Rubens Barrichello

At 51 years old, Rubens Barrichello has this physical status:

Rubens "Rubinho" Gonçalves Barrichello (Portuguese pronunciation: [ubjz ba" (pronounced bu) [Ughz bail]; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competed in Formula One from 1993 to 2011. He now works full time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, primarily as the No. 1 in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series. 111 For Full Time Sports, a Toyota Corolla E210. He has won 11 Grand Prix titles and 68 podiums.

Barrichello rode for Ferrari from 2000 to 2005 as Michael Schumacher's assistant, finishing as the third runner-up in 2002 and 2004, and third in 2001, while contributing to five constructors' titles for the team during his time as a member of the Jordan and Stewart teams. Barrichello resigned from Ferrari to Honda in 2005, at the end of the year. In 2009, he came third in the Drivers' Championship for Brawn GP as his colleague Jenson Button won the driver's race, and the team retained the constructors' championship. In 2010, he was also elected chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Union.

Barrichello joined KV Racing Technology in 2012 to compete in the IndyCar series after two years with Williams F1 Team. After being unable to find a ride for the 2013 season, he returned to Brazil to compete in the Brazilian Stock Car V8 Series, winning the championship in 2014 while driving for Full Time Sports.

In 2013, he began covering F1 race weekends for Brazil's TV Globo, speaking with pilots and team members on the grid and commenting during qualifying and race coverage.

Early life

He comes from Veneto, Italy (from the town of Riese, province of Treviso). His maternal line of the family is of Portuguese origins. Both his father and paternal grandfather are named Rubens, and Barrichello shares his father's birthday on May 23. Rubens Barrichello was also known as Rubinho (Portuguese for "little Rubens"), which has since become his nickname.

Barrichello won five karting titles in Brazil before heading to Europe to compete in the Formula Vauxhall Lotus series in 1990. He won the championship in his first year, a feat he repeated the following year in the British Formula 3 Championship, defeating David Coulthard. At 19 years old, he almost joined Formula One, the highest segment of single seater racing. In 1992, he competed in Formula 3000 rather than Formula 3000. He came in third place in the championship and spent time with the Jordan Formula One team in 1993. Barrichello lived in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, during this period and also early in his Formula One career.

Personal life

Barrichello lives in So Paulo, Mexico. Barrichello owned an Embraer Legacy 600 (s/n 14500802) for commuting between races.

During the show's Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segment, Barrichello formerly set the fastest time by a Formula One racer around the Top Gear test track. His lap time of 1:44.3 put him ahead of the Stig by 0.1 seconds. Stig's deep hatred of Barrichello fueled Jeremy Clarkson's frequent mention of it.

Barrichello was admitted to the hospital in February 2018 after suffering from headaches, where it was discovered that he had a benign tumor that was later removed. On "Beyond The Grid," he admitted to being divorced in 2019.

Eduardo Barrichello, Barrichello's son, is also a racing pilot, and he is currently competing in the Formula Regional European Championship.

Source

Formula One career

He started from 12th place in Barrichello's third run, the European Grand Prix, but by the time of the first lap, he was fourth in fourth place. He finished second and third, despite having passed the Williams of Damon Hill and Alain Prost before running into a fuel pressure problem. Jordan's reputation in 1993 was poor, and he only ran in a handful of races. Barrichello's more experienced colleagues, Ivan Capelli, and Thierry Boutsen, were notably outpaced by him. Michael Andretti came close to scoring his first Grand Prix point (and the team's first this year), but Michael Andretti won his sixth and final points-scoring position in the French Grand Prix. He finished fifth in the Japanese Grand Prix, his only points finish of the season, ahead of his new teammate Eddie Irvine. He currently ranks 18th in the standings because of these two points.

1994 varsity with a fourth position in Brazil and a third position at Aida, his first podium appearance. Barrichello finished second in the drivers' rankings, behind Michael Schumacher, who had won the two races. However, he suffered a violent crash during Friday practice, hitting the wall at the Variante Bassa and flipping the car. With his tongue blocking his airway, he was unconscious and put him in danger. Barrichello credited Sid Watkins' on-track work with saving his life. During the weekend, Roland Ratzenberger died during Saturday's qualifying session when he crashed his Simtek at the curva Villeneuveneuveneuveneuve, many of whom were fatal, while Barrichello's mentor Ayrton Senna crashed his Williams at Tamburello and later died, according to a website. The deaths of Barrichello had left a lasting impression on the town.

