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Pre Race for Round 6 of the 2005 F1 season at Monaco.
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00:23It is the ultimate motorsports anachronism, the world's most high-tech race cars on the
00:28world's most archaic circuit, but that's why we love the Formula One Grand Prix of Monaco.
00:34Hello, everyone.
00:35Welcome to the Acura Pre-Race Show for round six of the 2005 Formula One season here on
00:40Speed Channel.
00:40I'm Bob Barsha, joined, as always, by David Hobbs and Steve Matchett.
00:44Now, Peter Windsor has been busy this weekend, hobnobbing with the rich and famous, yes,
00:49of course, but also getting his teeth into the emerging stories, one of which is the
00:53rumor that Russian-born Canadian entrepreneur Alex Schneider, still in his first year as
00:57owner of the Jordan team, may be negotiating to sell that team to a group fronted by former
01:02Grand Prix driver and general all-around bad boy, Eddie Irvine.
01:06So Peter went straight to the man himself.
01:10That's right, guys.
01:11The Russians are coming to Formula One.
01:13In the background, that small vessel belongs to Roman Abramovich, who owns one of the leading
01:18soccer teams in the UK, Chelsea.
01:21I'm on the boat of Alex Schneider, who recently bought the Jordan Formula One team from Eddie
01:26Jordan.
01:27Bit of a mystery man, they say.
01:29Well, let's find out what he's all about.
01:33Tell us a little bit about why you bought the Jordan team.
01:37What are you all about and what do you love about Formula One?
01:40What is your interest in Formula One?
01:42Well, I've been a fan since I was probably 13 years old, so I like the speed, the excitement.
01:48I love cars.
01:50So obviously Formula One is the pinnacle of motorsport, so it's natural that, you know,
01:56a young man would love Formula One.
01:58Now, I've been asked to ask whether or not there's any truth in this rumor that you might
02:03be selling on perhaps some of your shareholding and that Mr. Eddie Irvine might be taking over
02:08this team with another Russian partner.
02:10Well, actually, it's the first time I heard about it today from, I was forwarded this
02:16news, so there is, that's absolutely unfounded.
02:20But going on from that, what is your intention in terms of your time in Formula One?
02:25Are you here to stay?
02:27Do you have a time frame for how long you're going to be involved?
02:29I don't have a time frame.
02:31I mean, it's a long-term project.
02:33I mean, this year is a transition year for us.
02:35It's a year that we learn, we consolidate, learn as much as possible.
02:39And next year we are starting under the new, we're rebranding the team to Midland and we're
02:47starting basically with a new chapter in the history of a racing team.
02:52Where are you at in terms of the Dallara connection or perhaps doing your own car now?
02:57What are your thoughts for the future?
02:59We are still working with Dallara.
03:01We just changed a little bit our cooperation because before it was all in the hands of Dallara
03:07because we did not have a team, we wanted to set up a brand new team.
03:12Now, since we bought Jordan and we have some wonderful people there and we also bought the wind tunnel,
03:18we have an opportunity also to use our in-house expertise.
03:21So we are going to combine it together with Dallara to produce something even better.
03:25Thank you again.
03:26Wonderful to be on your yacht.
03:27Thank you for inviting us and have a very good race here at Monaco.
03:33Well, he can certainly have a good race.
03:35He has the most important ingredient on any Monaco Grand Prix weekend.
03:39Lots and lots of folding green.
03:42You got that right, Bob.
03:43I see the size of that boat in the background, that boat of Abramovich.
03:47Good grief.
03:48And, of course, they won the championship this year too, Chelsea, under his care.
03:53So another very famous Russian in England at least.
03:57Celebrity sighting?
03:59No takers?
04:00Okay.
04:01Of course, you know me on celebrities.
04:02Well, there's one there.
04:03Yeah.
04:05Actually, we saw Kid Rock there and, of course, George Lucas and the team from the Star Wars movie.
04:09There's Kid Rock.
04:10He also saw Jensen Button in that picture.
04:12Nothing to do this weekend.
04:14We'll be back.
04:33We'll be back.
04:46Now, another of the big stories this weekend in Monaco is the enduring trouble going on over at Ferrari,
04:52centering around their tires.
04:54The six-time Defending Constructors champions are a distant fifth in points this weekend,
04:58and their world champion driver, Michael Schumacher, is coming off a brutal weekend in Spain two weeks ago.
05:04Peter Windsor picks up the story.
05:07Yes, Michael Schumacher obviously out early on Saturday in qualifying here at Monaco.
05:12A legacy of those two tire failures he suffered in the Spanish Grand Prix.
05:16What occurred there?
05:17Is there some sort of pattern developing between Bridgestone and Ferrari?
