00:19:58And it's very, uh, it's a real big...
00:20:01Bingo.
00:20:02Yep.
00:20:03By nearly a full second, Alonso takes over provisional pole.
00:20:08As you come out of that chicane there, you're starting to go downhill pretty steeply,
00:20:12and of course you really give it all the welly you can possibly get, and it seems to be very
00:20:15wet on the exit of that...
00:20:17Welly being short for Wellington, meaning a boot.
00:20:21Wellington boot.
00:20:23Alonso, 175 miles an hour through the speed track, so still five mile and off.
00:20:29Sato's blistering pace in the pre-qualifying session, but all in all, that's not a bad speed track time for
00:20:35that Renault engine.
00:20:38There's young Christian Clean in the Jaguar.
00:21:09I'm sure Clean will be on the dry weather tires, right?
00:21:11Welly being short in the provisional qualifying, uh, looked very stout earlier on.
00:21:18And again, we're talking about possibly the change of tyres at the start of the race,
00:21:23but even if Charlie does give them that dispensation, Charlie White, I'm talking about the FIA race director,
00:21:29they will not be allowed to change the wing settings on the car.
00:21:32So, again, there may be sacrifice and a little bit of stability through these, right there for example,
00:21:38through this part of the track.
00:21:40By running the minimum wing, they dare on the hope that it will dry and improve later as the race
00:21:46progresses.
00:21:46You can change the settings on the front wing just by angling the flap up and down.
00:21:52You're not allowed to change any components prior to the start of the race.
00:21:56Get a little bit to play with, but not much.
00:21:59Possible second row qualifying performance here for Clean, at least provisionally.
00:22:05As we move down through the faster and faster runnings, getting to the fastest man of all,
00:22:10Yarno Trulli, a surprise in the Toyota that he had never driven in the wet before Friday.
00:22:15And that was monsoon conditions. Nobody learned much of anything.
00:22:19We'll take a quick break and return in a moment.
00:22:24Qualifying for the penultimate round of the Formula One World Championship in 2004,
00:22:28the Japanese Grand Prix.
00:22:30Here's a man who sat on pole the first two times he came to this racetrack, Jack Villeneuve.
00:22:35Of course, he was driving a Williams back then.
00:22:41Trying to make up for a fairly disappointing return to Formula One two weeks ago in Shanghai,
00:22:47where he qualified 13th, finished 11th, and appeared to be very tired when he climbed out of the race car.
00:22:56It doesn't take long until you start to lose your performance and your feeling of ease by being in the
00:23:03car,
00:23:03and especially your neck muscles, David. I remember we were talking about this just driving.
00:23:07Boy, you know, in the off-season when the drivers have just a couple of weeks, three weeks off,
00:23:11before getting back into a car to do some test laps, they all complained.
00:23:14Oh, my neck is so painful.
00:23:15I can imagine after a long layoff like that, that must have been.
00:23:18And that Shanghai circuit had some pretty tight corners and a lot of decreasing and increasing radius corners,
00:23:24which is really tough on the neck.
00:23:25And that first sector, he was quicker than Fernando Alonso by quite a long way.
00:23:30And he knows this track really well, going all the way back to 1992, when he won from pole in
00:23:35Japanese Formula Three.
00:23:40But despite those two poles I mentioned a moment ago, in a Formula One car,
00:23:45he has never finished higher than sixth in the Grand Prix.
00:23:49Still ahead of the pace.
00:23:50Oh, well.
00:23:50A bit of a twitched air on braking.
00:23:52It is very damp on the approach to that car.
00:23:54Okay, it is.
00:23:55Absolutely.
00:23:55Oh, jeepers.
00:23:58That would have cost him some time.
00:23:59It's very wet on the exit.
00:24:00I'm not quite sure why, but it is.
00:24:02But he's still, and he hardly lost any time.
00:24:05Still three-tenths.
00:24:06Wow.
00:24:07In fact, I think he actually gained a couple of hundreds.
00:24:09See, but he kept his foot in that then, didn't he?
00:24:11Yeah.
00:24:12Oh, my God.
00:24:14No race car, you're not driving me, I'm driving you.
00:24:17Yeah, that's right.
00:24:19That's absolutely right.
00:24:19That wasn't the worst of it.
00:24:20Here comes the worst.
00:24:21Come on, Mr. Director.
00:24:23Oh, thanks for you very much.
00:24:26Arigato.
00:24:27Oh, Massa having a bit of an alert there, too.
00:24:29Now, they are dry tires.
00:24:32They are dry.
00:24:33Dry Bridgestone.
00:24:33Dry blue tires on the Bridgestone.
00:24:34Yeah, first dry Bridgestone tires you've seen.
00:24:38They should be good down here.
00:24:48This is it.
00:24:49Left, right, left, right.
00:24:51This is where all that low balance, the ballast in the car,
00:24:54where you try and keep the center of gravity low.
00:24:56You want the thing to change the direction very quick, very nimbly.
00:25:00That's what it's all about.
00:25:02This thing is a real neck stretch of this left-hander.
00:25:06Long, long, long corner.
00:25:08There's a lot of water down here into Degna.
00:25:12It keeps it together.
00:25:14Oh, second and a half off.
00:25:15Oh, nice.
00:25:17Because he, Felipe, has been running pretty good all weekend.
00:25:20Well, we've got such a broad spectrum of times,
00:25:22he still could wind up provisionally on the third row.
00:25:26That Degna curve is the only corner on the racetrack of the 15 corners.
00:25:31To make that 17 corners, named for an individual, Ernst Degna,
00:25:35who was an East German motorcycling world champion,
00:25:38who was killed at that corner.
00:25:40Oh!
00:25:40Off goes Massa.
