Brawn: Barrichello will bounce back

Barrichello, who drove at Ferrari from 2000 to 2005 as Michael Schumacher's teammate, failed to match Button's qualifying or race pace in the first three races of this year, although he did qualify only 0.25s behind Button at the San Marino GP.

He has complained of finding difficulty in adjusting to the traction control and braking systems of the Honda RA106 and said improvements for Imola had boosted his qualifying performance.  

Brawn said the continued process of driver and team adapting to each other would bring dividends.

"He's a fast driver, a quick driver and we know that," Brawn said in an interview in this week's Autosport magazine. "There are some elements of his style of driving which he has got to find solutions to.

"He brakes with his right foot, and he likes a certain style of car, but I think he's just got to work with the team to resolve those problems. He's had one of the most difficult jobs in motor racing for the past six years, so this is only a hiccup. He'll come out of it."

Brawn added that Barrichello, who has a three-year deal at Honda worth $10m per season, would be putting himself under enormous pressure to improve: "It will be hurting him a lot, that he hasn't managed to compete so far.

"No-one can be happy about the relative performance of Honda's two drivers, but I don't believe Jenson is that much quicker."

Anthony Rowlinson's in-depth interview with Ross Brawn appears in this week's issue of Autosport magazine.