Ralf expects tough start in DTM
Ralf Schumacher says he is expecting a tough start to life as a DTM racer - but has vowed not to let any criticisms that come his way affect his determination to make a success of his new career
The former Grand Prix winner confirmed today that he is making the switch to touring cars in a year-old Mercedes-Benz this season, having tested one at Estoril in Portugal earlier this year.
With the competitiveness of the championship likely to mean Schumacher will face an uphill battle to deliver top-line results, he has made it clear that he is ready to learn, and ignore any flak that comes his way.
"I will learn in the DTM, I will work hard and I will put it behind me if people criticize me for problems I may have during the first couple of races," said Schumacher.
"It was great fun testing the DTM C-Class and I look very much forward to the new season, more than I did for a long time. Money and popularity like in Formula One are not the primary thing for me.
"Now I want sport, fun and excitement and that's what the DTM features more than any other race series."
He added: "It's fine if people have patience with me being an apprentice in the beginning, but if not - I don't mind. I know already most of my future competitors, but I don't expect them to let me pass just because they think: 'here comes Ralf who doesn't know the DTM so well.'"
Schumacher has said that he hopes that the DTM can reignite his passion for racing, after feeling that the last few years for him in Formula One did not bring much satisfaction.
"Of course I know that neither the media nor the spectators consider me the greatest race driver of all times, and this is not what I'm aiming for," he said.
"During my last three years in F1, I didn't have much success and it almost sounded strange to me when Norbert (Haug) mentioned in a conversation that a little while ago I managed to win two Grands Prix within only eight days.
"However, I am still the same Ralf as at those times, the same racer who has fun in motor sports and who wants to compete with the best.
"I like the DTM, I like the environment, and I like the enthusiastic and positive spectators. And I like Mercedes - with them I got my first chance to test a Formula 1 car in 1996 and who knows how my Formula One career would have turned out if I had accepted the McLaren Mercedes offer to become their test driver for 1997.
"But then I wanted to drive races, and that's what I still want today, more than ten years later."
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