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[andrew]

At the same time, it's a shame for Barrichello for his career to seemingly come to an unglamorous and uncertain end, but there's no doubting he's had his time.

He's in denial but he is well past his sell by date. Not a question of age but just that he hasn't done anything interesting for a few seasons now.

[LewEngBridewell]

At the same time, it's a shame for Barrichello for his career to seemingly come to an unglamorous and uncertain end, but there's no doubting he's had his time.

He's in denial but he is well past his sell by date. Not a question of age but just that he hasn't done anything interesting for a few seasons now.

Hasn't had much of a chance though, what with Williams being in the doldrums....

[scotty]

At the same time, it's a shame for Barrichello for his career to seemingly come to an unglamorous and uncertain end, but there's no doubting he's had his time.

He's in denial but he is well past his sell by date. Not a question of age but just that he hasn't done anything interesting for a few seasons now.

Hasn't had much of a chance though, what with Williams being in the doldrums....

Yup. Managed to get a few wins with Brawn too... oh well, times change. About time Senna got a proper chance in F1. Barrichello would make an excellent LMP1 driver i think, hopefully we'll see him there.

[scotty]

Petrov - Caterham rumours still running strong:

Jarno Trulli says he knows nothing of the speculation linking Vitaly Petrov with his seat at the Caterham team, and insists he has a contract with the squad.

Rumours about Petrov joining the team have intensified over recent days, the Russian still seeking a race seat after Renault - now Lotus - signed Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean for 2012.

There are suggestions that Petrov is in advanced talks with the team about a seat for the upcoming season.

Trulli, however, says his plans remain unchanged despite the speculation.

"I have a contract with Caterham and that's it. I know nothing of the rumours," Trulli told Gazzetta dello Sport. "The team hasn't said anything to me.

"On Monday I will be in the factory the get the seat made and everything remains the same for me until I'm told otherwise."

The veteran Italian insists he is not thinking about his future outside of Formula 1.

"I'm not talking about the future: each time words are put into my mouth that I will go in NASCAR or I will race in the 24 Hours. But my present tense is F1, I'm only talking about that."

Trulli, who endured a difficult 2011 season as he struggled with the team's power steering system, says he is confident of a stronger 2012.

"I expect things to be better than in 2011. The base is better, there's more experience, resources, people. We start on the hunt for that championship point we wanted last year and with the objective to fight regularly in the mid field..

"People don't realise how hard starting from zero is. I've raced with Minardi, but it's a lot harder here. You can't make mistakes: every error has long-lasting effects."

He added: "I'm confident. During the course of the year I saw many improvements. The step taken was big, even though it wasn't noticed. Now we need another one."

[Denthúl]

If it means I have to listen to less whining about power steering, I'm all for it.

[LewEngBridewell]

If it means I have to listen to less whining about power steering, I'm all for it.

Yeah, that certainly got very tiring to listen to as the season wore on...

[rob91]

At the same time, it's a shame for Barrichello for his career to seemingly come to an unglamorous and uncertain end, but there's no doubting he's had his time.

He's in denial but he is well past his sell by date. Not a question of age but just that he hasn't done anything interesting for a few seasons now.

Hasn't had much of a chance though, what with Williams being in the doldrums....

Yup. Managed to get a few wins with Brawn too... oh well, times change. About time Senna got a proper chance in F1. Barrichello would make an excellent LMP1 driver i think, hopefully we'll see him there.

I think Barrichello is a bit unlucky not to have been a world champion, he raced for Ferrari when Schumacher was at his prime and then at Brawn GP, although he was still very good he was past his best (in my opinion anyway). It's a shame he didn't finish his F1 career with the send off he deserves.

Onto Bruno Senna, this is his first proper chance like you say scotty. First time driving the rubbish HRT car in practice at the Bahrain GP and not a great deal of running for Renault before his first race for them at Spa, this time he will have several days of running before the first race so he should be better than what he has shown the past 2 years. I for one hope that he will do better and prove that it is not just his name that has got him this far.

[What's Burning?]

I think Barrichello is a bit unlucky not to have been a world champion, he raced for Ferrari when Schumacher was at his prime and then at Brawn GP, although he was still very good he was past his best (in my opinion anyway). It's a shame he didn't finish his F1 career with the send off he deserves.

