Formula-1 2000 R14 Italian Grand Prix

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Transcript

00:00:00Monza's packed for the Italian Grand Prix. It's race 14 the last one of the season in Europe Ferrari at home and

00:00:06Expected to deliver, but don't forget. They've only won here three times over the last 20 years

00:00:12Here's your ITV commentary team Martin Brundle and first of all a very good afternoon to Murray Murray Walker

00:00:17Good afternoon Jim now keep it calm

00:00:21Be cool

00:00:22Because I tell you the tension is really getting to me here

00:00:27It's absolutely fantastic here at Monza, you've seen the build-up to this race

00:00:32It's a great day to be on the roads in Italy because everybody is here at Monza

00:00:39They are praying for a Ferrari win. Well, most of them are anyway

00:00:44But the question is will they get it? You've seen the scenario, but just let me run through a possible start situation

00:00:51Two Ferraris on the front row of the grid

00:00:55Michael Schumacher

00:00:56Still with the championship chance and very much so his teammate Rubens Barrichello alongside him

00:01:01Two of the fastest starters in the business in row two Mika Häkkinen who has already proved twice this year

00:01:07That he can burst through from the second row and take the lead

00:01:11Jacques Villeneuve up there in the BAR Honda and it's Honda's

00:01:16200th Grand Prix

00:01:18David Coulthard is fifth on the grid

00:01:21He must get more points than his teammate Mika Häkkinen if his World Championship hopes this year are to stay alive

00:01:30Just down the road as you've seen with Martin and they'll be approaching it at nearly 200 miles an hour

00:01:36notwithstanding the fact that they're going from a standing start you can see the

00:01:42polystyrene blocks

00:01:44Which are on the old road, they've got to break and turn in for that first term at about 60 miles an hour

00:01:53Jacques Villeneuve has allegedly been asked today if he's going to be mindful of the fact that the three World Championship leaders are around him

00:02:01No, he said why should I be?

00:02:05What do you think?

00:02:06Jacques would love to slice between those two Ferraris and head down to the first corner and lead a Grand Prix for the first time

00:02:12since 97 so

00:02:15He could well be the fly in the ointment Michael Schumacher has been struggling away on his starts of recent

00:02:21He said if you look at the season as a whole my starts have been quite good and seven out of ten starts

00:02:27Is all you can expect it's so difficult to get these cars away

00:02:31Absolutely perfectly as you point out Coulthard somehow got to get in amongst them as well

00:02:35It's such an odd race here because the tire degradation is tiny

00:02:40It's something like point zero one five of a second per lap

00:02:44so they need to run the tires as long as they can plus of course you stop in the pits at a point where

00:02:51as your stationary cars are flashing past at over 200 miles now, you'd lose a

00:02:57disproportionate amount of time and

00:02:59Therefore it's a one-stop race and you want to go as long as you can as the fuel burns off

00:03:05You'll get faster and faster if you have to pit three or four laps before the others

00:03:10They could find three or four seconds on you and leapfrog you during those pit stops

00:03:14So it's critical to get down to that first corner and keep your position or gain some positions

00:03:20Then it's settling in for the long haul and I think the first ten laps of this race Mary

00:03:25They will have to be mindful of their brakes while they're running such a fuel load

00:03:31The cars will be absolutely brimmed up as high as you can get them and that's nothing to do with the French

00:03:38Strike and lack of fuel here

00:03:39It's because you've really got to do every lap you can then when you settle into that race

00:03:44Look after your brakes try and keep your fuel consumption down

00:03:47It means you change gear maybe two or three hundred revs earlier

00:03:51Maybe instead of 17,000 you'll change gear at sixteen thousand seven hundred revs and just do everything you can to conserve your fuel and run

00:03:59As far as you can maybe lap 34 lap 35 for some of them

00:04:04Until you have to come in for that one and only pit stop of the afternoon

00:04:09But Michael Schumacher knows that the two men behind him as Tony pointed out

00:04:13The two men behind him are the best starters of the year and there could be some aggravation

00:04:20Well, we're about to start the formation lap now Monza is the circuit in the world that is oozing

00:04:28With tradition

00:04:29with history with charisma

00:04:32It is about to boil over into what I feel is going to be a fantastic start for a superb race

00:04:39Now, let's have a look at this new chicane that they're coming to

00:04:44Michael Schumacher there absolutely burning out his rear tires on the start line to lay a trail of rubber

00:04:50He's obviously got a new tactic and he's noticed like I've noticed that some circuits recently particularly the two German circuits

00:04:56There's a highly gloss painted checkered line across the start finish line

00:05:01And I think it generates a lot of wheel spin it to a certain extent

00:05:05It's to the detriment of the pole sitter and Michael Schumacher there laying and see them out of the window here to dark black

00:05:13Lines off of his start position. This whole track has been completely resurfaced

00:05:18Here is the new layout of the Roja the second chicane

00:05:22And they go up from here to the two Lesmo bends

00:05:25Which they approach at a hundred and fifty miles an hour and take it about a hundred for the first and 95 for the second

00:05:32now if they jump any of those chicanes and it's deemed that they've made up a place or

00:05:38Kept a place that they would have otherwise have lost

00:05:41They will get a 10 second stop and go penalty and I'm led to believe if they go straight on at the first corner and go

00:05:48down the escape route, they will be able to rejoin the race and

00:05:53Providing they haven't made a place. They will not get penalized, but I can tell you when you're charging into that first corner

00:05:59Knowing exactly who is around you who exactly you were in front of as you arrive is not that easy

00:06:07I think we could see and it already says on the computer

00:06:11Incident involving car 15 under investigation by the stewards and that is Nick Heidfeld

00:06:20Apparently the mechanics were working on the car on the grid and you remember what happened to David Coulthard when that happened

00:06:26He lost world championship points. So let's hope that doesn't happen for Heidfeld

00:06:31Although to be fair he was unlikely to be scoring now

00:06:34They're coming through to line up on the grid riding with Jacques Villeneuve now when this race starts

00:06:41Yes

00:06:41Watch the front rank watch Michael Schumacher and watch his teammate Rubens Barrichello

00:06:46But watch this man that you're riding with now Jacques Villeneuve

00:06:50He'll be in the second row on the left-hand side of your picture and alongside him will be the other

00:06:57Superstar fast starter Micah Hagen and what they're doing going to the line without putting too much energy and heat into the clutch

00:07:03Remember the clutches are about the size of a man's fist

00:07:05They don't like too many starts or too much energy in first and second gear

00:07:10But trying to keep those rear tires as warm as possible whilst riding the brake pedal keeping some

00:07:16form of heat in those carbon-fiber brake discs

00:07:20Okay

00:07:2122 of them getting into their grid positions at the back the two Minardis

00:07:27I've never seen that before even the medical car was weaving and warming his tires up

00:07:32Now take a deep breath

00:07:35You'll see the five lights appear they'll go out

00:07:38once and then when that they go out the race will start and it is

00:07:47Go

00:07:50Good one Schumacher Schumacher's leading up to the chicane Micah Hagen and he's already ahead of Barrichello

00:07:55Now this is the crunch point

00:07:57Are they all going to get through here Schumacher leads Hagen and he's in second place Villeneuve

00:08:02David Coulthard has come up into third place and Rubens Barrichello is already down to fifth and there's one of the Jaguars running wide

00:08:09as obliterate the polystyrene blocks

00:08:12Rejoins at last and Megan Michael Schumacher is exactly where he wants to be and needs to be and it's Eddie Irvine in the Jaguar

00:08:20Who is the first retirement?

00:08:22Wow, that's the two Jordans and a mega mega

00:08:27That's truly and

00:08:29There's many cars piling in in the back terrible terrible accident there and of course the red flag will have to come out

00:08:36I can't see that they can handle that one under the safety car

00:08:40They look to be far too many cars involved in that two Jordans appeared to get together and then

00:08:46Come into the back of the third and fourth place runners safety car is deployed. I'll be amazed and

00:08:53David Coulthard out there. So that's the end of his race

00:08:56Yeah, the Coulthard there if they don't stop but the arrows flew over the top of Coulthard's car

00:09:02There's an arrows behind that green truck upside down and then Barrichello's car also in there, too

00:09:08And I really and Johnny Herbert is cruising back to the pits

00:09:12Minus the back of his car one wheel missing on Herbert's car

00:09:15So now look they're getting ready to make a change

00:09:19There won't be for Barrichello's car because he's stuck in the gravel truck and have they got the driver out of the arrows?

00:09:24That's Irvine from the first chicane, but the second chicane accident. There's the Johnny Herbert picture minus the rear wing

00:09:32I'm amazed they can handle that under the safety car

00:09:35I thought they really would have to red flag that one

00:09:37But quite clearly you can see Coulthard's out of the car both Jordan drivers

00:09:42Barrichello all unless they throw the red now all of those guys are out of the race and they clearly have

00:09:48Got that arrows driver out of the car

00:09:50And when you see a replay of that Murray that arrows was flying through the air indeed

00:09:55It was and there is one of the shattered Jordan's but out behind the safety car at the moment with David Coulthard

00:10:01Running in in the hope that the race will be stopped and he will be able to get into the spare McLaren

00:10:07You can see the arrows and the Ferrari out there in comes one

00:10:11It's Ricardo Zonta

00:10:13But the safety car is still out with Michael Schumacher ahead of Micah Hacken and Jacques Villeneuve who started fourth up into third place

00:10:21Rubens Barrichello is perfectly. Okay. So is David Coulthard? So is Eddie Irvine? So that is very good news

00:10:27We wait to hear about Hans Harald Frentzen and Jarno Trolley

00:10:31But that effectively I fear destroys David Coulthard's hopes of the World Championship this year. That's Della Rosa

00:10:38That's upside down there

00:10:39I think it I only got a glimpse of it

00:10:42But I think it was the two arrows are the two Jordans getting together with Barrichello

00:10:47Coulthard was in front of them Barrichello had a poor start

00:10:49backed up Villeneuve and backed up the two Jordans down the right-hand side of the grid and look they were all very well behaved in

00:10:56The first corner because actually Barrichello's bad start and it was at the back end that there was carnage with Eddie Irvine

00:11:03just failing a lot of cars scampering there look across the

00:11:07Grass now what that arrows is way down the field. Now. Here we go. Look who get it's the oh, it's Barrichello

00:11:14Squeezes the two Jordans together who then run into Coulthard now watch closely in the dust

00:11:19You will see an arrows. It was way way down the field end up flashing through the air. It's amazing

00:11:25It hasn't hit Coulthard. Look there it goes. It's an absolutely amazing

00:11:28It hasn't hit Coulthard on the head and here we are with Jacques Villeneuve now

00:11:32Look at look at the carnage in front of him as the beer goes over now that what he's probably come into the pits, too

00:11:40And look at the wheels bouncing everywhere. There's debris everywhere. But now we are on the second lap

00:11:46I haven't seen the safety car go past because I like you I've been looking at the pictures

00:11:50But here is Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari turning it to the Roja followed by Micah Hacken and long gap

00:11:57Look at those wheels flying everywhere. This is a replay and they're all rolling it. That's the that's the arrows, right?

00:12:04Wow, that landed on top of Barrichello and Coulthard

00:12:08DellaRosa ran into the back of Johnny Herbert

00:12:12They got together at the back of the field having a separate accident that ended up on top of the first accident

00:12:18And now they're obviously attending to somebody down there. I

00:12:23Don't

00:12:24It it's I if it's anybody it's going to be DellaRosa it

00:12:29Just wondering whether it's the stretcher that I see with the red markings or whether it's a Marshall

00:12:35Now here we go for a practice start the Michael Schumacher got away

00:12:39And now that was the what they're showing the wrong practice start there. That was the warm-up lap

00:12:43Here we go with the start proper and look Barrichello away

00:12:46Very very slowly which penned up the right-hand side of the grid and left Coulthard a clear run

00:12:52And of course now the front end of the grid are pretty well spread out. So not the drama we expected

00:12:57there's Irvine getting together with a Prost and a Benetton cars scampering across the

00:13:03Green apron on the inside and later on now

00:13:07somehow the one of those DellaRosa's arrows is going to run into the back of Johnny Herbert and

00:13:12Collect up the first accident

00:13:15So now the fact that they've now completed two laps Murray means if they red flag the race

00:13:20Which they will not do now. It would be a two-part race

00:13:24Yeah, it's only if they red flag the race before the end of the second lap

00:13:28Is it a complete reset and a restart?

00:13:31So all of those people all of the drivers you saw walking around at the first chicane are out of the race, right?

00:13:37So now this is the situation on lap three out of 53 as the stricken Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello is craned off the circuit

00:13:45Mick Michael Schumacher, there he is ahead of Mika Hakkinen a restart is in effect going to be a rolling one

00:13:52Jack Villeneuve is third Ralph Schumacher has come up from seventh on the grid to fourth in the race in the Williams BMW

00:14:00Giancarlo Fisichella is up into fifth position and I fear that that is DellaRosa

00:14:06I don't know. Let me emphasize but I if it's anybody it's likely to be Pedro DellaRosa and he's being attended to by Professor Sid

00:14:14Watkins who is the FIA's resident doctor?

00:14:18Is that a marshal?

00:14:20Well, I was wondering if it was a marshal earlier on because it looks as though he's in the orange overalls

00:14:26But we wait for information about Pedro DellaRosa lap four

00:14:30Yeah

00:14:30I think I saw a bit of a marshals bib on and well you saw we all saw those wheels and bodywork flying all over the

00:14:36Place down there and that is exactly what the drivers were talking about here

00:14:40It happened more at the second chicane than the first but it's two

00:14:44enormous sprints down to two very tight chicanes and it is a recipe for disaster and it's been very

00:14:51Clearly demonstrated in the first lap of this race and meantime, of course, the teams will probably be reconsidering their strategies

00:14:59For coming in for fuel because they're running along on the pilot jet in effect in this race

00:15:06Although they don't have carburetors David Coulthard walking in his race is over

00:15:11Through fuel strategies will probably be changed now because instead of burning

00:15:15Lots of fuel in the fast opening laps of this race. They're touring round behind the safety car

00:15:20They're on lap four out of 53 at the present moment with Irvine out of the race

00:15:26DellaRosa out of the race Frentzen Barrichello

00:15:29Jarno Trulli and David Coulthard so out of the 22 starters

00:15:33There are 16 left now. Johnny Herbert is out. So that makes 15

00:15:40Alessi has already been lapped on the fourth lap of the race because of a problem

00:15:45He has had and Mika Salo is the last one who is running

00:15:5014 of them are on the track now and Mika Salo is 21 seconds behind the race leader

00:15:55But that's because of all the weaving that's going on

00:15:58There's no passing allowed at this point in the in the race, of course, they're behind the safety car

00:16:02they have to wait for it to come in and

00:16:05When the flashing lights on the top on the roof of the safety car go out

00:16:10They will know that it is pulling off the track into the pit lane and the race will restart and there is no passing

00:16:17Allowed until they have crossed the start and finish line. So there is the safety car and

00:16:26It's Ferrari behind it. It's it's it's

00:16:29McLaren behind it. It is BA are behind it and then the Williams BMW

00:16:34The Benetton and Jensen button is in sixth position

00:16:39Replay now into the first chicane

00:16:41There is the yellow Jordan of Yano Trulli up into fourth position ahead of Rubens Barrichello

00:16:46Eddie Irvine that goes off one of the Sauber's goes off as well

00:16:51And now we're back again for this replay of a Jacques Villeneuve who is currently in third position

00:16:58Looking very handy indeed for when the race restarts

00:17:02Yes, and Villeneuve had fallen a long way and there's that secondary accident

00:17:06I watch this car lands clean on top of Coulthard's cockpit and comes to rest alongside

00:17:12Barrichello's cockpit those three drivers have had an incredibly lucky escape and David Coulthard has had an absolutely

00:17:20miraculous year remember he was involved in that terrible plane plane crash and

00:17:25And now he has fortunately survived this Arrows landing on top of the McLaren Mercedes

00:17:34Yes, I think not that we need to apportion blame necessarily

00:17:37but it was quite clear that there were two Jordans trying to squeeze down the outside of

00:17:43Barrichello into that second chicane Barrichello obviously got a decent run through

00:17:46Curva Grande to pull himself into line with them and the three of them Barrichello appeared to be moving slightly, right?

00:17:54Understandably to take a line and there just wasn't enough space it pushed the two Jordans into each other and that started that incident

00:18:01But Mary the drivers have all been talking about this since testing last week

00:18:04They've been saying this is going to happen and we all knew we were going to see that safety car this afternoon

00:18:10That is absolutely true. The Jordan drivers were of course under terrific pressure

00:18:14they had started from sixth and eighth on the grid Yano Trulli in sixth position and

00:18:20Fredson in eighth position in spite of a dreadful day yesterday

00:18:24They've got the Mugen engine behind them

00:18:27They were looking to make up places and they were not to succeed

00:18:32But Jenson Button has done extremely well to get up to sixth position from his grid grid place at 12th

00:18:38So he was 12th on the grid. He's sixth in the race

00:18:41Now we're on lap five out of the race now where we've done almost

00:18:4610% of the race already behind the safety car while they are removing the wreckage of those cars on the exit to turn

00:18:54to

00:18:55Schumacher Hacken and Villanova

00:18:57They're dodging and diving and weaving to maintain the heat in the tires as we go for a break waiting for the restart

00:21:16You see the end of another replay which reveals that Heinz-Harald Frentzen went plunging into the back of Barrichello's Ferrari and his

00:21:24teammates Jordan

00:21:26Yano Trulli we're on lap six now out of

00:21:2953 and the safety car is still out and Louise Goodman has got news with the Heinz-Harald Frentzen

00:21:36Heinz-Harald from the pictures that we've seen and it's obviously difficult quite difficult to tell but it seems as though you suddenly came through

00:21:41from the back of them field and and into

00:21:44Barrichello and Trulli, was that what happened?

00:21:47more or less it was that what happened I just tried to overtake Barrichello and

00:21:53went down on the inside and

00:21:55if for some reason break very early and

00:21:58I couldn't really turn and

00:22:01Go on the left to overtake him and so we hit each other in this moment

00:22:06I felt it as well a back from behind somebody was as well pushing me forward as well pretty disastrous day for Jordan really

00:22:12Well, it is. Yeah, I'm very disappointed for that and

00:22:16Also for Yano, we wanted to score some points here on this race

00:22:20very sad

00:22:22Thanks. Well Jordan fifth in the Constructors Championship

00:22:26There are the two broken Jordans and David Coulthard's McLaren Mercedes

00:22:31They'll be taking no further part in the race

00:22:34Nor will their drivers and we're now on the seventh lap out of 53 and you can see there is still

00:22:41Enormous activity it's this is the exit to the Roja which is the second chicane as they accelerate away towards

00:22:49Of course, we had that very long shot from a high camera of a man

00:22:54We've seen a man beside the track

00:22:57Appeared to be a marshal. We hope he's okay

00:22:59whether he was hit by debris or whether the

00:23:03Moment was a stressful moment or whatever, but I think the ambulance is down there at the moment to help the marshal

00:23:10Louise Goodman is with David David. It looks like you were a real loser in that situation. It was through none of your own fault

00:23:17Thank you very much that that ward will stick in my head Louise. Thank you. Yes, you're right. I've

00:23:23The worst scenario for me

00:23:25It would just happen one corner later really then maybe we all expected an incident. I made a great start

00:23:30I was really pleased with the way that went

00:23:33I

00:23:34Knew Deanna was behind me. I made it quite clear

00:23:36I was covered on the inside going into the second chicane

00:23:38Talked to him afterwards and he he said he wasn't going to go down the inside

00:23:41So everything was looking looking good

00:23:43The downside of course is it took concertina effect and then I think Haynes triggered off an incident and took us all up

00:23:49Probably the last thing you want to hear but this is really disastrous for your world championship, isn't it? Yeah, it's it Anita. It's

00:23:56Always fancied racing in America though. So I'm looking forward to Indianapolis and yeah, I realistically it's gonna be very difficult if

00:24:03Both Michael and Nico finish this race if they don't then it's the same as we came here

00:24:07so it may still be possible, but as we speak then

00:24:12Try again next year. Thanks David. Well bless you David Coulthard for being as calm and cool and collected

00:24:19Not only about the accident but about the fact that your world championship chances sadly seem to have been exploded

00:24:28Richly deserved by David, but it looks as though it's not to be but as he rightly said

00:24:32There's a long way to go in this race

00:24:34We're on lap 8 and we're still behind the safety car

00:24:37But there are still a lot of laps left now make a hack and that is in my opinion in a very strong position

