There is hardly any official information regarding the true state of the health condition of former seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher as his family has requested that everything about him should be kept in private.
Thus, fans of the German car racer are left with getting their update about Schumi from his closest friends who occasionally visit him at his home in Lake Geneva, Switzerland where he has been recuperating since the second half of 2014.
Last month, Luca Di Montezemolo, the former boss of Michael Schumacher in Ferrari, paid a visit to the former F1 racing champion and he confirmed in a subsequent interview that motor racing superstar is responding well to treatment.
He said that he knows how strong Michael is and believes that the icon’s determination would be very crucial for him to recover and come out of his very difficult situation, reports the Ecumenical News.
Montezemolo said that he really hopes that Michael Schumacher does recover well from his physical debacle.
The former boss of the Ferrari team explained that he considers Schumacher not only as a friend but an important member of the Ferrari family. He says that it is difficult for him to separate Michael as a driver and as his good friend.
Back in April 2014, some five months after his accident, news broke out that Michael Schumacher was showing moments of consciousness and was gradually withdrawn from the medically-induced coma.
Some three months later, Schumacher was finally moved from an intensive care unit to a rehabilitation ward.
Since then, Michael Schumacher has been continuing his extensive and costly medical rehabilitation at a custom-built and state-of-the-art suite in his Geneva home in Switzerland. He is reportedly getting round-the-clock care from 15 medical experts under the leadership of Professor Jean-Francois Payen.
Schumi’s great will power
Sometime in May, Sabine Kehm accepted a Nurburgring Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of Michael 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.
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 that everything will be different again, obviously wishing that Michael could be well again.
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 also want to know the condition of the seven-time F1 champion.
Need for a controlled transparency
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.