Button learned why Michael Schumacher wanted Barrichello as Ferrari teammate

Jenson Button has revealed the Rubens Barrichello quality that helped him understand why Michael Schumacher wanted the Brazilian as his Ferrari teammate for so many years.

Button spent three seasons alongside Barrichello at Honda from 2006, giving him a close-up view of a skill he admits he had not previously appreciated.

Michael Schumacher and Barrichello explained by Button

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Schumacher and Barrichello spent six seasons as Ferrari teammates between 2000-05. Ferrari won the Constructors’ title in five of those seasons, while Schumacher claimed five Drivers’ crowns, taking his career tally to seven.

Barrichello switched to Honda in 2006, which saw him partner Jenson Button. It was at that year’s Hungarian Grand Prix that Button won his first race.

Speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Button said he understood why Schumacher wanted Barrichello as a teammate for so long, after also having the privilege.

“I’ve been asked this question many times in terms of who’s the driver that you feel was the best at engineering? And by far, it was Rubens,” said Button.

“At working with a team, developing a car, understanding what a car is doing out on track, and feeding that information back, but also just understanding what to do with the car, not just letting the engineer get on with it.

“That’s what he was really impressive at.

“I understand why Michael wanted him as a teammate for so many years, and I was lucky enough to have that when we started racing together, and I could really see the skillset that he had that I never knew existed.”

Button does not believe that Honda needed Barrichello to engineer a “winning mentality” within the team, but the Brazilian’s guidance held great value given his role in five Constructors’ title wins with Ferrari.

“I wouldn’t say so much a winning mentality,” Button said of Barichello’s broader impact upon his arrival at Honda. “I mean, we all want to win. We’re all doing as much as we can to win.

“These aren’t amateur teams going up against Ferrari. This is hundreds of people and with a lot of experience in the sport.

“So I think the mentality was always there to be winning. It’s just we didn’t quite have the package to do that.

“But I think having feedback from two drivers with experience was really important. And obviously, they’re going to listen to Rubens quite a lot, because he’s come from Ferrari and he’s worked alongside Michael.”

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Barrichello remained alongside Button for the fairtyale Brawn GP story, the 2009 double title-winning squad born from the ashes of Honda’s F1 withdrawal.

He subsequently spent the 2010 and ’11 campaigns at Williams, after Mercedes’ purchase of Brawn GP.

Barrichello made his final F1 race start at the 2011 Brazilian Grand Prix, and remains an active racer in the Stock Car Pro Series.

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