Over the past two years, Eduardo Barrichello has become an increasingly difficult presence to overlook in sportscar racing. Whether it’s been the World Endurance Championship or the IMSA SportsCar Championship, his performances in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 have warranted serious attention. After finishing third in the GTD class and on the podium at the Le Mans 24 Hours, he is already emerging as a potential candidate for the British manufacturer’s Hypercar and GTP programmes in the not-too-distant future.

Given the speed and maturity he has shown on track, you’d be forgiven for thinking he is a seasoned GT racer, rather than someone in only his second year of competition. In fact, his career trajectory has been rather unusual from the very beginning, starting with how he first got into motorsport.

It wasn’t his father and Formula 1 veteran Rubens Barrichello who first got ‘Dudu’ hooked on racing. Instead, it was his mother’s side of the family, which also had strong motorsport connections, that sowed the seeds of his career. And before long, he had begun to see racing as a potential profession.

“To be honest, it wasn't from my dad's family; it's from my mom's family,” he said about his introduction to racing in an interview with Motorsport.com. 

“My parents met each other because my dad had a couple friends at the racetrack and then they decided to travel together, and my mom [Silvana] was the cousin [of racing drivers Affonso and Felipe Giaffone]. So, then my parents met and both sides of my family are just race car drivers and related to racing. 

“I started racing because one of my cousins who went to school with me called Tiago started racing go-karts and then he invited me to go there and watch a race, and it was brilliant.

“I just watched it and found it fantastic and I just wanted to start racing myself.”

Early beginnings

Eduardo Barrichello and Rubens Barrichello

Photo by: Cody Schindel

Barrichello initially honed his craft at home on a simulator, learning the intricacies of the sport in the virtual world before getting the chance to apply that knowledge on the track.

“At first, my dad was very hesitant. He didn't really give me a go-kart, but eventually he gave me a simulator, so it was quite nice,” Barrichello recalled. 

“He actually asked me to be disciplined about it. I think I was 9 or 10 when he told me that once I won a couple races and a couple championships in the online league, he would give me a go-kart. A couple months later he got me a go-kart and I started racing and haven't stopped since then.”

But starting karting competitively at the age of 11 left Barrichello on the back foot compared to his peers.

“I felt really old,” he said. “Some of the boys that were there had started when they were six. So it really felt like I was behind. 

“I almost started as a junior already, which is one of the higher classes [in karting], so it was really difficult in the beginning.”

The Brazilian had to catch up to the competition, and only his hard work and discipline could help bridge the gap. 

“I was 11 when I did my first ever competitive race. Not a great driver to be honest, but just trying to have fun and be really dedicated as well. I had to miss a lot of school, which was a good part and had to practice a lot in the simulator as well, because my dad always told me to. 

“But the good thing is that my dad never really worried if I was going to be a football player or if I was going to be a racing driver. He just wanted me to try and be the best at what I did. That really helped me as a kid. 

“I made a lot of sacrifices as a kid. All of your friends start going to parties and stuff like that, and then you have to sleep early to go to the track tomorrow morning. So, I think it teaches a lot. It kind of imposes maturity from an early age. I'm happy to be here right now. Maybe all of the work that I did back in the day paid off.”

Short-lived single-seater journey

Eduardo Barrichello, Pabst Racing

Photo by: USF2000

After plying his trade in karting for several years, Barrichello moved up to formula cars in 2018, starting with the US F4 series. Two years later, he finished runner-up to current IndyCar race winner Christian Rasmussen in the US F2000 Championship, part of the Road to Indy ladder.

This prompted a move across the Atlantic and into the Formula Regional European Championship. But the financial realities of single-seater racing soon dawned on him. A rookie season with minnows JD Motorsport didn’t yield a single point, and even switching to Arden the following year left him at a significant disadvantage to the championship’s heavyweights like Prema and ART. 

Eventually, Barrichello was left with no option but to give up his dream of following his father into Formula 1.

“Nowadays, especially in single-seaters, the amount of money that goes into it and the amount of money that the families are willing to put into their sons…,” he said.

“For one or the other, it eventually pays off and they go to F1, but it's just a crazy amount of money that we didn't really have.

“So, I just decided to bail out. Eventually you have to make a mature choice and you try to move to something that will get you money. At the end of the day, financial things are really important to create a family and all that.”

Abandoning his F1 ambitions, Barrichello returned home to race in the Brazilian Stock Car Championship. Driving a Toyota Corolla for the same team as his father, he enjoyed considerable success, finishing third in his sophomore campaign behind Gabriel Casagrande and a certain Felipe Massa.

“[After FRECA], my first choice was just to be back in Brazil, trying to be team-mates with my dad and just trying to learn from him, which really helped in my career,” he said. 

