around the tyres, and reverted to a diffuser design used earlier in the season. The Ligier team had Martin Brundle's car fitted with power steering for the first time and he chose to use it for the race, but teammate Olivier Panis, who had run with the system earlier in the season, decided against it. McLaren revised its troubled MP4/10B chassis's suspension geometry, and Mika Häkkinen's car was equipped with a more powerful version of its Mercedes V10 engine for Sunday's warm-up session and the race itself. Team principal Ron Dennis also re-hired experienced designer Steve Nichols, who had worked for the outfit in the 1980s, in the week before the race. Footwork also arrived with revised suspension, whilst the Jordan team ran with brake disc sensors on its car. Further down the field, the Forti team introduced the revised version of its FG01 chassis for Roberto Moreno. Lead driver Pedro Diniz had first driven the car in its revised specification at the preceding . The revised aerodynamic package included a higher nose and new sidepods. Both drivers also tested a new development of the Ford-Cosworth ED engine in practice. In the week leading up to the race, Williams chief designer Adrian Newey reignited the controversy over the similarities between the Benetton B195 and Ligier JS41 chassis, which had first flared up at the season-opening . Despite the fact that a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) investigation had declared the JS41 legal earlier in the season, Newey stated that "as far as suspension geometry and aerodynamics are concerned, I'd say they are identical. [...] Taken to a logical conclusion, we'll be in an IndyCar position. It is very dangerous." As part of the Williams team's own preparations for the race, Hill tested a Williams FW17 equipped with brakes made from steel, rather than the standard carbon fibre, and was reputedly impressed by their performance. Practice and qualifying Two practice sessions were held before the race; the first was held from 09:30 to 11:15 local time on Friday, and an identically timed session was also held on Saturday. Each driver was limited to 23 laps of free practice per day. The qualifying period was split into two one-hour sessions; the first was held on Friday afternoon from 13:00 to 14:00 local time, with the second held on Saturday afternoon at the same time. The fastest time set by each driver from