In a tragic turn of events, F1 legend, Michael Schumacher, was left fighting for his life in hospital after hitting his head on a rock during a skiing accident.
On December 29, 2013, the recently retired star was transported from the French ski resort of Meribel, where he spent the next 250 days in a coma.
Sadly, despite the well wishes of his nearest and dearest and indeed the rest of the sporting world, he’s been unable to make a full recovery.
Speaking with a Swiss newspaper, his good friend Roger Benoit, refused to give a specific update.
When asked, he replied: “No. There is only one answer to this question, and that is what his son Mick gave in one of his rare interviews in 2022 – ‘I would give anything to talk to Dad’.
“This sentence says everything about how his father has been doing for over 3,500 days. A case without hope.”
While almost a decade has passed since the day of the incident, the F1 world is united in hopes of a miracle.
And one motorsports icon has seen first-hand just how much it’s impacted his family.
Michael Schumacher
In an interview with Grosvenor Sport, Johnny Herbert claimed that the crash had changed Michael’s brother Ralf forever.
He said: “When Ralf Schumacher was with Sky Germany, we often met. Ralf has had to do a lot of things for and with the family, given what happened to Michael. He has matured. He is very different now to the person he was as a driver. Ralf is a good human being now. He has changed a lot, having had to cope with the ongoing situation with his brother.”
Furthermore, he discussed the raw emotion he felt upon hearing Benoit’s update.
Herbert added: “There’s never any news. What we do know is we never hear any positive news. That’s the horrible thought that he is still not able to be close to the Michael that we all remember. And that is very sad.”
To this day, the 59-year-old insists that Schumacher had the makings of an all-time great pundit.
He asserted: “I think Schumacher would have made a good pundit. He would have been outspoken. I remember that he was always very aware of what you can and can’t do.
“His character was always in your face, telling you directly if you had done something to him on the track. Remember Spa with David Coulthard. He would have been very good.”
Featured Image Credit: Getty
