Barrichello hot-laps it around Laguna Seca

Rubens Barrichello

Formula One driver Rubens Barrichello enjoyed some hot laps around the 2.238-mile Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca road course Saturday afternoon. Barrichello was on the Monterey Peninsula to play in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament. He was accompanied by former Indy 500 winner and Carmel resident, Danny Sullivan.

“It is an honor to be here," stated Rubens on his first trip to the track. “I enjoyed every minute. I had so much fun doing laps on the track, and it’s a shame Formula One is not here."

Having come straight from the Pebble Beach, Barrichello was still wearing his golf shoes while driving a Skip Barber Racing School car on the track. He joked, “It was a bit sticky, and I’m sure my times were a bit off."

Barrichello, a nine-time winner in Formula One, squeezed the golf and hot laps between pre-season testing in Spain of the new Honda Formula One car. The F1 season begins March 16 in Australia.

The exciting 2008 race season at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca includes the Monterey Festival of Speed (May 16-18), the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix (July 18-20), the 35th Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races presented by Toyota (August 15-17), the Corona AMA Superbike Finale (September 27-28), and the Monterey Sports Car Championships (October 17-19).