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Tuesday, January 29

Ralf Schumacher
ESPN.com

Team: Williams-BMW
Nationality: Germany

Ralf Schumacher
Schumacher

STATS

Year
Rank
Wins
Poles
Podium
Best finish

2001 4 3 1 5 1st, Three times

Career 3 1 14 1st, Three times

2001 Recap
The Good: Schumacher enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2002. Michael's younger brother took his first career win in San Marino and then added two more in Canada and Germany. He also claimed his first career pole in France, joining his brother on the front row.

Season Highlight: Starting third, Schumacher swept past the front row at San Marino to claim the lead by the first corner. He held that position until the end for his first Formula One win.

The Bad: Despite the three victories, Schumacher posted just two other podium finishes -- and only nine total points finishes. He also had costly penalties at Nuerburgring and Japan which cost him chances at victory.

Schumacher also suffered at the hands of his car, retiring from seven of the season's 17 events. Then there was the matter of his teammate, rookie Juan Montoya. The fiery Colombian won in his first season and often out-performed the more experienced Schumacher.

Season Lowlight: At Japan, Schumacher clocked the event's fastest lap, but received a stop-go penalty that kept him from making a serious challenge.

Ralf Schumacher
Ralf Schumacher, right, will have stiff competition from teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, left.

Key Stat: Schumacher's season started with inconsistency. In the year's first seven races, he failed to finish five of them -- but he also earned his first career win.

2002 Outlook
What needs to be done: If Williams' new BMW-powered piece has improved reliability, then Schumacher's chances for more wins -- and possibly a driver's championship -- are much greater. He'll also have to forge a proper working relationship with teammate -- and rival -- Juan Montoya. While the two stars don't have befriend one another, they do have to work well together and share information.

Prediction: With an improved car, Schumacher's statistics should improve in 2002, right? But, with Montoya set for his second season on the circuit, he could prove to be Schumacher's undoing. After years of attempting to step from his older brother's shadow, the German will now have a tough time proving he's the best driver on his team.

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