Formula 1
Barrichello calls for better medical help
Rubens Barrichello is impatient to get back behind the wheel of a Ferrari in testing next week and said he is recovered from his heavy crash at Hungary which left him with only minor back pain. The rear suspension went, causing the wheel to fly off ...
Published: Aug 30, 2003, 8:15 AM
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Rubens Barrichello is impatient to get back behind the wheel of a Ferrari in testing next week and said he is recovered from his heavy crash at Hungary which left him with only minor back pain. The rear suspension went, causing the wheel to fly off and sent Barrichello careering into the tyre barrier at the newly revised turn one. Luckily the Brazilian walked away but he was unhappy about the lack of medical attention he received.
Rubens Barrichello.
Photo by Brousseau Photo.
"I'm fine, apart from a little bit of back pain, which I guess was due to the impact," he said. "Considering the size of the accident, I think that's pretty good, because for a moment during the accident, I thought it could have been a really bad one."
"I was angry that there was nobody there to assist me. In fact, when Firman had his accident the day before, I noticed there was no one there trying to steady his neck, which is normal procedure. I thought I should not get out of the car immediately, because it was a big impact. I was angry, which is why I threw the steering wheel away. No one came up to the car to ask if I was OK."
"We drivers must do something about this. I started checking myself out: my feet were alright and I had no pain in my legs. Then I realised I would have to get out of the car myself, because when I looked behind me, there was a lot of debris from my car and another car could have crashed into me. After that, I had to walk a long way back to the pits and nobody offered to help."
However, Barrichello is now fighting fit and ready to take the wheel again: "The only feeling I have is that I want to get back in the car, and I hope to be doing that on the first day of the Monza test next week. In my mind, I have already pressed the "reset" button. In F1, the only scary thing is when you become a passenger and that was the case in Hungary for a couple of seconds. It was scary then, but the barriers did a good job."
Even if not for the crash, Rubens does not think he could have challenged Hungarian GP winner Fernando Alonso and admitted Ferrari was not terribly competitive in Budapest. He hopes the temperatures in the last races will be better for the team but expects Italy to be tricky as the heat can be akin to Hungary.
"Monza can also be quite hot," he said. "So we will have to make a good tyre choice, find a good set-up and we also expect to have some new parts for the car. Indianapolis and Suzuka might be better for us, as the temperatures are generally cooler there."
Ferrari finds cause of Barrichello crash
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