As Michael Schumacer reportedly turns an astonishing corner in his health journey, the Mirror takes a look at the Formula One legend’s 12-year struggle behind closed doors
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Michael Schumacher is reportedly no longer bedbound(Image: Formula 1 / Netflix)
Last month, the family of Michael Schumacher marked exactly 12 years since their lives changed forever, following a catastrophic ski accident. Now, in a rare and extraordinary update, it’s been revealed that the Formula One legend is no longer bedbound.
Michael has not been seen publicly since Christmastime 2013, after he sustained life-altering injuries while skiing in Meribel, in the French Alps. After venturing off-piste, the now 57-year-old struck his head on a rock, with such force that the shell of his helmet cracked.
Left with severe brain trauma, the full nature of Michael’s condition has been kept a tightly guarded secret, with only a few select loved ones allowed to visit him. Public updates have been few and far between, but it’s now beel claimed that Michael has made astonishing progress.
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The catastrophic accident transformed the Formula One star’s existence permanently.(Image: Marcus Brandt, Getty Images)
The F1 legend is now capable of sitting up and can therefore be moved around his estate, the Daily Mail reports. Although he still cannot walk, the German racer is no longer bed-bound and can therefore be wheeled around by nurses and medical staff.
It’s claimed that Michael is not suffering from Locked-in Syndrome, a condition whereby sufferers know what is going on around them but can only respond by blinking. A source quoted as someone close to the family told the publication: “You can’t be sure whether he understands everything because he cannot tell anyone. The feeling is that he understands some of the things going on around him, but probably not all of them.”
This glimmer of hope follows years of silence from the Schumachers. Updates have been scarce, but there have been glimpses into the significant challenges the family have endured. Back in 2024, Finnish brain surgeon Dr Jussi Posti told Finnish publication Iltalehti that he believed Michael was unlikely to “lead an active life”.
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The 56-year-old sustained severe brain trauma following a horrific skiing accident(Image: Getty Images, Getty Images)
German broadcaster Felix Gorner has shared similar views in the past, characterising Michael as “a person who can no longer express himself through language,” describing it as “a very sad state of affairs.” The Schumachers have always kept information about Michael’s health fiercely under wraps, but despite the ‘ring of steel’ around the family – they’ve still faced betrayal.
His devoted wife Corinna, 56, son Mick, 26, and daughter Gina-Maria, 28, have faced terrible extortion attempts over the years. In the early months of 2025, three individuals were convicted of exploiting photographs and footage of Michael in a bid to blackmail the Schumacher family for nearly £13million.
More than 900 photographs and nearly 600 video clips, alongside private medical documentation, were secretly extracted from their residence. The delicate material was kept on a pair of hard drives and four USB devices. Officers recovered all except one hard drive, which remains missing.
Only the most trusted individuals are allowed to visit the legend, with the property operating under rigorous security measures. Legal papers from 2025 portrayed Michael as “partially dependent, requiring assistance and visibly affected”. Sources have previously said that Michael expresses himself without speech, primarily through his eyes, with merely a handful of people permitted visits, including former Ferrari figures Jean Todt and Ross Brawn, and former driver Gerhard Berger.
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Insiders say Michael expresses himself without speech, primarily using his eyes(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
During the accident, the motorsport champion’s helmet took the brunt of the impact, but the force was so intense that it split the protective casing and damaged his skull, resulting in brain trauma. He was swiftly airlifted to the hospital, where medical staff performed two emergency operations to relieve cranial pressure.
Initially, it was announced that the icon was battling for survival and remained in a critical state. It wasn’t until April 2014 that the family issued their subsequent update, revealing Michael had experienced “moments of consciousness and awakening”. The following summer, it was confirmed that Michael was out of the coma and was transferred to a rehabilitation facility before returning home to his family.
