Ferrari F1 star reveals TEAM ORDERS to help legend's championship bid

Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher in 2012 — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 Legends

Ferrari star reveals TEAM ORDERS to help F1 legend's championship bid

Ferrari boast 15 drivers' championship titles

Sheona Mountford F1 Journalist

Motorsport journalist working in F1 since 2024.

Friday 17 January 2025 09:59

Former Ferrari star Rubens Barrichello has revealed that team orders were issued to help Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher’s championship bid.

Lewis Hamilton will make his debut with Ferrari in 2025, after the seven-time world champion announced he would be leaving Mercedes last year.

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The 40-year-old will be hoping to achieve a record-breaking eighth world title at the team, but will be faced with the challenge of team-mate Charles Leclerc if the team provides them with a championship-contending car.

However, if Hamilton does manage to beat his younger team-mate, he will go one championship better than F1 legend Schumacher, with the pair both tied on seven titles.

Can Lewis Hamilton beat Charles Leclerc?

Barrichello reveals Ferrari team orders

Schumacher claimed seven world titles between 1994 and 2004, five of which he achieved at Ferrari alongside team-mate Rubens Barrichello.

In an interview on the Beyond the Grid podcast, the Brazilian driver admitted that team orders came into play during his time at Ferrari, as the team centred itself around Schumacher for their title bids.

"Every time I sat on the car, I had the pleasure and the gratitude of driving a really good car, and that paid off," he said.

Rubens Barrichello reveals Ferrari team orders

"So every time you saw me on the car, take Australia, the very first race. I was second, but I was getting close to Michael that race, so that was the first time I heard something on the radio that I had to drop the revs, or something like this.

"But you see, I was prepared for that, just because pressure for me was really when I did not know when I met my father after work, if he would come back to me and say, ‘son, we have no money to go for this go-kart race’ - so those difficult times that I had made me prepare for the time that I would then have people watching."

Lewis Hamilton Ferrari Mercedes Formula 1 Michael Schumacher Rubens Barrichello