Everyone was lined up ready to go, but Coulthard disrupted the flow, stalling it in the pitlane. Barrichello didn't make it much further, stopping at the pitlane exit. If they were like this now, what was the start going to be like? As usual, most cars went out for an exploratory lap before coming back in. Drivers had been experiencing severe brake wear over the course of the weekend, and it was brake failure which had caused Alesi to spin during qualifying.

Villeneuve was one of the few to stay out and do a second lap, but he came in to the pits before setting a flying time. It was left to Schumacher to do this, setting a 1:32.303 on his lap out of the pits before managing a 1:26.756 benchmark time. His second lap was slightly slower at the first split, and slightly faster at the second, but it was all academic as he came into the pits.

About ten minutes into the session, and the fastest lap times made amusing reading: 1 Brundle (1:25.526), 2 Herbert (+0.865s), 3 Hakkinen (+1.428), 4 Panis (+1.802), 5 Diniz (+1.957), 6 Schumacher (+2.230). Diniz was unusually close to Panis. It would be nice if the Grand Prix could have been like this - it would have been hell for the top drivers.

Brundle was faster again on his next lap, setting a 1:24.027 (-0.237), using the Peugeot power to the full. He had a new race engineer for this GP, and it seemed to be paying dividends. his next lap was a 1:23.429, which would have been even faster except for the fact that the power of his engine pulled him right up to the back of Hakkinen for the final chicane, the Peugeot pumping out more Hp than the Mercedes. The Mugen seemed to be almost equal to it as well, Panis suddenly recording a 1:23.443 (+0.014s). Next lap and Panis was yet faster, setting a 1:23.137 (-0.302s) for first. Into the first chicane though and the back end almost broke away under braking. The engine might be good, but the chassis was letting him down. With his mistake, his lap time was only a 1:25.056.

Damon Hill was out, and making a hash of things, running wide at the final corner, obliterating a few bollards along the way. Almost immediately Coulthard dived into the pits with an extremely smoky engine, the engine locking solid before he could get to his pit, stranding the car in front of the scrutineering bay. A brief flash fire as some oil ignited when on his way into the pits made it look all the more spectacular.

Barrichello then went fastest (1:22.631), slip streaming and passing Irvine on the start/finish straight. Hill, Irvine and Schumacher were all out and gradually improving though, but nothing major. Alesi was seventh (1:23.635), going sixth (1:23.545) on his next lap. Villeneuve was disappointing, setting a 1:23.389 (seventh - +0.758), improving to 1:23.240 (6th). The home crowd weren't happy... His next lap was a 1:23.766, but he was trapped behind Diniz. Hp for Hp the Mugen seemed a match for the Renault, but the Williams had superior traction, and Villeneuve passed Diniz coming out of a corner. Talking of corners, making a mess of the final one was Hakkinen, the McLaren taking a short cut across the gravel on to the start/finish straight.

Schumacher was back out, but was down in 13th place, setting a 1:23.530. Now in the spare car, Coulthard was second quickest with a 1:22.974, but was quickly knocked down fourth as first Frentzen went faster (1:22.919), and then Brundle (1:22.475), who went first in what was by far his best session this year. Next lap around and the McLaren of Coulthard was out, stuck in the gravel.

The Williams's soon set things to rights though, Hill going fastest (1:21.978), Villeneuve second (1:22.125). An inkling of the race performance? Villeneuve set a 1:22.121 next lap, and crossed the line seconds before the chequered flag, so he had one more to go. Both Schumacher and Hill were in the pits though, so they would be unable to reply. Villeneuve came back into the pits, so it was all a bit of an anticlimax.

Qualifying Results:

 1 D Hill		Williams	1:21.978, 194.144kph
 2 J Villeneuve		Williams	1:22.121
 3 R Barrichello	Jordan		1:22.213
 4 M Brundle		Jordan		1:22.475
 5 O Panis		Ligier		1:22.660
 6 M Hakkinen		McLaren		1:22.668
 7 H Frentzen		Sauber		1:22.919
 8 D Coulthard		McLaren		1:22.974
 9 G Berger		Benetton	1:23.078
10 J Herbert		Sauber		1:23.098
11 E Irvine		Ferrari		1:23.178
12 J Alesi		Benetton	1:23.179
13 M Schumacher		Ferrari		1:23.364
14 M Salo		Tyrrell		1:23.802
15 J Verstappen		Arrows		1:23.862
16 U Katayama		Tyrrell		1:23.956
17 P Diniz		Ligier		1:24.201
18 G Fisichella		Minardi		1:24.502
19 P Lamy		Minardi		1:25.030
20 L Badoer		Forti		1:25.280
21 R Rosset		Arrows		1:25.685
22 A Montermini		Forti		1:37.566