Schumacher leads the field into qualifying
Scuderia Ferrari-Marlboro driver Michael Schumacher set the fastest time in the final free practice session before this afternoon's qualifying, the German driver running a qualifying lap 0.26 seconds quicker than his McLaren rivals which bodes well for his first pole position of the season during qualifying. Both drivers ran a parallel programme on fresh tyres to fine tune the chassis for qualifying for which both cars are running a revised, lower, 048B engine, which they will not race. Eddie Irvine, who was quickest yesterday, wound up fourth fastest just behind the two McLaren-Mercedes.
McLaren stay with Ferrari
For the first time this season the McLaren drivers appear to be struggling to match the performance of the Marlboro- Ferraris, David Coulthard setting the quickest time of the two just a few hundredth's faster than his team-mate Mika Hakkinen who crashed while attempting a quick lap right at the end of the session. Struggling to find the right set-up for his car, Coulthard lost control under braking for the back chicane and spun off backwards into the tyre barrier with minor damage to the rear wing.
Frentzen looking strong for Jordan
Heinz Harald Frentzen set a strong fifth fastest for the Jordan team early in the session, the German then concentrating on race set-up throughout the rest of the session which was spoiled by a loss of power and misfire from his engine. Damon Hill was unable to better twelfth fastest despite running 40 laps, more than any other driver. "The car wasn't bad at the start of the session, but the hotter the track gets, the worse the handling becomes," said Hill.
Fisichella still well up for Benetton
Giancarlo Fisichella remained well placed for the Benetton team with the sixth fastest time. "I improved my car, but so did everyone else which didn't improve my place," said the Italian who ran three sets of tyres. Wurz only ran one set of tyres, the Austrian complaining that his car was sliding about too much.
Barrichello concerned about brakes
Rubens Barrichello was happy with his Stewart's handling but concerned about the car's brakes at this circuit. He set the seventh fastest time on a fresh set of tyres, Herbert back in 13th spot, but confident that he can improve on that in qualifying.
In brief...
Luca Badoer's practice ended early in a great cloud of smoke following an engine blow-up. His team-mate Gene missed most of the first half of the session when he spun into a gravel trap in the first 5 minutes of the session. Ralf Schumacher had a couple of trips across the grass on his way to eighth fastest for Williams. Zanardi improved 11th quickest following his first trouble free session. Jean Alesi slipped back to tenth place for Sauber, the Frenchman complaining of gearbox problems. Diniz ended 17th, which he was quite pleased with after missing most of yesterday's practice.
The two BAR cars were back in 15th and 18th to-day, both drivers complaining about poor grip in the warner conditions
Saturday Free Practice, Accumulated Times
Pos Driver Team Time
1. M.Schumacher Ferrari 1:19.281 191.668 kmph
2. Coulthard Mclaren Mercedes 1:19.543 + 0.262
3. Hakkinen Mclaren Mercedes 1:19.568 + 0.287
4. Irvine Ferrari 1:19.631 + 0.350
5. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:19.940 + 0.659
6. Fisichella Benetton Playlife 1:20.162 + 0.881
7. Barrichello Stewart Ford 1:20.261 + 0.980
8. R.Schumacher Williams Supertec 1:20.275 + 0.994
9. Trulli Prost Peugeot 1:20.396 + 1.115
10. Alesi Sauber Petronas 1:20.485 + 1.204
11. Zanardi Williams Supertec 1:20.754 + 1.473
12. Hill Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:20.785 + 1.504
13. Herbert Stewart Ford 1:20.861 + 1.580
14. Wurz Benetton Playlife 1:20.919 + 1.638
15. Villeneuve BAR Supertec 1:20.924 + 1.643
16. Panis Prost Peugeot 1:20.935 + 1.654
17. Diniz Sauber Petronas 1:21.022 + 1.741
18. Zonta BAR Supertec 1:21.235 + 1.954
19. Takagi Arrows TWR 1:21.810 + 2.529
20. de la Rosa Arrows TWR 1:22.039 + 2.758
21. Gene Minardi Ford 1:22.205 + 2.924
22. Badoer Minardi Ford 1:22.730 + 3.449
Temperature: Air 21°C Track 29°C
All timing unofficial