SCHUMACHER. Since his skiing accident in 2013, Michael Schumacher has suffered from serious cerebral complications. The state of health of the German driver, seven times F1 world champion, remains a mystery, his family preferring to remain silent.
[Mis à jour le 23 octobre 2022 à 18h11] A year after a return to the news, what is the news on Michael Schumacher’s health? Remember a year ago netflix broadcast a special documentary on the career of Michael Schumacher, a rare testimony validated by the family of “Schumi”. After coming very close to death in the hours following his skiing accident on December 29, 2013, Michael Schumacher remains in the shadows and the news on his state of health has come in drop by drop for almost 10 years, the communication around the seven-time F1 world champion being particularly locked by his wife Corinna and his agent Sabine Kehm. In recent months, many rumors have persisted between reassuring news and a possible move to the Balearic Islands to a new home with medical assistance. Without confirmation or denial from the family…
The last declaration of a relative dates back in fact to September 26 from the voice of one of his friends, Jean Todt. The boss of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and ex-strongman of Ferrari came out of silence to give news of Michael Schumacher and his family, in the Italian sports newspaper La Gazetta dello sport. The former boss of the ex-Formula 1 star has remained close to the Schumacher family and remains one of the only authorized to visit his former colt at Ferrari.
“Their life changed on December 29, 2013. They have to live everything differently. […] These are things that are part of life and which are more important than performance and our dear races”, he explained. A few days earlier, on August 31, he had confided to the German daily Picture to be “happy” to see that so many people are concerned about the state of health of the German pilot. Jen Todt also wanted to reassure supporters of the former F1 champion: “People ask so many questions about Michael. The fans need to know that he is in the best hands.”
For fans, the documentary posted on September 15, 2021 by Netflix was an opportunity to hear from the German after his terrible skiing accident in Méribel, but the vagueness is still maintained by the family. There are still some revelations and confidences of his wife and his son Mick. “I never blamed God for what happened, explains Corinna Schumacher. “It was just bad luck, as could happen to anyone. The worst thing that can happen to us has happened to us. It’s horrible to have to keep asking yourself, why did this happen to Michael? Why to us? Why like that ? But after all, it also happens to others…” she explains. Everyone misses Michael. But Michael is there. He is different, but he is there. And that gives us strength, I think. “. “We still understand each other but in a different way,” continued his son Mick Schumacher, driver for the Haas team in Formula 1. “We have this language in common, motorsport, and we always have a lot to say to each other. I would give anything for us to talk to each other…”
In an interview with Sport Bild in early August 2021, Jean Todt, former boss of Ferrari, also spoke about the state of health of the seven-time world champion. “I have spent a lot of time with Corina since the accident. She is a wonderful woman, who manages the family. Thanks to the work of the doctors and Corina who wanted him to survive, Michael did survive, but with consequences. For now, we are fighting against these consequences. We hope that things will improve slowly but surely”.
The hospitalization of Michael Schumacher in Paris on September 9, 2019, revealed by Le Parisien, had raised new questions about the state of health of the German pilot. The unit where the seven-time F1 world champion was admitted is indeed renowned for its innovative treatments for cardiac pathologies. The head of the department at the Georges-Pompidou European Hospital is a pioneer in the field of cell therapy. Does Michael Schumacher suffer from heart problems following his accident, is it due to his period of coma or heavy drug treatment? Mystery. The family of Michael Schumacher has not communicated on the state of health of the pilot for several years. In 2016, the lawyer for the family of “Schumi” responded to rumors from the German press, stating that the former hero of Scuderia Ferrari could not walk or stand on his own.
Since his accident in December 2013, Michael Schumacher has returned to his Swiss home where he has a suitable facility and caregivers at his service. At the start of the 2019 school year, Michael Schumacher spent a few days in Paris, arriving on Monday September 9 in the capital, according to the indiscretions of the newspaper Le Parisien. The German pilot would have arrived from Switzerland by helicopter to be admitted in the greatest secrecy (at least, that is what was planned) at the European hospital Georges-Pompidou. The former Benetton, Ferrari or Mercedes driver, arrived on a stretcher covered with a navy blue cover hiding his body and his face, would have been admitted to the service of Professor Philippe Ménasché, a pioneer in cell therapy. It was in this cardiovascular surgery department that Michael Schumacher had to undergo treatment. According to Le Parisien, Michael Schumacher could receive an administration of stem cells, Professor Ménasché having multiplied research in this field in recent years. For what purpose would Michael Schumacher follow such an experimental treatment visibly aimed rather at his cardiovascular system? This is the question that still agitates the scientific community.
