Barrichello is still fired up to race: Burning rubber

Rubens Barrichello, offloaded by Williams in favour of younger, fellow Brazilian Bruno Senna, could be about to break a solemn promise to his devoted wife Silvana, mother of their two sons. And it is all down to his unbridled enthusiasm for racing cars right on the edge of survival at 200-plus mph...even at 38 years of age.

He once vowed to his wife that he would never consider a switch from Grand Prix to Indy Car racing in America, as dangerous a motorsport as can be imagined with blistering speeds around unforgiving ovals with no run-off areas in wheel-to-wheel conflict.

But, having been dropped by Williams, he made a bid to cloak his upset by having a day's trial run out in Jimmy Vasser's KV Racing team's Indy flyer of a car...94 laps, 240 kilometres of the scary Sebring, Florida, raceway. And he was soon matching the pace of the regulars.

It was enough of an expert show, despite it being his first ever run out in an Indycar, to have owner Vasser and his back-up team raving over Barrichello's performance and expressing their eagerness to have him on their side for the upcoming season. Barrichello has refused to offer any positive feedback on a move across the Atlantic but saying: "Formula One is still my hope and if Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen can come back, then there is no reason why I shouldn't...?"

Vasser beamed: "I think Rubens enjoyed himself — we were certainly very pleased. It was a lot of fun working with him and we would love to keep him around."

Barrichello's F1 career spanned 326 GPs, with 11 wins and 68 podiums, and he brought only style and honesty of purpose to the likes of Jordan, Stewart, Ferrari, Honda, Brawn and, finally, trouble-torn Williams. Currently, he divides his time between his Sao Paulo birth town and a home in Portugal.

Over lunch, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone this week told me: "I am very sad to see Rubens having to leave, we shall miss him. He is one of the nicest fellows you could ever wish to meet. And I just hope that if he does make the switch to Indy cars he doesn't get hurt. That would be very sad."

Barrichello may yet leave Silvana overjoyed with a turn-down of the Indy opportunity, but she shouldn't sit back and relax just yet because he is still fired up to race.

The author is an expert on motor sport based in England.