Exclusive: Fernando Barrichello on his Formula E dream, rookie F3 season, carrying the Barrichello name and more!
Fernando Barrichello is a young driver carrying an enormous weight upon his shoulders. He is the son of Formula One race winner, Rubens Barrichello, and Fernando currently races in FIA Formula 3. In 2026, Barrichello also drove Formula E's new GEN4 car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
DIVEBOMB's Owen Bradley spoke with Fernando Barrichello about his Formula E dream, representing the Barrichello family and the pressure that comes with it, as well as his overall Formula 3 season, and the highlight of his career so far.
Speaking about his 2026 season, Barrichello stated: "It's been a very hard one, to be honest. We've struggled as a team to find the difficulties, in general. The team is going through a bit of a reshuffle, so it's been very unfortunate. A lot of hard work has gone into it, from my side, I've been growing a lot in terms of understanding and integrating with the setup as much as I can, trying to understand everything going on. But, I can't say it's not been really tough."
The Brazilian has endured a difficult season in Formula 3, with his best result coming in the Hungarian Sprint race, where he finished in ninth position. Barrichello finished the championship 28th in the standings, scoring just two points back in Hungary.
AIX Racing also finished at the back of the Teams' standings, with the squad scoring just 43 points. In early September, it was announced that Lando Norris would be purchasing selected assets from AIX Racing in order to form his own feeder series team, LN4 Fusion for next season.
Barrichello's first full season in F3 was plagued with crashes, reliability issues and a significant lack of pace, as well as a chaotic and ever-changing race calendar, with several rounds in the Middle East cancelled. Despite a chaotic and tumultuous season, Barrichello continued to learn and progress through the championship, showcasing his race-craft on numerous occasions, such as his impressive overtake on a DAMS' Nandhavud Bhirombhakdi around the outside into the first corner at Barcelona.
When asked what he learned during his debut F3 season, Barrichello revealed: "To enjoy it more, because you get to the point where you're working so hard and you're trying to make things flip, but nothing is really working. So, if you stop enjoying it, you forget that it's your dream and what you love to do."
The Brazilian was able to enjoy his opportunity driving Formula E's GEN4 car at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Barrichello worked with Jaguar Racing throughout the weekend, and the latest GEN4 car was almost able to break the F1 record at the Goodwood hillclimb, at the hands of Dan Ticktum.
Speaking about his experience representing Jaguar and Formula E, Barrichello said: "It was a huge honour! There's so many more positives than negatives, obviously there was pressure, but I don't let that come into play too much. It was my first time in Goodwood, and first time representing such a big brand, it was a huge honour to work with them, very enjoyable."
The cars in Formula E are changing on a massive scale. GEN4 is set to be the fastest Formula E car by some margin, with the cars rumoured to be reaching a maximum speed of 200mph. The new generation for Formula E begins later this year, with Season 13 starting in December.
Asked what the GEN4 is like to drive, Barrichello responded: "It's mega! It's everything that it promises, a lot of speed, especially coming out of the corners, and the straight line speed is crazy! The car is supposed to get up to 340km/h, so it's definitely something! It's around 800 horsepower, it's quite a machine. It's nice, every time you jump in, you feel that kick for the first time, you can really feel it."
Fernando is also the son of former F1 driver, Rubens Barrichello. Rubens managed to take 11 Grand Prix victories during his long Formula One career, and drove alongside Michael Schumacher at Ferrari, as well as Jenson Button in Brawn GP.
Both Fernando, and his brother Eduardo, have managed to forge their own paths and careers in motorsport. Eduardo currently races in the World Endurance Championship with the Heart of Racing Aston Martin LMGT3 squad, whereas Fernando has opted for a career in single seaters, following his father's footsteps.
The Barrichello bloodline is evidently hugely compatible with motorsport. However, throughout history, there have been some drivers who struggle with the weight of carrying a famous surname in racing. Mick Schumacher infamously was ousted from the Formula One paddock after two seasons with Haas, where he struggled to leave a lasting mark, despite being a Formula 3 and Formula 2 world champion.
There are numerous other drivers and families such as the Fittipaldi's, who still race in various racing championships. Bruno Senna, the nephew of F1 icon Ayrton Senna, also famously struggled with the pressure placed upon him to carry the Senna name, with Bruno's best result in F1 being a sixth place finish at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix.
Speaking about his family's impressive record in motorsport, and the pressure that comes with representing the Barrichello name, Fernando said: "I've heard recently that my Dad gave us some gasoline to drink when we were growing up! I don't know if that's true, hopefully not!
