It is beginning to get that point of the season where if Rubens Barrichello is going to challenge his Brawn GP teammate Jenson Button for the world championship then he needs to start beating him now.
The Brazilian has been beaten by Button at every one of the seven races so far this season and is now 26 points adrift, and with only 100 points left to race for the clock is beginning to tick down on his chances.
But if Barrichello, 37, is to mount a challenge, this weekend’s British Grand Prix at Silverstone is the ideal venue for him to kick start his bid.
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The pressure and expectation will be on Button to win at his home venue in what is the last staging of the race at Silverstone, but on past performances arguably Barrichello may well start as favourite at the Northamptonshire track.
That is because he absolutely flies at Silverstone and counts it as one of his best-loved tracks.
He will be desperate to bounce back from a disastrous showing in Turkey earlier this month where clutch problems ruined his start and he subsequently tangled with both Heikki Kovalainen and Adrian Sutil before gearbox problems finally put him out of misery 10 laps from the end. The National
Rubens Barrichello will do all he can to wreck team mate Jenson Button’s British Grand Prix homecoming at Silverstone on Sunday.
“I think I will given Jenson a run for his money,” said the Brawn driver, 26 points adrift of the runaway Formula One championship leader, looking forward to one of his favourite tracks.
“At the end of the day, after 17 years, there is no emotional side to this,” added the 37-year-old Brazilian, who has competed in more grands prix than any other driver.
“If I have the chance (to win), I would not think twice. If you ask Jenson, although we get on well, he would say the same thing. He would win in Brazil without thinking twice.”
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The Englishman has never finished higher than fourth in nine appearances at his home race while Barrichello, who made his debut in 1993 with Silverstone-based Jordan, won with Ferrari in 2003.
The Brazilian has finished on the podium a further four times there and twice qualified on pole position.
“He was always extremely strong at Silverstone, I think because of his early career when a lot of time was spent here,” said team boss Ross Brawn, who was with Barrichello at Ferrari as technical director.
“He just seems to fit with the track, he likes the track and it suits his driving style. Guardian.co.uk
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