Friday June 8th, 2001

David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello turned in the fastest laps of the opening free practice for the Canadian Grand Prix, knocking defending champion Michael Schumacher off the top spot in the final seconds.

Jacques Villeneuve crashed hard Friday but walked away without injury. The Canadian-born driver's car slid off track and clipped the nose off his BAR Honda. His team prepared his spare car for the afternoon practice.

"It seems like something broke on the car or Jacques made a mistake. These things happen," said BAR boss Craig Pollock.

Coulthard is working hard to catch Schumacher in the Formula One championship battle. He recorded a lap of 1:18.763 seconds on the 2.747-mile Circuit Gilles Villeneuve moments before the checkered flag flew for the first of two Friday practice.

Before a large crowd enjoying nearly cloudless skies, Ferrari's Barrichello followed the McLaren driver across the finish line. He was timed in 1:19.140, relegating Schumacher's Ferrari to third at 1:19.166. Mika Hakkinen, Coulthard's teammate, was fourth at 1:19.569, followed by Oliver Panis, Villeneuve's BAR teammate, at 1:20.119.

Williams drivers Ralf Schumacher and rookie Juan Pablo Montoya, both expected to contend, were ninth and 10th, respectively, in the unofficial session. Michael Schumacher's younger brother produced a fast lap of 1:20.665, while Montoya, the 1999 CART champion and last year's Indianapolis 500 winner, was at 1:20.822.

Villeneuve's fastest lap before the crash was 1:21.916. Arrows driver Jos Vertstappen was unable to set a time due to a mechanical failure.

Pos  Driver        Team                    Times                 
 1.  Coulthard     Mclaren Mercedes   (B)  1:18.763  202.069 km/h
 2.  Barrichello   Ferrari            (B)  1:19.140    +    0.377
 3.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari            (B)  1:19.166    +    0.403
 4.  Hakkinen      Mclaren Mercedes   (B)  1:19.569    +    0.806
 5.  Panis         BAR Honda          (B)  1:20.119    +    1.356
 6.  Heidfeld      Sauber Petronas    (B)  1:20.378    +    1.615
 7.  Trulli        Jordan Honda       (B)  1:20.513    +    1.750
 8.  Raikkonen     Sauber Petronas    (B)  1:20.515    +    1.752
 9.  R.Schumacher  Williams BMW       (M)  1:20.665    +    1.902
10.  Montoya       Williams BMW       (M)  1:20.822    +    2.059
11.  Frentzen      Jordan Honda       (B)  1:20.909    +    2.146
12.  de la Rosa    Jaguar Cosworth    (M)  1:21.046    +    2.283
13.  Alesi         Prost Acer         (M)  1:21.412    +    2.649
14.  Irvine        Jaguar Cosworth    (M)  1:21.622    +    2.859
15.  Villeneuve    BAR Honda          (B)  1:21.916    +    3.153
16.  Fisichella    Benetton Renault   (M)  1:22.016    +    3.253
17.  Bernoldi      Arrows Asiatech    (B)  1:22.337    +    3.574
18.  Burti         Prost Acer         (M)  1:22.696    +    3.933
19.  Button        Benetton Renault   (M)  1:22.816    +    4.053
20.  Alonso        Minardi European   (M)  1:32.967    +   14.204
21.  Marques       Minardi European   (M)  1:35.472    +   16.709
22.  Verstappen    Arrows Asiatech    (B)  no time

All Timing Unofficial

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