Brawn: Ferrari well prepared for Imola

The Italian outfit has struggled to return to the top, after a lacklustre season last year and a disappointing start to the 2006 season.

But Brawn believes the team have now solved their problems and will bring to the San Marino Grand Prix a much stronger package.

"Our engine problem should be solved - the new piston design worked to our satisfaction in recent testing," Brawn told Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

"So this means we can use the maximum speed at Imola - In Melbourne, we had to reduce our revs by about 400 rpm to be safe.

"Also, Bridgestone tested a new tyre family - the trend is now towards softer rubber mixture - and we have also made changes on the car. We have a new aerodynamics package, and a revised rear wheel suspension. So we are well prepared."

Asked where he sees Ferrari stand in the pecking order, Brawn said: "The top four teams are very close. Renault have perhaps a small advantage, but it only takes a little more to change the order."

Brawn also dismissed suggestions that his team are lagging behind others who are using two wind tunnels, but he admitted the Italians were no longer ahead of their rivals in the aerodynamics department.

"It would be too simple to pin down Ferrari's problems in 2005 on the number of the wind tunnels we ran," Brawn told the German newspaper. "After all, our system of running with one wind tunnel was also in place in 2004.

"But five years ago, we were miles ahead in aerodynamics. Then we lost Nicholas Tombazis, James Allison and Antonia Terzi to the competition - and they naturally had knowledge of our secrets.

"Then our rivals finally understood on what level we are aerodynamics-wise, and how important it is. That led to our opponents re-adapting their approach and investing more in that direction, which inevitably has, in turn, cancelled our advantage."