00:25:44Yeah.
00:25:45Michael Schumacher, another Bridgestone runner,
00:25:48and Rubens Barrachella, they'll be looking at this thing.
00:25:51Will he take the risk of going on the drive?
00:25:54Yes, whatever he just said,
00:25:55that was the first dry tire for a Bridgestone runner we've seen.
00:25:59So what are the rest of the Bridgestone runners doing?
00:26:00I haven't seen that.
00:26:01You know, maybe we'll stop on intermediates.
00:26:04I don't know.
00:26:05Getting back to Ernst Degner,
00:26:07he died at the corner now named for him in a 50cc world championship race,
00:26:12back when they ran that displacement.
00:26:1550ccs.
00:26:16Can you imagine the revs?
00:26:17It was a 50cc V8, was it?
00:26:20More than that, I think it was,
00:26:21they were sevens, weren't it?
00:26:23Seven and eight.
00:26:23We were talking about that, but on Friday ride,
00:26:26imagine the revs.
00:26:26I bet that thing was kicking out tremendous revs.
00:26:29And the gearboxes.
00:26:31Spend all your time shifting.
00:26:32Absolutely no mass in the engine.
00:26:34That's what helps them to rev the thing.
00:26:36Now let's have a look what happens to Massa.
00:26:37Just straight up at the spoon girl there.
00:26:40Yeah, note to self,
00:26:41must turn the steering wheel from time to time.
00:26:44He's never had any luck here.
00:26:45First race here a couple of years ago,
00:26:47he crashed in the opening laps.
00:26:49And he had a couple of spins on Friday in the wet.
00:26:53Here's Kimi Raikkonen.
00:26:57Oopsie-dosey.
00:26:58The loquacious one.
00:27:00Came to this racetrack with a shot at a world championship a year ago.
00:27:06Not the case this year.
00:27:09Not even close this year.
00:27:11As I mentioned, 50th race for the young Finn.
00:27:16All partnered with David Coulthard.
00:27:18That's lost, at least as far as I'm concerned,
00:27:20all this discussion about where David Coulthard will end up next year.
00:27:23It'll be interesting to see when this guy is paired up with Juan Pablo Montoya next year.
00:27:27He doesn't have David Coulthard to bounce setup ideas off of,
00:27:32because he certainly won't get any help from Montoya.
00:27:35That's a good point, Bob, because Raikkonen doesn't seem to have that
00:27:41almost enthusiasm to work with the team to set the car up.
00:27:44Neither of them do.
00:27:44Montoya and Raikkonen are not exactly your hard graft.
00:27:47That's my point.
00:27:48Yeah, Coulthard is known for his testing and his love of the technicalities.
00:27:53Could be interesting days.
00:27:54Well, both him and Montoya are a couple of real gripping by the scruff of the neck jobs
00:27:58and hang on and let your natural skill get you through.
00:28:02But sun coming out now.
00:28:03So that's another thing that people like Schumacher,
00:28:07Barrichello, truly the later runners are going to be looking at that sun.
00:28:10Oh, he's a little ragged old lap.
00:28:14His 25th birthday is coming up next week as Raikkonen pulls into provisional third.
00:28:19At that age, he will have exactly as many victories as one Michael Schumacher did
00:28:25when he was turning 25.
00:28:28A look down from the Casio Triangle chicane onto the start finish straightaway at Suzuka Circuit.
00:28:33This is Jensen Button, the BAR Honda team racing on a Honda-owned track.
00:28:38Well, right now, they're simply qualifying for the race to come up later on here on Speed Channel.
00:28:44I'm Bob Varsha with Steve Machen and David Hobbs.
00:28:46Peter Windsor will be handling our accurate pre-race show with some interesting features
00:28:50from a very interesting weekend in Japan.
00:28:54Now the crowd will be cranked up seeing the BAR with the Honda engine there.
00:28:58As you said, Honda-owned circuit.
00:29:00Pretty old circuit, finished since 1962, designed by the Dutchman, John Hugenholtz.
00:29:06Designed Zanfork, among others.
00:29:07There's his teammate, Takuma Sato.
00:29:11No pressure on that young fellow.
00:29:13Yeah, I'm looking forward to that, I'll tell you.
00:29:17Now bright sunshine on parts of this racetrack.
00:29:19You can see the fluffy clouds overhead, so it's going to be in and out all day.
00:29:27B.A.R., of course, have had this ongoing battle with chief rivals this season, Renault.
00:29:33And they're all, Renault has still got the possibility to overturn B.A.R.'s position
00:29:38and take that second position in the Constructors' Championship, best of the rest.
00:29:42And B.A.R. Honda, all year, have been working to get the advantage over Renault.
00:29:47See, they're still using that front torque transfer system on the car.
00:29:50Look at that time, 1.1 seconds quicker on that.
00:29:55Boom, bit of a slide going into the old chicken there.
00:29:59Dallin Cross used to call them chickens, yeah.
00:30:04177.7 miles an hour from that Honda engine through the speed trap.
00:30:08Remember, in provisional qualifying, it was Sato with spot-on 180 miles an hour.
00:30:14The pole qualifying record set last year by Rubens Botticello was a 131.713.
00:30:29A couple of employees showed up on their weekend.
00:30:35As have the Toyota employees, the Bridgestone employees.
00:30:40They love their Formula One in Japan, whether their career is in the industry or not.
00:30:47D.C.
00:30:52David Coulthard had three third-place, four third-place finishes in this race.
00:30:57And in fact, his third place here last year was not the last time he was on the podium.
00:31:02His last podium, yep.
00:31:03Also the last double podium for McLaren.
00:31:06Räikkönen the second, Coulthard third.
