Barrichello bolsters Ferrari title bid

The Brazilian recorded his second runners-up result in succession as he followed team leader Michael Schumacher across the finish line, just 0.1s behind.

Barrichello started third and kept his head in the chaos and the rain to help give Ferrari their second 1-2 of the season.

But the race did not start well for Barrichello when Jacques Villeneuve leapt from the row behind him to snatch third.

"I'm not here to let anyone by," insisted Barrichello. "My start wasn't bad at all and I was surprised he managed to get the jump on me."

"Jacques got a run on me and came past on the outside. It was better it was Jacques rather than Mika because I knew I could catch him later.

"But I only managed to get by him later when it rained."

Barrichello revealed he had been asked to ease off by the team towards the finish.

"They asked me to slow which I did then the came on the radio again and I said 'I am' but I couldn't go too slow because I had clutch problems."

And he also faced problems with pit stop strategy.

Confusion in Nurburgring cost him a crack at victory because he did not get the order to come in until he was past the pit entrance.

In Montreal he forced the team's hand but insisting on a stop rather than lose time circling on dry tyres on a wet track.

"There was silence on the radio for half a lap when I asked to come in and in the end I said 'I've got to come in'. They said 'okay but Michael's in'.

"It was better to come in even if it only rained for five laps because that would mean I would make a second a lap."