Will this be Barrichello's last year with Ferrari?

[KC]

This is taken from the BBC Motorsport news section...

___________________________________________________________
Rubens Barrichello has been warned by his boss at Ferrari to improve his attitude or risk losing his seat at the end of the season.

The Brazilian said last month that his indistinguished record since joining was caused by the team devoting its efforts to helping Michael Schumacher at his expense.

The remarks have not gone down well with Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, who has issued a thinly-veiled threat to Barrichello.

"If he takes a step forward in his relationship with the team and Schumacher then I don't see why we would change," said the Italian. "There are not many drivers on the market capable of driving a Ferrari."

Ferrari sporting director Jean Todt had to remind Barrichello of his place in the team during last season.

Barrichello had objected to being asked to move over in favour of Schumacher at the Austrian Grand Prix.
____________________________________________________________

I feel for Rubens, however he had to have seen how the wind blows at Ferrari before signing on. That team is totally focussed on getting MS more wins and more WDCs no matter the cost to the teammate. To complain now about his treatment is not going to help him out any at all.

I do disagree with Mr. Montezomolo on one point. There is any number of qualified drivers capable of winning in the Ferrari, just not as many who can stomach being MS's teammate.

[senna12]

Originally posted by KC



I do disagree with Mr. Montezomolo on one point. There is any number of qualified drivers capable of winning in the Ferrari, just not as many who can stomach being MS's teammate.

Absolutely correct, KC. This pre-season comment is, IMHO, the kiss of death for Rubens. He is expected to win if Michael cannot, for whatever reason, and if he doesn't win, which is more often than not likely, he will be gone.

Ferrari does not like to feel the sting of charges of favoritism voiced from its drivers. Rubens must be the obedient, but fast, toady, or else. Perhaps their next choice of driver should be a young charger who won't complain about support, just get on with the job of driving, arguably, the best car in the field. I can think of several qualified candidates for this position!!

[BBKing]

I guess Montezemolo thinks Barrichello is the second best and that is where Irvine got the mad idea he was the 2nd best. He should have say that there is no better Slave for Schumacher than Barrichello..LOL

What they are telling Barrichello to be a good slave or to close the door behind him. There are not other teams queing up for him so he will do as he is told. Slavery at Ferrari is an ongoing matter.

[Coach44]

He is gone next year. Maybe he can join Irvine at Jaguar and argue with him to see who's the second best

[EERO]

Pathetic.

I was convinced that going to Ferrari would ruin his reputation, and its happening before our eyes.

[Glen]

If the car's that good, he should be getting second place a hell of a lot more frequently than he is. He's so far back sometimes that he's not much use as a number two... you can't hold DC or JPM up if they're in front of you.

[nicker less]

I hope it is Rubens last year at Ferrari, for Rubens sake. Move to a team that appreciates you before it's to late!!!

[touring fan]

Sadly I think his days are numbered. It's a tough choice, put up, shut up and do what he's told, ending up miserable and demoralised or stand up for himself and lose (probably) his last chance with a top team.

[BBKing]

What Montezemolo, Brawn and Todt said back in 2000 when Barrichello came within 10 points of Schumacher after winning in Germany would have been enough to make a descent person walk away from any contract he might have signed. Only then you realize that Barrichello is a 3rd class driver with no selfconfidence to find another drive so he stayed as slave. I am affraid is too late for him and better get paid well for playing slave to Schumacher for as long as they want him to.

[RWC]

Poor rubens.He may have started with an equal oportunity.Soon micheals pace flogged him though .So the 'if you're slower you have no one to blame & you'll have to let you're teammate through' clause took over.I can see why others don't want to go there.There's the SUSPICION that they'll never get a fair go.I wonder how much of his lack of pace is because he DOESN'T want to crash all the time.(like early2001)-no sense making the reputation worse..

[Kid Prozac]

rubens doesnt come across as the driver to lead ferrari when schumacher retires. if schumacher was to leave at the end of this year, as speculated upon by numerous people, does anyone here really believe that barrichello could lead ferrari? what ferrari need is a hard charger, someone that should be pushing schumacher hard every race, making him think that he is due for retirement! after all rubens is in the best car on the grid so there is no excuse for him not finishing directly behind schumacher if they are the second best driver. personally i do not rate rubens as one of the best on the grid, on his day he is hella fast, germany 2000, but he needs to be doing that every weekend, he should not be thinking i am second best, he should be thinking well ferrari have employed me so i must be doing something right. i believe he has had his mindset changed by the politics at ferrari, and who knows if we all knew how good the 99 stewart would be, rubens might have been winning more often. sorry about the length!

[Gt_R]

Read this extract from Autosport.com
=============================
Ferrari boss encourages Barrichello

Ferrari boss hints that Brazilian fits the bill for the long-term
------

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has hinted that Rubens Barrichello could have a long-term future at the team, as long as he continues to make progress in the level of his performances.

