Rubens Barrichello Q&A

"As a racing driver, I see him as very capable and for sure in the modern era he has all the records which he has set to be beaten. But I will never know if he is the best in the world. I am there and still driving and have a chance to beat him, but it is amazing to see the results he gets. I am not that far away in terms of speed. In terms of results, yes, but if I can start to beat the guy, then I know I will be doing a very good job. In terms of history, for sure I will never know how good Michael is compared to Ayrton Senna or compared to Juan Manuel Fangio. It is very, very hard."



"I never think I cannot win because then it would be time to give up, time to stop. You have two options in life - to wake up happy or to wake up unhappy. I choose the first option. Every year I get more and more motivated and I am happy with my fitness at the moment. I have been training so much. The moment I step in the car it is my life again, I miss it so much. Last year after Austria was so tough for my mind, it was so early in the season to have to ask to let Michael go, but I coped okay. I am ready for anything this year, I just want to drive the car, do the best I can and I am sure I can do it. I'm not saying I am at another level but I have been driving quite well."



"I am not disappointed with my qualifying to be honest. If you ask what is usually one of my strongest areas then I would say it was qualifying. Last year there was a lack of communication in talking to the engineers, or our timing. Something was missing. The car was always in good shape for the races but lacked a little bit of speed for qualifying. Sometimes I ended up with a tremendous amount of understeer which I couldn't sort out and by Sunday morning it was always better. I am so well prepared this year for qualifying. Qualifying is what I love. The speed that you get out of the car is what excites me."



"It is hard because we haven't tried it yet and maybe we should before we say anything. It is very different. We've probably changed more than any of the other teams. The back end of the car is clearly different. It has been fantastic to watch the car growing. I've seen the designs, I've been in the wind-tunnel, I've sat in the car and I've played with the buttons on the wheel."



"If I have to, yes, in a situation where the team thinks that it is okay. But they have said if I was fighting for first position then they would never do it."



"It is a possibility. It is easy for everyone to think okay, the team is so very strong with Michael, Ross [Brawn] and Rory [Byrne] that if they are still together then whatever comes in Rubens' place means we will win both championships. But I feel it is different. I too am a guy that drivers the car and takes care of what is around me. I love to help with the set-up of the car. Testing means not just going around in circles, but in sorting out problems. I have done my bit in the last couple of years in winning the championship - not just by scoring points but also sorting out the car for Michael. So it is a possibility to stay. We are not talking yet and it is too early to say anything. People have already talked a lot about rumours. But I can create a rumour now and it can go on for ages. I hear so many of them in Brazil, it is the way it goes. My father always said when there is smoke there is usually fire, so if someone says a lot then it could be true. But on the other hand in F1 you hear 80 percent rumours and 20 percent truth, especially at the beginning of the year. But I see it as a possibility that I will stay. I think we have had our ups and downs but it is a happy marriage and I like working with them. I think they like working with me and when they ask me about the car there is a good amount of respect."



"We are prepared for anything for the first three races, I guess. We have the 2001 car prepared to race. I've just done a 400km run with the new engine in Mugello and I guess it was quite successful. There is a certain element of risk launching this late because in 15 days between the unveiling and going to Australia we can find problems. But Ferrari has done the same thing the last couple of years. If there has been a problem then it has been curable, so I hope this year is the same. If we decide not to take the risk, then the old car is very quick as well."



"I guess the two McLaren guys and two Williams drivers will be the ones who have the biggest chance to challenge for wins, so it is very open. Ralf [Schumacher] had a very good beginning to last year and [Juan Pablo] Montoya had a very good end to the year. Also [David] Coulthard is also in a stable position to be scoring points and being there for some wins. [Kimi] Raikkonen is very new and we don't know what to expect from him, so it is fairly open. I am sure the show we put up this year will be better than last year."