Rubens Barrichello believes that it would be foolish of Williams not to sign him for 2011 and is hopeful of signing a new contract before the mid-season break.
“I hope so. I think it would the natural thing,” Barrichello is quoted by Autosport as saying.
“Obviously I haven’t signed any contract just yet. I am not talking to anybody else.
“As I said I think Williams would be doing the wrong thing if they were thinking of something else because they already put into the programme of next year so it would be a waste not to be driving.”
The veteran-Brazilian, who joined the Grove-based squad from Brawn for this season, has played a crucial part in the team’s fightback through the field.
Following a mid-season slump in form, the team’s FW32 has firmly established itself as a top-ten runner, with both Barrichello and team-mate Nico Hulkenberg scoring points at Silverstone.
As a result, Barrichello is hopeful that the team’s good progress will continue into next season, with him remaining in the car.
“Right now it is almost a waste of time not to have me in the car and driving,” he said. “In terms of speed I am performing better than ever and I think this positiveness is just making such a change.
“And people say well, you are not winning races, how can you be so positive? Well it’s because as a team you have got to believe as a team we’ll produce something that will put us back to the podium area, and then maybe next year make a good car that can effectively bring the first place.
“We went through a ‘getting used to’ time. It was almost a fun time. One time the engineer said to me, ‘How can you know that?’ – ‘Cos I’m f****** good!’ It was an honest answer but it was meant in fun. I never had arrogance in my comment.
“I never wanted to be better than anyone, but what I believe that what I am saying is a good feeling for the car. So then the team went on and proved that it was the right correction in the tunnel. So it’s harmony between what I tell the engineers now, so it’s a really nice working environment to improve.”
Although the 37-year-old is adamant that next year’s Williams could end the team’s winning drought, he admits that it is increasingly difficult to predict the form book in modern Formula One.
Barrichello is also hopeful that Williams will have a winning car next year, but he admits it’s impossible to predict.
“After all those 18 years in Formula 1, you can almost say anything can happen. You would never have said that the Brawn would be such a winning team last year.
“There are no need for a lot of changes to make this thing win. We need a little bit on the engine side, and we need a little on the aerodynamic side.
“We need to change the characteristic of the car still to have a bit more downforce on some areas that I need. We need to work with the tyres it’s going to be a different tyre. It just needs a little bit of something to make a winning car.”
