2008 Bahrain GP Qualifying

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Qualifying for Round 3 of the 2008 F1 season at Bahrain.
Transcript
00:00:00For two measures to open the 2008 Formula One Symphony, the orchestra pit of 19,000
00:00:20RPM took a full rest.
00:00:23But don't fret.
00:00:24It's back this week in Fortissimo.
00:00:31Right now, boys, right now.
00:00:38Victory for the first time in his career.
00:00:49Come on, mate, he's ruining that race.
00:01:00Come on, come on, come on.
00:01:11The island kingdom of Bahrain is smaller in area than the international airport in nearby
00:01:16Saudi Arabia.
00:01:18But it is large enough to accommodate a racetrack that is world class in every way.
00:01:23But before you can race the Grand Prix of Bahrain, you must qualify.
00:01:27Welcome to three rounds of knockout qualifying for round three of the 2008 Formula One season
00:01:32here on speed.
00:01:33Hello again, everyone.
00:01:34I'm Bob Varsha with David Hobbs and Steve Matchett.
00:01:37We have three knockout sessions to come, 20, 15, and ten minutes in length, respectively.
00:01:42With time for very few laps in the final ten-minute run for the survivors of the earlier two knockout
00:01:47rounds on the spec Bridgestone tire, the critical element of your qualifying performance could
00:01:53be getting temperature into those tires.
00:01:56Here's Peter Windsor with a look at how technology has developed to fill the need.
00:02:03Generally speaking, Formula One has adapted comfortably to the Bridgestone monopoly.
00:02:07But one area of still fertile development is that of tire warmers and wheel rim heaters.
00:02:11And one company, M.A. Horn, has pioneered a brilliant new touchscreen monitor system
00:02:17with preset temperature controls to ensure that the driver, in theory, has exactly the
00:02:22tire temperature and pressure he needs before he goes out for those all-important one-lap
00:02:27qualifying runs at the end of Q3.
00:02:31Can you talk us through the advantages you now have given the Williams team?
00:02:36The advantages are that we now purge the tires.
00:02:39So we have a preset six-way programmer.
00:02:43So you can program in a purge temperature, say 60, then purge your tires.
00:02:48And in the morning, when you come in, you have a pre-warm-up setting of 80 over 80.
00:02:53And then when it comes to race, at quarter to ten, you will then go up to race temperatures
00:02:59by pressing the touch-sensitive screen, and it will display the rim heater temperatures,
00:03:04the tire heater temperatures, the sidewall temperatures.
00:03:07Talk us through purging a little bit and how that's come into Formula One.
00:03:10The idea of the purging is to get the dew point down, because obviously the vapour in
00:03:15the tyre, when it's warmed up, will come out.
00:03:17And as you drive it around, we turn the droplets, the droplets will then over-balance the wheel.
00:03:23So the idea is to purge it at 60 degrees, say, with white spot nitrogen or carbon dioxide.
00:03:34To extract that moisture out, we do four or five cycles at two bar.
00:03:39So it pressurises, comes down to atmospheric, re-pressurises to draw the moisture out, to
00:03:45make the tyre much more stable.
00:03:48That is all time-consuming, and if you've got 28 sets to do, you don't get that done
00:03:53in five minutes.
00:03:54Whereas with the new screen, it's a matter of touching the screen for one second, pre-sets
00:03:58are in, action, done.
00:04:03Amazing technology.
00:04:05As you can tell from the uniform on Mr Drury, the Williams team is using that horn system.
00:04:11We understand the Honda factory team has bought a system as well, and gentlemen, as we always
00:04:15see in Formula One, a great idea doesn't remain exclusive for long.
00:04:19No, absolutely it doesn't.
00:04:21It's the way Formula One works, as soon as one team has it.
00:04:25Even if it's just conversation down the pub after a race, it leaks out very soon and all
00:04:29of a sudden every engineer in the pit lane is looking to do the same thing.
00:04:32It is pretty extraordinary when you get down to the water droplets, and there can't be
00:04:36many in there, upsetting the balance of the wheel.
00:04:40That is almost extraordinary.
00:04:41And of course, obviously, the water vapour expands at a different rate as the tyre temperature
00:04:45goes up too, which I suspect is the main reason why they want to purge any moisture out of there.
00:04:50Well, as you can see, looking up and down the pit lane, this is a unique racetrack.
00:04:54The theme is the desert, tents, the nomadic tribes, fascinating and exotic place to visit.
00:05:01And we are about to embark on our first session of knockout qualifying.
00:05:05Twenty minutes in length.
00:05:06We'll be back to see who survives after the slowest six are removed.
00:05:14Welcome back.
00:05:15The track is now green for the opening session of knockout qualifying for the Bahrain Grand
00:05:19Prix here on Speed.
00:05:21We have a Renault in the pit lane.
00:05:24It's like Nelson Piquet heading out.
00:05:29Twenty minutes in length.
00:05:30At the end of it, the slowest six cars will be eliminated.
00:05:33Take spots 17 through 22 on the starting grid for Sunday's race.
00:05:37Then we'll take a break, come back for a 15-minute session, eliminate six more drivers, and then
00:05:42finally have a ten-minute session for the ten quickest drivers to decide the first five
00:05:47rows.
00:05:48It's unusual to see Renault jump so quick.
00:05:51I wonder whether or not this will just be an installation lap for Renault.
00:05:54Maybe they've carried out some modifications on the car.
00:05:57They just want to get Piquet back in and give a systems check to make sure it's all
00:06:01dry and as it should be.
00:06:02As you see, the track is very well defined.
00:06:05It's a Herman Tilke design, one of the new generation of Formula 1 tracks.
00:06:09Very quick, lots of different corners, but very flat.
00:06:13There's been strong winds blowing dust onto the track.
00:06:16The drivers constantly complain about a lack of grip in Bahrain.
00:06:19Well, being so flat, of course, the wind, obviously, when it blows across it, it gets
00:06:24the car at all sorts of odd angles, so you can't, and it's blowing from all different
00:06:28directions, so you can't set it up for a headwind on the main straight or whatever.
00:06:31But, of course, the worst thing here is the dust that does blow onto the track all the
00:06:35time.
00:06:36You bring up a good point there, David.
00:06:37A lot of the drivers yesterday and the engineers are complaining that the wind was blowing
00:06:40around a lot, which is effective in Friday's practice.
00:06:44And as you say, not just from one direction, it shifts so much.
00:06:47You had a look at Lewis Hamilton and Father Anthony always there with his son.
00:06:52Hamilton had a massive crash at the end of Friday's second 90-minute practice session.
00:06:58The team had to rebuild or build up their spare monocoque that they brought along.
00:07:03No spare cars allowed in the Formula 1 garages, so the mechanics were here until 4 o'clock
00:07:08this morning making repairs from this accident.
00:07:11Now, you see it.
00:07:12Luckily, that's black top or gray top, but it's hard surface, so he lost a lot of speed,
00:07:17but still it did a lot of damage when he hit that tire wall, and here you see it again.
00:07:21He gets his wheel hooked on his next kerb, just lose it.
00:07:29Yeah.
00:07:30Not exactly Michael McDowell NASCAR sprint cup kind of stuff, but still a big hit.
00:07:35And as we were saying yesterday, it's really the problem for the engineers, the mechanics,
00:07:39it is the damage to the suspension mounts, the delicate pickup points bonded within the
00:07:43monocoque.
00:07:44That took a hit yesterday, and despite the huge amount of damage to the suspension and
00:07:50the wings on the car, it's the monocoque that caused the problem, and as you were saying,
00:07:54Bob, no spare cars any longer.
00:07:57Technically, in 2008 to the Formula 1 sporting regulations, the teams are allowed to bring
00:08:01a spare chassis, which to a degree can be built up, but you're right, the mechanics
00:08:06work until 4.30 in the morning to get Hamilton's car ready for today.
00:08:12Also, Piquet, not unfamiliar with this track from his days in GP2.
00:08:19And he did, he did decide to do it up there.
00:08:22Yeah.
00:08:24While we watch young Piquet making his way around, let's bring in Peter Windsor.
00:08:28Peter.
00:08:29Thanks, Bob.
00:08:30Yes, big talking point is the wind, as you guys just been saying, and chatting to some
00:08:34of the drivers before qualifying, they're saying they're all looking at the direction
00:08:37of the flags on the pit straight there to define their driving style for the lap based
00:08:42on the angle of the wind, because it has so much effect on turn-in and on the behaviour
00:08:46of the car in the middle of the corner.
00:08:48Just to add to the McLaren situation, it wasn't only accident repair that kept the boys up
00:08:52late, there were gearbox problems with both cars.
00:08:54We saw the Kovalainen mechanics working until 3.30 in Melbourne, going into Saturday practice,
00:08:59and again on both cars, gearbox dramas at McLaren.
00:09:02And finally, the big talking point, however, is rear tyre degradation.
00:09:06Unlike any circuit so far this year, and to some extent even last year, the track as it
00:09:10rubbers in is not making life easier for the rear tyres.
00:09:13There's very high wear rate on both compounds, and certainly for the drivers confident of
00:09:18going through to Q2 and obviously then to Q3, they will be trying to run one set of
00:09:22tyres through the first two sessions to keep a new set handy for the race.
00:09:26But for those on the cusp of going through to the next qualifying session, a big decision
00:09:30will be made whether to run a new set in Q1 after you've done your first outlap or not.
00:09:35So that is a big question as well here in the pit lane.
00:09:40Here comes Nico Rosberg, who was the quick man in this morning's final one-hour practice.
00:09:45Rosberg over Massa, Webber, Trulli, Coulthard and Nakajima.
00:09:49Where was Kimi Raikkonen? 9th.
00:09:51Heikki Kovalainen in the McLaren? 10th.
00:09:54Lewis Hamilton? 18th.
00:09:56And Nick Heidfeld, who has become typically the fast man on Saturday morning of late,
00:10:0120th in the BMW Sauber.
00:10:06Trulli, beginning a hot lap.
00:10:08Now, if you've got a good car, you want to come out, just get your lap in, that will
00:10:12push you through to Q2 and then park it.
00:10:14If you're sort of on the cusp, on the bubble as it were, not sure if you're going to make
00:10:18it through, you want to be out there at the last possible moment to assure yourself a
00:10:23place in Q2.
00:10:25Very difficult to get a handle on what the teams are doing yesterday, looking at lap
00:10:29times.
00:10:30They were spending a lot of time during Practice 1 and Practice 2 yesterday on Friday, running
00:10:35a lot of fuel in the car, engaging brake wear and tyre wear around here.
00:10:40We've talked about brake being a very high, heavy braking track around here.
00:10:44This and Canada, Montreal track, probably the two heaviest braking tracks on the Formula
00:10:491 calendar.
00:10:51So looking at, you know, the fuel times yesterday, we always say, what are they doing on Friday?
00:10:54We have to kind of second guess what these guys are doing.
00:10:56The times are a little bit erratic.
00:10:58Toyota, one of the two teams, along with Ferrari, that tested here in Bahrain in the winter,
00:11:03so they should have some reasonable data going into P3 and now into qualifying about how
00:11:08to set their car up.
00:11:12Steve, it's interesting this morning as well, trying to separate the wheat from the chaff
00:11:16there.
00:11:17In other words, those on light fuel, those on heavy fuel.
00:11:18If we look at the times before everybody went out at the end on light fuel and new tyres,
00:11:23Felipe Massa was quickest at 33.2.
00:11:26Lewis Hamilton, 34.0.
00:11:28Heike Kovalainen, 34.3.
00:11:30Kimi Räikkönen, 33.6.
00:11:32So on the assumption that Ferrari and McLaren running roughly the same fuel, it looks as
00:11:36if Ferrari have the slight edge.
00:11:38But interestingly, both BMWs relatively slow, 34.8 Nick Heidfeld and 34.2 Robert Kubica.
00:11:44That's what we think was a raceable stint one fuel load.
00:11:49Hmm.
00:11:50Yeah.
00:11:51Jarno Trulli goes to P1 at 133.886.
00:11:54Here comes Lewis Hamilton.
00:11:57He'll try to go one and done.
00:12:07No white stripes on the Bridgestone tyres, so this is the harder of the two compounds.
00:12:12Using the medium and soft Bridgestone constructions for this weekend.
00:12:17And again, a lot of that tyre wear that we're talking about at the top of the show,
00:12:21what Peter was alluding to.
00:12:23The middle part of this track, the second sector around the infield section,
00:12:27there's a lot of low speed corners there.
00:12:29And of course, with the loss of traction control.
00:12:30What's that oil coming out of the back of the car?
00:12:32Smoke there.
00:12:33This is one here that's not too good on tyres here.
00:12:35First turn one and turn two.
00:12:37Puts a lot of stress on those rear tyres.
00:12:39Now they've lost their traction control.
00:12:41Yeah.
00:12:42Of course, on braking, now the rears are doing more work than they were before.
00:12:46Which means they're going to be putting more brakes on the front.
00:12:48I think we're going to see a lot of front wear problems here.
00:12:51Front brake wear problems here, possibly.
00:12:53Yeah, good point, David.
00:12:54High temperatures, a lot of braking and a lot.
00:12:57And there's where he went off yesterday.
00:12:59So you can see on this corner here, this is turn six.
00:13:03Good corner for racking up your rear tyres.
00:13:08Yeah, absolutely.
00:13:09And you come down this one.
00:13:10Very difficult braking here.
00:13:11Turning left before it finally tightens up to that hairpin.
00:13:14So a lot of weight transfer across the car as you swoop through that corner.
00:13:18And Peter Windsor was saying how nice and flat drivers like Hamilton keep the car going
00:13:23through that left-hand approach before the hairpin.
00:13:25It's very important.
00:13:27And of course, this long left-right complex here.
00:13:29Going slightly uphill here as they come to the sector two timing strip.
00:13:34And obviously, you want to come off this corner really well.
00:13:37It's a long run, slightly downhill to the final very fast corner.
00:13:43Hamilton in a moment, heading to seats.
00:13:45Watch those front tyres in the corners.
00:13:47You'll see that degradation as the energy is put through the tyre trays.
00:13:52I once asked Derek Warwick, former Arrows driver in Formula 1,
00:13:56a man who had a very good sports car career,
00:13:59why he preferred open-wheeled cars over the full-bodied sports cars.
00:14:04It's because he said, I like to be able to see my front tyres and see what they're doing.
00:14:14Hamilton to P1, Kovalainen to P2 in the McLarens.
00:14:17No real surprise there.
00:14:21They will probably take those cars to the garage comfortable in the knowledge that they will advance.
00:14:25But a lot of other drivers don't have that confidence.
00:14:28We'll be back.
00:14:30Welcome back to the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain.
00:14:35Lewis Hamilton improves the best time in the session to a 1.32.750,
00:14:41quickest in the first and third sectors.
00:14:44And that's a pretty good lap, considering he was on the hard tyre, the harder compound.
00:14:49Here's Arundo, two-time world champion, and Victor Heer.
00:14:55On the harder compound.
00:15:00You heard the rev limiter kicking in.
00:15:02This is that hard left-hand way, this nasty approach.
00:15:06It does a beautiful job.
00:15:10The traction control, you hear those revs spiking.
00:15:16Thirteen drivers have posted times, as you can see on the left side of your screen.
00:15:19Pretty soon we'll see the red zone, the drivers in the slow six that are in danger of being eliminated when this session ends.
00:15:30Just under nine minutes to go.
00:15:32I have to assume part of the reason this track is so hard on brakes is because it's so flat, as you and Steve have discussed, David.
00:15:38I wouldn't be surprised if the drivers are using that left foot to use the brake to keep the car settled in and out of the corners.
00:15:45Well, they have to be a bit careful of that, because obviously that leads to excessive brake wear.
00:15:50Right.
00:15:51And they don't like the brakes on, really, at any time, because it upsets the car.
00:15:56Upsets the car. P3 for Alonso in the Renault. That is extraordinary.
00:16:00And Sebastian Vettel finally coming to life. He's been slow all weekend.
00:16:04We saw him do so well in Australia in qualifying.
00:16:06And he's been very frustrated by that, as the young German.
00:16:09He spoke about it in the press conferences after Friday practice.
00:16:13He said, I just don't know what's wrong.
00:16:15Because he was a lot slower than his teammate, Sebastian Bordet.
00:16:18And as you see, the white stripes on those front bridgestones means he's on the softer of the two compounds.
00:16:24That's what you need if you're driving a Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari.
00:16:28You want to make sure you get everything out of the car to try to advance to Q2.
00:16:33Bordet to third. Champ car star. Good drive.
00:16:37Bordet has been very quick here all weekend in that Ferrari engine Toro Rosso.
00:16:42Felipe Massa is on a very quick run here.
00:16:44Here is Felipe Massa coming down towards the Turn 10-11 complex.
00:16:49Yeah, I think we've just picked Massa up on the onboard.
00:16:51He's just set the fastest first sector so far at 29.6.
00:16:55Compare that to Hamilton's 29.9.
00:16:58So three-tenths up on Hamilton's fast lap so far.
00:17:00Oh, seven-tenths of a second up.
00:17:02Whoa!
00:17:03That's Takuma Sato in one of the Super Aguris.
00:17:06Looks like he hit the pit wall just before pit in.
00:17:11And he'll be able to limp it off.
00:17:13And there's a local yellow.
00:17:16Here comes Massa.
