Rubens Barrichello praises Williams’ new car design
Driving for Williams, Formula One veteran Rubens Barrichello recently praised his team’s new 2011 car. Believing the design approach to be daring and innovative, he said he was looking forward to the upcoming F1 season.
"I feel that the team is doing a good job on what they're doing for next year," he said. "The approach for next year's car seems to be quite aggressive, which is good. I'm up for it, I like it."
The Brazilian, who recently announced that he would stay on with Williams for a second year, was optimistic about his renewed partnership with the team. Although satisfied with the progress, Barrichello acknowledged the organization had a long way to go.
This admission came as little surprise. The team’s consistently lukewarm performance throughout the 2010 season left much to be desired. Slow progress, coupled with a lack of initiative that almost bordered on apathy was responsible for Williams’ sluggishness.
As a result, the team never got to the podium and only came in sixth in the Constructors’ Championship.
Despite this, Barrichello insisted that behind the scenes, his team was making greater strides than the results suggested.
"Even though [Williams] has been very down in terms of results the whole year long, the team conquered a lot and progressed,” he said. “We overperformed in qualifying a little bit on new tyres, but we still had pretty decent races."
Barrichello’s upbeat optimism should not be taken lightly. As the most experienced driver on the grid, the Brazilian has scored the fourth highest points total in F1 history. Given his impressive track record, the incumbent chairman of the Grand Prix drivers’
association doesn’t mince his words. Stopping short of saying that the new car was a huge leap forward, Barrichello mixed his enthusiasm with a dose of tempered sobriety. Although confident that the organization was poised to take ground in 2011, he avoided
any excessive boasting.
"We can never say that [Williams will excel] because if you talked to every team right now they would sell you a winning car for next year,” he confided. "It's a bit on the fantasy side right now. Some [new cars] are going better, some are going even better.
"But ours seems to be going okay. We just need to keep our feet on the ground and work with it."
Barrichello’s candid realism maybe exactly what Williams needs. After all, recognizing a problem is the first step to fixing it.
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