Speed will decide title, says Barrichello

The Brawn GP driver could see Button clinch the title in this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix if he drops five points to him - but it is a situation that brings Barrichello no concerns.

For although he acknowledges that being the most experienced driver in F1 brings him some advantage, he thinks his continued ability to perform at his peak will now prove vital.

"You cannot have experience without speed," said Barrichello. "Experience will count at some point during the weekend and during the race, but speed is the main factor for now. You put the car on pole, it is not experience."

Barrichello is loving the fact that he has turned around his season - and believes the fact he recovered from a difficult start to the campaign shows he has the will to take the fight all the way to the end.

"Every season is a different season," he said. "I give myself a chance to get better as a driver and I really did. When you remember the reasons why you are here, doing it is fantastic.

"If you feel the pressure, then you forget why you are here. It is when the pressure comes up you get tense, and you don't do well.

"I've been really good on that front because at the beginning of the season, if you remember, I was outpaced by Jenson quite a lot. Technically I had a problem because I wasn't happy with the brakes - and when I was happy, the car wasn't because I could not run the real wheel covers and he could. I had a deficit there.

"I kept on pressing, though, and my teams of engineers helped me overcome the problem. I have a 15-point deficit and I have to go and fight for them, but the whole season has been about that."

Barrichello admits that the downpour that washed out Friday practice at Suzuka has made the form book more uncertain for the rest of the weekend, but he is not too upset about the challenges that this brings.

"It is a bit of a lottery when those things happen, so I don't pretend to think it is better for me, or worse. When you have a clear chance of going out and finding the car and seeing if you are happy or not happy, you see if you have a better way of understanding things.

"It throws things up in the air a little bit, which I just like. It is not that it is going to be better or worse, I just like it."

Barrichello is buoyed by the fact that he is a former winner at Japan, having triumphed in 2003 - even though he has not finished a race at the track since then.

"Coming here fighting for the championship, you have to give your best," he said. "You don't actually remember what you did do or you didn't do, in fact you just have to remember the good things from the past, which is a win, and then just go. I am so happy to be back to Suzuka."