Saturday October 30th, 1999
Can Schumacher take the pole?
By the end of the final free practice session before this afternoon's qualifying practice Michael Schumacher established himself as the man most likely to take the pole with a best lap half a second faster than his closest rival. He improved the set-up during the morning and then ran a new set of tyres at the end to take the fastest lap. Eddie Irvine was back in 12th place, not as happy as his team-mate complaining about his car being unstable at the rear which saw him take three trips off the track during the session. One off, on his quickest lap, saw the lap disqualified as he had cut the chicane. He plans to compare set-ups with Michael's car before qualifying.
Hakkinen still working on set-up
Although Mika Hakkinen managed to take the second fastest time for McLaren he wasn't happy with his car's handling which was understeering too much on the slower corners. He set his best time early on in the session preferring to save his new tyres for qualifying and the race. After rebuilding David Coulthard's car yesterday, his mechanics had another busy session just before practice when the engine seized as they warmed it up this morning. They got it changed in time to make the start of the session, but then had to change an engine sensor in the break . He was seventh fastest at the end of the session.
Herbert takes third for Stewart
A fresh set of tyres and an improved chassis set-up saw Johnny Herbert leap to the front of the time sheets in the closing stages of the session, the Englishman third fastest and confident of a good showing in qualifying. Rubens Barrichello did not better sixth fastest after not fitting fresh tyres , although he was happy with the improvement he had made to his car's handling, especially in the slow corners.
Jordan fourth and fifth
"It's going to be difficult to make the front row, but I am hoping to make the second row in qualifying," said Heinz- Harald Frentzen after setting fourth fastest time just ahead of his team-mate Damon Hill. Frentzen , who set his time early on with fresh tyres was delighted when he almost repeated the same time on worn tyres after improving his car's handling. Hill also improved the set-up on his car, both drivers hoping for another improvement from a special qualifying engine being fitted to their cars for qualifying.
In brief...
Trulli and Panis will have a special qualifying engine from Peugeot this afternoon. Villeneuve was a disappointed 18th fastest this morning when changes to his car's set-up made it slower. Alesi and Diniz were happier with 10th and 16th fastest times, both finding their car's handling improved as the grip level of the track improved. Takagi parked his Arrows early on with an engine failure. It was replaced in time for him to run after the break. Luca Badoer slid off the circuit and damaged the nose of his Minardi. Ralf Schumacher had a high speed spin and stopped in the gravel trap after brushing the tyre barrier.
Pos Driver Team Time
1. M.Schumacher Ferrari 1:39.085 213.053 kmph
2. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes 1:39.579 + 0.494
3. Herbert Stewart Ford 1:40.134 + 1.049
4. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:40.139 + 1.054
5. Hill Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:40.175 + 1.090
6. Barrichello Stewart Ford 1:40.334 + 1.249
7. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes 1:40.377 + 1.292
8. Trulli Prost Peugeot 1:40.535 + 1.450
9. R.Schumacher Williams Supertec 1:40.570 + 1.485
10. Alesi Sauber Petronas 1:40.632 + 1.547
11. Panis Prost Peugeot 1:40.656 + 1.571
12. Irvine Ferrari 1:40.667 + 1.582
13. Fisichella Benetton Supertec 1:41.001 + 1.916
14. Zanardi Williams Supertec 1:41.363 + 2.278
15. Wurz Benetton Supertec 1:41.562 + 2.477
16. Diniz Sauber Petronas 1:41.584 + 2.499
17. Zonta BAR Supertec 1:41.596 + 2.511
18. Villeneuve BAR Supertec 1:41.938 + 2.853
19. de la Rosa Arrows TWR 1:42.156 + 3.071
20. Takagi Arrows TWR 1:42.222 + 3.137
21. Gene Minardi Ford 1:42.895 + 3.810
22. Badoer Minardi Ford 1:43.077 + 3.992