Massa To Replace Rubens For Ferrari In 2006!!

All the paddock rumors for the past two weeks came true!

According to a statement posted on Ferrari's official website:

The Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro has officially engaged Felipe Massa, taking up an
option in his contract that has linked the Brazilian driver to the Maranello
Scuderia since 2001. Massa will replace Rubens Barrichello who leaves with the
thanks of everyone at Ferrari, in particular President Luca di Montezemolo and
the Direttore Generale Jean Todt, with whom he has shared six years of
extraordinary success.

BAR sporting director Gil de Ferran (close friend of Rubens) tipped him as being a replacement for Takuma Sato to partner Jenson Button next year.

I personally think it is best for Rubens to leave Ferrari since he has been living under Michael Schumacher's shadow for long enough. Although Ferrari did not openly admit it, we can see that Michael often get the better end of the two drivers (as in team orders and strategy wise).

Both Schumacher and Barrichello had their contracts renewed last year until 2006. Like I said before, Barrichello's contract was not fully honored as with Schumacher's.

Who knows? With the current slump that Ferrari is experiencing (mainly due to their inferior Bridgestone tyres), it might be a blessing in disguised for Barrichello. Moving to BAR or Renault or even Mclaren might be a wise choice as they currently employ a pool of young drivers and they could need the help of an experienced Barrichello to maintain their grip on the sport.

All the best to Rubens Barrichello!