Barrichello hopes for second coming

Barrichello was taken out at the first corner in Australia by Williams-BMW's Ralf Schumacher, and is keen to catch up with his world championship leading team-mate Michael Schumacher.

"Having failed to open my points account in Melbourne, I am regarding the Malaysian GP as a second start to the season," said Barrichello. "Ferrari has won all three grands prix held in Malaysia, which gives us cause for optimism. But I think it is logical to expect the other teams to be more competitive this weekend.

"Even though me and Michael have not returned to Europe after Australia, work has been continuing and while Luca Badoer concentrated on the new car, Luciano Burti has continued to test the F2001, working mainly on tyres. In fact, I called him last week to see how he was getting on, as he celebrated his birthday, driving round the Fiorano test track."

Barrichello cites the Malaysian GP venue as one of his favourites on the F1 calendar.

"I love driving at the Sepang track. From a physical point of view, this is one of the hardest races of the season, because of the high temperatures and humidity, which make it tough. The surface is smooth with a good grip level, even in wet weather, although you have to be careful of aquaplaning. In terms of setting up the car, Sepang is similar to Spa because of the mix of high and low speed turns," he added.