Rubens Barrichello partnered with Michael Schumacher at Ferrari for six years between 2000 and 2005. During those six years, Barrichello won 9 races and finished runner-up twice in the championship. However, the biggest disadvantage to being Michael Schumacher’s teammate was that he had to play second fiddle. While he played his role, Michael wasn’t necessarily always welcoming, according to Barrichello.

We often see F1 teams prioritizing strategies in favor of one driver over the other to get the desired results. There are no prizes for guessing which driver Ferrari preferred over the other. That was very obvious for Barrichello, as he recalled how the team meetings ended with them both but started without him.

Speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast in 2019, Rubens said, “I always made friends, and I always had a good relationship with all my teammates. Michael too, but he was never supportive. He was never there to offer help. I never asked him anything either. There are teammates you can approach and talk to, asking things, but you could see that Michael was different. He worked in a different way.” 

“Many times we ended a meeting we were both in and started another one with just Michael. He felt that the team was his.” 

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Barrichello once famously let Michael pass in the final lap of the Austrian GP in 2002. Once the championship run was over, Michael returned the favor in the penultimate race in Indianapolis. A gesture like this is what separates Max Verstappen from the greats like Schumacher and Senna.

How Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher pushed each other to get better

In the podcast, the Brazilian did admit that his teammate was better than him. He revealed how good Michael was in fast corners, while he was good in slower ones. The synergy between the two eventually made them both better.

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Barrichello told, “He was super, super on the high-speed corners, like very courageous. The way I drove on the low speed [corners], I was taking more speed out of it. I remember Ross [Brawn] telling him so many times that he had to do something different. I think we both went to another level pushing each other. It was good. And it’s not easy to make Michael Schumacher go to another level.”

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Rubens after retiring from F1 switched to IndyCar and then to Stock Racing. Michael had a horrific accident while skiing 9 years back and is still fighting hard against the life-altering injuries it caused.