Michael Schumacher's family accused of awful act by former manager
Michael Schumacher's former manager has accused the F1 legend's family of lying about his condition and keeping him out of the loop.
Details about Schumacher's health and current condition remain a mystery over eight years after his devastating skiing accident in 2013.
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The 53-year-old hasn't been seen or heard from after suffering severe head injuries in the accident in the French Alps in December of 2013.
The Ferrari legend's family has been notoriously private when it comes to providing information to the public, with wife Corrina keen to protect her husband.
But the secrecy has angered Schumacher's former manager Willi Weber, who has levelled some staggering allegations against the F1 driver's family.
Speaking in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport this week, Weber claimed he hasn't been allowed to visit Schumacher since his near-fatal accident.
“I tried hundreds of times to contact Corinna and she didn’t answer,” the 80-year-old said.
“I called (former Ferrari boss) Jean Todt to ask him if I should go to the hospital and he told me to wait – it’s too early.
“I called the next day and no one answered. I didn’t expect behaviour like that and I’m still angry about it. They kept me out, telling me it’s too early, well now it’s too late. It’s been nine years. Maybe they should just say it the way it is.
“I could understand the situation initially as I always did everything I could for Michael to protect his private life. But since then we have only heard lies from them.
“Years after the accident, I said to myself to just look out for the family as I couldn't change things.
“He was like a son to me. Even today it hurts me to talk about it."
Speaking publicly for the first time in a Netflix documentary last year, Corrina revealed her reasons for keeping Schumacher's condition so private.
"'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,” Corinna said.
“Michael always protected us and now we are protecting Michael.
“What he really didn’t like was the press, the people, all the hype around him. That’s not what he wanted. He wanted to do the sport.
“Michael is very suspicious. He always has been, during the initial period. Until he thinks he knows someone or can trust them, then he opens up completely.”
Willi Weber critical of Michael Schumacher's wife
Weber has previously criticised Corinna for shutting him out.
“I know that Michael has been hit hard, but unfortunately I do not know what progress he makes,” he said.
“I’d like to know how he’s doing and shake hands or stroke his face. But unfortunately, this is rejected by Corinna.
“She’s probably afraid that I’ll see right away what’s going on and make the truth public.”
Todt, who was the boss at Ferrari during Schumacher's glory years at the Italian giants, provided somewhat of an update late last year.
Todt is among the few people allowed to visit Schumacher and has been providing snippets of information to the public.
"I can understand why his family and friends are protecting him because we should leave him in peace," he told the Mail on Sunday.
"Michael is fighting, he is fighting, and we can only hope that he will improve."
When asked whether Schumacher recognises him during his visits, Todt reportedly shrugged, smiled and gave a hand gesture - but didn't verbalise a response.
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