Formula 1: Japanese Grand Prix
------------------------------------------------------------

Ferrari still in front
----------------------
[Sat Oct-31 03h00 CET]
Todays 2nd Free Practice sesssion for the Japanese Grand Prix started in
dry sunny weather, relatively low
temperatures and a wet track.  This was the aftermath of a storm which had
just left the area, its was 18C track and air but rising.

As the first 45 minute part of the session started 11 cars left the pits
straight away and the rest were not far behind.  Ricardo Rosset stays in
the pits with a neck problem, he is awaiting the doctors go ahead before
being allowed to drive.

In the first 15 minutes: everyone is out on track for a single inspection
lap before returning to the pits, a few minutes of quiet then Villeneuves
back on track for another pit-to-pit lap.

At the 15 minute point Coulthard was on track but no one had yet set a
complete lap time, everyone had been around the track but returned straight
into the pits without crossing the start line.  For the moment teams are
using intermediate wet types of treaded tyres.

In the next 15 minutes: Coulthard takes 1st (and only) at 1m 46.646s, his
second lap is slightly slower at 1m 46.809s, Hakkinen and M.Schumacher
leave the pits together, Hakkinen returns after one lap, Schumacher
continues, Trulli takes 2nd at 1m 56.658s, Tuero takes 2nd at 1m 48.646,
M.Schumacher takes 1st at 1m 44.758s, Frentzen takes 1st at 1m 42.714s.

At the 30 minute point the top six were: Frentzen (1m 42.714s - 4L),
M.Schumacher (1m 44.758s - 4L), Barrichello (1m 45.639s - 5L), Coulthard
(1m 46.646s - 6L), Tuero (1m 48.440s - 6L), Trulli (1m 56.658s - 6L).

In the final 15 minutes:  Fisichella takes 2nd at 1m 44.112s, Frentzen (now
on dry grooved tyres) takes 1st to 1m 41.754s and then to 1m 40.814s,
Villeneuve takes 2nd at 1m 43.004s (over 2s slower!), Hakkinen takes to the
track with 7m left, Panis takes 2nd at 1m 42.400s, Villeneuve takes 2nd at
1m 42.199s, Coulthard takes to the track,  Hakkinen takes 1st at 1m 38.918s
(faster than Schumacher yesterday!), Hakkinen's second lap is a 1m 39.497s,
Coulthard takes 7th at 1m 42.450s, Hill takes 3rd at 1m 41.134s, Irvine
takes 19th at 1m 45.388s,  R.Schumacher takes 4th at 1m 41.159s, Coulthard
takes 6th at 1m 41.634s. Irvine takes 4th at 1m 40.955s.

At the end of this first 45 minute part of the session the track times are:

 1  Hak 1m 38.918s  6L
 2  Fre 1m 40.510s 11L
 3  Hil 1m 40.613s  8L
 4  Irv 1m 40.955s  6L
 5  RSc 1m 41.159s  6L
 6  Vil 1m 41.306s  9L
 7  Her 1m 41.543s  9L
 8  Cou 1m 41.634s 11L
 9  Pan 1m 42.400s  5L
 10 Ale 1m 42.673s  7L
 11 Fis 1m 43.020s 10L
 12 Wur 1m 43.255s  9L
 13 Sal 1m 43.351s  5L
 14 Din 1m 43.962s  5L
 15 Tak 1m 44.228s  5L
 16 Bar 1m 44.236s 10L
 17 MSc 1m 44.758s  4L
 18 Nak 1m 44.870s  7L
 19 Ver 1m 44.893s  7L
 20 Tru 1m 45.090s 12L
 21 Tue 1m 45.701s 12L
 22 Ros  -no time-


The fastest three exit speeds in each track sector were: S1: Hill (209kph),
Hakkinen, Frentzen, S2: Coulthard (304kph), Hakkinen, R.Schumacher, S3:
Coulthard (278kph), Hakkinen, Hill.

The best three times in each track sector were: S1: Hakkinen (42.461s),
R.Schumacher , Hill, S2: Hakkinen (35.378s), Frentzen, Herbert, S3:
Hakkinen (21.044s), Frentzen, Irvine.

