McLaren technical director Adrian Newey has rejected suggestions that Mika Hakkinen lacks the motivation to challenge for his third consecutive championship.

Newey, responding to comments made on Wednesday by former triple world champion Niki Lauda, who had said that Hakkinen should leave McLaren if he wants to rediscover the will to win, said there was no lack of motivation within McLaren and that the defending world champion was racing as normal.

"As far as Mika is concerned I think it was one of those self-generating stories," he said.

"There is no problem. For me Mika's motivation is just as strong as it ever has been. That goes for the whole team. The atmosphere within the team is good.

"We know how to handle the pressure and we just get on with it."

Hakkinen demonstrated his willingness to bite back at the 18-point lead established over him by Michael Schumacher at the Nurburgring by yesterday claiming the fastest time in free practice ahead of Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix.

The Finn was eclipsed by Schumacher in the morning session, but in the second one-hour stint Hakkinen battled hard to claim the top spot in the final moments of the session.

Afterwards, Hakkinen said the day had been trouble free and that he had made several set-up improvements during the afternoon.

"We had a trouble free day where we made various adjustments to the car to ensure that we have a good set-up for Saturday and Sunday," said the Finn.

Schumacher, though, wasn't far behind, clocking in just under one tenth of a second off the McLaren's pace.

"The car seems quite good here," Schumacher admitted.

"The track is more slippery than last year, when parts of it had just been resurfaced. We have made good progress during the day.

"We have a special aerodynamic package for Monaco, which has given us more downforce and there are also some other items we're using specifically for this track."

Schumacher, bidding for a fifth win around the tight confines of the Monaco street circuit, will hope to copper-fasten his chances today by flying back to Ferrari's Fiorano test track to shake down a fourth car which will be available for the race.

The surprise package of yesterday, however, was Eddie Irvine. The Irishman, who has had a difficult season so far as Jaguar attempt to solve the myriad of problems affecting their R1 car, powered his way to fourth fastest yesterday seeming in complete harmony with the circuit.

It is one of the Irishman's favourites and he has recorded podium finishes in his last three outings here but yesterday he admitted he was surprised to be so far up the standings.

"I'm pretty happy to be fourth. I really didn't expect to be that well placed," he said.

"Having said that, Thursday is Friday (in Monaco) and it's Saturday that matters - if that's not too Irish! We concentrated on making the car sensible. We made a good step forward initially and a surprisingly big step towards the end.

"I also got a tip off Jackie (Stewart) on how to handle Casino Square. Pity it's not going to make me any money."

The Jordans, by comparison, had a sedate run, with Heinz-Harald Frentzen tucking in behind Irvine and Jarno Trulli finishing the day ninth.

"Finding a good set-up at Monaco is absolutely critical and today was all about working to find that set-up," said Frentzen, who, along a number of other drivers, lives in the Principality.

"I'm pleased with what we achieved, but there is still a good deal of work to do.

"The track is extremely challenging and, because we are racing on streets instead of a normal track, there are bumps which make it impossible to keep the car straight sometimes.

"It's very unforgiving, you just can't afford to make any mistakes."

Not content with battling the uneven surface, Trulli was also busy combatting suspension problems with his EJ10.

"I had a very difficult day as I lost most of the morning session with a suspension problem. I was not able to use the suspension set-up I wanted because the steering angle on this track made it impossible," he said.

With Friday being the traditional day off from track action, most drivers will spend today on the chores of promotional and sponsorship duties.

Tomorrow, however, is another matter entirely. Qualifying is widely regarded as make or break here, and a sparkling lap in the one-hour session can often translate quickly into Sunday points for teams not normally within touching distance of the top six.

While the Ferraris and McLarens will undoubtedly battle for the front two rows of the grid, the remaining possible point-earning spots could go any of a handful of drivers.

The midfield has been split by mere hundredths of a second for several races now and any, from the Jordans to the Jaguar of Eddie Irvine to the ultra-quick in qualifying Jacques Villeneuve, could stake a claim for fifth and sixth on the grid tomorrow.