Rubens Barrichello has defended his seat at Williams as rumours that Kimi Raikkonen is set to replace him next season continue to strengthen.
The Brazilian doesn’t believe the 2007 world champion can offer anything more than he himself can, or already has, citing his vast experience as reason to retain him over the Finn or another younger driver.
“I don’t believe that anybody else, including Kimi [Raikkonen], can offer anything more than I do,” Barrichello said in Japan. “They already know what I can offer.
“Young drivers can have more money, but they can also have bad things happen on the first lap and all of that money goes away with crashes. In the end, Williams know how much enthusiasm I still have for this even though we are driving a car that is not competitive.
“They know how much I have put into this team and how much I want to get into next year. We just need to wait and see what they have to say at some point, which I hope is soon.”
With his teammate, Pastor Maldonado, bringing upwards of $25 million in sponsorship through his PDVSA backing, and rumours that Raikkonen is the key to unlocking support from Qatar’s national bank, Barrichello says he would consider raising funds to secure his seat for 2012.
“If the team said that is a requirement, then I would work on it,” said the 39-year-old. “But I did not understand from the team that this is what is required.”
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