Ralf Schumacher makes sad admission about being in Michael's shadow

Ralf Schumacher has opened up on how tough it was being Michael’s brother as he tried to make his own F1 career a success.

The 49-year-old German raced in F1 for 11 seasons between 1997 and 2007, contesting 180 races with Jordan, Williams and Toyota.

Schumacher won six grand prix in that time and claimed 27 podiums, but was never able to match the legendary feats of his seven-time world champion brother.

Speaking to The Times, Schumacher said he never felt “good enough”.

He claims his father told him to pursue a different career because he would never be able to emulate Michael’s success.

“People look at you and everything you do is not good enough,” Schumacher said.

“They [my family] are not really into motor sport. 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.’”

Last year, Schumacher came out as gay, becoming the most high-profile driver in the sport’s history to do so.

Schumacher’s brother Michael has been out of the public eye since he suffered a severe brain injury in a skiing accident in December 2013 and was placedinto a medically induced coma.