He took pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix later this season and led some laps at Estoril later in the season. His pole position at Spa-Francorchamps tied for the youngest driver to hold pole position at that time. He earned his fourth position in Adelaide at the end of the season. He finished his season sixth overall in the Drivers' Championship with 19 points, outscoring Irvine, who scored six points.

Barrichello earned a second-place finish in Montreal during the 1995 season, but the Jordan cars were less reliable than those in 1994, mainly because Jordan took over the work Peugeot engine contract from the McLaren team. In three races, he lost seven points on the final lap, including a high-speed collision with Mark Blundell at Silverstone, and mechanical failures in Barcelona and Hungary. Barrichello ended the season in 11th with 11 points, one ahead of Irvine.

In 1996, there were a lot of hopes for the revival of optimism. The Benson & Hedges cigarette brand received an infusion of sponsorship to the team. Barrichello was one of the frontrunners of Brazil's second race of the season before losing his brakes after his brakes overheated. Jordan, on the other hand, became less competitive as the season progressed. Barrichello's association with team owner Eddie Jordan soured through 1996 and the year's end, when being linked to good teams, including Benetton, who were later extended by Gerhard Berger due to the Austrian's increase in sponsorship), he left for the newly formed Stewart Grand Prix. Jordan's last season ended in 14 points.

Stewart's rookie season in 1997 had frequent reliability issues, but Barrichello finished only three races. The highlight of the evening was a second-place finish in Monaco, taking him 13th in the standings. Jan Magnussen, a teammate, was not allowed to score. Barrichello married Silvana Giaffone on February 24th, the same year. She is a niece and nephew of Stock Car Brasil champions Affonso Giaffone and Zeca Giaffone, who are cousins.

Stewart's 1998 was no better, with two fifth positions being the team's best results. Despite the team's ineffectiveness, Barrichello consistently defeated Magnussen, resulting in the latter's dismissal from the French Grand Prix, where Jos Verstappen was the third teammate disqualified by Barrichello, another teammate defeated by Barrichello.

1999 was a much better year for the Stewart team. Barrichello finished third at his home race in Brazil, outpacing Michael Schumacher's Ferrari and leading a lap before his engine blew near 'Subida dos Boxes.' He also took pole position in the French wet qualifying session and three podium finishes at the San Marino, France, and European Grand Prix. Johnny Herbert, his coworker, won the second race. Despite this, Barrichello outpaced his coworkers in the team's uniform. He followed Ferrari designer Jean Todt's eye over the year and was signed for the 2000 season.

Barrichello won his first Grand Prix victory at Hockenheim in 2000, when he and the team decided to stay on dry-weather tyres when it was raining on part of the circuit. With a start from 18th on the grid, this risky call saw him leap-frog the McLarens who opted to pit for wet weather tyres to win the race. It was the longest any driver in Formula One history to win a grand prix for the first time. Barrichello had a good debut season with the company, winning most races on the podium, but Michael Schumacher, Mika Häkkinen, and David Coulthard led them outscored. Barrichello ended the season fourth after supporting Schumacher as he battled and defeated Häkkinen for the Drivers' Championship and then helped Ferrari win the Constructors' Championship.

Barrichello ended the 2001 season in third place, with a total of ten podium finishes and scoring a total of 56 championship points. He was close to winning in Monza, but the Ferrari pit crew did a poor job. He finished the season winless, and Schumacher played a key supporting role for Schumacher, helping him win his second Drivers' Championship with Ferrari and helping the team win the Constructors' Championship for the third year in a row.

Barrichello's success at Ferrari continued in 2002, when he won four races for the team and finished second in the Drivers' Championship for the second time in his career, winning 77 championship points. However, the year was marked by infighting, when Ferrari's orders ordered Barrichello to invite the trailing Schumacher to pass him on the final straight of the Austrian Grand Prix to win. Schumacher exchanged podium positions with Barrichello at the podium ceremony and gave Barrichello the winner's trophy. The drivers were banned from participating in podium discussions, and Ferrari's blatant team orders resulted in the FIA's ban on team orders starting in 2003.

