Formula 1: British Grand Prix
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Jordan 4th and 5th
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[Sat Jul-11 12h00 CET]
It was a relatively quiet start for the first of today's two 45 minute Free
Practice sessions for the British Grand Prix.  At the start everyone took
runs around the grey cloudy track, but always returned straight to the
pits.  It was not until 9 minutes into the session that Verstappen
completed today's first timed lap, a 1m 29.080s.

15 minutes into the session and the top six were:  M.Schumacher (1m 25.387s
- 6L), Wurz (1m 27.258s - 4L), Fisichella (1m 27.849s - 4L), Irvine (1m
27.549s - 5L), Panis (1m 27.978s - 6L) and Herbert (1m 28.276s - 5L). 
Seconds later Hakkinen topped the pile at 1m 25.177s and then 1m 24.780s. 
Meanwhile Fisichella spins off and ends his session in the gravel. 
Benetton said they were having trouble with the wind in certain areas of
the track upsetting the aerodynamics of the car.

30 minutes into the session Coulthard had made a serious attempt and the
Jordans were in fighting spirit.  The top six were: Hakkinen (1m 24.780s -
7L), Coulthard (1m 25.022s - 5L), M.Schumacher (1m 25.387s - 9L),
R.Schumacher (1m 26.176s - 8L), Hill (1m 26.265s - 9L) and Villeneuve (1m
26.358s - 6L).

 In the final few minutes of the session Rosset took a trip
off track.  At the end of the session the top 10 were:

 1 1m 24.035s - 13L - Hakkinen
 2 1m 24.848s -  9L - Coulthard
 3 1m 25.387s - 13L - M.Schumacher
 4 1m 25.764s - 13L - Villeneuve
 5 1m 25.948s - 13L - Frentzen
 6 1m 26.176s - 14L - R.Schumacher
 7 1m 26.190s - 15L - Hill
 8 1m 26.266s - 14L - Irvine
 9 1m 26.476s - 16L - Herbert
10 1m 27.067s - 15L - Wurz

The number of laps covered ranged from 9 (Coulthard) to 17 (Tuero - 18th
fastest - 1m 28.244s).  Fisichella only covered 5 after stopping in the
gravel.  The track temperature was 25 degrees C with an air temperature of
just 14.  Much colder than the teams had experienced during last week's
tests.

1 second covered the first 2 cars and 2 seconds covered the first 5.

During the 30 minute break between sessions many of the team managers
expressed the same two worries: the problems of aerodynamic setups on such
a fast circuit with the wind we have today and was it going to rain for
Qualifying.

One of the first people on track in the second 45 minute session was also
the first off.  Takagi spun off into the gravel after just 7 minutes.  He
did, however, manage to drive back to the pits for repairs.

15 minutes into the session M.Schumacher had just improved on his time (but
not his position) and the top six were:  Hakkinen (1m 24.035s - 19L), 
Coulthard (1m 24.673s - 14L), M.Schumacher (1m 25.020s - 20L), R.Schumacher
(1m 25.467s - 17L), Irvine (1m 25.644s - 18L) and Villeneuve (1m 25.764s -
18L).

In the next 15 minutes both McLarens improve to make a top six of: 
Hakkinen (1m 23.639s - 25L), Coulthard (1m 24.233s - 19L), M.Schumacher (1m
25.020s - 24L), Frentzen (1m 25.221s - 23L), R.Schumacher (1m 25.467s -
22L) and Hill (1m 25.545s - 25L).

4 minutes later Hill in a pre-qualifying setup runs a blinder, jumping into
third fastest at 1m 24.683s.  He is soon followed in fourth by the WIlliams
of Villeneuve (1m 24.791s).

With 5 minutes left M.Schumacher retakes 3rd (1m 24.260s).

With 2 minutes left the top 5 are all on track battling for the
end-of-session time.  Yellow flags are out, though, after Verstappen
retires at the side of the track, seconds later Hill spins off over the
gravel and rejoins, Hakkinen returns to the pits, R. Schumacher moves into
4th (1m 24.496s), M.Schumacher returns to the pits.

The session closes with just Coulthard of the top six still on track, he
fails to improve his time.

The final top six are:  Hakkinen (1m 23.639s - 30L), Coulthard (1m 24.233s
- 24L), M.Schumacher (1m 24.260s - 30L), R.Schumacher (1m 24.496s - 28L),
Hill (1m 24.683s - 29L) and Villeneuve (1m 24.791s - 31L).

1 second covers the first 4 and 2 seconds cover the first 8 places.

By the end of the session most drivers had covered between 24 laps
(Coulthard) and 31 laps (Villeneuve, Herbert, Panis, Barrichello and
Verstappen).


Session: 2nd Free Practice
Track Times:

                                                 1st Free
Pos  Driver          Team       Lap Time   Laps Pos  Lap Time   Laps
 1  M.Hakkinen      McLaren     1m 23.639s (30)   2  1m 25.764s (25)
 2  D.Coulthard     McLaren     1m 24.233s (24)   1  1m 25.640s (36)
 3  M.Schumacher    Ferrari     1m 24.260s (30)   7  1m 26.884s (27)
 4  R.Schumacher    Jordan      1m 24.496s (28)   9  1m 27.460s (30)
 5  D.Hill          Jordan      1m 24.683s (29)  10  1m 27.667s (41)
 6  J.Villeneuve    Williams    1m 24.791s (31)   4  1m 26.114s (38)
 7  E.Irvine        Ferrari     1m 24.834s (27)   5  1m 26.791s (18)
 8  H.Frentzen      Williams    1m 25.187s (27)   3  1m 26.107s (31)
 9  J.Alesi         Sauber      1m 25.769s (27)  12  1m 28.136s (27)
10  G.Fisichella    Benetton    1m 25.822s (17)   6  1m 26.840s (32)
11  A.Wurz          Benetton    1m 25.904s (30)   8  1m 27.121s (32)
12  J.Herbert       Sauber      1m 25.949s (31)  11  1m 27.978s (25)
13  T.Takagi        Tyrrell     1m 26.521s (26)  13  1m 28.258s (35)
14  O.Panis         Prost       1m 26.881s (31)  17  1m 29.193s (22)
15  P.Diniz         Arrows      1m 26.929s (27)  19  1m 29.375s ( 6)
16  M.Salo          Arrows      1m 26.947s (28)  18  1m 29.262s (32)
17  J.Trulli        Prost       1m 27.002s (27)  15  1m 28.685s (40)
18  R.Barrichello   Stewart     1m 27.323s (31)  14  1m 28.339s (23)
19  J.Verstappen    Stewart     1m 27.690s (31)  16  1m 28.983s (32)
20  E.Tuero         Minardi     1m 28.224s (29)  22  1m 30.266s (30)
21  S.Nakano        Minardi     1m 28.317s (26)  21  1m 30.090s (36)
22  R.Rosset        Tyrrell     1m 28.650s (26)  20  1m 29.664s (35)
   ---- 107% ----               1m 29.493s
------------------------------------------------------------

Villeneuve Third
----------------
[Sat Jul-11 15h00 CET]
In today's single Qualifying session for the British Grand Prix World
Champion, Jacques Villeneuve (1m 24.102s - 11Laps) finished third fastest,
giving him his best grid position since the 4th place in Australia.  As
expected pole position was taken by flying finn Mika Hakkinen (1m 23.271s -
10L) and Michael Schumacher (1m 23.720s - 11L) will be joining him on the
front row tomorrow.  Local favourite David Coulthard was 4th fastest (1m
24.310s - 12L).

The weather continued to be overcast but dry.  As they began the session
the air temperature was 15 degrees C and the track 18.  Many teams seemed
to be worried about the possibility of rain.  Within a few minutes 9 cars
were on track.

By the 15 minute point the top players had all completed their first run. 
At this point the top ten were: (1) Hakkinen, (2) M.Schumacher, (3)
Coulthard, (4) Irvine, (5) Frentzen, (6) R.Schumacher, (7) Hill, (8)
Villeneuve, (9) Alesi, (10) Fisichella.  The pole time was 1m 23.832s. 
Five minutes later R.Schumacher spins and stalls on track.  The spare car
had been set for Hill, so Ralf spent the rest of the session trying to
adapt it to his style - without much luck.

