Details of how Michael Schumacher communicates have emerged after the F1 legend reportedly appeared in public at his daughter’s wedding last weekend.
Gina Schumacher, 27, tied the knot with her boyfriend Iain Bethke at the family’s luxury villa in Majorca, which they bought for £27million in 2017.
Guests were reportedly banned from taking their phones to the wedding amid reports the seven-time F1 champion was present.
The 55-year-old has been virtually missing from public life since his life-changing skiing incident in 2013, which put him in a devastating coma,
A statement released nearly a year after the accident told fans he was no longer in a coma and was ‘continuing a long phase of rehabilitation’, but few details of his condition have been revealed since.
Formula 1 legend Michael Schumer, 55, who suffered a life-changing skiing accident in 2013, was reportedly seen in public for the first time in over a decade at his daughter’s wedding in Spain
A file picture dated 11 January 2000 shows German the Formula One Ferrari driver Schumacher carving a turn while skiing at the Italian resort of Madonna di Campiglio, Italy
Guests reportedly had their phones confiscated at the wedding between Schumacher’s daughter Gina and Iain Bethke
The Schumacher family did not want any photos being leaked of the inside of their luxury Villa in Majorca
Ex-Formula 1 team boss and former QPR co-owner Flavio Briatore’s ex-wife Elisabetta Gregoraci had previously revealed how Schumacher communicates amid his health battle.
‘Michael doesn’t speak, he communicates with his eyes,’ she said. ‘Only three people can visit him and I know who they are.’
‘They moved to Spain and his wife has set up a hospital in that house.’
Spanish newspapers had reported in 2020 that Schumacher had been moved on a more permanent basis to the exclusive property on the upmarket estate of Las Brisas near Andratx in the south-west of Majorca from the couple’s Swiss home.
Rumours that Schumacher is unable to speak were backed up by his son, Mick, during a 2021 Netflix documentary about his father’s life. He said: ‘I think dad and me, we would understand each other now in a different way now.’
The effects of a traumatic brain injury depends on a number of factors such as the type, location and severity of injury, brain injury charity Headway says.
It adds that symptoms of a brain injury are wide-ranging, from physical effects such as balance problems, headaches, and dizziness, to cognitive, emotional and behavioural effects. This can include memory problems, fatigue, and anger.
The last proper update fans received was in 2023, when it was reported that Schumacher had been driven in a Mercedes AMG sportscar in a bid to stimulate areas of his brain he once used for racing.
Jean Todt – pictured with Schumacher in 2007 – was Ferrari’s team principal when the F1 ace won five world titles in a row from 2000 to 2004, has spoken about his recovery several times
Schumacher is one of the most successful F1 drivers of all time, winning seven world titles
Former Ferrari boss Jean Todt has spoken about his recovery several times since the accident.
In an interview with French magazine late last year he said: ‘Michael is here, so I don’t miss him. [But he] is simply not the Michael he used to be. He is different and is wonderfully guided by his wife and children who protect him.
‘His life is different now and I have the privilege of sharing moments with him.
‘That’s all there is to say. Unfortunately, fate struck him ten years ago. He is no longer the Michael we knew in Formula One.’
On December 29, 2013, Schumacher’s life was swiftly altered by the tragic accident while on a family holiday in the French Alps.
He fell metres away from a popular ski slope that resulted in critical head injuries.
Deciding to go off-piste, Schumer was unaware of some boulders concealed from view by snowfall.
His skis clipped one such boulder and the sudden force catapulted him into the air — leaving him powerless to avoid a head-first collision with another rock.
He fractured his skull and was left with a brain injury.
Ski patrollers and a helicopter rescue team arrived at the scene within minutes, with eyewitnesses claiming Schumacher was conscious after the accident, but was unable to answer questions and was moving erratically.
Schumacher in 2005 with his wife Corinna, who cares for him at their Lake Geneva home
Recognising the severity of the situation, the rescue team quickly immobilised him and transported him to the nearby Moutiers Hospital, where he arrived at 11.53am.
From there, a helicopter airlifted him to the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Grenoble, a leading medical facility equipped with a specialised neurosurgery unit, for two lifesaving surgeries to reduce pressure on the brain.
A later investigation deemed Schumacher was travelling at a normal speed and was not skiing beyond his abilities at the moment of his accident.
But it is thought his injuries — which would have almost certainly been fatal had the former driver not been wearing a helmet — were exacerbated by a February 2009 motorcycle accident in which he suffered fractures in his head and neck.
He then spent six months in a coma to aid his recovery and did not return to his family home in Switzerland until nine months after the accident.
Medical professionals and his wife are thought to provide round-the-clock care.
