Formula-1 2000 R08 Canadian Grand Prix

AutosportfanTwo

5 days ago

https://video.mrautosportfan.com/formula-1-full-races/

Transcript

00:00:00from the Gilles Villeneuve circuit on Montreal's St. Lawrence Seaway.

00:00:04We've just heard Ross Brawn of Ferrari telling us it is going to rain.

00:00:08In the ITV commentary box we have Martin Brundle and Murray Walker.

00:00:12Now Murray, you have made your own personal check. What is the latest?

00:00:16Absolutely, Jim. I just stepped outside the door and I felt a few drops of precipitation on my arm.

00:00:23But there's another thing to say and that is that Ron Dennis, the boss of McLaren,

00:00:27may have got the CBE and he richly deserves it.

00:00:31But having successfully overcome the combined efforts of two very determined security men

00:00:36to prevent me getting into the commentary box, I think I deserve one too.

00:00:41However, there are three other things to say.

00:00:44The first is the first corner here, that's the bottom of that diagram that you're looking at now,

00:00:51is always one that causes a lot of trouble at this event.

00:00:55We've had Alessi and Trulli coming together for the last two years, so we need to watch out for that.

00:01:01The second thing, as you've heard from James Allen, is this race is going to be a question of strategy.

00:01:06It's terribly, terribly hard on the brakes and the teams will have been working very hard

00:01:12to get the balance of the right fuel load and the braking absolutely right.

00:01:18Because if you start off with too much fuel, which will give you a long stint, your brakes could be in trouble.

00:01:24So, that's something to watch too.

00:01:26And the third thing is that McLaren really do need to do well in this race.

00:01:33They are still behind Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship

00:01:37and although David Coulthard is ahead of Häkkinen, he's still 12 points behind Michael Schumacher.

00:01:43Yes, and all through free practice and indeed qualifying, there's been fractions between the top four cars.

00:01:49Barrichello very much on the pace this weekend, looking, other than qualifying itself,

00:01:54as if he might have a tenth of a second even over Michael Schumacher.

00:01:58But he's tended to fade a little bit in the races, some of the races so far this year.

00:02:02But Barrichello looking extremely strong around here.

00:02:05Coulthard too, probably a little disappointed with not being on pole, as you can see there.

00:02:10Just a tenth of a second behind, but he's got a good race car too.

00:02:14But Michael Schumacher on the better side of the grid with a slight,

00:02:17there's an eight metre difference between the first and second rows of the grid.

00:02:21So I guess from pole to second place, about a four metre head start.

00:02:24And that gives Schumacher just about all he needs, plus the inside line down to turn one.

00:02:29But he knows that Coulthard will want to and must have a go at it, must keep taking points away from him.

00:02:35So I'm expecting quite a squabble at the front.

00:02:38And as we've always seen here, and as Murray's already told you,

00:02:41tends to be a concertina effect into that first corner.

00:02:44And often, because it's a decent run to a very slow corner,

00:02:49quite a lot of speed carried when they arrive.

00:02:51And we tend to have a few people tripping over each other.

00:02:54Happened already this morning in other races too, into that first corner.

00:02:58Yes, it's the one to watch.

00:03:01So the grid, as you can see, is being cleared.

00:03:04We have the customary formation lap.

00:03:07And this circuit is some 2.7 miles long.

00:03:12It's on a man-made island in the St. Lawrence Seaway,

00:03:16which is overlooked by the wonderful city of Montreal.

00:03:20You'll see the skyline as they exit turns one and two.

00:03:25And they build up at this circuit to two places where they're doing very nearly 200 miles an hour.

00:03:31And at the both ends of the course, there is a 40 mile an hour hairpin.

00:03:37So you can imagine what that does to the brakes.

00:03:39As Heinz-Harald Frentzen found out to his cost last year,

00:03:42when a front disc exploded when he was in second place with only about three laps to go.

00:03:47Yes, they're already changing discs on Barrichello's car.

00:03:50I interrupted Ross to have a quick word with him on the line, unaware actually.

00:03:54They've got quite a drama going on on Barrichello's car.

00:03:57But we're looking at two Scarlet Ferraris, two Silver McLarens, and then two Jordans just behind them.

00:04:03The odd man out is Villeneuve, who's done a very good job in sixth place in the BAR.

00:04:09Then there's really nobody, I think, behind that will be storming through the field.

00:04:13I don't think anybody's got a particularly good car underneath him that's going to surprise us through the afternoon.

00:04:19We're watching the sharp end of the grid with the Jordans really mixing it with Villeneuve's BAR.

00:04:24Two things to say, and you've just reminded me, Martin.

00:04:28BAR have done better here than they've done anywhere else in their short Formula 1 history.

00:04:35Look here, Murray. Coulthard's car looks like he's got some kind of clutch problem or something.

00:04:41And he's away. So Coulthard's away. They started the car up.

00:04:45It looked like it had gone into gear, probably stalled.

00:04:48So they lifted the back of the car, started it up with it in gear.

00:04:51Coulthard immediately now taking up his second position.

00:04:55Which he is entitled to do.

00:04:57Some of you remembering when Michael Schumacher passed Damon Hill on the formation lap at the British Grand Prix.

00:05:04And got black flagged as a result of it.

00:05:06May not have realised that the rules have been changed.

00:05:08David is perfectly entitled to regain his position.

00:05:12Provided all the cars on the grid had not passed him, which they certainly hadn't.

00:05:16That's right. So a little bit of a scare early on for Coulthard.

00:05:19Don't know if he's got a slightly sticky clutch there.

00:05:23Sometimes the clutch drags a little bit, especially when you're sitting on the line.

00:05:26You pull first gear a bit too early.

00:05:29The clutch units are absolutely tiny. A little bigger than the size of a man's fist on these cars.

00:05:33Transmitting the 800 plus horsepower.

00:05:36And often they can overheat a little bit or drag.

00:05:39Or maybe Coulthard didn't pull the clutch fully in.

00:05:42Hopefully it's not a technical problem.

00:05:45Otherwise he's going to have a major drama come the start proper.

00:05:47Well, we're going to know very shortly.

00:05:49This circuit is only used once a year.

00:05:52It is a park during the rest of the year.

00:05:56And there you can see one of the three bridges as they exit Casino Hairpin.

00:06:00That's one of the 40 mile an hour corners after the 200 mile an hour approach.

00:06:04And it's where they start building up for another 200 mile an hour run.

00:06:08Down to the notorious Turn 15.

00:06:11The left-hander chicane where no less than three world championships went off last year.

00:06:16Schumacher and Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve.

00:06:20This is a low grip circuit, Murray.

00:06:22As you say, it's a parkland circuit the rest of the year round.

00:06:26So low tyre degradation, tyre wear.

00:06:29And I'm expecting the cars to run as far as they can.

00:06:32I'm expecting them to have as much fuel as they can possibly get in just to run the first stint.

00:06:37They may choose a different strategy.

00:06:39I was trying to get it out of Ross on the start line.

00:06:41Of course he wasn't going to give it to me.

00:06:43I'm wondering if they may put a bit less fuel in Barrichello's car.

00:06:46And make him more of a menace to the McLarens.

00:06:49But I'm expecting the rest of them to go to around lap 40.

00:06:53Before they come in for the one and only pit stop.

00:06:55People midfield and back may go for two.

00:06:57I'd agree with that.

00:06:59Maybe even longer.

00:07:01So, remember.

00:07:03The first corner is going to be absolutely critical.

00:07:07Crucial.

00:07:08Are they all going to get round it?

00:07:10It's Monaco all over again.

00:07:12And already the pole position man, Michael Schumacher.

00:07:15As you see Jenson Button way back there in 18th position.

00:07:19In the white and blue Williams forms up.

00:07:23Yes, Jenson had a fuel pick-up problem in qualifying.

00:07:26So it certainly hampered his performance there.

00:07:28I don't think we've seen Jenson's genuine speed back there in 18th.

00:07:31We'll keep a close eye on him.

00:07:33Now, you've got a fast starter in front.

00:07:35In David Coulthard.

00:07:37Michael Schumacher hasn't always gone away quickly.

00:07:40For instance, at Monaco for the second year in succession.

00:07:42He went back to Italy to check on his starting.

00:07:45Look at this Murray.

00:07:46Both Ferraris pointing to the right.

00:07:48Both McLarens pointing to the left.

00:07:50They're heading towards each other.

00:07:53Fifth light and then it goes out.

00:07:58Action, action.

00:08:00Schumacher leads.

00:08:02Coulthard is second.

00:08:04Hackingham is third.

00:08:06Barrichello is dropping down through the field.

00:08:08Rubens Barrichello has had a bad start.

00:08:10And Jack Mieldom has had an absolute flyer.

00:08:13He's come up from sixth on the grid to third.

00:08:16And Eddie Irvine is left standing in the Jaguar.

00:08:19Has the Jaguar affliction, that bad clutch problem, struck again?

00:08:23It certainly looks like it.

00:08:25But a monumentally quick start from Jack Mieldom.

00:08:28Ahead of Rubens Barrichello in the VAR.

00:08:32Eddie Irvine being pushed off the grid.

00:08:34The first retirement, I presume, of this year's Canadian Grand Prix.

00:08:38Jack Mieldom has done it again.

00:08:40And Canada will be absolutely euphoric about that.

00:08:44It's a short lap there, but they're already pushing Irvine past our commentary position.

00:08:49They've got about 100 metres to go before they clear him.

00:08:51They will clear him in Simon Murray.

00:08:53I do not anticipate the pace car.

00:08:55Dream start for Schumacher and Coulthard.

00:08:58And that's a problem there.

00:09:00The VAR builder is not on the same pace as Ferrari and McLaren.

00:09:04He is going to be a real nuisance now for Barrichello and Hackingham.

00:09:08This is a two-horse race.

00:09:10Bad news for Micah Hackingham and his efforts to make it three world championships in a row.

00:09:15Let's have another look.

00:09:18Michael Schumacher sprint away.

00:09:20But watch on the left, Jacques Villeneuve.

00:09:22You see, there he is.

00:09:24He's already past Rubens Barrichello,

00:09:26who has to brake to avoid David Coulthard,

00:09:28who gets ahead of Villeneuve

00:09:30and goes through Jacques Villeneuve.

00:09:32Up into third position now.

00:09:34We're going to see it with the French-Canadian.

00:09:36He's past Fritsson on the left.

00:09:38There is Coulthard in front of him.

00:09:40Barrichello is passed by Villeneuve.

00:09:42And now he goes up into still fourth position.

00:09:46He's got the inside line.

00:09:48He squeezes David Coulthard out.

00:09:50And there he is again.

00:09:52It's Hackingham he's squeezing out.

00:09:54Marie Coulthard was ahead of him.

00:09:56So it's Barrichello away poorly.

00:09:58Hackingham away reasonably.

00:10:00Hackingham brakes too early for the first corner.

00:10:02Villeneuve goes right around the outside.

00:10:04And that then pushes Hackingham behind even Barrichello

00:10:06as they scrabble out of that turn two.

00:10:08And that is how it all happened.

00:10:10And that's released these two cars now out into the lead.

00:10:15Yeah, and you're absolutely right, Martin.

00:10:17Jack Villeneuve is going to hold them up.

00:10:19So it is between race leader Michael Schumacher,

00:10:21second place man David Coulthard,

00:10:23the first two in the World Championship.

00:10:25And Barrichello is attacking.

00:10:27Yes, somebody, I think it was possibly even

00:10:29de la Rosa passed Fritsson into de la Rosa there.

00:10:33Look, up into sixth place

00:10:35having just nailed Fritsson into the casino hairpin.

00:10:39So de la Rosa very much on the move in the arrows.

00:10:44Yeah, and he started an excellent night.

00:10:46The arrows is getting better and better.

00:10:48So there is Villeneuve and Barrichello

00:10:50and Hackingham.

00:10:52And in sixth place is de la Rosa.

00:10:54Fritsson down into seventh position.

00:10:56And this Canadian Grand Prix's got a long way to go.

00:10:58Here is a replay of de la Rosa

00:11:00coming down to the hairpin,

00:11:02nipping through on the inside

00:11:04of Hyde's Herald, Fritsson's Jordan

00:11:06with its Bugan engine.

