Ex-Formula driver Rubens Barrichello has given an insight into what life was like at Ferrari alongside Michael Schumacher, whom he partnered during the German’s glory years.
Barrichello partnered the seven-time World Champion from 2000 to 2005, before switching to Honda.
In the period in which the Brazilian was alongside Schumacher, the 91-time race winner claimed five consecutive titles.
Whilst Schumacher was busy smashing records, Barrichello was very much Ferrari’s number two driver, who finished second in the Drivers’ Championship twice.
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Barrichello very much saw Schumacher at his very best; however, the Brazilian insists that the German was “never supportive”.
Ferrari also supposedly used to have meetings just with Schumacher, which Barrichello would just sit in.
“I always made friends and I’ve always had a good relationship with all my teammates,” Barrichello said on the Beyond the Grid podcast.
“But he was never supportive. He was never there to offer help, so I never asked. Michael was different. He was a bit naive in the way that he worked.
“So many times, we would finish a meeting and then they would start another one with just Michael there!
“So I took my chair and would just sit there! Eventually I felt that the team was his.”
Ex-F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone previously claimed that Barrichello’s Ferrari contract used to have a clause banning him from racing Schumacher; however, the Brazilian has since revealed that if that was the case, he wouldn’t have signed.
“I didn’t want to sign. My contract said nothing about that,” Barrichello told F1.com.
“For my benefit, I accepted so many things. There were many things I did not accept, but some I did because I saw I was growing there.
“For six years I saw I was going forward and my time was coming.”
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Barrichello won nine races for Ferrari during his six-year stay with the side, with it having very much been his most successful stint in F1.
He went on to enjoy some success with Brawn GP in 2009, a season in which he claimed P3.
Barrichello eventually retired at the end of 2011 at Williams.