 In the final two practice sessions, Coulthard set the fastest lap with a time of 1: 20.738; Häkkinen finished with the second-fastest time. The Williams drivers were quicker — Villeneuve in third and Frentzen in sixth. Panis slipped to fourth ahead of Gerhard Berger, their best times one-tenth of a second apart. They were ahead of Stewart driver Jan Magnussen, Shinji Nakano for Prost, Hill and Alesi.