00:11:08Yes, Fritsson asleep there.

00:11:10I don't think he really expected

00:11:13something like that.

00:11:15You've got to assume that de la Rosa

00:11:17is on low fuel.

00:11:19I'm just looking at the computer here.

00:11:21Investigation involving car two

00:11:23by the stewards.

00:11:25I've got a sneaky feeling

00:11:27that Coulthard was rolling

00:11:29on the start.

00:11:31That Coulthard was underway

00:11:33and we know he maybe had a clutch problem anyway.

00:11:35So we're watching that closely.

00:11:37It's possible Coulthard jumped the start

00:11:39in my view. I did see his wheels.

00:11:41Yeah, there does seem to be a feeling down here

00:11:43that there may be a problem with Coulthard

00:11:45and it certainly is relating to the start.

00:11:47The stewards are looking at it.

00:11:49It'll be about 15 to 20 minutes probably

00:11:51before they make any kind of decision.

00:11:53There is a maximum time, of course, about 25 minutes.

00:11:55On de la Rosa, though, I was talking to one or two

00:11:57of the engineers just on the start line

00:11:59who were in front of him.

00:12:01Teams from in front of de la Rosa.

00:12:03They were saying, we're going to really worry

00:12:05about that guy.

00:12:07The Arrows hasn't got a big enough fuel tank

00:12:10De la Rosa attacking Hacken.

00:12:12He's coming towards us on the screen now.

00:12:14Hacken in the silver and black McLaren.

00:12:16De la Rosa from Spain, from Barcelona

00:12:18in the orange Arrows.

00:12:20And he's pulling well away

00:12:22from Heinz-Harald Fredsen

00:12:24who is in seventh position.

00:12:26David Coulthard, though, is the fastest man

00:12:28on the circuit.

00:12:30There is only 7 tenths of a second now

00:12:32between Michael Schumacher in the lead

00:12:34and David Coulthard in second position.

00:12:36And there is four and a half seconds

00:12:39and Villanova is holding up Barrichello,

00:12:41Hacken and de la Rosa and Fredsen behind him.

00:12:43There's the proof. Look at it.

00:12:45I can't be absolutely sure Coulthard jumped

00:12:47the start but I do have a feeling

00:12:49I could see his front wheels turning

00:12:51but it was a very close call

00:12:53or maybe, just maybe, it was the fact

00:12:55that the mechanics were on the track, Murray

00:12:57once the green flag had been waived

00:12:59starting Coulthard's car up.

00:13:01Well, we're going to know the position

00:13:03soon. It would be terrible

00:13:05for David if he was

00:13:07delayed in any way with a time penalty

00:13:09because he's the only man in the race

00:13:11against Michael Schumacher at the present moment.

00:13:13I'm now going to stick my neck out

00:13:15but Michael Schumacher seems

00:13:17at this stage of the race just to need to keep going

00:13:19to get yet another victory as de la Rosa

00:13:21in the background attacks, attacks, attacks

00:13:23Nicker Hacken. Yes, de la Rosa

00:13:25not quite got enough speed

00:13:27that McLaren-Mercedes-Benz got

00:13:29plenty of grunt as we know but de la Rosa

00:13:31there well in the McLaren-Hacken

00:13:33slipstream but couldn't do

00:13:35anything about it and surely he has

00:13:37a significantly lower fuel load.

00:13:39Now the Canadian Grand Prix

00:13:41Gilles Villeneuve circuit on the

00:13:43Île Notre-Dame is an easier

00:13:45track to pass on than many

00:13:47of them but Jacques

00:13:49Villeneuve there is not going to be

00:13:51relinquishing his position, his

00:13:53third position to Rubens Barrichello

00:13:55likely and Barrichello will

00:13:57have to pick his chance very carefully

00:13:59indeed. Probably down to the

00:14:01hairpin which they're approaching now

00:14:03where Rubens chooses to attack

00:14:05but this is a low downforce

00:14:07circuit and the BAR

00:14:09car goes extremely well here

00:14:11in comparison with Monaco where it

00:14:13went very badly as a high downforce

00:14:15track. Yes, Nicker Hacken struggling

00:14:17there with a bit of traction out of turn 7

00:14:19and allowed de la Rosa to get even closer. This pair

00:14:21up front are a full 1.3

00:14:23seconds a lap faster than

00:14:25that following pack just coming into view

00:14:27now headed by Villeneuve. Exactly what

00:14:29you'd expect, that's the kind of pace advantage

00:14:31they have got but

00:14:33clearly Barrichello and Hacken can do nothing

00:14:35about even getting close to the back

00:14:37of that BAR let alone overtaking

00:14:39it. So on lap 5

00:14:41with 64 still

00:14:43to go as we watch

00:14:45Villeneuve third, Hacken having a

00:14:47look at Barrichello and dodging

00:14:49back in again. De la Rosa

00:14:51in 6th position, they're all being

00:14:53held up by Villeneuve and now

00:14:55David Coulthard is 5 seconds

00:14:57ahead of this battle

00:14:59and he is just one

00:15:01second behind Michael

00:15:03Schumacher. So Schumacher,

00:15:05Coulthard, Villeneuve, Barrichello,

00:15:07Hacken and de la Rosa.

00:15:09Fenson is 7th, Sonta is 8th,

00:15:11Trulli is 9th and Jos Verstappen

00:15:13in the second arrows is

00:15:1510th. The arrows are going extremely

00:15:17well. Yes, Jenson Batten unfortunately

00:15:19has slipped back to 19th position.

00:15:21Johnny Herbert down in 12th.

00:15:23Eddie Irvine did join

00:15:25the race but two laps down.

00:15:27Yeah, it's

00:15:29not looking good for Jaguar

00:15:31but you heard from Jim Rosenthal

00:15:33earlier on that this is very much

00:15:35a race of attrition, always is.

00:15:37If more than 10 cars

00:15:39finish this race, I'm going to be pretty

00:15:41surprised. 22 started it,

00:15:4322 are still running

00:15:45but already Eddie Irvine is

00:15:47two laps behind the race leader

00:15:49who is on his 6th lap.

00:15:51Well, this

00:15:53is the problem we've seen so many times,

00:15:55Harry, that, I mean, for example,

00:15:57when Hacken was catching Salo in

00:15:59Monaco, a full one and a half seconds

00:16:01a lap faster than him, as soon as he got

00:16:03anywhere near his slipstream,

00:16:05couldn't get any closer. We've seen it happen so

00:16:07often. It's a problem with the aerodynamics

00:16:09on the cars and we know for a

00:16:11fact that Ferrari and the McLaren are

00:16:13one and a half seconds faster

00:16:15than Jack Villeneuve and they just

00:16:17can't do anything about it and that's why

00:16:19this man, de la Rosa, can stay

00:16:21with that McLaren of Hacken. Yeah,

00:16:23these pictures, these fabulous pictures

00:16:25just underline what

00:16:27supermen these Formula 1

00:16:29drivers are because they're

00:16:31driving at speeds up to 200

00:16:33miles an hour here. You can see them

00:16:35jostling for position with those

00:16:3718,000 RPM

00:16:39engines spinning behind them,

00:16:41some 800 horsepower

00:16:43and you can see that, like Monaco,

00:16:45this place is all Armco

00:16:47and walls. There is

00:16:49virtually nowhere to go if you go

00:16:51off. Yes, it's better than Monaco

00:16:53where the track and the Armco

00:16:55are virtually one. There are some

00:16:57small run-off areas here

00:16:59but you've got to be millimetrically

00:17:01perfect in your positioning of

00:17:03the car and if you've got someone in front

00:17:05of you and someone trying to pass you behind,

00:17:07that's very difficult as we ride

00:17:09with David Coulthard and now

00:17:11coming towards us on lap 7,

00:17:13Michael Schumacher leads, David

00:17:15Coulthard is second. Look back

00:17:17down the track and the gap

00:17:19is now 8-9

00:17:21seconds between Coulthard in the

00:17:23silver and black McLaren and

00:17:25Jacques Villeneuve in third position in the

00:17:27BAR. Coulthard

00:17:29exits that notorious turn

00:17:3115.

00:17:33I just hope they're

00:17:35not going to penalise Coulthard's car

00:17:37or anything he's done. I hope he gets away with that

00:17:39because we really do need to

00:17:41have somebody out there keeping Michael

00:17:43Schumacher honest through the afternoon

00:17:45and Coulthard's the only man in a position

00:17:47to do that at the moment with Barrichello and Hakanen

00:17:49still tucked up behind the BAR

00:17:51and look, that

00:17:53sort of almost mandatory 50 metres

00:17:55behind they seem to have to follow.

00:17:57They'll turn into the corner in the dirty air,

00:17:59the car will understeer, the front will slide,

00:18:01you can't get on the power quite as early.

00:18:03The harder you try, the worse it becomes

00:18:05and it's just stalemate.

00:18:07Now the interesting thing about the situation

00:18:09as it is now is

00:18:11that Michael Schumacher has always

00:18:13regarded Micah Hakanen

00:18:15as his main rival

00:18:17for the year 2000.

00:18:19But things are starting to change.

00:18:21David Coulthard is ahead of his

00:18:23team mate in the championship

00:18:25and Michael Schumacher admitted

00:18:27last night that he's now

00:18:29regarding David as a real threat

00:18:31too and the proof is down there

00:18:33on the track here in Canada

00:18:35because Coulthard is the only man

00:18:37who is holding a candle to Michael Schumacher

00:18:39and that candle is

00:18:41underneath the Ferrari's rear wing

00:18:43because Coulthard is now

00:18:45within half a second

00:18:47of Schumacher's Ferrari

00:18:49as Villeneuve comes towards us

00:18:51they're doing 200 miles an hour

00:18:53here, this is where they brake, this is

00:18:55one of the places where the brakes

00:18:57take a tremendous pounding

00:18:59in Canada. Yes, Barrichello

00:19:01dangerously close to the wall there, I think he had

00:19:03a bit of a bobble on the way into that last chicane

00:19:05and had to mind himself on the way out.

00:19:07Gave Villeneuve

00:19:09a little bit of a clearance and

00:19:11packing him right underneath the Ferrari's gearbox

00:19:13once again. Well, let's

00:19:15look back and remind ourselves

00:19:17that we're very lucky because everybody

00:19:19did get round that first corner

00:19:21I frankly didn't expect it, it hadn't happened

00:19:23for the last two years, we've got

00:19:25a clean straight fight out on the

00:19:27track now on lap 9 with

00:19:2960 to go, James Allen has news

00:19:31for us. Murray, if you look very closely at Barrichello

00:19:33he's very nervous on the brakes, on the grid

00:19:35as Martin said, there was a real big drama

00:19:37I've not seen one like that for a while with

00:19:39Ferrari. They were changing his brake disc right up

00:19:41until 5 minutes before the start of this race

00:19:43and Rubens was very, very anxious. You can

00:19:45see he's reluctant to attack Villeneuve

00:19:47from the back. What was interesting about the incident on

00:19:49the grid was that Hakkinen was standing next to me

00:19:51looking right over as they changed the brake

00:19:53disc. Hakkinen was aware of how Barrichello

00:19:55felt about it. Watch out for an attack from him.

00:19:57Well, if they've changed brake

00:19:59discs, Martin, on Barrichello's car

00:20:01and he hasn't used them before

00:20:03surely he's going to be worried about

00:20:05the characteristics. No, they'll be sorted

00:20:07by now. They're pretty consistent. I mean, they're

00:20:09baked for about 3 months, these brake

00:20:11discs. They're incredibly expensive

00:20:13items. Usually the first 3 or

00:20:154 corners are a bit of an unknown quantity. They

00:20:17settle down very quickly. Barrichello

00:20:19will have the measure of them already

00:20:21I would imagine and Hakkinen

00:20:23at the moment has got more of a problem with

00:20:25De La Rosa trying to get past him

00:20:27than he has a chance of getting past

00:20:29Barrichello. De La Rosa having just slipped back

00:20:31as I'm talking about it. Well, I

00:20:33tell you, it's going to need dynamite to

00:20:35move Jacques Villeneuve off the

00:20:37best racing line.