Barrichello finished third in the 2003 season, scoring 65 points, including victories at Silverstone and Suzuka, and a pivotal role in assisting Schumacher and Ferrari in winning the drivers' and Constructors' Championships. Barrichello finished second in only seven of the first thirteen races in 2004, but he won both the Italian Grand Prix and the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix to clinch second place in the championship, winning 114 points and 14 podiums in the season. Though Barrichello had good cars during his Ferrari tenure, his best result at his home track was a third place in 2004. He failed to finish eleven of the fifteen Brazilian Grand Prix in which he has competed.

Ferrari lacked the energy of previous years in 2005 as a result of tyre laws' changes. Ferrari used Bridgestone tyres, which were less effective than those of Michelin's. Barrichello's best results this season came in two second places in Melbourne and then at the United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis, where all the Michelin-running cars were banned following the formation lap, leaving only six cars in the field. With 38 points, he ended the season in eighth place in the drivers' standings, his lowest season with Ferrari.

Barrichello had a Ferrari deal until 2006, after which he was supposed to be replaced with Kimi Raikkonen for the 2007 season, according to an August 2022 interview with Felipe Massa. However, in early 2005, Honda had approached him to drive them, and being dissatisfied with Ferrari's treatment, he asked the team to terminate his employment in 2005. Felipe had him since the 2006 season.

He revealed in August 2005 that he would leave Ferrari at the end of the year to join Honda. Barrichello's lucky number is "11," which was the number he borrowled when he took his first race. Jenson Button, Barrichello's current teammate, gave him the number for his vehicle in goodwill in 2006. Barrichello was initially defeated by Button, but the car did not fit his driving style, particularly under braking. He was able to be more competitive after making the vehicle more efficient. He almost earned his first podium appearance with the team in Monaco, but then he was given a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane and ended fourth. Despite losing a podium, it was the best show at the Monaco Grand Prix for Honda (as a team) or any Japanese team. Barrichello exchanged helmet liveries with Tony Kanaan, a Brazilian Indy Car racer and one of his closest friends, for the race. Kanaan competed in the 2006 Indianapolis 500 race, wearing Barrichello's helmet livery. Barrichello finished third in the Chinese Grand Prix, behind Schumacher and Räikkönen. With 30 points, 26 behind Button, he finished seventh in the drivers' standings this season.

Barrichello did not score any points during the 2007 season due to Honda's lack of speed. Despite his retirement only twice, his ninth position in the British Grand Prix was his best result of the season, and he only once qualified in the top ten. Despite this, Honda revealed on July 19th, 2007, that Barrichello would remain with the team as a race driver for the 2008 season. He had a chance to make the five race starts he was required to beat Riccardo Patrese's record for the driver that had started the most Grands Prix for the first time, a record that had been standing for 14 years.

Barrichello placed 10th in the first race of the 2008 season, ahead of Button. He came in sixth, but he was disqualified for ignoring a red light at the pit exit. During the competition, he was given a stop-and-goal penalty for entering the pits while they were closed during a safety ban period. Gearbox issues limited his results, and he finished 13th. He dropped out of the points in Bahrain once more.

Barrichello's 257th Grand Prix was the most popular driver in F1 history, beating Patrese's record of 256 Grand Prix starts and becoming the most veteran driver in F1 history. He broke this record by starting certain races, including the 2002 Spanish Grand Prix, but Barrichello and Honda insist Turkey would be the site of the official celebrations.

He scored his first points since 2006 in Monaco, while in Canada he scored in a straight position, finishing seventh after starting in ninth position in 9th place. He led some laps due to the safety car's appearance, but the order fell back to the end of the race. Barrichello did not repeat his results from the two previous championships and qualified in 17th at Magny-Cours. He fell to 20th after a gearbox upgrade. He came in 14th in the run.

