Barrichello Dismisses Reliability Concerns

Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello has claimed the team's F2001 does not have reliability problems, despite his retirement from the Spanish Grand Prix last weekend.

The Brazilian retired with a suspension failure when he was running in third position, while team mate and eventual winner Michael Schumacher was forced to slow down due to a strange vibration on his car. Ferrari's technical director admitted later he had asked the German to slow down fearing he could suffer from the same problem as Barrichello.

However, the Ferrari driver claimed there are no specific problems on the F2001.

"I can't say that everything always works 100%," said Barrichello. "Testing work aims to ensure the maximum level of reliability, but we know that problems can always arise. As for the cause of my retirement in Barcelona, I can say that it was due to a failure we had never seen before.

"It had nothing to do with the failure that Michael suffered in Imola, or what happened to Luca in the January test at the Circuit de Catalunya. There is no specific problem with the suspension."

Barrichello also talked about his future with Ferrari, following rumours indicating he will leave the team at the end of this year.

"At the moment, I have nothing to say about my future," said Barrichello. "I am concentrating totally on the work I am doing with the team. When it will be the right moment, I will think about my future."