Ralf Schumacher was born near Cologne in Hürth-Hermulheim, Germany. He was a German F1 driver known for his time with Jordan, Williams and Toyota and the younger brother of Michael Schumacher, a seven-time World Champion.
| Nationality | German |
|---|---|
| Born | Ralf Schumacher 30 June 1975 Hürth, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany |
His racing career began at the age of three on a go-kart track owned by his parents in Kerpen. In 1995, he secured third place in the German Formula 3 championship, followed by a victory in the 1996 Japanese Formula Nippon championship (formerly Japanese F3000), where he won two races.
Ralf’s Formula One debut came in 1997 with the Jordan team, achieving a podium finish in his third race in Argentina. Despite numerous retirements that season, he switched to the Williams team in 1999 after securing a deal with BMW, achieving three podium finishes and sixth place in the World Drivers Championship with a less powerful Supertec engine. His replacement at Jordan, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, enjoyed two wins and four podiums that year.
The 2000 season was seen as somewhat disappointing for Ralf despite running a powerful new BMW engine and being the senior driver. He managed only three podium finishes, the same as the previous year. However, 2001 was a breakthrough season, with his first three Grand Prix wins in Imola, Montreal, and Hockenheim. He added another victory at the 2002 Malaysian Grand Prix but ended the season behind teammate Juan Pablo Montoya. In 2003, victories at the European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring and the French Grand Prix helped the Williams team to finish second in the Constructors Championship in both 2002 and 2003.
On June 20, 2004, Ralf suffered severe injuries in a crash at the 2004 United States Grand Prix, experiencing one of the highest recorded decelerations in motor racing history, resulting in a concussion and minor fractures to his spine.
In 2005, he moved to the Toyota team. Although initially outperformed by teammate Jarno Trulli, Ralf showed strong form at Spa, claiming the fastest lap, and took pole position in Japan with the updated “B” version of the TF105 car. He finished third in the Chinese Grand Prix, securing sixth place in the Drivers Championship, two points ahead of Trulli. Ralf continued with Toyota till 2007 before retiring from the sport.
Ralf Schumacher Formula One World Championship career
| F1 Career | 1997–2007 |
|---|---|
| Teams | Jordan, Williams, Toyota |
| Entries | 182 (180 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 6 |
| Podiums | 27 |
| Career points | 329 |
| Pole positions | 6 |
| Fastest laps | 8 |
| First entry | 1997 Australian Grand Prix |
| First win | 2001 San Marino Grand Prix |
| Last win | 2003 French Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix |
Ralf Schumacher Teammates
| 9 drivers | Involvement | First Year | Last Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Giancarlo Fisichella | 17 | 1997 | |
| Damon Hill | 16 | 1998 | |
| Alessandro Zanardi | 16 | 1999 | |
| Jenson Button | 17 | 2000 | |
| Juan Pablo Montoya | 62 | 2001 | 2004 |
| Marc Gene | 1 | 2003 | |
| Ricardo Zonta | 18 | 2005 | |
