In 1986, he joined the German Formula Three circuit, winning the title the following year in 1987 as well as finishing third in the 1987 Macau Grand Prix.

[2] This brought him to the attention of Erich Zakowski, who signed Schneider to drive for his Formula One team Zakspeed in 1988 and 1989.

In 1992, Schneider moved to the DTM (German Touring Car Championship), driving for AMG-Mercedes.

The DTM returned in 2000 with silhouette bodies and V8 engines, and Schneider took the championship crown three of the first four years (2000, 2001, and 2003) in an AMG CLK-Class; he was runner up in 2002.

Schneider currently races in the Pro-Am class of the Blancpain Sprint Series in the #70 GT Russian Team Viatti Mercedes.

He also has children Lisa-Marie and Luca Maximilian with his ex-wife Nicole, Oliver Bierhoff's older sister.