Michael Schumacher's ex-manager accuses F1 star's family of 'lies'

Michael Schumacher’s former F1 manager has once again accused the German racing driver’s family of ‘not telling the truth’ about the star’s health — and says he’s still angry at being frozen out. 

Willi Weber accused the Schumachers of withholding information about the seven-time world champion, who has been kept out of the public eye ever since suffering a horrific skiing accident in France in 2013. 

Speaking to , Mr Weber, who suggested he had been ignored by the family, said: ‘I could understand the situation initially as I always did everything I could for Michael to protect his private life. 

‘But since then, we have only heard lies from them. Years after the accident, I said to myself to just look out for the family as I couldn’t change things. He was like a son to me. Even today it hurts me to talk about it.’

Mr Weber’s comments come as Corinna, 53, wife of the Formula One champion, and her daughter Gina, 25, attended the awarding of the North Rhine-Westphalia State Prize to Schumacher.

Dressed in a sophisticated red suit, Corinna teared up as she accepted the award on the German champion’s behalf today. 

Appearing equally elegant in a billowing dress, Gina posed up a storm alongside her mother, while close friend and former FIA president Jean Todt was also in attendance.

Usually awarded once a year, the prize is the highest honour granted by the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, home to Hürth, the birthplace of Schumacher.

The glamorous ceremony took place at Motorworld in Cologne, Germany — but just days before the event, Mr Weber commented on his outrage at being left in the dark.

He told the Italian daily newspaper: : ‘It was a huge pain for me. I tried hundreds of times to contact Corinna and she didn’t answer. I called Jean Todt [Schumacher’s ex-boss at Ferrari] to ask him if I should go to the hospital and he told me to wait — it’s too early.

‘I didn’t expect behaviour like that and I’m still angry about it. They kept me out, telling me, «It’s too early», well, now it’s too late. It’s been nine years. Maybe they should just say it the way it is.’

MailOnline has contacted a representative of Schumacher’s for comment.

Schumacher collected world titles with Benneton and Ferrari between 1994 and 2004 under Weber’s guidance.

In 2017, it emerged that the first photograph of Schumacher since his accident was being hawked around Europe for £1million.

The 53-year-old racing driver sustained severe head injuries in a skiing accident in France on December 29, 2013 and has been cared for at his home in Switzerland since September 2014.

Schumacher’s accident happened on a family vacation as he was skiing with his son at the Meribel ski resort in the French Alps.

The avid skier hit the right side of his head on a rock, cracking his helmet. Doctors operated to remove blood clots from his brain, but some were left because they were too deeply embedded.

Schumacher’s condition stabilised after he was placed in a drug-induced coma, from which he later emerged. 

Just hours after Schumacher initially arrived at a hospital in Grenoble, France, a journalist armed with a camera and dressed as a priest had tried to gain entry to his room.

Mr Weber’s replacement as his manager, Sabine Kehm, has previously said: ‘Michael has always been very protective of his privacy, even during the most successful times of his career. 

‘He has always made sure there is a clear and distinct line between his public persona and his private one.’

Last year, Schumacher’s wife teared up as she spoke about his tragic skiing accident that left him with a near-fatal brain injury in a rare interview. 

The emotional clip featured in documentary, Schumacher, about the German driver’s life, which revealed his doubts about the skiing conditions in the French resort of Meribel in December 2013. 

Corinna broke her eight-year silence about the accident, saying that she, her two children and Michael’s family, ‘miss him everyday’. 

She said that Michael is ‘different’ since his injury, and revealed that during his racing days she had always believed that ‘guardian angels’ were watching over her husband.

‘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. Everybody misses Michael, but Michael is here — different, but here. He still shows me how strong he is every day.’  

‘I have never blamed God for what happened. It was just really bad luck — all the bad luck anyone can have in life. It’s always terrible when you say, «Why is this happening to Michael or us?» But then why does it happen to other people?’

She also revealed in the documentary that Schumacher had complained about the snow conditions in the Alps and suggested flying to Dubai shortly before the tragic skiing accident.

Corinna said: ‘Shortly before it happened in Meribel, he said to me, «The snow isn’t optimal. We could fly to Dubai and go skydiving there».’ 

It was one of the last things the father-of-two said to his wife before he collided with a rock while skiing with his son Mick, then 14. The champion driver suffered a catastrophic brain injury that left him in coma for six months.

Since then, Michael has been cared for privately at his Swiss home by Lake Geneva and the family have kept details about his health tightly guarded. 

‘We’d always made it through his races safely,’ she said. ‘Which is why I was certain he had a few guardian angels that were keeping an eye out for him.

‘I don’t know if it’s just a kind of protective wall that you put up yourself or if it’s because you’re in a way naïve — but it simply never occurred to me that anything could ever happen to Michael.

‘I never blamed God for why this happened now. It (the accident) was just really bad luck — all the bad luck anyone could ever have in their life.’

Deeply protective of her husband, Corinna has been criticised by some people — but Michael’s wife describes how he always valued privacy and that was why the family chose not to divulge everything about his condition.

However, she did reveal that the family all live together, take part in therapy and that Michael is looked after by everyone.

‘We are trying to carry on as a family, the way Michael liked it and still does. We live together at home. We do therapy. We do everything we can to make Michael better and to make sure he’s comfortable,’ Corinna said.

‘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, now we are protecting Michael.’

Corinna and Michael were married in 1995 and have two children together, Gina, 25, and Mick, 23, who has followed his father into F1. Both the children appeared in the documentary.