Formula-1 2000 R13 Belgian Grand Prix Part 02
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00:00In second position in the Williams BMW, behind Mika Häkkinen,
00:05as a result of his brother Michael having made that early stop in the Ferrari from the lead.
00:11Michael Schumacher is in third place, ahead of Jenson Button, who has only stopped once in the Williams BMW.
00:18He's in fourth place. The two Williams BMWs are second and fourth at the moment.
00:23That's the best they have been this season.
00:25Jacques Villeneuve is fifth, pursued by Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
00:30And David Coulthard, who has only stopped once, is down in seventh place,
00:34ahead of Jean Alési, who has stopped twice.
00:36There's still going to be changes in this Belgian Grand Prix,
00:40as you look now at the Jordan and the McLaren turning into the bus stop,
00:45accelerating along that little short straight, out again to complete the lap.
00:50Heinz-Harald Frentzen in the Jordan is sixth.
00:53David Coulthard behind him, seventh position.
00:56Villeneuve in the pits. Coulthard needs to clear that Jordan, otherwise he's afternoon's wreck.
01:00This is Villeneuve, 50 miles an hour limit. He's at the far end of the pit lane.
01:04BAR right down at the end. Alési's got an easy escape route then, straight out onto the racetrack.
01:10Well, there's 180 degrees right under, immediately after he gets underway,
01:13and right out onto the racetrack.
01:15So Villeneuve was beginning to catch Jenson Button, but by nowhere near enough speed.
01:22And still Coulthard can do nothing about Frentzen's Jordan.
01:26And he's seen a lot at very close quarters of the car in front of him at various races this year.
01:34Down out of the top six.
01:36Well, he's in it at the present moment.
01:38He is in sixth position on a potential one World Championship point.
01:43But Jacques Villeneuve has been in now,
01:46and that's as a result of the BAR coming into the pits that Coulthard has improved his position.
01:52And Frentzen bumps over the sore teeth of the chicane there.
01:58And we're on lap 25 now, out of 44.
02:02And I've got a feeling that there is still a lot of drama left in this race.
02:06So Hakkinen is 14.2 seconds ahead of Michael Schumacher at this stage of the race.
02:12We think Schumacher's fuelled to the end of the race.
02:14So Hakkinen needs to be significantly further down the road.
02:18Ralph Schumacher's pitting on this lap, I'm just seeing on the computer.
02:21So Ralph in, that'll put Michael back up to second place.
02:25And if Michael can peg Hakkinen's pace in this sector of the race,
02:30he's certainly going to end up in the lead later on.
02:33Yeah, they're comparative lap times at the moment,
02:37as you look at Ralph Schumacher, not M Schumacher in the Ferrari.
02:42Thank you, change the caption.
02:44Ralph Schumacher exits the pit lane.
02:46Watch the fuel flap goes down when the...
02:48There it goes.
02:50And here is the man who was leading the race when he came in for his pit stop.
02:56Michael Schumacher is in second position at the present moment.
03:01And Micah Hakkinen staying out.
03:03This is the 26th lap.
03:05The fact that they had to be in early to change from wet weather tyres to dry weather tyres
03:10and take on a bit of fuel at the same time has changed strategies dramatically.
03:17That when we were expecting the people to come in
03:20is not necessarily when they are going to be coming in.
03:23Michael Schumacher, we saw down the main back straight up towards Lecombe,
03:27really on the far right-hand side of the circuit,
03:29trying to cool his slicks once again.
03:32He's got a quite a heavy fuel load in that car now.
03:34The risk out there is he could pick up a puncture.
03:37You get a lot of debris and rubbish out there.
03:39It won't affect his grip into the next corner.
03:41He's moving back early enough to clean the tyres back up.
03:43But you do put a lot of extra risk into getting a puncture
03:46and little pieces of carbon fibre or whatever.
03:49Remembering, of course, that much of that part of the racetrack
03:52is a normal main road the rest of the year round.
03:55Looking at the Constructors' World Championship at the present moment,
03:59at the moment, with David Coulthard still to make his second stop,
04:03both the McLarens are well and truly in the points.
04:07And in the Constructors' Championship,
04:09there is only one point between McLaren, who is leading, and Ferrari, who is second.
04:14But at the present moment, only one of the Ferraris,
04:17the one that you're looking at, Michael Schumacher, is in the points
04:21because Rubens Barrichello is still down out of the points in eighth position.
04:27Michael losing about three tenths of a second per lap to Mika now.
04:30That's because he took on about 10 seconds worth of fuel.
04:34We saw it for ourselves.
04:36So Michael now with quite a heavy car.
04:37Every 10 kilos of fuel around here costs you half a second per lap in time
04:42as Jenson Button comes in for his second stop of the afternoon from third position.
04:48He will now fall back behind teammate Ralf Schumacher
04:51and resume, I would imagine, in fourth.
04:54A reasonable stop again there for Jenson
04:56and hopefully he won't have too much traffic when he moves on to the racetrack.
04:59Nothing coming down the pit straight.
05:01I think Jenson, who was that?
05:03Well, it's a Ferrari going through there in the background.
05:06But now we're looking again at this continued battle
05:10all the way around the circuit between Frentzen and Coulthard,
05:13fifth and sixth, Jordan and McLaren.
05:16Now the Mugen Honda engine of the Jordan,
05:19which is going to have a full works Honda engine next year,
05:22has not had all that much development this year.
05:25So Frentzen is doing extremely well to stay ahead
05:29of the very powerful Mercedes-Benz-powered McLaren of David Coulthard.
05:35Yes, and that's Jenson at the moment.
05:39We think he's down in eighth place actually
05:41because the other runners haven't stopped yet
05:43and that was Barrichello ahead of him who has stopped twice.
05:46So Barrichello's had quite a run since he made that early stop
05:50for his second set of tyres.
05:52And I think, and Hakkinen is in the pits too, I can see.
