Schumacher flies in morning practice

The Ferrari driver waited until the dying minutes of the session before leaping to the top of the timesheets, beating McLaren's David Coulthard by over 0.5s.

World champion Mika Hakkinen had a miserable time, his McLaren-Mercedes ground to a halt with an electrical problem before the Finn had completed a single lap.

'When I went round the first corner it just cut out,' he said. 'It's not going to help.'

The session was red-flagged briefly after Jenson Button put his Williams-BMW into the wall. The left side of the car was heavily damaged and Button was taken to the medical centre for checks.

He had been fifth fastest at the time, but lost control at turn five, a fast kink.

'I was pushing very hard in the first sector when I clipped a kerb and just lost it,' he explained.

The car should be repaired in time for qualifying.

Coulthard was second fastest ahead of Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Rubens Barrichello and Jarno Trulli.

The Scot's first flying lap was over 1.5s faster than anyone else had managed up to that point, and his dominant position seemed secure until Schumacher's late charge.

Ralf Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve set impressive times in the new Williams-BMW and BAR-Honda combinations, ending the session sixth and seventh fastest.

Coulthard and Villeneuve were among several drivers to have off-course moments during the session, both running wide over the grass and kerbs.

Jean Alesi had to park his Prost after a particularly violent trip over the rumble strips but Ricardo Zonta and Pedro Diniz escaped similar moments unscathed, as did Rubens Barrichello, who spun his Ferrari at turn nine.

Morning practice resumes in half an hour. Hakkinen should be able to take part in the session in his repaired McLaren, but Button will have to miss the rest of practice while his Williams is rebuilt.

Times from Melbourne: