Does Reubens have what it takes to be WDC? Options

[freq019]

Figured I would post a new topic after reading the depressing 130R thread

After his, RB's not 130R's, performance so far this season I don't think he has what it takes to be WDC. He is fast, no question about that, but he seems to not handle the race situation very well. It appears that Ralph, H2F and some other drivers seem to have more of the killer instinct than he does.

[mono-posto]

No, I don't think he does. To win a WDC you have to be an attcker. Not just on the track but off as well. You have to be a go-getter and strive for victory like your life depends on it. Rubens is a fast driver but does not have the qualities I think are needed.

However, if the top drivers thinned out he may find himself witin a chance, but I doubt it.

[Damop]

Rubens entire career has been like that - he shows great promise, but can't seem to keep it together for a full race distance.

A little OT here, while mowing my lawn last night I began to think of conspiracy theories regarding sponsors and teams. I wonder how much of a role Marlboro played in bringing Rubens on board. At the end of the 1997 season, Penske released Paul Tracy at the urging of Marlboro, who foots most of the bill for the Penske team. Marlboro wanted a Brazilian driver, since it had been a while since Emmo was associated with the team, and Penske was urged to drop one of it's drivers - either Tracy or Little Al. Penske dropped Tracy, figuring Little Al could bring more to the team (mistake number 1), and added Andre Ribeiro (mistake number 2). After realizing that Unser Jr was so far over the hill that he couldn't be seen anymore, Penske went on to sign first Gil de Ferran and then Helio Castro-Neves. Once again Marlboro had its Brazilian drivers.

Now, the question is, given Marlboro's past with Senna, and the line of Brazilian drivers after that, particularly in CART, I wonder how much of a role Marlboro played in encouraging Ferrari to pick up Rubens, especially considering the amount of money Marlboro throws at the team (heck, they got the colour of the car changed).

[This message has been edited by Damop (edited 05-10-2000).]

[mono-posto]

Oh. That's deep Damop. I think you may be on to something. Pandora's Box has officialy been opened.....

[Smooth]

Currently, no. Rubens has shown glimpses on occasion of being fast, appropriatly aggressive, and smart. He hasn't, however, seemed to mature enought to wrap all of these together into a complete weekend. Rubens looked brilliant in a few races at the begining of last year, but these year seems content to just be at Ferrari. He really seemed to be on fire early pre-season in testing, but perhaps had a hard time dealing with his teammate coming in and immediatly bettering his times. Of course these are theories, and who knows what the real deal is, but the bottom line is he is in no shape currently to sustain a WDC pace through the season.
He is a bit of a parellel to DC the last couple of years. Slower than his teammate, hit a few spots of bad luck, and just seems content to coast for now. But DC this year seems to have gathered up the mental fortitude to challenge not only his dominant teammate, but the rest of the field as well.

I hope Rubens finds some success this year, so he will have something to build on next year. Next year he won't have any excuses for lackluster performance.......

[BuzzingHornet]

No I don't think Rubens is going to do it, there are always going to be two or three guys in comparable or better cars who are hungrier to win than him.

As for Marlboro, Pedro Diniz used to carry a Marlboro logo on his Arrows (1997) suit that Hill didn't have, that company definitely has a thing for Brazilian drivers.

[5150]

I he keeps performing like he has this year, certainly not......but I'm not sure we've seen the best of him this year, he's much better than this, like I said at the begining of the year, he may very well be the most naturally talented driver out there, whatever he can do with all that talent is up to him......so far, he's let us all down......up if you're a Shumi-lover.

[molive]

Of course he has what it takes to be WDC!

RB had a successful career in lower formulas, he came to F1 very young and only had average cars (not WDC cars at all) to show his potential. This is the first season the RB manages to have a race winner car, along with the fact it is a Ferrari and his teamate is M. Schumacher,, I think he has done well so far (DNFs and all things considered).

If you still are not convinced, take a look at the following text (my highlights):

[quote]

Rubens Barrichello began his career in
go-karting when he was only 9 years old. In his first period as a driver he became five-time Brazilian champion in the category. After eight years in go-karting he felt the need to make a jump upward in his career and move on to other categories.

Formula Ford

On his debut, in 1989, in the Brazilian Championship, he finished fourth in the overall rankings. The same year, he was invited by two teams to test for the European Formula Opel. Although he had never driven a car in this category, the Brazilian beat the unofficial record at the Italian track. The reward didn't take long to come. On the second day of testing, Adriano Morini, owner of the Italian Draco team, hired him to compete in the 1990 season.

Formula Opel

In his first season on European tracks, he
became the Formula Opel champion. He won six out of 11 races and started in pole position seven times. He also achieved the fastest lap seven times, including three track records. There is a curious feature to his career. When he began in Europe he hadn't reached the minimum age of eighteen for competing there. The solution was to use his father's identity card, who has the same name and, by an incredible coincidence has his birthday on the same day and month.

Formula 3

In the following years Rubinho signed up with Dick Bennetts' West Surrey Racing to take part in the highly competitive English Formula 3 Championship. He shared the tracks with the rising stars of European auto racing and, even so, he became the season's champion, with four wins, nine pole positions, seven fastest laps, and three track records.

Formula 3000

Rubens Barrichello, just 20 years old, was
emerging as the rising star of auto racing and, in 1992, he took the last step before Formula 1 itself. He was invited to take part in the international Formula 3000 Championship. Hired by the young team, IL Barone Rampante, with only two years experience behind it, Rubinho didn't start the year well. The Judd Zytec engine used by the team could not keep up with the traditional Ford Cosworths and FordMaders. Various attempts to sort the problem out were made in vain. Half way through the season, the team decided to change the old equipment for a FordMader and better results began to emerge. Even with problems faced during the first half of the championship, Rubinho came third in the overall classification and was praised by the specialized press as a fast and daring driver, as well as one with the capacity to score points regularly in more than 90% of the races.

Formula 1 Jordan

Already well established in the entry categories, the Brazilian driver moved up to Formula 1 in 1993 with the Jordan team, using a Hart engine. His performance earned him the title of newcomer (rookie) of the year, but the equipment didn't help and he ended the year in 17th place. He achieved third place in the English GP behind Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, showing exceptional skill on a rainy circuit. He didn't stand on the podium with Senna and Prost only because he ran out of fuel two laps from the finish. He began 1994 with a bang, In the Brazilian GP, the first of the season, he started in 14th position, and went moving up the field to finish fourth, his best result so far. In the following race, at Ainda, in Japão, he appeared for the first time on the podium in Formula 1, after finishing third, which he celebrated by dancing the samba. At San Marino, Imola, he broke his nose, injured his lips, had his right arm encased in plaster and crushed a rib, after a serious accident in training on the Friday. It was on his back in bed that he saw his idol, Ayrton Senna, hit the wall at the Tamburello bend. Rubinho took some time to recover from his injuries and the impact of Senna's death, but at the Belgian GP he overcame it all and earned his first pole position in Formula 1. He didn't finish the race because he was involved in an accident with Jean-Marc, of the Simtek team. He earned points in the last three races and ended the 1994 season in sixth place. In 1995, Rubinho stayed with Jordan with the promise of good results with the new Peugeot engine. In the second half of the season, the car began to give problems in the pneumatic valve system, which prevented him from winning points in several races. He finished the season in eighth place with 11 points. He best performance of the year was his second place in Canada. He also achieved two sixth places, one in France and one in Belgium, and a fourth place at the Nurburgring. Nineteen ninety-six was his fourth consecutive season with Jordan, now using a Peugeot V-10 engine. Right from the beginning, in the first race at Melbourne, the car gave mechanical problems. In the second, at Interlagos, he was confident after earning third place on the staring grid, but he had problems with the brakes and skidded. In Barcelona, it was the turn of the gearbox. Then in Canada, the clutch failed. Once again mechanical problems let him down, this time in France. In addition, Rubinho had been complaining the whole year that the car's aerodynamics were not helping its performance.
Out of a total of 16 races, he had to abandon the race five times because of equipment failure. The Brazilian driver managed to score points in seven races. Rubinho had still not achieved his great
dream of winning a Formula 1 race. He ended
the 1996 season in eighth place overall,
with 14 points, finishing twice in fourth place, three times in fifth and twice in sixth. Even with all the technical problems and differences within the team, the only drivers ahead of the Brazilian in the overall championship classification were
those of the big four Formula 1 teams.
Furthermore, he finished ahead of Olivier Panis, of Ligier, and Eddie Irvine, of Ferrari.
The not very satisfying results and the
misunderstandings with the team left the
Brazilian considerably dissatisfied with the
Jordan team and its owner Eddie Jordan. The
press speculated about his future. One moment they were talking of him moving to Formula Indy and the next they were saying he would stay with Jordan, or go to TWR, Sauber or Ligier. Faced with this pressure Rubinho couldn't take it any longer and gave vent to his feelings at the season's 14th race at Monza. "I'm very young, I started early and I know I have talent. Lads of my age are only now leaving college, while I have been carrying the responsibility of winning without a competitive car," said Rubinho. At the GP of Portugal, it became clear that the partnership with Jordan had run its course. The atmosphere was one of everything having been done and it was time to call it quits. Even the newspapers were not so wrong. Rubinho in fact received various
professional proposals and he took some time
deciding. But, finally, Jackie Stewart's
experience and competence gave him back his
enthusiasm...

