The fateful day of Michael Schumacher

Formula 1 legend - The fateful day of Michael Schumacher

He could have gone to the sea with lots of sun and beach. The snow was not ideal, Michael Schumacher had told his wife Corinna ten years ago before the upcoming winter vacation in Méribel. Schumacher, a perfectionist after all. "We could fly to Dubai and then go skydiving there," the passionate skydiver had suggested.

But they opted for the mountains, the snow and skiing in the French Alps. Not for the first time: Christmas, New Year's Eve and Michael Schumacher's birthday on January 3. But this was the last time: since the skiing accident in Méribel on December 29, 2013, the soon-to-be 55-year-old Formula 1 record world champion and his family have been leading a different life.

"I believe that in such cases you learn to perceive certain moments differently," son Mick Schumacher told the German Press Agency: "You learn to appreciate the little things." He believes that this could also be an important insight for many other people. "If they focus too much on the bad things and not enough on the nice things that are still there," emphasized Mick Schumacher.

The superstar's son is now 24 years old. He has already raced in Formula 1 for two seasons and will also compete in the endurance classic at Le Mans in 2024, just like his father once did. Mick Schumacher was only 14 when his father crashed in the Méribel ski resort.

Investigators rule out third-party fault

It happened shortly after eleven o'clock on a Sunday morning: "Michael fell on his head during a private ski trip in the French Alps. He was taken to hospital and is receiving professional medical treatment," his spokeswoman Sabine Kehm announced a little later. The drama is not clear from these words. These are hours in which it is already a matter of life and death for the father of two.

The mountain rescuers are still attending to Michael Schumacher when he hits a rock on the edge of a marked slope during a turn and is levered out. He is responsive but confused. The helmet he is wearing is broken in the impact. The skis are only borrowed. The investigating public prosecutor's office will later be able to rule out third-party fault. Schumacher was not traveling fast either.

"Perhaps the most famous German citizen"

A rescue helicopter takes Michael Schumacher to hospital in Moûtiers. However, the head injuries were too severe and he was taken directly to the university hospital in Grenoble. Around one and a half hours have passed. Schumacher undergoes emergency surgery immediately. At this point, the public is still unaware of the accident.

But they will soon find out. "Michael was perhaps the best-known German citizen at the time, and my first thought was that this enormous degree of fame was the reason for the prominent announcement and not the severity of the accident," Norbert Haug told dpa.

He has known Michael Schumacher for many years. Haug was the Mercedes Head of Motorsport when the seven-time champion returned to Formula 1 for the Silver Arrows in 2010. It was a comeback that caused a worldwide sensation, after Schumacher had made his mark on motorsport's premier class from 1991 to 2006 with his seven triumphs, but also in the fight for greater safety. The terrible Imola weekend with the deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna in 1994 had taken an emotional toll on Schumacher in the early years of his career.

Wave of sympathy

The severity of Schumacher's injuries from the skiing accident can only be guessed at first on this December 29, 2013. In addition to his family, Schumacher's long-time companions Jean Todt and Ross Brawn, among others, arrive in Grenoble, where more and more media representatives are also gathering.

"Please get well soon," posted Lukas Podolski, then an international soccer player, on social media. "My thoughts are with Schumi," wrote former basketball star Dirk Nowitzki.

A wave of sympathy breaks out for the fate of the most successful Formula 1 driver to date. Buddy Sebastian Vettel sends another text message: "Heard you had a fall, hope it's nothing worse, get well soon," Vettel says later.

Doctors: "Worried about his condition"

But Schumacher's condition is critical. A "head trauma with coma" is diagnosed, as the attending physicians explain late on Sunday evening. Schumacher has often survived serious accidents in Formula 1 and on a motorcycle without serious injury. 24 hours after his skiing accident, it became sadly clear just how bad the Rhineland-born driver's condition is.

At a press conference on December 30, 2013, doctors declared that his condition was still "extremely serious" and that Schumacher's life was in danger. He has widespread injuries to his brain. "We are concerned about his condition," says a doctor. The doctors are not making any predictions about his chances of survival.

"Like millions of Germans, the Federal Chancellor and the members of the Federal Government were extremely shocked when they learned of Michael Schumacher's serious skiing accident," said government spokesman Steffen Seibert on the same day in Berlin.

Excesses in the fight for information about Schumacher

And the anxiety continued for a long time. At the end of January, Schumacher's manager explained that the anaesthetics had recently been reduced "in order to transfer him to a recovery process that could take a very long time". At the beginning of April 2014, she announced: "Michael is making progress on his journey. He is showing moments of consciousness and awakening."

In mid-June, Kehm let it be known: "Michael has left the CHU Grenoble to continue his long phase of rehabilitation. He is no longer in a coma."

It is not known how Michael Schumacher has been doing since then. There have been attempts to get close to him or otherwise obtain information about his condition. Especially in the early stages. A journalist who disguised himself as a priest and wanted to go to Schumacher's room in hospital is just one example.

"The struggle for reach due to the nascent increase in attention from the internet and social networks is certainly a factor that led to such excesses at the time," says Thomas Horky, Professor of Journalism and Sports Communication at Macromedia University.

Family lawyer: "It was always about protecting privacy"

In August 2014, a high-ranking employee of Swiss Air-Rescue (Rega) was arrested. The investigating authorities opened criminal proceedings against him for breach of professional secrecy. Parts of Michael Schumacher's medical file had previously been offered to various media outlets.

One day after his arrest, the Rega employee is found hanged in his cell. The public prosecutor's office rules out third party involvement.

Michael Schumacher's condition remains a mystery - and this fact a phenomenon. "It was always about protecting privacy," explained the Schumacher family's media lawyer, Felix Damm, in an interview with Legal Tribune Online in October.

"Michael has always protected us, now we are protecting Michael," says Schumacher's wife Corinna in a documentary that has been available to watch on Netflix since 2021. In it, the family, including Corinna, Mick and his sister Gina, also give an insight into life together after the accident for the first time.

"Everyone misses Michael"

"We live together at home, we do therapy, we do everything we can to make Michael feel better and well and that he simply feels our family bond," says Corinna Schumacher.

"It's very clear that I miss Michael every day, and not just me, the children, the family, his father, everyone around him. Everyone misses Michael. But Michael is there, different, but he is there, and that gives us all strength." In any case, she has never "blamed God for why this has happened now", says Corinna Schumacher. Her voice falters. "It was just really bad luck. You can't have more bad luck in life."