by marshals and Giancarlo Fisichella removed his Benetton's left front wheel in a crash at turn 11. In the second practice session, Coulthard set the fastest lap time of the day, a 1:14.561, one tenth of a second quicker than teammate Häkkinen. Michael Schumacher and Barrichello slipped to third and fourth fastest respectively although both drivers stated that they were pleased with their pace. Frentzen and Trulli set the fifth and seventh fastest times respectively; they were separated by Ralf Schumacher. Button, Marc Gené and Villeneuve completed the top ten fastest drivers in the session. A crash by Herbert at turn 1 damaged his car's rear wheel and ended his session early. The Saturday morning sessions were held on a wet track from overnight rain, resulting in low levels of grip and some drivers went off the track during the session. Häkkinen set the third session's fastest lap, a 1:15.802; Coulthard ended with the third fastest lap. Button was running quicker and set the second fastest time. Both Ferrari drivers were fourth and fifth–Barrichello quicker than Michael Schumacher. Fisichella, Frentzen, Ralf Schumacher, Verstappen and Diniz followed in the top ten. In the final practice session, Both Ferraris continued their good pace; Michael Schumacher was the quickest driver with a lap of 1:14.804. Barrichello had the second fastest time. The McLaren drivers remained quick—Coulthard in third and Häkkinen fifth—they were separated by Button. Frentzen was sixth quickest and found it difficult to adjust to the changeable conditions. Fisichella, Villeneuve, Ralf Schumacher and Trulli completed the top ten fastest drivers ahead of qualifying. 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 cloudy weather with occasional rain showers. Michael Schumacher clinched his seventh pole position for the season, his first at the circuit, with a time of 1:14.266. He was joined on the front row of the grid by Coulthard, who was one-tenth of a second slower and was helped by running in the slipstream of teammate Häkkinen on the main straight. Häkkinen qualified third and stated that he was not unhappy with his starting position. Barrichello qualified fourth, three-tenths of a second behind