By now the track surface temperature is at 21C and the air 20C.  Ricardo
Rosset has left the circuit for the hospital to make a full inspection of
his very painful neck.

After a 30 minute rest the 2nd 45 minute session begins with R.Schumacher,
Takagi and Irvine straight out.  The temperatures are now 19C track and 20C
air.  Ferrari have revealed that there is a problem with Schumacher's car,
a small oil leak in the engine.  Under the FIA rules he is not allowed to
use a spare car.  The Ferrari mechanics are hard at work.

In the first 15 minutes: Coulthard takes 2nd at 1m 39.737s, Hakkinen's
first lap is a 1m 40.090s, Coulthards next lap is a 1m 39.823s, Hakkinen's
was a slower 1m 53.771s, both return to the pits.

At the 15 minute point the top six are:  Hakkinen (1m 38.918s - 10L),
Coulthard (1m 39.737s - 16L), Frentzen (1m 40.399s - 15L), Fisichella (1m
40.506s - 15L), Hill (1m 40.613s - 13L), Irvine (1m 40.955s - 9L).

In the next 15 minutes: M.Schumacher is back on track as is Coulthard, Hill
takes 5th at 1m 40.564s, after a couple of 4 wheel drifts Schumacher takes
2nd at 1m 39.533s (at one point he was 0.5s faster than Hakkinen!),
Coulthard takes 1st at 1m 38.673s, Hill takes 4th at 1m 40.148s,
M.Schumacher takes 3rd at 1m 39.235s, Hakkinen takes to the track,
M.Schumacher takes 1st at 1m 38.429s, M.Schumacher locks up and crosses the
gravel, M.Schumacher  1m 39.021s, Hakkinen 1m 39.323s, M.Schumacher and
Hakkinen return to the pits.

At the 30 minute point the top six are: M.Schumacher (1m 38.429s - 10L),
Coulthard (1m 38.673s - 22L), Hakkinen (1m 38.918s - 13L), Hill (1m 40.148s
- 19L), Fisichella (1m 40.265s - 19L), Frentzen (1m 40.399s - 19L).

In the final 15 minutes:  Hakkinen is back on track, like his rival
Hakkinen touches the gravel at the end of a brilliant lap and records a 1m
38.752s (he was 0.7s faster than 1st!), M.Schumacher is back on track,
Hakkinen returns to the pits to empty the gravel tanks, Frentzen takes 4th
at 1m 38.874s, R.Schumacher takes 5th at 1m 40.003s,
M.Schumacher 1m 39.969s, M.Schumacher 1m 38.946s,
M.Schumacher crosses the grass this time, Hakkinen leaves the pits with 2m
45s of the session left, M.Schumacher 1m 53.074s, all the top 6 cars are
now on track, R.Schumacher drives off into the gravel to avoid a slowing
Benetton, Hakkinen returns straight into the pits, M.Schumacher completes a
1m 40.503s, Villeneuve takes 5th at 1m 39.883s.

The final top six are: M.Schumacher (1m 38.429s - 17L), Coulthard (1m
38.673s - 27L), Hakkinen (1m 38.752s - 18L), Frentzen (1m 38.874s - 25L),
Villeneuve (1m 39.883s - 21L), R.Schumacher (1m 40.003s - 21L).

The best three sector times were: S1: Hakkinen (41.285s), M.Schumacher,
R.Schumacher, S2: Coulthard (35.264s), Hakkinen, M.Schumacher, S3:
Coulthard (21.035s), Hakkinen, M.Schumacher.


Session: 2nd Free Practice
Track Times:

                                                 1st Free
Pos  Driver          Team       Lap Time   Laps Pos  Lap Time   Laps
 1  M.Schumacher    Ferrari     1m 38.429s (17)   1  1m 39.823s (23)
 2  D.Coulthard     McLaren     1m 38.673s (27)   6  1m 40.845s (28)
 3  M.Hakkinen      McLaren     1m 38.752s (18)   5  1m 40.644s (28)
 4  H.Frentzen      Williams    1m 38.874s (25)   3  1m 40.389s (30)
 5  J.Villeneuve    Williams    1m 39.883s (21)   8  1m 41.252s (26)
 6  R.Schumacher    Jordan      1m 40.003s (21)   2  1m 40.336s (34)
 7  D.Hill          Jordan      1m 40.146s (24)   7  1m 41.098s (30)
 8  G.Fisichella    Benetton    1m 40.265s (21)  10  1m 42.224s (32)
 9  E.Irvine        Ferrari     1m 40.552s (15)   4  1m 40.615s (30)
10  O.Panis         Prost       1m 40.857s (18)  14  1m 43.493s (25)
11  J.Alesi         Sauber      1m 40.925s (22)  16  1m 43.788s (25)
12  A.Wurz          Benetton    1m 41.002s (22)  11  1m 42.628s (33)
13  T.Takagi        Tyrrell     1m 41.105s (18)  12  1m 42.833s (26)
14  R.Barrichello   Stewart     1m 41.172s (25)  17  1m 43.854s (20)
15  J.Herbert       Sauber      1m 41.543s (25)  18  1m 43.894s (22)
16  M.Salo          Arrows      1m 41.823s (22)  15  1m 43.634s (40)
17  P.Diniz         Arrows      1m 41.889s (13)  19  1m 44.468s (36)
18  J.Verstappen    Stewart     1m 41.924s (20)   9  1m 42.191s (23)
19  J.Trulli        Prost       1m 42.786s (25)  13  1m 43.121s (38)
20  S.Nakano        Minardi     1m 43.013s (20)  20  1m 44.632s (29)
21  E.Tuero         Minardi     1m 43.048s (26)  22  1m 46.396s (30)
   ---- 107% ----               1m 45.319s
------------------------------------------------------------

Ferrari on Pole
---------------
[Sat Oct-31 06h00 CET]
A brilliant performance by Michael Schumacher and Ferrari put the red car
on pole for tomorow's Japanese Grand Prix. Despite all the speculation,
when it came to the day, the German was 0.178s faster than 2nd on the grid,
McLaren rival, Mika Hakkinen.  On the second row of the grid will be the
leaders' team mates of Coulthard and Irvine.   After that it becomes much
more organised, Williams have the 3rd row, Jordan the 4th, Benetton the
5th, Sauber the 6th and Prost the 7th.

Qualifying started in bright sunshine, the track at 29C and the air at 21C.
 Trulli was first on track and surprisingly just 5 minutes into the
session, Hakkinen was second to leave the pits.  Unsurprisingly he took
pole with his 1m 37.095s, some 4.7s faster than the Prost.

R.Schumacher took second and lost it one minute later to Frentzen at 1m
38.653s.  By the 15 minute point the top ten were: (1) Hakkinen, (2)
Frentzen, (3) R.Schumacher, (4) Wurz, (5) Hill, (6) Panis, (7) Fisichella,
(8) Salo, (9) Diniz, (10) Trulli

At 23 minutes M.Schumacher took the pole he was not to lose, with a 1m
36.769s. Hakkinen's reply came a few minutes later with a 1m 36.855s, not
enough.

At the 30 minute point the top ten were:  (1) M.Schumacher, (2) Hakkinen,
(3) Coulthard, (4) R.Schumacher, (5) Villeneuve, (6) Frentzen, (7) Irvine,
(8) Hill, (9) Wurz, (10) Alesi

Rosset, back from the hospital after having tests on his neck, ran wide
over the gravel and bashed his car on the tyre wall.

At 43 minutes M.Schumacher was back with a pole pushing 1m 36.293s. 
Hakkinen replied 3 minutes later with a 1m 36.471s.  By now Irvine had
sorted his act and was in 4th. The top ten were:  (1) M.Schumacher, (2)
Hakkinen, (3) Coulthard, (4) Irvine, (5) Frentzen, (6) R.Schumacher, (7)
Villeneuve, (8) Hill, (9) Wurz, (10) Alesi.

In the final few minutes Frentzen shot off over the gravel really messing
his car, Villeneuve popped a 1m 38.448s to pass Ralf into 6th, Hakkinen
went wide over the gravel and spoilt his last run, M.Schumacher on hearing
the news aborted his fast lap and returned to the pits.

The final times were: M.Schumacher (1m 36.293s - 8L), Hakkinen (1m 36.471s
- 11L), Coulthard (1m 37.496s - 10L), Irvine (1m 38.197s - 8L), Frentzen
(1m 38.272s - 11L), Villeneuve (1m 38.448s - 12L).

