Friday Second Free Practice - Japanese GP

Schumacher fastest

A delighted Michael Schumacher improved his time over Mika Hakkinen in the afternoon free practice session to end up six-tenths of a second clear of his rival, the Ferrari driver saying he was very happy with his car by the end of the session. "We made some good improvements to the car during testing in Mugello last week," said Michael, who got to within a couple of tenths of a second of his last year's pole winning time. His best sector times of the afternoon would have given him an ideal lap 1.3 seconds quicker than his actual best, so its can be expected to see him well under his '99 pole time during qualifying tomorrow.

Barrichello improved to third fastest time, the Brazilian unable to go out for a last minute flying lap after he could not engage first gear to get out of the pits, while he also lost time at the start of the session as the mechanics finished cleaning his car off from his morning off. Otherwise he was happy after improving the back end of his car, which felt too light at the start of the session. He ended up only a couple of tenths behind Hakkinen.

Hakkinen trouble free

McLaren's Mika Hakkinen had a trouble free practice on his way to second place for the day, his teammate David Coulthard running hard on the same set of tyres to check tyre wear, his McLaren's rear tyres worn out, but consistent, after 31 laps, more than he would normally do on them in a race.

Button impresses with fifth for Williams

Jenson Button impressed everyone with the fifth fastest time of the day for Williams, although it was aided with a fresh set of tyres at the end. "It's a tough circuit to learn and get the most out of the car," said Jenson. Ralf Schumacher found himself back in 12th spot, the German having a problem with his Williams's dampers, which prevented him finishing his schedule of tests he had planned.

Trulli and Frentzen take sixth and seventh

Jarno Trulli and Heinz-Harald Frentzen ended the day happy with their Jordan Mugen-Hondas, Trulli sixth fastest and Frentzen seventh, after both drivers had improved the set-up of their cars throughout the session. "I think we have found a good direction in which to progress after tomorrow," said Frentzen, Trulli adding that he thinks they can fight for fifth place in qualifying.

de la Rosa well up for Arrows

Pedro de la Rosa profited from fresh tyres to take the eighth fastest time of the session for Arrows, the Spaniard running a routine session of set-up changes and quite happy with his car at the end of it. Jos Verstappen was complaining of too much oversteer and then too much understeer after adjustments. "We have to find a middle road tomorrow," he said, having not bettered 17th fastest time.

In brief...

Both Jaguar drivers continued to solve their morning problems without much success. Irvine slipped to 11th fastest and Herbert was back in 18th spot.

Jacques Villeneuve had a lucky escape when he spun on his final lap, but managed to stay off the barriers. Neither he nor teammate Ricardo Zonta were happy with the grip levels of their car despite taking ninth and tenth fastest times.

Jean Alesi slipped to 20th after stopping early with an oil pressure problem. Nick Heidfeld took 14th fastest, the German spinning across the chicane during the session, but with no damage to his car.

Pos Driver Team Times 1. M.Schumacher Ferrari 1:37.728 216.012 km/h 2. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes 1:38.339 + 0.611 3. Barrichello Ferrari 1:38.537 + 0.809 4. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes 1:39.010 + 1.282 5. Button Williams BMW 1:39.111 + 1.383 6. Trulli Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:39.261 + 1.533 7. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:39.529 + 1.801 8. de la Rosa Arrows Supertec 1:39.547 + 1.819 9. Villeneuve BAR Honda 1:39.669 + 1.941 10. Zonta BAR Honda 1:39.887 + 2.159 11. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth 1:40.014 + 2.286 12. R.Schumacher Williams BMW 1:40.166 + 2.438 13. Diniz Sauber Petronas 1:40.328 + 2.600 14. Heidfeld Prost Peugeot 1:40.403 + 2.675 15. Salo Sauber Petronas 1:40.431 + 2.703 16. Fisichella Benetton Playlife 1:40.520 + 2.792 17. Verstappen Arrows Supertec 1:40.523 + 2.795 18. Herbert Jaguar Cosworth 1:40.824 + 3.096 19. Wurz Benetton Playlife 1:40.985 + 3.257 20. Alesi Prost Peugeot 1:41.014 + 3.286 21. Gene Minardi Fondmetal 1:41.670 + 3.942 22. Mazzacane Minardi Fondmetal 1:45.238 + 7.510 All timing unofficial