Michael Schumacher shows no willingness to relinquish his recently-acquired lead of the Formula One world drivers' championship, and he posted the fastest time in yesterday's free practice sessions ahead of Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix.

After winning in Imola two weeks ago the Ferrari number one admitted to feeling confident about his chances on the streets of Monte Carlo and after experimenting with several set-ups yesterday morning he found the combination to squeeze past defending world champion Mika Hakkinen in the afternoon run, albeit by just one tenth of a second. "It was good fun driving the Monaco circuit today," Schumacher said. "The set-up was correct from the start. We did a good job today and for a change I think today's order gives us a fairly accurate picture of what we can expect in qualifying."

However, the German didn't have it all his own way. He was under the cosh early on - but from team-mate Eddie Irvine, rather than the McLarens. On Wednesday, Schumacher had denied rumours that there was tension within the Ferrari camp but Irvine showed no signs of relenting in practice leaving Schumacher in his wake, adrift by more than half a second. "I have nothing to complain about," Irvine said. "I know what tyres I want to use and now we've got to concentrate on finding the best qualifying set-up. The main concern on Saturday will be traffic, which was very bad today."

McLaren team manager Ron Dennis admitted that the morning session had been a bad one for both Hakkinen and team-mate David Coulthard but said the early setbacks wouldn't affect the team in qualifying. "Our set-up in the morning was all wrong, but fortunately we identified the problem and the afternoon times reflect this," he said. "But we wasted the morning which affects the overall results but it shouldn't impact on Saturday's qualifying."

Both Jordans, meanwhile, were instantly on the pace in the morning, with Damon Hill regularly posting fastest laps. But a crash early in the second session forced Heinz-Harald Frentzen to retire and as Hill experimented with altered set-ups he drifted out of the reckoning, finishing 11th. However, Hill remained pleased with the day's efforts. "I had a really good start today and we were competitive right until the start of the session," he said. "We know the reason why we ended up down in 11th place, so I have every reason to be optimistic that we'll be competitive again on Saturday." Frentzen, however, only managed 10 laps in the morning after failing to restart following a spin at the Portier turn and managed only one lap of the second session after clipping a barrier. Until then, though, the German had looked quick and surefooted, with the Jordans briefly occupying a one-two position in the first outing. "The morning went very well and we are looking good on this circuit," he said. "Unfortunately, I only completed one lap in the second session. I was running close behind one of the Prosts when it slowed down and I swerved to avoid it and lost the car in the process. Luckily the damage isn't too bad. It's a pity to lose so much time on the track, though."

The surprise of the day came from Prost's Olivier Panis. The Frenchman, lambasted by Ron Dennis on Wednesday for his refusal to heed blue flags to allow David Coulthard past him at the San Marino Grand Prix, once more put his car in front of the McLaren driver, although this time three places ahead of the sixth-placed Scot. Panis, who won at Monaco in 1996 when only seven drivers finished the race, said that under the guidance of team owner Alain Prost he started the sessions slowly. "I started the session very calmly to get to know the track and then to attack more vigorously in the second part of the day. I began to lap among the fastest times and to clock third-fastest is very good."

Prost, though quick thanks to their Peugeot powerplants, have been undermined by reliability problems since the start of the season and it is unlikely that Panis will repeat his podium finish of three years ago, but it was left to Prost to sign off with the most accurate last words: "In Monte Carlo, everything is possible."