Rubens Barrichello

Rubens Barichello is a Brazilian racing driver and one of the true veterans of the sport. Once regarded as Ayrton Senna’s protege, Rubens Barichello is at present the most experienced driver in Formula One history. After a successful season in 2009, Barichello will want to help the Williams team regain some sort of momentum in the 2010 season.

Nationality: Brazilian
Date of Birth: 23/04/1972
Team: Williams
World Championship Titles: 0
First Race: 1993 South African Grand Prix
First Win: 2000 German Grand Prix
Car Number: 9
2009 Championship Position: 3rd

Rubens Barichello was a precocious talent, winning a number of Kart Championships in Brazil before moving to Europe to compete in Formula Vauxhall Lotus racing. Barichello won the championship on his first attempt before moving to Formula 3 and 3000 racing.

Rubens Barichello has raced for four teams since making his Formula One debut in 1993. He achieved moderate success at Jordan before moving to Stewart for a two-year stint.

Barichello’s greatest success was achieved at Ferrari where he partnered Michael Schumacher, finishing in the top four for four consecutive years during the teams renaissance in the late 1990s.

Many consider Barichello unlucky to have peaked during Schumacher’s most dominant period, as he was clearly deserving of a Drivers’ Championship, but was often constrained by team politics.

In 2006 Rubens Barichello joined Honda. Despite helping Honda make a respectable debut, Barichello’s results have suffered from the team’s lack of Formula One experience, and the Brazilian finished the 2007 season in a humiliating 20th position.

2008 provided little in the way of better fortune for the Brazilian. Despite having to drive an ordinary car, Barichello still managed an impressive 3rd place at the British Grand Prix. The rest of his results that season were dismal, as Barichello managed only two points finishes.

In early 2009 the Honda team withdrew from Formula One racing. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Barichello, as he was retained as team driver after Honda was bought out by management and renamed Brawn F1.

Barichello’s new car immediately proved to be more competitive than anything Honda provided him with in previous seasons, and provided him with a chance to once again challenge the top drivers in the sport in the Drivers Championship. The Brazilian eventually finished the 2009 season in 3rd place in the Drivers Championship, winning two races in the process.

Formula One Rankings
Position Driver Pts
1Sebastian Vettel
(Red Bull-Renault)		392
2Jenson Button
(McLaren-Mercedes)		270
3Mark Webber
(Red Bull-Renault)		258
4Fernando Alonso
(Ferrari)		257
5Lewis Hamilton
(McLaren-Mercedes)		227
6Felipe Massa
(Ferrari)		118
7Nico Rosberg
(Mercedes GP)		89
8Michael Schumacher
(Mercedes GP)		76
9Adrian Sutil
(Force India-Mercedes)		42
10Vitaly Petrov
(Renault)		37
11Nick Heidfeld
(Renault)		34
12Kamui Kobayashi
(Sauber)		30
13Paul Di Resta
(Force India-Mercedes)		27
14Jaime Alguersuari
(Toro Rosso-Ferrari)		26
15Sebastien Buemi
(Toro Rosso-Ferrari)		15
16Sergio Perez
(Sauber)		14
17Rubens Barrichello
(Williams-Cosworth)		4
18Bruno Senna
(Renault)		2
19Pastor Maldonado
(Williams-Cosworth)		1
20Pedro de la Rosa
(Sauber)		0
21Jarno Trulli
(Lotus-Renault)		0
22Heikki Kovalainen
(Lotus-Renault)		0
23Vitantonio Liuzzi
(HRT-Cosworth)		0
24Jerome d'Ambrosio
(Virgin-Cosworth)		0
25Timo Glock
(Virgin-Cosworth)		0
26Daniel Ricciardo
(HRT-Cosworth)		0
27Narain Karthikeyan
(HRT-Cosworth)		0
28Karun Chandhok
(Lotus-Renault)		0
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