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00:00:00It is all systems go for the finale at Suzuka. Michael Schumacher has been brilliant in qualifying
00:00:06but he's had problems in the past. At the start, a downhill high-speed charge to the notorious first curve.
00:00:13Let's cross to Japan and join Martin Brundle and James Allen.
00:00:18Thank you, Jim. Hello, everybody.
00:00:20Well, Schumacher certainly looked pretty focused, didn't he, on the grid?
00:00:23Despite that rather ridiculous push-me-pull-you hat.
00:00:26Well, the championship may be decided in Michael's favour.
00:00:29The teams may be only one day away from a month-long holiday in the sun.
00:00:34They can almost smell the suntan oil.
00:00:36But the competitive atmosphere in the pit lane today is as intense as if it were a championship decider.
00:00:42Everyone wants to go out on a high this afternoon.
00:00:45Schumacher, well, he's been off form for the last two races,
00:00:48but this weekend I can tell you he's been working as hard as he did all summer.
00:00:53It's his way of apologising, perhaps, to the team
00:00:56for his understandable dip in form in the last two races.
00:01:00He wants to present them today with an emphatic win.
00:01:03Next door at McLaren, Mika Häkkinen starting his last race.
00:01:06You heard from him talking to Martin just a few moments ago before he goes off on a sabbatical year.
00:01:11He may come back, maybe he won't, in 2003.
00:01:15But certainly, he said yesterday, he will be coming along to races next year.
00:01:19So he's going to keep a keen interest and involvement in the McLaren team and in Formula 1.
00:01:23Can he carry forward the devastating form he showed two weeks ago winning at Indianapolis?
00:01:30Next door to them at BMW Williams, Juan Montoya, or Monster,
00:01:34as he is now known by the team mechanics and management.
00:01:38And Ralf Schumacher, well, they're fighting like bitchy schoolgirls for supremacy in that team.
00:01:43And it's only going to get more intense.
00:01:46Jean Alesi, he wants to go out on a high today in his 201st and last Grand Prix.
00:01:50Benetton, it's their last race before they become Renault.
00:01:54They have a sniff of the points today. Giancarlo Fisichella, 6th on the grid.
00:01:57Jenson Button, 9th.
00:01:59All this then being played out in front of an estimated 130,000 crowd.
00:02:05All highly excited because Martin, Formula 1 is basically fashionable again now in Japan.
00:02:10Not since the days of Ayrton Senna have I seen so many young, excited faces in the crowd
00:02:16coming in this morning in the grandstands as we walk up here to our commentary position.
00:02:20Formula 1 is hip again in this country, isn't it?
00:02:23I think so, especially with Sato signing now for Jordan.
00:02:26Toyota coming to Formula 1. Honda already here.
00:02:28It is in the ascendancy and there is a great feeling in the crowd.
00:02:32You walk through the fairgrounds here that's a part of this racetrack and it is truly spectacular.
00:02:37There's a calm in the paddock that's now building on the grid and it's going to be an interesting afternoon.
00:02:43How long will it be before the Michelin tyres on the Williams really start to work for them today?
00:02:49Michael Schumacher, I think if he gets into the first corner first, will scamper off into the distance
00:02:54while the Williams get up to speed.
00:02:56That will affect Barrichello, Coulthard and Hakkinen, 7th and 5th respectively.
00:03:01And they've got the two Benettons around them that have been so mighty off the start since the Belgium Grand Prix.
00:03:07So they, I think, if they get ahead of the McLarens, they're going to hold them up.
00:03:10I don't think the Benettons have a front-running race pace.
00:03:14I don't underestimate, truly, Anderlecht in 8th and 11th.
00:03:17The Jordan working well here this weekend.
00:03:20So an interesting afternoon ahead of us.
00:03:22It's a two-stopper, really. It takes about 24 seconds to get down the pit lane, get fuel for each of those two stops.
00:03:29Three's possible, one's a no-brainer. It's half a minute slower.
00:03:32So expect the bulk of them in around lap 23.
00:03:36But, Martin, you've driven here many times before.
00:03:38This is one of the racetracks, it's probably the most difficult racetrack to read during the race.
00:03:42I've talked to a few engineers this weekend.
00:03:43They say, we really have to improvise here because track conditions, the heat, the temperature,
00:03:47the amount of rubber going down, they all affect the performance of the cars.
00:03:50So you have a basic plan in your mind, but you often have to improvise with it.
00:03:54Well, it's all about tyre wear, that's why.
00:03:57And if there's any surprises with track temperature or overall wear or the balance of your cars,
00:04:01not as you expected in the race and you're wearing one end or the other of the tyres,
00:04:06then you do have to improvise.
00:04:08And it's even harder for the drivers.
00:04:10It's a 5.5 kilometre, 3.6 mile lap, and you do tend to lose track of the rest of the race.
00:04:16A bit like the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa, it's such a long circuit.
00:04:19But this is all about tyres here because so many of the corners lead.
00:04:23The exit of one is the entrance to the next.
00:04:26And when your tyres go away, you just can't carry the speed.
00:04:29You start losing up to two, two and a half seconds a lap when your tyres go away.
00:04:34So when they come back again, or in fact, if we get a chance to have a close-up now,
00:04:37just look and see the difference between the Bridgestone cars like Ferrari and McLaren.
00:04:41They'll be starting with brand new tyres here this afternoon,
00:04:44whereas the Michelin teams like Williams and Benetton,
00:04:47they'll be starting with tyres that have done 15, maybe even 20 laps on them.
00:04:51You can see a yellow flag out of the window here.
00:04:53Right at the back of the grid, there's an Arrows not getting away.
00:04:58It's Bernoldi.
00:04:59We think it's Bernoldi. Yeah, it is indeed Bernoldi.
00:05:01So they'll restart that car and hopefully he will rejoin.
00:05:05He was in 20th place anyway, so it's not going to cost him too much.
00:05:09He will, of course, start at the back of the field now.
00:05:12So they're on their way through turns five and six and that long, long left-hander uphill.
00:05:18But Bernoldi then still not able to start that Asiatec engine.
00:05:23Amazingly this Enrique Bernoldi.
00:05:25You see the rear wheels spinning. They're going to have to drop it down off the jacks.
00:05:27Enrique Bernoldi's actually outqualified Josper Stappen 10 to 7 this season.
00:05:31He's been sort of in the shadows throughout this Formula 1 championship.
00:05:34Some doubt about whether he'll keep his drive for next year with Arrows
00:05:37or indeed keep a place in Formula 1 at all.
00:05:40And yet if you look at the statistics, he's been pretty fast.
00:05:43It's just in the races he's let himself down.
00:05:45Through the hairpin then go the front runners building up.
00:05:48The heartbeats building up as well in preparation for this so important start
00:05:52to the last Grand Prix of the season.
00:05:53Now this is an interesting scenario, James.
00:05:55Bernoldi still on the line there.
00:05:57Two-thirds of the way around the reconnaissance lap, the green flag lap,
00:06:01warm-up lap, call it what you will, but Bernoldi is still here on the start.
00:06:05And now they're having to drop it down and push it off the line.
00:06:08Otherwise he's going to interfere with the start of this Grand Prix
00:06:11and they will not let that happen.
00:06:13They've got a gap in the wall about 30 meters behind where Bernoldi's car is.
00:06:17He's being pushed back. He should make it.
00:06:19You can see the front runners now just coming over the crisscross area,
00:06:22the figure-of-eight circuit.
00:06:23There you see, that's the point at which the two figure-of-eights cross.
00:06:27That's the 130R corner, very famous, 180 mile an hour.
00:06:31Hold on tight and hang on for dear life corner.
00:06:34And you can see Schumacher slowing the front runners down.
00:06:36I can tell you Bernoldi now, his car just being pushed through that gap
00:06:39into the pit wall as we see Alex Jung cruising slowly down the pit lane.
00:06:43Okay, so Jung obviously didn't make the grid at all.
00:06:46He will start after the rest of the cars have passed the line
00:06:51and he is indeed in the spare car.
00:06:53So he was 21st on the grid anyway.
00:06:57Sorry, 22nd on the grid.
00:06:58He will now start effectively 21st
00:07:01because Bernoldi has yet to have an engine that will run.
00:07:04The last start then for Jean Alési, possibly the last start for Mikko Häkkinen.
00:07:08What goes through your mind when it's your last Grand Prix start?
00:07:10What goes through your mind here, I don't think they'll be thinking about it,
00:07:13the last one, is that it's downhill on this grid.
00:07:15So it always needs left foot on the brake
00:07:18and really just to hold the car on the clutch.
00:07:21And then you can see very used Michelins on the front
00:07:24as we just scanned away of Montoya's Williams there.
00:07:29Will Montoya beat Schumacher down to the first corner?
00:07:32It's absolutely crucial.
00:07:34Otherwise I think Michael Schumacher is going to romp away into the distance.
00:07:38But we have seen the Ferrari getting better of recent times away from the line.
00:07:43Mikko Häkkinen then, he has a set procedure to go through,
00:07:46a number of buttons to press to activate his launch control.
00:07:51They both looked incredibly cool, didn't they?
00:07:53Schumacher and Montoya, 850 horsepower behind them underneath their right foot.
00:07:58Going to release it any moment now.
00:08:00Any moment now.
00:08:03Off they go!
00:08:04Montoya, great start by Fisichella on the outside,
00:08:07but Schumacher cuts across, as he did to Mikko Häkkinen this time last year.
00:08:10He has the honours into Turn 1.
00:08:12Montoya leads Ralf Schumacher.
00:08:14The Benetton well placed as well as Rubens Barrichello.
00:08:16Holds on to fourth place going round the outside.
00:08:18Ralf Schumacher into the S's.
00:08:20Yes indeed, both Benettons did fly off the line
00:08:23and Fisichella ahead of the two McLarens then at this time.
00:08:27But Michael Schumacher easily made it into Turn 1.
00:08:30So the first four are away absolutely.
00:08:33First five, in fact, that's not true.
00:08:35Fisichella is up to fifth.
00:08:37So first four away in grid formation
00:08:40and Fisichella making that crucial move.
00:08:42That's bad news for McLaren.
00:08:44I think that's going to hold them up while they find a way past the Benetton.
00:08:48Yes, they've had many successful strategies here over the years.
00:08:50Look at the gap already that Michael Schumacher has.
00:08:53We're expecting to see those Michelin tyres on the Williams holding them up
00:08:56as Rubens Barrichello attacks Ralf Schumacher into the hairpin.
00:08:59He wants to get past.
00:09:00He's probably running quite light on fuel, he knows.
00:09:02His only chance is to get in front of the Williams in the next ten laps.
00:09:06I agree with you.
00:09:07I think they will surely have started Barrichello on a very light fuel load
00:09:11in the hope that he can springboard past the Williams somewhere.
00:09:14There's a chance if you get a good run out of that corner spoon
00:09:17and in the slipstream you can pass before 130R.
00:09:20Problem is, those BMW Williams are so fast in a straight line
00:09:24that Barrichello appeared to be in a slipstream position.
00:09:27Yes, indeed he is.
00:09:28We're live on board and he takes the inside line at third position.
00:09:32So he is light, surely, and he did get perfectly in the slipstream.
00:09:37Hakkinen trying down the outside of Fisichella too.
00:09:39Not this time around.
00:09:41Great move by Rubens Barrichello.
00:09:42He goes up to third place.
00:09:43Ralf Schumacher down to fourth.
00:09:45Meanwhile, Fisichella and Hakkinen monstering each other as well
00:09:48while out the front, Michael Schumacher.
00:09:50Look at that, 3.6 seconds on the opening lap.
00:09:54Explain that, Martin.
00:09:55Well, he's just so good when there's an uncertain level of grip
00:09:58on a drizzly day or on the first lap of a Grand Prix,
00:10:01the first lap of qualifying.
00:10:02Michael Schumacher has this supreme confidence
00:10:05and in any event he's faster around here than anybody else at the moment.
00:10:09And it's no surprise he's pulling away.
00:10:11We did say that, but 3.6 seconds, that's amazing.
00:10:15And the Williams then have certainly got to go through a period
00:10:18of not being particularly fast until their tyres come into play.
00:10:22A lot of controversy here this weekend about the Michelin tyres.
00:10:25They've been performing superbly when they're new.
00:10:27They're almost like qualifiers.
00:10:29But then the teams have been running them in,
00:10:30running them in, putting about 60 kilometers onto them,
00:10:32and they've almost gone down to slicks.
00:10:34You can see Juan Montoya's tyres on the grid.
00:10:36They're almost worn down to nothing.
00:10:38We're predicting some possible problems at the end of the race
00:10:40if Williams get a good result today, but we'll see.
00:10:42That's all for the future for right now.
00:10:44Hakkinen attacking Fisichella.
00:10:45Schumacher pulling away at the front
00:10:47and Rubens Barrichello now ready to attack, I would imagine,
00:10:50Juan Montoya for 2nd place.
00:10:52Well, the McLaren's not exactly all over the gearbox of that Benetton, are they?
00:10:55And the biggest scrap today in the championship
00:10:58is surely between Coulthard and Barrichello for that 2nd place.
00:11:02Coulthard needing it desperately.
00:11:04He's finished 3rd so many times in the World Championship.
00:11:07He wants to step forward.
00:11:08He's playing it all down, but he clearly needs to finish 2nd.
00:11:11But at the moment, Barrichello has to win this race.
00:11:14Michael will let him through, no doubt about it,
00:11:16if they're running 1 and 2 later on.
00:11:18But at the moment, Montoya is in the middle.
00:11:20And did I see?
00:11:21I think Barrichello's gone through into 2nd place.
00:11:23Just out of the corner of the screen,
00:11:25Barrichello made a move into the final chicane.
00:11:29I believe Barrichello is up into 2nd place.
00:11:32Yes, indeed.
00:11:33Well, the computer agrees with you, Martin.
00:11:34We haven't seen it, but Rubens Barrichello snatches 2nd
00:11:37from Juan Pablo Montoya.
00:11:38It's a Ferrari 1-2 on lap 2.
00:11:41There he is.
00:11:42Well, no, he's gone back. He's been retaken.
00:11:44Look, Ralf's got him back again.
00:11:47Sorry, Montoya's got him back again.
00:11:48So Montoya back up into 2nd place.
00:11:50Rubens down to 3rd.
00:11:51Well, I'm afraid the Japanese people missed that,
00:11:54but no doubt about it,
00:11:56Barrichello crossed the line in 2nd place,
00:11:58but Montoya having a 2nd go at him
00:12:01up the inside into Turn 1, I would guesstimate.
00:12:03Hopefully, we will see a replay.
00:12:05That must have been some kind of brave move.
00:12:06On board now with Rubens Barrichello,
00:12:08chasing down the monster.
00:12:09And a spinner! It's one of the Benettons.
00:12:11It could be Fisichella, is it?
00:12:12Yes, it is. It's the lead Benetton, isn't it?
00:12:14So it must be Fisichella, then.
00:12:16Did he have a tangle with Hakkinen?
00:12:18Oh, we're going to find out.
00:12:19So a lot of questions to be answered here
00:12:21in the opening laps of Suzuka.
00:12:23We're working on the 3rd lap.
00:12:25It's Schumacher leading from Barrichello.
00:12:27No, from Montoya, sorry.
00:12:28The computer still says it's Barrichello,
00:12:29but Montoya is in fact in 2nd place.
00:12:31Barrichello 3rd.
00:12:32Ralf Schumacher 4th.
00:12:33Fisichella was 5th.
00:12:34We wanted to see where he is now.
00:12:366th is Hakkinen, 7th is Coulthard.
00:12:37Now, Barrichello not quite as close this time
00:12:40on the exit of Spoon.
00:12:41Not as close as he was last time,
00:12:43so I don't think he's going to be
00:12:44in anything like the position
00:12:45to pull off that audacious move.
00:12:47Brave move he made last time around
00:12:49into this 130-yard corner.
00:12:51But that's always the best time
00:12:53to re-overtake somebody.
00:12:54Attack immediately,
00:12:56and that's what Montoya did
00:12:57to snatch back 2nd place.
00:12:59We didn't see any of it, sadly,
00:13:01up here in the commentary box.
00:13:02Nor did you at home, I know.
00:13:04But Barrichello once again, then,
00:13:06in the slipstream, but into Turn 1,
00:13:08it is much harder.
00:13:10Montoya feeling the need to cover the line.
