Barrichello's second snub

Barrichello gets some practice on Monaco's tight streets

By BBC Sport Online's Andrew Benson in Monaco

There was a revealing cameo on Friday's rest day at the Monaco Grand Prix.

It betrayed the fallacy in Ferrari's continuing claims that Rubens Barrichello is not a subservient number two to world champion Michael Schumacher.

The three most important members of F1's reigning world champion team stood outside Monaco's famous Hotel de Paris to announce a three-year, £110m sponsorship deal with Vodafone.

Schumacher, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo and sporting director Jean Todt smiled, their arms around each other, as they posed for the world's photographers.

Then Barrichello turned up, and he walked up the steps to join the happy scene.

The smiles were just for the cameras on the podium in Austria

But as the Brazilian approached, Di Montezemolo turned his back and walked away.

It was a move that could have been - and probably was - calculated to cut Barrichello right down to size, to remind him exactly where he stands.

Ferrari have this week taken up their option on Barrichello's services for the 2002 season, a decision that will keep their driver partnership stable for a third consecutive year.

But that clearly does not mean they have forgiven Barrichello for displaying his feelings at being ordered to surrender second place to Schumacher at the Austrian GP two weeks ago.

The decision was logical from Ferrari's point of view.

If Schumacher finished second, it would give him a further two points in the world championship, for which Barrichello is effectively not competing.

The points could be useful at the end of the year, but that was of little consolation to Barrichello.

He was furious, almost in tears, and the TV cameras revealed him shrugging off Todt's attempts to talk to him immediately after the race.

Barrichello's reaction led to speculation that his future at the team was in doubt.

That has turned out to be wide of the mark.

Barrichello is second by number and nature

But what the events at the A1-Ring and since have done, is remind everyone that Schumacher runs the show at Ferrari.

"Rubens is not number two," Todt claimed, before going on to explain exactly why he was just that.

"The thing is that since Michael and Rubens comprised the team, Michael has been in front most of the time, and that has put him into a priority situation.

"If, in the future, it happened that Rubens, or Michael's team-mate (if Ferrari signs someone else in the future), was consistently in front, then Michael would have to help the team and his team-mate.

"That's the way it has been, and that's the way it will be in the future."

When Barrichello joined Ferrari last year, he was insistent that he would be allowed to win if he was ever ahead of Schumacher on merit.

Austria, where the German was behind his team-mate because of his own mistake in getting tangled up with Juan Pablo Montoya, exploded that myth.

And Barrichello has since been made well aware of the real situation.

"The fact that my contract has been extended has ended all the rumours about my future," he said.

"It's nice to stay here, and it's a very good birthday present (Barrichello was 29 on Wednesday).

Schumacher is always likely to be in pole position at Ferrari

"They asked me if I wanted to stay and I said yes. I don't want to wake up and think about number one and number two.

"I am keeping my head the right way to be always the quickest that I can, to fight with Michael and to achieve some victories together.

"Of course I have to talk less than I did until now. Sometimes, I have to shut up."

Other drivers have little sympathy for Barrichello's predicament.

After all, they argue, he has the compensation of driving one of the best cars in F1.

"If you go to Ferrari," Benetton driver Giancarlo Fisichella said, "you can be on the first two rows and finish on the podium at any time. That's better than being in almost any other team.

"And if you are not faster than Schumacher, why should you be winning races?"

Barrichello might not like it, but he has reluctantly come to a broadly similar conclusion.