Comeback man Schumacher in limelight

Barring reigning World champion Mika Hakkinen and Eddie Irvine, none of the other competitors had even seen the circuit which is already acquiring a reputation of being one of the best in the World.

As such, the morning practice session saw some slow timings in the one minute 57 seconds range which dramatically came down to 1:43s at the end of the afternoon session.

The track is saidto be the quickest and the widest among the F1 circuits. In the event, it was hardly a surprise that quite a few cars, including that of Jordan’s former World champion Damon Hill, went off the track during the two one-hour practice sessions on Friday.

But much of the attention was on Schumacher who has returned to racing after a three-month layoff following his high-speed crash into the tyre barricade at Silverstone. Though it is clear that he would be playing second fiddle to Irvine who is in the championship hunt, Schumacher’s very presence has been such a draw that it would not matter now whether or not the German ace would win the GP on Sunday.

While Schumacher kept trimming his timings, it was British American Racing’s former World champion Jacques Villeneuve who swept ahead with the day’s fastest lap of 1:42.407, which put him clear of even the McLaren tandem of David Coulthard and Hakkinen.

Schumacher had a 1:42.875, the fifth quickest, behind Coulthard (1:42.519), Jean Alesi of Sauber-Petronas(1:42.701) and Irvine (1:42.725).

Meanwhile, Hakkinen was very much off the pace and clocked eighth fastest at 1:43.153) after carrying out set-up changes in the closing minutes of the session.

BAR, in their debut season, are still searching for their first Championship point, and Villeneuve’s effort put the team in good heart for Saturday’s qualifying rounds.

The truly magnificent Sepang facility, complete with state-of-the art infrastructure, which can accommodate about 1.3 lakh spectators on race day, is a sight to behold. Incidentally, the Sepang circuit is only the second F-1 track in Asia, the other being in Suzuka, Japan.

A look around the track made it clear that Malaysia had left no stone unturned in offering the very best possible facility which only emphasised Prime Minister Mahatir Mohammed’s dream of putting a Malaysian in an F-1 race.

The Prime Minister has been a driving force behind the circuit which is barely a stone’s throw away from the new international airport.

One of theshowpieces of the circuit is the magnificent Media Centre which can house about 500 working journalists with facility for individual telephones and internet connectivity.