Saturday practice 1: Hakkinen dominates
Mika Hakkinen dominated a wet-but-drying Saturday first practice for the Austrian Grand Prix. The McLaren driver, evidently rejuvenated somewhat by his recent rest period, headed up his team-mate David Coulthard
At Ferrari it was the same story, with the driver of lesser recent form on top. Barrichello finished the session nearly half a second ahead of Michael Schumacher, and a mere 0.07s behind Coulthard.
Jos Verstappen was among the first to venture onto the track, and used the experience to good effect as the track dried, putting in a lap of 1m12.342, followed by Giancarlo Fisichella's Benetton undergoing something of a return to form after a disappointing French race. Jacques Villeneuve underlined BAR's upswing with 7th, and Ricardo Zonta was 8th fastest.
Luciano Burti standing in at short notice for Eddie Irvine in the Jaguar endured a difficult session, failing to achieve anything but a solitary installation lap. The Brazilian would have only the second 45-minute session in which to learn the circuit before qualifying.
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