Formula-1 2000 R04 British Grand prix
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00:00:00Patrolling the pits in the commentary box, we have Martin Brundle, who's driven in nearly 160 Grand Prix and the Big Easter Bunny of Formula One, Murray Walker.
00:00:11Don't know about the Big Easter Bunny, Jim. Used to go to the Bunny Club in Park Lane quite a lot, but my wife's watching the program, so enough of that.
00:00:20Let's talk about the British Grand Prix. Great day, great occasion. Look at the crowd, there's a lot more of them outside and I do hope they're going to get in.
00:00:28It's a funny old feeling being here in April when we're used to being here and feeling the sun biting into our bone marrow at Silverstone.
00:00:37We've been having the rain driving onto our skin at Silverstone, but mercy of mercies, the weather gods are smiling on us today.
00:00:46The sun is shining, the tarmac is dry, the sky is blue, the 22 drivers and their cars are on the grid ready for 60 laps.
00:00:56The fourth Grand Prix of the year. Now, we've already had one run broken.
00:01:03That of Mika Hakkinen that you're looking at now. Mika Hakkinen was in pole position for the Australian Grand Prix, the Brazilian Grand Prix and the San Marino Grand Prix, but not at Silverstone.
00:01:16In pole position is Rubens Barrichello.
00:01:19Now, is the other run going to be broken today? Michael Schumacher won in Australia, in Brazil and in San Marino at Imola.
00:01:29That was an incredible run of victories, although Nigel Mansell won five in a row at the beginning of the year in 1992.
00:01:37There is Michael Schumacher. He is fifth on the grid and the big question is what is going to happen at the start?
00:01:46Because ahead of him are his two main rivals in the World Championship, David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen.
00:01:53Yes, I know they're a long way behind him at the present moment, but there are still 14 races to go after this one.
00:02:0113 races to go after this one, and I'm sure they're going to catch up.
00:02:06Now, a lot of people will be rooting for Ferrari all around the world, but a heck of a lot of people will be rooting for McLaren as well.
00:02:14And they've had a rough time in the first three races of this year. Ancient trouble for Mika Hakkinen in the first two.
00:02:22He finished second at San Marino, but they are desperately looking for points.
00:02:28They are 29 points behind Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship, and of course Michael Schumacher with 30 World Championship points
00:02:37is 24 points ahead of his nearest McLaren rival, Mika Hakkinen.
00:02:43So, this is a crucial race for McLaren, but ahead of the McLarens, of course, are not only Rubens Barrichello,
00:02:51who richly deserves his first World Championship win in Grand Prix racing.
00:02:57He started in 1993, as you just heard Tony Jardim say.
00:03:01But ahead of the two McLarens, too, is Heinz-Harald Frentzen in his Jordan.
00:03:07And that's a car which is very well suited to this track.
00:03:10The Mugen Honda engine has got the power in the right place.
00:03:14And Heinz-Harald Frentzen has already won three Grand Prix this year, two of them last year for Jordan.
00:03:20So, it is a wide-open race.
00:03:23It should be very exciting. It's great to see Schumacher actually now back on the third row.
00:03:28We'll see if there's any overtaking to be done in Formula 1 now. Sorry, I've had a puff, I've just run a long way.
00:03:33But he's got to get past those two McLarens.
00:03:37Kulthar looked very strong in the warm-up.
00:03:39They're all denying that there'll be any difference on the start with these new electronics,
00:03:43because they're saying, well, our car didn't have them anyway, so it doesn't affect us.
00:03:46But I'm pretty sure it does.
00:03:48All of them?
00:03:49Not all of them, but some of them.
00:03:51We're using systems to help get the car away.
00:03:54So, the track is very green. We've had a lot of rain, as you know.
00:03:58Some other cars racing on the track, some older cars, which tend to tear up the Formula 1 rubber with their hard tyres.
00:04:04Formula 3000 running in the wet yesterday.
00:04:07And the drivers were all complaining of lack of grip, because the circuit is very, very green, as we call it.
00:04:13Well, they were here last week, of course, testing.
00:04:16So, although it's been mostly wet, but some dry periods in the last couple of days,
00:04:21they had plenty of time last week to work out the best dry settings as well as the best wet settings in the last couple of days.
00:04:28You saw something there that I haven't seen on this trip before.
00:04:33Heat haze, would you believe?
00:04:36And away they go on the installation lap.
00:04:39There are 60 racing laps here at Silverstone.
00:04:42Of course, that's the only time you see the green light now on the start these days,
00:04:46is to say, go on to that warm-up lap, formation lap, whatever you like to call it.
00:04:51And usually, of course, here, the start line is in a different place to the finish line.
00:04:57It's about halfway down the pit straight, but the finish of the race is as you come,
00:05:01just finish sweeping out of Woodcut in the original position.
00:05:04And that's what caught Michael Schumacher out yesterday. I was talking to him last night.
00:05:08He thought he'd started a new lap for his final go at qualifying by half or one second.
00:05:14But, of course, the lights are on over the other line, which is about 300 metres down the track.
00:05:18I think he could have carried on, but it certainly cost him a final shot at that pole position, hence he's back in fifth.
00:05:24Well, Rubens Barrichello in the Scarlet Ferrari leading heights.
00:05:27Harold Frankson in the yellow Jordan around Club Corner, which is just about halfway round the lap.
00:05:35He's gone down the hangar straight in Stowe through the fearsome collection of bends of Beckett's.
00:05:41He's coming up to the left and right at Abbey, which is quite slow for 55 miles an hour on the apex.
00:05:48Then out of the right hander at Abbey, up to the complex of corners at Bridge.
00:05:54So you see him going and they take that corner at 150 miles an hour.
00:05:58It is awe-inspiring. Now to the two left handers, Priory and Brooklands.
00:06:03And you can see that the competitors are closing up now.
00:06:06Rubens is slowing down so that he's got them all behind him as much as possible when he stops on the grid.
00:06:13Because he and the people at the front, or none of them for that matter,
00:06:16will be wanting to sit there with the clutch out and the engine running for any longer than they have to.
00:06:23So right down at the grid, right at the back, are Marc Genet and Gaston Mazzacane in the two Minardis.
00:06:31They're bringing up the rear of the field again.
00:06:33I remind you that on the third row of the grid, ahead of his more experienced teammate, Ralf Schumacher,
00:06:40is Jenson Button in the Williams BMW.
00:06:43He put up a terrific qualifying lap yesterday and it's put him on the third row of the grid.
00:06:50So through that heat haze drives Rubens Barrichello in front of us to take up his position on the left hand side of the grid.
00:06:57Frentzen peels across to the right.
00:07:00It's quite a decent run down to Copse Corner compared with some of the tracks.
00:07:06And now they peel off to the right, those who are occupying the right hand side of the track.
00:07:12It's a staggered formation as ever.
00:07:14You see the yellow line by Coulthard's front wheel as their marker.
00:07:18Because you're sitting quite deep into the cockpit, you can't really see too clearly, very near to the car.
00:07:24So that yellow line outside there of Coulthard's car is to let him know where to park his front wheel.
00:07:29So the sensors underneath his seat are in line with the sensors in the racetrack, the lights.
00:07:34And when the fifth one goes out, Silverstone will be...
00:07:37Go!
00:07:38Barrichello leads away well.
00:07:40Frentzen second and Schumacher sprinting up alongside the two McLarens.
00:07:46But Jenson Button is right behind him.
00:07:48And so it is Barrichello, it is Frentzen, it is the two McLarens.
00:07:53Yes, but Michael got squeezed out.
00:07:56How can he put the squeeze on Michael Schumacher?
00:07:58He actually then dropped back some places.
00:08:00Coulthard's the leader of the two McLarens in third and fourth.
00:08:03But as you can clearly see, Barrichello and Frentzen away beautifully.
00:08:07Michael had the best of the start and then had to yield.
00:08:10That makes a change.
00:08:11Yes, so Michael Schumacher is in sixth position.
00:08:15And Barrichello, of course, has got a dry track, a clear track in front of him.
00:08:19The two Minardis are still last, of course.
00:08:23And thankfully, as they go down into Club, they're all away.
00:08:26And Ralph Schumacher just outbraked his brother.
00:08:28Michael tried to move into Stowe,
00:08:30which would be a touch of déjà vu from last year.
00:08:33Decided to back off.
00:08:35And now Ralph, his brother, outbraked him into Vale.
00:08:37And he slipped yet another place.
00:08:39Look at the pyramid in the background there.
00:08:41And Ralph maintains that position.
00:08:43A disastrous first lap.
00:08:45Ralph running a little bit wide there.
00:08:46Disastrous first lap for Michael Schumacher.
00:08:48But he's coming back at his brother.
00:08:50Barrichello leads into Priory.
00:08:52And now into Brooklands.
00:08:55You can see there's quite a gap developing now
00:08:58between the first five cars
00:09:00and that gaggle of cars for sixth position
00:09:03as Rubens Barrichello leads out at the end of lap one.
00:09:06It's Barrichello, Fredson, Coulthard, Hakanen.
00:09:10That's it.
00:09:12Jenson Flatten is fifth, Murray, followed by Villeneuve.
00:09:15And then Michael Schumacher has dropped behind his brother in eighth place.
00:09:18So Ralph up to seventh, Verstappen ninth,
00:09:21and Jarno Trulli tops out the top ten.
00:09:23So Michael Schumacher down in eighth position.
00:09:25And already Jenson Button, who is in that leading five,
00:09:29has gained one place at the expense of Michael Schumacher.
00:09:33He started alongside his hero.
00:09:36Could hardly believe his eyes when he saw that it was happening yesterday.
00:09:40And now he is ahead of him.
00:09:42Down they come, and there is Button.
00:09:44And there's a battle developing behind Jenson Button.
00:09:47Yes, that was Ralph making a move on Villeneuve.
00:09:50I don't know whether he got through.
00:09:51Yes, he did.
00:09:52Ralph Schumacher takes Villeneuve into Stowe.
00:09:55So he moves up into that sixth place.
00:09:58So already the race is starting to develop into a pattern.
00:10:01Five up at the front.
00:10:03Then there's more.
00:10:04And right down to Mazzacane, who was running last week,
00:10:07with Fredson now.
00:10:08And that is Rubens Barrichello's Ferrari ahead of us.
00:10:11And it's out of Abbey.
00:10:13Now up to Bridge, the 150-mile-an-hour right-hander,
00:10:16Barrichello, Fredson, Priory, the left-hander.
00:10:20And the gap between the two of them at the end of that previous lap
00:10:24was just four-tenths of a second.
00:10:27Barrichello, Fredson, Coulthard, Hacken and Button, Villeneuve.
00:10:31So Jacques Villeneuve in the VAR is in sixth position,
00:10:34ahead of Ralph Schumacher and Michael Schumacher, the two brothers.
00:10:38Now, can Michael do anything about the Williams BMW?
00:10:41Because Michael Schumacher is in a much more powerful motor car,
00:10:46but his brother is very determined indeed, and he can't.
00:10:49Villeneuve is ahead of the Ferrari.
00:10:52Yes, Ralph Schumacher, the fastest lap of the race there by over half a second.
00:10:56So Ralph's got a bit of clear air.
00:10:58He will very quickly be up behind Jenson Button in fifth place.
00:11:01The two Williams absolutely flying in the warm-up this morning,
00:11:04looking very, very well balanced in these dry conditions.
00:11:08Hacken appears to be struggling a little bit in the early stages,
00:11:11and now Coulthard slipping back from Fredson too.
00:11:14I am amazed that Michael Schumacher is down where he is.
00:11:17He must have some sort of a problem.
00:11:19This is not tactics, it's not strategy.
00:11:22Now, Michael has just got the bad end of the stick on every move he's tried so far.
00:11:26Flew off the line, got pushed out by Hacken,
00:11:29then tried to take Villeneuve, lost that again.
00:11:32On the rebound, Ralph took him,
00:11:34and, well, it's just all gone wrong for Michael Schumacher,
00:11:37down there in eighth place.
00:11:391.7 seconds covers the first four.
00:11:42Jenson Button is 7 tenths of a second behind them,
00:11:45with Ralph Schumacher the fastest on the track.
00:11:48And the Williams BMWs, the two cars there,
00:11:51have surprised us a lot this season.
00:11:53They're continuing to do so here at Silverstone.
00:11:56The brand-new BMW engine is doing an absolutely fantastic job,
00:12:00and both of them are in the top six.
00:12:02Jenson Button fifth, Ralph Schumacher is in sixth position,
00:12:06and it looks to me visually as though Rubens Barrichello in the Ferrari there,
00:12:10as he bursts out of Woodcote,
00:12:12has increased his lead slightly over Heights.
00:12:15Harold Fredson, who's...
00:12:17Ralph Schumacher, fastest man again.
00:12:20So here's the start look,
00:12:22and watch the second red car look of Michael Schumacher.
00:12:25They touch, they touch twice.
00:12:27That's why Schumacher had to get out of the throttle.
00:12:29Hacken and Schumacher touch twice.
00:12:31Hacken stayed on the gas.
00:12:33Michael had to yield, and then that cost him some time.
00:12:36Here it is again. Look at this, Schumacher.
00:12:38Hacken moves across on him.
00:12:40They touched.
00:12:41I'm just wondering whether it's deranged Schumacher's Ferrari suspension slightly.
00:12:45Here's a better view. Look now.
00:12:47Oh, they were so... Actually, they didn't quite touch.
00:12:49They just looked like they did from that high shot,
00:12:51but a closer shot, and they just got extremely close.
00:12:55A little bit of one-upmanship going on there,
00:12:57and Mick is saying,
00:12:58No way, buddy. I need these points more than you.
00:13:00You're a long way ahead of us.
00:13:01And Michael really pushed quite heavily onto the grass.
00:13:04Normally, he'd have got away with that,
00:13:06but we all know just how wet the grass is around here.
00:13:09Lap 4 out of 60.
00:13:10Here it is from Heinz-Harald Frentzen's point of view.
00:13:12There is Rubens Barrichello sprinting away down to Cotts Corner
00:13:16with the Jordan tucked up behind him,
00:13:18the Ferrari pulling away a little on our way with David Coulthard.
00:13:21Now, look at David Coulthard.
00:13:22On the left is Hacken.
00:13:24David Coulthard moves across to get behind Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
00:13:28We can't see what's happening to Hacken, who is just behind us,
00:13:31but that is where Coulthard got his third position
00:13:34because he started fourth on the grid.
00:13:36So he's had a better start than Micah Hacken,
00:13:38and it's still Barrichello at the end of the fourth lap.
00:13:42He led previously by 8 tenths of a second.
00:13:44You can see what it is visually.
00:13:46The yellow Jordan is second,
00:13:48and David Coulthard is gaining very slightly on Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
00:13:53Hacken is not gaining on David Coulthard.
00:13:56Jenson Button and Ralf Schumacher are both 6 tenths of a second
00:14:01behind Micah Hacken, who is in fourth position.
00:14:05So now, look at this.
00:14:07Heinz-Harald Frentzen, and here we are.
00:14:09Now, look at Jenson Button in the background.
00:14:11Jenson Button, there.
00:14:14And Ralf Schumacher goes through and takes Jacques Villeneuve.
00:14:19So Ralf Schumacher in the Williams BMW
00:14:22taking Jacques Villeneuve in the BAL Honda,
00:14:25and he's still ahead of him.
00:14:26Schumacher sixth, Villeneuve seventh.
00:14:29Michael Schumacher in eighth position.
00:14:31He's now 8.8 seconds behind Rubens Barrichello that you're looking at.
00:14:37Frentzen, Coulthard, Hacken, Button, Schumacher,
00:14:42and Jenson Button is still that 6 tenths of a second behind,
00:14:47and there is Ralf Schumacher in sixth position.
00:14:50So, Ferrari leads, Jordan second,
00:14:53and we're with Frentzen now.
00:14:55The two McLarens, third and fourth.
00:14:57The two Williams BMWs, fifth and sixth.
00:15:00Villeneuve's BAL is seventh, and Michael Schumacher is eighth.
00:15:04Yes, Michael appears to be slightly off the pace,
00:15:07but I think he's just in that slipstream position behind Villeneuve,
00:15:10and he's having to basically lap at Villeneuve's pace,
00:15:13which is over one second per lap, off the pace of the leaders.
00:15:17I don't think it's necessarily because Michael's got a lot more fuel on board.
00:15:20Certainly took off the line like he wasn't quite so heavy,
00:15:23or especially heavy, I should say.
00:15:25So, Michael tucked up behind Villeneuve at the moment.
00:15:28Doesn't appear to be able to do anything about it at all.
00:15:30There they are.
00:15:31And look, Verstappen hanging on to Michael Schumacher in the Arrows.
00:15:35Yeah, the Arrows is going extremely well here.
00:15:38Last year, Tom Walkinshaw's team, Arrows,
00:15:41concentrated on developing this year's car.
00:15:44They hadn't got a big enough budget.
00:15:46Michael Schumacher having a look at Villeneuve,
00:15:48tearing off a strip from his visor.
00:15:51But Jos Verstappen holding on in this new car
00:15:54that's been developed by the Arrows team at Lee Field.
00:15:57But this year, it's got a super-tech engine,
00:16:00and it's a very, very quick motorcar.
00:16:02Jos Verstappen has been out at Grand Prix Racing last year.
00:16:05He's back with a bang.
00:16:06It's so unusual to see Michael losing out in those first-lap battles.
00:16:10We normally expect him to be the one making the moves,
00:16:13but just didn't pay off for him today.
00:16:15And now Ralf's pretty much got in the slipstream of Jensen,
00:16:18and he's lost a little bit of his momentum and inertia.
00:16:22They're all now lapping between 1.29.3 and 1.29.6,
00:16:26that whole leading gaggle, which is why they're so close together.
00:16:30Going to be very interesting to see what happens with Ralf Schumacher and Jensen,
00:16:34but they are teammates,
00:16:36and one thing you mustn't do with your teammate is to collide with them.
00:16:39You shouldn't collide with anybody, but certainly not with your teammate.
00:16:43But Ralf Schumacher was not at all happy
00:16:46that for the second time in four races this year,
00:16:49Jensen Button out-qualified him here at Silverstone,
00:16:53and Button is ahead of him now,
00:16:54and Heinz-Harald Frentzen has just made the fastest lap of the race, as you see,
00:16:581.29.18,
00:17:02and that compares with last year, 1.28.3,
00:17:06by Mika Häkkinen.
00:17:09So, Frentzen is starting to close on Rubens Barrichello.
00:17:12Ralf Schumacher is closing on Jensen Button.
00:17:15Well, there you see the amount that Michael Schumacher was behind,
00:17:19it's the whole length of the hangar straight.
00:17:21As the leaders turned into stone,
00:17:22Michael was just coming through church onto the hangar straight.
00:17:27Quick word now about stops and strategy.
00:17:30You heard James Allen,
00:17:32we're probably expecting two stops.
00:17:35Now, if you do it mathematically,
00:17:37those two stops would be on laps 20 and 40 in this 60-lap race,
00:17:42but as you also heard James say,
00:17:44there's going to be all sorts of different two stops.
00:17:48Some people will stop early for their first stop,
00:17:50some will stop very late,
00:17:52and it's going to be difficult to get a coherent picture of the race until much later.
00:17:56Yes, and the Ferrari team will be now recalculating what to do with Michael Schumacher.
00:18:01This could not have been in their game plan at all,
00:18:04and they're going to wonder how they can, at some point,
00:18:07widen the window of those stops and find him a bit of clear air
00:18:11so he can close down that 11-second gap he's got to the leaders.
00:18:16James, what can you tell us?
00:18:17Well, I think he's in big trouble, to be honest, Martin.
00:18:19It's going to be very, very difficult.
00:18:20I also think he did take a knock in that hacking and incident.
00:18:23I'm in the Ferrari garage,
00:18:24and I said to them,
00:18:25they look like they nearly touched, didn't they?
00:18:27And one of the Ferrari guys looked at me and said,
00:18:29listen, mate, they did touch.
00:18:30So I think maybe he's carrying something on that car,
00:18:33not quite sure.
00:18:34But either way, we're looking at a long first stint here, for sure.
00:18:36The target lap time for a normal two-stop is about 128.7,
00:18:40but they're a little bit off that,
00:18:41so I think they're carrying a bit more fuel than the standard divided into three race.
00:18:45So you're looking for a first stop sometime around 23 to 26 is my guess.
00:18:49Depends which camera angle you looked at, James.
00:18:51I'm not sure they did touch, and if they did,
00:18:53it was in areas that are not really that vulnerable.
00:18:56The suspension, the carbon fibre suspension, is either absolutely fine
00:19:00or it's broken and the wheel's flying around.
00:19:02So I'd be surprised if he's got any kind of mechanical or suspension de-arrangement,
00:19:07and certainly there's nothing hanging off the car at this time.
00:19:10Michael just appears to be nailed back there in Villeneuve's slipstream,
00:19:13but falling back slightly, now 7 tenths behind.
00:19:16Lap 8 out of 60, we're with Frentzen, who is in second place.
00:19:20You can see Rubens Barrichello ahead, 9 tenths of a second.
00:19:25David Coulthard has just made a very quick lap.
00:19:28He's half a second behind us in Frentzen's car.
00:19:31Mika Häkkinen is 8 tenths of a second behind him.
00:19:34Jenson Button is just under a second behind Mika Häkkinen.
00:19:38Ralf Schumacher is 1.1 seconds behind Jenson Button,
00:19:41who's just made the fastest lap of the race.
00:19:44So the young Jenson Button is on the move.
00:19:47He's only 4 tenths of a second now behind Mika Häkkinen.
00:19:50There's Häkkinen, there is Button,
00:19:52and there's quite a big gap behind Jenson and Ralf Schumacher.
00:19:57Now, completing the top 10, Jacques Villeneuve is 7th,
00:20:00Schumacher is 8th, Verstappen is 9th,
00:20:03and Jarno Trulli is in 10th position.
00:20:06Lap 9, no retirements, there is Häkkinen and Jenson Button.
00:20:11Now, you remember when Jenson spoke to Marty just before the race,
00:20:15he quite coolly said,
00:20:16I'm looking forward to my first British Grand Prix,
00:20:19I can't wait to get into the race.
00:20:20He's gone into the race, he's stayed ahead of Ralf Schumacher,
00:20:23he has passed Michael Schumacher,
00:20:25the double world champion in the Ferrari,
00:20:28and he's closing on double world champion Mika Häkkinen
00:20:31as you look at Jenson Button now.
00:20:33Barrichello, Frentzen, Coulthard, Häkkinen, Button, and Ralf Schumacher.
00:20:38Coulthard beginning to press Frentzen once again,
00:20:41and Button, I mean, the speed he has in the car,
00:20:43I don't think surprised anybody,
00:20:45but this kind of maturity in a race is just,
00:20:47this is probably his 40th or 45th circuit race ever,
00:20:52and here he is mixing it with the best in the world.
00:20:54You're on board with Coulthard going into Luffield,
00:20:57he takes a slightly tighter line through there,
00:20:59gets on the power nicely,
00:21:01not too much oversteer on the way out
00:21:03as the car accelerates over the start line.
00:21:06That's the finish line, the start line is now,
00:21:08and Cox is ahead 190 miles an hour.
00:21:10So, so difficult to see where to turn in,
00:21:13and then hold your breath on the exit,
00:21:15there's a little tiny piece of kerb
00:21:16before you're in the gravel trap.
00:21:18Into Beckert, see if he has to lift too much,
00:21:20a little bit of lift there,
00:21:21he's still got quite a lot of fuel on board,
00:21:23remember, riding the kerbs,
00:21:25and a little bit of spray there,
00:21:27still some water up against those kerbs,
00:21:32and we are going to take a break.
00:21:40Lap 11 out of 60,
00:21:42as across the line goes leader, Rubens Barrichello,
00:21:46but Mika Häkkinen, the fourth car,
00:21:49has just made the fastest lap of the race
00:21:51to close up a bit on his teammate, David Coulthard.
00:21:55The McLarens are still third and fourth,
00:21:57but Frentzen in the Nugent Honda-powered Jordan
00:22:03is still holding that second place.
00:22:06And Martin, I must say, I'm quite surprised at that,
00:22:09because the McLarens behind him
00:22:11have undoubtedly got much more power
00:22:13from their Mercedes-Benz engine,
00:22:15which is also a lot lighter.
00:22:17But Frentzen is holding the pace extremely well.
00:22:19I don't think there's much between them now,
00:22:21Mario, the top end, 20 horsepower at the most.
00:22:23It's a question of drivability,
00:22:25and I think the way the aerodynamics are working
00:22:27around this circuit,
00:22:28rather than absolute raw power,
00:22:30and Barrichello's car is working well,
00:22:32there's no doubt about that.
00:22:33He's just done a new fastest lap of the race
00:22:35on a 1.28.8,
00:22:37but they're all so, so close.
00:22:39This is the amazing thing,
00:22:40all designed to different philosophies,
00:22:43same regulations, but different philosophies,
00:22:45and all kinds of interesting differences,
00:22:47if you look along the cars aerodynamically,
00:22:49weight distribution-wise, and whatever.
00:22:51But they are so, so close in performance.
00:22:54Unfortunately, that's not generating us
00:22:56great overtaking opportunities.
00:22:58But listen to this.
00:23:00I can now tell you something
00:23:01that hasn't been told before this week.
00:23:03I was up at the Shell Place in Thornton in Cheshire
00:23:07with Rubens Barrichello last week,
00:23:09and, oh, look.
00:23:11It's a restart here, look.
00:23:14And there'll be a circle coming up,
00:23:15and there is Schumacher and Hakkinen from this distance.
00:23:18It does look like they touch,
00:23:20but another camera angle down much nearer to the racetrack
00:23:24seemed as if Schumacher was able to
00:23:27keep just moving out of the way,
00:23:29whilst not going too hard onto the grass.
00:23:31Right, well, let's come back to this thing
00:23:33I was telling you about, the fuel,
00:23:35because Ferrari may have a bit of a secret weapon.
00:23:39They're using a different kind of fuel composition here,
00:23:42which may give them an economy advantage
00:23:44which could help them stay out a bit longer,
00:23:46and that could be absolutely crucial
00:23:48to this race and strategy.
00:23:50Meantime, David Coulthard is pushing again.
00:23:53He's still in third position.
00:23:54You still see Barrichello, Frinson, Coulthard, Hakkinen,
00:23:58and there's only 2.5 seconds covering the top four.
00:24:01Yes, new fastest lap for Coulthard on a 1.28.4.
00:24:04They're just edging that away now
00:24:06as the fuel load goes down.
00:24:08Remember, 10 kilos of fuel around here,
00:24:10let's say four laps worth of fuel,
00:24:13is 0.4 of a second in cost per lap,
00:24:16carrying that weight around the circuit.
00:24:18Michael Schumacher is now 16.5 seconds behind the leader,
00:24:23almost as if he's lost a bit of interest back there.
00:24:26He's not really putting any kind of pressure on Villeneuve.
00:24:28We're not seeing one of his storming drives through the field.
00:24:31You're on board with Coulthard, of course,
00:24:33the camera above his head that all the cars have to carry.
00:24:37Once again, they're playing with the throttle enough.
00:24:39Luffield trying to get some grip and head down that pit straight.
00:24:43If there's a westerly wind here,
00:24:45at the end of this straight is often the fastest part of the racetrack
00:24:48at 195 miles an hour.
00:24:50Well, you don't need to be a brain surgeon to work out
00:24:52that with the race as close as this,
00:24:54because you're looking at Ralph Schumacher now,
00:24:56who's in sixth position, just four seconds behind the leader.
00:24:59Four seconds covers the first six.
00:25:01You don't need to be a brain surgeon to work out
00:25:03that a great deal is going to depend on strategy
00:25:06and when they come in, how long they take
00:25:08and where they rejoin the track in relation to their competitors.