05:54Micah Hakkinen from the lead of the race into the pit lane.
05:58It's not on our screens yet.
05:59I'm sure they'll pick it up as soon as they move away
06:01from this scrap between Frentzen.
06:03And there you see it.
06:04Hakkinen coming in for his second stop.
06:07Following the arrows in now.
06:09The gap was 14.6 seconds.
06:13Michael Schumacher is sure to be taking the lead
06:15unless he encounters a problem.
06:18And out, that's a very good stop.
06:208.8 seconds for Micah Hakkinen.
06:22And now I'm looking for the flat.
06:24There's the car going past.
06:25I just saw the top of it over the pit wall.
06:28Where is the Ferrari?
06:31That's one of the arrows that's gone through.
06:33So where is Michael Schumacher?
06:37Well, there is Micah Hakkinen coming down to Eau Rouge.
06:41I saw the top of Schumacher's car.
06:44Yeah, there he is.
06:44Yes, there he is.
06:45Going underneath the wall there.
06:46But it was difficult to pick up how far he'd gone
06:49before Hakkinen, in a different shot, came out of the pit lane.
06:52And as we thought, Michael Schumacher,
06:54who was 14.6 seconds behind before Hakkinen stopped,
06:58takes much longer than 14.6 seconds
07:00because of the long pit lane and the slow speed limit.
07:03And now Michael Schumacher picks up the lead once again.
07:06And we think he's fuelled to the end.
07:08And he's coming up behind Alexander Wurz's blue Benetton,
07:11which he goes through on the inside to lap.
07:14And Mazzucane's yellow Minardi with the red wishbones,
07:20he's going to lap the Argentine driver now.
07:22So he's lapped Verstappen, he's lapped Wurz,
07:25he's lapped Mazzucane.
07:26The next target will be Marc Genet in the second Minardi.
07:31And the top ten on lap 28 out of 44
07:35are now Michael Schumacher, Micah Hakkinen,
07:37Ralf Schumacher, Hans-Harald Frentzen.
07:40Fifth is Coulthard, sixth is Alési.
07:42Alési is back in the points.
07:45Keep your fingers crossed for Alési and Prost.
07:48They deserve it.
07:48Rubens Barrichello is seventh.
07:50Button is eighth, but will move up.
07:52Johnny Herbert in the Jaguar is ninth.
07:54Jacques Villeneuve is tenth in the BAR.
07:57So that was the crucial section of the race there
07:59for Michael Schumacher.
08:00While he had the much heavier fuel load
08:02I was explaining to you,
08:03he was still able to match Micah Hakkinen's time.
08:06Hakkinen could not stretch that lead with low fuel
08:09to be more than a pit stop ahead of Michael.
08:12And that really could well have cost Micah the race.
08:15Michael, a crucial stage of the race,
08:17and he made it work.
08:19Well, if Michael Schumacher wins this race,
08:22and I'm certainly not going to say he is going to win it,
08:25it will be his sixth victory of the year.
08:28He's been trying so hard ever since he joined Ferrari in 96.
08:33And in come Fredson and Coulthard together.
08:37Yes, so obviously McLaren called Coulthard in,
08:41and Jordan have very sensibly responded immediately to that.
08:45These two running, Leinster and David Coulthard,
08:48will be absolutely destroyed to see Fredson
08:51coming in the pit lane.
08:52Can they turn him around quicker than the Jordan?
08:54It's a reasonable stop.
08:55But yes, I think he's going to pass him.
08:58Lucky there for Coulthard.
08:59The McLaren boys turned him around quicker than the Jordan boys,
09:03got Fredson away.
09:04And that has just, that's a crucial thing,
09:06a crucial move there for Coulthard.
09:08And now he needs to keep Johnny Herbert's Jaguar behind him
09:10as he builds up tyre temperature and speed into Eau Rouge.
09:14So watch for the Jaguar.
09:16There it is.
09:18Yep.
09:20And he has succeeded in doing so.
09:22And the classic indication of how you can change positions
09:26with a good pit stop.
09:28That's exactly what happened.
09:30David Coulthard had been sitting behind
09:32Heinz-Harald Fredson's Jordan gearbox
09:34for lap after lap after lap.
09:37Not able to do anything about getting past
09:39because disturbed aerodynamics
09:42and all the other problems that you have
09:43of following a car closely in front.
09:46But now he is ahead.
09:48Yes, and Fredson's also ahead of Villeneuve.
09:50So Villeneuve's lost out quite badly.
09:51We didn't see, his stop seemed okay.
09:54Actually, we did see it.
09:54Remember, he was right at the end of the pit lane.
09:56But for whatever reason,
09:57Villeneuve's had a bad run since that pit stop
10:00and fallen down the field.
10:01So Coulthard now showing,
10:04well, the computer hasn't sorted itself out yet
10:06from those pit stops.
10:08No, so I'm just going to wait until it does so.
10:13It's so easy to get it wrong
10:14when the positions are changing
10:16and we're waiting for things to be updated.
10:18However, no doubt at all about the fact that
10:21on the two-thirds distance lap,
10:23lap 30 out of 44,
10:25Michael Schumacher's Ferrari,
10:27which you are looking at now,
10:29is leading Mika Hakkinen's McLaren
10:31by some five seconds.
10:32There's Michael over on the
10:34what little bit of damp track is left now.
10:37And significantly on the last lap,
10:39Hakkinen took eight-tenths of a second
10:42out of Mika's lead.
10:43Rubens Barrichello sets a new fastest lap of the race
10:47on a 54.0.
10:56Mika Hakkinen is driving an inspired race.
11:06He's got the gap between himself
11:08and Michael Schumacher down to under four seconds.
11:12Now, very often when you change
11:14from one set of tyres to another,
11:16things can get better or things can get worse.
11:20That could have happened both to Michael Schumacher
11:24and to Mika Hakkinen.
11:25The wrong way, as far as Schumacher is concerned.
