Rubens Barrichello - In the spirit of Senna and the shadow of Schumacher

David Tremayne is a friend and colleague for many years but all friendships aside, his biography of Donald Campbell was an extraordinary book and so I was looking forward to reading his biography of Rubens Barrichello, who is one of the nicest and even-tempered of the current Grand Prix drivers

Rubens Barrichello

David Tremayne

Haynes, 258pp, Hardback, £18.99

ISBN 1 84425 200 0

David Tremayne is a friend and colleague for many years but all friendships aside, his biography of Donald Campbell was an extraordinary book and so I was looking forward to reading his biography of Rubens Barrichello, who is one of the nicest and even-tempered of the current Grand Prix drivers who has remained sane despite being in the shadow of Schumacher for so long. Although this is an unofficial biography it is still a good job and does give an insight into the man himself. Basically chronological in structure, the book charts his path to Formula 1 and looks at the checks along the way. It is an interesting look at a man who has often been overlooked in the past. The timing is probably quite good as I think Barrichello will get a big boost to his career by moving to Honda in 2006 where he can go up against Jenson Button and receive more recognition than he has for his achievements at Ferrari. Thus a book about him now will be on the shelves if he steps into the limelight, which is not impossible. Is it a book in the same calibre as the Campbell biography? No, but then again books like that do not come along every day in motor racing. It would be nice if they did.