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Rubens Barrichello on the track - Source: Photosport
Brazilian Rubens Barrichello says he can still become Formula One champion this season despite Brawn GP team mate Jenson Button winning five of six races so far.
Barely four months ago, after his Honda team announced they were leaving, Barrichello feared he was out of a job. Now he is second overall and just 16 points behind the championship-leading Briton.
Brawn, who emerged from the ashes of Honda, are running away with the most topsy-turvy of seasons and Barrichello would like to add another twist to the tale before it is over.
"I should have won a race by now. But after so many years, the shoulds and the ifs don't exist any more," the 37-year-old, whose last win came with Ferrari in 2004, told reporters at the Turkish Grand Prix.
"I dream of being champion. People might say he's crazy because his team mate won five races already.
"I'm lucky that the championship is not decided by the wins, because otherwise I would definitely say he (Button) had won the championship already.
"It's a healthy fight and I expect...to get better all the time. That's the way it has been. In the first four races, the balance of the car favoured Jenson a bit. And then with the new package I think I've come back a bit."
The Brazilian added: "There are still plenty of races, 11 to go. Four months ago I was dreaming at home that I could have a car. Now I do. And now I am dreaming of becoming world champion."
Barrichello has three times anchored Button in a Brawn one-two and has shown he still has the speed of old by being regularly quicker than the Briton in the second phase of qualifying (Q2).
He has failed to hit home when it mattered however, losing pole to Button in Monaco when the Briton pulled out a breathtakingly quick final lap and during the race in Spain when he failed to make a strategy that should have favoured him work to his advantage.
"If you take qualifying as an example, I am five times behind and one ahead in Q3, but if you look at Q2 then I am five times in front and one behind," he said.
"In the first four races he opened up a gap with a balance he had, and he was very happy. Now it seems I am little happier with the car.
"The momentum is still going his way, but I am hopeful and prepared that it will stop here.
"There is a good vibe, a good momentum for him, and he is doing well," added the oldest driver on the starting grid who is now in his 17th season.
"But I'm young, and I'm still improving."