11:27They could have got worse for him
11:29and better for Hakkinen.
11:30But whatever the reason,
11:31the gap is coming down.
11:33And Rubens Barrichello in the second Ferrari
11:36is now in fourth place,
11:38catching Ralph Schumacher, who is third.
11:40Alessi is fifth,
11:41but Jenson Button is sixth.
11:43Yes, remember, we think that Barrichello's
11:44on a three-stop strategy.
11:45Therefore, he will have the faster car,
11:47but at 153.8 for a new fastest lap for Barrichello.
11:51And now, Hakkinen is now down to 3.1 seconds,
11:56an inspired section of the race.
11:58Remember, he was leading early on.
11:59He spun off at Scavallo, lost the lead,
12:02seemed to be a bit cautious.
12:03Michael Schumacher clearly had a lot more pace.
12:06But on this set of tyres, as you say, Marion,
12:08at this stage of the race,
12:10it's Hakkinen now.
12:11Look at the total commitment he had
12:14coming over the top of Radeon
12:15as he pursues Michael Schumacher.
12:18Now it's flip-flopped the other way
12:19and he's become the pursuer yet again.
12:21It's a moot point.
12:23Some people will say that Michael Schumacher
12:25is very much the best driver of these days.
12:28Others will say Micah Hakkinen.
12:29There's no doubt at all about the fact
12:31that they are the two best drivers,
12:33closely pursued by David Gilbert.
12:35And here they are in the front.
12:37And we've got news from Louise Goodman.
12:39Yeah, we're standing in the Jordan garage
12:41watching that pit stop.
12:42They're absolutely distraught about what went on.
12:44They were so sharp to react to McLaren coming in.
12:46Straight on the case,
12:47there was a slight problem with one of the rear wheels.
12:49But in fact, that was all sorted out
12:51by the time that the fuel man had come off.
12:53The main problem is that Heinz-Harald Fritz
12:55had overshot his mark.
12:56That lost vital time
12:58and it's also lost him a position in the race.
13:00Yeah, that does.
13:00When the mechanics have to move up
13:02and the heavy fuel rig has to be adjusted,
13:05the hose, which is extremely heavy
13:07and supported by two men,
13:08has to be lumbered up
13:09so that they can line it up with the fuel filler.
13:12And it does cost time.
13:14But now you're watching
13:15what's going to be a classic confrontation
13:17between the two top men
13:19with about 12 laps still to go.
13:22That's about 46, 50 miles still to go.
13:25And Micah Häkkinen is eating into Michael Schumacher's lead.
13:28I've said this many times before,
13:30I'll say it again,
13:31catching is one thing,
13:33passing is another.
13:35But my goodness,
13:36catching is certainly what Micah Häkkinen is doing.
13:39On the previous lap,
13:40the gap, lap 31,
13:41was 3.1 seconds.
13:43Over the line goes Michael Schumacher.
13:46Over the line goes Micah Häkkinen.
13:47Down comes the gap by half a second to 2.4 seconds.
13:51Yes, so Häkkinen got a good car underneath him.
13:53So is Coulthard now finally finding some pace
13:56back there in sixth place.
13:59So Coulthard having cleared the Jordan,
14:01now can find some pace.
14:02He's about four seconds behind Jenson Button
14:06as they're scrapping over.
14:07They will be scrapping over fifth place.
14:08Barrichello in fourth,
14:09we think he's got to stop again.
14:11Michael Schumacher first.
14:13Häkkinen second.
14:14Ralf Schumacher third.
14:15I don't believe either of those three will have to stop
14:18as Eddie Irvine passes there.
14:21And De La Rosa.
14:22And it looks like De La Rosa has some kind of problem.
14:25Yeah.
14:26Eddie Irvine is in 13th position,
14:29his teammate.
14:29Here are the top ten.
14:31Michael Schumacher, lap 32,
14:33leads Micah Häkkinen by the gap.
14:35You can see it's about two and a half seconds.
14:37Ralf Schumacher is 22 seconds behind the leader.
14:40Rubens Barrichello is 27 seconds behind the leader,
14:43but has got to stop again.
14:44Jenson Button is 12 seconds behind Barrichello,
14:47so could regain that fourth position.
14:50He started third on the grid.
14:52In sixth position is David Coulthard,
14:55ahead of Frentzen, who is seventh.
14:56Jacques Villeneuve in eighth place.
14:58Ninth is Alessi.
14:59Tenth is Salo.
15:01And it rather looks at the present moment
15:03as though Jean Alessi is not going to achieve
15:06those much desired first ever points
15:09for the cross team this season.
15:11Look at Micah Häkkinen, really hammering it,
15:14really giving the McLaren a hard time.
15:16And he can see his quarry, Michael Schumacher,
15:20as they come round the tremendously fast corner
15:25at Blanchimont at some 190 miles an hour,
15:28break down for the bus stop,
15:30which they take at an approach speed
15:32of about 80 miles an hour,
15:34and out of it now.
15:35The gaps come down from 3.1 to 2.4
15:38over the line they go,
15:40and this time it's 2.2,
15:41two tenths of a second gained by Micah Häkkinen.
15:44They exit La Source.
15:46They drop down towards Eau Rouge
15:49through that daunting series of bends,
15:51the swinging uphill section,
15:53and then bare left at Radillon up towards Les Combes.
15:56The battle is on.
15:58Barrichello out of the race,
15:59for the looks of it,
16:00Barrichello with some kind of problem
16:02coasting now into the pit lane.
16:04He may, may just be able to freewheel
16:07all the way down to his pit.
16:09Bad news for Ferrari,
16:10good news for Williams and BMW
16:12and Jenson Button,
16:14because definitely up into fourth place
16:16goes Jenson Button,
16:17to fifth goes David Coulthard,
16:19to sixth goes Heinz-Harald Frentzen,
16:21hopefully to get a point for Jordan,
16:23and Rubens Barrichello draws to a standstill,
16:26very definitely out of the race,
16:28his third retirement of the year.
16:31Yes, and this side is the track side
16:33of the white line that crosses the circuits
16:36so the mechanics cannot go to that car.
16:39He needs the marshals to push him
16:41into the zone,
16:42past the white line that crosses
16:44the beginning of the pit lane.
16:46He's saying, push me, push me.
16:47There's his mechanics ready for him, look,
16:49but the mechanics should not,
16:51cannot touch that car
16:53outside of the white line.
16:55They will be in serious problems
16:57in my understanding of the rule, James.
17:00I think he possibly might have run out of fuel,
17:02you know,
17:03because he did push it very, very hard.
17:04That was quite an interesting run.
17:06They're certainly all ready for him.
17:07He's reported no particular problems
17:09with the car, as far as I can tell,
17:10and that's the dilemma for Ferrari.
17:12They want the marshals to bring the car in,
17:13but who knows?
17:14And sadly, Jean Alési is out of the race
17:18in the Prost.
17:19He was fourth at one time.
17:21His teammate, Nick Heidfelt,
17:23has already retired long ago,
17:25one of the earliest retirements,
17:27and yet again, poor Jean is out of the race.
17:30Yet again, no points for Prost.
17:32Lap 34.
17:33They'll have to retire that car,
17:35as my understanding of the rules.
17:36Where they're standing with Jean Alési's car,
17:38I wouldn't stand there for all the tea in China.
17:42Thank you very much.
17:43They've got to clear that car away.
17:44The cars are coming in there at 200 miles an hour,
17:46and it's absolutely in the line of fire
17:48if there's any kind of problems.
17:49And this is the scrap of the race now.
17:51R2 Brits.
17:52Coulthard, 2.3 seconds behind Jenson Button,
17:56lapping about 1.2 faster per lap.
17:59And Hakkinen now down to just 1.6 behind Schumacher,
18:03who still feels the need to cool the tyres on that Ferrari.
18:07And Hakkinen will take a lot of pleasure out of that,
18:09because he's faster,
18:10and he clearly doesn't need to do the same thing.
18:13And it's my estimation that if things stay as they are,
18:17and I don't think they are going to stay as they are,
18:19McLaren and Ferrari will be tying for the lead
18:22in the Constructors' Championship at the end of this race.
18:26And that is 10 laps away.
18:28This is lap 35 out of 44,
18:30and you're watching Rubens Barrichello
18:33sitting gloomily in the Ferrari
18:34while they try to bring it back to life.
18:36Yeah, they've got to build some fuel pressure
18:38if indeed it was out of fuel.
18:40They've got to...
18:41I think they have to retire that car.
18:42Anyway, it's getting out.
18:43I do not believe they can recover it from beyond the white line
18:47and then restart the race.
18:49So Barrichello quite clearly retiring,
18:51and I think they had to do that anyway.
18:53Hakkinen has done the fastest first section
18:56of anybody in the race so far,
18:58taking four tenths of a second out of Michael Schumacher
19:01in the first 30 seconds of this very lap that you're watching now.
19:05What has Michael Schumacher done in the middle?
19:07He's taken half a second back again.
19:09Yeah, and remember,
19:10Hakkinen is leading the World Championship by two points
19:13from Michael Schumacher.
19:15Ten points for victory, six points for second place.
19:19If Hakkinen can get ahead of Michael Schumacher,
19:22it's going to be a mighty bonus for him
19:24in this year's World Championship.
19:25Nobody has won the Drivers' World Championship
19:28three years in succession
19:30since the great Juan Manuel Fangio
19:33did so driving a Maserati in 1957.
19:37Micah Hakkinen won in 99.
19:38He won in 98.
19:40He's leading in the year 2000.
19:42This is a terrific scrap.
19:44And Jean Alési walking in.
19:46Ralph Schumacher still holds on.
19:48We haven't seen much of Ralph Schumacher in the Williams BMW,
19:52but he's still there,
19:53and he's 25 seconds behind Michael Schumacher.
20:01So, seven laps to go, and look at this.
20:07Micah Hakkinen is maintaining the pressure.
20:09He has caught Michael Schumacher.
20:11Yes, and just down the road,
20:12Coulthard had a little go at getting past Button into La Source.
20:15There's two tenths in it.
20:16Coulthard trying down the outside.
20:18His car has been much stronger under braking,
20:20and Coulthard takes that position.
20:23So, up into fourth place for Coulthard.
20:25Button down to fifth.
20:27We've been watching the scrap through the last five, six laps.
20:30And David Coulthard had much, a much, much better car under braking.
20:34I think Button's rear tires are going away, too.
20:36Struggling to get the power down,
20:37but the two leaders now really just about slugging it out
20:41and keeping that gap to one second.
20:44Seven laps to go.
20:45Seven laps of 4.3 miles,
20:49and this is going to decide
20:50whether Micah Hakkinen extends his lead in the World Championship
20:54or Michael Schumacher retakes the lead in the World Championship
20:58that he had right up to hand,
21:00including the German Grand Prix,
21:02which was race 11 out of 17 this year.
21:05An absolutely magnificent scrap.
21:08Ralph Schumacher, unseen by us for quite a long time,
21:11has been in third position for lap after lap after lap
21:15in the Williams BMW,
21:17and is continuing to maintain it.
21:19He was third in Australia, the first race of the year.
21:22It looks as though Williams and BMW are going to have another podium.
21:26The Ferrari have confirmed that Barrichello ran out of fuel
21:29as Michael's still cooling his tires.
21:31At this stage of the race,
21:32he's giving a lot away there to Hakkinen,
21:34showing him that,
21:34and then having to come back online
21:36and brake very, very late into Les Coupes.
21:38It's 205 miles an hour,
21:41down to about 65 or 70 miles an hour through there.
21:44Michael needing a lot of grip,
21:45but choosing to cool those tires.