While he had rubbed shoulders with death during his racing career in Formula 1, first at Imola in 1994 where he saw the fatal crashes of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna then during a spectacular accident at Silverstone in 1999 which will cause a broken leg, it was after his career on the circuits that Michael Schumacher suffered his most serious accident. While spending the end-of-year holidays with his family in his chalet in Méribel, France, the German pilot fell during an alpine skiing session with his son Mick. The investigation will show that “Schumi” had left the marked area of the ski area and lost his balance before seeing his head hit the edge of a rock. Stunned but conscious when help arrived, Michael Schumacher was transported by helicopter to Grenoble hospital where he underwent initial surgery due to “head trauma with coma which required immediate neurosurgical intervention” before specifying that the vital prognosis of the pilot is engaged. He finally came out of a coma in June 2014 before being transported to Switzerland, first to Lausanne hospital and then to his home.
Countless rumors have circulated about Michael Schumacher since the announcement of his accident. The meager information disclosed about his state of health has fueled questions. Rubens Barrichello, his former teammate at Ferrari, even revealed that he had been prevented from checking in on him. “I tried to find a way to go visit him. I was told that it would not do him or me any good. So I have no news, but we must respect the family”, he confided to TV Globo in April 2018. In early August 2018, Jean Todt, the former boss and close friend of Michael Schumacher, let it be known that he was “surrounded by his family and loved ones”. And added: “His health is a private matter and I think it is time for us to let Michael live his life in peace”.
What are the details of the racing driver’s condition? Why did his fall from skiing cause him so much damage? And besides, what exactly is he suffering from? What is he able to do on a daily basis? The craziest rumors circulated about Michael Schumacher, from his hospitalization, through his coma, his transfer to Switzerland, until the (false) announcement of his imminent death in May 2016. It must be said that many fans are looking for the slightest positive sign and that the communication of the Schumacher clan, orchestrated by the wife of “Schumi”, Corinna Betsch, and his faithful adviser, Sabine Kehm, is double-locked, the news on the state of the champion’s health being distilled in droplets. Even some close friends of the German who regularly visit their protege at his home in Gland, Switzerland, show unfailing discretion.
Since Michael Schumacher’s skiing accident in 2013, Corinna Schumacher has strived to preserve the privacy of her famous husband. Born in 1969, Corinna Beck met Michael Schumacher in the early 1990s when she appeared alongside another young German driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen. She married Michael Schumacher in 1995 when he had just won his first world championship title in 1994. Michael Schumacher and Corinna Schumacher had two children, Gina-Maria, born in 1997 and passionate about horse riding like her mother to the point of participate in many competitions and Mick, born in 1999 and who follows in the footsteps of “Schumi” to the point of having made his F1 debut during the 2021 season with the Haas team.
Before his terrible accident, the Formula 1 driver was one of the greatest sportsmen of all time and caused admiration. He began his career in 1991 in the Benetton team and signed his first victory in 1992 during the Belgian GP. Two years later, the young prodigy became world champion for the first time in his career by signing eight victories. The following year, the German confirmed his domination and signed a second consecutive title with nine successes.
In 1996, the Italian team was in reconstruction and struck hard by signing the reigning double world champion. If he finished in 3rd place in the championship, he still signed three successes, a first for Ferrari since 1990. In 1997, the German was once again controversial. As he came to play for the title with Jacques Villeneuve during the final race, the German grabbed the Canadian and was downgraded for unsportsmanlike conduct. In 1998 and 1999, the German fights again for the title but is beaten by the Finn Mika Hakkinen at the wheel of the McLaren, the year 1999 is also marked by his leg injury following a terrible accident at Silverstone and the first constructors’ title acquired by Ferrari since 1983. In 2000, the Schumacher hegemony began. The first title is however difficult with in particular a slump in the middle of the season benefiting Hakkinen. Subsequently, the domination of the German was total with a title in 2001 with nine victories in the season, a title in 2002 with eleven victories, a title in 2003 with six victories (a more complicated year) and finally an overwhelming domination in 2004 for his seventh title with 13 victories.
After copiously dominating the world of F1, Schumacher ended his career with mixed results. In 2005, the year was particularly difficult for Ferrari and the German still finished in 3rd place in the championship. In 2006, the seven-time world champion announced the end of his career by being vice world champion. In 2009, the German first announced his return to competition before finally abandoning the idea because of an injury after a motorcycle accident. He will finally make his comeback in 2010, 2011 and 2012 at the wheel of a Mercedes but will not be able to find his level with a car unable to challenge for the title. He will retire at the age of 43.