Friday 25 September 1998
Friday free practice, 11.00 to 12.00
WEATHER CONDITIONS: bright and sunny

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Ferrari sets early pace
Michael Schumacher emerged fastest in this morning's free practice, lapping
0.349sec ahead of Mika Hakkinen's McLaren-Mercedes. The Ferrari team leader
concentrated exclusively on tyre testing, as did his team-mate Eddie Irvine
who wound up fourth. The team will have four Ferrari F300s at this race in
short wheelbase specification, the fourth machine scheduled to arrive later
today after being shaken down yesterday by Luca Badoer a Fiorano.

McLarens second and fifth
The McLaren-Mercedes team also has four MP4/13s available this weekend and
spent this morning carrying out its routine Friday test programme, spending
a lot of time working on race set-ups. Hakkinen set second fastest time
with David Coulthard fifth.

"The track seems in good condition," said Coulthard. "We
have been working hard to improve the handling balance. With a lot of long
corners it is important to have confidence in the car and really feel what
it is doing."

Frentzen third for Williams
Heinz-Harald Frentzen set third fastest time in his Williams-Mecachrome,
using two sets of Goodyear rubber as opposed to the single set used by
team-mate Jacques Villeneuve on his way to seventh fastest time.
Villeneuve's car had an electrical problem which caused the team to switch
off its power steering system for much of the session.

Benettons sixth and eighth
Giancarlo Fisichella and Alexander Wurz set sixth and eighth fastest times
in their Benetton-Playlifes, both men concentrating on race set-up work.
Wurz had a brief off-track moment but continued.

Prosts make top ten
The Prost-Peugeots of Olivier Panis and Jarno Trulli set ninth and tenth
fastest times here this morning, although both drivers reported excessive
understeer and lack of grip accelerating out of the chicane.

Troubles for Jordan
Ralf Schumacher's Jordan Mugen-Honda spun over a kerb and broke both its
steering arms, the German driver ending up 11th fastest. Damon Hill was
13th, commenting; "we started the session with a slight set-up anomaly
which has now been addressed."

Briefly:
Jean Alesi did not take his Sauber-Petronas out on new tyres...Johnny
Herbert had an oil leak and then made a very positive chassis set-up
change...Rubens Barrichello was running a brand new Stewart-Ford chassis
SF2/5....Ricardo Rosset spun off and stopped...Esteban Tuero covered 23
laps learning the circuit...both Arrows drivers complained of excessive
understeer.

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Friday 25 September 1998
Friday free practice, 13.00 to 14.00
WEATHER CONDITIONS: bright and sunny

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Hakkinen fastest for McLaren
Mika Hakkinen finished Friday free practice with fastest time in his
McLaren-Mercedes, ending the day 0.636sec ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella's
Benetton. Hakkinen timed his run perfectly on new tyres, but team-mate
David Coulthard could not improve on fifth fastest overall due to a
succession of yellow flags during the closing stages of the session.

Fisichella upbeat for Benetton
Giancarlo Fisichella set second fastest time in his Benetton-Playlife,
reporting himself very happy with the feel of the car and posting his time
on a set of new tyres. Team-mate Alexander Wurz ended the day seventh
fastest, quite satisfied with the feel of his B198.

Villeneuve third for Williams
Jacques Villeneuve set third fastest time in his Williams-Mechachrome, both
he and team-mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen punctuating the session by quick
spins. Frentzen wound up eighth.

Ferraris fourth and sixth
Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine finished the day fourth and sixth
fastest in their Ferrari F300s, Michael having run through the day on a
single set of tyres. Irvine went off briefly at the end, having used two
sets of rubber to post his time.

Jordans still struggling
Ralf Schumacher ended the session 11th fastest, one place ahead of Damon
Hill in the Jordan Mugen-Honda line-up. Ralf complained of an excessively
abrupt transition from oversteer to understeer while Hill was equally
disappointed with his chassis. "We definitely have some more work to
do," said Hill. "The car does not feel as I would like it
to."

Panis completes top ten
Olivier Panis completed the top ten in his Prost-Peugeot, still complaining
of understeer and lack of traction although he feels confident that he will
improve the car tomorrow. Jarno Trulli wound up 13th after an off-track
moment.

Briefly:
Rubens Barrichello reported that the understeer on his Stewart-Ford was not
so bad....Johnny Herbert reported smoke in the cockpit of his
Sauber-Petronas which then had a fuel pick up problem....Jean Alesi had too
much understeer...Mika Salo had an hydraulic failure on his Arrows
A19....Esteban Tuero went off in his Minardi-Ford but quickly regained the
circuit...both the Tyrrells went off during the session.

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