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  • 18/05/2025
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Transcript
00:00:00Welcome to round 5 of the 1984 Formula One World Championship and Dijon, the little French track
00:00:08high above the town that's in the centre of the region that produces that wonderful burgundy wine.
00:00:14The French Grand Prix alternates between this circuit here at Dijon and the Paul Ricard circuit.
00:00:19Dijon, tight, hilly, lots of corners, only 2.4 miles, but this very long straight
00:00:25where the field are assembling now before the start of a 79-lap race.
00:00:30We had torrential rain in practice yesterday, so it was Friday's practice time
00:00:35which put this man, Patrick Tambay, and the French Renault on pole position.
00:00:40France and Renault have had a very good record for the French Grand Prix,
00:00:45and although Patrick Tambay has had less luck so far this season than his team-mate Derek Warrick,
00:00:50he was very quick on Friday, quicker indeed than this man, Elio de Angelis,
00:00:54also using the Renault engine, although of course he drives a Lotus, the Italian de Angelis' second quickest.
00:01:00Here's the reigning world champion who's having such a bad year so far, the little Brazilian Nelson Piquet.
00:01:06Always cheerful, but surely soon he must score his first points of the season and break his duck.
00:01:12And Keke Rosberg, a man who likes Dijon because it was here that he scored his first Grand Prix victory
00:01:18in the year that scored him the world championship title.
00:01:22Honda engine, of course, in the British Williams.
00:01:25Alain Prost, the current world championship leader, with the very fast, very reliable McLaren.
00:01:31Not quite so quick in practice here on Friday, but nevertheless a man who wants to beat Renault on his home ground
00:01:37because they're the team that he was fired from at the end of last year.
00:01:41And here's the other Lotus driver, Britain's Nigel Mansell,
00:01:45another man who has yet to score a championship point this year, but surely soon his luck must change.
00:01:52So, the whole 26 car field lined up on this long straight at Dijon
00:01:57because although it's a twisty circuit round the back, uphill and down, with hairpins and tight corners,
00:02:03the circuit also has this very long straight, and in practice, in qualifying trim,
00:02:08the cars were just touching 200 miles an hour at the end of this long straight
00:02:13before the double right-hand downhill corner of Ville Roy.
00:02:19So, Patrick Tambay leads the field away in Renault number 15,
00:02:23Elio de Angelis follows behind in Lotus number 11.
00:02:26Both of these cars, of course, using the V6 Renault engine.
00:02:29Then it's Nelson Piquet with the Brabham BMW,
00:02:32Keke Rosberg with the Williams Honda,
00:02:35Championship leader Alain Prost with the McLaren.
00:02:38There was Derek Warwick with the second Renault.
00:02:40The rest of the field following through, but behind Prost on the grid, it's Nigel Mansell in the second Lotus.
00:02:46Then we get Warwick, back in seventh place on the grid,
00:02:49and Winkelhock, who was quick again in practice with the BMW-powered ATS from Germany.
00:02:55Mickey Lauda is ninth on the grid with the Marlboro McLaren,
00:02:59and alongside him, Michele Alboreto in the fastest of the two Ferraris,
00:03:03so Ferraris not showing so well in practice here.
00:03:06Then it's Ayrton Senna, very quick in the new Toleman Hart,
00:03:10the latest car from the little British firm,
00:03:12and Thierry Bootsen with the BMW-powered Arrows.
00:03:16Then it's Patrese and Cheever in the two Alfa Romeos,
00:03:19Fabi in the second Brabham, Ciacotto in the second Toleman Hart.
00:03:2226 cars in all. There is the red light, the green will start the race.
00:03:26There is the green, and Piquet moves very quickly.
00:03:30Piquet comes through on the outside, on the other side of the road,
00:03:33Rosberg going all the way alongside the grid,
00:03:35but briefly, de Angelis leads before Patrick Tambay squeezes between the Lotus and the Brabham.
00:03:42I think it's Tambay in the lead, it is! Tambay has made a break.
00:03:45Tambay leads in the Renault, front pole position, a slowish start,
00:03:49but once he got 700 horsepower of Renault power through onto the tarmac, he went ahead.
00:03:54De Angelis is second, Nigel Mansell has made a very good start up to third place,
00:03:58so it's Lotus' second and third, it's Renault leading.
00:04:01Keke Rosberg is up there somewhere, so is the Brabham of Piquet,
00:04:06but it's Tambay who leads.
00:04:08Patrick Tambay coming through the upper section now,
00:04:11coming down towards the long, long right-hand downhill corner.
00:04:16The Claude de Pouas, Renault, Lotus, Lotus.
00:04:20It is Rosberg in fourth place in the Williams,
00:04:22Piquet is there in fifth place,
00:04:24and sixth, it looks like Derek Warwick in the second Renault.
00:04:28So, three Renault engines in the first three places,
00:04:31Tambay leads, De Angelis leads, Mansell leads,
00:04:35Rosberg as they come to complete the first of 79 laps,
00:04:38and Tambay is getting away.
00:04:40And Warwick is challenging Piquet, Piquet on the inside, Warwick on the outside,
00:04:45Warwick goes round the outside on the entry to Villeroy,
00:04:48Alain Prost is just behind them, Tambay still the leader.
00:04:52This is the second lap, and Tambay trying to make an early break.
00:04:57Through the long downhill left-hander at Savillière,
00:05:01on to the uphill parabolic hairpin,
00:05:04there's one of the Ferraris well down,
00:05:06there is Niki Lauda coming through,
00:05:08in fact, Niki Lauda stuck there behind the ATS of Winkelhock,
00:05:14the rest of the field storming through,
00:05:16but at the front, the Lotus is in second and third places,
00:05:20Nigel Mansell going very strongly indeed,
00:05:23has closed up with his teammate Elio De Angelis,
00:05:26Rosberg now under threat from Derek Warwick,
00:05:30and Prost is threatening the Brabham of Piquet just in front of him,
00:05:35there goes Prost, Prost challenging Piquet,
00:05:37can't make it, Piquet shuts the door,
00:05:40McLaren number seven has to hang back,
00:05:42and there's a Ferrari behind Prost,
00:05:44that is Michele Alboreto who has also come through,
00:05:47this tight, twisting, hilly Dijon circuit,
00:05:50showing lots of excitement for us,
00:05:53as it has every time there's been a World Championship Grand Prix here.
00:05:57Here's Arnoux in the second Ferrari,
00:05:59Senna, Bootson, Theo Fabi, and the two Alphas,
00:06:03then there's Martin Brundle in the Cosworth-powered Tyrrell,
00:06:08going well in midfield,
00:06:10and there's Patrick Tambay going very well indeed at the front of the field,
00:06:14and still building up a bit more of a cushion on every lap,
00:06:18from the two Lotuses in second and third places,
00:06:21in fact De Angelis under real threat now from his own teammate Nigel Mansell,
00:06:25I wonder what will happen here,
00:06:27is Mansell going to be able to find a way past,
00:06:29and Warwick has moved up into fourth place,
00:06:32it's now Warwick fourth,
00:06:33and look at the battle going on behind Warwick,
00:06:35as Mansell challenges De Angelis,
00:06:37and Prost coming through,
00:06:38Prost all the way up the inside,
00:06:40tries to force his way past Nelson Piquet,
00:06:42can't do it,
00:06:43but the Williams there,
00:06:45dropping back of Rosberg,
00:06:48a wonderful battle going on among the upper positions,
00:06:51look at this trio here,
00:06:53it's Piquet, it's Prost, it's Rosberg,
00:06:57the three of them together chasing Derek Warwick,
00:06:59who's the new fourth man,
00:07:01Renault-powered cars first, second, third, and fourth,
00:07:03a BMW-powered car is fifth,
00:07:05up the hill the tag-turbo-powered McLaren is sixth,
00:07:09the McLaren is sixth of Alain Prost,
00:07:12and there is Derek Warwick in fourth place now.
