To the « Michael Schumacher Kart Track and Event Center », this karting center which is 66.6% owned by the Schumacher family and where Michael loved to drive during his adolescence, customers are rare at the end of the year. The XXL posters of the greatest exploits of the Formula 1 icon may still sit on increasingly dilapidated walls, but the « Schumi Fans », the media and the whole of Germany have made up their minds: if the subject of the evolution of his state of health remains sensitive and passionate, it will henceforth only be discussed covertly. In fact, those around him decided that never again would the general public have access to any official information.
For eleven years and this terrible skiing accident in Méribel, no details on Schumacher's real condition have filtered out. “Personally, I turned the page some time ago, breathes Hans-Jürgen, regular customer of the karting center and big fan of the former driver. It is obvious that the family wants to keep their secret and protect their private sphere. We must therefore face the facts, which I respect, even if never having any information makes me sad. All this gives the feeling that he is somewhere already gone. »
“Privacy protection must apply to my client”
This desire of the Schumacher clan to hide forever the state of health of the future grandfather (his daughter Gina Maria recently announced her pregnancy) is confirmed by his lawyer. Specializing in the media, Felix Damm reveals to JDD why “Schumi” fans will remain in the dark.
“The press understood that the protection of privacy must also apply to my client, an exceptional athlete, and that concrete reporting on his state of health was unacceptable, he explains. With the accident, media pressure exploded. I still have in my mind the image of the many journalists who waited for days in front of the Grenoble hospital to obtain information. It was in fact content that fell within the private sphere. Until then, it was taboo. The family could be at risk for allowing further reporting. A court has ruled that speculation about Michael Schumacher's state of health was not justifiable. Of which act. »
The one who has advised the family for fifteen years and is also responsible for protecting the champion's private life adds: “We wondered whether a final statement about his state of health would not be the best solution to protect his privacy. But this obviously would not have been definitive, and it would have been necessary to publish constantly updated reports because we do not have the power to order the media to draw a line under this affair. So we abandoned it. »
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Media fined
While the seriousness of his physical and mental condition remains unknown to the general public, sensational articles like that of the German weekly The current one in 2017 which implied on the “front page” the death of the pilot (“He is no longer with us”) were punished with several heavy fines of around 100,000 euros.
A trial for “alleged attempted extortion” targeting the family of the seven-time world champion even opened in mid-December near Düsseldorf. The main accused and his son, who confessed, allegedly tried to extract 15 million euros from him with the help of a third man also accused, who worked until March 2021 for a security company responsible for monitoring the property of the Schumachers in Gland, Switzerland.
At the center of the case, two hard drives containing images and videos (which would have passed through a nurse) on which the pilot appears on his bed. The main accused allegedly threatened the family to publish them – as well as various health bulletins – on the Internet if his demands were not met, and his son allegedly helped him by creating an untraceable email address. The verdict will be delivered in spring 2025.
Between blackout, crazy rumors and legal actions, the former historic manager of Michael Schumacher deplores this leaden screed, he who has not had the slightest news for several years. “Why this silence? s'interroge Willi Weber. I am very worried. I'm so disgusted that I no longer watch a single F1 Grand Prix. I will never see my friend again. This is something that is difficult to accept, but we have to face the facts. »
The health of Michael Schumacher will therefore remain a subject hermetically closed by his family and protected by his lawyers. In Kerpen, not far from Cologne, where he grew up, the municipality refused to grant “Schumi” the title of honorary citizen of the city, arguing other priorities. As for the building in the Manheim district where he lived with his wife Corinna at the start of their romance, it was recently destroyed. Quite a symbol.
