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

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Rubens Barrichello enjoyed a very long Formula 1 career as he took 11 race victories and raced for Ferrari alongside Michael Schumacher.

The Brazilian struggled to match Schumacher during their six-season stint together, as he was very much considered to be playing a supporting role within the team at Ferrari.

Barrichello took his first race win with the team at the German Grand Prix in the year 2000, on an emotional day at Hockenheim.

He lacked the consistency and raw speed to match his teammate over a season but took some very important wins when the opportunity arose.

The 52-year-old was also part of some team orders controversies while at Ferrari such as letting Schumacher pass him on the last lap in Austria in 2002.

Barrichello moved to Ferrari for the 2000 season after spending three years at Stewart and told the F1: Beyond The Grid podcast what made life more challenging at the Italian team than previously.

The extra commitments off the track made life harder at Ferrari than Stewart for Rubens Barrichello

Barrichello spent multiple seasons in the midfield with Jordan and Stewart after making his Formula 1 debut at the South African Grand Prix in 1993.

His first few years in F1 were mixed as he endured terrible unreliability, only finishing three races in 1997 and not scoring a point.

The move to Ferrari was a big step but as the team had a more significant brand and multitude of sponsors, there were more commitments away from the circuit.

READ MORE: Rubens Barrichello shares Max Verstappen’s key ‘advantage’ over Lando Norris in F1 title battle

Barrichello explained that these duties with the Italian team made life difficult and added an extra layer of complication compared to racing at Stewart.

He said: “The time outside the car was the toughest time because it’s a lot more work, it’s a lot more media, a lot more traveling.

“Yeah, there are papers that come with, You can say this, you cannot say that. It’s a bit of a… People were just watching. But then every time I sat on the car, I had the pleasure and the gratitude of driving a really good car, and that paid off.

“Every time you saw me on the car, take Australia, the very first race. I was second, but I was getting close to Michael that race. That was the first time I heard something on the radio that I had to drop the revs or something like this.”

Cohesive teammate pairings are essential to championship success in Formula 1

The margins are so fine at the front of the field that teammates need to be on the same page to win titles for multiple seasons.

Barrichello and Schumacher worked well together, as there was rarely any consistent competition between the two on the track.

Other duos, such as Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton at McLaren in 2007, fought among themselves amid intra-team tensions and the Spygate scandal. This left the door open for Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen to win the championship.

Max Verstappen is on the verge of his fourth consecutive title and he has been significantly more competitive than his teammate.

Sergio Perez may stay at Red Bull for 2025 although he has cost Red Bull a lot of points in the Constructors’ Championship.