Ralf Schumacher admits six-podium F1 team’s car was ‘so bad’ during testing he retired

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Ralf Schumacher had a very impressive Formula 1 career but after 182 races and six race wins, he decided to call it a day at the end of the 2007 season.

He had enjoyed spells with Jordan, Williams and Toyota, standing on the podium on 27 occasions.

However, in an interview with Darren Reeves, Schumacher has admitted that a test ahead of the 2008 season went so badly that he decided he would rather retire than drive around at the back of the grid.

Ralf Schumacher attempted to carve out a career in Formula 1 alongside his brother Michael, and while he won more championships than his younger sibling managed race wins, he was still considered one of the quickest drivers of his generation.

However, Schumacher took part in a test with the new Force India team before the 2008 F1 season.

They had already signed German compatriot Adrian Sutil ahead of their introduction to the grid.

Unfortunately, halfway through his test, it became clear to Schumacher that there was no point continuing.

Ralf Schumacher retired from Formula 1 after disastrous Force India test

Force India may have been a new name on the Formula 1 grid in 2008, but they were simply the latest iteration of a team that still exists today.

Eddie Jordan sold his team to Midland F1 in 2006, however, they only lasted a year – securing a bizarre podium in the United States – before becoming Spyker in 2007.

The Dutch outfit suffered a similar fate, lasting just one campaign and scoring a single point thanks to Adrian Sutil, although they briefly led the European Grand Prix thanks to Markus Winkelhock.

Force India stuck around for 11 seasons and while they never won a race, they featured on the podium on six occasions.

However, during his test with Force India, Schumacher couldn’t see that potential and decided it was better to end his F1 career after his third campaign with Toyota rather than persist with the team.

Ralf Schumacher cut short Force India test after a disastrous day one

Talking about the end of his F1 career with Reeves, Schumacher said: “It was a great time, especially with Williams, I would say.

“Then I went to Toyota and the years at Toyota we had some nice races but it didn’t go the way [I wanted].

“And then obviously once you get a chance after a period like that to go to a small team, I did.

“I did a test with Force India as it was called at that time, he [Vijay Mallya] had just bought the team.

“It was supposed to be two days and I can tell you that after the first day, the car was so bad I thought to myself, what should I do?

“Should I spend my life at the back of the field risking my life or do I go back to at that time my 6-year-old?

“And I decided to go for my family, that’s why I stopped.”

Ralf Schumacher enjoyed successful Formula 1 career without Force India spell

Ahead of his failed Force India test, it was clear that Schumacher’s Formula 1 career was beginning to wind down.

He formed a brilliant partnership with Jarno Trulli at Toyota, although they couldn’t build on the initial promise of their 2005 season together.

Schumacher is best remembered for his initial spell at Jordan and his six seasons with Williams.

He finished a career-high of 4^th in the Drivers’ Championship, although Franz Tost believes Williams cost Schumacher a shot at the title in 2003.

Schumacher was up against Juan Pablo Montoya at Williams for several years and Montoya has suggested he destroyed Schumacher during their time together.

However, they out-qualified each other 31 times each and Montoya only finished ahead of Schumacher on 28 out of 54 occasions when they both completed a Grand Prix.

Considering how highly Montoya was rated, it shows that Schumacher was one of the most formidable drivers on the grid in the early 2000s.