05:23It was really an unfortunate sequence because with the safety car, the tires ran for two longer period at low
05:30pressure.
05:31We suffered a structural failure in the left rear.
05:33So it was a combination of safety car and low pressure.
05:39And manifest in the 205 regulations where obviously in previous years that had occurred, you could have changed tires, but
05:46you can't do that.
05:46So it's obviously exacerbated.
05:48But why is this problem existing for you and obviously not so much for the Michelin runners?
05:52Well, we didn't really have a problem before.
05:55It's the first time we've come across it.
05:57And I think after each race, the tires are carefully examined.
06:02And from all the previous races, the tires have looked good.
06:07So obviously a combination of the track, a combination of the safety car at that particular period.
06:14And then we had a straightforward puncture on the front left just to rub salt into the ribs.
06:19So it is a problem indeed that Bridgestone and Ferrari are going to be working together to solve.
06:24The thought occurs that in this year of no tire changes, perhaps it's the simple things that do matter.
06:30Michelin, an enormous experience and success at races like the Le Mans 24 hours, don't seem to have a problem
06:36now running tires for a full Grand Prix distance.
06:38Bridgestone used to two three-stop strategies in Formula One, finding this new regulation a little more difficult.
06:48That they are.
06:49And the Ferraris have qualified with almost historic lack of efficiency this weekend.
06:55As you see Darth Vader, of course, the Cannes Film Festival taking place just down the Mediterranean coast.
07:00And Revenge of the Sith is the story of this year's festival.
07:05Now, Monaco kicks off a burst of activity on this year's Formula One calendar.
07:08We have eight races in just ten weeks, including the North American swing for the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.
07:14And, of course, the U.S. Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, June 12th and 19th, respectively.
07:19And Peter has some exciting news about that.
07:21Peter?
07:24That's right, guys.
07:25Great news for U.S. race fans.
07:27Looks as if Scott Speed, who's been doing an outstanding job in Europe over the last couple of years,
07:31backed by Red Bull, of course, will be making his Formula One debut in the Canadian and U.S. Grand
07:36Prix.
07:36He's the third driver for the Red Bull team.
07:39Not yet confirmed by the team or by the sponsor, but you heard it here first.
07:45The only better news than that would be for Scott Speed to find himself in a Formula One race cockpit
07:50sometime soon.
07:51Well, he's doing very nicely in the Formula 3000 championship at the moment.
07:54That is David.
07:56Finished fourth yesterday.
07:57David Coulthard there, two-time winner.
07:59Has a hotel here in town.
08:01Charging 800 bucks a night for five-night minimum at the moment.
08:04Here's our old friend, Jean Alessi, former Ferrari driver.
08:08Many, many celebrities on hand here in Monaco.
08:11We'll take a break and return live to the Principality.
08:18Welcome back to the Acura Pre-Race Show for the Monaco Grand Prix.
08:22Now, there is an element of sadness to this normally festive Grand Prix weekend.
08:25The Grimaldi family has ruled this tiny country since the 13th century, a reign embodied since 1949 by His Serene
08:32Highness Prince Renier III, who passed away on April 6th.
08:35The Principality is observing a three-month period of mourning for the man who presided over this race for every
08:41one of its 51 previous runnings in the Formula One era.
08:44Here's Peter Windsor with more.
08:51Yes, Bob, an emotional moment now as the Formula One world gathers to acknowledge the recent passing of the man
08:57responsible for the magic of Monaco, His Royal Highness Prince Renier.
09:01If we have a Grand Prix of Monaco today, it's because Prince Renier was the man who has driven that
09:07forward.
09:07All the improvements that have been made both to the track and to the facilities.
09:12He was the man who approved them all.
09:14He was driving it.
09:16He did so much for Monaco.
09:18I don't think people fully understand and recognise just how much Prince Renier did, certainly for the Principality and certainly
09:26for motorsport, as well as the rally, by the way, not just the Formula One race.
09:31Well, they're just good memories.
09:32I mean, they've been so, so, so supportive of us right up to last year, what we've got here, all
09:39the facilities.
09:40For him, he made all these happen.
09:42He was a really, he really wasn't, he was a great guy.
09:46Prince Renier, in the time that he's ruled over this Principality, has nurtured and supported the Monaco Grand Prix and
09:55it's become the most enormous event, could be called, I suppose, the jewel in the crown.
10:01But it's a fantastic event and it's a fantastic feeling for anybody that wins it.
10:08Well, I think that Prince, of course, is the 97 world champion with his typically loose-fitting driver suit.
10:15Something he's always done, hasn't it, Villeneuve, he's always had that very baggy driver suit, I guess, so he can
10:20move unrestricted, feel free as he can in the car.