The Brazilian's contract runs to the end of this year and he will be keen to remain at Ferrari into next year and beyond. There have been rumours - denied by the team - that Williams sensation Juan Pablo Montoya has been targeted as a future Ferrari star.

"If he takes a step forward in his relationship with the team and Schumacher then I don't see why we would change," di Montezemolo told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. "There are not many drivers on the market capable of driving a Ferrari."

... ...
=================================

Notice the very different light this article shed to the other one by BBC? The same words off Luca's mouth, but both articles take very different angles to the issue.

[Mr V]

no matter how people read this statement,i for one doesn't think that barrichello will be at ferrari next season for 2 reasons.

1. he's not capable of mounting a challange in a race if tgf has mechanical problems, which ferrari want, in 34 races for the team he has won once, and to be fair, although (imo) virtually every f1 fan was pleased for him, he wouldn't have won had that bloke not ruined the race.

2. IF tgf's going to retire in the foreseeable future (i.e '04) then ferrai have got to prepare themselves for that, they can't get to the time when tgf leaves and think..."right, who do we hire now?"

i think that this is a blast at rubens, not sweet talk, and their preparing to get rid of him by saying (in public) perform this season or your out, then, when the time comes, they can say.told you so.

[Gt_R]

To much an extent, i agree.

I treat this as a open reminder to Rubens to shape up or ship out.

Rubens is a good driver. He has to be in order to get his results in Stewart, to win a race, and to overtake. But a serious WDC contender, he, like DC, IMO is not.

When Luca says not many people can drive a Ferrari, i interprete that as to drive and win in a Ferrari against other strong drivers and cars due to merit and not due to attrition. And if we look at it that way, there are really very few people who could do just that, again and again.

Rubens is a good driver but for his emotional mind. This makes him inconsistent and unpredictable in races and thus unable to mount a serious contention for WDC...similar to a few of the other drivers. As a result, i as a Ferrari fan do not see him have the capabilities to lead the team when Michael is gone. His performance deficit to Michael is in reality quite big.

So should he stay or should he go? There are quite a few other drivers that i would love to see in Ferrari...and so, if Rubens cannot largely up his performance this year, please go.

Next year would be as good as any time to join Ferrari for any drivers out there, as he would most likely take over the leading role of Ferrari when Michael retires.

[f1manoz]

Enzo Ferrari would be turning in his grave to see how Ferrari is run today. Disgraceful.

It's a sorry state of affairs in that team now.

Poor, poor Rubens. Get out with some sort of pride intact mate. Don't be TGF's whipping boy for too long.

[Gt_R]

Know that the following would be slightly off topic, but just make a few points.

Quote BBK: "Slavery at Ferrari is an ongoing matter."

If you mean on track team orders, it comes very far and few in between. And among the top teams alone, there are at least 1 other that practices them too.

If you mean team preferential treatment, unless Ferrari is the only team in F1, it is plain silly to think that they are the only ones who focus more on one driver over another.

I won't miss the absense of team orders or team preferential treatment in any team. But i cannot deny that at times, team orders are a NEED to assist in exploiting the team's result to the maximum.

Actually, i think that Ferrari handled the team position thing in an acceptable manner. Every way has its pros and cons.They honestly told Rubens during contract negotiation that priority would be given to Michael unless Rubens proved to get the upper hand. This way, it saves the team from a lot of conflict and unhappiness later in the season, because everything is agreed upon beforehand. For example, Williams promise equal treatment and no team orders...yet when they chose to implement it in Silverstone, it results in worsening teammate relationship as well as some conflict between driver and management. And at least, Ferrari is open enough and not hide about their preference for Michael, unlike some others.

[Mr V]

Originally posted by f1manoz
Enzo Ferrari would be turning in his grave to see how Ferrari is run today. Disgraceful.

It's a sorry state of affairs in that team now.

Poor, poor Rubens. Get out with some sort of pride intact mate. Don't be TGF's whipping boy for too long.

i don't think enzo would have hired a driver like rubens in the first place, and if he did, he would have kicked him out after the first season!! i know gilles followed team orders to help jody to the title, but giles had the talent to win the wdc himself! if enzo was still alive.....jpm's name would have already been on a contract for '03.

[Valve Bounce]

For whatever reasons some of us may like Rubens, he has not proven to be a winner at Ferrari. His one win in wet conditions appeared to be a fluke because he chose to run the "wrong" tyres which proved to be the right tyres. His re-signing with Ferrari immediately after the Austrian GP fiasco, ostensibly for a larger salary, forfeited all rights he might have had of complaining. You can blame bad luck or bad management or whatever, the fact remains that Rubens has not proven to be a winner.
I have said several times before that I suspect that Ferrari will chase JPM, especially if he wins a bag of races this year. Of course, if he wins the WDC, he might even end up as the lead driver in Ferrari next year. All the major moves during this year will be made after JPM has secured a seat next year for a top team.

