Jean Alesi sets the fastest time of the session ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya and Pedro de la Rosa. Hakkinen, Frentzen, Irvine, Coulthard, M Schumacher, R Schumacher and Barrichello make the top 10. 

60 min: Session over with no improvements

59 min: Final run ...

58 min: Jean Alesi spins but recovers. 

57 min: Both Fisichella and Button seem to be suffering engine problems. 

56 min: Michael Schumacher on the track. He is in 8th at the moment.

54 min: Alonso moves into 17th ahead of Panis and the 2 Arrows!

53 min: Top 10 - Alesi, Montoya, de la Rosa, Hakkinen, Frentzen, Irvine, Coulthard, M Schumacher, R Schumacher and Barrichello.

52 min: Ralf Schumacher improves in 9th but remains just under 0.9 seconds slower than his team-mate.

51 min: David Coulthard improves his time in 7th place with a 1:36.638.

50 min: Jean Alesi goes fastest with a time of 1:35.454. That is quicker than Pole of last year!

49 min: Pedro de la Rosa moves into second place with a time of 1:36.225.

48 min: Pedro de la Rosa on a flyer!

47 min: Jacques Villeneuve improves again and moves into 14th. He is now 2.335 seconds off the pace!

45 min: Jacques Villeneuve improves into 16th. Still over 2.5 seconds off the pace!

44 min: At the moment, there are 5 Michelin and 5 Bridgestone runners in the top 10.

42 min: Alonso improves to 19th ahead of Bernoldi, Yoong and Enge.

41 min: Alesi moves into 4th place with a time of 1:36.527.

40 min: BAR seem to be struggling again. Panis is 16th while Villeneuve is 17th!

39 min: Michael Schumacher improves his time but remains in 5th.

38 min: David Coulthard goes off but manages to recover.

37 min: Montoya doesn't improve on his time but is only a few tenths off his best. 

36 min: Pedro de la Rosa takes 8th away from Ralf Schumacher!

35 min: Ralf Schumacher moves into 8th with a time of 1:37.444. He is almost 1.5 seconds off the pace of Montoya!

34 min: Ralf Schumacher on the track.

33 min: Barrichello moves into 6th with a time of 1:36.994

32 min: Alex Yoong improves into 20th ahead of his team-mate Alonso!

31 min: Barrichello is on the track as well.

30 min: The 2 Minardi's and Frentzen are on the track.

30 min: Session has restarted

29 min: RED FLAG - Session restarting in a few minutes.

29 min: RED FLAG - Top 10 - Montoya, Hakkinen, Frentzen, Irvine, M Schumacher, Coulthard, Barrichello, Button, Heidfeld and Trulli.

29 min: RED FLAG - Heidfeld was 9th place.

29 min: RED FLAG - This is the second big accident today. Tomas Enge has a big one this morning.

29 min: RED FLAG - Nick Heidfeld is OK but his car is destroyed.

29 min: Nick Heidfeld in a big accident - Red Flags!

28 min: Alex Yoong improves in 22nd but he his 6.5 seconds off the pace.

27 min: Heinz Harald Frentzen moves into 3rd with a time of 1:36.439!.

26 min: Eddie Irvine takes 3rd from Michael with a time of 1:36.589.

25 min: Michael Schumacher improves but remains in 3rd.

24 min: Top 10 - Montoya, Hakkinen, M Schumacher, Coulthard, Irvine, Frentzen, Barrichello, Button, Heidfeld and Trulli.

23 min: David Coulthard moves into 4th with a 1:37.093

22 min: Mika Hakkinen takes second from Michael. Hakkinen is 0.453 seconds behind Montoya.

21 min: Michael Schumacher improves but remains in second.

20 min: Juan Pablo Montoya goes fastest with a time of 1:35.977. That is almost as quick a Pole time of last year!

18 min: Nick Heidfeld moves into 4th with a time of 1:37.655

17 min: Eddie Irvine and Heinz Harald Frentzen go first and second! Irvine's time is 1:37.094

15 min: Jarno Trulli jumps into 4th with a time of 1:37.965

13 min: Not much change in the order. Most drivers are on long runs preparing for the race.

11 min: Kimi Raikkonen has improved from 16th to 13th and is now much closer to Heidfeld.

8 min: Alesi improves but remains in 5th while Irvine moves into 8th. It looks like the Michelin tyres are doing well on this track.

6 min: Jenson Button is the first to improves his time but remains in 15th place.

4 min: A number are doing long runs but no improvements so far.

Session underway with a number of drivers already out on the track.

Session starting at 1:00 PM local time. It is mainly sunny with the air temperature at 23 degrees.