SPIELBERG (Austria), May 10: Rubens Barrichello celebrated his new Ferrari contract by upstaging team mate and world champion Michael Schumacher in free practice for the Austrian Grand Prix Friday.

The Brazilian, now confirmed at Ferrari to the end of 2004, lapped 0.030 of a second faster than Schumacher as the Italian team began the sixth Formula One weekend of the season in familiar dominant fashion.

Barrichello is looking to end a run of bad luck and finish on Sunday for only the second time this year, and the extended deal with the world champions has undoubtedly boosted his confidence.

He ran Schumacher close in the morning session, skidding off into the gravel at the end, and slashed his time further in the afternoon.

Four-times world champion Schumacher, who has never won in Austria, had no reply and was second best on the timesheets after completing five laps more than the Brazilian.

Ferrari’s dominance — Schumacher has won four of the season’s five races and leads the championship by 21 points from Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya — appeared cast iron in the morning when the Ferrari-engined Saubers clocked the third and fourth fastest times.

But that superiority, something of an illusion anyway at this stage in the weekend with teams running various fuel loads and testing different set-ups, was whittled away by rivals in the afternoon.

Montoya was third quickest in his Williams but, more importantly, his time was only 0.064 off Barrichello’s best and 0.034 slower than Schumacher’s.

McLaren’s Finn Kimi Raikkonen was fourth fastest, with Toyota’s Allan McNish the quickest Briton on the day with the fifth best lap.

The Honda-powered Jordans of Italian Giancarlo Fisichella and Japan’s Takuma Sato, still seeking their first points of the season, looked strong in the first overcast session.

But Fisichella spun off in the second and was beached in the gravel, completing just 26 laps. The Italian ended up 18th of the 22 drivers.

Free practice times:

1. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Ferrari one minute 10.549; 2. Michael Schumacher (Germany) Ferrari 1:10.579; 3. Juan Pablo Montoya (Colombia) Williams 1:10.613; 4. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) McLaren 1:10.657; 5. Allan McNish (Britain) Toyota 1:11.140; 6. Enrique Bernoldi (Brazil) Arrows 1:11.244; 7. Pedro de la Rosa (Spain) Jaguar 1:11.336; 8. Olivier Panis (France) BAR 1:11.382; 9. David Coulthard (Britain) McLaren 1:11.416; 10. Takuma Sato (Japan) Jordan 1:11.537; 11. Eddie Irvine (Britain) Jaguar 1:11.608; 12. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Williams 1:11.652; 13. Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Germany) Arrows 1:11.743; 14. Jenson Button (Britain) Renault 1:11.770; 15. Felipe Massa (Brazil) Sauber 1:12.013; 16. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) Sauber 1:12.023; 17. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Renault 1:12.155; 18. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Jordan 1:12.193; 19. Mika Salo (FInland) Toyota 1:12.375; 20. Alex Yoong (Malaysia) Minardi 1:12.564; 21. Jacques Villeneuve (Canada) BAR 1:12.574; 22. Mark Webber (Australia) Minardi 1:13.219.—Reuters