Hakkinen edges ahead in practice

The top three were stunningly evenly matched, with Hakkinen repeatedly edging closer to Schumacher's time before sneaking ahead. The German's attempt to retaliate was spoilt by a sideways moment at the Variante Alta.

David Coulthard could also have beaten Schumacher, but after setting the fastest time in the first sector he had to back off for yellows at the Acque Minerale and abandon the lap. A grassy moment at the final corner ruined an earlier effort.

Jarno Trulli improved to fourth in the Jordan, 0.2s quicker than team mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

The Saubers look good for qualifying, Mika Salo was only marginally slower than Rubens Barrichello's Ferrari, ending up seventh overall. His team mate Pedro Diniz was a promising tenth after making a mistake in the final sector on his quickest lap.

Jacques Villeneuve was eighth for BAR, despite a wild spin on the exit of Rivazza early in the session and then a terminal visit to the Acque Minerale gravel trap.

Eddie Irvine improved to ninth, 0.2s quicker than Jaguar team mate Johnny Herbert.

Williams' poor morning continued. Ralf Schumacher stopped on course after a handful of laps and was only 12th quickest, seven places ahead of Jenson Button, who only managed ten minutes of running all morning thanks to hydraulic problems.

Also in the wars were Jos Verstappen, who had a couple of heart-stopping grassy moments en route to 15th in his Arrows, and Minardi's Marc Gene, who heavily damaged the right hand side of his car after running wide and slamming into the tyre wall at Piratella.

Times from Saturday morning practice: