Ralf Schumacher

Interesting facts

Younger brother of Michael Schumacher, he began racing at age three on his parents' go-kart track in Kerpen, and won the Japanese Formula Nippon championship as a rookie in 1996. Williams signed him in 1998, reportedly after Michael paid around £2 million to buy him out of his Jordan contract. At the 2001 Canadian Grand Prix he won the race with brother Michael finishing second behind him - Formula One's first-ever sibling one-two finish. He suffered a serious spinal injury in a 78g impact at the 2004 United States Grand Prix and had to miss six races recovering. On July 14, 2024, he publicly came out in a same-sex relationship with partner Étienne Bousquet-Cassagne, and got engaged to him in February 2026; since 2019 he has worked as an F1 co-commentator for Sky Deutschland. Ralf Schumacher made his Formula 1 debut in 1997 and raced until 2007, 11 seasons in total as a German driver. He scored a total of 329 championship points over his career. His best season was 2001, when he finished 4th in the championship with 49 points.