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F1 World
  • 18/05/2025
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Transcript
00:00the vital link between the dangers to be seen and the decision-making process of the brain
00:05the eyes are all important but how much more important are they when heavy rain falls on
00:09the race course as here at the grand prix of monaco today you'll see them running europe
00:14north america and south america and other continents around the world but today nature
00:18has thrown a question mark over the grand prix of monaco as you can see it's pouring rain despite
00:24that fact a hundred thousand people and more are gathered here good afternoon i'm jim mckay
00:29reporting from dockside really here in monte carlo this race does not exist in a vacuum that's the
00:35first thing i should point out it is one of a season-long series of racing called the grand prix
00:40circuit of the world this is the sixth race of the season and up to the point of today the team of
00:47tag mclaren seems to have a superiority over the others they're running one two on that post of
00:52france is in first place his teammate nikki lauda of austria is second let's bring in now our expert on
00:58this sport a man who is celebrating his 20th anniversary of his first victory in the streets
01:03of monte carlo that was the lesser race here the formula three race jackie stewart and gee it's a
01:08long time ago i was there it is jim it's very nostalgic for me to come back those 20 years later
01:14to be able to see the formula three race that took place yesterday on the same circuit and to have won
01:19this motor race three times the grand prix i look back with great pleasure it's it's a wonderful event
01:24so colorful so glamorous so exciting even on a day such as this the electricity in the air the people
01:31are so glamorous the hotel so nice the restaurant so grand it's really a little look over your
01:36shoulder towards the real past because it is an elegant race and there aren't any more in the
01:42world left just like this there certainly aren't now to business unlike in the united states they race
01:47in the rain no matter what here what kind of a difference is going to make what are the problems
01:51first of all it's extremely slippery situation keep in mind these are normal roads used by normal
01:56trucks and buses and cars during the year so there's oil slicks all the way around this racetrack
02:02that would not normally be on a race course like indianapolis or daytona so that's going to mean a lot
02:09of cars slipping and sliding however for the really smooth drivers people like nikki lauda with enormous
02:15experience i think you could see some or just masterful driving there are some young lions who are on
02:21their way up an opportunity to show themselves today but one thing for sure is that monaco in
02:25all the years that i've come here the weather does change and it's the fastest circuit in the world
02:30that i know at drying so if this rain were to stop we would be in a position to see a whole new
02:37motor race take place and there's a dimension there that is very interesting because the cars would then
02:41have to come in and change to dry tires well now jackie this is unusual they're watering down the tunnel
02:48so that the road surface will be the same inside the tunnel and out that's a new one on me certainly
02:52we'll see how it turns out now to sam posey he's in the pits this is a tire specially designed for
02:59running in conditions like this where the track is soaking wet with rain as you can see it has deep
03:04grooves leaving the water somewhere to go so that the tire will not aquaplane across the track it is also
03:10made of a very very soft compound so that when it does come in contact with the track it has exceptional
03:16stick these grooves act as a sort of centrifugal pump on this tire to pump the water off of the
03:23surface of it the result the cars going along will be followed by enormous rooster tails of spray
03:29which of course is going to limit visibility even more than it would be ordinarily now the problem
03:35here at monaco is that this track is notorious as the narrowest and twistiest most difficult of all
03:41tracks on which to overtake in fact kk rossberg told me yesterday put it quite succinctly i think
03:46he said overtaking isn't difficult here at monaco it's impossible and frankly in the opening laps
03:53with all that and the spray coming off the tires blinding the other drivers behind you i think this
03:59race may be among the most difficult ever run the car leaves the start finishing line and heads off
04:06towards the first con on the racetrack san devort then up a very fast part of the racetrack to the
04:11hotel de paris and then into the famous casino square down to the mirabeau to the old station
04:15here then and then to the mediterranean called the portian to the longer tunnel nowadays through the
04:20chicane into the tobacconist turn round the swimming pool turns to the rascasse then to the no gas and
04:25then back to the stark finishing line a tour of the course there's prince regnier much different from the
04:33the old days when princess grace was at his side they'll be racing around the harbor very soon now
04:38because they're on a final warm-up lap in the rain which is falling really about as hard as has fallen
04:44all afternoon here they are there's a lab post number seven the black car going by was nigel mansell
