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Former boss's heartbreaking revelation about Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher’s former Ferrari boss has made a heartbreaking admission about the stricken Formula One legend.

Jean Todt has opened up about his grief and anguish over Schumacher’s injuries, suffered in a skiing accident in 2013.

EXPLAINER: Everything we know about Michael Schumacher’s condition

Schumacher is currently recovering at home in a state of the art facility near Lake Geneva in Switzerland.

And 72-year-old Todt recently revealed how he still visits his star pupil at least twice a month.

Michael Schumacher walks in the pits with Ferrari general director Jean Todt in 2006. AFP PHOTO ANTONIO SCORZA
Michael Schumacher walks in the pits with Ferrari general director Jean Todt in 2006. AFP PHOTO ANTONIO SCORZA

Todt also opened up on his ‘love’ of Schumacher and his heartache at the driver’s current plight.

“I love Michael. I see his family. I wish the situation would be different,” he told The Sun.

“When people ask me what is my best memory, it’s this one,” he continued, pointing to a picture of Schumacher winning his first world title.

“That’s Suzuka in 2000. Michael is world champion at 21.

“I remember saying to Michael, ‘On a professional level, things will be different for us.’

Schumacher and Todt in 2002. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Bongarts/Getty Images)
Schumacher and Todt in 2002. (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Bongarts/Getty Images)

“In fact they weren’t different because we had so much passion for success that, when we got that, we wanted to win the next one. That was a time to stop for a while.”

Todt also held up a picture of Schumacher with himself, his wife and son.

“That’s my three darlings. Michael, Michelle and my son. I think this one [picture] was when I won the French award called Légion d’Honneur [in 2011].

“They came to the celebration. They all love each other, which is something that is also special to me.”

Schumacher ‘sometimes cries’ when he sees natural beauty

French magazine Paris Match recently quoted ‘close family’ that Schumacher is still able to show emotions.

The magazine quoted one relative as saying: “When you put him in his wheelchair facing the beautiful panorama of the mountains overlooking the lake, Michael sometimes cries.”

Schumacher was injured in 2013. Image: Getty
Schumacher was injured in 2013. Image: Getty

In 2015, Italian newspaper Corriere della Serra reported that the F1 legend would ‘well-up’ with tears when he saw his children.

“Sometimes a tear rolls down Michael’s face. He cries when he hears the voice of his children or his wife,” the newspaper said.

“In recent times he has been able to recognise the familiar faces of his family but he cannot communicate with them.”

Hamilton edges closer to Schumacher’s record

Lewis Hamilton will edge closer to Schumacher’s all-time record if he wins a fifth Formula One world title this weekend in Austin, but he said on Wednesday chasing the German great was never part of his plan.

The Mercedes driver will move to within two of Schumacher’s all-time mark of seven championships if he scores eight points more than his Ferrari rival Sebastian Vettel in Austin on Sunday.

Yet Hamilton said he realised his lifelong ambition in 2015 when he equalled the tally of his boyhood idol Ayrton Senna, the Brazilian triple champion who died in 1994, and that chasing Schumacher’s mark was never his aim.

“Honestly that has never been my goal. I started out with the goal to match Ayrton Senna or to equalise with Ayrton Senna who is my … who’s the guy that I aspire to be like,” Hamilton told Reuters.

“And I equalled him two years ago. So since then it’s kind of been going into unknown territory.

“So I mean Michael’s stats are incredible and still quite a long way away, but I’m here for some time still, so I’m just going to keep working hard and keep trying to do what I do and what I love and enjoy it and we’ll see where it takes us.”

with agencies