He qualified 16th at Silverstone, his second home, outpacing Button. He came in third, achieving his first podium appearance since 2005, despite heavy rain on race day and an excellent wet tyre. However, David Coulthard's collision in Germany ended his hopes for points, but not for long. He was lapped by the king in Hungary, repeating the same feat in Valencia. He qualified in Belgium but had to cancel due to a gearbox failure. He was second fastest in Friday practice and started from 16th on the grid, and had a wet Monza record. He managed to finish ninth in his second pit stop but he ended up 17th as a result of using the wrong tyre. He was in a good spot to start scoring some points after pitting before the safety car period was over, but shortly after, he had to stop and retire. He started on the grid in Japan but managed to finish 13th by the end of the season. He managed to get into Q2 in China for the first time in ten races, and he'll be ranked 14th. But after Mark Webber's ten-place penalty for an engine upgrade was included, he was promoted to 13th. He got off to a good start on race day and climbed to 10th early on, but maintained a solid mid-table finish all season and finished 11th, five places ahead of Button, who had struggled all weekend.

He was wearing an alternative helmet at his home Grand Prix in Brazil in honor of Ingo Hoffmann, and he came in 15th overall.

Honda revealed on December 5, 2008, that they were canceling F1 due to the economic recession. Months of speculation regarding whether a buyer could be found and whether they should keep Barrichello resulted in months of speculation.

Ross Brawn, the Honda team's manager, bought the Honda team a few weeks before the season opener in Melbourne, renaming it Brawn GP and removing the possibility of possible closure. Barrichello was the object of persistent rumors that he would miss his seat to Bruno Senna, the nephew of his colleague, idol, and mentor Ayrton Senna. In the end, the Brawn decided not to keep Barrichello to partner Jenson Button in 2009. Both Barrichello and Button stunned the paddock with their fast lap times, outperforming others by up to two seconds and foreshadowing the team's results in the early races in Barcelona.

Barrichello led the timesheets in the first two parts of qualifying, but second on the grid behind teammate Button. Despite a poor start due to his engine's breakdown into anti-stall, he did well to recover and lost only a few positions at the start. In the first corner crash, however, he suffered damage to the front wing and rear diffuser, as well as Mark Webber's hopes of a good finish. Despite this, Barrichello ended up in second place after Sebastian Vettel and Robert Kubica collided with just 2 laps remaining. After the race was postponed at Sepang due to heavy rain, he started eighth in Malaysia after receiving a grid penalty for a gearbox upgrade and finishing in fifth position.

At Shanghai, he outlasted Button in qualifying but he had trouble with his brakes when one of them stopped working in the first stint and finished fourth, the fastest lap in the race. His front wing adjustor in Bahrain failed during his qualifying run, jeopardizing his ardent 3-pit-stop race scheme and landing in fifth place. He came third on the grid for the Spanish Grand Prix, but he overtook Button and second place man Vettel to lead the race in the first corner in the first straight. In his third stint, he was unable to execute on his three-stop plan due to a lack of energy sparked by massive amounts of understeer on his third set of tyres, placing second behind Button, who switched to a 2-stop tactic during the competition.

Barrichello was pipped for pole by a late-charging Button and Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen at Monaco. He jumped Finn into Sainte Devote, which got him off to a promising start. Barrichello's ultrasoft tyres did not perform as well as Button's in the first stint, and he pitted earlier than expected, and Button took the lead. The top three remained unchanged for the duration of the series, with some reshuffling during the pit stop windows. Barrichello became the fastest lap racer in Formula One history at lap 47, beating Michael Schumacher's record of 13,909 laps. He had gearbox issues and retired in Turkey for the first time this season, giving Button a point advantage, while in the United Kingdom, Barrichello finished second, beating Button for the first time in 2009 en route to third place.

Barrichello took the lead at the first corner in Germany, but after his first stop, he came out behind Felipe Massa who held him up. During his second stop, he came in sixth, a spot behind teammate Jenson Button. "It was a good show from the team in how to lose a race" and "They made me forfeit the race," Brawn GP said after the race. "He had the 11th-fastest time of the race," team principal Ross Brawn said of the incident. You can't win a race with that speed. However, he refused to condemn Barrichello for his outburst. Barrichello has since admitted that he overreacted and that he would not have won because the Red Bull cars were half a lap faster than him.

The Brawn cars in Hungary struggled and lacked energy as a result of tire and aerodynamics issues. Barrichello's first finish outside the points in 2009 was 10th, his first appearance outside the points, and three places behind Button. Barrichello won his 10th Grand Prix title and his first appearance by a Brazilian driver in Formula One, ranking him as the top finisher in the Championship in Valencia. Felipe Massa, an ill fellow, was honoured with a plaque on the top of his race helmet.