With the exception of the WDCs, I don't think there's anyone on the grid today that wouldn't trade their career for the one Rubino has had.

[spankyham]

I think Van Der Gar will get the nod for the last seat at Hispania - $$$$$

[bud]

With the exception of the WDCs, I don't think there's anyone on the grid today that wouldn't trade their career for the one Rubino has had.

Hmmm maybe his time at Brawn but any self respecting driver with dreams of winning on his own would have to think twice about being a Schumi bitch no?

[racechick]

With the exception of the WDCs, I don't think there's anyone on the grid today that wouldn't trade their career for the one Rubino has had.

Hmmm maybe his time at Brawn but any self respecting driver with dreams of winning on his own would have to think twice about being a Schumi bitch no?

Yes. I dont think many would have sold their soul the way Rubens did.

[LewEngBridewell]

With the exception of the WDCs, I don't think there's anyone on the grid today that wouldn't trade their career for the one Rubino has had.

Hmmm maybe his time at Brawn but any self respecting driver with dreams of winning on his own would have to think twice about being a Schumi bitch no?

Yes. I dont think many would have sold their soul the way Rubens did.

There's still that thing about Ferrari that a fair few drivers can't get over though. Look how quickly Giancarlo Fisichella leapt at the opportunity to drive for the Scuderia and the experience duly ended his career. Had he stayed at Force India, he could've expected more big results for the remainder of that year. I think that had Rubens not made the move to playing second-fiddle to Schumacher, then there would've plenty of other unsuspecting souls that would've gone, blinded by victory scarlet and a champaign-soaked history, only to find the potential golden years of their career tramped on and smothered by a team who can't grasp the idea of having two competitive racers.

[What's Burning?]

With the exception of the WDCs, I don't think there's anyone on the grid today that wouldn't trade their career for the one Rubino has had.

Hmmm maybe his time at Brawn but any self respecting driver with dreams of winning on his own would have to think twice about being a Schumi bitch no?

Yes. I dont think many would have sold their soul the way Rubens did.

I think you guys are being harsh... yeah first we'd have to define self respecting, and there's quite a lot of paid drivers out there looking to buy a ride 11 wins 68 podiums and a permanent place in the F1 record books is something that you can't overlook. Maybe I'm being soft in my old age, and given the chance I wouldn't have minded his career... certainly beats what I do for a living. There's such a thing as a "utility infielder" in all sports not just baseball.

There are the truly talented drivers, there are the drivers that will give you solid consistency in lieu of greatness, there are the paid drivers, and then there are the happy accidents that find themselves in an unbeatable car and still manage to much things up so everyone has their slot. I think drivers primarily want to drive, that's why Pedro de la Rosa is sitting in an HRT this year. The option of going home to a run of the mill 9 to 5 job just doesn't seem that great of a prospect, and I think perhaps Barrichello is the poster child. I did exclude the current WDCs from my comment, after all.

[andrew]

With the exception of the WDCs, I don't think there's anyone on the grid today that wouldn't trade their career for the one Rubino has had.

Hmmm maybe his time at Brawn but any self respecting driver with dreams of winning on his own would have to think twice about being a Schumi bitch no?

Yes. I dont think many would have sold their soul the way Rubens did.

There's still that thing about Ferrari that a fair few drivers can't get over though. Look how quickly Giancarlo Fisichella leapt at the opportunity to drive for the Scuderia and the experience duly ended his career. Had he stayed at Force India, he could've expected more big results for the remainder of that year. I think that had Rubens not made the move to playing second-fiddle to Schumacher, then there would've plenty of other unsuspecting souls that would've gone, blinded by victory scarlet and a champaign-soaked history, only to find the potential golden years of their career tramped on and smothered by a team who can't grasp the idea of having two competitive racers.

Fisi signed with his heart and was nearing the end of his F1 career anyway. it was his dream to drive for Ferrari and he achieved that dream. As for Barrichello, well the guy is a first class plonker! He believed that driver 1A and 1B meant that he had equal status with his more successful and faster team mate.

[What's Burning?]

^^ He's a plonker with his own private jet. I'm not taking a side for or against the guy, but just different strokes you know.

... what's a plonker?