Rubens Barrichello has been in Brazil for over a week now, preparing for the highlight of his season, his “home” race at Interlagos.

“I spent the weekend with the family, away from the city, enjoying good weather and doing some exercise, but also having a rest after the Malaysian GP and a couple of days testing,” said the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver.

“There is already a sense of excitement about the grand prix here, with a lot of media interest and obviously, the fans are expecting me to do quite well here,” he continued. “I don’t want this to sound like a promise to the Brazilian people, but I do feel on good form at the moment. I know that one day or another I will get a victory here in Brazil. All I can do is to work as hard as usual this weekend so hopefully that win will come this time, but nothing is certain in this sport.”

With a busy media and promotional schedule, involving appearances for Scuderia partners such as Shell and Bridgestone, the Paulista has not yet had the chance to visit the Interlagos circuit. “I’m looking forward to going to the track, to see the improvements which have been made, both to the paddock and to the track surface itself,” said Barrichello. “In general, I am looking forward to the weekend and with everything that is happening in the world right now, it should provide a pause when we can concentrate on enjoying ourselves and have a good race.”

The first two grands prix of the season have thrown up some interesting results and performances and the Ferrari drivers feels that the third round of the championship might give a clearer indication of the true pecking order among the ten teams. “People consider the Imola event to be the first “real” race of the season, but as we saw last year, I think Brazil could give a good picture of what the year will be like,” reckoned Rubens. However, the new rules might make it harder to understand the situation completely.

“The circuit itself is so demanding on the car and driver,” he added. “It is a real tough track. Physically it is quite hard, especially for the neck, as we race anti-clockwise and it is also hard on the engines, as you lose a bit of power because of the altitude. I am expecting it to be a fascinating weekend, and from what I know, tickets are selling very well. So I hope we have a full house for a good show.”