F1: Schumacher’s health will remain a secret – lawyer (Update)

(GMM) Michael Schumacher’s well-known younger brother Ralf admits it has been hard to “accept” the fate of the Formula 1 legend.

Little is known about the extent of the seven time world champion’s brain injuries since his skiing accident almost a full decade ago – and his media lawyer is now declaring that the family will not change tack by revealing details.

Ralf Schumacher, who also raced in F1 with the five-years-older Michael, is clearly among the privileged few who is aware of the former Ferrari and Mercedes driver’s current condition.

When asked by German weekly Bunte about Michael’s health, Ralf replied in the latest edition: “Unfortunately, life isn’t fair sometimes.

“But we have to accept it.”

The ray of light for 6-time grand prix winner Ralf, however, is that he does regularly see Michael’s children – Mick in the F1 paddocks of the world, but also Schumacher’s oldest child Gina-Maria, a successful equestrian athlete.

“When I see his children, my heart smiles,” Ralf, now a F1 pundit for German television, said. “If someone in the family is looking for my advice, I’m there.

“But they’re making their own way in the world.”

(GMM) The media lawyer for Michael Schumacher’s family says there are no plans to divulge official information about the health of the seven time world champion.

When asked if he knows anything about his former Ferrari teammate’s current medical condition, Felipe Massa told Infobae recently: “Yes, but I’m not the one to say something.

“It is the family who must do that.”

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Indeed, almost nothing is known about the extent of Schumacher’s serious brain injuries sustained in a skiing accident in France a full decade ago.

And now, lawyer Felix Damm, who began working with Schumacher on media matters in 2008 – long before the accident – says the family has no plans to divulge further details about the F1 legend’s condition.

“It was always about protecting privacy,” he told Legal Tribune Online.

“Of course, we discussed a lot about how this is possible. So we also considered whether a final report about Michael’s health could be the right way to do it.

“But that wouldn’t have been the end of it and there would have had to be constantly updated reports. The media would be asking again and again ‘How does it look like now?’, one, two, three months or years after the report.

“Then if we wanted to take action against this reporting, we would have to deal with the argument of voluntary self-disclosure,” Damm added.

At the same time, he does acknowledge that millions of Schumacher’s fans around the world are upset that they have been in the dark about their hero for a decade.

“Naturally,” Damm said. “But I also believe that the vast majority of the fans can deal with it well. They respect the fact that the accident set in motion a process in which private shelter is necessary and will now continue to be observed.”