Straight From Spain

Dear Friends,

Things are getting better and the race in Barcelona proved that.
The Friday practice was really difficult, as we had already expected, because the track was very different from the previous week. After some changes in the car set up, the Saturday practice started out really well and I almost made it among the first 10.
The race started out well and the car balance was also good. Since we had a lot of gas, I was confident.
Then there was Kovalain’s crash and the safety car came into the track. However, this time I was ok because I had a lot of gas and I wouldn’t have to stop while the safety car was in the track.
When the pit boxes opened, I quickly went inside and made my stop, but when I was leaving, Fisichella was coming in and his back wheel hit the front part of my car. The crash was only a fender bender, but it was enough to break the nose of the car. The problem was that I drove a whole lap with the nose stuck under the car and when it finally fell off, it ended up taking my whole lateral aerodynamics. So, even if the nose had been replaced, the car was still only turning to one side.
We decided to stop because the car was way too slow without its wings.
We think, by our calculations, we could have finished the race 5th, in front of Webber, but now that is history. I’m going to Turkey with a lot of energy and confident that I am closer to scoring and closer to my 257th race!
Take care, Rubens Barrichello