Barrichello fastest at the death.

Rubens Barrichello's last gap lap of the A1-Ring prevented the most unlikely top three of any practice session this season.

The Brazilian went top of the times just as the chequered flag was being readied to end the first hour of action in Austria, edging out Jordan's Jarno Trulli along the way.

This in itself was all that surprising, for the Italian has always gone well in Styria, but his companions at the head of the table consisted of Arrows' Jos Verstappen and BAR man Ricardo Zonta. Both had spent time as the fastest in the session, before being bumped in quick succession, but had enough in hand to remain fourth and third respectively behind the two pace-setters.

Barrichello's best lap proved to be two-tenths faster than Trulli's, while the nearest opposition he received from the expected frontrunners came from Ferrari team-mate Michael Schumacher in fifth place. The German was a further four-tenths adrift, despite a last lap improvement.

Title rival David Coulthard was next up, a matter of hundredths slower, but reigning champion Mika Hakkinen failed to record a competitive time in the session, after a mechanical problem sidelined his McLaren with just six minutes gone.

Giancarlo Fisichella, pole-sitter in 1998, was seventh, ahead of Johnny Herbert, Jacques Villeneuve and Mika Salo at the foot of the top ten.

Home hero Alex Wurz took eleventh on a circuit he hopes will bring him his first points of the year, while Gaston Mazzacane followed the Austrian in a remarkable twelfth for Minardi. The Argentine had been inside the top ten for several minutes before the big guns began to fire, but remained just 1.3secs of the ultimate pace.

Mazzacane's performance put him ahead of such as fellow rookie Jenson Button, learning the circuit on his first visit to Austria, 1999 race winner Eddie Irvine and the second Jordan of Heinz-Harald Frentzen, disappointed not to have been allowed to run the 'B'-spec EJ10 this weekend.

Ralf Schumacher also languished lower than expected, with just Marc Gene's Minardi and the time-less Hakkinen below him.

Friday Free Practice - Session One - Austrian Grand Prix.

1. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 1min 13.603secs
2. Jarno Trulli Italy Jordan-Mugen 1min 13.840secs
3. Ricardo Zonta Brazil BAR-Honda 1min 14.046secs
4. Jos Verstappen Holland Arrows-Supertec 1min 14.048secs
5. Michael Schumacher Germany Ferrari-Ferrari 1min 14.214secs
6. David Coulthard Britain McLaren-Mercedes 1min 14.282secs
7. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Benetton-Playlife 1min 14.306secs
8. Johnny Herbert Britain Jaguar-Cosworth 1min 14.661secs
9. Jacques Villeneuve Canada BAR-Honda 1min 14.810secs
10. Mika Salo Finland Sauber-Petronas 1min 14.833secs
11. Alex Wurz Austria Benetton-Playlife 1min 14.901secs
12. Gaston Mazzacane Argentina Minardi-Fondmetal 1min 14.956secs
13. Jenson Button Britain Williams-BMW 1min 15.004secs
14. Eddie Irvine Britain Jaguar-Cosworth 1min 15.068secs
15. Heinz-Harald Frentzen Germany Jordan-Mugen 1min 15.106secs
16. Pedro Diniz Brazil Sauber-Petronas 1min 15.141secs
17. Pedro de la Rosa Spain Arrows-Supertec 1min 15.173secs
18. Jean Alesi France Prost-Peugeot 1min 15.275secs
19. Nick Heidfeld Germany Prost-Peugeot 1min 15.463secs
20. Ralf Schumacher Germany Williams-BMW 1min 15.803secs
21. Marc Gene Spain Minardi-Fondmetal 1min 15.844secs

Mika Hakkinen Finland McLaren-Mercedes no time

[107 per cent time: 1min 18.755secs]