21:47We know from the previous few races
21:50that the McLaren is much lighter on its tires than the Ferrari,
21:53and you see it there easily for yourself
21:55as Michael Schumacher has to keep cooling them down.
21:58But it's, at the moment, able to maintain
22:00what is now down to 0.8 of a second lead.
22:03And Coulthard pulling away now from Button.
22:06His next target is Ralf Schumacher,
22:08down the road by 14 seconds.
22:10So Coulthard's got his work cut out
22:12to get on the podium this afternoon,
22:14what would be his 40th podium.
22:16But he needs to be on the top of that podium
22:18to keep his World Championship chances very much alive.
22:21And at the moment,
22:22we've just got this duel up the front
22:24between Michael Schumacher and Mika Häkkinen.
22:26Let me take you through the race.
22:27It started under the safety car.
22:30Some drivers feeling it was too dangerous,
22:32and Michael Schumacher moving through
22:35quite quickly after that.
22:36Häkkinen, though, was maintaining a lead
22:38and spun off at Stavelo,
22:40giving this lead to Michael Schumacher.
22:42Middle way through the race,
22:44Schumacher easily had the pace.
22:45And since the second stop,
22:47Häkkinen clearly has had the faster car,
22:49and this is the net result.
22:50Over the line now, what is the gap?
22:52We can see it for ourselves,
22:54but it's 0.7 on the stopwatch.
22:56Five laps to go.
22:58And neither of them, of course,
23:00can afford to come in again.
23:02There's no reason why they should do.
23:03They've had their two stops that were planned.
23:06Michael Schumacher would appear
23:08to have overheating tyres
23:09in comparison with Mika Häkkinen.
23:11And it is coming up to Lecomme
23:13that he, time after time,
23:15he's dodged into the wet patch
23:17to try and cool those tyres down a bit.
23:19Let's see whether he does it again.
23:21This is coming up to the wetter patch.
23:22And he's into it and moves across
23:24to take the line for the corner.
23:26Still in the lead on the 39th lap.
23:29While you were describing that, Murray,
23:31I'm looking at the computer,
23:32and Häkkinen is a full 10km an hour faster
23:36down that back straight.
23:38If he gets anywhere near Michael Schumacher,
23:40I think he'll be able to drift past him
23:41and pick up a toe for an extra speed too.
23:43Just like Coulthard was able to do with Jenson Fatten.
23:46So Häkkinen has got the straight line speed
23:49and the car under braking.
23:50Two past Michael Schumacher,
23:52if he can get closer now.
23:54Mika Häkkinen looked down into the cockpit there.
23:58And his wife is tense.
24:00Everybody is tense.
24:02Because as I said earlier on,
24:04this is the battle for the World Championship.
24:08For Mika Häkkinen to maintain the lead he's got now,
24:11to extend it and go on to make it
24:13three World Championships in a row.
24:15For Michael Schumacher,
24:17who joined Ferrari in 1996
24:20and vowing to get them back to the top.
24:23Well, they're back at the top
24:25in terms of the Constructors' Championship,
24:27which they won last year
24:29after Michael Schumacher
24:30made that magnificent return at Malaysia
24:33after breaking his leg at Silverstone.
24:36But they have yet to win a drive as well.
24:38And now they're coming up to the Minardi.
24:41If the Minardi gets in the way,
24:43it could affect the lead.
24:45And the Minardi is that of Marc Genet,
24:48who is down in 14th place
24:50and has already been lapped once.
24:52Down to La Source,
24:53the slowest corner on the circuit,
24:55about 35 miles an hour.
24:57So the Minardi's been lapped.
24:59The Ferrari's bearing down on them.
25:01In front of the Minardi of Marc Genet
25:04is Alexander Wurz's Benetton,
25:07down in 13th position.
25:09Over Radillon.
25:10Now it's here that Mika Häkkinen could close off.
25:13I don't think he's close enough to stop.
25:15He is close enough, Murray.
25:16He has got the slipstream.
25:18We know he's got 10 kilometers an hour extra.
25:20But Michael Schumacher,
25:22very firmly closing the door,
25:24leaving Häkkinen nowhere to go at all.
25:26Häkkinen had the speed,
25:28he didn't have anywhere to use it.
25:29And that reminds me of Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher.
25:33Damon Hill in the Williams,
25:35Michael Schumacher in the Benetton in 1994
25:38had exactly the same place
25:40where Damon Hill and Michael actually banged wheels
25:44at Les Combes in their tremendous, ferocious fight
25:47for leadership in the Belgian Grand Prix,
25:49which is being repeated here again.
25:51Lap 40.
25:52We've got laps 41, 2, 3 and 4 to go at the end of this one.
25:57And I have to say,
25:58it's looking as though Mika Häkkinen can take that lead
26:03and increase his lead in the championship.
26:06They're coming up to Wurz now,
26:08who is lapping some two seconds a lap slower than they are.
26:13They've both got much more powerful and better handling cars.
26:16They'll both pass him,
26:18but will it affect the lead?
26:20Well, Michael there, pretty firm.
26:21I think it was legitimate.
26:22Here we're going to see it again.
26:24Michael starts to move to the middle of the road.
26:26He knows that Mika's got a run on him.
26:28He knows he's got better straight line speed.
26:30And Häkkinen, look, with absolutely nowhere to go.
26:33And Michael moving back across the track.
26:35Theoretically, you're not supposed to do that,
26:37but he was moving back to take the line through the corner.
26:40Very close call,
26:41but I think legitimate move there from Michael Schumacher.
26:44And I think we're going to see it again
26:46because they're coming through to complete the lap now.
26:48That is 40 laps completed,
26:50just four laps left to go.
26:53Now, Häkkinen's best chance is if Schumacher
26:55has to follow Zonta closely through Eau Rouge.
26:57And I don't think that's going to happen,
26:59particularly this time around.
