Mika Hakkinen sets the fastest time in the warm-up ahead of David Coulthard and Heinz Harald Frentzen. Rubens Barrichello, Michael Schumacher, Jarno Trulli, Kimi Raikkonen, Jacques Villeneuve, Pedro de la Rosa and Nick Heidfeld make the top 10. 

30 min: But Hakkinen goes better on his final lap with a time of 1:11.647. 

30 min: Coulthard takes first with a time of 1:11.765. 

30 min: Almost everyone is on the track for the final lap. 

29 min: David Coulthard moves takes 2nd from Hakkinen with a time of 1:11.944. 

28 min: Villeneuve improves to 7th. Meanwhile the 2 Williams are in 14th and 15th places.  

27 min: Hakkinen improves to 2nd while Coulthard moves into 3rd. Frentzen improves at the top with a 1:11.800! 

26 min: Luciano Burti, Jos Verstappen and Jarno Trulli have covered the most number of laps so far with 13. 

25 min: 5 minutes to go as Hakkinen moves into 3rd and Villeneuve manages to make it into 9th place. 

24 min: Frentzen goes fastest with a time of 1:12.174! 

23 min: Jarno Trulli moves into 3rd with a time of 1:12.993. 

22 min: Villeneuve seems to have had an engine failure. He has managed to get back into the spare car.

21 min: Michael Schumacher goes fastest with a time of 1:12.790

20 min: Top 10 - Coulthard, Hakkinen, Heidfeld, M Schumacher, Panis, Bernoldi, Verstappen, Trulli, Barrichello and  Irvine.

19 min: Villeneuve parked on the side of the track with problems!

18 min: Michael Schumacher moves into 4th followed by Panis in 5th.

18 min: Alonso, Fisichella and Button have yet to set times.

17 min: Michael Schumacher first set time is a 1:14.028 in 11th place.

16 min: Michael Schumacher on track to set a time as Coulthard goes to the top again with a time of 1:12.957.

15 min: Hakkinen retakes the top spot followed by Nick Heidfeld.

14 min: Lap times are dropping very quickly. Verstappen is now fastest with a time of 1:13.548 ahead of Trulli.

14 min: Enrique Bernoldi goes second with a time of 1:13.867.

13 min: Mika Hakkinen takes first with a time of 1:13.867. The track is getting faster!

12 min: Jarno Trulli goes fastest with a time of 1:13.911.

11 min: Jos Verstappen improves to 2nd while Trulli goes into 3rd. Coulthard's time is still holding.

10 min: Top 10 - Coulthard, Panis, Verstappen, Barrichello, Frentzen, Marques, Villeneuve, Heidfeld, Irvine and Burti.

9 min: David Coulthard is super quick this early as he clocks a 1:13.927. 

8 min: Nick Heidfeld sets the fastest time so far with a time of 1:18.418. Irvine is second ahead of Burti. 

7 min: Michael Schumacher goes out on his first timed lap and is followed by Villeneuve, Frentzen and Coulthard. 

6 min: Verstappen, Trulli, Fisichella and Burti are out on the track for their first flying laps. 

5 min: Michael Schumacher stalls as he tries to practice a start at the end of the pit lane. He gets out of his spare car and goes back to the garage.  

4 min: The air temperature has gone up to 13 degrees. 

3 min: Drivers with spare cars are doing the installation for them at the moment.

2 min: Ralf Schumacher exits the pits as the other drivers start getting back into the pits.

1 min: Most drivers are on the track. Only Ralf Schumacher and Fernando Alonso have yet to go out.

Session underway as most of the cars stream out on their installation lap.

It will be interesting also to see how McLaren will make up for their relatively low positions on the grid (7th and 8th). If it is a set-up problem, they should have it sorted out. Session starting in 2 minutes.

The weather forecast for race day is sunny with a top of 18 degrees. Track temperatures will be a lot higher. It will be interesting to see how that will affect the tyres. Session starting in 5 minutes.

Session starting at 9:30 AM local time. That is 7:30 AM GMT, click here for the local time in Austria now.