Rubens Barrichello is in celebratory mood this week. First, he secured a strong second place finish behind his team-mate Michael Schumacher in Spain and second, he asked to delay his testing duties until Thursday, so he could be at home to celebrate his wife Sylvana’s birthday.

The Spanish GP proved the versatility of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro that managed to finish first and second using two different race strategies.

'It was a tough job,' says Barrichello looking back. 'I think after qualifying, people might have guessed I had a heavier fuel load than Michael, but not to the extent of only making two pit stops, given that I still qualified fifth.'

Indeed, the difference in fuel load was quite substantial, given that Rubens was able to make his first refuelling halt seven laps later than Michael. 'It was a good lap, even though the car was heavier than I had ever run it in testing at that track. It was a late decision because the team felt it was difficult to put two cars on an optimum strategy, especially as there was more than one other team going very quickly. If you did not get pole and get away ahead of the field, you could be in trouble, just like I was in Imola, when I got stuck in traffic behind slower cars.

'All weekend I was a couple of tenths behind Michael and although I thought I might have had a chance to take pole, I decided to go for something different and the team gave me that option. From the tyre point of view, it was straightforward as I made the same choice as Michael.

A misunderstanding at his final pit stop cost Barrichello a couple of seconds, but the Brazilian is quick to point out it was not a factor in the final result. 'As for the pit stop problem, all I can say is that I would have finished closer to Michael, but I would not have won,' he maintains. 'I had two chances of winning: the first if Trulli had managed to keep his lead after he and Michael made their first stops and then, after Michael came back on track after his second stop, I was just a second behind, so that was the closest I came. Barcelona overall was a good weekend, during which I managed to find good set-ups for the car and worked well with the team and the car worked perfectly.'

Now Barrichello has one day testing at Mugello followed by another at Fiorano. 'We look good in the championships, but we cannot discount the opposition, so the testing goes on,' warns the Ferrari man. 'As for the opposition, we should remember that last year, Williams did not really get on the pace until they won in Monaco, so we should definitely not discount them and now it is clear that, in terms of pure speed, BAR are the closest to us, with Williams and Renault not too far behind.'