But such performance was a function of the low-wing settings that boosted straightline speed, and in the final stadium section that ends the lap, and where downforce once again becomes paramount, the times slipped away. Hill and Villeneuve in their Williams-Renaults, Berger and Alesi in their Benetton-Renaults, and Hakkinen and Coulthard in their McLaren-Mercedes, all had cars that were better behaved, and all recorded times that bettered Schumacher's at the intermediate measurement points on this tree-lined course. "I don't pay any attention to things like that," he said trenchantly.On track, too, Hill appeared to have few worries, calmly pacing himself throughout the increasingly tedious day of unofficial chassis setting up on Friday, and shrugging off two minor errors that sapped the advantage from his three previous efforts to dislodge Schumacher and Ferrari from pole position.The German had opened up with a 1m 44.691s salvo that removed Jean Alesi from a temporary tenancy of pole position, and later trimmed that to 1m 44.477s - constantly wrestling with the Ferrari which is still no handling match for the Williams.Hockenheim is an odd place, however, and nowhere else is the trade-off between downforce and high straightline speed more evident. His manner was very far from that of a man about to find himself with a less comfortable seat when silence descends on the 1997 game of F1 musical chairs. And that Germany's other darling, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, will supplant him in 1997 regardless of whether Hill succeeds Nigel Mansell as Britain's latest World Champion. Hill, to nobody's great surprise, has vented a little spleen against the writers of the strongest speculation, and for along time his most serious problem arose during dinner on Friday when he retired halfway through a manful attempt to devour an ice cream, chocolate and banana sweet that would have driven his trainer Erwin Gollner to apoplexy. If Damon Hill has forebodings about his future at Williams-Renault beyond the 1996 season he has done a poker champion's job of hiding them at Hockenheim, where the thousands of flag-waving spectators have eyes only for their idol, Michael Schumacher.

Speculation has raged all week that Hill's days are numbered at Williams after four years and, to date, 19 victories. The assumption is that he wants to be free to follow wherever his father may go, but there are no immediate indications of where that will be. Nevertheless, at a fee of just pounds 800,000, his signing could hardly be described as a costly gamble by Alex Ferguson.Jordi returned to Barcelona after his medical examination on Friday, content that he had made a smart move "This is the ideal place for me to come," he said.. His father's departure meant that Jordi's fate was sealed too.

For the first time in his life, he faces the challenge of a new club without the presence of his father.He has signed a four-year contract with the English champions, but there is a clause which allows him to review his future at the end of his first season. The mutterings of nepotism reached a crescendo in the spring when Cruyff Snr declined the chance to buy the Croatian Davor Suker from Seville and then recalled his son, who had missed much of the campaign with a serious knee injury, for the Spanish Cup final, which Barcelona lost to eventual double-winners Atletico Madrid.When the coach's contract was terminated in the final week of a second consecutive barren season, Barcelona's president, Jose Luis Nunez, cited family favouritism as one of the reasons for the split. "Cruyff made us get rid of Laudrup, Salinas and Romario so that Jordi could play for Barca," he claimed. Having made his way through the Ajax and Barcelona academies, Jordi's early first-team appearances two years ago included flashes of Cruyff class.His continued presence in the Barcelona side gradually became a cause celebre in Catalonia, however. The tournament also features Chelsea and Nottingham Forest Cruyff, it is safe to assume, will not be wearing the No 14 which so famously adorned his father's back. It was no accident that he was Holland's No 17 during Euro 96, nor that he was listed on team-sheets simply as Jordi.Life as the son of the Dutch Master has not been easy, but it has cut both ways for Johan Jordi Cruyff. Manchester United's opponents on the opening day of the Umbro Cup tournament happen to be Ajax, in whose colours Cruyff Snr became Europe's player of the 1970s, and for whose youth team Cruyff Jnr took his first steps in his father's shadow.

There could be no better starting point than the City Ground in Nottingham on Saturday. It would be mythical to suggest that Manchester United's latest acquisition will have a dragon breathing down his neck when he plays in the Red Devils' cauldron, but, at 22, the time has come to slay the monster of his paternal burden. Elsewhere, expect the sides with Aussies to edge home, though it may be worthwhile offering a little prayer that it is not merely one more dress rehearsal for next summer.. Perhaps it is just as well that Jordi, the Catalan patron saint after which Johan Cruyff named his son, is the same legendary George who became adopted as the venerable guardian of all things English. Stillman, Jones and Derbyshire go to Old Trafford where Lancashire's South African all-rounder Steve Elworthy is not guaranteed a place. The cultured left-hander Bevan takes his awesome form to Sussex, Law will return to Southampton where he has already taken a first-class century off Hampshire this season.Julian's English team-mates will probably prove potent enough to see off Lee. He hasn't taken many wickets but he's the sort of player who'll do one thing or the other well, not both at the same time This could easily prove to have been a crucial trip.