2000–2005: Ferrari
Barrichello in his Ferrari at the
2002 US GPBarrichello achieved his first grand prix victory at the
2000 German Grand Prix at
Hockenheim after starting the race from 18th place on the grid. This was the longest any driver in Formula One history has waited for a maiden grand prix win. Barrichello had a consistent debut season for Ferrari, finishing most races on the podium, but was outscored by the other three reliable cars: Schumacher, Häkkinen and Coulthard. Barrichello finished the season ranked fourth after supporting
Michael Schumacher as he battled and defeated
Mika Häkkinen for the 2000 Formula One Championship, and helping
Ferrari win the constructors' championship.Barrichello finished the
2001 season in third place, achieving a total of 10 podium finishes and scoring a total of 56 championship points. He again played a major supporting role for Michael Schumacher, helping him win his second drivers' championship with Ferrari and helping the team win the constructors' championship for its third consecutive year.Barrichello's success at Ferrari continued in
2002, when he won four races for the team and finished a career best second place in the drivers' championship, scoring 77 championship points. The year was marked by controversy, however, when the Ferrari team orders required Barrichello to allow the trailing Michael Schumacher to pass him at the final straight of the
2002 Austrian Grand Prix to take the victory. Schumacher exchanged podium places with Barrichello at the podium ceremony and gave Barrichello the winner's trophy. The drivers were fined for disrupting podium protocol and Ferrari's blatant team orders led to the FIA banning team orders beginning in
2003.
Barrichello's #2 status at Ferrari was made obvious after he moved over to let
Michael Schumacher win at the
2002 Austrian GP.Barrichello finished the
2003 season in fourth place, scoring 65 points, including wins at the
British Grand Prix and the
Japanese Grand Prix. He again played a crucial role in helping Michael Schumacher and Ferrari win the drivers' and constructors' championships.In the
2004 season, Barrichello finished second behind teammate Schumacher in only seven of the first thirteen races, but he won both the
Italian Grand Prix and the
Chinese Grand Prix to clinch second place in the championship, finishing the year with 114 points and 14 podiums.Though Barrichello had good cars during his Ferrari era, his best result at his home race was a third place at the
2004 event. He has failed to finish eleven of the fifteen
Brazilian Grands Prix in which he has competed.In the
2005 season, Ferrari lacked the pace of previous years due to changing tyre rules.[
citation needed] Ferrari used
Bridgestone tyres, which were less effective than those of their competitors
Michelin.[
citation needed] Barrichello's best results this season were two second places: first at the
Melbourne and then at the controversial
2005 United States Grand Prix at
Indianapolis. He finished the season in eighth place in the drivers' standing with 38 points, his worst season with the Maranello team.
