Irvine heads first day's practice in Hungary
A quick lap in the final seconds of Friday's free practice session saw Eddie Irvine take the fastest time of the day for Scuderia Ferrari-Marlboro, the dusty track conditions not helped by light sprinklings of rain throughout the session. The car was pretty good to start with and I made a couple of good changes throughout the session. Qualifying will be important here, so I will be working hard on that tomorrow," said Irvine.
Mika Salo improved to fifth fastest time of the day, but had another trip through a gravel trap with no damage to his car." I made a lot of changes to try an improve the car throughout the session. Although my final time does not show it, I made a lot of progress and I am pleased with the improvement shown in the partial times," said Salo.
Hakkinen second despite spinning out
Mika Hakkinen had to sit back and watch Eddie Irvine beat what had been his fastest time of the day, for the Finn had gone off half way through the session when he spun under braking for the chicane and got stuck in a gravel trap. Despite that, he was just 0,246 secs behind Irvine's best time and over half a second quicker than that of his team-mate David Coulthard who took third fastest time of the day after a trouble free session. "Although the rain made the track slippery, you could still improve upon the times by taking out fuel from the car," said Coulthard.
Barrichello holds fourth for Ford
Rubens Barrichello continued to hold the fourth fastest time for the Stewart-Ford team, but Complained the rain had prevented him doing all the work he had intended this afternoon. Johnny Herbert was still unable to better tenth fastest time of the day despite improving by six tenth's of a second on his morning time. He stopped early with a problem with one of his car's rear brake discs.
Frentzen sixth, Hill crashes
Heinz-Harald Frentzen tried different set-ups on his Jordan and did not try a quick lap, but was a happy sixth overall after a trouble free session and 30 laps for the day." We finished our homework," said Frentzen. Damon Hill ran 21 laps for the day, but when he tried a quick lap shortly before the end of the session he spun off half way around the last turn and crashed into the tyre barrier damaging the front wing and right corner of his car. He ended up 16th fastest.
Zanardi ahead of Schumacher for Williams
Despite a trip two trips across gravel traps which smashed off one of his Williams' side deflectors, Alex Zanardi set the seventh fastest time of the session, the Italian now happier with left foot braking which he had not tried since the start of the season. Ralf Schumacher was back in ninth spot after spinning off into gravel trap and stalling the engine, one of the few drivers failing to improve upon his morning time.
In brief...
Another difficult session for BAR. Villeneuve went off three times ending his session stuck in a gravel trap. Zonta also had an off ending the day in 17th place, Villeneuve taking 11th spot.
Jarno Trulli hit the barrier hard with his Prost when he spun at the chicane. The right side of the car was badly damaged, perhaps the monocoque as well. Panis was happier with his Prost's balance, although said the back end was nervous.
Alesi was still complaining about the handling of his Sauber after failing to better 15th fastest. Diniz was 20th for the day, losing time while a hydraulic leak was cured, the leak causing his gearbox problems this morning.
Both Fisichella and Wurz went off with their Benetton's during the session, both driver pleased they had made progress despite eighth place for Wurz and only 14th for Fisichella.
Friday Free Practice - Accumulated Times
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Irvine Ferrari 1:19.476 179.918 kmph
2. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes 1:19.722 + 0.246
3. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes 1:20.117 + 0.641
4. Barrichello Stewart Ford 1:20.547 + 1.071
5. Salo Ferrari 1:20.989 + 1.513
6. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:21.185 + 1.709
7. Zanardi Williams Supertec 1:21.251 + 1.775
8. Wurz Benetton Supertec 1:21.456 + 1.980
9. R.Schumacher Williams Supertec 1:21.481 + 2.005
10. Herbert Stewart Ford 1:21.486 + 2.010
11. Villeneuve BAR Supertec 1:21.504 + 2.028
12. Panis Prost Peugeot 1:21.525 + 2.049
13. Badoer Minardi Ford 1:21.635 + 2.159
14. Fisichella Benetton Supertec 1:21.673 + 2.197
15. Alesi Sauber Petronas 1:22.009 + 2.533
16. Hill Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:22.182 + 2.706
17. Zonta BAR Supertec 1:22.290 + 2.814
18. Trulli Prost Peugeot 1:22.360 + 2.884
19. Gene Minardi Ford 1:22.380 + 2.904
20. Diniz Sauber Petronas 1:23.096 + 3.620
21. de al Rosa Arrows TWR 1:23.216 + 3.740
22. Takagi Arrows TWR 1:24.064 + 4.588
All timing unofficial