00:07:17Warwick, who had a slightly unhappy time in practice,
00:07:20he broke the turbo on his favourite race car on Friday,
00:07:25had to do most of his practice and qualifying in the spare car,
00:07:29and announced this morning,
00:07:31the first time he got into the race car after its rebuild,
00:07:34that he wasn't happy with it,
00:07:35but he's going very well indeed now,
00:07:37there's the second and third place Lotuses,
00:07:39here's Warwick, with Prost coming past,
00:07:43now surely Prost does it,
00:07:45Prost forces his way past the Brabham of Piquet,
00:07:49so now the charging Alain Prost,
00:07:52the man who has already won two Grands Prix's this year,
00:07:56the man who is leading the World Championship,
00:07:58is moving up the field very, very fast indeed,
00:08:02Renault first, Lotus second, Lotus third,
00:08:05Renault fourth, McLaren fifth, and Brabham sixth,
00:08:08they're the two black Lotuses,
00:08:10wait for Warwick, there is Warwick,
00:08:12and look how Prost has closed on Warwick already,
00:08:18on through the Gorgiol, the Virage de la Combe,
00:08:23this long, downhill Combe de Pouas,
00:08:27which is so important if you're going to get maximum speed
00:08:30on the long straight that follows it,
00:08:31and Prost now challenging Derek Warwick.
00:08:35Up the hill, fifth gear,
00:08:37up to 190 miles an hour at the end of this straight,
00:08:40and out of the slipstream comes the McLaren,
00:08:43they're side by side alongside the pits,
00:08:45the Renault still nosing ahead,
00:08:47but now as they brake for the corner,
00:08:49the McLaren goes through, Derek Warwick has to give best,
00:08:52and Alain Prost makes another place up,
00:08:55Alain Prost is now fourth.
00:09:00Meanwhile, Lauda in the other McLaren
00:09:02is now challenging Nelson Piquet,
00:09:04there they are, Warwick at the front of that little queue,
00:09:07we see it again, this is Prost going past Warwick,
00:09:10behind them you can see the white Brabham of Piquet
00:09:13with the challenging red and white McLaren of Niki Lauda,
00:09:17so the McLarens, both of them moving up,
00:09:20Prost gets by Warwick, Lauda doesn't get by Piquet,
00:09:24oh, and that's Alboreto, right off,
00:09:26Alboreto spins hard on the brakes,
00:09:28he gathers it all together, he's lost,
00:09:30well, one place he's let to Rosberg by there,
00:09:33his own team mate René Arloux has gone by,
00:09:36so problems for Alboreto, but he's back in the race,
00:09:39and still problems for Niki Lauda
00:09:41in finding a way past Nelson Piquet,
00:09:43there's Prost, Warwick now leading Piquet and Lauda,
00:09:49and Warwick is coming under a lot of pressure from the Brabham,
00:09:52the Brabham's under pressure from the McLaren,
00:09:54and there's another Renault still at the head of the field,
00:09:57because it's still Renault first for Tambay,
00:10:00Lotus second for the Angeles, Lotus third for Mansell,
00:10:04Alain Prost closing on Mansell in fourth place,
00:10:07this is the battle you're seeing now for fifth,
00:10:10eighth now is René Arloux's Ferrari,
00:10:13ninth is the Williams of Keke Rosberg,
00:10:16after that spin Michele Alboreto is tenth,
00:10:19and Ayrton Senna, still going well in the Toleman,
00:10:23is eleventh in twelfth place,
00:10:24we've got Theo Fabi in the other Brabham.
00:10:28Down the hill once more to the long Cours de Poisse,
00:10:32Warwick pulling away just a fraction from Nelson Piquet,
00:10:36because Piquet, as well as wanting to attack in front,
00:10:38is having to defend from behind,
00:10:40because he's got Niki Lauda on his tail.
00:10:42Nigel Mansell has a McLaren on his tail,
00:10:44it's Alain Prost, Tambay,
00:10:47de Angelis, Mansell, and Prost,
00:10:50that's the first four,
00:10:52and Tambay having built up this little cushion,
00:10:55about 1.7 seconds last time we put the stopwatch on it,
00:10:58I don't think that cushion's getting any more,
00:11:00because the pressure being applied by Alain Prost,
00:11:04who surely is the fastest man on the track at the moment,
00:11:07is closing up this leading quartet,
00:11:09Mansell now having Prost looking at him one side,
00:11:12then the other, Prost looks at the inside
00:11:14as they go into the tight parabolic hairpin,
00:11:16but up the hill, the Lotus pulls away,
00:11:20and nothing wrong with the power of Nigel Mansell's Renault engine,
00:11:24both of these cars with V6 twin turbocharged engines,
00:11:28one developed by Renault, one developed by Porsche,
00:11:32and a twitch there for de Angelis,
00:11:34de Angelis trying very hard indeed,
00:11:36Mansell has let de Angelis go,
00:11:38because he's got his hands full holding off Alain Prost,
00:11:41the current championship leader.
00:11:44Behind them, Derek Warwick still holding off
00:11:47Nelson Piquet and Mickey Lauda.
00:11:50Once again, the leading quartet,
00:11:52behind them, Derek Warwick breasts the brow,
00:11:55with still the Brabham and the McLaren on his tail,
00:11:59and behind them, it's the Ferrari of René Arnoux.
00:12:05Through the twisting Sablier section,
00:12:09Lauda looking for gaps all the time,
00:12:12Warwick, Piquet and Lauda.
00:12:15That's the three-car battle for fifth place,
00:12:17it's a four-car battle for the lead now,
00:12:19because Tambay is being caught by de Angelis,
00:12:23Mansell and Prost are as close as they could possibly be,
00:12:26and once again, it's McLaren making all the running in this Grand Prix.
00:12:31Remember, of the four Grand Prix's we've had so far this year,
00:12:34McLaren have won three of them,
00:12:36and McLaren, having not featured so well in practice,
00:12:39having been fairly well done on the grid,
00:12:41have been making all the pace from the start.
00:12:43Tambay, de Angelis, Mansell, Prost,
00:12:47then the group behind...
00:12:48Oh, and Lauda charges!
00:12:49Lauda charges up the inside of Nelson Piquet.
00:12:53Piquet, once again, firmly shuts the door,
00:12:56but in all of that excitement,
00:12:58that's allowed Derek Warwick to get away a bit.
00:13:00Piquet had to slam the door in Mickey Lauda's face.
00:13:03The Ferrari of René Arnoux is not far behind Lauda,
00:13:07but Lauda absolutely determined to get past Nelson Piquet.
00:13:11Lauda definitely being held up now.
00:13:13And it's these two McLarens that are making all the pushing,
00:13:16through the Parabolic, up the hill.
00:13:20Behind the trees, over the brow,
00:13:25Warwick, Piquet and Lauda.
00:13:29Arnoux still eighth with the Ferrari,
00:13:32Rosberg is still ninth with the Williams,
00:13:34and Alboreto's tenth with the second Ferrari.
00:13:36Favre is Brabham.
00:13:38Brabham, number two, is eleventh.
00:13:40And Senna, still going well in that new Toleman, is twelfth.
00:13:43Battles all the way down.
00:13:44This is lap ten.
00:13:45They're already with the backmarkers.
00:13:47That is Jonathan Palmer's Ram being lapped.
00:13:50Past goes Mansell, past goes Prost.
00:13:53It doesn't seem to have held any of them up,
00:13:55but on this circuit, it's tight, it's quite narrow,
00:13:59and despite that long straight,
00:14:00I think we could be seeing quite a lot of problems
00:14:03for some of the backmarkers.
00:14:04Look at Lauda trying the outside.
00:14:06Lauda trying both sides almost at once for Piquet.
00:14:10Piquet doesn't know which side to shut the door next.
00:14:13Lauda on the inside now, Lauda alongside,
00:14:15and Lauda all the way round the outside now
00:14:18of the downhill left-hander,
00:14:20and Piquet could do absolutely nothing about that.
00:14:23Piquet, in fact, has fallen well back.
00:14:25We see it again.
00:14:26Lauda, having been worrying the back of the Brabham like a terrier,
00:14:30gets easily alongside
00:14:32before the left-hand downhill curve of Sablier.
00:14:38And that's Beloff.
00:14:39That's Stefan Beloff parking the Tyrrell,
00:14:43and we've got Piquet coming in.
00:14:45Smoke from the left-hand side of the Brabham.
00:14:48That's where the turbocharger is.
00:14:49In fact, there's real smoke.
