After eight barren years in Brazil, Ferrari’s Rubens Barrichello is not about to get superstitious. But the locals have no such qualms. They are convinced that 2003 is the year ‘Rubinho’ joins the country’s former champions as a winner of his home Formula One Grand Prix after failing to finish at Interlagos for the last eight years in a row.The key lies in the No 3. In 1973, Emerson Fittipaldi won the first Brazilian grandprix at Interlagos.In 1983, Nelson Piquet won at Rio’s Jacarapagua circuit. In 1993, Ayrton Senna triumphed at Interlagos. Brazilians have won in other years as well but when you come from a Formula One mad country and have not seen a home driver score even a point in Brazil since Senna died in 1994 then any straw is to be clutched at.The sequence demands a local win again in 2003 and Barrichello, driving for the world champions in a proven car, is surely the man. The only other Brazilians in Sunday’s race, Toyota’s Cristiano da Matta and Jaguar’s Antonio Pizzonia, are rookies. ‘‘So 2003 is mine,’’’ Sao Paulo native Barrichello said with a laugh on Thursday. ‘‘As I said to the Brazilians the other day, I don’t believe in those things and the world of Formula One made me change to a much more real picture of what it is. ‘‘I’m going to be working flat out to really win the race here. I guess it would be the same feeling as winning the world championship. Winning my home Grand Prix would be like that.‘‘I’m focused. I’m better than ever and I hope that together with my team that I can do the job this time.’’Barrichello knows Interlagos blindfolded, his grandparents living within sight of the circuit. Yet his experiences at home since 1994 have been a litany of woe and misfortune.He has never been on the podium in Brazil and in his 150th race last year, convinced his time had come, he was sidelined on lap 17 with a hydraulics problem. ‘‘I prefer to think that my bad results in Brazil are merely coincidental,’’ he said last year. ‘‘I don’t think I am particularly cursed at Interlagos. Infact, racing in front of my fans always gives me a special feeling.’’On Thursday, he elaborated further. Until recently, he explained, Brazil marked the start of the season and when he was racing for Stewart and Jordan, that frequently meant turning up in Sao Paulo in a car without sufficient race testing.‘‘We actually got to the first race without doing a race simulation so it was tough to finish,’’ he said. ‘‘Then you know, there have been some errors on the way and some mistakes. But I would say I’ve been surprised I haven’t finished the race yet with Ferrari here. One time I will eventually finish.‘‘There is no point me thinking that because I haven’t done so in the past I must go slow and finish the race for points. I am driving for one of the most competitive teams and I have the chance to go for the win and I will go for it.’’ (Reuters)
