Michael Schumacher has not been seen in public since his skiing accident in 2013

View 3 Images

Schumacher’s family have kept Michael’s health a closely-guarded secret(Image: Andreas Rentz, Getty Images)

Michael Schumacher’s family have taken an even stricter approach towards who can see the Formula One legend. The Ferrari icon has been out of the public eye since his life-changing accident 12 years ago.

In December 2013, Schumacher sustained a serious head injury while skiing in the French Alps. After colliding with a rock, he was put into a medically induced coma for several months before being moved back to his family home in Lake Geneva the following year.

Since then, he has been under the continuous care of his wife and medical professionals. The family has kept details of his condition private, allowing only a select few to visit him, despite numerous rumours, stories and even an extortion attempt at leaking such information.

Nightclub bouncer Yilmaz Tozturkan, 54, was sentenced to three years in prison in February this year after plotting to use 900 personal photos and nearly 600 videos of Schumacher to demand £12million from his family.

He threatened to upload them along with confidential medical records onto the dark web. However, Tozturkan is currently free after posting bail worth 10,000 euros (£8,800), according to Bild.

Markus Fritsche, 54, who worked for a security firm responsible for protecting the family home, was accused of conspiring to steal photographs and medical details from a computer and passing them on to Tozturkan. He denied any involvement in the extortion.

Fritsche was handed a two-year suspended sentence at Wuppertal district court, while Tozturkan’s 31-year-old son Daniel Lins was given a six-month suspended sentence for assisting in the plot.

One of the two hard drives which the data was stored on has not been recovered, with the Schumacher family since making it clear that they want a harsher punishment for the trio. During the appeal hearing on November 14, Lins withdrew his appeal, meaning his suspended sentence became legally binding.

View 3 Images

Michael Schumacher was seriously injured in a skiing accident in the Alps(Image: Getty)

He announced he would no longer testify in the trial as the son of the main defendant. His father had also announced shortly before that he would no longer make any statements.

At the appeal trial this month, the Schumachers’ long-serving manager Sabine Kehm spoke about the blackmail attempt as a witness. Kehm, 60, who is one of the few people included in the family’s inner circle, cited the increased mistrust as a result of the ordeal as a reason for Corinna now granting even fewer people access to her husband.

View 3 Images

Few people outside of the Schumacher family have been given access to see the F1 legend(Image: Getty)

Kehm told the court: “The breach of trust has led to the family keeping more distance from the people who work for them, to being more cautious.

“I personally find it extremely perfidious that they want to exploit the suffering like this, so it’s clear that the family is taking a tougher stance towards their members.”

Among those included in the inner circle are Corinna, her children Mick and Gina-Maria Schumacher, Kehm and close Formula One friends Ross Brawn, Jean Todt, Gerhard Berger, Luca Badoer and Felipe Massa.