Irvine sets German GP pace

Schumacher had a low-key day in the Ferrari

Eddie Irvine has given Jaguar a boost ahead of Sunday's German Grand Prix by setting the quickest time in Friday practice.

Irvine set a best lap of one minute 41.424 seconds, to head Williams-BMW driver Juan Pablo Montoya and Mika Hakkinen of McLaren-Mercedes.

Irvine has talked confidently in recent weeks of Jaguar making progress, but even he would admit that his time on Friday is unlikely to be the precursor to success at Hockenheim this weekend.

Jaguar have often set fast times on Friday at races this year, only to slip back when it matters in qualifying on Friday afternoon.

We're not as quick as we look but we're not far away either

  Eddie Irvine

This is because teams use the Friday sessions to assess set-up on their cars, and it is impossible to know in which condition they are running.

Irvine said he was expecting a good performance from Jaguar this weekend.

"I've always done pretty well at Hockenheim but I've never really liked this circuit. But the car is so good here and so nice to drive, it makes life much easier," he said.

"That's the best handling car that I have ever driven around Hockenheim," he added. "We're not as quick as we look but at the same time, we're not far away either."

Of the likely contenders for victory, Montoya, Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher were the only men to improve their times as the hot sun drove track temperatures up to a scorching 42 degrees Celsius in the afternoon session.

Hakkinen was an encouraging third fastest

Earlier, Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello set the pace in the first practice session as all the big guns kept their powder dry.

The Brazilian was on top for much of the session at the scene of his first and only Grand Prix win, which he achieved last year.

Barrichello went fastest with his first flying lap, and stayed at the top until the end of the session apart from a brief interlude when the top slot was occupied by Pedro de la Rosa's Jaguar.

Barrichello's eventual fastest time was a one minute 41.953 seconds, more than 0.4secs ahead of De la Rosa, who remained second to the end of the first session.

Barrichello's time was good enough for fourth fastest at the end of the second session, while Schumacher sneaked ahead of De la Rosa.

I'm a little bit more concerned now than I would be normally

  David Coulthard

The world champion improved to 1:42.255, 0.6s quicker than his morning time.

Schumacher is chasing his 51st Grand Prix victory this weekend, which would bring him level with Alain Prost at the top of the all-time winners' list, as well as virtually secure the title.

His only championship rival, David Coulthard, was seventh fastest.

Coulthard needs to win this race to have any hope of keeping the championship alive into the final races of the season.

He is 37 points behind Schumacher with a maximum of only 60 points still available.

Barrichello set the pace in the first session

But he did not sound confident.

"I'm not happy with the way the car has performed. I am not sure exactly where I am with the car, so I am going to want to look much more closely personally at the data and work with the engineers," he said.

"Now, if we haven't found something when I go to sleep I will be thinking what's wrong. I'm a little bit more concerned now than I would be normally."

Another potential race winner, Ralf Schumacher, spun at the last corner early in the second session, and slipped to 10th overall.

Friday practice times at the German Grand Prix:

1 Eddie Irvine (GB) Jaguar-Cosworth one minute 41.424 seconds
2 Juan Pablo Montoya (Col) Williams-BMW 1:41.487
3 Mika Hakkinen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 1:41.949
4 Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Ferrari 1:41.953
5 Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 1:42.255
6 Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) Jaguar-Cosworth 1:42.302
7 David Coulthard (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 1:42.304
8 Jean Alesi (Fra) Prost-Acer 1:42.828
9 Jarno Trulli (Ita) Jordan-Honda 1:42.941
10 Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Williams-BMW 1:42.987
11 Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Benetton-Renault 1:43.014
12 Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Sauber-Petronas 1:43.211
13 Ricardo Zonta (Bra) Jordan-Honda 1:43.461
14 Olivier Panis (Fra) BAR-Honda 1:43.487
15 Jenson Button (GB) Benetton-Renault 1:43.496
16 Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Sauber-Petronas 1:43.528
17 Jacques Villeneuve (Can) BAR-Honda 1:43.815
18 Jos Verstappen (Ned) Arrows-Asiatech 1:44.143
19 Luciano Burti (Bra) Prost-Acer 1:44.162
20 Enrique Bernoldi (Bra) Arrows-Asiatech 1:44.549
21 Fernando Alonso (Spa) Minardi-European 1:44.730
22 Tarso Marques (Bra) Minardi-European 1:45.005