Schumacher’s son to hit the track
Mick Schumacher has his driver’s licence and is heading for the tracks his famous father once ruled
FANS have dubbed him Quick Mick – a nickname that would no doubt make his dad proud. But when Michael Schumacher’s son heads for the racetrack soon, his dad won’t be there to cheer him on. It’s been almost three and a half years since the Formula 1 ace’s tragic skiing accident at the French ski resort of Méribel. While family and fans initially hoped for a full recovery, it’s believed Michael (48) is paralysed, struggles to speak and suffers memory loss.
Michael had been skiing with Mick, then 14, when he apparently veered off the route and fell, smashing his head on a rock. Doctors later said if he hadn’t been wearing a helmet, he’d have been dead.
He was kept in a medically induced coma for six months and was discharged two months after that to recover at his home on the shore of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. But his condition has been shrouded in mystery and his 48-year old wife, Corinna, hasn’t said much about it publicly.
Yet life goes on – and for Mick (now 18) that means following in his father’s footsteps and heading for the track after he got his driver’s licence last month.
“I can hardly wait for the day,” the teen told German newspaper Bild after recently being named an ambassador for Mercedes-Benz.
He’s already an accomplished kart racer who’s been competing – and climbing the rankings – since 2008 under his mother’s maiden name, Betsch. Mick, who has a 20-year-old sister, Gina-Maria, didn’t use the name Schumacher as he didn’t want to attract attention.
“I want to be an F1 world champion, like every driver,” he said when he announced in December he was going to take part in his first Formula 3 race. Almost all serious racers cut their teeth on Formula 3 before graduating to the more glamorous Formula 1.
“F3 will be the ideal step for me to make, and I’m totally fired up,” he said.
THE Schumacher family have been criticised in some quarters for not revealing much about Michael’s condition. His former manager of 20 years, Willi Weber, has said he’s no longer in contact with the family. “I sent flowers and cards for his birthday [in January] but I got no answer. That makes me sad,” Willi says.
“There seems to be a fear that I would disclose something about Michael’s condition but I would never do that.”
In May 2015, Michael’s current manager, Sabine Kehm, said his condition was improving, “considering the severity of the injury he had” – but in 2016 his lawyers confirmed Schumi still couldn’t walk. His medical costs have piled up and apparently stand at around €16 million (about R220 million). In January, Sabine reiterated the family’s request for privacy. “We all know that I simply cannot and do not want to say anything about the state of Michael’s health, because we have to respect that the family doesn’t want to say anything about it to protect his privacy.” Still, some are hopeful Schumi will one day see his son racing. “As I know his strength, I dream that he will soon be among us again,” former Ferrari bigwig Luca di Montezemolo said last month. Willi is also optimistic. “When I’m home alone and the phone rings I often feel that it will be Michael saying, ‘Willi, how’s it going?’ Hope dies last.”