Ralf
Schumacher

Ralf Schumacher was born in Hürth on 30 June 1975, the younger brother of seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher. He started karting at the age of three and won the German Junior Kart Championship in 1992. In single-seaters he finished third in the 1994 German Formula Three Championship. In 1995 he took pole position and victory at the Macau Grand Prix and was runner-up in the German series behind Norberto Fontana. In 1996 he won the Japanese Formula Nippon title at his first attempt, the first rookie to do so.

He made his Formula One debut with Jordan in 1997 and took his first podium with third place at the Argentine Grand Prix. He ended that year 11th in the standings. He stayed with Jordan in 1998, finishing second in Belgium behind team-mate Damon Hill and third in Italy, and took tenth place in the championship.

He drove for Williams from 1999 to 2004 and was sixth in the championship in his first year there. In 2001 he won his first Grand Prix at San Marino, starting third and leading every lap. He won again in Canada, with Michael second, the first one-two finish by brothers in Formula One, and took a third victory in Germany before finishing the year fourth overall. In 2002 he won in Malaysia and was fourth again. In 2003 he won the European and French Grands Prix in succession, finished fifth and helped Williams to second place in the Constructors' Championship. After a serious accident at the 2004 United States Grand Prix he missed six races. After his return he finished second in Japan and ended the season ninth.

He moved to Toyota in 2005 and was sixth in the championship, with podiums in Hungary and China. In 2006 he finished tenth, with his only podium coming in Australia, and in September he was elected chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association. In 2007 he scored five points to finish 16th and announced in October that he would leave Toyota. In total he started 180 races, won six, reached the podium 27 times and took six pole positions. His best championship position was fourth.

From 2008 to 2012 he raced in the DTM for Mercedes, first with Mücke Motorsport and then with HWA. In 2011 he finished second at the Red Bull Ring, his best DTM result, and ended the season eighth overall. In March 2013 he announced his retirement from active racing and took a management role at Mücke Motorsport, mentoring young Mercedes drivers. In 2019 he became a pundit and co-commentator for Sky Deutschland. In August 2024 he made a one-off return to the cockpit and won both races of the Prototype Cup Germany round at the Nürburgring, sharing the car with his son David.

Source: Wikipedia, “Ralf Schumacher”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.