27:01I think they're going to pass Zonta
27:03on another part of the racetrack
27:04because that's what gives Häkkinen his best shot.
27:06Schumacher in dirty air.
27:08And then Häkkinen with the extra straight line speed.
27:10And once again, look, Michael's having to defend.
27:13And Mika, and there's a...
27:14But the back marker's in the way.
27:16Can he do it?
27:17Yes, he's done it.
27:18A brilliant move there.
27:19Either side of Zonta.
27:21And Häkkinen brilliantly takes the lead
27:23of the Belgian Grand Prix.
27:24And you can see the delight in the McLaren garage
27:28because that could well have decided the race.
27:31A superb, gritty, determined, forceful move
27:35from Mika Häkkinen takes the lead
27:38in the McLaren Mercedes.
27:40And he is on lap 41.
27:41Three laps to go at the end of this one.
27:44And he's obviously got superior performance.
27:46I would expect him now to pull away,
27:49particularly on that approach up to Les Combes
27:52out of Eau Rouge.
27:54So Zonta really did come into play there.
27:57Michael tried to defend the line
27:59and then chose to go the long way around Zonta.
28:02And Häkkinen just kept going.
28:03Here we see from the front view,
28:05the camera up at Les Combes,
28:06Michael defending the track,
28:08making his Ferrari as wide as he can.
28:10He then went round the outside of Zonta
28:11and Häkkinen said,
28:12thank you very much.
28:13I'll have a piece of that side of the racetrack
28:16then this time around.
28:17And really took Michael by surprise.
28:19And can you imagine how much surprise Zonta had?
28:22Yeah, and remember,
28:22they were doing it at an approach speed
28:25of some 205 miles an hour.
28:29These men are supermen
28:31and you're getting the living proof of it
28:33before your very eyes now.
28:35Coming through to complete lap 41
28:38out of 44.
28:39Three laps to go,
28:41crossing the line,
28:42the positions reversed
28:43and the time gap between them,
28:451.4 seconds.
28:47It's looking like a bad, bad call
28:50for Michael Schumacher.
28:52Michael Schumacher, of course,
28:53came in quite early.
28:54So he's now done 23 or 24 laps.
28:57Well, certainly over 20 laps on this set of tyres.
29:00And it's quite clear to see
29:01he's beginning to struggle.
29:02Coulthard took five seconds out of Ralph Schumacher.
29:06Schumacher in third,
29:06Coulthard in fourth last time around.
29:08Don't know what kind of problems Ralph had.
29:10Well, that gap now down to just 8.2 seconds
29:14for the final place on the podium.
29:16Yeah, and it could be a superb race for McLaren,
29:20not just from the point of view
29:22of the Drivers' Championship,
29:23but the Constructors' Championship.
29:26Particularly if David Coulthard
29:28can continue to close that gap
29:29and get past Ralph Schumacher.
29:31Here is the battle.
29:32This is Ralph Schumacher in the Williams BMW
29:35out of radial.
29:37Climbing up to Les Combes.
29:39David Coulthard not in sight
29:42as you see the heat haze billowing up
29:44around the Williams.
29:46And the gap is still some eight seconds.
29:49So David Coulthard has made no ground
29:51when he's made two-tenths of a second, actually.
29:54But it looks as though Ralph Schumacher
29:56is in good shape for third position,
29:59in which case it would be Schumacher's,
30:01the brothers, the best brothers,
30:02that there have ever been in Formula 1
30:05in second and third places.
30:06Jenson Button, by the way,
30:08still very much in the top six,
30:10in fifth position,
30:11with David Coulthard in fourth place.
30:13Fredson on one single point
30:15for the Jordan team in sixth place.
30:18Jacques Villeneuve is in seventh place.
30:20Johnny Herbert in the Jaguar is running eighth,
30:22two places ahead of Eddie Irvine.
30:24So it looks as though both the Jaguars
30:26are going to be in the top ten,
30:28sandwiching Mika Salo, the Sauber driver,
30:31who's going to Toyota next year.
30:33There's still no idea of why Ralph
30:35lost five seconds in one lap.
30:36Maybe a little trip across the gravel somewhere,
30:39or a major problem with the back marker.
30:42Now, Häkkinen, 1.7 seconds ahead,
30:46and Michael appears to have dropped his pace
30:48somewhat into the 55s.
30:49And I think he has no ammunition left
30:52to take a fight once again to Mika Häkkinen.
30:55Yeah, it looks as though he has
30:57reluctantly, very reluctantly,
30:59settled for second.
31:00But Michael Schumacher is ever the realist
31:03after the race has finished.
31:05When he's in the interview room,
31:07I have no doubt that he will be saying
31:09something like,
31:09I realised Mika Häkkinen had got
31:12the superior performance.
31:13I tried my very best to keep him back.
31:15It was a superb move to get past
31:18Unter the way he did on the inside,
31:20when I had to go around the outside
31:22and with my tyres in the state that they were in.
31:26And I'm guessing this,
31:27I just decided that six points
31:29was better than going off and getting none.
31:32Because the championship is still
31:34going to be very, very much on.
31:37Mika Häkkinen is going to be on
31:4074 World Championship points.
31:42Michael Schumacher is going to be on
31:4368 World Championship points.
31:46Six points between them.
31:47We've still got the Italian, American, Japanese
31:50and Malaysian Grand Prix to go.
31:53But I have to say that it's looking better
31:56and better for McLaren all the time.
31:58They've got the car running beautifully.
32:00Mika Häkkinen is right on form.
32:02David Coulthard, by the way,
32:04is still in fourth position.
32:067.7 seconds behind Ralph Schumacher.
32:09As race leader,
32:11Mika Häkkinen closes up on the arrows
32:14in front of him to lap him.
32:15Yes, the problem Ferrari have got,
32:17I mean, this has been a superb performance
32:18by Michael Schumacher.
32:19He is definitely the man
32:21in the tricky conditions.