00:24:44And car 17 there is Mika Salo's Salva

00:24:49He's coming from 12th position and he's clearly out of looks to me

00:24:54Anyway, so he's out of the race. You can see he's been in for nearly half a minute now and certainly his race is effectively finished

00:25:00I think it could well have been Salo tripping over that first corner incident with Irvine

00:25:05But we haven't spoken much about Jenson Button. He's up there in sixth place

00:25:09He's really gained. He's kept his nose clean to all of that aggravation and Ralph Schumacher fourth in the sister Williams

00:25:16But three either former or current Formula One world champions first second and third we're going to a short break

00:26:54We'll be right back

00:27:25You

00:27:37Lap nine

00:27:38Safety car still out Mika Salo in the Salva has come in had a long pitstop

00:27:45Well, they had a look at his car

00:27:46It was clearly his car that went off between turns one and two at the beginning of the race with Eddie Irvine's Jaguar

00:27:53He has rejoined at the race

00:27:56There are therefore 15 out of the 22 cars ducking and diving and weaving there behind the safety car

00:28:02still in the race on that lap nine and that is

00:28:07Obviously what we have been waiting for

00:28:10The ambulance to remove someone who has been injured now who the someone is. I'm sorry

00:28:15I cannot tell you I suspect and I emphasize that I do suspect. I don't know

00:28:22I suspect that it is a marshal

00:28:26Down to the parabolica from the Ascari Benz and

00:28:32When we see the lights go out on the roof of the Mercedes-Benz safety car now

00:28:38This is what I was he will be coming into the pit lane and the race will restart

00:28:43Now this is what I was talking about debris on the track. You were talking yesterday Martin about leaves on the track

00:28:49I think they look like leaves more than anything else. It could be a combination of leaves and stones but much worse than that of

00:28:57pieces of carbon fiber, which are very sharp and easily cutter a

00:29:02Formula one tire that's under load and of all the places in all the world

00:29:06You do not need a tire exploding on you

00:29:08It is Monza heading into corners like parabolica and what happens on these high-speed circuits

00:29:13Initially the tire grows a little bit when it has a puncture

00:29:17Because it's getting so hot and you don't feel the immediate effect and then the tire

00:29:24Bursts and throws you off the road

00:29:26So what we've been waiting for the cars are now cleared. The ambulance is clearing the circuit. No news. No news yet on the

00:29:34Safety car coming in according to the screen air

00:29:38But just to let you know out of the race are Johnny Herbert David Coulthard Yano truly Rubens Barrichello Heinz Harald Frentzen

00:29:45Pedro de la Rosa and Eddie

00:29:47Irvine so it's Michael Schumacher leading the race behind the safety car

00:29:51I know to shoo me keeps giving the safety car a bit of a prod a lot hurry up and we're hearing from our pit team

00:29:57That the drivers are complaining about the amount of debris still remaining on the racetrack

00:30:04Yeah, very very worrying indeed for them

00:30:06They've they've seen that what what happens and of course

00:30:09There is a situation now where quickly as the safety car is going and it's going jolly quick

00:30:15It's got I think a 5.4 liter v8 engine in it and it doesn't half-stomp along

00:30:21But even so it's crawling as far as the Formula One cars are concerned

00:30:26There is always the danger that the tire temperatures will go down as a result of which the grip will not be

00:30:33as good and

00:30:35As a result of which to the ride height of the cars themselves can be altered and that can be a major problem for them

00:30:43So we're now or just about 1 fifth of the way through the race. I'm just racking my brains

00:30:49I cannot remember the safety car in a race being out for as long as this because this is the tenth lap out of

00:30:5753 that it's been out

00:30:59So look get the positions in your mind for the rolling start that's going to happen the scarlet Ferrari in the lead

00:31:04Of course is Michael Schumacher the silver and black car behind him is Mika Häkkinen

00:31:08There's the mainly white BAR with the Honda engine of Jacques Villeneuve

00:31:13The white and blue Williams of Ralf Schumacher is in fourth place

00:31:17Giancarlo Fisichella who has had two massive crashes in the last two weeks one

00:31:22But in the warm-up for the Belgian Grand Prix two weeks ago and one here at Monza in testing is in fifth position

00:31:30Jenson Button the second Williams is in sixth position

00:31:33Only one constructor has got two cars in the top six at the moment and that's Williams

00:31:40Alexander Voortz the Austrian is in seventh place in the second Benetton

00:31:44Ahead of Jos Verstappen who went extremely quickly in the warm-up this morning

00:31:49Mark Janay is ninth in the Minardi ahead of Nick Heidfeld in the Prost who is in 10th position

00:31:56Followed by Max Akane in the Minardi Denise Zonta

00:32:01Mikastalo who has rejoined the race and Jean Alessi who is running last and has been left

00:32:07Safety car in this lap. This race is about to restart. They're at the far end of the racetrack

00:32:12So quite a long way to go yet

00:32:14And now they really need to build up some speed the the pressures of those tires need to be

00:32:2017 17.5 as a minimum PSI that is I bet they're down there at 13 or 14 at the moment

00:32:26The cars will ride a bit lower

00:32:28The tires will not give the grip they should and the and Schumacher will be very eager

00:32:34I'm sure he's gonna make himself a gap now

00:32:36He needs to start backing away from that safety car so he can have a sprint and pick up some temperatures

00:32:43lap 11 out of

00:32:4553 and

00:32:46Michael Schumacher will be looking to sprint away from Mika Hakkinen. Mika Hakkinen will be watching the Ferrari ahead

00:32:54Very closely indeed to try to get to grips with it and get through and take the lead

00:32:59Jacques Villeneuve doing exactly the same thing in third position and Ralph Schumacher in the Williams BMW

00:33:06There he is coming into the Ascari curves of fourth position

00:33:10So if you've just joined us if you're waiting for this restart

00:33:13To remind you some incidents in the first corner at the tail end of the field and then a massive incident

00:33:19nearer the front when Frentzen got into the back of teammate Trulli in the Jordan and

00:33:23Barrichello taking Coulthard with them and a third accident where Della Rosa went clean through the back of Johnny Herbert's

00:33:30Jaguar and barrel rolled and look and look there's Jenson Button

00:33:34He's as Jenson Button was warming his tires up and then not realizing that the concertina had happened in front of him

00:33:42He's got to let Fisichella back through good thinking there Jenson, but he did whack the barrier

00:33:46Yeah, and Michael Schumacher, I think was going slow and holding him up and the race has now

00:33:52Restarted up to the chicane on the rolling lap lap 12 out of 53 and Schumacher

00:33:59Leads Hacken and Villeneuve is in third place

00:34:02Ralph Schumacher is still in fourth position and out of the race goes Jenson Button as a

00:34:08Result of that coming together when he was trying to warm up his tires and got involved with a minor collision

00:34:15They're not minor as far as he was concerned because he is out of the Italian Grand Prix

00:34:20Let's have a look at it and see what happened there. You see he goes straight off into the Armco now

00:34:26I think if there was fault

00:34:28I

00:34:29Suspect that you could put it at Michael Schumacher's door because he was slowing right down as a result of which the field bunched up

00:34:36Unexpectedly as far as Button was concerned. Remember, he's very new to this Grand Prix racing stuff

00:34:42It's only his 14th race and Schumacher is still leading now. No signs of change at the present moment Ferrari

00:34:50McLaren

00:34:52And then behind Ralph Schumacher in fifth position

00:34:56It's Fisichella and his teammate Alexander Vaux is up there

00:35:00Notwithstanding the fact that he's had a terrible time in qualifying and the practice sessions

00:35:05Let's hope his luck changes in this race down to the Parabolica. They're approaching it at

00:35:11210 miles an hour. Yes, I was about to say in that green crane

00:35:14They just come across the came across the front there

00:35:16I would imagine is for buttons car to clear it out of the way

00:35:19I was about to say the whole of the British hopes remain now on Jensen Button shoulders this afternoon because Herbert Irvine and

00:35:27Coulthard out of the race and Jensen got caught out there

00:35:30He was just putting on a sprint at the same time that Michael Schumacher was backing the pack up

00:35:36Schumacher was always going to do that. He had to do that to make himself some space to scamper Jensen a little bit unlucky

00:35:42But one of those lessons you learn the painfully hard way. Well, let's look at the points positions one Ferrari and there it is

00:35:50Michael Schumacher Rubens Barrichello out of the race one McLaren

00:35:54Micka Hacken and second place David Coulthard out of the race

00:35:57The old nerve is in the race in third position and his teammate Ricardo Zonta is down in the 10th position

00:36:04Fourth is Ralph Schumacher. The other Williams BMW button is out of it both the

00:36:10Benetton's are still running Fissey Keller is fifth

00:36:13Boots is seventh and Joss Verstappen in the arrows goes up into the points as a result of button going out

00:36:21This is Zonta

00:36:23Passing Heidfeld for what is now ninth place?

00:36:26So that was back down the field as you were talking Murray and a move there early on by Zonta

00:36:31He was the fastest man in the warm-up

00:36:33So former world champion Michael Schumacher in the lead from current world champion

00:36:37Micka Hacken and who's 1.4 seconds behind but 1.1 seconds ahead of another former world champion

00:36:44Jack Villeneuve and now let's start thinking about strategy

00:36:49Michael Schumacher is lapping nearly a second a lap faster than Micka Hacken and at the moment

00:36:54I do not for one moment think that that means that he's on a two-stop strategy. He'll be stopping

00:37:00I should think round about lap 35 in this race

00:37:04David Coulthard last year was as late as lap 36 and look at the orange arrows there of Joss Verstappen in sixth position

00:37:12Starting to challenge Fissey Keller in front of him Salva straight on Salo for the second time this afternoon

00:37:17Going down the escape ready needs to come out behind his teammate. That's where he went into that chicane

00:37:22I was amazed when Michael Schumacher braked into the first chicane his Salo

00:37:26He can rejoin in front of the other Salva correction

00:37:29But will he get there in time apparently is very slow through these polystyrene blocks and Danitz will be already hard on the accelerator

00:37:36But I was amazed when Schumacher

00:37:38Michael that is came into the first chicane

00:37:40Just how much brake dust was coming out of the front wheels of that Ferrari and it's going to be a long afternoon

00:37:47but the the pattern has been

00:37:48Recently the Ferrari has been using its tires harder than the McLaren at the previous race track the last four or five races

00:37:55But this is a low tire wear low tire degradation circuit as we pointed out earlier

00:38:00well, there are two fights of the on the track at the moment for fifth position between Fissey Keller and Verstappen and

00:38:07between

00:38:08Zonta and votes who is there they are there is Zonta coming through and taking votes

00:38:14Zonta dives out of the slipstream of the Benetton as they go into the

00:38:19Into the parabolica and moves up a place as Michael Schumacher comes down the start and finish straight

00:38:26Into the chicane. He's leading now by

00:38:292.6 seconds

00:38:31and

00:38:33Verstappen having a go

00:38:35Verstappen dives through so the places are starting to change

00:38:38We're with the Fissey Keller car now and Jos Verstappen in the arrows has moved up into fifth position

00:38:46Two potential world championship points for the Dutchman. Here's the move now

00:38:50Look which happens cracked up the inside into the braking zone

00:38:52We saw him in cat in the Canadian Grand Prix

00:38:54Standing on the brakes and able to turn in without too much drama and he really does take that position nicely

00:39:00Of course the safety car scenario Mary will have helped a lot and is they are out to now is it?

