Canadian Grand Prix - Free Practice

HONDAS KEEP CLOSE COMPANY IN CANADA
Trulli, Frentzen and Panis stick together as Villeneuve copes with setback


Honda completed the first day of the Canadian Grand Prix weekend in
Montreal with three of the four drivers it powers tightly bunched in the
times.  Jarno Trulli, Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Benson and Hedges Jordan
Honda) and Olivier Panis (Lucky Strike BAR Honda) finished today's session
eighth, ninth and 10th fastest respectively, while Jacques Villeneuve
could only recover to 19th after limited track time following a heavy
accident in this morning's session.

As Montreal basked in the summer heat, Mika Hakkinen set the fastest time,
just under half a second quicker than his McLaren team-mate and title
protagonist David Coulthard.  Jaguar's Eddie Irvine picked up from where
he left off in Monaco by setting the third fastest time, while the Ferrari
of Rubens Barrichello was fourth overall.  His team-mate and championship
leader Michael Schumacher was a surprising 11th fastest, four-hundredths
of a second behind BAR Honda's Olivier Panis. 


Jarno Trulli	Position: 8th
"We had a trouble-free session and learnt a lot about the car and set-up
for this circuit although we are struggling to find the best set-up for
race conditions.  The car's balance is good and I think, as usual, we will
be quick during qualifying.  There's still some work to do though to find
a more suitable race trim.  The new brake ducts we are running work very
well, so this is a positive step forward."


Kazutoshi Nishizawa - Technical Director, Honda Racing Development
"From our point of view it was a good, productive day except for Jacques
unfortunately, who wasn't able to make the most of today's time because of
the accident.  However, from an engine perspective it was problem-free and
tomorrow we will concentrate on our set-ups for qualifying."


Tim Holloway, Head of Engineering, Jordan Honda
"Today we've been working through the standard Canadian race preparation
and set-up, although this circuit is a bit different in the sense that
it's very much about the brakes.  The track conditions were good today and
the tyres appeared consistent.  The damage to Heinz's car looks quite
extensive so we have a lot of work to do for qualifying tomorrow, but look
in good shape in terms of reliability."


Craig Pollock, Team Principal and Managing Director, BAR Honda
"We are very disappointed.  The incident with Jacques has set us back and
to loose a session on a circuit like this is not ideal.  The team however
will be working hard to ensure that Jacques has a competitive car for
qualifying.  Olivier did a good job and was happy with the progress and
balance of his car."






Today's results
1	HAKKINEN     	McLaren Mercedes	1m17.672s
2	COULTHARD	McLaren Mercedes	1m18.086s
3	IRVINE		Jaguar		1m18.508s
4	BARRICHELLO	Ferrari		1m18.570s
5	MONTOYA	Williams BMW	1m18.639s
6	R.SCHUMACHER	Williams BMW	1m18.641s
7	HEIDFELD	Sauber Petronas	1m18.967s 
8	TRULLI		Jordan Honda	1m18.990s
9	FRENTZEN	Jordan Honda	1m19.057s
10	PANIS		BAR Honda	1m19.102s
19	VILLENEUVE	BAR Honda	1m21.916s

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