00:20:39BAR scored no

00:20:41world championship points last year.

00:20:43Yes, they've got world championship

00:20:45points this year. Indeed, they're 6th in

00:20:47the Constructors' Contest but they've

00:20:49never had a podium position.

00:20:51They've never finished in the top 3

00:20:53and Jacques Villeneuve is hungry,

00:20:55very hungry indeed

00:20:57to win. There is even talk that

00:20:59he has already signed for

00:21:01the Renault team next

00:21:03year. Well, he's contracting spars

00:21:05with BAR this year. It is

00:21:07a rumour. I emphasise that. There's a

00:21:09lot of them flying about here in Montreal

00:21:11but Villeneuve, if he can finish

00:21:13on the podium, will be much more

00:21:15likely to stay where he is. Yes, Villeneuve

00:21:17hasn't signed for anybody next year yet. He's

00:21:19playing the field a little bit and understanding

00:21:21what's available to him whilst, of course,

00:21:23trying desperately hard not to upset

00:21:25the team he's currently driving for

00:21:27and may continue to drive for. So

00:21:29Villeneuve playing a bit of the diplomat at the moment

00:21:31not his best feature normally

00:21:33but Jacques is definitely

00:21:35playing the field a little bit. And Jacques

00:21:37is powered, we're with him now

00:21:39by a Honda. A Honda, not a

00:21:41Mugen Honda. A Honda Works

00:21:43engine and they're looking

00:21:45for success from BAR

00:21:47and it's significant at the present

00:21:49moment that the Honda engine is

00:21:51in 3rd position. The highest

00:21:53Mugen Honda engine is the Jordan

00:21:55of Heinz-Harald Fentzen. He's

00:21:57in 7th position with Jarno Trulli

00:21:59in 8th position and they're

00:22:01sandwiching Riccardo Zonta

00:22:03in the 2nd BAR with

00:22:05its Works Honda engine. Top

00:22:0710, lap 11 out of 69.

00:22:09Schumacher is going

00:22:11faster and faster. He's just made the

00:22:13fastest lap of the race. He's extended

00:22:15his lead over David Coulthard but not

00:22:17by much to 9 tenths of a second.

00:22:19They're 14 seconds

00:22:21ahead of this battle. Villeneuve,

00:22:23Barrichello, Hakanen and

00:22:25de la Rosa who is 6th

00:22:27behind de la Rosa. 7th is

00:22:29Heinz-Harald Fentzen. 2.5

00:22:31seconds behind de la Rosa.

00:22:338th is Zonta. 9th is

00:22:35Jarno Trulli. 10th is Josper

00:22:37Steffen. So both the orange

00:22:39arrows are in the top 6.

00:22:41Top 10. Well,

00:22:43it was declared that there was an incident

00:22:45being investigated on Coulthard's car

00:22:47at 6 minutes past the hour here

00:22:49in Montreal. We're now 18 minutes

00:22:51past the hour so

00:22:53I think within the next

00:22:55few minutes we will hear if there's

00:22:57any news on Coulthard's race

00:22:59so far. We're going to take a short break.

00:23:01Be back very shortly.

00:23:25So

00:23:55so

00:24:25so

00:24:55so

00:25:15Lap 13 out of 69

00:25:17and sensation

00:25:19as you look at the battle between

00:25:21Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard

00:25:23for the lead. David Coulthard has been penalized. He's been penalized 10 seconds. I don't know

00:25:31the reason, but I suspect, as Martin has said, that it was for rolling a bit at the start.

00:25:36But he really doesn't deserve this, because it's going to destroy his race. He's going

00:25:41to lose the 10 seconds while he's stationary, and more time coming in to get him back up

00:25:46to speed again. Yes, he's got to stop within three laps. I think he was either just creeping

00:25:51on the start. We know he had a clutch problem on the formation lap. We saw him being restarted.

00:25:58Or it was that problem itself, where we had mechanics on the racetrack once the green

00:26:03flag had been dropped. I don't know which one it was, but the net result is Coulthard

00:26:07has to come in within the next three laps of being notified. Now, the team, I'm sure,

00:26:12will keep him out as long as they can, because they need to maximize the fact that himself

00:26:18and Schumacher are much, much faster than the rest of the field. And that will help

00:26:23him when he rejoins the race, which I would guess, looking at it, is going to cost him

00:26:27at least 25 seconds. It's going to put him back in around 11th place or something, because

00:26:34he's got to negotiate the pit lane at the speed limit. And here he comes now, Coulthard

00:26:38in, hits the limiter there, and he's going to go to his own pit and be stationary for

00:26:4410 seconds. They are not allowed to touch the car unless he stalls the engine, then

00:26:48they can only start it after the 10 second period is over. They cannot change tyres,

00:26:53they cannot touch the car in any way. James. Really resigned atmosphere down here. I think

00:26:58they thought straight after the start there was going to be problems. The mechanics only

00:27:02just got out of the way on the parade lap. It was a real mess. Coulthard's engine rises,

00:27:06he shoots out again. He's got a lot of work to do. He's lost 25 seconds here. He's going

00:27:10to lose another 25 in his first stop. It's going to be very interesting to see if he

00:27:13can make it up again. And they're streaming through. Verstappen has gone through and he's

00:27:18in 9th position. You're absolutely right, Martin. David Coulthard is rejoining in, I

00:27:24think, there he is, in 10th position behind Jos Verstappen. Yes, Verstappen was 23.9 seconds

00:27:32behind Coulthard, so that's, and there's a, looks like there's an ailing, no, we've gone

00:27:38to a different pack of cars now. So Coulthard rejoined in 10th place. Now he's got some

00:27:43work to do to come through. The afternoon is yet young, Murray, still a long way to

00:27:46go in this race. Of course, that's going to put him right into the pack that's stuck behind

00:27:51the BAR of Villeneuve. Michael Schumacher has got a 17.6 second gifted lead. History

00:27:59is being made here in Canada because the BAR is not just in a podium position, it's in

00:28:07second place. If anything happens to Michael Schumacher, Jacques Villeneuve could win this

00:28:12race. But there's a long, long, long way to go. David Coulthard then lost 25 seconds on

00:28:19that pit stop. Stopping, coming in, getting out again. And it's not just the 25 seconds,

00:28:26it's the fact that Verstappen, Trulli, Zonta, Frentzen, De La Rosa, Häkkinen and Rubens

00:28:32Barrichello and Jacques Villeneuve are ahead of him. And although, as I said, it's easier

00:28:38to pass here than on many circuits, that doesn't mean to say it's easy. That's the problem with

00:28:42the 10 second stop and go. As I said, the mechanics can't touch the car, so you can't

00:28:46use that opportunity to save yourself time later in the race by taking on board more fuel or fresh

00:28:52tyres or whatever. Jonny Herbert out at a very early stop. You've got to assume that's some

00:28:58kind of major problem there for Jonny Herbert in the Jaguar. He would not be stopping at this time

00:29:03for tyres. He's very slow, even with the speed limit in the pit lane. And look at this battle

00:29:09now as Micah Häkkinen follows. Villeneuve second, Barrichello third, Häkkinen fourth, De La Rosa

00:29:16a magnificent fifth in the arrows. Sixth now in the points is Heinz-Harald Frentzen, the top jaw.

00:29:23Zoltar is up to seventh, Trulli is up to eighth, Verstappen is up to ninth. Jonny Herbert is out

00:29:29of the race. Eddie Irvine has already been lapped after the problem he had at the beginning of the

00:29:35race. So Jaguar, having looked a lot stronger at Monaco, have got no illusions about the fact

00:29:43that they've still got a lot of work to do. Häkkinen very, very close and Barrichello's

00:29:47going to have to defend the line. Häkkinen's got to go the long way around. He'll have a job

00:29:50getting around there but Barrichello knew exactly what he had to do there. Häkkinen got a run on him

00:29:55out of the last chicane and no position change and it gave Villeneuve a little bit of breathing

00:30:01space. De La Rosa enjoying himself. I think that's until he has to hit much earlier than the

00:30:07three cars in front of him. Yeah, I just saw a puff of smoke there. You always worry when you

00:30:12see a puff. It could be something entirely innocent. It could be a problem. It was Barrichello's right

00:30:17front without doubt but often happens there just as the load transfers across the anti-roll bar

00:30:21at the front and the inside wheel goes light as you begin to turn the wheel whilst still on the

00:30:25brake pedal. Well now Barrichello's got two problems. The first and most important one

00:30:30is to keep Micah Häkkinen behind him. He's entitled to make one blocking move. Then the blue flags will

00:30:37be out and if he gets more than three of them he's going to be in real trouble as up comes the

00:30:42arrows right on the rear wing of Micah Häkkinen's McLaren in fourth position. Pedro De La Rosa from

00:30:50Spain who has been rumoured to be joining the BAR team next year is really on the charge

00:30:57and Heinz-Harald Frentzen in the yellow Jordan in the background in sixth position

00:31:02is catching this collection of cars because Jacques Villeneuve is still making them go

00:31:08slower than they could ideally if they got past him. Yes I notice in the far background Coulthard

00:31:15now has caught up with Verstappen and Trulli so let's see if he can make any progress through

00:31:19that little pack as we're watching the first cluster really fighting for second place.

00:31:24Oh Villeneuve, Barrichello, Häkkinen, De La Rosa then it's two seconds back to Frentzen

00:31:31and a little bit of space to Zonta then it's Trulli, Verstappen and Coulthard literally line

00:31:35a stone and look this are they showing us this because this is the reason that Coulthard was

00:31:39given the stop-go penalty the green light is on and mechanics are still on the track I think that's

00:31:46contravening the regulations so it's a technical knockout there for Coulthard in many respects

00:31:52but he's still in the race Johnny Herbert too disappointed. Martin there ain't no justice

00:31:59because if that was the reason that David Coulthard was penalized to be sitting innocently

00:32:05in the car there and to suffer from something that was totally outside your control is very

00:32:11very tough. Marry it's total justice the rules are the rules even if I'm involved with Coulthard

00:32:16the facts are if if they've contravened the regulation they have to be penalized you can't

00:32:21you can't just because he's having a good race you can't you know you can't bend the rules when

00:32:27it suits you and and I think that if they've broken the rules then obviously the penalty is

00:32:31valid. I hear you and you're and you're right I have to say lap 19 then and look at Heinz Harald

00:32:39Frentzen look there at Zonta look there at Trulli behind Trulli in the orange car is Verstappen now

00:32:47look for the silver and black one it is David Coulthard that is the car we're looking at

00:32:52David Coulthard the man who was harrying Michael Schumacher for so long until he had to come in

00:32:59has caught right up with Jos Verstappen's arrows now but even before he can get to grips with the

00:33:05front pack he's got to try and get past Verstappen, Trulli and Zonta a monumental task yes Jos will

00:33:12not be an easy man to pass because David if he normally comes up behind an arrows during the

00:33:16race he's got the assistance of loads of blue flags waving and the driver having to pull out

00:33:21of the way because normally it's because he's being lapped but the orange arrows are going

00:33:25exceptionally well here this afternoon regardless of their fuel load whatever that turns out to be

00:33:30and it's not going to be an easy breeze pass for Coulthard to make his way through this pack

00:33:35he's got to keep his head at this stage of the race when you get into a period of comparative

00:33:40rule stability in Formula One the teams that have got the money that have built up an advantage are

00:33:46caught by those who haven't got so much and we're seeing it now because this is a real motor race

00:33:52here at Montreal as we look at the BAR, the Ferrari, the McLaren and the arrows of Pedro

00:34:01de la Rosa at the back in fifth position, Villeneuve keeping Barrichello behind him

00:34:06who's keeping Hackett and there behind him two times world champion Louise Goodman what is it?

