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Rubens Barrichello: "All I want is to carry on racing…"
Rubens Barrichello has responded to doubts about his future at Williams.
The Brazilian is out of contract at the end of this season, and has yet to conclude a deal with his current team. However tonight he used Twitter to deny media suggestions that he intends to retire.
"I saw some news saying that I wanted to stop racing," he wrote. "Makes me laugh really. All I want is to carry on racing.
"Working double hard to have a good car for next year. Problems do exist and we are here to solve them. Williams need me as much as I need them.
"And to be honest I told Williams that if they offered me a two years contract that I would sign right now."
20 responses to "Rubens Barrichello: "All I want is to carry on racing…""
Tough situation for Williams really.
If they can afford to be paying a driver rather than having a driver bring money to the team then they'll likely want to keep him, but can they?
They're currently nowhere in the constructors standings, which will do absolutely nothing to help their fund raising efforts.
How many more chances does this guy get!?Dump him and put the 'Hulk' in the car for 2012.And when you go Rubens take Jarno and Nick with you!lol
U saw the 'HULK' get his oppurtunity against RUBENS, now there is no excuse called "ROOKIE"
1.HAMILTON in 2007 was a rookie
2.KOBAYASHI in 2010 was a rookie
He may not be a world champion but he is still a top driver; better than massa; webber(this season 4 sure);petrov;hiedfeld;schumacher v2.0…., &these are drivers in better teams …………
Proesterchen
So he's gone from "I demand X, Y, and Z, or I wont be driving for your shitty team" to "Please, please, pretty please, let me continue driving" in the matter of weeks.
I guess that's a bit closer to reality, but he would be prudent to plan a farewell party for Abu Dhabi.
F1 is brutal when it comes to anything, and when Rubins was offering the team his managerial abilities earlier this year he should have been dumped then and there.
Lets hope he doesen't let the door hit him in the back on his way out of the track.
4u1e
@Onyx, Proesterchen and Tony: certainly Williams could make no use at all of an 11-time grand prix winner and the most experienced F1 driver in history. I can see why they'd want to ditch him for (yet another) up and coming driver with nothing other than money to add to the design process.
And, although Barrichello outqualified Hulkenburg 13-6 over the 2010 season, finished ahead 9-5 for the races they both finished, and scored 47 points to the Hulk's 22, having a young driver is the really important thing, isn't it?
E.Honda
It was Hulkenburg's first season in F1, and he did outscore Barrichello over the second half of the season.
Outscored him by a massive two points – and that only if you exclude race number 10 of 19 from that half season. If you split the points from the middle race between the two halves of the season, Barrichello still scored more. Would perhaps be fairer to say Hulkenburg matched him in the second half of the season.
Truly great drivers tend to rise to the top very quickly. Schumacher outpaced Piquet from day one, Prost came within a whisker of outscoring John Watson (an experienced race winner) in his first season, and of course Hamilton just edged double world champion Alonso in his first season. Hulkenburg may be more of a slow burner, but I wouldn't get too excited about his future.
Martin,UK
2 young drivers is hardly an ideal situation, especially considering lack of in season testing. You need a development driver, someone who can communicate with the engineers about whats going on with the car, what areas need to be improved and someone as experienced as Rubens has to be of benefit, especially when their car is doing so badly.
Its the same siuation as the Brawn GP year. Bruno Senna was the more promising driver, but they needed an experienced development driver so Rubens got the drive.
The HULK was far more impressive than Rubinho in the second half of the year and will get another F1 drive in 2012.He is a star of the future and to call him a slow burner is ridiculous!Did you see him in A1/GP2?This guy can race and now Schuey is going we will probably see him in a Mercedes or a Force India next year.
PS If Rubens is so good at developing why is the Williams such a dog?!
noahracer
Rubens should bow out gracefully and leave the room for youth. He's had his best shot.
I think the problem is that I always see in F1. Are blinded to continue "using" old glories when they have an enormous reservoir of talented young riders!
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In my opinion, so long as Michael is on the grid Rubens will refuse to retire. He's a good driver who is frustrated with an unsatisfactory situation, but that frustration tends to cause him to say things that he will regret later. So now he finds himself biting his tongue for fear that he has bitten the hand that feeds him once too often. Like every driver, he's free to say what he wants, but the team is also free to say 'your services are no longer required.' Someone with as much experience in Formula One ought to also know that his experience does not innoculate him from being left without gainful employment.
Steve W
Well, if Rubens wants to continue racing, there's always IndyCar…
Right alongside Tony Kanaan.
The Kitchen Cynic
I recall talk of him going to Indycar before….way back in 1993. Christian Fittipaldi got that gig.
jason @ motorsport sensors
Step aside fella! It's youth time!
I'm so goddamn tired of opening your blog to see "Rubens Barrichello" I could just have a shit. Put something, anything new up. This guy is history.
adamcooperf1
Glad to see you are looking regularly but 1) there is nothing happening in the F1 world, 2) everything you read elsewhere ('mr X says his team has to try harder') is based on quotes people gathered weeks ago in Hungary, and 3) I'm entitled to a holiday… Normal service will be resumed shortly