Barrichello: I Won't Try to Beat Schumacher

Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello will not make the mistake of trying to beat teammate Michael Schumacher this season.

"If I made a mistake last year it was this -- at the start of the year I was very concerned about beating Michael," the Brazilian told reporters at a Ferrari media day in the Dolomite ski resort of Madonna di Campiglio on Wednesday.

"I only realized later that wasn't the best thing to do, either for me or the team.

"When, after Monaco, I stopped trying to beat him, things were better both for me and Ferrari.

"From that point of view Monte Carlo was a decisive Grand Prix for me."

Barrichello arrived at world champions Ferrari at the start of last season saying he did not regard himself as subordinate to Schumacher.

But the German won four of the first six races of the season before finally coming unstuck at Monte Carlo in the seventh round of the championship when he retired with a left-rear suspension failure.

Barrichello came second behind McLaren's David Coulthard.

Schumacher went on to give Ferrari their first drivers' title in 21 years -- and the third of his career after two with Benetton -- and Barrichello finished fourth.

The Brazilian acknowledged his desire to beat Schumacher had created unrest in the team but said things would be different when this season started on March 4.

But he refused to set himself targets.

"At (the German Grand Prix at) Hockenheim last year I felt confident on Saturday morning before qualifying practice and by Saturday evening I was 18th," Barrichello said.

"On Sunday morning I had no real feeling for the race and by Sunday night I had won it.

"That taught me an important lesson -- don't set targets for yourself. Work to your best and the results will come."

Barrichello won at Hockenheim after Schumacher went out at the first corner for the second race in a row, colliding with the Benetton of Italian Giancarlo Fisichella.

The win was the first of Barrichello's career.

As well as making him the first Brazilian to win a race since the late Ayrton Senna in 1993, it came after he had made a record 124 starts without a victory.