Summary

Jacques Villeneuve topped the times today at Spa Francorchamps and by doing so has made the first step into taking the lead again in the championship. Current championship leader, Michael Schumacher, was third. Jean Alesi was, just like yesterday, going strong with a second place on the grid.

Notes

• Schumacher starts in the T-car because of a problem with his race car.
• Hakkinen crashed heavily during the morning session because his rear suspension broke. The McLaren team have apologised for this and will do everything they can to get the best result out of the car.
• Verstappen thinks he has got the old Ford engine and is very displeased with this.
• Berger slams into the barriers at the start and finish straight, he continues in a damaged car but is unable to really set a time.
• Frentzen spins off and hits the barriers damaging the suspension of his car.
• Herbert continues in the T-car after his second run because his race car shakes too much.
• Morbidelli and Coulthard end their session in the gravel trap.
• Verstappen spins off and hits the tyre barrier.
• Nakano's Prost comes to a stand still in his last lap.
• Hakkinen has to start from the grid after his times were cancelled due to fuel irregularities. The McLaren team has also been fined for US$ 25.000.
  • Weather during session: Sunny, dry (25 °C)

			Qualifying
		1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.	Villeneuve (Williams-Renault) G Alesi (Benetton-Renault) G M. Schumacher (Ferrari) G Fisichella (Jordan-Peugeot) G Hakkinen (McLaren-Mercedes) G R. Schumacher (Jordan-Peugeot) G Frentzen (Williams-Renault) G Diniz (Arrows-Yamaha) B Hill (Arrows-Yamaha) B Coulthard (McLaren-Mercedes) G Herbert (Sauber-Petronas) G Barrichello (Stewart-Ford) B Morbidelli (Sauber-Petronas) G Trulli (Prost-Mugen) B Berger (Benetton-Renault) G Nakano (Prost-Mugen) B Irvine (Ferrari) G Magnussen (Stewart-Ford) B Salo (Tyrrell-Ford) G Katayama (Minardi-Hart) B Verstappen (Tyrrell-Ford) G Marques (Minardi-Hart) B 107% rule B: Bridgestone G: Goodyear	1m 49.450s 1m 49.759s 1m 50.293s 1m 50.470s 1m 50.503s 1m 50.520s 1m 50.656s 1m 50.853s 1m 50.970s 1m 51.410s 1m 51.725s 1m 51.916s 1m 52.094s 1m 52.274s 1m 52.391s 1m 52.749s 1m 52.793s 1m 52.886s 1m 52.897s 1m 53.544s 1m 53.725s 1m 55.207s 1m 57.112s

The Quotes

• M. Schumacher: "I used the T-car because I had a problem with the race car, probably at the rear of the chassis. We still have to work on the set-up, which we will do on tomorrow's warm-up. I am a bit worried about the tyres, in case it is hot tomorrow and we will have to work on this also. I think I will be able to use my race car tomorrow, if we can solve the problem with it. As it ran reliably in testing at Monza, I hope to use the 046/2 engine tomorrow."

• Irvine: "This was an unlucky day when I suffered a series of unfortunate circumstances. On my first set of tyres, my car was too much on the nose. On my second run I was stuck behind another car as it was heading for the pits. On my third run, I took some front wing off but I made an error braking for La Source. Before my final run we put back some more downforce on the front wing. I was on a good lap and was getting a tow from Ralf Schumacher, but when he changed line I got on a dirty line and spoilt my tyres."

• Salo: "The new engine is certainly an improvement and you can feel the extra power along the straights, but unfortunately we still need more. Again, I think we did as good a job as possible in the circumstances."

• Verstappen: "I am obviously disappointed to have qualified in this position in front of so many of my fans. I missed my braking before the tight Rivage corner on my third flying lap and put the car into the gravel. The spare was set up for me, but we just didn't have time to get out again."

• Herbert: "On my first run this afternoon the car was bottoming at Eau Rouge, but after we had raised the ride height a little I felt a vibration through the chassis, which wasn't a very comfortable experience here. I switched to the spare, which felt very similar, and did one run with that, and effectively it became my qualifying lap thanks to Tarso Marques. I came across him going down to Eau Rouge at the start of my third run, when he was slowing down. He was just trundling down the hill on the line, and I could tell he wasn't looking in the mirrors, so I had little choice but to abort the run. It was unnecessary and silly."

• Morbidelli: "This morning as I came through the Bus Stop chicane towards the end of the session, something appeared to break in the right front suspension. I was going too fast to slow down before I reached the last section of the chicane, so the car ran wide and hit the barrier on the outside. Because of that I lost out this afternoon as repairs were completed, and this compressed the time we had for setting up the car. It felt more nervous at the rear end than it had this morning, and on my final run unfortunately I clipped a kerb with a rear wheel and this unsettled the car, and I spun into the gravel."

• Alesi: "I am very happy because it is the first time this year that I have qualified on the front row of the grid. It is a good position. Most of the season, I have been further back, but we have made it up in the race. I have been satisfied from the start of the weekend with my car, too, both in the wet and in dry conditions so I am optimistic about the race. My car feels well-balanced. I am in third place in the Championship and I want to ensure I stay there."

• Berger: "I had a very bad day and I am very disappointed. At the begining of the session, out of the first chicane, I had a problem with the gearbox and I spun. I had to take the T-car which, unfortunately, lacked grip and balance and I did not manage to get a good lap. It's a pity because I was very confident: we had solved the mechanical problems of this morning's session and in my first run in qualifying the car had felt very good. Now we have to examine the cars to see what went wrong."