Michael Schumacher's wife 'pretty strong' as tragic anniversary of F1 icon's skiing accident approaches

Michael Schumacher's wife 'pretty strong' as tragic anniversary of F1 icon's skiing accident approaches

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Jack Otway

By Jack Otway


Published: 20/12/2023

- 11:35

Updated: 20/12/2023

- 11:42

The German sustained serious injuries after hitting his head in 2013

Former F1 star Johnny Herbert has praised Corinna Schumacher, the wife of stricken icon Michael.

Michael Schumacher went skiing in the French Alps 10 years ago and tragically went off course, striking his head on a rock.


Though he was airlifted to hospital, and later allowed home, not much is known about the 54-year-old's condition.

This month will mark a decade since the accident, with Corinna still caring for her husband all these years on.

Michael Schumacher wife Corinna

Michael Schumacher's wife Corinna has been dubbed 'very strong' as F1 icon continues to live away from the spotlight

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And Herbert, who used to race alongside Schumacher, has hailed Corinna and dubbed her 'very strong'.

Speaking to Grosvenor Sport, he said: "I knew Corinna a little bit because she used to be with Heinz Harald Frentzen before she met Michael.

"She has said they are trying to carry on as a family as Michael would have wanted.

"They are getting on with their lives but private does mean private.

"Corinna is a lovely lady. She has been around the paddock a long, long time.

"My wife used to sit around with her and have long chats during our time together in 1995. She is a very family oriented woman who was obviously very strong even at that time, dealing with all the pressures of being the wife of Michael Schumacher then bringing up the kids as well was always a big deal.

"Then the awful accident, then Mick coming into karting which I think Gerhard helped him with in the early days.

"Corinna was always there for Mick, as he moved through F3, F2 then into F1.

"She wasn’t at every race but she was always a huge support for him."

Mick Schumacher, Michael's son, is still attempting to shine in F1 despite a difficult time of things.

And Herbert thinks the 24-year-old has 'missed' having his father to help guide him.

"Mick has said he could always talk to Michael about racing before the accident," he continued.

"And that is one of the saddest things for any sportsman and you get that opportunity, and you have a father who has been so successful, it would have been a very important part of his development at that time.

"But Mick never had that unfortunately. He just had that relationship up until the skiing accident.

"All the pressures were on Mick’s shoulders just because of the name that he had.

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Michael Schumacher Corinna

Michael Schumacher pictured with wife Corinna before the F1 icon sustained serious injuries

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"Michael would have loved the opportunity to work with his son to try and put all his experiences into enabling Mock to be a very different character to what we have seen.

"Because he was alone in his F1 career, Michael would have been a big help and that father son relationship would have been a very beneficial thing for Mick.

"In other ways it would have been a wonderful experience for Michael to have that deep relationship with his son. Sadly, that was something we didn’t see.

"There’s all the positives of the past knowing what he achieved in F1 and now we just have memories.

"It would be lovely just to have Michael back now."

Michael Schumacher Johnny Herbert

Michael Schumacher pictured with Johnny Herbert back in 1995

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And Herbert also thinks there has been a 'huge void' in F1 ever since Schumacher's accident.

"There has been a huge void left since Schumacher’s crash," he added.

"When the accident happened it was a big shock for everybody. He had been such a fixture around the paddock for so long, achieving all those wins and championships.

"He was massively respected by the flock of current drivers at the time, but actually probably by nearly all the drivers today.

"If you ask them who was the driver they looked up to and watched when you were growing up, they would say Michael. Michael was the one who drove them to achieve their dream of getting into Formula 1."

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