After making his record-breaking
Formula 1 start in the Turkish Grand Prix at the weekend,
Rubens Barrichello has confessed he would like to carry on and make 300 appearances in the top flight – though
Honda are remaining non-committal on his future with the squad.
The Brazilian broke Riccardo Patrese's long-held record of 256 grand prix starts in Istanbul on Sunday, and though the outcome of the race was ultimately disappointing – taking the chequered flag in a lowly 14th spot, three positions behind the sister RA108 of
Jenson Button – Barrichello affirmed he had no intention of hanging up his helmet for awhile yet.
The 35-year-old made his debut in the uppermost echelon in the 1993 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami, since when he has tallied no fewer than nine
F1 triumphs – all with
Ferrari – 13 pole positions and 61 podium appearances over the course of an extraordinary career.
“I don't know if I will get to 300,” he admitted to international news agency
Reuters, “and I don't know if I can reach 300, but I will try because a friend of mine used to say that racing was in my blood and I really feel that. Honestly, it feels like I started yesterday.”
Barrichello's team-mate at the Brackley-based outfit, Button, had joked prior to the race weekend that the man from São Paolo didn't ‘look a day over 37', before adding effusively: “He has been on it this year. He has been doing a very good job.
“It is good to have a competitive team-mate and a very experienced team-mate as he is. We have got a very good team and a very good team atmosphere, and he is good to have alongside.”
