Brazilian drivers Rubens Barrichello of Williams and Felipe Massa of Ferrari
"The advice I gave to him was to retire. In my opinion, Rubens has had an incredible career in Formula One, he has driven for the best teams and won races. Many drivers would like to have the career he had. I did not say 'you should retire, you're old'. It is because of his team and everything that is happening in the sport. There are 12 teams there, and six of them are asking for money from its drivers. Based on the career that Rubens has had, I cannot see it ending this way, having to pay to race in F1," said Massa.
Barrichello is currently still without a contract for 2012, although he is still determined to extend his Formula One career into a twentieth consecutive season next year. He has already admitted to the O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper that he has been working hard behind the scenes looking for sponsors.
“My desire to continue in Formula One is such that in the last two months I visited more companies than I did in 1990, when I was looking for sponsors to race overseas,” Barrichello said.
However, Massa is also quoted by O Estado de S.Paulo: "At 40 years old, he does not need it. He should make the announcement now that he is going to stop.
"If his idea to find investors fails, what is he going to do? Announce in February that he is leaving F1?"
