It’s a very sad anniversary. On December 29, 2013, ten years ago, Michael Schumacher was the victim of a serious skiing accident in the resort of Méribel (Savoie). Since then, very little information has filtered out on the state of health of the former driving prodigy. 20 minutes takes stock of the situation, a decade later.
What happened in 2013?
A few days before his 45th birthday and a year after his second retirement from sports, the German took advantage of the holidays to go skiing in Savoie. As recalled The Team, the seven-time Formula 1 world champion was renowned for being an excellent skier. This December 29, 2013, he is off-piste in the Méribel resort, just at the intersection of a red slope and a blue slope. “He was moving at a normal speed relative to the type of slope, a value that can be estimated between 30 km/h and 40 km/h,” recalls Claude Jacot, the expert from the National Ski School and mountaineering who analyzed his equipment for justice returns to the accident, questioned by The Dauphiné Libéré.
This specialist reviews the probable accident scenario. “The skier hit a first rock, he braked his skis, which caused a forward fall, and he impacted a second rock at the end of the fall. » After Schumacher’s heavy fall, at 11:07 a.m. according to the station director interviewed in 2013, emergency services intervened in the minutes that followed. The champion was taken to hospital by helicopter in critical condition. He suffered from severe head trauma and underwent “neurosurgical intervention”.
“Schumi” was wearing a helmet with a camera attached to it during the accident. The small goal in no way aggravated the injury. “This information which circulated on the on-board camera could be at the origin of the consequences of the fall is only a rumor”, insists Claude Jacot.
Why is nothing filtered on the state of health of Michael Schumacher?
After the announcement of the accident and the transport of the champion, the media machine went into overdrive. As recalled the Team, the Grenoble University Hospital is assailed by journalists who came to inquire about Schumacher’s health and by fans who came to support the driver. Sabine Kehm, Schumi’s agent, has been controlling publications about the German since the accident, to protect Corinna, Michael’s wife, and the children Mick (now an F1 driver) and Gina, both teenagers at the time. of the accident.
“Any information concerning Michael Schumacher that does not come from the doctors or his management should be considered as pure speculation,” his agent had limited himself, as Auto Hebdo clarified. A radical method of communication which bore fruit, without however being able to avoid all the rumours.
Six months after his admission to Grenoble University Hospital, the former Ferrari star was transferred to another establishment, in Lausanne. A Samu caregiver then steals the injured man’s medical file, as indicated The Team, leading to a series of rumors. A German newspaper will thus affirm in 2015 that the former F1 can walk again, and will be sentenced to a heavy fine for disseminating false information.
Since the end of 2014, the man with 91 F1 victories has been treated at home in Gland, Switzerland. In 2021, Schumacher, a documentary about the champion, was released on Netflix, with the family’s blessing. But, as recalled The Parisian, only eight minutes are devoted to the ski accident, without specific answers about his health. “Michael has always protected us, today we protect Michael,” says Corinna, his wife.
What do we know today about Michael Schumacher’s state of health?
Among the rare information that has filtered out over the past decade, we know that the German suffered numerous after-effects after his serious accident. In 2016, Felix Damm, the family’s lawyer, explained that the ex-pilot could no longer walk. Three years later, Michael Schumacher was hospitalized at Georges Pompidou in Paris to carry out an experimental treatment.
A few days ago, his brother Ralf spoke to the German daily Bild explaining that “nothing is the same as before”. “He’s no longer the Michael from before,” explained a few days ago to The Team Jean Todt, his former boss at Ferrari who became a close friend. He is different and is beautifully mentored by his wife and children who protect him. His life is different and I have the privilege of being able to share moments with him. That’s all there is to say. »
Finally, as BFM TV recalls, his son Mick, an F1 driver, confirmed his father’s difficulties in speaking, since he cannot discuss their common passion for motorsport with him. “We have this language in common, motorsport. And we always have a lot to say to each other. I think about it almost all the time. I tell myself that it would be so good, I would give everything so that we could talk to each other,” he confided to the Netflix cameras in 2021.