00:25:12As down the straight into Stowe goes Hakanen,
00:25:16Coulthard coming towards us now, De La Rosa,
00:25:19Johnny Herbert in the Jaguar.
00:25:23They are 17th and 18th and coming through.
00:25:27Now, there is Herbert.
00:25:28Behind Herbert is Denis, then Heidfeld, Jeunet and Mazzacane.
00:25:33That's down to the 22nd.
00:25:35We still have no retirements.
00:25:37We're on lap 14.
00:25:38Michael Schumacher then.
00:25:39That's the distance he is behind fellow world champion
00:25:43Jacques Villeneuve,
00:25:45and I think that's about as close as he's going to get.
00:25:47The turbulent air, you just damage your front tyres a little bit
00:25:50on turning, the car slides.
00:25:51You have to wait.
00:25:52The guy in front of you is always going to be on the throttle
00:25:55at least a car length ahead of you, of course,
00:25:57and you just end up taking his momentum somehow.
00:26:01You've got to arrive and nail the guy in front if you can,
00:26:04otherwise you end up falling into some kind of...
00:26:07you just get mesmerized, really,
00:26:09and that seems to be where Michael Schumacher is at right now
00:26:11at this stage of the afternoon.
00:26:12As he follows Jacques Villeneuve in the BAR Honda,
00:26:16the world champion of 1997.
00:26:19You remember that Michael Schumacher and Villeneuve
00:26:22had that contentious coming together at Jerez in 1997,
00:26:26which decided the world championship.
00:26:28Well, they're at it again now, not colliding, I mean,
00:26:32but racing each other very hard indeed.
00:26:34As you can see, Barrichello on the right,
00:26:37Frentzen on the left are doing,
00:26:39and you can see that with all this sunshine that we've had,
00:26:42not only is the track completely dry,
00:26:44but it's getting warmer, of course,
00:26:46and that can make somewhat of a difference
00:26:48as into the pits comes Alexander Fuerz in the Benetton
00:26:52from 21st position.
00:26:54Well, well done.
00:26:56Yes, that must be an unscheduled stop.
00:26:58I would have thought so early in the race.
00:27:00I can't imagine they're dreaming of a three-stopping,
00:27:03although nothing much changed on the car
00:27:06other than a standard-looking,
00:27:08put some gas and some new boots on it,
00:27:10so Wirtz now over the speed line, he can accelerate.
00:27:13It's quite a tricky little corner at the end of the pit lane here,
00:27:15but you're moving nicely by the time you rejoin the racetrack.
00:27:18And we certainly haven't had a race as close as this this year.
00:27:23Under, under, just over, sorry, just over,
00:27:264.1 seconds now separates Ralf Schumacher, who is 6th,
00:27:30and Rubens Barrichello on the left,
00:27:32who is leading the race
00:27:34as they turn the right-hander and up into Woodcote
00:27:37to complete their 15th lap.
00:27:40Now, we're getting towards the time
00:27:43when the first of the stops for a two-stop strategy could happen,
00:27:47round about five laps time, if I am right,
00:27:51but the Ferrari mechanics seem quite relaxed there
00:27:54as Barrichello leading Frentzen by half a second.
00:27:57Frentzen is half a second ahead of Coulthard.
00:28:00Coulthard is eight-tenths of a second ahead of Mika Häkkinen,
00:28:03so Häkkinen can't do anything about the three in front of him
00:28:06any more than Michael Schumacher, who is 8th,
00:28:09can do anything about Villeneuve before he gets into the points,
00:28:12if he does.
00:28:136th position, which is occupied by his brother, Ralf,
00:28:16and Jenson Button is still in 5th position.
00:28:19Well, we're focused on the people driving the cars,
00:28:22but the men who are going to win this race this afternoon
00:28:25are in the pits, currently studying the back of their eyelids,
00:28:29relaxing, resting, preparing themselves,
00:28:31because it's going to be all about getting their man
00:28:34back out on the track in the fastest possible speed.
00:28:37Mikasala out from 18th position in the Sauber.
00:28:42His teammate, Pedro Diniz, is 17th ahead of him, or was,
00:28:48so Mikasala rejoins,
00:28:50and the leaders are still that close
00:28:54as they turn out of the left-hander
00:28:57at Brooklands into the double right-hander at Luffield.
00:29:02We're with David Coulthard now,
00:29:04with the three-pointing star of Mercedes-Benz on his steering wheel,
00:29:08crossing the line to complete the 16th lap.
00:29:11It surprised me just how long it took Coulthard
00:29:14to be able to get on the power there.
00:29:16I think the rear tyres, when the track is green,
00:29:18you get more wheel spin.
00:29:19As soon as you get more wheel spin, you get more temperature,
00:29:21higher wear rate, and I think all of them,
00:29:24and maybe it's why their pace is so similar,
00:29:26are just struggling to get on the throttle
00:29:28in those slower corners.
00:29:29At high speed, you've got more than the weight of the car.
00:29:32In downforce, it helps you get that traction.
00:29:34It's the low-speed corners where,
00:29:36listening to their throttle actions,
00:29:38they're struggling to find some grip.
00:29:40I'm waiting to hear what Michael Schumacher says
00:29:42at the end of this race.
00:29:43There he is in the Ferrari in 8th position.
00:29:46And news from James Allen.
00:29:47Yeah, a little bit of concern up on the McLaren pit wall.
00:29:50We've had some discussions going on
00:29:51between Steve Hallam and Mark Slade
00:29:53on the Hakkinen engineering team.
00:29:55I know that Hakkinen had a problem this morning
00:29:57with the pneumatic valve sensor.
00:29:58It was a similar problem to the one he had in Australia,
00:30:00if you remember, the air system relating to the engine.
00:30:02And they were concerned, of course,
00:30:04with that very short amount of time
00:30:05between the warm-up and the race.
00:30:06They didn't have time to change the engine.
00:30:08Hakkinen could have started the race in the spare car,
00:30:10but I'm told he started in his race car
00:30:12and there have been quite a few discussions going on
00:30:14up there in the last few minutes.
00:30:15So we'll keep an eye on that, but at the moment,
00:30:17Hakkinen's not showing any signs
00:30:18of being slowed by any kind of problem.
00:30:20But they're certainly watching it.
00:30:22Meanwhile, guys, I'm becoming convinced now
00:30:24that people are actually going to stop
00:30:25just once in this race.
00:30:26The lap times we're seeing are very consistent
00:30:28with quite a heavy fuel load,
00:30:29so we need to keep our eyes on this.
00:30:31It's an extraordinary atmosphere down here.
00:30:32I can't remember a more tense atmosphere
00:30:34between the teams.
00:30:35It's real cat and mouse.
00:30:37The first person to move, make a mistake,
00:30:39the others will pounce.
00:30:40Yeah, you could well be right, James,
00:30:42because the two-stop strategy
00:30:44is going to bring them down into the traffic.
00:30:46Now, who's doing well and who isn't doing so well?
00:30:49Well, obviously the first five are doing well,
00:30:52but particularly Jenson Button
00:30:54to have improved his position on the grid by a place
00:30:57and to stay with the competition that he's chasing
00:31:01because he's only 2.6 seconds on lap 18
00:31:04behind race leader Rubens Barrichello
00:31:07and he is right up with Mika Hakkinen
00:31:09who is in fourth position
00:31:11as you watch Jacques Villeneuve
00:31:13going extremely well in the B.A.R. Honda.
00:31:16Last year that car did not go well.
00:31:18You're looking at Barrichello now
00:31:19and look at Heinz-Harald Frentzen
00:31:21crowding right up behind the Ferrari.
00:31:24Now, Michael Schumacher is the first man
00:31:27who is doing badly in comparison
00:31:29with what we would have expected
00:31:31down in eighth position.
00:31:32Jos Verstappen is driving a great race for arrows
00:31:35in ninth position.
00:31:36But now they are right up with each other.
00:31:39Frentzen is with Barrichello.
00:31:41Coulthard is with Frentzen.
00:31:42Hakkinen is with Coulthard.
00:31:44Jenson Button is not so very far behind Mika Hakkinen.
00:31:48So it is Ferrari leading.
00:31:51Jordan second.
00:31:52McLaren's third and fourth.
00:31:54Williams fifth and sixth
00:31:55with Button and Schumacher both in the points
00:31:58on lap 18 out of lap 60.
00:32:00Now watch Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
00:32:03Watch his fingers.
00:32:04He changes gears by just squeezing paddles
00:32:07underneath the left and right side
00:32:10of the steering wheel
00:32:11which you don't need me to tell you
00:32:13is not a normal one.
00:32:14It's not round.
00:32:15It's got buttons all over it
00:32:17because a lot of the control functions
00:32:19these days operated by the driver
00:32:21are done through the steering wheel
00:32:23and the steering wheel itself
00:32:25can cost a minimum of £20,000
00:32:29with all the electronic stuff that is on it.
00:32:32So down the hangar straight
00:32:34into Stowe Corner
00:32:36and he's doing about 190 miles an hour.
00:32:38Barrichello, Frentzen, Coulthard, Hakkinen, Button
00:32:42and Ralf Schumacher in sixth position.
00:32:45Now we're going to be taking a break
00:32:47but rejoin us in a couple of minutes.
00:32:54Lap 20 out of 60.
00:32:55One third distance.
00:32:57The leaders are the same.
00:32:58There is Barrichello.
00:33:00But Jos Verstappen
00:33:02who was in a fine ninth place
00:33:04has hit some sort of a problem with the arrows.
00:33:07He's slowed down.
00:33:08He's been caught at the pass
00:33:09and I suspect he is out of the race.
00:33:11Fisichella has come in in the Benetton
00:33:13for a pit stop.
00:33:14There is Verstappen touring in.
00:33:16Fisichella clearly having just hit something
00:33:19with the front of the Benetton
00:33:21because the nose was slightly deranged
00:33:23and it's a very bad race for the Benetton team
00:33:26because Fisichella and Woertz
00:33:27are now right at the back
00:33:29and Heinz-Harald Frentzen speeds up again
00:33:32with his fastest lap of the afternoon.
00:33:36But it's very static at the front
00:33:38although it's very close
00:33:39with only 3.2 seconds covering the first five.
00:33:43Look at them.
00:33:44There is Frentzen, Kulbarn, Häkkinen
00:33:46and Jenson Button in fifth.
00:33:48I keep on marvelling about Jenson Button
00:33:50but he's driving a great race.
00:33:52It's absolutely amazing
00:33:53how he can just stay up there with this pace
00:33:56with so little experience.
00:33:57James, what can you tell us?
00:33:58Here's one for you, Martin.
00:33:59There's a board going out just in a moment
00:34:01for Mikko Häkkinen.
00:34:02The next time he comes through
00:34:03and it says Mixture 3.
00:34:04P4, lap 21, Mixture 3.
00:34:07I wonder whether they're trying to plot something here.
00:34:09Get him to run the thing a little bit lean,
00:34:11perhaps save a little fuel.
00:34:12Are they on some sort of cunning fuel strategy,
00:34:14do you think?
00:34:15I don't think it's particularly cunning fuel strategy.
00:34:17They obviously want to stretch out.
00:34:18Maybe he's got enough fuel on board
00:34:20that'll do a two-stopper just about sensibly
00:34:23or with a little bit of effort,
00:34:24stretch to make a sensible one.
00:34:26And I think the team started the race
00:34:28with that kind of idea.
00:34:30Mikko Häkkinen slipping back slightly
00:34:32from Kulthar now.
00:34:33And it's not a great deal,
00:34:35but we're watching a game of chess here.
00:34:37We saw a bit of tag wrestling off the start line
00:34:40when Michael Schumacher
00:34:41got double-shuffled out of the way.
00:34:42But right now, we're simply watching some chess.
00:34:45It's going to shake out
00:34:46when they come in for their pit stops.
00:34:48And obviously, the teams are just fine-tuning
00:34:51what they've got to do
00:34:52to try to maximise
00:34:53because there's nothing between the drivers
00:34:55or the cars.
00:34:56And Villeneuve getting a bit out of shape there.
00:34:58Some kind of smoke coming out of the back of the car.
00:35:00Whether it was the car bottoming out,
00:35:02I don't know.
00:35:03We'll have a look in a minute.
00:35:04But Villeneuve having a good scrap
00:35:06with Michael Schumacher.
00:35:07They're now 22 seconds off the pace.
00:35:10And that is Jos Verstappen.
00:35:12We saw him slow down.
00:35:13He's now in the pits.
00:35:15It's a long stop.
00:35:16He's got his visor up,
00:35:18and you can tell from the way
00:35:19the mechanics are standing around the car
00:35:21that he probably won't be going any further.
00:35:23Gaston Mazzacane in the Minardi,
00:35:26in the pits,
00:35:27and now out of it.
00:35:28So we're getting the...
00:35:30We've had quite a few pit stops,
00:35:31but they are all tail-enders.
00:35:33Mazzacane, Fisichella, Salo,
00:35:36Woertz and Verstappen have all been in.
00:35:38Nobody who is higher than 17th
00:35:40has yet been in.
00:35:41And we're now on lap 22,
00:35:43on lap 23 now,
00:35:45because Barrichello goes through,
00:35:47as you see,
00:35:48six-tenths of a second ahead of Frentzen.
00:35:50So he's eking out his lead.
00:35:51And Mikko Häkkinen has just made
00:35:52the fastest lap of the race.
00:35:54Faster than his own fastest lap last year,
00:35:57as Verstappen retires.
00:35:59And that is the first retirement on lap 23.
00:36:02Well, fuel three.
00:36:03Maybe he was running fuel two before or something, James,
00:36:05because he's now gone something like
00:36:08seven-tenths of a second faster
00:36:10with...
00:36:11I can't believe it's the fuel mixture, for sure.
00:36:13It'd be Mikko getting his head down, I would have thought,
00:36:15probably on the lap before.
00:36:16You always lose a little bit of time
00:36:18while you're listening to a message,
00:36:20understanding a message,
00:36:21making the adjustment in the cockpit.
