Barrichello clocked the third fastest time in Saturday's qualifying

The former Ferrari driver put his poor start to the season behind him to claim third place on the grid for Sunday's San Marino Grand Prix.

"We've had two very good tests to get ready for this race and the team has really been listening to me about what I need for things to improve," he said.

"We are here to win races and we will see if our work pays off."

The 33-year-old Brazilian joined Honda at the end of last season but only claimed his first points of the year with a lucky seventh at the third race in Australia earlier this month.

Imola is not a place I go that well at so I am happy Rubens Barrichello

But as former Ferrari team-mate Michael Schumacher claimed a record 66th pole position on Saturday, Barrichello completed a Honda two-three with Jenson Button in second place.

Barrichello is now looking to translate his qualifying pace into a solid result after finally adapting to his car - he has had particular trouble adapting to its braking and traction control systems as he has a very different driving style from Button.

"The team were able to improve the car to my liking," he added. "There were some problems for me adapting to the car.

"We have had some problems in the early races but Saturday's qualifying shows the amount of effort we have all put into getting the car more to my liking has paid off.

"I'm much happier with the car now. It's not 100% but we're getting there and I think we can have a much better race on Sunday. I'm really looking forward to it.