00:14:51Beloff out of the car.
00:14:52Obviously, some mechanical retirement.
00:14:54He simply drove it off, but look at Piquet.
00:14:57Piquet's car is well and truly on fire.
00:15:00Obviously, a turbocharger failure.
00:15:02They've got the fire extinguishers on the car.
00:15:04Piquet gets out fairly leisurely.
00:15:07But once again, the world champion,
00:15:10the reigning world champion, Nelson Piquet,
00:15:12is out of the race.
00:15:13He's still scored no points at all,
00:15:15but look at Prost.
00:15:16Prost is after more points.
00:15:18Prost is tucked in behind Nigel Mansell.
00:15:20He's alongside.
00:15:21Mansell closed the door on the right.
00:15:24Prost said,
00:15:25no problem.
00:15:26I'll go to the left.
00:15:27And he drove all the way around the outside of Mansell.
00:15:30And now, so Alain Prost's progress up the field
00:15:33has taken him to third place.
00:15:35De Angelis still second.
00:15:37There's De Angelis going out of the corner on the replay.
00:15:39Mansell clinging to the right-hand side of the road.
00:15:42Prost going all the way down the outside,
00:15:45leaving his braking as late as possible.
00:15:47So Tambay leads.
00:15:49De Angelis second.
00:15:50Prost is now third and charging.
00:15:54Nigel Mansell demoted to fourth.
00:15:56Derek Warwick is still fifth.
00:15:59But not for long, I think,
00:16:01because the McLaren No. 8
00:16:04is emulating its teammate No. 7
00:16:06and is moving up.
00:16:08There is the leader, Tambay.
00:16:10But Lauda is with Warwick.
00:16:12Lauda is past Warwick, down the straight.
00:16:14Niki Lauda passes Derek Warwick
00:16:16and moves up now into fifth place.
00:16:19So it's Renault first.
00:16:22It's Lotus second.
00:16:24It's McLaren third.
00:16:25There is the battle for second and third places.
00:16:28And it's now in fourth place.
00:16:31Nigel Mansell in fifth place.
00:16:33Niki Lauda.
00:16:35And down to sixth place goes Derek Warwick.
00:16:37Renault's first and sixth.
00:16:40It's all about Renault's, Lotus's and McLaren's
00:16:43in the first six of this race.
00:16:45And Alain Prost is closing, closing all the time
00:16:48on Lotus No. 11 of Elio De Angelis.
00:16:51Down the straight.
00:16:52There goes Tambay, No. 15.
00:16:54That's the leader.
00:16:55There are No. 11 and No. 7,
00:16:57the battling second-place men.
00:16:59And there comes Lauda already.
00:17:01Lauda is already up to Mansell.
00:17:04Lauda is past Mansell indeed.
00:17:06It's now McLaren's third and fourth.
00:17:09And I think that Alain Prost wants that second place.
00:17:12That's the order at the end of 15 laps.
00:17:14We're a lap ahead of that now,
00:17:16with Mansell demoted by Lauda.
00:17:18Warwick still there in sixth place.
00:17:20Tambay, of course, still the leader.
00:17:23This is the battle for second.
00:17:26Elio De Angelis of Italy.
00:17:28Alain Prost of France.
00:17:31This long straight is where Prost has got to do it.
00:17:33He's got to get tucked in behind that Lotus
00:17:35and use the slipstream to tow.
00:17:37He does.
00:17:38De Angelis could do absolutely nothing about it.
00:17:40The McLaren goes all the way around the outside
00:17:43and into the curve of Villeroy.
00:17:46And the McLaren is ahead.
00:17:47It's McLaren second.
00:17:48It's Lotus demoted to third.
00:17:50So, Patrick Tambay, still the leader.
00:17:53Alain Prost, the new second place man for McLaren.
00:17:56Elio De Angelis is now third.
00:17:58And we see it again.
00:17:59An absolutely straightforward manoeuvre.
00:18:01He's as close to the back of that Lotus as he can be.
00:18:03And he uses the suck of the slipstream
00:18:06to help his 700-horsepower McLaren on its way past.
00:18:10Meanwhile, the leader is right up
00:18:13with a gaggle of back markers.
00:18:15And that's going to help Alain Prost as well.
00:18:18Prost shaving the circuit,
00:18:20cutting every corner as tight as he possibly can.
00:18:23They've got the Ghinzani Osella to pass.
00:18:26The Baldi spirit has just been passed by the leader.
00:18:30There goes Tambay to...
00:18:33In fact, he doesn't get past Ghinzani there.
00:18:36And that has delayed Patrick Tambay quite a bit.
00:18:39And Alain Prost is right up behind the white spirit of Baldi,
00:18:43which also has to be lapped.
00:18:45The blue flags are waving from the marshals
00:18:47to tell Ghinzani he's got the leader behind him
00:18:49and he's delaying him.
00:18:50And now Ghinzani does stay out of the way.
00:18:53Baldi, having his own little race, makes up space there.
00:18:56Tries to get up with Ghinzani.
00:18:58And Alain Prost simply has to sit there and wait.
00:19:02Alain Prost stuck behind those two slower cars.
00:19:05So Tambay now gets a bit of respite.
00:19:08There's the blue flag waving from the marshals.
00:19:11But now only does Niki Lauda get past Baldi.
00:19:14He's still got Ghinzani to pass.
00:19:16And that has helped Patrick Tambay to break away just a little bit.
00:19:21Meanwhile, fourth man Lauda is right up to third man de Angelis.
00:19:26That is one of the rams coming into the pits.
00:19:28It's Jonathan Palmer.
00:19:30Alain Prost being credited there with the fastest lap of the race so far.
00:19:34Prost gets past Ghinzani
00:19:36and now has a clear piece of road between himself and the leader.
00:19:40There is René Arnoux, who himself is charging up to Derek Warwick.
00:19:45So Renault's under pressure.
00:19:48Renault leader under pressure from Alain Prost.
00:19:51Derek Warwick further down under pressure from the Ferrari of René Arnoux.
00:19:57And that's the ATS.
00:19:59You might have seen a glimpse of it coming out of the pits earlier.
00:20:02Winkelhock has already had a pit stop.
00:20:04But clearly his race is run. All sorts of troubles for him.
00:20:07And this is Niki Lauda attacking Elio de Angelis.
00:20:09Niki Lauda attacks and passes de Angelis alongside him on the inside.
00:20:14Just the right way to do it for the right-hander that follows.
00:20:19Meanwhile, Warwick and Arnoux are working their way through those back markers.
00:20:25But we've now got McLaren second and third.
00:20:28Still Patrick Tambay has this lead.
00:20:31Still Alain Prost pursues him.
00:20:33And what about the performance of these amazing McLarens?
00:20:36They are certainly setting the pace of this race.
00:20:39A puff of smoke there. Somebody's had a problem.
00:20:43It's Johnny Ciacotto in the Toleman.
00:20:45That looks like a pretty comprehensive blow-up.
00:20:47The leaders fighting their way through the smoke.
00:20:49Johnny Ciacotto parks the Toleman on the right-hand side of the circuit out of the way.
00:20:54And Tambay now has another gaggle of back markers to work his way through.
00:20:59Alain Prost waiting for a mistake.
00:21:02There's the blue flag from the marshals, same to the two slower cars in front.
00:21:06Look out, you've got the leaders breathing down your neck.
00:21:08It's actually Andrea de Cesaris and Eddie Cheever.
00:21:12De Cesaris in the Ligier, Cheever in the Alfa.
00:21:16And, oh, and there's a problem for Prost.
00:21:18Prost running very wide there.
00:21:21Prost made quite a mistake. In fact, he's coming straight into the pits.
00:21:25Alain Prost, the charging Prost, who's come up so quickly,
00:21:28ran very wide on the Courbe de Pouas.
00:21:32I wonder if he's damaged the car. Has he got a puncture?
00:21:35Why did he run wide? There's some sort of problem with Prost's car.
00:21:38And he has come into the pits.
00:21:41So, suddenly, Patrick Tambay finds himself on his own.
00:21:45But not for long, because Niki Lauda's not far behind.
00:21:48Here's Prost in the pits. It's a tyre change at least.