00:36:23You can't help it.
00:36:24You lose a little bit of momentum.
00:36:26And now, all of a sudden,
00:36:27Mikko Häkkinen appears to be
00:36:29very much on the attack.
00:36:31Well, as you watch Häkkinen,
00:36:33I just wanted to say something else
00:36:34about Jenson Button.
00:36:35I said yesterday during qualifying
00:36:37that Frank Williams,
00:36:39Sir Frank Williams,
00:36:40who, of course, is the boss of the Williams team,
00:36:42is getting near decision time
00:36:44about the year 2001.
00:36:46And who's going to be his second driver
00:36:48to Ralf Schumacher?
00:36:49Because Juan Pablo Montoya,
00:36:52the Colombian who is in American car racing
00:36:55as champion this year,
00:36:57is on the Williams books
00:36:59and was expected to join them next year.
00:37:02But Jenson Button has been going so well
00:37:04that there's now got to be some doubt about it.
00:37:06If he keeps going on the way he's going now,
00:37:09because he's holding that fifth position superbly,
00:37:11Frank Williams' decision
00:37:13is going to be even harder to make.
00:37:15I wouldn't like to have to make it.
00:37:16Well, Frank Williams made an incredibly brave decision
00:37:19to put Jenson Button in the car
00:37:21because of his lack of track experience.
00:37:23I think it would be an even braver decision
00:37:25to turf him out now
00:37:26after certainly what we've seen in the first few races.
00:37:29But I reiterate,
00:37:30there's a lot of hurdles for Jenson to clear yet this season.
00:37:34The wet races, the street circuits or whatever.
00:37:36But so far, it's just been astonishing.
00:37:39You saw Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher there.
00:37:42Michael Schumacher is...
00:37:43There he is.
00:37:44He's now 23 seconds behind Rubens Barrichello
00:37:49with no chance of winning this race
00:37:51unless something dramatic happens
00:37:53to no less than seven people ahead of him.
00:37:56There's Johnny Herbert, 12th.
00:37:58Pedro Diniz, 13th.
00:37:59Behind Pedro Diniz, Heinfeld.
00:38:01Into the pits comes Jean Alessi from 15th position.
00:38:05De La Rosa is in the pits.
00:38:07Marc Genet is in the pits.
00:38:09There's De La Rosa coming in.
00:38:11And the rest group.
00:38:13Presumably, it's vitamin C they put in that orange arrows, is it?
00:38:17Yeah.
00:38:18Lap 24.
00:38:20Lap 24.
00:38:21Rubens Barrichello leads by six-tenths of a second
00:38:24from Heinz-Harald Fredsen
00:38:26as the Minardi of Marc Genet burns rubber out of the pit lane.
00:38:30He can really hit it there
00:38:32because there's no way he's going to get to 70 miles an hour
00:38:36plus before that white line.
00:38:39And he's coming out.
00:38:40This is going to be pretty significant
00:38:42as Heinz-Harald Fredsen in second position.
00:38:45Now, well down because Coulthard's gone through.
00:38:48Häkkinen's gone through.
00:38:50Now, what is Fredsen's time going to be?
00:38:52This is going to be a crucial thing.
00:38:54This is on lap 25.
00:38:56Williams in the pits too.
00:38:57Ralf Schumacher is in the pits.
00:38:59This is looking strong for McLaren.
00:39:01Ralf Schumacher having to pit too.
00:39:03And a problem with the right rear for Ralf Schumacher's pit stop.
00:39:06And he's away now, but that cost an awful lot of time.
00:39:09Fortunately for him, the players behind him,
00:39:12which was Jacques Villeneuve, were some 13 seconds adrift.
00:39:15So I don't think it'll cost Ralf a position,
00:39:18but it sure hasn't helped.
00:39:20Now, can David Coulthard,
00:39:22now that he's got rid of Heinz-Harald Fredsen,
00:39:25all being temporarily, put on a real spurt
00:39:28and close the gap between himself and Rubens Barrichello?
00:39:31There is the race leader on lap 25 out of 60.
00:39:35Coulthard second, Häkkinen third.
00:39:37Up into fourth place comes Jenson Button.
00:39:40And Jenson Button has just done the fastest first sector of the race.
00:39:45This lap is broken up, for timing purposes like all of them,
00:39:48into three individual sectors.
00:39:51And not only has Button gone quicker than anybody in the first sector,
00:39:55he's gone quicker than he has been before in the second sector.
00:39:59There he is, you see.
00:40:00There's Jenson Button, the fourth car there.
00:40:02And look at the gap between him and Häkkinen.
00:40:04I think he's pitting, Murray.
00:40:05The information is Button is pitting this time.
00:40:07There's the white speed limiter line on the pit lane.
00:40:09But Jenson must be careful not to overspeed.
00:40:13I can see him coming past the commentary box now.
00:40:15Yes.
00:40:16The fuel flap opened.
00:40:18I don't know if James is down there.
00:40:19If you are, interrupt me, James.
00:40:21No, he's not.
00:40:22So, Jenson Button in now.
00:40:24Fredsen's time took 7.2 seconds.
00:40:28And remember, every second gives you four laps of fuel.
00:40:32Jenson sitting quite calmly there.
00:40:34Now he's taken on a lot of fuel there.
00:40:37Does that mean to say that...
00:40:39Well, he may be doing a very strange strategy.
00:40:42He was a little bit slow away after the refueller came out.
00:40:44But I think with Ralf Schumacher's apparent hit...
00:40:47Did Ralf pass him there or not?
00:40:48Yeah, I think it was Ralf going through.
00:40:50Was it Ralf?
00:40:51So, hopefully, Jenson hasn't lost position there.
00:40:54We'll have to wait until we catch them going down Hangar Straight or something.
00:40:58But this is the battle for the lead now.
00:41:00Coulthard having...
00:41:02Fredsen got in the pits.
00:41:03Coulthard got some clear air.
00:41:04And look, immediately just zapped straight up to the back of Barrichello.
00:41:08And if you ever need proof that the aerodynamics of these cars are affecting their overtaking performance,
00:41:13I think there it is.
00:41:14It's clear to see.
00:41:15Well, this is Rubens Barrichello's 115th Grand Prix.
00:41:19Ralf's in front. Sorry to interrupt, Murray, but Ralf did get through.
00:41:22So, whatever that problem is on the right rear wheel cost him nothing.
00:41:25Jenson a little bit slow away, I think, after they lifted the lollipop.
00:41:29That gave him that 10.3 second stop.
00:41:31And it slotted him in behind his teammate.
00:41:33That's a pity.
00:41:34Well, it's all experience for Jenson Button.
00:41:36And he is still very much in the points in fifth position.
00:41:39He's over the line into lap 27 now.
00:41:42Barrichello, as I was saying, this is his 116th Grand Prix.
00:41:47He's led before.
00:41:49He led for Stewart at Brazil last year.
00:41:52He had a wonderful second place at Monaco.
00:41:54He's never won a race.
00:41:55But he's also led for Jordan, his previous team, not for very long, admittedly,
00:42:00in the Belgian Grand Prix after he took pole position.
00:42:03But Rubens Barrichello has had pole position for all the three teams he has driven for.
00:42:08He's led for all the three teams he has driven for.
00:42:11He hasn't won for any of them.
00:42:13Is this going to be the day?
00:42:15He's leading now by half a second from Coulthard.
00:42:18As into the pits comes Eddie Irvine from 11th position
00:42:22and is passed by his teammate, Jaguar, Johnny Herman,
00:42:26who goes up into 11th place.
00:42:29Yes, a sad weekend again, really, for the performance of the Jaguar team, really.
00:42:33Quite a long way, about a second lap off the pace.
00:42:36So they're going to go away from here very disappointed,
00:42:39even if there's an alarming fallout of cars ahead of them
00:42:42and they scratch a point, their performance will be bothering them, and a lot.
00:42:46Now, let's recap.
00:42:48You're looking at the first three.
00:42:49Obviously, none of them have stopped yet.
00:42:52Barrichello, Coulthard and Hakkinen.
00:42:55Ferrari, McLaren, McLaren.
00:42:57There were six together.
00:42:58Of those six, Heinz-Harald Frentzen in the Jordan, who was second, has stopped.
00:43:03Jenson Button, who was fifth, has stopped.
00:43:06Ralph Schumacher, who was sixth, has stopped.
00:43:10So we're going to see shortly whether the different strategies
00:43:14that these two lots of three drivers are running is going to make a difference.
00:43:19And look at the speed there.
00:43:21Michael Schumacher is now up into fifth position
00:43:25as a result of those stops, but he has yet to come in.
00:43:29Jacques Villeneuve is in fourth place, but he has yet to come in.
00:43:33Of the ones who have stopped, Heinz-Harald Frentzen is still in the points.
00:43:37He's sixth position.
00:43:38Ahead of Ralph Schumacher, seventh, who's passed Jenson Button after their pit stops.
00:43:43Button is in eighth position.
00:43:44Jarno Trulli is ninth.
00:43:46Ricardo Zonta has just made the fastest lap of the race, the Brazilian, in the BAR.
00:43:51He's in tenth position.
00:43:53I can't explain the Zonta lap.
00:43:55Johnny Herbert makes his first stop.
00:43:58It's really either they're going to stretch a very long second stint here,
00:44:02or he's on a two-stop, either which way.
00:44:04It seems to be somewhere about in the middle.
00:44:06But you saw a quick shot back there of Michael Schumacher with his head down,
00:44:10but he still can't get any closer than half a second to Jacques Villeneuve.
00:44:14They're currently running fourth and fifth because of the pit stops.
00:44:18Still only one retirement, and we're on lap 28,
00:44:22almost at half distance, as James Allen gives us more news.
00:44:25Here's a scenario for you guys.
00:44:27Michael Schumacher's 22 seconds behind the two McLarens.
00:44:30If they pit and rejoin, they will rejoin behind him on the track,
00:44:34which, of course, will allow Rubens the breathing space to put a few quick laps in,
00:44:38make his stop, and win this race quite comfortably.
00:44:40Now, I just wonder whether that's what we're heading for here.
00:44:43I know McLaren are getting ready to make a pit stop.
00:44:45I think Ferrari aren't a million miles away either.
00:44:47But Hacking has been eking out this fuel.
00:44:49That's why he's got the hammer down.
00:44:50He's trying to get the gap between himself and Schumacher as wide open as possible.
00:44:54Yes, thanks, James. We've seen De La Rosa stopped, I believe, in the pit lane.
00:44:59Oh, in fact, he's gone off into the old pit entrance, thank goodness,
00:45:02because a car stuck in the pit lane itself can sometimes mean the safety car.
00:45:07But that is the old pit lane entrance, thank goodness.
00:45:10He had the sense to turn down there so that will not interrupt the race.
00:45:14Zonta, having set the fastest lap of the race, has now pitted as well.
00:45:18But that's both arrows out of the race.
00:45:21The only two to retire so far.
00:45:23Shame for them because of their performance so far through the weekend.
00:45:26But you're looking at the top three.
00:45:28Yes, and it looks to me as though they're both on a one-stop strategy.
00:45:32We're on lap 29 now out of 60.
00:45:35And you can see how close it is.
00:45:37The mechanics of Ferrari and McLaren in the end analysis
00:45:41are going to decide the winner of the British Grand Prix if things go on the way they are now.
00:45:46Zonta, the fastest man on the track so far, accelerates out of the pits
00:45:51as Johnny Herbert, 17th bar, followed by Marc Genet, Nick Heidfeldt, go through.
00:45:57Well, what's critical here, if we saw...
00:46:01We've seen already that Frentzen and Ralf Schumacher, Jenson Button have pitted earlier than the others.
00:46:05If they manage to stretch it out so they all stop once this afternoon,
00:46:09the laps that are going on now are absolutely critical.
00:46:12They're not running together, they're some 25 seconds apart
00:46:15because some have stopped and some have not.
00:46:17But how will it shake out once they've made their pit stops?
00:46:20And I noticed that the leaders are in the 27.9, so is Jenson Button.
00:46:24So if they can stretch, they're not gaining...
00:46:27These three at the front have not gained as much as you'd normally expect
00:46:30by having these few laps on the lighter fuel load.
00:46:34So when it all shakes out, they're going to come back out pretty much together.
00:46:38And we are on the half-distance lap, 30 out of 60 now,
00:46:42with nothing in it between the leading Ferrari and the two McLarens.
00:46:46We're with the second McLaren now, second-place McLaren,
00:46:50of David Coulthard, last year's winner, of course.
00:46:54And David Coulthard driving his best, his brilliant best,
00:46:59his seventh equal in the World Championship at the present moment.
00:47:03Just two points behind his teammate Micah Hackett.
00:47:07And Micah Hackett, of course, is 24 points behind Michael Schumacher,
00:47:11who is in the points now.
00:47:13He's in fifth position ahead of Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
00:47:16But, as I always say, it's a bit of a false dawn
00:47:19because Michael Schumacher has not stopped.
00:47:22Frentzen has, Ralf Schumacher has, Jenson Button has.
00:47:26And as Martin has explained,
00:47:28the pit stops that are coming up are going to be absolutely crucial.
00:47:31It's going to be very, very close indeed.
00:47:34Yes, all three of them did a 28, 1 minute 28.1.
00:47:38We'll wait a few seconds.
00:47:39Wilner and Schumacher still a little bit slower than that,
00:47:41although they're currently running fourth and fifth.
00:47:43And I'm really keen to see Frentzen, Ralf Schumacher,
00:47:46and Jenson Button's lap times as they come over the line.
00:47:49They're not together, I remind you, but they are still very much racing.
00:47:53This is the game of chess I was telling you about.
00:47:5528.1 for Michael this time around.
00:47:57Frentzen, 28.3.
00:48:00And that's within a tenth the same as Barrichello, Coulthard.
00:48:04Yes, 28.1, 28.3, so they're all lapping at the same...
00:48:08Yeah, they're lapping.
00:48:10Look, Coulthard has passed the Ferrari.
