Friday here is always a lottery he said and I'm confident we will have the right set-up for

"Friday here is always a lottery," he said, "and I'm confident we will have the right set-up for the race on Sunday. "Mika just lost it because he was a little bit too quick going into the corner, but it wasn't a big issue," said Norbert Haug, the sporting director of Mercedes-Benz "We are well prepared for the race. I was particularly pleased for David, because he was really fighting and going for it."Johnny Herbert, fifth fastest on his first upbeat outing for Stewart- Ford, heaped further praise on the updated head protection that was introduced for the 1999 season. The 34-year-old Briton crashed heavily during recent tests in Spain, but like Hakkinen emerged unharmed after the deformable structure surrounding the cockpit had done its job."My accident in Barcelona was as bad as the Formula 3000 shunt I had at Brand's Hatch back in 1988," Herbert said, referring to the accident in which he shattered both feet. "You could see where my head hit the cockpit protection, but apart from a slight headache for an hour or so I was absolutely fine. People ask me whether you suffer psychological problems after an incident like that, and I tell them that the safety standards of these cars is one big reason why we can simply shake them off." Hakkinen was the first to agree with him.McLaren's initial form has confirmed the fears of most rivals that the British team remains the class of the field.

And even though Hakkinen's McLaren required much remedial surgery, the incident did little to dent confidence as the team dominated the first day and showed every sign of continuing its ultra-competitive form. Mika was pushing very hard, and the car just got away from him."Much anticipation accompanied the first meeting of all of the new cars under similar track conditions, after the chess game of winter testing. You get understeer going into a corner, but oversteer coming out It's sliding and it gets snappy Sometimes you get it wrong. "I was on a really good lap in the first two intermediate points, but I just pushed it a bit too hard. No big deal."His team-mate, David Coulthard, who pushed ahead to set the fastest time when the session restarted, described the difficulties that face the drivers on the latest grooved Bridgestone tyres, which have been much criticised during the winter test sessions."An F1 car is difficult to drive. This time, though, the McLaren came to rest badly damaged, but the 30-year-old Finn was able to jump out unassisted and dismissed with his characteristic insouciance what he clearly regarded as just another of Formula One's occupational hazards. "You have to find the limit somehow," he said philosophically. Back in 1995 a tyre failure pitched Hakkinen into a wall at high-speed during practice for the Australian Grand Prix, and only an emergency tracheotomy, performed by the side of the track, saved his life.

THE SPECTRE of Mika Hakkinen's near-fatal accident in Adelaide three years ago flitted briefly through Albert Park yesterday when the world champion's efforts to push home his advantage ended with a hefty crash at the last corner that brought out the red flag to stop practice. He says he is happy about the new car, confident it has potential, and optimistic it will be enable him to be more competitive than he was in the early stages of last season.He also contends that if he does not win the championship, he will be back next season to try again There are those who are not so sure.. Noble second places, however, can never represent fulfilment or provide ultimate satisfaction.So it is that Schumacher, the acknowledged master of his craft, confronts the biggest challenge of his career. You have to wonder why."The simple explanation is that someone else always seems to do it better than them.

Last season it was McLaren, the two seasons before that it was Williams.Second place to teams of that calibre is scarcely a disgrace. And had it not been for Ferrari, or Schumacher to be more precise, the past two championships would have been abject. "But Schumacher is prone to making errors, as we saw last season. The incident with David Coulthard cost him the race and probably the championship."Ferrari themselves have a way of dropping the ball just when you feel they can't fail to score. They have all those resources, key personnel, the best driver, and yet it still hasn't happened for them. They may take the view that, on balance, they would prefer to lose without him than with him.Eddie Jordan, the team owner who gave Schumacher his first chance in grand prix racing, echoes the sentiments of many in the sport when he says that he tipped his former protege for the drivers' championship last year but does not feel inclined to so again this time. Another team principal, Jackie Stewart, who has routinely acclaimed Schumacher as the outstanding driver of his era, wonders aloud whether the driver and his team may be burdened by too many inherent flaws."Michael could well win it and I'd be happy for Ferrari to take the championship again after 20 years," Stewart said.