00:21:52I don't know what that problem was.
00:21:54For some reason, Prost ran very wide.
00:21:56It could just have been a puncture.
00:21:59Tambay, meanwhile, is up to de Cesaris.
00:22:02He's past Cheever.
00:22:04There's the blue flag for de Cesaris with the Ligier.
00:22:07De Cesaris, who started from the back of the grid
00:22:10after a controversial disqualification of his original practice time.
00:22:16He was running with an empty fire extinguisher.
00:22:18That's Prost getting away.
00:22:20A quite long pit stop there for Prost.
00:22:23They changed his tyres. We don't think they did very much else to him.
00:22:26But meanwhile, the battle for the lead is still...
00:22:29As Prost comes out of the pits,
00:22:31the battle for the lead is still between a Renault and a McLaren.
00:22:34It's still Tambay's Renault, but this time it's Niki Lauda's McLaren
00:22:38up to second place, taking over the challenge
00:22:41where Alain Prost has had to leave off.
00:22:44There's Martin Brundle in the pits.
00:22:46Brundle, who was running in 16th place with the sole surviving Tyrrell.
00:22:50Because you remember, we've seen Stefan Beloff, the German,
00:22:53with his Tyrrell retire earlier on.
00:22:56And Tambay coming up now to lap Thierry Bootsen
00:22:59with the BMW-powered Arrows.
00:23:01There is Prost on his way just ahead of them.
00:23:04So Prost has lost almost exactly a lap.
00:23:07And it'll be interesting to see,
00:23:09whatever that problem with Prost's car was,
00:23:11whether he's now able to lap as quickly as the leaders.
00:23:14Bootsen still ahead of the leader.
00:23:16Now Tambay is alongside Bootsen.
00:23:18Can Niki Lauda follow him through? Lauda does.
00:23:21So the leader's very, very close indeed.
00:23:23And Patrick Tambay's lead is really being threatened.
00:23:26Lauda has a little look at the inside as they go down to Villeroy.
00:23:30Decides to wait for the moment.
00:23:32And so Tambay under real pressure now
00:23:35through the downhill S-section of Sablier.
00:23:39Lauda doing exactly what he loves to do,
00:23:42to attack cold, calm, calculating.
00:23:46Having Niki Lauda pressurising you from behind
00:23:50must be something to unnerve almost any driver.
00:23:53Patrick Tambay very professional, very cool and calm himself.
00:23:56But Tambay now under the strongest possible pressure.
00:24:00De Angelis still third with the Lotus.
00:24:03Mansell, who was fourth, has just made his routine pitstop for fresh tyres.
00:24:09The first of the routine pitstops for Nigel Mansell.
00:24:12So that's promoting Derek Warwick in the Renault up to fourth place.
00:24:16René Arnoux's Ferrari is fifth.
00:24:18Keke Rosberg is sixth.
00:24:20And Mansell has come out of the pits in seventh place.
00:24:23They're, in fact, the order at 30 laps.
00:24:26And Alain Prost is in 11th place after his pitstop.
00:24:31That's Martin Brundle in the blue Tyrrell No. 3
00:24:33about to be lapped by the leaders.
00:24:38With still Niki Lauda waiting and waiting.
00:24:42He's hanging back here just for the moment, which is canny of him
00:24:45because he's waiting for Tambay to do all the work
00:24:48of finding a way past Martin Brundle.
00:24:51Brundle now in 19th position because he's had an early pitstop.
00:24:56We know not why, but certainly through the twisting back section
00:25:00there's nothing at all wrong with the speed of the Tyrrell.
00:25:02It's on the long back straight
00:25:04that its lack of turbocharged power really shows.
00:25:07But Tambay not able to get on to terms with Martin Brundle
00:25:11on the back section.
00:25:12There's the blue flag once again.
00:25:14But as they now go through the Courbe de Ploiesse,
00:25:17this is the corner.
00:25:18Ooh, a twitch from Brundle there.
00:25:20This is the corner which is so important
00:25:22to get a good high-speed run for that long straight.
00:25:26If you come out of this corner as quickly as you can,
00:25:28then you're going to have a good run down the straight.
00:25:30There goes Tambay now.
00:25:31Tambay is past. Lauda is past.
00:25:35And tucked in again behind Tambay.
00:25:38Is he close enough to have another little charge?
00:25:40No, once again he waits.
00:25:42He can't get quite close enough under the Renault's rear wing
00:25:46to get a slipstream run.
00:25:48There is Arnoux in the pits now.
00:25:49This must be Arnoux's routine stop.
00:25:52René Arnoux in 5th place before he came into the pits.
00:25:56On go the new tyres.
00:25:58The car still on its jacks.
00:25:59Still, of course, with the engine running.
00:26:01Arnoux waiting patiently off the jacks at the back,
00:26:04off at the front.
00:26:05And away goes René Arnoux,
00:26:06hanging the tail out as he spins the wheels.
00:26:10And that's Derek Warwick in the pits now.
00:26:12So we've had Arnoux, 5th man in.
00:26:14We've now got Warwick, 4th man, into the pits.
00:26:18Warwick's routine stop.
00:26:19The Renault mechanics are ready.
00:26:20On the jacks once more.
00:26:21Off go the tyres.
00:26:22On go the new ones.
00:26:26Warwick keeping the engine running.
00:26:27Off the jacks.
00:26:28A very neat, tidy stop,
00:26:29except one rear tyre isn't finished.
00:26:32Now they've got it finished.
00:26:33Away goes Warwick.
00:26:34Not as quick as he would have liked.
00:26:36I reckon that that stop must have been
00:26:39about 18 or 19 seconds.
00:26:42And that's Alboreto's Ferrari,
00:26:44parked at the end of the pit lane,
00:26:46smoking eloquently.
00:26:48Michele Alboreto, the Belgian Grand Prix winner,
00:26:51walks home.
00:26:52It hasn't been a happy race for him at all.
00:26:54He's had a spin.
00:26:55He was 12th place.
00:26:56He'd been lapped.
00:26:57And this is Elio De Angelis,
00:26:59into the pits for, no doubt, his tyre change.
00:27:02He was in 3rd place.
00:27:03And still the battle for the lead goes on.
00:27:06And there is the Lotus pit stop,
00:27:08with the tyres flying.
00:27:09We've got the official watch on it this time.
00:27:11And it looks as though it's going to be a quick one.
00:27:15Well, they stopped the stopwatch just a little bit early.
00:27:189.8 seconds was when they stopped the watch.
00:27:20But in fact, it took a fraction more
00:27:23for Elio De Angelis to get his foot off the clutch
00:27:25and get the Lotus going.
00:27:27But a very good stop indeed for De Angelis.
00:27:30Meanwhile, look at the battle for the lead.
00:27:32This race now, past the half-distance mark,
00:27:35and still battle well and truly joined.
00:27:38And remember, neither of these front runners
00:27:40have yet made their pit stops.
00:27:42They're so close on the road
00:27:44that a couple of seconds lost in the pits
00:27:47for either one or other of them
00:27:49will radically change the order when they come out.
00:27:53Yellow flag at the Parabolic.
00:27:55That's Baldi's spirit parked in the barriers.
00:27:57He's out of the car and unhurt,
00:27:59but he's out of the race.
00:28:00And as they come over the Brough,
00:28:02into the right-hander.
00:28:03Ooh, look, a big slide there for Tambay!
00:28:05Tambay's thrown it all away!
00:28:07Tambay almost lost control of the car completely,
00:28:10and that was all that Niki Lauda needed.
00:28:13That was the reward for the pressure
00:28:15that he has been putting relentlessly on Patrick Tambay.
00:28:19Look at it again.
00:28:20The back end of the Renault slides away.
00:28:22A big opposite-lock slide puts black rubber on the ground.
00:28:26Over the kerbs goes the Renault,
00:28:28and passed into the lead goes McLaren No. 8.
00:28:31Niki Lauda leads the French Grand Prix.
00:28:35Well, it was just that tiny little mistake.
00:28:37It could have been much worse,
00:28:38because Tambay could have lost the car completely.
00:28:40In fact, he let Lauda pass,
00:28:43but he's still there in second place.
00:28:45It may well be that he's looking forward to his tyre change.
