Barrichello testing Q&A

"I had a month off and now I am doing nine days testing in December, so it's hectic. Jerez last week, now Valencia and then Barcelona next week, they are all about tyres. I am running with basically the car that I ran with in Malaysia, at the last Grand Prix, apart from the aerodynamics which are in 2001 spec."



"No. Traction control and all transmission development is being done at Fiorano, not here."



"If you ask 'do I like it' then no I don't. But at the end of the day if that's the way we are going to bring equality back and similarity between the teams, then obviously that's a good thing. But all in all I don't like the idea of having traction control, especially in the wet. I can perform quite well in the wet, controlling the car with the pedal, and all of a sudden traction control will make somebody who doesn't have that feeling go fast. Traction control will make things easier and that's the sad thing. An average or bad driver will be able to drive the car well."



"We don't know exactly what is going to be introduced next year. I haven't talked with Ross [Brawn, Ferrari's technical director] yet to find out what the reality will be. We are working quite hard on the HANS (Hand and Neck System), which at the moment hurts my shoulders quite a lot, but I am trying to make it work. It makes it more uncomfortable to drive and you cannot turn your head as much. If I was the FIA (motorsports' governing body) I wouldn't have it as compulsory, which at the moment I don't think it is. But with safety you have to have the option and it would be nice to be able to choose whether to use it or not."



"I think it's back to work really, but by being champions the team can work in peace from the Italian Press, from the world basically, but it is back to work. On everyone's faces you can see a smile which before was a worry, but now it's a smile."



"When the season starts I think it will be the same thing again and having won the title won't make that much difference, but in the middle of the mess if we are in trouble, we can always remember this year. We are going to be the people to beat, which is always a good feeling."



"I don't know. I'm a happy person at Ferrari. My contract finishes at the end of 2001 with an option for 2002. We are not talking yet, but we had a wonderful season together and they said that I have done more than they expected of me. I feel like Michael [Schumacher] is the present and I am the future."



"I think it's good. If you have talent then it doesn't matter what age you are. The consequences of him making a mistake in Formula 1, rather than the racing that he has done in the past, are bigger. I was 20 when I started, but I had done Formula Opel, F3 and F3000, so I had three years of Formulae and three years of chances to make mistakes out of the spotlight. When you're young you make mistakes and in F1 everyone is watching. If he is aware of that and he doesn't put pressure on himself then he'll probably do well because he really seems like he has the talent."



"It was good to see him running in Jerez. It's difficult to know what set-up he was using on the car, but in the dry he was a little bit slower than Ralf [Schumacher] and in the wet he was faster. Car control is definitely not going to be a problem for him at all. We will have to see how he does in the wet, dry and medium. The pressure shouldn't be a problem for him, he doesn't pay too much attention to that. He just enjoys driving. I don't think he's going to have too many problems."