"It's an honour to be representing what my Dad has built in the sport, the hard work that he has put in, coming from absolutely nothing, to the name Barrichello being so big, being able to represent that is such an honour. There are so many positives that come with it, the relationship we have with our Dad, the relationship I have with my brother and seeing them do good in their own paths, I know how hard they are working, also because I know how hard I am working.
He added: "We cheer for each other on such a deep level, because we actually know what is going on in each other's lives. Obviously, my Dad's name can open some doors, but he can't really keep them open - so I need to do that for myself, I was able to understand that quite early on. There is added pressure, there is a lot of people who look and you get maybe some undeserved attention, but I don't think I let that come into play, because there's a lot of positives that come from it, and it's just an honour to represent the name."
Fernando Barrichello recently turned 21 years old, and with youth on his side, the Brazilian has a vast amount of opportunities ahead of him. Many drivers end up racing in Sportscars, like his brother Eduardo, and subsequently there may be an opportunity for the Barrichello brothers to team up at a historic event like the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the future.
However, with just one full season completed in Formula 3, Fernando Barrichello's motorsport journey is still in the opening stages. The Brazilian's plans for 2027 are currently unknown, however after a difficult debut season in F3 on the international stage, Barrichello will likely stay in the Formula 3 paddock.
When asked if he would ever consider a racing career outside of single seaters, Barrichello revealed: "I've had the opportunity to drive a few GT3's, which has been really nice. Obviously, they're very different, but I always keep every door open. Formula E, would be a dream. Getting to work with Jaguar has been a dream come true, so that's something that I'm looking forward to, having more opportunities. For now, the focus is Formula 3, and then focusing on whatever comes next."
Most young talents on the feeder series grid do not end up racing in Formula One, with a large majority of promising young drivers progressing to other championships such as the WEC, IMSA, GT World Challenge, IndyCar and Formula E, with each racing grid becoming increasingly more competitive.
Being part of a famous racing family, and part of the F1 and feeder series paddock, Barrichello has had a relatively large amount of attention, with many voices and opinions about him from a young age, adding to the pressure of carrying his family's name.
Speaking about the best piece of advice he has ever received, he revealed: "To just enjoy it, it's so easy to not enjoy it and you can get yourself into a rabbit hole of so much pressure, you put so much pressure on yourself and then the external pressure as well. You start to not enjoy it because nothing is going your way.
He added "I think I stepped into that this year, I realised I was trying so hard that I forgot to enjoy it. I went to Monaco and felt pressure to try and do something, because we were struggling as a team so much. so to step out of that and realise that it was my childhood dream to race around Monaco, and actually enjoy that, is the best piece of advice I've ever received and also the best advice I can give out to people."
Barrichello finished in 20th during the F3 Monaco Sprint race, and was forced to retire from the main feature race. However, with the racing calendar changing due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, there was a three-month break between the first and second race weekends of the season for Formula 3.
The large break, meant that Barrichello's debut in Monaco came months after the start of the season. With the Monaco streets being notoriously difficult to navigate, the sub-optimal results were somewhat unsurprising for a rookie driver.
When asked about the greatest and toughest moments in his career so far, Barrichello said: "My best moment, is probably my first win in single seaters, in Interlagos with my whole family there! That was really special, because I had all my family and friends there.
"It was really special at the time, and nowadays with me living abroad and not seeing family as much, I value it even more! In Europe, I don't have anyone there and it's not the same feeling, because I'm doing this for my family as well.
He added: "I think the toughest point, leaving home quite early. That's not easy, I left to work, I left home when I was 16 years old to live in Barcelona, and that was not easy because I was so young. But at the same time, it was mega because these tough moments that you go through, teach you the most and get your head straight. You figure out how the world works, so I think that was really tough for me as a kid, but also the moment that I grew up."
Many drivers from outside of Europe leave their family behind at a young age in pursuit of their motorsport dreams. Australian F1 race winner, Oscar Piastri, notably moved away from Australia at a relatively young age in pursuit of his dreams as well, and many other drivers across different racing paddocks have done the same.
The pressure of moving away from family, carrying an iconic name and trying to forge your own path in motorsport looks to have been a tough task for Fernando Barrichello, however the Brazilian's 2026 season has seen some significant milestones and major highlights, driving Formula E's GEN4 car at Goodwood and scoring points in Hungary.
Currently, Barrichello's future plans are unknown, but the Brazilian is expected to stay in Formula 3. Meanwhile, his brother Eduardo Barrichello races in the WEC, and his father Rubens Barrichello can be seen in various racing paddocks, supporting his two sons.
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