00:28:49It may be that his rubber is now fairly tired.
00:28:52But that is one of the arrows.
00:28:55That looks like the BMW-powered arrows of Bootsen coming into the pits.
00:29:00But Lauda now immediately clear of the Renault,
00:29:06and with the other arrows,
00:29:08Mark Suhrer's Cosworth-powered arrows ahead of him to lap.
00:29:12Lauda's mirrors are almost empty of Patrick Tambay's Renault.
00:29:16Tambay has definitely dropped back.
00:29:19Ooh, a pin twitch there for Bootsen,
00:29:21who comes bouncing over the bumps out of the pit lane.
00:29:27So, with 42 of the 79 laps completed,
00:29:30let's look down the order.
00:29:31Niki Lauda, the new leader, with the McLaren.
00:29:35Patrick Tambay in second place.
00:29:37Nigel Mansell has come through after his routine stopped to third place.
00:29:41Remember, neither of the two leaders have made their stop.
00:29:44That's Ghinzani bringing the Osella in for his stop.
00:29:47Derek Rorick is now fourth. He has stopped.
00:29:49Keke Rosberg is fifth, and he hasn't yet stopped.
00:29:53De Angelis is sixth with the second Lotus, and he has stopped.
00:29:57But Alain Prost, in the other McLaren,
00:29:59who, remember, lost almost a lap earlier on,
00:30:01is up with De Angelis, and he's passing De Angelis now.
00:30:04The two cars almost touching, wheel-to-wheel, past the pits.
00:30:07That is Alain Prost getting back into the top six
00:30:11by passing De Angelis in the Lotus.
00:30:14Alain Prost is now back into sixth place,
00:30:16despite losing nearly a lap early on.
00:30:19And that is further proof, if any proof were needed,
00:30:22with Lauda leading the race,
00:30:24of just how quick these McLarens are.
00:30:26And this is the second-place man in the pits.
00:30:28This is Patrick Tambay.
00:30:29This is a very, very important stop indeed.
00:30:32If this one goes quickly, and Lauda's doesn't go so well,
00:30:36this could affect the whole outcome of the race.
00:30:39Front tyre going on there, off the jacks.
00:30:42Tambay is away, spinning the wheels,
00:30:44fighting for grip, over the bump, out of the pits.
00:30:47We made, by unofficial hand timing,
00:30:50that pit stop to be ten and a half seconds.
00:30:53So it was a very good, a very quick one.
00:30:55And in several races this year, McLaren, despite their speed,
00:31:00haven't been quite so lucky in pit stops.
00:31:02So let's see what's going to happen when Niki Lauda makes his stop.
00:31:06That's Keke Rosberg, who's just been passed by Alain Prost.
00:31:11So the progress of Prost up the field continues.
00:31:14Remember, Prost did have that early stop for tyres.
00:31:17I don't know whether that means he can run the whole distance
00:31:20with no further stop, but anyway, it's now McLaren's first.
00:31:24There's number eight, Niki Lauda, the leader,
00:31:26and McLaren fifth with Alain Prost.
00:31:29There is, in fact, Rosberg coming in for his stop now.
00:31:32So Rosberg, who was just demoted to sixth place,
00:31:35gets his fresh set of tyres.
00:31:39And the Brabham's coming in, the self-surviving Brabham,
00:31:42number two, Theo Fabi, is also coming in.
00:31:44This could be quite a traffic jam,
00:31:45because the Brabham pit is next door to the Williams pit.
00:31:48There is Fabi. Fabi's in, and Rosberg had to wait
00:31:52for the Brabham to get into its position
00:31:55before he could take the Williams out of the pits.
00:31:57So Fabi gets his fresh tyres,
00:32:00and the car falters.
00:32:02Oh, yes, it takes a long time to get away.
00:32:06Fabi finally gets back into the race,
00:32:09but he is now looking down the lap chart.
00:32:12He's now down in 12th place,
00:32:14and, of course, he's a lap behind this man, the leader,
00:32:17Niki Lauda.
00:32:18Lauda with only one point score so far this season,
00:32:23and that was Kyle Armey, where he scored nine points for a win.
00:32:27But, remember, McLaren have won three out of the four Grands Prix
00:32:31so far this year,
00:32:32and both their cars running very strongly now
00:32:34in first and fourth places.
00:32:37Still, Nigel Mansell is third.
00:32:39Still, Patrick Tambay, with his pit stop safely made,
00:32:42is second.
00:32:43And, remember, Niki Lauda has a pit stop still to come.
00:32:49Lauda, of course, using Michelin tyres with the McLaren.
00:32:52Tambay in second place, also on Michelins.
00:32:57But the third-place Lotus uses Goodyears.
00:33:02Up that steep hill from the Parabolic, over the Brouwer,
00:33:05this is where it all went wrong for Tambay.
00:33:07You can still see the black smear of rubber in the road
00:33:11where Tambay had that wicked slide which he caught so quickly,
00:33:15but it was enough to change the lead of the race.
00:33:19Up on the long haul.
00:33:21Ooh, yes, that car bottoming.
00:33:23That was Fabi's Brabham.
00:33:25It's quite bumpy on this long approach to the straight,
00:33:28and that is the other Williams coming in.
00:33:30That's Jacques Lafitte.
00:33:32Jacques Lafitte running down in ninth place at the moment.
00:33:40They're finished at the back, they're finished at the front.
00:33:43Jacques Lafitte rejoins the race.
00:33:47Meanwhile, fourth-man Warwick is up to third-man Mansell.
00:33:50Here they are lapping Brundle
00:33:53as Lafitte comes out of the pits.
00:33:55Behind there's... Ooh, something flying off a car there.
00:33:58That was part of Eddie Cheever's rear wing.
00:34:01The left-hand side of Eddie Cheever's rear aerofoil
00:34:05on the back of that Alfa Romeo just flew off the car.
00:34:08You could see the car weaving,
00:34:10almost out of control under braking,
00:34:12as he slowed it at the end of the straight.
00:34:14There, Eddie Cheever cruising slowly back to the pits
00:34:17with half the rear wing missing,
00:34:19and that could have been a very nasty moment indeed.
00:34:21Niki Lauda had, in fact, just lapped the Alfa Romeo.
00:34:24There's the gap now, 32.8 seconds between Lauda and Tambay.
00:34:29But remember, Niki Lauda has not yet made his pit stop.
00:34:33So this race is not over yet.
00:34:3632 seconds should allow ample time for the McLaren to slow down,
00:34:41come into the pits, be stationary for 10 to 12 seconds,
00:34:45which is what a really quick stop for tyre change should take,
00:34:48and then accelerate out again.
00:34:51But it'll only take a jamming wheel, a jamming wheel nut,
00:34:55to change the whole face of the race.
00:34:57So Lauda with that pit stop, I would think, not very far away,
00:35:01still on the tyres he started the race with,
00:35:03working his way through these back markers,
00:35:06through the twists and turns.
00:35:07Goodness me, there's Mauro Baldi's car back on the circuit.
00:35:10The white car there, as we see Eddie Cheever dive into the pits
00:35:14with his broken rear wing.
00:35:15Mauro Baldi in spirit number 21.
00:35:19It was a car we saw clearly in the fences at the Parabolic earlier,
00:35:22but he's restarted and he's back in the race.
00:35:24Eddie Cheever then gets fresh tyres.
00:35:27Are they going to be able to replace that rear wing?
00:35:30They don't seem to have noticed yet that the rear wing's broken.
00:35:33Yes, one mechanic has noticed he's rushed off to the back of the pits
00:35:36to get another one.
00:35:37Niki Lauda now in the Parabolic,
00:35:39lapping Mauro Baldi's spirit on the corner
00:35:42where Baldi crashed earlier on before restarting.
00:35:45And Lauda accelerating smoothly on his way
00:35:48through the left-hander at Georgiol,
00:35:51on down to the right-hander of Lacombe,
00:35:55steeply downhill into the Curve de Pouas.
00:36:00And Lauda now must be thinking,
00:36:02when is he going to make this pit stop?
00:36:04That's Fabi.
00:36:05Oh, here is Lauda making his pit stop.
00:36:07Lauda is coming into the pits.
00:36:09This is the most important pit stop of the race.
