Barrichello: Honda's inexperience hurt

The Brazilian struggled in the first few races of the year trying to adapt to the braking characteristics and traction control at Honda, which were different to what he had been used to during his time at Ferrari.

And although modifications to the systems eventually allowed Barrichello to get on top of the issues, and start matching the pace of teammate Jenson Button, he believes that the situation could have been sorted earlier if the team had listened to his complaints in pre-season testing.

"There is a time when you have to get used to things," he said during a pre-race press conference at the Monaco Grand Prix. "It is not just jumping from one car to another.

"The car had, predominantly, the brakes and the traction control working the same - and you have difference in balance, in the way that you drive the car and the position and everything - but it was completely different on the brake system. I attack the brakes harder than Jenson and I wasn't feeling the bite of the brakes.

"To be honest, it was a bit of a lack of experience within the team. In testing, I kept on saying 'the brakes, the brakes, the brakes' and they said 'ok, for the race, we are going to have new items and everything is going to be good' and, when the race came, everything was the same.

"That is why I took so long and, after two or three races, when we tested new components, we actually found something; and then I improved that.

"I got used to the car up to a point, but I told them that if the car didn't come my way I was only going to be driving behind Jenson because I had to learn how he was driving the car. So, I am sure that, with the things I have been developing, it will help him eventually win a race as well. So, it is a mountain that we are both climbing."

Barrichello remains upbeat about the team's chances for Monaco this weekend, where the RA106's good pace over single laps could pay dividends.

"Honda is working very hard and we have been testing new items every time we go to the track and we know the car is fast everywhere we go and we know we have to keep the pace for the race, but I am feeling very good and this is one of the places where I think we can perform very well and in the team everything is running very smoothly."