The Brazilian Blues of Rubens Barrichello

[@Antonypancake]

Man, Massa winning Brazil twice (almost 3 times in a row) right after replacing Barrichello is peak

[@TheMobileChicane]

Would’ve been 3 if not for team orders in 2007! But again - what a prime example of the rotten luck Rubens had for that to happen .

[@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1]

Honestly lol Massa in 2006 absolutely pulverised the field as well that day so much faster he was than Alonso that day

[@macrossMX]

Sadly, Massa's 2008 Brazilian GP win would be his final F1 win.

[@sevach]

That's absolutely nuts, Rubens tries so hard and never gets anything, Massa jumps into the car and gets the win Rubens dreamed about.

[@sabataskull9661]

Massa is the real champion of 2008.

[@Ruppel98]

I remember meeting Rubens at an autograph session in 2013 after a Stock Car race in my hometown, and bringing a Brawn GP 1/43 miniature for him to sign. He noticed 15 year old me was a bit emotional and sincere when I told him he was one of my inspirations growing up, and I felt he was happy and truthful when thanking me for his support after we took a picture together. I had braces and a shitty haircut, but I will always hold that moment dearly regardless of future glow ups. I can’t even describe the shame I feel whenever a fellow Brazilian says that Rubens was “slow” while looking at me with an ugly stare when I defend his achievements. The unfortunate timing of his career starting pretty much right at Senna’s untimely death, a low quality yet famous comedy show that always made fun of him, and the ignorance of some whom I recall saying “Senna never had the best car” and “drove on pure talent” more often than not means he may never get the recognition he deserves as one of our finest and one of the world’s best that never became champion. Not winning at home just compounds all that, but the hole is way deeper than it seems for outsiders, as only the few Brazilians I know who happen to be well cultured in motorsports are those who see his true value. Barrichello still is an inspiration for me and many others, and is a legend that will forever bring me a smile when someone asks about my memories and thoughts. I’m really glad you covered some of his misfortunes and delved deep into it. I wish this could be turned into a narration in Portuguese in hopes it would help our people to understand more about the reality surrounding his career. Great job as always, and I can’t wait to see what you got for us next! You have the best F1 channel on KZbin, and the gap to the rest grows each time you upload!

[@TheMobileChicane]

That’s a wonderful story, and a lovely comment. Thank you!

[@onearmedman9042]

Rubens has been my favorite F1 driver since the early mid 90s. I feel like I’m always alone in saying that. I also spoke with him. It was the most brilliant words that have ever come out of my mouth

[@mateusbez2669]

Barrichello is (because he is still active) a great driver, and one of nicest people you would ever meet. Take the guys really involved in grass roots Motorsport around Brazil and they all have him (and his father) as royalty and inspiration. They really help the environment. And I was REALLY glad he won stock car at his first try. That, really, showed just how good he always was to those that don't follow Motorsport as closely.

[@ahogg5960]

Even just someone to make proper Portuguese subtitles would be a start! Other KZbinrs pay their followers to make subtitles in other languages for them - it'd go some of the way to helping dispel this myth.

[@mateusbez2669]

Want to hear some good news after all of this? His son races in Brazilian F4 and won his first ever race at Interlagos. He was there (and acting as his son race engineer) and celebrated like crazy, crying like a proud father would. A great moment

[@TheMobileChicane]

That’s a wonderful cliff note! Wish I’d know that before!

[@GearsandGasoline]

Excited for this one. With so much coverage given to the superlatives of the sport, I love that your videos focus on the low-lights of drivers' careers without resorting to hyperbole or making them a meme. You tell the interesting little details like they are.

[@TheMobileChicane]

Thanks - really appreciate that glowing review!

[@guiwonsik]

As a Brazilian Barrichello fan. Thanks for such legendary retrospective😮🎉 the dude suffered a lot from the press. I try to educate people some times because he became a meme here for "being slow" (there was a TV show who mocked him a lot during the Ferrari stint). So unfair for such a legendary driver.

[@onearmedman9042]

I ALWAYS find myself having to educate people on how great he truly is. Can you imagine what could’ve happened if Senna survived to take pressure off him and to guide him. Such a shame. Rubens is my favorite of ALL time. He has such a great heart

[@Ryzard]

It's sad. A situation where the people love you, or they toss you aside, and it means so much, but the harder you grab for it, the worse it gets..

