Ralf Schumacher is pleased about positive reactions to his coming out

After their Instagram post in front of a romantic backdrop, former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher, 49, and his partner Étienne were thrilled by the reactions. “Ralf & Étienne are overwhelmed by the many great responses from around the world, nobody really expected that,” a family spokesman told the German Press Agency when asked.

Schumacher had shown himself arm in arm with a man in an Instagram post and made his homosexuality public. The most beautiful thing in life is when you have the right partner by your side with whom you can share everything, wrote the brother of Formula 1 record world champion Michael Schumacher.

The photo shows the two men from behind, looking out to sea, apparently from a boat. The sun is coloring the sky reddish-yellow. Within a short time, thousands of people “liked” the post on Sunday evening.

Schumacher’s son David, 22, wrote about the photo: “I’m very happy that you have finally found someone with whom you can really see that you feel very comfortable and safe, whether man or woman, I’m 100% behind you dad and wish you all the best and congratulations.”

Ralf Schumacher and his partner remain silent

A family spokesman continued: “For Ralf’s family, private life is the highest priority and remains a private matter. Neither his partner Étienne, nor Ralf and his son David will comment further beyond what has been said. We ask that everyone continue to respect their privacy.”

Schumacher used to be a successful racing driver himself. He started in 180 Formula 1 races, winning six of them. He later became involved in junior racing series as a team manager and also promoted the career of his son David. Ralf Schumacher was married to Cora Schumacher, but the couple have been separated for many years.

Many positive reactions to coming out

The former Formula 1 driver has been a regular TV expert for the pay-TV channel Sky since 2019 and accompanies the premier class of motorsport on its world tour every year. His Sky commentator colleagues Sascha Roos and Peter Hardenacke each reacted to Schumacher’s Instagram post with a red heart emoji.

Ralf Schumacher told the TV station Sport1: “It was no news for family and close friends, they had known about it for a long time. But a lot of people were involved by now. That’s why I wanted to get the news out myself.”

With regard to his son’s sporting success, Schumacher added: “My son David repeated his victory in the GT Masters from the day before on Sunday. It was the greatest success of his motorsport career so far. I thought this would be a good occasion.”