Ferrari testing notes

<pre> Schumacher and Badoer in action at Fiorano Maranello, 5th April

Circuit: Fiorano, 2.976 km. Short circuit 1.413 km.

Drivers: Michael Schumacher, F2001, chassis no. 209. Luca Badoer, F1-2000, chassis no. 201 </pre> Weather: air temperature 13/16 C, track 18/31 C, rain in the morning, then sunny.

Third day of testing for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro at the Fiorano circuit. This morning, Luca Badoer, who continued with development work on new electronic solutions at the wheel of the F1-2000, was joined by Michael Schumacher. The championship leader began work with the F2001, in preparation for the San Marino Grand Prix, working mainly on set-up, tyres and aerodynamics.

Work began at 10.25 when Michael did the installation lap, followed at 11.10 by Luca Badoer. Up to the lunch break, the Italian ran with rain tyres, covering 29 laps, with a best time of 1.07.945. When work resumed in the afternoon, Schumacher began running continuously to get through the planned programme. However the test was interrupted ahead of schedule at 18h00, when he lightly touched the barrier at the exit to the bridge. This damaged the left rear suspension. Up to that point, 52 laps had been completed with a best time of 1.00.179.

In the afternoon, Badoer did a further 24 laps, taking his daily total to 53, including 12 on the short version of the circuit. The test driver's best time was a 1.01.353. He also did nine practice starts.

During a break in testing, Schumacher had a brief word with journalists present in Fiorano. "All in all, coming second in Brazil was a good result, given everything that happened," said Michael. "Of course I would have preferred to win but you can't do it all the time. The Williams was very competitive but I think we will continue to see a very strong Ferrari. Is Hakkinen out of the running for the title? The situation is similar to last year's. What I can say is that it is too early to make this sort of statement. We have only done three races so far."

Testing continues tomorrow, again with Schumacher and Badoer in action.

- Ferrari