SIMILARITIES:

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F1 VICTORIES:

 

Coincidentally, both drove for Ferrari, both were Schumacher's teammates, both have 11 career victories, and both ended their careers at Williams.

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COMPARISON WITH SCHUMACHER:

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Michael Schumacher was one of the greatest drivers in history and comparing the German to his teammates, it becomes clear that both Barrichello and Massa performed similarly when measured against the Schumacher benchmark:

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Schumacher x Barrichello:

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Largadas: 80 x 24 (Schumacher 0.4s faster)

Chegadas: 77 x 27

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Schumacher x Massa:

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Largadas: 13 x 5 (Schumacher 0.4s faster)

Chegadas: 13 x 5

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On average, both drivers were 0.4 seconds slower than Schumacher in qualifying; in other words, aside from Piquet and Nico Rosberg, they were the drivers who came closest to the German.

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DIFFERENCES:

CAR SETUP AND TEAMWORK:

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Rubinho has stated on the *Acelerados* channel that he prefers a car with a "sharp front end" (understeer), he was regarded throughout F1 as an excellent car setup specialist. This is confirmed by statements from drivers and engineers who worked with him even Schumacher acknowledged the Brazilian's skill in this area, and it was not uncommon for him to copy Barrichello's setup.

 

Rubinho performed at Schumacher's level on tracks that favored cars with a slight front-end bias (Silverstone, Austria, and Monza), as Michael never liked cars that understeered. On the other hand, at tracks like Spa and Suzuka, two circuits that really test a driver's mettle, Rubinho lagged significantly behind the German, except under rare circumstances.

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Felipe Massa, on the other hand, made no secret of the fact that he disliked cars with a front-end bias and preferred those with a rear-end bias. When driving cars that suited his style, Massa performed very well and could hold his own against any F1 driver, including Schumacher and Raikkonen during the 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 seasons, all of whom were considered highly talented.

 

However, when it came to car setup, Massa was not as skilled as Rubinho.

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COMPARISON WITH TEAMMATES:

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Rubens Barrichello defeated every teammate except Jenson Button and Michael Schumacher. Here are the teammates he defeated:

• Capelli

• Boutsen

• Irvine

• Magnussen

• Verstappen

• Brundle

• Herbert

• Hulkenberg

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Felipe Massa defeated only three teammates, but he clearly had more capable teammates than Rubinho did. Massa was beaten by Heidfeld, Fisichella, Schumacher, Alonso, and Bottas. Here are the teammates he defeated:

• Villeneuve

• Raikkonen

• Stroll

 

The comparison of Rubinho and Massa against their teammates reveals a performance difference between them, however, we must consider that Felipe Massa faced four world champion teammates (Villeneuve, Schumacher, Raikkonen, and Alonso), whereas Rubinho faced only two (Schumacher and Button). In this regard, Massa had more talented teammates than Rubinho.

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​​​​​BRAZILIAN GP:

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Every Brazilian dreams of winning the Brazilian GP; Rubinho never managed to do so, coming closest in 2003 when he retired while leading due to running out of fuel. On other occasions, he was never really in contention for the win.

 

Felipe Massa, on the other hand, had opportunities in 2006, 2007, and 2008 and he seized them. He won twice (2006 and 2008), the only time he didn't win was in 2007, because the team needed to hand the victory to Kimi Räikkönen so he could secure the world championship that year.

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​​​​​DRIVING IN THE RAIN:

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Rubinho was a strong wet-weather driver. In his debut F1 season, he put in a sensational performance at the 1993 European GP, ​​even running ahead of the powerful Williams cars at one point, he also secured his first victory in the rain (2000 German GP) by staying out on slick tires while the track was damp.

 

Felipe Massa, on the other hand, alternated between good races (like the 2008 Brazilian GP) and poor performances in the rain, however, he was undoubtedly inferior to Rubinho in such conditions.