Brazilian veteran insists he is at the peak of his performance
Last Updated: November 28, 2011 5:14pm
Barrichello: Not ready to finish just yet
Rubens Barrichello faces an anxious few weeks as he looks to extend his Formula One career into what would be a 20th season.
The Brazilian had what was one of the most emotional weekends of his Formula One career at his home grand prix, in which he finished 14th on Sunday.
Barrichello refused to say any goodbyes at Interlagos as he is determined to continue racing, even though his two-year spell with Williams appears at an end.
Having made a record-breaking 322 starts, the 39-year-old has made it clear on numerous occasions he does not want to quit, but it is hard to see where he can go.
Of the seats available, Williams are poised to retain Barrichello's team-mate Pastor Maldonado, due to the considerable sums of sponsorship money he brings in from Venezuelan state-owned gas company PDVSA, with Adrian Sutil switching from Force India.
At Renault, the partnership is due to be Vitaly Petrov, again due to his financial backing, along with Romain Grosjean, with Bruno Senna reverting to reserve.
Toro Rosso, even if they opt not to retain Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi, can rely on the Red Bull young driver academy, with Jean-Eric Vergne waiting in the wings.
Vacancy
It means the only conceivable vacancy is at Hispania Racing where another veteran in Pedro de la Rosa has been signed up for 2012, but with no announcement as yet on a second driver.
Despite that, Barrichello said: "I'm not ready to finish just yet. I am really hopeful."
Barrichello even unveiled a picture of his helmet design for the opening race of next season in Australia drawn by his 10-year-old son Fernando.
"I feel like I am at the peak of my performance, and I get on with the team very much," said Barrichello.
"The only thing lacking now is a more competitive car, which I am pretty sure Williams will have, and I want to drive that car.
"These past few days have been emotional.
"There was a lot of talk about me retiring, being asked whether I am ready to stop and so on.
"Sometimes I am an emotional guy and I'm proud of that, but I try to be as cold as England sometimes.
"If I think of everything I have been through these last 19 years and how much my father has devoted to me for all this time, it's very emotional.
"I knew on my slowing down lap I could have said goodbye to the fans, but I just waved. I know I will be back.
No favours
"There are more options, but the best one is within Williams, and I don't need a big contract.
"I just need something that tells me I am driving next year in a competitive car. I'm not asking for any favours and I don't want to be driving just for the sake of driving.
"I'm almost doing it for nothing already, so the next thing is I will be paying to do it!
"But I deserve the race drive for next year. The team know if anyone can lead, I can do it."
Credit: Sky Sports (www.skysports.com)
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