Barrichello quickest in first practice

Up until that point the session had been a battle between Ferrari and McLaren with both teams trading times at the top. On one occasion or another during the session, each of the drivers from the top two teams spent time on the top spot.

The session started slowly, with few venturing out onto the dusty track. Jean Alesi was the early pace setter, setting provisional fastest time although he spun three times inside of two laps.

Jos Verstappen was the next driver to tackle a flying lap in his Arrows, marking a session where he would generally be there or thereabouts. The Dutchman finished up tenth.

It was another disappointing morning for Jaguar. Eddie Irvine stopped out on the circuit after four laps, and failed to set another lap. Herbert ended the session 18th having run quickly early on.

Michael Schumacher ended up fourth, but this belied his form, where he looked among the fastest runners throughout. He only completed eight laps to the McLaren drivers' 12, and Barrichello's 13.

Eventually, Barrichello blitzed everyone with a 1m17.9s lap. The McLaren drivers were not done, however, and Mika Hakkinen went a tenth quicker. It was not to last, however, and Barrichello shaved another 2 tenths off the time to end the session on top.