00:13:12But it's not going to happen this time.
00:13:15And that is the corner, presumably,
00:13:16where Montoya made that move.
00:13:17I can tell you it's 140 miles on the entry,
00:13:1995 on the exit.
00:13:21That's a very fast corner
00:13:22to be re-overtaking somebody.
00:13:24Most of the time it happens under braking,
00:13:26as we saw into the chicane.
00:13:27Well, we saw how fast Barrichello
00:13:29was under braking into the chicane,
00:13:31where he passed Montoya.
00:13:32So, no doubt about it,
00:13:33he's running a lighter car
00:13:34and has a better car under braking,
00:13:36I'm sure of it.
00:13:37So, if Barrichello gets another sniff
00:13:39into the chicane, last chicane,
00:13:41I think he'll be through again.
00:13:43So, the winners and losers at the start,
00:13:44Hackett in down one place,
00:13:45Fisichella up one place,
00:13:46but we think he's lost that now.
00:13:48Otherwise, Raikkonen did well,
00:13:49up two places from 12th to 10th place.
00:13:52He's now got himself up to 9th.
00:13:54He's the big winner from the start,
00:13:55as we've got the first pit stop of the day.
00:13:58And that, then, is a Prost runner
00:14:01who's lost.
00:14:02Frentzen's obviously damaged his nose somewhere.
00:14:05We don't know why or how.
00:14:07But Frentzen in the pits for a new nose.
00:14:09Fisichella spun between the two Degners.
00:14:11Therefore, I doubt it was contact with Hackett.
00:14:14I'm afraid the Japanese director
00:14:15has missed absolutely everything so far.
00:14:18Fisichella's down to 12th.
00:14:20I think he would have spun
00:14:21by getting too deep into Degner 1,
00:14:23and then you lose the back end.
00:14:25Here is a replay, then.
00:14:26Look at both Benettons leaping off the line.
00:14:29Michael, fast off the front,
00:14:31covers the inside line immediately.
00:14:33Doesn't need to, he realizes.
00:14:35Takes the normal racing line
00:14:36and already begins to build that amazing lead.
00:14:38Did you notice that Ralf Schumacher
00:14:39thought about going around the outside
00:14:41of his teammate Montoya?
00:14:42As you see, again, he's right around the outside.
00:14:44There is a possibility, but he backs out of it.
00:14:47Montoya was smart, though.
00:14:48He just stayed on the straight and narrow line
00:14:50so there was no chance of tangling.
00:14:52And this, then, is your leader by 8.9 seconds.
00:14:57On lap 5, Michael Schumacher having a laugh.
00:15:01Indeed he is.
00:15:02He was having a laugh in qualifying yesterday.
00:15:048.895, in fact, was the gap of a second
00:15:07between himself and one Montoya in second place.
00:15:09He's multiplied it by 10.
00:15:11And we're only four laps into this last Grand Prix
00:15:14of the 2001 season,
00:15:15a season which this man has completely dominated.
00:15:18He described it on Friday as my best ever season
00:15:20and who's to argue with him.
00:15:21Off form, though, in Monza and America.
00:15:24Really back on it here in Japan.
00:15:26No question about that, Martin.
00:15:27I think it's the first time we've really seen
00:15:29Michael Schumacher in easily the best car, really.
00:15:33And, well, look at the points difference.
00:15:35He's won the championship by,
00:15:36I think that really demonstrates just how good Schumacher is.
00:15:39He's really absolutely...
00:15:41And there is a replay of Fisichella.
00:15:43He did get out of shape all by himself
00:15:45into the first Degner
00:15:47and then ends up broad-siding towards the second one,
00:15:50having to just yield to the Jordan.
00:15:52So Fisichella releasing the two McLarens.
00:15:55That'll be a relief for them.
00:15:57We're talking about points this year, Martin.
00:15:59Six more points today
00:16:00and this man, Michael Schumacher,
00:16:01becomes the greatest points scorer in the history of Formula 1.
00:16:05It's the last record that Prost has clung to with his fingernails
00:16:09as Schumacher has just grasped them all
00:16:11in this amazing 2001 season.
00:16:13Well, he's about seven tenths faster than Montoya,
00:16:16second-place man Montoya,
00:16:17in the first two seconds of this lap.
00:16:19Let's see what the gap is as Montoya goes over the line now.
00:16:23And it is 9.7 seconds now,
00:16:26so another eight tenths then.
00:16:27That's what Michael's pulling out every lap.
00:16:30When will the Williams have to stop Fulbert?
00:16:32Now, look at the two McLarens.
00:16:34Suddenly, they're released from behind Fisichella.
00:16:36They can start to attack.
00:16:37And Coulthard, very fast in this morning's warm-up,
00:16:40second only to Michael Schumacher.
00:16:41Now, the picture might look bleak at the moment, Martin,
00:16:43for the Williams team and those following them,
00:16:45with Michael Schumacher so far out front.
00:16:47But clearly, he's running less fuel than the Williams.
00:16:49It's clearly those tyres on the Williams
00:16:51are not working as well as his tyres.
00:16:53But how is it going to shake out?
00:16:54How are they going to get themselves back into this race?
00:16:56They've just got to dig deep
00:16:57and just make sure they max out every braking zone,
00:17:00every corner.
00:17:01We don't know if Michael's three-stopping.
00:17:03It's so difficult to judge today.
00:17:05Because he has been so much faster than everybody else,
00:17:08you would normally say,
00:17:10this much extra speed,
00:17:11are you going to stop one more time?
00:17:13Oh, that's a big accident with a Sauber.
00:17:15And we saw, which corner is that?
00:17:18That is obviously a Jordan of Alessi.
00:17:22It's a Raikkonen and Alessi, I believe.
00:17:24They've gone into the wall.
00:17:25There he is in his last Grand Prix, Jean Alessi.
00:17:27And he and Raikkonen were disputing ninth place
00:17:31Alessi was just two tenths of a second behind Raikkonen
00:17:34as they went into that lap.
00:17:36So obviously he's looking back with some concern
00:17:38towards the car of Kimi Raikkonen.
00:17:40And he's out of the car.
00:17:41There he is by the fire station sign.
00:17:43You can see the young Finnish driver, 21 years old,
00:17:45just touching his toes.
00:17:46Obviously a bit winded there.
00:17:47Yeah, that's a big accident.
00:17:48I still, because it's such a close shot,
00:17:50I can't work out exactly which corner it's in.
00:17:53They've gone off somewhere in the first sector.
00:17:57So maybe it's down there in turns three and four
00:18:00or something.
00:18:01Maybe Raikkonen lost it and Alessi collected him
00:18:04on the way through.
00:18:06Just after loop 11, we're being told,
00:18:08is where he's gone off.
00:18:09So it is that twisty fast section up to the S-curve.
00:18:12And they're travelling around about 110, 120 miles an hour
00:18:15through that sequence.
00:18:16Martin told us yesterday in qualifying,
00:18:17you don't even touch your brakes through that area.
00:18:19But I bet they clearly have to touch their brakes then.
00:18:21And the wall is so close to any incident you're going to have
00:18:24when you're doing 130 miles an hour.
00:18:26You travel across.
00:18:27You can see just that little bit of scruffy grass
00:18:29and you're into the wall.
00:18:31And it seems as if Raikkonen, here we go then.
00:18:34So Raikkonen loses it.
00:18:36He does.
00:18:37He puts his left front wheel.
00:18:38Oh, I believe that's in the Dunlop curve.
00:18:41And Alessi did indeed just collect him up.
00:18:44And now we're going to see, well, once again,
00:18:46the tethers not working particularly well.
00:18:48Lucky for Raikkonen, he did not.
00:18:50Oh, look, and a spare wheel going across the track.
00:18:53Amazingly.
00:18:54No, not a spare wheel, but a front wheel.
00:18:56Amazingly, nobody collected it.
00:18:58So I think Raikkonen just hooks his wheels on the curve.
00:19:01And, oh, no, he lost it on the bump.
00:19:03The back of the car bottomed out in the hollow
00:19:06and took him off towards the wall.
00:19:08And Alessi going off in sympathy
00:19:10and then getting together in a nasty way.
00:19:13Just checking that he's OK.
00:19:14A shake of hands.
00:19:15Raikkonen, a pretty tough guy, a tough character.
00:19:18Uncompromising.
00:19:19Well, au revoir, Jean.
00:19:21It's been a pleasure.
00:19:22A great, great pleasure.
00:19:23And it's the first race, would you believe,
00:19:25of the 2001 season that he has failed to finish.
00:19:28Tremendous reliability record this year from Jean Alessi.
00:19:31So badly wanted to go out on a high in Japan,
00:19:34the country which loves him.
00:19:35He's married to a Japanese woman.
00:19:36They have two half-French, half-Japanese children.
00:19:39He's adored here, and you can see on his face
00:19:42the way he feels about his Grand Prix.
00:19:44Yes, he finished all the other 16 races
00:19:46in two different cars, of course,
00:19:47with Prost and then Jordan.
00:19:49And here we go.
00:19:50I think what's happened is
00:19:51it's just bottomed out in that dip
00:19:53and unloaded the rear tyres as it's rebounded up.
00:19:57And Alessi then hoping to go round the outside of the spin,
00:20:00but then they collect each other up
00:20:02and start heading for the wall.
00:20:03Look, that could have been so nasty.
00:20:06Martin, this time last year,
00:20:07the last Grand Prix of the season,
00:20:08Johnny Herbert.
00:20:09You can see the wheels flying across the track.
00:20:11And one of those two cars, I believe, touched it.
00:20:13But Johnny Herbert this time last year
00:20:14had a big accident on his last Grand Prix
00:20:16after announcing his retirement.
00:20:17Maybe it doesn't pay to announce it before a race.
00:20:21You are tempting fate, I guess.
00:20:23But I have to say,
00:20:24that was a big escape for Formula 1 there.
00:20:27Wheels flying around.
00:20:29Raikkonen's car nearly flying.
00:20:31When it got airborne,
00:20:32it was right alongside Alessi's cockpit.
00:20:34A big save there for Formula 1.
00:20:36Thank goodness.
00:20:38So, an action-packed start.
00:20:40We're on lap 8 at the moment.
00:20:41Michael Schumacher leading by 10.7 seconds
00:20:44from Juan Montoya in second place.
00:20:46Rubens Barrichello is third,
00:20:48just 1.2 seconds behind him.
00:20:50Raus Schumacher fourth,
00:20:51Mika Häkkinen fifth,
00:20:52now 16 seconds behind the race leader.
00:20:54David Coulthard is sixth,
00:20:56Giano Trulli is seventh,
00:20:57Button eighth,
00:20:58Fisichella ninth,
00:20:59and Eddie Irvine in the Jaguar
00:21:00is in tenth place.
00:21:04When the whistle started to go off,
00:21:06and as I said before,
00:21:07Bridgestone was ready,
00:21:08and Rubens tried to use the front of the tire
00:21:11in the first two laps,
00:21:13but then it calmed down quite a lot.
00:21:15The difference was 10.7 seconds
00:21:17after the previous lap,
00:21:18and now it's 11.5 seconds.
00:21:20Rubens Barrichello,
00:21:2112.6 seconds behind him.
00:21:23Raus Schumacher is fourth,
00:21:2515.5 seconds behind him.
00:21:27Häkkinen fifth,
00:21:2817.3 seconds behind him.
00:21:30And in the last spot,
00:21:31David Coulthard is in the lead,
00:21:33and on the other hand,
00:21:34also in the top spot of the M-Series.
00:21:37Reikkonen, unfortunately,
00:21:38out of the game,
00:21:39as well as Jaan Ales.
00:21:42Jaan Ales,
00:21:43fourth,
00:21:4417.3 seconds behind him.
00:21:46Reikkonen,
00:21:47out of the game,
00:21:48as well as Jaan Ales.
00:22:11Reikkonen,
00:22:12out of the game,
00:22:13as well as Jaan Ales.
00:22:14Reikkonen,
00:22:15out of the game,
00:22:16as well as Jaan Ales.
00:22:17Reikkonen,
00:22:18out of the game,
00:22:19as well as Jaan Ales.
00:22:41The last GP of the season,
00:23:10the last GP of the season,
00:23:11continues in Suzuka,
00:23:12and look,
00:23:13Miha Schumacher is losing control
00:23:15in the race,
00:23:16and he drives straight to the last chicane.
00:23:18Before that,
00:23:19Schumacher's brakes were locked
00:23:21in the long left,
00:23:22or of course,
00:23:23in the inside of the turn.
00:23:25So,
00:23:26a couple of these driving mistakes
00:23:29during one lap,
00:23:31it was this place where the brakes were locked.
00:23:41into the final chicane.
00:23:43He's really pushing so hard,
00:23:45trying to build a lead,
00:23:46almost as if he may have to make an extra stop this afternoon,
00:23:49taking to the carpet that's down there.
00:23:52It's a grass carpet, effectively,
00:23:55so Schumacher pushing extremely hard.
00:23:58That was his second mistake on that lap as well,
00:24:00so he really is pushing extremely hard.
00:24:02He had a huge lock-up into the hairpin as well.
00:24:04You're looking at Juan Montoya chasing him down in second place.
00:24:06That gap now stabilized at 11.6 seconds.
00:24:09Ruben Barrichello,
00:24:10just one and a half seconds behind the Colombian
00:24:13in third place.
00:24:14Raul Schumacher fourth,
00:24:15Hakkanen fifth,
00:24:16Coulthard in sixth.
00:24:19Yeah,
00:24:21Coulthard staying within touching distance
00:24:24of Hakkanen there,
00:24:25fifth and sixth.
00:24:26Of course, Coulthard needs to finish fourth or better
00:24:28to guarantee himself second in the championship,
00:24:31and third place man at the moment,
00:24:32Barrichello,
00:24:33must win the race.
00:24:35So, Montoya now just sets
00:24:37the fastest lap of the race so far,
00:24:39a new lap record,
00:24:41a 1.37.551.
00:24:44We've seen this before,
00:24:45they're having a margin.
00:24:46These Michelin tires,
00:24:47about 10 laps into the race,
00:24:48they start to come into a sweet spot.
00:24:50This is where Montoya and Williams have to capitalize.
00:24:53Possibly that was in Michael Schumacher's mind as well,
00:24:55the knowledge that these Michelin tires,
00:24:57you can see there,
00:24:58the Williams pit wall,
00:24:59they know what's happening.
00:25:00Montoya knows what's happening.
00:25:01His car is now starting to feel like it's under him,
00:25:04and he's got the hammer down.
00:25:06And this is what Ferrari are unhappy about.
00:25:08They think that it's against regulation number 81
00:25:12that the Michelin tires appear to improve significantly
00:25:16in performance.
00:25:17As the grooves wear out,
00:25:19even if there's a little bit of groove showing,
00:25:21we think that there's rubber underneath the grooves
00:25:24on the Michelins,
00:25:25where there's not on the Bridgestone,
00:25:27and I think that's the cause of concern here this weekend.
00:25:30And now, both Williams are fastest cars on the track.
00:25:33Ted, what can you tell us?
00:25:34Martin, I think both Ferraris are light
00:25:36because Schumacher had to guarantee
00:25:38that he wouldn't get passed by Montoya at the start
00:25:40because Williams have been making
00:25:42some absolutely monster starts recently,
00:25:44and that's partly why we saw that very aggressive move
00:25:46across the bowels of him.
00:25:47It's a Schumacher special.
00:25:49But if Schumacher keeps this kind of pace up,
00:25:51I reckon he'll be 25, 30 seconds ahead of his next rival
00:25:55by the time he stops first on lap 20, 21,
00:25:58and that's well time enough to get in and get out
00:26:00with the fuel he needs.
00:26:01I agree with you to a certain extent, Ted,
00:26:03but for the first time, last time around,
00:26:05Montoya pulled the lead back.
00:26:07Montoya was the faster man.
00:26:09So we'll see.
00:26:10Michael's done a 38.5 on that lap
00:26:12and a 37.7 for Montoya.
00:26:16So that lead is now down to 10.4 seconds.
00:26:19Now, once again,
00:26:20there's Alessi still making his way back to the pits
00:26:23after that incident with Kimi Raikkonen.
00:26:26Now, Montoya is easily the fastest man on the track,
00:26:30and he's pulling Barrichello along with him.
00:26:32So Michael then has...
