running through wales, northern england and south—west england. this is bbc news —— our latest headlines. the queen's birthday honours are announced. amongst the names on this year's list are former liverpool manager kenny dalglish, who is knighted, and actress emma thompson, who is made a dame. the second and final day of the g7 summit begins — negotiations have so far failed to resolve divisions over us trade tariffs yesterday. taliban fighters launch two deadly attacks on afghan soldiers — just after promising a ceasefire for the muslim holiday of eid. the queen and members of the royal family take part in her official birthday celebrations at the trooping the colour parade in central london. thank you for your company today.

now on bbc news, buckle up for a newsbeat special on formula e. these cars are definitely... we go green in mexico city! all the talking stops and eight is all about business. not much to say. i think this is the future. it has a guilt free capacity to it. it's all electric and it's all environmentally friendly. all of us have to move our technology to be clean rather than dirty energy like petrol. 10k travel the world to compete street tracks. now in its fourth season it's notjust changing the face of motorsport.

it is changing the way we drive as well. lynn climbs out of the car. he's off! he crashed in free practice one and he has crashed in free practice can he dig himself out? that makes me feel sad for him, actually. a fantastic driver but that shows you the pressure every one of these drivers is under. i'm newspeak's... and from newsbeat and i've come to

meet alex lynn. he embarks on his first season as a driver in formula e. this is your big moment. this is what you've been waiting for. how does it feel looking headgear for season? it's everything you worked for over the years and years of practice. as you come through the ranks and different categories and this is the start of racing. you build up to the moment where you're prepared and you are ready to take the opportunity when it comes, and that's the benefit of being a reserve driver. you learn everything in the background and it's a slightly slower pace and then when the time comes, you are ready to do the job. are you living the dream now? when i become the champion, i will be living the dream. never settled. alex takes us to silverstone to show us his cars before they're shipped off for the start of the season. talk us through the controls. it seemed like there's but what are the three main ones here.

the break setting, the paddle, which is changing the region of the car in the torque. in case you were wondering, the way of changing battery during the race. here are a few more formula e basics. there are ten teams and each team has two drivers. all of the cars have the same chassis and battery but other parts of the car can be changed by laps remaining... as you are driving, you're focusing on the road. can you still take on the state the same time? but otherwise we will not win the race. as a team, we feel we are coming together to the first test, and after that will be the first race, and this word all counts now. we'll be talking stops and it's as reality sets in we head to valencia for

it's a last chance for teams to size people up for the season. while electric cars might not be as loud as formula 1 cars, they are still pretty fast. the top speed of around 140 miles an hour. the car is pretty traditional in the sense that it a single seater race car, so the architecture is pretty standard. the big difference, these cars run purely on electricity. no fuel tank, no nothing. behind the driver, before when you would have the fuel tank, we have a large battery and an electric motor which drives the wheels. it's the battery which is at the moment each driver needs two cars to finish the race, with a car changeover happening halfway through the race. and the car change is one of the many things they are practising here in valencia.

they are collecting data and fine tuning the car before the season how did that go? good positive day. not starting many laps and a few problems with the car, which is a good, positive thing at this time of the season. the next morning, i grabbed alex for a rare bit of downtime. so how old were you when you decided you wanted to take up racing? i actually first started racing motorbikes when i was five. igota little motorbike. and that's where it all started, really, and then i switched to racing go karts instead. did that require your parents to were they ferrying you back—and—forth accommodations and my mum spent a lot of time

in the car with me. a lot of early mornings and late nights. i've got a lot to be thankful for. the first two races of the season are both in hong kong. it's a great start for 05 virgin. we go green in hong kong! but it's alex's team—mate sam who wins the race. the opening race of the season! as we go green in hong kong once again, through the final corner, out on the road, who has got the best start and who's going to know where to brake? alex lynn is in fifth place... and it is technical sam bird fifth, alex lynn ran into trouble. is it technical problems that have put alex lynn in tenth? before every race, the drivers use a simulator to practise driving on the upcoming track. it is a chance to

