FEBRUARY 20, 2001

Gearbox problem ends Schumacher's day early

WORLD CHAMPION Michael Schumacher tested Ferrari's F2001 for the final time before the Australian Grand Prix, but had his day cut short by a gearbox problem.

Schumacher thought he had finalized work on the new chassis only to have his final day of testing at Mugello temporarily ended by the gearbox problem.

The German, whose main task was tire testing, completed 41 laps of the Italian circuit with a fastest lap time of one minute and 24.157 seconds. Schumacher will test an F1-2000 at Fiorano on Wednesday.