Meet the F1 driver who never won a championship but became Michael Schumacher’s ‘best’ Ferrari teammate

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Ferrari are the most successful team in the history of Formula 1 and they owe so much of their success to one man.

Michael Schumacher joined Ferrari at the end of the end of 1995 F1 season.

The German had just won back-to-back championships with Benetton but was taking on a new challenge with the Italian giants.

They finished the 1995 campaign third in the Constructors’ Championship, behind Benetton and Williams.

Schumacher wanted to build Ferrari back up, but alongside Eddie Irvine – and briefly Mika Salo – they struggled in their battles against Williams and McLaren.

Although they finally won the championship in 1999, Schumacher’s reign of dominance didn’t start until 2000.

That coincided with the arrival of Rubens Barrichello, fresh from spells at Jordan and Stewart.

The Brazilian would go on to support Schumacher for six seasons, and while he never won an individual title, he was pivotal to Ferrari and Schumacher dominating Formula 1.

How Rubens Barrichello become Ferrari’s greatest number two driver

Barrichello started his karting career in his native Brazil before competing in British Formula 3 in 1991.

He won the championship, defeating future F1 rivals David Coulthard and Pedro Diniz and the highly-rated Gil de Ferran in the process.

Two years later, Barrichello made his Formula 1 debut with Jordan in 1993.

It was a remarkable season where Barrichello ended up having five different teammates, scoring 14 points and finishing eighth in the Drivers’ Championship.

Six years with Jordan and Stewart where he scored six podiums and achieved two pole positions was enough for Ferrari to bring in Barrichello to replace Irvine.

Gary Anderson admits he would have fought Eddie Jordan to keep Barrichello, but he eventually had to cash in on the Brazilian when he moved to Stewart before joining Ferrari.

Barrichello admitted it was his ‘dream’ to race for Ferrari when he signed his deal back in 1999 and went on to have a very successful career with the team.

Why Michael Schumacher considered Rubens Barrichello his ‘best’ Ferrari teammate

Barrichello would spent six years alongside Schumacher at Ferrari, starting with the 2000 campaign when Schumacher finally won his third championship.

Ferrari were unstoppable and adding to their 1999 title, Barrichello and Schumacher dominated the Constructors’ Championship, winning the title every year until 2005.

Asked about Barrichello back in 2000, via Crash.net, Schumacher said: “Rubens is the best, and the quickest, team-mate I have ever driven with.”

His old team principal Stefano Domenicali was equally glowing about Barrichello, describing the Brazilian as ‘remarkable’ during his time with the Scuderia.

READ MORE: All you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory

Ferrari’s time at the top of the sport ended in 2005 when Renault and future Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso won their first championship together.

That ended up being Barrichello’s last season with the team, but that didn’t end his time in Formula 1.

BARRICHELLO’S CAREER WITH FERRARI

Rubens Barrichello’s career after Ferrari in Formula 1 and racing into his 50s

Barrichello moved to BAR in 2006 and had to settle for life in Formula 1’s midfield.

It appeared as though that’s how the rest of his F1 career was destined to play out – even having a pointless season with Honda in 2007 – until the emergence of Brawn GP.

Brawn almost signed Bruno Senna instead of Barrichello, but the Brazilian managed to help his team win one more title while aiding Jenson Button win achieving his only world championship victory.

READ MORE: Rubens Barrichello outlines the ‘toughest time’ that made life more difficult at Ferrari than Stewart

The team were taken over by Mercedes and in 2010, Barrichello ended up being replaced by the returning Schumacher in a weird twist of fate.

The Brazilian then became the first driver to reach 300 Grand Prix starts before spending two final years in F1 with Williams, signing off with a 14th-place finish at his home race at Interlagos in 2011.

Barrichello has since gone on to have a prolific Stock Car career back in Brazil, winning the championship aged 50 in 2022.

The likes of Felipe Massa – who replaced him at Ferrari – Ricardo Zonta and Nelson Piquet Jr. all race in the series, while Barrichello is currently teammates with his son, Eduardo ‘Dudu’ Barrichello.