Rubens Barrichello

Rubens Barrichello (born the May 23rd 1972 with São Paulo, Brazil -) is a Brazilian pilot of automobile race. He made his beginnings in Formule 1 in 1993. Since the retirement of Michael Schumacher, at the end of the season 2006, it became - at only 34 years - oldest of the pilots in activity. Winner of 9 Grands Prix to date, it disputed the season 2007 at Honda at the sides of Jenson Button.

If its engagement at Honda is confirmed for 2008, it could dispute on May 11th, 2008 at the time of the Grand Prix of Turkey, 5th sleeve of the season, its 257e Grand Prix, becoming thus the pilot having disputed the most Grand Prix formulates 1 of them front Riccardo Patrese.

Biography

Before Formula 1

Born with São Paulo, and originating in a family which has a garage near famous the circuit of Interlagos, Rubens Barrichello quickly launches out in the automobile Sport. As of its more young age, it disputes its first competitions of Karting. Later, it will take down five championships there.

At 18 years, it leaves for Europe to carry out its beginnings in automobile sport, in the championship of GM Lotus Euroseries, which it gains. In 1991, it passes in the British championship of Formula 3, within the stable of Dick Bennett (for which its mentor Ayrton Senna had also rolled 8 years before) and again takes down the title as of its first year of participation while imposing itself in particular in front of the British David Coulthard.

Lastly, in 1992, it reaches the international championship of Formule 3000. Caught up with by its inexperience, and also handicapped by a material which is not always with the height of best, it must be satisfied with the third final place to the championship. A sufficiently convincing result to obtain, with the assistance of powerful Brazilian sponsors, a wheel in Formula 1 at Jordan for the season 1993.

Beginnings at Jordan at 20 years

Barrichello made its beginnings in Formule 1 the March 14th 1993, on the Circuit of Kyalami, at the time of the Grand Prix of South Africa. At only 20 years, it becomes one of the youngest pilots of the history of the championship of the world. Its first Grand Prix shows an abandonment following a problem of gear box, a concern which gives the one season old tone marked by the unreliability of its mounting, since it will add up 9 abandonments in 16 races. But that does not prevent it from being shown regularly with its advantage. In qualifications first of all, where it dominates copiously of the fellow-members as tested as Ivan Capelli or Thierry Boutsen, but also in race, as with the Grand Prix of Europe, disputed on the wet track of the Circuit of Donington, where it is in 3rd position before being constrained with the abandonment with six turns of the arrival by a problem of gasoline pressure. Even if it must await the end of season and a fifth place with the Japan to register its only points of the season, Barrichello seems for much the revelation of the season.

The season 1994 starts on excellent bases for Rubens, which thanks to a fourth place with the GP of Brazil, then in a third place with the GP of the Pacific, points in astonishing a third place of the championship of the pilots after only two tests, and confirms that it is one of the great hopes of the discipline. Its progression is however quite close to brutally stopping when during the first free tests of the Grand Prix of San Marino, it suddenly loses the control of its single-seater at the entry of a fast baffle (one will speak about a puncture) before taking off, to be crushed against a wall of tires then to be turned over. Barrichello is transported unconscious to the hospital of the circuit, letting fear the worst on its health condition, until Ayrton Senna, come to its bedside, does not bring reassuring news of its protected young person. Suffering from light wounds, Barrichello is fixed price for the remainder of the weekend, but of return in the bed as of the following day. It is thus of spectator whom it assists saturdays with the fatal accident of Roland Ratzenberger, then Sunday with that of his/her friend and mentor Ayrton Senna.
Very touched by the events of the GP of San Marino, Barrichello does not achieve of it less one remarkable season, in spite of again a sometimes random reliability of its Jordan-Binder. It finishes in the fourth place with four additional recoveries, and takes down the August 28th at the time of the Grand Prix of Belgium on the circuit of Spa-Francorchamps its very first pole-position, becoming thus youngest poleman of the history of the Formula 1 (a record which will be beaten only in season 2003 by Fernando Alonso, then by Lewis Hamilton at the time of the season 2007). It buckles its season in the sixth place of the championship of the world, with 19 points with the meter.