00:34:12I'm standing here with Johnny Herbert Murray, Johnny your engine making some rather strange

00:34:15noises as it was pushed back into the garage is that the cause of your woe? No no no the engine's

00:34:19fine it was uh early on I was sort of just been out a hang on the back of fizzy and then I was

00:34:25sort of having some bad downshifts they were very very slow and then when Ralph passed me

00:34:29I couldn't get out I couldn't get into second or first at the hairpin so I was in third and of

00:34:33course he got a run. Funnily enough I got the gears the rest of the lap and then when I got

00:34:38the hairpin again I couldn't get below fourth and then when I got to the chicane I couldn't get

00:34:42below fifth so so it was a gearbox problem which is just damn frustrating because we had a hell

00:34:46of a lot of problems in Monaco in the race got another load of problems here after you know

00:34:51probably you know basically having sort of a better weekend. Bad luck Johnny. Yes and they

00:34:56the I can see in the pit lane that they the arrows men are out and ready for one of their

00:35:01two drivers so happy hours over for those two I think we're for sure they had a low fuel load

00:35:07that it was clear to see from very early and there it is already Delarosa coming in out of

00:35:12fifth place so a little bit of a false position but nonetheless he was making good use of the

00:35:16strategy that's going to push him a long way down I don't really know I think it's such a compromise

00:35:21to bring themselves in after just 20 laps you look good for a little while but maybe it's not

00:35:26going to score you any points. Well it means that Frentzen goes up to fifth that Zonta is in sixth

00:35:31position so for the first time ever both VARs are in the top six point scoring positions.

00:35:38Jarno Trulli is seventh, Verstappen is in eighth position at the moment. David Coulthard of course

00:35:44has benefited because he has gained a place as a result of Delarosa coming in that's one man he

00:35:50hasn't got to worry about passing although David of course has got to come in and change tires and

00:35:55take on more fuel like all of them except Delarosa. Eddie Irvine's been in, Johnny Herbert has retired.

00:36:04Yes of course if you're on a two-stopper everybody's got to stop one more time after that

00:36:10but it means you've got a shorter stop you've got less fuel to put in the car which is regulated at

00:36:14about 12 litres per second that's the only advantage of two-stopping a slightly shorter

00:36:18pit stop but surely it's not the right way to go this afternoon. Well Vika Hakkinen has got a bit

00:36:24of the pressure off him here he is in picture now Vika Hakkinen in fifth position at least has got

00:36:29to just worry about trying to get past Barrichello without also having to try to stop Delarosa

00:36:34getting past him because there's now a three-car battle for second place and not a four-car battle

00:36:40in the white VAR, Jacques Villeneuve in the scarlet Ferrari Rubens of Barrichello who was second at

00:36:47Monaco and then Vika Hakkinen. Vika Hakkinen not looking so good here as he didn't look so good

00:36:54in Monaco, David Coulthard looking a lot better and David is down in ninth position now as a result

00:37:00of that penalty. Yes you're right Hakkinen no longer has to look in his mirror and be defensive

00:37:05anymore but he still can't get much nearer to the back of Barrichello's car but this just underlines

00:37:10doesn't it how important qualifying is and then how important it is and that's why you see them

00:37:16all through the weekend all through practice all through testing they even go to special

00:37:21places to practice their starts it's everything it means you're hemmed in for the first half of

00:37:27the race at least if you don't get a good grip position and get away well. And now the yellow

00:37:32Jordan of Heinz Harald Fredsen is closing up in fifth position on Vika Hakkinen so there is Zonta

00:37:41there is Trulli behind Trulli is Verstappen behind Verstappen is David Coulthard he is in ninth

00:37:48position here they come towards us now is somebody going to try for it David Coulthard having a look

00:37:53at Verstappen and we're with David now this is the turn 15 look how close they go to the concrete

00:38:00there three people went into it last year and now down to turn one one of the slowest corners on the

00:38:07circuit and the Jordan gets a bit out of shape there David Coulthard we're looking forward from

00:38:16his McLaren now at Jos Verstappen's super tech powered arrows. Yes one of those cars in front

00:38:22of him I think Verstappen's car is putting out some fluid we saw it on the camera lens and we

00:38:26saw Coulthard trying desperately to wipe his visor as well something spitting out some fluid from the

00:38:31back of the cars they shouldn't do that they should be closed ventilated systems so Coulthard

00:38:37with a bit of a problem of visibility but it just shows you isn't he's now lapping a second a lap

00:38:41slower than he was early in the early part of the race and looking out of the people out here

00:38:46Murray getting caps and coats on they said it was going to rain about 1.30 and it has. That was

00:38:53Ross that was what Ross Braun was keeping under his bonnet I think Martin because yes rain is

00:38:59forecast all the teams have got wet weather tires ready to slap onto their cars but this could

00:39:05transform the race if it happens yes I looked into that a bit more after Ross said it because

00:39:10it completely caught me off balance because I hadn't heard about any rain at all but certainly

00:39:15one or two of the front running teams were expecting a there was a percentage chance of

00:39:20rain at 1.30 and well they were five minutes out pretty good nonetheless well here's Michael

00:39:26Schumacher oh there was Michael Schumacher here is Michael Schumacher 23 seconds ahead of that

00:39:32for second position but Michael Schumacher has been way way out in front in the past only to

00:39:40have some sort of a problem as he did at Monaco and Barrichello having a look at Jack Villeneuve

00:39:45you see Barrichello knows that if he could get past the BAR he could pull away from it he's got

00:39:51more power and the car handles beautifully but Jack Villeneuve is sticking on the racing line

00:39:57he's not giving Barrichello any room meantime Mika Häkkinen just sits back and watches as if it

00:40:02gets slippery out there I think it's going to be Villeneuve that struggles the most of that trio

00:40:07because his car clearly has less downforce than the Ferrari and that's Coulthard having a problem

00:40:14at turn three that's not what he needs to be doing if he wants to come through the field so

00:40:17the track is clearly getting a little bit slippery yeah and I think it was Jean Alessi that we saw

00:40:23flying past him in the prost and he was in 12th position so that could have cost David three more

00:40:29positions but if the rain continues to get out let's have a look and see what happened we're

00:40:34with Coulthard now oh that's oil that's oil on the track I think you'll find the arrows has blown up

00:40:39or something we said it was leaking fluids but uh look they're so nearly done but uh if a car swaps

00:40:46ends like that on you as you turn into a corner it's almost certainly because there's oil or water

00:40:51on the racetrack as now Barrichello starts to really harass the B.A.R. of Villeneuve what an

00:40:58absolutely brilliant recovery by David Coulthard looked at me as though he got the nose of the

00:41:04McLaren tucked under the wing of the arrows of Barrichello going through is he yes yes he's

00:41:09but Villeneuve's got the inside line and Barrichello keeps his foot down this is great and look at

00:41:15Hackett in the background Villeneuve second Barrichello third Hackett and four down to the

00:41:21hairpin now now Barrichello's just got to get a good run out of him he can if he just keeps his

00:41:26head keeps it calm through but oh Villeneuve too wise he kept it steady in the middle slowed down

00:41:31a little bit and got himself sorted out for a good slingshot out Barrichello comes up the inside

00:41:36one more time and this time it's going to stick and uh for sure Verstappen is in the pits with

00:41:42a problem I think his engine blew put Coulthard straight off the racetrack Coulthard having a

00:41:47nightmare afternoon well this is a nightmare for McLaren too because now Ferrari is first and

00:41:53Ferrari is second as Barrichello tears off one of the tear-off strips from his visor throws it away

00:42:00now we can expect to see him pull away from Jacques Villeneuve who is looking in his mirror determined

00:42:06to stay on the podium by keeping Nicker Hackett behind him but Hackett is going to be absolutely

00:42:12determined to get past because he realizes that now with two Ferraris in front of him the best

00:42:19that he can hope to get is four world championship points if they go the distance and that is even if

00:42:24he gets past Jacques Villeneuve and that's going to be very very difficult so now Schumacher 27.7

00:42:32We haven't seen much of him here it is again yes this is down into the hairpin

00:42:36and well we saw Rubens have a slightly better run out of the previous corner

00:42:40and he positioned his car well Jacques had no defense on that one he really

00:42:45had no way of closing the door once Barrichello got his car up alongside and just look at the

00:42:50way Barrichello is now pulling away from the battle between Villeneuve and Hackett at the

00:42:56third position and look at the two Jordans now because Fredson is fifth behind there he is

00:43:02behind him is Jarno Trulli so both the Jordans are in the points and we've still got 43 laps to go

00:43:09it's obviously just a little bit moist out there they've dropped about two to three seconds

00:43:13per lap Michael Schumacher now has picked up speed again in the front so that little flurry of rain

00:43:18that came across is now stuck and just still spitting the rain out there it's cost him about

00:43:25a couple of three seconds a lap except for Michael Schumacher well that dreaded turn 15 has only been

00:43:31hit once this year and that was by Pedro Diniz in the Sauber this morning and he deranged the nose

00:43:39and the suspension of the car so far everybody's been able to keep away from the Quebec wall as

00:43:45it's called because of the Quebec poster that's attached to it but there's very heavy rumble

00:43:52strips on the inside you've got to keep clear of those Villeneuve second Hackett and third the gap

00:43:58between them you can see for yourself and I'm sorry it's Villeneuve third and Hackett and fourth

00:44:04and the two Jordans fifth and sixth now seventh position is Ricardo Zonta he's three and a half

00:44:11seconds behind Jarno Trulli's Jordan and that's the second of the yellow cars you're looking at

00:44:16in the background so it's a great race for BAR if they keep going because both their drivers are in

00:44:22the top seven as Trulli nips past hides Harold Frentzen his teammate and their drivers are in

00:44:30the top seven as Trulli nips past hides Harold Frentzen his teammate and takes fifth position

00:44:38away from him and Trulli is the man to watch the multiple part champion of Europe who then became

00:44:46German Formula 3 champion here it is again let's have a look yes and just the same as we saw really

00:44:53with Barrichello passing Villeneuve Trulli takes a big step up the inside gets track position

00:44:58and there's no defending that once they've got their car alongside otherwise you'll just tear

00:45:03the wheels off of both cars so Hackett in there still struggling to pass Villeneuve and now we've

00:45:10got Schumacher and Barrichello back in the one 20.9s the only other man anywhere near that was

00:45:16Kulkarni in 20.9 last time around the rest of them late one minute 21s that 28 positions and gaps

00:45:24Schumacher 26 seconds Barrichello three seconds Villeneuve two-tenths of a second Hackett and

00:45:31there they are Trulli two and a half seconds behind Hackett and now a second ahead of

00:45:37Harold Fredson who is in sixth position Riccardo Zonta is seventh Missy Keller in the Benetton is

00:45:43moving up through the field he's in eighth position Ralph Schumacher in the Williams that

00:45:49we've heard nothing about who started down in 12th position has now carved his way up to ninth place

00:45:56Alessi is 10th David Coulthard having lost those two places when he went off he's down in 11th place

00:46:04terrible luck for him my new fastest lap there as you can see from Michael Schumacher 120.2 that's

00:46:09faster than last year's race so now any moisture on the racetrack clearly has gone and that is

00:46:16Hackett and trying desperately hard still to put the frighteners on Villeneuve will have nothing

00:46:21of it and he as I predicted he was certainly struggling more on that damn track now the track

00:46:26has come good again Villeneuve should be back to being able to hold off Hackett well this has not

00:46:32been a good circuit for Jacques Villeneuve in his first year here with the Williams he ended up in

00:46:37the Quebec wall he finished second to Damon Hill the next year then the next year he went into the

00:46:43wall again so for him to be up here in third position is a very considerable achievement

00:46:50but Rubens Barrichello is increasing his speed now he's just done the fastest lap of the race

00:46:56to reduce his gap between himself and the leader Michael Schumacher to just over 26 seconds and in

00:47:03the process he is now four and a half seconds ahead of Jacques Villeneuve there is Villeneuve

00:47:09with Hackett and behind him and Ferrari are on a potential 16 world championship points

00:47:17to the pre-world championship points that make a heck of a little score for McLaren if he finishes

00:47:23in fourth place and of course it's potentially extending Michael Schumacher's already

00:47:29considerable world championship lead but there's still a long way to go now look back and you'll

00:47:33see David Kulthar yes Kulthar making his way down the field for one reason than another with his

00:47:40stop-go penalty spinning off on Verstappen's oil but uh watching there earlier early on two