00:26:34I don't know whether he's overcooked his tires
00:26:36or what was going on up front,
00:26:38but Michael dropping significant pace.
00:26:40Yes, and the man on the move is Juan Montoya.
00:26:43He's even four-tenths of a second a lap faster
00:26:45than his own teammate, Ralf Schumacher.
00:26:47So far in the back end of this season,
00:26:49we've seen the Colombian have the ascendancy in the team.
00:26:52I mentioned before they've been fighting like schoolgirls.
00:26:54It's the only way you can describe it,
00:26:55always having a little bit of a go at each other
00:26:57behind the scenes.
00:26:58Ralf Schumacher going into this weekend, Martin,
00:27:00gave a very controversial interview
00:27:02in one of the magazines in which he said,
00:27:03why doesn't Williams have team orders?
00:27:05We should have a clear number one and a number two.
00:27:07Presumably he was thinking he should be the number one,
00:27:09otherwise he wouldn't have said it,
00:27:10but surely on this form,
00:27:11Montoya is the top dog in that team at the moment.
00:27:13It's heading that way, isn't it?
00:27:15And when you think this is Montoya's first season of Formula 1,
00:27:17first time ever at a technical circuit
00:27:20like this Suzuka racetrack very much is.
00:27:23So Montoya, I would say,
00:27:25is beginning to get the upper hand
00:27:27in that Williams squabble.
00:27:29But a little bit further back down the field,
00:27:31then we're looking at Verstappen, Panis, Alonso,
00:27:34which is 14th, 15th and 16th.
00:27:37A reasonable and hard fight going on down there.
00:27:40Sometimes you drive the race of your life back there,
00:27:43virtually unnoticed.
00:27:45This is Michael then making his way
00:27:47past a recovering Prost
00:27:50that was wandering across Frentzen,
00:27:52wandering across the white line.
00:27:54He may even get a penalty for that.
00:27:55He was not paying attention.
00:27:57He's probably looking in his mirror
00:27:58to see where the leader was as he came through.
00:28:01Michael 10.1 seconds ahead now.
00:28:03He's lost another three tenths.
00:28:05It must have been Frentzen's second pit stop
00:28:07because we saw him earlier on taking on a new nose.
00:28:09So a terrible day for the Prost team
00:28:11with Enger in 17th place just behind the battle
00:28:13we were looking at a moment ago
00:28:15with Panis and Verstappen and Frentzen down in 20th.
00:28:17Now what's the gap?
00:28:19We've got the stopwatch running, this time by.
00:28:21This is lap 13 of 53.
00:28:23Long way to go in this race by no means
00:28:25over 10.7.
00:28:26You can see Rob Schumacher trying to respond
00:28:28but Montoya still pushing hard.
00:28:30Three tenths that lap.
00:28:31Yeah, but Schumacher's just done the fastest first sector
00:28:33and there's six tenths up on Montoya.
00:28:35So Michael suddenly finding a bit more grip again.
00:28:38Don't know what that's all about.
00:28:39I think that was Frentzen's one and only pit stop.
00:28:42He obviously was in the pit for best part of two laps, I think.
00:28:47It's only showing him as one pit stop here on the computer.
00:28:49So why he was wandering out of the pit lane, I don't know.
00:28:53Up the hill towards 130R.
00:28:56You can see Frentzen just shadowing Michael Schumacher there.
00:28:59We're having another look at the gap between him and the second place car.
00:29:04As Martin said, it's a two-stop race this one.
00:29:06So everybody very keen to have the maximum advantage they can
00:29:10going into the first stop.
00:29:11We're expecting the cars to come in for their first stop
00:29:13in the early lap 20 sort of region.
00:29:15But we saw Jean Alési crashing out just a moment ago.
00:29:18Louise Goodman is down there with him.
00:29:19Yes, he's arrived back in the pit lane now, Jean.
00:29:21A very nasty accident.
00:29:22Not really much that you could do about it, though, was there?
00:29:24I have just to say we have been lucky, both of us.
00:29:28I am very happy.
00:29:30I didn't hurt him because he was just on the front
00:29:35and my nose is quite high, but I'm very happy.
00:29:38Everything at the end went very well.
00:29:40Just a bit sad to finish my career like that,
00:29:44but it's life, it's motor racing, and we have to accept these situations.
00:29:50You've given us many great years, Jean.
00:29:51Thanks and best of luck in your retirement.
00:29:54Yes, it is sad for him, isn't it?
00:29:56You always want to go out on a high, score a few points or something
00:29:58and not to be involved in an incident,
00:30:00especially when it was absolutely nothing to do with Alési whatsoever.
00:30:03Yes, on Friday, Martin, he was out there, wasn't he?
00:30:05With very low fuel, brand new set of tyres.
00:30:07He wanted to be top of the timesheets in his last Grand Prix weekend.
00:30:10He knew that Friday was probably his only chance.
00:30:12Lap 14 then.
00:30:13Michael Schumacher, as you see Montoya,
00:30:16a little bit of a lock-up there himself going into that chicane.
00:30:18There's Alési saying goodbye to the Jordan mechanics.
00:30:20He started out back in Formula 3000 racing for Eddie Jordan,
00:30:23and many of these boys worked for him then
00:30:25when he won the Formula 3000 championship with the Jordan Honda team,
00:30:29as it was in those days.
00:30:31They never really got it together in Formula 1,
00:30:33except in this last half-season,
00:30:35since Eddie Jordan sacked Heinz-Harald Frentzen just before the German Grand Prix.
00:30:40That's it for Jean.
00:30:41But meanwhile, a great race taking shape here
00:30:44between Michael Schumacher and Juan Montoya.
00:30:46We've seen them fighting in Brazil.
00:30:48We've seen them fighting in Austria.
00:30:49And who knows?
00:30:50We may well soon see them fighting here in Suzuka.
00:30:57Trulli still in 7th place,
00:31:00in the second of the two Jordans.
00:31:03Fisichella recovering very well indeed from that spin.
00:31:06Now up into 8th place from 12th.
00:31:08So really attacking both his teammate Jenson Button,
00:31:11Eddie Irvine in the Jaguar, who is in 10th,
00:31:13and Jacques Villeneuve.
00:31:14Watch out for Giancarlo Fisichella.
00:31:15He hasn't finished yet.
00:31:17And you can see...
00:31:19I was interested, Martin, incidentally,
00:31:21to see when the teams of cars doing their practice starts
00:31:24at the end of the pit lane this weekend,
00:31:25that whenever the Benetton came down there,
00:31:27so many improvements on that car,
00:31:29that the Ferrari and McLaren mechanics would run out,
00:31:32some of the engineers run out,
00:31:33to take a look at some of the detailed work on that Benetton.
00:31:35They really have taken a big step forward.
00:31:37You're sure they weren't taking a look and a listen to the launch control,
00:31:40because everybody now understands that somehow or other,
00:31:42Benetton have stolen the march.
00:31:44Stolen the march on the launch control systems,
00:31:47and maybe they're out there trying to even record
00:31:49some of the engine note or something to understand why.
00:31:52Michael Schumacher has just set another new fastest T1,
00:31:56Sector 1, last time around Montoya.
00:31:58And look, Michael Schumacher maybe was on a three-stopper,
00:32:02and surely, clearly then, a Ferrari hitting this time around.
00:32:07And they're going to be disappointed then.
00:32:09They're only 10.3 seconds ahead.
00:32:11Yes, if it is Michael, it's very curious indeed.
00:32:14Can't see which engineer looks the more tense up on the pit wall.
00:32:18It's usually the telltale sign of which car is coming in.
00:32:21But Michael Schumacher, is he going to make the dive down?
00:32:24He'll duck off to the right just after he makes the exit from the...
00:32:27No, it's not him. It must be either Rubens Barrichello or a mistake.
00:32:31No, we believe it is Rubens Barrichello.
00:32:33So Michael Schumacher, and we've seen him making up the time
00:32:36in the first sector of the lap.
00:32:37That's really the only opportunity he has,
00:32:39because the Williams car is behaving better
00:32:41in the second and third part of the lap.
00:32:43So it's from here, basically, the next 30 seconds
00:32:45is where Michael has to put the hammer down,
00:32:47as Rubens Barrichello comes in from third place.
00:32:49So as we expected then, Barrichello started light to get past the Williams.
00:32:53It worked on Ralph, it worked on Montoya,
00:32:55but then Montoya stole it back again into Turn 1.
00:32:58So not quite paying off, and Barrichello then really out of sync,
00:33:02out of phase in this Grand Prix,
00:33:04and that is putting his second place in the World Championship
00:33:07very much at risk, no doubt about it.
00:33:10Yes, he's going to come back around about 12th place, I imagine.
00:33:12Let's see which cars are on the track.
00:33:14One of the Jordans and one of the Benettons going through.
00:33:16That's 7th and 8th place, Trulli and Fisichella.
00:33:19So he slots in in 9th, just ahead of Jenson Button.
00:33:21A big loss there for Rubens Barrichello.
00:33:23The strategy does not seem to have worked.
00:33:25It's lap 16. Michael Schumacher leads from Montoya.
00:33:28Then it's Ralph Schumacher, 3rd, Hacken in 4th,
00:33:30and Coulthard in 5th place.
00:33:33Benetton then also ready.
00:33:35Looks like they too are on a three-stopper.
00:33:38We're on lap 16 of the Grand Prix, 15 laps completed.
00:33:42There's the running order at the end of the 15th lap.
00:33:45You can see for yourselves at the bottom of the screen.
00:33:48But one of those two Benettons is coming in the pits this time.
00:33:53There then is Fisichella with leader...
00:33:57No, sorry, with the recovering Barrichello behind him.
00:34:01Who has, of course, just pitted.
00:34:03Barrichello losing once more crucial time then in the trapping.
00:34:07That's the problem.
00:34:08If you get out of phase, you get back onto the racetrack in the thick of it.
00:34:12And they're racing for position.
00:34:14So they're not going to let him through easily,
00:34:16even though he's clearly going to finish ahead of them in the Grand Prix.
00:34:19Bear in mind that Rubens Barrichello has just taken fuel on
00:34:21as he gets a good drive out of that corner.
00:34:23Yeah, he'll easily pass him down the straight
00:34:25and get position down there into...
00:34:28No, he hasn't done so. Why is that?
00:34:30I thought he would easily breeze past him there.
00:34:33Remembering, of course, though, that Barrichello has just taken on some fuel.
00:34:36But I still expected him, and now he's going to go at the inside
00:34:39and Fisichella sensibly yielding.
00:34:43Well, he may be coming into the pits. There he goes.
00:34:45So it would have been very foolish to do anything other than yield.
00:34:47And so does Jarno Culli.
00:34:48So the 7th and 8th place cars both dive in on lap 17.
00:34:52This is early for a two-stop strategy,
00:34:54but they're racing each other for position.
00:34:56Both want the points for 4th place in the championship.
00:34:58Try and overtake Sauber, who are nowhere today.
00:35:00Massive relief there for Barrichello,
00:35:02then, to see both those cars pit ahead of him.
00:35:05He'll be so happy heading down to Turn 1
00:35:07with clear track in front of him.
00:35:09And obviously, then, the Jordan.
00:35:11It is a difficult pit lane there
00:35:12because there's a rain gully in the middle of it.
00:35:14Jordan, then, staying ahead and keeping that position.
00:35:19Yes, indeed.
00:35:21It's the order they came in in.
00:35:23Trulli and Fisichella, they'll have dropped down to about
00:35:2513th or 14th place now,
00:35:27but hasn't Rubens Barrichello got himself out of jail there?
00:35:30He was languishing behind the 8th and 9th place cars.
00:35:34Now he's up to 6th and attacking.
00:35:37Well, he will be attacking soon, David Coulthard,
00:35:39as the leaders will be thinking soon
00:35:41about getting into their pit stop sequence.
00:35:43Olivier Panis there, pitting from 17th place.
00:35:46Not a fairly ignominious afternoon, really,
00:35:48for the BAR team.
00:35:50Jacques Villeneuve down in the lowly 11th as well.
00:35:52BAR really have had a difficult end to the 2001 season.
00:35:56But there's a long stop as well from the looks of things for Panis.
00:35:59That's really not the way you want to do things on a Sunday afternoon.
00:36:02Surely, as he's on lap 18,
00:36:04they can change Michael onto a two-stopper anyway, can't they, James?
00:36:08They should be able to, having got this far,
00:36:10whatever strategy they were on,
00:36:12they should be able to squeeze him now onto a two-stopper.
00:36:15Well, according to the computer model
00:36:17that was handed to us before the race,
00:36:19a three-stopper would have come in around about lap 14,
00:36:22and we saw Barrichello coming not long after that.
00:36:24So Michael doesn't look as though he was as light as we thought.
00:36:27That opening pace was genuine opening pace.
00:36:30No wonder he had a few lock-ups.
00:36:32He was pushing like mad.
00:36:34Yes, well, I think he'll still stop a little earlier than the Williams,
00:36:38but surely they can adjust their strategy anyway at this stage.
00:36:42And Barrichello, fastest man on the track in a new lap record,
00:36:45then that's out of date.
00:36:46That information's just flashed up,
00:36:48because Barrichello's done a 1.36.9,
00:36:51a time that would have put him well up on the grid last year,
00:36:54let alone in the mid-sector of this Grand Prix.
00:36:58And he's in sixth place.
00:36:59And now then, Michael coming out at the end of lap 18.
00:37:03What will they do?
00:37:04It's crucial to understand how long that fueller is on the nozzle of the Ferrari.
00:37:11We wait anxiously to see how much they put in it.
00:37:14And will Michael be three-stopping like Barrichello?
00:37:16Well, it's around about eight seconds worth of fuel he's going to take on
00:37:19if he's two-stopping, as Michael Schumacher, the race leader,
00:37:22with an 11-second advantage over Juan Montoya,
00:37:25and there is Montoya.
00:37:26He'll take the lead after this.
00:37:28Ralf Schumacher will go through as well.
00:37:30Who knows how many other cars, too?
00:37:32Has Michael made the right decision on strategy?
00:37:34We're going to find out very shortly.
00:37:36He's going to lose a lot of places by making this stop a little bit early.
00:37:39Can he make them up later?
00:37:40How long's it taking? Let's see.
00:37:43Fuel on now.
00:37:50Down.
00:37:51Sure, well, that's a short, isn't it?
00:37:53He'll be in again quite early on.
00:37:55And look, who is that going through?
00:37:57That is the McLaren of Hackenen.
00:37:59So Michael then has fed back in to what will be fourth place.
00:38:04Hackenen then up to third.
00:38:06So the two Williams, first and second.
00:38:09Williams looking ever so strong.
00:38:12Yeah, they are, aren't they?
00:38:13They really are.
00:38:14Some long faces over the weekend,
00:38:17but you just get the feeling that Williams,
00:38:19they were saying, paying lip service,
00:38:21you heard Ralf Schumacher in the introduction
00:38:23saying that Michael was on a planet of his own,
00:38:25as you see Juan Montoya just locking up that tyre there.
00:38:27But in fact, Williams have been quite confident themselves
00:38:30throughout the weekend.
00:38:31Montoya particularly confident.
00:38:33He really is riding on a crest of a wave at the moment.
00:38:36Feels that the car is performing the way he wants to.
00:38:38He's got a handle on Formula 1.
00:38:40He's got supremacy over his teammate.
00:38:43And he's on the attack.
00:38:44How far behind him is his teammate Ralf Schumacher?
00:38:47The answer, five seconds.
00:38:49And we're working on lap 19 now.
00:38:52So when are Williams going to make their stop?
00:38:55Only two retirements so far then.
00:38:57Raikkonen and Alessi, of course.
00:38:59Raikkonen spinning off after his car bottomed out
00:39:02in the long uphill left-hander of the Dunlop curve.
00:39:05And Alessi collecting him up on the way through,
00:39:08sort of spinning off or crashing off in sympathy.
00:39:10The only two cars out of this race.
00:39:13So 20 runners remaining.
00:39:15We know a bit now, don't we, Martin?
00:39:16Same from last year.
00:39:17Do you remember when Hakkinen made the first stop
00:39:19and he blinked first?
00:39:20We saw how much fuel went into that car.
00:39:22Now we know how much fuel Michael Schumacher's got in the car
00:39:25and how far he can go on it.
00:39:26So, Louise Goodman has some news for us, though.
