(Motorsport-Total.com) – It was supposed to be an entertaining evening, but for Ralf Schumacher, the Jetski Star World Championship staged by TV entertainer Stefan Raab on Saturday evening ended in the hospital: The former Formula 1 driver suffered a shoulder injury in a fall with one of the watercraft. He now needs surgery.
Read more «Then it’s Lewis»: Steiner calls on Ferrari for a clear decision
The event at the regatta course in Duisburg started promisingly for Schumacher. In the individual competition, the so-called Speed Duel, he advanced to the grand final and only had to concede defeat to the German circus artist and Ninja Warrior athlete Rene Casselly. But the current Sky expert proved on unfamiliar terrain that he hasn’t forgotten how to accelerate.
He then competed in the team event together with Stefan Raab. Schumacher steered the jetski, and Raab sat behind him when the two fell at a buoy. At first, both climbed back onto the seat, but because Schumacher started moving before Raab had regained his position, the celebrity duo fell into the water again. Initially, this was met with laughter from the well-entertained audience on site.
How the jetski fall with injury happened
While trying to get back on the jetski, Schumacher suddenly twisted his face. “The shoulder was dislocated when I tried to turn the jetski quickly,” Schumacher reported during the live broadcast on RTL+ in his first interview with host Laura Wontorra.
Raab did not immediately realize the seriousness of the situation: “At first, I thought nothing had happened, and then the jetski kept moving. I said, ‘Ralf, what’s going on?’ He said he had dislocated his shoulder. Then I quickly waved.” For the Schumacher-Raab team, the fun competition was obviously over.
Schumacher: “The first time it almost happened too. I hope nothing is broken. Thank God. Many thanks to the team who pulled me out so quickly. Thanks to the doctor who put my shoulder back in place. It’s not very pleasant, I admit. But right now, I’m okay.”
Sympathies on Ralf’s side: “A true warrior”
Even though he didn’t win the golden swim ring, Schumacher had the audience’s sympathies. “A true warrior,” Wontorra greeted him when he returned to the live microphone after the doctor had reset his shoulder. Later, Schumacher grinned, saying he’s 51, not 25 anymore. To which Wontorra replied, “You still look like 25 to me. […] Really, big compliment on how you stand here and did all this.”
On Sunday morning, Schumacher spoke in a video on Instagram and thanked again the “team on site who put my shoulder back in place and pulled me out of the water. That was super quick, many thanks. And a big thank you also to the BG Clinic Duisburg.”
Read more One year without a win: McLaren explains what is going on with Oscar Piastri
Examination shows: Ralf needs surgery
There, an X-ray was done late Saturday evening and an MRI on Sunday morning. Diagnosis: “It was only a shoulder dislocation, but unfortunately a piece of bone broke off.” This now requires “a small operation,” the Formula 1 star reports.
For his appearance as a Sky expert at the upcoming Italian Grand Prix in Monza, he gives reassurance despite the fall: The surgery will “be over quickly, and then I should be on site again in Monza. I just have to hold my microphone with my left hand!”
By the way, Schumacher does not regret participating in the TV fun: “It was an amazing event, really a lot of fun. […] If it happens again, I’m definitely in, dear Stefan! It was a great event. Sorry we couldn’t win the team competition. But next time we’ll surely be better.”
What Schumacher still doesn’t understand: “How you can get pulled out of the water, turn the jetski, and dislocate your shoulder, you have to manage that first. But maybe I’m just too old for this stuff.” And he makes it clear: “The organizer is definitely not to blame.”
Ralf Schumacher: Successful in Formula 1
Motorsport fans know Ralf Schumacher as one of the most successful German Formula 1 drivers of all time. The younger brother of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher won six Grands Prix in his career and was fourth in the drivers’ championship in 2001 and 2002, both times with Williams-BMW.
Not only since coming out about his relationship with his partner Etienne Bousquet-Cassagne in July 2024 has Schumacher, who had largely withdrawn from society life before, been appearing more frequently in public again. Recently, among other things, in the Sky docuseries “Ralf and Etienne: We Say Yes,” which follows Schumacher and his partner preparing for their wedding in Saint-Tropez.
Read more Lando Norris: New Prime Video documentary promises exclusive insights from 2027