Former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher has opened up on how difficult it was for him being in the shadow of his brother Michael who enjoyed huge success in the pinnacle of motorsport, Afrosport reports.
Ralf raced in F1 for 11 seasons between 1997 and 2007, competing in 180 races with Jordan, Williams and Toyota. The younger Schumacher won six grands prix and claimed 27 podiums.
He was however unable to match the success of Michael who won a record seven world championships across spells with Benetton and Ferrari, claiming 91 race wins, 68 pole positions, 155 podium finishes and 77 fastest laps.
In an interview with The Times, Schumacher admitted he was never seen as good enough in racing especially within his family who wanted him to follow a different career path.
“People look at you and everything you do is not good enough,” the 49-year-old said.
“They [my family] are not really into motorsport. My father doesn’t like that. He prefers fishing.
“Even when Michael was so successful, my father always said to me: ‘Please, do something different.’
“He wanted me to be a chef, to have a proper job and not motor racing, because you cannot make money with it.
“Even when Michael was in Formula 1, my father said: ‘No, no, forget it. He was so lucky. One is amazing already, but two [sons] will never make it. So do something else.’”
Ralf Schumacher moved to Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) in 2008 after leaving F1 and spent four years in the series before retiring in 2013.
He has been a pundit and co-commentator on F1 races for Sky Sports Deutschland since 2019.
