Group orders in F1
All through Method 1 historical past, there have been quite a few and infrequently controversial circumstances of staff orders, the place a staff instructs its driver to surrender their place in favor of their teammate. One of the vital criticized examples occurred close to the end line of the 2002 Austrian GP, when Rubens Barrichello slowed down simply meters from the road, handing victory to Michael Schumacher. The incident sparked widespread outrage, main Schumacher to convey Barrichello onto the highest step of the rostrum and hand him the winner’s trophy. Later that yr on the US GP, Schumacher returned the favor on monitor, with the 2 Ferrari drivers crossing the end line aspect by aspect.
Melbourne 2000
The connection between the 2 drivers was all the time somewhat chilly, with Barrichello persistently within the position of the second driver from his arrival at Maranello till 2005. This era noticed Ferrari safe 5 consecutive Constructors’ titles and Schumacher win 5 straight Drivers’ Championships. Few folks, nevertheless, had been conscious—till Rubens’ current feedback on the *Past the Grid* podcast—that the staff’s first instruction to remain behind Schumacher got here throughout the 2000 Australian Grand Prix, his very first race with Ferrari after leaving Stewart.
The race ended with a Ferrari one-two end, which Rubens Barrichello recalled whereas reflecting on his time at Maranello:
“The toughest half was off the monitor as a result of there was a lot extra work,” he started, referring to his transition to Ferrari. “There have been much more media, much more journey. There have been paperwork saying, ‘You possibly can say this, you possibly can’t say that.’ Folks had been watching, however each time I sat within the automotive, I felt the pleasure and gratitude of driving a extremely good automotive, and that made all of it worthwhile. Take Australia, the primary race. I used to be in P2, however throughout that race, I used to be closing in on Michael. That’s once I heard for the primary time on the radio that I needed to decrease the engine revs or one thing like that. You see, I used to be ready for this, however the true stress for me was when my father, after work, would come to me and say, ‘Son, we don’t have cash to go to this go-kart race.’ That was stress. These powerful moments ready me for when everybody was watching.” – he identified.
His years with Ferrari and Michael Schumacher
Moreover, Rubens Barrichello mirrored on the difficult relationship behind the scenes at Ferrari, regardless of his gratitude for the alternatives he had throughout his profession. He additionally shared his ideas on his expertise in comparison with Michael Schumacher’s:
“Would I’ve finished something otherwise in my profession? Positive, we’d have made some modifications alongside the way in which, however I’m grateful for every little thing that occurred, even the powerful moments at Ferrari,” he concluded. “I’d spend an hour with Ross Brawn and Jean Todt saying, ‘Hear, this isn’t the way it must be finished, and so forth.’ Now, I typically see folks solely speaking to the press. I used to be high-quality with the press, however I had powerful conversations with them as a result of, guys, you need to let me be myself. Was Schumacher higher than me? I feel he was. However was it 51-49? 70-30? I don’t know. We’ll by no means know as a result of it wasn’t a state of affairs the place you might be fully free.” – the Brazilian concluded.
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