Formula 1
Barrichello expects a real test in Malaysia
Rubens Barrichello started his 2005 season in fine style with a confident drive from 11th on the grid to second in Melbourne, but he feels there are a lot of question marks over the forthcoming Malaysian Grand Prix. The same set of tyres for ...
Edited: Mar 17, 2005, 12:24 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Rubens Barrichello started his 2005 season in fine style with a confident drive from 11th on the grid to second in Melbourne, but he feels there are a lot of question marks over the forthcoming Malaysian Grand Prix. The same set of tyres for qualifying and the race and the two-race engine will have to stand up to Malaysian heat, making it something of a trip into the unknown.
Rubens Barrichello.
Photo by xpb.cc.
Despite a wet qualifying on Saturday at Albert Park and a brake problem on Sunday, Barrichello was very happy with his result in Australia. "I enjoyed the Australian weekend immensely," he said. "Before going there, we knew our old car was still competitive, but not to the level of last year, especially as Renault and McLaren had made a big improvement."
"We always go well in Australia, so I was confident, but then the rain in first qualifying put everything up in the air. Apart from the brake problems, I had a great race, pushing from start to finish with the tyres lasting very well and I managed my brake balance problem perfectly."
One thing Barrichello found strange was the way the timing was displayed in the new qualifying format. After Sunday's session, only the aggregate time from both sessions was shown on the timing screen, rather than the individual lap. "I'd prepared myself for the new format of the weekend, but some things still caught me out," the Brazilian said.
"In second qualifying for example, I was expecting to see my actual lap time, followed later by the aggregate time and the position. Starting from my Friday time, I found it unusual even though I could see the minus and plus to other people's laps."
Michael Schumacher failed to finish in Melbourne after an incident with Williams' Nick Heidfeld but although Barrichello currently has the advantage over his teammate, it's not something he finds significant. "I've been working hard to be a title contender all the time and I don't think in terms of just beating Michael," he remarked.
"I have all the ingredients I need to be successful. All I take from Australia is that starting eleventh and finishing second was a great result, especially as picking up points while we are still running the old car is very important."
As for Malaysia, Barrichello expects a tougher challenge. "In a way, people are having to work for two races at a time, rather than working on the limit for one, so in Sepang we will see how the cars really perform. This is the real test. I have a certain mileage on my engine and I will have to look after it. It is an unknown for us. Is the car tough enough to keep on going? Will I have to pace myself?"
"There are a lot of question marks, but I will be out to enjoy the experience: tyres, drivers and engines must all last to the very final corner. Michael has less mileage on his engine so he will probably be able to run more laps in free practice. But we operate as a team at Ferrari and so that will be good for me too."
"Over the course of the year, managing the situation if me and Michael end up out of synchronisation in terms of whether we are doing our first or second race with the same engine will be an interesting situation. I don't know if that will arise with us too often, given our good reliability record. But it is a probability."
The Brazilian did not return to Europe for testing prior to Malaysia, as Ferrari's two test drivers Luca Badoer and Marc Gen? carried out development work. Once Sepang is over, Barrichello is keen to try out the F2005. "After Malaysia we will be back to the testing regime and I am looking forward to getting my hands on the new car," he said.
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Malaysian GP: Toyota preview
Next article Symonds discusses new regulations
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Rubens Barrichello
Which modern Formula 1 driver raced for the most teams?
Formula 1
Formula 1
Which modern Formula 1 driver raced for the most teams?
How ex-F1 racer Rubens Barrichello is still winning races at 52
Formula 1
Formula 1
Emilia Romagna GP
How ex-F1 racer Rubens Barrichello is still winning races at 52
Why illustrious racing dads aren't always an advantage for F1 hopefuls
FIA F3
FIA F3
Why illustrious racing dads aren't always an advantage for F1 hopefuls
More from
Ferrari
Ferrari promotes F2 racer to F1 reserve driver role
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Ferrari promotes F2 racer to F1 reserve driver role
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
WEC
WEC
Barcelona
The six drivers doing double duty in Portimao GTWCE and Barcelona WEC this weekend
Latest news
McLaren held fresh talks after Singapore GP clash as Lando Norris promises to "make better decisions"
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
58 min
McLaren held fresh talks after Singapore GP clash as Lando Norris promises to "make better decisions"
2026 MotoGP Australian Grand Prix – How to watch, session times & more
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Indonesian GP
3 h
2026 MotoGP Australian Grand Prix – How to watch, session times & more
Zane Smith fined $50,000 by NASCAR for ramming Carson Hocevar after Phoenix Cup race
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Phoenix II
10 h
Zane Smith fined $50,000 by NASCAR for ramming Carson Hocevar after Phoenix Cup race
FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
15 h
FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe