The German survives two decades in a high-risk sport, then a stone while skiing is his undoing. How is Michael Schumacher? There is no answer to the same question.
Even during his active days, the mystery fueled the myth: Michael Schumacher during test drives in Mugello in 2005.
Darren Heath / Hulton Archive
Suddenly there is silence. A silence that is particularly impressive in the case of Michael Schumacher. His career was always accompanied by a lot of noise, the roar of engines, the “Schumi” cheers of the masses, the clicking of countless cameras.
But none of this has happened for ten years, since the Formula 1 record world champion’s skiing accident on December 29, 2013 in the French Alps. No words, no images, no encounters. And yet interest in the fate of the racing driver who lives on Lac Léman remains unbroken.
It may seem macabre to mark the anniversary of an accident. But it is part of the incredible magic of the first German champion in the premier class. The shock waves may have diminished, but they have not subsided. They also show that Michael Schumacher is much more than just a successful racing driver.
No excessive speed, no misbehavior – just tremendous bad luck
He survived two decades in a high-risk sport and was able to endure many serious accidents in a racing car, but then a stone covered with only a little snow on the ski slope in Méribel became his undoing. This triggers a fall onto another stone and Schumacher suffers a traumatic brain injury. The NZZ wrote at the time: “It’s a fight to the death, but it’s not a race.”
This is how ARD reported on the skiing accident.
Youtube
This is followed by emergency operations, weeks of fear, a lengthy artificial coma, the transfer home and the complete withdrawal from the public. The public prosecutor’s office confirmed that neither excessive speed nor other misconduct was involved. Just incredibly bad luck. The oft-used word “serious” had taken on a prominent face. This evil twist of fate astonishes people then and now. And the question always remains the same: How is Michael Schumacher?
Only those who live with him in the Vaud village of Gland or are allowed to come and go there know the answer to this. The Schumachers’ property is surrounded by a lot of greenery, but at the same time by an invisible wall of trust and silence. That was always the case during the career of the soon to be 55-year-old, under far different circumstances of course: his private life was an absolute taboo zone.
At the beginning of his career, Michael Schumacher was shy, later cautious, and finally consistent. Even if someone accidentally touched on something too private, the conversation ended in the middle and their facial features hardened. “He never fully opened his sights, never showed the full Michael Schumacher,” said his manager Sabine Kehm, who has accompanied him since 2000. There were always these two Schumachers: the unscrupulous racing driver – and the caring family man.
The only explanation in a decade about his condition comes from his wife Corinna in a Netflix biography. She says: “It’s very clear that I miss Michael every day, and not just me. Everyone misses Michael.” Yes: “But Michael is there. Different, but it’s there. And that gives us all strength. We do everything we can to make sure he feels good and better and that he feels the solidarity of the family. Michael has always protected us – and now we protect Michael.”
The trailer for the Netflix documentary.
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Nothing more should be said, and as in active times, the mystery contributes its part to the myth. Nobody has a right to a picture, but the injured person has a right to dignity.
The tabloid press won’t let up
The hunt for pictures, quotes and descriptions of the condition began in the Grenoble clinic, where the helicopter had flown him. A journalist tried to smuggle himself into the intensive care unit disguised as a priest, and later an employee of the Swiss Air Rescue Service is said to have tried to sell the medical files – and ultimately committed suicide.
Tasteless reports kept appearing in the tabloid press. The “Bunte” had to pay a fine of 50,000 euros for the claim “It’s more than a Christmas miracle – Michael Schumacher can walk again” because of the violation of personal rights. This spring, a first interview appeared in “Die Aktuelle” as a supposed global sensation. It was invented with the help of artificial intelligence, and the editor-in-chief couldn’t even save the addition “It sounds deceptively real.” Already in 2016, the newspaper had an inadmissible headline: “He is no longer with us.”
Seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher had an accident while skiing in the French Alps and was put into an induced coma in Grenoble hospital. On August 30, 1992 he celebrated his first Grand Prix victory. A look at his extraordinary career.
