Mika Hakkinen drew first blood in the championship tussle with Michael Schumacher, clinching pole position in his McLaren for tomorrow’s Australian Grand Prix. The Finn recovered spectacularly after a disastrous morning practice session and set the pace from the moment he hit the track, snaring the front row position for the successive year with a 1.30.556. This was 0.354 seconds faster than team-mate David Coulthard who clocked 1.30.910 and then smashed into a barrier. The Scot’s spin on the on the exit of Stewart corner sent him ploughing into the tyre wall, snapping off his left rear wheel and wing, bringing out the red flag and ending the session.
Michael Schumacher was third. He made several mistakes on fast laps, though picked up on his final run but had to abandon the lap after Coulthard's crash brought the session to a premature end, 0.519 seconds slower than Hakkinen’s time. His teammate Rubens Barrichello, of Brazil, was fourth at 1.31.102. It is the third successive year that Hakkinen, Coulthard and Schumacher have qualified 1st, 2nd and 3rd at Melbourne
The Jordans of Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Jarno Trulli will start from row three, ahead of Eddie Irvine's Jaguar. Irvine pushed his Jaguar hard and was rewarded with seventh on the grid, 0.958 seconds off the pace, only fractionally slower than the Jordans. His team-mate tJohnny Herbert struggled, managing only 20th.
GRID FOR SUNDAY'S AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX
1 M Hakkinen, Fin, McLaren 1:30.556
2 D Coulthard, Gbr, McLaren 1:30.910
3 M Schumacher, Ger, Ferrari 1:31.075
4 R Barrichello, Bra, Ferrari 1:31.102
5 H-H Frentzen Ger, Jordan 1:31.359
6 J Trulli, Ita, Jordan 1:31.504
7 E Irvine, NI, Jaguar 1:31.514
8 J Villeneuve, Can, BAR Honda 1:31.968
9 G Fisichella, Ita, Benetton 1:31.992
10 M Salo, Fin, Sauber 1:32.018
11 R Schumacher, Ger, Williams 1:32.220
