A mixed first day for Benson and Hedges Jordan Honda as Heinz-Harald Frentzen set seventh fastest time, with Jarno Trulli 13th. Frentzen lost valuable track time due to a hydraulics problems and Trulli ran wide on a couple of occasions.

"There was a problem with the hydraulics and we had to change a couple of bits and pieces on the car," said Frentzen. "It took more time than expected because we wanted to make sure that would be the end of the problem. But that meant a loss of time which should have been used for basic set-up work on the car. There is still work to be done but, so far, it has been okay. There is still potential in the car, for sure, and we will have to squeeze it out tomorrow."

The 2.7-mile A1-Ring was dirty and slippery, particularly during the first of the two 60-minute sessions, several drivers either spinning off or running wide.

"It was difficult today," said Trulli. "Apart from the dirty track, the car wasn't very well balanced. I was running a heavy fuel load for most of the day and went off twice. One of the trips across the gravel damaged the bargeboards behind the front wheels and they had to be changed, which cost me a bit of time. Otherwise, I had no problems."

The lap times improved during the second session and Frentzen was at least fortunate to be running for most of the second hour.

"The hydraulic problem seriously affected Heinz's morning session," said Tim Holloway, Head of Engineering at Jordan Grand Prix. "He only managed five laps and then had to stop 15 minutes before the end. There was a lot of work to do and he did not get out until the second session was 10 minutes old. But, apart from that, the day was trouble-free. There is a lot of work still to be done with the set-up on both cars."

A quick lap in the closing minute of practice gave David Coulthard the fastest time, fractionally quicker than his McLaren team-mate, Mika Hakkinen, who is suffering from flu. Rubens Barrichello was the fastest Ferrari driver in third place, brake trouble ­and an off-course excursion­ keeping Michael Schumacher in fifth place, the world champion unable to complete his programme of work. Despite running wide on several occasions, Ralf Schumacher said he was happy with fourth fastest time, the second Williams of Juan-Pablo Montoya struggling into 11th place as the Colombian wrestled with a handling problem. Jacques Villeneuve, 10th fastest in his BAR Honda, is to undergo investigation into back pain, the legacy of an accident in the Australian Grand Prix.