Rubens Barrichello says he hopes to stay with the Williams team in 2011 amid reports his seat at the team is far from secure.The veteran of over 300 grands prix said last month that he was '100 per cent' certain that he would be with the team next year but now it appears that both Barrichello and team-mate Nico Hulkenberg have an equal chance of being replaced, most probably by Venezuelan pay-driver Pastor Maldonado.
"I've done a good job this year and I'm focused on the car for next year, so I'm hoping to stay," said Barrichello in a Portuguese interview with Reuters.
GP2 champion Maldonado carries a reported US $15 million of sponsorship from state-owned petroleum company PDVSA, making him an extremely attractive proposition to the Grove based team who are set to lose a number of sponsors including RBS.
And a recent report in Auto Motor und Sport reveals that the Oxfordshire based team does not intend to confirm either Hulkenberg or Barrichello until the winter period.
When asked on Thursday if a deal is in place to keep him, Barrichello said: "That's something you will have to ask Williams."
Doubts into Barrichello's future at the team were raised when engineering boss Patrick Head said Hulkenberg had performed well enough in 2010 to keep his seat.
"I think Nico has done enough, both before he entered F1 and since being in F1, to support the view that he is a justified driver," commented Head in Korea.
Source: ESPNF1
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