Rubens comes back home for the weekend - 8th July 19:43pm GMT

As the wind blew and rain clouds threatened, it was against this typical Silverstone backdrop that Rubens Barrichello faced the press at the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro motorhome this afternoon. The media immediately wanted to know if the Brazilian could repeat his performance from last year, when he won the British GP. "I hope so as I really love this place and I am always strong here," he said. "Ever since I joined Ferrari, I have always been in the hunt for pole position and gone well, apart from in 2001. I have done a lot of laps here, dating back to the time I lived in England and raced in Formula 3."

Barrichello went on to explain there was further cause for optimism regarding this weekend. "I had a very good test here a month ago and we made big progress," he claimed. "We were on the ball then and I hope we keep it rolling this weekend." Asked to sum up his season so far, the Ferrari man repliedç "I am happy, but not satisfied, as I feel I could have won two races or maybe even more. But I have to be happy, because I already have more points than last year. This year's F2004 is fantastic. It has a smaller "window" to make set-up changes, but it is a faster car than last year's."

The weather is always unpredictable at this venue, but it holds no fears for Barrichello. "I am used to changing conditions here and I like driving in the rain, as long as it is not so bad that it affect visibility. Sliding the car and working with less grip is fun."