Summary

Michael Schumacher completely dominated today's qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix. He took pole early in the session and only went faster and faster.

Villeneuve struggled with his Williams which even resulted in him going through the gravel trap and damaging the floor of the car. The team didn't repair his car but Villeneuve could improve on his time, he ended second on the grid.

World Champion Damon Hill seems to feel at home on this track to claim an excellent third position in his Arrows-Yamaha.

Notes

• The Sauber team has used unregulated fuel yesterday and received a US$ 25.000 fine.
• Marques uses the T-car because he sun off in the morning session and hit a tractor.
• R. Schumacher had engine problems after his first run and had to continue in the T-car which was set up for Fisichella.
• Berger spins off at the entrance of the pitlane, he continues in the T-car.
• Coulthard spins on his last flying lap and continues to the pits.
  • Weather during sessions: Dry, partly cloudy (26 °C)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.

M. Schumacher (Ferrari) G Villeneuve (Williams-Renault) G Hill (Arrows-Yamaha) B Hakkinen (McLaren-Mercedes) G Irvine (Ferrari) G Frentzen (Williams-Renault) G Berger (Benetton-Renault) G Coulthard (McLaren-Mercedes) G Alesi (Benetton-Renault) G Barrichello (Stewart-Ford) B Herbert (Sauber-Petronas) G Trulli (Prost-Mugen) B Fisichella (Jordan-Peugeot) G R. Schumacher (Jordan-Peugeot) G Morbidelli (Sauber-Petronas) G Nakano (Prost-Mugen) B Magnussen (Stewart-Ford) B Verstappen (Tyrrell-Ford) G Diniz (Arrows-Yamaha) B Katayama (Minardi-Hart) B Salo (Tyrrell-Ford) G Marques (Minardi-Hart) B 107% rule B: Bridgestone G: Goodyear

1m 14.672s 1m 14.859s 1m 15.044s 1m 15.140s 1m 15.424s 1m 15.520s 1m 15.699s 1m 15.705s 1m 15.905s 1m 15.138s 1m 15.138s 1m 16.297s 1m 16.300s 1m 16.686s 1m 16.766s 1m 16.784s 1m 16.858s 1m 17.095s 1m 17.118s 1m 17.232s 1m 17.482s 1m 18.020s 1m 19.899s

The Quotes

• Berger: "I had a very good session until I spun. I think I pushed just a little too hard. It's a pity because on that lap I was two or three tenths quicker and I know I could have improved my time at the last two corners. I lost control of the car a little bit at the exit, I pushed too hard and I didn't want to lift off. I touched a kerb and the car just spun off."

• Alesi: "I am obviously very disappointed to start the race from 9th position. I feel we have very little chance since it is impossible to overtake here at this circuit. It's a shame because the car is reliable. We shall see what tomorrow will bring."

• Hill: "I could not believe it myself at first. I saw the readout in my cockpit and did not think it was right. I thought something had gone wrong. It is absolutely fantastic to be back up here and so competitive. I really thought a place in the top 10 would have been brilliant. Now I will go out to really enjoy myself in the race. Can I win? Of course, I can. Anything can happen."

• Herbert: "Our performance today has been encouraging, and we did some good work in both sessions. The balance of the car is not too bad and it's reasonable over the bumps here. I've got a bit of understeer in the slow corners, which I want to get rid of, and the grip level isn't what I want it to be, but otherwise I'm happy."

• M. Schumacher: "Naturally I am very happy to have got my 17th pole position. I set the quickest time early on and held onto to it for the whole session. I made a small mistake on my quickest lap, but it did not affect my time. I made some small changes to the car before each run and they always brought an improvement. The cooler temperature helped me to improve, but not that much. The new chassis allowed me to run closer to the weight limit, which is very important on this track. The circuit is very difficult as you can never move off the racing line as you will end up in the dirt. Pole position is not the key to winning the race, as tomorrow we must choose the right strategy."

• Morbidelli: "I think we did a good job sorting the car today, especially as we were thinking more in terms of the race than in pure qualifying performance. We improved the set-up through the day, but I still have understeer in the slow corners and we need to do something more about that. My arm is fine, and has given me no problem at all, and it feels great to be back in F1 again."

• Verstappen: "I got just about the perfect lap on my third run and I don't think there was much more we could have done today. The car was handling well and we made some small adjustments which also helped. It will be a difficult race again tomorrow, but I hope to make up some places at the start and then complete the distance. If it is as hot as it usually is, there could be a lot of retirements during the 77 laps."

• Salo: "On my second out lap, I think I may have blocked Jacques a bit because I was over the top of the hill and didn't see him coming, so he did the same to me on the next lap. But it is not the same if you do it deliberately. It ruined our schedule, because it meant that after 25 minutes I had only one run left and the track was getting better all the time. We have had understeer all weekend in mid-corner -- just a little -- but it's enough to prevent me getting on the power earlier and that is certainly costing me some time."