Schumacher unable to walk, family confirms

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In the round-up: The family of Michael Schumacher have admitted during court proceedings that he remains unable to walk since his December 2013 skiing crash.

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65 comments on “Schumacher unable to walk, family confirms”

  1. Sad to hear about Schumacher. But I am honestly not surprised after the kind of injuries inflicted upon him after his accident.

    Singapore is a place where you are not even allowed to chew gum. The F1 group should provide some particular guidance involving laws in countries that probably wouldn’t be laws in most Western European countries.

    1. Or you know, just don’t litter. Anywhere.

        1. Ferrari have now sent a mass email out with the same link, stating “With reference to the rumours about events in Singapore involving Maurizio Arrivabene, please check out the following link”. They don’t appear to have commented on it themselves one way or another.

          1. @keithcollantine, mind you, given that most news sites are trying to retract the story as rapidly as possible, Ferrari doesn’t really need to make much of a comment – the actions of those news sites alone is telling enough.

      1. I agree… why do people litter? it is such a dirty disrespectful habit.

    2. I’d just about guarantee Schumacher has never woken up from the coma in the first place, personally, and that he remains bedridden because he’s not actually been conscious at any point since his hospitalization.

      The unfortunate truth is that the family themselves are responsible for all these rumors, through their insistence on not providing any real information to the public. Would even an annual update hurt them? No. Would their admitting to his condition have changed the outcome? Not even slightly. But they insist on rigid privacy, despite the fact that he was a public personality known almost worldwide, and so they create a vast echo chamber for rumors instead.

      I don’t entirely blame the family for their decision, but I do blame their advisers, who should have warned them away from this path.

      1. @knoxploration seems to be the only person getting it.

        You can’t have your cake and eat it too… After your fourth or fifth WDC, you have to accept that you don’t get privacy anymore, as said above, it doesn’t take your right to privacy away, but it does put the onus on you to prevent people guessing.

        It’s been over 2 years, if you don’t want speculation, shed some light on the situation yourself….

      2. were you thinking about the graded GCS when you posted that.

        With out any real evidence, you can’t claim MSC is or isn’t conscious, and to what degree.

        Facts are he took some heavy vascular damage to his brain/head which probably affected him in much the same way a severe stroke would. Brain damage isn’t a funny affair, but it can be ‘funny’ in how it affects you and what you can and can’t do after it happens.

        I don’t think it’s appropriate to blame the family or advisers for how people manufacture baseless claims/rumors. it’s just the way people are. Respect the man, choose or don’t choose to pay attention to unwarranted speculation.

        1. Please do explain how the rumor mill would be making up these stories about him walking, if Schumacher’s representatives were making clear, factual statements about his actual condition. Because truth be told, they wouldn’t be — and without those rumors, life would probably be easier for his family, not harder.

          That’s why it is totally appropriate to blame their advisors.

          1. “The unfortunate truth is that the family themselves are responsible for all these rumors, through their insistence on not providing any real information to the public. Would”

            I am not going to ask you to define ‘advisers’ because your statement in the previous post was pretty defined.

            I do not blame the family themselves, because they are not responsible for unwarranted/idle speculation. This is a natural phenomenon, people will speculate till the end of time. I think you need to think about who is really responsible for whose behavior in this case.

  2. I was thinking, with regard to the Singapore Grand Prix, next year will be their 10th race. I think it would be really cool to celebrate by having a one-off day race. Certainly on the F1 game it looks stunning, would it look as good for real? I love the night element of this race, but it would definitely be exciting to see just once, what it is like in the day.

    Also, are they definitely set on keeping the new bridge layout they introduced last year? I thought the whole reason they brought that in was to improve the racing through there, and it’s quite conclusive to say that, if anything, it is now worse. Also, they ought to consider changing the pit exit again. There was a crash last year, and a couple of close moments this year. It seems very unnecessarily tight at the point that the cars fall back onto the racing line.

    1. The South African Grand Prix was always held on a Saturday from 1985 and before, and a number of GP’s back in those days were held on Saturdays. So it’s definitely a possibilty.

    2. As much as that would be nice, I wouldn’t want it. The race already starts at 8 in the morning on the US East Coast, and I like my breakdast with F1 mornings.

    3. @Strontium FP1 and FP3 sessions are already run in daylight mostly, so those are the sessions where it’s possible to see what it’s like in the day.

    4. You would think if they wanted to improve the racing, they would have just gotten rid of the original chicane.

    5. there are other tracks where you can watch in the day, the night element makes this interesting… watching the onboards, it feels like when you go to an indoor karting track at night.

  3. Mr. Carey’s moustache is not just for show, it conceals a scar obtained when he flew threw the windshield of a car during his college years. Part of the scar on his chin is visible in many pictures.

    1. @mtlracer Well I never knew that – thanks for that one!