00:31:09He's Rubens Botticello.
00:31:10And he still refers to you, David, as Mr. Hobbs, I believe, isn't he?
00:31:15Well, actually, he didn't talk to me now, but...
00:31:17It's because he forgot your first name.
00:31:18Yeah.
00:31:22Very good, Bob.
00:31:24Yeah.
00:31:29A really likeable guy.
00:31:31He is, isn't he? I was just thinking that, yeah.
00:31:33That championship is just not going to happen for him now.
00:31:36Yeah, maybe we need a new...
00:31:39...former British racing driver commentator.
00:31:42Well, no, no.
00:31:44Square jawed is our Dave.
00:31:46He's, uh, looks like a racing driver should look.
00:31:49Yeah, he looks a bit like a Thunderbird puppet.
00:31:53Where did you get that?
00:31:57He does know you mentioned it.
00:31:59Oh, jeez.
00:32:00Now, this is a slippy bit here.
00:32:02Watch what these little arms do here.
00:32:05Oh, I like the towel.
00:32:11Second.
00:32:12Very quick and a very short third sector.
00:32:16Wow.
00:32:17David Coulthard on a track he adores.
00:32:20A great number.
00:32:22Here comes another break.
00:32:23And afterward, the defending race champion, Rubens Barichello.
00:32:26As though we never left.
00:32:28Final qualifying for the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix here on Speed Channel.
00:32:32Here is the defending race champion from pole.
00:32:35And a man working on a streak of four consecutive victories from pole over two seasons.
00:32:40Rubens Barichello.
00:32:42I'll tell you what, Bob.
00:32:43Just, just as we came back on air there and we saw Barichello coming onto the start-finish straight,
00:32:47this chassis does not look as stable and as solid and as predictable as we are used to seeing from
00:32:52Ferrari.
00:32:53Again, it was through that particularly wet part of the track, but boy, he had a big twitch on.
00:32:58He has fond memories of Japan, scored his first career podium in this country,
00:33:03but not at this racetrack in the old Pacific Grand Prix, a one-off in Aida, Japan 10 years ago.
00:33:11Well, a little bit slower in that first sector.
00:33:14Of course, the next sector that we're in now includes the hairpin, includes his long
00:33:18right-hand swoop down towards the spoon, which is a long left hand, which caught Massa out so badly.
00:33:25There could be some time picked up here, but still pretty damp in spots, as you can see.
00:33:32Ferrari on Bridgestone tires, of course.
00:33:37If he can win again, making it five from pole and three in a row,
00:33:43he'd be the first driver other than his teammate Michael Schumacher to win three in a row for
00:33:47Ferrari since Alain Prost back in 1990.
00:33:54He lost a lot of time there.
00:33:56Now, there's a big splash when everyone takes that particular line going in there.
00:34:01Well, that's just why we were talking about, as we came back on air, on the warm-up lap,
00:34:06coming on to that start, exactly what happened to him before.
00:34:10Now, you don't often see Ruben and Barrichello make mistakes, but he just
00:34:15outbraked himself into there.
00:34:16Well, especially knowing that it happened before, you have to think, well, air on the side of caution,
00:34:20I nearly lost it before, but I don't know.
00:34:23And there are seven drivers still to come,
00:34:25each of whom was quicker than Barrichello in the first round of qualifying laps.
00:34:30It's got quite a lot of wing on the car as well.
00:34:32You could see those contrails, Bob, you were talking about at the top of the show.
00:34:35There's quite a lot coming off the back of the Ferrari, which is always indicative of running more wing,
00:34:39but again, probably a lot of fuel on board.
00:34:42Not the best lap.
00:34:44Yeah, which is just carrying a lot of weight, you know,
00:34:45maybe just out, obviously just outbraked himself there, but it is damp going in there.
00:34:49It's tricky to get it just right.
00:34:52Here we go.
00:34:53There's a guy everybody's weighted on, Takuma Sato.
00:34:55Can he out-qualify his teammate?
00:34:58Meanwhile, here's the Sauber of Giancarlo Fisichella,
00:35:01who hasn't finished a race at this track since 2000 and has never scored a point here.
00:35:07That count, that last couple of shots back there was a filthy black cloud in the distance.
00:35:11Which I suppose could, conceivably.
00:35:14Don't look at it.
00:35:15I am surprised it's so fair at the moment,
00:35:19considering how close to Suzuka the typhoon has passed.
00:35:23It doesn't look at all back, does it?
00:35:25Now Fisichella also on Bridgestone,
00:35:27so it's quicker in that first sector than the rumours about Keller and the Ferrari by quite a bit.
00:35:36Fisichella was called out publicly by his future boss,
00:35:39Flavio Briatore at Renault, who said this is the last chance.
00:35:43Fisichella's got to get it done in the next two seasons or he is toast will be forgotten.
00:35:49Thanks, Flav.
00:35:50Yeah.
00:35:50No pressure at all.
00:35:50Welcome to the team.
00:35:52Yeah, I like those words of encouragement, Flav.
00:35:54That's right.
00:35:55Super.
00:35:55And who's designing my next race car?
00:36:00Okay, this is that.
00:36:03It's just that, right that crucial spot.
00:36:11It's quite a rise there, as well as a little crest, and I think the car starts to go light,
00:36:16which takes traction away from the tyres.
00:36:18Well, second there to Fisichella, but a fair way down.
00:36:22I think that Takuma Sato, who's just coming up to the chicane now, will probably beat that time.
00:36:28Look at his side on the left.
00:36:30It's packed.
00:36:31Well, considering what time it is, it's time of the day, isn't it?
00:36:34Time of the day, yeah.
00:36:34It's time of the day, half past eight.
