David Coulthard captured the fastest time on Friday after team-mate Mika Hakkinen crashed into the last corner at Albert Park which halted Friday's second session with 12 minutes left of timing. Hakkinen, who ended up second fastest Friday, was unhurt and later said, "I was pushing hard and just lost it, that's all there was to it."

Rubens Barrichello was ecstatic with his third spot, even though suffering suspension problems in the end. "We were almost half a second faster than in qualifying last year," stated the Brazilian

Heinz-Harald Frentzen made a great start to 1999 with his new team, Jordan Mugen Honda. "It is great to be back on the race track again and I enjoy the Albert Park circuit very much!" said the German. "Today was a good start for us - it was a very productive day. The car balance was the main issue and I am pleased with the improved set up we found by the end of the day. There is still a little under-steer on some parts of the track which we will try to get rid of tomorrow."

Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine finished somewhat down in the pack at seventh and fourteenth respectively. Both cars ran with heavy fuel loads and Schumacher suffered from gear problem which caused him to stop on the race track. FIA rules prevented him from running in the rest of the first session. "We could not do as many laps as we would have liked today," stated Schumacher. "As I had to be pushed back to the pits when I stopped in the first part of the session, the rules state I could not go out again. The reason for this was that I could not engage first gear. In the second part, we had a problem with a broken seal which took some time to fix. Therefore we have not yet found the right set up for this track. But I am optimistic that we can improve tomorrow."

Friday Free Practice Combined

POS DRIVER             TEAM         CHASSIS     ENGINE             TIME
01. Coulthard          McLaren      MP4-14      Mercedes V10       1:31.971
02. Hakkinen           McLaren      MP4-14      Mercedes V10       1:31.985
03. Barrichello        Stewart      SF3         Ford V10           1:32.947
04. Frentzen           Jordan       199         Mugen Honda V10    1:33.029
05. Herbert            Stewart      SF3         Ford V10           1:33.166
06. Hill               Jordan       199         Mugen Honda V10    1:33.420
07. M. Schumacher      Ferrari      F399        Ferrari V10        1:33.576
08. Trulli             Prost        AP02        Peugeot V10        1:33.870
09. Zanardi            Williams     FW21        Supertec V10       1:33.951
10. R Schumacher       Williams     FW21        Supertec V10       1:33.957
11. Wurz               Benetton     B199        Supertec V10       1:34.046
12. Fisichella         Benetton     B199        Supertec V10       1:34.135
13. Alesi              Sauber       C18         Petronas V10       1:34.541
14. Irvine             Ferrari      F399        Ferrari V10        1:34.595
15. Panis              Prost        AP02        Peugeot V10        1:34.693
16. Villeneuve         BAR          01          Supertec V10       1:34.695
17. Diniz              Sauber       C18         Petronas V10       1:35.253
18. Takagi             Arrows       A20         Arrows V10         1:35.699
19. De La Rosa         Arrows       A20         Arrows V10         1:35.756
20. Gene               Minardi      M199        Ford V10           1:36.481
21. Badoer             Minardi      M199        Ford V10           1:37.958
22. Zonta              BAR          01          Supertec V10       1:38.075