Williams driver Rubens Barrichello still believes that he will be on the 2012 Formula One grid despite not yet having a confirmed drive, after finishing the final race of his 19th season in the sport in Brazil this weekend.
Barrichello's Formula One future has been the subject of much debate over recent months, after it became clear that Williams were looking at other options for their drives next season.
A number of other drivers have been linked with the team, including 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen and the team's current reserve driver Valtteri Bottas.
But after finishing his 19th season of Formula One racing in Brazil on Sunday, Barrichello said that he was still sure he would be around for 2012.
"I want to thank the team for all their hard work this year. We have had a tough season but we've pushed together," he smiled after the race.
He added: "There's been a lot of talk over the weekend, but I believe I will be back again next season."
Barrichello, who made his Formula One debut back in 1993, refused to act as if the race in his home country was his swansong event, and said before the race that he still felt he had more to give the sport.
"I'm a man of the public and I will never say goodbye to them," he told reporters when asked whether he was treating this race as his last F1 event.
He went on: "I think that my work has been extremely well done. I have a lot of speed in myself and I reckon that with all of the changes next year with the engine, the engineers, building up the car, it will be very clever for the team to keep the drivers.
"That is all that I am doing. Trying to show them that that's the way they should do it."
Barrichello's chances of staying in the sport appeared to take a minor upturn during the Brazilian GP event, as rumours emerged that the Raikkonen link with Williams was now unlikely to lead to anything.
But the Brazilian still faces competition from the likes of Bottas, who impressed at the recent Young Driver Test, as well as Adrian Sutil, should the German be released by Force India.
Barrichello has also been mentioned by Eric Boullier as a potential replacement for Robert Kubica for 2012, but he admitted that the Brazilian was not at the top of his wishlist.
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