Michael Schumacher’s former manager still regrets not visiting the Formula One legend in hospital after his devastating skiing accident.
Schumacher, a seven-time world champion, suffered severe and life-changing head injuries while skiing in December 2013.
The German was placed in a medically induced coma for over a year and after further rehabilitation relocated to his home where he has received medical treatment privately since September 2014.
Willi Weber managed several German racing drivers, including Schumacher, for over a decade but did not visit him in hospital as he wrongly assumed reports of the injury were ‘exaggerated’.
Weber, now 82, says he presumed and hoped ‘everything would be fine’ but quickly regretted his decision.
Opening up on his relationship with Schumacher, Weber told German publication Bild: ‘I’m thinking about my successes with Michael – our goals and our victories.
‘I remember Michael the way he was. And we probably won’t see each other again.
‘It was my fault that I didn’t visit Michael after the accident and stand by him. Because I thought the media reports were exaggerated.
‘I thought I’d better wait a few days and then everything would be fine. But it was too late. For a long time I blamed myself for not reacting immediately.
‘Since then, I’ve said goodbye to Michael in my heart in order to find my peace again.’
The full extent of Schumacher’s injury has never been made public but he has lived in total secrecy ever since.
It was reported earlier this week that Schumacher had been seen in public for the first time in 11 years when he attended his daughter Gina-Marie’s recent wedding.
His ex-manager Weber was not invited to the wedding but says he would not have been able to attend anyway due to health issues.
‘I have had no contact with the family for over ten years, I can barely remember what even happened,’ he added.
‘I was not invited to the wedding, but I would not have gone anyway because my health is not good at the moment. I would not have wanted to fly to Mallorca.
‘Michael was one of my best friends. More like a son that I never had. Nobody knows exactly what’s going on with him today, so I don’t want to comment any further.’
In a Netflix documentary released in 2021, Schumacher’s wife Corinna said she intended to ‘protect’ her husband and his privacy and said the family were ‘getting on with our lives’.
She said: ‘We live together at home. We do therapy. We do everything we can to make Michael better and to make sure he’s comfortable, and to simply make him feel our family, our bond.
‘We’re trying to carry on as a family, the way Michael liked it and still does. And we are getting on with our lives.
‘Private is private, as he always said. It’s 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.’
Schumacher won a record seven Formula One world titles, which has since been equalled by Britain’s Lewis Hamilton.
When he retired from the sport, Schumacher held the records for the most victories, pole positions, podium finishes and fastest laps in F1 history.
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