Hakkinen secures British pole position

   Copyright c 1998 Nando Media
   Copyright c 1998 Reuters

SILVERSTONE, England (Jul 11, 1998 - 11:21 EDT) - Only the weather looks
likely to wreck world championship leading Finn Mika Hakkinen's bid for
victory in Sunday's British Grand Prix after he secured pole position in a
windswept qualifying session on Saturday.

With heavy rain and high winds predicted for the rural track in central
England, Hakkinen could be vulnerable to "rain king" Michael
Schumacher's Ferrari after the German grabbed second place on the grid
alongside him.

But Hakkinen was unflustered after clocking a lap nearly half a second
clear of his nearest rival and championship challenger on a day of squally
showers and empty seats at Silverstone.

"I know the track well and I am not worried about the weather,"
said Hakkinen, 29, who got married last month and plans to celebrate with
his first world title. He currently leads Schumacher by six points with
seven of this year's 16 races remaining after Sunday's Silverstone
showdown.

"It is the same for everyone. If it is wet, it is wet and if it is
dry, it is dry. A lot depends on the tires."

Hakkinen claimed his sixth pole position in nine races this year on
Saturday after clocking a best time of one minute and 23.271 seconds.

Defending champion Jacques Villeneuve was third quickest in a Williams
ahead of Briton David Coulthard in a McLaren with another Briton Eddie
Irvine in a Ferrari fifth and German Heinz-Harald Frentzen sixth in asecond
Williams.

Hakkinen has now taken pole position seven times in his career since
breaking through for the first time at last year's Luxembourg Grand Prix.

The purple-haired Villeneuve's performance secured him his best grid
position since he won the world title as he goes in pursuit of his third
successive victory at the British Grand Prix.

His return to the front two rows of the grid for the first time since
winning the title left Coulthard worried as it now signals that the Scot
has serious opposition to overcome. He now has to overcome not only his
teammate, but also both Ferrari and Williams.

"I think we could have been quicker than Michael if we had got in a
perfect lap," Villeneuve said. "It is really nice to be back here
-- I nearly lost the way. The car feels much stronger."

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