Rubens: More to come from F2003-GA

The Brazilian is in confident mood heading into this weekend's European Grand Prix, especially because he won last year's event at the Nurburgring circuit, beating world champion team-mate Michael Schumacher on the German's home ground.

Ferrari conducted a large testing programme at Silverstone last week, which has given Barrichello a boost for the rest of the season. "I had three fantastic days of testing and we got through a big programme," he said. "I was very happy with what I accomplished in England.

"The F2003-GA is still very new for us and there is a lot more potential to be taken from it, which is a good reason to look forward to the second half of the year."

Barrichello beat team-mate Schumacher in a straight fight at the Nurburgring last year, although there were some accusations that the German didn't push that hard because of the sheer dominance of the team. However, the memories of the win have raised the Brazilian's confidence heading into the race.

"Last year what made my race was my first lap, which I ended up leading," he said. "Qualifying had not been so good, but that first lap was phenomenal and got me the lead. I remember it was an interesting race tactically, as I had some blisters on my tyres. So when Michael dropped back, I was able to conserve my tyres and push again when he got closer.

"So going back there is a great feeling. I have always gone well in Germany, which is another reason to be optimistic."