Ex-Teammate Reveals Real Reason for Michael Schumacher’s Supremacy at Ferrari Despite Bowing Down to the Same

As far as explosive teammate rivalries go, Michael Schumacher versus Rubens Barrichello at Ferrari is right up there. As talented as Barrichello proved to be when he joined the Scuderia in 2000, Ferrari only ever saw him as a strong support to Schumacher’s championship ambitions. With Schumacher outperforming him and winning 5 consecutive titles from 2000 to 2004, the Brazilian could only manage 9 wins (which could’ve been 10 had it not been for team orders during the 2002 Austrian GP). 

Needless to say, Barrichello didn’t have any other option than to bow down to Schumacher’s “supremacy.” Although he would’ve savored every one of those nine wins, especially when he edged out Schumacher by just 0.011s at the 2002 US GP, he’s revealed that Schumacher wasn’t all that supreme.

Ferrari politics ensured Michael Schumacher’s supremacy

Ferrari is no stranger to prioritizing one driver over the other. If you’re looking for examples, it’s happening right now with Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. Although it’s never been outrightly admitted, it’s become clear over the past few race weekends (and through most of the 2022 season) that Leclerc is Ferrari’s number-one driver. Well, they say old habits die hard, and Ferrari seems to have carried on this trend since the Schumacher-Barrichello era.

In an interview, as quoted by formulapassion.it, Barrichello opened up about life at Ferrari and Schumacher’s dominance over him and the field. The Brazillian said, “My contract said nothing about not being able to wrestle Michael. For my sake, I have accepted so many things. There were many things that I rejected, but some I said yes to because for six years I have seen my time coming.” [Translated by Google]

He added, “Whenever they ask me, I always say Michael was stronger than me, hands down. But he had already been with Ferrari since 1996, he had four more years of experience in the team, and Jean Todt considered him like a son.”

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Barrichello believes the only reason Schumacher had the upper hand was because of the added experience he had (as well as the team’s preference). Considering that when a driver joins a new team, they usually look up to and learn from their teammate, Barichello revealed that never happened at Ferrari.

Michael Schumacher never helped Rubens Barrichello

If you need proof that drivers actually help their new teammates, take the case of Pierre Gasly and Yuki Tsunoda at AlphaTauri in 2021. Or even Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at McLaren this season. Gasly and Norris both made Tsunoda and Piastri feel at home since the time they joined their respective teams, but Barichello explained how he never felt at home with Ferrari, primarily due to Schumacher.

He said, “I’ve always made friends, and I’ve always had a good relationship with all my teammates, but Michael has never supported me. He’s never been there to offer help, and I’ve never asked for it. With Michael, it was different, many times, we ended a meeting, and then another one just started with him. In the end, I understood that the team was only his.”

Had Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher joined Ferrari at the same time, do you think the Brazillian could’ve beaten the seven-time champion?

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