| Jarno Trulli | 54 | 2005 | 2007 |
| Olivier Panis | 1 | 2005 |
Race Wins
| Win Number | Grand Prix |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2001 San Marino Grand Prix |
| 2 | 2001 Canadian Grand Prix |
| 3 | 2001 German Grand Prix |
| 4 | 2002 Malaysian Grand Prix |
| 5 | 2003 European Grand Prix |
| 6 | 2003 French Grand Prix |
Complete Formula One Records
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Benson & Hedges Total Jordan Peugeot | Jordan 197 | Peugeot A14 3.0 V10 | AUS Ret | BRA Ret | ARG 3 | SMR Ret | MON Ret | ESP Ret | CAN Ret | FRA 6 | GBR 5 | GER 5 | HUN 5 | BEL Ret | ITA Ret | AUT 5 | LUX Ret | JPN 9 | EUR Ret | 11th | 13 | ||
| 1998 | Benson & Hedges Jordan | Jordan 198 | Mugen-Honda MF-301 HC 3.0 V10 | AUS Ret | BRA Ret | ARG Ret | SMR 7 | ESP 11 | MON Ret | CAN Ret | FRA 16 | GBR 6 | AUT 5 | GER 6 | HUN 9 | BEL 2 | ITA 3 | LUX Ret | JPN Ret | 10th | 14 | |||
| 1999 | Winfield Williams | Williams FW21 | Supertec FB01 3.0 V10 | AUS 3 | BRA 4 | SMR Ret | MON Ret | ESP 5 | CAN 4 | FRA 4 | GBR 3 | AUT Ret | GER 4 | HUN 9 | BEL 5 | ITA 2 | EUR 4 | MAL Ret | JPN 5 | 6th | 35 | |||
| 2000 | BMW WilliamsF1 Team | Williams FW22 | BMW E41 3.0 V10 | AUS 3 | BRA 5 | SMR Ret | GBR 4 | ESP 4 | EUR Ret | MON Ret | CAN 14 † | FRA 5 | AUT Ret | GER 7 | HUN 5 | BEL 3 | ITA 3 | USA Ret | JPN Ret | MAL Ret | 5th | 24 | ||
| 2001 | BMW WilliamsF1 Team | Williams FW23 | BMW P80 3.0 V10 | AUS Ret | MAL 5 | BRA Ret | SMR 1 | ESP Ret | AUT Ret | MON Ret | CAN 1 | EUR 4 | FRA 2 | GBR Ret | GER 1 | HUN 4 | BEL 7 | ITA 3 | USA Ret | JPN 6 | 4th | 49 | ||
| 2002 | BMW WilliamsF1 Team | Williams FW24 | BMW P82 3.0 V10 | AUS Ret | MAL 1 | BRA 2 | SMR 3 | ESP 11 † | AUT 4 | MON 3 | CAN 7 | EUR 4 | GBR 8 | FRA 5 | GER 3 | HUN 3 | BEL 5 | ITA Ret | USA 16 | JPN 11 † | 4th | 42 | ||
| 2003 | BMW WilliamsF1 Team | Williams FW25 | BMW P83 3.0 V10 | AUS 8 | MAL 4 | BRA 7 | SMR 4 | ESP 5 | AUT 6 | MON 4 | CAN 2 | EUR 1 | FRA 1 | GBR 9 | GER Ret | HUN 4 | ITA WD | USA Ret | JPN 12 | 5th | 58 | |||
| 2004 | BMW WilliamsF1 Team | Williams FW26 | BMW P84 3.0 V10 | AUS 4 | MAL Ret | BHR 7 | SMR 7 | ESP 6 | MON 10 † | EUR Ret | CAN DSQ | USA Ret | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | CHN Ret | JPN 2 | BRA 5 | 9th | 24 | |
| 2005 | Panasonic Toyota Racing | Toyota TF105 | Toyota RVX-05 3.0 V10 | AUS 12 | MAL 5 | BHR 4 | SMR 9 | ESP 4 | MON 6 | EUR Ret | CAN 6 | USA WD | FRA 7 | GBR 8 | GER 6 | HUN 3 | TUR 12 | ITA 6 | BEL 7 | BRA 8 | 6th | 45 | ||
| Panasonic Toyota Racing | Toyota TF105B | Toyota RVX-05 3.0 V10 | JPN 8 | CHN 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006 | Panasonic Toyota Racing | Toyota TF106 | Toyota RVX-06 2.4 V8 | BHR 14 | MAL 8 | AUS 3 | SMR 9 | EUR Ret | ESP Ret | 10th | 20 | |||||||||||||
| Toyota TF106B | Toyota RVX-06 2.4 V8 | MON 8 | GBR Ret | CAN Ret | USA Ret | FRA 4 | GER 9 | HUN 6 | TUR 7 | ITA 15 | CHN Ret | JPN 7 | BRA Ret | |||||||||||
| 2007 | Panasonic Toyota Racing | Toyota TF107 | Toyota RVX-07 2.4 V8 | AUS 8 | MAL 15 | BHR 12 | ESP Ret | MON 16 | CAN 8 | USA Ret | FRA 10 | GBR Ret | EUR Ret | HUN 6 | TUR 12 | ITA 15 | BEL 10 | JPN Ret | CHN Ret | BRA 11 | 16th | 5 |
Sources: Wikipedia.com and Historicracing.com