32:22But the problem is,
32:23had this have been a totally dry race,
32:25you have to say,
32:26those McLarens would have been a long,
32:28long, long way down the road.
32:29They had much superior speed
32:31in the totally dry conditions.
32:33And only the tricky conditions
32:35have enabled Michael
32:36to put up this kind of performance,
32:38in my view.
32:39Look, the arrows move over.
32:41That's him through.
32:42Saw the McLaren approaching in the mirrors.
32:44Good manners.
32:46Good bit of Formula One driving.
32:48And now Mika Häkkinen is out on his own
32:51on the last lap of the 2000 Belgian Grand Prix.
32:57The blue flag's waving,
32:58but the man has already taken action.
33:02And Michael Schumacher
33:04has still got to get past.
33:06Well, Mika Häkkinen
33:08has driven a magnificent race.
33:10He's been on top in Belgium
33:11for the whole time.
33:12He was quickest in qualifying.
33:14He was quickest this morning.
33:17He's going to end up winning the race
33:19and getting those 10 World Championship points.
33:22And that will be his fourth win of the year.
33:25So the key point then
33:26was Michael Schumacher stopping early
33:28for his second stop,
33:30having a long run then
33:32to the end of the race.
33:34Those tyres giving up on him.
33:35He knew that from very early stages.
33:38He was already trying to cool them down,
33:39despite being slick tyres
33:41on a slick racetrack,
33:42finding the damp patches,
33:44because he really knew
33:45he was going to struggle
33:46with tyre degradation
33:48later on in that stint.
33:49Häkkinen bidding some laps later
33:51and Michael just could not do enough
33:54to fend off a flying Finn
33:56who desperately seems to want
33:57that third consecutive World Championship.
33:59And Michael is pushing right to the end,
34:02faster in the first sector
34:03than Mika Häkkinen,
34:04faster in the second sector
34:06by half a second
34:07than Mika Häkkinen.
34:08But the Finn has got it in the bag
34:11unless something dreadful happens
34:13in the closing few hundred yards of the race
34:16as Michael Schumacher
34:17comes right up to the rear wing,
34:19almost, of the McLaren Mercedes.
34:21Mika Häkkinen exits the bus stop
34:24and for the first time in his career
34:26wins the Belgian Grand Prix
34:29by 1.1 seconds
34:32from Michael Schumacher.
34:34But it might just as well
34:35have been 1.1 hours
34:38from Michael Schumacher,
34:39because now Mika Häkkinen
34:42has stretched his World Championship lead
34:44as we see the superb Ralph Schumacher
34:48in this Williams BMW
34:50which has gone so well
34:51for the whole of this year's season.
34:53The first time that BMW have returned
34:57and joined the Williams team
34:58and he gets four World Championship points
35:01and another podium position
35:04to match that that he got in Australia
35:06at the beginning of the year.
35:08And in fourth place,
35:09David Coulthard comes through
35:11to get three World Championship points
35:13for McLaren.
35:14So that's 13 points for McLaren,
35:17only six points for Ferrari.
35:19McLaren have stretched their lead
35:21dramatically in the Constructors' Championship.
35:23Yes, Coulthard then,
35:24a bad call early on for whatever reason.
35:27He should have been in the pits
35:29at least two laps earlier for Slicks
35:31and possibly even three.
35:33Three would have been a bit of a gamble
35:34but I think that's cost Coulthard
35:37serious opportunity this afternoon.
35:39I don't think he quite had the pace anyway
35:41of Häkkinen and Schumacher
35:42but in any event,
35:43not even on the podium,
35:45down there in fourth place.
35:46So he loses a further seven points
35:48to teammate Häkkinen
35:50in the World Championship.
35:51And for the third time in his first season
35:53of Grand Prix racing,
35:55Jenson Button finishes in fifth position
35:58to get two World Championship points
36:01and another absolutely brilliant drive
36:04which will move him ahead,
36:08I think, of Jacques Villeneuve
36:09up to seventh position
36:11in the World Championship.
36:13But that's subject to confirmation.
36:16Meantime, just to confirm
36:18that Micah Häkkinen,
36:19four McLaren and Mercedes-Benz
36:22has won the Belgian Grand Prix
36:24by the narrow margin of 1.1 seconds
36:27after 190 miles plus in Spa
36:32from Michael Schumacher
36:33with Ralf Schumacher in third place.
36:35Sure enough,
36:36Häkkinen is now six points ahead
36:38of Michael Schumacher
36:39in the World Championship.
36:41David Coulthard is now 13 points behind
36:45his teammate Micah Häkkinen.
36:46Coulthard in third place.
36:48And I suspect that very soon
36:51Ron Dennis will be having
36:52that discussion with David Coulthard
36:54and asking him to defer
36:56to Micah Häkkinen
36:57as he did last year
36:58to enable Häkkinen
36:59to make it three World Championships
37:01in a row, McLaren, I hope.
37:03Barrichello is still in fourth place
37:05in the Drivers' Championship.
37:07Ralf Schumacher is in fifth position
37:10and he's displaced Giancarlo Fisichella
37:13who goes down to sixth place.
37:15So, a superb race for McLaren,
37:18a superb race for Williams BMW
37:21with those fifth places for Button
37:24and third places for Ralf Schumacher.
37:26And of course,
37:27in the Constructors' Championship,
37:29McLaren have quite dramatically
37:31extended their lead.
37:34Up onto the podium then
37:36and now the Micah Häkkinen trademark,
37:39the punched fist
37:43and the Finnish national anthem.
38:09A very emotional time for Micah Häkkinen.
38:40Yet more in charge of the Drivers' Championship,
38:43the British national anthem for McLaren.
39:09No wins without fins.
39:35Well, not here in Belgium anyway.
39:37A very proud Joe Ramirez of McLaren
39:41watches his man Micah Häkkinen
39:43on the top step of the podium yet again.