The lawyer Felix Damm knows well what is going on with Michael Schumacher, he has been the Schumachers’ press lawyer for 15 years, and he not only has a legal but also a plausible explanation for why there shouldn’t be anything new officially. Because every bulletin wouldn’t have been the end of it; there would have always been further questions that could even have been sued under certain circumstances. “Voluntary self-disclosure” is what the law calls this.
The fans are afraid of the truth
Not only is the fascination among fans unbroken, Schumacher stories are always big media stories. There are many who insist that they have a right to information about health status. The vast majority of fans, at least as their posts on social networks suggest, are also afraid of what they would see. What would such a picture give you – but above all: what could it take?
Many prefer to preserve the memory of a shining hero; they accept that there is nothing new from the family, with the exception of the sporting news about their son Mick, who was on the slopes in Méribel at the time. The fact that something happened to Michael Schumacher, the hero of speed, that tens of thousands of others have already had to experience, makes him tangible in a certain way, almost approachable. In fact, for many, the relationship has intensified as a result of the tragedy. It’s amazing how your entire life can change in one fell swoop.
Michael Schumacher won 91 Formula 1 races, he became world champion seven times, but his glory extends beyond the sport and far beyond Germany. Maybe Boris Becker or Franz Beckenbauer, maybe even Dirk Nowitzki, can compete with him here. Schumacher enjoys a high reputation, especially in Asia, and his popularity remains unbroken. When he only finished twelfth at the Formula 1 premiere in China in 2004, a local reporter angrily accused him: “A Schumacher doesn’t lose!”
Michael Schumacher cemented German virtues: tireless working, perfectionist, successful. But he also had to serve as an image of the ugly German for his recklessness on the slopes. “If an athlete manages to have his name almost synonymous with the sport he practices, then that’s no longer possible,” his manager Sabine Kehm recently told the German Press Agency. «Someone hears Michael’s name and they immediately think of Formula 1. Only the really big ones have managed that. Ultimately, Michael personifies Formula 1.”
That was Michael Schumacher’s unique career.
Youtube
These days, even the alternative “TAZ”, which even in times of the “Schumi” boom with ten million or more viewers during Formula 1 broadcasts, was silent about motorsport, dedicated a few lines to Schumacher. In her reflection on the ARD documentary series “Being Michael Schumacher”, which will be broadcast on December 28th, the author comes to the conclusion: “Michael Schumacher is actually more than a person – a big story that is very important for many people .» This is matched by the record-breaking 1.5 million accesses to the station’s media library in the first three days.
Lewis Hamilton continues to race against Michael Schumacher
For his compatriot Sebastian Vettel, who is also a four-time world champion, it is his always visible results and the special character that make Schumacher unforgettable despite all the fast pace of motorsport. Schumacher gave him support: “Because there was someone who showed what was possible.”
Schumacher also remains present in the current Formula 1 paddock; everyone is still measuring himself against him, even Lewis Hamilton, his first successor as long-term winner. The Brit also became world champion seven times, and he is probably still racing at 38 because he wants to surpass Schumacher in terms of titles. Talents are still quickly given the attribute “the new Schumacher”; this is most likely the case with world champion Max Verstappen, who resembles the German in terms of talent, ruthlessness towards himself and others, and rapid personality changes.
Just as Ayrton Senna has never been forgotten, in Formula 1 they continue to think of Michael Schumacher, who redefined the profession of racing driver. The generation that is now driving was already old enough to consciously take him as a role model. As a champion of safety after Senna’s death, the full throttle industry has a lot to thank him for.
The Keep Fighting Foundation was founded seven years ago. The Schumacher family, encouraged by the great sympathy, wants to continue the charitable work that was always important to Michael Schumacher. This included the founding of an institute for brain research in France. The foundation uses a quote from the racing driver as a message: “I have always believed in never giving up and always fighting on, even if there is only the slightest chance.”
