Barrichello: 'All sports involve pressure'

By Greig Murray
July 4 2002

As the winner of the last race, Rubens Barrichello was convened to this afternoon’s FIA press conference this afternoon. “I had a fantastic first lap,” said Rubens, recalling his race at the Nurburgring.

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“Myself and Michael were allowed to race one another which was great fun. My only worry was the possibility of blistering on my rear tyres if I pushed too hard after my first pit stop. Because if that had happened, Michael could have pushed and maybe passed me. But I chose to look after my tyres for three or four laps before pushing again. It was a fantastic race and in the final stages, we took the decision which any team would take. At that stage there was no reason to fight and risk crashing. That is the situation which will apply for the rest of the season.”

The Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro man has a reputation for being good in the wet and with rain forecast for part of this weekend, what were his chances of taking pole position? “You cannot predict,” said the Brazilian. “In those conditions, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. You have to chose the right moment to go out onto the track. The funny thing about Silverstone is that, whether you host the race in July or January you know it is going to rain at some point.”

The Brazilian team’s performance in the World Cup also put a smile on Barrichello’s face and he admitted teasing his team-mate about the result. “I kept trying to call him but he was never there,” laughed Rubens, adding that he decided against copying Ronaldo’s radical hairstyle. “I was worried my hair would not grow back!” Asked to compare the pressure of driving in a grand prix and taking part in the World Cup, Barrichello saw one common point. “I think you can compare the pressure of a penalty shoot-out with what we experience at the start of a race,” he reckoned. “But for the rest of a soccer match there is less pressure as you can rely on your team-mates. But all sports involve pressure to some degree.”

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