00:17:20He goes to P1 comfortably.
00:17:2231.9. Wow.
00:17:24One of the Renault's dives for the pit lane.
00:17:27Davidson, 16th.
00:17:30Let's see what happened to Sato as he gets on the throttle.
00:17:34Oh, well off the kerb.
00:17:36But that's the sort of accident these guys are going to have this year.
00:17:41Did the suspension break?
00:17:44He almost missed the end of that tire wall that might have saved the car.
00:17:49That's the sort of incident that's going to happen a lot this year without that traction control.
00:17:53Yep.
00:17:55Same kind of thing that got Lewis Hamilton yesterday.
00:18:03There is the red zone.
00:18:05Right now, Vettel, Coulthard, Sutil, Davidson, Sato, and Fisichella.
00:18:09All in danger of relegation.
00:18:11There's Jacques Villeneuve.
00:18:13One of eight ex-Formula 1 drivers driving in the speed car support series here in Bahrain.
00:18:18Those are stock cars, believe it or not, built in North Carolina.
00:18:24Racing throughout Europe and the Middle East.
00:18:30Johnny Herbert, I think, was quickest in the most recent practice results I saw.
00:18:35Gianni Morbidelli, Villeneuve.
00:18:38Several other ex-Formula 1 aces out there.
00:18:41Probably a pretty good show.
00:18:43Yeah. Imagine a stock car around this track.
00:18:46Thanks.
00:18:55Rubens Barrichello getting out of the way of Kimi Raikkonen.
00:18:57Kimi Raikkonen is 7 tenths slower than his teammate.
00:19:01On his hot lap, but probably, in a typical Kimi fashion, probably carrying even more fuel.
00:19:10This just in about the speed car series.
00:19:12We didn't see it, but in this morning's race, apparently,
00:19:14Jean Alesi and Stefan Johansson got into each other, dicing for the lead.
00:19:18I bet that was fun to watch.
00:19:23A couple of pretty hard heads there.
00:19:25Ooh, we have a red flag.
00:19:28Well, funny enough, just as Raikkonen came off the last corner, approaching the pit end,
00:19:31there was still a local yellow flag in the way there.
00:19:34Maybe that was still for debris from Sato's accident.
00:19:38It must be for debris, because he moved the car.
00:19:42Robert Kubica is pushed back into the wall.
00:19:45Maybe the marshals got a closer look at that tire wall and decided it was unsafe to continue.
00:19:51Clock stops, as you can see at the top of your screen.
00:19:55Clock stops, as you can see at the top of your screen.
00:19:59Now what happens when you've got 4 minutes and 49 seconds to make your bid to advance into Q2?
00:20:07Everybody will be on track, I reckon.
00:20:10Perhaps not Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen, who right now top the time charts at 1.31.9 and 1.32.6, respectively.
00:20:18Massa has been the bell cow all weekend.
00:20:21I think he's probably driving with a little extra urgency, you might say,
00:20:25after two horrible weekends to start the 2008 season.
00:20:31This is Sato again.
00:20:34Well, I tell you what, there is going to be a mad dash when this red flag goes out,
00:20:37because Sebastian Vettel, who's at the top of the red list, has done a 1.34.1.
00:20:43Glock behind at 1.33.9.
00:20:44Trudy, 1.33.8.
00:20:46Alonso, 1.33.7.
00:20:48Pique, 1.33.7.
00:20:49Barrichello, 1.33.5.
00:20:51So you can see that half a second there could pick you up six or seven spots.
00:20:55So they're all going to be desperately trying to get out there.
00:20:58Bourdain, Button and Barrichello all on 1.33.5.
00:21:02I wonder whether or not we're being shown this replay from Massa,
00:21:05because he did set the fastest third sector time under local yellow.
00:21:11The local yellow flag was waving as a result of Sato's accident.
00:21:16So I'm guessing that it's a reason that the director is showing that replay.
00:21:20Oh, no. Are the stewards looking at that?
00:21:22Could Massa be staring at another misfortune?
00:21:28We'll take a break. Find out later.
00:21:31Welcome back to Bahrain.
00:21:32Look at the Williams team, poised, ready to send Nico Rosberg back out.
00:21:36The clock is now running.
00:21:39The track has just gone green,
00:21:41and with four minutes and 40 seconds roughly to go
00:21:44in the first of three knockout qualifying sessions,
00:21:47people are going to have to get out there quickly and make a statement.
00:21:50Let's listen to Sebastian Vettel.
00:21:53I think we are too high on the rear tyre pressure.
00:21:56And I think we should drop the rear tyre pressure by, say, 0.4, even 0.5.
00:22:03Both rear tyres, 0.5 out of the blanket.
00:22:10Goes to show how critical tyre temperatures and tyre pressures are.
00:22:13They're just in these things all the while.
00:22:15Is that half a pound? 0.4, 0.5 psi?
00:22:19Thanks. Peter, can you add?
00:22:21Well, they need the touchscreen monitor there, don't they?
00:22:23Just press a button and there you go.
00:22:27There are the drivers in danger of being knocked out.
00:22:29Vettel, Coulthard, David Coulthard and the Red Bull Renault team
00:22:32have been very competitive this weekend.
00:22:34Adrian Sutil, Anthony Davidson, Takuma Sato has crashed.
00:22:37He's done. Giancarlo Fisichella for Force India hasn't even turned a lap yet.
00:22:42But all those guys just out of the red zone,
00:22:44Glock, Trulli, Alonso, Piquet, Barrichello and Button
00:22:46are all within a few tenths, less than tenths.
00:22:49I mean, all it needs is one of those guys behind them
00:22:51to crank out a slightly better lap and they'll be in the red zone.
00:22:54So I'm amazed that everybody's not absolutely...
00:22:56Exactly. What are they waiting for?
00:22:57Well, they're all waiting for everybody else out there.
00:22:59Then they complain about the traffic.
00:23:00Let's have a look at that Massa incident there.
00:23:03You can see whether or not we can see this flag.
00:23:05It's not easy to see.
00:23:06You need to be looking down this part of the track here, right at pit in.
00:23:11Now, this is Massa setting the fastest third sector time on his fast lap.
00:23:16Now, keep your eye out of it.
00:23:17Down there, it's not easy.
00:23:20But it's there.
00:23:22What?
00:23:23There.
00:23:26And again, the team should be on the radio telling him
00:23:30yellow flag at pit in.
00:23:33But of course, he's here to say,
00:23:34well, I saw the yellow flag and I didn't lift off.
00:23:37And the track was clear.
00:23:38And I was still quick, but I didn't lift off.
00:23:40Well, right. He has no previous lap for them to compare it to.
00:23:43So how can they say?
00:23:44As Peter Windsor pointed out during our commercial break,
00:23:46as we talked this all over,
00:23:48how can they say he did not slow down?
00:23:50Yeah, exactly. It is difficult.
00:23:52And the stewards really have free rein to impose
00:23:54whatever penalty they deem fit, I believe, for that sort of incident.
00:23:57So we can't really say they will take his fastest time
00:24:00or what they will do.
00:24:04Ford with Vettel.
00:24:05Vettel is really going to like it.
00:24:08He's only going to get one flying lap on the soft tyres.
00:24:17As you pointed out, David, the driver's in trouble.
00:24:20Timo Glock is on the bubble.
00:24:22A tenth of a second quicker is Jarno Trulli.
00:24:25Another tenth quicker than him is Fernando Alonso in 14th.
00:24:29And three one hundredths of a second quicker than Alonso
00:24:32is his teammate Nelson Piquet.
00:24:35And then another couple of tenths away is Barrichello and Button.
00:24:38All on Barrichello and Button.
00:24:40A mere two hundredths of a second apart.
00:24:43And in turn, only six hundred quicker than Bourdais,
00:24:46who's up to tenth.
00:24:47I mean, this could change way up the field.
00:24:52Boy, he's cutting this terribly close.
00:24:54If Vettel is really quick, if he gets about a 131 or 132 second lap,
00:25:00which isn't likely, he might get another lap.
00:25:03But if he gets the 31, 32, he doesn't need another lap.
00:25:13And all these corners, you know, you can see that onboard approach.
00:25:17It's all so flat out here and featureless.
00:25:20It's very difficult to pick up where the heck you are, you know.
00:25:24Oh, look at that.
00:25:25Quicker than P16.
00:25:26That's not to P1.
00:25:28That's just to the bubble.
00:25:34Now the bubble boy, as you see, is Timo Glock, GLO in 16th place.
00:25:40There's Nico Rosberg.
00:25:42His time to P1 is three tenths off.
00:25:44So he's in pretty good shape.
00:25:46As Massa just laid down a screamer at 131.9.
00:25:51On board again with Vettel, looking pretty good through here.
00:25:58Second sector end coming up.
