Barrichello: Raikkonen will adapt quickly

Barrichello, who joined the Japanese squad in 2006 after six seasons with Ferrari, believes the Finn will find the Ferrari cars highly adaptable and will get to speed quickly because of that.

"I think the Ferrari car is an easy car to adapt to," Barrichello said at Barcelona today, during the launch of the RA107.

"When I joined the team in 2000, the car was extremely easy to drive, and although there have been many changes - they have no Michael (Schumacher) there, no Ross (Brawn) - a good driver will adapt quite well."

But the Brazilian admitted this wasn't quite the case at Honda, where he struggled last year to get to grips with the new team and his new machinery.

"I stayed three months out of the car (in 2005) and then jumped right into a car that was difficult for me to drive with the brakes and the traction control," he explained.

"So I spent all of last year trying to work on that situation and trying to get to the point that we did improve it to my liking.

"For many small reasons I wasn't performing very well last year. In the races I just struggled with small things, but that has improved, and that's something I'm really proud of."

Barrichello added that the new RA107, which he drove for the first time yesterday, is much more suitable for his style, and the fact that he has now spent a year at Honda also offers him a better starting point for the season.

"This car is a lot calmer to me, I'm just getting down to business and driving the car as quick as I can," he said.

"I feel the spirit of the team. Now I know all the names, I know the buttons on the steering wheel. I am part of the team, part of the family. I'm feeling very good."