[@khaledhassan6341]

your channel is so underrated man. deserves 1m subs at least

[@TheMobileChicane]

Thanks! Even if we ever got to 100k, that would be mind blowing enough!

[@SpaceHCowboy]

That clip of Luca Badoer lying on his back on the grass next to his upside down car was just brilliant. Totally sums up Badoers career. Another top class video from Mr Chicane. 👌🏼

[@DukemanYZ]

Rubens not winning a single Brazilian GP feels like a crime... but sadly, its just how life is sometimes as there is that one thing that we wished we had but sadly couldn't.

[@1greenMitsi]

why? he was comprehensively beaten by his team mate. Rubens only bet schumacher on a blue moon

[@Cynderfan35]

and that one time when so close/no doubt would have won, the ferrari just had to have a failure, when usually they had excellent reliability during the era of dominance

[@Ryzard]

​@@1greenMitsihere he was beaten by his hydraulics and engine unfortunately.

[@absurdist5134]

Now THAT, is an F1 doco. That was good. Very, very good.

[@TheMobileChicane]

Thank you so much!

[@BerserkerRohan]

The main thing I remember about this tale was the 2003 GP and a video by MST F1 covering this race and Rubens was his favourite driver so you could really feel the disappointment when that Ferrari ran out of fuel from the lead. This might be one of the most iconic cases of stage freight when it comes to motorsport especially considering Rubens still couldn't win at Interlagos after his F1 career. The amount of bad luck that followed this tale was quite disheartening as well since Rubens really didn't deserve to be dealt such a bad hand due to how well liked he felt especially with the large amount of potential he should in his early career and then becoming the underdog at Ferrari due to Schumacher's presence.

[@McLMP4-22]

MSTF1, there’s a name that takes me back to 2015-2017. Great KZbinr, shame he left the site. At least now we have RocketPoweredMohawk and RicksF1Addiction.

[@BerserkerRohan]

@@McLMP4-22 Very true.

[@Zack_Spades]

When I first discovered the trivia that Barrichello had retired from his home race ELEVEN times out of 19 attempts, I considered writing a video script about it, just to see what I could say. I could never have done as phenomenal a job as you have of tying it all together into a story, as heart-breaking as the tale is for old Rubens. I couldn't help but also compare Rubens's Brackley teammate and somewhat similarly jinxed at home F1 driver Jenson Button's stats at Silverstone, and while JB had less time in race-winning equipment, the numbers still aren't as bad as Rubens' Interlagos trials. 17 starts, 5 DNFs, and only 3 times did he come to Silverstone with an outside chance of winning: 2004 (a somewhat unusually competitive weekend w/ Raikkonen in the mix, but still shaded by the mighty Ferrari F2004), 2009 (Yes he and Brawn won the championship but Vettel's dominant RBR was at least 40 seconds clear of 3rd placed Barrichello and 45s ahead of Button) and 2010 (4th, again beaten easily by the RBRs but Hamilton finished 1.5s behind, Button had to make up for starting 14th). At least Rubens got a podium at home, but goodness. Between the two Brawn GP teammates of 2009, they'd account for 36 failures to win at home between them, and I think that might be the basis for a new niche trivia question to roll out in the pubs at some point.

[@Blubatt]

I used to work with a Brazillian chap, and I was talking to him about Formula One, and it really surprised me when he talked about Barichello. I always loved Rubens, he was popular in my house, even if he was just Michael's wing man. It's a shame that he isn't as appreciated in his home country as he should be. he was always a great driver, but when you are a teammate of Michael Schumacher, or Jenson Button, then you are always going to be seen as second fiddle.

[@mateusbez2669]

There is a lot of bitterness towards him here in Brazil. A lot of the more casual F1 fans have a really twisted idea of how good he was. It pisses me off. I was laughing my ass off when he came back to Brazil in his 40s and won the title of Brazil's excellent Stock car series, the highest level of racing competition probably in all Latin America. Just shows how high his level has always been. Essentially, a few humour shows resorted to bullying him, for his bad luck and his place alongside Schumacher, and as images go, those don't go away. The Brazilian Motorsport community feels completely different about him, however, where he is really admired as an all time Brazilian great.

