Belgium: Formula One title contender Rubens Barrichello was surprisingly upbeat after scoring a modest two points from fourth on the grid at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Barrichello cut the championship lead of Jenson Button to 16 points with five races to go after his Brawn GP team mate crashed on the first lap, but his seventh-place finish was anything but smooth.
A clutch problem at the start enabled the entire field to pass him and smoke wafting from his engine three laps from the finish appeared likely to leave him out of the points.
Barrichello said he should have come at least third given his starting place, but refused to be downbeat.
"I think the simple way is to look at this as a positive. A two is better than a zero and better still when you think that two weeks ago I was 26 (points behind) and today 16, so that's for me very positive," he told reporters.
Barrichello gleefully described how he had fought from the back after the initial problem.
"I had a great race, if you think, from being last at the first corner," the 37-year-old said with a smile.
"I just put my head down and I think I overtook three or four down to Eau Rouge (turn) and it looked like I was a youngster going into my first race."
Barrichello, then with a light fuel load, said he would have passed yet more cars, but the crash that ended the race of Button and three other drivers brought on the safety car.
Towards the end, the Brazilian said he had thought his race was over when told smoke was streaming from the back of the car.
"I prayed everything I could in every language ... I dropped the revs and I had to get at least ahead of (Nico) Rosberg into the last straight. I had to take every gamble into the corners so it was a good effort to still finish," he said.
Barrichello noted that this was the third time he had suffered a clutch problem this season, but there was no repeat of his rage in July when accusing Brawn GP of losing him the German Grand Prix. Barrichello had then led at the first corner but finished sixth after a three-stop strategy.
"I don't think it's the case to blame anyone like I thought I had to do in Germany. This is a faulty clutch that we need to understand," he said.
The championship moves to Italy's Monza in two weeks' time.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, August 31, 2009, 09:23