Canadian GP practice report

The Friday practice sessions at the Canadian Grand Prix at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve was conducted in brisk weather with high winds, although no rain fell today.

As usual, the the McLaren dominated the first session, with Hakkinen at 1:20.863 and Coulthard at 1:20.937. The surprise was Alesi in third place at 1:21.302, over 1.5s ahead of his teammate, Johnny Herbert. Both Williams were much improved, with Frentzen and Villeneuve sandwiching a surprising Hill in 5th.

Ferrari wasn't happy, though, with Schumacher and Irvine languishing in 7th and 11th places. Worse yet, Benetton was shut out of top 9 completely with Fisichella in 10th and Wurz in 20th place.

When the second session started after the lunch break, the Ferraris showed great improvement. Schumacher was the first man to break 1:20, with a lap of 1:19.999, and Irvine improved to 5th. Both Schumacher and Jean Todt credited much of the improved performance to the latest Goodyear tires.

Meanwhile, Hakkinen was unable to improve on his first session time, spinning on his fast lap. Coulthard also spun, and then knocked off his front wing on the pit entrance marker cones. Villeneuve, on the other hand, coasted to a stop near Panis' '97 accident site, his disabled Williams ending his day of practice.

As the session drew to a close, Hakkinen spun a second time, but again spun off the track. He recovered, however, and ran off a series of sub- 1:20 laps, with a best time of 1:19.613, some 0.35s clear of Michael Schumacher.

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