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Rubens Barrichello believes Williams will be making a mistake if it elects to slot in a younger pay driver as his replacement for 2012.

The Brazilian is hoping to secure a fresh deal at the outfit for next season, but sources suggest that Williams is weighing up the commercial benefits of taking a driver who has sponsorship funds behind him instead.

Speculation suggests that three of the contenders on Williams' list for 2012, who each have backers, are Adrian Sutil, Bruno Senna and Giedo van der Garde.

Barrichello has said that there have been no recent developments in terms of his future, and that he has been looking at other options in case Williams elects not to stick with him.

"I have other things going on in F1, and I have talked to other people too," said Barrichello about his future situation.

"My feeling right now is unless Williams have money problems, they should stick with what they have right now: a very experienced and very motivated driver with a young driver developing himself.

"To have two kids for next year is the wrong thing to have. I am just waiting on my side. I cannot offer any more."

Barrichello's team-mate Pastor Maldonado is virtually guaranteed a seat at Williams, thanks to the lucrative sponsorship deal that the team has with Venezuelan oil company PDVSA.

AUTOSPORT understands that next year's deal could be worth between £21 million and £29.4 million depending on the level of logo exposure PDVSA has on the car.

Despite having such a healthy sponsor behind the team, however, the outfit will need to further bolster its finances thanks to the potential drop in television rights earnings that it could suffer if it does not improve on its current ninth place in the constructors' championship.

Barrichello believes that he still has plenty to offer in F1, and that he is not looking at continuing in grand prix simply to make up the numbers.

"You are there because you enjoy it, because you love what you do," he said. "You feel competitive because you beat your team-mate and you do well. If I have the chance of grabbing a nice car I know I can win.

"To be here 20 years for the sake of being here, I would rather stay home. I have had enough of the politics and so on, but I still want to drive the fastest car, which is an F1 car."