04:51who we decide him on the first row a field of 20 cars qualified from 27 cars that came here originally
04:58jackie this has to be a pretty tough situation you can see those rooster tails
05:02how in the world do you see anything out there well jim you really can't see uh it's no word
05:06of a lie that you can't see 30 or 40 meters in front of you and when you're doing 130 or 40 miles an
05:12hour that's a pretty impossible task visibility is almost impossible because the driver is so low
05:17in the racetrack and the spray so big all right i've mentioned that lf post is the pole sitter here
05:22at number seven the tag mclaren next to him the black car will be nigel mansell a john clare special in
05:28the second row we'll have the two ferraris of renee ardu number 28 and vikere alvoreto in number 27 in
05:35the third row it will be the two renault cards number 16 derek warwick of great britain and number 15
05:43patrick tombai of france then in the fourth row and this is important we have number eight
05:48nikki lauda of austria second at the moment in the battle for the world championship to his teammate
05:53a left pro we should expect him to move up now remember points are awarded in this fashion the
05:59winner of the race will receive nine points second place six points then four three two one only the
06:06first six finishers to receive points in the year-long battle for the world championship there you see
06:11mantle on the right of your screen number 12 again rose to the red and white car number seven the noise
06:17level increasing they should go any time now any time there's the red light watch for the green there
06:25they go they're racing in the rain in monte carlo the reno it's a yellow white car almost an
06:33incident there right off right on the start and we've got one car stopped if the current world champion
06:40nelson kikai did not get his car started with being pushed and there we've got a shot already not even
06:47into the first hill we've got number two both renos are out yep yep warwick is out the yellow and white
06:53car there that's him stepping out of the car he's hurt his leg hurt his left leg or knee and of course
06:59he was lying third in the world championship so that's a serious situation i suspect they may well
07:04perhaps stop this at this the end of this lap if they can't clear all of the cars away although we've
07:09seen in previous years they're very good at that alan cross got a healthy lead over mansell yeah there
07:15they are going through what used to be the railroad station turn now it's closed hotel they'll be
07:19going down taking that right turn and now headed for the sea headed for the mediterranean they'll
07:23take another right turn here and then go into the tunnel there's another driver being taken off that's
07:28tombai so both reno drivers appear to be injured at least some in his legs looks like they're in pretty
07:34bad shape from what you can tell obviously you can't stand up there go the two leaders through the tunnel for
07:38the first time and now along the seawall you can see how hard it's raining here a little bit in this
07:44shot the rooster tail behind post he comes through the chicane for the first time and then just behind
07:49him mansell now here come the two ferraris our new first and they are alberto they're headed for the
07:53tobacconist turn quite tentatively through the chicane that first lap now they're going through the
07:57tobacconist corner we're high above the cars here so you really can't see the spray as the drivers see it but
08:03it's very dense at this stage alan cross seems to have had his lead narrow the nails warring
08:08derrick warring he seems to be perfectly all right pointing across the track he seems perfectly good
08:13that limp seems to have been no great problem for him but they're now going past the start finishing
08:18line at the end of the first lap yellow flag still flashing but they've cleared the racetrack
08:22tremendously jim understand tombai will be taken to the hospital we'll be back helicopter based aboard a
08:30yacht stavros nearchos's yacht marked here in the harbor of monte carlo it's got priceless works of
08:37art in the stateroom you've been on that yacht a magnificent yacht just a great example probably the
08:42finest yacht in the world this one here is just another yacht that has all the luxury and all the
08:47trimmings that that people love to have that go to nice places flowers everywhere every yacht seems to
08:52be flooded with flowers some florist must be making a fortune this weekend look at this how's this for a
08:58dining room aboard ship this is the the yacht of mansa roger and aziz yosier that's the young man
09:03you see there uh they are involved with the tag mclaren team it's their engine and that's manso along
09:09with me on board the the the board a magnificent yacht that of course was earlier on when the sun
09:16shone bright on the old monaco home away from home right now the rain still pouring down pro still
09:22leading but nikki lauda has moved ahead of alberto on ferrari and he's closing in on our new
09:30keep in mind that you've got to go over zebra crossings or pedestrian crossings you're looking
09:34at one right now and the paint is much slippier than the actual black top of the road surface
09:41now there's louder really within striking distance of ardu he's really of course arnu with all the spray
09:46he'll only get the occasional glimpse of louder but of course the marshals will be showing a blue flag