  4. Please Pirelli can we re-name the compounds for next year;
    Ultra soft as now
    Soft = current Super Soft
    Medium = current soft
    Hard = current medium
    Extra hard = current hard

    This would better reflect the actual usage of the tyres and avoid the silliness of the hardest tyre choice of the 3 choices available at many races being the Soft.

    1. I support this change wholeheartedly.
      Not because of actual usage, but because both Soft and Super Soft are referred to as S.

      1. @coldfly
        ‘because both Soft and Super Soft are referred to as S’

        By whom?

        1. In the television graphics, all tyres are referred with single letter. Supersoft with red S and soft with yellow S.

          1. @bleu
            Huh, I never noticed that.

          2. Indeed @bleu.
            Although US uses 2 letters; FIA probably doesn’t want to use SS (add any Mosley joke here).

  5. OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
    20th September 2016, 1:30

    So sad to have the first confirmed news that Schum can’t walk at all. Life takes irony to awful extremes sometimes. A guy know worldwide for being the fastest, and that outside the track has given tons of his money to charity, and when he retires for real, can’t even enjoy the fruit of his hard dedication.
    I’m nobody to judge him, but I feel it’s some kind of terrible karma. Who knows if Damon or Jacques could have actually died because of his dirty tricks?

    1. Amazing, starting a considerate post and then doing a 180.

      1. Yeah, the transition from compassionate to downright horrible was remarkably quick.

        1. I make a point to stay away from people who run hot and cold like this.

    2. Peppermint-Lemon (@)
      20th September 2016, 8:25

      What an awful thing to say at the end of your comment. You should be embarrassed.

    3. Utterly shocking. Can’t believe I just read that.

    4. Omar, at the risk of ridicule here by other Fanatics, I agree with your sentiment on both counts. I wouldn’t wish Schumacher’s injury on anyone, and I hope he gets better.

      However, if karma existed Schuey would be a prime candidate for some retributive rebound. I think even his greatest fans would admit there is room for this observation, and I think its more intriguing speculation than a judgement.

      1. I take it you also think Senna deserved to die as karma for his crashes and agressive driving style ?
        Honestly can not believe some of the crap people post on here sometimes.

      2. In all seriousness, your opinion does deserve to be ridiculed.
        While I agree that Schumacher’s behaviour was rather unsporting from time to time, the allegation that he endangered lives is post-factual nonsense. Therefore, one has to interpret your statements as a way of saying that Schumacher deserved to be crippled in a random accident because you found the way he sometimes behaved in his sport distasteful.
        This is as asinine as it is insulting. Please grow up. Or dump your opinion in some other part of the internet.

    5. I don’t agree with you thinking he might have killing Villeneuve or Hill… they were slow speed touches. his dangerous moves were the late blocks, like the one Verstappen did to Kimi in Spa at 300kmh. Schumacher did them a few times in his career, ie to Hakinnen also in Spa, and to Hakinnen back in f3. also- he did not kill or injure anyone, so how is it karma that he is injured????

    6. You’re right– you’re not someone to judge him.

      So why did you?

  6. A little late, but I had to wait for the so called highlights. I hope the actual race was better than the highlights, start and crash, crash, crash, crash, commercials, restart, MV and DK zigging and zagging, commercials, pit stop, pit stop, pit stop, pit stop, commercials, a car going fast, some cars going slow, commercials, pit stop, pit stop,commercials, etc. etc. Great close-up slo-mo of the wheel gun though.

    1. They missed the Mo?

    2. The actual race was better. I thought it was one of the better races this year.

    3. @hohum I agree with @todfod , the race had quite good pacing strategically and a steady stream of on-track action, which I guess didn’t come across in the highlights.

    4. @hohum
      LOL, I was smiling all along your comment, but that last sentence made me laugh hard :)

  7. LovelyLovelyLuffield
    20th September 2016, 5:25

    Well… he can’t walk… what else can he do? Desperately searching for positives here…

    1. If anything, Alex Zanardi still achieve a lot even though he also can’t walk. And that including competing in race cars too.

      1. Yeah.. but Zanardi didn’t have a traumatic brain injury. A brain injury affects the person’s motor skills, so it doesn’t seem possible that he will ever compete in any sport again. I hope Schumi can at least get back to a semi normal life again, and enjoy his time with his family.

      2. @sonicslv
        Alex Zanardi has to be one of the greatest guys ever.

        However, Alex Zanardi has been able to get on with his life because he “only” lost his lower legs. Now, in Schumacher’s case, there was no mention whatsoever of his legs. For all we know, he fell on his head and slipped into a coma. So if he can’t walk, it’s probably not his legs’ fault, but really bad news for him.

  8. Terrible news that Schumi can’t walk. But if he is able to lead a life like Sir Frank Williams, then I am all for it. He was at most races and was running a F1 team successfully.

    I will be greatly joyed if he has his other bodily functions have been restored. If he is able to talk, laugh, eat like a regular human being, I think that is a great accomplishment considering the length of his hospitalization.

    P.S. I don’t know much about Sir Frank and his living but seeing him in the races in the wheelchair, I took some assumptions regarding his health. Sorry if I am wrong.

