Monza Test - Day Two: 14 July 1999.
Mika Hakkinen returned to action for the first time since his Silverstone disappointment, and promptly topped the times on day two of the Monza test.
The Finn led the way from McLaren team-mate - and British GP winner - David Coulthard, although the pair were split by just 2/10ths of a second at the end of the day.
Behind the Silver Arrows, Jean Alesi completed a useful day's testing for the Sauber team, recording a time of 1min 26.09secs (compared to Hakkinen's 1min 25.59secs) in between finding a set-up suitable for the forthcoming Hockenheim event.
Mika Hakkinen returned to action for the first time since his Silverstone disappointment, and promptly topped the times on day two of the Monza test.
The Finn led the way from McLaren team-mate - and British GP winner - David Coulthard, although the pair were split by just 2/10ths of a second at the end of the day.
Behind the Silver Arrows, Jean Alesi completed a useful day's testing for the Sauber team, recording a time of 1min 26.09secs (compared to Hakkinen's 1min 25.59secs) in between finding a set-up suitable for the forthcoming Hockenheim event.
Johnny Herbert took fourth spot for Stewart, having replaced rookie Luciano Burti behind the wheel, and recorded a quicker time than home hero Eddie Irvine. Giancarlo Fisichella wound up sixth overall on the day, proving himself to be sufficiently recovered from his massive crash on Tuesday and outpacing former Jordan partner Ralf Schumacher.
The German had topped the times on day one, but found himself almost a second off the pace come Wednesday. He narrowly out-pointed Williams team-mate Alex Zanardi, however, with the Italian likewise ahead of Jordan stand-in Shinji Nakano. The Japanese driver replaced the holidaying Damon Hill at Monza, but will step down again as Hill resumes the wheel following his decision to continue racing.
Leading performances (14 July):
Mika Hakkinen McLaren-Mercedes 1min 25.59secs
David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1min 25.83secs
Jean Alesi Sauber-Petronas 1min 26.09secs
Johnny Herbert Stewart-Ford 1min 26.13secs
Eddie Irvine Ferrari-Ferrari 1min 26.21secs
Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 1min 26.24secs
Ralf Schumacher Williams-Supertec 1min 26.28secs
Alex Zanardi Williams-Supertec 1min 26.49secs
Shinji Nakano Jordan-Mugen 1min 27.07secs
Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Supertec 1min 27.19secs
Stephane Sarrazin Prost-Peugeot 1min 27.45secs
Pedro de la Rosa Arrows-Arrows 1min 27.45secs
Olivier Panis Prost-Peugeot 1min 27.71secs
Marc Gene Minardi-Ford 1min 27.85secs
Ricardo Zonta BAR-Supertec 1min 28.74secs
[Times provided courtesy of Red Bull Sauber Petronas]