00:48:12Coulthard has passed Barrichello.
00:48:14He takes the lead of this race.
00:48:16Haven't seen it on the TV,
00:48:17but maybe Barrichello made a mistake somewhere.
00:48:19We're going to have a replay shortly.
00:48:21Stay tuned.
00:48:22We're going to see that very, very shortly.
00:48:24But David Coulthard for the second consecutive year
00:48:27leads the British Grand Prix.
00:48:29Now, does that mean that Barrichello's got a problem?
00:48:31Because Coulthard, as he did before, is streaking away.
00:48:35Here is the replay.
00:48:36Now, let's look what happens.
00:48:37Barrichello leading.
00:48:38It's in the stone.
00:48:39Look, Coulthard's going to go down the outside.
00:48:41Coulthard takes a brave, brave run right down the outside.
00:48:44Barrichello defends his line,
00:48:46then has to reduce his speed some,
00:48:48and Coulthard just saying,
00:48:50I'm coming through.
00:48:51Now's the moment.
00:48:52And as a result of that,
00:48:53Barrichello loses momentum,
00:48:54and Mika Hakkinen closes up on him.
00:48:56That's a replay.
00:48:58And so now, David Coulthard, again,
00:49:00as he's made the fastest lap of the race,
00:49:02he's broken clear of Barrichello,
00:49:04who seems to have been holding him up, therefore.
00:49:07And into the pits comes Mika Hakkinen from third position.
00:49:11This is going to give David Coulthard the chance
00:49:13to extend his lead,
00:49:15because he will be making a terrific charge on this lap.
00:49:19Now, how...
00:49:2110.11.3 seconds for Mika Hakkinen.
00:49:25Now, that's a second longer than Jenson Button took James Allen.
00:49:29Completely consistent with the one-stopper.
00:49:31This is absolutely fascinating.
00:49:33And it was a critical move by Coulthard.
00:49:35If he hadn't got past Barrichello,
00:49:37he might have had the danger.
00:49:38James, the Williams BMWs have gone through,
00:49:42and it looks to me as though Mika Hakkinen's lost track position.
00:49:45And look at this, Coulthard's got a back marker on this lap.
00:49:47He does not need this.
00:49:48He must, must clear this Minardi at the earliest opportunity.
00:49:52Go for it, David. Just nail him.
00:49:54You've got to get through.
00:49:55This lap is crucial, because you're going to end up,
00:49:58like your teammate, behind those two Williams,
00:50:00if you're not careful.
00:50:02You need two or three more laps if you've got the fuel
00:50:05to pull out three, four seconds.
00:50:07Otherwise, the Williams are going to be leading this race.
00:50:10Yeah, that was incredible.
00:50:11The two Williams of Ralph Schumacher and Jenson Button
00:50:15have gone ahead of Mika Hakkinen
00:50:18as a result of their different pit-stop strategies.
00:50:21Now, as Marty says, there is Ralph Schumacher,
00:50:25there is Jenson Button, there is Mika Hakkinen,
00:50:28and McLaren has lost two places on the track.
00:50:33Lap 33, 60-lap race.
00:50:35Well, fortunately for Coulthard,
00:50:36he was still the fastest man on the track,
00:50:38despite having to go offline to pass the Minardi there.
00:50:42So it didn't cost Coulthard too much time.
00:50:44He still needs another couple of laps of low one-minute 27s,
00:50:49and he may, may just come out in front.
00:50:51He's going to be touch and go.
00:50:52But significantly, Heinz-Harald Frentzen is still there,
00:50:56and he's ahead of Ralph Schumacher and Jenson Button.
00:51:00So Frentzen is in fourth position now.
00:51:03Michael Schumacher moves up into fourth place
00:51:05behind Jacques Villeneuve, who is third.
00:51:08David Coulthard leads the race.
00:51:10Rubens Barrichello is in second place.
00:51:12We're in an absolutely magical time
00:51:15of the British Grand Prix at Silverstone,
00:51:17and this is the man who's got to increase the gap
00:51:20between himself and Rubens Barrichello,
00:51:22and his pit mechanics are ready to bring him in.
00:51:26Up to bridge, the right-hander, 150 miles an hour.
00:51:29David will, of course, know he's coming in on this lap.
00:51:32Rubens Barrichello will retake the lead.
00:51:36Or will he?
00:51:37No, he won't. He will not.
00:51:39I think it's... I think Coulthard is tussling.
00:51:42In my view, Coulthard is tussling
00:51:44with these two guys here in the Williams,
00:51:47and that's what he's up against.
00:51:49Got to be some kind of stunning stop,
00:51:51but he needs enough fuel to do...
00:51:53Just a bit of drama!
00:51:54There, in comes David Coulthard, the leader, James.
00:51:58This is going to have to be very, very good by McLaren,
00:52:00because he's got 25 seconds over Michael Schumacher.
00:52:03In other words, if he doesn't get back out
00:52:05on the track in front of Schumacher,
00:52:06he could have blown the race relative to Rubens Barrichello.
00:52:08It's going to be very, very tight,
00:52:10within a second or two, possibly.
00:52:12Nice job by the McLaren boys.
00:52:1410.2 seconds, exactly the same,
00:52:16within a tenth as Jenson Button.
00:52:18He accelerates out, and there goes Schumacher.
00:52:21Look, he's going to get ahead!
00:52:23It's Frentzen who's the key one now.
00:52:25And he's done it!
00:52:26Frentzen's done it as well.
00:52:28There comes David Coulthard,
00:52:30and Frentzen chops across the pit exit.
00:52:34And so, David Coulthard, like Mika Häkkinen,
00:52:37has lost track position on his pit stop.
00:52:40No, not quite, Murray. I don't see it that way.
00:52:42It's Frentzen who will, of course...
00:52:44Is that Barrichello?
00:52:45No, Barrichello's gone through in front of Frentzen.
00:52:47Sorry, you're correct.
00:52:48You're absolutely correct.
00:52:50So, I thought that was Schumacher coming down the pit straight.
00:52:52It was Barrichello.
00:52:53So now, Coulthard really has rejoined back in third place.
00:52:57Yep, lap 34.
00:52:58Rubens Barrichello back in the lead
00:53:00as Jack Fielder, who comes in from fifth position,
00:53:04sweeps into the pit lane and stops at his garage.
00:53:08But the Ferrari is back in the lead,
00:53:11and there is Heinz-Harald Frentzen behind,
00:53:14and David Coulthard.
00:53:16So, you're looking at a restatement of the positions
00:53:20at the beginning of the race.
00:53:22Rubens Barrichello is leading,
00:53:24Heinz-Harald Frentzen is in second position,
00:53:26and David Coulthard is third.
00:53:28Right, it's clear to me now, having seen that.
00:53:30That is Michael Schumacher.
00:53:31Of course, he hasn't yet stopped.
00:53:33He was, as James pointed out,
00:53:35just about a pit stop behind the race leaders.
00:53:38And we haven't seen Barrichello yet.
00:53:40Barrichello's down the road doing one minute 27.4s.
00:53:43It is Frentzen we can see behind.
00:53:45Michael Schumacher is in second place,
00:53:48but he has yet to stop.
00:53:51So, and this is lap 35.
00:53:55Fuel strategy is very different indeed.
00:53:58Button, there is Button,
00:54:00ahead of Mika Häkkinen,
00:54:02who is seventh and out of the points.
00:54:04But, of course, he has stopped,
00:54:06and Michael Schumacher,
00:54:07who is ahead of him and in the points, has not.
00:54:09So, Häkkinen is seventh,
00:54:11Button is in the points after his stop.
00:54:13Ahead of him is Ralf Schumacher,
00:54:15fifth after his stop.
00:54:17David Coulthard, fourth after his stop.
00:54:20Frentzen the same, third after his stop.
00:54:23So, Michael Schumacher will be coming in,
00:54:25and then we will have Barrichello,
00:54:27Frentzen Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher,
00:54:29Button Häkkinen, and Jenson Button
00:54:32ahead of the double world champion,
00:54:34and his teammate Ralf Schumacher ahead of him.
00:54:37What Michael's doing now is some pretty impressive lap times.
00:54:40He's got to clear.
00:54:41He's got to leapfrog Jack Villner,
00:54:42the guy who's been holding him up all through the race.
00:54:44So, now, and that's Barrichello.
00:54:46That's Barrichello's spun.
00:54:48And Frentzen goes through.
00:54:49The lead is spun.
00:54:50Frentzen takes the lead.
00:54:52And, surely, Coulthard and Häkkinen,
00:54:54Coulthard and the two Williams have got a chance
00:54:56to come through there, too.
00:54:57Where is the McLaren?
00:54:58And he's on wet tires,
00:55:00and he comes into the pit lane straight away.
00:55:02Rubens Barrichello comes in for his second stop.
00:55:06The Ferrari mechanics are taken by surprise.
00:55:09Rubens Barrichello's spun.
00:55:11Now, does he think he's damaged the bottom of the car, James?
00:55:14I can't see any damage.
00:55:15They certainly weren't expecting him.
00:55:17This was unscheduled.
00:55:18The mechanics have just scrambled.
00:55:20Now, just to put this into context for you folks,
00:55:22what was happening here was Ferrari's entire strategy
00:55:26was based around Rubens Barrichello winning this race.
00:55:29He's not stalled it.
00:55:30The engine's still running.
00:55:31Now, he's got a problem with the gear selection,
00:55:33and they're trying to just reach into the cockpit.
00:55:35He's blown it, guys.
00:55:36He had the race in his lap.
00:55:37Ross Brawn was at his disposal.
00:55:39Michael Schumacher was at his disposal
00:55:41to win this race for Ferrari,
00:55:43and he has blown it.
00:55:44Well, let's wait and see.
00:55:45He may have had a technical problem
00:55:46that sent him off the racetrack.
00:55:47It is unusual to recover from a spin
00:55:49and then drive straight into the pit lane
00:55:51with, apparently, a healthy car,
00:55:53so he may well have had some kind of gear selection problem
00:55:56that pitched him off the road.
00:55:57So, now, Michael Schumacher is going to lead the race
00:56:01because he has not yet stopped,
00:56:03but the real leader is still Frentzen,
00:56:05followed by Coulthard,
00:56:06and the net gain is in all of this pit-stop stuff
00:56:09was Ralph Schumacher, Leapfrog, Jenson Button,
00:56:12and Micah Hakkinen fell behind the pyramid.
00:56:14Here we go.
00:56:15Here's the replay.
00:56:16Now, he loses the back of it there.
00:56:18I think there's a mechanical problem
00:56:20because I noticed that when Schumacher,
00:56:22when Barrichello came in
00:56:23and he was talking to the mechanics,
00:56:25he was obviously very agitated,
00:56:27unlike him normally,
00:56:29as he goes through the very wet, soggy grass,
00:56:31and he seemed to be saying,
00:56:32it wasn't my fault, fellas,
00:56:33something happened at the back.
00:56:35Now, he very clearly spun off,
00:56:37rejoins the track.
00:56:38Frentzen goes through and takes the lead,
00:56:41and that is the position at the present moment
00:56:43with Michael, sorry,
00:56:44Frentzen effectively takes the lead.
00:56:46Michael Schumacher is leading the race.
00:56:48That's a very, very strange spin there
00:56:50for Rubens Barrichello.
00:56:52Look, the throttle absolutely buried immediately.
00:56:55I think there was actually a Minardi
00:56:56going through the picture,
00:56:57but splashes across the grass
00:56:59and immediately takes to the pit lane
00:57:01as if he had some kind of throttle
00:57:03or gearshift situation.
00:57:04Michael, a new fastest lap of the race.
00:57:06He certainly will now be Leapfrogging Villeneuve.
00:57:10James, what can you tell us?
00:57:11Well, I owe a hearty apology to Rubens Barrichello.
00:57:13Sorry, Rubens, you didn't blow it.
00:57:14It was a hydraulic pressure dropping on the car
00:57:17throughout that last lap before he spun.
00:57:19That's why he spun.
00:57:20He dived into the pit lane.
00:57:21There's nothing that can be done.
00:57:22He's parked the car.
00:57:23A great tragedy because what was happening here
00:57:25was the whole thing was for Rubens' benefit today.
00:57:27Even Michael Schumacher was playing for him.
00:57:29Yeah, you couldn't see him, James,
00:57:31the way we could on our monitors,
00:57:34and he was obviously very concerned indeed.
00:57:37We're watching now Johnny Herbert chasing Pedro Diniz.
00:57:41Johnny Herbert in the Jaguar
00:57:42chasing Pedro Diniz in the Sauber,
00:57:46and he is in 13th position.
00:57:49And so Johnny Herbert is 14th.
00:57:51But just to go back to the front of the race,
00:57:54Michael Schumacher,
00:57:55that's the fluid from the bottom of Barrichello's Ferrari.
00:58:00Michael Schumacher is leading the race
00:58:02by four seconds from Heinz-Harald Fredsen.
00:58:05But Schumacher, as we have repeatedly pointed out,
00:58:08has yet to stop.
00:58:10And Fredsen is effectively leading the race
00:58:14from David Coulthard and Ralf Schumacher 3rd,
00:58:17Jenson Button in 4th position,
00:58:20Micah Häkkinen in 5th place,
00:58:22Jarno Trulli in 6th position
00:58:24as Riccardo Zonta spins out of the race.
00:58:29He was in 11th place,
00:58:31and his B.A.R. Honda race is finished.
00:58:35Well, he's in a tricky position there,
00:58:37but I don't see any need.
00:58:38They should be able to tow him out
00:58:39under double-waved yellows there.
00:58:42And that's truly in for a stop from 7th place,
00:58:46his first stop of the afternoon.
00:58:47Now, I'm absolutely sure of one thing.
00:58:49Michael Schumacher has not got a big enough fuel tank
00:58:52to drive this entire Grand Prix distance.
00:58:54What he is doing is lapping about a second a lap faster
00:58:57than the rest of the field.
00:58:58Remember, he was about 23 seconds behind the leading pack,
00:59:03and there's about 23 laps to go.
