One of the most loved personalities in the sporting world, Michael Schumacher, turns 53 on Monday, 3 January. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion retired from the sport in 2012 and held almost every record in the book at the time, before Lewis Hamilton overtook him.
Possibly among the most-celebrated racers in the history of motorsport, he has, unfortunately, not been in the best of health in recent years after a skiing accident post retirement.
The ace German racer won his first two championships with the now-dissolved team Benetton in 1994 and 1995. After which, he went on to set the bar really high with five titles in a row with Ferrari from 2000 to 2004. His stint with Ferrari and the success is well-documented and helped Schumacher cement his spot among the pantheon of greats.
In October, Lewis Hamilton, the British racing driver who races for Mercedes AMG Petronas, overtook Schumacher's record after he won his 92nd Grand Prix.
What Had Happened?
After retirement, which sent shockwaves across the racing fraternity, Schumacher and his son Mick were skiing in the French Alps at Meribel on 29 December 2013 when the legendary sportsperson met with a horrific accident.
While skiing Schumacher crossed an off-piste area and fell, hitting his head on a rock. Schumacher hit the right side of his head on a rock, splitting open the helmet. Doctors worked to remove blood clots from his brain, but some were left because they were too deeply embedded. He suffered a brain injury that has since left him debilitated.
Schumacher, who is in a medically induced coma for about half a year, underwent some major operations in France before he was moved to the University Hospital in Lausanne, Switzerland, for rehabilitation. And since September 2014, he has been recovering at home.
What is the Update on Michael Schumacher?
The family has kept almost all the details about Michael Schumacher’s health private, with his wife Corinna leading the decision-making about what is made public.
Earlier in September 2021, she had said, "He still shows me how strong he is every day. We're trying to carry on as a family."
In a documentary recently, she also said, "Of course I miss Michael every day. But it’s not just me who misses him. The children, the family, his father, everyone around him. I mean, everybody misses Michael, but Michael is still here. Different, but he’s here, and that gives us strength, I find."
Just before the end of 2021, Former Ferrari team boss Jean Todt, who is now president of the FIA, said Michael’s wife Corinna had helped keep him alive after the accident.
"Thanks to the work of his doctors and the cooperation of Corinna, who wanted him to survive, he survived - but with consequences. And right now you are fighting the consequences. We hope that things will slowly but surely improve," he was quoted as saying by Bild.
In 2014, the Telegraph reported the racer was “paralysed and in a wheelchair”.
Todt had said the racer has remained strong. When he spoke to Radio Monte-Carlo in 2019, Todt said that he had watched an F1 race with the driver, and he “keeps on fighting”.
He added, “I’m always careful with such statements, but it’s true.”
Schumacher’s son Mick has taken after his father and started off his Formula 1 career in 2021 with the Haas team.
(With inputs from BBC and Express.co.uk)
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