By the 30 minute point the pole had dropped to 1m 23.271s, and Villeneuve
had put in a 1m 24.985s to take 6th place.  The top ten were: (1) Hakkinen,
(2) M.Schumacher, (3) Coulthard, (4) Frentzen, (5) Irvine, (6) Villenueve,
(7) Hill, (8) Herbert, (9) R.Schumacher, (10) Alesi.

By the 45 minute point Villeneuve had done it again with a 1m 24.619s
taking him to 5th place.  Hill had also improved.  His 1m 24.671s moved him
into 6th.  The top ten were: (1) Hakkinen, (2) M.Schumacher, (3) Coulthard,
(4) Frentzen, (5) Villeneuve, (6) Hill, (7) Irvine, (8) Herbert, (9) Alesi,
(10) R.Schumacher.

In the last 15 minutes Irvine jumped into 4th from 7th, then Villeneuve
leapt into 3rd from 5th.  Most of the drivers had by now reached their 12
lap limit.  The exceptions were Hakkinen, Coulthard and M.Schumacher. 
Hakkinen came out too late for a final fast lap, M.Schumacher and Coulthard
ran fast laps but without improvement.

1 second covers the first 3 and 2 seconds cover the first 6 places.

In the interview afterwards Hakkinen said he had had a very good free
session this morning and the setup for the car was very good.  He was very
content with his pole but did feel he could have gone faster.  He was not
worried about the possibiliy of rain tomorrow.  "If it rains it
rains" he said.

M.Schumacher said that he felt he could have taken pole on his last run but
he went wide at one point and could not recover the time. He also was not
worried about the potential rain.

Jacques Villeneuve said it was great to be back in the "top
three" interview room.  He said this was the first time this year that
the car had felt good.  He felt confident for tomorrow, if it stays dry. 
He did not think they would be very competitive if it were to rain for the
race.  He has won the only two times in which he has raced F1 at
Silverstone and so feels very confident for the race.  He did say that it
was very hard to overtake here unless you took great risks.  He is ready to
take the risks tomorrow in order to progress.

After the Qualifying session ended, McLaren rolled out their famous
two-seater F1 car.  Ex-F1 star Martin Brundle then took FIA President Max
Mosely for a few flying laps around the circuit.  "Awesome" was
one of Max's first comments when he returned to the pits.


Session: Qualifying
Track Times:

                                                  2nd Free             1st Free
Pos  Driver          Team       Lap Time   Laps  Pos Lap Time   Laps  Pos
Lap Time   Laps
 1  M.Hakkinen      McLaren     1m 23.271s (10)   1  1m 23.639s (30)   2 
1m 25.764s (25)
 2  M.Schumacher    Ferrari     1m 23.720s (11)   3  1m 24.260s (30)   7 
1m 26.884s (27)
 3  J.Villeneuve    Williams    1m 24.102s (12)   6  1m 24.791s (31)   4 
1m 26.114s (38)
 4  D.Coulthard     McLaren     1m 24.310s (12)   2  1m 24.233s (24)   1 
1m 25.640s (36)
 5  E.Irvine        Ferrari     1m 24.436s (12)   7  1m 24.834s (27)   5 
1m 26.791s (18)
 6  H.Frentzen      Williams    1m 24.442s (12)   8  1m 25.187s (27)   3 
1m 26.107s (31)
 7  D.Hill          Jordan      1m 24.542s (12)   5  1m 24.683s (29)  10 
1m 27.667s (41)
 8  J.Alesi         Sauber      1m 25.081s (12)   9  1m 25.769s (27)  12 
1m 28.136s (27)
 9  J.Herbert       Sauber      1m 25.084s (12)  12  1m 25.949s (31)  11 
1m 27.978s (25)
10  R.Schumacher    Jordan      1m 25.461s (12)   4  1m 24.496s (28)   9 
1m 27.460s (30)
11  G.Fisichella    Benetton    1m 25.654s (12)  10  1m 25.822s (17)   6 
1m 26.840s (32)
12  A.Wurz          Benetton    1m 25.760s (12)  11  1m 25.904s (30)   8 
1m 27.121s (32)
13  P.Diniz         Arrows      1m 26.376s (12)  15  1m 26.929s (27)  19 
1m 29.375s ( 6)
14  M.Salo          Arrows      1m 26.487s (12)  16  1m 26.947s (28)  18 
1m 29.262s (32)
15  J.Trulli        Prost       1m 26.808s (11)  17  1m 27.002s (27)  15 
1m 28.685s (40)
16  O.Panis         Prost       1m 26.847s (12)  14  1m 26.881s (31)  17 
1m 29.193s (22)
17  J.Verstappen    Stewart     1m 26.948s (12)  19  1m 27.690s (31)  16 
1m 28.983s (32)
18  R.Barrichello   Stewart     1m 26.990s (12)  18  1m 27.323s (31)  14 
1m 28.339s (23)
19  T.Takagi        Tyrrell     1m 27.061s (12)  13  1m 26.521s (26)  13 
1m 28.258s (35)
20  E.Tuero         Minardi     1m 28.051s (11)  20  1m 28.224s (29)  22 
1m 30.266s (30)
21  S.Nakano        Minardi     1m 28.123s (12)  21  1m 28.317s (26)  21 
1m 30.090s (36)
22  R.Rosset        Tyrrell     1m 28.608s (12)  22  1m 28.650s (26)  20 
1m 29.664s (35)
   ---- 107% ----               1m 29.100s
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Session: Grid Details
Track Times:


Pos  Driver          Team       Pos  Lap Time   To 1st   Gap    To 107%   %
1st row
 1  M.Hakkinen      McLaren      1  1m 23.271s  0.000s          -5.829 100.00%
 2  M.Schumacher    Ferrari      2  1m 23.720s  0.449s  0.449s  -5.380 100.53%
2nd row
 3  J.Villeneuve    Williams     3  1m 24.102s  0.831s  0.382s  -4.998 100.99%
 4  D.Coulthard     McLaren      4  1m 24.310s  1.039s  0.208s  -4.790 101.24%
3th row
 5  E.Irvine        Ferrari      5  1m 24.436s  1.165s  0.126s  -4.664 101.39%
 6  H.Frentzen      Williams     6  1m 24.442s  1.171s  0.006s  -4.658 101.40%
4th row
 7  D.Hill          Jordan       7  1m 24.542s  1.271s  0.100s  -4.558 101.52%
 8  J.Alesi         Sauber       8  1m 25.081s  1.810s  0.539s  -4.019 102.17%
5th row
 9  J.Herbert       Sauber       9  1m 25.084s  1.813s  0.003s  -4.016 102.17%
10  R.Schumacher    Jordan      10  1m 25.461s  2.190s  0.377s  -3.639 102.63%
6th row
11  G.Fisichella    Benetton    11  1m 25.654s  2.383s  0.193s  -3.446 102.86%
12  A.Wurz          Benetton    12  1m 25.760s  2.489s  0.106s  -3.340 102.98%
7th row
13  P.Diniz         Arrows      13  1m 26.376s  3.105s  0.616s  -2.724 103.72%
14  M.Salo          Arrows      14  1m 26.487s  3.216s  0.111s  -2.613 103.86%
8th row
15  J.Trulli        Prost       15  1m 26.808s  3.537s  0.321s  -2.292 104.24%
16  O.Panis         Prost       16  1m 26.847s  3.576s  0.039s  -2.253 104.29%
9th row
17  J.Verstappen    Stewart     17  1m 26.948s  3.677s  0.101s  -2.152 104.41%
18  R.Barrichello   Stewart     18  1m 26.990s  3.719s  0.042s  -2.110 104.46%
10th row
19  T.Takagi        Tyrrell     19  1m 27.061s  3.790s  0.071s  -2.039 104.55%
20  E.Tuero         Minardi     20  1m 28.051s  4.780s  0.990s  -1.049 105.74%
11th row
21  S.Nakano        Minardi     21  1m 28.123s  4.852s  0.072s  -0.977 105.82%
22  R.Rosset        Tyrrell     22  1m 28.608s  5.337s  0.485s  -0.492 106.40%

All information is unofficial
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