00:36:35These people were out there before dawn, lined up on the sidewalks trying to get into the racetrack,
00:36:40which is part of an enormous theme park called Suzukaland.
00:36:43Wow.
00:36:45Sato.
00:36:45Sato.
00:36:46On the clock.
00:36:50Japan expects.
00:36:53They give this guy a lot of credit.
00:36:54Yeah.
00:36:54He won the Honda Racing School Championship on this track back in 1997, starting his racing career at age 20.
00:37:02But he then declined the champion's award.
00:37:06That was a season in Japanese Formula 3, opting instead to go to Europe, where he's been ever since,
00:37:11to race in Formula Box Hall Junior.
00:37:14And that's what he cleaned up in the Formula 3 Championship in Britain.
00:37:17Oh, half a second.
00:37:19Wow.
00:37:21Come on, son.
00:37:24Son, son.
00:37:25Son, son, yeah.
00:37:27Taku.
00:37:27So, T-A-K-U on the signs in the grandstand.
00:37:30That's who they're cheering for.
00:37:32They can't wait to get the ruffle down, can they?
00:37:35Come on.
00:37:36Now, he set the quickest time in the third sector in the first round of single car, single lap.
00:37:44So, if he gets to this second sector in good shape, you could see a real number.
00:37:50Keep it together.
00:37:51Now, that was a very quick time.
00:37:53One of the six, just leaving that spoon curve.
00:37:56Here comes the intermediate.
00:37:58Yes.
00:37:59He's ahead.
00:38:00And here's his best part of the racetrack.
00:38:04That screw is a lad.
00:38:08He's got it.
00:38:09He's got it.
00:38:10He's got it.
00:38:10Dirt tracking style.
00:38:13Welcome to Knoxville, Iowa.
00:38:16That was slick.
00:38:17Oh, look at the flags with the grandstand for Taku.
00:38:45Take the provisional call.
00:38:49Toyota against the Honda.
00:38:51Olivier Panis for his penultimate qualifying run in his career.
00:38:55No.
00:38:56In fact, he's not running in.
00:38:57No, he's not going to run in Brazil.
00:38:58This is his life.
00:38:58Ricardo Zonta gets in alongside in the pool.
00:39:00But Toyota said when they announced that he was stepping aside to be their development driver,
00:39:06he'll be the first guy up if something happens to a member of the varsity next year.
00:39:10So we perhaps haven't seen the last of Olivier Panis after 158 Grand Prix.
00:39:16And one victory.
00:39:18One of 31 drivers in Formula One history to pick up one and only one victory thus far in his
00:39:25career.
00:39:26That was a very fluky victory as well, wasn't it?
00:39:28Was that Monaco at 96?
00:39:30Something like 14th on the grid.
00:39:32Four cars were running at the finish.
00:39:35Yeah, that'll do it.
00:39:36Now, you wonder if these guys at both Honda and Toyota in front of their home crowd,
00:39:40what fuel they've got on board for for qualifying.
00:39:56Just a touch of the brakes into 130R.
00:40:16136.4, provisionally 6th, but there are four drivers still to come.
00:40:22Next up, Mark Webber.
00:40:24It was a revelation of the first session in the Jaguar.
00:40:29Welcome back to the Suzuka circuit in Japan, feathering the throttle,
00:40:32hoping to get maximum velocity off the chicane to begin his hot lap
00:40:36and find his place on the grid for the Japanese Grand Prix.
00:40:40Coming up live here on Speed Channel later tonight, this is Mark Webber of Australia.
00:40:47His first run was really extraordinary because when he went out, it really was quite wet.
00:40:52Again, we apologize for the breakup in the feed. It's been a problem all weekend.
00:40:56The television compound, dozens and dozens of trucks and miles of cable, camera positions,
00:41:01you name it, had to be completely taken down faced with the arrival of a super typhoon
00:41:07and then all rebuilt in the space of a few hours.
00:41:11They've done a stellar job, I think, the circuit and the TV guys, you say, to move all that equipment
00:41:16and get it back up in time for qualified so early in the morning.
00:41:20That sector time there is good enough to keep him in second spot, I think.
00:41:26Yeah, I mean, it must have been an incredible job because it was all there for Friday practice.
00:41:30Right.
00:41:30Took the whole lot down.
00:41:32Got flooded, they had to move the whole kit and caboodle.
00:41:35So if you have a bit of a break in transmission every now and then, it's a miracle if it
00:41:39works at all.
00:41:42Fuji TV is the sponsor of the Japanese Grand Prix, has been for many years.
00:41:46Boy, oh boy, he's looking twitchy, isn't he?
00:41:53Speaking of Fuji, of course, the Japanese Grand Prix first ran at the Mount Fuji circuit back in 76, 77,
00:42:01as I recall.
00:42:01I think this is good enough for second spot.
00:42:04Toyota has bought the Mount Fuji circuit and apparently is plowing enormous yen into it,
00:42:09hoping to challenge Suzuka for the right to hold the Japanese Grand Prix in the future, we're told.
00:42:15Oh, he won, Weber again with a 34-5 in that lightweight Jaguar that his teammate Christian
00:42:23Clean had so many problems with in Shanghai.
00:42:26Amazing.
00:42:26That is staggering.
00:42:30They can't believe it.
00:42:32No, they can't believe it.
00:42:33I'm not surprised.
00:42:35Oh my.
00:42:35I can't believe it.
00:42:37I mean, not just, I mean, just substantially, a half a second quicker than Jensen Button.
00:42:43And three-tenths over Solitaire.
00:42:45That's how Ralphie Schumacher could better do.
00:42:50We are back.
00:42:53Here comes Ralph.