00:47:47or three quarters before Hackett quite clearly has a much better car under braking than Villeneuve

00:47:51if he can get anywhere near him he will slip fast but he just can't get close enough enough

00:47:57bite out of the corners to stay close enough to have a stab so

00:48:00while Kulthar is on the back of that pack we're going to take a quick break be back shortly

00:50:21Top six Michael Schumacher, Ferrari leads Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari by 26 seconds

00:50:28Jacques Villeneuve is 34 seconds behind Schumacher but just ahead of Hackett and there is Villeneuve

00:50:34there is Hackett and Jarno Trudy fifth has caught them and hides Harald Fredsen six in the second

00:50:40Jordan is dropping back so Schumacher, Barrichello, Villeneuve, Hackett and Trudy Fredsen

00:50:45yes the only significant thing that happened while we were in the break was as you saw Barrichello

00:50:49setting a new fastest lap 119.6 that's a good lap time but he's got 26 seconds to make up to

00:50:56Michael Schumacher but it certainly put Schumacher on notice and he's had a bit of a hurry up and he

00:51:02does not need his teammate homing in on him at half a second a lap otherwise he's got a problem

00:51:07later on in the race and this is Villeneuve you're on board you're in third position on the Grand Prix

00:51:12and he is somehow still keeping that McLaren behind him and this is why they've got to change

00:51:17some aspects of the design of these cars because they just are too difficult to overtake with

00:51:23and they're too difficult to overtake because the air behind Villeneuve's B.A.R. Honda is so disturbed

00:51:31that Mika Hakkinen will be losing downforce from the front wing of his McLaren as a result of which

00:51:38he gets less grip on the front tires and it's the front brakes incidentally which take an enormous

00:51:44pounding here here is Michael Schumacher closing up on Gaston Mazzucane's Minardi he is in 20th

00:51:52position and he is about to be lapped this is the first man to be lapped other of course than

00:51:58Johnny Herbert and Eddie Irvine both of whom are out of the race very early in their Jaguars

00:52:05now Mazzucane I hope for Michael Schumacher's sake is keeping a very careful eye on his mirrors

00:52:11he ought to be because there's nothing in front of him Ferrari mechanics in the pit lane

00:52:16Murray so I don't know who that may be for it could be for Barrichello if he started the race

00:52:20on a little bit less fuel to give him a half a chance of sprinting past the McLarens off the line

00:52:25Mazzucane moves out of the way lets Michael through on the racing line and we await to see

00:52:31which Ferrari is going to make a stop I would say it's quite early to be making if they're on a one

00:52:37stop it's quite early to be making that stop but it clearly doesn't mean to say they've got to come

00:52:41in twice so Michael has got enough of a lead to be able to do it 25.2 seconds it will put him

00:52:48behind Barrichello but I'm assuming he's not on more stops than Barrichello there is Barrichello

00:52:53this is a surprise to me actually but it's exactly in line with James Allen's forecast

00:52:59he said expect people round about lap 35 well it's lap 34 now I was expecting some of them to

00:53:06stay out until as late as lap 50 as in comes Heinz-Harald Frentzen and he's slipped down

00:53:14through the field they're not ready for him Murray I'm looking out of the pit lane and they're only

00:53:19yeah look now they're just coming out look so I don't know what's going on there maybe Louise

00:53:24what can you tell us well that team obviously caught unawares there Frentzen has been having

00:53:28a problem with his brakes that it was actually a team decision to allow Trulli to come through

00:53:32because Heinz-Harald was slow with his brakes Schumacher in Louise I'm sorry Schumacher in

00:53:37Michael Schumacher from the lead of the Canadian Grand Prix comes into the pit lane at a maximum

00:53:43speed of 80 kilometers an hour now he should be able to almost get out before Rubens Barrichello

00:53:50arrives the gap was 25 seconds it's a comparatively relaxed stop they're adjusting the front wing

00:53:56angle here by something that's a long stop nine seconds but but nobody there's Barrichello

00:54:05Barrichello goes through into the lead Michael Schumacher is second seem to be a certain amount

00:54:10of uncertainty really about Michael's right rear and they are pulling Frentzen out of the race

00:54:16Louise what can you tell us well yeah as I was saying Frentzen was having a problem with his

00:54:20brakes it's turned into a terminal problem the team were expecting him to come in in about three

00:54:24or four laps time as we saw he came and caught them totally unaware he made the decision himself

00:54:28that the brake problem had got too bad nothing for him to do but pull into the garage and retire

00:54:33and Mika Häkkinen is ahead unseen by us of Jacques Wielder so Rubens Barrichello leads Michael Schumacher

00:54:43is second and Mika Häkkinen is there there's a replay as you see them coming down into turn

00:54:51Michael Schumacher leading the race Mika Häkkinen attacks goes through on the inside of Jacques

00:54:57Wielder who didn't seem to resist him at all I think Wielder's ailing a little bit somewhere

00:55:02we said we could see there's a some blue smoke coming out of the back of the cross

00:55:07Peugeot there whether he's getting a bit too hard on it now that's a problem there that's history

00:55:11that one but it seemed that Häkkinen was getting better and better under braking than the VAR

00:55:18and yes that didn't get very far did it fire there it'll there's probably a bit of oil that's

00:55:24burning and the marshals seem to be taking their time about getting there with the fire extinguishers

00:55:31he's on the exit to the pit lane so there should be all the facilities of the world meantime the

00:55:36cross mechanics are getting agitated there and it really is time that somebody was on the scene with

00:55:41a fire extinguisher there well bearing in mind that it's got a top exit exhaust I think it's

00:55:46only a bit of oil a little bit of an oil fire coming out through the exhaust it will migrate

00:55:51eventually if they don't do something about it but I think I don't see it going up in a big

00:55:56ball of flame any minute now now the man to watch is Mika Häkkinen who is literally a man released

00:56:02he's got ahead of Jacques Wielder there is still half the race to run we're on lap 36 now in this

00:56:1039 lap race and there is the Jordan running wide onto the grass as he goes into the casino hairpin

00:56:21and through on the inside go Fisichella and Ralf Schumacher who have thereby increased their

00:56:27position heights Harold Frentzen into the garage out of the race here is the race leader Rubens

00:56:33Barrichello on his 36th lap turn 14 the dreaded turn 15 look how close he gets to the wall

00:56:40but David Coulthard was a lot closer to that yesterday Michael Schumacher in second position

00:56:46and I'm looking at lap times here bear in mind of course that Michael has got a lot of fuel on

00:56:56board now Barrichello getting towards an empty tank fuel pays a big part around here around

00:57:02four tenths of a second per 10 kilos so Michael will have a lot of fuel on board as we know he's

00:57:08just made a pit stop and you would expect Barrichello to stretch that lead as we see a

00:57:13Lacey in for what looks like a scheduled stop and Mika Häkkinen has just made the fastest lap of

00:57:18the race he's now just under seven seconds behind Michael Schumacher and catching the Ferrari this

00:57:25race has still got a long way to go Mick Heidfeld walking in another retirement his first year in

00:57:31Formula One is not a happy one a stall there for a Lacey we see that so often with Jean and that's

00:57:36going to cost him a good half a minute while they get that up and running so a desperately bad stop

00:57:42James what can you tell us well you were observing that Ross Brawn was taking a very good look at the

00:57:46right rear corner of Michael Schumacher's car in that pit stop I could tell you what he was looking

00:57:50at was the rear brake disc Michael obviously slightly concerned about the brake wear huge

00:57:54braking here at Canada but he's apparently perfectly happy now he is as you say carrying a

00:57:59big fuel load but what he's done here today is divide the race in half confident that he would

00:58:04be able to get a decent run at the start obviously looking for a bit less fuel for off the line and

00:58:08also confident that the other teams with Clarence and Jordan in particular would run longer in their

00:58:12first stint which does seem to be what's happening here yes James I would think it's Michael wouldn't

00:58:17have I'm sure you're right on why they were looking at it Michael wouldn't have that data

00:58:21they would not know about brake wear until the brakes start fading away but of course they do

00:58:26have telemetry back in the pits and they do know exactly what the brake or clutch wear is at any one

00:58:32time well meantime Mika Häkkinen has just lapped two and a half seconds faster than the man you're

00:58:37looking at Michael Schumacher who is second in the race but Michael Schumacher has already stopped

00:58:43Rubens Barrichello ahead of him has not there is Mika Häkkinen in third position

00:58:484.5 seconds now behind Michael Schumacher but Mika Häkkinen has not stopped so you

00:58:55would expect Häkkinen on a lighter fuel load to be closing up on the much heavier Ferrari

00:59:01which has just taken on more fuel to last it for the rest of the race so it's not surprising but

00:59:07it is interesting Jenson Button in 14th place back down the field he's gained from a few of the

00:59:12retirements Kulthard still nailed back down there in ninth Irvine running but two laps behind

00:59:19Zonta's doing a good job Murray up there in sixth place in the sister car to this which is Vilner

00:59:24in the BAR coming down once again to the last chicane and he certainly had plenty of fuel on

00:59:30board didn't he because he's gone a long way into this race 38 it's just coming up to finish his

00:59:3538th lap the leader Michael Schumacher and Barrichello rather already into their 39th well

00:59:41when is Mika Häkkinen coming in Michael Schumacher of course is going to be mighty difficult to put

00:59:48it mildly indeed to pass even if Mika Häkkinen thinks he can do so but we've seen Mika get past

00:59:54Jacques Villeneuve the man you're looking at now and Villeneuve has got Jarno Trulli in the yellow

00:59:59Jordan behind him in fifth place the top six at the present moment lap 39 30 to go Barrichello

01:00:06leads Schumacher by nearly seven seconds Häkkinen is three seconds behind Schumacher Villeneuve is

01:00:12seven seconds behind Häkkinen and just ahead of Jarno Trulli there is the proof you see it on your

01:00:17picture Ricardo Zonta in the second BAR is another seven seconds down the road but both the BARs

01:00:25are in a point scoring position at the moment Jacques Villeneuve fourth position Ricardo Zonta

01:00:31sixth position BAR have had a very torrid time getting into Formula One for all sorts of reasons

01:00:38but hopefully from their point of view because they've made a monumental effort

01:00:42things are starting to come good at Canada where their low downforce configuration and good car

01:00:48handling is paying off seventh is Fisichella eighth is Ralf Schumacher who is catching the

01:00:54Benetton ahead of him into the pits comes Jarno Trulli from fifth position taking the pressure

01:01:00off Jacques Villeneuve yes I'm sure the Jordan mechanics will be ready clearly Frentzen's pit

01:01:06stop was unscheduled although it looked like the mechanics were out late that was not the case

01:01:10Frentzen diving into the pit lane and you saw him retire this is truly and what looks like a pretty

01:01:17regular stop for him remember a lot of fuel got to go in to get him to the end of the race

01:01:21everything looks just fine on that and out of the pits he goes you may have noticed the enormous

01:01:27brake ducts that the cars have here this is Gaston Mazzucane and here coming towards him to lap him

01:01:35Jacques Villeneuve in the BAR so Hakanen then has dropped Villeneuve now by a full eight seconds so

01:01:42Hakanen really and look that's Hakanen homing in on Michael Schumacher but remember Schumacher has

01:01:48already stopped and as I said he's got about 60 to 70 kilos of fuel on board that Ferrari now

01:01:54and he will not there's a white flag that means a slow car passing under that yellow bridge you'll

01:01:59see something appear the other side that must be a Lacey yes who'd already had a very long stop

01:02:05that's both Prosts out of the race and it's not at all surprising to see Hakanen homing in on

01:02:10Schumacher because only of the fuel loads well this is a race of attrition it's taken a lot longer

01:02:17for cars to drop out than I expected but Herbert's out, Frentzen's out, Heidfeld's out, Eddie Irvine is

01:02:24out and actually by this time last year we'd had the safety car out on the track twice if not three

01:02:32times and last year history was created because the Canadian Grand Prix of 1999 was the first one

01:02:38to finish behind the safety car it actually led him across the line and about five seconds covered

01:02:45the first six homes. De La Rosa in the pits for his second stop although I'm surprised he's in

01:02:50again quite so early and Salo too and Junaid so plenty of action going on in the pits this is the

