At 11:07 a.m. on December 29, 2013 , Michael Schumacher’s fate changed forever on the slopes of the French resort of Meribel . The seven-time F1 world champion skied off the piste and fell to the ground, hitting his head on a stone.
The state of the Kaiser ‘s health was unknown from the start. The information leaked out little by little. It was revealed that the helmet he was wearing shattered on impact, that the metal bracket of the mounted camera was embedded in his skull and that he went into a coma to protect possible brain damage. He was rushed to Moutiers hospital and the family later reported that he was transferred to a hospital in Lausanne , Switzerland.
Suddenly, the light of a man who lived running at more than 300 km / h went out. Since that dramatic moment, Schumi has been surrounded by the unconditional love of his family. His wife Corinna outfitted their house like an intensive care unit.
The more time passes, the more hope of a miraculous recovery fades. The reality is hard, very hard, but Schumacher has never stopped fighting. Even so, the memory of the one who remains a Formula 1 myth is not extinguished and still holds the record of seven world championships, now shared with Lewis Hamilton.
The documentary that Netflix premiered in September dedicated to Schumacher conveyed the harshness of the situation in Corinna’s words: “I miss him every day, even though he’s here. He’s different, but he’s here and that gives us a lot of strength. We live together in the home. You’re in treatment. We do everything we can to make you feel a family connection.
What is known about Michael Schumacher
Information about the state of health of Michael Schumacher continues to trickle down. Our colleagues from the German edition of Motorsport.com explained that no journalist receives news about it because there is a kind of ‘gentleman’s agreement’ between the press, the family and Sabine Kehm [their spokesperson], Kehm pointed out.
“The problem is that Sabine and her family don’t share much information. They basically only talk once a year, so a lot of ‘journalists’ unfortunately make up their own stories.”
However, one of the few who has the right to speak without the family reacting negatively is Jean Todt , former FIA president who was his boss at Ferrari. Last August, he returned to give some brushstrokes about Schumacher ‘s state of health in an interview with the German newspaper Bild .
“Since his ski accident, I have spent a lot of time with his wife Corinna. She is a great woman and now runs the family,” says the Frenchman. “Corinna never expected something like this, but unfortunately it happened and she had no choice. Thanks to the work of the doctors and the help of Corinna, who wanted Michael to survive, he survived, but with consequences. And right now he is struggling with these consequences. We hope that things will improve slowly, but inexorably”.
In his last act at the head of the FIA, Todt also remembered the German: “I have never considered him the best driver in history, because I think it is very difficult to say that. Formula 1 celebrated its 70th anniversary not long ago. I think that there are better drivers in different eras. We remember Fangio , who was the best driver of his time. Michael was the best driver of his era. Today we can say that Hamilton is the best current driver, but there was Jim Clark , who was the best driver of his time”, he explained.
His compatriot Sebastian Vettel whenever he can shows his total admiration for Schumacher and in the last Abu Dhabi GP he sided with Max Verstappen when asked what he felt about the possibility of Hamilton becoming the driver with the most world championships in history. .
“Michael is my hero. For that reason, I probably don’t want Lewis to win,” he said. In a way, I’d be glad if Michael’s record still stood. Even if Lewis wins, for me Michael is still the greatest, so Lewis can win one more, two more, three more, five more championships, that doesn’t change anything for me. And I get on well with Lewis, so like I said, probably instinct tells me I want Max to win to keep Michael’s record alive, but it’s pretty clear in my head that the best guy has to win.”
Mick returns the Schumacher surname to Formula 1
Schumacher’s eldest son, Mick made his Formula 1 debut for 2021 with the Haas team , having been crowned Formula 2 champion a year earlier. With the support of the Ferrari Driver Academy , he tries to follow in his father’s footsteps and in 2022 he will be a reserve driver for the Scuderia .
Michael Schumacher, the Kaiser , will turn 53 on January 3, but his legend is still as alive as ever. Will we see him again? Keep fighting, Michael! (Keep fighting, Michael!).
↓ Photos: Michael Schumacher’s 91 victories in F1 ↓
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch
Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo de: Ercole Colombo
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steve Etherington/Motorsport Images
Photo de: Ercole Colombo
Photo de: Ercole Colombo
Photo by: Ercole Colombo
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch
Photo by: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: Ercole Colombo
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: Ercole Colombo
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo by: Ercole Colombo
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo by: Ercole Colombo
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: Ercole Colombo
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: Ferrari Media Center
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steve Etherington/Motorsport Images
Foto de: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo de: Ercole Colombo
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: Steve Etherington/Motorsport Images
Photo de: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Foto de: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Peter Spinney/Motorsport Images
Photo de: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo by: Ferrari Media Center
Photo by: Steve Etherington/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Lorenzo Bellanca / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Lorenzo Bellanca / Motorsport Images
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Photo by: LAT Images
Photo de: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Michael Cooper/Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
Photo by: Ercole Colombo
Photo By: Sutton Motorsport Images
Foto de: Steve Etherington / Motorsport Images