[@motorsportfanboy7769]

Yeah, it genuinely sounds like he got more respect overseas than in his own country

[@eloise_janeiro]

i'm so thankful for your channel. your videos are original, engaging, and well-researched. it's so refreshing to watch motorsport videos that aren't just reading a wikipedia article to you

[@TheMobileChicane]

Thank you so much!

[@thekingmansplainer6813]

Best F1 KZbinr out there with an improved intro. Thanks so much for the fucking great content.

[@TheMobileChicane]

Appreciate that - thank you!

[@thekingmansplainer6813]

@@TheMobileChicane happy to be honest

[@KellieLeigh48]

A deeper look at the Brawn championship season would be nice. Awesome upload as always Chicane

[@TheMobileChicane]

Have definitely considered it in the past: there’s obviously the Keanu Reeves documentary available, but it would be fun to put my own spin on it!

[@benusechtus47]

He was so good at Interlagos as Well. Some incredible laps and performances destroyed by bad luck.

[@alexwilliams5819]

Chicane knocks it out the park again. When I saw the title I thought you were going to try the arduous task of examining Ruby’s whole career but this is definitely one of the interesting stories about it. Of the near misses 2003 still hurts the most given as it turned out he was 8 laps away from actually winning it. Elsewhere Since Toyota has a foot back in the F1 door with its technical partnership with Haas maybe it’s time for a video reminiscing about their failed works team?

[@TheMobileChicane]

Thanks Alex! I’m currently earmarking a Toyota retrospective for a 25k special, given that I reckon that topic could well stretch to the 2 hour mark! But never say never for it being done sooner than that!

[@Stefan8u]

An Amazing Production as always. I'd looked a little in Barrichello's stats before and was aware of the bad luck, with this breakdown it's almost unbelievable that this has happened. And as a more casual and younger fan at the time he was racing, I never accounted for his luck with career moves. I only really noticed him at Ferrari and Brawn where he had the most success/ prominence; it's easy to forget his time he ended up in bad teams and bad cars.

[@StarFox85]

the pole in spa is unforgettable for me !

[@Arrows]

Another fantastic video! Thank you so much. :)

[@TheMobileChicane]

No, thank you for the support!

[@jackbrabham]

just as context: when asked about the McLaren deal for maybe 1995 or 1996, Barrichello always says that the contract wasn't for a racing driver, full stop. He didn't commit to McLaren because the contract was open to McLaren not giving him the seat and maybe making him something like a reserve/third driver. True or not, I don't know, but he is consistent about this every time. His manager at the time told some Brazilian podcast that it was a done deal for Rubens to take Schumacher's place at Benetton for 1996, but Briatore went for Berger because Berger accepted to share a bit of his salary with him. In the same interview, he tells that the main sponsor would be Pepsi (following the massive, edgey Pepsi involvement on extreme sports back then), the 1995 car was already with the new sponsor/colors, printed material was made and everything was set to announce/market

[@angus_bangus]

Babe. Wake up, The MobileChicane just uploaded. Edit: I absolutely love this video. I also love the MCCU (Mobile Chicane Connected Universe) that you're building up here. Different videos referencing and paying respect to other videos you made is so fun as an avid fan. The Jaded Journey of Jaguar is one of my all time favorites and even small nods to BMW in 2009 reminds me ofhow I found your channel. I feel so bad for Rubens. For anyone to have to go through what he has emotionally would be incredibly tough. His segments in the Brawn GP documentary made me feel bad too as it seems that his car had significantly more reliability issues than Button's. It really makes you wonder if it was really bad luck or if there is something with regards to the way ruben drives the car that leads to reliability woes. Thank you so much themobilechicane and I hope you keep up the phenomenal work!

[@TheMobileChicane]

Hahaha the MCCU - I love it! I admit I did notice a lot of links to other videos too, not just Jaguar and BMW but even Ivan Capelli’s brief cameo. Cheers for all the support and always driving that hype train!

[@angus_bangus]

@@TheMobileChicane🚂🚂

[@webberq2]

button never being on the british gp podium feels unreal

[@TheMobileChicane]

Likewise. I attended the 2009 edition fully expecting another Brawn win that day, and was gutted to not even see my favourite driver on the podium.

[@FrankJohn]

What an unfortunate and sad story. I feel so bad for him.

