Rubens Barrichello had a brush with death during the earlier days of his career with the Jordan team during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Knocked unconsciously after a horrifying crash during the qualifying session, he later learnt the news of his mentor and friend - Senna Aryton -'s death and the entire ordeal shaped up Rubens for a career in the fast track where no mistakes can be tolerated.

During his days in Ferrari with Michael Schumacher, he played the good teammate - which meant that he had to play second fiddle for the 7-time world champion. In the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix, a team order was issued for him to make way for Michael Schumacher who was behind to let him take the victory. As a result of this incident, team orders were officially banned starting from the 2003 season.

Moving on to the Honda team in 2006, he did not score a single point in the disappointing season of 2007. He has been confirmed alongside teammate Jenson Button for race seats with the Japanese team for the 2008 season.