09:52from time to time around the track blue means that you may have to move over there's a car in close
09:58proximity who may be trying to pass so flag marshalling here in monaco at a high standard normally
10:03you may well be seeing a blue flag very soon flying along the seawall into the chicane now coming up
10:09right here a little switch left and right just a flick jim very difficult indeed and look at the spray
10:15there you can hardly see loudy behind he can hardly see ardu in front
10:21as we look down at the car the spray does not look as bad but if you're low on the ground
10:26it's extraordinarily bad the most treacherous nerve-wracking and dangerous conditions that
10:30we ever drive on it used to terrify me it's a virtual rooster tail as in a gold cup powerboat you
10:37can see it just then well in fact in a lot of cases you're following the wheel tracks of the car in front
10:42that is your direction and he'd best be going the right way exactly but if he does go the wrong
10:48way in the faster part of the circuit where they're now entering you really are depending on that man
10:53doing the right thing nikki lauda making a bid to move into third place in the grand prix of monaco
11:00there they go on the home straight now taking the right turn that's where the accident was right there
11:05on the first lap involving the two venos and there goes the blue flag there's the blue flag here he
11:10comes what i think he allowed up moving from eighth place to third place on a race course where
11:18overtaking of passing another car is more difficult i suppose than any course in the world very difficult
11:23indeed he has to find a place where he can see and he pulled out he couldn't stay in the draft because
11:29slipstreaming is of no benefit here but he had to stay out where he could see
11:33what a story of nikki lauda of austria twice world champion came back from an accident with which he
11:39was terribly burned came back the same season and back and now with 21 grand prix all-time wins
11:44is within six of jackie stewart's record tremendous jackie talked to him you must look back and
11:54ask yourself many questions about your past racing career what does it look like to you now looking back
12:00i tell you the but the mclaren teammates are still one two in this race and in the world championship
12:08each of them has won two races so far this year sam posi has some thoughts on that in most sports the
12:14word teammate means somebody who's on your side an ally in the world of grand prix racing your teammate
12:21may be your bitterest enemy look at it this way suppose you're beaten by a driver from another team it may
12:27be that he had the better car but if you're beaten by your own teammate you've got to admit he was just
12:32the better man and in this world of superheated egos and inflated salaries for the very top men
12:39you don't ever want to have to admit that now look at the races it's proceeding right now nikki lauda
12:46alain pros both driving for the same team team mclaren they each have designs on the world championship
12:53and you can bet that at this stage of the race what they most want in this race is to beat the
12:59other man their own teammates jackie how much does a top driver make in this sport well louder would
13:05make about three and a half million dollars which is a lot more than his american college because it's
13:09multinational car companies involved in grand prix racing well right now he's being pushed look here
13:14comes senna young senator of brazil uh yes yes he's passed vicky lauda senna is a second place in the
13:21race a very positive move from a very young driver he was in formula three last year jim he always
13:27dominated in the sport last year in formula three racing he's adapted in very difficult conditions here
13:33in montecal to pass a master this could be quite a story as he moves in a lap rose the leader
13:43the rain continues to fall at the same rate in monte carlo and now the battle for third is closing in
13:49on jacques lafitte there goes nikki lauda passed him in car number eight now lafitte is a lap down so
13:54don't worry about him that yellow and white car but there goes our new and there is bellof just behind
13:59him a three-way battle for third place in the range of the move over flag being given there
14:08now here they come nikki lauda and here is our new passing the slower car and just behind him bellof
14:16well this is tough stuff because there's a turn right there bellof tucking in behind playing it safe
14:22yeah bell off is now taking him going up the hill which is a brave move he did that very maturely for
14:27his age and his experience he came out of the spray and picked lafitte off very carefully
14:33arnaud pushing very hard now he's certainly oh and there's somebody spin that nikki lauda spun
14:38off yes there he is right in front of the hotel the barry and cartier jewelry so he hasn't he hasn't
14:43kept his engine running and that's a big problem for him now because unless he has
14:49or is a hazard no he's going to push the car himself he knows the regulations
14:55don't just oh he's giving it up giving it up he's giving it up he's giving it up he's giving it up so
14:59lauda is out of the battle for third place we now have when they are now that pros leading the race
15:05as he has been young airton center in second place are new of ferrari in third place and then young
15:13bell off young mr bell off of germany stefan bell up at age 26. the race going on as they push him
