Emotional Ralf Schumacher: ''I miss my Michael from back then''

On 29 December 2013, almost a decade ago, Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher suffered a serious fall in the French Alps. He suffered serious head injuries in the process, from which he never fully recovered. His little brother, Ralf Schumacher, is still struggling incredibly.

''This fate has changed our family,'' Ralf Schumacher begins in an interview with Bild. “I can say that his accident was a very bad and drastic experience for me too. But not just for me, for example also for Michael's children: Mick, as we all know, was there as a young teenager back then. Unfortunately, life isn’t always fair and unfortunately there was a lot of bad luck here too.”

Youth

Ralf looks back on his childhood with Michael. “Michael is not only my brother, but when he was younger he was also my coach and mentor. He taught me everything about karting. We may be seven years apart in age, but he was always by my side back then. We drove karts together, practised overtaking, all those things that are important in motorsport. He gave me all the experience he had had in the previous seven years. I was simply allowed to learn from the best.”

The circumstances of growing up in the Schumacher family were different from those of most Formula 1 drivers. This makes his little brother even prouder of what Michael has achieved. ''We've been very lucky. We basically grew up in the gravel hole next to the go-kart track in Kerpen. When our parents bought the house next door, we initially shared a room and slept on a mattress on the floor because we didn't have the money for a bed yet. And then Michael became a Mercedes junior racing driver. Even today it is still unbelievable what has emerged from these circumstances.”

Nothing is like it used to be

When asked how he feels about his brother today, he gets emotional. “I miss my Michael from back then. Life is sometimes unfair. Michael had often been lucky in his life, but then this tragic accident happened. Thankfully, modern medical options have made it possible to do some things, but still, nothing is like it used to be.”