00:39:28Well, yes, I was going to try and catch a word with Kimi Raikkonen,
00:39:30who you were just talking about,
00:39:31after that massive shot which ended both his and Alessi's race.
00:39:34Ironically, Kimi was one of several drivers
00:39:36who came to Jean on the grid to wish him luck in his last race.
00:39:39As we saw, that all came to naught.
00:39:41No sign of the salvo driver, though.
00:39:43Apparently he's been taken off to the medical centre,
00:39:46complaining of head and neck pains.
00:39:47Now, we saw him walk back to the pit area,
00:39:50so obviously not too bad,
00:39:51but I'll try and bring you some more news on that
00:39:53and get you updated.
00:39:55Thank you, Louise.
00:39:56Well, we reckon about 18 laps worth of fuel
00:39:58went into that Ferrari of Michael Schumacher's.
00:40:01So, bearing in mind he stopped on lap 17,
00:40:06well, you get an idea of when he might come in again.
00:40:08But, of course, Williams know that information as well now,
00:40:10and they can use it.
00:40:11Jacques Villeneuve, though, in the pits.
00:40:13Yes, they'll have to put a lot of fuel in Michael
00:40:15when he comes in next time
00:40:16if he's going to make just one more stop in this Grand Prix,
00:40:19which surely is the right decision.
00:40:21It'll leave him a bit heavy at the end and a bit sluggish,
00:40:24but he'll need track position.
00:40:26And Ralf Schumacher then about to lap
00:40:30what must be Frentzen and Verstappen, I think,
00:40:34fighting over 17th and 18th.
00:40:37A long way down.
00:40:38They've both made one pit stop.
00:40:40And there is Michael then with Hakkinen, of course.
00:40:46So, Michael Schumacher was four tenths of a second behind
00:40:49over the finish line last time around.
00:40:51Looks about the same now, doesn't it?
00:40:53Michael getting held up behind the McLaren.
00:40:55That has not worked out well for him.
00:40:57Both Ferraris are stuck behind both McLarens at the moment
00:41:00because Barrichello is also stuck behind.
00:41:02Coulthard is so close coming out of the chicane down the hill.
00:41:06Surely Michael's going to have a good stab down into Turn 1
00:41:09and we know he's blindingly fast down there.
00:41:11Will Hakkinen give him any space at all?
00:41:14And the answer is no way, thank you.
00:41:17Might be my last Grand Prix.
00:41:18You might have been my archenemy in the last few years
00:41:22of my Grand Prix career.
00:41:23You are not coming through, mate.
00:41:25Great stuff by Micah Hakkinen.
00:41:27What a fighter.
00:41:28There are plenty of people in the Formula 1 paddock
00:41:30who believe we have not seen the last of Micah Hakkinen.
00:41:33He had a press conference yesterday
00:41:35in which he said that he would love, believe it or not,
00:41:37to see his son Hugo take up kart racing in the future.
00:41:40He wants a Hakkinen dynasty
00:41:42and he wants more Formula 1 championships
00:41:44and all the rest of it.
00:41:45Williams, though, getting ready.
00:41:46This is lap 21.
00:41:47So quite an early two-stopper for Williams
00:41:49and look at how tired those tyres are already
00:41:52just going on to the car for the next...
00:41:55Well, remember in Belgium, Benetton also...
00:41:58And Hakkinen running wide.
00:42:00Will Michael get a run up the inside?
00:42:02No, he enabled him to get on the power
00:42:04even though he was wide.
00:42:05Get on the power quite early
00:42:06and keep defending that position.
00:42:08So Michael then losing time at this stage of the Grand Prix.
00:42:13Hakkinen clearly in a slower car
00:42:15but defending extremely well.
00:42:18And a stop-and-go penalty for Enrique Bernaldi
00:42:20which we might see him take at some point
00:42:22but at the moment we're focusing on this battle
00:42:24for third place between Micah Hakkinen
00:42:26and Michael Schumacher.
00:42:27Montoya still leading the race by now 6.7 seconds.
00:42:30He's pulled out an advantage over Raul
00:42:32and this is why, because he was the first
00:42:34of the two Williams' to make the stop.
00:42:36Raul Schumacher now leads the Japanese Grand Prix.
00:42:38The third different leader we've had this afternoon.
00:42:41How many more will we get?
00:42:42I was saying, remember, Benetton left their front tyres on
00:42:45in the Belgian Grand Prix, their front Michelins
00:42:47but they're changed for Williams.
00:42:48But they look very second-hand, don't they, already?
00:42:51And as expected, about eight seconds worth of fuel then.
00:42:55So clearly a two-stopper
00:42:57but look where he comes back out.
00:42:59It is behind Hakkinen, isn't it?
00:43:01And why is that Ferrari down the road like that?
00:43:04Why is Michael Schumacher...
00:43:06So was it Schumacher and Hakkinen?
00:43:08No, that's Schumacher and Hakkinen.
00:43:09It must have been Coulthard and Barrichello then
00:43:12that he's just got out behind Coulthard
00:43:14and in front of Barrichello.
00:43:16Yes, indeed.
00:43:17Rubens Barrichello 2.9 seconds behind David Coulthard.
00:43:20So that's where he's slotted in in fifth place.
00:43:24So Montoya down to fifth.
00:43:26Ralf Schumacher up to first.
00:43:28Formula One race.
00:43:29This is going to be intense this afternoon, isn't it?
00:43:31Oh, boy.
00:43:32We've got a long way to go as well.
00:43:33There's another 32 laps to go in this Japanese Grand Prix
00:43:37and everybody's got at least one more stop to make.
00:43:39Ralf Schumacher has two more stops to make.
00:43:41Don't forget, though, that he was nearly seven seconds
00:43:44behind his teammate when Montoya made that stop.
00:43:47So that's what he's got to make up now
00:43:49if he wants to have a chance.
00:43:50How much fuel has the German driver got on board?
00:43:52We're going to find out shortly.
00:43:53Meanwhile, Hakkinen, Michael Schumacher, nose to tail.
00:43:56Coulthard.
00:43:58And Louise is down there with Kimi Räikkönen.
00:44:00I am indeed.
00:44:01Kimi, first of all, I know you've just been to the medical centre.
00:44:03How are you?
00:44:04Yeah, I'm OK.
00:44:05I had a little bit of a headache and neck is a bit sore,
00:44:07but otherwise it's fine.
00:44:09Tell us about that accident.
00:44:10No, it's just suddenly I lost all the...
00:44:13I haven't seen the slow motion.
00:44:15It's difficult to say, but somebody told me
00:44:17that the rear just slipped away
00:44:19and I just lost all the grip on the rear.
00:44:22Bad news for you, but also bad news for Jean.
00:44:25Yeah, well, that's racing and it's happening sometimes.
00:44:27Thanks, Kimi.
00:44:29So he's had a lot of big shunts recently, hasn't he?
00:44:31He went at a big one in Monza in practice
00:44:34and several incidents for Räikkönen recently
00:44:36and I'm afraid that's the reality of Formula 1.
00:44:39They may seem only 30 miles an hour faster
00:44:41everywhere in the corners than your Formula Renault,
00:44:45but they've been half hurt when they hit the wall.
00:44:47Unfortunately, I can tell you that
00:44:48from a lot of personal experience.
00:44:50But this is Barrichello, then,
00:44:52who is chasing down Montoya.
00:44:54We think Barrichello's got to stop twice more,
00:44:57Montoya just the once more.
00:44:59So that emphasises how good it's looking
00:45:02for the Williams team.
00:45:03It really is. It's come to them.
00:45:04The way Grand Prix racing can start to look
00:45:06as though somebody has the upper hand.
00:45:08He just drove over the bump there,
00:45:09which Räikkönen crashed on.
00:45:10You could feel the camera just shaking
00:45:12as he went over it there,
00:45:13but you see the pendulum swings
00:45:15in modern Grand Prix racing.
00:45:16It's fascinating. You'd never be sure.
00:45:18But, meanwhile, the Williams mechanics
00:45:20are now ready for Ralf Schumacher.
00:45:22This is lap 23.
00:45:23He's bang on target for a two-stopper.
00:45:25Yeah, classic, absolutely perfect two-stop strategy
00:45:29to come in at the end of lap 23.
00:45:33And just mind-blowing how they change direction
00:45:36in the Formula 1 cars now
00:45:37with the softer tyres they're running this year
00:45:39and the way they've developed the cars.
00:45:41It's just breathtaking to see
00:45:43how aggressive the drivers can be on the steering wheel.
00:45:46And, of course, he takes to the pit lane.
00:45:47We're looking for a white line down there
00:45:50near the white bridge over the track.
00:45:52There it is now,
00:45:53and he has to be on the speed limiter.
00:45:55Yes, and the mechanics have to be on their toes as well
00:45:57because he's going to take out 24 seconds,
00:45:59and this is the man he's got to get back out in front of,
00:46:01Rubens Barrichello.
00:46:02Can he do it?
00:46:03If he doesn't, he'll be down in fifth place,
00:46:05and it's not at all what Ralf Schumacher wants.
00:46:07Montoya, his teammate, is in front of Barrichello.
00:46:09What's going to happen?
00:46:10Can he get out in front of the Ferrari?
00:46:12No chance.
00:46:13Montoya goes past now.
00:46:14Barrichello goes past.
00:46:16But don't forget,
00:46:17Barrichello has to stop a second time.
00:46:20Coulthard into the pit lane.
00:46:21David Coulthard into the pit lane
00:46:23from fifth place, Ted.
00:46:29Coulthard surprising even Ted,
00:46:30then hopefully he didn't surprise the McLaren team.
00:46:33I'm sure he didn't because, to say again,
00:46:35that is the optimum time to run this race,
00:46:37to stop for the first time at the end of lap 23.
00:46:41And there you can see clearly then
00:46:43Montoya still ahead of Barrichello.
00:46:46And we have a fourth different race leader
00:46:48for the afternoon.
00:46:49We're on lap 24,
00:46:50and now Mika Hakkinen is leading the race
00:46:52with Michael Schumacher just six-tenths of a second
00:46:55behind him,
00:46:56with Montoya a further 6.8 seconds down the road.
00:46:59It's shifting a lot at the moment.
00:47:01This is the period of the race
00:47:02where things have to be done.
00:47:04This is where the work really has to be put in.
00:47:06Montoya, Hakkinen, and Michael Schumacher all
00:47:08very anxious to win this race.
00:47:10And there's a few others that would like to do it as well.
00:47:12But those three are the likely possibilities.
00:47:14Bouffard is pitted.
00:47:15Hakkinen still has to come in.
00:47:16He's the only one of the front runners
00:47:18still to make his stop.
00:47:19You're looking, though, at the battle
00:47:21for third place between Montoya and Barrichello.
00:47:26I think that's a bit out of date, that computer.
00:47:28Read out on your screen
00:47:29because Ralph Schumacher has, of course, pitted
00:47:31and is now behind these runners.
00:47:33Takes about a lap for the computer
00:47:35to catch up and sort itself out.
00:47:37Montoya kicking up the dust in 1.30 R.
00:47:39Rubens has that tighter line
00:47:41and underbraking on the way in.
00:47:43And that will be Hakkinen,
00:47:44your fourth race leader of the afternoon,
00:47:47pitting for the first time, Ted Kravitz.
00:47:49OK, yes, you've got me now this time, Martin.
00:47:51This duel between Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher,
00:47:54the old rival, suspended for just a moment now
00:47:56as Mika Hakkinen comes rocketing into his pit box.
00:47:59A brand-new set of Bridgestones go on.
00:48:01The fuel hose is on, no problem.
00:48:03A very worn set of Bridgestones off.
00:48:05He lights up the rear tyres and he's off.
00:48:07What's the time? It's a good stop.
00:48:097.6 seconds is the time, Ted.
00:48:11So, yes, a very good stop for McLaren.
00:48:13And that will keep Hakkinen clearly ahead of David Coulthard.
00:48:17So, we now think Michael Schumacher
00:48:20leads from Montoya and Barrichello.
00:48:27Will the speed return to what it was?
00:48:30That's the order.
00:48:31After 24 laps, Schumacher leads Montoya,
00:48:35Barrichello, Schumacher fourth,
00:48:38Hakkinen fifth, David Coulthard sixth,
00:48:41Eddie Irvine seventh.
00:48:43So, the order after the pit stops
00:48:45is basically what it was before.
00:48:48The only difference is that Rubens Barrichello
00:48:50is now ahead of Schumacher,
00:48:52Montoya is second.
00:48:54Rubens Barrichello, of course,
00:48:56has to work hard to get past Montoya,
00:48:59because now David Coulthard is in the lead.
00:49:03David Coulthard is in a position
00:49:05where he will fall out of the MMP
00:49:07if Rubens Barrichello wins.
00:49:09And Eddie Irvine is in the middle.
00:49:10Eddie Irvine is in the middle,
00:49:11but we also have information from Timo Pulkkinen
00:49:13that Kimi Räikkönen is in the middle.
00:49:15Yes, yes, I met Kimi a moment ago.
00:49:18He came from the doctor's examination
00:49:20and complained a little that his head was aching a little,
00:49:23but I don't think there was any excitement after the race.
00:49:26Sauber is suspecting, and Kimi is also suspecting,
00:49:29that the rear suspension is broken
00:49:31and that there was nothing to be done about it.
00:49:33So he left immediately without warning.
00:49:36And Kimi didn't even think about anything
00:49:39before he died on the track.
00:49:41If he has a stop, he has lost something
00:49:43compared to Alonso and Enge.
00:49:46Because before he went in,
00:49:48they were just behind here.
00:49:50Wow, from his line there, oh yes.
00:49:52Comes through that white puddle.
00:49:54Oh, that saves a hair there.
00:49:58Rubens Barrichello.
00:50:02Who, in my opinion, met Thomas Enge there.
00:50:06It remains difficult to see which of the three it was.
00:50:14Frenz is gone.
00:50:16No, Enge.
00:50:17Frenz is further on.
00:50:25How long does it take to make a second stop?
00:50:28He is now in the 25th lap.
00:50:30If the calculations are correct with the gentlemen of
00:50:35Ferrari.
00:50:40Then you are in lap number 334
00:50:42that the next stop must come.
00:50:47By the way, pitstops are not up for discussion.
00:50:58It's just 6.3 seconds now ahead of one Montoya.
00:51:01So the Williams driver has cut the deficit
00:51:03that Schumacher had built up
00:51:05between himself and the Colombian
00:51:07by in half in the last eight laps.
00:51:09A tremendous effort by Montoya.
00:51:11He's pushing very, very hard.
00:51:13Schumacher responding as well.
00:51:14You can see Rubens Barrichello there on your screens
00:51:16in third place.
00:51:17Just 1.4 seconds behind Montoya.
00:51:20Ralf Schumacher is still fourth
00:51:22in the second of the two BMW Williamses.
00:51:24Mika Häkkinen made quite a late stop.
00:51:26He's pushing hard, though,
00:51:27and he's in fifth place ahead of David Coulthard.
00:51:30We've lost Eddie Irvine, though, during the break.
00:51:32He just retired in the Jaguar, pulled into the pits,
00:51:34got out, and that's the end of his season.
00:51:36But look at Montoya pushing hard.
00:51:39And an incident involving Car 5.
00:51:42That's Ralf Schumacher under investigation
00:51:45by the stewards.
00:51:46I hope he hasn't run over that white line again
00:51:48like he did back in Nürburgring.
00:51:50So for whatever reason,
00:51:52Ralf Schumacher currently running fourth
00:51:54is under investigation.
00:51:56Montoya second, then.
00:51:57Remember, he stopped some six laps later
00:52:00than Barrichello,
00:52:01so he's got six more laps worth of fuel on that car.
00:52:04He is in a classic two-stopper.
00:52:06We think Barrichello is really out of sync.
00:52:09It's really, I think it's between Michael and Montoya,
00:52:13the start of Michael Schumacher, Montoya,
00:52:15and Will and Ralf,
00:52:16if he doesn't get too heavily penalized for something.
00:52:18There is one other possibility, Martin,
00:52:20and that is that Montoya had a normal two-stop amount
00:52:22of fuel on board,
00:52:23but that the Ferrari strategist had seen he was in traffic,
00:52:26brought him in and got him back out into some clear air.
00:52:28Didn't quite pay out that,
00:52:29because in fact he found himself behind two cars fairly quickly.