00:42:56Did nothing to endear himself to his teammates when he got out of a healthy race car two weeks ago
00:43:01in
00:43:01Shanghai, China.
00:43:03Although in fairness to him, as you pointed out, Steve, he had banged wheels with David Kulthar,
00:43:07did not know the condition of his car.
00:43:09So when the team told him to go out simply because his tires weren't in the pit lane for
00:43:13a stop and they were expecting his teammate Juan Pablo Montoya momentarily,
00:43:18Ralph decided, nope, that's enough for me.
00:43:20And here comes big brother Michael.
00:43:23Yeah, it was an unfortunate situation, wasn't it?
00:43:25But, you know, that makes a difference.
00:43:28It highlights a team that's got their act together and a team that hasn't.
00:43:31And I don't believe for a second that Ferrari would have acted in the same way.
00:43:34Quicker than Mark Webber by three tenths.
00:43:38Boy, we're getting down now to close to the whole record.
00:43:44We're going to get down to lap record times here.
00:43:54Well, apart from his display of slight, slight petrol of China, although I must say that Steve's got a good
00:44:00point.
00:44:00If you go remember, the tire let him down in Indianapolis, put him in the wall.
00:44:04Right.
00:44:05Because he lost, what, seven races with a broken back.
00:44:07So he would obviously have tire safety right at the top of his mind.
00:44:12It knocks your confidence a bit, I guess.
00:44:14Absolutely.
00:44:15Look at that time.
00:44:16Wow.
00:44:17Oh, wow.
00:44:17Eight tenths quicker.
00:44:23289 clicks is right on.
00:44:26179 miles an hour.
00:44:28Nice job of breaking into the chicane there.
00:44:30The car was twitching right on the verge, but he kept it nicely turned in.
00:44:35Yeah, wow.
00:44:38Nothing trivial either, is it?
00:44:40No.
00:44:41Mario Tyson, the engine man there, giving a smile.
00:44:44Ralph is another driver who knows this track well.
00:44:46Won the championship in Formula Nippon, the Japanese version of 3000.
00:44:53Here comes Michael, has spun in his last two Grand Prix at Monza on the first lap.
00:45:01And at Shanghai.
00:45:03And it was spun on this vital lap of qualifying at Shanghai.
00:45:08So putting himself right at the back of the grid.
00:45:14Michael had a great reaction when asked about that earthquake.
00:45:17He said, well, I woke up and the room was spinning and I thought, okay, let's think about this.
00:45:22That's what it's like when I have something to drink.
00:45:24I didn't have anything to drink.
00:45:25Ergo, it must be something else.
00:45:275.8 on the Richter scale.
00:45:32Analytical as ever.
00:45:33Yeah, it is like a computer work, isn't it?
00:45:37Hard to imagine that when Olivier Panis hangs it up.
00:45:39This guy will be the oldest driver in Formula One.
00:45:44It is hard to believe.
00:45:47This is where he had a bit of a moment on Fridays.
00:45:50Half spun coming around that little right-hand sweep.
00:45:51This should get up into the hairpin.
00:46:00His next win will reset the record for the longest span of time between first and most recent victories.
00:46:08Alain Cross holds the record at 12 years.
00:46:11Michael Schumacher will break that record with his next win.
00:46:16Again, you're seeing a lot more, a lot distinct contrail coming off the Ferrari wing than we did off the...
00:46:22Boy, this is going to be very close.
00:46:24It's going to be tight.
00:46:25This is the bit where the...
00:46:28Ah, does a good job going in there.
00:46:30Yep.
00:46:30Remember, Jarno Trulli, fast man of the first session, is still to come in the Toyota on Michelin tires.
00:46:38Schumacher, Ferrari, and Bridgestone go P1 by nearly half a second.
00:46:43Picked up a ton of time.
00:46:44Oh, he did.
00:46:45And fast through the speed track, 179.4.
00:46:49Exactly the same speed track time as Sato this morning.
00:46:55And the BMW as well.
00:46:57So BMW, Honda, and Ferrari all going through the speed track at exactly the same speed.
00:47:03Well, the fastest lap in a race here, which is a lap record, is Ralph Schumacher at a 1.33
00:47:08.4.
00:47:09Michael Schumacher just did a 1.33.5, even with these damp conditions.
00:47:13Now, Jarno Trulli, a staggering lap this morning.
00:47:16Let's see what he can do now.
00:47:18Well, he said he'd be motivated this weekend.
00:47:20Remember, he won from pole in Monaco.
00:47:26And, of course, he wants to really show it up to old Flav.
00:47:32Old Flav is ex-boss, ex-manager, ex-friend.
00:47:42I think it would be if he could take pole for two different teams, much less win for two different
00:47:46teams in the same season.
00:47:47Yeah, that would be very, very cool.
00:47:49They'll have to go very quick in the second set there.
00:47:56That's not even good enough to second.
00:47:57He's never qualified in the top six here.
00:48:04Keep in mind, he's had very little time in this car.
00:48:07He ran a test right after Shanghai, where he did not race the Toyota, and crashed twice.
00:48:18It's just a sunshine flaring off the wing.
00:48:20Yeah, I think it was the sun flaring off the wing.
00:48:23All of our eyebrows went up.
00:48:30Losing time.
00:48:31He'll never make it up now.
00:48:35I'll never just make it one and a half seconds.
00:48:37That's right.
00:48:38As he goes straight, he hopes nobody's looking.
00:48:40Push some push.
00:48:42Oh, that's disappointing.
00:48:44Is he going to be quicker than Olivier Panis, which of course would be
00:48:47the next step in his sixth.
00:48:52Good, not great.
00:48:57A nice round of 18th green golf applause there.
