On 29 December 2013, Michael Schumacher went silent for most, robbed of normal life that fateful day... Now ten long years later, his condition remains a well-kept secret, however, Jean Todt again confirmed he is no longer the Schumie that Formula 1 knew.
Over the past decade, reports have been scarce as the Schumacher Family protect their patriarch as diligently as possible from the public eye, with only a few of the very inner circle privy to how the seven-time F1 World Champion spends his days.
Perhaps by design, or not, former FIA President and Schumacher's former boss at Ferrari, Todt is one of those privileged to have access to the 54-year-old German and sheds light on how things are since that life-altering skiing accident a few days after Christmas 2013.
In an interview with L'Equipe, when asked if he missed Schumacher, Todt replied: "Michael is here, so I don’t miss him. He is no longer the Michael from before. He is different and is beautifully framed by his wife and children who protect him.
"His life is different I have the privilege of being able to share moments with him. That's all there is to say. Unfortunately, fate struck him ten years ago and he is no longer the Michael we knew in F1," added Todt.
The 77-year-old, whose FIA Presidency that ran for three terms ended around this time two years masterminded Ferrari's resurgence during his tenure as F1 boss at Maranello, which included the glorious spell from 1999 to 2004 with the likes of Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne at the helm.
Ferrari's Holy Trinity of Schumacher-Brawn-Byrne
Those were the great Italian team's 'Golden Years' with Ferrari's Holy Trinity of Schumacher-Brawn-Byrne winning 11 F1 titles in six years.
In the end, it can be argued that the Reds were cruel to Schumacher, pushing him out of the team to make way for Raikkonen at the end of 2006 after Fernando Alonso and Renault had dethroned the Ferrari-winning machine of the early 2000s. He was in his mid-thirties and could have led them for far longer had they been loyal.
By then Todt was prepping to hand over the team to Stefano Domenicali before beginning the FIA President Chapter of his career while Schumacher drifted from an advisory/mascot role that Ferrari engineered for him.
A 'fish out of water' so to speak, with unfinished business in F1, Schumacher returned to the grid for 2010, spearheading Mercedes return to the top flight, after a half-century hiatus, with his old mate Brawn leading the effort, alongside fellow German Nico Rosberg.
Schumacher never found the old magic, departing F1 for a final time at the end of 2012, to make way for Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes. The rest, as they say, is history.
Fast forward to today, how Schumacher lives his life, how his days are, how he communicates, what he does, and who looks after him is all subject to speculation. The only hints or clues to be garnered are from official interviews with family.
Corrina: Private is private
In July 2022, Corinna opened her heart in a speech she made when she accepted the prestigious State Prize of North-Rhine-Westphalia on behalf of her husband Michael: "I miss Michael every day. But it's not just me who misses him.
"It's the children, the family, his father, everyone around him. I mean, everybody misses Michael, but Michael is here. Different, but he's here and that gives us strength, I find. We try to carry on a family as Michael liked it and still does.
"We are getting on with our lives. 'Private is private', as he always said. It is very important to me that he can continue to enjoy his private life as much as possible. Michael always protected us, and now we are protecting Michael," stated Mrs Schumacher.
Son Mick also shed light when a year earlier he revealed in a Netflix documentary: "I think dad and me, we would understand each other now in a different way now. Simply because we speak a similar language, the language of motorsport.
"We would have so much more to talk about. That's where my head is most of the time. Thinking that it would be cool that would be. I would give up everything just for that," added Schumacher Junior.
On the other side of the coin, Schumacher's former business manager Willi Weber (as well as a mentor, financier, close confidante and reason Michael got that famous drive at Spa-Francorchamps to make his sensational debut at the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix) has been kept out of the loop.
#KeepFightingMichael
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