Michael Schumacher “was seen” at his daughter’s wedding. The seven-time world champion will be a grandfather. Mick Schumacher, his driver son, could have a new chance in F1. Ralf Schumacher, his pilot brother, claims he is homosexual. A court tries three men accused of blackmailing their family.
These are the journalistic titles. The most frequently asked questions on Google are more crude and show what the seven-time F1 world champion has become: “How long have you been in a vegetative state?” “What’s the diagnosis?” “Is there permanent damage?” “Can you still talk?” “Can you still walk?” “Do you still have income?”
Yes, one of the greatest drivers in history still has rent and a fortune estimated at hundreds of millions of euros. He lives between a village in Switzerland and another in Mallorca, between his family and nurses, between privacy and legitimate public curiosity. Also in a permanent battle against the predatory curiosity of social networks and scoundrels.
Eleven years after a skiing accident in Méribel, in the French Alps, Schumacher is a mystery raised by his family, perhaps a unique case in the sport. Almost nothing leaves its surroundings, preserved by Corinna, his wife, and Sabine Kehm, journalist and advisor since his sporting career.
Their work is remarkable. Almost nothing is known about the health status of the seven-time world champion. What is not received with silence by the family, such as the supposed presence at the daughter’s wedding or another attempt at treatment, is vehemently denied or prosecuted.
Blackmail attempts pile up. The last such episode is on trial in Germany right now. A former family employee allegedly leaked thousands of photos of Schumacher to a nightclub bouncer and his son. The duo tried to extort 15 million euros (R$96.8 million) from the family in exchange for photos and documents related to the pilot’s treatment. Two of the accused are in prison.
Few friends have access to Schumacher. One of them is Jean Todt, his former boss at Ferrari, where he won five of his seven titles consecutively (2000 to 2004), a unique case in the sport. His words about German are brief and careful, along the lines of “he’s different now.” Much more subtle than Felipe Massa, another teammate, who once said “I think he winked at me”.
Some people who were close to the former pilot were removed. The most notable case is that of Willi Weber, a businessman who negotiated most of his contracts during his F1 days.
Schumacher, 55, was no pushover. Of simple origins, a rare case in F1, he grew up overcoming financial difficulties. In one of the first books about his career, released at the time of his second championship at Benetton (1994, 1995), an excerpt describes his routine after kart races: selecting used tires discarded by rivals with more resources.
There was no money for new ones. His parents ran the bar at the kart track in Kerpen, a small town close to Cologne. They served, they were not served.
This survival instinct marked Schumacher’s career. In the first title, he was accused of throwing his already broken car into Damon Hill’s Williams. In 1997, he was disqualified from the World Cup for trying to do something similar to Jacques Villeneuve. His achievements and records were so impressive that they ended up overcoming his previous bad reputation.
In 2021, a Netflix documentary tried to bring him back to younger generations as someone humanized. The testimonies of friends and family, as is customary in this type of production, circumvent the controversies and, in this case, the deleterious effects of the accident that removed him from the public.
On December 29, 2013, Schumacher, who was an excellent skier, fell on an off-piste section, in a banal maneuver. He hit his head on a rock, despite wearing a helmet; some reports say a camera attached to safety equipment caused the injury.
He was removed by helicopter from the scene and spent almost six months in a medically induced coma. Since then, the story has not been told.
