- December 29 marks ten years since Michael Schumacher suffered a tragic ski injury
- The Formula 1 legend has not been seen in public since the accident in France
- His old manager Willi Weber reveals why he has 'no hope' of seeing him again
Michael Schumacher's former manager Willi Weber has admitted he has 'no hope' of seeing the Formula 1 legend again after a decade of 'no positive news' following his tragic skiing accident.
Schumacher, who won seven Formula 1 world championships before retiring, has not appeared in public since suffering serious head injuries while skiing in the French resort of Meribel in 2013.
The German was put into a medically induced coma and has since been cared for by his wife Corinna and a team of medical staff at the family's home on Lake Geneva.
Weber, 81, was Schumacher's manager until 2012 and helped turn the Formula 1 icon into one of the highest-earning sports stars in history.
Aside from business, the former talent scout and manager had a close relationship with Schumacher and his family, also representing the driver's brother Ralf in Formula 1 until November 2005.
Michael Schumacher's long-time manager Willi Weber has admitted he has 'no hope' of seeing the F1 legend again after a decade of 'no positive news' following his tragic skiing accident
Weber (right) was Schumacher's manager until 2012, a year before the Formula 1 icon (left) suffered a life-threatening head injury while skiing on holiday in the French resort of Meribel
Weber opened up about Schumacher's accident, revealing that he grieved 'like a dog' when he heard the tragic news and now has no hope of seeing the 54-year-old again.
He told the Cologne Express: 'When I think about Michael now, unfortunately I no longer have any hope that I will see him again. No positive news after ten years.'
Asked if he regrets not visiting his former protégé immediately after the incident, Weber added: “Of course I regret it very much and blame myself. I should have visited Michael in the hospital. I grieved like a dog after his accident.
The former manager, now 81 years old, is pictured in Wiesbaden, Germany, in 2018
'It hit me very hard, as you can imagine. But at some point it came to a point where I had to free myself from Michael and let go.
'Even three or four years later, people who recognized me kept asking me: 'You are Schumacher's ex-manager. How is Michael?” Then I stopped trying to explain it and thought, “Why doesn't anyone ask how I am?”
'For me it was clear: “Well, it's over now. This nonsense has to get out of my head.”
Weber revealed he was 'still angry' after being 'left out of Schumacher's inner circle' and astonishingly claimed in July 2022 that the family 'lied' in an attempt to stop him from visiting his former client.
He told Gazetta dello Sport last year: 'It was a huge pain for me. I tried to contact Corinna hundreds of times but she didn't answer. I called Jean Todt to ask him if I should go to the hospital and he told me to wait – “it's too early”.
“I called the next day and no one answered,” he continued. 'I didn't expect this kind of behavior and I'm still angry about it.
'They kept me out and said, 'It's too early', well, now it's too late. It's been nine years. Maybe they should just tell it like it is.”
Schumacher and his wife Corinna pictured during a skiing holiday in northern Italy in 2005
'I could initially understand the situation because I always did everything I could for Michael to protect his private life. But since then we seem to have heard nothing but lies from them.
'For years after the accident, I told myself that I just had to take care of my family, because I couldn't change things. He was like a son to me. Even today it pains me to talk about it.”
Weber now appears to have changed his mind, after telling the Cologne Express this week that he 'blames himself'.
December 29 marks exactly ten years since Schumacher tragically died.