Seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher’s absence from the F1 paddock is a “shame” for fans of the sport, according to his former teammate.
Updates on his condition have been scarce and vague in the nearly 10 years since suffering a serious head injury in a skiing accident in the French Alps.
In a new interview with CasinoSite.nl, driver-turned-pundit Johnny Herbert – who was Schumacher’s teammate for the first two of his seven world championships in 1994 and 1995 – said “everyone loses out” in Schumacher’s absence.
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“We have lost a mega star of our sport who gave so much enjoyment to a lot of people,” he said.
“It was very sad that (son) Mick couldn’t have his Dad around and it is sad that we as an F1 community don’t have him around the paddock.
“It is a shame. Everyone loses out on learning about the Michael Schumacher we never saw when he was in the cockpit.”
Mick made his F1 debut in 2021 for the American Haas team, but was sacked at the end of the 2022 season after delivering disappointing results and a massive crash damage bill.
Now a reserve driver for Mercedes, Herbert said Mick would have a hard time finding his way back onto the F1 grid.
“I think Mick Schumacher is in one of those horrible F1 situations that he probably did not impress enough when he was at Haas, and because of that he is damaged and no-one is going to talk about him.”
Following the accident, Schumacher was placed in a medically-induced coma before being transferred to their mansion near Lake Geneva in Switzerland.
Since then, his wife Corinna has been fiercely protective of her husband’s privacy and condition. Even close friends and family claim she has refused them access to see him.
In April, Jean Todt, who was Schumacher’s team principal during his dominant era at Ferrari, said he saw Schumacher often and admitted the accident had “consequences”.
“Let’s leave him alone,” Todt said.
“We respect the privacy wishes of Corinna and her children, although we know of course that the accident had consequences. But anyone who says he knows something, knows nothing.
“I always go to see him. He and his family are my family.”
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A Netflix documentary on Schumacher released last year gave some insight into his condition, with Mick indicating he cannot talk.
“I think Dad and me, we would understand each other in a different way now, simply because we speak a similar language – the language of motorsport,” he said.
“We would have had much more to talk about and that is where my head is most of the time, thinking that would be so cool.
“That would be it. I would give up everything just for that. Yes.”