Rubens Barrichello (Photo Credit: Lorenzo Bellanca/LAT Photographic)
Rubens Barrichello has said he has an ‘open mind’ about his future after testing a KV Racing Technology IndyCar at Sebring.
The Brazilian enjoyed testing the car so much he canceled prior arrangements back in his homeland to test a further half day, before handing the car over to friend Tony Kanaan who invited him to the test.
“It's been a really good morning,” said Barrichello, who totaled 334 miles over the three days. “I was able to do a lot of laps in Tony's car and very happy to be in the No. 11. It's been my favorite number all my life. My feedback I think will be very beneficial to Tony and the whole team and I am satisfied with what we have achieved. I leave Sebring now with a good taste in my mouth.”
Barrichello left Sebring with an open invitation to compete in the 2012 IndyCar season with the KV Racing Technology team, and insisted that oval racing wasn’t a deal breaker.
“I never thought I could come over to this side because I thought I would race 25 years in Formula One and I should be over and couldn't come this way,” said Barrichello, who has made 332 F1 starts. “I did say that. It came out of my mouth. It is a not a big issue. It is not a problem. There are so many different situations that I could run. I could run on the road tracks; I could run Indy. There are so many options available, and I'm thankful for the choices at age 39 and still going fast in the car. That's all I could pray for when I was a kid.”
“(He and wife Silvana) I'm sure we'll be talking about it. I'm not putting pressure on it; I have to think it through. If you go purely from joy, it wouldn't be a problem. I still have so much passion for the speed and I'm quite young in my mind and I'm not up to my top level of fitness. I'm just getting better and better.”
“I have an open mind,” said Barrichello, who broke into F1 with the Jordan team. “I've been living there for 19 years and have been a fan of the Indy series for a long period as well. I've been to Indy, Milwaukee, Sao Paulo and many tracks. I like what I saw always; it's a great atmosphere with great racing.”