00:26:01Oh, he's well up on Glock.
00:26:05Glock, Alonso, Trulli, Barrichello, all could spoil this job.
00:26:10Those guys are all on track.
00:26:11And David Coulthard, of course, in the Red Bull.
00:26:14This is a very important corner.
00:26:155, 4, 3, 2, 1.
00:26:20Checkers.
00:26:21So he will not get another lap.
00:26:23This is Vettel's only shot.
00:26:24He's up into 12th.
00:26:25That's good.
00:26:26Well, we don't know, but there's a lot of other cars out there.
00:26:30Here comes Rosberg.
00:26:32He's on the softer tire compound.
00:26:34I think Rosberg is going to jump up to probably 6th or something.
00:26:38Or maybe 5th.
00:26:395th.
00:26:40Wow.
00:26:41Good job for Rosberg.
00:26:42He was quickest in this morning's practice.
00:26:43But we're going to see a lot of...
00:26:489th.
00:26:49Well done.
00:26:52Trulli is on the bubble.
00:26:54Trulli is bumped.
00:26:56Oh, clocked a 4th.
00:26:58Alonso is bumped.
00:27:00Now Zabika up to 7th.
00:27:02Here comes Trulli trying to hoist himself out.
00:27:04And he does.
00:27:05Alonso is still out.
00:27:06Here he comes.
00:27:07He advances.
00:27:09So this pushes Vettel.
00:27:10Vettel is out.
00:27:12Davidson is done.
00:27:14Nakajima is done.
00:27:15But he advances.
00:27:17Sutil does not improve.
00:27:19He is done.
00:27:21Oh, Decee is bumped.
00:27:23By Barrichello, I believe.
00:27:25Fisichella advances, but does not move out of the relegation zone.
00:27:29He was late getting his lap.
00:27:31And he wasn't able to hoist himself out.
00:27:34Ooh, gently, boys.
00:27:39David Coulthard is bumped.
00:27:41Coulthard is done.
00:27:42And he advances.
00:27:43Ooh, gently, boys.
00:27:47David Coulthard is bumped.
00:27:49Coulthard, Fisichella, Vettel, Sutil, Davidson, and of course Sato, who crashed.
00:28:00And Bourdais was 9th.
00:28:04This is what can happen in knockout qualifying.
00:28:06Bourdais was 9th when he finished his lap.
00:28:08With the checkered flag already having flown.
00:28:12But the cars behind him bumped him 7 places down to the bubble spot at 16th.
00:28:17But the Frenchman advances.
00:28:19That was close.
00:28:21We'll take a break and come back and do the numbers in between knockout sessions in Bahrain.
00:28:29Welcome back to qualifying for the Grand Prix of Bahrain.
00:28:31There is David Coulthard about to climb out of his Red Bull Renault.
00:28:38He will not advance into Q2.
00:28:41Here's a look at the drivers who will.
00:28:42Well, Philippe Mas in the Ferrari Ayala.
00:28:44Jarno Trulli, Kimi Räikkönen, Lewis Hamilton, Ed Jensen.
00:28:47Button in the Honda.
00:28:48Terrific. Timo Glock again.
00:28:49A good run in the Toyota.
00:28:50Robert Kubrick in the BMWs.
00:28:52Off the pace a bit this weekend.
00:28:53The BMs.
00:28:54And then Nico Rosberg in 8th.
00:28:55Button in the Williams.
00:28:57These fellas also going through into Q2.
00:28:59Rubens Barrick over Honda.
00:29:01Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet, both driving the Renaults, of course.
00:29:04Kovalainen, Heidfeld, Weber.
00:29:06Nakajima and Sebastian Bourdais.
00:29:09Good drive from him.
00:29:10These fellas, however, they go no further.
00:29:13Their grip positions are set.
00:29:14David Coulthard, Giancarlo Fisichella, Sebastian Vettel,
00:29:18Sutil, Davidson and Takuma Sato for Super Aguri.
00:29:23Sato, remember, hit in the armco just at pit in, which put him out of the running.
00:29:27But I don't think he was able to get to Q2.
00:29:30Sebastian Vettel, as you saw, came out, finished his last hot lap
00:29:35just as the checkered flag was coming out to end the session.
00:29:38And he got bumped out after a good lap.
00:29:41You don't want to be finishing your lap, Ben.
00:29:43You want to be beginning it as the checkers come out.
00:29:45The later you can leave it, the better.
00:29:47No question of that.
00:29:49So now we reset the clock.
00:29:51All the times go back to zero.
00:29:53Other than the guys that got knocked out in that first session,
00:29:55their grip positions are set for the best times they set in Q1.
00:29:59We now enter Q2.
00:30:00So the green light is on, pit lane is open.
00:30:02But all times reset to zero.
00:30:05But, of course, things are really coming to the crunch in Formula 1 now.
00:30:08Sebastian Vettel, who's 19th, his time was a 1.33.5.
00:30:13And Kimi Räikkönen's time, Felipe Massa's time, was a 1.31.9.
00:30:19I mean, this is real close.
00:30:2119 cars with that close together.
00:30:24This session, as you see, just 15 minutes.
00:30:26Five minutes shorter than the first session.
00:30:28And will eliminate six more cars.
00:30:32It's Heikki Kovalainen.
00:30:34There's Jarno Trulli.
00:30:35Great job by the Toyotas in that first session.
00:30:39And once again, everybody is going to wait.
00:30:44As long as they possibly can.
00:30:48Jarno Trulli is truly the number one at Toyota right now
00:30:52with the departure of Ralf Schumacher.
00:30:56And the car is being tailored to his taste
00:30:58to the point that his new teammate, Timo Glock, says,
00:31:01it's very difficult for me to drive the same kind of car
00:31:04that Jarno Trulli likes.
00:31:05He has a very different driving style.
00:31:07We'll be back.
00:31:10Welcome back to the amazing Bahrain International Circuit.
00:31:13No one on track yet here in Q2,
00:31:15with the clock ticking down to 11.5 minutes remaining
00:31:19in this knockout qualifying session.
00:31:21Felipe Massa there in the Ferrari,
00:31:23probably feeling pretty comfortable about his chances
00:31:26as the Renault teammates, Nelson Piquet and Fernando Alonso,
00:31:29take to the racetrack with one of the Toyotas behind them.
00:31:33Yeah, just hear him rolling off down the pit lane.
00:31:35You notice these guys on the soft tyres
00:31:37designated by that white stripe around.
00:31:41The key thing about Q2, guys, remember,
00:31:43this is a low-fuel, flat-out qualifying run.
00:31:46These are going to be the fastest times set during qualifying.
00:31:50As we go into Q3, the guys will have to have
00:31:52the first stint of fuel on board,
00:31:54which will, of course, affect the times and make them slower.
00:31:57So this is absolutely flat-out qualifying now
00:32:00in an attempt to get into Q3 and the run for pole.
00:32:05Interesting to see Toyota always out early.
00:32:07They did the same thing in practice this morning,
00:32:09and I think it's because they want to get out,
00:32:11see what's going on with the wind direction,
00:32:13and then come in and think about it.
00:32:14That's what they did in Q1, and of course,
00:32:16by the time they went out for the second time,
00:32:18it was pretty tight.
00:32:19But nonetheless, it seems to be a system that works.
00:32:21They go out, get the feel of the track,
00:32:23and then they come back and have a think about the lap.
00:32:27Thank you, Peter.
00:32:28We're watching qualifying,
00:32:30but we want to remind you to join David, Steve, Peter,
00:32:33and myself tomorrow morning
00:32:35for live coverage of the Grand Prix of Bahrain,
00:32:37round three of the 2008 season.
00:32:39The action begins at 7 a.m. Eastern time
00:32:41with the Acura Prix Race Show.
00:32:43Peter, of course, will be live on the grid
00:32:457 a.m. Eastern, only here on Speed.
00:32:58So, Piquet starts his hot lap.
00:33:00Alonso right behind him.
00:33:07As the Renaults head on out.
00:33:09Very hard braking to this turn one.
00:33:11Very hard.
00:33:14And of course, it's also tough on the rear tyres
00:33:16as they leave that little right-left-right complex.
00:33:19Keep an eye on their segment times
00:33:21as they make their way around.
00:33:22Meanwhile, a moment ago,
00:33:23Peter Windsor caught up with one of the drivers eliminated,
00:33:26David Coulthard.
00:33:27David, very promising Friday.
00:33:29Doesn't mean that much when Saturday's the next day.
00:33:31Seemed to fall off a little bit in the session this morning,
00:33:34and then a fragmented qualifying for you, Q1.
00:33:37Yeah, never felt comfortable with the balance,
00:33:39and as a track, you've got to attack your entries,
00:33:41and I wasn't able to do that.
00:33:43And then in my options, I was in a much cleaner lap,
00:33:45but I just didn't pick up in every corner.
