Rubens Barrichello Retires from Formula 1: A Look Back

On January 17 at 7:16am Eastern Time, Rubens Barrichello officially announced, "Twitter friends..I won't be driving the Williams car this year.I wish my friend @BSenna all the best..the future is wide open." That ends the career of the most experienced driver in Formula 1 history. Barrichello is the first driver in Formula 1 history to break the 300 starts barrier and went on to start in 322 grand prixs in his 18 year career. He missed the start of just four grand prixs in his entire career. One of the tragedies of Barrichello's career is that despite his consistency, he never won a world championship.

Barrichello got his start kart racing in Brazil winning five titles there. He moved up the single-seater ranks to join the Jordan Formula 1 team in 1993. His time at Jordan was hectic, as it is for most young Formula 1 drivers. He considered fellow Brazilian Ayrton Senna a friend and mentor. 

In 1994, Barrichello had a nearly fatal crash during Friday practice at the San Marino Grand Prix. His car launched into the air at high speed and collided with the catch fence. It then rolled 540 degrees leaving Barrichello upside down in the car. He was knocked unconscious with his tongue blocking his airway. Had it not been for the quick intervention of the first aid staff, Barrichello could have lost his life. That Saturday, Roland Ratzenberger lost his life during qualifying, and Aryton Senna died during the race on Sunday. 

Barrichello's Jordan had several mechanical problems during the 1995 and 1996 seasons. He finished 11th in the drivers' championship in 95 and 8th in 96. 

For 1997 to 1999, Barrichello moved to the Stewart Ford team. His first two seasons there were difficult because of the car's unreliability. He managed a 13th place finish in the drivers' championship in 97 and a 12th in 98. However by 1999 Barrichello was improving despite his mechanically unreliable car. He managed a 7th place in the driver's championship in 1999.

In 2000, Barrichello moved to Ferrari for the most successful part of his career. During a wet race at Hockenheim, he took his first grand prix victory .  From 2000 to 2005, he and Michael Schumacher dominated Formula 1. Barrichello took second in the drivers' championship in 2002 and 2004 and third in 2001. 

After racing for Ferrari, Barrichello began moving from team to team generally staying in the middle of the pack. He raced for Honda from 2006 to 2008. 

In 2009, he had one more flash of brilliance driving for Brawn GP. Barrichello managed third place in the drivers' championship.

For the last two seasons, Barichello has raced for the ailing Williams team. He scored just four drivers points in the 2011 championship. 

On January 18, Barrichello tweeted, "When I said that things were open is because I still have lot's of speed on me..just like an old friend said:racing is in my blood." His quote at the end comes from Ayrton Senna.

It will be intriguing to see what Barrichello does in the future. His entire career has been dedicated to open wheel racing, but there is no reason that he could not branch out to other forms of motor sport. Like many retired Formula 1 drivers, he could become a race commentator. Since 2010, he has been the chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association. 

Barrichello was never a dominant driver during his career like his team mate Schumacher or Jenson Button  in 2009, but he was consistent.