Formula One legend Michael Schumacher is reportedly no longer bed-bound, twelve years on from his horrific ski accident that left him with life changing injuries
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F1 star Michael, with his brother, Ralf Schumacher(Image: ullstein bild via Getty Images)
Michael Schumacher was a seven-time F1 world champion when he tragically suffered a skiing accident in the French Alps that left him with life-changing injuries.
Although it has been years since the stricken Formula 1 legend was last seen publicly, he is reportedly improving, and can now sit up and is no longer bedridden after more than a decade of physical therapy.
He suffered a devastating head injury in the incident in December 2013, while skiing off-piste in the French Alps when he tumbled and struck his head on a rock. His loved ones formed a ring of steel around him after the horrific incident, with the sporting legend placed in a medically induced coma for months after the horrific accident.
Now 57, he has allegedly improved, with the Daily Mail reporting that he can now sit up and be wheeled around by medical staff. “You can’t be sure whether he understands everything because he cannot tell anyone,” a source close to the family told the newspaper. “The feeling is that he understands some of the things going on around him, but probably not all of them.”
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Michael Schumacher is considered to be one of the greatest drivers in the history of Formula One(Image: AFP)
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Schumacher suffered life-changing injuries in a skiing accident(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Schumacher is looked after at the family’s Lake Geneva home and only immediate family, trusted close friends and medical staff know details of his health. In 2023, Die Aktuelle, a German women’s interest weekly, promoted an interview with the F1 legend, only for it to be revealed at the end of the article that the quotes were generated by artificial intelligence. The publishers had to pay £170,000 in compensation, and the editor was fired.
His devoted wife Corinna has been fiercely protective of his privacy, with callous blackmailers attempting to exploit her efforts.
Blackmail attempt
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Markus Fritsche was part of a three-man gang attempting to blackmail his former employer(Image: Facebook/markus.fritsche)
More than 1,000 photos and videos showing Michael in the years following his horrific skiing accident are still missing following a cruel blackmail plot.
Last year, Yilmaz Tozturkan, a nightclub bouncer, was jailed for trying to extort nearly £13 million from the family. The F1 legend’s former bodyguard Markus Fritsche obtained confidential pictures, videos and medical records of the Formula One ace, who has not been since publicly since a life-changing ski accident. In 2013. Fritsche, who is in his 50s, passed the downloaded material to Tozturkan, who said he would “upload them on to the dark web” unless money was paid.
Tozturkan’s IT expert son Daniel Lins, 30, was also involved in the plot, which saw his father jailed for three years. Fritsche was handed a two year suspended sentence and Lins a six month suspended sentence. Schumacher’s family saw the plot as the ultimate betrayal carried out by a former employee who was part of their trusted, very small inner circle.
Sadly, this wasn’t the first occasion Corinna and her family have faced blackmail threats. In 2017, one extortionist was imprisoned after threatening to murder Michael and Corinna’s children unless a 900,000€ ransom was handed over. Officers didn’t take long to catch the perpetrator, however, as he’d foolishly provided his own banking information whilst making the demands.
‘Sex attack’
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Racing driver Joey Mawson has been accused of rape(Image: )
Australian racing driver Joey Mawson has been accused of raping one of Michael Schumacher’s nurses at the mansion of the seven-time Formula One world champion. No member of the Schumacher family are implicated in the case.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office’s indictment accuses Mawson of raping one of Schumacher’s nurses while she was unconscious after a night of vodka cocktails. It’s added that the unnamed nurse was a live-in carer for Schumacher, who is believed to require round-the-clock care after his tragic skiing accident back in 2013. Court documents allege that Mawson was staying at Schumacher’s home on the night – said to be November 23, 2019 – when the incident happened.
Australian racer Mawson, 29, is alleged to have raped the unconscious woman twice at Schumacher’s mansion in Gland, Switzerland. Mawson was playing pool in the billiard room with two other members of Schumacher’s staff when the alleged victim joined them after a tiring shift. After the nurse had been taken to bed, Mawson is alleged to have returned to her and raped her unconscious body. The nurse filed a criminal complaint a little over two years later, in January 2022.
Mawson denies the charge and claimed their relationship was close and consensual. He also claims that they had previously shared a kiss at a Geneva nightclub. A trial was formally opened in October 2025, despite Mawson’s absence in court. It was then adjourned to “a date to be fixed”, The Sun reports..
Living ‘like a prisoner’
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Corinna Schumacher pictured in 2022 with her daughter, Gina-Maria(Image: Getty Images)
In a chat with The Sun in March 2023, former F1 supremo and family pal Eddie Jordan described how the relentless strain of the circumstances has left Michael’s wife Corinna living ‘like a prisoner’. He revealed: “This was the most horrific situation for Mick and Corinna. It’s been nearly ten years now and Corinna has not been able to go to a party, to lunch or this or that, she’s like a prisoner because everyone would want to talk to her about Michael when she doesn’t need reminding of it every minute.”
Eddie was the one who gave Michael his first major opportunity in Formula 1, handing him his debut at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix when the motorsport legend was just a 22 year old rising talent. In the same interview, Eddie revealed how he’d been prevented from visiting Michael following his accident, with Corinna only allowing a handful of selected visitors.
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‘Villa La Reserve’ is the home of F1 icon Michael Schumacher in Gland, Switzerland(Image: Getty Images)
He said: “I made an effort to go see Michael in the early days and Corinna refused, and rightfully so because too many people wanted to go see him. Jean Todt was given the privilege to go see him because of how close they were from their time together at Ferrari which is completely understandable.
“I was not able to go see Michael and they said, ‘We love you Eddie and we’ve been involved with you for a very long time, but we do need privacy and safeguard of Michael’.”
Michael and Corinna, both 57, met in 1991 and tied the knot in 1995. They later had two children, Gina and Mick, who are now both in their twenties. Prior to his accident, Michael frequently praised his devoted wife, once calling her his ‘guardian angel’ during an appearance on German television.
Corinna, who seldom speaks about her husband’s condition, has previously described the toll this struggle has taken on their family. She explained: “We’re together. 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.”