00:33:48I lost with oversteer in the last couple of turns,
00:33:50and it cost you time and cost you position.
00:33:53How much of a factor is the wind here?
00:33:55A lot of drivers complaining
00:33:56that the handling is changing almost from lap to lap.
00:33:59It is, but things like that that we can't control,
00:34:02I tend to just, you know, that's nature.
00:34:06But what we can control is, you know,
00:34:08the parameters of the setup we've got with this car,
00:34:10and right from what go,
00:34:12RB4's been weak on traction.
00:34:14There's a lot of traction here required.
00:34:16It's got no ability to ride kerbs,
00:34:18and we're working on that, but it takes time.
00:34:20So that's the end result today.
00:34:22David, thanks for talking to us.
00:34:25Well, yesterday, we heard that radio.
00:34:28We heard the radio thing from David Coulthard
00:34:30when he basically was not very complimentary about his car,
00:34:34and basically saying the same thing there.
00:34:36Yeah, it was windy, but it's windy for everybody,
00:34:38and we just weren't up to it.
00:34:41Wow, Timo Glock, 32.5.
00:34:44Now, that is a pretty stout time for anybody,
00:34:46level under Toyota, and here comes his teammate.
00:34:50Must be just on Sebastian Bordet.
00:34:56Jarno Trulli goes to P1, Bordet to 5th.
00:34:59Felipe Massa has just gone purple in Sector 1 in the Ferrari.
00:35:03Surprise, guys.
00:35:05So the order now is Trulli, Glock, Alonso, Webber up to 4th,
00:35:09Piquet's 5th, Bordet 6th.
00:35:12Felipe Massa's first time sector was at 29.2,
00:35:17as opposed to Jarno Trulli's 29.7.
00:35:21You could say the Brazilian was on the button.
00:35:25Lewis Hamilton, one-ups through two sectors.
00:35:30That long fast run.
00:35:32He did that first Q1 on the hard tyres.
00:35:34Now he's gone for soft.
00:35:35This is such a critical corner here.
00:35:40Nice, a little bit of curve there.
00:35:42That's perfect positioning on the track.
00:35:4631.9.
00:35:48Yeah, but Massa's gone purple in both sectors behind him.
00:35:53This is Raikkonen to 2nd with a 31.933.
00:35:57Here comes Massa.
00:35:58Massa, 31.18.
00:36:01Oh, boy.
00:36:04He has got speed to give away and still be P1.
00:36:08Fastest in all three sectors, 29.2, 39.2, 22.6.
00:36:14Wow.
00:36:16Nice job.
00:36:17Remember, he's still on his second race with that engine
00:36:20after he spun out of Malaysia two weeks ago.
00:36:23Robert Kubica, the BMWs not showing the speed
00:36:26they were showing in Malaya or Australia for that matter.
00:36:28Yeah, the car's looking very nervous through that section.
00:36:336.20 remaining.
00:36:34Look at it moving around.
00:36:36It is very nervous.
00:36:37Nervous everywhere.
00:36:392.10 off the P1 split.
00:36:42Yeah, that's not too bad.
00:36:45Bit of a lock up there.
00:36:49How does he approach this?
00:36:50This is a difficult one here.
00:36:55Minimum smoke there.
00:36:56Didn't lock that left front up too badly.
00:37:02Look how smooth that racetrack is.
00:37:04Look how smooth that racetrack is.
00:37:06The car barely vibrates as it comes towards you.
00:37:11Heikki Kovalainen just went P2.
00:37:13Purple in sector 3 in the McLaren.
00:37:17I think Kovalainen is going to give Lewis Hamilton some work this year.
00:37:21He really is.
00:37:22You betcha.
00:37:25Masa remains P1 by 6.10 over Kovalainen.
00:37:34Let's see what Robert Kubica's got.
00:37:38Ferrari heads for the pit lane.
00:37:40I believe that's right there.
00:37:41Third!
00:37:4231.7.
00:37:43His first appearance in the 31s this weekend.
00:37:46Now we wondered where the BMWs have been all weekend.
00:37:55He's 9.10 off there into that second sector,
00:37:58so he'll be lucky to be up there with his teammate.
00:38:01Let's watch the steering wheel as he takes this slow corner.
00:38:04It seems to me that they have the car set up very stiff,
00:38:07and yesterday in practice we were talking about this compromise of the infield section,
00:38:11that middle sector 2,
00:38:13where you need to get the car to just be a little bit more compliant
00:38:16with these high-speed corners.
00:38:17I think they've opted to go for a more...
00:38:19to get the straight-line speed out of the car,
00:38:22but it is costly.
00:38:23It makes the car look nervous,
00:38:24but you've got to say,
00:38:25I mean, Kubica there's got a good time out there.
00:38:27Even if it looks like it,
00:38:30even if it looks nervous,
00:38:31he's still managing to get it round,
00:38:33get it round in a reasonable time.
00:38:35All right, Heidfeld only eighth with that time,
00:38:38and a 32.2.
00:38:39That's 1.1 seconds off of the time put up by Felipe Massa.
00:38:43Yeah, and then right behind him,
00:38:45you've got 32.2,
00:38:46then you've got Vlach,
00:38:4732.5,
00:38:4832.5,
00:38:49Marcello,
00:38:5032.5,
00:38:51Alonso,
00:38:5232.5,
00:38:53Weber,
00:38:5432.6,
00:38:55Button.
00:38:56Any one of those guys could crank out another half a tenth,
00:38:59and suddenly you could find Heidfeld being knocked out.
00:39:02Okay, less than four minutes to go now.
00:39:04The guys in danger of relegation are Alonso,
00:39:07Weber, Button, Piquet, Bourdais, and Nakajima.
00:39:10Hamilton's going to climb out.
00:39:12P4,
00:39:14probably a safe move,
00:39:16as David pointed out.
00:39:17The guys who've got to be a little bit nervous right now
00:39:20are Truly, Rossberg, Heidfeld, Vlach, and Barrichello.
00:39:26Well, certainly from Heidfeld on.
00:39:28Well, really, Timo Glock on has really got to be a bit concerned.
00:39:32Taking the tyres off Massa's car.
00:39:34These guys are setting up the Q3 as well.
00:39:36Massa remains in the car,
00:39:37but the guys are getting ready now for the next qualifying period.
00:39:43Felipe Massa desperately trying to atone
00:39:46for the first two disastrous races.
00:39:50Spun and crashed at Turn 1,
00:39:52Lap 1 in Race 1.
00:39:55Got back in again with a new nose,
00:39:56then had to come in together with David Coulthard.
00:39:58Finally, the engine quit on him,
00:39:59so that wasn't his fault.
00:40:01Sebastian Bourdais last week spun off and got stuck in the gravel.
00:40:04Two cars on track right now, Bourdais and Glock.
00:40:08Everybody else is waiting.
00:40:132.40 to go.
00:40:14Here comes Alonso.
00:40:18Alonso should be a little bit nervous sitting on that time.
00:40:21P11.
00:40:22Boy, this is absolutely critical.
00:40:25Heidfeld.
00:40:26You knew he had to go back out.
00:40:28Sitting on a 1.32.
00:40:29Oh, look at them all.
00:40:32Weber.
00:40:34There they go.
00:40:35Alonso, Piquet.
00:40:36Here come the BMWs.
00:40:37Is that both Saubers?
00:40:39One of them might be a Honda.
00:40:44So, 2.12 on the clock.
00:40:45This is it, boys.
00:40:46You want to get into the big show.
00:40:48Q3 and shoot out for pole.
00:40:50Now you better lay down a good time.
00:40:52Well, Button and Barrichello are in danger of being eliminated here as well.
00:40:56So, we've got a lot of guys who are absolutely right on the bubble.
00:40:58And it's going to be decided by hundreds of a second.
00:41:01Right now, the top 5, Massa, Kovalainen, Kubica, Hamilton and Raikkonen are in the garage.
00:41:06They feel safe.
00:41:07The guys on track are 6th, Jarno Trulli, followed by Rosberg, Heidfeld, Glock, Barrichello, Alonso, Weber.
00:41:14Everybody down to 16th place, Kaz Nakajima.
00:41:22Watch that timing list to the left of your screen as drivers start to cross the line one by one.
00:41:29Bourdais begins his hot lap.
00:41:30During the break, we heard a radio transmission as he was talking with his team.
00:41:34We're going to try this in one run or two.
00:41:37I've only got one shot at this.
00:41:39We may as well save tires.
00:41:40He seemed to favor one run, but this is his second in the session.
00:41:44Yeah, he said we might as well only go once and try and really capitalize on that and get to the top of the Q2, guys.
00:41:51So they obviously decided to have a couple of goes at it.
00:41:54Woah!
00:41:55Good shit.
