Rubens Barrichello

[FIAT1]

Looks like he took everyone to racing school in testing. Every racer will do fine on ovals as long as they have the car. This year will be fun to watch.

[Blancvino]

Let me get this straight. Some are going ga-ga over a second tier F1 driver in his prime, was a third tier F1 driver in 2011, and now an unemployed F1 driver looking for an Indy Car seat. Interesting. Not exactly parallel with the Nigel Mansell transition to Indy Car, is it?

[garyshell]

Let me get this straight. Some are going ga-ga over a second tier F1 driver in his prime, was a third tier F1 driver in 2011, and now an unemployed F1 driver looking for an Indy Car seat. Interesting. Not exactly parallel with the Nigel Mansell transition to Indy Car, is it?

In fairness,I don't think anyone equated this to Nigel's transition. And I think you are doing Rubens a bit of a disservice in your assessment. While you are right in his driving pedigree, you are ignoring the incidentals. He is a very personable and very well known driver. Both of those traits have a significant cache in today's market for Indycar.

Gary

[ShiftingGears]

Let me get this straight. Some are going ga-ga over a second tier F1 driver in his prime, was a third tier F1 driver in 2011, and now an unemployed F1 driver looking for an Indy Car seat. Interesting. Not exactly parallel with the Nigel Mansell transition to Indy Car, is it?

He's pretty much the same age as Mansell was, and if Mansell wasn't in a car that was 2 seconds a lap faster than every other car in 1992, he would've been the guy who wasn't quite good enough in F1, and the hype wouldn'tve been the same.

[Anubis]

I could see Rubens having a real Indian summer in Indycar, similar to how he flourished at Brawn. It will also do no harm to the profile of the series to have such an experienced and well regarded ex-F1 driver on the books. Were it Tonio Liuzzi or Sebastian Buemi pitching up I could understand people sneering, but come on, Rubens is no hack. The series can't win can it. People moan about GP2 drivers with fat wallets buying rides, then an F1 race winner expresses and interest and gets written off before he's turned a lap in anger.

Edited to add - F1 form is also no indicator, just look at Zanardi. Only notable moment of his F1 career was his gargantuan crash at Spa. Likewise, Bourdais didn't exactly set the world aflame.

[00steven]

It seems Rubens is really liking the atmosphere in the Indycar circle. He stayed for a third day of practice and he wasn't required too.

[Dr. Krogshöj]

The series can't win can it. People moan about GP2 drivers with fat wallets buying rides, then an F1 race winner expresses and interest and gets written off before he's turned a lap in anger.

There is a small body of people, mainly centered around Indiana, that will always complain unless the field is made up by 26 USAC sprint car graduates, the schedule if 100 percent ovals and the cars are front-engined. Don't mind them.

[DBell]

Let me get this straight. Some are going ga-ga over a second tier F1 driver in his prime, was a third tier F1 driver in 2011, and now an unemployed F1 driver looking for an Indy Car seat. Interesting. Not exactly parallel with the Nigel Mansell transition to Indy Car, is it?

I don't know you define "tier". It seems that meaning could change from one fan to another. Instead, make a list of F1 drivers who have won 10 or more races. It won't be a very long list and a handful of World Champions will be missing from it. I can think of 3 WDC's of the top of my head, Phil Hill, Jochen Rindt, and Keke Rosberg, who wouldn't make that list. Probably John Surtees and couple of other WDC's would miss that list too. Rubens has had a better career than you give him credit for, especially when you consider that for most of his 19 years in F1, he was driving for teams that were not going to win races.

Rubens is no hack and would still be in F1 if Williams wasn't so desperate for money to survive. He lost his job because he doesn't have a big enough check. IndyCar fans should be able to understand that. Last year's Williams was a third rate car. I don't think Rubens has lost his fire and if he joins IndyCar, I would easily put him in the top group of drivers in the series. It'll be a good measuring stick for some of the drivers to see how they compare.

[FIAT1]

let me get this straight. Some are going ga-ga over a second tier f1 driver in his prime, was a third tier f1 driver in 2011, and now an unemployed f1 driver looking for an indy car seat. Interesting. Not exactly parallel with the nigel mansell transition to indy car, is it?

rubbish!

[garyshell]

rubbish!

Oh come on, don't hold back! What do you REALLY think?

Gary