    Just searching for positives for my hero.

    1. Frank Williams severed his spinal column in a car accident in 1986…

  9. Maybe the thing that mostly influenced attendance for lower priced seats etc at Singapore is the fact that the Malaysian GP is right around the corner, and it is quite likely both cheaper to buy a ticket AND far cheaper to spend the night there?

    I think on the other hand Malaysia will suffer too, becaus the big wigs that did turn up in Singapore are unlikely to all turn up again right next door only 2 weeks later.

  10. The worst aspect about the Schumacher news is not that he’s unable to walk. It’s the fact that his family has to make a statement at all to prove some sleazy tabloids and their baseless rumors wrong in a legal action. It’s not about how much someone earned in his career, how successful he was or how famous he is – there’s just no justification for not accepting his current state and his privacy. His management is trying to enforce his privacy just as they did before his accident and that’s absolutely justifiable.

    If you don’t have the right to remain silent on someone’s health status anymore, than there’s something fundamentally wrong. I have never been a big Schumacher fan but of course there are times when I wonder about how he’s doing. But do I have the right to know? Surely not.

    1. Of course it’s Schumi’s right to keep everything private if he wants to but it has to be understood that with the popularity he has, there is massive international interest in how he’s doing and if they choose to release nothing, some people will start speculating.

      In any situation where there is a complete lack of solid information, speculation can quickly turn into “fact” and then someone will cash in with an “exclusive story.”

      1. @petebaldwin

        It’s not so much about his right to privacy, he chose and benefited from the life of a public figure and it’s to be expected there is still media and public interest in his condition. The family has a right not to share information and the press has a right to publish any information they do fairly come by.

        But did a reporter posted a false story to profit and benefit from that interest? If that reporter did so in good faith that the information was accurate fair enough, but were they just willing to make an unfounded claim to sell copies?

        1. It’s one thing for regular civilians to speculate when info has been scarce. It is a completely other thing for a reporter or journalist to publish something as fact when he or she has not corroborated the ‘facts’ through 2 or 3 independent sources first. Since it is a fact that MS is not mobile, it is careless at a minimum, and borders on lawsuit worthy at the other end of the spectrum, for a reporter to publish obvious unsubstantiated untruths.

          Unfortunately more and more these days we see that the truth matters less and less than a momentary sensationalistic impact. See the Arrivabene littering story…see Donald Trump.

    1. @adamgoh I suppose we ought to believe that one? Tentatively! I guess it gets Sky & co off the hook, puts BBC, Grandprix.com& co on it. Disappointing tho, I really liked the idea :))

  11. Interesting numbers listed at the bottom of the Singapore GP attendance article. I noticed some sparse grandstands around the track during the race.

    “Each edition of the race costs about S$150 million to organise, with the Government co-funding 60 per cent of approved costs. In turn, the race generates an average of nearly S$150 million in incremental tourism receipts each year.”

    The organizers come close to breaking even but the national government kicks in a greater share to cover costs. With its present contract expiring after 2017, does the government believe the GP is a worthwhile, though money losing, venture?

    1. @photogcw I would guess that Singapore gains in other ways other than ticket sales etc.

      1. The article did list the race as a promotion for tourism but did not give exact numbers. But many F1 races do that and it’s difficult to measure the exact impact. So while some national/regional governments will pay a major share of the cost, others will not and the sport has lost races due to that fact. This year’s USGP is really a make or break event for its very existence.

  12. Schumacher cannot walk… What kind of news is that? Can he communicate, can he drive an electric wheel chair, is he himself, or nonresponsive? Is he relearning how to live?

    Cannot walk, that is like my lawyer confirming I wont drive in F1 next year.

    I imagine with damage to his head, there are many resonable options, many good news to report, walking is something that is way up the ladder of recovery.

  13. When I read about the poor attendance at the Singapore GP I wondered if it was available on Free to Air TV or if it was only available on Pay TV, but I haven’t been able to find any broadcaster of F1 races in Singapore.

  14. I came here expecting a juicy story about a Wild Maurizio doing some sexy things to get arrested.

    I am dissapoint. Would not click again.

  15. Peppermint-Lemon (@)
    20th September 2016, 23:50

    I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed watching the Valencia 2012 race on sky f1 this evening, seeing Schumacher on the podium after an awesome drive where he destroyed Nico, fought brilliantly with Webber and shared the podium with kimi and alonso. Seemed like good timing to show the race after this mornings news about MSC. Schumi has taught me one stand out thing over the years… No matter how difficult things can get in life, one should never EVER give up. We need to keep sharing the sentiment with him and continue to encourage him in his fight. On behalf of all F1 fanatics here, I wish him a full and speedy recovery.

    1. ResultantAsteroid
      21st September 2016, 0:21

      +1000

  16. Hmmm…. I’m still putting my vote behind Dieter Zetsche. It’s the bald head. It offsets the bushiness of the moustache. Plus, he kinda looks like my dad.

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