00:59:05So this kind of pace
00:59:06might just bring Michael into contention
00:59:08towards the end of the race.
00:59:10Remembering, of course,
00:59:11now he's getting on quite low fuel,
00:59:13and that explains why,
00:59:14in the early part of the race,
00:59:15he looked lackluster
00:59:16and unable to get anywhere near the back of Jacques Villeneuve.
00:59:20Yeah, an incredibly late first stop
00:59:23because he's on lap 38 at the present moment.
00:59:26So he must have had his tank absolutely brimful,
00:59:30which explains why he's going now.
00:59:31And he comes into the pit lane,
00:59:33Michael Schumacher,
00:59:35and I'm watching for Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
00:59:37I can see Frentzen.
00:59:38He's coming through, James.
00:59:39Thank you, Murray.
00:59:40He's going to come and pit stop.
00:59:41He's going to rejoin in around about 6th
00:59:43or possibly 7th place.
00:59:45He won't get in front of Hakkinen.
00:59:46He'll be in front of Trui in 7th place.
00:59:48A bad day for Michael Schumacher at the office, really.
00:59:50Maybe he'll get a point, who knows?
00:59:52But I think, guys, you want to keep an eye on Frentzen
00:59:54and the two Williamses
00:59:55because I'm pretty sure they're going to have to stop again.
00:59:57I'm not sure they really are the factor here.
00:59:59I think this is McLaren's day.
01:00:00I think Schumacher's still in the points, actually,
01:00:04because Jarno Trulli has not gone through yet.
01:00:07And I still don't see him,
01:00:09and I reckon that Michael Schumacher...
01:00:11Yes, there's Trulli.
01:00:12So Michael Schumacher rejoins the race in the points.
01:00:16Now, he's on one World Championship point at the present moment,
01:00:20and his chief rival in the championship,
01:00:22Micah Hakkinen, we expect,
01:00:24is only in 5th position at the present moment,
01:00:27so there's only one point difference
01:00:29to Hakkinen's advantage if they stay where they are now.
01:00:32We're on lap 39.
01:00:34These are the positions.
01:00:36Heinz-Harald Frentzen is leading this race
01:00:39from David Coulthard by about 1.5 seconds.
01:00:43Then Ralf Schumacher is 3rd.
01:00:46Jenson Button is 4th.
01:00:48Micah Hakkinen is 5th.
01:00:49Michael Schumacher is 6th.
01:00:51We're leaving Silverstone for a couple of minutes,
01:00:53but don't go away.
01:00:56SILVERSTONE
01:01:01Lap 41, 19 to go at Silverstone.
01:01:04The weather is still perfect,
01:01:06and as a result of Rubens Barrichello's retirement,
01:01:09you're looking now at the first two.
01:01:11Heinz-Harald Frentzen leading a Grand Prix again.
01:01:15There's his boss, Eddie Jordan.
01:01:17Frentzen's already won three races.
01:01:19This could be his fourth and his third for Jordan.
01:01:22He's 1.7 seconds ahead of David Coulthard
01:01:25and lapping faster than the McLaren.
01:01:27Ralf Schumacher and Jenson Button in the Williams BMWs
01:01:31are 3rd and 4th ahead of Micah Hakkinen,
01:01:34who is not making any impression on them.
01:01:36And importantly for him,
01:01:38Michael Schumacher is in the points.
01:01:416th position.
01:01:42But the story is,
01:01:43will Heinz-Harald Frentzen have to...
01:01:46and Genet is at the moment in the Minardi.
01:01:48Will Frentzen have to stop again?
01:01:51We don't know.
01:01:52We know the McLarens can go to the end.
01:01:54We're sure of that.
01:01:55We're sure the two Williams can go to the end
01:01:57that are currently running 3rd and 4th.
01:01:59Hakkinen, we know, can.
01:02:00Michael Schumacher, absolutely for certain.
01:02:02He was the last man to stop.
01:02:04So we're going to play in Zonta's spin any moment now.
01:02:07But this is the question.
01:02:08Does Frentzen have to stop again?
01:02:10And this is Zonta losing his car in the complex
01:02:14and buries the throttle,
01:02:15but can't stop it from going into the gravel trap.
01:02:17And they had to bring JCB out
01:02:20to drag that stricken BAR out of the way.
01:02:24And I have to say, sadly, Martin,
01:02:26that Ricciardo Zonta has not lived up to my expectations
01:02:29since he became a Grand Prix driver
01:02:31as the European Formula 3000 champion.
01:02:34Admittedly, he had that crash in Brazil last year,
01:02:37but it just has never really looked like being on it.
01:02:41No, he's certainly not shown in the way
01:02:43that you would have expected,
01:02:44but Frentzen's certainly put a spurt on.
01:02:46Down in the low 27s now, 8 tenths of a second faster
01:02:49than Coulthard on that run.
01:02:51Now the leading group are getting amongst the back marches.
01:02:54That's Jenson Button coming up to lap the Minardi.
01:02:57And Hakkinen really just been struggling all afternoon,
01:03:00hasn't he?
01:03:01Yes, he has.
01:03:02Hanging on to the back of the pack.
01:03:03There it is. Here's Frentzen's...
01:03:05Truly stopped very late.
01:03:06So we know for sure, surely that must be for Frentzen.
01:03:10And here it comes.
01:03:11Frentzen does have to stop again.
01:03:13So, David Coulthard goes through and takes the lead.
01:03:17And where is Ralf Schumacher?
01:03:20Ralf Schumacher goes through into second position.
01:03:23Jenson Button goes through into third position.
01:03:26Button, on lap 43, having made his stop,
01:03:30is in a podium position for the first time
01:03:34in his short Grand Prix career.
01:03:36And look, Schumacher too.
01:03:37Michael Schumacher coming through.
01:03:39Frentzen is going to go from first to sixth.
01:03:43Yeah, Michael Schumacher is really laughing
01:03:46as a result of the strategy that they decided to run
01:03:50because he was down in eighth position for lap after lap.
01:03:53Now he's on two World Championship points
01:03:56with Micah Hakkinen just ahead of him in third position.
01:04:01Fourth position, I'm sorry.
01:04:03Here's Ralf Schumacher, currently running second.
01:04:06And really, that strategy of Jordan's
01:04:08has blown it for them today.
01:04:09It's turned out to be completely wrong.
01:04:11They weren't flexible enough.
01:04:12They weren't able to move it to a shorter first stint
01:04:16of a one-stopper like some of the teams have done
01:04:19or, indeed, even start the race
01:04:21fully intending to do a long first stint.
01:04:23And that's cost Jordan extremely dearly.
01:04:26Hakkinen is coming through the back markers
01:04:28but still behind Jenson Button
01:04:30in what will shake out to be third place,
01:04:33a podium position.
01:04:35Once they pass the line again
01:04:37and all the computers shuffle around,
01:04:39Jenson Button in a current podium position.
01:04:42And I am wondering who it is
01:04:44that BMW have got working for them at Munich.
01:04:47This, after all, is their first year back in Formula 1
01:04:51after leaving it in 1983
01:04:54when Nelson Piquet was the world champion for Brabham
01:04:57using a BMW turbo engine.
01:04:59And they've started off with a clean sheet of paper.
01:05:02They haven't used anybody else's technology.
01:05:04And there were people saying that the BMW was heavy,
01:05:07the engine was heavy and underpowered.
01:05:10Well, if that's a heavy, underpowered engine,
01:05:12I'm sure that half the pit lane
01:05:14would be more than happy to get their hands on it
01:05:16because they are now in second and third places.
01:05:19There is Schumacher, there is Jenson Button
01:05:22coming through to lap La Prost ahead of him
01:05:24and staying ahead of world champion two times
01:05:28Micah Hakkinen.
01:05:29Yes, David Coulthard's got a seven-second lead now.
01:05:33And they're all coming through the back markers
01:05:36so I think it'll yo-yo a little bit.
01:05:38But Coulthard, he's often said,
01:05:40I love it when I'm out in front.
01:05:41It's where I feel my most confident,
01:05:43my most comfortable,
01:05:44but I'm sure in the back of his mind
01:05:46the reliability issues he's had with the McLaren
01:05:49as Jenson Button laps the Prost.
01:05:52Coulthard's going to be thinking,
01:05:54will this go to the end today when I need it most
01:05:57to win the Grand Prix of Great Britain back-to-back
01:05:59for a British driver?
01:06:00It would be some kind of wonderful feeling.
01:06:02Well, I didn't expect to see this.
01:06:04I'll be quite honest.
01:06:05Two British drivers in the top three
01:06:07at this stage of the race.
01:06:08Lap 44 out of 16.
01:06:10I certainly didn't expect one of them
01:06:12to be absolute newcomer.
01:06:14Jenson Button, first time at Silverstone
01:06:16in a Grand Prix.
01:06:18Lap 45, then here are the gaps.
01:06:20David Coulthard, seven seconds ahead of Ralf Schumacher
01:06:24and lapping about the same.
01:06:27Jenson Button is nine seconds behind Coulthard.
01:06:30Micah Hakkinen is 11 seconds behind Coulthard.
01:06:33Michael Schumacher is 17 seconds behind
01:06:36but lapping eight-tenths of a second faster
01:06:39than Micah Hakkinen.
01:06:40I wonder if Micah has some sort of a problem.
01:06:43He just has not, Sean, in this race at all.
01:06:45Well, I think we're finally seeing Michael Schumacher
01:06:47on some kind of mission.
01:06:48He's just 6.4 seconds behind Micah Hakkinen now,
01:06:51who's 1.6 behind Jenson Button.
01:06:54That mid-race sprint when Michael Schumacher
01:06:56got some clear air and started pumping
01:06:58in the one-minute 26s has certainly,
01:07:00all of a sudden, elevated him in
01:07:03with some chance of getting on to the leading pack.
01:07:06Before that happens, we're going to take a quick break.
01:07:09Pumping in the one-minute 26s has certainly,
01:07:12all of a sudden, elevated him in
01:07:14with some chance of getting on to the leading pack.
01:07:18Before that happens, we're going to take a quick break.
01:07:25Lap 47, Jenson Button running third
01:07:27comes into the pit lane for his second stop
01:07:30and accelerates out.
01:07:32Now, it's conceivable that Michael Schumacher
01:07:34will have gone up into fourth position.
01:07:37He's gaining place after place.
01:07:39Micah Hakkinen has gone up into third place.
01:07:41Now, there is Button.
01:07:43Can we see Michael Schumacher?
01:07:45Well, that is a major surprise to me
01:07:47and a huge disappointment.
01:07:49I really thought it was clear to see,
01:07:51to read this race, that he was heading into a one-stopper
01:07:54to be at the sharp end when it matters.
01:07:56And I'm just amazed with 13 laps to go
01:08:00that they brought Jenson Button in.
01:08:02He had to come in for another stop.
01:08:03What a disappointment.
01:08:05Well, I begin to wonder where this will leave Ralph Schumacher
01:08:10because there's 14 laps to go.
01:08:14And he's coming in!
01:08:15Ralph Schumacher's coming in.
01:08:17There are the Williams mechanics again.
01:08:19So that means that Hakkinen should move,
01:08:21could well move up into second position
01:08:23and Michael Schumacher into third place.
01:08:26Irvine having stalled the engine on with a box full of neutrals.
01:08:29I'm not sure which.
01:08:31A box full of neutrals, by the looks of it.
01:08:33So, Eddie Irvine going no further.
01:08:35Johnny, oh, he's found one.
01:08:37There he goes. Will he find some more?
01:08:39But Ralph coming down the pit lane.
01:08:41So this is going to put the Williams way back.
01:08:43They obviously went for a long first stint
01:08:45and a very short middle stint
01:08:47to give themselves track position.
01:08:49And, well, quite clearly now,
01:08:51it's going to compromise them badly
01:08:53in the run-up to the end of the race.
01:08:55And is Michael Schumacher going to get through
01:08:58and ahead of the Williams BMW
01:09:01before it leaves the pit lane?
01:09:03Well, on the left there, you see Ralph Schumacher.
01:09:07Coulthard, of course, has gone through.
01:09:09Micah Hakkinen has gone through.
01:09:12There is Schumacher.
01:09:14And that is Jenson Button behind him.
01:09:16So they've both come in and rejoined the track
01:09:19in exactly the same positions relative to each other.
01:09:22We're on lap 48 now.
01:09:25And I'm just trying to work out in my mind
01:09:27where Michael Schumacher is
01:09:29in relation to the others in the top six.
01:09:31He's in it absolutely for sure.
01:09:34But Gerhard Berger looking very downcast.
01:09:37Well, now he's smiling as he talks to Sir Frank.
01:09:39But there is Michael Schumacher.
01:09:41Well, you can see where he is on the track.
01:09:44Michael Schumacher is in third position.
01:09:47What I said was going to happen has,
01:09:49I'm glad to say, from my point of view.
01:09:52So it's a McLaren leading.
01:09:54At Herbert, they will be pumping up the hydraulic system.
01:09:58Maybe you do get a leakage on that.
01:10:00That's the system that closes the valves in the engine.
01:10:03And clearly they had some kind of leakage.
01:10:05They had to come in and fit.
01:10:07You can add that during a race.
01:10:09You cannot add oil and that sort of thing during a race.
01:10:11But you can add, I believe, compression into that system.
01:10:16Ralf Schumacher now on the track on a mission
01:10:18heading for a very fast lap time.
01:10:21But we're dying to see.
01:10:22I think you're right, Mario.
01:10:23I think it's left Michael Schumacher in third place.
01:10:27And of course, Frentzen behind him.
01:10:29And now the two Williams are going to round out the top six
01:10:34in fifth and sixth position.
01:10:36There's Hacken.
01:10:37And look, there is Michael Schumacher.
01:10:39He is in third position as he comes up
01:10:42and passes Eddie Irvine in the Jaguar
01:10:44and moves through to let him pass.
01:10:46So Michael Schumacher is on four world championship points
01:10:51in the phenomenally so far reliable Ferrari,
01:10:54having scored ten in each of the first three races.