He qualified fourth at Spa, but he suffered from anti-stall for the third time in 2009 and was crowned dead, but he missed out four drivers, including teammate Button. Though the safety car was out, he pitted and changed tactics, allowing him to jump back to seventh position. The car had an engine oil leak during the final three laps, but he still managed to finish before his car caught fire in the pit lane after the race. Despite having more fuel to try a different tactic with just one stop at Monza, he came in 5th place. Barrichello didn't lose too much time after passing Kovalainen at the start, as he had the benefit of only one stop against Hamilton, Räikkönen, and Sutil's two-stop tactic. By Hamilton's second pit stop, Button and Barrichello were ranked first and second. Hamilton tried to compel Button to come back to his car, but he crashed on the last lap, giving third place to Räikkönen and fourth to Sutil. Barrichello dominated the 11th race of his Formula One career, taking more points on Button in their global championship battle.

He had to upgrade his gearbox and request a five-place grid penalty in Singapore. He crashed his car in qualifying while in fifth place in fifth place. Barrichello would debut ninth and finish sixth as a result of Nick Heidfeld's start from the pitlane, while Button came in fifth, while Button placed fifth. He originally qualified fifth in Japan, but he was fined five spots grid penalty for failing to slow down during a yellow flag tie near the end of Q2 when Sébastien Buemi crashed. Nico Rosberg and Heidfeld were expected to finish fifth overall, with Button behind in the closing stages of the competition, but after being out ahead and save fuel, he was able to keep pace and save fuel, dropping Barrichello to seventh. Barrichello closed the points deficit to fourteen points, effectively putting Brawn just out of reach for the Constructors' title with Button finishing eighth.

In Brazil, Barrichello claimed pole position in a rain-soaked qualifying session with title rivals Button and Vettel down the order on September 14th and 16th respectively. Barrichello missed out on the chance of advancing to the final race after failing to gain enough of an advantage over Button to do so. In the quest for a title, Button came in fifth. He qualified and placed fourth in Abu Dhabi and finished 4th. Vettel won the race, placing second in the standings, with Barrichello finishing third in the championship with 77 points.

McLaren offered Barrichello a job in 2010. He did not accept because he had already signed a Williams deal and did not want to renege on his pledge to the team. Jenson Button, Barrichello's 2009 teammate, was eventually to fill the McLaren seat. Williams named Barrichello and Nico Hülkenberg as their official racers for the 2010 season on November 2nd. Barrichello will be in Formula One for at least another season, and the first racer in Formula One history to race in over 300 Grands Prix.

Barrichello finished at the top of the timesheets once more in pre-season testing due to rain. He was outpaced by his rookie teammate Hülkenberg in some sessions. Williams was the second team in terms of kilometres covered and displayed some resiliability, but the front-runners Red Bull, Ferrari, and McLaren were off pace.

Barrichello finished tenth in the series and placed eleventh on the grid for the first race of the season in Bahrain. He finished eighth in Australia, bringing him to within two points of Senna's record. He stalled on the Malaysian grid due to an overheated clutch, but he returned to his twelfth place at the end. He ranked fifth in China after finishing twelfth. Despite starting 18th on the grid and equaling Senna's record, he benefited from Lewis Hamilton's late crash to finish in second, finishing in ninth.

He started ninth in Monaco and then climbed to sixth position in the first corner. He suffered from a suspension leak as a result of a loose drain cap and crashed heavily. He threw the car's steering wheel out when it had collided in the middle of a 120-mph corner with his car on fire. Hispania, Karun Chandhok, took over this.

He finished 15th at the Turkish Grand Prix, qualifying him in fifteenth place. He dropped to 20th position at the start of the season due to an overheating clutch. A bad pit stop failed to help his cause, and he ended in 14th place. When Barrichello finished in fourteenth at the Canadian Grand Prix, it was very similar. He came in 11th, barely missing Q3, but his anti-stall device was off at the start of the season, but his anti-stall function was operational from the start of the race. He later collided with Jaime Alguersuari as Alguersuari came too late to cover his lines, resulting in the damage blocking Barrichello's left brake duct.