[Gt_R]

Sorry, but i think Enzo is smiling now.

Enzo believes in decipline and respect. He wants things done with result, and he hates bullsh*t from his employees. Team orders is something that he uses in his days leading the Ferrari camp, and is something he would use to ensure the team gets the best result.

If he would be turning in his grave, it would be for Rubens lack of form and the not-tactful manner of handling things.

Sorry state of affairs now for Ferrari? Not.
Winning both titles for 2 consecutive years in impressive manners, having a team that is almost like home to team employees, having everyone committed to their work, to see the team operate like Rolex watches in perfect order... if that's sorry, i don't know what you call Mclaren in 2001.

Anyway, can anybody give a number count to which Rubens was at the disadvantaged end of on track team orders and vice-versa?

[Mr V]

i agree VB, tgf's not going anywhere, so jpm will dominate the driver transfer market! hope sir frank see's sence and agrees to up his wages!! (only because i want to see jpm win a wdc at williams........i would love to finally see a favourite driver of mine driving a ferrari with a chance of the wdc!)

[drexel]

Today I know what I need to be champion. I will be close to Schumacher, and if all goes right, I will fight for the title against him.” Said Rubens.

Barrichello also believes he will be able to out drive McLaren’s David Coulthard despite praising him highly. "David is very quick and he drove very well in 2001, but I will beat him this time.”

I think he'll get closer this year since it's do or die for him. He'll also put into the wall aswell 'cause of trying too hard.

Rubens has always had talent (if you look at his wet weather driving) but he just isn't strong enough mentally.

I also he think he will beat DC this year... only problem is that he won't beat Kimi, so his value to the WDC will stay the same.

[BBKing]

Gt_R if you are happy that one of the best seats in F1 is wasted for the sake of one man's glory then what Ferrari does is fine. I would not care if the WDC wins 1 or 10 races in a season as long as he fights to deserve it. When the other teams are in disarray I would have expected Ferrari let their drivers fight each other instead of worrying about making sure Schumacher wins the title with 5 or 4 races to go.

There is something wrong with F1 when personal gloryfication is more important than the public who wants to see racing. Thanks to people like Sir Ron Dennis who let Senna and Prost battle themselves giving us the best racing for years to come.

[Valve Bounce]

Drexel, let's forget about who Rubens is going to beat. He really has to focus on winning a race, not just beating this guy or that guy in a race.
What I mean is, we can conjecture who Rubens might beat, but when it comes to the crunch, we can also say that a whole bunch of drivers can beat him. Jacques, Ralf, DC, HHF, JPM, and these guys are proven winners, and they will be up there fighting with him to beat MSch. OK, perhaps not Jacques in the BAR, nor HHF, but you know what I mean. In two years with arguably the best car on the grid, Rubens managed to fluke 1 win.
At the moment, I reckon that both Kimi and Nick Heidfeld have better chances of winning races than Rubens. And if he bad mouths Ferrari, he will get himself fired. Montezemolo was talking about his attitude towards the team and MSch, and that is where Rubens must cure himself first.

[drexel]

Posted by Valve Bounce
In two years with arguably the best car on the grid, Rubens managed to fluke 1 win.

True, but if Driver A is better than Driver B, then to me, it's always a fluke when the other guy wins, whether he wins one race or three.

Gehard Berger sometimes beat Senna, Coulthard sometimes beats Hakkinen... but it's always because the better driver had an off day.

It's just been bad luck for Rubens that Michael hasn't had too many off days in the last 2 years or else Rubens could of had 5 wins, but it still wouldn't make him any better or worse.

[Gt_R]

Quote BBK:"Gt_R if you are happy that one of the best seats in F1 is wasted for the sake of one man's glory then what Ferrari does is fine."

Oh BBK...how unfair a statement of me you have made. Obviously you did not read my replies, or if you read, did not attempt to understand it.

Do i want one of the best seats in F1 wasted? I said that "There are quite a few other drivers that i would love to see in Ferrari...and so, if Rubens cannot largely up his performance this year, please go." and "I won't miss the absense of team orders or team preferential treatment in any team."

If that sounds to you that i'm happy with wasting good drives in F1 and running one-man show, there must be a problem with your interpretations somewhere.

There is only so much i can explain my statements on the public forum due to word limitations, so if you dont comprehend my viewpoint, ask, and i'd send you my PoV through PM when i have the time (which is something of a luxury). Otherwise, perhaps you will prefer to not make unproven allegations of others, and make up non-existence opinions of other people, like you have done for HHF... LoL

So you are the only one that wants racing, and i don't? Or am i burying my head in the sand again? LOL

Just remember something. It's easy to criticise something on hindsight...just like what you are doing now. But teams make decisions without such a luxury.