In the middle of driving for two days of a three day session held by Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro at Silverstone last week, Rubens Barrichello talked about the test itself and his hopes for the next two races across the Atlantic, the Canadain and United States Grands Prix.

“Testing is going well, although the temperatures are very cool,” began the Brazilian. “We have plenty to test in terms of tyres, and also in terms of car set-up for the British Grand Prix. There is nothing specific we are doing here for Canada and the USA.”

Outlining his hopes for Round 8 of the World Championship, Barrichello is as upbeat as ever. “I go to Canada, hoping the championship changes a bit for us and that we can start winning,” he said. “The next two tracks are ones where we are usually very strong so I go there in a positive frame of mind. I really like the atmosphere in Canada and I am enthusiastic about it. We are not going to Canada just to score points. We are thinking we can win. We need to see if we can get the best set-up and the best possible tyre. Renault and McLaren are very strong. But with a bit of luck and a good strategy, the car is good so if we make the right tyre choice we should be okay.”

It was business as usual at Silverstone and Barrichello confirmed that the current difficulties experienced by the Scuderia have not affected the team’s approach. “Morale in the team is still high, even though we have not won yet and this new car has yet to record a victory,” maintained Rubens. “We are working hard all the time. This is a team that has won in the past and knows how to win and in my opinion, we don’t need much to get back to winning again.
 

"Our rivals have managed to improve their cars and the way they use the tyres with the new regulations, while we have not progressed as much, compared to last year. We need to keep pushing, but we have the same commitment and work level, it is just the performance that is slightly lacking.”

Barrichello does not share the view that the championship titles are already lost. “I think it is still possible for us to win them,” he insisted. “We have plenty of chance if we start winning soon. I don’t think Renault is as dominant any more and I think McLaren is really on top at the moment. We have to see how it develops, but we must start winning races if we are to have a chance to win the championship. Our job is harder than at any other time in the recent past, but it is possible. There is always a way out of trouble. 2003 was a difficult year but we still won. This year seems even more difficult but we are just keeping on working. If we win it or not, we have to keep working. If we are not champions, but win the last four races that means we have done a good job.”

It is now well documented that the Scuderia’s main problem is a lack of qualifying pace, which is preventing the drivers from fully exploiting its excellent race pace. Barrichello explained there is no instant solution to the problem. “It will not happen overnight. We are working here at Silverstone and at Monza. But I still think we have a chance of winning in Canada. We might just get the right tyre and win the race, it might rain and we might win the race, or we might win the race. I want to win the race! We are tyre testing exhaustively but with more races this year, there is not so much time to develop the car in between the races. It is a difficult situation but we are doing our best to manage it.”

Finally, Barrichello was asked to comment on Kimi Raikkonen’s Nurburgring accident, when his suspension broke, as a result of excessive vibration caused when the Finn flat-spotted a tyre. “There are two ways of looking at it,” reckoned Rubens. “We know that the new tyre rules are the same for everyone and, in my opinion, it is more dangerous because you don’t know if the tyres are going to hang on or not. On the other hand, if I was in Kimi’s position I would have stopped to change the tyre.”