Summary Morning

Eddie Irvine showed that he too can top the times by being the fastest man on the track in the first free practise for the Grand Prix of Portugal. Damon Hill was also very fast with the second time. Jacques Villeneuve was just one tenth slower than his team-mate.

Notes

• Lavaggi goes off the circuit entering a corner on his first lap on the track.
• Schumacher goes in and out of the pits and is unable to drive fast laps because of technical difficulties.
• Verstappen does not come out onto the track at all.
• Schumi Jnr. has signed a three year contract with the Jordan-Peugeot team. Eddie Jordan said: "Ralf is a proven winner in karts, Formula Three and Formula 3000. He has an abundance of raw talent, speed and commitment and I am extremely happy that we can be part of this young man's exciting future."

• Weather during session
  • Cloudy
  • Strong winds
  • Partially wet

1. E. Irvine 1m 24.477s
2. D. Hill 1m 24.602s
3. J. Villeneuve 1m 24.764s
4. J. Alesi 1m 24.803s
5. G. Berger 1m 25.206s
6. M. Hakkinen 1m 25.460s
7. M. Brundle 1m 25.705s
8. R. Barrichello 1m 26.187s
9. M. Salo 1m 26.300s
10. H.H. Frentzen 1m 26.328s

Michael Schumacher overcome his difficulties in the morning with a fastest time of 1:23.554. Schumacher could go this fast partly because he did not do many laps in the morning and had fresher tyres in the afternoon than everybody else. Damon Hill was second with a 1:24.602. The biggest surprise of the day was the third fastest time of 1:24.359 by Katayama. Mika Salo was eighth and thus making it a good day for the Tyrrell-Yamaha team.

Notes

• Spins were there by Verstappen and Herbert.

• Weather during session
  • Cloudy
  • Strong winds
  • Dry

1. M. Schumacher 1m 23.554s
2. D. Hill 1m 24.281s
3. U. Katayama 1m 24.359s
4. E. Irvine 1m 24.477s
5. J. Villeneuve 1m 24.764s
6. J. Alesi 1m 24.803s
7. G. Berger 1m 24.832s
8. M. Salo 1m 25.234s
9. M. Hakkinen 1m 25.403s
10. H.H. Frentzen 1m 25.567s