Barrichello takes pole in the wet
Just like his first pole position in Spa in 1994, Rubens Barrichello timed his run on the wet track perfectly to capture pole position for the Stewart-Ford team in Sunday's French Grand Prix at Magny Cours.
Amazingly, only a handful of cars took to the track in the opening minutes of practice, so when the rain worsened it was three of those first four drivers who took the three fastest times in qualifying. "I was just a bit slower than Jean Alesi on my first flying lap and on my second lap I thought it would be all or nothing to beat Jean," said Barrichello, who managed it by just under half a second. "Besides a bit more wing, the car was still set up for the dry, but it was the right time to go out and good enough for the pole," he added.
Team-mate Johnny Herbert waited longer. He had planned to stay out for the full 12 laps, but an electrical problem brought him back for the T-car with which he spun into a gravel trap. He ended up in ninth spot.
Alesi up front for Sauber
Jean Alesi was a delighted second quickest after being the first man out on the track. "It was a good reward for the mechanics who had to work all night to repair my car after the crash yesterday," said Alesi. His team-mate Diniz waited too long and then went off into a gravel trap after setting the 11th fastest time. After running a full wet set-up at the end of the session, Alesi finished his practice stalled in a gravel trap after spinning off.
Panis heads row two for Prost
Olivier Panis was delighted with a third place for the Prost team, "We had a good meteorologist who predicted the rain would get worse so we started early with a full wet set-p on the car," he said. His team-mate Trulli ended up eighth with his best lap.
Coulthard impressive fourth for McLaren
Despite waiting almost 40 minutes before taking to the track, David Coulthard set an impressive fourth fastest time in between trips off the side of the track, the Scotsman easily the fastest when the conditions were at their worst. Mika Hakkinen will start the race from 14th place on the grid, complaining that spinning cars and yellow flags spoiled every attempt at a quicker lap.
Frentzen fifth for Jordan
"It was a mistake not to go out sooner," admitted Heinz-Harald Frentzen after setting the fifth fastest time on his first lap 35 minutes into the session. Damon Hill didn't make the cut-off time after his first car caught fire from a broken exhaust. He took the spare chassis which also suffered a broken exhaust after several laps, but several spins prevented him taking a quick time. Though Hill has set a time marginally lower than the allowed 107%, the stewards of the French Grand Prix have decided that due to the extreme weather conditions he will start tomorrow's race, as will the two Minardis and two Arrows that qualified behind Hill.
Schumacher starts from row three
Michael Schumacher described the conditions as very dangerous when he set his sixth fastest time at the end of the session, the German having a trip across a gravel trap on one of his laps. "If the conditions are the same for the race it will be very dangerous indeed," he said. "I almost lost it on the straight." Eddie Irvine had two spins before a third put him out for good in a gravel trap. "The aquaplaning was crazy," said Eddie who did not better 17th time.
In brief...
Neither Williams driver could better 15th quickest time, Alex Zanardi just ahead of his teammate despite parking his race car following two spins on the same lap and ending the session in the spare car.
Qualifying Results
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Barrichello Stewart Ford 1:38.441 155.423 kmph
2. Alesi Sauber Petronas 1:38.881 + 0.440
3. Panis Prost Peugeot 1:40.400 + 1.959
4. Coulthard Mclaren Mercedes 1:40.403 + 1.962
5. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:40.690 + 2.249
6. M.Schumacher Ferrari 1:41.127 + 2.686
7. Fisichella Benetton Playlife 1:41.250 + 2.809
8. Trulli Prost Peugeot 1:42.096 + 3.655
9. Herbert Stewart Ford 1:42.199 + 3.758
10. Zonta BAR Supertec 1:42.228 + 3.787
11. Diniz Sauber Petronas 1:42.942 + 4.501
12. Villeneuve BAR Supertec 1:43.748 + 5.307
13. Wurz Benetton Playlife 1:44.319 + 5.878
14. Hakkinen Mclaren Mercedes 1:44.368 + 5.927
15. Zanardi Williams Supertec 1:44.912 + 6.471
16. R.Schumacher Williams Supertec 1:45.189 + 6.748
17. Irvine Ferrari 1:45.218 + 6.777
--107%--
18. Hill Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:45.334 + 6.893
19. Gene Minardi Ford 1:46.324 + 7.883
20. Badoer Minardi Ford 1:46.784 + 8.343
21. de la Rosa Arrows TWR 1:48.215 + 9.774
22. Takagi Arrows TWR 1:48.322 + 9.881
Weather: heavy rain
All timing unofficial