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MADRID : Veteran Brazilian driver Rubens Barrichello believes his new team Brawn GP can win the opening race of the F1 season in Melbourne, Australia on March 29.
"It's a very solid car, a brand new machine, with a very reliable and powerful Mercedes engine, so it's not crazy (to think of victory)", Barrichello said in an interview published by the Spanish daily Marca on Sunday.
The 36-year-old, who won nine grands prix with Ferrari, says that his ambition has been reignited by the emergence of Brawn GP from the ashes of the Honda team.
"I've been waiting a long time to find a team that can give me the same set-up as Ferrari (who he left in 2005), but without having to drive for (former Ferrari team-mate Michael) Schumacher," he said.
According to Barrichello, the new rules introduced to F1 this year will make the 2009 championship very open, but he thinks the McLaren team of British world champion Lewis Hamilton may take "three or four races" to reach its top level.
Barrichello also assured that his new car was "definitely legal", after questions were raised about the car's aerodynamic set-up following some eye-catching times in the recent testing sessions in Spain.
"It's a different way of interpreting the rules, but we've made sure to respect the rules," he said.
Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota are all using new rear diffusers whose legality has been queried by Renault managing director Flavio Briatore.
- AFP /ls
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