 Rubens
Gonçalves Barrichello was born on 23 May 1972 in Sao Paolo, Brazil. From 1981 until 1988,
he won a total of five national go-karting championships in Brazil. This provided his
passport to professional motor-sport: in 1989 he came fourth in the Brazilian Formula-Ford
Championship. In 1990 he came first in the Opel-Lotus Euroseries. In 1991 he was British
Formula 3 Champion and in 1992 he came third in the Formula 3000 World Championship.
Barrichello entered the Formula 1 circuit in 1993 with the Jordan team.
From the word go the then twenty-year-old Barrichello demonstrated his enormous driving
potential. In 1994 he came a surprisingly high sixth in the overall Driver's World
Championship rankings. After four years with Jordan, he switched to the newly-founded
Stewart racing team, who signed Barrichello as their number one driver. In 1999 he
attracted Ferrari's attention with an exceptionally good season in which he ended seventh
in the Driver's World Championship table. On this basis the long-established Italian
racing team signed "Rubinho" for two years.
Rubens 1st season with the Scuderia saw him score 62 points and 4th place in the Word
Championship. It was also the year that Rubens took his first GP victory with an amazing
win at Hockenheim from 18th place on the grid. A solid start to his career with the
Prancing Horse Barrichello help the team secure the constructor's championship with his
consistent points finishes.
The second career win for Barrichello never arrived in the 2001 season as his team-mate
Michael Schumacher dominated the season with 9 wins and 11 pole
positions, Barrichello was
unable to add to his win total nor his pole total although hard luck sometimes hit Rubens
just when a win was looking possible. Barrichello ended the season in third position with
56 points to his name, 6 less than he scored in the 2000 season, but the Brazilians
performances especially towards the end of the season will have given him a welcome boost
of confidence for the 2002 season.
In 2002 Ferrari would begin to see the best of Barrichello as he settled into the team
after his tough opening seasons. 4 wins followed and his performances were much more of a
match for his team mate Michael Schumacher than ever before. Barrichello seemed to forget
his past grievances and get down to business. He suffered once more from bad luck but his
spirits remained high and he finished the season in second place and took the 'vice
champion' crown. Barrichello will be keen to carry this form forward and make 2003 his
best season yet for Ferrari.In 2003 Barrichello once again seemed to
attract all the bad luck in the Ferrari team, but he finished the season
on a massive high by winning the Japanese GP to secure both title's for
Ferrari. Silverstone also gave us another glimpse of the talents
Barrichello possesses as he demolished the opposition in a stunning
drive to take the win. 2003 ended with just those 2 wins and 4th overall
in the standings, but Rubens feels that 2003 has been his best season
with Ferrari yet in terms of performance, and who could disagree.
2004 was a dominant year for Ferrari, and Schumacher in particular,
however Rubens kept up his good form with 2 race wins and 12 podium
finishes and ended the season in 2nd place with a total of 114 points.
However darker times were ahead for Ferrari and Barrichello and in 2005
things were not so good as he scored only 38 points and finished 8th in
the standings. It was also to be Barrichello's last season with Ferrari
as he decided to seek a fresh challenge with the Honda team. There had
been some suggestions that Barrichello was unhappy that Schumacher
overtook him on the last lap at Monaco and this was the reason to spur
his desire to move on from Ferrari.
But Rubens was to find out, it only goes downhill after Ferrari.
Full
details of Barrichello's Ferrari Career |
