For me is Rubens Barrichello one of the F1 nice guys. It was clear that he loved speed and adrenaline; he started in 322 grand prix races in 19 seasons. Still today he has this nice smile and remains a sunny and still popular figure, now enjoying the racing career of his two sons and still racing in the Brazilian NASCAR, winning the championship in 2025.
Rubens arrived in Europe in 1990 after his early karting years. He had won five Brazilian championships and one South-American. When he was only 16 years old, he raced in Formula Ford. Because his father had closed a deal with Brazilian food company Arisco, he got a drive in the GM Formula Opel Lotus Euroseries with the Draco team. He won the title. When he was not racing, he stayed on his own in Oxford and went on to learn English.
For 1991 he moved to F3 with Dick Bennetts and West Surrey Racing. That brought him into the spotlights thanks to the close battle with David Coulthard. It was Rubens who won the championship at the last race at Thruxton.
The next move was F3000. He chose an Italian team, Il Barone Rampante. He had some good results and a big accident at Enna, but also a third place in the championship. During the year, talks with some F1 teams were started.
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