Silverstone, Northants, England, April 22 – No rain was falling at
Silverstone Circuit Saturday when qualiifying for the 51st running of the British
Grand Prix commenced at 1:00 p.m., but skies remained threatening throughout. Jos
Verstappen logged the first flying lap at 1:34.839 in the Arrows. A partially dry
line allowed an aggressive approach to a lap, which included lurid sliding through
the wet patches. As course conditions steadily improved, so too did the lap times
with a regular succession of new pole sitters.
With rain possible at any moment and only a dozen qualifying laps allowed, the two
main protagonists — Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher — went out together in synchronized
two-lap bursts. Halfway through, Rubens Barrichello had the Ferrari on pole with
a 1:28.638 lap, exactly 1sec quicker than Hakkinen.
With 20min to go, the mid-game was on with first David Coulthard, then Jacques Villeneuve,
Coulthard again, M. Schumacher, Hakkinen and Villeneuve successively assuming the
point — all in the 1:27 range with the sun peeking through and the wind helping dry
the racing surface.
It was not until the 56min mark that the end-game stampede commenced. Eddie Irvine
lobbed the first pole bomb from the Jaguar with just over a minute to go, followed
almost immediately by Verstappen, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and then Barrichello, who
was able to claim the pole after Schumacher's and Hakkinen's final efforts came up
short. So many cars were making late runs that Verstappen and Irvine wound up eighth
and ninth, respectively.
Barrichello, who got in two days of wet testing at Silverstone last week, said he
had a perfectly clear lap, but then admitted, "I must be honest. I enjoy this
type of condition." It was Barrichello's third career pole and his first with
Ferrari in only his fourth outing in the red cars. The Brazilian said Sunday's weather
could aid his quest for a first career F1 victory. "Obviously, if it's raining,
visibility (from the lead) will be good."
Frentzen slipped the Jordan into second, calling it simply having "the right
tires at the right moment; the right strategy at the right moment."
Hakkinen netted third, failing to win pole for the first time in four races this
season. The stoic Finn shrugged, "Traffic didn't cause me any trouble, to be
honest," admitting his attention was somewhat diverted to the red car behind
him — not knowing whether it was Barrichello or archrival Schumacher, who wound up
fifth.
Hakkinen's McLaren teammate Coulthard came fourth, ahead of Schumacher and another
Brit — 20-year-old phenom Jenson Button — who slipped the Williams quietly into sixth,
one spot better than his teammate Ralf Schumacher. Verstappen, Irvine and Villeneuve
rounded out the top 10. Many eyes will be focussed on Button at the start, as Silverstone's
first corner is quite fast and there's no telling what track conditions will be.
Starting grid for the British Grand Prix:
1) Rubens Barrichello, No. 4 Ferrari, 1:25.703/134.10mph
2) Heinz-Harald Frentzen, No. 5 Jordan/Mugen-Honda, 1:25.706
3) Mika Hakkinen, No. 1 McLaren/Mercedes, 1:25.741
4) David Coulthard, No. 2 McLaren/Mercedes, 1:26.088
5) Michael Schumacher, No. 3 Ferrari, 1:26.161
6) Jenson Button, No. 10 Williams/BMW, 1:26.733
7) Ralf Schumacher, No. 9 Williams/BMW, 1:26.786
8) Jos Verstappen, No. 19 Arrows/Supertec, 1:26.793
9) Eddie Irvine, No. 7 Jaguar/Cosworth, 1:26.818
10) Jacques Villeneuve, No. 22 BAR/Honda, 1:27.025
11) Jarno Trulli, No. 6 Jordan/Mugen-Honda, 1:27.164
12) Giancarlo Fisichella, No. 11 Benetton/Supertec, 1:27.253
13) Pedro Diniz, No. 16 Sauber/Petronas, 1:27.301
14) Johnny Herbert, No. 8 Jaguar/Cosworth, 1:27.461
15) Jean Alesi, No. 14 Prost/Peugeot, 1:27.559
16) Ricardo Zonta, No. 23 BAR/Honda, 1:27.772
17) Nick Heidfeld, No. 15 Prost/Peugeot, 1:27.806
18) Mika Salo, No. 17 Sauber/Petronas, 1:28.110
19) Pedro de la Rosa, No. 18 Arrows/Supertec, 1:28.135
20) Alexander Wurz, No. 12 Benetton/Supertec, 1:28.205
21) Marc Gene, No. 20 Minardi/Fondmetal, 1:28.253
22) Gaston Mazzacane, No. 21 Minardi/Fondmetal, 1:29.174