Barrichello: I can win title; FORMULA ONE: McLaren pit-stop error costs Hamilton race.

Byline: Jamie Strickland

RUBENS Barrichello breathed new life into his Formula One title bid with a gritty and deserved victory on the baking streets of Valencia in the European Grand Prix.

The Brawn GP driver produced a superb drive from third on the grid to patiently overhaul the front-row starting McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen to claim his tenth career win - and first for five years.

After passing Kovalainen at the first pit stops, Barrichello dogged Hamilton until the Englishman's second stop on lap 37, when a miscommunication in the McLaren camp saw the Brazilian move into the lead.

Hamilton entered the pit for his stop just at the moment the team sent him a radio message informing him to continue. He arrived at his garage with the team not ready with a new set of tyres.

The wasted seconds were crucial in handing Barrichello a comfortable lead at the front after the second round of pit stops, and the 37-yearold looked untroubled as he ticked off the laps to the flag to claim his first win since the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix.

The Brazilian is now second in the title race, 18 points down on teammate Jenson Button, and insists he can pip the Briton to the drivers' crown come the end of the season.

"It's a great win, and of course it puts us into a better situation in the championship and we just have to keep on working," he said.

"I think it's very, very much possible.

"It's been a weekend that I will never forget, especially because after five years [without winning a race], it's tough.

"Although you are pushing, there are some things that go through your mind - you want to do it for yourself, for your family and for your country."

A great day for Brawn was made better by Button's damage-limiting drive to seventh, ahead of his nearest rival in the drivers' standings heading into this race, Red Bull's Mark Webber, who finished outside the points in ninth. Webber's team-mate Sebastian Vettel retired with a blown engine.

Hamilton, who came home just over two seconds behind Barrichello at the finish, explained the reasons for the pit-lane confusion that seemingly cost him a second win in succession.

He said: "I'd been saving as much fuel as I could to go a little bit longer, and I think I was probably a little unsure as to whether I had enough or I didn't have enough - the worst thing to do is to risk it.

"[The team] called me and I was just on my way in, I'd just gone inside the white line and was committed, and they then told me to do an extra lap.

"I would probably have lost too much time if I tried to continue."

Hamilton added: "We win and lose together. We had a great team effort to get here, so we cannot take second place for granted, or be disappointed that we did not get a win.

"I still believe it was a tremendous effort, and these things happen."

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen produced a solid drive to third place from sixth on the grid while Kovalainen failed to deliver on his front-row start as he came home fourth.

Williams' Nico Rosberg produced a typically consistent drive to fifth ahead of Renault's Fernando Alonso, while BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica took eighth and the final point.

Stand-in Ferrari driver Luca Badoer suffered a spin and a drive-through penalty on his way to a disappointing 17th, two places behind Renault new boy Romain Grosjean.

CAPTION(S):

Euro star: Brawn GP driver Rubens Barrichello celebrates his victory at Valencia.