Barrichello still dreaming of F1 title

BRACKLEY, England: Brazilian Rubens Barrichello is still dreaming of becoming Formula One world champion, even after a season in which he failed to score a point with Honda.

This year promises to be a landmark one for the 35-year-old, who is looking forward to chalking up a record 257th Grand Prix start.

Exactly when he will overtake Italian Riccardo Patrese - who started 256 races between 1977 and 1993 - remains open to debate.

While Honda credits Barrichello with 249 starts, others put the tally at 250 and the driver has been present at 253 race weekends since his first appearance in 1993.

"As a boy, when I looked over the wall at Interlagos to look at Formula One, I always wanted to be there and to be a race winner," the Sao Paulo driver told reporters at the launch of the new Honda RA108 on Tuesday.

"I never thought I was going to be the longest driver in F1 history.

"It's something that I am proud of but I still have a dream and I think I can fulfil that," he added, confirming he was referring to the title. "I think this year can be very positive. I am feeling very, very good."

Nobody is expecting Honda to win races this year, with Ferrari and McLaren still on a different level. But the arrival of former Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn as team boss has provided a major boost.

Something magic

The Brazilian, who won nine races under Brawn at Ferrari, said he felt more positive than ever.

"Strangely, I am only getting to know how good I am right now," he said.

Barrichello said he had lacked until recently the self-belief that sets apart drivers like Michael Schumacher and McLaren's Lewis Hamilton.

"I said (to myself) 'Yes, I really want to be world champion', and I'll work for that. But on the other hand, I have a lovely family and if I never achieve that title I have two kids," he recalled.

"But then I thought 'wait a moment, you can have both.' And that's when I started to get real about my dreams.

"I never thought I could have both. And I'm not doing anything different. It's just that something magic occurred to me," said the Brazilian. "I think Michael knew since the very beginning, and probably Lewis already knows.

"I have been very proud of my racing, proud of my race wins ... I know I am good. But to make it to the next level, you really need to love yourself."

Barrichello, whose contract expires at the end of this year, saw no reason why the team could not aspire to future domination just as Ferrari did with Brawn and Schumacher.

"I think it is very much achievable because the main problem in some of the teams is financial. Right here, we don't have that and I think we have good engineers and good everything," he said.

Barrichello saw no reason why he could not continue next year, when Honda hopes to be far more competitive, but said the decision would be his to take.

"I am probably going to stop before people tell me to stop," he said.

Agencies

(China Daily 01/31/2008 page22)