David Coulthard suffered a depressing start to his United States Grand Prix weekend as Michael Schumacher fired an early warning shot across the bows of Mika Hakkinen.
Coulthard was the only one of the 22 drivers not to complete a full lap of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as grand prix blazed a trail in America for the first time in nine years.
The Scot embarrassingly had to have his McLaren pushed back into the pits as he looked to clock a time on the newly-built 2.6-mile circuit, which incorporates part of the famed oval.
Coulthard, who is certain to be under team orders to help team-mate Hakkinen during tomorrow's race, as he trails the Finn by 19 points in the drivers' championship, was then forced to watch the remainder of the first hour from the pit wall.
Heinz-Harald Frentzen, in his Jordan, was first to lay down rubber on the track, but it was a confident Schumacher who led the way as expected.
As at the inaugural Malaysian Grand Prix last year when the German proved unbeatable and unstoppable at Sepang - then a brand new circuit - Schumacher looked to continue such a trend at Indy.
Following his success in the Italian Grand Prix 11 days ago on Ferrari's home track of Monza, Schumacher's spirits could not be higher. The two-time world champion was the only driver to go below 1min 15sec - recording a time of 1-14.927 - with team-mate Rubens Barrichello just over 0.2secs adrift.
Hakkinen, who leads the German by just two points in the standings with three races remaining, was third quickest with a time of 1-15.707.
Jenson Button's belief that Indianapolis would prove a leveller for all the drivers, given none had put a wheel on the circuit prior to yesterday, came to fruition.
Button displayed his undoubted talent as he clocked the fourth fastest time in his Williams, and he was the only other driver within a second of Schumacher, recording 1-15.741.
Jacques Villeneuve, a former winner of the Indy 500 in 1995, was fifth in his BAR in 1-16.429, while the Benetton of Alexander Wurz completed the top six as he recorded 1-16.486.
The Jaguars of Eddie Irvine and Johnny Herbert were ninth and twelfth respectively.
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