Hakkinen makes it five out of five
"My car was not very good at the start of the session, but the engineers did a great job of changing it for my last couple of runs and I got the balance I wanted, " said Mika Hakkinen, who took his fifth consecutive pole position to maintain his unbroken record of pole positions this year.
David Coulthard ended up third fastest, the Scot complaining of too much oversteer from his car during his first two runs. I set up the car to give me more understeer, but went too far and I had too much understeer for my last two runs and didn't go any quicker. It would have been better to have left the car as it was," he said.
Irvine quickest for Ferrari
After holding the pole position for most of the session, Eddie Irvine slipped back to second place on the grid as Hakkinen set his fastest lap. "The car was good. The only problem was that I could get it quick for the first part of the lap or for the last part of the lap, but not for the whole lap. Pole would have been possible, but I made a small mistake on the middle section of my best lap," admitted Eddie, who was still well pleased to be on the front row.
Michael Schumacher was back in fourth spot at the end of the session. "I am a bit disappointed. I didn't get the set up right for the first run and then got a bit lost trying to improve the car for the final runs," he admitted.
Alesi impresses for Sauber
"This is the first time we have been able to exploit the car 100 percent of its potential," said a delighted Jean Alesi, who set an early quick lap when the track was at its coolest and held the provisional pole for half the session. He ended up fifth fastest, his final run spoiled when the engine cut out just after the start of his tenth lap.
Pedro Diniz was back in 12th place, the Brazilian never finding the right balance complaining of understeer at the start of the session and then oversteer at the end.
Villeneuve puts BAR on row three
Jacques Villeneuve set a strong sixth place on the grid, but reckoned he could have been even higher but for an off over a gravel trap on his quickest lap. Mika Salo had his fastest lap removed after setting his fastest time of the morning under a yellow flag, but it made no difference to his 16th place on the grid.
Barrichello heads row four
Rubens Barrichello headed the fourth row of the grid for the Stewart team , the Brazilian's hopes of a top six placing spoiled by an engine vibration after his first run. He took over Herbert's T-car , but that was not set up for his style, so he went back o his own race car but still had the vibration. Hebert did not better 14th.
In brief...
Heinz Harald Frentzen slipped back to eighth on the grid, but was more optimistic about his race performance considering some of his rivals ahead had chosen a soft tyre compound compared with his hard choice. His teammate, Damon Hill, was 11th.
Benetton drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Alexander Wurz were unable to better 13th and 18th on the grid. They did not find a good balance for their cars while Fisichella stopped on the track with an electrical problem and Wurz also stopped with a strange noise coming from his car's gearbox.
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Hakkinen Mclaren Mercedes 1:22.088 207.348 kmph
2. Irvine Ferrari 1:22.219 + 0.131
3. Coulthard Mclaren Mercedes 1:22.244 + 0.156
4. M.Schumacher Ferrari 1:22.277 + 0.189
5. Alesi Sauber Petronas 1:22.388 + 0.300
6. Villeneuve BAR Supertec 1:22.703 + 0.615
7. Barrichello Stewart Ford 1:22.920 + 0.832
8. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:22.938 + 0.850
9. Trulli Prost Peugeot 1:23.194 + 1.106
10. R.Schumacher Williams Supertec 1:23.303 + 1.215
11. Hill Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:23.317 + 1.229
12. Diniz Sauber Petronas 1:23.331 + 1.243
13. Fisichella Benetton Playlife 1:23.333 + 1.245
14. Herbert Stewart Ford 1:23.505 + 1.417
15. Panis Prost Peugeot 1:23.559 + 1.471
16. Salo BAR Supertec 1:23.683 + 1.595
17. Zanardi Williams Supertec 1:23.703 + 1.615
18. Wurz Benetton Playlife 1:23.824 + 1.736
19. de la Rosa Arrows TWR 1:24.619 + 2.531
20. Takagi Arrows TWR 1:25.280 + 3.192
21. Gene Minardi Ford 1:25.672 + 3.584
22. Badoer Minardi Ford 1:25.833 + 3.745
Weather: Dry, Sunny.
All timing unofficial
Qaulifying Results