[@ar4570]

Another flawless video, you can really see the care, the research, time and effort that's been put in each and every upload so far, this channel is amazing, absolutely amazing.

[@TheMobileChicane]

I really appreciate that - thank you.

[@tmg2315]

These vids are always worth the wait, keep up the great work mate

[@TheMobileChicane]

Thanks; I’ll try my best!

[@cribbe6547]

Another 10/10 video, as always!

[@rodrrico]

I had the privilege of meeting Rubens in Australia back in 2011. He seemed relaxed and at ease with his Williams team at the time. It would have been fantastic to see him race for one more season in 2012. There’s a good chance he would have added to his collection of trophies, and perhaps Williams might have avoided the slump they’ve been struggling to overcome ever since.

[@TheMobileChicane]

In my mind, there’s little doubt even a 40-year old Barrichello would’ve been more consistent than either Maldonado or Senna, if maybe just a little slower than Pastor

[@piotrnierobis7438]

Great work ❤

[@TheMobileChicane]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@rogerjohnson6676]

I like your productions sir, thoughtful analysis, reasonable what ifs, will enunciated narration, and nice interjection of humour periodically. Thank you for this one, a good driver never destined to be great, but good on his day with equipment that want always the best.

[@TheMobileChicane]

Many thanks!

[@Ohtechnik]

Rubens will forever be my favourite F1 Driver, despite not winning a world championship and being overshadowed by drivers like Schumacher and Button.

[@MclarenF1997]

Id almost relate it to Dale Earnhardt Sr and the Daytona 500, only difference is he eventually won after 20 years of trying, but also that very track eventually took his life. Great video and good comedy too thank you!

[@Cancoillotteman]

Love those documentaries !

[@irmaobarbado]

Man, I would never expect to see a some fans from my city at 29:01 appearing in a video about F1 from one of my favourite channels. Thats kind of random and I like it.

[@samueltwum-barima8951]

Incredible vid just subbed after watching lotus Senna

[@TheMobileChicane]

Welcome aboard!

[@jackbrabham]

very, very good content, congrats. Greetings from Brazil

[@DontTreadOnMe777777]

Another fantastic video - thank you as always!

[@aircholo1245]

Again, flawless and entertaining production. These vids are worth the wait. Thank you for doing what you do.

[@TheMobileChicane]

Much appreciated!

[@jimmyrecendiz4940]

15:28 that definitely won't get taken out of context

[@TheMobileChicane]

I regret nothing

[@hendriegrimberg5016]

I remember when i was little Austria 2002. Love Rubens he was epic in the jordan and the Stewart ❤️

[@tomasalves7831]

Rubens is one of F1's true gentlemans 👏🏻

[@joshuateixeira2709]

Most Brazilians would agree that Rubens is the 4th best Brazilian F1 driver, behind the 3 World Champions, despite Massa and Pace taking home Grand Prix wins

[@birandkoray]

massa is better than rubens, he was world champion for 22 seconds

[@joshuateixeira2709]

@@birandkoray Barrichello had better consistency and longevity but Massa had the better peak and better potential. He probably would've lived up to that potential if it wasn't for the spring hitting him in the face

[@AntenaDoF1]

@@joshuateixeira2709 Which means, even as a brazillian and Barrichello fan, I can't help but laugh.. the irony of the spring coming of Rubens' Brawn right on Massa's head, his unlucky was so crazy that even got Felipe...

[@Nicolassantosbranco]

Surely massa was better, 2008 speaks for itself

[@sabataskull9661]

He was the real champion that year.

[@japantuning88]

Excellent video on my all time favourite GP driver!

[@tomasalves7831]

Thank you 🙌🏻🙏🏻

[@pablohabibefigueiredo7142]

Barrichello won his very first F3 race in Interlagos, 1989. Amazing race...

[@MattGP01]

Covered this a few years ago on my channel. Worked on it with a major F1 content creator (when he was actively uploading), though it never gained any traction. As a child watching Rubens fail year after year was sad. Was tremendously gutting when Massa won right after replacing Rubens. At least he got a podium in 2004.

[@crystalracing4794]

Rubens treated the Brazilian GP like the World Cup or Champions League final. It was more than a home race to him, it was better than a world championship

[@snibag]

Never knew that Rubens was out of the home race 9 times in the row, really brutal. And i thought the Button's home podium curse are really bad one. Amazing video as always nevertheless.

