Scuderia Ferrari is one of the fewest Formula 1 teams that blatantly prioritizes one driver over the other, regardless of the surrounding situation. The early part of the 2000s witnessed seven-time world champion, Michael Schumacher punching his way through the entire grid and ruthlessly winning anything and everything that came his way.
Meanwhile, his then-teammate, Rubens Barrichello, was a mere second fiddle to the German racing legend. The Brazilian spent majority of his time at Ferrari bowing to the harsh team orders of the Maranello outfit. However, years later, Barrichello attempted to get his redemption only to almost cause one of the most diabolical crashes of all time.
The Brazilian was absolutely furious and publicly accused his former Ferrari teammate of attempting to kill him. “I am lucky to be alive. It was a go-kart manoeuvre. If he wants to go to heaven, in the event he is going to heaven, I don’t want to go before him. Thank God, I was lucky the wall finished where it did because I was millimetres from it,” he said according to Bleacher Report.
“It was the most dangerous move against me that I’ve ever been through. It was horrible.” Furthermore, Barrichello acknowledged any attempts to have a meaningful conversation with Schumacher would end in an ugly fashion and therefore, refrained from doing so. “I won’t speak to him because it won’t resolve things. You know Michael. He will always feel that he is right,” he added.
What really happened between Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher?
The 2010 Hungarian Grand Prix witnessed Barrichello driving a Williams while his former Ferrari teammate found himself with the newborn Mercedes squad and their underperforming challenger. During the race, the odds of Barrichello finishing ahead of Schumacher were fairly high, considering Williams was one of the strongest performers of the 2000s.
Unfortunately, while attempting a move on Schumacher, Barrichello almost found himself sandwiched between the Mercedes and the concrete pit wall. Schumacher was visibly struggling with his rear, while the Brazilian made a smooth exit out of the final corner. Hence, Barrichello was right on the rear wing of the Mercedes and opted to make a move around the inside of the driver.
Even as Barrichello found himself right alongside the multi-time world champion, Schumacher continued to drift to his right and almost squeezed the Brazilian into the wall. But, Barrichello never yielded and managed to escape the battle unscathed. He screamed on the radio, “He should be black-flagged for that.”
Overall, a rather nerve-wracking battle between the pair that almost caused one of the most horrifying high-speed crashes. But, that’s how Formula 1 and that’s how Formula 1 will always be!
