Hakkinen tops Magny-Cours test

In a bid to re-ignite his faltering season, the world champion looked in a determined mood as he set the fastest time of the three days, his flying lap of 1m15.580s being almost half a second faster than Coulthard's best time set yesterday.

Second was the Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello, followed by McLaren test driver Olivier Panis. Runaway championship leader Michael Schumacher was fourth in his Ferrari.

Heinz-Harald Frenzten was next up in the Jordan. BAR, with Jacques Villeneuve in 15th and Patrick Lemarie in 19th, will be looking at Frentzen's times closely if, as observers at the circuit believe, the Jordan driver was testing the same C-Spec engine block as the works Honda team. According to sources, the engine is being tested with a view to being used in qualifying at the Austrian GP in three week's time.

As Arrows driver Pedro de la Rosa finished his test down in 13th place, team-mate Jos Verstappen is well on his way to recovery after being hurt in a crash on day one of the three-day test. "I'm doing okay - better than expected," said the Dutchman. "My neck injuries were not as bad as we thought, and I've had a lot of time with the physiotherapist every day. My neck and back are still a little bit stiff and sore, but I'll definitely be back in the car for the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours."


1 Hakkinen McLaren 1m15.575s 44
2 Barrichello Ferrari 1m15.577s 86
3 Panis McLaren 1m15.610s 81
4 Schumacher M. Ferrari 1m15.895s 58
5 Frentzen Jordan 1m15.993s 86
6 Trulli Jordan 1m16.059s 58
7 Heidfeld Prost 1m16.457s 40
8 Herbert Jaguar 1m16.663s 38
9 Fisichella Benetton 1m16.692s 72
10 Salo Sauber 1m16.738s 76
11 Schumacher R. WilliamsF1 1m16.805s 55
12 de la Rosa Arrows 1m16.923s 85
13 Wurz Benetton 1m17.099s 61
14 Button WilliamsF1 1m17.111s 72
15 Villeneuve BAR 1m17.472s 65
16 Bernoldi Sauber 1m 17.662s 65
17 Irvine Jaguar 1m18.991s 8
18 Sarrazin Prost 1m19.043s 45
19 Lemarie BAR 1m19.332s 74