00:36:11Lauda comes in with the McLaren mechanics waiting.
00:36:16Now, he had a 32-second lead over Patrick Tambay.
00:36:21If this pit stop is quick,
00:36:23he's going to be able to come out in the lead.
00:36:25If it goes wrong, it could give him a problem.
00:36:28The stopwatch is running, the tyres are going on.
00:36:31Meanwhile, we've got Marc Surer come to a halt in the Arrows
00:36:34out on the circuit.
00:36:35Lauda's car off the jacks.
00:36:37Lauda is away.
00:36:39It was about, yes, it was 17 seconds, 17.7.
00:36:43That's a good seven or eight seconds longer
00:36:45than it should have been,
00:36:46and Patrick Tambay has gone through into the lead.
00:36:49So, Niki Lauda's pit stop, slow,
00:36:52and that's Derek Warwick in the fences.
00:36:54That incident we saw with Marc Surer,
00:36:56this is the other half of it.
00:36:57Derek Warwick apparently trapped in the Renault.
00:37:00The Renault quite badly damaged there,
00:37:02and we're getting news that what happened
00:37:05was that Derek Warwick, following Nigel Mansell,
00:37:09they came up to lap Marc Surer.
00:37:12Surer and Warwick touched.
00:37:14Surer has stopped.
00:37:15He's out of the car and unhurt.
00:37:17They're getting Derek Warwick out of the car.
00:37:19He seems to be trapped by one of his legs.
00:37:22The Renault very comprehensively out of the race.
00:37:25And here is our new leader,
00:37:27Patrick Tambay and Renault No. 15 on his way.
00:37:31So, 25 of the 79 laps still to run here at Dijon.
00:37:36Patrick Tambay and Renault back in the lead.
00:37:38Nicky Lauda demoted by his pit stop
00:37:41into second place with the McLaren.
00:37:43Nigel Mansell still there with the Lotus in third place.
00:37:46And the retirement of Derek Warwick,
00:37:50the unlucky retirement of Derek Warwick,
00:37:52has promoted Alain Prost in the other McLaren,
00:37:55despite that early pit stop, into fourth place.
00:37:58Elio de Angelis is now fifth.
00:38:00And back in the picture in sixth place,
00:38:03René Arnoux with the Ferrari.
00:38:05Keke Rosberg is seventh, a lap behind.
00:38:08In eighth place, it's now Rosberg's teammate, Jacques Lafitte.
00:38:12And there you see the gap between the leaders.
00:38:1511.3 seconds between Tambay and Lauda.
00:38:18It was 14 seconds on my watch
00:38:21when Lauda first came out of the pits.
00:38:23So already, Lauda has made up three seconds in a couple of laps.
00:38:27And Tambay's lead is certainly not secure.
00:38:30Renault, who've won the French Grand Prix traditionally so many times,
00:38:35Patrick Tambay, the Frenchman, on his home ground.
00:38:38Renault very anxious after a lot of bad luck this season
00:38:42to put on a good show in front of their home crowd.
00:38:44But Niki Lauda determined to challenge and to fight back
00:38:48after that rather scrappy pit stop with the McLaren team.
00:38:52Tambay, then, breasts the rise to complete 55 of the 79 laps now.
00:38:57Over the start-finish line he goes.
00:38:59And there, behind them, is one of the Williamses, about to be lapped.
00:39:04And it's Rosberg indeed, and behind him, Lauda.
00:39:09So there you get an idea of the gap.
00:39:11It was 11 seconds on my official timing just a lap ago.
00:39:15I think it's already less than that.
00:39:18Lauda, remember, on fresh tyres.
00:39:20Although Tambay did stop for his tyre change,
00:39:23Lauda has absolutely brand-new tyres.
00:39:25He would have just got them nicely scrubbed in,
00:39:27and he'll now be settling down to go after that lead of Tambay's.
00:39:31And we've got the other McLaren coming into the pits.
00:39:34This is Alain Prost coming slowly into the pits.
00:39:37It's all gone wrong for Alain Prost,
00:39:40the man who looked like the leader at the beginning of the race.
00:39:42There is Lauda right on Rosberg's tail night.
00:39:45Maybe that Rosberg will be a difficult man to pass,
00:39:47and this could hold Lauda up a bit.
00:39:50But Prost in the pits.
00:39:52Now, is this just the routine tyre stop that he should have had at half-distance?
00:39:56Remember, he did get a fresh set of tyres early on after running wide.
00:40:03The tyres are all on.
00:40:05But he's... No, he's shaking his head.
00:40:07The car still in the pits,
00:40:09and the McLaren mechanics are working on the front left-hand wheel.
00:40:14It looks like a... Is it a brake problem or a wheel hub problem?
00:40:19Certainly, yes, they're starting actually to dismantle the hub there.
00:40:23And already the stopwatch running at over half a minute.
00:40:26So, Prost's run back up the field after that early stop to fourth place,
00:40:31all gone to naught.
00:40:32McLaren number seven sitting in the pits.
00:40:34McLaren number eight closing all the time on Tambay.
00:40:377.4 seconds the gap now between the leader and the second man.
00:40:41Lauda closing all the time.
00:40:43Tambay will have been told in his pit signals that Lauda is closing,
00:40:47and Tambay will have the hammer down.
00:40:49He may now be worried about fuel consumption.
00:40:52Remember, the Renaults have had marginal fuel capacity
00:40:55for the full race distance several times this year.
00:40:58There's Lauda coming over the Brough, so the gap visibly closing.
00:41:01Keke Rosberg is left behind as Lauda settles down to close that gap.
00:41:08Third man, Mansell, over the Brough with the Lotus.
00:41:10So, Mansell in third place, not that far behind either.
00:41:14This race still very much alive,
00:41:16as Patrick Tambay once again defends a lead,
00:41:20and once again, Niki Lauda chases him.
00:41:24Through the Parabolic.
00:41:26Up the hill goes Tambay.
00:41:29On towards the corner where he made that mistake
00:41:31that lost him the lead earlier on.
00:41:33Here it is.
00:41:35And Lauda, fastest lap, 66.1 seconds, 131.5 miles an hour.
00:41:42Lauda putting the pressure on all the time.
00:41:44There's a yellow flag there.
00:41:46That must be for the unfortunate Inechiva,
00:41:49who just after restarting with his new rear wing
00:41:52has ground to a halt out there on the circuit.
00:41:55Blue flag this time.
00:41:57That's for the blue Azella,
00:41:59and also for Thierry Boutzen's arrows,
00:42:02both of which are being caught by the leader.
00:42:05There is Tambay working his way past the Azella.
00:42:08No, he doesn't even get past the Azella.
00:42:11So Ginzani shuts the door.
00:42:13Ginzani running at the back of the field
00:42:15with the Alfa Romeo Powered Azella,
00:42:17and still Tambay having his work cut out
00:42:19to get his way past the Azella.
00:42:21In front of Tambay now, another backmarker.
00:42:24That's Thierry Boutzen with the arrows.
00:42:26And all the time, that red and white McLaren
00:42:28in Patrick Tambay's mirrors is getting nearer and nearer.
00:42:33And as they go down into the Parabolic,
00:42:35the McLaren is visibly closer.
00:42:38This is Tambay going up the hill,
00:42:40out of the Parabolic,
00:42:41and watch for a glimpse of the red and white McLaren
00:42:44because he's getting closer all the time.
00:42:46There!
00:42:47There was the McLaren,
00:42:49with Boutzen ahead of Tambay, still to be lapped.
00:42:53And Niki Lauda, just in this last lap and a half,
00:42:55has got enormously closer.
00:42:57Part of that was the delay
00:42:59that poor Tambay had to put up with
00:43:01when he was working his way past Ginzani.
00:43:04But now, as they go up the steep incline,
00:43:07over the brow, still Boutzen is to be lapped,
00:43:10and absolutely there is the red and white McLaren.
00:43:13Now, backmarkers are going to play an important role
00:43:16in the closing stages of this race.
00:43:18Boutzen is passed there by Tambay,
00:43:21but Lauda does not get by.
00:43:23They've got Mauro Baldi ahead of them once again in the Spirit,
00:43:26so he could provide a problem as well,
00:43:28but Boutzen has momentarily delayed Niki Lauda.
