Ralf Schumacher faces surgery after dislocating shoulder in jet ski crash on live TV

Ralf Schumacher will undergo surgery after dislocating his shoulder and fracturing a bone in a jet ski crash during Stefan Raab’s celebrity world championship in Duisburg on Saturday, with the injury confirmed following an MRI scan on Sunday morning.

The former Formula 1 driver had been competing in the televised event at the Duisburg regatta course and showed genuine pace in the individual Speed Duel, reaching the grand final before losing only to German circus performer and Ninja Warrior athlete Rene Casselly.

The crash occurred during the team competition, where Schumacher was partnered with TV entertainer Stefan Raab. Schumacher was piloting the jet ski with Raab seated behind him when the pair collided with a buoy. Both initially remounted, but Schumacher pulled away before Raab had fully regained his position, sending them both into the water a second time — initially drawing laughter from the crowd.

It was only when Schumacher attempted to climb back onto the jet ski that the mood shifted. “My shoulder was dislocated when I tried to turn the jet ski around so quickly,” Schumacher said during the live broadcast on RTL+.

Raab, who had not immediately grasped the severity of the situation, described the moment he realised something was wrong. “At first I thought nothing had happened, and then the jet ski kept going,” he said. “I was like, ‘Ralf, what’s wrong?’ He said he’d dislocated his shoulder. Then I quickly started waving for help.”

Medics at the venue relocated the shoulder on site. Schumacher, who works as a pundit, thanked the on-site team in an Instagram video posted Sunday morning, as well as the BG Klinikum Duisburg where he received further treatment.

An X-ray on Saturday evening was followed by an MRI scan the next morning, which revealed the injury was more serious than first thought. “It was only a shoulder dislocation, or a dislocated shoulder, but unfortunately a piece of bone broke off as well,” Schumacher confirmed. Surgery will now be required as a result.