01:02:57current scrap the second place between Schumacher and Hakanen and I remind you Michael has already

01:03:02stopped once in that big cloud of dust you see every time they hit the brakes into corners

01:03:07is the problem around here they're limited to 28 millimeter wide just over an inch wide of brake

01:03:14and they simply wear it out it's so efficient in terms of its stopping capacity but the carbon

01:03:20wears away and look there's all that dust again and the pads wear away too both of them

01:03:27when you lose all the meat of them the pedal starts going very very long towards the end of

01:03:31the race or as we saw with Frentzen here last year they popped completely and sent you flying

01:03:36off the road now these are the two best drivers of this year on the track together twice world

01:03:45champion Michael Schumacher twice world champion Mika Hakanen Schumacher looking for his third

01:03:51victory in the championship and Hakanen doing exactly the same thing but there is a long way

01:03:57between them in terms of points because there's 15 points between the two of them and it's going to

01:04:04be mighty interesting at the end of this race to see what's happening because there will be some

01:04:08curious thinking going on in the McLaren pack they're running to very different strategies

01:04:13you've already seen and here is Villeneuve coming in and down there is Jensen Button

01:04:19Jensen Button coming in from well in 12th position

01:04:27all calm and deliberate and the Williams

01:04:29is quite a long stop 10.6 seconds and Jensen Button explodes out his teammate incidentally

01:04:39Ralf Schumacher is in seventh position and do I see spots of rain on the window of the commentary

01:04:44box yes indeed I do and I also see the McLaren mechanics out in the pit lane so and that's why

01:04:51here's Hakanen here is Mika Hakanen coming in from third position now the gap was 10 seconds

01:04:58we can expect him to lose 25 seconds here with coming in stopping getting out again and he's

01:05:05going to come down uh Villeneuve has gone through he's regained his third position but he has yet

01:05:12to stop Mika Hakanen is Zolta going to get through yes Zolta now both the VARs and more Fisichella

01:05:21Kulthar and Michael Schumacher is carving his way through the field he now lacks Jensen Button in

01:05:2815th position yes I think I don't think Jensen's got a particular problem I think he's just getting

01:05:31out of the way there Michael Schumacher so Hakanen falls behind Kulthar Kulthar has uh is showing

01:05:37as one stop but we know that to be his stop and go penalty from earlier on in the race which we

01:05:42believe to be because mechanics were still starting the engine of his car one when the green light

01:05:48came on some kind of drama but they were still better you know to take a stop go penalty than

01:05:54than have uh David be moved right to the back of the field and had to start the race from the back

01:05:59of the field with the overtaking problems and there's Barrichello coming in the mechanics are

01:06:04ready in front of the commentary box here and uh James I'm sure you're there I am indeed Rubens

01:06:09Barrichello should rejoin back in second place McLaren just over there are going to bring David

01:06:15Kulthar in he seems to have faded a little bit since that misfortune in the early part of the

01:06:19race now most of these guys started with used front tires and new rears and everybody has changed

01:06:24onto that except Rubens Barrichello who's going with new front tires so not quite as much grip

01:06:29more understeer we expect from Barrichello but reasonably comfortable can Hakanen attack him in

01:06:33the second half of the race that's the interesting part now yes but it's raining quite hard down

01:06:37there I would imagine James from what I can see and I'm sure Barrichello sat there with rain

01:06:42trickling down his visor as Kulthar comes in too for his first scheduled stop of the afternoon

01:06:47and it really is it's nowhere near wet enough to change tires onto wets of course but it really

01:06:53is looking uh pretty tricky out there once again for the second time this afternoon yes because

01:06:58if it rains a lot more and the circuit becomes damp and wet people have been in already for a

01:07:03new set of normal dry weather tires are going to have to come in yet again some of them may

01:07:09not have to do that depending on where they were on the track and it could dramatically affect the

01:07:14positionings in the race flat 44 out of 69 and as you see the Ferrari closing up on the two tail

01:07:22we're going for a break we'll be back for you to see the rest of the Canadian Grand Prix

01:08:22so

01:08:52so

01:09:11oh

01:09:22so

01:09:35so

01:09:53after Michael Schumacher and the wets weren't out of their blanket

01:09:57for him they just were not ready it's cost Barrichello and James unbelievable it was exactly

01:10:04like the Nürburgring last year it looked like a unilateral decision by Barrichello because the

01:10:08team certainly didn't have a second supply set ready they've introduced a new system at Ferrari

01:10:12after that debacle at the Nürburgring last year where Irvine didn't have a tire the engineer of

01:10:17the driver holds up a card with the driver's name on it's very clear system that must have

01:10:22been Rubens's own decision to come in immediately and he's he paid a very heavy penalty for it

01:10:27and we're just watching BARs queuing up for stops as well and Kulthar in the pits for wets but

01:10:32sometimes James it's better to wait and queue than it is do a very slow lap or fall off the

01:10:39road because you're on the wrong tire so sometimes it is better to just come in and queue that 46

01:10:44then and Mika Häkkinen is now second in the Canadian Grand Prix I've lost track of things

01:10:50I'm sure he has not been in for wet time no he has not Michael Schumacher has the advantage then

01:10:57he is still in the lead but he's in the lead on the right tires wet weather tires Mika Häkkinen

01:11:04visually you can see he's going a lot slower Rubens Barrichello lost time with those tires

01:11:09not being ready and look at the way Barrick Häkkinen is crawling yes he's really having to be

01:11:14careful with the throttle pedal a bit look even just as tiny curves now become major obstacles

01:11:19when you're on the wrong tires and the slower you go the more tire temperature and pressure you lose

01:11:24the less grip you have you're in a lose lose situation now it's raining quite hard

01:11:29and Häkkinen has lost out badly he will not be able to make really full use of the fact that

01:11:34Barrichello had a very slow pit stop be interesting to see how that one shakes out when Häkkinen

01:11:39rejoins the track now here's another sensational development it looks as though Giancarlo Fisichella

01:11:45is yes he has he's gone second and Fisichella in the Benetton who finished second last year

01:11:51and second the year before is in second place behind Michael Schumacher on lap 47 out of 69

01:11:57but he has not stopped I think that was Wirtz you saw recovering in the other Benetton but

01:12:01Fisichella I think made an ace move or the Benetton team did I think they he just came

01:12:06in for his pit stop at exactly the right moment and went straight on to wet and it played right

01:12:12into Fisichella's hands and that's launched him up into second place from absolutely nowhere

01:12:17an absolutely superb development and brilliant strategical thinking by the Benetton team

01:12:23Fisichella's highest place this year is third position in the Monaco 4-3 just two weeks ago

01:12:31but now Michael Schumacher the acknowledged rain master of Formula One leads on the right tyres

01:12:38as Fisichella runs very wide indeed there onto the gravel now that is a replay

01:12:45and here is Eddie Irvine who I've said had retired well he's in effect had but he's rejoined the race

01:12:52now and that's David Coulthard coming through and passing him so there is Michael Schumacher going off

01:13:00Michael Schumacher going off he may just have got away with that on the front wing as it turned one

01:13:05it's not a major drama there for Michael that'll give him a wake-up call just shows you

01:13:09how slippery the racetrack is like an emulsion on there now a lot of tyre

01:13:13a lot of tyre, rubber, a bit of oil and now a bit of water on the top and it is unbelievably slippery

01:13:21and even somebody like Schumacher can't find out exactly how to judge the braking points

01:13:26and now he knows he's got to be even more careful than the previous lap

01:13:30yeah time to establish what is happening we're on lap 48 out of 69 Michael Schumacher is leading by

01:13:3713 seconds Rubens Barrichello is now back into second position as a result of Fisichella going

01:13:45off Fisichella down to third place just two seconds behind the second Ferrari

01:13:50Mika Häkkinen is only in fourth position but has had his second stop for wet weather tyres

01:13:57Jarno Trulli is fifth and has stopped twice Alexander Wurz in the Benetton is in sixth position

01:14:05but he has only stopped once yes you see Barrichello is now 20 seconds ahead in second

01:14:10place of fourth place man Häkkinen so it was definitely worth him waiting in the queue

01:14:15and it cost Häkkinen dearly to be tiptoeing around on the wrong tyres yes it's not looking

01:14:22like Häkkinen's season at the moment admittedly there's a long way to go this is race eight there

01:14:28are 17 races but if Michael Schumacher can keep it on the island and stay where he is

01:14:34he's extending his world championship lead over Mika Häkkinen and of course David Coulthard who's

01:14:40out of the points at the present moment David Coulthard 12 points behind Michael Schumacher

01:14:46Schumacher on a potential 2.10 points for a win David Coulthard on a potential no points

01:14:53unless he can improve at least three places from ninth to sixth and this is the wet tyre

01:15:00Mika Häkkinen trying to close up on Fisichella who is 18.18 seconds ahead of him

01:15:08Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher Villeneuve in the BAR Ralf Schumacher in the Williams

01:15:17and they are respectively in tenth and eighth or were but there's been a change there as over the

01:15:24line goes the McLaren of Mika Häkkinen who is carving into Fisichella's lead he's taken

01:15:32two seconds out of Fisichella's lead on that one lap but now we're 20 laps from the end of the

01:15:40Canadian Grand Prix we've had two-thirds of it we're on lap 49 out of 69 and Mika Häkkinen is

01:15:47only looking good for three world championship points at the moment there's Fisichella

01:15:56now he's four seconds behind Rubens Barrichello that's Gaston Mazzucane who has been lapped

01:16:03and the prophecies about rain have turned out to be exactly right they're running off the track left

01:16:09right and center Fisichella that's a different uh falling off the road there for Fisichella so

01:16:15that's twice he's been off now but he's still managing to maintain second place Barrichello

01:16:20uh best part on the previous lap best part of three seconds faster than Michael but of course

01:16:24we saw Michael scampering through the gravel trap that's why he would have lost that time

01:16:28and they're now two to two the two Ferraris are two to three seconds faster than just about

01:16:34anybody else on the road yeah well there is Giancarlo Fisichella who's one of the highest

01:16:41for all three drivers of them all and notice in the last corner they didn't go anywhere near

01:16:45the wall now because that's a glossy piece of green painted concrete to look like grass

01:16:51and it's an absolute no-go area in these conditions so you won't see them playing

01:16:55hero with the wall now and if it's difficult in dry weather conditions as i was explaining earlier

01:17:02on with the walls around them and the armco just imagine what it's like now with traction

01:17:08at an absolute minimum as they try to balance 800 horsepower and still keep the and there's one

01:17:14of the arrows with a right he's got into the right rear and it's Pedro de la Rosa

01:17:19Pedro de la Rosa from 12th position park it Pedro no you're not going anywhere you should have taken

01:17:25that opportunity with the open piece of tarmac there there is no point whatsoever in recovering

01:17:31that car to the pits out of the race here's Schumacher Michael Schumacher leading on lap 50

01:17:36coming through to complete it take it easy there Michael that's where you went off last year

01:17:41and as Martin points out they keep right off the green painted concrete now and this is what

01:17:47happened to Pedro de la Rosa he runs wide onto the grass across the track and coming up behind him

01:17:55it's Pedro Diniz that put him offline I guess Pedro Diniz yes they touched it Marion they put

01:18:01put him straight into the wall that was a nasty little moment there on a high speed part of the

01:18:06racetrack and then this is clearly a replay of what we've seen and that's Irvine he's kept the

01:18:12engine going I don't know which corner it is exactly it looks like turn two again possibly

01:18:17so no he's got a problem too because it spun immediately around again so so quite clearly

01:18:21Irvine has got a rear suspension problem Michael Schumacher lead by 27 seconds you're going to see

01:18:27a play of Irvine now replay having a very silly spin and I I don't know why he just cannot keep

01:18:33that going in the right direction now he's out now he looks like he's on the right Michael

01:18:37Schumacher leads Barrichello Fisichella Mika Hakkinen truly his fifth versus sixth look out it's a break

01:20:34so

01:20:57look at this off goes Alexander Bowens from sixth position

01:21:01behind him Jos Verstappen and Ralf Schumacher is coming up there fast in the Williams.