“I came from single-seaters and I was team-mates with really good guys. My dad was one of my team-mates, Tony Kanaan was a team-mate of mine; I had [2020 FRECA champion] Gianluca Petecof, who is a really good driver who made it to F2 as well.”

Finding a new home in sportscar racing

#27 Heart of Racing Team: Dudu Barrichello, Tom Gamble

Photo by: Art Fleischmann

After two years in Brazil, Barrichello got an opportunity to compete in a world championship for the first time, joining Racing Spirit of Leman in the WEC’s LMGT3 class.

It turned out to be a breakthrough campaign for the second-generation racer, as he put his Aston Martin Vantage GT3 on pole position in front of his home crowd at Sao Paolo before finishing third in the race alongside Valentin Hasse-Clot and Anthony McIntosh. At the end of the season, he was awarded with the title of ‘Revelation of the Year’ by the WEC.

Barrichello admitted that transitioning to GT racing represented a major challenge, but he quickly adapted to his new surroundings.

“It feels like a different sport because the car is so different. You have to handle it fully differently but I did a lot of simulator,” he said.

“I would probably tell you I did millions of hours in the simulator just trying to adapt myself to a heavier car, a slower car in the corners, and just a different technique, really. 

“Of course, I had my dad there helping me, instructing me with what I should test and what I should try, and I just kept on trying everything I could watching onboards and stuff.

“I actually hit the ground running, which was quite unexpected honestly but nowadays it feels quite natural.”

His performances, including during his IMSA debut at Indianapolis as a stand-in, caught the attention of Heart of Racing team boss Ian James, who signed him for a dual campaign for 2026.

Driving the #27 Aston Martin alongside Tom Gamble and Zacharie Robichon, his IMSA campaign got off to a brilliant start in 2026, as he scored class podiums in the series’ marquee races at Daytona and Sebring. Bagging another second-place at Laguna Seca, he remained in the championship hunt, but eventually wound up third in the standings after his car developed electronic issues before the start of the Petit Le Mans season finale.

Over in the WEC, Barrichello has enjoyed a similarly strong run with team-mates Gray Newell and Jonny Adam. He scored a memorable podium at the Le Mans 24 Hours and also qualified the car on pole position in Austin, where he later finished third. 

“It's tricky to do both of the championships especially because there's different ways to go about racing in WEC and IMSA,” he said. “A couple podiums in there, a couple pole positions as well which is nice. It's been a successful year I'm really happy to be part of;

“It's been enjoyable but I'll be lying to you if I didn't say it's really tiring. I think I did more than 20 race weekends in the year, so it feels like quite a lot. But I need to be grateful for the opportunity that I've been given.”

#10 Racing Spirit Of Leman Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3: Derek Deboer, Eduardo Barrichello, Valentin Hasse Clot

Photo by: FIAWEC - DPPI

Barrichello has retained his silver driver rating for 2027, which would enable Heart of Racing to field him in both championships again.

The 25-year-old also aspires to step up to the big game in Hypercar/GTP, with THOR also responsible for Aston Martin’s factory programmes with the Valkyrie LMH. But both he and the team are aware that such a move in 2027 would come too soon.

“Yeah I would love to do that. The goal is to race the hypercar and we do have it in the team,” he said. They've been getting better. I'm pretty sure they're gonna get a podium here in WEC pretty soon.

“Of course, the line-up is really good as well; the drivers are great. It's good for me to see some testing here and there. I can try and learn from it and hopefully one day they'll put me give it a go.”

As the 2026 WEC draws to a close at Monza next week, Eduardo Barrichello has already done more than enough to establish himself as a driver in his own right. He can still count on his father for guidance, but he has reached a stage of his career where he is increasingly able to stand on his own feet.

“I'm not a kid anymore. Of course, he tries to help, and whenever I have a question, he's always willing to give me help and to do whatever it takes, but nowadays I can handle myself. 

“I'm doing 20 race weeks in the year. He's not there with me because he has his own stuff that he does. But, of course, he's my father, so once I need him, he will always be there. 

“Of course, it helps being a Barrichello but he never put it on pole position for me, he never won a race for me, because when I'm driving, I'm driving.

“In the early days, it was very nice to have an experienced guy by my side, especially so successful in F1 or in every series that he's been in. 

“It's been a pleasure. It's really nice and I'm really grateful to have him by my side, but nowadays I can handle myself.” 

How his career pans out over the next few years remains to be seen, but it’s fair to assume that Rubens won’t be the only Barrichello to leave his mark on motorsport.

#10 Racing Spirit Of Leman Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3: Eduardo Barrichello

Photo by: FIAWEC - DPPI