“Happy for him, love is love” - F1 fans pour their support for Ralf Schumacher after the former racer comes out as gay

In an interesting development, former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher has opened up about his private life. Sharing his feelings via an Instagram post, the German driver has come out as gay.

Following in the footsteps of his elder brother and legendary Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher began his career in motorsport in 1997 with Jordan F1. After witnessing his racecraft in the midfield team, the younger Schumacher got an opportunity to drive for Williams F1 in 1999. After spending five seasons with the British outfit, the German racer managed to win six races and clinch 27 podium finishes. Schumacher then moved to Toyota in 2005, with whom he eventually announced his retirement from the sport in 2007.

After spending a few seasons in DTM, the West Germany-based racer entered a managerial role in the sport, mentoring young talent. He is also a co-commentator for Sky Sports Germany.

Now, Schumacher has disclosed his sexual orientation via a post on Instagram, captioned:

"Das schönste im Leben ist wenn man den richten Partner an seiner Seite hat mit dem man alles teilen kann 🙏" (which translates to 'The best thing in life is when you have the right partner by your side with whom you can share everything🙏').

The said post was shared on X via Charles Leclerc's fan page:

"apparently ralf schumacher just came out? if that's indeed the case, this is so nice to see and i wish him and his partner all the best 🫶🫶 really, really brave to do in a community that has still many homophobes in it"

The post has since then received a lot of positive responses from fans around the globe.

"happy for him. love is love <33" commented a fan.

"that's very brave of him and i hope he and his partner get the happiness they deserve🫶" wrote another one.

"He and his partner apparently have been in a relationship for two years now, very brave of him to make it public now as the comments in German already are very homophobic rn.. means a lot to us queer fans tho!" said an Austrian fan, voicing the concern of backlash in Germany.

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A brief look at Ralf Schumacher's top races in Formula 1

Despite two slow seasons with Jordan F1, Ralf Schumacher gained popularity once he made a switch to Williams F1 in 1999. However, the German driver had to endure two more seasons before getting his first win at Imola in 2001.

The race to remember in the 2001 season was the Canadian Grand Prix. The Schumacher brothers, Ralf (driving for Williams) and Michael (driving for Ferrari) created history by finishing P1 and P2, respectively. This moment was a first in Formula 1. Apart from Italy and Canada, the younger Schumacher won at his home Grand Prix in Germany that season.

Later, Schumacher went on to win the Malaysian GP in 2002 as well as the European and French GP's in 2003.