01:21:07This is a replay, this is Woods going off and Ralf Schumacher still with that damaged leg

01:21:14after Monaco has gone past the Arrows. Ralf Schumacher then is driving one of the races

01:21:21that we expected to drive, absolutely brilliant and this rain is causing people to go off left,

01:21:28right and centre. We've got Irvine, Salo, Alessi, Heidfeldt, Fritzen and Herman out of the Canadian

01:21:36Grand Prix and Jos Verstappen is attacking now, here he is. Yeah Verstappen now trying to come

01:21:42back at Ralf Schumacher and gets up the inside beautifully, brave, brave move there from

01:21:47Verstappen, hangs it all together and grabs that place back having had a trip across the grass,

01:21:53fell off in sympathy with Wirtz who he was racing with, often if the guy in front of you

01:21:58goes off you get sucked into the corner with him braking too late, he'd scampered across the gravel

01:22:03track, Ralf hijacked that place and Verstappen said I'm having it straight back, thanks very much

01:22:09and we've seen great straight line speed from the Arrows all weekend, look just got track position

01:22:14and then didn't panic, didn't jump on the brake pedal too hard, mature piece of driving there from

01:22:19Verstappen. Yeah they're incredibly quick these Arrows in a straight line, race after race they've

01:22:24been fastest in individual race sectors and Jos Verstappen, Jos the boss as they call him in

01:22:31Holland is a very determined race driver, he's driven for Tyrrell, he's driven for Stewart,

01:22:36he's driven for Arrows, he's back again with Arrows and not many drivers get a second bite

01:22:42of the cherry after they've been had to leave Formula One, well he's proving that he richly

01:22:47deserves his place and David Coulthard now is coming up, he is in ninth position behind Ralf

01:22:53Schumacher. I think that was Coulthard possibly being passed by Villeneuve actually but it's a

01:22:59long long shot, there's Villeneuve and he's coming into the hairpin now, he's still behind Coulthard

01:23:05so I don't know what the previous action was but that's Villeneuve down in 10th place, he came in

01:23:10for a pit stop when it's just started to rain and went for slicks and was coming out of the pits

01:23:17thumping the steering wheel knowing he'd made a bad mistake, he should have been on wet and had

01:23:22to pit the very next lap. Coulthard of course has had three stops today, once for fuel, once for

01:23:28tyres, once for a stop and go penalty for an infringement on the start line and that's why

01:23:33he's down in ninth position. Ralf Schumacher going well in eighth, Verstappen a great race in seventh,

01:23:40Wurz is sixth still, Jarno Trulli, haven't seen much of him this afternoon, he's currently running

01:23:44fifth and Hakkinen is 15 seconds behind Fisichella who is third and the Ferraris are still two to

01:23:51three seconds a lap faster than anybody else on the racetrack in these conditions. And we've still got

01:23:5814 laps to go, we're on lap 55 at the present moment, it's a 69 lap race and if they could

01:24:08just keep going it's going to be another superb one and two for Ferrari, just as it was in the

01:24:15first race of the year, the Australian Grand Prix and that would give them 16 Constructors

01:24:21Championship points, it would give Michael Schumacher though we're looking at not only yet

01:24:26another victory but it would give him most importantly 10 World Championship points

01:24:32and Michael Schumacher has already won 39 times in his incredible career, he's 25 seconds as near

01:24:40as makes no difference ahead of Rubens Barrichello, they're both on the right tyres, the Bridgestone

01:24:46wet construction and compound, Fisichella is 16 seconds in the peloton behind

01:24:53Barrichello's Ferrari and there is Jos Verstappen storming his way up through the field, he's

01:25:00really going for it, he's behind Alexander Wurz now in the blue Benetton and ahead of Ralf Schumacher

01:25:06so you're looking at the battle for 6th, 7th and 8th positions. Yes well McLaren are celebrating

01:25:12their 500th Grand Prix start today, I think it's one they may choose to forget, right now Murray

01:25:18it's looking very much a scarlet day isn't it? It certainly is and since you're talking about the

01:25:23500th McLaren driving Grand Prix as the Williams of Jensen Button goes off the circuit there for

01:25:32a short while, I'm able to say congratulations to Ron Dennis the boss of McLaren on his very

01:25:39richly deserved recognition by his country, he's been given the CBE and it couldn't have happened

01:25:46at a better time, McLaren's 500th Grand Prix, lap 56, 13 to go, Schumacher leads, Barrichello second and

01:25:56it's tough out there. Yeah poor old Jensen's having a nightmare afternoon, he's having a scrap with

01:26:01Genet but that's for 13th and 14th at the moment and that's Villeneuve getting well out of shape

01:26:06and did that, that's a little trick he's used a lot lately, he jumps on the brake pedals and

01:26:11just brings the front runners two or three times, I've seen him use that to great effect as Jacques

01:26:16Villeneuve. Yeah but he's down in 10th position and remember I was talking earlier on about both the

01:26:24BARs being in the top six or neither of them are now because Villeneuve is 10th, Zonta is 11th,

01:26:32David Coulthard still doesn't look like scoring world championship points, I said earlier on

01:26:38there's no justice and Martin quite rightly said well you know rules are rules and they are but

01:26:44David's had to pay a terrific penalty because it's not just the 10 seconds, it's everything else that's

01:26:50involved including a lack of world championship points in this race when he'd driven so well to

01:26:56start second on the grid and then Harry Michael Schumacher for lap after lap after lap and then the

01:27:02only driver who could live with Michael Schumacher here at Montreal, look at the Saint Lawrence

01:27:08Seaway on the left there looking very sullen indeed, we haven't had a wet dry race like this

01:27:15for some time, it's been a terrific spectacle, here is Button coming towards us, 14th position

01:27:20in the Williams, now we look at the Ferrari, we're on lap 57 and Michael Schumacher has already won

01:27:29this race three times in his career, 94 for Benetton, 97 and 98 for Ferrari, it's the mark of

01:27:40a really brilliant driver when like the late great Jim Clark you win race after race at the same

01:27:47event, the British Grand Prix five times a victory for Jim Clark, the Monaco Grand Prix five times for

01:27:54Graham Hill, six times for Ayrton Senna, well it could be four times in Canada for Michael Schumacher

01:28:01yes I noticed that Diniz is under investigation by the stewards, that will be for barging

01:28:06Pedro de la Rosa into the wall when he was alongside him, quite a lot of mentions on the

01:28:11computer printout here of rear light not working, now that's up to the drivers to switch those on

01:28:17during a race where it turns to rain, whenever rain tyres are on and you see the red light glowing

01:28:23on some cars and you can see it even on the Jaguar there, but I do not believe they

01:28:29can penalise or pull the cars out of the race if they have not got their red lights working

01:28:33and there is Verstappen and he has now got alongside Bert, so Verstappen really moving

01:28:40through the field, moves up to a one point scoring position up in sixth, so Verstappen on the move

01:28:46we're going to take a quick break

01:30:53Oh

01:31:01Well terrible conditions at Montreal, lap 59 in this 69 lap race which was led from the start by

01:31:09Michael Schumacher in his Ferrari with David Coulthard the only man who looked likely to be

01:31:15able to challenge the race leader, then David Coulthard got that penalty, we assume because

01:31:23the mechanics were on the track still when the red lights went out and David Coulthard had a

01:31:3010 second penalty, he's dropped down the field, a lot of people have dropped out but Schumacher

01:31:35still needs Barry Callaghan, Visi Callaghan, and look at Verstappen now homing in for his next

01:31:39victim of the afternoon, Jarno Trulli in fifth place and they've all clearly got enough fuel

01:31:44to get to the end of the race, the arrow's working very very well in the wet, I think Coulthard

01:31:49seems to have lost a bit of interest now with all of the dramas of his afternoon and he's really not

01:31:55making, if he's going to win the world championship he's going to have a stab at it, he's got to find

01:31:59a better wet weather setup that suits him because he struggled in the rain in Nürburgring with setup

01:32:05and he's struggling here really, he's off the pace and even if he hadn't been up with Michael

01:32:10Schumacher, I think Coulthard would have been struggling to stay with the Ferraris in the rain

01:32:15as both McLarens did at Nürburgring in the rain, so McLaren have really got to have themselves

01:32:21a better option for when we've got changeable conditions, Michael Schumacher's lead down to 17.8

01:32:27seconds now and you've got to assume that he knows Barrichello may be allowed to catch him

01:32:31which he most certainly is doing by over two and a half seconds on the last lap and he knows that

01:32:37Barrichello will not be allowed to pass him and it would be crazy of Ferrari now to allow

01:32:41Barrichello to put any kind of pressure on Michael regardless of contractual or world championship

01:32:48situations. Look at this though, Jarno Trulli fifth has been called by Jos Verstappen, Jos is driving

01:32:54a fantastic race, he's clawed his way up from 10th position and he's now going for fifth position

01:33:00Arrows have got championship points this year already but Jarno Trulli turns in and Jos Verstappen

01:33:06is thrusting, thrusting, thrusting at the rear wheels of the Jordan all the time and just behind

01:33:12them is Alexander Wurz, so while you watch that let's just talk constructors, Ferrari very strong

01:33:19first and second, Benetton just one point in the points, one position in the points, Fisichella

01:33:26is third, McLaren only one car in the points and that's Micka Häkkinen down in fourth position,

01:33:33Jordan just one car in the points, Jarno Trulli fifth place and Jos Verstappen for Arrows is the

01:33:40only one because Della Rosa is out of the race and Jos Verstappen is either going to go through, yes

01:33:47he is, Jos Verstappen brilliant goes through into fifth position, yes Trulli is seriously cautious

01:33:53under braking, Verstappen must have seen that with great joy when he cruised up behind him

01:33:58and that was like taking candy from a baby from Verstappen, Verstappen of old would have charged

01:34:03in earlier on and taken at least two wheels off of each car, this one positioned the car nicely

01:34:09look and was still able once again to get the front of that Arrows in and we know it's got

01:34:14tremendous straight line speed as well so he's not as long as if he's carrying a bucket load

01:34:18of wing either Murray that's giving him this advantage in the rain, for some reason the

01:34:23Arrows is just beautifully balanced in these conditions and Jos Verstappen is a very tidy

01:34:29and a gigantically determined driver as we watch Michael Schumacher on his 61st lap, he's done 61

01:34:38and a half laps to be exact, he's coming down the return straight now down towards those turns 14

01:34:44and 15, the right and left handers, the left hander which caused so much trouble last year

01:34:50Michael will be mighty cautious knowing that he's still got a 16 second lead over somebody who's

01:34:56not going to be allowed to challenge him because like it or not and some people don't, Formula One

01:35:02is a team event and Ferrari will want their cars to finish first and second and not to be fighting

01:35:09each other for position and potentially taking each other off in the closing stages of a race

01:35:15which could be the turning point of both world championships, there's Barry Kellogg across the

01:35:20line, now he's 16 seconds behind Michael Schumacher and he's 21 seconds ahead of Fissing Kellogg

01:35:28Ruben's not making mistakes by going out wide in the corners, that's where the grip is

01:35:32off the racing line, the tarmac somehow is a little bit fresher out there and a bit greener

01:35:38as they say in some respects but it somehow gives you more grip in the rain because there's no tyre

01:35:43rubber out there and you take a go-kart line, you go in, you can run very very wide, Kulthard getting

01:35:48very close once again now to Ralf Schumacher, that's Trulli backing them all up, yeah this is

01:35:53the battle of the race, Trulli is sixth, Wurz is seventh, eighth is Schumacher, ninth is David Kulthard

01:36:00tenth is Jacques Villeneuve that we're riding with now with Ralf Schumacher, David Kulthard's car

01:36:06ahead of us, so David Kulthard in eighth position, Jacques Villeneuve who was third for so long, he was

01:36:13second in the race, he slipped down through the order to tenth position and off goes the Jaguar

01:36:18again of Eddie Irvine who is down in 16th position, he's been lapped three times and you'll see one,

01:36:26two, three, four cars and now they're all coming up to lap Eddie Irvine and they're led by Jarno

01:36:35Kulthard having a stab up the inside there, Ralf Schumacher didn't make it, Eddie Irvine's had a