[@crystalracing4794]

Rubems turned down a McLaren seat for 2010 and a Williams seat for 1999. I can't even

[@joribremer5260]

Another great video _O_ on my wishlist 1. the troublesome year 1986 for Brabham , and 2. Zakspeed f1 ;)

[@siimtokke3461]

The peak of the sports series is just weird and wonderful. Jordan offered 49% of the team to Senna, in football Messi and Beckham both got stakes in their respective MLS clubs. Maybe not as much today but 20-30+ years ago in USA leagues it wasn't that rare for team to give up stakes to lure players.

[@DavidLimofLimReport]

Any day TMC releases a video is a great day!!!! #putinmguh

[@cyberfutur5000]

Can't watch it right now, but I'm really looking forward to this one! I see Rubens as one of the big what if's. If only he was at Ferrari in 1999, for example. He maybe wasn't Ayerton, Michael or Mika good, and later he was past his prime. But as a German who grew up in a Ferrari themed bed room (no because of Rubens, tho) it sickens me to rewatch some of the things they did to him and kinda stains the Michals monument. Also, why did Massa get a special Brasil race suit in his first ever race there? Rubens never had one of those...

[@TheMobileChicane]

Hope you enjoy it when you get around to watching it! Regarding Massas special suit.. I never understood that either! Especially as it was the same race as Schumachers final one before his return with Mercedes.

[@cyberfutur5000]

@@TheMobileChicane I did. As always on this channel :) That he hasn't won there in stock cars really says it all. A shame. There are not many people in sport I would wish to succeed in their field like with Rubens, don't know... the guy seems just so nice. And he had sucsess, but not at the level he would have deserved ... just turn some screws here and there and anything would have been possible, but in the end we probably have to be thankful and glad that at least for a brief moment in Imola 94 the racing gods where on his side. I always like to think about how things might have been different when Imola94 didn't happen but with Rubens I always remember that this goes both ways, how close he came to join Ratzenberger and Senna and of all the joy we we would have missed out on. Because that's what Rubens is all about, at least for me, joy. He (almost) always had a smile and almost Danny Ric-esque aura. The only reason one can't be happy for Rubens is that you are to heart broken, because his car just broke down while he was forced to let the Michael pass.

[@benjamindepew]

Sky Sports F1 needs to offer you a job. These videos are just too good.

[@TheMobileChicane]

I’ll take that job!

[@crystalracing4794]

A bit like Button at Silverstone and Webber at Albert Park, but oddly did well at each other's home races

[@bezoekers]

Those 2007 and 2008 Honda's are gorgeous. I wish Red Bull would do a one off like that when they have to say goodbye to Honda.

[@IanRB26]

Stop the presses, Mobile Chicane just posted! Barichello's Brazil curse pales in comparison to the Andretti curse at Indianapolis though. A curse so infamous it has an entire Wikipedia article on it.

[@RAFlamingo3]

Nobody: Absolutely nobody: Mobile Chicane: P E N S K ! ! ! Absolutely awesome video as always, bud. Easily the best motor racing content on youtube

[@jvydenlovescruises]

at 12:28 i noticed you callef Penske, Pensk, just for the future it would be pronounced like Pen-Ski

[@TheMobileChicane]

I noticed that as soon as I started editing… but cheers for the heads up 🙂

[@Justanirishfella]

Watching this for my exercise, and then I’ll have to watch it again for all the Simpson scenes 😂

[@MDE_never_dies]

Rubens Varikelo

[@cliffthelightning]

Rubens was my man along with Mika and Damon as a kid

[@camillaquelladegliaggettiv4303]

Williams and Jordan driver Also the only Brazilian F1 driver I can think of who didn't endorse Bolsonaro Can't possibly not love him

[@1greenMitsi]

well thats a negative, any proud brazilian would

[@-PVL93-]

The racing gods truly are a weird cruel bunch Sometimes they decide you won't have the drink Sometimes they outright deny you any and all potential victories at home

[@macrossMX]

You need to have some insanely bad luck to not only fail to win a home race in F1, but failing to win in that very F1 circuit in a different series. Charles Leclerc had the Monaco Curse broken with his victory in 2024, while Rubens still has the Curse of Interlagos dogging him, even as a 2x Brazilian Stock Car champion.

