Friday June 30th, 2000
Coulthard recovers in style
David Coulthard recovered from his morning fuel pump problem to set the fastest time during free practice for the French GP, but shortly after that he lost a further 25 minutes when his McLaren developed an oil leak. The team separated the engine and gearbox and performed a cure in time to get him out again for the final minutes. Team-mate Mika Hakkinen was third fastest, describing his afternoon as 'a productive session working on the set-up.'
Schumacher confident for Ferrari
Michael Schumacher was very happy with his Ferrari F1-2000, and used two sets of tyres while working on set-up on a track that got steadily more slippery. Rubens Barrichello used only one set of tyres and was quite content with fourth fastest time, half a second off his team-mate. Both Ferraris tried the smoke-stack air extractors on their sidepods.
Salo stars for Sauber
Mika Salo reverted to higher downforce for the session, and described his Sauber Petronas as 'fine' while claiming the fifth fastest time. The Finn complained of lack of traction, but said the driveability of the Petronas V10 engine had been improved considerably since the Canadian GP.
Fisichella happier at Benetton
Sixth fastest time brought a smile to Giancarlo Fisichella's face, the Italian being much happier with the handling balance of his Benetton after changes prior to the session. He described the result as a big improvement, but was still not satisfied with his car's traction. Team-mate Alexander Wurz continued to struggle with traction problems and poor balance.
Jordan gets going
Jarno Trulli and Heinz-Harald Frentzen were content with seventh and 10th fastest times as Jordan deliberately kept its lappery to a minimum to conserve tyres for qualifying. Trulli stalled his engine when trying a practice start leaving the pits at the end of the session, and had to walk home as his car was pushed back to its pit.
Heidfeld eighth for Prost
On the team's home ground, Nick Heidfeld gave Prost a lift when his morning time remained good enough for eighth fastest. The young German and team-mate Jean Alesi were still searching for aerodynamic balance, and Alesi said that his car had very poor traction too.
In brief...
Ralf Schumacher said his Williams felt better than it had in the morning but was still struggling with a nervous rear end. Eddie Irvine and Johnny Herbert slipped down the order after failing to improve. Pedro de la Rosa was happy with his Arrows' balance, but Jos Verstappen's developed an oil leak at the end of the first session and the Dutchman lost time while the problem was cured. Ricardo Zonta had a similar problem, and both BAR drivers complained of lack of grip and swift tyre degradation.
Pos Driver Team Times
1. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes 1:16.253 200.695 km/h
2. M.Schumacher Ferrari 1:16.474 + 0.221
3. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes 1:16.687 + 0.434
4. Barrichello Ferrari 1:16.757 + 0.504
5. Salo Sauber Petronas 1:17.371 + 1.118
6. Fisichella Benetton Playlife 1:18.032 + 1.779
7. Trulli Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:18.041 + 1.788
8. Heidfeld Prost Peugeot 1:18.125 + 1.872
9. R.Schumacher Williams BMW 1:18.148 + 1.895
10. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:18.156 + 1.903
11. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth 1:18.235 + 1.982
12. Alesi Prost Peugeot 1:18.262 + 2.009
13. Herbert Jaguar Cosworth 1:18.586 + 2.333
14. Wurz Benetton Playlife 1:18.718 + 2.465
15. Diniz Sauber Petronas 1:18.819 + 2.566
16. de la Rosa Arrows Supertec 1:18.862 + 2.609
17. Button Williams BMW 1:18.969 + 2.716
18. Villeneuve BAR Honda 1:19.130 + 2.877
19. Verstappen Arrows Supertec 1:19.550 + 3.297
20. Gene Minardi Fondmetal 1:19.567 + 3.314
21. Zonta BAR Honda 1:19.697 + 3.444
22. Mazzacane Minardi Fondmetal 1:20.061 + 3.808
All Timing Unofficial