Formula One Trivia.
How many pairs of brothers have raced in Formula One?
Have you read the JAQUO article about fathers and sons who have taken part in F1? Did that make you wonder about brothers who have done the same? At time of writing, there have been six sets of brothers — well, seven, sort of — well, seven and a half, kind of…..
But before we get into the details, see how many you can name before scrolling down. You might find one or two surprises below. We’ll start with probably the most famous; possibly the first brothers you thought of.
Michael and Ralf Schumacher
Yes, I’m sure that these are the most famous pair of Formula One brothers. (Or are they? Scroll down for more). We all know what Michael is doing these days – he’s still in recovery from his 2013 skiing accident (KeepFightingMichael) – but what about Ralf?
After several years driving the DTM (the German Touring Car series), he is now mentoring and managing young drivers. Here’s a piece of trivia – did you know that he speaks Japanese?
Jackie and Jimmy Stewart
Jackie Stewart is still to be seen in F1 paddocks even today. He won the world championship three times in the nineteen sixties and seventies and it’s generally accepted that he was a huge advocate for improving safety at racetracks. But Jimmy?
Jimmy was Jackie’s elder brother. He competed in one Formula One Championship race in 1953. (Also in several non-championship races). Brother Jackie didn’t start in Formula One until twelve years later. When he did, he was known as ‘Jimmy Stewart’s brother’.
Teo and Corrado Fabi
If you were watching Formula One in the nineteen eighties then you’ll remember Italian driver Teo Fabi. He was never really a front-runner but was in the sport for five years. But have you heard of Corrado, his younger brother?
Corrado competed in eighteen Grand Prix races during the same time as his brother. Interestingly, Teo was competing in Formula One and in CART in America so when Teo couldn’t make it to a Grand Prix, Coraddo would drive his car in his place.
Pedro and Ricardo Rodriguez
These Mexican brothers both raced in Formula One and sadly they were both killed while racing. Ricardo was only twenty when he died at Mexico City in 1962. He had been the youngest driver to date to start a Formula One race when he entered the Italian Grand Prix in the year before. At that time he was 19 years, 208 days old.
His older brother Pedro has an eight year career in Formula One racing. Nine years after the death of Ricardo, Pedro too died in a racing accident in Germany. This was in a sportscar race. The Mexico City racing circuit was renames as the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in honour of the brothers.
Ian and Jody Scheckter
If you’re as old as me and you were watching Formula one in the mid to seventies and up to 1980, then the name of Jody Sheckter needs no introduction. He won the world championship in 1979. But did you know about his brother, Ian?
Ian is the older of the two South African brothers and he entered Formula One in 1974. He took part in eighteen races over a three year period.
Manfred and Joachim Winkelhock
German born Manfred took part in Formula One races starting in 1980. He entered fifty six races and qualified for forty seven of them. Manfred was yet another casualty of the dangers of motorsport in the last century – he died in a sportscar race in 1985 when he was thirty three years old.
His younger brother Joachim was active in several different motorsport series. And in 1989, four years after his brother’s death Joachim too entered F1. He contested seven races.
Gilles and Jacques Villeneuve
No that’s not an error or a typo. Gilles’ son Jacques was a Formula One Champion and Gilles was killed in an accident in Belgium in 1982. But Gilles also had a brother, also names Jacques.
Jacques competed in several racing formulae and in the early eighties he entered two Grands Prix. These were in 1981 and 1983 – sandwiching the year of his brother’s death. He failed to qualify in either so did not take part in the races themselves.
Didier Peroni and José Dolhem
This is the ‘half’ I mentioned above, Didier and José were half brothers and sort of cousins. Confusing I know but they had the same father and their mothers were sisters. (Oh, the complicated love lives of the French!) José raced in only one Grand Prix (he entered three) whereas half-brother Didier raced in seventy.
Neither died on the racetrack but both died young in accidents. A racing accident forced Didier to leave Formula One and he took up powerboat racing instead. He died, aged thirty five, in a powerboat race accident. Just eight month later José, at forty three, died in an aircrash. They are buried in the same grave.
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