SHE has been accused of cruelly hiding away Formula One legend Michael Schumacher from the world – and disguising the truth about his condition.
But devoted wife Corinna Schumacher claims she is simply paying back her husband for 24 happy years of marriage by fulfilling his wish for privacy.
Corinna Schumacher claims she is simply paying back her husband for 24 happy years of marriage by fulfilling his wish for privacyCredit: Rex Features
Corinna has been accused of cruelly hiding away F1 legend Michael Schumacher from the world – and disguising the truth about his conditionCredit: LAT Photographic
The German seven-times world champion has not been seen since he suffered a traumatic brain injury after falling while skiing in the French alps on December 28, 2013, and his condition has been shrouded in secrecy.
This week his former manager for 20 years, Willi Weber, said: “I’d like to know how he’s doing and shake hands or stroke his face.
“But unfortunately, this is rejected by Corinna. She’s probably afraid that I’ll see right away what’s going on and make the truth public.”
Corinna, 50, has barely spoken to the media, yet just days before Weber’s claims, she gave a rare interview to She’s Mercedes magazine.
In it, she revealed it is her notoriously private husband who has dictated the news blackout.
RARE UPDATE
She said: “He is in the best of hands right now and we are doing everything we can to help him. Try to understand that we follow Michael’s desire to keep his health a secret.”
The racing ace is cared for by a team of ten experts at a specially converted medical facility at his £50million mansion on the shore of Lake Geneva, Switzerland.
Such is the Schumacher obsession with privacy that around the time of his 50th birthday in January, Corinna and the couple’s children Gina-Marie, 22, and Mick, 20, issued a rare official update — but even that gave no indication of Michael’s condition.
It read: “You can be sure that he is in the very best of hands and that we are doing everything humanly possible to help him.
“Please understand if we are following Michael’s wishes and keeping such a sensitive subject as health, as it has always been, in privacy.”
That insistence on privacy also led the family to take a German magazine to court in 2016 for claiming he could walk.
In court, their lawyer Felix Damm revealed that Michael could neither walk nor stand unaided.
Michael’s former boss at Ferrari, Jean Todt, is one of the few friends allowed to visit him. Last year he told a French magazine: “When you put him in his wheelchair facing the beautiful panorama of the mountains overlooking the lake, Michael sometimes cries.”
‘HE KEEPS ON FIGHTING’
In September, Jean revealed he had watched an F1 race with Michael and that he “keeps on fighting”.
He said: “I’m always careful with such statements, but it’s true. I saw the race together with Michael at his home in Switzerland.
“He is in the best hands and is well looked after in his house.”
Michael’s former boss at Ferrari, Jean Todt, is one of the few friends allowed to visit himCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Michael and Corrina together during his glory days at FerrariCredit: EPA
Seven-times world champ Schumy has not been seen since he suffered a traumatic brain injury after falling while skiing in the French alps on December 28, 2013Credit: Rex Features
This week Michael’s former manager of 20 years, Willi Weber, left, with Michael and Corrina, said he’d been barred from seeing his friendCredit: AP:Associated Press
But he did imply Michael still has difficulty talking. He said: “His family is fighting just as much, and of course our friendship cannot be the same as it once was, just because there’s no longer the same communication as before.”
So far Michael’s care is estimated to have cost more than £20million — although money is not a concern for a man who was once the world’s second highest paid athlete.
Pending his recovery, Corinna has taken over running the half-a-billion-pound Schumacher empire — still growing thanks to sponsors including Mercedes, which never deserted him.
Last year she used £27million of their wealth to buy a holiday home in Andratx, Majorca, from the president of Real Madrid, Florentino Perez. It is thought that it is where she, Michael, Gina-Marie and Mick celebrated Michael’s 50th in January.
A source close to the family said: “While they wait for the breakthrough, the practical side of Corinna has come to the fore.
“She is now in charge of Schumacher Inc until the day he is well enough to resume his role.”
In her interview, Corinna also spoke fondly of how grateful she is to Michael.
It was thanks to him that she was able to pursue her passion for horse riding, after he bought her a ranch with 40 horses for their tenth wedding anniversary in 2005.
That gesture is also the reason Gina-Marie is now a gold medal-winning rider.
Corinna said: “I don’t forget who I have to thank for this. That would be my husband Michael.”
It is thought that footage from Michael’s 50th birthday celebrations may be included in a forthcoming documentary to mark 25 years since his first world title in 1994.
If it is included, it would be the public’s first glimpse of the Grand Prix giant since his accident.
The film, titled Schumacher, will feature archive footage as well as interviews with family members such as his dad Rolf, 73, who moved into a house in the family’s grounds after the accident.
FERRARI SUIT
Michael’s children are also set to feature. Their astonishing determination has seen them both become successful in sport — Mick is a Formula 2 racing driver — and each has honoured their dad in their own special way.
Last weekend Gina-Marie competed at a western riding event in Verona, Italy, wearing a red Ferrari racing suit, with her horse decked out in the same branding. This year, she earned top place at the Reining European Champion- ships in Switzerland with the German team.
In the joint magazine interview, Gina recalled how Michael once warned her how much work needs to go into horse riding.
He told her: “When you drive a car, you can stick it in the garage afterwards.
“But a horse needs to be looked after all the time, even on Sundays.”
In January she posted a loving birthday message to “the best Dad” on Instagram, accompanied by an old photo of his racing suit.
In August, Mick — who was just 14 when he witnessed his dad’s ski accident — won his first Formula 2 race in Budapest. He has continued the family link with Ferrari by joining its Driver Academy.
He progresses under the watchful eye of Corinna, who runs PR activities, ensuring he never faces questions about Michael’s condition.
But earlier this year he seemed comfortable talking about his father’s influence. He said: “He’s my idol. He had a huge role in how I’m driving now.
“Being compared to my father was never a problem for me. To be compared to the greatest driver in F1 history is the goal you want, and to have that as my idol and father is very special.”
Michael practises in his Ferrari for the 2006 Japanese Grand PrixCredit: AFP
The glamourous, but intensely private, couple pictured in 1995Credit: Getty – Contributor
Michael’s son Mick, here with Corrina, is tipped to follow his father’s footsteps into Formula OneCredit: Rex Features
Corrina was she was able to pursue her passion for horse riding, after Michael bought her a ranch with 40 horses for their tenth wedding anniversary in 2005Credit: Splash News
Pending his recovery, devoted Corinna has taken over running the half-a-billion-pound Schumacher empire — still growing thanks to sponsors including Mercedes, which never deserted the legendary racerCredit: Rex Features
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
