Rubens settles some old scores

One of the most dramatic moments in my F1 broadcasting career was the end of the Austrian Grand Prix in 2002, when Rubens Barrichello, having domin...

One of the most dramatic moments in my F1 broadcasting career was the end of the Austrian Grand Prix in 2002, when Rubens Barrichello, having dominated qualifying and the race on Michael Schumacher's bogey track, was ordered to move over on the final lap to let Schumacher win the race. This was the event which brought in the rule we have today; no team orders allowed.

I called that race with Mark Blundell and we had discussed throughout the closing stages whether Ferrari would switch the cars. He said they would, I said they couldn't. But they could and they did and the crowd hated it - they stamped their feet in the grandstand so hard the whole structure was shaking, with our commentary box swaying above it. The FIA also hated it (and the subsequent farce on the podium, where Schuey 'promoted' Barrichello to the top step) so much they fined Ferrari $1 million.

Well you may have seen that Rubens has broken his silence on this, as reported in La Gazetta dello Sport in Italy yesterday. He basically says that the team was very angry that he had left it until the last lap to move over and that he was threatened over the radio that if he didn't pull over his contract would have to be reviewed. "It was better for me to lift off than to be sent home, " he says.

When I was researching the Schumacher biography in early 2007 I spoke to Rubens at length and he told me that he was certain Michael had been in on it, despite his denials at the time. Rubens revealed that he has a transcript of the Ferrari radio conversations that day, which was presumably used in the FIA hearing. I believe that this is the ‘document’ he refers to in the story you read yesterday and he says that it proves Michael was in on the discussions about Rubens being ordered to hand him the win.

Rubens went on, "I was surprised when it happened because (Jean) Todt told me the year before that if the fight was for first place that would never happen."

According to Schumacher's assistant Sabine Kehm, Michael didn't like the decision, but went along with it out of loyalty to Todt and to Ross Brawn, then the Ferrari technical director.

Rubens hinted at the time that there was a deeper story to tell but he didn't tell it all to me then, because he was pretty sure that Brawn would be coming to Honda and he didn't want to spoil his chances. Perhaps Rubens now feels that as Brawn, in his capacity as Honda team principal, looks likely to drop him from the team in favour of a younger man, he no longer needs to stay loyal to him.

It's a shame that Rubens feels so frustrated and angry. He's had a great career, the longest in F1 history and if this is the end, then this is no way to end it, raging on the sidelines, with no proper send off.