Summary

Michael Schumacher was the fastest man on the track during qualifying for the Grand Prix of France today. He saw a lot of drivers come close but due to traffic or mistakes they just couldn't quite make it.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen was the first French engine driver on the second spot of the grid. Ralf Schumacher was third.

Jarno Trulli clocked a fantastic sixth time in the Prost-Mugen. Trulli really seems to fit in with his new team. He also received a lot of support from the team during qualifying.

The Benetton team have replaced Berger with what seems to be a very good driver, Alexander Wurz. During the last Grand Prix weekend he already showed his potential but he now even outpaced his team-mate Jean Alesi.

Notes

• Villeneuve has crashed during the morning session and starts in the T-car. The repairs to his racecar are finished during the session and he continues in his racecar after his second run.
• Hill has some technical problems during this session and he needs to continue in the T-car.
• Verstappen blows up an ED5 Ford engine. It's now expected that they will use an ED4 in the race.
• Hakkinen spins and stalls his engine.
  • Weather during session: Sunny, some clouds (20 Degrees)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.

M. Schumacher (Ferrari) G Frentzen (Williams) G R. Schumacher (Jordan) G Villeneuve (Williams) G Irvine (Ferrari) G Trulli (Prost) B Wurz (Benetton) G Alesi (Benetton) G Coulthard (McLaren) G Hakkinen (McLaren) G Fisichella (Jordan) G Nakano (Prost) B Barrichello (Stewart) B Herbert (Sauber) G Magnussen (Stewart) B Diniz (Arrows) B Hill (Arrows) B Verstappen (Tyrrell) G Salo (Tyrrell) G Fontana (Sauber) G Katayama (Minardi) B Marques (Minardi) B 107% rule B: Bridgestone G: Goodyear

1m 14.548s 1m 14.749s 1m 14.755s 1m 14.800s 1m 14.860s 1m 14.957s 1m 14.986s 1m 15.228s 1m 15.270s 1m 15.339s 1m 15.453s 1m 15.857s 1m 15.876s 1m 16.018s 1m 16.149s 1m 16.536s 1m 16.729s 1m 16.941s 1m 17.256s 1m 17.538s 1m 17.563s 1m 18.280s 1m 19.766s

The Quotes

• M. Schumacher:"I did not expect this result. Over one lap my car is well balanced but I expect we will have problems over a race distance. Tomorrow's weather predicts the possibility of light showers and this would suit us better. In last week's test I struggled to do a 1m 15.6s and now I am a second quicker. I do not really understand why, although we do have a new front wing. The hardest point on the track for me are the first two corners, but I am good over the rest of the lap. I did not go out for a fourth run, as the track had got slower. This way I saved a set of tyres."

• R. Schumacher:"I really did not expect this result and so I am very happy. We had problems today with hydraulic pressure so I completed only 14 laps this morning, most of them in and out laps, so to end the day in third position on the grid is great."

• Jordan on Fisichella: "It was very disappointing for Fisichella after such a good performance so far, but let's hope things go better tomorrow."

• Frentzen: "Michael is always telling he is struggling a lot, but when we come to the race he is in the front. It's a good way to keep the pressure away."

• Villeneuve: "When I went off this morning, it cost us many working laps. When I went out in my race car it was a bit too late to make up ground."

• Verstappen: "We went well at the beginning of the session, made some improvements for the second run and then hoped to go quicker still. Unfortunately, I lost all power at the end of the main straight and had to come back to the pits and take the spare car for my last run. It was already set up for me, but it's very rare that you can get in the spare car and go faster."