A former friend of Michael Schumacher has shed light on the inner workings of the visiting rules for the ‘inner circle’ that surrounds the stricken Formula One legend.
12 years ago on Sunday, Schumacher suffered a horror ski crash while holidaying in the French Alps with his family, which fractured the former Ferrari driver’s skull and saw him placed into a medically induced coma following a number of significant brain surgeries.
Since leaving hospital in September 2014, Schumacher has been rehabilitating at the family’s £50million home in Gland, on the banks of Lake Geneva.
Schumacher’s wife Corinna has maintained an atmosphere of strict privacy around those who are allowed to visit her husband, with just nine people – including his former Ferrari boss and closest friend Jean Todt – thought to be allowed access to the ex-driver.
But as former Red Bull Head of Operations Richard Hopkins stressed, public details are scant.
‘I think it’s fairly clear. There are only two, three, four people that we know of (who can visit Schumacher),’ Hopkins, who became close acquaintances with Schumacher in the paddock, said. ‘There are probably others.
Michael Schumacher (pictured in 2003) is fiercely protected by his family after suffering a horror skiing accident 12 years ago
Only Schumacher’s closest acquaintances like former Ferrari boss Jean Todt (right, in 2006) are permitted to visit the Formula One icon
‘Michael had friendships with people who weren’t owners of Formula One teams, or racing drivers, so I’m sure there are people who probably see him that we just don’t know about, because we don’t know there names,’ he added in conversation with SPORTbible.
Amid the family’s strict code of silence on Schumacher’s condition, Corinna and her children Gina-Marie and Mick have been forced to endure numerous privacy breaches.
This year saw the family fall victim to a blackmail attempt which threatened to leak details concerning his health to the public.
Three men including Schumacher’s former bodyguard Markus Fritsche, were on trial after hard drives containing confidential pictures, videos and medical records were stolen from a computer.
Nightclub bouncer Yilmaz Tozturkan, and his IT expert son Daniel Lins, denied blackmail and insisted they were offering the Schumacher family a ‘business deal’.
In February, Tozturkan was sentenced to three years in prison, but is free on €10,000 bail, while Lins was given a six-month suspended sentence, and after denying any involvement, Fritsche was given a two-year suspended sentence.
But Hopkins denied claims that Schumacher is under strict daily security, adding that he was sure the seven-time world champion was ‘not behind armed guards at his bedroom door’.
‘But there are fairly strict rules, and we don’t talk about those rules,’ he added.
Schumacher’s wife Corinna was forced to take a tougher stance after the family fell victim to a blackmail plot in recent years
‘I’m not going to try and visit Michael, because I know that’s not going to happen, and I’m one of thousands in that position of knowing it’s not possible.
‘If you’re Jean Todt, your friendship is at the point where that’s okay. I don’t think there’s a written rule or a list of names. It’s just one of those known things.’
Speaking at the appeal trial regarding the blackmail attempt at Wuppertal Regional Court, Schumacher’s former manager acknowledged that Corinna and her children had taken a ‘tougher stance’ in the wake of the plot to protect Schumacher.
‘The breach of trust has led to the family maintaining a greater distance from the people who work for them, to being more cautious,’ Kehm said, as reported by BILD.
‘I personally find it extremely perfidious that they want to exploit the suffering like this, so it’s clear why the family is taking a tougher stance towards their loved ones.
‘Even if you separate and aren’t happy about it, that doesn’t justify something like this. Corinna is watching this with bitterness.
‘And it’s obvious that certain media outlets will send photographers back to the site. It makes you feel somewhat restricted.’
Along with Todt and the Schumacher family, other names in the sporting world believed to have visited the F1 icon include fellow former drivers Gerhard Berger, Luca Badoer, and Felipe Massa, and former Benetton and Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn.