01:10:57It's not going to make very much difference to the gap
01:11:00between himself and Micah Hacken.
01:11:02Because although Hacken is second,
01:11:04it means to say that he will have closed the gap
01:11:06to Michael Schumacher by only two points
01:11:09from 24 to 22,
01:11:12provided they finish in second and third places.
01:11:15But Ralph Schumacher is now in fifth place
01:11:18behind Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
01:11:20Jenson Button is still in the points.
01:11:22That would be the second time in his first four Grand Prix
01:11:25that he's finished in the points if he stays there.
01:11:28But as Martin has said, great disappointment
01:11:31when we both thought that he was going to be in third position
01:11:34on a one-stop strategy.
01:11:36Not so.
01:11:37I'm still seriously impressed with Michael Schumacher.
01:11:39He had patience at the beginning of the race,
01:11:41fell back 23 seconds.
01:11:43Imagine if he'd have made that start stick
01:11:46and go around the outside of Hacken,
01:11:48so he's in the thick of it, at the front all the way through.
01:11:51The amount of fuel he obviously had on board,
01:11:53he would have been in superb shape.
01:11:55And as James pointed out earlier in the race,
01:11:57it's McLaren that have really called the strategy right today.
01:12:00And it's working beautifully.
01:12:02Coulthard and Hacken are up front.
01:12:03Coulthard's got a 10.9-second lead.
01:12:05Michael Schumacher's got a few backmarkers
01:12:07and 8.8 seconds before he can get a look
01:12:10at the back of Micah Hacken.
01:12:12Who has never won a British Grand Prix.
01:12:14He was second in 1988.
01:12:16He's led but gone off last year, of course.
01:12:19He lost the rear wheel.
01:12:20He went off the year before when the race was very wet indeed.
01:12:25Michael Schumacher, of course, has won.
01:12:27He won in those contentious circumstances in 1998
01:12:30when he won the race in the pit lane stationary
01:12:34as a result of having to take a penalty.
01:12:37But Ferrari made it work.
01:12:40Michael won the race.
01:12:42Micah Hacken has not won a British Grand Prix.
01:12:44David Coulthard has, of course.
01:12:46If he wins this race, it will be for the second year in succession.
01:12:49And it's something that David really needs
01:12:52to beat his teammate, Micah Hacken, fair and square.
01:12:55Because he was getting the reputation
01:12:57of being number two in the McLaren team
01:13:00in a situation where there's only a cigarette paper
01:13:02in terms of ability between him and his teammate, Micah Hacken.
01:13:06Fenton, we're now riding with fourth place.
01:13:09Yes, coming into Luffield.
01:13:11Coulthard can't quite find that tenth or two-tenths
01:13:13to match Hacken on the ultimate lap,
01:13:15but he's always been as good,
01:13:17if not having an edge at some tracks, in race conditions.
01:13:20And he certainly had an excellent afternoon
01:13:22as David Coulthard, finding his time,
01:13:24making use of his strategy.
01:13:26And there he is, way out front at the moment.
01:13:28He's got a nice comfort zone.
01:13:29He can play his lap times to Hacken
01:13:31and needs to keep an eye on it,
01:13:33because Hacken will come under pressure from Michael Schumacher.
01:13:36Although, actually, Hacken is managing to maintain
01:13:39that 9.3 second advantage, too.
01:13:42So, Coulthard and Hacken looking very strong.
01:13:45How strong is the McLaren?
01:13:46It certainly showed good reliability in Imola.
01:13:49Micah Hacken had a problem this morning in the warm-up,
01:13:51but that seems to be the first signs
01:13:53of any reliability issues.
01:13:55I think they may have nailed it.
01:13:57Well, the race that we need to look at now
01:13:59is Frentzen against Ralf Schumacher,
01:14:01because Ralf in the Williams BMW is catching the Jordan.
01:14:05He was only 1.5 seconds behind him
01:14:08on the previous lap after his pit stop.
01:14:11Now we're with Frentzen again in second position.
01:14:14And I remind you of the places.
01:14:16David Coulthard, we're with Frentzen in fourth position.
01:14:20Hacken in his second.
01:14:22Michael Schumacher is third.
01:14:24Ralf Schumacher is just 1.5 seconds
01:14:27behind the man we are riding with as he turns into bridge.
01:14:30I think Frentzen's got a problem.
01:14:32Frentzen came out of Abbey, she came with a misfire.
01:14:34He's got some...
01:14:36That is Frentzen, isn't it?
01:14:37Yes, yes, yes.
01:14:38He's got a drama. Frentzen is going slowly.
01:14:40Yes, you're right.
01:14:41Now, let's look for Ralf Schumacher,
01:14:44because you're absolutely right, Martin.
01:14:46You can see from the positioning of the car
01:14:48and its speed on the track
01:14:50that he is much slower than he has been in the past.
01:14:52We'll see the two of them go across the line,
01:14:55I have no doubt.
01:14:57So he sounds all right as he accelerates away on the straight.
01:15:00Maybe he's missing a gear.
01:15:01He's not changing gear at all.
01:15:03He's just staying in the same gear, look.
01:15:05And he didn't change gear at the pit straight at all.
01:15:07Maybe he's lost hydraulic pressure, too.
01:15:10And that also affects his throttle,
01:15:12which could explain why he slowed down so much.
01:15:14And, Martin, we've missed it, I'm afraid.
01:15:16Ralf Schumacher is ahead of him,
01:15:18and Jenson Button is catching him.
01:15:20There is Ralf Schumacher ahead of Frentzen.
01:15:22There is Frentzen in the background,
01:15:24and there is Jenson Button.
01:15:25Now, Jenson Button is going to take fifth position
01:15:27from Hightower and Frentzen.
01:15:29I have not a shadow of a doubt
01:15:31on lap 52 out of 60.
01:15:33What a cracking drive from Jenson.
01:15:36Watch him.
01:15:37This young man is so incredibly mature.
01:15:40I thought it when he was talking to you
01:15:42on the start line, Martin,
01:15:44and he's driven an absolutely superb race,
01:15:48starting from the third row of the grid
01:15:51in sixth position alongside Michael Schumacher,
01:15:53here he comes,
01:15:54edging up on Frentzen all the time.
01:15:56Yes, he'll just eat Frentzen alive
01:15:58in an acceleration zone somewhere.
01:16:00Frentzen clearly got some kind of gearshift problem.
01:16:03And although he's maintaining a fair lick of speed,
01:16:06I think if Jenson gets anywhere near him
01:16:09on the exit of a corner,
01:16:11he'll just swamp him.
01:16:13And in seventh position,
01:16:14behind Jenson Button and 12 seconds behind him,
01:16:17just so that you know what's happening.
01:16:19As you watch very shortly,
01:16:20the young Englishman taking fifth position
01:16:23away from Heinz-Harald Frentzen,
01:16:25who moves over and lets him through.
01:16:27He knows there's no point in resisting.
01:16:30And it's now Williams BMW
01:16:32in fourth and fifth place
01:16:34ahead of the Jordan Mugen Honda
01:16:37of Heinz-Harald Frentzen,
01:16:38the only Jordan in the points
01:16:40because Jarno Trulli is down in eighth position.
01:16:43That's boss of Williams.
01:16:45Technical side, Patrick Head.
01:16:47And out goes Nick Heidfeld
01:16:50in the Prost from 15th position.
01:16:53Another miserable race for Prost
01:16:55because Alessi is only 12th.
01:16:57Exit of Becketts.
01:16:58There'll certainly be some double yellows there.
01:17:00That's quite a tricky position.
01:17:01But again, they should be able to recover that car
01:17:03quickly enough.
01:17:05And while they're sorting themselves out,
01:17:06they're going to take a quick break.
01:17:08Then we'll be back
01:17:09for the whole of the rest of the British Grand Prix.
01:17:17Frentzen is finally dropping out of this Grand Prix.
01:17:19No change at the front.
01:17:20Coulthard, Häkkinen and Michael Schumacher.
01:17:22But Häkkinen taking a full 1.7 seconds
01:17:25out of Coulthard on the previous lap.
01:17:28The gap now down to 7.3.
01:17:30Easily enough time at that rate to catch him.
01:17:32I can only assume
01:17:34that Coulthard must have been told by the team,
01:17:37Mika will not attack you.
01:17:38There's Frentzen recovering to the pit lane.
01:17:40I'm sure that's going to be hydraulic pressure.
01:17:43But surely they won't let Häkkinen
01:17:45try and apply pressure to Coulthard
01:17:47when they've got 11 seconds advantage
01:17:50over Michael Schumacher in third place.
01:17:52Frentzen driving straight into the gate.
01:17:54If they do, there will be an absolute uproar
01:17:57outside Formula 1.
01:17:58Because remember what happened in Australia
01:18:00when David Coulthard moved over the year before last
01:18:03and let Mika Häkkinen through at the end of the race
01:18:06to win it.
01:18:07I cannot believe that that would be allowed to happen here.
01:18:09Well, I can actually, but I don't want to.
01:18:11No, I can't believe it happened.
01:18:12I know one person who wouldn't let it happen.
01:18:14And I know another person
01:18:15who would never ask for it to happen again either.
01:18:17So, you know, maybe they'll let them race,
01:18:20but I think Coulthard should have the pace to,
01:18:23with four laps remaining, four and a bit laps remaining,
01:18:25to keep Häkkinen under control.
01:18:27But he certainly won't be happy
01:18:29about having that kind of pressure
01:18:31applied to him by his teammate
01:18:33when they're in a one-two position.
01:18:35I'm expecting Häkkinen to cruise up behind him
01:18:37and then come home in a formation finish.
01:18:39Louise, what can you tell us?
01:18:41Well, I can't get it from the horse's mouth, actually, Martin.
01:18:43I'm standing here with Heinz-Harald.
01:18:45Heinz-Harald, what was your problem?
01:18:47I think that's the same problem like in Imola.
01:18:50Stucked again in sixth gear.
01:18:52We had a problem with the gearbox software.
01:18:56A mechanical piece was actually causing a problem.
01:18:59So that's it.
01:19:01And tell us about your tactics.
01:19:02You decided to go for a two-stop.
01:19:03Was that the right way to go?
01:19:05We would have finished, probably, yes.
01:19:08But it would have been difficult anyway
01:19:11to keep up with McLaren and Ferrari.
01:19:13So we had to drive a very aggressive race.
01:19:20I couldn't get past Baricello at the beginning.
01:19:23It's impossible here in Silverstone
01:19:25really to have overtaking.
01:19:27This is the main thing.
01:19:28So the race has to be made in the pits.
01:19:32Thanks, Heinz-Harald.
01:19:33Lap 57, and you're looking at the battle now
01:19:36between Jacques Villeneuve, who's sixth,
01:19:38and Jarno Trulli in the other Jordan.
01:19:40So Frentzen's just retired
01:19:42and lost the chance of a point for himself.
01:19:44Jarno Trulli wants the team at least to have a point.
01:19:47And to do that, he's got to get past
01:19:49Jacques Villeneuve, that is leading him.
01:19:51And we're on lap 57.
01:19:53Yes, and Villeneuve locking a front
01:19:55and then snaking the rear out of the Abbey chicane.
01:19:58Mikko Häkkinen absolutely flying.
01:20:00A 1.26.2.
01:20:01The gap now just...
01:20:02Oh, look, Trulli goes through.
01:20:04Trulli makes a move into Priory.
01:20:06Villeneuve, I think, with some kind of braking problem.
01:20:09We saw him struggling into the Abbey chicane before.
01:20:12Trulli going into that point-scoring position.
01:20:15But, James, what can you tell us?
01:20:17Well, Häkkinen's got one idea.
01:20:19His McLaren team have got quite another.
01:20:21They're just about to show him a pit board saying easy.
01:20:23He's going far too quickly for their liking.
01:20:25It would appear that Ron Dennis has it in mind
01:20:27for them to finish 1.2 today
01:20:29with Coulthard first and Häkkinen second.
01:20:31But, well, we'll see what Häkkinen has in mind.
01:20:33Well, the alternative scenario
01:20:35is that David Coulthard has a problem,
01:20:37and I don't believe from his lap times that he has.
01:20:39He's just done a lap in 1.27.3
01:20:43compared with the fastest lap that we've had,
01:20:4526.2, but that was a long time ago.
01:20:48Now, we're on lap 58.
01:20:50Only two to go at the end of this one.
01:20:54And you're looking at race leader David Coulthard,
01:20:56the man who won the British Grand Prix last year.
01:20:59He's leading Micka Häkkinen by about 3.5 seconds.
01:21:03He's leading Michael Schumacher, who is third,
01:21:05by 20 seconds.
01:21:07Ralf Schumacher, who is fourth, by 37 seconds.
01:21:10Button, who is fifth, by 50 seconds.
01:21:12And Jarno Trulli in the Jordan
01:21:14is moved up to sixth position
01:21:16as you look at the two McLarens together
01:21:18and Villeneuve retires,
01:21:20having been in the points until he did so.
01:21:23But Micka Häkkinen, you can visually see now,
01:21:26is closing right up on David Coulthard.
01:21:29Now we're going to see,
01:21:30is he going to be a formation drive
01:21:32for the last two laps of the race?
01:21:35Or is... I cannot believe that Micka Häkkinen
01:21:38is going to disobey team orders, if there are any.
01:21:42But it's getting mighty, mighty close now.
01:21:45Coming to the end of lap 58 out of 60.
01:21:48Now, Coulthard's got only one choice
01:21:49if Häkkinen tries to come alongside him,
01:21:51is run him off the road, doesn't he?
01:21:52Really, I mean, easy look on Häkkinen's board.
01:21:55Coulthard's doing what he should be doing
01:21:58and coasting, conserving the car to the end of the race.
01:22:01They're now 16.7 seconds ahead of Michael Schumacher.
01:22:05No need to push the cars,
01:22:07and no wonder they're giving Häkkinen that easy board.
01:22:10Well, I have said in the past this year
01:22:13that McLaren lost the first three races
01:22:16rather than Ferrari winning them.
01:22:18McLaren undoubtedly had a quicker car.
01:22:21Micka Häkkinen led all the races.
01:22:23He was denied victory in the first two
01:22:26by mechanical problems.
01:22:28It's certainly proving that they've got the quicker car here
01:22:31in terms of race distance,
01:22:32because remember, Rubens Barrichello may have been ahead,
01:22:35but he was only just ahead.
01:22:37And to finish first, first you have to finish.
01:22:39He hasn't done so.
01:22:40We're on lap 59 now.
01:22:42Only one to go at the end of it.
01:22:44It is going to be a McLaren showpiece finish,
01:22:47but Michael Schumacher is holding the flag
01:22:50and waving it hard for Ferrari.
01:22:52Third position ahead of his brother, Button and Trulli.
01:22:55Still four and a half miles, though, Murray,
01:22:57for those two McLarens.
01:22:58And as we know, anything can happen
01:23:00towards the end of a Grand Prix
01:23:01as everything is stressed and stretched.
01:23:03So many parts of these cars are just thrown away.
01:23:05They're designed to complete a Grand Prix.
01:23:08They're put on fresh anew this morning,
01:23:10having been tested on the bench somewhere,
01:23:12maybe even run for a few kilometres in a car.
01:23:15But, you know, the cars are designed
01:23:17to finish not much more than a Grand Prix.
01:23:20But now I think Häkkinen will steady his pace.
01:23:23I'm sure he was just trying to frighten Kulthard off the road
01:23:26if he had half a chance.
01:23:27I don't think he'd be making any kind of attack.
01:23:29And Michael Schumacher is attacking.
01:23:31He's just gone through the first sector fastest of all.
01:23:34He is, after all, 20 seconds behind Kulthard.
01:23:38I won't say I can't see the point of it,
01:23:40but he's obviously hoping for something dramatic to happen.
01:23:44There he is.
01:23:45It's a terrific lap that he's doing,
01:23:47but just under two seconds between the first two
01:23:51and they are now on their last,
01:23:54their 60th and last lap.
01:23:56A comeback by McLaren with the prospect of first place
01:24:00for David Kulthard for the second year in succession.
01:24:03A second place for Micah Häkkinen,
01:24:05as he had at Imola for the San Marino Grand Prix.
01:24:08They're coming up behind Giancarlo Fisichella,
01:24:11who is seventh.
01:24:13Textbook drive here from David Kulthard.
01:24:15Kept his nose clean in the early stages.
01:24:17Knew he was carrying a lot of fuel, of course.
01:24:19The McLaren people, I think,
01:24:21really did get the strategy spot on.
01:24:23Ferrari put a good strategy into Michael Schumacher,
01:24:27but a very, very good one from his fifth position on the grid.
01:24:30But he got shoveled out at the start,
01:24:33and it's cost him dearly.
01:24:34That's allowed these two McLarens, really,
01:24:36to get out front.
01:24:37Both Jordan and Williams looked absolutely superb,
01:24:41but they were deceiving us
01:24:42because they were running less fuel,
01:24:44unlike we thought.
01:24:45We thought they could all get to the end of the race
01:24:47with the exception of Frentzen,
01:24:48but it turned out that Williams had to stop, too.
01:24:51But it still leaves Jenson Button
01:24:53in a solid and excellent fifth position.
01:24:55And his teammate, Ralf Schumacher,
01:24:57now 16 seconds ahead of him.
01:24:59Jenson fading a little bit towards the end now,
01:25:01but in fourth position.
01:25:03Brother Michael in third.
01:25:04Hakanen now pegged it over the line.
01:25:07Goes David.
01:25:08David Kulthard wins the British Grand Prix
01:25:11by just 1.4 seconds from Micah Hakanen.
01:25:15And McLaren won, too.
01:25:16A maximum 16 points in the Constructors' Championship.
01:25:20But there remains the fly in the ointment,
01:25:23as far as McLaren is concerned.
01:25:25And it's a mighty big fly.
01:25:27Michael Schumacher, third for Ferrari,
01:25:30after a brilliant drive,
01:25:32starting with a very, very heavy fuel load.
01:25:35His brother, Ralf Schumacher, in the Williams BMW,
01:25:38comes home in fourth position.
01:25:41And behind him, 16 seconds behind him,
01:25:45is Jenson Button, hopefully,
01:25:47from his point of view and Britain's point of view.
01:25:49So, the two Schumachers are home.
01:25:52Is it going to be both Williams BMWs in the points yet again?
01:25:56Well, there is Jenson Button.
01:25:58And he's going to finish higher than he's finished before.
01:26:01And we thought a sixth place was absolutely fantastic in Brazil,
01:26:05but it's fifth for Jenson Button.
01:26:07A magnificent drive.
01:26:09Jarno Trulli is 20 seconds behind him.
01:26:12There he is in sixth position.
01:26:15So, two McLarens at the front, a Ferrari,
01:26:18two Williams BMWs, one Jordan.
01:26:21And Fisichella has finished seventh,
01:26:24because he has been lapped.
01:26:25Salo, eighth.
01:26:27Voigt, ninth.
01:26:28Jean Alési in tenth position.
01:26:30Fifteen finishers out of the 22 that started.
01:26:34Yes, and Herbert and Irvine in the Jaguars,
01:26:36down in 12th and 13th place.
01:26:38Heidi, David's fiancée.
01:26:41And, well, what a great drive.
01:26:43And that's answered a lot of critics for Coulthard.
01:26:45He's taken some stick.
01:26:46After the first race, they were saying,
01:26:47Coulthard will be bundled out of the McLaren at the end of the year.
01:26:50Why, on what basis, I don't know.
01:26:52And I couldn't find anybody that did.
01:26:54But a lot of speculation and kept fueling the fire.
01:26:57And now David Coulthard has answered that superbly
01:27:00with a clear-cut win, dominant win,
01:27:04and especially over his teammate Häkkinen.
01:27:06And a dominant win which moves him up into second place
01:27:09in the World Championship.
01:27:11Twenty points behind Michael Schumacher,
01:27:13but importantly, from his point of view,
01:27:15two points ahead of Micka Häkkinen, who is third.
01:27:17Ralf Schumacher, third,
01:27:19fourth in the World Championship.
01:27:21Jarno Trulli, fifth.
01:27:23Jensen Button is now sixth in the World Championship
01:27:27on three points.
01:27:30And in the Constructors' Championship,
01:27:33Ferrari are still a country mile ahead of McLaren,
01:27:3743 points to 26.
01:27:39Williams in third position,
01:27:41with Jordan and Benetton tying for fourth position
01:27:44ahead of B.A.R., sixth, on six points.
01:27:48And the crowd on their feet as Coulthard comes back
01:27:51to the Parc Fermé.
01:27:53Armaloft, he's pretty pleased with himself.
01:27:55He'll sleep well tonight.
01:27:57He's got a party going on at his motorhome later on.
01:27:59It's going to be wicked and wild.
01:28:02And he'll be in just the right mood, won't he?
01:28:05Well, that's his seventh World Championship win,
01:28:09his second win of the British Grand Prix.
01:28:11And last year, he said,
01:28:12this is the one I wanted to win above all others.
01:28:15And he's not a demonstrative chap, David.
01:28:18He's a quite shy chap in many ways.
01:28:22But you can see how happy he is there.
01:28:25And hopefully, he'll give us a big smile on the podium.
01:28:27Into Parc Fermé.
01:28:29Michael Schumacher gets out of the Ferrari.
01:28:32Armaloft, David, out of the McLaren.
01:28:36Well, all that fearless training he's been doing.
01:28:38And, I mean, the guy's arms look like his legs.
01:28:41He's so strong and so fit.
01:28:43And it pays off on a tough race like this afternoon.
01:28:47And Kukda will be, as you said,
01:28:49he's not extremely demonstrative.
01:28:51He won't be doing the old Michael Schumacher
01:28:53punching the fresh air up on the podium.
01:28:56But I can tell you, he'll be just as happy.
01:28:58That was Norbert Haug.
01:29:00Well, there he is, you see.
01:29:01Norbert congratulating fellow German Michael Schumacher.
01:29:04Norbert is the boss of the Mercedes-Benz Competition Department.
01:29:07Mighty relieved man.
01:29:09Another fellow German there, Ralf Schumacher.
01:29:12And that, I remind you,
01:29:14was McLaren and Mercedes' first win of the year.
01:29:18Not only a win, but a maximum.
01:29:20First and second, 16 points.
01:29:23Norbert congratulates Ralf.
01:29:25And Ralf Schumacher can be mighty pleased.
01:29:28He was third in Brazil.
01:29:30He was fifth in...
01:29:31Sorry, he was third in Australia.
01:29:33Fifth in Brazil.
01:29:35And now he's finished in fourth position here.
01:29:39It was a lovely moment earlier in the race
01:29:41when Ralf put a move on Michael on the first lap
01:29:44to take his position away.
01:29:46But it's a question, I think, of damage limitation today for Michael.
01:29:49That mid-race sprint he did.
01:29:51I mean, amazing for him to end up in a solid,
01:29:54such a solid third position there.
01:29:5621 seconds ahead of his brother in the end.
01:29:58You can see there now.
01:30:00And in fact, they're showing at 19.9 on there.
01:30:04Yeah, sorry, 21 behind the leader that was.
01:30:06So Michael Schumacher then.
01:30:08Solid run.
01:30:09Damage limitation keeps him in touch in terms of points
01:30:12and well in front in the championship.
01:30:15Well, David Coulthard would have to win two races
01:30:19with Michael Schumacher not finishing in the points in either of them
01:30:23to equal the Germans' World Championship points position.
01:30:27And that would be after six races if he won the next two.
01:30:31Not a very likely scenario.
01:30:33Everything is possible in Formula One,
01:30:35but we've got the prospect of this World Championship fight
01:30:38between McLaren, Ferrari, Coulthard and Schumacher carrying on.
01:30:43David probably talking to his father, I guess.
01:30:45Just what I was going to say. That's going to be his dad.
01:30:47He's on the phone too.
01:30:48Duncan, his dad, up at Twynham in Scotland,
01:30:51who's done so much to help David become a racing driver
01:30:55and make his way through the various categories of karts
01:30:59and Formula Ford, Formula 3 where he was second in the championship
01:31:04and won so brilliantly in many other categories and up into 3,000.
01:31:10And most of those early days funded by his dad
01:31:13and anybody he could blag into spending some money.
01:31:16David used to do his homework in the motorhome
01:31:18as they travelled down from Scotland for a ten lap Formula Ford thrash
01:31:21and they get back at five o'clock in the morning.
01:31:23It's Heidi again. Five o'clock in the morning
01:31:25and he'd have to just have a shower and go straight off to school again.
01:31:28That's the kind of commitment you've got to have
01:31:31if you want to be standing, as David will any moment now,
01:31:34on the top step of the podium here at the British Grand Prix.
01:31:38And what a wonderful thing it is that he's going to receive his trophy
01:31:41from the great Ken Tyrrell, who you can see standing on the left.
01:31:45The man who had the most successful private Formula One team
01:31:50in the history of the sport.
01:31:52A great, great man who is currently the president
01:31:54of the British Racing Drivers' Club,
01:31:56who own and operate Silverstone,
01:31:59where they are obviously hoping the British Grand Prix
01:32:01will continue in future years.
01:32:04Ken Tyrrell then going to give that trophy to David Coulthard
01:32:08and the Constructor's Trophy will be handed.
01:32:11It's going to be interesting to see who receives the Constructor's Trophy.
01:32:14I guess it'll be Ron Dennis.
01:32:17Here's David!
01:32:19Ken smiling in the background.
01:32:22Well done, David.
01:32:24Michael Schumacher joins him on the podium.
01:32:27Where is Mikko Häkkinen? There he is.
01:32:30McLaren-Mercedes, first and second.
01:32:33Ferrari, third.
01:32:35McLaren are well and truly back,
01:32:37as the national anthem sounds for them and for David.
01:33:22A great day for Britain.
01:33:33Scotland's David Coulthard wins the race.
01:33:36England's McLaren finish first and second.
01:33:40And the magnificent gold trophy,
01:33:42which you saw Jim Rosenthal sitting alongside
01:33:45when this programme began,
01:33:47is now in the hands of David Coulthard.
01:33:50And Norbert Haug is the man who's taken the Constructor's Trophy
01:33:54because Mercedes-Benz are such an integral part
01:33:57of the whole McLaren operation.
01:34:00They powered Coulthard to victory, Häkkinen to second place.
01:34:04And Mikko Häkkinen takes his trophy from Peter Hayne,
01:34:09who is the Minister of State and a very keen, I can tell you,
01:34:12Formula One enthusiast.
01:34:14John Quimby, the Chief Executive of the British Motorsports Association,
01:34:18gives Michael Schumacher his trophy.
01:34:21McLaren, McLaren, Ferrari.
01:34:24The story has not changed here at Silverstone,
01:34:28but the order has, as the champagne is victoriously sprayed.
01:34:43Well, enjoy it. Enjoy it, David.
01:34:45You have deserved every, every drop of it.
01:34:50And I suppose if you're soaked in champagne,
01:34:53it's a lovely feeling if you're being soaked in champagne
01:34:56because you've done what Mercedes-Benz, McLaren,
01:34:59Coulthard, Häkkinen and, of course,
01:35:03Michael Schumacher have done here at Silverstone.
01:35:06We had a pretty unpleasant run-up to today in the form of weather.
01:35:11Sadly, I suspect a lot of people will not have succeeded
01:35:14in getting in.
01:35:15They've missed a great, great race.
01:35:17The banked, serried ranks of spectators that you saw just there
01:35:22have enjoyed every second of it.
01:35:24Now they will be making their way home saying,
01:35:27Silverstone 2000, I was there.
01:35:32Thanks very much indeed, Murray.
01:35:33And thanks to Martin Brundle as well and David Coulthard
01:35:36enjoying every second up there on the podium
01:35:38and absolutely right as well.