MICHAEL Schumacher’s pal has said the F1 legend’s injuries are “still hard to accept” ten years on from his devastating ski accident in the French Alps.
The Ferrari ace, 54, has not appeared publicly nor have details of his health condition been revealed since 2013, when a blow to the head left him in a medically-induced coma for 250 days.
In a heartbreaking update, former F1 driver Timo Glock told MegaDice.com: “It doesn’t matter about the tenth anniversary.
“Every year when that date comes up everyone gets reminded and thinks about it and what would be if things had gone differently a more positive way.
“That is life but it is hard to accept because he is such a legend for the sport and for sure, for the family, it is not an easy time.”
He added: “I have a lot of respect for the family and I am not a fan of speculating if you don’t know what is going on in the background.
Read more on Schumacher
“How they deal with it is something we can only respect and accept it how it is.”
Timo revealed is still in “very good contact” with the Schumacher family and the legend’s son, Mick.
“I met him a lot of times during the season at Grand Prix weekends discussing his future and he was asking me what I would recommend,” he said.
“I would never be the person to ask anything personal about his father.”
Most read in Motorsport
The ex-F1 racer went on to say how he believes his father’s crash must take a toll on 24-year-old Mick.
“Every son who had a father in F1 had a lot of pressure, Alain Prost’s son, Jean Alesi for instance, they all have the pressure of that name,” Timo explained.
“If you add in what Mick went through with the accident with his dad, he had three or four times more pressure on his shoulders.
“Having the Schumacher surname – we can’t imagine how hard it would have been for him.”
Michael Schumacher’s old pal also believed Mick was let down by Haas boss Guenther Steiner when starting F1 career.
“I hope he [Mick] has the chance to show his real talent, and he was not able to show that in F1 in the circumstances he had with the Haas team,” he said.
“Guenther Steiner, in my opinion, did not do his job in the right way to support a young driver coming through with such pressure on his shoulders.
” I think he could have delivered differently if the people around him in the team had been right. That would have made a huge difference for him.
Timo added: “After F3 and F2 he went into F1 blind. This would have been the time when Michael, his father, could have been very supportive for him and would have had the right tips and been there to help in both the good and bad situations.
“How Mick handled the pressure for someone so young was outstanding. The weight on his shoulder was a lot and he still managed to deliver in F1.
“But it would have been different if the team and Guenther Steiner had been properly behind him.”
Timo Glock had previously said Schumacher’s health condition must be kept private.
His heartbreaking update comes after Schuey’s ex-manager said he has no “hope” of seeing the F1 legend again.
Willi Weber revealed that he had received “no positive news” after allegedly being shut out of the racing star’s life for the last 10 years.
The long-term manager of the seven-time F1 champion, Weber, 81, has now opened up about how never believes he will see his former protégé again.
He told the Cologne Express: “When I think of Michael now, unfortunately I don’t have anymore hope that I will see him again.
“No positive news after ten years.”
He also recalled how gutted he felt about not being able to see Schumacher immediately after the accident.
“Of course, I regret that very much and blame myself. I should have visited Michael in the hospital. I mourned like a dog after his accident.”
After three or four years of allegedly being shut out of Schumacher’s life, Weber said: “For me it was clear: ‘Well, now it’s over. This crap needs to get out of my head'”.
Back in 2017, Weber extraordinarily accused the racing legend’s family of not being honest to the public about the Schumacher’s condition.
“I find it very unfortunate that Michael’s fans do not know about his health.
“Why are they not being told the truth?”
And in July last year, Weber once again made headlines by demanding that the Schumacher family come out with the truth about his health.
He said he was still “angry” that he had not been kept informed once since the F1 legend’s ski accident.
He told Italian sports publication Gazetta dello Sport: “I tried hundreds of times to contact Corinna and she didn’t answer.
“I called Jean Todt to ask him if I should go to the hospital and he told me to wait – it’s too early.
“They kept me out, telling me it’s too early, well now it’s too late. It’s been nine years. Maybe they should just say it the way it is.”
Read more on The Sun
Weber has been credited with discovering Schumacher in 1989 when he signed him up to his F3 team.
He has previously said that the racing great was “like a son to me”.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
