While Michael Schumacher's retirement announcement made a lot of noise last fall, his brother Ralf's flew well under the radar -- much like his career, actually.
Michael rewrote the entire F1 record book. With seven world titles (including five in a row), and 91 first-place finishes (13 of which came in 2004 alone), the guy is a legend.
Ralf, meanwhile, enjoyed the complete opposite. He never managed to dominate, and seldom made headlines over 11 seasons. He will forever be known as Michael Schumacher's little brother.
In 2004, in Indianapolis. Ralf hit a concrete wall at full speed in what was a 78-g impact. Amazingly, he came out with no broken bones. However, a severe concussion irreparably changed him.
Following his stint in F1, Ralf spent five lacklustre seasons on Mercedes' DTM team. His top finish was a third place in Hockenheim two years ago.
Although I pride myself on being an unbiased auto-racing writer, I must admit that I've never been a fan of the Schumacher brothers. Compared with Jim Clark, Gilles Villeneuve, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna, and other greats, there was nothing charismatic about them. While many envied their driving skills -- especially Michael's -- the same could never be said of their personality.
Of course, I vividly remember Michael bumping into Damon Hill on multiple occasions, trying to take out Jacques Villeneuve in 1997, deliberately crashing in Monaco to prevent Fernando Alonso from stealing pole position, and shoving Rubens Barrichello against the pit wall in Hungary.
I know that Ayrton Senna had some controversial moments as well, like when he violently pushed Alain Prost off the track at the start of the Japanese Grand Prix. However, the Brazilian was merely taking his revenge for past attacks against him.
So what if Michael Schumacher dominated his era and went on to become the most decorated F1 driver of all time? For all his determination and dedication, for all his skills and sacrifices, the man was as cold, flat, and boring as slick ice.
We now have something we haven't seen since 1991: not a single Schumacher in international auto racing. Enjoy it while it lasts, though, because Michael's son, Mick, will inevitably take his turn behind the wheel of an F1 car.
Michael rewrote the entire F1 record book. With seven world titles (including five in a row), and 91 first-place finishes (13 of which came in 2004 alone), the guy is a legend.
Ralf, meanwhile, enjoyed the complete opposite. He never managed to dominate, and seldom made headlines over 11 seasons. He will forever be known as Michael Schumacher's little brother.
In 2004, in Indianapolis. Ralf hit a concrete wall at full speed in what was a 78-g impact. Amazingly, he came out with no broken bones. However, a severe concussion irreparably changed him.
Following his stint in F1, Ralf spent five lacklustre seasons on Mercedes' DTM team. His top finish was a third place in Hockenheim two years ago.
Although I pride myself on being an unbiased auto-racing writer, I must admit that I've never been a fan of the Schumacher brothers. Compared with Jim Clark, Gilles Villeneuve, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Ayrton Senna, and other greats, there was nothing charismatic about them. While many envied their driving skills -- especially Michael's -- the same could never be said of their personality.
Of course, I vividly remember Michael bumping into Damon Hill on multiple occasions, trying to take out Jacques Villeneuve in 1997, deliberately crashing in Monaco to prevent Fernando Alonso from stealing pole position, and shoving Rubens Barrichello against the pit wall in Hungary.
I know that Ayrton Senna had some controversial moments as well, like when he violently pushed Alain Prost off the track at the start of the Japanese Grand Prix. However, the Brazilian was merely taking his revenge for past attacks against him.
So what if Michael Schumacher dominated his era and went on to become the most decorated F1 driver of all time? For all his determination and dedication, for all his skills and sacrifices, the man was as cold, flat, and boring as slick ice.
We now have something we haven't seen since 1991: not a single Schumacher in international auto racing. Enjoy it while it lasts, though, because Michael's son, Mick, will inevitably take his turn behind the wheel of an F1 car.
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| Photo: WRI2 |