Practice 2: Trulli leads the way

Trulli left it late to knock surprise P1 occupant Allan McNish (Toyota) off the top of the times with a 1m18.915s lap. McNish's 1m19.361s effort was quick enough to stay on top for much of the session, and eclipsed fellow Scot David Coulthard who was third quickest for McLaren. Mark Webber was another star, setting the eighth fastest time in his Minardi.

"We need to push a little with the engine, I think we can go faster," Trulli told his engineer as he returned to the pits. "The car is handling well, it's very good through the chicane, but we could do with slightly better traction."

McNish said: "I expected to struggle here but it seems to be working for us. When you get the grip and the confidence, you can put your right foot down for a lot longer."

Trulli's team-mate Jenson Button was also quick but crashed into the tyres at Mirabeau and finished the session in eighth. Giancarlo Fisichella was fourth fastest in his Jordan-Honda, bouncing back from his opening session problems, ahead of McNish's team-mate Mika Salo in fifth.

Ferrari had a low-key session, with Rubens Barrichello in seventh and Schumacher back in 11th. Another team not busting a gut for a quick time was Williams-BMW, with Ralf Schumacher sixth and Juan Pablo Montoya ninth - the latter appearing agitated as he climbed from his car at the end of the session.

Jaguar worked wonders to get Pedro de la Rosa's damaged car ready to join the session halfway through. But just as he did so, team-mate Eddie Irvine sailed into the barriers at Massanet after hitting oil from Enrique Bernoldi's expiring Arrows.

Alex Yoong stopped the session after just five minutes when he clouted the wall at Rascasse at the expense of his Minardi's right-front corner. Also in the wars was Felipe Massa, who smashed his Sauber into the barrier at Tabac putting him out for the day, too. The Brazilian had earlier suffered a frightening spin on the run down to the new chicane, reminiscent of Karl Wendlinger's terrible crash there in 1994, but he avoided the barriers that time.

Kimi Raikkonen's McLaren wasn't repairable in time for the second session, and he will have a lot of catching up to do tomorrow as he only completed six laps before crashing in the first period.

For full practice session 2 results, click here.