In season 1995, Barrichello is very awaited, and that more especially as the Jordan stable signed a partnership with the motor mechanic Peugeot and can thus re-examine its ambitions with the rise. But the pressure is a little strong for the Brésilien young person, inevitably presented by its compatriots like “new Senna”. In spite of a beautiful second place at the time of the GP of Canada, it seems to lose with the wire of the races of its ease of the former seasons, and undergoes in-house the rise to power of its impetuous fellow-member Eddie Irvine. Whereas Barrichello had been a time had a presentiment of to join Michael Schumacher at Ferrari for the following season, it is besides the Irishman who is preferred to him.

Always at Jordan in season 1996, Barrichello carries out a solid beginning of the season, but like the previous year, divides itself during the year. Increasingly dissatisfied of its young pilot, Eddie Jordan means its intention to him not to prolong its contract. With low with the purse of the pilots, it seems to have to be solved to leave F1 for CART when the former world champion Jackie Stewart and his son Paul call upon him.

A new adventure with Stewart Grand Prix

Within the young person and cordial team Stewart, Barrichello is not long in finding the flattering reputation of its beginnings. Admittedly, the chronic unreliability of its mounting enables him to rejoin the arrival only with three recoveries at the time of the season 1997, but thanks to several blows of glare in qualification and in astonishing a second place under the flood with the GP of Monaco (where its tires Bridgestone were it is true very effective), it proves that it remains at 25 years a great hope of Formula 1.

The season 1998 is copy-in conformity of 1997 with beautiful performances in qualifications (which it is of Jan Magnussen or Jos Verstappen, its team-members are completely eclipsed), seldom concretized in race for lack of a sufficiently reliable car. Contacted by the team Williams at the end of the season 1998, it is constrained to honor its ultimate year with contract by Stewart, which he does not have to regret a long time so much Stewart of season 1999 (conceived by the engineer Alan Jenkins little before its dismissal) proves to be the best realization of the British team. At its wheel, it signs three podiums, a pole-position with the GP of France, and finishes the championship in the seventh final place. These performances are worth to him to be recruited by the Scuderia Ferrari to become starting from season 2000 the new lieutenant of Michael Schumacher in the place of Eddie Irvine.

Five years at Ferrari

At Ferrari, with one of the best single-seaters of the plate, Barrichello outset like a regular candidate with the podium is affirmed. Reliable and powerful, it evolves/moves however a tone in lower part of its frightening fellow-member Michael Schumacher, which does not enable him to play its personal chart. With the GP of Germany with Hockenheim, he manages all the same to gain the first victory of his career, at the end of a scenario particularly haletant: left the bottom of grid following a technical trouble at the time of the qualifications, Barrichello goes up all the group and manages to carry out the junction on the leaders thanks to the neutralization of the consecutive race to the intrusion of a demonstrator on the track. While the rain starts to fall in end of the road, it makes the bet not stop with the stands and to preserve its tires for dry track, which gives him the victory for its 128e participation, that is to say more the long delay for the first success. Less in success in 2001 while at the same time the domination of Scuderia is done increasingly strong, it does not obtain least success, but finishes the championship in the third place.

On the countable level, the best season of “ Rubinho ”, as it is often called, takes place in 2002 with four victories and the second place with the championship. But it is also the season of the polemics related to the instructions of race. With the GP of Austria, particularly powerful, he manages, once in a while does no harm, to dominate Schumacher throughout the weekend, but he is constrained on order of his team to yield the victory to his team-member, which he does with a few meters of the finishing line. If the instructions of race are as old as the automobile sport, this one is particularly badly felt by the public and the press insofar as Schumacher caracolait championship already largely at the head, and did not seem to have an imperative need for some additional points. Wrongfully private of what would have been its second victory in Grand Prix, Barrichello however will profit in its turn in the second part of season of the sporting policy of its employer. If its success to GP from Europe suffers from no dispute (still that Schumacher will not have done anything to dispute the victory in end of the road to him), the same applies for those acquired from there to the GP of Italy and Hungary, where Schumacher more or less discreetly yields the command in the course of test to him. It is essential fourth once on the GP from the United States in Indianapolis, again in the polemic, since it exceeds Schumacher on the line, without it being known if Schumacher wished to really to yield the victory him, or right to carry out an arrival grouped with the mode of the 24 hours of Mans. To put a term at these " results; arrangés" , TRUSTED it will prohibit the instructions resulting in distorting the course of the Grands Prix.

