Suzuka - Dream end of the season
For Rubens Barrichello
Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello and his wife Sylvana arrived home in Brazil on
Monday morning after the United States Grand Prix and the following day he was
out relaxing on the golf course. He didn't have an easy time of it however as it
was dry for some holes and raining for others, rather like a practice session at
Spa- Francorchamps! However he was happy to be home and spending some valuable
time with his wife and young son.
“It was good to come
home and see my son,” Rubens said. “Apparently he
watched the last 20 laps of the grand prix on TV, but at one year old, he is
still too young to understand what is going on.”
The Scuderia
Ferrari Marlboro driver was delighted with the result of the US Grand Prix,
where he took the fifth win of his Formula One career in a photo finish,
especially as the Indianapolis weekend got off to a bad start when he crashed
his F2002 into the wall at the last turn during the first day of
practice.
“It was unfortunate I hit the wall after the
tyre lost pressure for some reason. I didn't have time to get scared as it was
such a surprise. It meant that for Saturday morning's session I had to rely
partly on Michael's settings and even for qualifying, I did not find the perfect
balance on the car.
The team decided to put both Michael and Rubens on an aggressive two stop
strategy for the race, but with both Ferraris starting from the front row, it
was deemed the best way to go as temperatures climbed during
Sunday.
“We felt two stops was the right strategy, as
the weather was much hotter on race day and so we did not know exactly what to
expect from the race in terms of tyre wear and performance,” explained
the Brazilian. “It seemed safer to go for two pit stops and it
worked perfectly.”
With nothing planned prior to the start and no
team radio instructions, Rubens was as surprised as anyone when his teammate
slowed at the final corner. Schumacher had dominated the entire weekend, from
Friday's practice sessions to qualifying to the race. He led all the way from
the start until the final seconds when he slowed allowing Rubens to take the
victory.
“I saw Michael going wide round the turn and
then back off,” recalled Barrichello. “At first I
thought he was trying to give me the win, but I wasn't sure so I also slowed
down and then he slowed even more and in my mind that was the final confirmation
he was letting me by. Other people might have been confused but I was delighted
to win the race for myself and for Ferrari.”
This Sunday,
Barrichello will leave home for Tokyo, where he will be making promotional
appearances for Scuderia partners Bridgestone and Shell as well as getting used
to the time difference prior to travelling to Suzuka for the Japanese Grand
Prix. Before then, the Brazilian will keep up his fitness program to be in top
shape for the last of this year's 17 races.
“I'll be
mainly cycling and running, which I enjoy more than the work in the gym, even if
that is an essential part of the program,” he explained. “I've enjoyed the year and I'm looking forward to doing well in
Japan, where we will be hoping to give Bridgestone a good result in their one
hundredth grand prix. But there is also a feeling of being glad this beautiful
season is coming to an end, especially as the journey from Brazil to Japan is
the longest one of the year and it feels as though you spend a week in the plane.