39:46And there is no doubt now
39:48after the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa
39:51that McLaren have the advantage,
39:54that Micah Häkkinen has the advantage.
39:57McLaren have worked long, hard,
40:00patiently and dedicatedly
40:02under Ron Dennis and Adrian Newey,
40:05their technical chief,
40:07and all the other people at Woking
40:09that have done such a terrific job for the team.
40:12And of course at Ilmore Engineering,
40:14who make the Mercedes-Benz engines at Bricksworth.
40:19So McLaren go now to Italy and Monza
40:23in two weeks' time,
40:25knowing that their car
40:27will have the sort of advantage over Ferrari
40:30that it had here in Belgium.
40:32Not a big advantage,
40:34but enough for them to win the race.
40:36But Ferrari on their home turf at Monza
40:40will be straining every muscle
40:42to regain the initiative,
40:44as of course will Michael Schumacher.
40:47And congratulations to Ralf Schumacher
40:49who gets his third place award
40:52after a magnificent drive.
40:54A very, very worthy drive.
40:56So McLaren can be very happy,
40:58so can Mercedes-Benz.
40:59Ferrari less happy.
41:01Williams and BMW together
41:03I should think must be ecstatic.
41:04They didn't expect a season like this.
41:12It's welcome to the first three
41:14in the Belgium Grand Prix 2000.
41:16Mika Hakkinen, Michael Schumacher
41:18and Ralf Schumacher.
41:19Mika, starting with you,
41:20it was an absolutely incredible race to watch.
41:23What was it like to be part of it and win it?
41:26Well, it was incredible.
41:28It was incredible.
41:34It was very difficult, unusual situations,
41:40including my spin,
41:42was not obviously planned.
41:45But the curbs here in Spa
41:46are very, very difficult and very slippery.
41:50And when they catch you,
41:52it's nothing what you can really do.
41:54You just have to be careful.
41:56It's nothing what you can really do.
41:59I was lucky to stay on the track
42:00and able to continue
42:02and I was able to start changing Michael.
42:06But it was a fabulous race to drive
42:08and really enjoyable
42:09and the car was better and better all the time.
42:14As a consequence of the spin that you just mentioned,
42:17you made up for it with an absolutely spectacular
42:19and heart-stopping overtaking maneuver.
42:21Can you talk us through that?
42:22Yes, it was quite a different one.
42:30Normally, that kind of situation is unusual
42:33to overtake somebody on a straight line
42:38when the back marker is between us.
42:41And I knew that following Michael,
42:45there's no point to try to follow him
42:47and then try to overtake him and get straight
42:49because you can't overtake him.
42:51Because obviously, he's not going to give me a room.
42:54Is that correct?
42:55Yes.
42:57So I took the plan B
43:02and I went completely inside
43:05and overtook the back marker
43:06and at the same time overtook Michael
43:08and I could tow also from the back marker.
43:13So it gave me extra speed
43:16and it was a great great overtaking maneuver.
43:19I loved it.
43:20We were talking about the overtaking maneuver with Mika.
43:22How was it from your viewpoint?
43:25Obviously, I was quite lucky or happy
43:28to see this back marker in front of me
43:30because I knew I was a lot slower on the straight line speed
43:33from what the team told me.
43:35So being in slipstream of the guy in front of me,
43:38I thought it will not be enough for him to catch me.
43:41And then obviously, once there's somebody on the same road,
43:43then normally there's only two cars that fit next to each other.
43:47But Mika did really an outstanding maneuver
43:50to pass on the inside there
43:52because that was unexpected for my side.
43:56But honestly, if he wouldn't have caught me there,
43:58I think he would have caught me a lap or two later
44:01because he was too fast down there
44:03and you're allowed to move once the line
44:06and he would have taken me on the outside to my view.
44:10I tried my best.
44:12It was not enough today,
44:13but we got six points
44:15and we keep the championship alive,
44:18even though we made it a little bit more difficult today,
44:20but we will keep going for it.
44:22I mean, it's not the end now.
44:24Thank you very much, Michael.
44:25Ralf Schumacher, the ever-improving Williams,
44:27you're third today.
44:28Do you think as the season goes on,
44:30you might be able to get a win?
44:32Well, I think certainly we thought
44:34that we were close today in rain conditions.
44:37That would have been the only chance for us
44:39to be relatively close to the top, I thought.
44:41But we saw today that Mika was outstandingly quick
44:45and compared to anybody else, basically.
44:48So that was not possible.
44:51We're working on it, obviously.
44:52I think we are definitely the third team
44:56in the World Championship now.
44:57We try to stay there
45:00and get some more good podium or points finishes.
45:03How was your car today in these mixed conditions?
45:05Because you didn't have much time in the warm-up, obviously.
45:08We were pretty much prepared for the rain.
45:11So we had a sort of medium setup,
45:13which I must say was pretty good.
45:15I mean, except the two in front of us
45:17and some other just before they pitted,
45:19we were relatively quick.
45:20So I could stay ahead of Kurt
45:22and I had a little bit of a problem towards the end.
45:25So I thought the race was over,
45:26was four laps or five laps to go.
45:28I had a throttle problem.
45:29So I went into a turn and nothing happened anymore.
45:32It was like fuel out, but it was throttle.
45:34But it came back alive and luckily to the end.
45:38Thank you very much, Ralf.
45:39Mika, back to you.
45:41Next, we're down to Monza and Ferrari territory.
45:46Do you think you can silence the Tifosi
45:47and keep your championship lead?
45:52We will have a test in next week, first of all,
45:55in Monza, which is important,
45:58particularly because the circuit has been modified now.
46:01So it's going to be a little bit learning
46:03in the first day to understand that corner
46:06and to find the best start of it.
46:08And then when we have finished those test days,
46:12I hope in those days we are able to find
46:14the best possible setup and performance,
46:17the car to come in Monza Grand Prix.
46:20And I'm seeing all the possibilities to be there quick
46:27and challenging.