What Ralf Schumacher’s coming out says about the motorsport landscape

Ralf Schumacher has taken to Instagram to share a touching post announcing that he is currently in a relationship with another man — making him one of the only Formula 1 drivers to be publicly “out” as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

Prior to Ralf Schumacher , only two other Formula 1 drivers have been truly open about their LGBTQ+ identity: Lella Lombardi and Mike Beuttler. The fact that Schumacher is able to publicly share this element of his life is a great sign that motorsport has become both more diverse and also more welcoming in 2024.

Ralf Schumacher comes out on Instagram

On Saturday, July 14, Ralf Schumacher shared a photo on Instagram depicting him standing next to another man, their arms around each other. The caption, originally in German, translates as, “ The most beautiful thing in life is when you have the right partner by your side with whom you can share everything 🙏.”

Further, TV personality Carmen Geiss shared several photos of Schumacher and his partner that both men shared on their Instagram stories. In a post caption, she wrote:

I want to tell you about a person who plays a very special role in my life. For many years I have known and love him infinitely. His presence in my life is a blessing, and our deep connection has only grown stronger over the years.

This wonderful man has an equally wonderful son who means a lot to him and who has been a source of joy and pride for him through many ups and downs. Together they have shared unforgettable moments and built a strong, loving relationship that is shaken by nothing
Today he confessed his homosexuality. This step was an act of liberation and self-acceptance for him. It was a courageous decision that has matured in him for a long time and one he is now full of pride and confidence. His outing is not only a personal triumph but a sign that he is finally able to live and love his true identity without fear or shame.

His courage and honesty are inspiring, and I’m endlessly grateful to have him in my life. His journey to himself is proof that love, acceptance and self-truth are the greatest forces in our lives. And I love them both with all my heart and am glad that I found two hearts.

Schumacher has been subject to ample amounts of speculation into his personal life for years, including throughout his racing career. His 14-year-long marriage to Cora Brinkmann did not dissuade those rumors.

Now, Schumacher has been able to write this narrative himself in a motorsport world that has ever so slowly evolved to become more welcoming to diverse groups.

More on Ralf Schumacher’s career:

👉 Revealed: The exact moment Ralf Schumacher knew it was time to retire from F1

👉 Franz Tost: Ralf Schumacher could have won titles just like Michael

A short history of queer representation in motorsport

To say that queer representation in the motorsport world has been lacking would be a serious understatement. While a handful of racers have openly shared their identities with the world, the drivers who have seemed most confident in doing so are of the modern era.

Abbie Eaton, Jess Hawkins, and Sarah Moore all have come out as queer. In American stock car racing, drivers Devon Rouse, Rita Goulet, Stephen Rhodes, Cod Dennison, and Zach Herrin all also identify as queer.

In Formula 1 proper, there have only previously been two openly queer drivers. The first of them was Mike Beuttler, who entered 29 races behind the wheel of a non-works March between 1971 and 1973.

In a Racing Pride article, journalist Ian Phillips said of Beuttler, “Because people weren’t open about being gay in those days and he took this lovely girlfriend to all the races which I suspect was just to distract because people didn’t come out as being gay in those days.”

A few years later came Lella Lombardi. The Italian racer remains the first and only woman to ever score points in the series; she also identified as a lesbian and engaged in a long-term relationship with a woman named Fiorenza.

Certainly there are are more LGBTQ+ drivers to have competed in Formula 1. Unfortunately, they may not have felt comfortable sharing that fact about themselves.

Motorsport has historically subscribed to a traditionally masculine ethos, which means there have been certain expectations about how racers should look, act, and, ultimately, be . A large part of this mindset has been a subscription to traditional heterosexual relationships.

Many of the pervasively negative mindsets about queerness stem from the same uninformed mindsets that have led to discrimination against people of color, women, the poor, and more. Western society has organized itself around an idea that straight, white men are the ‘standard,’ while anything else is a deviation.

As society has evolved, we have come to better accept that there is no ‘standard’ human, that we exist on a broad spectrum of experience, existence, and expression.

Motorsport, though, has often been slow to change.

Hurley Haywood, though, seemingly transformed the entire racing world when he publicly came out as gay in his 2018 autobiography Hurley: From the Beginning. With three victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans under his belt, Haywood is considered one of the greats in the motorsport world — a man who has more than proved his success.

But it took a long time for Haywood to feel comfortable coming out. His racing success lasted from the early 1970s to the mid-2010s, but only after he retired did Haywood share anything about his personal life.

Haywood knew he needed to come out when a teenager revealed to the former driver that he was struggling with suicidal thoughts as a result of his identity. His conversation effectively saved that young man’s life.

“I thought, if my voice is strong enough to help one kid, it might help two kids, or five, or a hundred,” Haywood recalls.

And he was right — though it’s important to understand that the definition of ‘help’ can be as drastic as saving a life, or as simple as helping someone feel more at home in their own bodies.

When he was racing in F1 in the late 1990s into the mid 2000s, Schumacher likely felt ample pressure to keep his identity to himself. There was a role he was expected to play, an image he was supposed to project — and there were inevitably parts of himself that Schumacher felt he had to keep quiet in order to maintain his career.

Yes, Schumacher has long since retired from active competition, but the fact that he now feels comfortable enough to be his open, authentic self in front of the world is a sign that the motorsport world has evolved for the better. There is always more work to do — but this is a great step forward.

The more we feel we can be our authentic selves in all aspects of life, the more of our energy we can channel into the things that truly matter to us — and that’s as relevant in life as it is in motorsport.

Read next: ‘Like riding a buffalo’ – The chaotic story behind Lella Lombardi’s NASCAR debut