99' Pole - Michael Schumacher - 1:39.688

Malaysian GP - Qualifying

Final Order: Michael Schumacher ahead of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard. Rubens Barrichello, Alexander Wurz and Jacques Villeneuve make the top 6. Irvine, Ralf Schumacher, Trulli and Frentzen make the top 10.

60 min: Mika Hakkinen takes 2nd away from Coulthard with a time of 1:37.860.

60 min: David Coulthard moves into 2nd with a time of 1:37.889.

59 min: David Coulthard starts his final run of the day.

58 min: Rubens Barrichello moves into 2nd with a time of 1:37.896. Half a second behind his team-mate.

57 min: Michael Schumacher improves his time to 1:37.397. That is over 2.2 seconds faster than last year's pole.

56 min: Michael Schumacher appears set to improve his time!

55 min: Michael Schumacher starts his 3rd run

54 min: Less than a tenth of a second separates Wurz, Villeneuve, Irvine and Ralf Schumacher. (5th to 8th)

52 min: Alexander Wurz retakes 5th from Villeneuve while Irvine moves into 7th!

50 min: Top 10 -  M Schumacher, Coulthard, Hakkinen, Barrichello, Villeneuve, R Schumacher, Wurz, Frentzen, Trulli and Zonta

49 min: Jacques Villeneuve moves into 5th place while neither David Coulthard nor Mika Hakkinen are able to improve.

47 min: David Coulthard starts his 3rd run and so does Hakkinen.

45 min: Rubens Barrichello fails to improve. Herbert moves into 11th while Irvine moves into 12th.

44 min: Rubens Barrichello on the track for his 3rd run.

43 min: Michael Schumacher fails to improve.

42 min: Ralf Schumacher moves into 5th place while his brother starts his 2nd run.

41 min: Heinz Harald Frentzen moves ahead of his team-mate into 8th place. Pedro Diniz has finally set a time in 20th place.

40 min: Villeneuve fails to improve. Top 6 - Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard, Mika Hakkinen, Rubens Barrichello, Alexander Wurz and Jacques Villeneuve.

39 min: Alexander Wurz moves to 5th ahead of Villeneuve

38 min: Barrichello fails to improve and neither does Coulthard. Villeneuve on his 2nd run.

37 min: Both Jaguar's are off the pace so far in this session. Irvine is 13th and Herbert is 14th. They appeared a lot stronger in practice.

36 min: Rubens Barrichello starts his 2nd run

35 min: While Wurz is doing wonders in the Benetton in 6th place. Fisichella is struggling back in 15th almost a second slower.

34 min: Mika Hakkinen moves into 3rd place with a time of 1:38.285. He is 0.445 seconds behind Michael.

33 min: Top 10 -  M Schumacher, Coulthard, Barrichello, Hakkinen, Villeneuve, Wurz, R Schumacher, Trulli, Frentzen and Verstappen

32 min: Mika Hakkinen starts his 2nd run.

30 min: Michael Schumacher grabs pole position with a time of 1:37.840. That is 0.255 seconds ahead of Coulthard.

28 min: Barrichello moves into 2nd with a time of 1:38.430. 0.335 seconds behind Coulthard.

27 min: Top 6 - Coulthard, Hakkinen, Villeneuve, Wurz, R Schumacher, Trulli.

27 min: Rubens Barrichello starts his first timed lap while Michael Schumacher is still in the pits. Jacques Villeneuve moves into 3rd!

25 min: David Coulthard grabs provisional pole with a time of 1:38.095. Ralf Schumacher is in 3rd and Jenson Button in 4th.

23 min: David Coulthard is on his first timed lap while Michael Schumacher prepares for his first run.

22 min: Pedro de la Rosa moves into 2nd place  1.422 seconds behind Hakkinen. He is followed by Giancarlo Fisichella.

21 min: Marc Gene is in 2nd place almost 3 seconds behind ahead of his team-mate Gaston Mazzacane.

20 min: Mika Hakkinen grabs provisional pole with a time of 1:38.648.

18 min: Marc Gene, Gaston Mazzacane, Giancarlo Fisichella and Pedro de la Rosa follow.

17 min: Mika Hakkinen is the first to go out. Mika has done gone out very early several times this season.

15 min: A few drivers seem to be preparing themselves but no one is on the track yet!

12 min: 2 regular drivers this season have decided to take the 'Panis' path in the hope to secure a better drive in the future. Alexander Wurz is leaving Benetton and going to McLaren as a test driver while Ricardo Zonta is leaving BAR and going to Jordan as a test driver. Mika Salo is also taking a test driver role at Toyota but has been guaranteed a drive with them in 2002.

10 min: No drivers are out yet. It seems that the teams are hoping that the temperatures could drop a little from increased cloud cover.

8 min: Of course there is still a small chance for McLaren to win the Constructors' title but they need to finish first and second and Ferrari only securing 2 points which is possible but very unlikely. No cars on the track yet.

6 min: The real battle will be between Benetton, BAR and Jordan for 4th place in the Constructors' Championship. If Wurz' stunning pace continues here and in the race tomorrow then Benetton will secure 4th place. No cars on the track yet.

4 min: There is a slim chance that Barrichello could take 3rd place in the Drivers' championship from Coulthard but only if Barrichello wins and Coulthard finishes outside the top 6. No cars on the track yet.

2 min: David Coulthard, Mika Hakkinen, Michael Schumacher and Alexander Wurz each topped a practice session this weekend. It will be interesting to see how well Wurz qualifies. No cars on the track yet.

Session underway but no drivers go out. The weather is not expected to change so the first drivers will probably go out in around 10 minutes.

Session starting in 5 minutes with cloudy but dry conditions. Temperature is 31 degrees.