14.01.2004 FERRARI ANNOUNCE THAT THEY HAVE EXTENDED RUBENS BARRICHELLO'S CONTRACT BY TWO YEARS
Rubens Barrichello has had his contract with
Ferrari, which was due to expire at the end of this year, extended for a
further two seasons until the end of 2006, ending rumours that this would be
his last in the red cars.
Strong speculation had surrounded the Brazilian's future with a number of
drivers being tipped for the seat. Fellow countryman Felipe Massa, an official
Ferrari test driver last year, was rumoured to have been pushed into the
Ferrari powered Sauber team this year to groom him for the second seat in
2005. Last year's Brazilian Grand Prix winner Italian Giancarlo Fisichella,
who has also joined Sauber for the coming season, was expected to stake his
claim for the drive when, as is expected, he is released by the Swiss team to
undertake Ferrari testing duties. Renault's Fernando Alonso, currently F1's
hottest property, was also being linked to the seat with a view to eventually
taking over from Michael Schumacher.
Last year number one driver Michael Schumacher, along with key Ferrari players including team boss Jean Todt, strategist Ross Brawn and chief designer Rory Byrne, all had contract extensions announced. Barrichello's signature now keeps the 'dream team' together for a further three years.
A brief single sentence statement was released by Ferrari at their annual event at Madonna di Campiglio this morning, "Ferrari announces that it has extended its agreement with the driver Rubens Barrichello to cover the 2005 and 2006 racing seasons."
Rubens Barrichello made his F1 debut in 1993 for Eddie Jordan after having burst onto the European racing scene in 1990 by winning the GM Lotus Euroseries followed by the British F3 Championship first time out the next season. He made his F1 debut in 1992 with Jordan and claimed his first points towards the end of the season with a fifth place finish in Suzuka. The next year proved difficult for the Brazilian, a huge accident at Imola and the death of friend and mentor Ayrton Senna, impacted on him, the highlight of the year being pole at Spa.
His third season for Jordan in 1995 saw the team switch to Peugeot engines and subsequently go backwards, although he did manage a second place in Canada. Another unremarkable season in 1996 saw the Jordan relationship end and he switched to Jackie Stewart's brand new team for the 1997 season. Second place in the pouring rain at Monaco, only the team's fifth race was an excellent achievement.
He stayed with Jordan for a further two years, claiming pole position in the 1999 French Grand Prix, before the dream call to drive for Ferrari. Despite the position of being Michael Schumacher's 'back up' within the team Barrichello soon found his feet, winning his first race for the Italian squad less than six months after arriving, at the German Grand Prix, a fighting drive from 18th on the grid in a race marred by the antics of a protester who managed to get onto the track.
He failed to make the top step of the podium in 2001, but second places at the Hungaroring, Hockenheim, Monza, Monte Carlo and Sepang helped him garner 56 points and subsequently third in the driver's series. 2002 kicked off with pole in Melbourne, but a poor run of results saw him out of the title picture by mid-season. The highly controversial decision in Austria by Ferrari to order him to move over and allow Michael Schumacher through cost him a win that was in the bag.
As the Ferraris ran rampant during the second half of the season claimed wins at Monza, Budapest and the Nurburgring, and finally a lucky win at Indianapolis when the team's attempt to stage manage a dead heat spectacularly backfired. He finished the year in second place with 77 points.
Last year, with the Williams and McLaren teams having closed the gap, Barrichello was left somewhat adrift. He visited the podium eight times and won twice, in Britain and Japan, completing the season fourth in the championship with 65 points, well adrift of team mate Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya.