the fastest driver in the third practice session with a lap of 1:38.318, three-thousands of a second quicker than Häkkinen in second. Coulthard set the third-quickest lap. The two Ferraris ran slower than the previous session; Michael Schumacher was fourth with Barrichello sixth. They were separated by Irvine in fifth. Zonta, Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher followed in the top ten. An electronic engine sensor failure at the pit lane entry on his installation lap prevented Frentzen from setting a lap. In the final practice session, Coulthard lapped fastest at 1:38.109 despite going into the gravel traps in the session. Michael Schumacher, Wurz, Häkkinen and Barrichello were in positions two to five. Jaguar drivers Herbert and Irvine were sixth and seventh. Jenson Button of Williams was eighth after changing his car's engine that had a hydraulic issue. Villeneuve and Trulli were ninth and tenth. Fisichella and Minardi's Gastón Mazzacane spun and stalled their cars after spinning. Frentzen lost control of his car, got beached in a gravel trap and stalled with five minutes left. The top nineteen drivers set laps within 1.879 seconds of Wurz's time, indicating a competitive field for qualifying and the race. Qualifying Saturday's afternoon one hour qualifying session saw each driver limited to twelve laps, with the starting order decided by their fastest laps. During this session, the 107% rule was in effect, which necessitated each driver set a time within 107 per cent of the quickest lap to qualify for the race. The session was held in dry and hot weather. Michael Schumacher clinched his ninth pole position of the season, and the 32nd of his career with a lap time of 1:37.397 that he set with three minutes remaining after a second run with a rear wing alteration was aborted due to a flat-spotted tyre. He was joined on the front row of the grid by Häkkinen who recorded a lap 0.463 seconds slower than Schumacher and attributed the lost time to a car imbalance. Coulthard qualified third and had an anxious moment during a refuelling pit stop when a fire caused by a loose fuel line on his McLaren saw petrol seep into his left eye and admitted that the incident could have escalated had swift action not been taken. Barrichello, who still had the flu, qualified fourth having been demoted from second in qualifying's closing seconds. Wurz qualified fifth, in his best qualifying