You have to admire the enthusiasm of Rubens Barrichello, a driver about to embark on his 18th season in Formula One.

He already has a record 284 grand prix starts behind him.

Last season Barrichello was the oldest man on the grid, which led to a considerable amount of teasing from his rivals.

Yet even though he will be 38 in May, remarkably he will no longer be in possession of such a distinctive honour as Pedro de la Rosa is 39 and Michael Schumacher now the ripe old age of 41.

So even though Barrichello will push his number of races beyond the 300 barrier later this year, there is clearly scope for him to take that number up to 350+ should he so desire.

That is always dependent, of course, on whether he does not feel his bones creak when he rolls out of bed in a morning, and more importantly, whether there is a team who believe he still has what it takes.

For this year Williams are that team, a marque Barrichello dreamed of racing for when he was a boy, but who no longer possess the aura of yesteryear when the likes of Alan Jones, Carlos Reutemann, Nigel Mansell and fellow Brazilian Nelson Piquet were behind the wheel.

It is 89 races since the Grove-based squad last took the chequered flag, the longest winless streak in the team's illustrious history, stretching back to the 2004 Brazilian GP when Juan Pablo Montoya claimed the last of the team's 113 victories.

It is hard to imagine such a sad run coming to an end this season, not with McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull expected to sweep all before them.

But Williams cannot be discounted, certainly not when you have a wily, passionate, driven campaigner such as Barrichello to serve you.

Undaunted by his exit from Brawn GP after a season when he pushed team-mate Jenson Button for the title up until the penultimate race of the year, Barrichello's inner fire burns as bright as ever.

"I look at myself in the mirror and I feel I am competitive, so as long as I feel that," was Barrichello's self-assessment.

"I've been so honest about myself to people. The day I feel I go a bit too fast, then I will stop quite soon after that.

"But right now, I don't know when I'm going to stop because I am so enthusiastic about it.

"I am so motivated, and sometimes I scare myself with that."

Arguably, it is that kind of motivation Williams have been lacking in recent years, with the greatest of respect to Nico Rosberg, Alex Wurz and Kazuki Nakajima.

As improbable as it may seem at Williams, the family man from Sao Paulo still believes he can be world champion before he eventually retires.

Although Barrichello was recently mis-quoted as saying he felt closer than ever to the championship, his corrective response is a clear indicator as to his positive mindset.

"I was asked if I thought Brawn was my last chance of being champion, and I said, I don't think so," remarked Barrichello.

"In my mind I have to think the championship is closer than ever, and that is where they got the quote.

"You have to aim for the best, although I am a person who keeps my feet on the ground.

"I am a hard worker so, if the car is capable of doing good, I will do good. If the car is capable of regular positions and improving, then that is where I am going to be.

"It all depends on what the car is capable of doing. I am up to it. I am very motivated, and my experience will count, so I am going to give them all the feedback possible for us to be winners."

As team-mate this year, veteran Barrichello will have alongside him a rookie 15 years his junior in rising German star Nico Hulkenberg.

The 22-year-old has won everything on his journey to F1 - German Formula BMW, A1GP, Euro F3 and GP2 - and as such expectations are high, and he knows it.

"There is nobody who says you have five races to get up to speed and to deliver. You have to be good straightaway," commented Hulkenberg.

"Williams expect me to do a good job, to drive quickly and do well for them.

"They would not have appointed me as a driver if they didn't expect something from me.

"They have not said what that is in terms of numbers or results, but expectations are always there."

Within Williams' own hierarchy there is a belief the team can go on to establish themselves as "one of the top three or four in F1 regularly," according to director of engineering Patrick Head.

Although Williams are now rid of the under-powered Toyota engine, question marks hang over current supplier Cosworth.

Despite that, Head added: "Obviously, our aspiration is to be the top team, but I doubt we can jump from where we were last year to being that.

"When we go to races we want to be competing, not wondering whether we can get out of Q2."