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