00:43:32The blue flag's waving,
00:43:34but Tambay can't get away
00:43:36because he's got Baldi to pass as well.
00:43:38All the traffic ganging up round the back of the circuit,
00:43:41and in fact, Tambay hesitates there.
00:43:44Lauda goes by,
00:43:46and Lauda is right up with Tambay once more.
00:43:48Tambay didn't seem to want to get a run there on Mauro Baldi.
00:43:52Baldi's still ahead of them.
00:43:54Tambay the leader, Niki Lauda in second place,
00:43:57and they're just about a length apart
00:43:59as they go through the Courbe de Courgeolles,
00:44:01down to the Virage de la Combe.
00:44:03Alain Prost back in the race, incidentally,
00:44:05and still going very quickly after that work on his front wheel bearing.
00:44:09Alain Prost out of the points at the moment,
00:44:11but still going hard.
00:44:12But here's the battle for the lead,
00:44:13and still Mauro Baldi's in the way.
00:44:15Tambay darts by.
00:44:16Lauda goes with him.
00:44:17They're both passed,
00:44:18and Lauda is very, very close indeed now.
00:44:20Lauda is tucked in.
00:44:21Lauda gets alongside.
00:44:23Niki Lauda retakes the lead.
00:44:25He gets a clear run on Patrick Tambay.
00:44:29Tambay was certainly slower onto that long straight than he wanted to be.
00:44:33He was looking for a way past Baldi,
00:44:35and Lauda was just that little bit quicker.
00:44:38It was enough that he needed to get a run on the Renault.
00:44:42But the Renault's fighting back.
00:44:43Tambay isn't giving up yet.
00:44:45We see it again.
00:44:46Tambay with the McLaren absolutely tucked into the slipstream.
00:44:50The McLaren moves to the right alongside
00:44:53and clearly has more steam at this point.
00:44:56Just has more speed and gets easily by.
00:44:59Now, will Tambay fight back?
00:45:02Is he worried about his fuel consumption?
00:45:04Is he going to decide to settle for second place?
00:45:08Through the left-hander, then the right-hander.
00:45:11This is where it all started to happen on the last lap.
00:45:14And this is where the McLaren does start to pull away.
00:45:18And Lauda is definitely pulling away from Patrick Tambay,
00:45:22re-establishing himself in the lead,
00:45:24which he lost when he came in for his pit stop.
00:45:27Over the brow, and on that long straight,
00:45:30the McLaren pulls away,
00:45:33the Renault losing inch by inch.
00:45:3864 laps completed now of the 79,
00:45:41so just 15 laps left for Patrick Tambay
00:45:44to decide whether he's going to make another attack.
00:45:48And 15 laps for Niki Lauda to reel off.
00:45:52There, the Renault,
00:45:55through the left-hander of Sablier,
00:45:59down towards the Parabolic,
00:46:02and already that gap getting wider every lap.
00:46:05Third place, still Nigel Mansell with the Renault-powered Lotus.
00:46:09Mansell, since the retirement of Derek Warwick,
00:46:13rather more on his own.
00:46:15We've had word, incidentally, of Derek Warwick.
00:46:17Apparently he was trapped in the cockpit briefly
00:46:20because part of the suspension punched a hole in the monocoque
00:46:24and trapped him by his right shin.
00:46:27He's out of the car, he's got some bruises on his leg,
00:46:30but apart from that, apart from being very disappointed
00:46:33and having to drop out of the race
00:46:35just when he wanted to set about attacking Nigel Mansell,
00:46:38he's in good shape.
00:46:40In fourth place now, then, it's René Arnoux.
00:46:44There you see the order, there you see the gap indeed.
00:46:46It was one second at the end of 63 laps,
00:46:49the gap between Laud and Tambay, it's more than that now,
00:46:52and 11 seconds behind Tambay is Mansell,
00:46:55so Tambay can't settle in too relaxed a manner for second place
00:46:59because Nigel Mansell is still charging hard in third place.
00:47:03René Arnoux, fourth, Elio de Angelis, fifth,
00:47:06so both the Lotuses still in the race,
00:47:09and Keke Rosberg in sixth place with the Williams Honda.
00:47:14It's Rosberg's teammate, Jacques Lafitte, in seventh place,
00:47:19and the amazing Alain Prost is still going hard.
00:47:22He's in ninth place now behind Théo Fabi.
00:47:26And that's René Arnoux, the fourth-place man in the Ferrari,
00:47:30being caught by Alain Prost.
00:47:32They're on different laps,
00:47:34but just to show that Alain Prost is still driving as hard as ever,
00:47:38he is catching the René Arnoux Ferrari,
00:47:42even though Arnoux is a lap ahead of him.
00:47:45Meanwhile, we're back with the leader, number eight,
00:47:48Niki Lauda, with still the Tambay-Renault within sight,
00:47:53but still slipping back all the time,
00:47:56and Patrick Tambay himself being caught, we think now,
00:47:59by third man Nigel Mansell.
00:48:01Lauda, then, able to settle down to a drive to the flag.
00:48:07But we wonder what that problem was that delayed Alain Prost,
00:48:13and no professional racing driver can ever relax
00:48:17while he's in the lead until that chequered flag falls.
00:48:21Niki Lauda, who's had a lot of disappointment this year,
00:48:24and who won the only race that he's finished so far.
00:48:27This is the other McLaren now, we're back with Prost,
00:48:30and as you see, he's much closer now to René Arnoux.
00:48:33No doubt at all that Prost is going quicker than Arnoux at the moment,
00:48:36Prost, indeed, still driving just as fast as ever.
00:48:40René Arnoux pulling out just a little bit,
00:48:43but his pit signals will have told him,
00:48:45don't worry about Prost, he's a long way behind you,
00:48:47concentrate on preserving that place.
00:48:49There is second man Tambay.
00:48:52There is leader Lauda.
00:48:57Niki, of course, very much the grand old man of Grand Prix racing now,
00:49:01146 Grand Prixs.
00:49:04If he wins this one, it'll be his 21st victory,
00:49:08and his career, needless to say,
00:49:11included that horrifying accident in 1976,
00:49:16which almost certainly cost him the World Championship that year,
00:49:20and from which he returned to win the World Championship the following year.
00:49:25Then, of course, two years away from Grand Prix racing completely,
00:49:28he decided, he said, that there were better things to do than drive round in circles,
00:49:32and he went off and ran an airline.
00:49:35Two years after that, he decided that driving round in circles was fun after all,
00:49:39he came back into Grand Prix racing and almost immediately was winning again.
00:49:43One of the very great names of Grand Prix racing,
00:49:46and looking now across at his pit board,
00:49:51which will tell him exactly how long that gap is back to this man, Patrick Tambay,
00:49:55another man who turned his back on Grand Prix racing,
00:49:59and went to race in North America before the sad death of Gilles Villeneuve a couple of years back
00:50:06gave him a place in the Ferrari team.
00:50:10This is Andrea de Cesaris in the Ligier, about to be lapped by the leader,
00:50:15de Cesaris, who drove for Alfa Romeo last year,
00:50:18now with the all-French Ligier team, French chassis and French Renault engine,
00:50:23and past goes Lauda, no problems at all.
00:50:28The Ligier started from the very back of the grid after a controversial discussion
00:50:33as to whether he should be allowed to start the race at all.
00:50:36In the end, his own Ligier team-mate, François Reynaud, stood down,
00:50:40and that gave Andrea de Cesaris a start.
00:50:44Lauda now coming up to lap Martin Brundle,
00:50:48Brundle who had an early and unscheduled stop,
00:50:51as he was certainly hoping to do the whole race without stopping,
00:50:54apart from the stop that the Tyrrells usually have right at the end of the race,
00:50:58for more water to get the ballasted weight up to the correct weight for post-race scrutineering.
00:51:054.24 seconds by our unofficial hand timing here was the gap
00:51:10as they crossed the start-finish line that time between Niki Lauda in the lead
00:51:15and Patrick Tambay in second place.
00:51:174.24 seconds, and that is a nice comfortable little cushion for Lauda,
00:51:21and now Lauda surely must be driving to preserve his car, to preserve his fuel indeed.
