Ferrari on top into qualifying
Despite the fact that Michael Schumacher bounced over the kerb into St Devote which saw his Ferrari head on into the barrier on the outside of the corner, the red cars from Maranello are the favourites to take the front row of the grid during this afternoon's qualifying session.
"Every time we ran the car we made good progress. It was unfortunate that I ran over the kerb at St Devote just before the end of the session," said Michael who still retained the fastest time of the session well ahead of his McLaren rivals.
Eddie Irvine had a trouble free session running a different wing at the end of the session, but not improving his time. "We tried a lot of different choices about how to set up our car and have now found the answers," said Eddie, who took the second fastest time just behind Schumacher.
Hakkinen third for McLaren
Mika Hakkinen was struggling with his McLaren through the swimming pool section of the circuit, but still managed to take the third fastest time after a trouble free session. Things did not go well for David Coulthard who ended up 13th fastest after clipping the wall exiting the last corner which broke a rear right pull rod on the suspension. The team got the car back in the pits, but an engine problem prevented him from running the rest of the session as the team set about an engine change for qualifying.
Barrichello fourth fastest for Stewart
Rubens Barrichello was well up in fourth place overall this morning, although he was reported to be still not happy with the balance of his Stewart-Ford, particularly around the Casino square section of the track. Johnny Herbert ran a fresh set of tyres at the end of the session, but was unable to get in a quick lap which left him in tenth place.
Frentzen back up front from Jordan
Following his troubled day of just 12 laps running on Thursday, Heinz Harald Frentzen was back in the game this morning with 38 laps in his Jordan and fifth fastest time of the session." I am still not 100 percent happy," said Frentzen who was still complaining of too much understeer. It was a worse session for Damon Hill. He was back in 17th spot at the end of the session, most of the session spent in the pits after he spun into Rascasse corner and badly damaged three corners of his car as well as various bits of bodywork. The mechanics did a good job to repair the car before the end of the session, Hill managing another couple of laps before the flag.
Another good showing from Villeneuve
Jacques Villeneuve ended up with a strong sixth fastest time this morning, but his team-mate Mika Salo was back in last place after losing most of the session with gear selection trouble.
In brief...
Jean Alesi was so frustrated with the various problems inflicting his Sauber that he didn't even want to talk about it. His engineer said they had gone in the wrong direction in set-up. Diniz was still fighting understeer and chasing the se-up. Schumacher (7th) and Zanardi (ninth) put the two Williams in the top 10, neither driver happy with his time however, Schumacher delayed by traffic on his quick run and Zanardi losing the final 10 minutes when he spun and stalled at St Devote.
Pos Driver NAT Team Time
1. M.Schumacher GER Ferrari 1:21.249 149.186 kmph
2. Irvine GBR Ferrari 1:21.521 + 0.272
3. Hakkinen FIN McLaren Mercedes 1:21.919 + 0.670
4. Barrichello BRA Stewart Ford 1:21.974 + 0.725
5. Frentzen GER Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:22.166 + 0.917
6. Villeneuve CAN BAR Supertec 1:22.252 + 1.003
7. R.Schumacher GER Williams Supertec 1:22.372 + 1.123
8. Fisichella ITA Benetton Playlife 1:22.599 + 1.350
9. Zanardi ITA Williams Supertec 1:22.654 + 1.405
10. Herbert GBR Stewart Ford 1:22.971 + 1.722
11. Wurz AUT Benetton Playlife 1:23.123 + 1.874
12. Alesi FRA Sauber Petronas 1:23.145 + 1.896
13. Coulthard GBR McLaren Mercedes 1:23.160 + 1.911
14. Trulli ITA Prost Peugeot 1:23.384 + 2.135
15. Diniz BRA Sauber Petronas 1:23.641 + 2.392
16. Panis FRA Prost Peugeot 1:23.751 + 2.502
17. Hill GBR Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:23.929 + 2.680
18. Takagi JPN Arrows TWR 1:24.143 + 2.894
19. de la Rosa SPN Arrows TWR 1:24.380 + 3.131
20. Badoer ITA Minardi Ford 1:24.588 + 3.339
21. Gene SPN Minardi Ford 1:24.819 + 3.570
22. Salo FIN BAR Supertec 1:24.917 + 3.668
Weather: cold, partly cloudy, dry.
All timing unofficial
Saturday Free Practice, Accumulated Times