Rubens Barrichello had one of the fastest climbs from karting to Formula One than any other active driver. By the age of 17, he had five national karting titles, and promptly went on to win the GM Euroseries in the same year. Formula 3 came next, where he won the title in 1991 for West Surrey Racing. He had less success the next year, when he tried Formula 3000, but he came third overall and was ready for Formula One by his 21st birthday - a rarity at the time

He made his F1 debut in 1993, driving for Eddie Jordan, at the South African Grand Prix, where he qualified 14th, but the gearbox failed him on lap 31. He nearly finished in second place, behind his hero and countryman, Ayrton Senna, in only his third race, but fuel problems late in the race prevented this. In 1994, he claimed his first pole position, in the wet at Spa Francorchamps, but sadly he spun off on lap 19.

That year did see him finish third at the Pacific Grand Prix, as well as five other fourth positions. Mechanical failures plagued him in 1995, but the Canadian Grand Prix saw his first second place finish. He stayed with Jordan until the 1997 season when he signed with Stewart, bringing home the team's only points when he came second in Monaco. 1998 showed another year without success, with fifth place finishes in Spain and Canada, nine retirements, and an injury in the aborted start at the Belgian Grand Prix preventing him from restarting, saw him end the season in 12th position with four points.

In 1999 he partnered Johnny Herbert and after a very promising start to the season, the car failed on many occasions, but when it didn't. Barrichello put in some strong performances; even taking pole position in a wet qualifying that took all the drivers by surprise. By mid-season it was one of Formula Ones worst kept secrets that he was signing with Ferrari for the 2000 season in a basic swap with Eddie Irvine.

The 2000 season was one Barrichello will never forget. The year beginning full of hope and his first career victory at Hockenheim is one that will remain etched not just his, but many fans' memories for a long time to come. His efforts throughout the season helped Ferrari clinch victory in the constructors' championship while the Brazilian finished fourth overall in the drivers' battle.

Although no further victories were forthcoming in 2001, Barrichello battled it out for second place in the drivers' championship with McLaren driver David Coulthard but failed to pass the Scot and was forced to settle for third. In 2002 another four wins came his way, the most notorious being the one at the USGP when together with team-mate Michael Schumacher, the duo attempted to create history by crossing the line with the smallest gap in F1 history. It didn't work out as planned however and Barrichello took the victory away from Schumacher by a narrow margin instead.

After finishing second in the 2002 championship behind his Ferrari team-mate, Barrichello suffered a poor season by Ferraris high standards in 2003 as both Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya separated the Brazilian from Championship winner and team-mate Michael Schumacher.

The 2004 season saw Barrichello take two race victories, but both wins came after Schumacher had already wrapped up his title and it can be argued that such was the dominance of Ferrari at the time, anything other than the runner up position in the championship for Barrichello was a failure. Barrichello gained the runner-up spot in the championship once again in 2004 with no less than 12 podium appearances.

Along with team-mate Schumacher and the whole Ferrari team, Barrichello struggled in 2005. The Bridgestone-Ferrari package was well and truly beaten but its rivals and the Brazilian would score just four podiums on his way to a disappointing eighth position in the championship.

After some time in the shadow of Michael Schumacher, Barrichello jumped at the chance to join Honda for 2006. It was slow going at first as Barrichello struggled with the characteristics of his Honda-Michelin package despite thousands of miles of pre-season testing. Indeed, it was not until the second half of the season that Barrichello was on a par with team-mate Jenson Button. Barrichello would not claim a podium finish in his first season with Honda but had hoped to hit the ground running in 2007.

It was not to be for Barrichello in his second season at Honda. The car was off the pace and Barrichello, now very much a veteran in the sport, lost motivation and for the first time in his long career, failed to score a championship point.

2008 may be Barrichello's last season in Formula One, but the Brazilian is keen to put 2007 behind him and prove that he still deserves a place at the highest level of the sport.