Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver.
He is the younger brother of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, and the pair are the only siblings to each win Formula One races.
Schumacher began karting at the age of three and achieved early success before making the transition to automobile racing in the German Formula Three Championship and the Formula Nippon series.
Schumacher was born in Hürth, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany, on 30 June 1975, the second son of Rolf Schumacher, a bricklayer, and his wife Elisabeth.
Michael Schumacher is his elder brother.
He began karting at the age of three driving on his parents' go-kart track in Kerpen.
1991
Schumacher's first major karting success came when he clinched the NRW Cup and the Gold Cup in 1991.
1992
In 1992, he won the German Junior Kart Championship.
He then moved up into the senior series, finishing runner-up.
Aged 17, Schumacher moved into car racing, finishing runner-up in the ADAC Junior Formula Championship.
This performance allowed Schumacher to test a Formula Three car during 1992, and later took part in a Formula Three event.
1994
His testing and one-off appearance in the series caught the attention of WTS Racing, allowing Schumacher to enter the German Formula Three Championship in 1994, where he finished third.
He finished fourth and thirtieth in the Macau Grand Prix and the Masters of Formula 3, respectively.
1995
His performances in 1995 had improved over the previous year.
Schumacher secured pole position and victory in the Macau Grand Prix and finished second in the Masters of Formula 3.
In the German Formula Three series, Schumacher took three victories and finished second in the Championship behind Norberto Fontana.
1996
For 1996, Schumacher's manager Willi Weber secured him a seat in the Formula Nippon Series, driving for the Team Le Mans alongside experienced driver Naoki Hattori.
Schumacher won the series on his first attempt, becoming the first rookie driver to clinch the championship.
In the same year, Schumacher and Hattori entered the All Japan Grand Touring Car Championship, winning four races and taking the runner-up spot in the GT500 Championship behind the pairing of David Brabham and John Nielsen.
In August 1996, Schumacher tested for the McLaren team at Silverstone.
In September, it was announced that Schumacher had signed a three-year contract to drive for the Jordan team.
The deal also brought in a further £8 million from Schumacher's sponsor Bitburger brewery, with a small percentage going towards his salary.
1997
He first drove in Formula One with Jordan Grand Prix for the 1997 season.
In January 1997, Giancarlo Fisichella was confirmed as Schumacher's teammate replacing Martin Brundle, who expressed a desire to remain with the team.
Schumacher believed that Brundle's experience would have helped him in the coming season.
Schumacher took the first podium of his career in Argentina with third place despite a collision with teammate Fisichella.
Further consecutive retirements followed in the next four races before picking up a sixth-place finish in France.
Schumacher followed this result by picking up consecutive fifth-place finishes in the following three races.
A further two retirements followed in the races in Belgium and Italy, before picking up a fifth-place finish in Austria.
Schumacher did not score points in the final three races of the season, which included retirements in the Luxembourg Grand Prix and the European Grand Prix.
In his début 1997 season, Schuamcher finished 11th in the Drivers' Championship, scoring 13 points.
Like all male German citizens, Schumacher was subject to compulsory military service in the German Armed Forces.
Outside Formula One, Schumacher participated in the FIA GT Championship as a guest driver for the AMG Mercedes team at the Spa 4 Hours and was partnered by Klaus Ludwig.
The pair finished fifth, scoring two points.
1999
Schumacher moved to the Williams team in 1999, finishing sixth in the Drivers' Championship that year.
2001
He won his first Grand Prix in 2001, en route to fourth place in the Drivers' Championship, and subsequently won five more races over the course of two years.
2004
Schumacher left Williams at the end of 2004 and joined Toyota Racing in 2005.
2006
His performance throughout 2006 and 2007 resulted in Schumacher leaving Formula One as a result of internal pressure.
2008
After leaving Formula One, Schumacher joined the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) in 2008, achieving minor success, and retired from motorsport at the end of 2012 to enter a managerial role within DTM, mentoring young drivers.
He is now a co-commentator for Sky Sport in Germany.
