Q & A with Rubens Barrichello

Rubens Barrichello: Fairly normal. Nothing much different. I stayed home, which was great - and is always great. You guys [the media] leave and I stay at home. It was really good to stay there. I was just getting ready for what could be a very hot race. Brazil got hot again as soon as you guys left, so it was a really good week.

Q. Is there any more news on your future, and how the negotiations are going?

RB: No. It is getting pretty close. But nothing yet to announce or to say. But it is getting close - maybe as far as a week. But nothing yet to report.

Q. So do you and the team want to wait until after the season before announcing it?

RB: It has been a very good season where we have concentrated on the races the best we could. It is better to wait a little bit more before I announce where I am going to be in the future.

Q. What do you want for your future?

RB: I want to win. I have a lot of passion for the speed. I have a lot of passion for the overtaking, and for the things that pump me up - the challenge of winning. That is what I want. The three years I had at Honda were very, very difficult, but you motivate yourself and you go for it. I am very hopeful of having a very competitive car next year, so that is what I want from myself. I want to go on and keep on winning.

Q. Is there a chance of you staying at Brawn?

RB: There is. There is always a good chance to announce myself here as well.

Q. But Williams seems to be the main team you are linked with, and some say the deal is done?

RB: Well, Williams has always been a team that anyone would have a look at. That is no different right now. Everyone would look at a position at Williams, because it is one of the best teams out there - and it is on the way up. So I am definitely looking at that.

Q. So are you waiting for Brawn to make its mind up?

RB: No, I'm waiting for the season to end and just to come out and tell you everything I have to say. Right now, I'm not waiting for Jenson to do this, or some others to do that. My mind is pretty well fixed, but it is not the right time to talk about that right now.

Q. What are your first impressions of the Abu Dhabi track?

RB: Lovely. Apart from the exit of the pit-lane and the tunnel, which I think will be the complaint from the drivers all weekend, the track seems to be really well done. It is very, very smooth. My impressions are great and coming from Sao Paulo, which I find a great racing track but with the facilities not being fantastic, here you have enough space to bring the whole Barrichello family - all of them. It is amazing how they have put a really nice show together.

Q. Why is the exit of the pitlane so difficult?

RB: Well, because you don't have any run-off. And somebody crashes there, it is going to be definitely a red flag. I think they tried to make it look amazing, and it does look fantastic, but that I don't think worked. Next year we are going to have to try and do something different.

Q. This place has a lot of off-camber corners. Are they a worry or is it something you deal with?

RB: Well, it is something that we are going to have to learn ourselves - how the track grips and how the asphalt gives you grip. On camber or off cambers, it depends on how much grip you have. It is fantastic the way they have done things. It is a bit too slow in some areas, but the interesting thing for me is that you cannot run too much downforce because it is a very long straight - 1.2 kilometres, and with that the cars will be difficult to drive in the other areas.

Q. You are currently third in the drivers' championship but you could finish second. Is that your motivation this weekend?

RB: I am motivated to win the race. If that is good enough to put me up in the championship, then I hope so. But the reason to come here, and keep it on, is definitely to win the race.

Q. How much do you want the second place in the championship?

RB: You want first desperately, and then you don't get it - and ask if second is important? Second is better than third, so you have to go for it. I am up for the fight, and all I can do is win the race, finish in front of Sebastian and see where I finish.