300 Up For Rubens
Rubens Barrichello celebrates a very wet and wild victory in the 2000 German GP at Hockenheim.
Rubens Barrichello will race in his 300th GP this weekend at the Spa-Francorchamps – we look back at some of the highs and lows of the jovial Brazilian’s Formula 1 career.
Aged 38, Rubens Barrichello’s passion for racing shows no sign of abating – as his wheel-to-wheel tussle with former team mate Michael Schumacher in Hungary proved. Winning out against the 41-year-old German, it was a battle born out of a different era. For Barrichello, who will celebrate his 300th Grand Prix in Belgium this weekend, it was all par for the course, but for his legion of fans it was further proof of the unswerving verve and vigour of the grid’s most experienced driver. We look back on some of the ever-cheerful Brazilian’s best (and worst) F1 moments…
1993 South African Grand Prix
Rewind to his Formula One debut and it really underlines just how long Barrichello has been part of the Formula One fraternity. Driving for Jordan (now Force India) at the long-since-absent South African Grand Prix, Barrichello’s first race was promising. Fourteenth on the Kylami grid may not have set the world alight, but it fulfilled his aim of a top-15 slot and he was almost half a second quicker than experienced team mate Ivan Capelli. And in the race the Brazilian newcomer had made it up to seventh when the gearbox of his Hart-engined car failed nearing half distance. Capelli spun off on the third lap.
1994 San Marino Grand Prix
While he didn’t compete in the race itself, this was far and away the toughest Grand Prix weekend of Barrichello’s career. During his first flying lap on Friday afternoon, he lost control of his Jordan through Variante Bassa and crashed heavily, his car landing upside down. Knocked unconscious by the accident, he awoke in hospital to discover that the quick response of circuit medics had saved his life and that he’d somehow escaped with little more than a broken arm. His sense of humour was still intact, however, and after acknowledging he’d have to stay and “play with the nurses” for a while, he vowed he’d be back. And so he was, albeit not at Imola that weekend. The drama from San Marino wasn’t over, however, and on Saturday the much-loved Austrian rookie Roland Ratzenberger was killed, followed by an even more personal loss for Barrichello on Sunday with the death of friend and mentor Ayrton Senna.
1997 Monaco Grand Prix
For 1997, having found himself usurped by Ralf Schumacher at Jordan, Barrichello jumped ship to the new Stewart team. He was still targeting his first Formula One victory, but he knew it would be a long time before the newcomers would be competing for wins. And he was proved right. Woeful reliability meant he finished just two Grands Prix that season. However, one – Monaco – earned him six points after he finished a spectacular second. He had qualified well in tenth, a feat in itself as he was the fastest Bridgestone runner. The tyres helped him out on Sunday too, performing consistently in the wet weather to ease him into P2 behind Michael Schumacher by lap six, and he held the place until the chequered flag. At the track where Senna had excelled, after the race Barrichello’s thoughts turned to his late countryman. “It’s just great to be here, on the podium at Monaco,” he said. “It is not so long ago that I used to get up at eight in Brazil, and watch Senna at Monaco. For me to be on the podium here is something else.”
2000 German Grand Prix
In 2000 Barrichello joined Ferrari as team mate to Michael Schumacher. Competing against the German on home turf was always going to be a tough ask and mechanical problems meant Barrichello qualified 18th to his colleague’s second. By the end of the first lap, however, Schumacher was making his way back to the pits after crashing out and Barrichello was up to tenth. Eleven laps later he had made up another six positions and was charging in fourth place. Jarno Trulli was the next to fall into the Brazilian’s clutches and by the time he pitted he was up to third. But with the McLarens of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard well clear up front, it looked as though a podium finish was his best hope. That was until a spectator climbed on to the circuit, crossing the track to avoid capture. The safety car was hastily deployed, bringing Barrichello into contention, and rain late in the race mixed things up further. Hakkinen pitted for wets, but brave Barrichello was one of four drivers who opted to stay out on dry tyres. It was a gamble – compatriot Ricardo Zonta span on his slick rubber – but the Brazilian persisted and crossed the line first. After nearly a decade in Formula One, Rubens Barrichello had finally won a race and it remains one of his finest performances.
2002 Austrian Grand Prix
Some would say a low point as much for the sport as it was for Barrichello. When he signed for Ferrari, Barrichello no doubt knew his races would be dictated to a large degree by the demands of Schumacher and he fell victim to team orders on more than one occasion. This occasion was particularly memorable. After an outstanding weekend, during which he’d clinched pole position and dominated the race, Barrichello was asked to move aside for Schumacher on the final lap to boost the German’s championship hopes. Outraged outbursts from commentators, jeers from the crowd, and an awkward podium ceremony where Schumacher attempted to force Barrichello on to the top step followed. In the aftermath Ferrari were fined a US$1,000,000 and new rules were introduced to prevent team orders affecting race results.