15:20past the jewelry store nikki lauda could have been pushed away there and perhaps restarted that engine
15:26but the regulations definitely only says that's possible if he's a hazard to safety and i don't
15:31believe he was in that case but it could have been that nikki did have a mechanical problem in that car and
15:36knew it and therefore just switched off the electrics and walked away but he did lose the back end about
15:41there really the back end came round and nikki did not hit the barrier at all that's what leads me
15:47to believe there may be something else wrong with this car because he just got out of it and closed
15:52the office no question about that so the standings now we have two real world-class veterans running
15:59first and third in frost there and are new but running with them in second and fourth two young turks
16:05on the world grand prix circuit senna of brazil and stefan bell off of germany a fascinating race in
16:11the rain more to come of course and we'll be back right now we're going to go to al michaels live at
16:17the united states outdoor track and field championships in sanos sun was shining earlier this week monte carlo
16:23you know seems to be modeled after someone's favorite dream the harbor the castle on top of the ancient
16:28rock of monaco earlier the ferraris and rolls royces pulled up to the hotel de paris in greater numbers
16:33than the taxi cab the jewelry on the women well it out dazzles the jewelry in the stores here really
16:40it's dreamlike all right but even more so today as they battle through the streets in the rain
16:45the standings well pro still leads in the mclaren followed by senna of brazil then renee are new in
16:51the ferrari and in fourth place stefan bella who came from dead last in the starting grid
16:57here is the battle for third place in the race the red car the ferrari of renee or new the french driver
17:01being pursued by the young german bella bellof in the zero car the team that jackie stewart
17:08drove the world championships on if it had been dry here it would have been difficult for them to
17:13be competitive because they're the only what they call normally aspirated car in the race but tell us
17:19the story now jackie the situation changes in the rain well because the rain and the slippery conditions
17:24and bellof is trying to duck in going up the hill can he do it no renee i know he's using all of the
17:29roads stefan bellof will have to have patience here arnu is not the easiest man to pass in his
17:34ferrari the ferrari probably has more than 700 horsepower to play with the tiro car with the
17:42ford cosworth engine is running only with about 500 horsepower but that 200 horsepower advantage of
17:48the ferrari is washed away because he can't apply that power to the slippery road conditions so really
17:55we're seeing the turtle car a lot more flexible because a turbo engine doesn't respond as
18:01instantaneously as a normally aspirated engine in slippery wet conditions for that matter in any
18:08condition so it's a smoother power application for young bellof who i have to say jim is driving with
18:15great maturity now they're in the comparatively dry area of the tunnel perhaps the ferrari should have
18:20a short advantage at that point now they're out of it again into the chicane there comes arnu and
18:26stefan bellof so few places really that you can pass on this circuit and particularly with the spray
18:34i say again you you know it's difficult looking from a high position as we are now to appreciate
18:39the difficulty and visibility for for senna right now he's he's down at the track level with his head just
18:46bellow you can see it there almost impossible to see the rear of a car in front this is the slowest
18:55part of the circuit here going around the restaurant and then another tight right hand turn here that
19:00leads to the home straight and patrese out of the cars patrese well that's a good break for those who
19:07have been laughing he's been sort of a problem on the race course and now here they come into this
19:15tight right hander this is where the renos crashed on the first lap there it's time to make the move
19:20coming up the hill and the move over flag being given to arnu but no he's holding his position i prophesy
19:28that if bello passes arnu he will drive away from him he will be much faster on the track and he will
19:35then go after senna which could indeed be quite a challenge for him here he's going to try on the
19:41inside go down to the mirror for he's going to do it but no he's not oh i know he's moving right over
19:48on him and he made it very well he made it oh a remarkable fan not being helped at all by mr arnu i have
19:54to tell you well bellof was right up on the curb and as you said that's not the place you want to
19:58be in the rain no it's not the place you want to be but there you look out and you watch he'll draw
20:03away now jim you'll see him straight away he will take advantage here's the pass again jim coming down
20:08to the mirror ball he took bell off took the inside to the corner arnu started to move over as you can see
20:14now knowing that he's there then he realizes and look he's right up on the sidewalk right up in the curb
20:20he stayed with it arnu had to go out and he made his pass i'm sure they had contact there would be
20:25kissing wheels going around there no easy move when in the future those two meet on the racing circuits
