Barrichello Upbeat for San Marino GP

Barrichello struggled at the sweltering heat of Malaysia and Bahrain, retiring from the first race because his car was undriveable and finishing in ninth position in the second after suffering a similar problem with his Bridgestone tyres.

Ferrari have been working hard this week, testing at two different circuits, in order to correct the problems with their new F2005 car.

When asked if Ferrari had solved their tyre issues, Barrichello said: "Definitely for Imola, because we'll have much cooler weather conditions compared to the last Grands Prix.

"At Imola the behaviour of the tyres would have been different even if we hadn't done anything, but nevertheless we've been doing plenty of work with two cars on two different tracks.

"Here I'm testing compounds while Michael test the constructions. We haven't yet put together all the data we've gathered, but we've found some very good things which will bring positive results, for Imola and beyond," the Brazilian told Gazzetta dello Sport.

"I don't think we've ever had  problems with some specific part, it was rather a case of this car being ready a bit late, and we just needed to get to know it better.

"Now we have, we've found a better reliability in general and I think that from now on we'll have everything to get to the end of the Grands Prix. So we're very confident for the race in Imola."

Gazzetta dello Sport reports Barrichello, testing at Mugello yesterday, had an electrical problem late in the afternoon, while teammate Michael Schumacher ended his Fiorano test early with a hydraulic problem.

Ferrari continue testing today at both tracks.