Hakkinen heads first practice session
At the end of the first free practice session for the British Grand Prix, Mika Hakkinen headed the practice sheets, but was almost 1.2 seconds slower than his fastest lap during the previous week's four day test. He had a trouble free session , while his team-mate David Coulthard ended up in fifth place half a second slower after surviving a high speed spin during the session with no damage to his car, the Scot lucky not to have been caught in a gravel trap. "I am optimistic about our chances here after what we learned last week, but the track conditions can change here fromday to day.
Marlboro-Ferraris second and third
Eddie Irvine headed his tam-mate Michael Schumacher to take the second fastest time of the session for the Scuderia Ferrari-Marlboro team, Schumacher third fastest after working on fine tuning the set-up he had run last week. Both cars were fitted with the latest 048B engines, but it is still not certain that they will race them, Schumacher's car is also fitted with the same aerodynamic changes he ran in Magny Cours, while Irvine retained the "standard" set-up.
Ralf Schumacher going well for Williams
Ralf Schumacher set an impressive fourth fastest for the Williams team this morning, his car fitted with a revised aerodynamic package since last week , which he reported made the car much easier to drive. Alex Zanardi still has the older aerodynamics and was 1.3 seconds off the pace of his team- mate.
Villeneuve happy with sixth
Jacques Villeneuve was very happy with the way his BAR-Supertec was going this morning after setting the sixth fastest time of the session. However, his team-mate Ricardo Zonta was unable to find a good balance with his car and reverted back to the setting he had run last week.
Frentzen quickest for Jordan
Although Heinz-Harald Frentzen did not better eighth quickest time ofthe session, he was quietly confident that his Jordan would perform well here thanks to a new lightweight gearbox and improved aerodynamics at the rear. Damon Hill, who has now postponed his retirement decision until after the race, was 11th quickest, also happy with his morning's performance .
Scarey moment for Trulli
Jarno Trulli had a frightening moment when the rear lower right wishbone failed into the fast Abbey Curve sending Trulli's Prost into a highspeed spin across te gravel trap which ended up against the tyre barrier. He was unhurt, while the team pulled Olivier Panis' car into the pits to verify there were no similar problems.
Barrichello satisfied with Stewart
Rubens Barrichello reported that he felt reasonably satisfied with his Stewart-Ford even though "the wind makes the car feel quite unstable in several places." Barrichello spent much of the session working on various ride height adjustments while Johnny Herbert, at 18th, stopped with an engine problem.
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Hakkinen Mclaren Mercedes 1:27.059 212.546 kmph
2. Irvine Ferrari 1:27.061 + 0.002
3. M.Schumacher Ferrari 1:27.327 + 0.268
4. R.Schumacher Williams Supertec 1:27.422 + 0.363
5. Coulthard Mclaren Mercedes 1:27.574 + 0.515
6. Villeneuve BAR Supertec 1:28.203 + 1.144
7. Zanardi Williams Supertec 1:28.601 + 1.542
8. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:28.671 + 1.612
9. Barrichello Stewart Ford 1:28.674 + 1.615
10. Fisichella Benetton Playlife 1:28.688 + 1.629
11. Hill Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:28.699 + 1.640
12. Wurz Benetton Playlife 1:28.740 + 1.681
13. Diniz Sauber Petronas 1:28.837 + 1.778
14. Trulli Prost Peugeot 1:28.883 + 1.824
15. Alesi Sauber Petronas 1:28.907 + 1.848
16. Badoer Minardi Ford 1:29.838 + 2.779
17. Zonta BAR Supertec 1:29.929 + 2.870
18. Herbert Stewart Ford 1:30.366 + 3.307
19. Panis Prost Peugeot 1:30.372 + 3.313
20. Gene Minardi Ford 1:30.595 + 3.536
21. de la Rosa Arrows TWR 1:30.858 + 3.799
22. Takagi Arrows TWR 1:31.047 + 3.988
All timing unofficial