Summary
"I came to Hockenheim to win and that is what I will be trying to do," said Mika Hakkinen in a fantastic display of speed, determination and pole setting at the German Grand Prix. Furthermore, Saturday saw both Jordan drivers beating Ferrari's Eddie Irvine and current Driver Championship contender Michael Schumacher.
Olivier Panis was the first out on the track this afternoon, trying to secure a time after failing to do so in the morning practice sessions due to a hard spin and impact. The Frenchman set the first target of the day at 1:46.810.
15 minutes into the session, Panis' time was replaced by Jos Verstappen 1:45.623. However, Mika Hakkinen soon turned everything around by setting his initial qualifying time at 1:43.032. Michael Schumacher shared initial track time with Hakkinen for an impressive 1:43.671. At this time, the German didn't seem too affected by the problems earlier in the morning. David Coulthard then firmly showed his hand with a very quick time of 1:42.813, setting provisional pole.
20 minutes into the session, Damon Hill managed to bump Schumacher for third with a time 1:43.612. Eddie Irvine then makes a run that puts him fifth. Alesi and Fisichella battle again between each other, but for 6th spot instead of pole as in Austria. The Italian goes quicker.
24 minutes into the session, Villeneuve sets a strong time, placing him third and +0.545 off pole; Michael Schumacher is bumped again.
At the half-way point, Tuero's Minardi-Ford power-plant gives way with the Argentine only managing the 20th quickest time. Alesi battles back to gain 6th once again.
25 minutes left in the session, Damon Hill improves his time, +0.634 off pole. Michael Schumacher decides for a second run, runs wide and loses approximately 6/10ths of a second to be 5th on the provisional grid.
Soon after, Jacques Villeneuve on a spectacular run goes straight to provisional pole with 1:42.743, but David Coulthard returns to up-end the Canadian. Teammate Mika Hakkinen, immediately after, sets new provision pole of 1:42.182. Eddie Irvine steals his teammate's spot, +1.272 off Hakkinen's time.
20 minutes left in the session, Takagi goes off in the 13th provisional spot after braking too deep. Many of the front-runners then fell silent, fine tuning and waiting in the respective garages for their final runs. The only exception was Damon Hill and Teammate Ralf. Hill does not improve his time, but Ralf Schumacher goes up to replace Hill at 4th spot, +0.876 off provisional pole.
15 minutes left in the session, Coulthard suffers an electrical problem, parking his McLaren. At the same time, Villeneuve runs another hot lap but does not gain position on the currently retired Scotsman. Alexander Wurz also sneaks into 5th position, buzzing the crowd into the final stages of the session.
11 minutes remaining, some controversy occurred when Michael Schumacher was blocked on his hot lap by an oblivious Pedro Diniz. Schumacher pulls along side the Brazilian in an attempt to display his frustration. Schumacher returns to the pits, closes his eyes and and remains very still as trying to calm himself down after the incident.
10 minutes left, Hakkinen separates himself further from the rest of the field, going -0.171 seconds quicker.
In the final minutes, Michael Schumacher returns to the track with a great roar from the crowd. He attempts 2 hot laps but does not improve position. Damon Hill gives his final run with no improvement, but Ralf Schumacher bumps the Briton immediately after for 4th
Amazingly, Mika Hakkinen in a supreme display of McLaren Mercedes power again goes quicker, 0.173 seconds faster than his previous time. Jacques Villeneuve does not improve on his final lap. Coulthard goes out on the spare, locks up (very near a parked Ralf Schumacher), and gets called back in.
The session ends, Hakkinen, Coulthard, Villeneuve.
Michael Schumacher said, "...naturally I am disappointed. It's the wrong moment to be position nine, not doubt about that. But, we had a difficult free practice session this morning, once because of a mistake by myself and once because of a mechanical mistake/problem. And, then, I only did three laps this morning (which) doesn't help. But, it's not the main reason. Eddie was 1.4 seconds off the front. (It) should not be the case. But, we are. So we have to find how and work and work and work."
The Times
POS DRIVER NATION TEAM TIME
1 Mika Hakkinen FIN McLaren Mercedes 1:41.838 POLE
2 David Coulthard GB McLaren Mercedes 1:42.347 + 0.509
3 Jacques Villeneuve CAN Williams Mecachrome 1:42.365 + 0.527
4 Ralf Schumacher GER Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:42.994 + 1.156
5 Damon Hill GB Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:43.183 + 1.345
6 Eddie Irvine GB Ferrari 1:43.270 + 1.432
7 Alexander Wurz AUT Benetton Playlife 1:43.341 + 1.503
8 Giancarlo Fisichella ITA Benetton Playlife 1:43.369 + 1.531
9 Michael Schumacher GER Ferrari 1:43.459 + 1.621
10 Heinz-Harald Frentzen GER Williams Mecachrome 1:43.467 + 1.629
11 Jean Alesi FRA Sauber Petronas 1:43.663 + 1.825
12 Johnny Herbert GB Sauber Petronas 1:44.599 + 2.761
13 Rubens Barrichello BRA Stewart Ford 1:44.776 + 2.938
14 Jarno Trulli ITA Prost Peugeot 1:44.844 + 3.006
15 Toranosuke Takagi JAP Tyrrell Ford 1:44.961 + 3.123
16 Olivier Panis FRA Prost Peugeot 1:45.197 + 3.359
17 Mika Salo FIN Arrows TWR 1:45.276 + 3.438
18 Pedro Diniz BRA Arrows TWR 1:45.588 + 3.750
19 Jos Verstappen HOL Stewart Ford 1:45.623 + 3.785
20 Sinji Nakano JAP Minardi Ford 1:46.713 + 4.875
21 Esteban Tuero ARG Minardi Ford 1:47.265 + 5.427
22 Ricardo Rosset BRA Tyrrell Ford DNQ Concussion
Saturday Qualifying 107% 1:48.967 + 7.129
All Times Unofficial