Hungary 1999: Friday Practice 2
Times
P. No Driver Team - Car Time/Laps
1. 4 Irvine Ferrari 1:19.476 179.918 km/h
2. 1 Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes 1:19.722 + 0:00.246
3. 2 Coulthard McLaren Mercedes 1:20.117 + 0:00.641
4. 16 Barrichello Stewart Ford 1:20.547 + 0:01.071
5. 3 Salo Ferrari 1:20.989 + 0:01.513
6. 8 Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:21.185 + 0:01.709
7. 5 Zanardi Williams Supertec 1:21.251 + 0:01.775
8. 10 Wurz Benetton Playlife 1:21.456 + 0:01.980
9. 6 R Schumacher Williams Supertec 1:21.481 + 0:02.005
10. 17 Herbert Stewart Ford 1:21.486 + 0:02.010
11. 22 Villeneuve BAR Supertec 1:21.504 + 0:02.028
12. 18 Panis Prost Peugeot 1:21.525 + 0:02.049
13. 20 Badoer Minardi Ford 1:21.635 + 0:02.159
14. 9 Fisichella Benetton Playlife 1:21.673 + 0:02.197
15. 11 Alesi Sauber Petronas 1:22.009 + 0:02.533
16. 7 Hill Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:22.182 + 0:02.706
17. 23 Zonta BAR Supertec 1:22.290 + 0:02.814
18. 19 Trulli Prost Peugeot 1:22.360 + 0:02.884
19. 21 Gene Minardi Ford 1:22.380 + 0:02.904
20. 12 Diniz Sauber Petronas 1:23.096 + 0:03.620
21. 15 Takagi Arrows TWR 1:23.216 + 0:03.740
22. 14 de la Rosa Arrows TWR 1:24.064 + 0:04.588
107% time : 1:25.039
FIA Press Release
Free practice, 13.00 to 14.00
Weather conditions: overcast, light rain
Irvine goes fastest for Ferrari
Eddie Irvine set fastest time late in the session on 1m 19.476s with the Ferrari F399. "The set-up was good from the start and we made some good steps in the right direction," he said. "Qualifying is very important here and we are feeling confident." Mika Salo ended the day fifth fastest on 1m 20.989s. The Finn reported that he improved the set-up during the course of the day and, despite spinning off, his best sector times were very encouraging.
Hakkinen spins, but holds second
Mika Hakkinen held second fastest time (1m 19.722s) ahead of McLaren-Mercedes team-mate David Coulthard after the Finn pirouetted into a gravel trap and had to walk back to the pits. It is believed the car was hardly damaged after he lost control under hard braking. The car is being retrieved for a detailed technical examination. Coulthard had no complaints to make about his situation.
Barrichello ends up fourth
Rubens Barrichello's Stewart-Ford remained fourth to the end of the day on 1m 20.546s, although he reported that he "had not made as much progress as hoped for." Herbert retained 10th on 1m 20.547s but lost time this afternoon due to a problem with his right rear suspension.
Frentzen moves up to sixth
Heinz-Harald Frentzen moved up to fifth place with 1m 21.185s in his Jordan Mugen-Honda 199 reporting that he had "finished his homework and am optimistic that we have a good set-up for tomorrow." Damon Hill (16th/1m 22.182s) spun off at the final corner and slid into the tyre barrier. "The circuit was extremely slippery," he said. "I damaged the front wing but feel quite encouraged about the feel of the car because of the good sector times."
Zanardi takes seventh
Alex Zanardi set seventh fastest time in the Williams FW21, the Italian having reacclimatised himself to the left-foot braking technique at the recent Silverstone test. "The track was quite difficult," he said after posting a lap in 1m 21.251s. "Even if we improve the car I don't feel totally optimistic." Ralf Schumacher spun and got stuck in the gravel, ending up ninth on 1m 21.481s. The team damaged three nose sections, one rear wing and a set of wheel rims during the course of the session.
Briefly
Giancarlo Fisichella dropped to 14th on 1m 21.673s after a straight-on moment in his Benetton-Playlife. "The track was very slippery and we had understeer in the slow corners," he said, "but I feel we are going overall in the right direction." British American Racing had three spins for Jacques Villeneuve (11th/1m 21.504s) and one for Ricardo Zonta (17th/1m 22.290s)
Brief Commentary
The session opened with rain just starting to fall, causing all the drivers except Villeneuve to come out quickly before things became too wet for slick tyre running.
Salo immediately visits the gravel trap, but keeps going and heads back to the pits. Meanwhile, Hakkinen improves at the top of the timesheets, and most of the mid-field runners improve their times, shuffling the order considerably... Gene moved into fifteenth place in his Minardi.
As rain threatens to fall properly, Hill and Alesi stay on track to keep working - Damon lost most of the first session, completing only six laps, so he needs the time out on the track. Villeneuve comes out (around quarter through the session) to join them. Zonta also comes out, and goes well.
As the slight rain dies away completely, Hakkinen returns to the track, where Salo has been lapping consistently just outside his pace so far. Gene spins, but stays on the black-stuff, as Salo suddenly finds half a second, and Hakkinen starts a blistering lap, but he does not complete it.
Half way through the session, and Frentzen moves into fifth place ahead of Salo, as Coulthard improves his times and Villeneuve finally gets quicker than Zonta. He pits in seventh place... as Hakkinen gets stuck in a gravel trap.
The rain starts to fall again, and is getting harder by the moment, making the track slippery; all times are starting to suffer as a result. Damon Hill comes out, and struggles with the Jordan, going across a gravel trap before pitting again. Wurz does the same, moments later... then Trulli crashes out, followed by Ralf Schumacher and Pedro Diniz. The session is running short on drivers!
Fifteen minutes to go, and Badoer bucks the trend by going ninth fastest, while Panis goes twelfth. Damon Hill crashes against the barriers, as Coulthard improves to be 0.015s off Irvines second place time. Fisishella drives through gravel, and Zanardi puts in a quick time to go fifth. Frentzen promptly displaces him down to sixth.
In the last five minutes, Salo comes out to push the McLarens. He moves into sixth place, as Frentzen pounds out more laps. Panis improves to twelfth, some 1.8s off the pace; then Irvine takes a stab, posting a 1:20.582, well off the pace. Coulthard also comes out for a quick push at the end.
As the session closes, the rain picks up and everyone is struggling. Barrichello improves, but stays fourth as Villeneuve revisits the gravel trap (and gets stuck again!) Irvine just sneaks under at the close, posting 1:19.476 to take the session, as Coulthard fails to improve.
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