Ralf Schumacher

Personal Details
 
Date of birth 30th June 1975    
Birthplace Huerth, Germany    
Nationality German    
Lives Monte Carlo, Monaco    
Marital status Married to Cora    
Height 1.78m (5' 11")    
Weight 73 kg    
Hobbies Karting, tennis, cycling and playing Backgammon    
Favourite food Pasta    
Favourite drink 7UP    
First drove a kart At the age of three    
First drove a car At the age of 18 in a borrowed BMW Alpina B10 Biturbo    
First car race June 1992 in the BMW ADAC Formula Junior, Norisring, Nuremberg (D)    
First racing car BMW ADAC Formula Junior    
First win Kart club race at the age of six    


Career Highlights

1991 First in the NRW Kart Trophy;    
1992 Second in the German Kart Championship;    
  Second in his first car race,    
  BMW ADAC Formula Junior, Norisring (D)    
1993 Second in the BMW ADAC Formula Junior;    
  Test drives and first Formula 3 race, Team WTS    
1994 Third in the German Formula 3 Championship after Jörg Müller (D) and Alexander Wurz (A)    
1995 Second in the German Formula 3 Championship after Norberto Fontana (ARG);    
  First in the Macao Formula 3 Grand Prix;    
  Invited by the Le Mans team to test a Formula Nippon in Suzuka in November, followed by an offer for the 1996 season    
1996 First in the All Nippon Japanese F3000 Championship, two wins;    
  Second in the Japanese GT Championship, three wins (McLaren F1 GTR powered by a BMW V12);    
  First Formula One test in Silverstone (McLaren Mercedes);    
  Signed contract with the Jordan Team for the 1997 Formula One World Championship    
1997 11th in the FIA Formula One World Championship, Jordan, best result third place in Buenos Aires (ARG)    
1998 10th in the FIA Formula One World Championship, Jordan, best result second place in Spa (B)    
1999 6th in the FIA Formula One World Championship, WilliamsF1, best result second place in Monza (I)    
2000 5th in the FIA Formula One World Championship, BMW WilliamsF1 Team, best results third place in Melbourne (AUS), Spa (BGM) and Monza (ITA)    
2001 4th in the FIA Formula One World Championship, BMW WilliamsF1 Team, best results first place in Imola (San Marino), Montreal (CAN) and Hockenheim (GER)

 

Profile

The hungry one
During the 2000 season, Ralf Schumacher frequently assumed the role of best of the rest in a season monopolised by Ferrari and McLaren. Patrick Head describes Ralf as "the sort of driver who qualifies sixth and then comes round fourth at the end of the opening lap. Very much a motivating force within the BMW WilliamsF1 Team."

Ralf celebrated three times last year as third-placed finisher, most surprisingly of all at the opening race of the season in Melbourne. He also came home third in Spa-Francorchamps and Monza. These were performances that owed much to the mechanical reliability of the new car/chassis combination and Ralf's ability to keep out of trouble.

Coincidentally it was on these two circuits that he had also claimed his best results in the four years of his Formula One involvement, coming second in Spa in 1998 and in Monza in 1999.

At Brazil in 2000, Ralf finished fifth, retired in Imola and then produced very strong fourth place finishes at both Silverstone and Barcelona. At Monaco he again looked on course for a podium finish, but slid into the barrier at Ste. Dévote and suffered a deep cut to his left leg that threatened his chances of racing at Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix. Test driver Bruno Junquiera was put on standby, but Ralf made a rapid recovery and went on to drive in Montreal only to be pushed off the track by Jacques Villeneuve who misjudged his braking distance. Ralf went on to finish fifth in France, but failed to finish at the following rounds in Austria and Germany. He was fifth in Hungary behind the two Ferraris and McLarens, but suffered disappointment at Indianapolis where he was running in second place behind his brother Michael when his pneumatic valve gear lost pressure.

After four seasons in Formula One, Ralf has matured into one of the sport's fastest and most consistent drivers. What remain now are the victories that have eluded him since his arrival into Formula One - something that the BMW WilliamsF1 Team is working relentlessly towards.

Karting in Kerpen
Ralf Schumacher began his racing career in a go-karts. His parents, Rolf and Elisabeth Schumacher leased the Kerpen karting track and it provided a natural environment for the youngster Ralf.. He first sat behind the wheel of a go-kart at the age of three and won his first club race aged six.

Shortly after his 17th birthday he competed in his first car race - the BMW ADAC Formula Junior on Nuremberg's Norisring - and finished second. He ended his first complete season in the Junior Formula as runner-up in the 1993 championship. It was a logical step up into the German Formula 3 Championship in the WTS team of his manager Willi Weber. In 1994, his first Formula 3 season, Ralf finished in third place, and in his second year he was runner-up.

Time to mature and make his mark in Japan
At the end of 1995 he won the Formula 3 World Championship final in Macao. This city circuit on the South China Sea is one of the world's most challenging race tracks, and victory in Macao consequently counts for much in Japan. Ralf was offered the chance to take part in the All Nippon Japanese F3000, the Far East's equivalent of the Formula 3000 Championship.

He moved to Formula Nippon for 1996 and won the championship at his first attempt. He supplemented his single-seater activities with stints in the Japanese GT championship where he built a reputation as a quick and versatile racer.

Into Formula One
While Ralf was busy in Japan, Weber set about ensuring that Schumacher Jr would join his brother in the ranks of F1 drivers for 1997. Immediately impressing in a test with the McLaren team, he was duly snapped up by Jordan for his debut season of grand prix racing. Teamed alongside another young charger, Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, Eddie Jordan quickly discovered that he had an explosive driving squad.

For the 1999 season Ralf Schumacher switched to WilliamsF1 and like everybody, was aware of the new partnership in place with BMW. "WilliamsF1 had been Formula One's most successful team for many years and BMW had also won the world championship once - they were without doubt two strong and experienced partners."