Michael Schumacher’s friend makes devastating admission about F1 icon 12 years on from skiing accident
A former senior Formula One insider has delivered a stark and emotional assessment of the condition of Michael Schumacher, almost 12 years after the seven-time world champion suffered catastrophic injuries in a skiing accident that ended his public life.
Richard Hopkins, a long-time paddock figure and former Red Bull operations chief, said he believes the sport will never again see Schumacher in public.
“I don’t think we’ll see Michael again,” he told Sport Bible, offering a rare and sobering insight into the continuing reality surrounding one of the most dominant drivers in Formula One history.
Schumacher has remained entirely out of public view since December 2013, when he fell while skiing off-piste in Méribel in the French Alps and struck his head on a rock.
Despite wearing a helmet, he sustained a severe brain injury and was airlifted to hospital in Grenoble, where surgeons performed emergency, life-saving operations.
He was later placed in a medically induced coma before eventually being transferred home for long-term private care.
Since then, official updates on his health have been almost non-existent, reflecting the family’s determination to protect his privacy.
A former senior Formula One insider has delivered a stark and emotional assessment of the condition of Michael Schumacher, almost 12 years after the seven-time world champion suffered catastrophic injuries in a skiing accident that ended his public life
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PA
Access to Schumacher is understood to be restricted to a very small circle, with even many of his former colleagues excluded.
Hopkins, who worked as a McLaren mechanic during the 1990s and regularly encountered Schumacher during his Benetton years, said he relies on second-hand information and accepts that the outlook remains bleak.
“I haven’t heard anything recently,” Hopkins added.
F1 facts fans might not know | GETTY/GBNEWS
“I understand [Schumacher] has a Finnish doctor, a personal doctor. I don’t think we’ll see Michael again.”
That silence, Hopkins explained, is not accidental.
Those who are allowed to visit Schumacher have made a collective commitment to discretion. Figures such as Ross Brawn and Jean Todt, both central to Schumacher’s most successful years at Ferrari, are believed to be among the few granted access.
“Even if you plied Ross with a lot of good red wine, I don’t think he would open up and share,” Hopkins said.
“I think there is that respect with anybody who goes to visit Michael, not to share anything.
“That’s the way the family wants it to be. I think that’s fair and respectful towards the family. Even if I did know, the family would be disappointed if I shared anyway.”
Corinna Schumacher has always kept updates on husband Michael to a minimum | GETTY
The Schumacher family, led by his wife Corinna, has consistently argued that privacy is essential, allowing the former driver dignity while shielding his children from relentless scrutiny.
It is an approach that has been widely respected across the sport, even as fans continue to long for clarity about the condition of a man who once seemed indestructible.
Earlier this year, Flavio Briatore, Schumacher’s former team boss at Benetton, offered his own deeply personal reflection.
“If I close my eyes, I see him smiling after a victory,” he said.
“I prefer to remember him like that rather than him just lying on a bed. Corinna and I talk often, though.”
Schumacher won seven F1 titles during his time in the sport, a total matched only Lewis Hamilton.