Unfortunately for Tyrrell, Ricardo Rosset failed to qualify, being 107.23%
of the pole position time, so the team will start their last race with just
one car, Takagi, in 17th.

The best three times in each track sector were:
M.Schumacher (40.512s), Hakkinen, Coulthard, S2: Hakkinen (34.975s),
M.Schumacher, Coulthard, S3: M.Schumacher (20.706s), Hakkinen, Alesi.

The best three exit speeds in each track sector were: S1: Hakkinen
(214kph), M.Schumacher, Frentzen, S2: Hakkinen (305kph), Coulthard,
Herbert, S3: Hakkinen (281kph), M.Schumacher, Coulthard.

The track ended the session at 28C and the air at 22C.

After the session Ron Dennis (McLaren Boss), said that it had been an
exciting session and they were satisfied with the results.  He said that
with Mika behind Michael and Eddie behind David, after the first corner
everything should be fine.

In the interview afterwards, Michael Schumacher said it had been a very
close session and he was happy to be on pole. When asked if he was
concerned that Irvine had only managed 4th, he said not at all.  It is good
that they are on the first two rows and how that will affect the race they
will have to wait and see.

Mika Hakkinen was asked if he was surprised at being second on the grid. 
He thought for a while and said that he was not surprised, he did not like
where he was, it felt a little strange, but he was not surprised.  He said
they had done a lot of work with the car and he felt the balance was very
good for the race.  When asked what happened on his last lap, he just
smiled and said he went wide.  He had made a small error which had taken
him onto the grass and that had ended the session for him and given Michael
the pole. He restated that the car was working very well, felt good and the
slight off was just a mistake by him.

David Coulthard said that he has been struggling here to get into the
circuit and he felt that if he could make one clean lap it would be very
fast, but at the moment he is not getting the rhythm right.  When asked
about how he could help Mika in the race, he said it was very difficult to
say how the race would go tomorrow.  Qualifying is very important, but the
race is the race, so he will work with the opportunities which present
themselves.

The pole time of 1m 36.293s would have taken 3rd place on the grid in 1997,
Hakkinen would have been 5th.
Interestingly enough, it is Hakkinen who has made the most progress in a
year, his time was 0.002s slower than last year whilst Schumacher's was
0.16s slower.


Session: Qualifying
Track Times:

                                                  2nd Free             1st Free
Pos  Driver          Team       Lap Time   Laps  Pos Lap Time   Laps  Pos
Lap Time   Laps
 1  M.Schumacher    Ferrari     1m 36.293s ( 8)   1  1m 38.429s (17)   1 
1m 39.823s (23)
 2  M.Hakkinen      McLaren     1m 36.471s (11)   3  1m 38.752s (18)   5 
1m 40.644s (28)
 3  D.Coulthard     McLaren     1m 37.496s (10)   2  1m 38.673s (27)   6 
1m 40.845s (28)
 4  E.Irvine        Ferrari     1m 38.197s ( 8)   9  1m 40.552s (15)   4 
1m 40.615s (30)
 5  H.Frentzen      Williams    1m 38.272s (11)   4  1m 38.874s (25)   3 
1m 40.389s (30)
 6  J.Villeneuve    Williams    1m 38.448s (12)   5  1m 39.883s (21)   8 
1m 41.252s (26)
 7  R.Schumacher    Jordan      1m 38.461s (12)   6  1m 40.003s (21)   2 
1m 40.336s (34)
 8  D.Hill          Jordan      1m 38.603s (12)   7  1m 40.146s (24)   7 
1m 41.098s (30)
 9  A.Wurz          Benetton    1m 38.959s (12)  12  1m 41.002s (22)  11 
1m 42.628s (33)
10  G.Fisichella    Benetton    1m 39.080s (11)   8  1m 40.265s (21)  10 
1m 42.224s (32)
11  J.Herbert       Sauber      1m 39.234s (12)  15  1m 41.543s (25)  18 
1m 43.894s (22)
12  J.Alesi         Sauber      1m 39.448s (12)  11  1m 40.925s (22)  16 
1m 43.788s (25)
13  O.Panis         Prost       1m 40.037s (12)  10  1m 40.857s (18)  14 
1m 43.493s (25)
14  J.Trulli        Prost       1m 40.111s (12)  19  1m 42.786s (25)  13 
1m 43.121s (38)
15  M.Salo          Arrows      1m 40.387s (12)  16  1m 41.823s (22)  15 
1m 43.634s (40)
16  R.Barrichello   Stewart     1m 40.502s (12)  14  1m 41.172s (25)  17 
1m 43.854s (20)
17  T.Takagi        Tyrrell     1m 40.619s (11)  13  1m 41.105s (18)  12 
1m 42.833s (26)
18  P.Diniz         Arrows      1m 40.687s (12)  17  1m 41.889s (13)  19 
1m 44.468s (36)
19  J.Verstappen    Stewart     1m 40.943s (11)  18  1m 41.924s (20)   9 
1m 42.191s (23)
20  S.Nakano        Minardi     1m 41.315s (12)  20  1m 43.013s (20)  20 
1m 44.632s (29)
21  E.Tuero         Minardi     1m 42.358s (12)  21  1m 43.048s (26)  22 
1m 46.396s (30)
   ---- 107% ----               1m 43.033s
22  R.Rosset        Tyrrell     1m 43.259s ( 9)   0  0m  0.000s ( 0)  21 
1m 45.054s (27)
------------------------------------------------------------