00:51:28Obviously the fuel consumption working well,
00:51:31and ooh, there, a locked front wheel for Lauda,
00:51:34so having said that he's driving easily to finish,
00:51:37obviously Lauda still has got a lot of pressure on,
00:51:40because he locked a front wheel there briefly,
00:51:42that was the corner which caught Patrick Tambay out earlier,
00:51:45and it's Pier Carlo Ginzani in the Alfa Romeo Padozella being lapped once again,
00:51:52gets the blue flag, keeps over to the left of the road,
00:51:55and Lauda gets easily past.
00:51:57There's Martin Brundle ahead of them.
00:52:01But that was very interesting that Lauda locked up a wheel,
00:52:04he obviously is still trying extremely hard,
00:52:06and perhaps the gap between himself and Tambay isn't quite wide enough yet for his own liking.
00:52:15Once again, Brundle has no difficulty staying ahead through the twisty section round the back,
00:52:21but I think you'll find when they get on to the long straight,
00:52:24that the McLaren will overhaul the Tyrrell very, very quickly indeed.
00:52:29Up the hill, under power, out of the Parabolic,
00:52:33on towards the Cours des Gourgeolles,
00:52:37no locked brake this time for Lauda,
00:52:41but all the time getting closer to Martin Brundle.
00:52:44Now on the downhill section, the Cours des Poisses,
00:52:47and now Lauda gets very close indeed to the Tyrrell,
00:52:51he gets a run on Martin Brundle.
00:52:53Brundle currently in 12th place,
00:52:57and keeps comfortably out of the way.
00:52:59He's looked in his mirrors, he lets Lauda past,
00:53:02and in fact tucks in behind to try and get a little bit of a tow out of the slipstream on the long straight.
00:53:09Tambay over the brow, and in sight, the Ginzani Osella II,
00:53:13then de Cesaris in the Ligier,
00:53:16and that car coming over the brow there,
00:53:19that is the Williams Honda of the 6th place man, Keki Rosberg.
00:53:24He's a lap behind the leaders, but if he can keep going,
00:53:27he's going to earn himself a championship point here at Dijon today.
00:53:33Once more, Lauda down to the Parabolic.
00:53:37The same constant line all the time, so neat, so tidy.
00:53:41Both these McLaren drivers with a robot-like approach to their motor racing.
00:53:47Very calm, very dispassionate, very, very efficient.
00:53:52And indeed, Alain Prost is catching 6th man Keki Rosberg.
00:53:56He's perhaps not catching him quick enough to be able to make up that vital extra place
00:54:02to get himself into the championship points by the end of the race,
00:54:05but certainly Prost driving as hard as ever.
00:54:11Lauda past the pits once more, a glance across at the pit signals.
00:54:16Brundle follows, and still Tambay there in 2nd place,
00:54:20but still losing ground all the time.
00:54:24Passing the abandoned Ferrari of Alboreto,
00:54:28but the other Ferrari, number 28 of René Arnoux, still there in 4th place.
00:54:34Nigel Mansell, we haven't seen much of him recently,
00:54:36but I can tell you he's still there in 3rd place.
00:54:42Once again at the Parabolic, reeling off these laps now in a rhythm.
00:54:48This is now lap 73 of the 79.
00:54:52They're the positions at the end of lap 71,
00:54:55just a fraction over 6 seconds the gap between Lauda and Tambay now.
00:54:59Mansell a further 14 seconds behind,
00:55:03and then a further 20 seconds down to René Arnoux.
00:55:06So the field well spaced.
00:55:08And now all thoughts must be for fuel consumption,
00:55:11because this has been such a controversial subject recently.
00:55:14You'll remember that no car may start now with more than 220 litres of fuel in the tank,
00:55:20and no refuelling stops allowed,
00:55:22which means that the cars have to be set to develop the maximum possible power.
00:55:26There's Tambay lapping the Martin Brundle Tyrrell.
00:55:30The cars have to be set with their turbocharger boost allowing the maximum possible power,
00:55:35short of using fuel faster than is necessary to allow the car to go the full distance.
00:55:42And as we've seen several times this season,
00:55:44a couple of times for Patrick Tambay, also for Eddie Achiever and others,
00:55:49particularly to Cesaris at Imola a couple of weeks ago,
00:55:53the turbocharger thirst has been too great.
00:55:56The cars have run out of fuel before the end of the race.
00:56:00The sophisticated computer readout gauge mounted in the top of most of the cockpits in this race
00:56:08will be telling their drivers exactly how fast they're using fuel,
00:56:11how much fuel they've got left,
00:56:13and Niki Lauda indeed will be watching that very, very carefully.
00:56:16But it's a malady which hasn't afflicted the McLarens.
00:56:20It has afflicted the Renaults, this too rapid use of fuel.
00:56:24This is the last lap now. This is the final lap for Niki Lauda.
00:56:28There goes Patrick Tambay, still in touch, still in contact,
00:56:33still just half a dozen seconds behind, but it's not close enough.
00:56:37And barring accidents, this surely must be the victorious final lap for Niki Lauda
00:56:42as he goes down through the Sablière, on towards the Parabolique,
00:56:49on the brakes for the final time for the Parabolique,
00:56:53down the gearbox, accelerating up, under power, over the braille,
00:56:59towards that tricky Cours de Gourgiole which has caught him and particularly Patrick Tambay out earlier,
00:57:06on through the tight left-hander, the right-hander of Virage de la Combe,
00:57:11up into third gear, fourth gear, accelerating hard through the flat-out Cours de Poix,
00:57:17clocking the right-hand wheel over the apex, on the power, hard for the last time,
00:57:23up into fifth gear, up to the start-finish line, the chequered flag is waiting,
00:57:27and Niki Lauda takes the chequered flag to win his second Grand Prix of the year,
00:57:33score his second set of points for the year indeed.
00:57:36There is Patrick Tambay to take second place.
00:57:41Keke Rosberg takes sixth place with, just behind him, the hard-trying Alain Prost who takes seventh.
00:57:48No championship points are his reward, but what a fine drive for Alain Prost.
00:57:55That's the obviously worn-out Arrows BMW of the Belgian Thierry Boetsen
00:58:02who parks his car just after the start-finish line, gets straight out,
00:58:07but third man Nigel Mansell comes home,
00:58:10fourth man René Arnoux comes home in fifth place.
00:58:14It's Elio de Angelis, we've already seen the sixth place for Keke Rosberg,
00:58:18and indeed, all not well with the Arrows, which is catching fire.
00:58:25Typical turbocharger problem, but at least Thierry Boetsen brought it home.
00:58:29And here are the two top cars, the victorious McLaren of Niki Lauda
00:58:35and the so nearly victorious Renault of Patrick Tambay,
00:58:39Mansell third, Arnoux fourth, de Angelis fifth, and Keke Rosberg sixth.
00:58:44And that puts Niki Lauda in second place in the World Championship.
00:58:50Niki, you put on a great charge early in the race,
00:58:52and you were catching both your teammate and Patrick Tambay.
00:58:55What was your advantage at that point in the race?
00:58:58I was trying very hard, because I wanted to win that race,
00:59:00because I was short of points, so it seems that our car,
00:59:04especially in the beginning of the race, was going very well,
00:59:07and I could charge along and then finally win.
00:59:09Your second victory so far this year,
00:59:12do you feel the McLaren advantage will last the rest of the season?
00:59:15I hope so. It's hard to say, but everything works well in the moment.
00:59:18Congratulations, Niki, thank you.
00:59:21So, no points for Alain Prost, despite his finish only seventh,
00:59:26no points for that, but he still leads the World Championship with 24 points.
00:59:30Niki Lauda, the new second man, with 18.
00:59:32René Arnoux coming into third place with poor Derek Warwick,
00:59:36who, of course, didn't score today.
00:59:37They've both got 13 points, de Angelis one point behind with 12,
00:59:41and Keke Rosberg in sixth place with 10.
00:59:44In the Constructors' Championship, a huge lead for McLaren.
00:59:47They have 42 points to Ferrari's 22 and Renault's 20.
00:59:51Just two weeks hence, we'll be in Monte Carlo for the Romantic Monaco Grand Prix.
00:59:56Join us then.