Ex-manager accuses Schumacher family of ‘lies’
Willi Weber, former manager of F1 icon Michael Schumacher, has blasted the family of the multiple-time world champion whose condition remains a mystery nine years on from the serious accident he suffered while skiing in the French Alps.
Schumacher's health status remains a closely guarded secret following the 2013 accident after which he was in a coma for six months – with only scant reports being released to the media via the Schumacher family, or former Ferrari chief executive Jean Todt in the following years.
And Weber, whose association with Schumacher began in the 1980s when he signed him to compete in Formula Three, is not happy that he has been effectively shut out in the wake of the tragic accident.
“It was a huge pain for me,” said Weber via translation to the Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I tried hundreds of times to contact [his wife] Corinna and 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. I didn’t expect behavior 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.”
Weber added that he was initially understanding of the Schumacher family's requests for privacy – but he says that he now feels hurt at what he sees as a continuing effort to maintain distance between them and a figure who was one crucial to Schumacher's competitive career.
“I could understand the situation initially as I always did everything I could for Michael to protect his private life,” Weber explained.
“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.”
It remains unlikely that Weber's very public plea for information will have any impact on the Schumacher estate's appetite to distribute it, given that they have had several such opportunities and requests over the years.
Last year's Netflix documentary 'Schumacher' was expected to peel back the curtain on the German star's life in the years following his accident - but almost no new information was released, prompting some reviewers to declare it “light on details”.