Late in 2014, fellow former racing driver Philippe Streiff said that Michael was paralysed and relied on a wheelchair. Philippe, a close friend of Michael’s who also uses a wheelchair following a racing accident, explained: “He is getting better, but everything is relative. It’s very difficult. He can’t speak. Like me, he is in a wheelchair, paralysed. He has memory problems and speech problems.” Former Ferrari boss Jean Todt revealed that his remarkable survival was down to Corinna’s unwavering determination – but that it had exacted a toll.
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Last year, the Schumacher family had to deal with a shockingly cruel extortion attempt(Image: Humberto Romero, Getty Images)
He told Bild: ‘I’ve spent a lot of time with Corinna since Michael had his serious skiing accident on December 29, 2013. She is a great woman and runs the family. She hadn’t expected that. It happened suddenly, and she had no choice. But she does it very well. I trust her; she trusts me. Thanks to the work of his doctors and the cooperation of Corinna, who wanted him to survive, he survived – but with consequences.” Corinna has described her husband as “different”, whilst son Mick – who has followed in his father’s footsteps into F1 – said Michael’s condition means he’s unable to communicate.
In 2019, he was extensively reported to have received stem cell therapy in an attempt to restore his nervous system. Le Parisien claimed he was hospitalised for transfusions of anti-inflammatory stem cells, and also cited an anonymous nurse who suggested Michael had displayed signs of improvement. “Yes, he is in my service,” the nurse disclosed. “And I can assure you that he is conscious.”
Nevertheless, the racing legend is said to have suffered muscle wastage and bone deterioration following prolonged bed rest. ‘Close relatives’ allegedly spoke to the French publication Paris Match before his 50th birthday in January 2019. The magazine quoted one as stating: “When you put him in his wheelchair facing the beautiful panorama of the mountains overlooking the lake, Michael sometimes cries.”
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The racing legend is understood to have suffered muscle wastage and bone deterioration following prolonged bed rest(Image: Allsport)
In 2020, reports emerged that Michael had been spending increased time in Majorca. Elisabetta Gregoraci, the former wife of ex-F1 team principal Flavio Briarote, was quoted in Spanish media as saying: “Michael doesn’t speak, he communicates with his eyes. Only three people can visit him, and I know who they are.”
Then, in 2021, Corinna offered a rare glimpse into her husband’s condition in the Netflix documentary SCHUMACHER, confessing she yearns desperately for the man she knew before the tragedy. “I miss Michael every day. But it’s not just me who misses him. It’s the children, the family, his father, everyone around him,” she revealed. “Everybody misses Michael, but Michael is here – different, but here. He still shows me how strong he is every day.”
Confirming that he resides at the family home in Switzerland, Corinna revealed the battle continues to help Michael improve. She said: “We live together at home. We do therapy. We do everything we can to make Michael better and to make sure he’s comfortable. And to simply make him feel our family, our bond. And no matter what, I will do everything I can. We all will. We’re trying to carry on as a family, the way Michael liked it and still does. And we are getting on with our lives. It’s very important to me that he can continue to enjoy his private life as much as possible. Michael always protected us, and now we are protecting Michael.”
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According to Corinna, ‘Michael always protected us, and now we are protecting Michael’(Image: Andreas Rentz, Getty Images)
Since his operations, minimal information has been disclosed about the procedures the star may have undergone. Court documents from 2025 described him as “partly helpless, in need of care and visibly marked” by his injuries.
His son, Mick, who competed for Haas before becoming a reserve driver for Mercedes, has acknowledged his greatest sadness is that he cannot discuss the sport he loves with his father. Speaking in the 2021 doc, Mick stated: “Since the accident, of course, these experiences, these moments that I believe many people have with their parents, are no longer present or to a lesser extent. And in my view, that is a little unfair.
“I think me and dad, we would understand each other in a different way now. Simply because we speak a similar language – the language of motor sport – and that we would have a lot more to talk about. And that is where my head is most of the time. Thinking that would be so cool… I would give up everything just for that.”