00:52:32So that's probably not all that likely.
00:52:35It tips it in the balance of probabilities, then,
00:52:38towards him being on a three-stopper.
00:52:40Very difficult to tell at this early stage, though.
00:52:42Michael Schumacher crossing the line,
00:52:45beginning of lap 28.
00:52:47What's the margin?
00:52:48It stays at around about 6.2 seconds over Montoya.
00:52:52And we've seen the Colombian pushing very, very hard
00:52:54when the car is full of fuel.
00:52:55He seems to have tremendous car control, this young man.
00:52:58Nothing seems to faze him.
00:53:00No pressure that anybody can throw at him
00:53:02seems to put him out.
00:53:04Louise is in the pits with Eddie Irvine.
00:53:06I am indeed, Eddie, out of the race,
00:53:07and in rather frustrating circumstances as well, I understand.
00:53:10Yeah, we've done everything we need to do.
00:53:12We've jumped both Benettons,
00:53:13and you know that from then on it was going to be easy.
00:53:15We've done all the hard work,
00:53:16and the rig's screwed, you know.
00:53:19So what exactly happened?
00:53:20Because you came in for a pit stop,
00:53:21and then you came back in again straight away.
00:53:23The rig's screwed. It's not working.
00:53:25There's no fuel. The rig's broken.
00:53:27It's not working.
00:53:28Thanks, Eddie.
00:53:29What Eddie means is they can't get fuel into the car.
00:53:32Surprisingly, they haven't got a spare one hanging around
00:53:34or using de la Rosas or something like that.
00:53:37It seems an unusual reason to be out of the race.
00:53:40Maybe it's the nozzle in the car that's got a problem,
00:53:43because surely they would have used
00:53:44one of the other fuel rigs.
00:53:46De la Rosa is down in 12th place,
00:53:49having just pitted,
00:53:50and apparently I'm told it is correct.
00:53:52It was a problem with the car,
00:53:54not the fuel rig itself, as Eddie was explaining.
00:53:57And a stop-go penalty, then,
00:53:59for cutting the chicane with advantage.
00:54:02Ralph Schumacher, unseen by us,
00:54:04has jumped across the chicane,
00:54:06taken an advantage or saved a place somehow,
00:54:10and will get a 10-second stop-and-go.
00:54:12That will cost him about 26 seconds in total.
00:54:15It will indeed, and it'll drop him down
00:54:17behind Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard.
00:54:19So a little bit of a present for Hakkinen
00:54:21on his final Grand Prix.
00:54:22He doesn't have to worry any more about Ralph Schumacher.
00:54:26But Montoya just getting around Alex Jung
00:54:28in the second of the Menardis,
00:54:29the young Malaysian driver
00:54:31who joined that team late on in the season.
00:54:33There is Ralph Schumacher.
00:54:34How many laps has he got before he has to come in?
00:54:36Is it three?
00:54:37Three laps, yes.
00:54:39He must come in within the next three laps,
00:54:41and to take that penalty at their discretion.
00:54:44He will stop at his pit,
00:54:46and he will be controlled by his own people.
00:54:50Lap 29, then.
00:54:51High drama here at Suzuka.
00:54:54We had a big accident at the start.
00:54:56For those of you just joining us,
00:54:57involving Kimi Raikkonen and Jean Alesi
00:54:59in the early stages, I should say,
00:55:00rather than at the start.
00:55:01Michael Schumacher got the drop.
00:55:02We've had four different race leaders,
00:55:04Schumacher, Montoya, Ralph Schumacher,
00:55:07and Mika Hakkinen.
00:55:08But Ralph Schumacher now putting himself
00:55:10pretty much out of contention
00:55:12as far as a race win goes
00:55:13by having got that stop-and-go penalty.
00:55:15There is confirmation of it on your screens now.
00:55:18So the fight for victory
00:55:20as we work on lap 29
00:55:22is between Michael Schumacher, Juan Montoya,
00:55:25and, to some extent, Rubens Barrichello.
00:55:28Ralph will be frustrated to say the least about that.
00:55:31He's just homing in on Barrichello,
00:55:33third-placeman Barrichello.
00:55:34So Ralph, as you said,
00:55:36puts him, I think, way out of contention
00:55:38because the McLarens are 11 and 17 seconds behind him.
00:55:43He will lose 26, roughly, in that pit stop.
00:55:46So he could, with a storming drive at the end,
00:55:49bring himself back in with the McLarens,
00:55:51but surely not to win this race.
00:55:53We hear from the pit lane, the ITV F1 pit crew,
00:55:56that Rubens Barrichello is coming in,
00:55:58and there it is.
00:55:59Rubens Barrichello then dives in on lap 29,
00:56:02bang on target for a three-stopper,
00:56:04and this is his second stop.
00:56:06Will they put a bit more fuel in this time?
00:56:08And there's Ralph Schumacher just behind,
00:56:09coming in to serve his stop-and-go penalty.
00:56:13So, doesn't it look so painfully slow
00:56:15as they come down the pit lane?
00:56:16They cross the rain gully.
00:56:17It's very slippery on that very fine concrete they have there,
00:56:22and this is just a simple ten-second,
00:56:24and he's got to put it into first gear now,
00:56:26is what his bloody pop will say in front of him.
00:56:29And Barrichello with a long stop.
00:56:31Barrichello taking an awful long time to get away,
00:56:34but still gets out in front of Ralph Schumacher,
00:56:37and Ralph nails him on the pit exit.
00:56:40Did he cross the white line?
00:56:41Barrichello clearly could not get his speed limiter off or something,
00:56:45and Ralph, really, an opportunist move.
00:56:47Will he get another penalty?
00:56:49Well, I'd like to see a replay of that,
00:56:51because it looked very much to me
00:56:52as though the left rear wheel of that Williams
00:56:54crossed the white line.
00:56:55Now, cast your mind back, folks,
00:56:57to the Nürburgring Grand Prix,
00:56:59the European Grand Prix in June.
00:57:01Remember how Ralph Schumacher had that race bought and paid for.
00:57:04But on his second pit stop,
00:57:05he came out of the pit lane and crossed that white line.
00:57:08He just swung out onto the track a little bit carelessly,
00:57:10and the stewards gave him a ten-second stop-and-go penalty for it.
00:57:13It lost him the race that day.
00:57:15Are they going to give him another one today?
00:57:18We will find out shortly.
00:57:19Verstappen also under investigation now,
00:57:22but he's down in 15th, hardly a contender in this Grand Prix,
00:57:26but I would assume for similar circumstance.
00:57:31So this is lap 30.
00:57:33Michael Schumacher leading by 6.4 seconds
00:57:36ahead of Juan Montoya.
00:57:38Rubens Barrichello, another six seconds behind him in third place.
00:57:41Ralph Schumacher, I actually know he's in front of Barrichello.
00:57:44The computer has not put itself right.
00:57:46So Ralph Schumacher, we think, is in third place
00:57:48ahead of Rubens Barrichello in fourth.
00:57:50Mika Hakkinen, fifth.
00:57:51David Coulthard, sixth.
00:57:52Half a minute down on the race leader.
00:57:54Seventh is Jarno Culli.
00:57:55Eighth, Giancarlo Fisichella.
00:57:57Ninth, Jack Villeneuve.
00:57:58And tenth, going well,
00:57:59Jenson Button in the second of the two Benettons.
00:58:01Yeah, sorry to spoil that lovely readout,
00:58:03but Hakkinen and Coulthard are third and fourth
00:58:05because, of course, Barrichello and Ralph
00:58:09made those two pit stops.
00:58:11So it's now Michael leading,
00:58:13Michael Schumacher leading Montoya,
00:58:15Hakkinen, Coulthard, Ralph Schumacher,
00:58:17Barrichello rounds out the top six.
00:58:19All changing up here, isn't it?
00:58:20You need an abacus for this, don't you?
00:58:22Unbelievable how quick it changes.
00:58:24But certainly the incident involving Car 5
00:58:26is under investigation,
00:58:27and that will be the crossing of the white line
00:58:29by Ralph Schumacher.
00:58:30He's certainly giving the stewards
00:58:31something to think about today, isn't he?
00:58:33What do you guess?
00:58:34I think he'll be in again.
00:58:35I mean, it was only a quick flash as he went over it,
00:58:37but I've got a sneaky feeling he's going to be in again.
00:58:39It was an audacious move,
00:58:41and while Barrichello was sort of
00:58:43doing his housekeeping inside the cockpit,
00:58:45trying to get his car up and running,
00:58:47slow stop for Barrichello, don't forget, as well.
00:58:4910.3 seconds.
00:58:51Very poor for a three-stopping.
00:58:52Normally you'd expect about 6.5 or 7.
00:58:55There, then, is the gap
00:58:57from race leader Michael Schumacher
00:58:59down to Montoy,
00:59:00and it's staying, isn't it,
00:59:01around the early sixes,
00:59:05although, again, I think that information
00:59:07is way out of date, too.
00:59:08It's very hard to keep on top
00:59:10of what is actually happening here in Japan.
00:59:11It's all changing so very, very quickly.
00:59:14We've had four different race leaders.
00:59:16We've had gaps going up and down
00:59:17and shifting all the time.
00:59:18Many people are on different kinds of strategies.
00:59:21Three-stoppers, short two-stoppers,
00:59:22long two-stoppers, you name it,
00:59:24we've got it all this afternoon
00:59:26here at Suzuka.
00:59:27Montoy, though, bearing down on Michael Schumacher.
00:59:29Let me ask you a question, Martin.
00:59:31Ralf Schumacher, then, two mistakes,
00:59:32clearly both of his own mistakes.
00:59:34First one going straight on at the chicane,
00:59:36as you look at Ferrari team strategist Ross Brawn.
00:59:38The second mistake coming out across that white line.
00:59:41What does that say about his state of mind?
00:59:43Why is he making those mistakes?
00:59:44Desperate Dan.
00:59:46Two words, really.
00:59:47I think he's really getting rattled
00:59:49by this man, Montoy,
00:59:51who really has been showing him the way
00:59:54in the early stages of his Grand Prix career.
00:59:56And Montoy, the gap's still six and a half seconds
00:59:59to Michael Schumacher.
01:00:00Lap 32.
01:00:01Michael Schumacher, six and a half seconds
01:00:03in front of Juan Montoy as the Williams.
01:00:05Strategists try and figure out how to get in front of him.
01:00:07Häkkinen third, Kulthard fourth,
01:00:09Ralf Schumacher fifth,
01:00:10and Barrichello in sixth place.
01:00:14In the position of the champion.
01:00:17Yes.
01:00:18And Mark Webber would be on the Minardi's side,
01:00:20so these are enough.
01:00:23Yes, of course, there's a lot of
01:00:25driving choices at this point.
01:00:27And of course,
01:00:29Patton is a young guy,
01:00:31and this season has been bad.
01:00:33I don't know.
01:00:35Pretty quick decisions, of course,
01:00:37in that sense.
01:00:38Physically, he's been fast this year,
01:00:40much faster than Patton.
01:00:41He's been able to show it everywhere.
01:00:43In that sense, Patton's position
01:00:45has been a bit ruined.
01:00:46Now it's time, Rubens, at two o'clock.
01:00:48There's Hitampi in front of him now.
01:00:50And this way, Rubens Barrichello
01:00:52clearly benefits more from this
01:00:54than Ralf Schumacher driving in front of him.
01:00:57Miha Schumacher drove a moment
01:00:59faster in the lap,
01:01:01but this lap goes again
01:01:030.4 seconds slower than
01:01:05than Montoy.
01:01:07The difference is 5.8 seconds,
01:01:09so now it's spinning there
01:01:11pretty evenly in six seconds.
01:01:13Now it gets very close,
01:01:15Rubens Barrichello,
01:01:17but again that inside line and pushes past.
01:01:19Yes, Rubens Barrichello goes past,
01:01:21or does he?
01:01:22Ralf Schumacher is definitely coming.
01:01:24Now it's coming, stop and go.
01:01:26If it doesn't come from there,
01:01:27then it doesn't come at all.
01:01:28Unless then Ralf Schumacher understands,
01:01:30we get Rubens Barrichello.
01:01:31You can see it from there,
01:01:33that Johan is marking
01:01:35and still covering,
01:01:36but we get past.
01:01:38This is how it should be done.
01:01:39Great.
01:01:40We raise the hat to Ralf Schumacher,
01:01:42who was smart enough to lose his position
01:01:44in that place.
01:01:46Yes, it was a special decision by Ralf,
01:01:48that he didn't get past earlier.
01:01:50We would have lost a lot more time
01:01:52in that overtaking,
01:01:53if he would have gotten past immediately
01:01:55and continued behind.
01:01:56After the chicane,
01:01:57it would have been a lot easier.
01:01:59Yes, but you pointed out the player,
01:02:01the player's mark there.
01:02:03He understood the situation.
01:02:04Otherwise, stop and go will come.
01:02:06Ferrari has ordered tickets,
01:02:08and it seems that a double amount of tickets have come.
01:02:10Nobis has turned to attach to the rear axle.
01:02:13Lippistoimittaille has had a downshift error.
01:02:185.8 second difference.
01:02:20Only 21 laps left.
01:02:23Only 21 laps left.
01:02:26A quick 18.5 seconds.
01:02:28Here this situation is repeated.
01:02:30Rubens Barrichello's second overtaking
01:02:32in the same place.
01:02:34We have talked a little.
01:02:35We have kept Rubens Barrichello
01:02:37as a slightly lazy driver.
01:02:40But yes,
01:02:41today's overtakings have been
01:02:43the best in the competition.
01:02:46Great overtaking.
01:02:47One overtaking in the fast left-hand corner,
01:02:49and one here.
01:02:50And now the second overtaking in principle.
01:02:52At least inside the chicane.
01:02:54And of course, that means that
01:02:56even Formula 1 drivers can do it.
01:03:11has so much to answer for in front of the stewards
01:03:13a little bit later on this afternoon.
01:03:15Louise Goodman, what can you tell us?
01:03:16Well, I just popped my head into the Williams garage
01:03:18to see if they were indeed expecting a visit to the stewards
01:03:20for that overtaking move.
01:03:22Appeared like a complete no-brainer.
01:03:24But according to the Williams guys,
01:03:25Rubens Barrichello actually backed off
01:03:27as he was exiting the pit lane.
01:03:29So Ralph was really forced to overtake him
01:03:31to avoid going into the back of him.
01:03:32Martin, you're pulling a funny face.
01:03:34Yeah, because I'm laughing.
01:03:36That's a good one.
01:03:38He backed off. Yeah, sure.
01:03:40But I think Ralph,
01:03:42by Rubens getting through in Turn 1,
01:03:44Ralph might just get away with that.
01:03:46But he's still under investigation anyway
01:03:48for crossing the white line on the way out of the pits.
01:03:50But it's a question of,
01:03:52they would say that, wouldn't they, I think.
01:03:54And Jarno truly pitting.
01:03:56He was in 9th when he went in.
01:03:58Villeneuve's up there in 8th place now,
01:04:00having a reasonable afternoon quite quietly.
01:04:02Jenson Button is in 10th place,
01:04:05again having a tidy afternoon.
01:04:07And his teammate, Fizzy Keller, up in 7th.
01:04:09Nick Heidfeld just at the bottom of your screen
01:04:11in the second of the two.
01:04:12Sal was rejoining after his second pit stop.
01:04:14He's down in 11th place.
01:04:16We're looking down at Juan Montoya.
01:04:18And Ralph Schumacher had a bit of a roasting
01:04:20from Frank Williams and Patrick Head
01:04:22after the American Grand Prix.
01:04:23He was seriously underperformed there
01:04:25on a two-stop strategy.
01:04:27All weekend, the team had said
01:04:28he wasn't really at the races at all.
01:04:30And they had a very serious set, too.
01:04:32Interestingly, though, this weekend
01:04:34in the press briefings that Frank Williams
01:04:36and Gerhard Berger of BMW have given,
01:04:38they've said that they've really backed Ralph up
01:04:41going into this weekend,
01:04:42because most of the media are really talking up
01:04:43Juan Montoya at the moment.
01:04:44In fact, I think everybody who loves Formula 1
01:04:46is talking up Juan Montoya
01:04:48and talking down Ralph Schumacher.
01:04:49Very interesting to see the support there
01:04:51from Williams.
01:04:52As you can see, the backmarkers
01:04:54just making some passes amongst themselves.
