Rubens

[Kevincal]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pt1KLO21Gwc&feature=g-u-u&context=G2e99dd6FUAAAAAAADAA

[ShiftingGears]

Would be most unusual to see him commit to a full season of IndyCar, considering his previous opinions on oval racing.

[MAX_THRUST]

Apparently the Indy 500 might be on now so theat would mean three races not being done on ovals. I wouldworry for him if he went to the US not because he might crash, but because he might get caught up in someone else's. Generally F1 drivers have taken well to ovals. They might not win straight off but they get there pretty quick. Ie Zanardi, JPM, Blundell, etc

[F1boat]

I think that touring cars would have been a safer and more sensible choice, but let him do what he enjoys...

[tfp]

So is he definetly opting for Indy 500 now?
I watched the Senna film again the other day, and to think Rubens has been in since way back then, and still was til very recently, it will be a shame to not see his name on the grid next year!

[DexDexter]

So is he definetly opting for Indy 500 now?
I watched the Senna film again the other day, and to think Rubens has been in since way back then, and still was til very recently, it will be a shame to not see his name on the grid next year!

On the other hand 20 years should be enough for one driver who never really turned out to be the driver people thought in 93.

[steveaki13]

I like Rubens and have enjoyed watching his whole F1 career through the changing F1 landscape.

Good Luck to him, and I hope he does something he gets pleasure out of. If its Indy it would be cool, as I can still cheer him on.

Lets wait and see.

[steveaki13]

On the other hand 20 years should be enough for one driver who never really turned out to be the driver people thought in 93.

Well I know he never won a championship, but he was still a top driver. He was a driver who in Jordans and Stewarts outperformed team mates and expectations. i.e Monaco 97 as one example.

Then in a good car against one of the best he won 11 Races (+2 at Brawn) (Hope my maths is right).

Thats a pretty successful career to me.

[IceWizard]

Apparently he only said what he did about ovals because he thought he would stay in F1 for even longer than 20 years meaning that IndyCar wouldn't still be a realistic option. Would be great to see him do a full season.

[jens]

Well I know he never won a championship, but he was still a top driver. He was a driver who in Jordans and Stewarts outperformed team mates and expectations. i.e Monaco 97 as one example.

Then in a good car against one of the best he won 11 Races (+2 at Brawn) (Hope my maths is right).

Thats a pretty successful career to me.

Well, 11 wins certainly means that a driver has had a pretty good F1 career and has been an influential driver for some time. And he had lots of impressive performances too.

But the argument now is whether he should have kept his place in F1. And I have to say that other than nostalgic/emotional aspects there is no good reason why should RB still be a definite part of F1.

In any case, an impressively long career. I have read that his F1 career could have come to an end already in 1996, when he was considering CART, but got an offer from Stewart.

[BDunnell]

But the argument now is whether he should have kept his place in F1. And I have to say that other than nostalgic/emotional aspects there is no good reason why should RB still be a definite part of F1.

Maybe not a 'definite' part, but the question of whether any replacement could do a better job for Williams is a legitimate one, and I would question whether this will be the case.

[jens]

Maybe not a 'definite' part, but the question of whether any replacement could do a better job for Williams is a legitimate one, and I would question whether this will be the case.

This is certainly a valid point. Although legal issues aside, I would have taken Sutil over Barrichello among conceivable options for Williams.

[DexDexter]

This is certainly a valid point. Although legal issues aside, I would have taken Sutil over Barrichello among conceivable options for Williams.

Let's not overlook the fact that Maldonado did beat Barrichello on many occasion last year. Too many if you ask me.

[steveaki13]

Well, 11 wins certainly means that a driver has had a pretty good F1 career and has been an influential driver for some time. And he had lots of impressive performances too.

But the argument now is whether he should have kept his place in F1. And I have to say that other than nostalgic/emotional aspects there is no good reason why should RB still be a definite part of F1.

In any case, an impressively long career. I have read that his F1 career could have come to an end already in 1996, when he was considering CART, but got an offer from Stewart.

I agree totally, that it was probably time to go, I was just pointing out to a poster above that he did have a good career despite not winning a title.

[The Black Knight]

Personally, I like Barrichello and I'm sad to see that he has gone from F1 without a proper send off that he deserves but, in my opinion, his day hath come and it's time to make way for some young blood. This goes for Trulli as well. He will never be world champion and there is no point in driving around in circles on the grid when there is no hope. Barrichello was a great number two, one of the best number twos the sport has ever seen. Sometimes he even beat Michael Schumacher and, on his day, Barrichello seemed almost insurmountable but he could never hold those levels over the course of a season. If after 19 seasons in F1 you are not champion then odds are you won't be.

Barrichello - a fine driver but lacked that cutting edge to be WDC.

[airshifter]

I'm also sad to see Rubens off the grid. WDC or not, he seems a downright "normal" guy for an F1 driving and not nearly as full of ego as many of them. He's had some great drives over the years and has always played his role properly when he was the obvious #2 driver. And being #2 driver to the fastest guy around at the time isn't such a bad thing, especially when Rubens got the best of him and only the #2 status made him finish second.

