one tyre in height and two tyres in depth. The gravel trap around the area was also made smoother. In a controversial move the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)—Formula One's governing body—decided to stage the British Grand Prix in April instead of the event's traditional mid-July date, with the race taking place on Easter Sunday. No specific reason was given for the move, though the reinstatement of the Belgian Grand Prix—initially excluded from the calendar due to problems concerning the country's tobacco advertising laws—and the return of the United States Grand Prix were suggested as possible reasons. The owner of Formula One's commercial rights Bernie Ecclestone had scheduled the French Grand Prix to be held in the month of April with the British Grand Prix in July though "internal politics" in France prevented the change. Much of the discussion heading into the event was a revision to allow teams to use modified pit lane speed limiters. The FIA allowed them to be used provided they were "hard-coded" below a limit of , thus preventing teams from modifying them. It was in response to preventing driver aids like traction control and launch control from being secretly implemented. Most of the drivers agreed that the change would reduce the risk of drivers entering and exiting the pit lane. However, they expressed concern that they would not drive safely at a slow speed and the possibility that mechanics or other cars could be hit would be increased. Practice There were four practice sessions held before the Sunday race, two one-hour sessions on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday. The Friday morning and afternoon practice sessions were held on a dry track early in the first practice session but it rained throughout the rest of the day. Frentzen was fastest in the first session with a time of 1:27.683, almost half a second quicker than Jaguar driver Eddie Irvine. The McLaren drivers were third and fourth, Coulthard faster than Häkkinen. Jarno Trulli was fifth, ahead of Villeneuve. Barrichello, Alexander Wurz, Fisichella and Marc Gené rounded out the top ten fastest drivers in the session. An electrical failure on Ralf Schumacher's car prevented him from setting a lap time. In the second practice session, Frentzen remained fastest with his lap from the first session; the circuit was too wet for him and others to improve their lap times. The session was disrupted as Coulthard's