Michael Schumacher health and condition now after ‘significant moment’ | F1 | Sport
Michael Schumacher suffered his life-changing skiing accident more than 12 years ago (Image: Getty)
More than 12 years have now passed since Michael Schumacher suffered the skiing accident which would change his life forever. The German former racer was skiing off piste in the French Alps on December 29, 2013 – just a year on from his second and final retirement from Formula 1 – when his head struck a rock in a fall.
Details of his condition have remained scarce ever since, with his loving wife Corinna determined to protect her husbands privacy as much as she can. That tragic accident robbed the F1 world of one of its greatest ever competitors, millions of fans of an icon and, far more pertinently, a family of the man they once knew.
It is known that Schumacher requires round-the-clock care from close family and a team of medical staff, and that he spends most of his time being cared for at the family home on the shores of Lake Geneva. Other reports have suggested he is unable to partake in conversation or communicate verbally in any way, while the fact his wife Corinna helped him to hand-sign a helmet for charity last year suggests, at the very least, significant loss of motor function.
Beyond those details, there is little else known about Schumacher’s condition as only a small number of implicitly trusted family members and friends are allowed to visit. But he remains very much alive and, for many people who once knew him well, the fact well over a decade has now passed since he was last seen in public is startling.
Among those people is former F1 mechanic and logistics boss Richard Hopkins, who shared the paddock with Schumacher for many years and would have regular coffee meetings with the seven-time champion. “It’s amazing that it was that long ago,” he told Express Sport, reflecting on that “significant moment” in history.
“Obviously, it was such a significant moment in the world of motorsport, and a significant moment for those people who knew Michael. Even for those people who didn’t know Michael and knew him through association, or maybe just watching him on TV and cheering him on, it’s just incredible where the time has gone.
“The Keep Fighting Michael campaign is still alive. Obviously, as time goes on, there are fewer and fewer people, and it sort of dilutes a little bit. But everybody keeps thinking about him. You can’t not think about Michael and his situation.
“We always reflect on the anniversary. And obviously, with the significant anniversaries, the 10 years, the 20 years, and the 25, and so on and so forth. But we hear about him constantly throughout the year, which is fantastic. You can never forget the guy. He was such a machine, such a master of his class.”
Schumacher enjoyed skiing but was on the slopes when he suffered traumatic injuries in an accident (Image: Getty)
Like most others, despite having known Schumacher well for many years, Hopkins has been left on the outside of the small inner circle who are privy to details of his care and condition. To this day he finds it to be a “difficult” and “frustrating” situation, though he made his peace a long time ago with the fact he will probably never learn more about his old friend’s fight.
Hopkins added: “I think all of us, and it’s just human nature, want to know. We would love to know. But I guess for some people, and me included, not knowing is okay as well. Unfortunately, we create our own ideas. But we can only imagine that not a lot is being said because there’s maybe not a lot to say.
“We’re not seeing him because maybe the family don’t want him to be seen in the condition he’s in. That obviously generates your own ideas and images, and I think we all probably have a similar idea of the state that he’s in. We’re probably not too far off the mark in our assumptions of where he’s at right now.
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“I haven’t really spoken to anybody closer to that inner circle about what I think. But I think we all think the same. Of course it’s a little bit frustrating that we’re kept in the dark. But I don’t think we’re that in the dark. I think our own assumptions are fairly accurate about where he’s at right now.”
The situation has emboldened a handful of bad actors to try to take advantage of the family over the years. Most recently, three men were found guilty earlier this year of playing roles in a £12million blackmail plot, after getting their hands on around 900 photos and 600 videos of Schumacher, his wife and two children.
Despite that success in court, Corinna Schumacher worries that those stolen images may still be out there after such a “massive breach of trust” had occurred. Still, for the most part, Hopkins believes the fact there is still such an appetite for information about the stricken racing champion helps to keep him and his achievements fresh in the memory.
Corinna Schumacher continues to be fiercely protective of her husband’s privacy (Image: Getty)
He added: “This is the world we’re living in… Those bad actors will always be around. It’s about how we keep a straight bat and power on through. You’re always going to have that. I don’t think that’s avoidable, certainly in the world we’re living in today.
“If there were another sportsperson or business person that had a skiing accident, would that family be happy and open to sharing that information? I don’t know. There are rubberneckers who love the gore and everything else, and then there are genuine people who had a lot of time for Michael, either within the paddock or watching him on TV.
“There’s genuine curiosity, but there are two sides to it. But I think it’s okay. Maybe the fact that questions are constantly asked isn’t a bad thing. It keeps him remembered. And as long as that’s genuine and honest and not sinister, then that’s okay.”
Richard Hopkins was speaking with Express Sport via Premier League picks and predictions.
