However he said it with the air of a man whose machinery had surprised him

However, he said it with the air of a man whose machinery had surprised him. Certainly, it surprised others.Schumacher's great rival and fellow German, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who has replaced Damon Hill in the dominant Williams-Renault team, barely had time to savour the achievement of lapping faster than his colleague Jacques Villeneuve for the first time, when Schumacher beat his best time by half a second."It's pretty nice to be that far up the order," Frentzen grinned in acknowledgement of the plaudits, but he was not about to let anything go to his head "It's very early right now. Friday is a day just for sorting all the things like tyres out. I don't think the times matter."However, Villeneuve's final lap was significantly quicker than Schumacher's at the two intermediate measurement points.

The 25-year-old Canadian, favourite for the title after finishing second to Hill last season, made two errors in the final segment and watched the best lap time slip away.Hill's under-developed TWR Arrows Yamaha is clearly no match yet for his old team's quick new cars, but he remained philosophical. Relaxed, and outwardly resigned to the need to pay further dues before he can push himself back to the respectable end of the grid, the world champion even found time to joke when his specially tailored driving seat was delayed in customs. "First I lose my seat at Williams," he said, "and now I lose my Arrows seat as well."Until a gearbox failure brought him to a premature halt in the morning Hill had momentarily set the fastest time in the early running when his Bridgestone tyres were at their best against the Goodyears of the Williams and Ferrari drivers. He expressed himself happy with 13th fastest time overall, which was rather better than some had predicted for a car that has suffered persistent teething troubles.

"In all honesty I think that if we can qualify two and a half seconds away from the front of the grid that would be a good result for us right now," he said.Hill will not have missed another noteworthy performance, however. Ralf Schumacher lapped within a second of his brother's fastest time to take fifth place, in the elite company of Jean Alesi and Villeneuve, driving the improved Jordan-Peugeot that Hill turned down in favour of the Arrows.Hill interview, page 28. Everton were last night rushing through the pounds 5m transfer of West Ham's Slaven Bilic in time to have the centre-half signed before the transfer deadline. The 28-year-old Croatian international met Goodison Park officials last night after deciding to leave Upton Park following talks earlier in the day, exploiting an escape clause in his contract in preference for a deal worth an estimated pounds 1m a year. Everton are keen to have Bilic's signature quickly as they will need to process a work permit application before he can play. However, that should be arranged in the three weeks left for signings eligible to play this season.The Newcastle manager Kenny Dalglish yesterday tried to play down reports of a training ground argument with David Ginola.

The 15-minute confrontation was witnessed by fans on Thursday."The players sat on the grass and we had a meeting," Dalglish said yesterday. "Ginola was one of the players that was spoken to but we're not going to disclose what's involved in discussions between myself and players."The Football Association has played down reports that England coach Glenn Hoddle has set up a crisis meeting with Premiership managers.Hoddle was reported to have planned a summit with Alex Ferguson, Kenny Dalglish and Roy Evans in an attempt to avoid the withdrawal of many of his players from this summer's internationals."Although the England manager talks with all club managers on a regular basis, there is no planned summit," an FA spokesman said. Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager, said yesterday that any of his players selected would take part.. Crystal Palace and Norwich have both been fined pounds 40,000 for the 21-player brawl at Carrow Road in December. The two First Division clubs admitted to a charge of "failing to control their players" and apologised unreservedly to the Football Association.