F1 Racing Famous Drivers
Ralf Schumacher
Ralf Schumacher was born on 30th June 1975 in Hürth-Hermülheim, Germany. He is the younger brother of seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher and he has been one of the top runners in the sport, especially in his BMW Williams F1 Team days.
In 1992 he took part in the German carting championship competitions and won second place. Later, in 1993 he entered the Junior-Championship competitions of the German Automobile Club (ADAC) and came in second then he won the Japanese Formula Nippon championship in 1996.
Ralf Schumacher made his Formula One debut in 1997 with the Jordan team and finished on the podium in his third race. However, R. Schumacher retired in more than half his races that season and ended up behind team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella. In 1999 Schumacher transferred to Williams and his performances became solid despite the bad cars he was driving.
The 2000 season was considered by many a bit of a disappointment for Schumacher. Running the powerful new BMW engine, Schumacher was expected to compete for wins, but despite only four mechanical failures and being the senior driver in the team, he was only able to match the three podium finishes of the previous year.
Schumacher won his first race at Imola in 2001 and followed up with two more wins to end the year fourth in the World Championship. In 2002 things were tougher, but Schumacher won in Malaysia, although he was often outpaced by driver Juan Pablo Montoya. Schumacher remained with the Williams team during 2003 and 2004, but he was never very convincing although he did a good job when he came back from injury after a big crash at Indianapolis.
On June 20, 2004, Schumacher was seriously injured in a severe accident at the US Grand Prix. It was the most severe accident in all of motor racing history. The accident effectively ended Schumacher's career with Williams.
In 2005, Schumacher transferred to the Toyota team. Toyota team brought the "b" version of TF105 car to 3 last races of the season which allowed Schumacher to take pole position in Japan and finished China Grand Prix in the brilliant third position just a week later. Modified version of the car secured 6th position in Drivers Championship for Schumacher, just 2 points before his team mate Jarno Trulli. In 2006 Schumacher is scheduled to race for Toyota F1.
Having participated in Grand Prix races 83 times Ralf Schumacher has obtained 135 world champion points and one pole position. Today Ralf Schumacher is regarded as one of the most promising young Formula One driving talents.