The Williams team in Valencia underwent significant changes and even ran their own version of the F-duct. Barrichello qualified ninth with his colleague Hülkenberg, who also qualified ninth. When the safety car was released at the end of lap nine and pulled straight into the pits, he was running seventh. When the safety car pitted, he was able to finish fourth, his highest finish so far this season. Nine cars were suspended for speeding under the safety car during the course of the race, and were later fined a five-second penalty. This made no difference to Barrichello's debut and made him the highest-scoring Brazilian driver in Formula One history, beating Ayrton Senna's record of 614 points, which was the first Brazilian Grand Prix ties on record. With a twelfth at Hockenheim in between, he added to his total at Silverstone and tenth in Hungary.

Barrichello won his 300th Grand Prix at the Belgian Grand Prix, but after colliding with Fernando Alonso's Ferrari on the first lap, he was forced to return in damp weather. He was elected Chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association before the race to replace outgoing Nick Heidfeld.

He qualified in tenth at Monza and had a tough run in the competition to finish in the same place for a second time. The FW32 had a new front wing in Singapore, and Barrichello put it to good use in qualifying for the sixth fastest time, although Williams technical director Sam Michael said the car was quick enough to be a few positions higher. Despite losing places to Robert Kubica and Nico Rosberg at the start, Barrichello had a good run to sixth at the finish. He began in seventh in Japan and raced vigorously before falling to ninth place as he was overtaken by the two Saubers in the closing stages of the competition.

Despite being blocked by Michael Schumacher, he qualified in Korea as tenth in the tenth position. He suffered heavy tyre wear on the intermediates and much lower in the closing stages of the race, dropping him to seventh place at the finish. He earned his sixth position in unstable weather at Interlagos, with teammate Hülkenberg starting from pole position. After a long pitstop, his usual bad luck on home soil returned when he suffered a puncture after briefly colliding with Jaime Alguersuari, costing him nothing in terms of scoring points. He began in Abu Dhabi and landed in seventh place, and he held that position right after the start. Nevertheless, when the safety car was released following Michael Schumacher's death and Vitantonio Liuzzi's accident, many pilots such as Robert Kubica, Vitaly Petrov, and Nico Rosberg profited from this by pitting early. They didn't have to pit again, and Barrichello finished outside the points, which had a negative effect.

Williams named Barrichello as one of the team's starters for the 2011 season on November 15, 2010. Pastor Maldonado was his teammate in 2011 and was a member of his churchmate.

He returned from Australia with a transmission blockage. With leaking hydraulics, he had to leave Malaysia. In the next three races, he came in last place, but in Monaco and Canada, he came in last place. He was his 13th in Valencia and thirteenth in the United Kingdom, but he was forced to leave Germany due to an oil leak. He finished every race outside of the top 30 points after that but made no further retirements after that. Michael Schumacher's last run in the 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix was a quiet farewell, finishing 14th, ahead of former teammate Michael Schumacher.

Barrichello revealed he was fired by Frank Williams in a phone call in early January 2012, and Williams reported that Bruno Senna would replace Barrichello at Williams for the 2012 season on January 17, 2012. Senna was selected due to his financial assistance.

Manfredi Ravetto, a former Caterham F1 team principal, said in an interview that a deal was signed with Barrichello to substitute Kamui Kobayashi for the final three races of the season, ensuring the car will be competitive. It was not, and the Caterham team was put in jeopardy, so Barrichello did not join the team.

IndyCar career

Robin Miller, an American writer, announced that Barrichello was going to try an IndyCar for KV Racing Technology with friend Tony Kanaan on January 25, 2012. The test took place in Sebring between 30-31 January and 1 February. In late February, he also tested for the team at Infineon Raceway.

Barrichello joined KV Racing Technology for the 2012 season to lead the team's number eight entry alongside Kanaan and E. J. Viso, both sponsored by Brazilian construction company Embrase on March 1, 2012. On May 27, 2012, Barrichello rode in his first Indianapolis 500 race. He led two laps and finished 11th, and was named Rookie of the Year in 2012 for the second time. He had two top-six finishes and finished in 12th place in the championship during the remainder of the year.

Source