Rubens Barrichello crowned champion almost 15 years after sudden F1 exit

Former Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello has clinched the NASCAR Brazil Series title after winning the sixth round of the 2025 season in his hometown of Sao Paulo.

It sees the 53-year-old crowned champion in his rookie season in the category, almost 15 years after the end of his F1 career.

Rubens Barrichello crowned NASCAR Brazil champion

Barrichello remains one of the most recognisable F1 names of the modern era, having served as Michael Schumacher’s teammate at Ferrari during the Scuderia’s dominant period at the turn of the century.

The Brazilian twice finished second to Schumacher in the World Championship, in 2002 and 2004, with Barrichello also acting as teammate to Jenson Button during his title-winning season with Brawn GP in 2009.

He claimed the last of his 11 grand prix victories that season in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Ferrari’s home race.

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Barrichello’s F1 career came to a sudden end at the end of the 2011 season when he was replaced by compatriot Bruno Senna, the nephew of three-time F1 World Champion Ayrton Senna, at the Williams team.

Despite his advancing years, Barrichello has remained active since the end of his F1 stint, competing in IndyCar in 2012 and making a one-off appearance at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2017.

Barrichello has competed in a variety of minor categories over recent years, winning the Stock Car Pro Series in 2022.

The veteran has now added the NASCAR Brazil Series championship to his name, triumphing in his debut season in the championship.

Barrichello has excelled in his first season, winning twice at Interlagos – the home of F1’s Sao Paulo Grand Prix – in round three.

He added another victory at the Autodromo Internacional de Cascavel circuit in Parana last month before sealing the title by winning at the Autodromo Velo Citta in Sao Paulo on Saturday.

That victory put Barrichello on 180 points, 32 clear of nearest rival Thiago Camilo.

Barrichello was quoted as saying: “My heart is in my mouth and I’m very happy.”

In addition to the trophy, Barrichello will appear at the NASCAR Awards banquet later this year to be honoured alongside drivers from the premier NASCAR Cup series in the United States.

Barrichello’s title triumph comes just seven years after he had a benign tumour removed from his neck in 2018.

The former F1 star revealed that he was rushed to hospital after developing a severe headache at home, undergoing surgery to remove a tumour on the left side of his neck.

He told Brazilian show Conversa com Bial at the time: “I was at home having a shower and suddenly I felt a pain in my head.

“From zero to 10, I’d say it [the pain level] was an eight or nine headache. So strong! I lay on the floor. I didn’t want to wake anybody up, but it was hurting so badly.

“I walked back into my bedroom and woke up Silvana [my wife]. I started feeling sick and realised this was a hospital situation.

“After everything that happened, I had a bunch of check ups to find out more about my health conditions and they found a small tumour on my neck, which they removed after a race I did in Interlagos.

“I had it removed because, even though it was a benign tumour, it would’ve grown and I don’t want to have that kind of discomfort in the car.

“A friend of ours who’s a doctor saw that I was in bad shape and I’m very lucky. The vein that opened due to a bad formation regenerated itself with its own blood in two hours.

“When I arrived at the hospital, they put in a canular and saw the vein had closed itself.

“When I left the hospital, they told me only 14 per cent of people get out of this situation like I did. Many endure serious after affects or die.”

Barrichello, who was left frustrated by the sudden nature of his F1 exit, was frequently linked with a return to the grid in the years following his Williams departure.

Reports at the time claimed that the veteran had hoped to compete in the final three races of 2014 for the now-defunct Caterham team, which would have seen him make a final F1 appearance at Interlagos.

However, the deal fell through with British driver Will Stevens partnering regular driver Kamui Kobayashi at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

Appearing on F1’s Beyond The Grid podcast last year, Barrichello quipped that he would still jump at the chance to return to F1, claiming he would be “ready” to partner two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin.

Barrichello said: “If he comes to me now and says, ‘I want you to be my teammate at Aston’, I’ll still be ready!”

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