Rubens Barrichello has admitted he would happily step back into the cockpit of a formula one car, to race one more time just for "the pleasure and passion".
The Brazilian, who holds the record for the longest ever grand prix career in history, lost his Williams drive at the end of 2011, turning to Indycar and now Brazil’s touring car series.
So as he prepares to turn his mind back to F1 as an expert pundit for Brazilian TV, the 40-year-old gave Globo a tour of his Sao Paulo home — including his private collection of F1 helmets.
The collection is varied and rare, ranging from Fernando Alonso’s silver McLaren design of 2007, to a Ferrari-liveried Michael Schumacher helmet, and designs sported by Jenson Button, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel.
"This one," Barrichello said, picking up his own familiar design, "I got all the signatures of everyone at my last formula one race. Everyone," he repeated enthusiastically.
"I told everyone it was for the (Barrichello-Kanaan) institute, but in the end I preferred to just give the institute the money and keep this memory of my last race.
"I didn’t think it was going to be my last race, so I missed the farewell," he added.
"My time in F1 is over, but if someone on the grid gets a stomach-ache, I will find the time," he joked. "For the pleasure and the passion."