20:32of the world arnu will know that the young man doesn't give very easily no and that's a very
20:38important psychological effect i can assure you which is used from time to time so now we've set the
20:44situation as far as third place is concerned remember we still have prost in the lead up front
20:50and young senna behind him in the blue rain gear that's jackie icks once known as the most proficient
20:55rain driver in formula one now race director here in conference and for a good reason it's raining
21:01harder than it has rained all day long in the streets of monte carlo conceivably this race could be stopped
21:06that very seldom happens in grand prix formula one motor racing but it could happen if the danger is just
21:11too great that was the leader that went through 27 there's a back market car but look at this number 19
21:16that is airton senna a 24 year old driver from brazil in second place and closing in on the leader
21:23closing in at the rate of about four seconds there's the red flag they're going to stop the race
21:27the end of the race if and well it could be resumed of course could be resumed jackie and if so they would
21:34be on the starting grid in the order in which they stood on the lap previous to the one on which the red flag
21:40was put out there however is the leader perhaps the winner of the race a lap approach in a mclaren
21:48now you're seeing conditions that are absolutely abysmal they are very heavy you could have got
21:53aquaplaning you could have had a major accident the clerk of the course enormously experienced
21:59jackie ix i would have to respect his judgment in this he's earned that position he made the decision
22:05in the interest of safety and you can't complain about that oh and now they're holding a checkered
22:12flag i would assume that means that the race is over the race is finished a lap post has won the
22:19grand prix of monte carlo however there will not be full points awarded they will only have half points
22:25in other words rather than nine points per victory he will get four and a half points but that will
22:29increase his season-long lead for the world championship there's young senna of brazil with
22:34his hand in the air a happy young man because he finished second in this grand prix now the reason
22:40that they only get half points is that they only completed 31 out of a scheduled 78 laps the rule says
22:47that you must complete at least three quarters of the scheduled laps or two hours in time for full world
22:53championship points to be awarded here's another look at the crash of nigel mansell losing it coming
22:58up the sand of old hill and knocking himself out of competition and out of the league he had just taken
23:03the lead from a lap rose to france from here on it was all pro race mansell with the wing askew
23:09in the rear of his car simply couldn't continue at this point in fact one of his tires was flat the
23:14right rear tire was flat as jackie indicated at the time he was driving through instinct he was out of it
23:21but uh still the race driver kept going kept going until pros came along passed him on the inside
23:27and took the lead again now here is jackie with the winner did the checkered flag and the red flag
23:34come perhaps too late or did you feel the decision was correct at that moment i think it's the best
23:39decision i have never seen in a formula one i think it's uh it's very safe and uh it's too too much
23:46rain too it's too wet now and it was very dangerous to follow the rest like that do you think the
23:51decision might have come a few laps earlier or is it at the correct time no i think it's the correct
23:56time because you can have a very big shower for one or two laps and after a stop i think it's now
24:01you see it's uh it's finished you know we can restart and it was a very good decision at the right
24:06moment and the right moment for me too well now jackie's moving over to jackie icks the race director
24:12a man who won the 24 hours of le mans five times in his driving career jackie a very big decision for
24:19you as director of the course to stop the race something that i'm sure you didn't take lightly
24:25i guess it's not an easy decision for the clerk of the course and it's even more difficult if you have
24:33to decide with people eventually who doesn't know what is to drive a formula one car on the wet
24:38having that experience and having uh followed the first 30 laps of the race and having that big
24:44shower of water i just felt it was just the right point to stop the race and trying to avoid
24:50a major problem so i felt as being also not only an organizer but also a race driver
24:57and i think this decision was the right one a good decision thank you
25:01well the raindrops keep falling on his head but the champagne shower is what's important to alain
25:07prost of france driving for the british team mclaren he has won his third grand prix race of the 1984
25:13season now here are the top six finishers with the points awarded remember they got only half points
25:19because of the four shortened race today as for the season-long grand prix standing well prost has
25:25lengthened his lead over his teammate nicky lauda for first place and our new has taken sole
25:30possession a third from derrick warwick we're told that patrick tombai involved in the crash in the
25:35first turn of the race has suffered a stress fracture of his left leg so this is jim mckay with jackie
25:40for the u.s outdoor track and field championship