Brazil 2000: Qualifying
Times
P. No Driver Team - Car Time/Laps
1. 1 Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes 1:14.111 209.313 km/h
2. 2 Coulthard McLaren Mercedes 1:14.285 + 0:00.174
3. 3 Schumacher,M Ferrari 1:14.508 + 0:00.397
4. 4 Barrichello Ferrari 1:14.636 + 0:00.525
5. 11 Fisichella Benetton Playlife 1:15.375 + 0:01.264
6. 7 Irvine Jaguar 1:15.425 + 0:01.314
7. 5 Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Hond 1:15.455 + 0:01.344
8. 23 Zonta BAR Honda 1:15.484 + 0:01.373
9. 10 Button Williams BMW 1:15.490 + 0:01.379
10. 22 Villeneuve BAR Honda 1:15.515 + 0:01.404
11. 9 Schumacher,R Williams BMW 1:15.561 + 0:01.450
12. 6 Trulli Jordan Mugen-Hond 1:15.627 + 0:01.516
13. 12 Wurz Benetton Playlife 1:15.664 + 0:01.553
14. 19 Verstappen Arrows Supertec 1:15.704 + 0:01.593
15. 14 Alesi Prost Peugeot 1:15.715 + 0:01.604
16. 18 de la Rosa Arrows Supertec 1:16.002 + 0:01.891
17. 8 Herbert Jaguar 1:16.250 + 0:02.139
18. 20 Gene Minardi Fondmetal 1:16.380 + 0:02.269
19. 15 Heidfeld Prost Peugeot 1:17.112 + 0:03.001
20. 16 Diniz Sauber Petronas 1:17.178 + 0:03.067
21. 21 Mazzacane Minardi Fondmetal 1:17.512 + 0:03.401
22. 17 Salo Sauber Petronas 1:18.703 + 0:04.592
Note: Sauber have withdrawn from the race
FIA Press Release
Weather Conditions: Cloudy, hot and eventual heavy rain
McLAREN: HAKKINEN TAKES 23RD POLE
Mika Hakkinen matched Michael Schumacher's achievement of 23 career pole positions here at Interlagos this afternoon with a best time of 1m 14.111s in his McLaren-Mercedes MP4/15. "There was a lot of pressure today, particularly from David who was pressing very hard," said Hakkinen. "But I am feeling very confident because my car is both very consistent and very fast." David Coulthard posted second fastest time on 1m 14.285s. "To be honest, from the very first lap of the weekend I have felt extremely positive," he said. "The car felt better balanced than ever at this circuit. I got close to pole, but it was not good enough."
Commenting on the incidents when an advertising sign over the start/finish straight collapsed onto the circuit three times, resulting in three red flag periods, Hakkinen added; "I think it was a complete disaster a very difficult situation. It was very unfortunate for Alesi; I have never seen anything like it before."
FERRARI: THIRD AND FOURTH AFTER PROBLEMS
Michael Schumacher (3rd/1m 14.508s) and Rubens Barrichello (4th/1m 14.636s) had action-packed sessions in their Ferrari F1-2000s. Schumacher had to switch to the spare car after damaging his race chassis in a wild off-track moment on his second run. Both Michael and Rubens later both lost quick laps due to the deployment of the red flag.
JAGUAR: IRVINE TAKES SIXTH
Eddie Irvine was a delighted sixth on 1m 15.425s after a trouble-free session, but Johnny Herbert was struggling with set-up (17th/1m 16.250s). Both cars ran without any mechanical problems. "When Eddie got up to sixth, we thought, right, it can rain now!" said Jaguar Racing chief Neil Ressler.
BENETTON: FISICHELLA A HAPPY FIFTH
Giancarlo Fisichella was "very happy with the Benetton's consistent and good handling" on his way to sixth fastest time (1m 15.375s). Team-mate Alexander Wurz (13th/1m 15.664s) encountered traffic on every lap.
JORDAN: DISAPPOINTING SESSION
Heinz-Harald Frentzen (7th/1m 15.455s) never quite managed to get into the swing of things this afternoon, while Jarno Trulli(12th/1m 15.627s) spun off early on in his race car and then switched to the spare, later losing time with an electronic control box problem which affected the gearchange operation.
BAR: BOTH CARS MAKE THE TOP TEN
Both Ricardo Zonta (1m 15.484s) and Jacques Villeneuve (1m 15.515s) made the top ten. Zonta had no problems and concentrated on developing his aero settings, but Jacques Villeneuve was "badly affected by the chaos, which was a shame because I was expecting to qualify fifth or sixth."
BRIEFLY
WILLIAMS: Jenson Button did a fine job to wind up ninth in his Williams-BMW on 1m 15.490s. "It was good to be in the top ten," he said, "and in particular very pleasing to be sixth for a while when all the faster runners were out on the track." Ralf Schumacher (11th) was not happy with the set-up of his Williams FW22, in particular the spring rates.
PROST: Jean Alesi's Prost (15th) was hit by the collapsing advertising sign just prior to the third red flag period.
SAUBER: both Sauber C19s were withdrawn from the race after suffering rear wing failures.
ARROWS: Jos Verstappen's Arrows(14th) had clutch trouble and Pedro de la Rosa (16th) complained of traffic.
MINARDI: Gaston Mazzacane had fuel pressure problems after taking over the spare Minardi.
Formula-1.co.uk Commentary
Mika Hakkinen secured his second pole position of the season today at Interlagos, and in turn equalled Michael Schumacher’s total of 23 pole positions. Backing up the reining World Champion, team-mate David Coulthard held off the challenge from Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello in their Ferrari’s.
The session was however ruined by advertising hoardings which fell onto the circuit. The qualifying hour had to be stopped no less than three times, with the final stoppage being the most serious as the hoarding fell right into Jean Alesi’s Prost Peugeot. The final stoppage also saw rain fall, rendering the remaining third of the session nothing more than a wet test for those few drivers who chose to venture onto the slippery circuit.
Over at Sauber, Mika Salo was unhurt after a practice crash this morning. The Finn’s rear wing failed on his C19 – the team blaming the bumpy nature of the circuit. After the qualifying session was completed, the team took the decision to withdraw both Salo and Diniz from the race on safety grounds.
While Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard will have been pleased with their days work, Ferrari will be concerned that neither Michael Schumacher or local hero Rubens Barrichello were able to get onto the front row of the grid. Perhaps more embarrassing for the Italian team is the fact that Schumacher abandoned his second run despite being just 0.018 seconds slower than Hakkinen at the second sector of the lap. Undoubtedly this tactical gaffe by Schumacher and the team could cost them dearly tomorrow, as Schumacher would have undoubtedly have gained either pole position or at least second on the grid.
Rubens Barrichello was also unfortunate, in that like pretty much most of the field, his final two runs at pole position were spoilt by the red flagging of the session. Still, with Fan power behind him, Barrichello could still do very well tomorrow.
Giancarlo Fisichella has done a superb job all weekend for the newly owned Benetton team. The Italian was smooth and consistent and his fifth place on the grid is his reward. Team-mate Alexander Wurz by contrast seems to have an attraction to gravel traps this weekend and could not better 13th position.
Eddie Irvine was another driver to pull a superb lap out of the bag, setting a very encouraging sixth fastest time. Johnny Herbert meanwhile failed to get to grips with his R1 and starts in a lowly 17th place.
Jordan had a frustrating session with Jarno Trulli spinning his primary car into the gravel on his first run. After a run back to the pits, the Italian took to the spare, set a safe time only to then suffer from a gearbox failure. Despite this Trulli starts the Brazilian grand Prix in 12th position, five places behind Heinz-Harold Frentzen.
Ricardo Zonta put on a good show for his Brazilian fans, setting the eight fastest time in his BAR Honda. Significantly, the Brazilian managed to out qualify Jacques Villeneuve who had a scrappy session punctuated by a spin.
Jenson Button was 9th fastest in only his second Formula One start. Button’s impressive performance saw the British driver out-qualify Ralf Schumacher, who seemed not to have the pace of his team-mate today. For Schumacher, the qualifying session will be deemed a disaster given Button’s pace and relative experience.
Jos Verstappen was the fastest of the two Arrows Supertec drivers sandwiching Jean Alesi’s Prost Peugeot. Alesi’s team-mate Nick Heidfeld struggled in his Prost and could do no better than 19th.
Gaston Mazzacane had day to forget as he spun his primary Minardi early in the session and had to rely on the T-car to qualify in 21st. Marc Gene was however not much further up the grid in 18th.
For Sauber, the weekend has been a disaster with two wing failures leaving the team with no option other than to withdraw from the event.
So to the race. Michael Schumacher has had nothing but praise for his F1-2000 chassis, but today claimed that pole position was not important. With overtaking difficult thanks to the dusty and bumpy nature of the circuit, are Ferrari worried?
Over at McLaren, they are very aware that another non-finish in the race tomorrow could be disastrous for their championship hopes. Mercedes has admitted that its engine failures in Australia were caused by compressor filter failures. The company has introduced a revised filtration system, and last week ran long stints at Silverstone, as well as race simulation dyno tests, without reoccurrence...
With storm clouds gathering on various fronts, the Brazilian Grand Prix look like being a one to remember. The teams are split on weather forecasts, as are the crystal ball gazers. Where CNN is forecasting hot weather with a chance of rain, the BBC is forecasting 'definite' rain. Bridgestone has brought with it Soft and Medium compound grooved tyres, and Soft and Hard rain tyres. The choices could have proven critical.
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