Saturday, July 10, 1999 Published at 13:23 GMT 14:23 UK
Hakkinen claims Silverstone pole
Mika Hakkinen posted a half a second lead over Michael Schumacher
Finland's Mika Hakkinen claimed pole position for Sunday's British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Britain's Damon Hill, who has suggested he may retire after the race, produced his best qualifying display of the season to finish sixth.
Ferrari's Eddie Irvine made it a good day for the British hopefuls with the fourth fastest time, but there was little joy for Johnny Herbert who finished in 11th place.
Hakkinen, who finished second after starting from 14th in France, said everything had gone to plan.
"The car was working extremely well," he said.
"The race could well be very exciting even though overtaking is so difficult here."
Schumacher, who strayed too wide on his last run, said: "I tried to do more than what the car was capable of.
"But I had the first run to fall back on. There was no point trying to do another safe run after that, you need to try and improve the time."
Grid positions for Sunday's British Grand Prix
1 Mika Hakkinen (Finland) McLaren - 1 minute 24.804 seconds
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