Summary
The first two free practice sessions for Sunday's German Grand Prix at Hockenheim took place earlier today under clear skies.
The McLaren pairing were on form again, topping the time sheets in both sessions, 8/10ths of a second faster than the nearest Ferrari. Mika Hakkinen came out just ahead of his team mate overall, but Daid Coulthard had been the faster of the two in the first session.
Ferrari ran both short and long wheelbase versions of the F300b for Eddie Irvine and Michael Schumacher respectively, but there appeared to be little difference on the long straights of Hockenheim.
The main surprise was Damon Hill who had his best practice session of the season, getting into 3rd 0.348 seconds away from Mika Hakkinen. Jordan and Mugen have made great efforts to try and catch their competitors and it seems it has paid off.
The Times
POS DRIVER NATION TEAM SESSION TIME
1 Mika Hakkinen FIN McLaren Mercedes 2nd Session 1:43.946
2 David Coulthard GB McLaren Mercedes 2nd Session 1:44.138 + 0.192
3 Damon Hill GB Jordan Mugen-Honda 2nd Session 1:44.294 + 0.348
4 Jean Alesi FRA Sauber Petronas 2nd Session 1:44.546 + 0.600
5 Michael Schumacher GER Ferrari 2nd Session 1:44.757 + 0.811
6 Eddie Irvine GB Ferrari 2nd Session 1:44.780 + 0.834
7 Jacques Villeneuve CAN Williams Mecachrome 2nd Session 1:44.928 + 0.982
8 David Coulthard GB McLaren Mercedes 1st Session 1:44.979 + 1.033
9 Heinz-Harald Frentzen GER Williams Mecachrome 2nd Session 1:45.186 + 1.240
10 Johnny Herbert GB Sauber Petronas 2nd Session 1:45.364 + 1.418
11 Mika Hakkinen FIN McLaren Mercedes 1st Session 1:45.383 + 1.437
12 Jean Alesi FRA Sauber Petronas 1st Session 1:45.412 + 1.466
13 Ralf Schumacher GER Jordan Mugen-Honda 2nd Session 1:45.511 + 1.565
14 Jarno Trulli ITA Prost Peugeot 2nd Session 1:45.611 + 1.665
15 Damon Hill GB Jordan Mugen-Honda 1st Session 1:45.810 + 1.864
16 Alexander Wurz AUT Benetton Playlife 2nd Session 1:45.943 + 1.997
17 Eddie Irvine GB Ferrari 1st Session 1:45.987 + 2.041
18 Giancarlo Fisichella ITA Benetton Playlife 2nd Session 1:46.005 + 2.059
19 Michael Schumacher GER Ferrari 1st Session 1:46.099 + 2.153
20 Jacques Villeneuve CAN Williams Mecachrome 1st Session 1:46.138 + 2.192
21 Mika Salo FIN Arrows TWR 2nd Session 1:46.162 + 2.216
22 Rubens Barrichello BRA Stewart Ford 2nd Session 1:46.257 + 2.311
23 Giancarlo Fisichella ITA Benetton Playlife 1st Session 1:46.343 + 2.397
24 Ralf Schumacher GER Jordan Mugen-Honda 1st Session 1:46.455 + 2.509
25 Olivier Panis FRA Prost Peugeot 2nd Session 1:46.484 + 2.538
26 Toranosuke Takagi JAP Tyrrell Ford 2nd Session 1:46.743 + 2.797
27 Johnny Herbert GB Sauber Petronas 1st Session 1:46.762 + 2.816
28 Jarno Trulli ITA Prost Peugeot 1st Session 1:46.864 + 2.918
29 Pedro Diniz BRA Arrows TWR 1st Session 1:46.903 + 2.957
30 Pedro Diniz BRA Arrows TWR 2nd Session 1:46.903 + 2.957
31 Olivier Panis FRA Prost Peugeot 1st Session 1:46.941 + 2.995
32 Jos Verstappen HOL Stewart Ford 2nd Session 1:47.086 + 3.140
33 Heinz-Harald Frentzen GER Williams Mecachrome 1st Session 1:47.212 + 3.266
34 Rubens Barrichello BRA Stewart Ford 1st Session 1:47.240 + 3.294
35 Mika Salo FIN Arrows TWR 1st Session 1:47.408 + 3.462
36 Alexander Wurz AUT Benetton Playlife 1st Session 1:47.450 + 3.504
37 Esteban Tuero ARG Minardi Ford 1st Session 1:48.175 + 4.229
38 Esteban Tuero ARG Minardi Ford 2nd Session 1:48.175 + 4.229
39 Sinji Nakano JAP Minardi Ford 1st Session 1:48.832 + 4.886
40 Sinji Nakano JAP Minardi Ford 2nd Session 1:48.832 + 4.886
41 Jos Verstappen HOL Stewart Ford 1st Session 1:49.515 + 5.569
42 Ricardo Rosset BRA Tyrrell Ford 2nd Session 1:49.986 + 6.040
43 Toranosuke Takagi JAP Tyrrell Ford 1st Session 1:50.504 + 6.558
44 Ricardo Rosset BRA Tyrrell Ford 1st Session 1:50.518 + 6.572
Friday Practice Aggregate 107% 1:51.222 + 7.276
All Times Unofficial