Barrichello gives Cosworth thumbs-up

Rubens Barrichello has praised Cosworth for producing a strong engine for its first season in Formula 1 since 2006, but says further work is needed to improve its power delivery.The Brazilian veteran was speaking after qualifying 11th for his first race with Williams, the highest of the eight Cosworth-powered drivers.The engine is good, but we need to fine-tune it and improve drivability and the power curve, he told journalists at Sakhir.It's going to be difficult with the [engine development] freeze, but there are many little things you can do.For a first attempt it's a good effort.It's very difficult to compare it to the Mercedes [that powered the Brawn car he drove last year]. It's a different car, the cars are heavier than last year, but I am happy so far with Cosworth's effort and what they are giving me.After losing track time due to problems in the garage on Friday, Barrichello was reasonably satisfied with his midfield grid slot.I think Williams did well today, not as well as any of us would wish, but we have had some minor problems and we lost some running time yesterday.This meant we were playing catch-up this morning.But our general direction is good, we have a good understanding in the garage and we have real belief in the team.So we almost made it to final qualifying I was just a little bit behind Jenson [Button], so it was not so bad.Barrichello hopes that being the highest-placed driver able to choose which tyres to start the race on may prove an advantage.If I had the chance to be seventh or eighth, that's one thing; but if I had the chance to be only 10th, then 11th on new tyres is better, he said.But I won't be looking to start 11th every time, I promise you! I'll be looking for better.Team-mate Nico Hulkenberg reached Q2 in his Formula 1 qualifying debut, but the GP2 champion was underwhelmed with 13th.I had hoped to achieve more in my first qualifying session, but we didn't get the car quite perfect and I didn't manage to put the good lap together, he explained.This combination is very costly as you would expect in Formula 1 and we didn't therefore make it into Q3.It is probably not worth speculating too much on the race tomorrow; the only thing I can say with certainty is that it will be tough for everyone and I believe the key thing will be managing our tyres well.