10:25He has to grab a big armful of it and then fold it down to get into the cockpit.
10:30Tyler Alexander down there in the orange shirt there, just looking at his watch, Tyler Alexander's been with McLaren since
10:36Bruce McLaren first came to the United States and England, you know, back in the very early 60s.
10:41He's always been there.
10:43What he's doing there, he's always involved on the technical side.
10:46He looked after the car that I ran at Indianapolis to fourth place, fifth place in 1974.
10:49So he's still around there at McLaren, obviously doing something to that car, looking at some data acquisition.
10:55Is that the year you fell asleep on the starting grid?
10:57No, that was 73.
11:00Oh, OK, sorry.
11:01There's Ron Dennis, principal at McLaren International.
11:05Looking pretty cheery today, as he well-minded with his man on the pole.
11:09I think he believes Kimi Raikkonen has something for this field.
11:12We'll be back in a moment.
11:14Stay with us.
11:18Welcome back live to Monaco.
11:20There is Prince Albert, 47 years of age.
11:23He will soon take his late father's place as the head of state here in Monaco.
11:29As you see, the Formula One field and FIA officials have gathered for a moment of silence in honor of
11:35the memory of his serene highness, Prince Renier III.
11:38.
11:40.
11:48.
11:49You are wonderful!
12:29Well, among the drivers, you notice Jensen Button in his civilian clothes, if you will.
12:34VAR Honda, of course, serving the second of their two-race penalty.
12:37Princess Carolyn greets world champion Michael Schumacher.
12:42VAR Honda will not be on the grid this weekend, but they'll be back at the Nürburgring in a week's
12:47time.
12:48Now, let's take a look at this legendary track with our Porsche track map and David Hobbs.
12:53Well, there you see it, the shortest track in the calendar, just over two miles, very sinuous.
12:58And, of course, the thing that makes it so different is, of course, it's a street circuit,
13:01so it takes all weekend to get the racing rubber lined up, by which time it all goes away until
13:05the following year.
13:06Tremendous amount of tight corners, very difficult visibility, a lot of elevation change,
13:10up from Sandovat to Massonet and down to the Casino Square.
13:13Under that tunnel, scary port, 187 miles an hour as they come out of the tunnel,
13:18completely pitch dark inside there, out to bright sunshine in the Nouvelle Chicane to back,
13:23where Ralph Schumacher had that big crash yesterday.
13:26A lot of tight hairpins, and, of course, very, very bumpy and incredibly difficult to overtake on.
13:31Now, at a racetrack like Monaco, where the confines are so tight,
13:35there are some unique challenges for the marshals with regard to safety.
13:40One such issue, of course, is dealing with the potential for fire.
13:44Peter Windsor has more in this week's Michelin Safety Focus.
13:53Safety standards at all Formula One circuits, of course, very high these days.
13:57They have to be. The AFI regulations are very, very tight in that respect.
14:01Some circuits, however, push a little bit further than others,
14:04and Monaco, no exception to that rule.
14:06They take fire very, very seriously here in the pit lane,
14:09and we see these very impressive foam extinguishers here
14:13and the famous old fire hydrant water dispersal.
14:16In the pit lane, no less than 11 professional firemen, all from the Monaco area,
14:22and around the circuit, 100 pompiers, as they're called, firemen.
14:26One month before the race, they undergo intensive training up here in the mountains.
14:29A lot of fire drill taking place relative to Formula One,
14:32extracting drivers from burning cars, simulated, of course.
14:42Well, that's certainly an improvement from the old days,
14:44and the old pit lane used up until two years ago
14:47where they mounted enormous fire cannons right opposite the pits.
14:52Blow you back into the pits if anything caught.
14:54Right, and it caught fire. We're hosing everything down.
14:57I mean, in the old days, of course, you used to race through here
14:58when Stirling March 1 in 1961, there were no guard rail, no catch fence, just curbs,
15:03and the lampposts were there right at the edge of the road,
15:05and the marshes, of course, just leaning on the lampposts as was a straw bale.
15:08Smoking a cigarette, probably.
15:09Smoking a cigarette, probably, yes, so very different.
15:12There is Giancarlo Fisichella, who absolutely loves this place.
15:16He'll be starting on row two next to Mark Webber.
15:20We'll be back in just a moment with more live from Monaco.
15:26Speed Channel's coverage of the FIA Formula One World Championship
15:29is brought to you by New Mobile One Extended Performance,
15:32the oil that's changing oil, and by Hyatt Gold Passport.
15:36Visit goldpassport.com to join and for more details.
15:39And the track map for today's Formula One event is presented by Porsche.
15:43Portia, there is no substitute.
15:45to.
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