Michael Schumacher has gone through a lot post his Formula 1 (F1) career. He hasn't been in the headlines for good reasons. He had an accident and lately, his name comes up for a health update. The latest update is a positive one.
For many in the racing world, Michael Schumacher’s name is still synonymous with greatness.
The German driver was a champion on the F1 circuits, racking up 91 wins during his heyday in the 1990's. When he retired in 2006, he held the record for the most wins, pole positions and podium finishes. He still maintains the record for the most fastest laps (77).
All this came to a crashing halt on 29 December 2013, when he had a life-changing brain accident. Schumacher was skiing in the French alps when he fell and hit his head on a rock. The then 44-year-old had only just retired from F1 for a second time at the end of the previous season, having returned to the sport with Mercedes between 2010 and 2012. Schumacher was an experienced skier but hit an exposed rock as he descended the mountain and flew through the air, hitting another rock 10m away and cracking his helmet.
Germany’s Bild newspaper reported at the time that Schumacher’s condition had worsened and surgeons had drilled holes in his skull to reduce the pressure on his brain.
The right side of his head sustained severe damage – so severe that medics said he would have died had he not been wearing protective headgear. He was airlifted to hospital, where he underwent two operations and was put in a medically-induced coma for seven months.
According to reports, Schumacher initially walked away from the accident after complaining only of feeling a bit shaken. Schumacher was moved to a bigger facility at Grenoble before being brought home to Switzerland to continue his recovery in September 2014.
By April 2014, he was showing moments of consciousness and was brought out of the coma. In November 2014, he was reportedly, "paralysed and in a wheelchair" and unable to speak but Schumacher’s manager, Sabine Kehm, told press the following year that he was slowly improving: "I can only say again: There are signs that give us encouragement," she said.
Not much else is known. In 2023, his former Ferrari manager, Jean Todt, told French daily L’Equipe that, "Michael is here, so I don’t miss him. [But he] is simply not the Michael he used to be. He is different and is wonderfully guided by his wife and children who protect him. His life is different now and I have the privilege of sharing moments with him. That’s all there is to say. Unfortunately, fate struck him ten years ago. He is no longer the Michael we knew in Formula One."
Eddie Jordan, the ex-team boss who gave a young Schumacher his big break in F1, is not allowed to visit but agrees with the family's decision.
"This was the most horrific situation for Mick and Corinna," he told The Sun.
"It's been nearly 10 years now and Corinna has not been able to go to a party, to lunch or this or that, she's like a prisoner because everyone would want to talk to her about Michael when she doesn't need reminding of it every minute."
Felix Damm, Schumacher's lawyer, explained in 2023 why no final report was ever released about the F1 legend's health.
“It was always about protecting private things," he said. "We considered whether a final report about Michael’s health could be the right way to do this.
"They [the media] could pick up on such a report again and again and as 'and what does it look like now?' one, two, three months or years after the message," he added. "If we then wanted to take action against this reporting, we would have to deal with the argument of voluntary self-disclosure," he added.
Since the accident, the German has been living at his home in Lake Geneva and his wife, Corinna, is fiercely protective of his privacy. Reportedly, only three family members and a team of medics are regularly in contact with Schumacher; who is said to require round-the-clock care.
"We’re together. We live together at home. We do therapy," she said in a 2021 Netflix documentary. "We do everything we can to make Michael better and to make him comfortable. And to simply make him feel our family, our bond."
It was reported by German media, ahead of the 10-year anniversary of his skiing accident, that Schumacher receives 24-hour care from a team of up to 15 people. He has been driven in a Mercedes road car and played sounds from the F1 track, to stimulate his brain with familiar noises.
Schumacher’s son, Mick, has followed in his father’s footsteps by making his F1 debut with Haas in 2021 after winning the F2 title.
Mick first talked publicly about his father in March 2017, describing him as "my idol" and "my role model."
In the Schumacher Netflix documentary, Mick said he "would give up everything" just for the chance to talk to his father Michael about racing.
Fresh reports in European media suggest that the F1 great was 'seen in public' for first time since the accident for his daughter, Gina's wedding with her boyfriend, Iain Bethke, at the family's luxury villa in Mallorca, Spain.
Metro.co.uk reported that "the wedding is believed to be the first time Michael has been allowed in public since his accident." The report was titled "Michael Schumacher 'seen in public for first time in 11 years.'"
Bild also said that it was "quite possible. Even very likely" for Schumacher to be present at the ceremony though not in the garden where people apart from 'close guests' were present.
The guests were reportedly asked to submit their phones so that photos may not be leaked of the event, according to multiple reports.
A few months ago, former world champion, Sebastian Vettel, who is close to Schumacher and his family, recently revealed that the F1 legend "is not doing well."
Schumacher's lawyer, Felix Damm, however, has revealed that the former F1 driver's family has decided not to make his final health report public due to privacy concerns.
"It was always about protecting private things. We considered whether a final report about Michael's health could be the right way to do this," Damm told German media outlet LTO, as quoted by SI.com.
He also stated that Schumacher's family would have come under pressure from the media to release timely health updates, had they released the final health report.
"But that wouldn't have been the end of it and there would have had to be constantly updated 'water level reports' and it would not have been up to the family when the media interest in the story stopped."
"They [the media] could pick up on such a report again and again and as 'and what does it look like now?' one, two, three months or years after the message," he added. "If we then wanted to take action against this reporting, we would have to deal with the argument of voluntary self-disclosure," he added.
Michael Schumacher has gone through a lot. It's good to hear that some form of improvement has been made. What makes it more special was that it was a special family occassion. For F1 fans, I'm sure that they are thrilled at this news. It's always sad and depressing when a legend passes away. The memory and achievements will always be there for the fans.