A minor off at the beginning of the session caused Heinz slight damage to his EJ11 car's barge board and front wing.

Jarno experienced an electronic problem with the steering wheel during the first session.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen Car 11 Chassis 04
Position: 8th
Time: 1:30.802

'We've had a trouble-free first practice for the Australian Grand Prix. One part of the track was quite slippery and I went off into the gravel but luckily managed to keep going, whereas some of the other drivers were not so fortunate.

'The car is quick and our chances for the race will only materialise tomorrow during qualifying, but I'm looking forward to it. Things with my new race engineer are also working well, and it will be good to build a strong relationship with him throughout the season.'


Jarno Trulli Car 12 Chassis 03
Position: 2nd
Time: 1:29.267

'We had quite a good session and I am satisfied for the moment but it's only Friday. It was a little bit slippery but there and we have some work to do with the tyres and on set-up. I had a problem with the electronics on the steering wheel and lost about half an hour of running time, but after that everything was good. Friday is really about trying new things with the car's set-up, and my new engineer and I are getting on well. We just need some more time to really get to know each others ways of working, but we have some good ideas for tomorrow and hope we can improve the car.'

Tim Holloway, Head of Engineering:
'The very positive thing about today is that we had no real problems and the car was consistent. Jarno had an electronic problem on his steering wheel which we overcame without any trouble and Heinz made a mistake under braking, where otherwise he would have finished higher up in the time sheet. It's still hard to be sure where we stand in the field though.'

Jordan Grand Prix