By Karl King
July 13 2005

There have been too many rumours flying around about often-overshadowed Rubens Barrichello. The most common being that he could move to BAR-Honda when Jenson Button leaves for life at Williams -

and  perhaps more controversially, Ferrari and BAR could do a swap on drivers between the Brazilian and Englishman.

However, Barrichello has hardly been allowed a word in edgeways in talk about his own future, only managing to remind everyone that he has a contract with Italian based Ferrari through 2006. Whether he stays after that, he says though, is a different story.

It would look even more likely that Barrichello that could go to the Honda powered outfit as we remember that fellow countryman to Rubens, Gil de Ferran, BAR-Honda's sporting director.

But now follows another twist in the tale...

...the Panasonic Toyota Racing squad could be a possibility.

 Rubens told the Brazilian press "I have a keen look about what Toyota and Honda are doing.”

He continued, “I think there is a lot of potential lying idle there."

“I am doing my job seriously and I expect respect for that,” he said.

“If I think that respect is lacking a bit, I can be very outspoken.

“But every time I say something a bit critical about Ferrari, people believe that I am leaving already."

And as he has been keen to point out all through the silly-season, Barrichello remains admant that there is an equal possibility that he could stay at Maranello, as the is that he moves.

"The fact is that I have a contract for 2006 and the chances that I stay there are 50-50."

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Main photo (c) Nick Sparkes and must not be used without permission