Coulthard fastest in practice for Austrian GP

Friday, July 14, 2000 | 11:20 a.m.

Coulthard, who trails Schumacher by 12 points in the drivers' standings with eight Grand Prix left in the 17-race season, is coming off a victory at the French GP two weeks ago.

Sunday's race in Austria will be his 100th Formula One race and Coulthard could reduce Schumacher's lead by as many as 10 points with another victory.

The British driver clocked the fastest lap on the 2.688-mile A1-Ring with a time of one minute, 12.464 seconds in his McLaren-Mercedes. That gave him an average speed of 133.569 mph.

Although Friday's two free practice sessions are used for testing various car setups and usually have little bearing on Saturday's qualifying, Coulthard will be encouraged by the performance of his car.

Coulthard's McLaren-Mercedes teammate Mika Hakkinen of Finland, the two-time defending world champion, had the second fastest time of 1:12.711, underlining McLaren's dominance.

Hakkinen, who could not complete a single lap in the morning practice session because of a suspected fuel pump failure, made up for it in the afternoon by consistently improving his time.

The Finn was second behind Coulthard at the French Grand Prix, the third 1-2 finish for McLaren this season.

At last year's Austrian Grand Prix, Coulthard bumped Hakkinen in the first lap, dropping the Finn to the last place. Hakkinen battled back to finish third, behind Eddie Irvine and Coulthard.

Mika Salo of Finland, driving a Sauber, surprisingly clocked the third fastest practice time at 1:12.786.

"I worked mainly on mechanical and engine settings and the car responded well to every change that we made," Salo said. 'I am happy with the way things are going."

Schumacher had to settle for fourth in 1:12.823 in his Ferrari.

The German, a former two-time champion, leads the championship 56-44 over Coulthard, while Hakkinen is third with 38 points.

Schumacher has won five of nine races this season, Coulthard three and Hakkinen one.

After sweeping the first three races of the season, Schumacher has lost some of the momentum. His Ferrari broke down in two of the last three races, both of which were won by Coulthard.

At the French Grand Prix, Coulthard passed Schumacher before the German's car broke down.

Schumacher is seeking to become the first Ferrari driver to win the title since Jody Scheckter in 1979.

Ricardo Zonta of Brazil drove his BAR-Honda to fifth place with a time of 1:30.052.

Jarno Trulli of Italy was sixth in a Jordan in 1:13.146, while the second Ferrari driver, Rubens Barrichello of Brazil, had the seventh fastest time of 1:1.359.

Former champion Jacques Villeneuve of Canada was ninth in another BAR-Honda with a time of 1:13.463.

Irvine, last year's winner in a Ferrari, was a distant 21st Friday in his Jaguar.

Ralf Schumacher was 22nd and last in his BMW-Williams, more than three seconds off the pace.