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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Rubens Barrichello crowned NASCAR Brazil champion<\/p>\n
Barrichello remains one of the most recognisable F1 names of the modern era, having served as Michael Schumacher\u2019s team-mate at Ferrari during the team\u2019s dominant period at the turn of the century.<\/p>\n
The Brazilian twice finished second to Schumacher in the World Championship in 2002 and 2004, with Barrichello also acting as team-mate to Jenson Button during his title-winning season with the Brawn GP team in 2009.<\/p>\n
He claimed the last of his 11 grand prix victories that season in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Ferrari\u2019s home race.<\/p>\n
Step-by-step guide: How to be an F1 wingman<\/p>\n
\ud83d\udc49\u00a0A five-step guide to being the ideal F1 wingman: Lessons from Perez, Bottas, more<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0How to become an F1 driver: Money, dedication, talent and more<\/a><\/p>\n Barrichello\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Barrichello has competed in a variety of minor categories over recent years, winning the Stock Car Pro Series in 2022.<\/p>\n And the veteran has now added the NASCAR Brazil Series championship to his name, triumphing in his debut season in the championship.<\/p>\n Barrichello has excelled in his first season, winning twice at Interlagos \u2013 the home of F1\u2019s Brazilian Grand Prix \u2013 in round three.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n That victory put Barrichello on 180 points, 32 clear of nearest rival Thiago Camilo.<\/p>\n Barrichello was quoted as saying: \u201cMy heart is in my mouth and I\u2019m very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 series in the United States.<\/p>\n Barrichello\u2019s title triumph comes just seven years after he had a benign tumour removed from his neck in 2018.<\/p>\n The former F1 star revealed that he was rushed to hospital after developing a severe headache at home, with Barrichello undergoing surgery to remove a tumour on the left side of his neck.<\/p>\n He told Brazilian show Conversa com Bial at the time: \u201cI was at home having a shower and suddenly I felt a pain in my head.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom zero to 10, I\u2019d say it [the pain level] was an eight or nine headache. So strong! I lay on the floor. I didn\u2019t want to wake anybody up, but it was hurting so badly.<\/p>\n \u201cI walked back into my bedroom and woke up Silvana [my wife]. I started feeling sick and realised this was a hospital situation.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI had it removed because, even though it was a benign tumour, it would\u2019ve grown and I don\u2019t want to have that kind of discomfort in the car.<\/p>\n \u201cA friend of ours who\u2019s a doctor saw that I was in bad shape and I\u2019m very lucky. The vein that opened due to a bad formation regenerated itself with its own blood in two hours.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I arrived at the hospital, they put in a canular and saw the vein had closed itself.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen 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.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n However, the deal fell through with British driver Will Stevens partnering regular driver Kamui Kobayashi at the season finale in Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n Appearing on F1\u2019s Beyond The Grid podcast last year, Barrichello quipped that he would still jump at the chance to return to F1<\/a>, claiming he would be \u201cready\u201d to partner two-time World Champion Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin.<\/p>\n Barrichello said:\u00a0\u201cIf he comes to me now and says, \u2018I want you to be my team-mate at Aston\u2019, I\u2019ll still be ready!\u201d<\/p>\n