00:42:06His teammate already sidelined down in 19th spot.
00:42:21No sound of wheel spin.
00:42:23No.
00:42:28He's off the bubble pace by, well, a pretty good amount.
00:42:32Half a second.
00:42:34No sound of wheel spin.
00:42:36No.
00:42:40He's off the bubble pace by, well, a pretty good amount.
00:42:44Half a second.
00:42:53Block's time was to the P1 pace, not to P10.
00:42:58That's really all that counts right here.
00:43:00Bordet...
00:43:06Bordet will not advance.
00:43:07Block.
00:43:08Oh, that's good.
00:43:09Ninth.
00:43:11He improves his time, but he is still very close to the bubble.
00:43:14And here comes Jarno Trulli.
00:43:16He's currently in sixth spot with a 32.159.
00:43:19Let's catch his last...
00:43:21No, we won't catch his last split.
00:43:22Here comes the start-finish straightaway.
00:43:26Checkers have flown.
00:43:27Hot laps will count.
00:43:28No, he's slower than he was before.
00:43:30No.
00:43:31He'll sit.
00:43:32Sixth might get him through.
00:43:34Here's Rosberg.
00:43:36He is seventh.
00:43:37No improvement.
00:43:38Nakajima.
00:43:40He stays out.
00:43:42Weber.
00:43:44Ninth.
00:43:45He's up to ninth.
00:43:46He's in for now.
00:43:47Alonso bumps him to tenth.
00:43:49Piquet does not advance.
00:43:50He's done.
00:43:53Here comes Button.
00:43:54Button, tenth.
00:43:55To tenth.
00:43:56Bumps Weber out again.
00:43:57Heidfeld.
00:43:59Still in to fourth.
00:44:00Wow.
00:44:01Nice job.
00:44:02Barrichello, twelfth.
00:44:03He's done.
00:44:06And that is it.
00:44:08Wow.
00:44:09Well, now we are seeing BMW come alive.
00:44:11Q2, low fuel.
00:44:13Kubica and Heidfeld, three and four.
00:44:18Is Piquet going to chat on the radio?
00:44:19No, he's not.
00:44:20Piquet is done.
00:44:21It is Weber, Barrichello, Glock, Piquet, Bourdais, and Nakajima.
00:44:25Out.
00:44:28That leaves us with Massa, Kovalainen, Kubica, Heidfeld,
00:44:31Hamilton, Ryken, and Trulli, Rosberg, Alonso, and Button.
00:44:35They are the players in the ten-minute knockout run for
00:44:38pole in Bahrain.
00:44:40Stay with us.
00:44:44Welcome back.
00:44:45Between sessions, all that remains is the ten-minute
00:44:48battle for pole in Bahrain.
00:44:50As you saw Mark Weber, there's Nelson Piquet climbing out.
00:44:54Let's take a look at the ten players in Q3.
00:44:57Well, hey, look at them.
00:44:58Felipe Massa, just a huge amount ahead of anybody else.
00:45:01Kovalainen, again, quicker than his teammate, Robert Kubica,
00:45:04doing a good job.
00:45:05And Heidfeld in the BMWs.
00:45:06Then Lewis Hamilton in the second McLaren.
00:45:08Kimi Ryken in the second Ferrari.
00:45:09Then the Toyota, Trulli.
00:45:11Rosberg, Williams, Fernando Alonso, Renault,
00:45:13and Jenson Button, tenth.
00:45:15That's the best he's done since China last year.
00:45:18These boys go no further.
00:45:20Mark Weber just knocked out by Honda's performance there.
00:45:23So Weber down in eleventh.
00:45:24Rubens Barrichello in the other Honda, out in twelfth.
00:45:27Timo Glock, Nelson Piquet, Junior Ferreno,
00:45:29Sebastian Bordet, and Kaz Nakajima.
00:45:32Those guys are all set.
00:45:33These fellas didn't make it out of Q1.
00:45:35Their times are set also.
00:45:36Group positions set.
00:45:37Coulthard, Fizikel, Ovetel, Sutil, Davidson, and Sato.
00:45:46There's Nico Rosberg, who advances to Q3.
00:45:49Had a great opener in Australia.
00:45:51An awful weekend in Malaysia.
00:45:53Now he has a chance to redeem himself
00:45:56with the up-and-down Williams-Toyota.
00:45:59The stage is set.
00:46:00We'll be back to Bahrain in a moment.
00:46:06Welcome back to Bahrain.
00:46:07The ten-minute final run for pole has now begun,
00:46:10and it's been a frantic break.
00:46:12While we were in break,
00:46:13the Toyota team was trying desperately
00:46:15to put fuel into Jarno Trulli's car,
00:46:17and they appear to be having some trouble with that.
00:46:19Here's a look at that whole action, Steve.
00:46:21Yeah, keep your eye on the refueling guy here
00:46:23and his reaction as he puts the nozzle on.
00:46:25Now you'll see the shake of the head to say,
00:46:27eh, that ain't working.
00:46:28No, you know, that's a universal sign for it ain't working.
00:46:33No wheels on the car, wheels and tires.
00:46:35They do have a dolly underneath the chassis
00:46:37at this point, however,
00:46:38so they will push it forward.
00:46:40Get on to the second rig.
00:46:42There's a gas station down the road.
00:46:43Let's stop there.
00:46:44That's right, but their woes continue.
00:46:47Now they're not sure whether or not
00:46:48it's a problem with the refueling rig
00:46:50or a problem with the valve, the nozzle on the car.
00:46:52Both components made by Intertechnique.
00:46:55On it goes again.
00:46:56Reaction? Eh, I don't think so.
00:46:58No, not getting fuel flow or something.
00:47:01Meanwhile, this guy, Niko Rosberg,
00:47:03was sitting in his garage
00:47:05questioning the engineer's decisions
00:47:07about the setup his car should have.
00:47:09Remember that the drivers put in the fuel
00:47:12that they will start the race with
00:47:15minus the fuel they're about to use
00:47:17in this final session,
00:47:18so you have to think very carefully
00:47:20about how much you want to put in
00:47:22depending on what you think
00:47:23your race strategy might be on Sunday.
00:47:28Formula One fans, stay up to date
00:47:30with mobile text alerts all season long.
00:47:32Speed Mobile gives you the latest news
00:47:34and results right to your cell phone.
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00:47:45As Rosberg makes his way around,
00:47:48getting ready for his first hot lap,
00:47:50Peter Windsor is with Nelson Piquet Jr.
00:47:52Nelson, very good job in Q1,
00:47:54right up there with Fernando, your teammate.
00:47:56Tell us about Q2.
00:47:58Oh, no, I think I did a little mistake
00:48:01by getting too close to him,
00:48:02opening the lap and just was too close
00:48:05and messed up a little bit my lap.
00:48:07I managed to go a little bit quicker,
00:48:08but still I opened the lap probably
00:48:10a bit too close to him
00:48:11and maybe it ruined a little bit the air of my car.
00:48:14Very difficult in traffic on the outlaps
00:48:17there, getting the spacing right.
00:48:18I guess one of the learning curve aspects
00:48:20of Formula One.
00:48:21Yeah, I mean, I've been lucky.
00:48:24I didn't get any traffic until now.
00:48:25I'm in Malaysia here, so I was OK.
00:48:27The thing was just I didn't want to lose the tow
00:48:31and I didn't want to get too close,
00:48:33but I think I got maybe a second too close
00:48:36and he did a little mistake and I got too close
00:48:40and then the car got a bit messy
00:48:42and was a bit difficult.
00:48:43Anyway, thanks for talking to us.
00:48:44Good luck.
00:48:48Sounded a little bit down,
00:48:49did the second-generation driver,
00:48:51son of a three-time world champion.
00:48:55Yeah, well, of course, it's always very disappointing,
00:48:58you know, especially when you miss out
00:49:00like he did by, you know, just hundreds of a second.
00:49:04He thinks the mistake was getting too close
00:49:06to his teammate.
00:49:07We saw them come out together.
00:49:09Well, of course, you know, with long straights like this,
00:49:12that's a bit of a double-edged sword
00:49:14because he was probably hoping to get a bit of a tow.
00:49:17But, of course, if you're too close going to the corner,
00:49:20you've got to...
00:49:21Get turbulence.
00:49:22Yeah, right.
00:49:23You've got to wait till the end to use the tow.
00:49:27Nico Rosberg here.
00:49:29He wanted a little more front wing in his car.
00:49:31The engineers didn't want to give it to him.
00:49:33And he's going to regret that.
00:49:35Think so?
00:49:36Ah, yeah.
00:49:37He knows... The driver knows what he wants.
00:49:39Oh, I see where we're going with this.
00:49:42Some engineers say,
00:49:43no, you don't want that, Nico.
00:49:45No, you don't want that.