get to grips with the tight twists and turns that come with a street track. we had ourfirst race in hong kong. that went well. we got two points—scoring finishes. it wasn't the dream scenario but it was a solid start for the whole team. the problem is we had an energy problem which means alex ran low on energy in the last lap and unfortunately got some positions before getting to the line. hong kong was a mixed bag. generally it was a positive weekend. a few little mistakes but we did not quite get the most out of it. we are here in marrakesh. we made it and it's a really amazing place. it's boiling hot palm

trees everywhere and yet behind me is the atlas mountains. we've just been told there are two metres of snow fall, so it's this amazing contrast between hot, tropical weather and these snowy mountains. as the final preparations are under way, we catch up with alex as he looks ahead to the race. it would feel weird if you didn't feel nervous, and also, it's what you old, since i started racing. and for me, it almost feels like home to have that feeling. you end up sort of enjoying it. this is what i do, that's what i live for, and that's that feeling of pressure and excitement all at the same time. we also meet alex's team—mate sam. alex is a really strong team mate.

nice guy, great to work with. you have to remember alex is in his first year, and i'm the one with all of the experience, so alex is catching up in that respect. on race morning, alex qualifies in sixth place, with sam qualifying in second. this is definitely the most rock ‘n‘ roll part of the race day so far. the track now completely full of the vips and instagram influencers and you can see all of the teams, all of the cars are in their positions, ready for the race. alex is in sixth position. he's got all of his engineers standing by. this is my first race. i think the

exciting thing about this is the technology they're developing with the cars on the track today, which obviously is moving at a very rapid it will have an impact on home driving. going to have a great effect on the environment. i've always loved cars, fast cars, and this is kind of like this has a guilt free capacity too because you can enjoy all of that wonder what you're doing something that is totally going to forward the work, the good work at home with the environment, you know? the batteries are not an issue. now it is about the infrastructure and the charging stations and all that. if this is going to affect the from 2040

petrol and diesel cars will be banned. all eyes are looking to formula e as they try to drive this change. i think 2040 is too long and i think there are governments in europe that have said by 2025, all new cars must be battery driven. that's what i would hope every new government around the world would do. that would really speed up the process. ithink here, we're going to see the price going down. we're going to see the range extending a lot. and those problems will be sorted and never will be... at the moment the main challenge facing electric cars is their battery. 22 years might seem like a long way off but with every year, there is another step forward. next season, drivers will go from two cars down to one, which means the battery in one car can now last for a whole race. that will show that to the world, we have improved by 100% the potential of the batteries and the technology. you've got the major

manufacturers coming on board like porsche, mercedes, bmw, they are all coming on board. and that's because they want to have a racing car in the electric racing series. because we all want to sit in a car that can do 300 miles in one sitting. what is it like being surrounded by so many people, everybody wants a piece of you, when you have to be concentrating? you have to just take it in your stride and, to be honest, in four hours' time, i will be sitting in my hotel room by myself. it's a good start... a few lock—ups here and there but at the end of lap one, bird looks super racy up at the front.

0ff goes lynn has been sent spinning from sixth place. he drops right to the back and the team principal is stony—faced. a bit of overenthusiasm. are you 0k? is the car ok? i think so. alex lynn is saying he thinks the car is ok and he will carry on. sam bird in third... so he should be second in the championship. it's the podium spot that sam was asking for. and despite being knocked

to the back of the race, alex makes it back up the order, finishing in tenth place. pretty disappointed. not much to you did really well to come back as well as you did. yeah, well, it's not really worth anything, so it is what it is. congratulations. thank good points to the team again, good points to myself. we are not leading the championship now but there is a still long way to go. the main thing is we've got points on the board in every single race, and good points. i thought you'd be happier. we are so excited for all of you. third is like second of the losers, so, no. but sadly, alex does not leave his bad luck behind. there is race over. he's done a great job this season and it'sjust not come together yet far as issues happening. on to mexico city,