Formula 1 Stewart

The team began 1997 with discretion on the part of its owners, Jackie and Paul Stewart, but at the same time they were full of enthusiasm for the full support of the English Ford Motorsport and the efficiency of the Bridgestone tires. But the Stewart team couldn't keep up with the rapid development of the other teams in its
debut year. Ford's hard work and swift technical development were not enough to compete on equa

[Smooth]

Molive, nice bio, but I don't think success in lower formula is really all that meaningful in F1.. Most drivers that make it to the top 10 teams all share a very similar pedigree, but it is their maturation at the top level that determines their place in the F1 record books. Rubens has had his share of bad luck and bad cars, but he has never really dominated a teamate through an entire season. He is gifted as a driver, but IMHO carries a bit too much baggage to concentrate on the season. Maybe he feels the weight of Brazil on his back, or feels he is in the shadow of Senna... I don't know, but he doesn't seem to have the fire in his heart yet to post a real challenge. I hope for more, I really do. As a Schuey fan, I really want to see a good clean fight with his teamate, though sadly there will always that will say it is never fair. It would be validation for Schumacher, and I think Schuey is looking for it as well, as much as he has discussed how he wants to be remembered.....

Thngs will look up for Rubens, but unless something dramatic changes, I don't see him being a challenger.....

[molive]

Smooth,

The lower formulae stats are only to show that, given the right equipment, RB is capable of winning not only races but championships too. He would have probably won his first race already this year if it was not for his mechanical failures.

[Damop]

Molive,

It's easier to shine in lower Formulae. It is akin to being top notch in high school, then going to university and meeting all the other kids who were top notch in their schools, and then going on to grad school and meeting the kids who were topnotch at their universities. The level of competition increases dramatically which renders the stats in lower levels anecdotal at best and meaningless at worst.

[vroom-vroom]

Of course, he does; Hill, Villeneuve, Rosberg, Scheckter, and even Lauda won WDC's

[molive]

That's right!

if Damon did it...

[molive]

Damop,

You're right about it getting tougher as you climb the pyramid (F1 is the pinnacle, after all), but some lower formulae can be much tougher to shine, just because you have so many competitors, some of which are not really fair on and off the track, many have better funding, etc, so, to reach the pinnacle you have to prove yourself time and time again against tough competition. Some will have easier paths than others in their way to the top. Rubens had a long way to reach F1 (read above), and he managed to win and show his speed and natural skills in every formula he entered. Everytime he had the right car he delivered the results. Only last year, when he had the Stewart/Ford (arguably the first good F1 he drove) he started showing that he had what it took to fight with the top guns, that's what finally got him the Ferrari drive (not any Marlboro influence as someone suggested above).

[goGoGene]

I will answer that in Mika-style.

" no"

[Daemon]

Rubhino is in the top echelon of drivers, but no way, theres too many others - MS, MH RS GF, although I do expect he will win about 3 or 4 races over the next couple of years.

[Raelene]

No

[mono-posto]

Gene,

In '1984' there was double-speak, maybe big brother meant 'Mika-speak'.

(Everything can and will be answeared with one word.)

[selena]

He may yet do better in the later part of this year.

[The RedBaron]

Most of the reasoning has been covered by other posters.....so I'll keep it short.
NO - Ferrari should get rid of this under-achiever and bring in someone more competitive that would do justice to this beautiful car!

[goGoGene]

RedBaron's answer sanitized by the Mika-spellchecker ™

"no"