Ferrari hope to end their slump by using their own version of Brawn GP's controversial double diffuser.

Jenson Button leads the championship by 12 points from Brawn GP team-mate Rubens Barrichello going into the Spanish Grand Prix on 10 May.

Much of Brawn's pace has been put down to the double diffuser his team have employed, which was given the all-clear by the FIA earlier this month despite objections from Ferrari, Renault and Red Bull.

A new diffuser is one of a raft of changes planned by Ferrari at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya and team boss Stefano Domenicali said he was hopeful his team would close the gap with it and overcome the lack of grip that has curtailed their year so far.

But following one of their worst-ever starts to a Formula One season - Kimi Raikkonen's sixth place at Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix saw them win their first points of 2009 - Domenicali refused to get too carried away.

"What we'll see in Barcelona is very different from the current car," said Domenicali. "I obviously think it's good or else we wouldn't be doing it.

"But does it mean we can stop Brawn GP? That's the aim but it's been a strange season so far so who knows.

"Our target is to always be the best and, right now, that means beating Button and Brawn GP."

Ferrari and McLaren have dominated the championship in recent seasons but the Woking-based team are fourth and the Italians only have one more point than Force India.

Domenicali admitted his outfit were still off the pace of McLaren, who finished fourth on Sunday through Britain's Lewis Hamilton.

He added: "We made a good step in the right direction in Bahrain but it just wasn't as good as McLaren's. They're clearly a step ahead of us."

Had one of the Ferraris not finished in the points in Bahrain then it would have been their worst start in their championship history and Domenicali's job would almost certainly have been on the line.

But the Italian, who took over the job from Jean Todt last season, admitted he would be under even greater pressure if the changes in Barcelona failed to push Raikkonen (left) and Felipe Massa up the grid.

"At Ferrari, the expectation is always success," he said.

"There's pressure, for sure, but I don't mind about the pressure, I just care about us making a winning car."