The Formula One legend’s condition has been kept top secret since his life-changing skiing accident in December 2013
Schumacher’s condition has been kept firmly under wraps for over a decade
It’s been over a year since Michael Schumacher made headlines across the world, when it was reported that the Formula One legend had been seen in public for the first time in over a decade.
Schumacher, now 56, was said to have made his first public appearance in 11 years by attending his daughter Gina Maria’s wedding at the family’s villa in Majorca in September last year. German media reported that he was there in person to witness the celebrations, with guests at the wedding required to leave their mobile phones at the door to prevent any authorised photos of Schumacher being taken.
Those reports were later dismissed as ‘fake news’ by those close to the family, but the frenzy that they sparked laid bare not just the love still felt for Schumacher around the world, but the continued fascination around his condition, which has been fiercely protected by his inner circle since the accident that changed his life 12 years ago.
In December 2013, the seven-time F1 world champion was skiing in the French Alps when he fell and hit his head on a rock, sustaining major head injuries as his helmet was split in two by the impact. After being rushed to hospital, he was left in a medically induced coma for several months, before returning to his family home on Lake Geneva the following year.
He has since required round-the-clock medical care from his wife Corinna and a team of medical professionals, with details of his condition few and far between having been understandably kept firmly under wraps by those close to him. Only a small number of people have been allowed to visit him, with no significant information about his health released to the public.
However, that has not stopped others from trying to get intel on the legendary driver’s condition, with his family the target of countless rumours, stories and shocking blackmail attempts in the years that have passed since his accident. To separate fact from fiction, here is what we know about Schumacher’s life today.
Schumacher’s condition
In recent times, there have been reports that have provided optimism about Schumacher’s condition, suggesting that his health may be improving a decade on from his life-changing accident.
However, those reports, such as his alleged appearance at his daughter’s wedding, are said to be wide of the mark, with the claim that he had signed a helmet for racing legend Jackie Stewart for a charity event earlier this year one of those to be proven as inaccurate.
It later emerged that the helmet was signed with the helping hand of Corinna, with recent information from close friends suggesting that Schumacher is still unable to communicate verbally and largely bed bound.
In June, Flavio Briatore, Schumacher’s former F1 boss, said: “If I close my eyes, I see him smiling after a victory. I prefer to remember him like that rather than him just lying on a bed. Corinna and I talk often, though.”
Earlier this year, German broadcaster Felix Görner, another friend of Schumacher’s, added that the F1 icon is “dependent on caregivers”, adding: “He is a person… who can no longer express himself through language. It’s a very sad state of affairs.
“He was actually a hero, an indestructible hero. We’re just clinging to hope, to a straw. But he’s simply not well, so we won’t see him again.”
It was reported by German media in 2023 that Schumacher receives 24-hour care from a team of up to 15 people. Meanwhile, a court heard earlier this year that he was “partly helpless, in need of care and visibly marked” by his injuries, with leaked images said to show him in a hospital bed and wheelchair, as well as attached to medical equipment.
Schumacher’s wife Corinna has vowed to protect his privacy
The missing hard drive
Schumacher’s family have guarded his privacy so closely that they found themselves targeted in a horrifying £12 million blackmail plot, with three men convicted over the crime in February this year.
Nightclub bouncer Yilmaz Tozturkan, 53, was jailed for three years after threatening the Schumacher family by demanding that they pay him £12m to prevent him from leaking 900 personal photos, almost 600 videos and confidential medical records to the dark web.
Markus Fritsche, also 53, was an employee of a security firm hired to protect the family home, and stood accused of plotting to snatch the photos and medical details from a computer and passing them to Tozturkan. Fritsche, received a two-year suspended sentence following a trial at Wuppertal district court, while Tozturkan’s son Daniel Lins – an IT expert – was handed a six-month suspended sentence.
Following the sentencing, the Schumachers’ lawyer, Thilo Damm, confirmed the family’s intention to challenge the sentences, which he said were too lenient for what he described as the “ultimate betrayal”.
He said: “We do not agree with everything the court said. You can rest assured that we will exhaust all legal possibilities at our disposal.”
However, in a concerning development, Mr Damm also revealed that a hard drive remained missing, despite multiple searches of the defendants’ properties, with another threat to Schumacher and his family remaining a possibility.
“We don’t know where the missing hard drive is,” he said. “I don’t have a crystal ball but there is the possibility of another threat through the backdoor.”
Only a small circle of trusted family members and friends have been allowed to visit Schumacher
His inner circle
In order to keep his condition a secret, only a small circle of trusted family members and friends have been allowed to visit Schumacher and know the intimate details of his condition since his accident.
In a report by the The Telegraph, Briatore’s ex-wife Elisabetta Gregoraci said: “Michael doesn’t speak, he communicates with his eyes,” before adding that “only three people can visit him and I know who they are.”
The identities of those three are reported to be Ferrari giants Jean Todt and Ross Brawn, the team principal during Schumacher’s stint with them. Former driver Gerhard Berger is said to be the third.
Also within Schumacher’s inner circle is his manager Sabine Kehm, with the German journalist working for the driving legend’s family for over 25 years. She now manages his affairs and knows the ins and outs of his condition, which she has helped to keep secret from the outside world.
In 2016, Kehm vowed to protect Schumacher’s privacy, as she released a statement which read: “Michael’s health is not a public issue, and so we will continue to make no comment in that regard.
“We have to protect his intimate sphere. Legally seen and in the longer term, every statement related to his health would diminish the extent of his intimate sphere.”
Meanwhile, in a 2021 Netflix documentary about Schumacher, his wife Corrina stressed the importance of keeping her husband’s condition private, as she explained: “We’re trying to carry on as a family, the way Michael liked it and still does. And we are getting on with our lives.
“It’s very important to me that he can continue to enjoy his private life as much as possible. Michael always protected us, and now we are protecting Michael.”
