Latest from qualifying

All times in BST

Final order: Frentzen; Coulthard; Hakkinen; Schumacher; Panis; Fisichella; Hill; Villeneuve; Irvine; Trulli; Wurz; Salo; Diniz; Herbert; Barrichello; Alesi; Zonta; Zanardi; Badoer; Gene; Takagi; de la Rosa

Full report to follow...


12.02: Wet track and rain still flying. Hill, Zanardi and Hakkinen are first on track

12.05: Rain has stopped. Herbert stops on track

12.08: Order- Hakkinen; Hill; Badoer; Zanardi. The latter went across the gravel trap at turn one on his flying lap

12.09: Circuit is very slippery, Badoer slides off the road but continues. Fisichella and de la Rosa on fast laps

12.11: Wurz and Fisichella go third and fourth. Coulthard 0.9s off Hakkinen on his first lap

12.13: Order- Hakkinen; Coulthard; Hill; Panis; Barrichello; Alesi; Wurz; Diniz; Fisichella; Trull; Badoer; Schumacher; Zanardi; Villeneuve; De la Rosa Takagi; Salo. Irvine, Frentzen, Gene and Zonta yet to appear, Herbert has stopped on track

12.14: Salo goes fastest by 0.2s. Fisichella off road. Schumacher improves to sixth

12.15: Barrichello takes pole, despite wild moment at final corner

12.18: Irvine goes fifth. Order: Barrichello, Salo, Hakkinen, Coulthard, Irvine, Wurz, Schumacher, Fisichella, Hill, Panis, Alesi, Diniz, Trulli, Badoer, Zanardi, Villeneuve, de la Rosa, Takagi, Herbert. Frentzen, Gene and Zonta yet to qualify

12.19: Frentzen exits pit lane, surprising number of cheers from the crowd given the history of bad-feeling between Heinz-Harald and Schumacher

12.21: Frentzen is tenth fastest after some big 'moments' on his flying lap. Track is drying but there are still huge wet patches

12.23: Schumacher has his spare car set for the wet and his race car for the dry. Most drivers are now back in the pits watching the clouds. Expect a last minute scramble as the track continues to dry out

12.25: Gene on track. Now only Zonta has yet to appear. Herbert has not set a time either after stopping on his first flier, but the Stewart team are already working on the spare

12.27: Although the track is drying, Gene is still 20th. Dry line now becoming visible at most corners

12.29: Gene improves to 14th on his second lap

12.30: Gene continues and moves up to 13th ahead of Diniz and Trulli

12.37: Zonta comes out onto a totally clear track. His progress will be a useful pointer for the other teams as they continue to play a waiting game in the pits

12.38: Irvine also leaves the pits, on dry tyres

12.39: Zonta's sector times suggests a top five slot...

12.40: Irvine quickest in sector one, Zonta goes ninth

12.41: Irvine takes pole by just under two seconds. Expect a made rush for positions now. The Prosts are already out and Hakkinen's car is being readied

12.42: Badoer and Hakkinen on track, Irvine going faster still but aborts lap. He had been 1.5s up at the second sector. Herbert comes out in the spare Stewart

12.44: Panis and Trulli go first and second

12.45: Hakkinen retakes pole by 0.6s despite being blocked by Zanardi in the chicane

12.46: Herbert and Badoer go up to fourth and fifth

12.46: Salo and Hill third and fourth, Hakkinen improving his time

12.47: Hakkinen fastest by 2.4s from Herbert, Diniz, Badoer, Panis, Salo, Hill, Trulli and Zanardi. Everyone on track

12.47: Hill goes second but is immediately usurped by Coulthard. Wurz improves to sixth

12.48: Fisichella goes second, Zanardi moves up to fifth then gets bumped down to sixth by Herbert. Track is drying by the second

12.49: Coulthard goes fastest by 0.9s, Fisichella pushes Hakkinen down to third. Schumacher moves to fifth

12.50: Villeneuve takes fifth, Gene into tenth. Irvine is down in 16th, Frentzen is 19th. Trulli goes second, then Schumacher and Fisichella

12.52: Order- Coulthard, Trulli, Alesi, Schumacher, Panis, Fisichella, Hakkinen, Villeneuve, Hill, Zonta, Herbert, Zanardi, Diniz, Gene, Takagi, Wurz, Badoer, Salo, Irvine, Barrichello, Frentzen, De la Rosa

12.54: Frentzen takes pole by 1.1s

12.56: Irvine goes second, but is 0.8s off Frentzen. Hill sets the best time yet in sector one, Diniz goes fourth

12.56: Hill goes onto pole by 0.092s from Frentzen. Salo goes third

12.57: Irvine to second, 0.01s slower than Hill

12.58: Schumacher takes pole by 0.4s, then is immediately pipped by first Coulthard, then Hakkinen

12.59: Irvine hits the gravel on his last run, Frentzen back onto pole by 0.2s