Michael Schumacher is the joint-most successful driver in F1 history at the Canadian Grand Prix, having won the race seven times in the Ferrari legend’s illustrious career.
Only Lewis Hamilton has ever won the Canadian GP as often as Schumacher was triumphant in the Great White North to date. The two seven-time champions even boast four more wins at the Canadian GP than their nearest rivals, Nelson Piquet Sr and Max Verstappen on three.
Schumacher and Hamilton also account for 12 of the 53 pole positions secured in Canada to date with six each. They also both sealed both of their tallies at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, which has run the Canadian GP since 1978 after races at Mosport Park and Mont-Tremblant.
Hamilton won his first F1 race at the 2007 Canadian GP, as well, for one of his two wins with McLaren in Montreal. Schumacher secured his first Canadian GP win with Benetton in 1994, before sealing six with Ferrari after also winning the 1997, 1998, 2000, 2002 and 2003 races.
Photo by Andreas Rentz/Bongarts/Getty Images
Ralf Schumacher claims Michael Schumacher was ‘happy’ to lose the 2001 Canadian GP to him
Schumacher also took his Canadian GP wins from pole position in 1997 and 2000. Yet even though the German failed to convert his pole into the win at the 2001 Canadian GP, Michael left Montreal ‘happy’ as he lost to Ralf Schumacher for his second of just six career victories.
Michael beat Ralf to pole in 2001 by 0.515 seconds, as the Schumacher siblings locked out the front row of the Canadian GP grid driving for Ferrari and BMW Williams. The former also held the latter off at the start, but Ralf would emerge as the triumphant brother by 20.235s.
Ralf Schumacher produced record pace lap after lap to chase Michael after a safety car after Rubens Barrichello and Juan Pablo Montoya crashed on Lap 20. His superior single-lap pace ultimately made the difference once Michael pitted on Lap 46, as Ralf relished the overcut.
Michael Schumacher simply had no answer to Ralf’s pace in clean air, as the Williams driver utilised his BMW V10 engine to leave his more successful sibling in his shadow at the 2001 Canadian GP. And Ralf now recalls how Michael was ‘happy’ to be the second-best brother.
Ralf told Sky Germany: “When you look at the pictures from the 2001 race, it’s a beautiful thing. It was a great experience, especially that we both managed it. We were both happy, and Michael was happy too, that I was at the front for once; that rarely happened.”
Ralf and Michael Schumacher became the first brothers to share an F1 podium at the 2001 Canadian GP
10 Jun 2001: Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher (left) of Germany and McLaren-Mercedes driver Mika Hakkinen (right) of Finland shower race winner Williams-BMW driver Ralf Schumacher (centre) of Germany with champagne after the Canadian Formula One GrandPrix held at the Gilles Villeneuve Circuit, …
The 2001 Canadian GP was only the second Grand Prix win of Ralf Schumacher’s career in F1 and the 20.235s lead that he opened over Michael Schumacher after pitting on Lap 51 of 69 also saw them make history as the first brothers to stand on a Formula 1 podium together.
Yet it was not the biggest winning margin that Ralf would hold throughout his six Grand Prix wins in total. He also won the German Grand Prix in 2001 by 46.117s to Barrichello, plus the 2002 Malaysian Grand Prix by 39.700s to Montoya and with a 61.795s lead to Michael in P3.
Yet the only time that Ralf Schumacher won a race from pole position came with his last F1 win at the 2003 French Grand Prix. He edged Williams teammate Montoya to pole by 0.117s at Magny-Cours and won by 13.813s over the Colombian with Michael 19.568s behind in P3.