00:49:46Oh, I don't know what I did.
00:49:48Well, he goes to the top of the charts for right now
00:49:51with a 34.776.
00:49:53And now he's bumped by Nick Heidfeld, as you see.
00:49:56And you can tell the difference in those times.
00:49:58Heidfeld with a 31.9 in the previous session
00:50:01and now a 34.6 with fuel.
00:50:06And here comes Louis Hamilton.
00:50:10Hamilton!
00:50:11Had that big wreck yesterday in practice,
00:50:13but like a good racing driver, he'll forget about it.
00:50:18Ooh!
00:50:20Very quick into that second sector.
00:50:22But old Phil Massa is lurking like a specter on his shoulder.
00:50:33No more coffee for you.
00:50:34Bit of a lock-in up there for the front.
00:50:37Give it some welly, my lad.
00:50:39Get her over the line there.
00:50:43Hamilton to be with it.
00:50:4433.6, Robert Kubica, as you saw.
00:50:48Quickest through sector two.
00:50:50Meanwhile, Massa.
00:50:52Purple in sector one.
00:51:00Here comes Kubica.
00:51:03There you go!
00:51:06I like that, Robert. He is a very good driver.
00:51:09So much fuel.
00:51:12Down to the last corner.
00:51:13Old Phil Massa giving it some welly up here.
00:51:16Massa, fastest in sector one.
00:51:18Personal best in sector two.
00:51:1929.643.
00:51:22Massa!
00:51:24Ah, Alonso, 10th.
00:51:27Massa over Kubica.
00:51:2933.339 to a 33.350.
00:51:33But remember, they're burning down that race fuel load now.
00:51:37Jenson Button should finish up 9th.
00:51:39That would be his best qualifying since Japan last year when he was 6th.
00:51:42He was only 6th there because it was raining.
00:51:44Other than that, he's usually been well up into the teens.
00:51:47Eiffel going to the garage.
00:51:51That's a bit of a surprise.
00:51:52And he's on the hard tires.
00:51:54Currently 6th.
00:51:56Well, they want to play with something on the car.
00:51:58That's not right.
00:51:59They better make a quick adjustment.
00:52:00They've got less than 3.50 remaining.
00:52:02Yeah, they're setting up for Kubica.
00:52:04You saw the guys, the pit crew, getting ready for servicing Kubica's car.
00:52:10Massa on the softer tire.
00:52:14As you would expect, several cars went out for their first run on the hard.
00:52:18Here's the order.
00:52:21Here comes Hamilton.
00:52:25Will he take fresh Bridgestones?
00:52:31Action up and down the pit lane.
00:52:36Zip, zip, zip, zip, zip.
00:52:38Waiting for the absolute last minute to get these tires out.
00:52:41They're right down the bottom end of the pit lane now.
00:52:44Pit regulations are a little more relaxed and qualifying.
00:52:46I didn't see helmets on all those drivers or all those crewmen or even fire suits on all of them.
00:52:51As Hamilton stopped.
00:52:53BMW and Ferrari obviously all kitted up for the job.
00:52:57Reikonen.
00:52:58The Kimster down there in sank position at the moment.
00:53:01It's been quiet.
00:53:03Yeah, it has.
00:53:04But it's been quiet.
00:53:06It's been quiet.
00:53:07It's been quiet.
00:53:08It's been quiet.
00:53:09It's been quiet.
00:53:10It's been quiet.
00:53:11It's been quiet.
00:53:12Yeah, it has.
00:53:13But still waters run deep in our Finnish friend's favour.
00:53:23Oh, that's a little awkward.
00:53:24Yeah.
00:53:27These clutches on these cars are amazing.
00:53:29They're very, very small diameter, you know, like about four inches.
00:53:32Lewis, time loss is last sector, last sector, last corner in particular, last corner.
00:53:38About a tenth, tenth and a half.
00:53:40Ooh, that's a lot.
00:53:42There it is.
00:53:43Lewis, get it right.
00:53:44Get your target.
00:53:45Yeah.
00:53:46We've seen what it is.
00:53:47You know where it is.
00:53:48Yeah.
00:53:49Of course, what he wants is that little bit more wing.
00:53:52That's his father Anthony.
00:53:54Father and manager.
00:53:57I'll tell you what, he's going to have his work cut out to beat Massa today.
00:54:00Massa's Ferrari seems to be absolutely flying around here.
00:54:04Speak of the devil and he shall appear.
00:54:08DNF in each of the first two rounds of the championship under huge pressure from the press to get the job done.
00:54:16Ferrari, though, it must be said.
00:54:18Ferrari, though, it must be said.
00:54:19Have stood by their man saying, no, he's fine.
00:54:21Well, of course, as long as he's under pressure from the press and not the team, he's OK.
00:54:25When he gets under pressure from the team, he can start worrying.
00:54:28So Lewis Hamilton starts his flying, his last lap in qualifying.
00:54:32This is it.
00:54:33Now they held Lewis in the pits fractionally, but I think the car at a slight disadvantage here in terms of traction.
00:54:40Massa for Ferrari will be the last guy running on track.
00:54:42He'll be able to see all the other times.
00:54:44And the engineers will feed him those times from all the other drivers coming across the line.
00:54:48So he'll know exactly what he's got to do.
00:54:50Lewis now is really on the back foot.
00:54:52He's got to put on a fast lap without it.
00:54:55Not at the best time and without any other information from the press.
00:54:58He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:00He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:01He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:02He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:03He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:04He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:05He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:06He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:07He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:08He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:09He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:10He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:11He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:12He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:13He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:14He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:15He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:16He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:17He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:18He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:19He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:20He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:21He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:22He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:23He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:24He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:25He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:26He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:27He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:28He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:29He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:30He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:31He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:32He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:33He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:34He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:35He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:36He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:37He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:38He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:39He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:40He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:41He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:42He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:43He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:44He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:45He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:46He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:47He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:48He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:49He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:50He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:51He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:52He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:53He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:54He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:55He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:56He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:57He's got to be able to do it.
00:55:58Massa just crushed Hamilton's first sector time.
00:56:02Hamilton 30.0, Massa 29.6.
00:56:08Hamilton goes to P1.
00:56:1033.2, but Massa...
00:56:12Massa's all...
00:56:13Well, he's going slow again.
00:56:14Now, what about this rule?
00:56:15Well...
00:56:16Yeah, well, they have introduced a new qualifying rule now.
00:56:21It's Bob Curvitzer.
00:56:24Let's keep up with this.
00:56:26What are BMW doing?
00:56:28What?
00:56:29Oh, my goodness, mate.
00:56:32Meanwhile, Kovalainen.
00:56:36Raikkonen.
00:56:37Raikkonen.
00:56:38Four for Raikkonen.
00:56:39Bumping fellow Finn Kovalainen.
00:56:41Here's Massa.
00:56:46Wow.
00:56:48He has been the...
00:56:49Incredibly smooth through that corner.
00:56:51Yeah.
00:56:52He's good as...
00:56:56Kubica on pole.
00:56:57Is it possible?
00:56:59Look at the BMW crew.
00:57:01Who chose Kubica for pole?
00:57:03Hey, who picked Kubica?
00:57:05I picked Kubica for pole.
00:57:07Did you really?
00:57:08I did, yes.
00:57:09Did you?
00:57:10Get out of town.
00:57:12Wow, I always knew BMW could do it.
00:57:15Well done, lad.
00:57:16Boy.
00:57:17Well done.
00:57:18The winner of David Hobbs.
00:57:20For the first time in Formula 1 history, a pole on pole.
00:57:25Okay, pole position.
00:57:26Three seconds margin.
00:57:27Three seconds margin on the in lap.
00:57:30Okay.
00:57:31Fantastic, Robert.
00:57:33First pole for our team.
00:57:35Great effort.
00:57:37Five second margin.
00:57:38Five second margin.
00:57:40Terrific.
00:57:41Just to give a clarification on the three second, five second margin,
00:57:44this is to prevent this slowdown situation we had at the end of Q3,
00:57:48the last race which caused so many problems with the speed differential.
00:57:51You have to keep a certain speed up now around the lap to prevent that.
00:57:54But irrespective of my picking Kubica for pole,
00:57:58I have to say BMW, absolutely fantastic job.
00:58:01They have worked so hard, so methodical to get the cars
00:58:04and get the drivers working in harmony.
00:58:06And today for BMW Sauber, it has paid off.
00:58:09Congratulations, boys.
00:58:11That was Dr. Mario Tyson smiling broadly.
00:58:14It's been a long road for BMW Sauber.
00:58:17First ever for the team with that name.
00:58:19We'll be back.
00:58:21♪♪
00:58:30Well, park for May's picture says it all.
00:58:33The BMW Sauber team has been saying all winter that we hope to make it
00:58:37three teams at the top of the Formula 1 charts along with Ferrari and McLaren.