In 2003, Barrichello seems less to be put up that its leader with the new sporting regulation as well as less domination of Ferrari. Fourth of the championship, it signs all the same two victories of big class in Silverstone like in Suzuka at the end of the year, where a success of its share was essential to deprive Kimi Räikkönen of its ultimate chances to cap Schumacher with the championship. The found superiority of Ferrari in 2004 enables him to finish vice-champion of the world again, but it must await the end of season (and a certain demobilization of Schumacher, already ensured of an additional title) to gain its two only successes of the year, in Italy and China.

In 2005, the sudden fall of the shape of Ferrari (mainly ascribable with the inferiority of the Bridgestone gums on Michelin) moves away it from the fight for the victory. It hangs only four podiums and finishes in remote an eighth place with the championship. Living more and more badly its role of second pilot, it obtains Jean Todt not to honor its last year with contract to be able to join the stable Honda.

Passage at Honda

Announced like a credible outsider in the fight for the championship 2006 following the excellent winter tests of Honda, Rubens Barrichello owes déchanter quickly. Not only the Japanese single-seater is not the so much hoped absolute weapon, but it tests in more the worst difficulties of adapting to the piloting of its new machine and of supporting the comparison with its fellow-member Jenson Button. With the wire of the tests, it appears more with its ease, but sorrow to concretize in races its progress in qualifications. Only seventh of the championship, it has not gone up on the least podium, a first for its season 1998 at Stewart. It is only as from season 2007 that Rubens is shown definitely higher than its English fellow-member Jenson Button but in will not add up any point very with length of the season and those for the first time of its career.

Rubinho and its national Grand Prix

Rubens never yet could gain its national Grand Prix, which is due to him particularly in heart. Of 1993 with 2005, it took part in thirteen editions of the Grand Prix of Brazil, which is held in its birthplace, on the circuit of Interlagos, that it could see of the window of the apartment of his parents when he was child. It obtained two there pole positions (2003 and 2004), well was often placed on the grid, but it could finish the race only with three recoveries (4th in 1994, 3rd in 2004, and 6th in 2005), because of many incidents having involved its abandonment: fixing (2001), head with tail (1996), gasoline breakdown (2003), gear box (1993, 1995 and 1998), hydraulic breakdown (2002), suspension (1997), and break driving (1999, 2000, 2007). Rubinho hopes for one day to manage to overcome this “black cat” which prevented it from triumphing up to now at his place.

Statistics Formulates 1 of them

After the Grand Prix of Brazil 2006

disputed Grands Prix : 235
Victories : 9 ( is 3,83% )
marked Points : 519 ( is 2,21 points per disputed race )
Poles Positions : 13 ( is 5,53% )
Départs 1st line : 30 ( is 12,77% )
Second places in Grand Prix : 26 ( is 11,06% )
Third places in Grand Prix : 26 ( is 11,06% )
Podiums : 61 ( is 25,96% )
In the Points : 110 ( is 46,81% )
Records of the Turn : 15 ( is 6,38% )
Tours at the head : 722 ( is 6,19% of the traversed turns )
km at the head : 3.487 ( is 6,19% of the distance covered )
traversed Tours : 11.660
Kms traversed : 56.313
Hats trick ( Victoire/Pole position/Better turn ): 2 ( is 0,85% )
Abandons : 88 ( is 37,45% )

Beginnings in F1 : 1993 Grand Prix of South Africa, with Kyalami, the March 14th 1993 (Result: Abandonment - Gear box)
First victory : 2000 - Grand Prix of Germany, on the Circuit of Hockenheim, the July 30th 2000
First pole position : 1994 - Grand Prix of Belgium, on the Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps, the August 28th 1994

Results in championship of the world of Formula 1

Personal informations

Rubens keeps, at least tests, its private life far from the projectors. He is married in Silvana. They had together two children; oldest names Eduardo and the junior fore-mentioned Fernando. The family lives with Monaco.

See too

Pilot of Formula 1: classification by better Pilot turns
of Formula 1: classification by Pilot podiums
of Formula 1: classification by Pilot poles position
of Formula 1: classification by Pilot victories
of Formula 1: classification by hat tricks

External bonds

French-speaking Official site
Site dedicated to Rubens Barrichello

Simple: Rubens Barrichelo

Random links: