Confident Coulthard quickest in Austria

When the McLaren driver came out for the first time halfway through the practice he immediately went 2s quicker than anyone had been up to that point.

Eddie Irvine was 2nd, despite a big spin which left him broadside across the track in front of Jacques Villeneuve and Luca Badoer. He kept the engine running and continued.

Mika Salo was 6th, just 0.6s off Irvine in his first proper run for Ferrari. The Williams' and Benettons also put in strong performances, Ralf Schumacher and Giancarlo Fisichella 2nd and 3rd for much of the session.

Both Jordans looked fast, but Damon Hill spent much of the session flying off the road and wound up an unrepresentative 14th fastest. Also in trouble were Jarno Trulli (who had a high-speed grassy excursion) and Pedro de la Rosa, whose Arrows stopped out on the circuit.

Coulthard was untouchable however. On several occasions, Hakkinen, Irvine or Schumacher got close to matching his time, but always lost out in the final sector of the lap, sometimes as much as 1.5s slower than the McLaren driver in that segment.

Practice resumes in an hour's time, but the order in Austria seems to be McLaren, followed closely by Ferrari, then Williams, Benetton and Jordan all together in the battle for the final points positions.

First practice times from Austria: