There are six years of difference between Michael Schumacher and his younger brother Ralf. The elder brother made his Formula 1 debut at the end of 1991 with the Jordan team, while Ralf instead joined Michael exactly six years later, as in 1997 he made his debut at the wheel of another car managed by the Irish manager’s team, following perfectly in the footsteps of the man who at that time already had two world titles on the showcase won with Benetton before joining the Maranello team with the aim of bringing Ferrari back to the top, a goal achieved in 2000 by opening a cycle of victories that lasted until 2004.
Ralf Schumacher admitted that without his brother Michael he would never have reached Formula 1: “I have to be honest, my brother and our manager Willi Weber have opened many doors for me” – Ralf Schumacher said, as reported by F1-insider.com – “would I have gotten a place on the Opel factory team in Formula 3 without my brother? I do not think so”. – Ralf admitted.
In any case any opportunity must be exploited, such as the technical material available, and Ralf Schumacher did not disappoint expectations: “I won in Macau, a prestigious result in a race that is considered the F3 world championship (he was second in 1995 in Formula 3 behind the Argentine Norberto Fontana) and then in 1996 I raced in Formula Nippon, the Japanese F3000 in which the level was very high, winning the championship. I think I got a place in F1 thanks to my skills and not just because of my surname.” – he concluded.
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