i just pity this guy. he should have never left Ferrari, IMHO. *Rubens Barrichello says he is braced for another shocking weekend in Bahrain after a torturous weekend in Malaysia where he struggled with his Honda in every single session. With back-to-back races, there is no test session or time before Bahrain to make any significant changes to the cars. "With no time to develop the car for the next race, our focus will be on doing the best job possible with what we have right now," said Barrichello who was unusually very critical of the team's car during the Malaysian weekend. "Despite the problems we have with the car, we can still do better, particularly in terms of our qualifying performance," he added. "If we can work on that it is possible to get both cars in the top ten and closer to the points so there is progress to be made whilst we're working on the bigger developments back at the factory."
I know he said he left Ferrari because he felt he would never win a championship there, but c'mon. Did he honestly think that? I think he just wanted to be another driver, mid-pack or not, and not be "that guy" that drove 2nd to Michael. Although it was too late at the time he left for that. I'll always remember him as such.
I like Rubens, and I don't disagree with the reason why he left Ferrari; it's too bad he's going to end his career at an outfit like Honda.
I got the notion it was either leave on his own accord or be replaced, shame that Honda has only gone downhill since he signed.
+1. good post, Korr. personally, i think he should have stayed on for the 2006 season. together with Michael, i think the Scuderia could have won both WDC and WCC titles. yes, some may argue and say about being no 2 to MS But, don't forget, Rubens can look back and say that MS won all the titles, while having him as a teammate. should he had continued in 2006, like i said, both titles could have been won. then he should have retired...while being on top of his career.
he should be realistic. if he really wanted to win the title, Mac and Renault sounds good. not Honda.
That's all entirely plausible. However, I cannot disagree with him leaving Ferrari. They were never going to give him a fair shot at racing against Schumi and grabbing a WDC.
Except it was not known if Renault were going to stay in the game, and McLaren already had their lineup secured. Honda was a pretty good bet when he signed, not his fault that Honda went into major decline the year he actually started to race for them.
he said Honda was his decision because his mentor, Senna drove for them once. but when Senna drove for them, they were just engine suppliers. not a team. still, it's sad to see him in this kinda condition.
The Honda drive should have gone to Davidson not Burrino, he knows much more about the car and team it would heve been better for Honda in the long run. Burrino will retire soon or pale into the distance. Honda will come good sooner or later but not in his drive time. Button will always out pace him in the long run, but the British golden boy has been pushed aside by the new British star Hamilton.
While Rubens is a very likeable guy, I have never considered him as being cut from the Champion's cloth. I forget the details of his leaving Ferrari, but I had the feeling that he had worn out his time there. The deal you sign on for is the deal you honor. And he signed on as Michael's #2 for as long as Michael was there. If everyone had the same confidence in Rubens to succeed Michael as #1, he would still be with the team, possibly reaping the benefits, maybe not. There is no way you're going to convince me that he felt he had a better Championship opportunity pedalling for Honda. All men have their breaking points, and he obviously reached his limit of being another man's lackie. Overall, (Pay attention to THIS, Andreas), I think Eddie Irvine was a better driver and that Rubens more or less falls in the Fisichella class of drivers. Not bad, not great.
Rubens is one of the true gentlemen in the sport, he deserves to finish his career in better circumstances than he is in now. I think he was the best of the #2s at Ferrari during the Schumacher years. I would take him over Irvine or Massa any day of the week.
Ever since April 94 Barrichello is damaged goods: His own accident as well as Senna's death left him scarred. He was never the same driver thereafter anymore.
The problem with the entire Ferrari situation, no matter who Michael's #2 was, is that we never really know how much the situation affected the performance of Irvine/Rubens/Massa. Eddie Irvine was always his own man, and while he was a driver who was only as good as his car, I think the Ferrari situation abraded him more than the other 2. Rubens, I feel, lost his spirit somewhat when the true scope of his situation played out on the racetracks. "OK. Well done, lad. Now pull over and let our boy win this one!" Not that it happend every race, but you get my drift. Massa? Who knows? Was he better under Michael for the right reasons, or the wrong ones?
That probably didn't help the situation either, you win the race only to have your own team to tell you to lose. That probably also played a part in Rubens leaving, he no longer had to give up his successes to benefit another driver.
From what I've read, Rubens pretty much knew he was out once his contract ended in 2006. Honda was offering him a multi-year deal for good money. He could either see out his Ferrari deal and potentially lose out on a lucrative opportunity or ask to be released early to take up the Honda deal. From that perspective, his decision to join Honda seems to be logical.
When Rubens and Eddie were teammates at Jordan, Rubens scored quite a few more points. I didn't watch the races myself, so I don't know if Eddie was actually quicker and lost out on points because of mechanical/accidental things. Can anyone verify?
Honda are going to build a new car before this season gets half way apparently. They are having balance issues, thus by the time the drivers balance the car via setup it's slow. This is very similar to the F2003-GA problems Ferrari suffered. It happens, but really they should have known during pre-season testing. Problem is they have 2 drivers that can't develop a car!!!!!. Major mistake by Honda! Rubens simply sat in a MS developed Ferrari ... and JB has never shown any ability at developing a car also. Another downfall caused by not enough years in lower formula IMO. Pete
Huh? He had a fair shot every time he got in the car. All he had to do was be a better driver than MS, and HE would become the #1 driver. It had nothing to do with Ferrari not giving him a "fair shot" (that implies he was crippled in some way, which I would adamantly disagree with), it has everything to do with him not having enough talent to be the #1 driver. Not at Ferrari and not at Honda.
Maybe not entirely, Michael helped ressurect Ferrari and turn them into the best team on the grid. Even If Rubens happened to be quicker, I don't think Jean Todt, who is Michael's good friend, would allow someone who was so integral for Ferrari to be beaten. The point is, everything would be setup for Michael and he would recieve priority in every aspect. Rubens knew this when he signed the contract, he probably thought that it was an opportunity to win some races, and maybe take over after Michael retires. The plan obviously backfired.
Sorry friendship has nothing to do with the 'sport' of motorracing. If Rubens had consistently beaten MS ... then Todt would have a new best friend Yes MS made it hard(er) for RB to beat him, but he could have ... remember there are many test sessions as well as races to beat your team mate on. Pete
You have a point, but i'm not entirely convinced. There is an article that was posted where supposedly Luca wanted to hire Mika to replace Eddie or Rubens or whoever, and Michal and Todt wouldn't have any of it. If Michael and Todt didn't have such a close relationship, I doubt Todt would stick by Micheal in situations like these. So friendship DOES have a big part in the sport of motor racing. Friendship along with money, is what allow people to get things over others who aren't friends with the man in charge.