and things are looking up. alex qualifies in second place but it's technical problems which hold him back. the gearbox penalty as he starts in 12 place and finishing tenth. here come the lights now! we go green in uruguay! uruguay makes for some exciting competition between alex and sam. lynn third and bird in eighth. going to be a tight one between the two ds virgin team—mates. sam bird in front of lynn so the two ds virgin cars

have swapped position. alex coming in sixth place. and the hard work does not stop once alex is off the track. i suppose my height as a racing driver is quite unusual. i'm quitea tall racing driver. alex is six foot one. i have to watch my weight maybe more than other drivers. it's been a long time since i could think i can eat whatever i want. even if it'sjust a mental thing, a symbolic thing in the gym, but it translates to your whole life and certainly in your professional life. the pressure is a privilege. because at the end of the day, it means that someone is expecting a certain type of performance from you, whether it's from yourself or it's from the team that backs you and supports you. the reason there is this pressure is the support you into believing you come and they believe in me. so, yeah, i feel pressure in a way that i don't want to let them down. we have put in so much work. and one of those backing alex all the way is virgin founder sir richard branson.

we have to move the world to a world that's powered by clean energy. and so if we can come up with an exciting way to try to get people involved in moving to clean energy, so much the what more exciting way to be than really exciting motor racing taking place in cities all over the world? all of the big car manufacturers are getting behind formula e and that's because as well as the race on the track, they're also competing to develop their own electric cars. jaguar is one of the first teams in the championship to bring one out. what's really exciting is this year, we launched... the car that will have a range of around 400 miles. it's part of the technology we developed in our risk are we it to

consumers to try and enjoy. it's a really aggressive racing environment. we're pushing the boundaries and the technology to the limit. what we learned here was a bulimic cars that drive more efficiently and faster, more enjoyably for consumers. that's really key. from a consumer point of view, does a really limiting number of petrol cars you can buy on the market. we are going to see a massive step change. we're going to be the generation to the big change. like the generation that moved from steam to petrol. we are it's nelson piquetjunior behind the wheel. you just feel so much more comfort and just the handling of the car, everything just feels great. the noise, the sound. it is very quiet. i think formula e is helping making people more aware of the technology the electric cars can do. the power that we have, electric

cars are not only an idea of the future, it's the present. we already have, we are launching cars, we are racing them already around the world. it's going to help people be more aware of how evolved this technology of electric cars is already. from south america to rome where the teams will take to the streets tomorrow to begin the european leg of the championship. it's been a mixed start for alex. some technical problems have held him back. he'll be hoping to make up for it in tomorrowrace. he crashed in free practice one and he has crashed in free practice! grimace again on the face of the team principal.

there, you hear that. there've been two practice sessions on the track in rome this morning and alex has crashed his car in both. after we spoke to him after the first crash, he was trying to downplay it and said this always happens in formula e but i don't think anyone could have expected he would do the same thing again in the second practide. thing again in the second practice. and this is certainly not part of the plan. you can see him storming off out of the car afterwards. there's nowhere to hide in the garage when your team is going faster than you. it pushes you beyond the limits of where you are trying to be. going a little bit too far and you end up running into the barrier, which is the wall. so we are rebuilding the car again. putting the morning's practice session behind him, alex qualifies in 11th place. sam is back up at the front, qualifying in second.

we've got about 20 minutes to go now. are you interested in formula yes very much. and what do you think about having electric cars? in the future having the technology invented here. these cars of the future. i feel ready, i'm calm and just looking forward to it. we go green in rome! no big position changes, oh and into the back, alex lynn crashes again.

alex lynn has been shown the flag which means you have to come in to the pits for repair. it is not safe to stay out there. he's looking for a safe spot. slowing. he's hit the wall! the swede shakes his head because he is out of the rome grand prix! he is going to launch himself into second, into championship contention, as he takes victory in the first rome e prix. it feels amazing. i think felix had the edge on us but all in all, we hung in there. we just about did enough today.

