It was the cruellest twist of fate that after 19 seasons of Grand Prix racing and 306 starts where his most serious injury was a broken leg, Michael Schumacher would suffer life-changing injuries in a skiing accident in France.
On December 29th, 2013, the seven-time World Champion was skiing in Meribel when, off-piste, he fell and hit his head on a rock.
Fortunately, he was wearing a helmet at the time, but the German suffered a serious head injury and was placed into a medically induced coma in hospital in Grenoble.
He returned home to Switzerland in the summer of 2014, where he receives around-the-clock care.
'Everybody misses Michael, but Michael is here'
Schumacher's wife Corinna, as well as their children Mick and Gina, chose to publicly speak about the skiing accident for the first time in the 2021 Netflix documentary film, Schumacher.
"Of course, I miss Michael every day," Corinna said. "But it's not just me who misses him: the children, the family, his father, everyone around him.
"Everybody misses Michael, but Michael is here. [It's] different, but he's here, and that gives us strength, I find."
Corinna also spoke about the treatment that Schumacher continues to receive 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. 'Private is private', he always said.
"It's very important to me that he can continue to enjoy his private life as much as possible, Michael always protected us, now we are protecting Michael."
"I've always believed that you should never, ever give up and you should always keep fighting even when there's only a slightest chance."
#KeepFightingMichael
Snippets about Schumacher's condition have been released in the decade since the accident, but they are rare.
Jean Todt, the boss of Ferrari during the Schumacher heyday, is one friend permitted to visit, and has spoken of watching Grands Prix with Schumacher, while brother Ralf recently explained that he "misses my Michael."
Earlier in 2023, a magazine purported to have run an interview with Schumacher, but this turned out to be a fake, AI-generated interview, with the editor promptly sacked after an apology.
In Schumacher's name, the Keep Fighting Foundation was launched to continue his charity work, while his F1 legacy has only recently been passed by Lewis Hamilton.
To this day, no driver has won more F1 World Championships than Schumacher and he still holds a whole host of records, including most consecutive titles with five.
#KeepFightingMichael
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