00:39:07Feel love so up into third place goes Ralph Schumacher to fourth position goes Verstappen to fifth goes Fissey Keller and to sixth position

00:39:15Goes on to both the B.A.R.s are in the points engine failure is out

00:39:20so the that's the sec first the lead of the two B.A.R.s out of the points and

00:39:27Alexander votes benefits from this but what you're looking at now confirms that there are two people in the world championship

00:39:34Michael Schumacher who is currently four points ahead of

00:39:39The Hackingen if he finishes in the order that he's in now, but there's a long way to go Schumacher leads Hackingen

00:39:46Ralph Schumacher into third position right Zonta appears to be on a lighter fuel load

00:39:51He's now lining up Fissey Keller for his next target

00:39:55Verstappen has indeed moved up into fourth place

00:39:57but I was started to say before we saw that shot of Vilna pulling off the racetrack that

00:40:02The ten laps or so they did under the safety car would give them quite a margin for fuel consumption and

00:40:10Particularly brake wear so it's played into their hands in that respect and here

00:40:15I think we're watching the Benetton trying to know and Zonta's just gone straight down the outside look

00:40:21Now I'm really delighted to see this with Riccardo Zonta moving up through the field

00:40:26He's had a rotten time with B.A.R. since he joined them last year

00:40:30He's had an awful time this year, but he was very very quick this morning. Indeed

00:40:34He was fastest and Louise Goodman is with Jenson Button Jensen that restart caught you up badly, didn't it?

00:40:39But just a bit will normally have a restart you were well

00:40:42you're supposed to keep the same pace all the time, but Michael decided to slow down on the exit of a scurry and then accelerate and

00:40:48then break or whatever he did but uh

00:40:51Can't believe it. So everyone caught up everyone spread out across the circuit when I had nowhere to go. So bad luck

00:40:56Well, that's exactly what I thought had happened

00:40:59And now you're looking at a replay of Heidfeld spinning out and his car is on the circuit

00:41:03Are they going to be able to drag it back or will the safety car go out again?

00:41:07The safety car is standing by I can tell you that as I look at the Williams and the B.A.R.

00:41:15Exiting the corner and Michael Schumacher leading on lap 17 and Ralph had a big oversteer in the middle of the Parabolica that surely gives

00:41:22Zonta a tremendous run at him and I think Zonta there as they flash by yes Zonta's driven straight past

00:41:29Ralph Schumacher's Williams

00:41:31Unbelievable straight line speed there from that Honda powered B.A.R.

00:41:35Perhaps he's running a lighter fuel load, but even so he's clearly got some

00:41:40Amazing pace and remember again Zonta was the fastest man in this morning's warm-up

00:41:45Well now how's this for a top six a very strange looking picture?

00:41:49Schumacher leading Hackett and nothing strange about them being at the front

00:41:53but Jos Verstappen in the arrows for Holland is in third position and he's being caught by

00:42:00Riccardo Zonta who is storming his way through the field. This is his 26th Grand Prix

00:42:06He's not going to be with B.A.R. at the end of this season

00:42:10But now down to fifth goes Schumacher sixth is Fisichella. We're leaving. We'll be back

00:44:19Lap 19

00:44:28Lap 19 and you are looking at a terrific scrap for third place between Jos Verstappen in the orange arrows and

00:44:36Riccardo Zonta from Brazil in the white B.A.R.

00:44:41Zonta having an absolute storm of a race

00:44:44He started well down on the grid and he's climbed his way up from

00:44:4817th up into the fourth position that he's in now now a lot of it

00:44:53I admit is due to the fact that I've been a large number of retirements due to the collision

00:44:57But he was fastest in the warm-up this morning and that car is really flying

00:45:03Yes

00:45:03The problem is God now and say again

00:45:05Verstappen and Zonta easily the two fastest cars through every speed trap on the track and he cannot just whistle

00:45:12Cleanly past that arrows. I think Zonta has the fastest car. I wouldn't be at all

00:45:17Surprised to find that these two drivers stop earlier than the others

00:45:21But Zonta they're not able to just whistle past Verstappen like he did for example, Ralph Schumacher both Benetton's

00:45:28But now he's a little bit closer coming out of the Parabolica and will he pick up enough of a tow?

00:45:33Look, he just cannot quite edge up

00:45:36It's gonna be a big brave move at the end and he really is not near enough this time around

00:45:40And Jos Verstappen is not a man to be intimidated a very gritty

00:45:45Determined Dutchman and being in the position of standing on the step of the podium is something that he has only enjoyed twice in

00:45:54His life before when he was with Benetton

00:45:56He's not going to give up easily

00:45:57But Ricardo Zonta driving like he's never driven before in a Formula One race is pushing him very hard indeed

00:46:04We've heard incidentally

00:46:05I'm sorry to tell you that it's a fire marshal that was injured and taken away in the ambulance

00:46:11But Pedro de la Rosa in the arrows is okay

00:46:15No problem there lap 20 out of 53 and the Italian Grand Prix is led by Michael Schumacher

00:46:22Just under four seconds away from Mecca Hacken and news from James Allen. Yeah, Murray

00:46:27I think Zonta's doing what Damon Hill did back in 1998

00:46:30If you've got a fast car here in a low grid slot, you can put it on a two-stop strategy

00:46:33But make up a lot of places in those days

00:46:35Damon made up for seven places in the first six laps and it looks to me as though Zonta's doing exactly the same probably quite

00:46:41A lightish fuel load. He will have to stop before too long

00:46:43But the big question mark as he comes down towards the Parabolica

00:46:46Not this time the big question mark now amongst the front runners who are on a one-stop strategy

00:46:50Schumacher and Hacken and is how much fuel did they save during that 11 lap safety car period?

00:46:55I reckon they saved quite a bit. So it's going to extend that first it quite a lot

00:46:59Yes, the teams know exactly how much they say from and look Zonta really has got in the slipstream this time and I believe he's

00:47:05Stronger on the brakes at the end too

00:47:07So Zonta should easily take this place and does indeed move into third, but then moves in too far

00:47:13He's gone a little bit wide on the way in and they do somehow not touch on the way out

00:47:17Very skillful driving there from Zonta and Verstappen and now Zonta

00:47:22Will pull away from that arrows fine bit of driving by both the Brazilian and the Dutchman and

00:47:28Remember what I said Jos Verstappen is not going to give up. He's been caught and he's been passed

00:47:33Yes

00:47:33But he's going to try and fight to back and there's a strong battle behind them between Ralph Schumacher and Giancarlo

00:47:40Fisichella in respectively the Williams and the Benetton for fifth position and it's just as close as this battle between Zonta and Verstappen

00:47:48And now that is widening the gap between the BAR and the arrows is getting bigger and bigger

00:47:54There is Ralph Schumacher fifth position behind him Fisichella in sixth position votes in the second blue car

00:48:02It's therefore in seventh place ahead of Marc Genet who has got Mika Salo right with him

00:48:07Yeah, the tail end is the ones we always do the sob stories about the teams at the back and try hard

00:48:11But can't get results because they don't have enough money. They love days like this

00:48:16This is their chance to score some points

00:48:18The reality is if nothing special happens two Ferraris and two McLarens take the first

00:48:24four lots of points that leaves a fifth and a sixth available for the entire rest of the pack and with

00:48:31Williams and Jordan and T and Benetton being such strong cars the tail enders very rarely get a sniff of a world championship

00:48:38Point and today's the day and remember that the man you're looking at Michael Schumacher is six points behind

00:48:45Mika Hakkinen second in this race in the world championship if

00:48:51Michael Schumacher finishes ahead of Mika Hakkinen by being first to Hakkinen's second

00:48:58He will have closed the gap quite dramatically. He will be on a world championship score of 68 points

00:49:0678 points slow-mo replay of Michael attacking the curb on the right hander on the way in they don't hit the left-hand curb

00:49:14So hard it unsettles the car and they can't quite make the exit of the corner then so the Benetton of

00:49:20Fisichella hanging on gamely to Ralph Schumacher James. Oh Martin think about this

00:49:24I've just clocked it if Riccardo Zonto started this race on a two-stop a light fuel load

00:49:29He's now entering the one-stop pit window

00:49:31He could come in shortly fuel it to the finish and then of course when the front runners Schumacher and Hakkinen come in a fuel up

00:49:37They'll be on the same the same strategy as him and he'll be right up there in the shooting match

00:49:42Fantastic and that would be an incredible development

00:49:45We've seen for so long now Ferrari and McLaren dominating

00:49:49We saw BAR coming into Grand Prix racing for the first time last year and having a really torrid season in their debut

00:49:57Year, but they're getting their act well and truly together. They've been tremendously

00:50:02Looking forward to this this race and very optimistic about it

00:50:06I was talking to Alistair Gibson the chief mechanic earlier today

00:50:10And he said we think we can do it and I think they can too

00:50:13But it would mean the Ferrari would have to disappear and the sole McLaren disappear and there James

00:50:20You're absolutely right

00:50:21The BAR team are getting ready to bring Ricardo Zonta in Jacques Villeneuve is already out of the race, of course

00:50:28Yes, but it's very early in the race Zonta is relatively flying

00:50:32You just saw a new fastest lap from Michael Schumacher of twenty six point four to eight and Zonta did a twenty six point four

00:50:38Three three on the same lap and that's Verts under attack from Salo

00:50:42So Zonta was matching the leaders pace

00:50:44But now you see why he's got to come in the pits this time and a tank and a tank full of gas will slow him

00:50:50Down a lot Louise. Yeah, I'm here with Jacques Villeneuve

00:50:53Jacques cheers in the garage at the success that your teammates having at the moment

00:50:56Yeah, he's doing good and that's great for the team. Not such a good day for you, though

00:51:00No, the car was easy to drive. It was easy to be quick

00:51:03We were on a one-stop strategy and suddenly the car stopped Jensen laid the blame for that accident at Michael Schumacher store

00:51:09Would you agree? Sorry Jensen laid the blame for the accident at Michael Schumacher store for slowing the pack right down. Would you agree?