will the team celebrates sam's success and alex's cars are turned to the garage ona recovery truck. it is very resilient. he will have a bad night tonight and then i think tomorrow, he will be back on it, ready to focus on the next race. it was tricky in the garage because you're here to support alex. the other half of the garage is celebrating sam's how tough is that for you? it's only disappointment because it is a competition, after all. i'm so happy for them, so yeah. alex has been so quick all season. he had a bad day. yeah, i know. everyone in formula e is looking for a better performance, whether it's the engineers trying to get more from the technology or the drivers trying to get better in their position in the standings. everyone involved wants the sport to succeed. on his return to the garage alex is as professional as ever despite a really tough day, he's smiling and manages to see the positives.

i think every top athlete or top driver always has self—doubt but usually, i think for the good guys, it does not take long to shut that out and concentrate on the next event. i'm the kind of guy that is going to go away and work even harder than we've done before because that's what you need to do. after seven months of following alex, it's time for us to leave him behind. he's got five races ahead of him and his boss believes he is long overdue a spot on that podium. some of the results that he should have had have been taken away from him because we've had this technical issues. getting that race pace, to get in a position where you are starting to win races, i think alex is overdue now. i think it is never over until it's over and you always believe in yourself and there's always the next race, the next session, the next lap, the next corner. i would not be here if i did not believe i could be formula e champion one day.

we'll keep watching. i wonder if a sport has ever been so relevant. car manufacturers continue to sign up and with drivers coming overfrom formula 1, looks like formula e isjust getting started. someday, you see racing on the street. the technology being discovered, the techonology are developing actually goes into road cars. formula 1 will no longer exist if it continues to drive petrol driven cars indefinitely. we will be looking to the drivers and those building the cars as they fight not just for a spot at the top of the sport, but for our business too. as whether we like it or not, we are going electric. hello, for a weekend injune many

areas won't fare badly in the next few days, some spells of surgeon. most few days, some spells of surgeon. m ost pla ces few days, some spells of surgeon. most places largely dry. the fly in the ointment is there are still heavy potentially thundery showers, more on those in a moment. a quick look at the pollen levels today. very high across much of england and wales. except for the final part of england where it is low, in the east, generally low for all scotland but high in northern ireland. this is the rest of saturday, some heavy thundery showers for the channel islands, some for parts of wales, running through yorkshire, in two parts of cumbria. scotland and northern ireland are likely to see the heaviest potentially thundery showers. don't mind these blobs of blue and green, they give an idea of the area that could be affected, bringing a lot of rain in a short time. that met office warning extends to northern ireland, some

showers could get into cumbria, some across yorkshire, some across wales and west of england, one or two later in parts of the midlands and east anglia may be although most places largely dry and in the sunshine, just reaching 22 or 23 celsius. some heavy thundery showers of the channel islands which should fade overnight as will the other showers so many places dry, clear spells, as the temperature wears on, they will be on a par with last night between nine and i4 celsius, coolest in scotland, high pressure is generally in charge of our weather in the weekend but a few features generating showers especially this one across france, the channel islands again in line for some heavy thundery showers on the weekend and still chance of showers across scotland tomorrow, this time moving east, they could be heavy and thundery if you catch one, northern ireland should offer better on sunday, most places otherwise dry with some spells of stjohn allowing for a few showers of the far north

of england in the afternoon. it will feel warm in the sunshine, perhaps up feel warm in the sunshine, perhaps up to 25 celsius in south—east england and east anglia. we start next week mainly dry with a lot of sunshine across the country, should be dry from northern ireland, more cloud over scotland where you have the greatest chance showers, still warm in the sunshine, two bridges between 18 and 24 celsius. that's all from me. bye bye. this is bbc news. the headlines at 2pm. the queen's birthday honours are announced. amongst the names on this year's list — are former liverpool manager kenny dalglish — who is knighted — and actress emma thompson — who is made a dame. to get this far and to get the accolade that has been awarded is very humbling. the second and final day of the g7 summit begins — after negotiations failed to resolve divisions over us trade tariffs yesterday. more than 65 people die after taliban fighters launch

a series of attacks on afghan soldiers — just after promising a ceasefire for the muslim holiday of eid. also in the next hour. thousands turn out in central london to watch the trooping the colour parade.