Motor racing-Barrichello says he will ignore any team orders

By Alan Baldwin

BARCELONA, May 10 (Reuters) - Rubens Barrichello ruled out playing a subservient role to Brawn GP team mate Jenson Button on Sunday and said he would quit Formula One if he got the slightest sniff that the Briton was being favoured.

The Brazilian, who finished second to the championship leader after a sudden strategy switch at the Spanish Grand Prix, told a Speed TV reporter he would "hang up his helmet" if he suspected the team were not giving him an equal chance.

So-called 'team orders' are banned in Formula One, with Barrichello having suffered from them during his years at Ferrari as loyal sidekick to seven-times world champion Michael Schumacher.

In the most notorious incident that caused uproar around the world and led to the clampdown on team orders, Barrichello had to let Schumacher overtake and win the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix.

Ross Brawn, who was technical director of Ferrari at the time, denied after Sunday's race that there had been any attempt to favour Button by switching him to a two-stop strategy while keeping Barrichello, who was leading, on three.

"I'd love to see Rubens win a race and see his crew win a race because it would be great for the team," he told reporters.

Barrichello, who overtook Button into the first corner for the lead, told a news conference that he would ignore any team orders anyway.

"I'm very experienced with that, and if that happens, I won't follow any team orders any more. I'm making it clear now, so everybody knows," he said with Button sitting alongside.