THE future daughter-in-law of Formula One icon Michael Schumacher is among the few people allowed inside the families secretive inner circle.
Mick Schumacher got engaged to long-term partner and Danish model Laila Hasanovic, 23, over the weekend with hopes growing that Michael may be able to attend the ceremony.
It comes after Laila was reportedly given a vote of confidence by the Schumacher’s to see Michael, 55, earlier this year.
Only a handful of people have been allowed to know the latest on the former Ferrari, Mercedes and Benetton legend since his tragic ski crash over a decade ago.
Michael was left in a coma for 250 days and is believed to have needed around-the-clock care ever since.
Very little has been made public on Michael’s health status since the accident with his loving wife Corinna choosing to keep his life private.
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But Laila has proven herself as a trusted member of Corinna’s exclusive inner circle since becoming loved up with Mick over two years ago.
The lovers regularly share cute photos to their millions of followers on social media with Laila announcing their engagement via her Instagram.
The lingerie model comes from Copenhagen and has Bosnian roots.
She was first seen by Schumacher’s side at the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix.
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Since then the former Miss Denmark finalist and Mick have gone from strength to strength with her regularly being included in family events.
The family are said to be “smitten” with the model, according to German newspaper Bild.
They also say she is the only girlfriend of Mick’s who has ever seen Michael.
Laila has even paid tribute to Michael on social media in the past with a touching tribute.
In March she posted a series of photos to her 300,000 Instagram followers showing off her handbag and room.
In one of the snaps her AirPod case can be seen with the iconic number 47 logo emblazoned on it.
Fans of Michael quickly spotted the 47 which is still seen as synonymous with the driver as he drove under that number.
THE INNER CIRCLE
Since 2013, Corinna has been creating a private world around Michael as he continues his recovery.
This includes forming a tight knit group of people allowed to see the icon and those who can’t due to fear of his private life being leaked.
Schumacher is said to have regular meetings with his former teammate Luca Badoer at Ferrari.
As well as his manager Sabine Kehm – who is arguably the closest non-family member to Michael both before and after the accident.
The third member of the circle is Jean Todt who has been close to Michael for over 30 years.
The pair reportedly still watch F1 races together but Todt has admitted in the past that the F1 legend “is no longer the Michael we knew” before the accident.
Ex-Ferrari ace and Michael’s teammate Felipe Massa – regarded as “Michael’s younger brother” – has also been allowed to see his old pal occasionally.
Corinna has also been forced to make the tough decision and cut certain people out of Michael’s life in recent years.
Some of these people include ex-teammate Rubens Barrichello, former manager Will Weber and ex-F1 team boss Eddie Jordan.
Weber once made sensational claims that “we have only heard lies” from the distraught family.
It comes after Michael appeared for the first time among people outside of inner circle earlier this year.
The seven-time F1 champion is said to have attended the marriage of his daughter Gina, 27, to Iain Bethke, in a private ceremony in Spain.
The pair tied the knot in Majorca, at the family’s luxury villa, near the upmarket resort of Port d’Andratx.
Schumacher’s attendance has never been confirmed by the family but reports claim he was at the event.
All guests were told to leave their mobile phones at the door with no media allowed near to the villa.
MICHAEL’S TRAGIC ACCIDENT
The retired seven-times world champion, and his then 14-year-old son Mick set off on the Combe de Saulire ski run in the exclusive French resort of Meribel in December 2013.
The pair were skiing down the mountain when tragedy struck for Michael.
Footage from his helmet camera revealed he his skis struck a rock hidden beneath the snow.
He was not travelling at excessive speed when the freak accident happened.
He catapulted forward 11.5ft and crashed into a boulder head first that split his helmet into two.
Michael was quickly airlifted to hospital where he underwent two life-saving operations.
Doctors later said the headgear is the only reason he’s still alive.
Michael was then placed in a medically induced coma to try to reduce the swelling and in the decade since the F1 superstar has never been seen in public and health updates have been very rare.
Mick has found the years since incredibly tough, according to former driver Johnny Herbert.
Herbert said: “Mick has said he could always talk to Michael about racing before the accident. That is one of the saddest things for any sportsman.
“It would have been a very important part of his development at that time. But Mick never had that unfortunately. He just had that relationship up until the skiing accident.”
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Stricken Schumacher has spent much of his time since at the £27million Majorcan villa.
It is believed to have been adapted allowing a team of doctors and nurses to provide the perfect care.
What happened to Michael Schumacher?
MICHAEL Schumacher’s life was hanging by a thread 10-years-ago as medics tried desperately to keep him alive after a tragic skiing crash that left him with horrific brain injuries.
The F1 legend was given the best possible treatment as he was put into a medically induced coma, had his body temperature lowered and underwent hours of tricky operations on his brain.
Back in 2013, the retired seven-time world champion, and his then 14-year-old son set off on the Combe de Saulire ski run in the exclusive French resort of Meribel.
Footage from his helmet camera revealed he was not travelling at excessive speed when his skis struck a rock hidden beneath the snow.
He catapulted forward 11.5ft and crashed into a boulder head first that split his helmet into two and left him needing to be airlifted to hospital for two life-saving operations.
At one point his family were told to brace themselves for the worst case scenario as the situation was much worse than originally believed.
At the time, medics said Schumacher was likely to stay in an induced coma for at least 48 hours as his body and mind recovered.
But the coma ended up lasting 250 days – more than eight months.
After he woke up in June 2014, he was discharged from hospital and sent to his home in Lake Geneva to get further treatment.
Since then his wife Corinna and his inner circle of friends have expertly avoided almost anything leaking out about his health status.
Only small amounts of information have been released including reports that Schumacher was in a wheelchair but can react to things around him.
In 2019, it was said that Schumacher was set to undergo breakthrough stem cell therapy in a bid to regenerate and rebuild his nervous system.
Renowned France cardiologist Dr Philippe Menasche, who had operated on him previously, was set to carry out the treatment that would see cells from his heart go to his brain.
Following the treatment at the Georges Pompidou Hospital in Paris, he was said to be “conscious”, although few other details were given about his state.
Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