01:04:56Support from Williams towards Ralph Schumacher.
01:04:58Lap 35, then.
01:05:00Michael Schumacher leading Montoya.
01:05:01The gap's stable at 6.6 seconds.
01:05:03Nothing, it seems, the Colombian
01:05:05and the Williams can do.
01:05:06We'll get him closer to the reigning world champion.
01:05:09Hakkinen third, Coulthard fourth,
01:05:10but they're 26 seconds down the road.
01:05:12Yes, but that fourth place is all Coulthard needs
01:05:14to secure second in the world championship,
01:05:16especially with Barrichello running behind him.
01:05:19And they've all got to make one more stop yet.
01:05:22I'm still convinced they can fuel Michael to the end.
01:05:25Rubin stopped too early on lap 15
01:05:27to make that happen, in my view.
01:05:30But again, a reasonable stop for Villeneuve.
01:05:34Then, his second of the afternoon,
01:05:37he came in from eighth position.
01:05:42If things stay as they are,
01:05:44just looking at the other scores
01:05:45that need to be settled here this weekend.
01:05:46As you can see, Villeneuve blending back in
01:05:48right in front of the race leader, Michael Schumacher,
01:05:52who hopefully will smartly get out of the way.
01:05:54Indeed he does.
01:05:55And Schumacher, then, are out to lap.
01:05:57Everybody up to Jarno Trulli, would you believe.
01:05:59Trulli on a three-stop strategy as well.
01:06:02And certainly the three-stoppers this afternoon
01:06:04do not seem to have had the advantage.
01:06:06But if everything stays the way it is,
01:06:07just talking about the championships
01:06:08and scores being settled,
01:06:09Sauber looks set to finish in fourth place.
01:06:11We saw Nick Heidfeld a moment ago.
01:06:13Pretty good effort this season by the Sauber team.
01:06:15And no threat at the moment from VAR or Jordan,
01:06:18who are the two teams that had a potential opportunity
01:06:20to get ahead of them.
01:06:21Now then, what's the news?
01:06:23Ten-second stop-and-go penalty for car 14.
01:06:26And that is Verstappen.
01:06:27And that is Verstappen.
01:06:28That's for overtaking on the formation lap.
01:06:30It's taken them a while to suss that one out, hasn't it?
01:06:32It certainly has, hasn't it?
01:06:33That's all of 36 laps ago.
01:06:36So good effort there by somebody
01:06:38to have obviously been scratching their chins
01:06:41on that one for a long time.
01:06:43I don't know why it had taken so long.
01:06:45I thought there was a time limit
01:06:46on when you could get a penalty like that.
01:06:48I thought it was 20 minutes, actually.
01:06:49I'm sure Verstappen feels the same.
01:06:50I'll tell you what they've been doing.
01:06:51They've been wondering what Ralf Schumacher's up to
01:06:53for most of the afternoon, haven't they?
01:06:54Yeah, that's true.
01:06:55They've had a lot to entertain him.
01:06:56They've been behind closed doors, haven't they?
01:06:58So Benetton then ready for a Fisichella pit stop.
01:07:02He was 7th when he came in.
01:07:04We haven't seen the race pace
01:07:06we probably expected from this Benetton
01:07:08compared to their stunning 6th and 9th on the grid, of course.
01:07:12But a reasonable stop.
01:07:13And this then is surely Michael's second stop
01:07:17and final stop, hopefully, of the afternoon for him
01:07:21and approaching the pit garage.
01:07:23It's a long, long pit lane here in Suzuka.
01:07:26It's quick in. It's a long way down.
01:07:28And they've flipped it around this year.
01:07:29So the front runners are all down at the far end.
01:07:32And, of course, it is Michael Schumacher.
01:07:34What are they going to do about this?
01:07:36I think they're going to have to put
01:07:37a good 9 seconds worth of gas in it this time around.
01:07:39Otherwise, he'll be going for a splash and dash at the end.
01:07:42Well...
01:07:43No, that's enough.
01:07:44That's about 50 kilos of fuel, I believe, that's gone in.
01:07:46Is he going to rejoin in front of the McLaren?
01:07:48He can't cross that white line.
01:07:50And Hakkinen sweeps through into second place.
01:07:53Michael Schumacher then down to third.
01:07:54Juan Montoya is once again the leader of this race.
01:07:57That's the second time this afternoon, then,
01:07:59that Schumacher's pitted and just come out behind Mika Hakkinen.
01:08:03Remember, they're having a real old ding-dong battle
01:08:05until Hakkinen pitted.
01:08:06And this really plays into Montoya's hands now, doesn't it?
01:08:09He's got a car between himself
01:08:10and the erstwhile race leader, Michael Schumacher.
01:08:13This is the sixth change of leadership so far this afternoon.
01:08:16And this is Montoya's opportunity.
01:08:18We saw him pitting later than Michael Schumacher first time round.
01:08:21Michael Schumacher made his first stop on 17,
01:08:23Montoya on 21.
01:08:25That's four laps now in which Montoya has an opportunity
01:08:28to win this Grand Prix, his second Grand Prix of the season,
01:08:30if he can do it.
01:08:31Fantastic stuff.
01:08:32Yeah, it's a really difficult one to call this afternoon,
01:08:34but clearly Montoya needs to pump some stunning laps in now
01:08:37up till his stop.
01:08:38Tell you what, there's not going to be much gas left
01:08:40in that Ferrari at the end of the race.
01:08:42I think they've been absolutely on the limit of how much fuel.
01:08:46I expected a half second more fuel in that
01:08:48on each of his two stops so far.
01:08:50But there then is your race leader, Juan Pablo Montoya.
01:08:54He has cleared the traffic.
01:08:56Let's see what it cost him in lap time.
01:08:58He's been lapping in the 1.37s,
01:09:00and this time around it's again a mid-1.37,
01:09:03so the traffic cost him absolutely nothing.
01:09:05Montoya needs to put in four or five stunners now
01:09:09and he can win this race.
01:09:11He really does.
01:09:12We're waiting to see what the gap is
01:09:13between him and Michael Schumacher
01:09:15when Schumacher crosses the line this time,
01:09:17because that'll give us an indication
01:09:18of whether he already has enough time to make that stop
01:09:21or exactly how much he's got to make up
01:09:23in order to make his stop.
01:09:2421 seconds at the moment Montoya has.
01:09:27He's going to need 24 to safely come in and make a stop.
01:09:30That's the target.
01:09:31A lot of traffic, though,
01:09:32and I'm hearing that Williams are coming out into the pit lane.
01:09:35We think it could be for Montoya,
01:09:38because it's not working out.
01:09:40When he needs clear track,
01:09:41he's already passed one car.
01:09:42Here's another now.
01:09:44It didn't cost him much time,
01:09:45but there's yet another Jordan in front of him,
01:09:48so maybe they're going to play a tactical move
01:09:50and bring him in slightly earlier.
01:09:52A moment ago, Martin,
01:09:53I'm sure I heard you say you expected to see
01:09:55a half-second more fuel going in.
01:09:56I mean, half-seconds are what we talk about on racetracks
01:09:59in terms of what you need in qualifying.
01:10:00We talk about refueling.
01:10:01I mean, that really is marginal, isn't it?
01:10:03It is, but you're talking of, what,
01:10:0512, 13 litres per second of fuel flowing in,
01:10:08but I just expected a nine-second stop that time around,
01:10:11but you don't know how much Michael had in
01:10:14when he started the race,
01:10:15but he quite clearly stopped earlier
01:10:17than any of the other two stoppers,
01:10:20but Montoya then has cleared the BAR.
01:10:23We saw that happen.
01:10:24Has not cleared the Jordan.
01:10:25Will have to go through the chicane,
01:10:28and the pit entry is just on the exit
01:10:30and bouncing across the curve.
01:10:32He is...
01:10:33He knows he's got to get on with it,
01:10:35and that's a frustrating time for him.
01:10:37Ted is down there.
01:10:38So, Martin, Williams' hopes rest on this man,
01:10:41the Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya.
01:10:43He needs to now deliver a result for him
01:10:46because of Ralph's crazy day.
01:10:48I haven't seen him in the pit lane.
01:10:49Ah, here he is.
01:10:50No, he comes into his box.
01:10:51Stops well.
01:10:52The tyres are well worn,
01:10:53and the fuel hose is on.
01:10:54There's no problems there.
01:10:55Another set of scrub Michelins on for that.
01:10:57The fuel hose is off as McLaren are ready now.
01:11:00Juan Pablo Montoya away,
01:11:02and expect McLaren in very shortly.
01:11:04But out in front goes Michael Schumacher again,
01:11:07who takes the lead for the third different time this afternoon.
01:11:10But at least Montoya gets out in front of Hakkinen.
01:11:12So Montoya maintains his second place,
01:11:14but unfortunately for him,
01:11:15he wasn't able to capitalise on that opportunity.
01:11:17Yes, so Michael does lead.
01:11:19He was behind Hakkinen on the previous lap,
01:11:21but Hakkinen has also pitted.
01:11:23So, Michael then back in the lead of the Grand Prix.
01:11:27But he...
01:11:30Yeah, Michael then
01:11:32clearly has maintained that advantage.
01:11:34He has indeed.
01:11:35It was Kulfard that Montoya emerged in front of,
01:11:38although it was Hakkinen going into that lap
01:11:41who was behind Michael Schumacher.
01:11:42In fact, he dived into the pits, as we saw.
01:11:44So it's all shaking out here.
01:11:45They said Grand Prix racing was boring.
01:11:47Another rip-off came off there for Michael Schumacher.
01:11:50Saw Montoya pulling at one, coming down the pit lane.
01:11:53When you're going slowly,
01:11:54you have to be so careful
01:11:55that doesn't get sucked into your air box,
01:11:57and it sits on the filter
01:12:00and can hamper the rest of your afternoon.
01:12:02You have to be very careful
01:12:03when you get rid of those rip-offs,
01:12:04especially at low speed.
01:12:06So how is it all going to shake out?
01:12:08The only one of the top four yet to make another pit stop
01:12:12is David Kulfard.
01:12:14Barrichello not making any progress down there.
01:12:17Back in fifth,
01:12:18lapping about the same pace as the McLarens,
01:12:20but 15 seconds behind.
01:12:22No sign of any further penalties for Raul Schumacher.
01:12:26We know he's still under investigation
01:12:28for crossing the white line.
01:12:31So, Montoya, second.
01:12:35Hakkinen, third.
01:12:36You don't see him.
01:12:37You're seeing Kulfard on the road at the moment.
01:12:39Is he going to dive into the pit lane?
01:12:41He does.
01:12:42So that will put Hakkinen back into third place.
01:12:44So David Kulfard out of position
01:12:45due to the fact he hadn't made his second and final pit stop.
01:12:49Montoya, though,
01:12:50well, traffic will definitely be a story of the race for him.
01:12:54He could have had an opportunity to win this race,
01:12:55but so many cars in front of him
01:12:57when that opportunity presented itself.
01:12:59Kulfard in.
01:13:00Right, so Montoya then.
01:13:01He was 6.3 down when this pit stop series started,
01:13:06and now he's five seconds behind leader Michael Schumacher.
01:13:09He couldn't go far enough to make the difference.
01:13:11Ralf in then for his second and final stop of the afternoon.
01:13:15As I said, no sign of any further penalties from him.
01:13:19He came in in sixth place, of course.
01:13:22He did have a stop and go.
01:13:24It cost him 26 seconds,
01:13:26and that's why he's out of position, really.
01:13:28He's down in sixth place.
01:13:30Lap 40.
01:13:3113 to go here in Suzuka.
01:13:33Michael Schumacher leading,
01:13:34but the gap is the smallest it's been all afternoon pretty much since the start.
01:13:38Just five seconds between himself and Juan Montoya.
01:13:41Let's hope we're going to go out on a high here
01:13:43at the final race of the championship
01:13:44between the two drivers who many predict
01:13:46will be duking it out next year for the World Championship.
01:13:49Third, Kulfard.
01:13:50Fourth, Barrichello.
01:13:51Fifth, Hakkinen.
01:13:52Sixth, Ralf Schumacher.
01:13:55We haven't had them yet. We've all had them, right?
01:13:57Yes, Ralf out again.
01:13:58The fans are out again.
01:13:59The second stop has been made.
01:14:01The first stops came early.
01:14:02The second stop, so now.
01:14:03Is there anyone else who may have to take a short break after the end of the race?
01:14:06I don't think so.
01:14:07Let's be honest about that.
01:14:09The only one who hasn't stopped yet from the rally in Villarosa,
01:14:11but he stopped the first time, of course, also extremely late.
01:14:14So it's not that strange.
01:14:15I haven't brought him much lately.
01:14:17He's in the 12th position.
01:14:19Schumacher leads for Montoya.
01:14:20Kulfard, Barrichello, Hakkinen and Ralf Schumacher.
01:14:22Joss Verstappen has fallen back to 18th place.
01:14:29There you can see the situation on the screen.
01:14:316.4 seconds.
01:14:33A sharp two-second difference.
01:14:34Schumacher would have taken a 15-second gap.
01:14:40Montoya, on the previous lap, actually 1.4 seconds.
01:14:44He was 6.4 seconds, that's the difference.
01:14:46Rupes Barrichello is driving third in the race.
01:14:49His difference to Montoya is 13.2 seconds.
01:14:52Fourth is Mika Hakkinen.
01:14:54The difference to Rupes Barrichello is 4.3,
01:14:56so there are still theoretical possibilities for the prize money.
01:15:04Hakkinen just had his own fast lap.
01:15:06It was 1.37.2, but it's only a tenth faster than Rupes Barrichello.
01:15:11David Kulthard is fifth in the race.
01:15:14Ralf Schumacher is sixth.
01:15:16You can clearly see that when the cars of three top teams work,
01:15:21no one has any technical problems,
01:15:24regardless of the stop-and-go ranking,
01:15:27six top drivers are driven by the drivers of these teams.
01:15:30Ralf Schumacher is sixth.
01:15:32Even if you have to make a single-digit stop,
01:15:35they are still in the lead.
01:15:38You can see that the top teams are doing their job.
01:15:44We have a lot of work ahead of us.
01:15:47And Ferrari is preparing for a stop.
01:15:53Schumacher doesn't come from there, but Rupes Barrichello.
01:15:58Rupes Barrichello is the driver who comes in.
01:16:02It means that Mika Hakkinen will be third in the race.
01:16:06At the same time, it definitely means that
01:16:09David Kulthard, who is only 12 laps behind,
01:16:12will be the champion of the M-Series this year.
01:16:15A couple of hours in three-stop tactics.
01:16:39And Ferrari, he blends back in again,
01:16:42down in around about fifth place, I think,
01:16:45maybe sixth place.
01:16:46We'll find out when the computer sorts itself out.
01:16:48There's Mika Hakkinen.
01:16:49Now he's promoted to third place,
01:16:51a podium position possibly,
01:16:52on his last Grand Prix outing for a little while.
01:16:55He's been on the podium here for the last six years, Mika Hakkinen.
01:16:58Is he going to make it seven in a row?
01:17:00Terrific drive by him today,
01:17:01but unseen really to a large extent by everybody else.
01:17:03Led the race very briefly
01:17:05during Michael Schumacher and Montoya's pit stops.
01:17:07Never quite a contender for victory,
01:17:09but going well in third place.
01:17:11Yes, but some 23 seconds down,
01:17:13and of course the two McLarens, 1.2 and 1.5,
01:17:16away from Michael Schumacher's pole position.
01:17:18So they've got to play catch-up this winter,
01:17:20and somehow the other teams are going to move forward as well.
01:17:24So a lot of work to do for McLaren and Mercedes-Benz
01:17:28to close that kind of gap.
01:17:30I know they're doing a lot of work on that,
01:17:32and there's a good chance they can find a big chunk of that.
01:17:35And Hakkinen then, look,
01:17:3616 seconds away from second place, Montoya.
01:17:39Not a bad afternoon.
01:17:40Coulthard in a solid fourth place behind him,
01:17:42looking strong for second in the World Championship.
01:17:45But as you say, Mika is a specialist around this racetrack,
01:17:48and are we watching the great Finn
01:17:51in his final turn of the Formula One steering wheel?
01:17:54I don't think so.
01:17:55I've given up trying to second-guess Mika Hakkinen.
01:17:57I have a hunch that he may well be back.
