Rubens Barrichello revealed that he would like to remain with the Williams team for 2011.

Rubens Barrichello revealed that he would like to remain with the Williams team for 2011.

In a Portuguese interview, he said these words to Reuters. His comments follow reports that Pastor Maldonado, a Venezuelan pay-driver, could replace the veteran Brazilian.

It was previously believed that Barrichello’s German rookie teammate Nico Hulkenberg would be the first to leave if the Oxfordshire-based team decided to sign Maldonado, 25, and his sponsor.

Barrichello, 39, stated that “I’ve done an excellent job this year” and was focusing on next year’s car.

Barrichello is currently in Sao Paulo, Brazil ahead of the Brazilian grand prix. He also stated that he has no plans to talk with any other F1 teams.

The Brazilian claimed last month that he was “100%” certain that he would drive for Williams in 2011, even though the deal hadn’t been officially confirmed.

Barrichello replied that a deal was not in place when asked Thursday by a reporter: “That’s something Williams will need to ask.”

When he was asked about his participation in the 18th home grand prix, he said: “Our car keeps getting better and all that I can hope for are a positive weekend.”

“The season started poorly. We thought we had a great car, but it was difficult for us to get in the top ten.

Barrichello stated, “But the relationship with the team was very strong and we managed to improve.”

Globo quotes him saying that he has been working on the car for next years. We will only find out what the regulations mean, but the design is bold. 2011 is going be better than the one we have now.