Formula 1

Barrichello hoping for interesting weekend

After celebrating his birthday last Sunday by finishing third in the Monaco Grand Prix, Rubens Barrichello has just got a couple of days to relax with his family before joining the rest of the F1 family at the Nurburgring for this Sunday's European ...

Published: May 26, 2004, 11:59 PM

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After celebrating his birthday last Sunday by finishing third in the Monaco Grand Prix, Rubens Barrichello has just got a couple of days to relax with his family before joining the rest of the F1 family at the Nurburgring for this Sunday's European Grand Prix.

Rubens Barrichello.

Photo by Brousseau Photo.

Looking back at the weekend, the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver saw some similarities with the 2003 race in the Principality. "In many ways Monaco this year was very similar to last for our team, although the circumstances were different," he said. "We were not as quick in qualifying as we had hoped for and we struggled a bit in a race where our competitors did a bit better than us. I had big difficulties throughout the race, so I was lucky in the end. Currently the team is still investigating why I had these difficulties."

I think it may have had something to do with the fact that at one point I was going relatively slowly to save fuel and the tyre pressure dropped. My race then became just a question of going round and round and keeping the car on the track. I have not yet had a chance to see the race on TV, but I'm sure it was very exciting for the spectators. I know I came very close to the guard rail when Fisichella had his accident. It was like being in a plane and flying into the clouds."

Not only did the Monaco GP provide plenty of excitement, it also added a new name to the list of F1 winners: Jarno Trulli. "It's nice to see some new faces on the podium, even though of course, you are working for yourself," reckons Rubens. "But a new winner brings new emotions to the podium and to the fans."

After what is inevitably regarded as a disappointing race for the Scuderia, Barrichello believes it has done nothing to weaken the team's resolve. "The team's aim is still the same in that we try and win every race from now on," maintains the Brazilian. "If we stop working things can change quite quickly and I think the general feeling in the team now is that everyone is happy that the next race is only a few days away rather than two weeks. It means we don't have to wait long to try and win all over again."

As for the European GP, the Ferrari man reckons the German track will provide another difficult challenge. "At the Nurburgring we will do our best on a circuit where we had a tough time last year," recalls Barrichello.

"Tyres will play a very important role and the lap times between the drivers are usually very close at this track, so it should be another interesting weekend. We have a chance to be more competitive than in Monaco and I will be interested to see what the weather will be like up in the mountains as we are going to be there earlier than usual in the year."

-ferrari-

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