WITH fists pumping and arms aloft, racing great Michael Schumacher celebrated his many victories with the same energy as his driving.
And that is how the Formula One team boss who turned the German legend into a champion three decades ago prefers to think of him.
Not as the incapacitated survivor of a horrific skiing accident that Schumacher is said to have become.
Italian businessman Flavio Briatore said this week: “If I close my eyes. I see him smiling after a victory.
“I prefer to remember him like that rather than him just lying on a bed.”
Flavio’s comments reveal the day-to-day struggles faced by the now-reclusive sporting hero, who once epitomised the swashbuckling spirit of adrenaline sport.
Schumacher, 56, would go wheel-to-wheel with rivals at extreme speeds on the scariest of bends en route to a record-breaking seven Formula One world championships.
Off the track he would party with pals, smoke big cigars, sky dive, scuba dive and fly helicopters.
‘Michael communicates with his eyes’
But nothing has been seen of Michael since his near-fatal crash on Alpine slopes in France on December 29, 2013.
Rumours of medical miracles, appearances, fresh photos and interviews frequently spread online.
But a Formula One insider tells The Sun that like Flavio, the world needs to get used to not seeing Michael’s beaming smile anymore.
Craig Scarborough, who has been covering the sport for around 25 years and interviewed Michael many times, reveals: “I spoke to someone who is very, very close to him and they just explained we’re not going to hear any more from him.
“He’s in a comfortable position as far as he can be with his state of health.”
It has been reported that only three people see Michael at his secluded home on the Spanish island of Majorca.
Even Flavio, 75, who has been a close friend of Michael since they began working together at the Benetton racing team in 1991, has not seen him for a while.
But the Italian says he “often” speaks to Michael’s wife Corinna, 56.
Much of her time is said to be consumed by maintaining her husband’s care and keeping the exact details of his current health condition a secret.
And Corinna has also had to cope with the distress of dealing with a blackmail plot.
Yilmaz Tozturkan, 53, and his son Daniel Lins, 30, threatened to publish videos and pictures of Michael unless they were given £12million.
Security guard Markus Fritsche had copied the private material while working for the Schumachers and sold it to the two men.
In February the trio were found guilty of their part in the blackmail plot.
Fritsche was given a two-year suspended sentence, while Tozturkan was jailed for three years and Lins was given a six-month suspended prison sentence by a German court.
Corinna wanted a harsher sentence for Fritsche.
She said: “What still shocks me most is the massive breach of trust.
“He should receive a punishment for this that deters others from potentially doing the same.”
And last October stories emerged claiming that Michael had attended the wedding of his daughter Gina, 27, in Majorca.
Guests and staff had to hand over their mobile phones, while security guards made sure no one could snoop on the ceremony or party.
But Michael’s former Benetton teammate Johnny Herbert said: “From what I understand, that was all fake news.”
We do everything we can to make Michael better and to make sure he’s comfortable.
Corinna Schumacher
While it remains possible that Schumacher did attend the wedding in a wheelchair, another story was definitely made up.
Last year Corinna successfully sued German magazine Die Aktuelle for claiming on its cover “Michael Schumacher, the first interview!”
In fact the quotes had been generated by artificial intelligence.
What no outsider can be sure about is whether Michael could give an interview if he wanted to.
There have been conflicting accounts of his health condition.
When Michael’s head hit a boulder in the skiing accident 12 years ago, it split his helmet in two.
The brain injury was so serious that he spent 250 days in a coma.
The best medical treatment that money could buy brought the sports star, worth £468million, back to consciousness.
There had been rumours that further treatment in Paris had allowed Michael to take small steps, but that was later dismissed.
Most people in the know indicate that he is unable to talk, although it is possible he could use eye movements to send messages like the late scientist Stephen Hawking did.
In 2020 Flavio’s former wife Elisabetta Gregoraci claimed: “Michael doesn’t speak, he communicates with his eyes.”
Friends do visit and he still follows sports.
Former Ferrari F1 chief Jean Todt said: “I can see him but of course, what I miss is what we used to do together.
“I watch Grand Prix with Michael.”
Corinna also indicated there was an attempt to maintain normality in difficult circumstances.
She said in a 2021 Netflix documentary: “We’re together.
“We live together at home.
“We do therapy.
“We’re trying to carry on as a family’
“We do everything we can to make Michael better and to make sure he’s comfortable. And to simply make him feel our family, our bond.
“And no matter what, I will do everything I can. We all will.
“We’re trying to carry on as a family, the way Michael liked it and still does.”
I hope they can find happiness in the situation they find themselves in.
Craig Scarborough
It was reported by German media, ahead of the ten-year anniversary of his skiing accident in 2023, that Schumacher receives 24-hour care from a team of up to 15 people.
He has been driven in a Mercedes road car, and played sounds from the F1 track, to stimulate his brain with familiar noises.
There has been plenty of good family news to lift Michael’s spirits.
Last month he became a grandfather for the first time when Gina gave birth to her daughter Millie.
And his son Mick, 26, is said to have found love with Danish model Laila Hasanovic, 23, who is reportedly trusted enough to have visited Michael.
Mick, who spent two years as a F1 driver, was only 14 when his dad suffered the debilitating head injury.
In the Netflix documentary he said he would give “anything” to talk to him about the sport again.
He commented: “I think dad and I would understand each other in a different way now, simply because we speak a similar language, the language of motorsport, and we would have a lot to talk about.
“That’s where my head is at most of the time, thinking that would be so cool. I’d give anything just for that.”
Craig reckons having close personal time with Mick and other family members is vital for the stricken motorsports star.
Physical workload
He says: “I think a lot of people demand stuff from him and I think that’s wrong.
“He is himself, and his family have a lot to contend with.
“Until you’ve cared for somebody, I don’t think anyone realises the emotion and the physical workload.
“The fact that they have been bold enough to withdraw from public life and not be tempted to do exclusives out there to various people, I think, is noble, and I hope that continues.
“I hope they can find happiness in the situation they find themselves in.”
Like Flavio, Craig is more comfortable talking about the Michael people knew before the ski tragedy.
He says: “He was a guy who enjoyed his personal time.
“He loved his family.
“He did lots of lovely things.
“He clearly liked a drink.
“He loved a big cigar.
“But he had lots of time to bring up his son.”
While it is understandable that Michael’s army of fans want to hear from him again, they may have to make do with recalling his past glories.
There were certainly more than enough of them for Flavio and others to remember.
