Rubens Barrichello Q&A

"It was a risky one, but I had to try it. When I went for Montoya, I got him, but eventually he had a lot more speed on the straight, so I couldn't do much."



"I had to pass them anyway, I had to go for it. They had tyres that in our knowledge, would go faster than us towards the end of the stint. But there was a problem at the pit stop as well. When I engaged first gear the car switched off, so I lost a lot of time during the race. But it's much nicer to fight against Montoya than Ralf. I think Ralf hasn't been honest, so it's just a shame."



"I would say so. I just think he's a bad loser, that's all."



"I was already much more in front by the time he turned in, so I would say he had to respect that. By the time that he saw he couldn't turn, he came off the brakes and went straight. And that's where I thought it was a bit unfair. But in the end he got a penalty, and we both finished fifth and sixth, which is not the greatest thing in the world. But I would rather finish fifth than sixth."



"I was expecting it, yes. For sure he was holding his position."



"Let's put it this way. Even if I hadn't won in Indianapolis, which I think I could have, if I had finished second there I would have been level with David. And then today I would start normal on the safe side to finish in front of him. And on two-stops I would have finished in front of him, no problem. But the fact is that I had to win the race to finish in front. As Ross put it to me, are we here to fight, are we here to win, or are we here just to see who's going to drop off in front of me? No. I've finished five times second this year, and nobody has dropped out of the race. Can you tell me more when I'm going to win a race? I'm a fighter. I think that's the way I like it. In the last three races I've done so many overtaking moves, probably more than any other time in my whole career. I have a good car and I go for it. I think that's the way I'm made up."



"What happened is the car switched off when I engaged first gear. I didn't know what was going on. When I left the pits the speed limiter wasn't on, and I had to press for it. But then it wouldn't disengage, and it wouldn't accelerate. So it took a much longer time."



"Overtaking was good fun. In the end it wasn't the position I would have liked, but I had a good season. I think Michael is doing fantastically well. His lap in qualifying was something else. I don't think anybody on earth would have been faster than him in that car. If I had done the lap I think I could have, I would have been three-tenths off, so I'm not that far behind him. I think I improved so much from year 2000. The rest is to keep determined, thinking I can win. I'm determined really that my time is going to come."



"Michael was going to go flat out. What would have happened was that at the end of the race if I was second and he was first, then probably he would let me by. He was doing his things, and I was doing mine. But with the pace I had, the two new sets of tyres that I had, I think I could have opened a gap on Michael, and probably it would have worked out. Montoya was losing a lot of time after the pit stops, because he had a lot of understeer."