07 September 2023 , 07:18
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It is almost 10 years since Michael Schumacher was last seen publicly.
Arguably the greatest ever Formula 1 driver, Schumacher won seven world titles and inspired several generations of racing superstars to take up the sport. Such was his success and fame that he transcended the sport to become a global icon.
Sadly, after retiring from racing for the second and final time in 2012, his family only had another year to spend with him before their lives changed forever. While in the French Alps in December 2013, Schumacher was skiing off-piste when the German icon fell, hit his head on a rock and suffered life-threatening injuries.
After many weeks in a medically-induced coma and months in hospital, he survived, before returning to his family home on Lake Geneva. He has primarily lived there ever since, taken care of by doting wife Corinna and a team of medical staff.
He hasn't been seen since and updates on the true nature of his health have been scare.
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"We have lost a megastar of our sport who gave so much enjoyment to a lot of people," said British former F1 driver Jonny Herbert - a former teammate of Schumacher's at Benetton - earlier this year. "It was very sad that Mick couldn’t have his dad around and it is sad that we as an F1 community don’t have him around the paddock. It is a shame."
Schumacher and his wife Corinna at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix back in 2011 (Getty Images)Corinna has maintained a policy of protecting her husband's privacy with only close family and those friends who are trusted beyond reproach allowed to know details. Members of the family have rarely ever spoken about his condition, and certainly not in depth.
In a Netflix documentary about her husband, released in 2021, she declared: "I miss Michael every day. But it's not just me who misses him. It's the children, the family, his father, everyone around him. Everybody misses Michael, but Michael is here - different, but here. He still shows me how strong he is every day."
Son Mick, heartbreakingly added: "I think dad and me, we would understand each other now in a different way now. Simply because we speak a similar language, the language of motorsport. And that we would have so much more to talk about.
"That's where my head is most of the time. Thinking that it would be cool that would be. I would give up everything just for that."
Mick Schumacher as a toddler with his iconic father Michael (Twitter@https://twitter.com/SchumacherMick/status/1614938249042042881)Few are permitted to go visit or trusted beyond reproach and allowed to know details about Schumacher's condition.
Former FIA chief and Ferrari boss Jean Todt is one such person: "He and his family are my family." Roger Benoit, a prominent F1 journalist for several decades, is another. The Swiss would regularly smoke cigars with Schumacher after races
Speaking on Schumacher's condition and recovery recently, he simply replied: "No. There is only one answer to this question and that is what his son Mick gave in one of his rare interviews in 2022, 'I would give anything to talk to dad.'
"This sentence says everything about how his father has been doing for over 3500 days. A case without hope."