00:49:06So, yet again, we have the two skew marker bro on the front row.
00:49:12For Kuma Sato.
00:49:16Fourth.
00:49:17In front of his home crowd.
00:49:24As I mentioned, he went to Europe to do most of his lower formula work.
00:49:29So he doesn't have an awful lot of experience here since that racing school he took back at age 20.
00:49:36Getting hope to all young drivers out there.
00:49:40Here's a look at the results.
00:49:42The brothers, Schumacher.
00:49:44Reviving an old favorite on the front row.
00:49:46And look at Mark Webber there on the second row.
00:49:49Oh, that's terrific.
00:49:50Then the two BAR Hondas.
00:49:53Truly in the Toyota.
00:49:55And Fisichella, Coulthard, Villeneuve.
00:49:57Good run for him in the Renault.
00:49:59And Olivier Panis.
00:50:02Top ten dominated by Michelin Tyres.
00:50:05And Villeneuve quicker than Alonso.
00:50:06Mark Webber, that's his best qualifying since Malaysia in the second race of the season when he qualified second.
00:50:11So, unfortunately, in that race, he was slow to get away.
00:50:14Problems with the anti-stall electronics on the car wound up spinning out of the race.
00:50:20There is Alonso in the 11th.
00:50:21Give me Räikkönen.
00:50:22Räikkönen, yeah.
00:50:23Way down there.
00:50:23And Montoya.
00:50:25The car, both of Räikkönen's car and Montoya's car.
00:50:28Remember, Montoya was out pretty early.
00:50:29And he was on dry weather tires.
00:50:31And the car was very twitchy.
00:50:32But Räikkönen's McLaren as well.
00:50:34All around the track, the thing was twitching, pointing.
00:50:36It wasn't stable.
00:50:38Not like we used to see it at all, really.
00:50:39Look where all those Bridgestones were at the back.
00:50:43Wow.
00:50:44Interesting.
00:50:45Yeah.
00:50:45Of course, they don't have a lot of time to ponder all this.
00:50:49They don't have another day now.
00:50:50I mean, they're going to be out there in two and a half hours.
00:50:54That's right.
00:50:55Going to stick them in park for May, then bring them right back out again.
00:50:58For the first time in the 55-year history of Formula One, we will qualify and race on the same
00:51:03day.
00:51:04Therein lies a story we'll get to at some point here on Speed Channel.
00:51:08Stick around.
00:51:08We'll be back to hear from the top three.
00:51:22Welcome back to the Suzuka Circuit in Japan, where qualifying is now complete for round 17 of the Formula One
00:51:27season,
00:51:28the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, coming up later here on Speed Channel.
00:51:31I'm Bob Varsha with David Hobbs and Steve Matchett.
00:51:34Michael Schumacher has his pole, his eighth here at Suzuka.
00:51:38That ties the record of the late Ayrton Senna, who also scored eight at the Imola Circuit in Italy,
00:51:45home of the San Marino Grand Prix.
00:51:47And it was at that track last year that Michael and Ralph Schumacher last started side-by-side on the
00:51:54front row.
00:51:54They will do so here at Suzuka for the eighth time in their careers together.
00:52:00Yeah, pretty amazing for the old dad looking on there to see that sort of thing, isn't it?
00:52:04It must be amazing.
00:52:05Mark Webber, too, had a great run there in third spot in the Jaguar.
00:52:07Can't see him doing that well in the race somehow.
00:52:09Obviously, nobody leaving the grandstands because the race is coming up.
00:52:15Right now, the top three qualifiers are in the interview room,
00:52:18where our Peter Windsor is standing by to ask them about this dramatic qualifying session.
00:52:23Let's go to them.
00:52:27Congratulations to the fastest three qualifiers in the Fuji Television Grand Prix of Japan.
00:52:32Third quickest for Jaguar, Mark Webber.
00:52:34Second quickest for BMW Williams, Ralph Schumacher.
00:52:37And on the pole for the eighth time this year for Scuderia, Ferrari, Marlborough, Michael Schumacher.
00:52:41Michael, quickest in both sessions on Friday.
00:52:45On the pole.
00:52:46Made it look easy, but it wasn't an easy weekend so far.
00:52:49No, it certainly was a very different weekend.
00:52:53And although I have to say, whatever happened yesterday, it was a fun day for us.
00:52:58We did quite a lot of things amongst the drivers together,
00:53:02which I don't think has ever happened in that way.
00:53:04And today, yeah, circumstances were very difficult.
00:53:08Obviously, no free practice at all, straight into qualifying with mixed conditions.
00:53:12First time in the dry this weekend at all.
00:53:15So it's quite a thing.
00:53:17Quite a lot of things came together and made it worth a lot to get the pole position today.
00:53:22It didn't look to be a particularly easy lap for you.
00:53:25It wasn't as if you were out late and therefore the lap time came.
00:53:27It was very close for most of the lap with your brother, Ralph.
00:53:30Yeah, obviously, the top three sitting here run behind each other, basically.
00:53:35I was obviously more lucky than Rubens being out second to last car, having better circumstance, obviously.
00:53:44And, yeah, car, everything, tyres worked perfectly well.
00:53:47And that's why we're up there.
00:53:50Congratulations.
00:53:51Ralph, congratulations to you, too, not only on your front row grid position,
00:53:55but also your comeback from that accident in Indianapolis.
00:53:58Well, yeah, thanks.
00:53:59I mean, I think today it was really a gamble.
00:54:01It was good.
00:54:02I mean, thanks to David, I was 17th today being out on the track in the pre-qualifier,
00:54:09and that definitely helped me to be in a good position for the second one.
00:54:11And, unfortunately, drying out conditions.
00:54:13The later you go out, the better it is.