[@DeckardWill]

Jean Alesi - you know you want to 😉

[@TheMobileChicane]

There is a Jean Alesi biography sat on my shelves…

[@DeckardWill]

@@TheMobileChicane Well now.... a creator of your quality could no doubt do an even better job! Fantastic video today as always, meticulously researched 👍

[@dominicbarden4436]

In my opinion, if you look up the definition of "Home Race Jinx" in the dictionary you will find a picture of Rubens Barrichello. Particularly when it comes to the stretch of 9 DNFs in a row from 1995-2003. At least he did get to celebrate a podium at his home race, unlike Jenson Button. I feel like you have a lot of fun coming up with the scripts for your videos, what with your very extensive use of vocabulary and grammar. Things like "Hideous Honda" and "Stagnant Stewart" are great uses of alliteration, for instance. Adds a little more class, for want of a better word, to the essay.

[@jonahehlers1673]

can you do a video on häkkinen ?

[@DavidLimofLimReport]

35:15 - nowadays Abu Dhabi title showdown has a different meeting #michaelmasi #totoitsamotorrace

[@shadeburst]

When Nige first arrived at Maranello, after seeing the magnificent factory he said that he couldn't understand why Ferrari didn't win every race they started. It took him only a few months to find out. Ferrari is controlled by the clans, the Mafia and the unions. A driver who fails to pay tribute will continually be sabotaged. And that's what happened to Rubinho. Todt and Brawn must have known about it but failed to intervene. Time after time they gave Rubens terrible strategies. Time after time they told him to let Schumacher through. Driving for other teams he did as well as could be expected in inferior machinery, usually outqualifying and outracing his teammate.

[@1greenMitsi]

mate, thats total cope. You can say what you want about Rubens at Ferrari and that his team mate was given preferential treatment. That all gets washed away at brawn. Rubens was beaten by his team mate once again, corroborating his number 2 driver status

[@Don-Royall]

​@@1greenMitsihis time at Ferrari was a nightmare but that's the problem with team orders. Once they become frequently on you, they follow you around, that's why Webber was scared for Piastri. Bottas is currently destroying his teammates, if tomorrow he sign for a front row team, he would be given afterthought strategy. The sport is as political as it is racing

[@shadeburst]

@@1greenMitsi Imagine waking up every morning and first thought is "Who am I going to hate today."

[@1greenMitsi]

@@shadeburst imagine waking up everyday and thinking 'which facts are going to trigger me today?'

[@shadeburst]

@@1greenMitsi I don't know. You're the expert, tell me.

[@crystalracing4794]

Patrese won Imola twice.

[@GabrielCCCP]

Forget about the contract. Just look to the facts. Schumacher: 2 years witohut any mechanical failure. Barrichello: one failure each 4-5 races. Period, Ferrari was criminal that time. Also, Rubens was far superior technically than Massa, but no luck at all.

[@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1]

Schumacher went 4 years without a technical failure between the 2001 German GP and the 2005 Bahrain GP Rubens on the other hand IIRC had 2 DNS in 2002 alone or at least car stopped working on the formation lap

[@jorgealainr]

rubens bad luck in interlagos seems to never end. my dog have his name on him. I hope my dog never race on interlagos.

[@n00g75]

ruben never was a treat to schumacher! he might see it that way .. but lets be honest here .. rubens had enoght possibilities to shine and he NEVER stood to far out! he might be a top tier driver .. but on that top tier list.. he simply wasnt top tier! ;)

[@Reznor_Meeks]

Brazilian here, the bellow is not about him as a human, person, father, its about the RACER Rubens; I have never met a Brazilian who liked, supported, or cared for Rubens, I'm sure there were some but by majority, nope. Ayrton hyped him so much, there was a lot of promise in his junior career, Rubens then to be turned into Michael's & Ferrari's b*tch, that same Michael we as Brazilians already disliked him from the cheating, yeah nah, Rubens was a f-ing embarrassment.

[@matthiascerebri3315]

One of the unluckiest drivers who could have been champion several times 😮

[@patrickkennedy2533]

Crashtor Maldonodo

[@1greenMitsi]

Crashtor Murdernado

[@rgzas7071]

Should have tried CART or NASCAR.