00:51:15Well Michael did what you normally do in that position. I think it's already that's behind that should

00:51:20Come down and take it a little bit easier. Thanks, Jack

00:51:23lap 24 race order Schumacher now leads Hakan and by six seconds

00:51:29Zonta is third nearly 13 seconds behind Hakan and coming into the pits now as you look at him

00:51:34That means Jos for step and goes back into third place

00:51:37Ralph Schumacher warm-up up into fourth

00:51:39Fissy Keller to fifth and maybe even votes into sixth position good stop by Ricardo Zonta and there is

00:51:47Alexander votes and he is ahead of Mika Salo in the Sauber

00:51:53Remember Mika Salo's come in he's made a long pit stop

00:51:56But he is still on the same lap only 11 of the 22 who started

00:52:02On the same lap. There's 12 runners Pedro

00:52:05Denise is 11th on the same lap as Michael Schumacher

00:52:09Jorna Lacey is running in 12th position, but he's already a lap behind the leaders

00:52:14He's on to stop journey for 7.2 seconds

00:52:17Which suggests that they have not topped the car up and thinking about that

00:52:21Remember we were saying every cars brimmed on the start line that second corner shunned the cars upside down

00:52:27It's staggering that we didn't have a fire something we covered in one of our technical pieces recently

00:52:31but impressive technology there that they'd all got well over a hundred liters of fuel on board and

00:52:37Not a drop of it spilt out of the cars in the spectacular

00:52:41Incidents of the first two chicanes the interesting thing is that the two drivers are leaving their teams this year

00:52:47Ricardo's on to an alexander votes that we're looking at are doing extremely well in this race

00:52:52Votes there in the blue Benetton

00:52:54Resisting the efforts of Mika Salo in the Sauber to get past him as we rejoin race leader Michael Schumacher

00:53:00Is this going to be the third time that he's won the Italian the Italian Grand Prix?

00:53:06He won it in 96 for Ferrari his debut year with the team

00:53:10He won it the year before last in 1998 and there is Salo getting past

00:53:16The votes at turn one keeping his line on turn two as they accelerate away

00:53:22Yes

00:53:23I thought but probably should have

00:53:25Still managed to close him out there

00:53:26Even if he pushed the pair of them wide Salo going the long way round

00:53:30With the cleaner side of the track to brake on but nice move there from Mika Salo

00:53:34He's been across a couple of chicanes looking at the computer

00:53:37He's noted up but clearly didn't

00:53:39Take an advantage from that remember he made a pit stop under the safety car to check

00:53:43He had an incident with Eddie Irvine in the first corner of this race

00:53:48But now Salo making his way through he is up into sixth place and there is Mika Hackett and second

00:53:54I tell you something that surprises me Martin Ralph Schumacher in the Williams BMW

00:53:59which has been extremely quick this season and was terrific and in Belgium and

00:54:05Went very well here in the opening stages of the meeting here at Monza is in in fourth position

00:54:11He's behind the flying arrows of Joss Verstappen who is still there in third place coming to war just now

00:54:17You can see Salo behind Salo his voice

00:54:20Then there's just the two Minard is of Janae and Mazzucane who are 8th and 9th Pedro Diniz is Salva 10th

00:54:27behind him is

00:54:29John Lacey in

00:54:3211th position was onto is not going to bother Michael Schumacher or Hakanen

00:54:36He is now effectively running last but one having made his stop

00:54:40He's got a very fast car light traffic on the circuit because of those retirements early on

00:54:46Heidfeld, Jacques Villeneuve, Jenson Button, Johnny Herbert, Coulthard, Trulli, Barrichello, Frentzen and Zonta just easily goes through on

00:54:54The Prost there so takes that position no problem at all from Diniz so Zonta still with a fast car

00:55:00But as he's on a two-stopper, he will not bother the front end of the field

00:55:04He was passing Jean Lacey who is still running there albeit a long way back

00:55:09Just one the single Prost left now

00:55:11you can see visually the gap on the track there between Schumacher in the lead Mika Hakanen in second position and

00:55:20Try as Mika may can't do anything at the present moment about that lead that the Ferrari has over it

00:55:26The crowd is pretty quiet here. They are on tenterhooks that a Ferrari will win here at Monza again

00:55:34And that's the man that can do it because Rubens Barrichello out of the race and the gap now between the Ferrari and the McLaren

00:55:42Is 7.3 seconds and Schumacher is continuing to lap faster than Hakanen. Yes, Hakanen has never yet once

00:55:49Completed a lap faster than the same lap of Michael Schumacher's

00:55:52So that's why he's built that 7.3 second lead. There's Zonta coming through a podium is up for grabs for Zonta. I think

00:56:00Schumacher and Hakanen are too far out front with too much fuel on board for Zonta to have a go at them

00:56:06But look how easily he's able to slice his way through the field

00:56:11he's got to stay on the inside there and

00:56:15Force the Sauber out and keep the inside line, which he does it would be very ironic

00:56:22I must say if the first world the first podium for the BAR team is occupied

00:56:29By Riccardo Zonta rather than Jacques Villeneuve because the Canadian is very much their lead driver in terms of experience

00:56:38Ability and income of course, but Zonta doing a fine job at the present moment lap 27 out of 53

00:56:45The fastest lap we've had so far that of Michael Schumacher

00:56:50126.4 there's no point in comparing it with the fastest lap last year or any fastest lap in the past

00:56:56Because the circuit is different this year. It's not just that it's been resurfaced

00:57:01It is that instead of the being a double left right at the beginning of the track before the grand curve

00:57:09There's just the new left right left chicane and the second chicane the Rozier has also been

00:57:15Extended to give it a bigger runoff area. We're leaving Monza, but we will of course be returning

00:57:56You

00:58:26I

00:58:56I

00:59:26I

00:59:34Lap 30 and while Italy holds its breath that this man in that car

00:59:40Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari will stay where he is in the lead and he's yet to come in of course for more fuel and

00:59:48new tires

00:59:49Riccardo Zonta is the man to watch in the BAR. He was third a brilliant third from 17th on the grid

00:59:57Fought his way up. Then he's come in and stopped taking on more fuel and tires. He's clawing his way through the field

01:00:04He's past Matsukane's Minardi. He's past Genet's Minardi

01:00:08He's up into eighth position and we have more news from James Allen

01:00:13Well, it's to me Barry as though Zonta couldn't quite make the fuel last long enough to reach the one-stop hit window

01:00:18I reckon another four or five laps and he would have been able to do it. Nevertheless a podium still possible

01:00:23There's gonna be a lot of work for him not being cynical for a second here money, Barry

01:00:26But he's getting himself an awful lot of TV for Honda, of course on their 200th Grand Prix

01:00:30But on to the front the leaders I reckon Michael Schumacher's got less fuel on board the Mika Hakkinen

01:00:35I reckon Michael's gonna stop before too long next two or three laps three laps

01:00:39And I think Hakkinen's gonna go about three or four laps longer on the stint

01:00:42Is it we're entering a very very interesting phase of the race now?

01:00:45Yeah, Zonta is indeed getting a lot of TV for Honda

01:00:48But you get what you deserve in this world usually and he certainly deserves it and so do they

01:00:53Michael Schumacher lap 30 is eight seconds ahead of Mika Hakkinen

01:00:58And although we haven't seen anything of the orange arrows of Jos Verstappen at the present moment

01:01:03It is looking at the present moment provided provided provided

01:01:07He can finish but he's going to be on the podium because he is in great shape

01:01:12But will he finish he's already had eight retirements of this year

01:01:16This is the 14th Grand Prix of the year

01:01:192000 and you saw Zonta there pulling away and now you look at the Sauber and Jorna Lacey in the Prost

01:01:27But very very gallant French Sicilian who will be continuing

01:01:32We hope with Prost next season and they we believe are going to have Ferrari power in

01:01:382000 you fastest lap then for Michael Schumacher

01:01:41Remember we said tire degradation virtually nil

01:01:44But as the fuel load comes down and down the track cleans up rubbers in even more

01:01:49Despite the running through the weekend Michael Schumacher now on a twenty six zero zero

01:01:53Well over half a second faster than Mika Hakkinen the lead now up to eight point five seconds a Lacey

01:02:00I couldn't quite work out why he was around to knit because he's not racing him really

01:02:04He's actually a lap behind already before this which seems as if it's a scheduled stop marrying

01:02:10Yeah, the most Grand Prix by any Formula One driver Riccardo Patrese

01:02:15256 of them. This is John a Lacey's

01:02:19181st Grand Prix. He's driven in more than any other current driver

01:02:23Including of course Michael Schumacher who crosses the line now. He is into his

01:02:2932nd lap

01:02:30He's still got to come in and take on fuel and tires

01:02:34But all the time the gap between him and Mika Hakkinen is increasing now if Schumacher wins

01:02:40And if Hakkinen is second the gap between the two of them in the world

01:02:45Championship with Mika Hakkinen still in the lead would be reduced to two

01:02:50Points with three Grand Prix still to come and Indianapolis in America that we're looking forward to so much in two weeks time

01:02:57Then to Suzuka in Japan and Sipang in Malaysia on October the 22nd

01:03:02It's going to be a real cliffhanger of a world championship

01:03:06Yes, blue flags are out already for Matsukane to tell him the lead Ferrari is bearing down on him

01:03:12Yeah

01:03:13I suspect the Italian marshals will not be at all slow to show blue flags to anybody that's in the way of Michael Schumacher

01:03:19And Ferrari it's done on computer mostly the information to them

01:03:23A line every 200 meters a sensor every 200 meters of this racetrack and the computer works out the relative

01:03:31Positions of all of the cars and then a little blue dot comes up on a screen and then the information is given out to the

01:03:37Marshals by radio Matsukane is still ahead of the Ferrari

01:03:40But Schumacher should clear him easily without cost down the pit straight the star of the race for me is not