00:54:16A reference to the incident in the Grand Prix of China there with David Coulthard.
00:54:19Car got a little bit loose.
00:54:20It looked going into the last chicane there.
00:54:22Didn't it lose you much time, though?
00:54:24Not too much, no.
00:54:25I think it was a little late on the breaks.
00:54:27I mean, you know, like last year, I keep having a problem with this new chicane.
00:54:30I mean, I'm so used to the old one, so that's the main problem I have, yes, obviously.
00:54:36But, no, no, it was pretty loose because there were some wet patches, obviously,
00:54:39and then you straightaway lose the grip.
00:54:40But, in general, the car was good and drivable,
00:54:42and I think we have a good chance to score some good points tomorrow.
00:54:46Let's hope so.
00:54:47Mark, a great pre-qualifying lap in difficult conditions
00:54:49and made the most of it in that qualifying run.
00:54:51Yeah, qualifying one definitely put us in a good position
00:54:54for the main qualifying session itself,
00:54:57giving us one of the best conditions in terms of the track.
00:55:00So that lap was the most important one this morning,
00:55:04and the second one was a bit easier in some ways.
00:55:07But it was enjoyable to drive.
00:55:10Tyres did a good job, and the car was good,
00:55:12so I'm looking forward to the race.
00:55:14What's it been like in terms of these difficult months with Jaguar
00:55:17and, indeed, with the closing of the team now?
00:55:18What's the atmosphere like in the team?
00:55:20Well, the race team's been extremely professional.
00:55:22You'd expect nothing less from the guys only know how to work one way.
00:55:26And China, we did as best as we could.
00:55:29You know, finishing 10th there for us is not a bad afternoon,
00:55:31and hopefully we can get some good points today.
00:55:34It's going to be a tough race for us, probably,
00:55:36but we'll give it absolutely everything and see what we can get out of it.
00:55:38But it'd be nice to finish on a high for the guys.
00:55:42Paddy, Alan Mabin, it's his last race this weekend,
00:55:45so he's been in Formula 1 for a long time,
00:55:46so a lot was for Paddy, so good luck, mate.
00:55:50Michael, as you say, a very strange weekend.
00:55:52Can you just talk us through what it's been like preparing for the race?
00:55:56A lot of guesswork, but interesting to see Bridgestern saying yesterday
00:55:58they got enough data from the wet running on Friday
00:56:00to be able to have some input on the dry tyre choice.
00:56:04Yeah, indeed.
00:56:05Obviously, you get some idea where you are anyway.
00:56:08Bridgestern is probably very known with this circuit,
00:56:13so they have a lot of information,
00:56:15and it wasn't too difficult to find the right choice.
00:56:19I guess where we are, we are not by accident,
00:56:22and therefore we should be looking very strong in the race as well.
00:56:25Do you like this qualifying on the same day as racing?
00:56:28It's obviously very interesting.
00:56:30In a way, looking back now to China,
00:56:33I should be thankful not having to be too good in China,
00:56:37because that's obviously made it possible for me to be where I'm now.
00:56:43So, qualifying on the same day, yeah, it's rather awkward, I'd say.
00:56:48Well, then, anyway.
00:56:49Now, Michael Schumacher will revert to German for his home fans
00:56:52while he starts from his eighth hole here at Suzuka.
00:56:55His Ferrari teammate, Rubens Badakello, is back in 15th.
00:56:58His worst performance since Hockenheim four years ago erased the Brazilian one.
00:57:04Because, of course, later tonight at 1 a.m. Eastern time,
00:57:07we'll have live coverage of the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix.
00:57:11As always, we'll start things off with the actor of pre-race show,
00:57:14featuring all the latest news and gossip.
00:57:16Peter Windsor will salute the departing Olivier Panis.
00:57:19We'll have a special on radio communications
00:57:21and that battle for second in the Constructors' Championship
00:57:24between BAR and Renault.
00:57:26All coming up beginning at 1 Eastern.
00:57:28Right now, let's take a look back at last season's Japanese Grand Prix.
00:57:33It was the final race of the 2003 season.
00:57:36Of course, a very special moment for Toyota fans
00:57:38racing in their home country.
00:57:40And the fans had a hometown favorite to cheer for us.
00:57:43Takuma Sato replaced Jacques Villeneuve.
00:57:45Kimi Raikkonen, very tense.
00:57:47There was Michael Schumacher.
00:57:48Those two men battling for the World Championship.
00:57:50Raikkonen needed a win.
00:57:51Michael needed to score just one point
00:57:53to grab his sixth World Championship.
00:57:55At the start of the race,
00:57:56Paul Sitter, Rubens, Barrichello in the Ferrari
00:57:58was hotly pursued by the guy alongside him.
00:58:00Juan Pablo Montoya,
00:58:02they all funneled into turn one pretty safely,
00:58:04although a jag goes very wide on exit there.
00:58:06Ooh, a couple of cars touched there,
00:58:08sending one on them off.
00:58:09But look at this terrific overtaking maneuver here
00:58:11by Juan Pablo Montoya
00:58:12as he streaks past Rubens Barrichello
00:58:14going to the spoon curve.
00:58:15The Renault needed going by him,
00:58:17but just a few laps later,
00:58:18the BMW engine for only the second time last year
00:58:21lets Juan Pablo Montoya down
00:58:23as he comes up to the 130R.
00:58:25Hydraulic problem it was.
00:58:26Yeah, now Michael Schumacher,
00:58:27remember, just needing that one point here.
00:58:30Getting very close to Takuma Sato,
00:58:32standing for Villeneuve.
00:58:33It would cause an unscheduled pitstop,
00:58:35of course, to replace that damaged nose.
