10/05/2002
FEATURE BY CHRIS BALFE
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When the fax came through at 12:59 this afternoon (Thursday), my first reaction was to get the news up on the site: 'Ferrari announces that it has extended its agreement with the driver Rubens Barrichello to cover the 2003 and 2004 racing seasons,' it read.
Several hours later the truth is still sinking in.
There was a time, admittedly a few years back, when some believed that Rubens might carry on the tradition of great Brazilian champions.
The five-time Brazilian Karting Champion came to Europe at the age of 17 with just eleven single-seater races under his belt. In his first full season of racing Barrichello impressed everyone as he took five wins on his way to securing the GM Lotus Euroseries.
A year later (1991) he took the prestigious British F3 Championship, proving ground for countless F1™ World Champions, including Senna.
Seemingly effortlessly he progressed to F3000 for '92, and despite the financial problems that plagued his team, the young Brazilian finished third in the European Championship.
It came as no surprise to his admirers, and there were many, when Rubens was recruited to partner Ivan Capelli at Jordan for the 1993 season. And though Capelli was dropped in favour of Boutsen, Apicella, Naspetti and finally Eddie Irvine, team boss Jordan's faith in 'Rubino' never wavered.
In just his third F1™ outing, the historic European GP at Donington, Barrichello stole a little of his fellow-countryman's thunder with a magnificent performance in difficult conditions that saw the Jordan star running as high as second.
He stayed with Jordan for '94 and strong performance in the Brazilian and Pacific events indicated that the little Brazilian could be in with a chance of taking a victory in just his second season. However a horrific accident during practice for the fateful San Marino GP and the subsequent death of his mentor, Ayrton, seemed to take the edge off the twenty-two-year-old.
Towards the end of '94, following strong performances at Monza, Estoril and Adelaide, as well as giving Jordan their first ever pole position (Spa), Rubens was being linked with McLaren.
As it is Rubens remained with Jordan. The team now had the Peugeot V10, which promised much but delivered little. Despite some great qualifying performances the Brazilian was clearly hindered by unreliable equipment and two seasons yielded scant reward other than a superb second in Canada '95.
The relationship with Jordan was going nowhere and so, following an amicable split, Rubens joined Jackie Stewart's fledgling F1™ team. In just his fifth outing for the 'Tartan terrors' he took a magnificent second at Monaco in appalling conditions, a result that left his team boss crying tears of unadulterated joy.
'98 was a miserable year for both Barrichello and Stewart as the team seemed to take a step backwards, however in '99 the team was competitive yet again. Ironically it was team-mate Johnny Herbert that gave Stewart their first win, but it was Ruben's consistency that helped the Milton Keynes outfit take fourth in the Constructors' Championship, its best ever result.
Stewart had decided that F1™ was taking its toll and as a result sold his team lock, stock and barrel to Ford, who gave the car a lick of (heavy) green paint and re-named it Jaguar.
One might have expected Barrichello to see the Stewart/Jaguar thing through, but instead the Brazilian basically swapped seats with Ferrari's Eddie Irvine.
Barrichello's decision to join Ferrari came as surprise to everyone. Basically Ferrari was Michael Schumacher's team. The German together with his Benetton buddies, ably assisted by Jean Todt, had transformed the Italian outfit from passionate 'also-rans' into a cohesive fighting unit. Make no mistake, Schumacher had pulled it all together, and as Eddie Irvine discovered when it mattered most, the team was built around the German.
In the two-and-a-bit season he's spent with Ferrari, Barrichello has shown moments of brilliance and moments of stupidity. At last year's Austrian GP he was ordered to pull over for Michael and in post-race interviews it was clear the Brazilian wasn't happy.
Germany 2000 gave Rubens his first, and thus far only win, in a season in which his team-mate stood on the top step of the podium nine times.
Regular readers will be aware that I can be anal at times, so please bear with me: After 39 races as team-mates, Michael has won 22 GPs - Rubens 1. Michael has taken 23 pole positions - Rubens 2. Michael has posted 6 fastest - Rubens 4. Michael has scored 275 - Rubens 124.
Unless Ferrari and Michael Schumacher shock us all and opt for a major u-turn when it comes to policy, Rubens is condemned to spending the next, possibly the last, couple of years of his career, playing second-fiddle to his team-mate, accepting the occasional crumb that falls carelessly from the table.
There are some who will say that surely it is human nature to want to be in the best car, even as number two, better than performing heroics in a middle-of-the-grid dog. However in this writer's opinion this should be about racing, and while Rubens is team-mate to the best contemporary F1™ driver, he's never going to get a look in.
As I said, this is a purely personal opinion, however I can't help but feel that the Brazilian has taken the easy option, and by doing so he does himself and his fans a great disservice.