Rubens Barrichello told Ross Brawn he would quit and "go home" if the team favored teammate Jenson Button at the Spanish Grand Prix.
In an interview with a Brazilian radio station just before leaving the track on Sunday, Barrichello said he met with Brawn GP's owner and made it clear he would not accept being relegated to a secondary role.
"I got to the pits and I told Ross Brawn that if he did anything to let Jenson win the race, I would hang up my boots and go home," Barrichello told Radio Jovem Pan. "I don't need this, I'm better than this."
Barrichello said the team owed him an explanation for a change in strategy that apparently cost him the race in favor of the Briton.
"Brawn was clear," Barrichello said. "He said Button's victory was a coincidence."
Barrichello, who spent much of his career in a supporting role to Michael Schumacher at Ferrari, was leading the race ahead of Button when the team changed the Briton's strategy from a three pits stops to two. The team did not change the Brazilian's strategy and he was eventually overtaken by Button and finished second.
(AP via China Daily May 13, 2009)
