Rubens Barrichello: Dismayed To See Ferrari at It Again
Rubens Barrichello expressed disbelief at his former team Ferrari’s antics at last weekends German Grand Prix. The Brazilian who spent years playing the second fiddle to Michael Schumacher during his time at Ferrari never imagined the Scuderia would resort to team orders strategy after the episode at Austria in 2002 when Barrichello was ordered to relinquish the win to the Italian side’s number-one driver Schumacher. Now driving for Williams, Barrichello said that despite years and years of experience in Formula One, he was still taken by surprise every now and then. The South American professed he had felt that changes within the Ferrari top management over the last couple of years would have meant that the Italian side’s traditional team tactics had been scrapped in favour of a more impartial treatment of race drivers.
One of the most experienced guys on the grid today, Barrichello admitted that thoughts of retirement did cross his mind now and then but he would only hang his gloves to a winning farewell. True, he conceded, the 2010 Williams machine was not race winning property, but Barrichello hoped he would add another trophy to his silverware cabinet before finally saying goodbye to Formula One circuits for good.
The Brazilian said that team Williams had been heartened by the rejuvenation in fortunes at the Valencia and Silverstone events before which the team had been struggling to clinch any meaningful points. Although Williams faced another bout of points-drought at the German Grand Prix, Barrichello was quick to emphasize the positives of the Hockenheim campaign, saying the outcome had not been as bad as it appeared on the surface.
It was just that Williams had a less than perfect start, which ultimately culminated in zero points from an otherwise positive run. Although Barrichello would not attribute the unfortunate Hockenheim result down to bad luck, the Brazilian said that his side’s unfortunate start was to blame. Barrichello further asserted that his team were in high spirits and very positive about the progress made in the season so far.
Elaborating on the team orders saga at the German Grand Prix, Barrichello said he had thought matters at the Scuderia headquarters had taken a turn for greater parity after the older crop of top Ferrari personnel had retired to pave the way for a fresh management strategy. The Brazilian said that his immediate reaction to the incident had been one of great dismay and frustration.
Barrichello vented that he was at a loss to understand why his former team had to resort to such controversial and rather disgraceful measures and was relieved that he did not have to face such unsavory situations at Williams. The Brazilian said that he was aggrieved to see fellow countryman and close friend Felipe Massa putting up with the agonizing situation of being a number-two driver. Barrichello said he had had a chat with Massa following last weekend’s incidents, and told his compatriot how to handle such matters in the future.
When asked how it felt to have experienced so many changes in regulations and the nature of Formula One racing over the past two decades, Barrichello replied by saying that F1 racing today was as entertaining as it been years ago. Although he disliked some of the rule changes that had been wrought, others had been quite positive for the sport in the Brazilians opinion. The late legendary Ayrton Senna’s protégé revealed that he felt privileged to have been around for so long, and that it was no feat to have displayed the level of mental toughness and maturity that had guaranteed his survival among the top echelons of Formula One for so long.
Barrichello declared himself to be a cool-minded guy who always strove to tackle crisis rationally. The Brazilian, known never to be too bitter in his criticism of team management even in face of situations where he could be expected to have a rightful tantrum, said it was not his style to aggravate matters that could be dealt with in a mature, grownup manner.
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