01:17:59I have a hunch that after about three or four months
01:18:01of the easy life, playing with his young son Hugo
01:18:04and drinking caipirinhas with his wife,
01:18:07here on the beach in Monaco,
01:18:08he'll think, you know something?
01:18:10Something's missing from my life,
01:18:11and it's going quickly round corners.
01:18:13I have no doubt that he'll be back.
01:18:15David Coulthard, incidentally, said yesterday
01:18:16he'd love to see Mika come back during next season
01:18:19to do some testing for McLaren,
01:18:20to give him an idea of how the car's developed.
01:18:22A fresh pair of eyes and ears, if you like, coming in,
01:18:24which is an interesting insight, I thought.
01:18:26Certainly, Mika said he plans to attend Grands Prix next year
01:18:28in McLaren team gear and still on the pit wall
01:18:30from time to time and watch, not all the races,
01:18:32but a few of them.
01:18:33What's your thought?
01:18:34Well, I'm sure if Hakkinen comes back to Form 1,
01:18:36it'll have to be in a McLaren.
01:18:38I would be amazed if this sabbatical
01:18:40has not tied him into coming back
01:18:43only at the wheel of a McLaren.
01:18:44That'd be that man there, Ron Dennis,
01:18:46who will have, along with Martin Whitmarsh at McLaren,
01:18:49who will have organised that.
01:18:51But I could well see him turning up to a few Grands Prix
01:18:54and certainly he's got a lot of experience.
01:18:56And Coulthard and Hakkinen, they started off
01:18:57with a very difficult relationship,
01:18:59but over the years, and of course it's a record partnership
01:19:02they've had, then they've really become quite good mates
01:19:06and they work well together.
01:19:07So I'm sure David would be pleased
01:19:09with a bit of assistance from Mika from time to time.
01:19:12Yeah, 30 Grands Prix they've won together
01:19:14in the last six seasons.
01:19:15Pretty remarkable statistic.
01:19:17They've led 33% of all the racing laps
01:19:20since their partnership was formed.
01:19:21It's the longest running Form 1 duo
01:19:24in the history of the sport.
01:19:25Six years together, David Coulthard, Mika Hakkinen.
01:19:27Next year, we're going to see Kimi Raikkonen
01:19:29taking this car over.
01:19:31He's not had the day he wanted so far, Kimi Raikkonen.
01:19:34A big accident with Jean Alessi
01:19:35in the early laps of this event.
01:19:37But we're now on lap 44, just nine to go.
01:19:40Well, the computer screen has looked like a fruit machine
01:19:42all day long, hasn't it?
01:19:43Tumbling and turning around as they're coming in
01:19:46for pit stops.
01:19:47Four different leaders of the Grands Prix.
01:19:49But it's beginning to settle down now.
01:19:51Michael Schumacher's pulling away from Montoya
01:19:54and the lead is now 8.4 seconds.
01:19:57Why is Montoya's pace falling away?
01:20:00I don't know.
01:20:01They're in the 1 minute 38s.
01:20:0239 for Hakkinen last time around
01:20:04and 1 minute 37 for Coulthard.
01:20:06He is chasing down Hakkinen
01:20:08for he wants that podium place.
01:20:10That'll be a good finish to the end of the year.
01:20:12So the biggest fight on the track at the moment
01:20:14is probably between the two McLarens.
01:20:17Further down the field,
01:20:18Will Nervin, 10th place,
01:20:19is just a few tenths behind Trulli in 9th.
01:20:23But another disappointing race for Jarno Trulli,
01:20:25wouldn't you say?
01:20:26Really does not inspire you.
01:20:28It's almost like he paces himself in a race.
01:20:30Why can't he show that blistering speed of qualifying
01:20:34for 53 consecutive laps on a Sunday afternoon?
01:20:37That's what he's paid to do.
01:20:39He's off to Benetton
01:20:40and I'm sure Priatore will be no more pleased
01:20:43than Eddie Jordan
01:20:44if he doesn't deliver up on race day.
01:20:46There's a lot expected of him in the team
01:20:48which is going to be cool come Renault next year.
01:20:50Benetton, of course, bowing out here in Suzuka
01:20:54and next year it'll become Renault
01:20:55and Trulli expected to really come up with the goods.
01:20:58As you say, he seems to have these lapses of concentration
01:21:00during the Grand Prix.
01:21:01But you're looking, though, at Juan Montoya
01:21:02just taking four tenths of a second
01:21:04out of race leader Michael Schumacher
01:21:06but only with nine laps remaining,
01:21:08Schumacher can afford almost to give away a second a lap
01:21:10to the Colombian and still win this race.
01:21:13Well, 10 out of 10 for trying, Juan Pablo.
01:21:15You really have given us some superb entertainment.
01:21:17Look at that.
01:21:18What a great guy.
01:21:19He's giving it one, isn't he?
01:21:21Around this circuit.
01:21:22He's not going to give up
01:21:23and that's one thing that's characterised Michael Schumacher
01:21:25really in the last 10 years of his career.
01:21:27He never gives up until he sees a chequered flag
01:21:29and now we've got another one.
01:21:30And Micka Hakkinen to some extent was like that as well
01:21:32but this guy just does not give up, does he?
01:21:34I'd be amazed if he's not a Formula One world champion
01:21:36at some point.
01:21:37And apparently one of his good friends said,
01:21:39oh yeah, he's moaning and bitching about some understeer
01:21:42and I'm saying, you what?
01:21:43You've got to be joking.
01:21:44I've never seen him anything other than sideways.
01:21:46So Montoya does love to hustle a car along
01:21:50and it's certainly such a pleasure to watch him do that.
01:21:54But the lead then remains at exactly eight seconds
01:21:58last time they passed the start-finish line.
01:22:04He's driven at top speed
01:22:06but when the time has come,
01:22:08so this is an important test,
01:22:10then Schumacher,
01:22:11yesterday at the best time in Finland,
01:22:13at the same time,
01:22:14Schumacher was on the track like a gentleman
01:22:18and at the bottom of the 70's,
01:22:21it's really tough.
01:22:23I don't remember when was the last time
01:22:25there was such a difference between 1st and 2nd gear.
01:22:28At least it comes to mind now.
01:22:30It immediately comes to mind
01:22:32but I have to say that in Suzuka,
01:22:34from the 70's,
01:22:36it's an amazing difference and an amazing achievement.
01:22:40Even though the track is long,
01:22:42still a 5.8 km track
01:22:45and the laps are more than 1.5 minutes
01:22:48when, for example, in Itävallaa,
01:22:50we go with A1-rings under 1.10.
01:22:547.1,
01:22:55so again a little bit of that difference.
01:22:59Thomas Engel clearly has some problems.
01:23:02Engel comes again for the fifth time already
01:23:04at Variko,
01:23:05is now in the last in the competition
01:23:07and drives the same way.
01:23:09So this is how Thomas Engel concentrates.
01:23:11The season also ends.
01:23:13And the interesting thing is,
01:23:15will Thomas Engel continue in F1
01:23:17also in the next season.
01:23:19Luciano Burti has been told
01:23:21to leave these arenas.
01:23:23He has said himself
01:23:25that for safety reasons
01:23:27he will leave F1,
01:23:29or at least seriously consider
01:23:31quitting F1.
01:23:33It was his own bad luck
01:23:35and Alex Zanardi's
01:23:37unfortunate event
01:23:39in such a short time
01:23:41He said directly
01:23:43that he was a little scared.
01:23:45And so he thinks very seriously
01:23:47whether to continue his career.
01:23:49The track has been a kingdom in class.
01:23:51It's a bit like this,
01:23:53if such thoughts come to mind so strongly,
01:23:55then of course it is worth
01:23:57to think very carefully
01:23:59whether to continue or not.
01:24:01Yes, it is.
01:24:03And of course,
01:24:05after such a big accident,
01:24:07then you should be able
01:24:09to understand that everything
01:24:11is going in the right direction.
01:24:13Here we get this
01:24:15Trulli-Villeneuve-Axel.
01:24:170.6 seconds their difference.
01:24:19And there you can see Schumacher behind.
01:24:21Nick Heidfeld.
01:24:23So this is the triangle
01:24:25that we are hoping for
01:24:27and so we also get.
01:24:39This amazing career of his.
01:24:41Can Juan Montoya do anything about it?
01:24:43Well, answer possibly.
01:24:459 tenths of a second on that lap
01:24:47the Colombian took out of Michael.
01:24:49Is the German backing off?
01:24:51Is Montoya on fire?
01:24:53We are going to find out in the next 7 laps.
01:24:55Schumacher coming up against traffic now
01:24:57in the form of Villeneuve and Jarno Trulli.
01:24:59This is the scrap for 9th place.
01:25:01Behind Schumacher and Montoya.
01:25:03Hakkinen and Coulthard half a minute behind.
01:25:05It's just between these two now
01:25:07in the last laps of the race.
01:25:09Yeah, come on Montoya.
01:25:11Make it worth the Brits getting up early in the morning
01:25:13to watch you.
01:25:15He is certainly pulling an E
01:25:17down from 8 odd seconds to 6.2.
01:25:19He's a tenth up in the first sector
01:25:21of the current lap that they're on.
01:25:23We'll be getting a second sector time quite soon.
01:25:25Michael has now gone through there.
01:25:27But as you said,
01:25:29two pieces of traffic ahead of him
01:25:31that are in their own particular squabble.
01:25:33And Montoya takes another
01:25:35in the middle sector. Look, the gap
01:25:37down to 5.6.
01:25:39So suddenly a resurgence from him
01:25:41just at the same time as Michael
01:25:43gets traffic. Villeneuve is going to yield easily
01:25:45down the pit straight. That helps
01:25:47Michael Schumacher enormously.
01:25:49And now he's broken that squabble up.
01:25:51He should easily clear the Jarno
01:25:53Trulli as well.
01:25:55So Montoya 5.4
01:25:57seconds behind as he went over the line.
01:25:59Can he be more aggressive through the traffic
01:26:01than Michael Schumacher? It's hard to believe
01:26:03us even saying those words, because nobody
01:26:05in the last ten years has been more aggressive
01:26:07through traffic than Michael Schumacher
01:26:09ever since Ayrton Senna was sadly killed in 1994.
01:26:11But look at that. Just carves his way around the
01:26:13outside. A fair degree of compliance though
01:26:15from Jarno Trulli, you have to say.
01:26:17Will he be as compliant when Montoya
01:26:19comes through? Montoya has three cars to pass
01:26:21as Villeneuve tries to take advantage
01:26:23of Trulli's generosity. That's the battle
01:26:25for ninth place with Heidfeld also
01:26:27in the scrap now. Look at that.
01:26:29Two more great scraps on the racetrack.
01:26:31Third placeman Hakkinen just half
01:26:33a second ahead of fourth placeman
01:26:35Coulthard. Fifth man Barrichello
01:26:37just 0.8 ahead of
01:26:39Ralf Schumacher, who appears
01:26:41to have got away with all of his earlier
01:26:43misdemeanors. Was that Fisichella
01:26:45slowing down from seventh place? I believe it was.
01:26:47They just sailed past the Benetton.
01:26:49It could have been Fisichella or Button.
01:26:51Could have been either of them. Yes, they're seventh and eighth
01:26:53so could have been either one of the two
01:26:55Benettons. Button has had a decent
01:26:57afternoon, lapping just
01:26:59at the moment 2.2 seconds
01:27:01behind Fisichella. Which one of those
01:27:03Benettons did we see trailing out of
01:27:05the corner of the picture? And there
01:27:07is Montoya then coming up
01:27:09to those three cars he must
01:27:11lap with great urgency.
01:27:13It's going to be a showdown finish here at
01:27:15Suzuka. Juan Montoya is pushing
01:27:17as hard as he possibly could.
01:27:19Took nine tenths of a second out
01:27:21of Michael Schumacher through the traffic on that lap.
01:27:235.4 seconds the gap.
01:27:25Five laps remaining.
01:27:27Can he get through those three cars better than
01:27:29Michael did? Can he close them down?
01:27:31Because Schumacher has more traffic ahead of him.
01:27:33It's a real edge of the seat finish
01:27:35to the Formula One championship.
01:27:37Look at the brake disc just glowing bright red. He's pushing very hard.
01:27:395.1 seconds and
01:27:41three back markers. That's the problem.
01:27:43And he's meeting them in the snake
01:27:45during 3, 4, 5, 6
01:27:47and 7 turns.
01:27:49And then this is not a
01:27:51good part of the racetrack to catch traffic.
01:27:53No doubt about it. You've got the two Degners
01:27:55ahead of you at the top of this hill.
01:27:57Then underneath the flyover into the hairpin.
01:27:59There is the sign that
01:28:01Michael Schumacher has just
01:28:03received. But this
01:28:05is the view ahead of Juan Pablo
01:28:07Montoya in terms of
01:28:09three cars to lap. And
01:28:11Kullgaard has passed Hakkinen.
01:28:13He was alongside him going on
01:28:15the pit straight. Absolutely identical
01:28:17times. And it was indeed
01:28:19Fisichella pulling out of the race.
01:28:21Button up to seventh. And we think
01:28:23Kullgaard has probably moved
01:28:25up to third out of view of
01:28:27the cameras. So no podium
01:28:29for Mika Hakkinen on his possible
01:28:31Grand Prix finale. But here's
01:28:33Montoya. He's not finished yet.
01:28:35While the Williams team call him the monster,
01:28:37can he live up to his nickname
01:28:39when it comes to back markers?
01:28:41We're about to find out as Michael Schumacher
01:28:43goes into 130R for the
01:28:4549th time of this 53
01:28:47lap Japanese Grand Prix. And
01:28:49Montoya has got it down to 5.1
01:28:51seconds. One down, two to go
01:28:53though on the traffic. See? He's only
01:28:55passed one of those three in a complete
01:28:573.6 mile lap of the circuit.
01:28:59So there are the two McLarens. The
01:29:01second one of which is now
01:29:03Mika Hakkinen. And I don't know if
01:29:05he has gremlins. Hakkinen was
01:29:07slow in sector one. He
01:29:09looks slow in sector two. So is
01:29:11Hakkinen going to have some kind of
01:29:13problem just at the end of
01:29:15what may be his final Grand Prix? But
01:29:17certainly his final Grand Prix for a while.
01:29:19He may have only passed one car in that last
01:29:21lap, Juan Montoya, but he's got the
01:29:23gap down to 4.5 seconds. He took another
01:29:258 tenths of a second out of
01:29:27Michael Schumacher, even though he had lap
01:29:29traffic to get through. Just listening
01:29:31there, Martin, were you? I was
01:29:33just listening. He doesn't
01:29:35seem to be really hard on it, does he? Hakkinen
01:29:37is losing an awful lot of time. He's lost half the
01:29:39pit straight in a lap to Kulkar
01:29:41so either he's just backed off to give
01:29:43Kulkar the point, which is no longer
01:29:45necessary because Barrichello is
01:29:47already out of play down in fifth place.
01:29:49That's the scrap for second in the World Championship.
01:29:51It has surely gone Kulkar's
01:29:53way, but Kulkar then
01:29:55up onto the podium. And what
01:29:57is this battle here that we're looking at?
01:29:59It is a Williams...
01:30:01What are we looking at here?
01:30:03This is Schumacher. It could be the battle between
01:30:05Barrichello and Ralf Schumacher. Yes. That's the battle
01:30:07for fifth place. Yeah. Half a second
01:30:09between them. You're right. It is
01:30:11Ralf who has been relentlessly moving in
01:30:13on Rubens Barrichello in the last
01:30:15few laps. Ralf Schumacher
01:30:17lucky to escape with only one
01:30:19stewards warning and a ten
01:30:21second stop and go penalty this afternoon.
01:30:23A variety of misdemeanors, one of
01:30:25which was clearly pardoned, which was when
01:30:27he seemed to cross
01:30:29the white line as these two cars
01:30:31with Barrichello in front emerged from
01:30:33the pit lane. We heard from Louise Goodman that the
01:30:35Williams team believe Rubens
01:30:37Barrichello lifted off as if he would deliberately lift
01:30:39off on the exit of a pit lane. Who knows
01:30:41what happened there. But Ralf
01:30:43Schumacher seemed to put a couple of white wheels
01:30:45across the white line. Anyway, the stewards saw
01:30:47fit not to penalize him. And
01:30:49so it looks as though he will end up with a world championship
01:30:51point for sixth place. But he's trying to get
01:30:53two by getting ahead of Rubens Barrichello.
