Barrichello relaxes in Brazil

“It was unfortunate I hit the wall after the tyre lost pressure for some reason. I didn’t have time to get scared as it was such a surprise. It meant that for Saturday morning’s session I had to rely partly on Michael’s settings and even for qualifying, I did not find the perfect balance on the car.”

“We felt two stops was the right strategy, as the weather was much hotter on race day and so we did not know exactly what to expect from the race in terms of tyre wear and performance,” explained the Brazilian. “It seemed safer to go for two pit stops and it worked perfectly.”

The finish was the main talking point however and Rubens was not sure what was going on when Michael went wide on the oval so he too backed off, but on seeing Michael further back off he took that as his cue to accept the gift from his team mate.

“I saw Michael going wide round the turn and then back off,” recalled Barrichello. “At first I thought he was trying to give me the win, but I wasn’t sure so I also slowed down and then he slowed even more and in my mind that was the final confirmation he was letting me by. Other people might have been confused but I was delighted to win the race for myself and for Ferrari.”

Barrichello has almost a week at home before flying to Japan for the final race of the season where he hopes to sign off in good form. But it's not time to let the fitness levels drop a bit even this close to the end of the racing season Barrichello will still be working hard on his training. He is looking forward to the race at Suzuka although not so much the plane journey to get there.

“I’ll be mainly cycling and running, which I enjoy more than the work in the gym, even if that is an essential part of the programme. I’ve enjoyed the year and I’m looking forward to doing well in Japan, where we will be hoping to give Bridgestone a good result in their one hundredth grand prix,” concluded Barrichello. “But there is also a feeling of being glad this beautiful season is coming to an end, especially as the journey from Brazil to Japan is the longest one of the year and it feels as though you spend a week in the plane.”