99' Friday Practice Fastest Lap - Jacques Villeneuve - 1:42.407

Session over: Final Order: Michael Schumacher ahead of Rubens Barrichello and David Coulthard. Mika Hakkinen, Eddie Irvine and Jacques Villeneuve make the top 6.

60 min: Coulthard improves to 3rd with a time of 1:41.608 still 1.318 seconds behind Schumacher!

59 min: Final run for the drivers this session. Top 10 - M Schumacher, Barrichello, Hakkinen, Coulthard, Irvine, Fisichella, Villeneuve, Herbert, Zonta, Wurz.

57 min: Michael Schumacher improves further to 1:40.290 while David Coulthard moves into 4th place with a time of 1:42.448.

56 min: Michael Schumacher is the only driver to set a time under the 1:41 mark this session so far.

55 min: Top 10 - M Schumacher, Barrichello, Hakkinen, Irvine, Villeneuve, Herbert, Zonta, Fisichella, Wurz and Trulli.

53 min: Mika Hakkinen improves his time but remains in 3rd place 0.792 seconds off the pace.

52 min: David Coulthard finally goes out on the track for the first time this session.

50 min: Michael Schumacher takes the top spot with a time of 1:40.864 while Jacques Villeneuve moves into 5th with a time of 1:42.724. He is 1.86 seconds off the pace. David Coulthard has yet to set a time.

49 min: Behind the top 3 teams of Ferrari, McLaren and Williams, Benetton is trying to hang on to 4th place with both BAR and Jordan trying hard to take 4th away from them.

47 min: Jacques Villeneuve moves into 8th while Michael Schumacher moves into 2nd with a time of 1:41.580.

45 min: Both Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen are on track.

44 min: Johnny Herbert improves to 5th but is 1.847 seconds off the pace.

43 min: Rubens Barrichello goes fastest with a time of 1:41.097. He is 0.664 seconds ahead of Mika Hakkinen.

41 min: Top 10 - Hakkinen, Barrichello, M Schumacher, Irvine, Zonta, Fisichella, Wurz, Herbert, Verstappen and Trulli.

39 min: Rubens Barrichello moves into 2nd place with a time of 1:42.025. Just 0.264 behind Mika Hakkinen. David Coulthard is the only driver not to set a timed lap this session.

38 min: Eddie Irvine retakes third place from Zonta. Jaguar appear to be making good progress in the last 2 races of the season.

36 min: Alexander Wurz moves into 7th while Rubens Barrichello moves into 5th.

35 min: Top 10 - Hakkinen, M Schumacher, Zonta, Irvine, Herbert, Fisichella, de la Rosa, Verstappen, Button, Heidfeld.

33 min: Michael Schumacher improves to 2nd with a time of 1:42.063.

32 min: Michael Schumacher sets the third fastest time with a time of 1:43.230. Mika Hakkinen goes under the 1:42 mark with a time of 1:41.761.

31 min: Michael Schumacher starts his first flying lap.

29 min: Top 10 - Hakkinen, Zonta, Irvine, Herbert, Verstappen, Button, Fisichella, Heidfeld, R Schumacher, Salo.

27 min: Ricardo Zonta improves to 2nd place with a time of 1:43.108. This is Zonta's last race with BAR. He will go to Jordan as a test driver.

26 min: Heinz Harald Frentzen moves into 8th with a time of 1:45.454.

25 min: Ricardo Zonta moves into 3rd place with a time of 1:44.027 while Mika Hakkinen improves to 1:42.348 already faster than the best time set here on Friday last year.

24 min: Ricardo Zonta and Heinz Harald Frentzen start their first timed laps.

24 min: Top 9 - Hakkinen, Irvine, Herbert, Verstappen, Button, Heidfeld, Salo, Gene, Mazzacane. No other drivers have set times!.

23 min: Hakkinen improves to 1:42.741 while Herbert competing in his last F1 event moves into 3rd with a time of 1:44.282.

22 min: Mika Hakkinen goes fastest with a time of 1:42.913. Eddie Irvine moves into 2nd with a time of 1:43.897.

20 min: Top 6 : J Verstappen, J Button, M Salo, N Heidfeld, M Gene, G Mazzacane. Hakkinen on his first flying lap.

18 min: Jenson Button sets a time of 1:45.999 while Marc Gene sets a time of 1:45.72.

17 min: Mika Salo sets a time of 1:46.563 while Nick Heidfeld sets a time of 1:45.724.

15 min: Mika Salo and Nick Heidfeld start their first timed laps.

14 min: Jos Verstappen sets a time of 1:45.192. This is his first time on this track as well. Verstappen did not race in F1 last year when the Malaysian GP made its debut.

12 min: Gaston Mazzacane sets a time of 2:01.910. Jos Verstappen goes out on the track for his first timed lap.

10 min: Gaston Mazzacane goes out and starts his first flying lap.

9 min: The weather forecast has been revised with thunderstorms predicted today but partly cloudy conditions on Saturday and Sunday. The top temperature expected on Saturday is 35 while on Sunday it is 33.

8 min: The drivers return to the pits after completing their installation lap. Michael Schumacher is on the track. No timed laps yet.

6 min: David Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen go out on the track as well.

5 min: Jenson Button goes out on his installation lap. This is his first time on this track.

4 min: The drivers who went out are back in the pits. No set times so far.

2 min: Both BAR's and both Minardi's are already out on the track for their installation laps.

Session underway under cloudy but hot conditions. The air temperature is already 30 degrees..