01:36:40nightmare of an afternoon hasn't he, he's going to end up being at the start of the next race if

01:36:44he's not careful, he's so far behind now but all credit to him, at least he's carrying on

01:36:50but look at this, this is real motor racing, lap three, six to go at the end of this one,

01:36:55Schumacher looking good but Villeneuve trying to get past Kulthard, Kulthard trying to get past

01:37:00Ralf Schumacher who is trying to get past Alexander Burt who is right behind Jarno Trulli

01:37:06and they all go underneath the bridge and down towards turn 10, the casino hairpin even in these

01:37:13conditions doing about 170 miles an hour, incredible, yes and you saw Villeneuve still fighting

01:37:20his car a good 200, 300 meters out of the corner and that often is the case as the torque of the

01:37:26engine as you come into the peak power delivery it can just loosen and light up the rear wheels

01:37:31once again unexpectedly in these conditions, now this could all end in tears because they're

01:37:37driving through great balls of spray knowing that they're very close to the car in front,

01:37:43that the car behind them is very close to them, if there's one false move they could take each

01:37:48other off, Kulthard very slow out of the last chicane, surely Villeneuve's going to have a run

01:37:54at him now down into turn one, they're just out of the picture you're looking at, truly being super

01:37:58cautious, no Villeneuve nowhere near, Kulthard running wide yet again but it's a slow slow corner

01:38:04there, must be 35 miles an hour in the rain, I'm surprised they're not staying inside more there,

01:38:09I used to find in the rain here a lot more grip on the inside, tremendous grip between turns two

01:38:15and three, you had to get back across the track in a bit of a hurry to get an entry into three,

01:38:19they don't appear to be using that line anymore, we're with Jacques Villeneuve in the VAR,

01:38:24chasing David Kulthard's McLaren, you can see that they've got the obligatory rear lights

01:38:30switched on, which they have to switch on when the conditions of visibility are bad,

01:38:35and they're certainly bad now because as I said earlier on you're in effect driving into a solid

01:38:41ball of spray, knowing as Didier Pironi suffered very badly at Hockenheim years ago when he went

01:38:50into the back of Alain Prost's Renault and that finished his racing career, that one false move

01:38:57and you're going to be in major trouble, we're on lap 64, Michael Schumacher is still ahead of his

01:39:02teammate Rubens Barrichello by 14 points, Michael Schumacher looking good for his fifth victory

01:39:10of the year at the present moment, to give him a really commanding lead in the World Championship.

01:39:17It's the track beginning to resemble the boating lake on one side and the St Lawrence Seaway on

01:39:21the other, as you watch Zonta fighting his VAR, taking a little trip across the grass there,

01:39:27again that'll be between turn one and two, yes it is, and you may as well take the shortcut once

01:39:31you're in there, they seem to all be getting away this afternoon without damaging the front wing as

01:39:36they go through there, so and that is Fizikela in a lonely third place, he's 21 seconds behind

01:39:43Barrichello and 5.8 ahead of Hakkanen, Hakkanen now beginning to close in, yes you just see Hakkanen

01:39:50coming into the picture there, so this is a scrap for the final place on the podium and not many

01:39:55laps now left for Hakkanen to catch up, let alone make a move on Fizikela. Four laps to be exact,

01:40:02we're looking at Mika Hakkanen now, and if Michael Schumacher stays where he is now,

01:40:07Coulthard stays where he is now, Hakkanen stays where he is now, Michael Schumacher is going to

01:40:13be leading the World Championship by my mental calculations by a massive 22 points, with another

01:40:21seven race, another 10 races still to go. Barrichello caught Schumacher by 4.3 seconds

01:40:29on the last lap, Murray. Yeah, Michael I guess is just taking things very sensibly and carefully

01:40:34indeed, because Fizikela is 22 seconds behind Barrichello, who would act as a rear guard for

01:40:43Michael Schumacher, this is lap 65, so lap 66, 7, 8 and 9 to go, and coming towards us now,

01:40:53Jarno Trulli in the yellow Jordan, then Alexander Wurz, 7th, Ralf Schumacher, 8th, David Coulthard, 9th,

01:41:01Jacques Villeneuve, 10th. Yes, there's one point available for the lot of them, all good cars,

01:41:07good drivers, Trulli's got that position at the moment, and now we're getting some serious

01:41:11standing water, this is when you start to need a bit of tyre pressure, you can see the rain

01:41:16from the helicam up there, and this is when you need a bit of tyre pressure that opens the tread

01:41:21up, clears the water a bit, we're now into some fairly serious standing water, and the drivers

01:41:27are going to be struggling. This is magical, but you can see now what a commanding position Michael

01:41:33Schumacher is in, because he's able to make his own pace, he hasn't got any pressure from the front,

01:41:39he's not trying to get past anybody, he's on his 66th lap with just three to go, Roman Barrichello

01:41:46is continuing to catch him at the rate of nearly three seconds a lap, but it would still be two

01:41:51laps before he caught the race leader, as Jacques Villeneuve dives through on the inside, runs wide,

01:41:57has he been retaken? Yeah, for sure, I'm sure, Coulthard mastered it again, but yes, Coulthard got

01:42:02back round again, and quite how Villeneuve threaded the needle through there without

01:42:07hitting anything, it was absolutely amazing, he committed, blocked a front wheel and just had to

01:42:12go for it, so Genet there having his own little accident, his own race, but I'd like to see another

01:42:18view of Villeneuve finally having a... oh, and Villeneuve, and he must have... Schumacher and Villeneuve both

01:42:24out of the race from the look of it. Maybe Villeneuve did hit Ralph then in the end,

01:42:30so maybe he missed Coulthard and slammed it, here we go, look, so he goes, oh look, yes,

01:42:35he goes past Coulthard and did actually, I wonder how on earth he got through there without hitting

01:42:39anybody, Ralph would have wondered where on earth he came from. Yeah, I hope Ralph's leg is all right

01:42:45because it was very badly damaged at Monaco and he would have had a heck of a thump inside the

01:42:49cockpit there, it's his left lower leg which is very heavily padded. Yeah, I mean, Jacques, that wasn't

01:42:57a small mistake, that was way, way, way too deep into the braking area, blocked a front wheel, we couldn't

01:43:03see it through the spray on the car, I'm sure he blocked a wheel, and it's just amazing, you've got

01:43:08to take your foot off the brake, but the last thing you want to do when you're heading into an

01:43:11accident is take your foot off the brake pedal, but you've got to, and try a bit of cadence braking,

01:43:16but you're almost certainly going straight to the scene of the accident when that happens

01:43:21into a hairpin in the rain. Michael Schumacher tiptoeing round the course, he's on his 67th lap

01:43:28now, he's just started it, he's got two to go at the end of this one, David Coulthard of course

01:43:34has improved his position with the disappearance forcibly of Ralf Schumacher after being hit by

01:43:41Jacques Villeneuve, doing a bit of a kamikaze move there, but now Schumacher leads Barrichello by a

01:43:48diminished margin of just under six seconds, Fisichella is 21 seconds behind them, Minka

01:43:54Häkkinen is catching Fisichella but not nearly fast enough, he's in fourth place, Jos Verstappen,

01:44:01a magnificent fifth, and Jarno Trulli still in sixth place, but Alexander Wurz is a man to watch,

01:44:08well there goes Wurz, there goes Coulthard, Trulli has pulled away from Wurz and Coulthard

01:44:15in eighth position is catching the Benetton, it's remotely possible that David Coulthard will get

01:44:22past Wurz in the remaining distance, I don't think he can possibly then catch and pass Jarno Trulli

01:44:28to get a world championship point, which he so richly deserves, I don't think Häkkinen's given up on that third

01:44:33place yet Murray, that's for sure, lap 66, the way he's now beginning to catch Fisichella, surely, I mean

01:44:40he was two seconds faster on the previous lap, I think he'll be very very close as they head into

01:44:45their last lap, not yet, but as they move towards the end of the race, Häkkinen clearly has the much

01:44:51faster car at this stage, yeah Fisichella really loves this circuit, second last year, second the

01:44:57year before in the Benetton, he's tremendously confident, we're watching on lap 68 now, only one

01:45:04lap to go after this one, Michael Schumacher, there is Rubens Barrichello, who is really carving into

01:45:11the German's lead, it's down to 5.2 seconds, but that is because Michael Schumacher is going slower

01:45:19rather than because Rubens Barrichello is going faster, as we look at Jenson Button in 11th

01:45:25position, Ferrari, Schumacher, leader, one lap to go, yes Jenson may be hoping to unlap himself and

01:45:34that's your best way of scoring any sort of gains on the last lap, if people trip over each other

01:45:40with a do-or-die effort, with Jenson a long way down the field in 11th place, so Michael Schumacher

01:45:47led from the beginning, David Coulthard the only man that could stay with him because Villeneuve

01:45:52was holding the rest of them back, Coulthard had to make his stop-and-go penalty, that's a Sauber

01:45:57you see recovering, which must be, Rosado is out of the race, so that must be Diditz, so Coulthard

01:46:05making the stop-and-go, coming back in 10th place, hasn't really been able to move from that position,

01:46:10Fisichella launched up into the reckoning, and that's Coulthard and Wurz off the track, who can

01:46:16scamper back on first, David, Coulthard gets back on first, they've obviously had a right, I'm going

01:46:21to brake when you brake, moment into turn one, as Michael Schumacher trying to go as slow as he can,

01:46:27oh there comes Coulthard, seriously deep, and wow, they actually touch quite heavily, and a piece of

01:46:34front wing coming off there, wouldn't be surprised if Coulthard doesn't get a little chat with the

01:46:39stewards on that one, again coming in from an awful long way back, as they move into the final lap,

01:46:44Murray, they are on the final lap, they being Michael Schumacher that you're looking at, and Rubens

01:46:51Barrichello, who is second, just over, there he is in the background, it's going to be a Ferrari 1-2,

01:46:57assuming that they could do the remaining mile and a half or so of the Gilles Villeneuve circuit,

01:47:04and although I hesitate to say it, but if Michael Schumacher makes this his fifth victory in eight

01:47:10in eight races, he's going to be a mighty difficult man to beat in the world championship.

01:47:15Yes, I think had Barrichello not been held up at the beginning too, he had, he would have had a

01:47:20great race today, so close call between I think Barrichello and Verstappen for driver of the day

01:47:27really, I mean Michael's been peerless at the front, I think Barrichello and Verstappen have driven

01:47:31great races as they've come through the field. 15 corners per lap and Michael Schumacher is on

01:47:37his way down to turn 10, it's going to be a formation finish for Ferrari, Forza Ferrari

01:47:44they'll be saying in Italy and rightly so. Riven's never won a Grand Prix yet and I remember

01:47:49when I was finishing second, looking just down the road like that, you think there is a win,

01:47:54there is a Grand Prix win just in front of me, must be so tempting for him to go flatting past

01:48:00and say I'm terribly sorry but I just had to get that first win in. Here he comes, victory number

01:48:0640, 4-0 for Michael Schumacher into the last corner but one out of it and now Michael Schumacher

01:48:16wins the Canadian Grand Prix by half a car from Rubens Barrichello who just respectfully keeps

01:48:24his distance but makes a point as the Ferrari mechanics say, that was a good one and Fisichella

01:48:32for Italy, Ferrari Italy, Ferrari Italy, Fisichella Italy and David Coulthard, Mika Hakkinen

01:48:40comes through in fourth position, Jos Verstappen is going to be a superb fifth for Arrows to get

01:48:46two World Championship points and do them a lot of good with Jarno Trulli in the Jordan in sixth

01:48:53position. There are going to be 16 finishers which is a lot more than we are used to in Canada,

01:49:018, 9 or 10 is the usual number of finishers, time for a break, come back and find out about it more.

01:49:314

01:49:37Michael, that's great, thank you, that was difficult but that was good, thanks.

01:53:01um

01:53:20foreign

01:53:30all right

01:53:50so

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01:55:50so

01:56:06yeah

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01:56:36so

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01:57:08so

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01:58:20you

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01:58:59you

Formula-1 2000 R08 Canadian Grand Prix

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