 Saturday afternoon's qualifying session lasted for an hour. Each driver was limited to twelve laps, with the grid order decided by the drivers' fastest laps. During this session the 107 % rule was in effect, requiring each driver to remain within 107 % of the fastest lap time to qualify for the race. The session was held in dry weather, with the ambient temperature 25°C (77°F) and the track temperature 30°C (86°F). Häkkinen clinched his fifth pole position of the season and his third at the circuit, with a time of 1: 50.646; although he was optimistic about his race prospects, he was concerned about the start. Häkkinen was joined in the front row of the grid by Trulli, who equalled his best qualifying performance of the season (at the Monaco Grand Prix). Trulli was also optimistic about his chances because of the Jordan team's strong record at the circuit. Button qualified third, and said he was happy with his starting position. Michael Schumacher secured fourth position, nine-tenths of a second behind Häkkinen, setting a lap time which pushed Häkkinen's teammate Coulthard into fifth. Coulthard, who had problems with grip, believed that he could have had a faster lap time. Ralf Schumacher secured sixth position after being caught in traffic during his final run, keeping the Williams driver from a quicker lap time. Villeneuve, in seventh, reported oversteering. Frentzen qualified eighth; his best lap time was disqualified after Coulthard blocked him at the Bus Stop chicane, which caused Frentzen to run onto the grass. Herbert and Barrichello rounded out the top ten drivers, with Barrichello spinning at the chicane during his third run after locking his brakes. Fisichella, eleventh, missed the top ten by three-tenths of a second on his only quick run of the session. Herbert's teammate, Eddie Irvine, qualified twelfth with tyre-grip problems. He was ahead of Zonta in the slower of the two BARs (which lost a half-second through Eau Rouge), Heidfeld in the faster Prost, Sauber's Pedro Diniz and Arrows driver Pedro de la Rosa. Alesi qualified 17th, despite spinning at the chicane and triggering a yellow flag. Salo qualified 18th, ahead of Wurz (who had engine problems and shared the spare Benetton monocoque with Fisichella). Verstappen and the two Minardi drivers qualified at the back of the grid, in positions 20 to 22.
