Hakkinen makes his mark
Mika Hakkinen took the fastest time of the day for the McLaren- Mercedes team right at the end of the session when he ran a quick lap on fresh tyres seven-tenth's faster than any of his rivals and the first driver to break into the 1:19 seconds bracket with a time that was still three seconds off his 1997 pole winning time. David Coulthard was unable to better the fifth fastest time almost a second of the time of his team-mate, the Scot's attempts at bettering his time upset by yellow flags on his quick runs.
Fisichella fast for Benetton
Giancarlo Fisichella was an impressive second fastest in the session for Benetton-Playlife, the Italian later surviving a spin into the gravel trap from which he was able to drive clear. " I spun because of Michael Schumacher, but he came an apologized to me afterwards," said Giancarlo. Alexander Wurz also had an off during the session, the Austrian unable to better eighth fastest although he had improved his car from this morning.
Villeneuve third fastest for Williams
Despite a spin from which he was able to stay on the circuit, Jacques Villeneuve managed to set an impressive third fastest time of the session on used tyres for the Williams-Mecachrome team . His team-mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen also spinning off while on a quick lap just before the end of the session, but unable to get going again after his car got stuck in the gravel trap.
Schumacher slips to fourth for Ferrari
Michael Schumacher did not better the fourth fastest time this afternoon, the German only improving by a few thousandth's of a second on his fastest morning time, although he stayed on an old set of tyres and was thus happy with his relative performance. Eddie Irvine was sixth fastest in the second after improving his morning time by almost a second.
Schumacher OK, Hill in trouble
Despite more oversteer and understeer than he would like, Ralf Schumacher was happy with his ninth fastest time for Jordan as he was running a heavy fuel load and old tyres."We know how to improve the car tomorrow," he said. On the other hand, Damon Hill was in trouble back in 12th place, saying later that he had major work to do on the set-up of his car.
In brief...
Both Tyrrell drivers went off, Takagi when he spun exiting the last corner and parked against the barrier near the pits. Rosset spun again into the gravel, drove out and then stalled his engine. Both Prost drivers were happier with their car's handling this afternoon, Trulli surviving a minor off with no damage on his way to 13th place. Jean Alesi was upset with his car's excessive understeer while Johnny Herbert stopped with smoke in his Sauber's cockpit after a short circuit killed his car's dashboard while the engine also suffered a fuel pick-up problem. Mika Salo stopped with an hydraulic problem with his Arrows. ends.
Timing
POS DRIVER NATION TEAM TIME
1. M.Hakkinen FIN McLaren-Mercedes MP4/13 1:19.689 205,820 kph
2. G.Fisichella ITA Benetton-Mecachrome B198 1:20.325 +0.636
3. J.Villeneuve CAN Williams-Mecachrome FW20 1:20.326 +0.637
4. M.Schumacher GER Ferrari F300 1:20.461 +0.772
5. D.Coulthard GBR McLaren-Mercedes MP4/13 1:20.577 +0.888
6. E.Irvine GBR Ferrari F300 1:20.841 +1.152
7. A.Wurz AUT Benetton-Mecachrome B198 1:21.014 +1.325
8. H.H.Frentzen GER Williams-Mecachrome FW20 1:21.174 +1.485
9. R.Schumacher GER Jordan-Mugen-Honda 198 1:21.351 +1.662
10. O.Panis FRA Prost-Peugeot AP01 1:21,391 +1.702
11. R.Barrichello BRA Stewart-Ford SF2 1:21.538 +1.849
12. D.Hill GBR Jordan-Mugen-Honda 198 1:21.738 +2.049
13. J.Trulli ITA Prost-Peugeot AP01 1:21.764 +2.075
14. J.Alesi FRA Sauber-Petronas C17 1:21.952 +2.263
15. P.Diniz BRA Arrows A19 1:22.485 +2.796
16. J.Verstappen NED Stewart-Ford SF2 1:22.566 +2.877
17. J.Herbert GBR Sauber-Petronas C17 1:22.603 +2.914
18. T.Takagi JPN Tyrrell-Ford 026 1:22.792 +3.103
19. S.Nakano JPN Minardi-Ford M198 1:22,967 +3.278
20. E.Tuero ARG Minardi-Ford M198 1:23.331 +3.642
21. R.Rosset BRA Tyrrell-Ford 026 1:23.644 +3.955
22. M.Salo FIN Arrows A19 1:24.004 +4.315
All timing is unofficial