Michael Schumacher's health battle - 'hope ruled out' to lawyer's 'final report'

03 November 2023 , 09:33

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German Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher with his wife Corinna (Image: AFP/Getty Images)

Michael Schumacher was a seven-time F1 world champion when he tragically suffered a skiing accident in the French Alps that left him with life-changing injuries almost a decade ago. Next month marks 10 years since the stricken Formula 1 legend was last seen publicly, and there remains great interest in his condition.

Schumacher is cared for at the family's Lake Geneva home and only immediate family, trusted close friends and medical staff know details of his health. His loving wife Corinna has been fiercely protective of his privacy and updates have been few and far between, though his brother and lawyer have shared some rare insights.

Schumacher brothers, Ralf and Michael, both raced in F1 for many years (Bongarts/Getty Images)

In a new interview with German magazine Bunte, Ralf Schumacher, who is also a former F1 racer, declined to give too much away when asked about his brother, though he spoke briefly about his relationship with his children. "Unfortunately, sometimes life isn't fair. We have to accept it," he said of the tragic twist in his sibling's life. "When I see his children Gina-Maria and Mick, my heart smiles. If someone in the family is looking for my advice, I'm there. They go their own way."

Mick, a reserve driver for Mercedes this year, having driven in F1 for two years with Haas, has previously said how much he would love to be able to call upon his father's wisdom and expertise when it comes to his own racing career. "I think Dad and me, we would understand each other in a different way now," he said in 2021. "Simply because we speak a similar language, the language of motorsport. And that we would have so much more to talk about. That's where my head is most of the time, thinking that would be so cool. I would give up everything just for that."

At the same time, his wife Corinna also declared: "I miss Michael every day. But it's not just me who misses him. It's the children, the family, his father, everyone around him. Everybody misses Michael, but Michael is here - different, but here. He still shows me how strong he is every day."

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Wife Corinna has remained fiercly private about her husband's health condition

Family lawyer Felix Damm has insisted privacy surrounding Schumacher's medical condition will continue despite the enormous demand for information. Speaking to German legal news outlet LTO last month, he explained why an official report was never made public after the crash. "It was always about protecting private things," he said. "Of course, we discussed a lot about how this is possible. So we also considered whether a final report about Michael's health could be the right way to do this.

"But that wouldn't have been the end of it and there would have had to be constantly updated 'water level reports'. Because as those affected, it is not up to you to put an end to the media. They could pick up on such a report again and again and ask, 'And what does it look like now?' one, two, three months or years after the message. And if we then wanted to take action against this reporting, we would have to deal with the argument of voluntary self-disclosure."

When asked if he recognises why there is so much interest in Schumacher's health, Damm added: "Naturally... But I also believe that the vast majority of fans can deal with it well and also respect the fact that the accident has set in motion a process in which private shelter is necessary and will now continue to be observed."

Mick Schumacher would 'give up everything' to talk to his dad about racing (HOCH ZWEI/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

Roger Benoit, a prominent F1 journalist for several decades, is another of those trusted by the family. The Swiss knew him personally and would regularly smoke cigars with Schumacher after races. When asked by Blick earlier this year if he could shed any light on Schumacher's condition and recovery, he simply replied: "No. There is only one answer to this question and that is what his son Mick gave in one of his rare interviews in 2022, 'I would give anything to talk to dad.' This sentence says everything about how his father has been doing for over 3500 days. A case without hope."

In December 2013, Schumacher was skiing off-piste in the French Alps when he fell and hit his head on a rock, causing life-threatening injuries. He survived and, after many weeks in a medically-induced coma and several months in hospital, he returned to the family home. He has primarily lived there ever since, taken care of by loving wife Corinna and a team of medical staff. It came only a year after he had retired from F1 for the second and final time, after a three-year spell with Mercedes.

Nia Dalton