David Coulthard captured the fastest time on Friday after team-mate Mika Hakkinen crashed into the last corner at Albert Park which halted Friday's second session with 12 minutes left of timing. Hakkinen, who ended up second fastest Friday, was unhurt and later said, "I was pushing hard and just lost it, that's all there was to it."
Rubens Barrichello was ecstatic with his third spot, even though suffering suspension problems in the end. "We were almost half a second faster than in qualifying last year," stated the Brazilian
Heinz-Harald Frentzen made a great start to 1999 with his new team, Jordan Mugen Honda. "It is great to be back on the race track again and I enjoy the Albert Park circuit very much!" said the German. "Today was a good start for us - it was a very productive day. The car balance was the main issue and I am pleased with the improved set up we found by the end of the day. There is still a little under-steer on some parts of the track which we will try to get rid of tomorrow."
Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine finished somewhat down in the pack at seventh and fourteenth respectively. Both cars ran with heavy fuel loads and Schumacher suffered from gear problem which caused him to stop on the race track. FIA rules prevented him from running in the rest of the first session. "We could not do as many laps as we would have liked today," stated Schumacher. "As I had to be pushed back to the pits when I stopped in the first part of the session, the rules state I could not go out again. The reason for this was that I could not engage first gear. In the second part, we had a problem with a broken seal which took some time to fix. Therefore we have not yet found the right set up for this track. But I am optimistic that we can improve tomorrow."
Friday Free Practice Combined POS DRIVER TEAM CHASSIS ENGINE TIME 01. Coulthard McLaren MP4-14 Mercedes V10 1:31.971 02. Hakkinen McLaren MP4-14 Mercedes V10 1:31.985 03. Barrichello Stewart SF3 Ford V10 1:32.947 04. Frentzen Jordan 199 Mugen Honda V10 1:33.029 05. Herbert Stewart SF3 Ford V10 1:33.166 06. Hill Jordan 199 Mugen Honda V10 1:33.420 07. M. Schumacher Ferrari F399 Ferrari V10 1:33.576 08. Trulli Prost AP02 Peugeot V10 1:33.870 09. Zanardi Williams FW21 Supertec V10 1:33.951 10. R Schumacher Williams FW21 Supertec V10 1:33.957 11. Wurz Benetton B199 Supertec V10 1:34.046 12. Fisichella Benetton B199 Supertec V10 1:34.135 13. Alesi Sauber C18 Petronas V10 1:34.541 14. Irvine Ferrari F399 Ferrari V10 1:34.595 15. Panis Prost AP02 Peugeot V10 1:34.693 16. Villeneuve BAR 01 Supertec V10 1:34.695 17. Diniz Sauber C18 Petronas V10 1:35.253 18. Takagi Arrows A20 Arrows V10 1:35.699 19. De La Rosa Arrows A20 Arrows V10 1:35.756 20. Gene Minardi M199 Ford V10 1:36.481 21. Badoer Minardi M199 Ford V10 1:37.958 22. Zonta BAR 01 Supertec V10 1:38.075 |