23 November 2023 , 15:46
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A former Formula 1 rival hopes Michael Schumacher can "understand what's going on" around him as the 10th anniversary of his life-changing skiing accident approaches.
Seven-time world champion Schumacher suffered the crash while skiing in the French Alps on December 29, 2013. He had retired from the sport in which he enjoyed so much success for the second and final time just a year earlier.
He spent several months in a medically induced coma before he returned to the family's Lake Geneva home in September 2014. Details of his condition have been kept under wraps ever since with devoted wife Corinna ferociously protective of his privacy.
Only close family members and friends trusted beyond reproach are allowed to know details. So, like his millions of fans around the world, most of Schumacher's former colleagues and rivals remain in the dark over how the German racing legend's recovery is progressing.
Mark Blundell, who raced against Schumacher for McLaren, Tyrrell and Ligier in the mid-1990s, is among those who admits he knows very little about how his old rival is getting on. "Michael is a big loss for F1 as he had all of those titles under his belt, and we're sadly not able to hear about those accolades and how he went about getting them," he told OLBG.
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"We also missed on how he could support his son and other up-and-coming drivers. That's a huge loss. At the end of the day, what happened to him was incredibly difficult to take. I don't know where we are today with Michael's health as he's rightly guarded. It's such a shame we missed out on his insight. He's still around, and hopefully he understands what's going on. That would be a plus. It's very difficult.''
Blundell also recalled his memories of going up against the F1 legend, during and before their time at the pinnacle of motorsport. He said: "I raced against Michael Schumacher on many occasions and, before we both got to F1, we raced in sports cars. He's a huge talent and a great mind, not just inside the car, but also outside of it.
"He was always putting people together to find the advantage. We saw that with Michael time and time again. He was also ruthless and he was always prepared to do what he needed to do to get what he needed. I can't take anything away from him - he was a legend of the sport and still is. He was one of the greatest drivers in modern-day Grand Prix history. A phenomenal driver."
Just last month, the Schumacher family lawyer Felix Damm explained why details of his condition were never officially made public. He said: "It was always about protecting private things. 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."