Schumacher's close friend opens up on "horrible thought" of F1 star's condition
F1 legend Johnny Herbert has admitted it is a "horrible thought" that close friend Michael Schumacher is not the man he was before his accident.
Schumacher won seven world titles during legendary his career in the sport, driving for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari and Mercedes. But in December 2013, Schumacher fell and hit his head on a rock while skiing off-piste in the French Alps.
The German suffered life-threatening injuries but was able to survive after being placed into a medically induced coma. After several months in hospital, he returned to the family home on Lake Geneva, where he has remained ever since, with few updates on his condition.
Wife 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. But at the start of the month, a close friend admitted his ongoing health battle is "a case without hope".
Prominent F1 journalist Roger Benoit would regularly smoke cigars with Schumacher after races and knew him as a person rather than just a racer. He was recently asked if there were any updates on the legend's condition.
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"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," he told Blick.
Michael Schumacher's former team-mate Johnny Herbert has opened up on the German's condition (Ben Radford/ALLSPORT)That update has left Herbert distressed, with the three-time race winner revealing he feels "very sad" about the few positive updates on Schumacher's condition. He insisted that had Schumacher still been in a public role, he would have been "very outspoken.
"There’s never any news. What we do know is we never hear any positive news. That’s the horrible thought that he is still not able to be close to the Michael that we all remember. And that is very sad," Herbert told Grosvenor Sport.
"He would have been outspoken. He was always very aware of what you can and can’t do. His character was always in your face, telling you directly if you had done something to him on the track. Remember Spa with David Coulthard. He would have been very good."
Herbert also opened up on the effect that Schumacher's accident has had on the German's brother Ralf, who was himself an F1 driver for a decade in spells with Jordan, Williams and Toyota.
"When Ralf Schumacher was with Sky Germany we often met. Ralf has had to do a lot of things for and with the family given what happened to Michael," Herbert added.
"He has matured. He is very different now to the person he was as a driver. He is a good human being now. He has changed a lot having had to cope with the ongoing situation with his brother."
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