01:30:55Meanwhile, the battle at
01:30:57the front, Michael Schumacher has increased
01:30:59the lead by six tenths of a second. So he's
01:31:01starting to smell the victory
01:31:03champagne, feel a little bit more comfortable.
01:31:05He has not got the 26-year-old
01:31:07Colombian breathing down his neck as much
01:31:09as he did before. Sublime
01:31:11performance again from
01:31:13Michael Schumacher, but you have to say it's a blind performance
01:31:15as well by Juan Montoya.
01:31:17Three laps to go, Martin. A
01:31:19very difficult one, this. Who's your driver today?
01:31:21It's got to be Michael, hasn't it? I mean, a
01:31:23stunning pole, head and shoulders above anybody
01:31:25else. Led into the first
01:31:27corner. Really a decent
01:31:29strategy. I think they covered themselves
01:31:31each way on a three-stopper and a two-stopper.
01:31:33Stretched it out to a two.
01:31:35We're sure he won't have to stop again.
01:31:37Well, it'd be amazing if he does. It'll be
01:31:39a real faux pas if he has to stop again.
01:31:41And what are we watching here? We're watching a replay
01:31:43of Villeneuve spinning in
01:31:45the final chicane, and that won't
01:31:47do his fight with truly any good at
01:31:49all. And I think he's now also lost out
01:31:51to Heidfeld. Heidfeld taking over nine.
01:31:53Villeneuve slipping back down to
01:31:55ten. And now we have a
01:31:57fourth retirement in this race. Enge
01:31:59has pulled out of the race in the Prost.
01:32:01So Enge, Irvine, Räikkönen
01:32:03and Alési, who crashed into each
01:32:05other earlier in the race, when
01:32:07Räikkönen lost the car. Alési
01:32:09had to go off the track with him in
01:32:11sympathy. So still 18
01:32:13runners. Amazing, isn't it? But that often
01:32:15happens in the last race of the championship.
01:32:17Cars by now should be reliable, if they're ever
01:32:19going to be. Got to add two more to
01:32:21that, who've won, we've just seen
01:32:23in the pits, of course. He's not showing us
01:32:25out of the race yet, but Fisichella
01:32:27is out of the race, and so is the
01:32:29second Jaguar of Pedro
01:32:31de la Rosa. We think he too
01:32:33has pulled into the pits and
01:32:35out of the race. Two laps remaining.
01:32:37Juan Montoya now
01:32:39six seconds behind the race
01:32:41leader, Michael Schumacher. Can he do anything
01:32:43in the dying moments of
01:32:45this championship season? The
01:32:47dying moments of this race. Two laps
01:32:49to go. Coulthard third, 27
01:32:51seconds behind this amazing
01:32:53scrap we've had this afternoon for the lead.
01:32:55Häkkinen, as we saw, and Martin mentioned,
01:32:57just seeming to be losing some pace.
01:32:59Barrichello fifth, Ralf Schumacher sixth.
01:33:01Ted Kravitz is down in the pits. Yes, James,
01:33:03I have asked a couple of people at McLaren whether
01:33:05they've heard something over the radio, whether there was a deal
01:33:07between Coulthard and Häkkinen.
01:33:09They said they haven't heard anything. But if you look at
01:33:11Mika's lap time, it's okay.
01:33:13It's not great, but it's okay. So I'm not sure if he has
01:33:15got a problem. Could this be, I wonder,
01:33:17Mika's way of giving DC back
01:33:19a present on his last race
01:33:21for McLaren? That's Mika's last race for McLaren.
01:33:23For all those times DC's given Mika
01:33:25a present to help him with the championship.
01:33:27Well, it's possible,
01:33:29but I think Häkkinen would have liked
01:33:31been on the podium for his final
01:33:33Grand Prix, no doubt about it. He's lapping
01:33:35some two, two and a half seconds
01:33:37off the pace. Maybe
01:33:39he just wanted to call it a day a couple of laps
01:33:41early because, as you say, he's still
01:33:43running, no signs of any smoke or any problems
01:33:45out of the car. So Häkkinen
01:33:47remains in fourth place with Barrichello
01:33:49and Schumacher. Ralf, that is
01:33:51just six seconds behind him in
01:33:53fifth and sixth. Well, Martin
01:33:55said that the computer was acting like a
01:33:57fruit machine throughout this race as the places
01:33:59changed. We've had four different
01:34:01race leaders. Michael Schumacher
01:34:03has lost and regained the lead on three separate
01:34:05occasions as Montoya chips
01:34:07away at the advantage, but Schumacher
01:34:09led away from the start, very aggressive,
01:34:11sweeping across the bows of one
01:34:13Montoya who was starting from the second place
01:34:15on the grid. Rubens Barrichello made a
01:34:17bold move to get past Montoya, but
01:34:19he retook him for second place in the early
01:34:21stages. A big accident on lap
01:34:23five between Jean Alési in his final
01:34:25Grand Prix and Kimi
01:34:27Raikkonen, who's off to McLaren next
01:34:29year. Schumacher made his first pit
01:34:31stop on lap 17. It seemed early, we wondered
01:34:33whether he was on a three-stopper, but in fact
01:34:35he was on a two. We've had Montoya
01:34:37leading, we've had Ralf Schumacher leading,
01:34:39we've had Häkkinen leading
01:34:41as well. We've had stop-and-go penalties
01:34:43from Ralf Schumacher, we've had
01:34:45drama, we've had excitement, we've had speed
01:34:47and we've had a world
01:34:49champion who came into this
01:34:51race on top, who looks like he's going to go out
01:34:53of this race on top, because
01:34:55Michael Schumacher really has been the class of the
01:34:57field this year and this afternoon, hasn't he, Martin?
01:34:59He certainly has, and
01:35:01he's going to be just about
01:35:03double the points of second-place
01:35:05man Coulthard. I think that shows
01:35:07what I was saying earlier on in the programme.
01:35:09It's really the first time we've seen Michael
01:35:11who's at the top of his form, and I think the best driver
01:35:13in the world, no doubt about it,
01:35:15in the best car.
01:35:17And that is the dramatic effect.
01:35:19He is going to be some
01:35:2158 points clear of second-place
01:35:23man Coulthard and
01:35:25some 60-odd clear of his
01:35:27teammate. Hats off then to Juan Montoya
01:35:29for putting up a great fight this afternoon,
01:35:31but it's Michael Schumacher who takes
01:35:33the last record that Alain Prost held
01:35:35as the record points scorer of all time.
01:35:37It's now Michael Schumacher's.
01:35:39All the significant records have
01:35:41fallen to the German in the last few
01:35:43months. Michael Schumacher wins
01:35:45the Japanese Grand Prix for
01:35:47the second year in succession, his
01:35:49ninth win of the championship season.
01:35:51Brilliant performance. Juan Montoya
01:35:53crosses the line after a stellar
01:35:55drive in second place, and we wait
01:35:57now for David Coulthard, who will grab the final
01:35:59podium position, and there he is,
01:36:01a great season for David
01:36:03Coulthard. He thought he might have had a shout
01:36:05at the championship, but he hasn't won a race since
01:36:07Austria, and really, mechanical
01:36:09problems put paid to him. Mika Hakkinen
01:36:11in possibly his last Grand Prix,
01:36:13comes across the line in fourth place.
01:36:15What a breathtaking and thoroughly exciting
01:36:17Japanese Grand Prix, Martin. Well, it
01:36:19certainly was changing around, wasn't it?
01:36:21Strategy played a part.
01:36:23Michelin tyres coming in later in the race
01:36:25certainly has ever put
01:36:27Williams in with a shout,
01:36:29but Michael has been too strong
01:36:31for them all weekend, right from the first
01:36:33lap of free practice.
01:36:35Wow.
01:36:37What a great race.
01:36:39Schumacher managing to contain
01:36:41his enthusiasm at the moment. He's almost got used
01:36:43to this now, hasn't he, really?
01:36:4553 Grand Prix victories, I believe
01:36:47it is now, to his credit,
01:36:49nine this season alone.
01:36:51How many more will he win?
01:36:53How many more championships does he have the hunger
01:36:55to try and win?
01:36:57Who's his next great rival
01:36:59now that Mika Hakkinen is going away for the year?
01:37:01Is it going to be David Coulthard next season?
01:37:03Is it going to be Juan Montoya next season?
01:37:05Certainly looks like he'd give him a fight
01:37:07if he has a half-decent motorcar under him, but what about his own brother,
01:37:09Ralf Schumacher? Will he
01:37:11challenge Michael next year? What do you reckon?
01:37:13Ralf's done the same this year as he did
01:37:15when Jenson Button came on strong.
01:37:17He falls away when his teammate gets strong.
01:37:19Seems like he looks over the other side of the pit
01:37:21garage much too often.
01:37:23But Ralf does have the speed,
01:37:25we know that. Coulthard's got to step
01:37:27up to the plate, no doubt about it, in the next
01:37:29couple of years, and I know he can do so.
01:37:31Montoya is looking supremely
01:37:33good, but a lot of kids coming along.
01:37:35Raikkonen coming in, and Sato,
01:37:37and some fresh blood coming
01:37:39along, too. Some very exciting drivers.
01:37:41Felipe Massa, who'll be racing next year
01:37:43for Sauber, already set times
01:37:45in a Sauber around the Ferrari test track
01:37:47that are faster than Michael Schumacher's.
01:37:49Imagine that. There you have
01:37:51confirmation of the top point-scoring
01:37:53positions there, and Coulthard grabs that podium.
01:37:55Hakkinen, it wasn't to be on
01:37:57his final outing. Barrichello drove well
01:37:59today on arguably not the right
01:38:01strategy. He's basically ended up more or
01:38:03less where he started. In fact, he and Hakkinen have swapped
01:38:05positions. The big winner today from his
01:38:07grid slot was Coulthard, who started
01:38:09quite a way down. He's done well to get
01:38:11third place, and his team owner, Ron Dennis,
01:38:13is down in the pit lane with Ted Kravitz.
01:38:15Ron, a podium
01:38:17for David Coulthard, but I think your thoughts
01:38:19are about your other driver today.
01:38:21I'm sorry, I didn't hear the question.
01:38:23Are your thoughts about Mika today, his last race
01:38:25for you for a while?
01:38:27I hope he enjoys his holiday.
01:38:29Just helped David a little bit
01:38:31there, just to give him a bit of
01:38:33an insurance policy on his second place in the championship.
01:38:37Pretty pleased with that strategy,
01:38:39but not great
01:38:41grid positions, so third and
01:38:43fourth is something, not much, but something.
01:38:45And a solid race from Coulthard,
01:38:47ending up on the podium like that? Yeah,
01:38:49they both drove pretty well.
01:38:51It was an
01:38:53interesting strategy that Ferrari had
01:38:55with Barrichello, but
01:38:57he quickly worked
01:38:59out what happened, and
01:39:01good reliability from everybody, so
01:39:03at the end of the day, it was a
01:39:05credible third and fourth. Of course,
01:39:07that gives David second in the championship. Does that mean
01:39:09anything to you or him? I think it means more
01:39:11to him than to us, but that's
01:39:13what he drives for, so we're pleased for him.
01:39:15Second in the constructors
01:39:17as well. I mean, it's not great, it's not good
01:39:19enough, but at least it
01:39:21gives us a starting point for next
01:39:23year. I'm sure you'll come back stronger
01:39:25in Melbourne, Ron. Thanks very much.
01:39:27Well, we've heard him sound a bit more excited than
01:39:29that in the past, haven't we, Martin? No, no,
01:39:31I think Ron realises it's a long, hard winter
01:39:33ahead for his team to regain
01:39:35the initiative they have held in
01:39:37the past, but
01:39:39in the end, Hakkinen, 12 seconds
01:39:41behind Coulthard, almost like he just
01:39:43faded away in those last few laps. He'd had enough.
01:39:45Well, it wasn't a championship decided
01:39:47today. This man already clinched
01:39:49that back in August, would you believe,
01:39:51in Hungary, and don't we know it?
01:39:53But today was all about Michael Schumacher.
01:39:55I can tell you the crowd was
01:39:57150,000 people here,
01:39:59not since, well, a decade ago.
01:40:01Has Formula One been so popular, so
01:40:03fashionable in Japan? We've got Honda coming
01:40:05in next year, Toyota, Takuma Sato
01:40:07as well as a driver,
01:40:09but this really has been all about this man,
01:40:11Michael Schumacher.
01:40:13A fabulous drive. There's
01:40:15Rubens Barrichello. As Ron Dennis said, I don't think
01:40:17three stops was the answer today.
01:40:19And there's David Coulthard, who finished third,
01:40:21also congratulating the winner.
01:40:23The exciting news is about six hours from now,
01:40:25Michael Schumacher will be singing old Beatles songs
01:40:27in the karaoke cabin, and three parts
01:40:29drunk, and by midnight, he'll be fully drunk.
01:40:31And you'll be with him, presumably.
01:40:33I'll be having quiet dinner somewhere. Of course you will.
01:40:35Of course you will. There's Micah Hakkinen. He'll be
01:40:37having many quiet dinners in the next 12 months
01:40:39with his family,
01:40:41just thinking a little bit. He had some high
01:40:43points here, didn't he? 1998
01:40:45and 99, both championships
01:40:47clinched both
01:40:49times, finishing in his part for May with a massive
01:40:51smile on his face, as we well
01:40:53remember. I don't think we've seen the last of
01:40:55Micah Hakkinen, though. Interestingly
01:40:57also, Martin, Michael Schumacher revealed
01:40:59the other day that he's going to take part in a round of the World
01:41:01Kart Championship, would you believe? He's going to take on all
01:41:03the young guns, the 16, 17-year-olds
01:41:05that he used to be himself many years ago.
01:41:07Not got much to gain from doing that, but a good sport,
01:41:09isn't he, for taking him on? Fantastic. It shows you
01:41:11he's got a pure love of driving,
01:41:13and I think that's why he's still so fast
01:41:15for so long. You see no signs of Michael's
01:41:17enthusiasm fading,
01:41:19and as you said, he's not got much to gain
01:41:21and an awful lot to lose if
01:41:23the kids beat him at the kart track.
01:41:25There you are. Confirmation, then, that
01:41:27Peter Sauber have had their best ever season
01:41:29in Formula 1. What a great effort there
01:41:31to beat the B.A.R., Honda, Jordan,
01:41:33Jaguar, and Benetton-Renault, all of whom
01:41:35have substantially bigger budgets, don't they,
01:41:37than the little Sauber team from Switzerland?
01:41:39Hats off, then, to Peter Sauber
01:41:41and to his two drivers, Kimi Raikkonen
01:41:43and Nick Heidfeld. A great
01:41:45job by them. Bye-bye, Micah.
01:41:47That one point, then, for
01:41:49Arrows there is crucial. It gets them in the travel
01:41:51money for next year, so European
01:41:53Menardi, the 11th team,
01:41:55out of the money. Hakkinen making
01:41:57his way up the sidesteps to
01:41:59the podium procedure, and
01:42:01Ralf Schumacher stomping, and he's been stomping
01:42:03all over the place all afternoon, hasn't he?
01:42:05Stomping is a good word, actually, for Ralf Schumacher.
01:42:07He doesn't walk, he stomps, and he's going to be really
01:42:09stomping a lot. He's going to face like a smack bottom, hasn't he?
01:42:11And, well, he might have, because he's been
01:42:13outclassed this weekend, and really, for the
01:42:15last two months by his teammate, Juan Montoya.
01:42:17He's got a lot of hard thinking to do
01:42:19over the winter if he really wants to be the number
01:42:21one top dog in the Williams team.
01:42:23A lot of indiscretions and misdemeanors
01:42:25by Ralf this afternoon. Some sloppy
01:42:27driving around the Suzuka track,
01:42:29which he knows pretty well from his old racing
01:42:31days over here. But the podium then, ceremony
01:42:33is going to come up shortly,
01:42:35and Michael Schumacher will come out
01:42:37for the ninth time this season to
01:42:39collect the winner's trophy. There he is.
01:42:41No jump. Yes, the jump.
01:42:43Same old story, isn't it? If you have
01:42:45two Williams, two Ferrari, and two McLaren
01:42:47finishing, there's no points left for anybody
01:42:49else. That's what they suffer.
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