Rubens reaches the 300 mark
Rubens Barrichello will reach a landmark at Spa-Francorchamps this weekend as he makes his 300th grand prix start.
The 38-year-old Brazilian could barely have imagined when he sat on the grid before the start of the 1993 South African Grand Prix that he would still be in demand 17 years later.
Even more staggering is that he has now started more than a third of all the world championship grands prix ever staged - 36 per cent of them in fact.
Barrichello's career has taken in six teams; Jordan, Stewart, Ferrari, Honda, Brawn and Williams and has produced 11 wins, 14 pole positions and 17 fastest laps.
He has led 51 grands prix, stood on the podium 68 times - a figure that only Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna can beat - and is also the fourth highest points scorer in the history of the world championship with 637.
Such a glittering career has brought him second place in the world championship twice - in 2002 and 2004 - and while his best days may be behind him, he is still a force to be reckoned with.
The Castrol Rankings looks back at some of Barrichello's most significant moments from his time in F1.
Early promise amid April showers
The 1993 European was only Barrichello's third grand prix, and with the Hart-engined Jordan 193 underneath him, not much was expected.
It was a major shock then when the young Brazilian ended the opening lap of a wet European Grand Prix at Donington Park in fourth place.
This was no fluke though. As the laps ticked by and his hero Ayrton Senna continued to what is agreed to be his greatest win, Barrichello benefited from Alain Prost's pitstop maladies to run a strong third.
His dream of a podium was to be dashed though when a problem with his fuel system caused him to run dry with only six laps to go. His point had been made though.
Darkest day
The biggest accident of Barrichello's F1 career came during Friday qualifying for the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, as his Jordan was launched over the kerbs and into a horrifying series of rolls at the Variante Bassa.
Despite nearly choking to death on his own tongue, he made a full recovery, only a few cuts and bruises remaining when he returned at Monaco two weeks later.
It was far from just the physical bruises that would blight Barrichello that weekend though. The deaths of Simtek driver Roland Ratzenberger in qualifying, and then of his hero Ayrton Senna in the race, would have a deep psychological affect on him; an effect that he would struggle to shake off for over a year.
Monaco magic
By the time Barrichello left Jordan to sign for Sir Jackie Stewart's new F1 team in 1997, he had started 65 grands prix and finished on the podium only twice, at Aida in '94 and Montreal in '95.
Disillusioned with goings-on at Eddie Jordan's team, he immediately found himself comfortable at his new home. Fifth on the grid in Argentina - only the team's third race - earned him a new Rolex watch. A sensational podium finish two races later in Monaco probably earned him a healthy bonus.
Barrichello was quickly gaining a reputation for his wet weather driving, helped hugely by his smooth style behind the wheel. Had winner Michael Schumacher hit the barriers when he spun with 10 laps to go, the Brazilian may even have won.
Instead, he would have to wait three more years for his first victory as he spent the next 18 months fighting dismal reliability from the Stewart-Fords and then had to content himself with a pole and three third places in what was a hugely impressive '99 season.
Grand Prix winner
It was a distraught man that exited his Ferrari after qualifying 18th on the grid at Hockenheim. It was a very different one who leapt out of it having just scored his maiden grand prix win 24 hours later.
A bold gamble to stay out on slick tyres for the final five laps while everyone ahead of him pitted for wets was to pay off handsomely. So long was the old Hockenheim layout that half the track remained bone dry while the rest was soaked.
It enabled him to hold his gap to Mika Hakkinen and take a hugely emotional first win. That he became the first Brazilian since Senna to claim an F1 victory was not lost on Rubinho.
Controversy rules
In a 2002 season dominated by Ferrari, Barrichello had the measure of his illustrious team-mate Michael Schumacher on more than one occasion as he drove to second place in the world championship.
One of those days was in Austria as he led the first 70 laps from pole position. However, with Ferrari favouring Schumacher for a title push, Barrichello was ordered to move over to allow the German to win.
Wanting to make a point, he waited until exiting the last corner of the race before lifting his foot off the gas and letting Schumacher past.
Embarrassed as the crowd booed the podium as one, Schumacher insisted on Barrichello receiving the winner' trophy and standing on the top step. The hollow gesture earned the team a huge fine for breaking podium protocol and meant that the moral winner had to listen to the German national anthem when it should have been Brazil's.
Drive of a lifetime
The 2003 British Grand Prix is one that will live on in the memory of F1 fans the world over, but key to it was Barrichello's sensational drive through the field.
Put back from third to eighth after track invader Neil Horan forced a safety car and a raft of hastily-arranged pitstops, he began the fightback of the year.
Ralph Firman was first, then Ralf Schumacher, Jarno Trulli, Juan Pablo Montoya and then, with 18 laps to go; Kimi Raikkonen.
Running his Ferrari side by side with Raikkonen's McLaren for four corners - including the fearsome Bridge turn - made for an incredible sight and brought him into the lead with 18 laps to go. Sensational.
Honda
After a decent opening season with the Japanese manufacturer, his form took a major nosedive thanks to successive dogs disguised as 'earth cars.'
Environmentally friendly the RA107 (pictured) and RA108 may have been (because they usually broke down before doing any damage), but quick they were not.
In 35 races in 2007 and '08, he qualified in the top 10 only three times and achieved only three points finishes - two of them coming in the wet at Montreal and Silverstone.
When the manufacturer pulled the plug on its F1 project in December 2008, Barrichello's career appeared to be over. However:
Brains and Brawn
As we all now know, Honda's team was bought out and became Brawn. The BGP001 was the perfect machine to take advantage of F1's radical new technical regulations and gave Barrichello a second place at the season-opener in Australia.
The car may not have fallen behind the McLaren and Red Bull machines by the second half of the season, but Barrichello still managed to break a five-year winless streak at Valencia (pictured).
Third place in the world championship was a reminder that his talent has not deserted him with age. His move to Williams has proven that.