01:03:47Only really Zonta but more so even Verstappen up there in third place

01:03:5218 seconds behind Hakanen and he clearly has got quite a fuel load on has

01:03:58Look, the Matsukane is not making it at all easy for Michael Schumacher and they both lost time

01:04:04That was pathetic driving there

01:04:06Yeah, and no indication of irritation or annoyance or anger from Michael Schumacher

01:04:13Metaphorically shrugs his shoulders and says what can you expect and on he goes and there's there's confirmation

01:04:18Look at this replay now Matsukane should have yielded by then

01:04:22He'd been shown blue flags

01:04:23But he held on until the very last moment forced Schumacher wide and into the pits comes at Yossa Verstappen from third place

01:04:31Now Ralph Schumacher as I say that goes through into third position

01:04:36But of course he has not stopped

01:04:39Indeed Yossa Verstappen is the first of the current top six to stop for more fuel and tires

01:04:44This is lap 33 out of 53. Not a bad stop there

01:04:48I think they probably would have liked another second off of that

01:04:51But Verstappen was 6.1 seconds ahead of Ralph Schumacher when he made that stop

01:04:56He has stopped relatively early, but he will surely get to the end of the race with that fill up. Yeah, and you're looking at Fisich

01:05:04Moved up if Fisichella has moved up into fourth position and

01:05:10Alexander Voigt is continuing to go well indeed as we look at the Benetton now in front of Riccardo Zonta

01:05:16Now Zonta will be moving up into the points if he can get past the Benetton

01:05:21I have absolutely no doubt that he will do so because his last lap was 6 tenths of a second faster for that of the Austrian

01:05:29Alexander Voigt in the blue Benetton. We're on a lap of 34

01:05:33Well, there we have it

01:05:34Finally Häkkinen has gone faster than Michael Schumacher, 3 tenths on that previous lap

01:05:38And that is not including the time that Michael lost

01:05:42Negotiating and being extra cautious around Matsukane's Minardi

01:05:47So Mika has pegged the gap at 8 in a bit seconds and now just clearing it back slightly

01:05:52And Joss Verstappen there ahead of Pedro Diniz is down to 8th position

01:05:57So this race is a long way from being run. Mika Häkkinen

01:06:02Starting to speed up only 3 tenths of a second

01:06:05But every tenth counts the gap at the present moment between the leaders Schumacher and Häkkinen

01:06:118.5 seconds on lap 34 out of 53 and

01:06:16Riccardo Zonta has a look from behind the Benetton

01:06:21The door is firmly but politely closed in his face by Alexander Voigt and into the pits

01:06:28comes the Minardi of

01:06:31Mark Genet from 9th position

01:06:35Now he was about 2 seconds behind Diniz. He was 16 seconds ahead of Mika Salo

01:06:42Salo in 10th position and here is Michael Schumacher thundering down the straight into the chicane to take and

01:06:50Pass Jean Alessi who has already been lapped

01:06:54Listen, I think I saw Jean doing the right thing just getting off the racing line

01:06:59If you're that far behind you don't make the race leader

01:07:02Go down the dirty line in the racetrack you blend in and let him go through and save yourself both some time

01:07:08and Alessi doing that Zonta getting out of shape under braking losing a little bit of ground there to

01:07:15to Vert so

01:07:17Zonta then as you can see lost quite a lot of ground through Ascari just locking up the rear slightly on the way in and

01:07:22having to correct the car

01:07:24Well, let me tell you a bit about

01:07:27Ricardo Zonta he lost four races last year

01:07:30When he crashed in practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix and hurt his foot quite badly had to recover from that

01:07:36But this is a man who has been test driver for McLaren and he may well go back to being test driver for McLaren next

01:07:44Year that now now that Olivier Panis is going to be driving for the BAR team next year

01:07:49He's their current test driver and then

01:07:53Zonta was Formula 3000 champion and the Mercedes-Benz GT champion

01:07:58So he comes very highly recommended as inside the Minardi goes Schumacher

01:08:03There is Hakanen who has already now lapped as of course has Michael Schumacher

01:08:09Matt Sacani went on lap 35 just coming through to lap 36 and my goodness. They are staying out late

01:08:17Yes, all of the

01:08:19Drivers involved in the first two-corner incidents have been called to the stewards after the event

01:08:24So, you know, they all escape with some pretty lucky

01:08:29Pretty lucky not to have serious injury there, but it will not be any surprise to any of them

01:08:34They will not be heading for their jets at the airport and looking forward to the next race

01:08:38They know they have if you're involved in an incident a major incident of any kind

01:08:42You always have to stay at the track and I even left the circuit wants to go to the airport

01:08:48It was dragged back to the racetrack when Gerhard Berger ran into me in the Canadian Grand Prix

01:08:54actually, it hauled me out as I was checking in and I had to go back and

01:08:58Give my side of the story, even though I was not at fault and that's a requirement on the day

01:09:03So none of the drivers will be surprised but Zonta may be surprised. He cannot clear this car of Verts

01:09:08Remember though Verts has a lower fuel load now Zonta trying to go the long way around and Verts closing him down

01:09:15battling for fifth position on lap 36 and

01:09:20Since Zonta has been in and Verts has not I think it's inevitable that their places are going to change

01:09:27Here is Michael Schumacher

01:09:34Incredible record this man has got over 50% of the Grand Prix that he has finished in he has been on the podium in first

01:09:42Second or third position. Is this going to be his third Italian Grand Prix win?

01:09:48Well, he's on lap 37 53 laps all together, but he's still got to come in and refuel

01:09:54He's still got to have those tires changed and so behind him has Mika Hakkinen who has now lost time again to Michael Schumacher

01:10:02He's lapped some half a second slower than the German on the previous lap

01:10:07Yes, Michael Schumacher had two bad laps clearing the traffic and he's responded immediately with that new fastest lap of one

01:10:1425.6 so Michael Schumacher does appear to have a bit of speed available to him

01:10:20Should he need it later on in the race and he'll be very comfortable with that 9.5 second lead

01:10:25There's nothing Hakkinen can do with the size of his fuel tank that and that Zonta in for actually the third

01:10:32Time this afternoon in the murky depths of my mind. I remember seeing a BAR with a punctured front, right?

01:10:38I think he pitted under the safety car earlier and we know he's pitted once for fuel already

01:10:43So he did a short middle stint now

01:10:45He refuels to the end of the race and Jos Verstappen goes back into the points

01:10:52you probably saw the errors Oh very short stop very short indeed for Ricardo Zonta and

01:10:58Verstappen is back into the points in sixth position

01:11:01Fifth is votes fourth is Fisichella both the Benetton's in the points Ralph Schumacher in the Williams BMW is third

01:11:08But is yet to stop Mika Hakkinen second yet to stop Michael Schumacher there

01:11:12You're looking at now leading by nearly 10 seconds and pulling away from Mika Hakkinen

01:11:18But yet to stop yes

01:11:20And while you're reading those times from the screen marrying Michael Schumacher

01:11:24Heavily on the side of the racetrack through the second Lesmos there

01:11:27He really is putting the hammer down at the moment for some reason

01:11:30He's just done a new fastest first sector of anybody in this motor race so far and he at this point in time

01:11:37Wants to increase his lead for whatever reason and we know that they've given Hakkinen a mixture sign

01:11:43Lean up the engine I would assume it means and try to run a little bit further

01:11:48But I can't see Hakkinen being able to go

01:11:50Much further than Michael Schumacher before they have to stop remember

01:11:54They're stopping so late because they would have used a fraction of the fuel in those ten or so laps behind the pace car

01:12:00Well two men for the Ferrari are leading this race one of the Michael Schumacher

01:12:04Who's driving it and the other is Ross Brawn their master English tactician who is sitting in the pit lane?

01:12:11Reading the race and calling the shots and talking calmly to Michael Schumacher

01:12:16the two of them work together at Benetton when Michael Schumacher had his world championships in 94 and

01:12:2295 and Ross has clearly divined something which is telling him making him tell Michael Schumacher to speed up a bit and

01:12:30There's something could well be that Micah Hakkinen for instance has just done the fastest first sector of all

01:12:37We're going to keep an eye on this gap. It's just under 10 seconds at the present moment race leader there Michael Schumacher

01:12:44He's on his 39th lap. So there are 14 1 4 laps to go. He will come in

01:12:50He will take on comparatively little fuel to keep the car as light as possible to give it the maximum performance

01:12:58Less weight to brake and stop more less weight to accelerate and get going again

01:13:03And they're the Minardi running very wide indeed with Micah Hakkinen coming up behind

01:13:09Micah Salo, that is Mark Janay who is in 10th position

01:13:12This is a replay the Sauber going through and Janay rejoining the track in front

01:13:19Now it's a risk. It's irrelevant whether he's going to be penalized or not because in fact, he's one lap behind them

01:13:25Yes, he's yielded to he's let the Sauber go through which I think was the smart move

01:13:29He quite clearly saved a position there effectively

01:13:33But they're at the tail end of the field with clearly of course Micah Hakkinen some time and he's already now

01:13:3910.5 seconds behind Michael Schumacher

01:13:42There's the Ferrari team. They're getting ready to bring

01:13:46Michael Schumacher in on the 39th lap out of the Parabolica down to you good and early James Allen

01:13:53Yes, it's all looking very tidy indeed for the Ferrari team here. There's no tension at all. They're all pretty relaxed

01:13:58I think they're gonna go about this

01:14:00Not a leisurely way, but they're going to not make any mistakes and get it back out again ten and a half seconds

01:14:05It's a good good margin here

01:14:08We'll take the lead, but we expect hacking it in shortly

01:14:11Well, Micah Hakkinen has gone through and there is Michael Schumacher exiting the pit lane

01:14:18Where is he in relation to Ralph Sugarman?

