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Silverstone's Q&A with Rubens Barrichello

Posted on Friday 08 Jul 2011

Rubens Barrichello knows Silverstone well, having raced at the track for more than 20 years. Here he gives his thoughts ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix.

Rubens, you won the British Formula 3 Championship in 1991. That means you’ve been coming to Silverstone for a long time…

RB: I have been coming here for a long time and it’s always a pleasure – except for the weather! The layout of the track has changed quite a bit over the years, but it’s still very enjoyable because it’s still a high-speed challenge. You need to be committed and you need your car to work for you. It’s one of the best tracks on the calendar.

What do you think of the new pit and paddock complex?

RB: Silverstone has done a fantastic job. The facilities are amazing now, up to the standards of racetracks in Asia, and they should be very proud. Remember that Silverstone is not a government-funded race; they have had to find the money to build the pits and that’s not easy in the current economic climate.

Will the new position of the start-finish straight affect your approach to the start of the race?

RB: Turn 1 – Abbey – is now going to be flat-out at the start. That means a bad getaway is going to be punished even more than normal because you have a long time until you hit the brakes. On the other hand, if you make a good start you’re going to make a lot of progress. It’s going to be exciting.

How do you think the hot-blown exhaust ban will affect the running order this weekend?

RB: I don’t think it will affect the front of the grid much, but it could help us close the gap to the pack in front because I think those teams have more to lose. We also have lots of new parts on the FW33, so I hope to have a competitive weekend. A good result would be to get into Q3 and finish the race inside the top eight.

This is AT&T Williams’ home race. Have you had a busy build-up to the Grand Prix?

RB: It’s been quite busy, yes. I flew in on Monday because I wanted to be at the factory for the Renault announcement. That’s a big deal for the team and it’s definitely a step in the right direction for next year. I was in the factory again on Tuesday, before heading to London for an event with Randstad at Canary Wharf. Yesterday I had a golf event with our partners, which was fun, and here we are at Silverstone today.

Credit: Williams F1 (www.williamsf1.com)