'It's been a positive day for me,' said Trulli. 'We concentrated on the race set-up rather than going for a fast time, unlike some of the drivers ahead of us who put on a fresh set of tyres towards the end. So, I'm pretty happy. The balance of the car was good and the car felt competitive straight away - which is always a good sign! I would expect us to qualify fifth and sixth.'

Frentzen followed a similar plan during the two 60-minute sessions.

'It was the usual Friday programme, working on the set-up,' said Heinz-Harald. 'The conditions were good today and there seemed to be plenty of grip. So far, so good with the race set-up but we will need to find further improvements for qualifying tomorrow.'

The Ferraris and McLarens were fastest, Schumacher taking provisional pole position after a trouble-free day. Rubens Barrichello, third quickest, spun off during the morning session and lost track time as a result. David Coulthard, fourth fastest, completed a long run and had problems with rear tyre wear.

Tremors from an earthquake measuring 7.3 on the Richter Scale about 200 miles away were felt during practice. The local reading at Suzuka was 3.0.

Jordan Grand Prix