2003 British Grand Prix
Barrichello arrived at Silverstone feeling pretty besieged. Despite a highly competitive car, he’d failed to win any of season’s preceding rounds and had qualified almost seven-tenths adrift of team mate Schumacher at the last race in France. In Britain, however, he took a strong pole position and went on to claim victory despite two safety-car periods, one prompted by debris and the other by an errant spectator dressed in a kilt and carrying a placard on the circuit. As at Hockenheim in 2000, when a track invasion also disrupted the race, Barrichello kept his head and took a memorable win.
2008 British Grand Prix
Silverstone again, five years later, and Barrichello was driving for a different team, Honda, struggling to make an impression in the largely troublesome RA108. Starting 16th on the grid, the Brazilian, who had last taken a podium at the 2005 United States Grand Prix, didn’t hold much hope of a strong result. But a clever strategy switch during the race saw him take on extreme wet-weather tyres at a vital point. As the rain worsened, and his competitors chose to struggle on using their standard wets, Barrichello took advantage. He finished in third, although had it not been for a refuelling rig problem at his second stop, it might have been second. It was the team’s first – and only – podium of the season.
2009 European Grand Prix
A full five seasons after he’s last clinched a win – at the 2004 Chinese Grand Prix – Barrichello returned to winning form last year. Staying with Honda as they were raised from the ashes to become Brawn GP, he’d already seen team mate Jenson Button win five times in the superb BGP 001. In Valencia he finally matched the Briton, capitalising on his third-place grid slot, plus graining issues for Button, and a McLaren error during a Lewis Hamilton pit stop, to win the event. It was the tenth victory of his F1 career and the 100th for a Brazilian driver. Barrichello was ecstatic: “It’s just amazing and a weekend that I will never forget. Even after five years, you don’t forget how to win and the feeling is so good!”
Courtesy www.formula1.com
Is Rosberg Better Than Vettel?
Nico Rosberg of Germany at the British GP.
Gerhard Berger doubts that Sebastian Vettel is currently the best German driver on the Formula One grid.
According to the former McLaren and Ferrari driver, there is nothing now to separate the Red Bull man from his young compatriot at Mercedes, Nico Rosberg.
“For me, Nico is on par with Vettel. He just needs the right car now to begin winning,” Berger told Auto Motor und Sport. “He has shown this year that he makes very few mistakes, that his setup is usually right, and that he is mostly ahead of Michael Schumacher. If Rosberg and Vettel were sitting in identical cars, I would not know who to put my money on.”
Another young German to have caught Berger’s eye this season is Force India driver Adrian Sutil. And it was not something the Austrian expected.
“Last year I was laughing at him. I would never have believed he has this much potential. His speed is tremendous, and his mistakes have reduced dramatically. For me, with Rosberg, he is the surprise of the season.”
Berger also sees a bright future ahead for GP2 champion Nico Hulkenberg after a year of learning the ropes in his rookie Formula One season.
“He is in a learning phase. He makes many more mistakes than Vettel and Rosberg did when they began, but Sutil was the same. I think Hulkenberg’s mistakes are normal for a first year. If everything goes right, he is almost at the level of Barrichello – and that’s a compliment.
“Barrichello is certainly the best man of the second league, and with his vast experience he doesn’t make mistakes.”
Courtesy of The Bleacher Report
HAVE YOUR SAY: Berger might think that Rosberg is on par and will surpass Vettel, but we aren’t so sure. What do you think?
Schumacher Apologises To Barrichello
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher admitted that his blocking manoeuvre on Rubens Barrichello towards the end of Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix had been “too hard” and, in a rare apology, said he was “sorry” for placing the Brazilian in danger.
Barrichello, now racing for Williams, described Schumacher’s move as the most dangerous made against him in his 300-race career and accused his former Ferrari team-mate of almost killing him to settle old scores.
“If he wants to go to heaven before me he can; I don’t want to go to heaven yet,” Barrichello said. “It was a go-karting manoeuvre. He’s taking something from the past into the present and there’s no need for that.”
The incident occurred when the pair were battling for the final point-scoring 10th place and Schumacher ran wide coming into the pit straight. Barrichello moved to pass the Mercedes driver on the inside but the German, making a comeback this season after three years in retirement, closed the gap, squeezing the Brazilian gradually closer to the pit wall.
An accident was averted only when the wall ended and Barrichello was able to veer right and pass into turn one. Schumacher, 41, was given a 10-place grid penalty for the forthcoming Belgian Grand Prix on Aug 29.
Schumacher was initially unapologetic, claiming that Barrichello was making a fuss about nothing. “We know certain drivers have certain views, and then there’s Rubens …” he said. “As far as I was concerned there was enough room for him to get through there. But it’s clear that I wanted to make life for him as difficult as possible.”
However, on his website on Monday, Schumacher admitted he had been in the wrong and said his post-race reaction was borne of adrenalin.
“Yesterday, right after the race I was still in the heat of the action, but after I watched the incident with Rubens again, I must say that the stewards were right with their assessment: the move against him was too hard,” Schumacher said.
“I wanted to make it hard for him to pass me. I clearly showed him that I didn’t want to let him pass but I wasn’t seeking to endanger him with my move. If he feels I was, then I’m sorry; this wasn’t my intention.”
It was not the only controversial incident of the race for the Mercedes team, who also released Nico Rosberg from a pit stop with one of his wheels not properly secured. The German had only gone a few yards when the wheel flew off and bounced down the pit lane, knocking down a Williams mechanic, who escaped with bruised ribs.
Team principal Ross Brawn said that the team had worked out where they went wrong and promised to be more vigilant in future.
“It appears that as the guy came off with the wheel gun, it spat the wheel nut but he didn’t see it disappear,” Brawn said. “He went back on, fired the gun and realised the nut was no longer there so came back out to grab the other gun and the rear jack guy thought he had finished, so he dropped the car and away he went. I think we understand what happened and we will look at how we can prevent it happening again.”
He added: “When the gun went on to take the nut off, the gun hadn’t engaged properly, so the nut was off the axle and it spat it out.”
Meanwhile, the sport’s governing body has announced the date of Ferrari’s hearing into their actions in Hockenheim two weekends ago when they defied a ban on team orders by instructing Felipe Massa to stand aside and allow team-mate Fernando Alonso through to win the race.
Ferrari were fined $100,000 on the spot – the maximum allowed – and the case was referred to the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council for further consideration under Article 151c of its Sporting Code, which deals with disrepute charges.
FIA president Jean Todt, a former team principal of Ferrari, is not expected to attend the hearing on Sept 8, the week of the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. It will be chaired by the FIA’s deputy president for sport, Graham Stoker.
Todt is keen to avoid allegations of a conflict of interests, having promised an overhaul of the governing body’s disciplinary process during his election campaign last year.
Courtesy of The Telegraph
Barrichello: Schumacher Hasn’t Changed
Rubens Barrichello of Brazil
Rubens Barrichello felt he was lucky to be alive following a hair-raising duel with former Ferrari team-mate Michael Schumacher.
Barrichello laid into the seven-times Champion after claiming 10th place from Schumacher four laps from home of the Hungarian Grand Prix, after almost ending up in the pit wall for his troubles.
Mercedes star Schumacher blatantly squeezed Barrichello to the right of the start-finish straight as the Brazilian attempted to pass, coming within millimetres of hitting the concrete barrier.
The incident left Barrichello fuming, and the stewards were on his side as they hit Schumacher with a 10-place grid penalty for the next race in Belgium on August 29 for illegitimately impeding the Williams driver.
Barrichello was later scathing in his comments as he said: “It was a go-kart manoeuvre.
“If he wants to go to heaven – in the event he is going to heaven – I don’t want to go before him.
“Thank God I was lucky the wall finished where it did because I was millimetres from it.
“I said to the stewards we are two of the most experienced guys out there, and if Michael does that, it means kids can do that too.
“That is where it is wrong in my opinion. But I am just very glad and very lucky we are here to talk, honestly.”
Asked whether he had spoken with Schumacher, Barrichello refused to let up in his condemnation of the man he spent six seasons working alongside, and playing second fiddle to, at Ferrari.
“I won’t speak to him because it won’t resolve things,” added the 38-year-old.
“You know Michael. You talk to him and he will always feel that he is right.
“But I’m a just guy, and justice was done in a way because he has been away for three years and he hasn’t changed a thing. He is still the same guy.
“I love racing, but what has been done to me is literally over the top.”
Courtesy of PlanetF1
Schumacher Backs Ferrari And Alonso
Michael Schumacher
It was reminiscent of the days of old when Schumacher drove for the Italian marque, winning title after title, at times at the expense of his team-mate.
And although the German admits there are “nicer” to go about implementing team orderst, “in principle I fully accept” them.
Here’s an easy way to decide debates about sporting morality. 1. See which side Michael Schumacher’s on. 2. Take the other side. Rarely will you be in the wrong.
And so it proved again at the German Grand Prix, when Schumacher immediately defended Ferrari’s blatant and cack-handed team orders. Well, at least he’s not a hypocrite.
Clearly, though, this was a bad day all round: farcical ’sport’, some woeful lying, and some pretty shoddy journalism too.
And it would take a heart of stone not to feel for Felipe Massa. It is exactly a year since that nauseating full speed smash at Hungary, which could have ended Massa’s career, or even worse.
A victory at Hockenheim would have been the most uplifting of stories. Instead, he was shafted.
Worse followed, when the poor sod had to stand on the podium as Alonso sprayed champagne all over him.
Courtesy of The Telegraph and PlanetF1
Related Articles:
Alonso Wins Controversial F1 Race
Loading ...
.PNG){kind=icon}
