“First of all the aero package is much more together. It's a simpler car with a better design, which will help us at lower speeds more than anything else. We were a little bit late with the launch, but that was because we wanted to press on in the tunnel very much.
“Alex is very good; I'm very happy that he has joined us. If you ask anyone around, he's probably the best test driver any of the other teams have had. He brings experience from
McLaren and
Williams lately, so I think we're in good hands whenever he's testing.
“It's so much fun to drive without traction control too, even in the wet. Some people think it's going to be a little bit more dangerous, but I just think it will be more fun. You have more command of the car.”
Though the new RA108 has thus far displayed indifferent form in testing – featuring invariably towards the middle-lower reaches of the timing screens – Barrichello says his own enthusiasm for competition, even after 249 starts in the uppermost echelon, has never waned. Indeed, this year he is set to become the most experienced driver in
F1 history when he passes Riccardo Patrese's longstanding record for most grands prix contested.
“I'm very honoured,” he admitted, “because Patrese was one of my childhood heroes. I'm very proud to take over his record.
“It's funny, but it's like the beginning for me. If I stay in Brazil too long I tend to start overdriving the car on the road. I miss driving in F1 when I'm away from it – it burns inside my stomach – so it's 16 years with pleasure!
“It's [his
Formula 1 career] closer to the end than it is to the beginning definitely, but I love my family so much that if it wasn't for the speed and the fun that I get from driving I would have stayed home already.
“This year may be the final one left on my contract, but I'm not planning to stop just yet. I think I have at least another couple of years left in me. I'm still in love with the sport, and for as long as I have that I have no reasons to stop.”
