Posted on Friday 14 Oct 2011
Rubens Barrichello finished in the points at last year’s inaugural Korean Grand Prix. He’ll use that experience to drive the team forward at this weekend’s race in Yeongam. We talked to Rubens ahead of Friday’s practice sessions.
Q. What are your hopes ahead of this weekend’s Korean Grand Prix?
RB: Every race gives you a fresh opportunity, so I look forward to seeing what we can achieve here. The circuit at Yeongam doesn’t get used much – I think there’s been just one F3 race since last year’s Grand Prix – and it’s very dirty and slippery. We were pretty good on dirty tracks last year.
Q. Does going back to a circuit for the second time make a difference?
RB: We’re still getting to know this track. The race was wet last year and it’s during races that you really get to know a place. We have lots of data for what looks like wet practice sessions on Friday, but when it dries out on Saturday and Sunday we’ll have more learning to do. And the tyres are different this year as well.
Q. Do you like the layout of circuit at Yeongam?
RB: Yes, it’s a good layout. It’s quite technical; it’s quite challenging for the drivers and it’s possible to overtake, particularly with the DRS zone this year.
Q. Have the organisers changed the track much since last year?
RB: They’ve done a bit of work on the kerbing and they’ve moved the barrier at the pitlane entrance back. But if it rains, the mud on the side of the track will still run onto the asphalt.
Q. Are you expecting the FW33 to be competitive at Yeongam?
RB: If we have a trouble-free weekend and can extract the maximum from the car, I hope we can fight for points. The car isn’t where we want it to be, but there are ways of massaging it and improving it a bit, but the important thing now isn’t to improve this year’s car; it’s to understand its problems and ensure they’re not carried onto next year’s car.
Q. What have you done since Suzuka?
RB: I’ve been in Tokyo, where I played some golf – there’s quite a good course at Narita – and I went shopping and bought some stuff for the kids. I met most of the drivers in the gym, so it’s been a typical few days when you have back-to-back races. It’s been nice.
Q. Do you feel you’re driving as well as ever?
RB: I thought my qualifying lap at Suzuka was one of my greatest in 19 years of F1. It was only good enough for 13th place, but I had to dig deep to get that time because I lost the new rear wing when I crashed on Friday, which left me with an older rear wing for the rest of the weekend. It was much slower in a straight line, so I really had to put in a magic lap.
Credit: at&t Williams F1 (www.williamsf1.com)
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