Session: Grid Details
Track Times:


Pos  Driver          Team       Pos  Lap Time   To 1st   Gap    To 107%   %
1st row
 1  M.Schumacher    Ferrari      1  1m 36.293s  0.000s          -6.740 100.00%
 2  M.Hakkinen      McLaren      2  1m 36.471s  0.178s  0.178s  -6.562 100.18%
2nd row
 3  D.Coulthard     McLaren      3  1m 37.496s  1.203s  1.025s  -5.537 101.24%
 4  E.Irvine        Ferrari      4  1m 38.197s  1.904s  0.701s  -4.836 101.97%
3th row
 5  H.Frentzen      Williams     5  1m 38.272s  1.979s  0.075s  -4.761 102.05%
 6  J.Villeneuve    Williams     6  1m 38.448s  2.155s  0.176s  -4.585 102.23%
4th row
 7  R.Schumacher    Jordan       7  1m 38.461s  2.168s  0.013s  -4.572 102.25%
 8  D.Hill          Jordan       8  1m 38.603s  2.310s  0.142s  -4.430 102.39%
5th row
 9  A.Wurz          Benetton     9  1m 38.959s  2.666s  0.356s  -4.074 102.76%
10  G.Fisichella    Benetton    10  1m 39.080s  2.787s  0.121s  -3.953 102.89%
6th row
11  J.Herbert       Sauber      11  1m 39.234s  2.941s  0.154s  -3.799 103.05%
12  J.Alesi         Sauber      12  1m 39.448s  3.155s  0.214s  -3.585 103.27%
7th row
13  O.Panis         Prost       13  1m 40.037s  3.744s  0.589s  -2.996 103.88%
14  J.Trulli        Prost       14  1m 40.111s  3.818s  0.074s  -2.922 103.96%
8th row
15  M.Salo          Arrows      15  1m 40.387s  4.094s  0.276s  -2.646 104.25%
16  R.Barrichello   Stewart     16  1m 40.502s  4.209s  0.115s  -2.531 104.37%
9th row
17  T.Takagi        Tyrrell     17  1m 40.619s  4.326s  0.117s  -2.414 104.49%
18  P.Diniz         Arrows      18  1m 40.687s  4.394s  0.068s  -2.346 104.56%
10th row
19  J.Verstappen    Stewart     19  1m 40.943s  4.650s  0.256s  -2.090 104.82%
20  S.Nakano        Minardi     20  1m 41.315s  5.022s  0.372s  -1.718 105.21%
11th row
21  E.Tuero         Minardi     21  1m 42.358s  6.065s  1.043s  -0.675 106.29%

Not Qualified (107% = 1m 43.033s):
22  R.Rosset        Tyrrell     22  1m 43.259s  6.966s  0.901s   0.225 107.23%

All information is unofficial
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