You could hear the emotion in Rubens' voice on the slowdown lap. He'd won again, at 37, five years after he'd last stood on the top step of the podium. He'd known he could do it but others had doubted him.
Now he'd proven it.
There were extraordinary scenes in the paddock when he got back to the team. He was hoisted onto the shoulders of the mechanics and bounced from man to man as chants of 'Rubens! Rubens!' rang out.
They covered him in champagne. No doubts about the popularity of this one. As he'd rolled down the pitlane to park up, every team was in the lane to clap him in.