Brawn GP could be the surprise of 2009 says Barrichello

After a dream debut for the new Brawn GP team and the BGP 001 car, Rubens Barrichello believes that the Brackley-based outfit might be the surprise of the 2009 Formula One World Championship season. Just like his team mate earlier this week, Barrichello was on top of the timesheets yesterday and this with a tremendously fast lap.

Barrichello declared to the official Formula One site about yesterday's test: "I’ve been waiting for such a time to come for such a long time. In a way I have waited for it since I joined Honda, to have a car that can give me that good feeling. The car is what it is, but of course it’s just the beginning - it doesn’t mean that we have won any races. But the team has done a fantastic job on the four days with the amount of mileage that we’ve done. I am happy. I’ve been driving okay and physically I feel fine and honestly, after four months (away), I am surprised that my neck still has contact to my head! I am happy, really happy."

The Brazilian believes that one of the strong points of the car are the aerodynamics. "I think aerodynamically the car is quite strong," Rubens said. "It is a good combination with the engine, in terms of power and drivability. It is running quite well with heavy fuel, low fuel and all sorts of fuel on the car."

Barrichello also speaks highly about the reliability of the car: "I’ve done 111 laps on the first day and another 114 on the second day - all with the same engine. In fact, it’s the same engine that Jenson Button already drove, so everything is quite smooth."

Asked if he can win in Australia, Barrichello said: "I wish, for sure. Every race last year I went in to win. It was a tough time. But now the car is competitive and although the team changed name, we’ve learned a lot from the mistakes we made last year. Now we are a very well prepared group and I wish that will show in results."