00:58:38Raikkonen desperately needed to win this race
00:58:39to stop alive in the championship.
00:58:41He was doing all he could
00:58:42to optimize his position
00:58:44after that nose damage on Schumacher's car.
00:58:47But once again,
00:58:48Schumacher and his brother this time,
00:58:50Ralph, getting all into each other
00:58:52at the chicane.
00:58:53Not good.
00:58:53Let's have another look at it.
00:58:54Michael pulls to the left,
00:58:56but his brother right behind him
00:58:57in the FW25 contact.
00:58:59Damage to the nose.
00:59:00Michael carries on.
00:59:03And Michael did a little bit of self-help
00:59:05with his knuckles clearing the visor.
00:59:06That was ruined by Takello up front.
00:59:08Meanwhile, no problem whatsoever.
00:59:10He went on to take the victory,
00:59:12eliminating Raikkonen from championship chase,
00:59:15clinching it for brother Michael.
00:59:17And, of course, for the fans,
00:59:19Takuma Sato was the star of the show,
00:59:21picking up points in sixth place,
00:59:23making it the second consecutive year
00:59:25that Sato scored in his home Grand Prix,
00:59:28something no Japanese driver
00:59:29had ever done before.
00:59:32Ferrari clinched not only the championship
00:59:34for Michael among drivers,
00:59:35but also the constructor's title for the team.
00:59:39And that, of course,
00:59:40is the one that matters most to the teams.
00:59:43It's going to be another dramatic race
00:59:45coming up at Suzuka,
00:59:46so stick around.
00:59:47We'll be back.
00:59:49Time to enjoy the work
00:59:51of the incomparable Michael Schumacher.
00:59:53Pole lap,
00:59:54picking up his eighth fast lap
00:59:57here at Suzuka.
01:00:01This is eighth pole here,
01:00:02and, of course,
01:00:03this is eighth pole of the year as well.
01:00:05And you can see as you come down here,
01:00:07the track is still damp.
01:00:09There's lots of spots of damp everywhere
01:00:10down into turn one
01:00:11where it dried out very early on
01:00:13for some reason,
01:00:14particularly dry down there
01:00:15once you've got to pass out
01:00:16a little bit of damp on the way in.
01:00:20And right there,
01:00:21you can see the way this car rotates
01:00:22coming through into the S's now.
01:00:23This is where Michael Schumacher
01:00:25about three years ago
01:00:26just absolutely shut off
01:00:28into the lead
01:00:29in his Ferrari.
01:00:31Those corners coming on each other
01:00:32very quick right, left,
01:00:34right, left, right, left,
01:00:34then ending in this long, long
01:00:36left-handed Dunlop curve.
01:00:37Quite a steep climb through there
01:00:39that flattens out along the top
01:00:40to the Degna curve.
01:00:42These two right-handers
01:00:43follow on very quickly,
01:00:44and then there's a steep drop down here
01:00:46to the hairpin,
01:00:48the braking for which
01:00:49is rather upset
01:00:50by that little right-hand sweep.
01:00:52Caught Michael out on Friday
01:00:53in the rain.
01:00:54The hairpin,
01:00:54the slowest corner here,
01:00:55first gear.
01:00:57And there's this undulating section
01:00:59along here between
01:01:00the hairpin and the spoon curve.
01:01:02Very, very fast right-hand sweep.
01:01:04It was wet there
01:01:05most of the session.
01:01:06Right out towards the end,
01:01:07down into the spoon curve.
01:01:09A couple of really good
01:01:10drive patches here.
01:01:12Just hammered the thing
01:01:13through here too,
01:01:14and you've got to make a good exit
01:01:15because this steep uphill climb
01:01:17here up this long straight.
01:01:22Tripping the old speed meter,
01:01:23just a few thousandths
01:01:25of a second
01:01:26and quicker at this stage
01:01:27than his brother Ralph.
01:01:29There's that speed trap time
01:01:30that we're talking about.
01:01:32179.4 miles an hour
01:01:33from the Ferrari V10.
01:01:35But he was dynamite
01:01:36through that right,
01:01:37left, right chicane
01:01:39and picked up a huge amount
01:01:40of time just on that
01:01:41last two or three corners.
01:01:45Yeah, you hit the nail
01:01:46on the head there, David.
01:01:48He did keep it together
01:01:49coming through the chicane,
01:01:50unlike his teammate Barrichello
01:01:51who got it wrong
01:01:52on the warm-up
01:01:53and on the lap that mattered.
01:01:55That makes the difference.
01:01:56I saw that relief
01:01:57on the face
01:01:58of the Bridgestone engineers.
01:01:59They knew they were
01:02:00at a disadvantage,
01:02:01but they also knew
01:02:02they can always count
01:02:03on Michael Schumacher
01:02:04to pull him out.
01:02:05We'll be back for more.
01:02:09qualifying is complete
01:02:10and the grid is set
01:02:11for round 17
01:02:12of the Formula One
01:02:13World Championship,
01:02:14but let's not leave qualifying
01:02:15without everyone's
01:02:16favorite segment.
01:02:18Turn up the volume
01:02:18and enjoy the sounds
01:02:20of speed at Suzuka.
01:02:21GTA.
01:06:22Now, keep it tuned to speed, because later tonight at 1 a.m. Eastern, we'll have live coverage of the
01:06:27Japanese Grand Prix, starting with the Acura Pre-Race Show featuring Peter Windsor.
01:06:31And then at 1.30 a.m., the cars will roll off for the Japanese Grand Prix.
01:06:35So stick around for now.
01:06:37For David Hobbs and Steve Matchett, I'm Bob Varsha.
01:06:39We'll be right back shortly for the Grand Prix.
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