Schumacher can overtake Hakkinen for F1 lead

   Copyright c 1998 Nando Media
   Copyright c 1998 Associated Press

SPIELBERG, Austria (Jul 24, 1998 - 13:22 EDT) -- Michael Schumacher can
take the lead in the Formula One drivers' standings and move Ferrari closer
to the championship in Sunday's Austrian Grand Prix.

Schumacher trails Mika Hakkinen of McLaren-Mercedes by two points going
into the 10th race of the 17-event Formula One season, and he has the
momentum after three straight victories.

In Friday's free practice, Schumacher had only the seventh fastest time
over two sessions. But the free practice is used to experiment with tires
and set-ups and usually means little for the starting grid, which will be
determined in Saturday's qualifying.

"We had a few more difficulties than expected," Schumacher said.
"On my first run, a front wheel locked up and I went off the track. I
lost the rest of the morning session while the mechanics worked on the car.

"In the afternoon, I had a similar situation -- this time a rear wheel
locked up. We will have a lot of work to do tomorrow to be competitive in
qualifying."

David Coulthard gave the sagging McLaren fortunes a much-needed boost when
he posted the fastest time in the free practice of one minute, 13.703
seconds over the 2.6-mile lap at the A1-Ring.

"We made encouraging progress," Coulthard said. "I believe
tire wear is going to be an issue for all the teams this weekend."

Hakkinen, who leads Schumacher 56-54 in the drivers' standings, had the
third fastest time of 1:13.746.

"There was a lot of dust on the track and I found myself caught up in
traffic on a number of occasions," Hakkinen said.

After dominating the early past of the season, the McLaren team has gone
into a slump.

Coulthard has finished only one of his last four races, a sixth place in
the French Grand Prix on June 28.

Hakkinen has won four races this season, but he is winless since the
Monocon Grand Prix on May 24. He was forced out the Canadian Grand Prix,
finished third in France and second in the British Grand Prix two weeks
ago.

That finish is still contested. As Hakkinen took the checkered flag in the
final lap, Schumacher was sitting out a 10-second penalty for overtaking
under a yellow flag. Schumacher was awarded victory since he had led
Hakkinen by more than 10 seconds. McLaren has appealed and the sport's
governing body will make a ruling Monday in Paris.

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