McLaren set the early pace

After heavy rains the previous day, the A1 Ring circuit took most of the first free practice session to see an improvement in the grip which saw the times get progressively faster as the session went on. David Coulthard was fastest in the session, the Scot reporting no problems with his McLaren other than the changing handling from the changing track conditions. Mika Hakkinen took the third fastest time with no problems either.

Irvine on form for Ferrari

"We have to learn to dial in the car to this circuit which he have not run the car one before," said Eddie Irvine, who set the second fastest time of the session and was on his way to the fastest time when a harmless spin spoiled the lap. Mika Salo's debut for the Ferrari team went well. He was sixth fastest only half a second off Irvine's best lap, the Finn running 23 laps, seven more than Irvine for the session.

Schumacher fourth for Williams

Both the Williams-Supertec chassis were running the same improved aerodynamic package that they had run in Silverstone, Ralf Schumacher setting fourth fastest of the morning , his only concern being graining of the front tyres which the team will be monitoring closely with the changing track conditions. Alex Zanardi , who has never raced at the A1-Ring before , ran 26 laps , more than any other driver, in order to familiarise himself with the track. He was eighth quickest.

Fisichella seventh

Giancarlo Fisichella, who took the pole for Benetton here last year, was seventh fastest this morning. "We did a lot of work on the aerodynamics at the Monza test which has improved the balance," said Fisichella. Wurz was unable to better 11th fastest time on his home track, neither driver having any technical problems.

In brief...

Ricardo Zonta was ninth fastest for BAR with his team-mate Villeneuve 13th, the team encouraged by their performance here and optimistic of a top 10 start for their cars on Sunday. De la Rosa parked his Arrows with an engine problem early on, the team changing it for the afternoon.

Damon Hill had three trips across the gravel traps this morning, the Englishman blaming a long brake pedal for his problems, but saying he did not want to lose the time to fix it during the session. Hill was 15th, Frentzen fifth fastest in the other Jordan. Alesi ran only seven laps when a stuck wheel nut forced the Sauber team to remove the entire upright of his Sauber.

Pos  Driver        Team                 Time                   
 1.  Coulthard     McLaren Mercedes     1:13.883   210.446 kmph
 2.  Irvine        Ferrari              1:14.220   + 0.337     
 3.  Hakkinen      McLaren Mercedes     1:14.241   + 0.358     
 4.  R.Schumacher  Williams Supertec    1:14.604   + 0.721     
 5.  Frentzen      Jordan Mugen-Honda   1:14.895   + 1.012     
 6.  Salo          Ferrari              1:14.896   + 1.013     
 7.  Fisichella    Benetton Playlife    1:15.035   + 1.152     
 8.  Zanardi       Williams Supertec    1:15.043   + 1.160     
 9.  Zonta         BAR Supertec         1:15.173   + 1.290     
10.  Trulli        Prost Peugeot        1:15.259   + 1.376     
11.  Wurz          Benetton Playlife    1:15.286   + 1.403     
12.  Diniz         Sauber Petronas      1:15.288   + 1.405     
13.  Herbert       Stewart Ford         1:15.358   + 1.475     
14.  Hill          Jordan Mugen-Honda   1:15.443   + 1.560     
15.  Villeneuve    BAR Supertec         1:15.493   + 1.610     
16.  Takagi        Arrows TWR           1:16.067   + 2.184     
17.  Barrichello   Stewart Ford         1:16.083   + 2.200     
18.  Alesi         Sauber Petronas      1:16.182   + 2.299     
19.  Gene          Minardi Ford         1:16.357   + 2.474     
20.  Badoer        Minardi Ford         1:16.417   + 2.534     
21.  Panis         Prost Peugeot        1:16.643   + 2.760     
22.  de la Rosa    Arrows TWR           1:17.538   + 3.655     

All timing unofficial