Before he had that fatal skiing accident in the French Alps in December 2013, legendary F1 car racer Michael Schumacher told his good friend and manager Sabine Kehm that he had a secret desire to vanish from racing and the media circuit for some time.
It seems that his secret desire had been granted though not in a way that most of his fans and his family would like it.
Schumacher is now slowly recuperating from his ordeal and the media has been prevented from checking up on him or his health status every now and then, leaving it open for rumors and speculations.
The only reliable information with regards to Schumacher’s health conditions comes sparingly from his friends and former race colleagues after they pay him a visit in his home in Geneva, Switzerland.
Michael’s will power
Last month, Sabine Kehm accepted a Nurburgring Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of Michael Schumacher and during her acceptance speech, she said that the honor is an acknowledgment of Michael’s great will power, his motivation, his talent, his discipline, and his work ethic, notes the Vine Report
Schumacher has piled 91 Grand Prix victories and seven world championships in his career. It could have been more by this time if not for that unfortunate skiing accident in the French alps.
Sabine added that she knows that everyone wanted Michael to be there to accept the award himself but that is obviously not possible.
She said that everyone should accept it and learn to deal with it. She also remarked that everyone will continue to hope so that everything will be different again, obviously wishing that Michael could be well again.
Deserves to know
However, some fans and critics are insisting that the media blackout on the health condition of Michael Schumacher only breeds false reports and updates on his true situation.
They believe that they are entitled to know the truth because they are also concerned about the condition of the seven-time F1 champion, cites the Parent Herald.
According to one publication, it is understandable for the family to implement a media blackout to protect Michael and also to fulfill the family’s wish for privacy but fans and their wishes should not also be disregarded.
Those are the same fans who watched in front of the TV for hours to watch the German racer compete in different corners of the world during the time when social media still does not exist.
Mercedes-Benz Chairman Niki Lauda also shares the same sentiment, citing that there is a need for a bit of controlled transparency in this case because many are really praying for Michael and are hoping to know more about his true health condition.
While news about his health condition remain scarce as the family decided to keep everything in private, Luca Di Montezemolo, former president of Ferrari, recently paid a visit to the German racer and revealed in a recent interview that he is seeing signs of improvement on Michael.
He said that he is pleased to know that Schumacher is now reacting but Montezemolo refused to disclose further details, perhaps on the request of the Schumacher family.
Montezemolo’s latest statement was actually a complete reversal from his statement in February this year after his visit to Schumacher when he said that things do not look good for the former F1 champion.
Last year, the reports about Schumi were that he was responding or communicating through his eyes but still can’t move. It is possible that the reaction that Montezemolo was saying is now more than his eye movements and may already include some parts of his body.
Even without going into the specifics, that is still good news to fans of Michael Schumacher as they have been eagerly waiting for a health update from the car racer’s family or his long-time manager Sabine Kehm.