Barrichello happy with ‘friendly’ car

It is the fifth time he has started in the top six on the grid in six attempts this season.

The Brazilian's performance delighted Jackie Stewart just a day after the former world champion celebrated both his 60th birthday and the sale of his three-year-old team for a reputed £100 million.

Barrichello is confident for the race when he will attempt to improve on his eighth place in the championship.

'The prospects are very good. I like this circuit and we have done well here in the past. We still have a slight worry for the race with brake cooling on a heavy fuel load, but every other team will have the same problem.

'We changed the set-up between practice and qualifying which enabled the car to handle the kerbs much better. It made the car friendlier to drive and faster. I was very happy with my fastest lap but I reckon I could have gone even faster because I was following Irvine's Ferrari but we were slowed by the yellow flag on our flying laps.'

Team-mate Johnny Herbert equalled his best qualifying performance with 10th place and was poleased with his performance, hoping that his miserable race record will end tomorrow. The British driver has yet to finish a grand prix for his new team.

'I'm definitely getting there,' he said. 'I feel like it's going to click into place for me soon. The race will be tight as we are all on the same tyres and probably the same strategy so the start will be crucial, but I am confident of a good finish.'