01:14:20There is the new race leader on lap 40 out of 53

01:14:24Now James forecast and rightly so that Micah Hakkinen was going to be staying out two or three laps longer

01:14:31Than Michael Schumacher, so we expect him to come in round about a lap of 42

01:14:36But meantime is in the lead and of course Michael Schumacher has got a lot of traffic to carve through

01:14:42Because tail enders have gone through following Micah Hakkinen who has a minimum lap

01:14:48But now on the 40th lap out of 53

01:14:52It's the flying fin at the front of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza

01:14:56He has never won this race and you just caught a flash of Michael Schumacher there. He's down to

01:15:03Well down because he's just got ahead of Matz Akane who is in 11th position, but it'll be left

01:15:10So Michael Schumacher is stretching away from the Minardi lap 40 into the Ascari curves

01:15:18I'll remember they're already 39 laps into this race

01:15:21So they'll all be or should be very very short pit stops. In fact 7.2 was relatively

01:15:27Leisurely really for for the amount of fuel that's got to go into the end of the race and Michael Schumacher

01:15:32I think they did they were cautious. There's a couple of seconds

01:15:36I think they could have had there had they have chosen to do but that ten and a half second lead

01:15:40We now know exactly why Michael Schumacher put that three or four laps sprint in after having trouble through the back markers

01:15:46Obviously his pit stop was imminent and he needed to ensure he had a comfortable margin over this man

01:15:52Mika Hakkinen and I can't see any reason why Hakkinen can take that full amount of 10.5 back

01:15:58But I think you have some of it Murray. Yeah, so do I let's just remind you in case you've only just

01:16:03Joined us what happened at the beginning of this race to decimate the entry

01:16:07Eddie Irvine ran wide in the Jaguar and went out of the race at the first corner, but much more importantly a gigantic collision

01:16:16Involving David Coulthard, Jarno Trulli, Rubens Barrichello, Heinz-Harald Frenksen and Pedro de la Rosa

01:16:21Took all of them out and I'm glad to say that none of them were hurt very damaged motor cars

01:16:28Of course

01:16:28But that reduced things then Jenson Button went out when Michael Schumacher slowed the field so much

01:16:35Waiting for the safety car to pull off that there was a minor

01:16:39Bent button had to run wide and hit the armco so out of the race he went

01:16:45Jack Villeneuve has retired and Nick Heidfeldt is out of the race

01:16:49John Alasey is running 12th two laps down and

01:16:55Matsukane, Jeunet and Deniz have similarly up to ninth position being lapped only eight cars are on the same lap

01:17:02Mika Hakkinen, there he is leading and he is

01:17:08Decreasing his lap time

01:17:09Increasing his speed with the knowledge that Michael Schumacher has been in for his one pit stop and the Mika Hakkinen

01:17:17Must now really go for it. He's not going to be helped if the Sauber in front of him doesn't move over and let him through

01:17:23Yes, remember here and I'm sure he'll be remembering although they've actually effectively taken that corner away now

01:17:28Hakkinen had an easy lead here last year and hooked first gear made a simple mistake and threw himself out of this race

01:17:36He'll be weary of mindful of that, but he must must press on now

01:17:40Otherwise Michael Schumacher has this race in the bag barring any mechanical problems with 11 laps to go

01:17:47Michael Schumacher five times a winner this year Mika Hakkinen four times a winner this year

01:17:52But Mika has been absolutely mega in the last four races

01:17:56He won in Austria second in Germany victories again in Hungary and of Belgium and out to go the McLaren

01:18:04mechanics to get Mika Hakkinen in for his stop as the thin exits the Ascari curves goes at

01:18:12210 miles an hour down towards the Parabolica

01:18:15Slows down to 110 accelerates away. He will dive into the pit lane now and this stop is crucial James Allen

01:18:23Yes, this is going to be very interesting Schumacher stop took 21 seconds total lost time

01:18:27That's how much time he lost when he came in here comes Hakkinen

01:18:30He will be around just five or six seconds down on Michael Schumacher

01:18:34If you can get out of here stationary time of less than about seven seconds. It's very fast by McLaren a lovely stop

01:18:40He'll be about five or six seconds only down mark now. Let's have a look

01:18:43There is Schumacher there is Schumacher and in the background you see Hakkinen exiting the pit lane

01:18:49a Schumacher dives past the Prost and puts it between himself and

01:18:54The second-place man now Mika Hakkinen, so it's down to the last two few laps

01:19:01They're on lap 43. It's a 53 lap race

01:19:04They've both completed their single pit stop for fuel and tires and it's down to the two top drivers of the day

01:19:12double world champion Michael Schumacher

01:19:151994 and 1995

01:19:18Double world champion Mika Hakkinen and 98 and 99

01:19:21Trying to become one of the very few people who have achieved three successive world championships

01:19:29Alexander Voortz into the pits and from fifth position nice stop

01:19:33It didn't take on very much fuel so he's out in just six point one seconds stationary

01:19:39play period on the tarmac

01:19:42So Schumacher now he's coming up to

01:19:45Mark Janay to lap him again

01:19:49Mark Janay the Spaniard in the Minardi now look back and you should see Mika Hakkinen. Yes, there he is

01:19:55exiting the

01:19:57Ascari bends again behind Matsukane and again Matsukane as he delayed Michael Schumacher

01:20:04He's delaying delaying delaying Mika Hakkinen and we get through on the inside

01:20:08Pathetic having to use the same word of the same driver twice in the afternoon. I mean, what is he up to?

01:20:14It's not difficult to see here long enough straights

01:20:16Not like there's any blind corners and a lot of hedges in the way, is it but Hakkinen there

01:20:20He was already further behind Michael Schumacher than I expected to see him coming on that straight down towards the Parabolica

01:20:27But that certainly fixed it and I don't see any pace that Hakkinen is going to have to close that gap as Ralph Schumacher

01:20:34comes in really

01:20:36He's not the last of the frontrunners because Fizikela is just behind him to fourth place man Fizikela in the pits to

01:20:41Third place man at the moment. There's Fizikela just squeezing in front a good stop there for the Williams team again in the sixes and that

01:20:50Puts Ralph in good shape. Can Zonta and Verstappen do anything about it? And is that Benetton running?

01:20:56I don't think so

01:20:57Well already Ralph Schumacher driving for Williams BMW in a season that they both

01:21:02Expected to be a pretty poor one because it's BMW's first year back in Formula One since

01:21:091953

01:21:10Oh and

01:21:11Fizikela spinning his wheels

01:21:14This this is ruining his chances

01:21:16Yes

01:21:16What they'll have to do is start it up in gear and drop it off the jack if they can but it's not that easy because

01:21:20The jack will go down the pit lane with the car if they're not careful

01:21:23That is very very difficult problem to sort out. It's stuck in gear. He clearly cannot find neutral

01:21:29They need to start it up

01:21:30Look, they're turning the tires with the starter motors going through the system and they cannot get that engine to fire

01:21:36And we've already seen Johnny Herbert when he was with Benetton sprinting out of the pit lane with the jack still attached to him

01:21:43Fortunately disconnected, but this is terrible news for Giancarlo Fizikela. He's losing points now

01:21:49He's got to hit the neutral button and now he should be able to pull pull a gear and away

01:21:54So what happens he stalled it and he stalled it again. He's lost the clutch. So

01:21:58Fizikela they're unable to get away and he's got to hit the neutral button within a couple of seconds while there's some residual

01:22:05Energy in the system and clearly he's not able to do that

01:22:09Well, this is something of course you can't practice for they can practice to replace a nose and a wing and they can practice

01:22:16As they do until they're blue in the face to replace tires and refuel

01:22:20But you can't practice for this and Fizikela is staggering out of the pits

01:22:25He just manages to engage a gear and remember is a mandatory speed limit

01:22:29But now the order is on lap 55 you watch this replay of Fizikela for say for heaven's sake start me start me start me

01:22:37But the positions on lap 45 out of 53 coming towards us race leader Michael Schumacher who is now 11 11

01:22:45Seconds ahead of Micah Hackett and Ralph Schumacher looks as though he's going to retain that third place ahead of Jos Verstappen

01:22:51Alexander Voortz is fifth in the points Riccardo Zonta. We're going for a break

01:22:59So

01:23:59Foreign

01:24:29Foreign

01:24:43Foreign

01:24:59Foreign

01:25:08Seven laps to go remember that this italian grand prix ran for the first 10 or 11 laps behind the safety car

01:25:17After that gigantic collision in the opening stages of the race, which took out some of the leading contenders

01:25:24But at the present moment it is certainly looking very good indeed for the man

01:25:28You've just been looking at Michael Schumacher. We're looking down now at Micah Hackett

01:25:34So they're on their 47th lap now in this 53 lap race with a gap of just under 10 seconds between them

01:25:42Micah Hackett and made up a bit of time like half a second on the previous lap to be exact the gap was 9.9

01:25:49Seconds here is Schumacher coming up to the Sauber as he exits that

01:25:55Now notorious first chicane a lot of people forecast problems and we certainly had them

01:26:01And Micah Hackett is through on the lap behind him Michael Schumacher closing up. He's going to go through

01:26:09And it's a nice polite bit of driving

01:26:12And Schumacher has got clear track ahead of him

01:26:15He's got the Sauber between him and Micah Hackett and the gap is still 9.2

01:26:19seconds

01:26:21And this world championship that's been such a cracker this year with Michael Schumacher winning

01:26:28four of the first six races

01:26:31Is really developing going right down to the wire to the last race in malaysia

01:26:36Pedro Diniz now in the Sauber in eighth position between the Ferrari and the McLaren as you look at Ralph

01:26:44Schumacher

01:26:45Now he's lapping marginally quicker than Jos Verstappen. Ralph Schumacher looks as though

01:26:50He is going to finish in third position for the third time this year. He did it in australia

01:26:55He did it in belgium and I was saying earlier on that bearing in mind that last year's williams was not the best car

01:27:02They've ever produced. That's Hackett and passing

01:27:04Marc Genet not the best car they'd ever produced and that

01:27:08This year they've got an entirely new car with an entirely new engine and it's a fantastic combination

01:27:14The the car is good. The engine has exceeded everybody's expectations, including I think to be fair

01:27:21BMWs and they've had a lot of world championship points

01:27:25Ralph Schumacher has already scored 20 world championship points his teammate Jenson Button a terrific

01:27:32Introduction to formula one racing has scored 10 world championship points and the result is the williams are third in the

01:27:39Constructors championship as you watch Michael Schumacher now undoubtedly pacing himself on the 49th

01:27:46Lap, he's got lap 50 lap 51 lap 52 and lap 53 to go

01:27:52I said earlier on italy is holding its breath

01:27:57No more so then than now

01:27:59If Michael Schumacher wins a ferrari win again, which is not something they've done all that often at monza

01:28:06Which to italy is what motor racing is all about the whole of italy will erupt

01:28:12They literally literally ring the church bells in italy when a ferrari wins

01:28:18They could be tolling them again this evening

01:28:21Hacking and now definitely eating into the schumacher lead, but I

01:28:26You know, it's coming down about seven to eight tenths of a second for that

01:28:29It'll be quite near at the end, but I believe michael schumacher's got it under control

01:28:34Can't see any problems and there's the sign that hacken is about to see you need binoculars here to see your pitfall

01:28:40It's such a long way away from the side of the racetrack and that gap is now down to 7.6

01:28:45Seconds, so of course the information hacken and gets unless they tell him over the radio. It's always a lap

01:28:51Wrong out of sync really but now down to 7.6 seconds

01:28:54That was hacken and fastest lap of the race and he is homing in on michael

01:28:58He can put as much pressure as he can trying to force a problem from michael or his brakes or something like that

01:29:04But hacken and really I don't think he can pull that 7.6 out and overtake the ferrari

01:29:10Michael has led this race from start to finish

01:29:13Neither do I ralph schumacher a third six seconds ahead of the stappan arrows look as though they're going to be well and truly

01:29:19In the points not if the voets there is in fifth position

01:29:25Closing up on josper stappan's arrows

01:29:27You can see the gap ricardo zonta for bar looks as though he's going to get another world championship point

01:29:33Certainly not that podium which when we didn't know the fuel strategies looked as though he might be achieving this race

01:29:40that 50 then

01:29:42And behind zonta it's salo in seventh place

01:29:47T's teammate pedro deniz in the second salvo is eighth mark janae and matsukane are ninth and tenth in the minardis

01:29:54fisicolor is

01:29:56Staggering around a lap down after that

01:29:59Terrible pit stop that he had and jorna lacey is still running 12th out of the 22 who started 10 retirements

01:30:05And he is two laps behind the leader who is now coming up to mika

01:30:09Salo and mika hacken and has just made the fastest lap of the race. He's not giving up. He's really going for it

01:30:15He is coming out to pedro deniz. So the two leaders are both closing up on a salvo

01:30:22Yes, so the gap down to 6.2 seconds then with that new fastest lap of hacken and that really is eating into that lead

01:30:28Isn't it?

01:30:29but uh

01:30:30He's still got the traffic to clear. You just saw michael go through your foreground there and uh hacken and having to work pretty hard

01:30:36But cleanly through into the second chicane and now he'll be able to see

01:30:41Michael schumacher just half a straight ahead of him when he gets out of the

01:30:45Second of these two lesmo corners and that will certainly fire him up. But is there enough time left?

01:30:50I don't think so

01:30:51But I wonder also if verstappen's got a bit of a problem in fourth place

01:30:54Because vertz took a lot of time out of him

01:30:58On the previous lap and they're now shaping up for a good fight for fourth place

01:31:03Zonta not really made able to make inroads into vertz and he's in sixth. Well, I have to tell you I was

01:31:10Forecasting that hackenden would win this race before it started

01:31:14ferrari are having a bit of a renaissance here in

01:31:17Italy, they didn't have the best of races in belgium or hungary because although michael schumacher was second in both races

01:31:24He was beaten and well and truly by mika hacken

01:31:27Now we're into the 50 second lap in this 53 lap race

01:31:34michael schumacher

01:31:36Obviously thinks he's in control. I'm not going to say he is because

01:31:40That could be quite the wrong thing to say at this stage of the race

01:31:43But 5.9 seconds is the gap on lap 52 with one lap to go after this

01:31:50Yes, you can't help feel that michael's playing a little bit. So i'm taking a ripoff off his visor

01:31:56Going down into parabolica on the previous lap clearly picking up a lot of dirt and debris as he's lapping these cars

01:32:03But uh, no signs and there's hackenden ever closer

01:32:06Look must be less than 5.9 seconds now

01:32:09But as you said mary just one and a half laps to go. Yeah, one of the all-time

01:32:14grand prix cliches is

01:32:16Catching is one thing passing another and that would certainly apply

01:32:20If mika hackenden actually caught michael schumacher who's coming into the ascari curves now for the 52nd and last time

01:32:28Because if mika hackenden was sitting on the gearbox of the ferrari there wouldn't be a repeat here

01:32:34I think of the situation we had in belgium when he so

01:32:38Brilliantly took the lead from the ferrari coming up to lakom and they both lapped riccardo zonta

01:32:45Michael schumacher is now

01:32:48Out of the parabolica down the start and finish straight

01:32:52Over the line very shortly to start his 53rd

01:32:56And last lap as mika hackenden follows him through there is the leader into the chicane

01:33:05Turn one turn two, so michael schumacher he won in australia

01:33:11He won in brazil

01:33:13Then his third victory of the year was the san marino grand prix followed by the european grand prix and the canadian grand prix

01:33:21And it really does now look as though it's going to be his sixth grand prix victory of the year

01:33:26As verstappen has got wurtz right behind him fourth and fifth

01:33:29Yeah, that's actually fizzy keller who of course had that very long pit stop and is out of position

01:33:34Maybe I don't think verstappen unless his radio's gone down will think it's uh, he may think it's wurtz

01:33:39But it's not wurtz is actually seven seconds down the road. It's a recovering

01:33:44Fizzy keller who's currently down in 11th place and a lap behind michael schumacher looks in his mirror to see whether

01:33:52mika hackenden is there

01:33:54He is there but he's far enough back for michael to be able to pace himself home to victory at monza

01:34:02He won in 96. He won in 98

01:34:06He's going to win again in the year 2000

01:34:09And there is mika hackenden behind him and now

01:34:12Italy can truly erupt the tifosi and the ferraristas

01:34:17See michael schumacher win at monza and italy and close the gap between himself and mika hackenden in the world

01:34:25Championship finishing second there down to two

01:34:29points

01:34:30David coulthard's world championship hopes are over rubens barrichello's are as well

01:34:36Of course, there was a remote chance that either of them could win the world championship if they won the remaining races

01:34:42but now it is a fight to the finish between

01:34:45hackenden and

01:34:47Schumacher as we wait for ralph schumacher to come home in third position for the third time this year

01:34:53And you look at the stappen with giancarlo. Fizzy keller behind him in the benetton

01:35:00Exiting the ascari base now look back and you should see alexander wurtz in the blue car there

01:35:06He is so verstappen is going to have a magnificent fourth place

01:35:11And that will be the second highest that he's ever finished in a grand prix

01:35:14He's had a couple of third places for benetton great news for arrows

01:35:18They've really fought for this and they thoroughly deserve those world championship points

01:35:24Schumacher michael wins hackenden mika is second schumacher ralph is third

01:35:30Verstappen yoss is fourth

01:35:32Wurtz alexander is fifth and ricardo zonta gets that world championship point for bar

01:35:39Mika hacken and now two world championship points only ahead of michael schumacher

01:35:45He was six points ahead when this race started david kufar still in third position in the championship

01:35:51Notwithstanding the fact he scored no points here rubens barry keller the same fourth position

01:35:57ralph schumacher closes the gap in fifth position in the drivers championship

01:36:01But is still down there with fissi keller sixth

01:36:31Foreign

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01:45:21Your body

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01:48:47So

01:49:02Michael many many congratulations. It's your sixth win in the season, but you've not had one for six races

01:49:06You've done it in front of your home fans the tifos. You must be delighted

01:49:10Yeah, I think delighted is the wrong word. I have no

01:49:13vocabulary for anything

01:49:16higher than that

01:49:18i'm, sorry, but uh

01:49:20i'm, just happy i'm just exhausted and

01:49:26Yeah

01:49:27I'm, not sure if you're aware, but this is your 41st victory which puts you equal second all time with that and senna

01:49:32Does records mean a lot to you?

01:49:34Yes, it does mean a lot to me

01:49:40Sorry

01:49:53Thanks, michael

01:49:55Mickey for the last two races, uh, michael's been I think magnanimous enough to admit that on the day

01:50:01You had the faster car mccarran. Do you think today that ferrari was just a faster car?

01:50:06Can we have a break

01:50:09Um

01:50:13Go to go to ralph ralph can continue

01:50:19Okay, ralph, um ralph you're unique of the three drivers we have here because you actually saw that very big

01:50:24for

01:50:25second chicane incident, um

01:50:27Can you perhaps talk us through how you saw and how you managed to avoid it?

01:50:31Well, basically I just saw a lot of dust coming out and car flies have car parts flying around

01:50:36And jack and me managed somehow to go around but it looked it looked, uh, really terrible. I mean

01:50:42Someone was hurted as we saw but I don't know who it was

01:50:47Talking back to your own race again when you actually were driving long you saw

01:50:50Riccardo zonta and josh fished up and drive party. Do you think i'm on the wrong strategy?

01:50:56Well

01:50:58We we always knew that some are on the lighter strategy

01:51:00but you know as as monzer is, uh on the longer strategy, you usually have the upper hand and we

01:51:06Were quicker than first up at the end of the day and I knew that we could be quicker than zonta

01:51:11So I didn't worry too much

01:51:15Back to mickey now, thank you gentlemen for your perseverance. He's live television. Um

01:51:19Mick I said before I mean do you think this day for the fry was a faster car compared to mclaren?

01:51:25I'm, sorry. Can you ask it? Do you believe today that michael had the faster car?

01:51:28He said the last couple of races that you had the faster car

01:51:33A little bit yes not much but enough

01:51:39Now when he came out from the uh the pit stop

01:51:42You actually then went despite the fact it's very very unlikely

01:51:44You're going to be able to catch up michael

01:51:45You actually went and put in a series of very quick laps including fastest lap of all. Why was that?

01:51:51well

01:51:52we made some modifications during pit stop and it made a balance of the car better, but

01:51:56not enough obviously and the gap was too much for michael, so

01:52:00It was impossible to really to catch him and also back markers was a couple of minorities was not

01:52:08Quite a pain, you know, they didn't let overtake so easily

01:52:10So I lost maybe two three seconds because of that but end of day that is not there's not

01:52:15excuse or anything, but

01:52:18And I believe that michael did not have no reason to anymore to push maximum anymore that time so

01:52:25So that was the situation

01:52:28Michael are you okay to go on?

01:52:31You are obviously very emotional about this why does this mean so much to you?

01:52:36Ask me another question, please

01:52:38Uh, perhaps we should just go straight the old languages for the uh, thank you very much for everybody guys

01:52:42Perhaps uh, but you've used something in german, please michael

01:53:03And mika

01:53:12Uh

01:53:43Foreign

01:53:48Thank you and finally ralph

01:54:13Foreign

01:54:22Gentlemen, thank you very much indeed. Thanks a lot

Formula-1 2000 R14 Italian Grand Prix

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