Ralf Schumacher: Without Michael I'd never have raced in F1

It has been a decade since fate robbed Michael of a normal life, and F1 fans one of our greatest legends. He remains an icon of inspiration for many of today's racing drivers, including the likes of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton who raced against him and acknowledged the German as one of the greats of the sport.

Speaking to Bild, Ralf, now 48, revealed how much he owed to his brother, seven years his senior: "Michael wasn't only my brother. When we were kids, he was also my coach and mentor. He taught me everything about karting. There may be an age gap of seven years, but he was always by my side. We raced together, we practised overtaking manoeuvres and everything that matters in motorsports.

"If you think about where our story began: on a go-kart track with our parents up to F1 together. What we were able to experience was incredible. Of course for him in a completely different dimension. When you see these pictures from the time when he was my mechanic and mentor. These are wonderful memories.

"Where would I have come from?" Questioned Ralf. "You have to have certain things for that Have relationships. It all costs a lot of money and that was incredibly helpful, especially with Willi Weber. And I'm eternally grateful to both of them.

"At the end of the day, I had to drive the car, but the path still has to be paved for you. Because of the larger age difference, we didn't have that much in common as a child. He was more like the big brother who then had to take care of me at times. The most important thing about our family is always that we did it together.

"Of course, there were one or two disagreements between us when we raced against each other in Formula 1. If chance allowed that I was on an equal footing, for whatever reason, or was able to win a race against him, then we often spent the time after the race together. These are all wonderful memories, including the legendary Suzuka parties..."

A decade ago life changed horrifically for the Schumacher family. While not revealing anything new about Schumie's condition or state, Ralf did say: "Fortunately, advanced medical science provides many opportunities. But things aren't as they used to be. I miss the Michael of the old days. Life is unfair from time to time," added Ralf, in this report made possible by mostbet giris.

"This fate has changed our family," said Ralf. "However, above all, it's great to see what Corinna is doing, who is an incredibly strong woman. And of course the children too: Gina and her horse-riding. Mick, who also did F1 now has a new job (WEC in 2024 with Alpine) that can help him again.

"Things went better with the children than many could have hoped for. So everything is good," added Ralf who made, 180 Grand Prix starts, six times a winner. He retired at the end of 2007 after a decade in the top flight.

StatsF1 shows that on the occasion of Ralf's six wins, his brother Michael shared a podium with him at the 2001 Canadian Grand Prix in which they finished P1-P2, when at the 2002 Malaysian Grand Prix the older brother was P3.

The same again at the 2003 French Grand Prix in which Schumie finished P3, it was Ralf's last F1 victory. The younger brother continued in F1 until the end of 2007, while Schumacher, the seven-time F1 world champion, quit at the end of 2006 for the first time. Returned in 2010 for the three-season swansong.