Hakkinen and Coulthard set the pace
A last moment flying lap at the end of this morning's first practice session for Sunday's San Marino Grand Prix in Imola saw McLaren's Mika Hakkinen head the time sheets again, almost a full second ahead of his team-mate David Coulthard, who took the second fastest time of the session. Coulthard lost track time and ran only 7 laps compared to Hakkinen's 16 when his McLaren suffered an alternator problem, otherwise neither drivers had any complaints at the end of the session during which they fine tuned the set-up of their cars.
Ferrari off to a good start on home track
The Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team got off to a good start this morning with Eddie Irvine and Michael Schumacher setting the next two fastest times this morning. Irvine ran his car in 'standard' trim with a bit lighter fuel load to produce his best time just a fraction slower than Coulthard, while Schumacher was running a new front wing design for the first time. He was happy with his car which he will continue to fine tune to the changing track conditions during the afternoon session.
Barrichello still going well for Ford
Rubens Barrichello and the Stewart Ford team continued to show well here. Barrichello set the fifth fastest time, the team hoping that further engine modifications will have cured the problems which they had in Brazil and the recent Jerez test. "We still haven't put a race distance on the revised engine, but we are hoping that it will be OK here," said Ford's engine boss Nick Hayes. Johnny Herbert was back in 14th place, the Englishman saying that he had gone the wrong way with set-up changes during the session. He also went too fast in the pit lane and earned a $3,250 fine.
Alesi fast for Sauber
Jean Alesi was quick in the first session for Sauber. He complained of poor grip and had a problem with his car's engine speed limiter, but didn't get caught for speeding. Pedro Diniz ended up tenth, despite a spin under braking.
In brief...
Both Jordan drivers were well off the pace in 15th for Hill and 16th for Frentzen. Hill complained of a lack of grip and spun off at the end of the session. Frentzen said he had bad understeer. Olivier Panis only ran nine laps in his Prost because of a gearbox oil leak but was happy with eighth fastest time, his team mate Jarno Trulli slipping back to 12th after failing to overcome an understeer and lack of traction problem. Jacques Villeneuve was well up in seventh place for BAR, his new team mate for the weekend, Mika Salo, was in 19th spot as he got used to the car which he had previously driven in Jerez for one day.
Pos Driver Nat Team Time
1 Hakkinen FIN Mclaren Mercedes 1'28"467 200.617 Km/H
2 Coulthard GBR Mclaren Mercedes 1'29"218 + 0'00"751
3 Irvine GBR Ferrari 1'29"381 + 0'00"914
4 M.Schumacher GER Ferrari 1'29"534 + 0'01"067
5 Barrichello BRA Stewart Ford 1'29"902 + 0'01"435
6 Alesi FRA Sauber Petronas 1'30"182 + 0'01"715
7 Villeneuve CAN BAR Supertec 1'30"337 + 0'01"870
8 Panis FRA Prost Peugeot 1'30"408 + 0'01"941
9 R.Schumacher GER Williams Supertec 1'30"603 + 0'02"136
10 Diniz BRA Sauber Petronas 1'30"794 + 0'02"327
11 Fisichella ITA Benetton Playlife 1'30"854 + 0'02"387
12 Trulli ITA Prost Peugeot 1'30"975 + 0'02"508
13 Wurz AUT Benetton Playlife 1'31"009 + 0'02"542
14 Herbert GBR Stewart Ford 1'31"046 + 0'02"579
15 Hill GBR Jordan Mugen-Hond 1'31"064 + 0'02"597
16 Frentzen GER Jordan Mugen-Hond 1'31"217 + 0'02"750
17 Takagi JPN Arrows TWR 1'31"577 + 0'03"110
18 Zanardi ITA Williams Supertec 1'31"598 + 0'03"131
19 Salo FIN BAR Supertec 1'32"449 + 0'03"982
20 de la Rosa SPN Arrows TWR 1'32"756 + 0'04"289
21 Badoer ITA Minardi Ford 1'33"648 + 0'05"181
22 Gene SPN Minardi Ford 1'38"065 + 0'09"598
Weather: dry, sunny.
All timing unofficial