As I've said before I hope he enjoys his retirement doing whatever he really enjoys. Being able to sit around and tell the grandchildren stories of the time you had to slow down so that Schumacher could pass is just a giant plus in his retirement years. :)

[The Black Knight]

I'm also sad to see Rubens off the grid. WDC or not, he seems a downright "normal" guy for an F1 driving and not nearly as full of ego as many of them. He's had some great drives over the years and has always played his role properly when he was the obvious #2 driver. And being #2 driver to the fastest guy around at the time isn't such a bad thing, especially when Rubens got the best of him and only the #2 status made him finish second.

As I've said before I hope he enjoys his retirement doing whatever he really enjoys. Being able to sit around and tell the grandchildren stories of the time you had to slow down so that Schumacher could pass is just a giant plus in his retirement years. :)

Are you talking about Austria 02 or one particular year in general here?

[Dave B]

Personally, I like Barrichello and I'm sad to see that he has gone from F1 without a proper send off that he deserves but, in my opinion, his day hath come and it's time to make way for some young blood.
Indeed, it's a shame that he didn't announce his retirement and have a proper farewell, especially as his home race would have been his last. Maybe that was his plan: to avoid any unwelcome distractions and to concentrate on his racing.

Either way he should be proud of his F1 career. He was never a superstar but he was highly respected both for his driving and his character, and he will be missed.

[F1boat]

And also his career is not yet over. An Indy 500 or Le Mans triumph might be the fitting end he so desperately wanted.

[Knock-on]

Rubens Barrichello says F1 not a closed chapter for him despite no 2012 deal - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97650)

Ruby needs to let the idea of F1 go. He's had a good run; the longest in fact. Time to move on.

[truefan72]

drivers should stay away from CARt until they reduce the ovals to like 1 race the indy 500
its too dangerous imo, and not worth the risk
ovals are a relic of the past century, at least for open wheel racing

[longisland]

Apparently the Indy 500 might be on now so theat would mean three races not being done on ovals. I wouldworry for him if he went to the US not because he might crash, but because he might get caught up in someone else's. Generally F1 drivers have taken well to ovals. They might not win straight off but they get there pretty quick. Ie Zanardi, JPM, Blundell, etc
Apart from Blundell, I believed both Zanardi & JPM came from CART/INDY to F1 and not the other way round.

[ShiftingGears]

Apart from Blundell, I believed both Zanardi & JPM came from CART/INDY to F1 and not the other way round.

Zanardi was in F1 before he was in CART. His initial stint in F1 was 1991-1994, and his first CART appearance was in 1996.

[call_me_andrew]

drivers should stay away from CARt until they reduce the ovals to like 1 race the indy 500
its too dangerous imo, and not worth the risk
ovals are a relic of the past century, at least for open wheel racing

That's exactly what CART did. You wouldn't believe how that turned out if I told you.

[ShiftingGears]

That's exactly what CART did. You wouldn't believe how that turned out if I told you.

CART failed at least partly because they didn't let their own teams compete in the Indy 500, which gave the IRL traction in the first place. So no, that's not exactly what CART did.

[Mark]

Rubens Barrichello says F1 not a closed chapter for him despite no 2012 deal - F1 news - AUTOSPORT.com (http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/97650)

Ruby needs to let the idea of F1 go. He's had a good run; the longest in fact. Time to move on.

That's sad really. He's had a fantastic career of which he can be proud. Time to retire with dignity from F1.

I'm sure LeMans beckons!

[Tazio]

Barrichello enjoying Sonoma test | Page 1 | IndyCar News | Feb 2012 | Crash.Net (http://www.crash.net/indycar/news/177117/1/barrichello_enjoying_sonoma_test.html?utm_source=r ss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss)



"I like Infineon, it's a great track," said Barrichello, adding that it was "steeper and more demanding" than he'd expected. "It's like European tracks, such as Spa and Donnington. Here I know where to brake, but not where to turn in the blind corners."

But he admitted that he'd been hitting the limiter all morning and that "It takes laps to get used to the new car."

There's still no news on when and if Barrichello will be formally signing up for IndyCar, but no one was playing coy about the direction of travel anymore. "It's my wish and the team's wish, I think, so we're working on it," he said."I watch IndyCar all the time, so I'm very happy," he added, saying that the opportunity opening up in IndyCars was the positive on the other side of the negative of being ousted from F1.

A sponsorship announcement is possibility as soon as this week, Barrichello hinted. He also revealed that he would be testing again with the KV team at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.
Sounds like he still has the racing bug. Let the kids play!

[zako85]

Heh. I can see why he would hit the rev limiter often. IndyCar engine rev limit is about 6,000RPM below the F1 rev limit.

[Tazio]

Rubens lands in IndyCar « (http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/rubens-lands-in-indycar/)
That is a pretty good thiple threat. I think Rubens will succeed at this, with speeds known to aproach 240 miles per hour. This freakin' guy has always had the cojonas to really haul @ss. :s mokin:

[DexDexter]

Good luck for him. I hope we don't hear any comments (from him) about pay drivers ruling in F1 since according to reports he brings a budget with him.