Lewis Hamilton pays tribute to Michael Schumacher in new documentary as devastating anniversary looms

Before sustaining serious injuries, Schumacher dominated F1 during the 1990s and early 2000s.

He won seven F1 crowns - an achievement only Hamilton has been able to match in the years since.

The Briton has now paid tribute to Schumacher, saying: "A full out great racer.

“He won the race when Ayrton died. [He was just] winning everything!”

Fernando Alonso also praises Schumacher in the documentary, admitting he found the German a formidable foe.

“I lost more against him than I won!” said Alonso.

“He is an incredible driver, he was an inspiration for all the drivers of my generation when we were in karting and in the junior formulas to see Michael dominating the sport.

“He did change the way of approaching racing, physical preparation, determination, work ethic into the weekend with the engineers, a lot of things in the sport changed because of Michael – for the better.”

Not much is known about Schumacher these days.

Ever since hitting his head on a rock in the French Alps there has been no public sighting of the F1 icon.

His family prefer to keep updates on his condition to a minimum.

And wife Corinna, speaking in a Netflix documentary two years ago, admitted Schumacher was 'different but here'.

"Michael is here. Different, but he's here, and that gives us strength, I find," she said.

"He still shows me how strong he is every day.

"We live together at home. We do therapy.

"We do everything we can to make Michael better and to make sure he's comfortable. And to simply make him feel our family, our bond.

"And no matter what, I will do everything I can. We all will.

"We're trying to carry on as a family, the way Michael liked it and still does. And we are getting on with our lives.

"'Private is private', as he always said. It's very important to me that he can continue to enjoy his private life as much as possible.

"Michael always protected us, and now we are protecting Michael."

Roger Benoit, a close friend of Schumacher's, said earlier this year the Formula One legend was a 'case without hope'.

"No," he told Blick when asked if he was able to provide an update on Schumacher and his condition.

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"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 3500 days. A case without hope.”