00:58:41And today they've taken a huge step in that direction.
00:58:44First pole since 2005 for a BMW engine.
00:58:48First ever for a Sauber.
00:58:50And the first for a Polish driver.
00:58:52Robert Kubica sits on pole.
00:58:54There's Felipe Massa's Ferrari, the overwhelming favorite for pole,
00:58:58but it did not happen.
00:58:59Lewis Hamilton will start third.
00:59:01Yeah, absolutely terrific job for BMW as we were saying before.
00:59:04And I'd just like to say congratulations to both Wayne Schulte from BMW North America
00:59:08and Michel Henn from Formula BMW
00:59:11who have been so supportive of Formula 1 in general in the United States
00:59:16and absolutely supportive of BMW's performance.
00:59:19And they were saying to me in the off-season,
00:59:21it's coming, Steve, it will come this year.
00:59:23We know we're going to get a pole and possibly a win.
00:59:25Well, they're halfway there already.
00:59:28And all those members of the BMW Sauber team
00:59:32who have worked so hard and so long at their bases in Germany and Switzerland,
00:59:36it's now happened.
00:59:37Let's go to Peter Windsor in the interview room.
00:59:40Congratulations to the three fastest qualifiers for the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.
00:59:44Third for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton.
00:59:47Second for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, Felipe Massa.
00:59:51And scoring the BMW Sauber team's first pole in their 15-year history,
00:59:54the first non-Ferrari McLaren pole in 22 races,
00:59:58I've got to say the pole on pole, Robert Kubica.
01:00:00Robert, congratulations.
01:00:01A fantastic day for you.
01:00:03And quick two in Q2, third fastest without fuel on board,
01:00:06so a great day for you.
01:00:07Yeah, I think after yesterday, good work on the set-up.
01:00:11In free practice, too, we have developed quite a lot.
01:00:14And qualifying didn't go pretty well in Q1 and Q2,
01:00:18but in Q3, I managed to do quite a good lap
01:00:21and first time pole position.
01:00:24Well, I'm sure it was more than quite a good lap.
01:00:26Let's talk that lap and indeed your emotions
01:00:29as you heard that it was your first pole.
01:00:31Well, I started the lap pretty well.
01:00:35Then corner 9, I locked front wheels
01:00:38and fortunately I flat-spotted the tyres,
01:00:41so it was not easy.
01:00:42I have a very big vibration.
01:00:44And the last three corners, which are right-handers,
01:00:46was very difficult.
01:00:48But I managed to not do a mistake
01:00:50and the car was pulling on the braking to one side,
01:00:53but still it was enough for the pole
01:00:56and I'm very happy.
01:00:58Robert, it's as if now you need to patent your Robert Kubica weight-loss diet.
01:01:01You lost six kilos before the season started.
01:01:03How much of a factor is that in your performance this year?
01:01:07I don't know. It's difficult to say,
01:01:09but we have seen that with the lighter driver,
01:01:13if I would be lighter, I would go a bit quicker.
01:01:16So we decided with my engineer to make maximum effort
01:01:20to reduce the weight whenever from the car and from myself.
01:01:24And I work hard and that's, I think,
01:01:27the kind of result we can get from it.
01:01:30It was maximum effort, very hard effort for myself,
01:01:33but still I managed.
01:01:35Congratulations, a fantastic achievement.
01:01:37Felipe, on the front row of the grid,
01:01:39you've been sensationally quick all weekend,
01:01:42very, very fast in Q2.
01:01:44It looks as if you lost a bit of time towards the end of Sector 2
01:01:46on your final qualifying run.
01:01:48Yeah, definitely I lost.
01:01:51I couldn't, I mean, I did incredible laps
01:01:54during the whole weekend
01:01:56and the car was just perfect all the time.
01:01:58And just in Q3,
01:02:00it's the only time which I was all the time behind cars
01:02:03and I did the first try,
01:02:05which was a pretty good lap time,
01:02:08the whole lap behind Nico.
01:02:10And it was a shame
01:02:12because I managed to pull away a good gap
01:02:15and even braking for him to pass me
01:02:18and then I did the whole lap behind him
01:02:20and it was already enough to maybe be close to Paul.
01:02:25And the second try, I was also stuck a bit on traffic
01:02:29between Fernando made a small mistake,
01:02:32he let me by, but it was not a perfect lap.
01:02:34So it's a shame, but in a way, I think we have a great car,
01:02:37we show great performance
01:02:39and I think we can be very strong tomorrow.
01:02:42Congratulations to you.
01:02:44Luis, spectacular accident yesterday, we all saw that,
01:02:47but a great recovery today to be third.
01:02:50But I guess the Ferrari speed this morning
01:02:53and indeed in Q2 was very impressive from your point of view.
01:02:56Yeah, definitely.
01:02:57They seem to have outstanding pace at the moment.
01:03:01But going into qualifying,
01:03:03I was quite happy with the balance that I had
01:03:05and I knew that we would be able to challenge
01:03:07at least for the front row.
01:03:09And, you know, we're third.
01:03:11I'm very, very happy with that.
01:03:12I think it was a reasonably decent lap for sure.
01:03:15As always, there's time to gain
01:03:17and I think inevitably if it was a perfect lap,
01:03:20we probably could have had Paul.
01:03:22But, you know, I'll go back and I'll study it
01:03:26and look forward to the race.
01:03:27But I think we've got a good strategy
01:03:29and I think tomorrow will be quite interesting.
01:03:32Talk us through the effects of an accident like that.
01:03:35You said you're fine
01:03:36and probably there are no effects from your point of view,
01:03:38but what is the impact in terms of perhaps your qualifying performance
01:03:41and indeed the race?
01:03:42For me, it makes absolutely no difference.
01:03:44I get back in the car and I go faster.
01:03:46I think today I actually went quicker through that corner
01:03:49than I did yesterday, the first lap I did.
01:03:51And I think that's important to to really knock down that barrier
01:03:54and, you know, bounce back.
01:03:57And I never have problems with that.
01:03:59I've had plenty of the experiences in my career.
01:04:03Well done.
01:04:05Well done indeed.
01:04:06And what a story Robert Kubica is
01:04:08lacking a proper ladder series in his home country of Poland.
01:04:12He moved to Italy as a teenager.
01:04:13And here he is now.
01:04:18For the first time ever,
01:04:19the Middle East welcomes the Formula One World Championship.
01:04:22There it is.
01:04:23Career victory number 73 for Michael Schumacher.
01:04:27And the Spaniards were crazy about their new hero two weeks ago.
01:04:39Wait till they get a load of this.
01:04:40This is for the race.
01:04:41Let's see where he comes off.
01:04:43It's going to be close.
01:04:45It's going to be very close.
01:04:47Get on it.
01:04:48I don't think he's going to get it.
01:04:50Yes, he is.
01:04:51Fernando Alonso will take the first round of 2006.
01:04:55Massa to the line.
01:04:57Redemption for the Brazilian following a poor race in Malaysia
01:05:01with a brilliant one in Bahrain.
01:05:06And it's worth noting of those winners,
01:05:08the only one not to start from pole was Fernando Alonso.
01:05:12Here's a look at the results of qualifying for Sunday's Grand Prix of Bahrain.
01:05:16Well, Robert Kubica on the pole with the BMW Sauber.
01:05:19The first time ever.
01:05:20Felipe Massa in the Ferrari.
01:05:21Messed up Q2 in the middle there.
01:05:23Lewis Hamilton in the third spot.
01:05:26First McLaren in Raikkonen and Kovalainen.
01:05:28The next Ferrari and McLaren in Heidfeld in the second BMW.
01:05:31Truly, Rosberg, Button.
01:05:33His best qualifying since Japan last year.
01:05:35These fellows 11th through to 16th.
01:05:37They did not make it out of Q2.
01:05:39Weber, Rubens Barrichello for Honda.
01:05:41Timo Glock, Toyota.
01:05:42Nelson Piquet, Renault.
01:05:43Sebastian Bordet and Kaz Nakajima.
01:05:46These fellows did make it out of first one.
01:05:48David Giancarlo Fisichella, Vettel and Sutil.
01:05:52Well, if what we've seen thus far this year is any indication,
01:05:55it'll be wild and crazy in Bahrain Sunday.
01:05:57Join David, Steve, Peter and myself tomorrow at 7 a.m. Eastern Time
01:06:01for live coverage of the Formula One Grand Prix of Bahrain.
01:06:04Of course, we'll start things off with the Acura Free Race Show.
01:06:07Peter will be live down on the starting grid.
01:06:09We'll take you to the checkered flag and beyond.
01:06:12For now, for David, Steve, Peter, I'm Bob Varsha.
01:06:17We'll be back tomorrow. Join us then. So long, everyone.