Jean Todt has continuously updated the public on Michael Schumacher’s health (Image: Getty)
Former CEO and team principal Jean Todt is still a close friend of , and he continues to share what updates he can to fans regarding the German icon’s health situation. Schumacher, who won five F1 world titles under Todt, since his life-changing skiing accident in 2013.
was rocked over a decade ago when it was announced that seven-time world champion Schumacher had sustained a severe brain injury whilst skiing with his son in the French Alps and had been placed in a medically induced coma.
The German returned home in 2014 to continue private rehabilitation, and whilst members of the public have not seen him since, his peer Todt perseveres with issuing updates – . Express Sport dives into all the briefs issued by the 78-year-old over the years since the tragedy.
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“The family has decided not to answer the question (on his condition) – a choice that I respect,” Todt told this week, in what was his latest disclosure of information regarding Schumacher’s health.
“I see him regularly and with affection, him and his family. Our bond goes beyond the past work. It is part of my life, which today is very far from Formula 1.”
It is now almost exactly a decade since one of Todt’s first updates – and one that painted a very different and far less pleasant picture of the iconic driver’s condition.
Todt regularly visits Schumacher (Image: Getty)
‘Still fighting’
In 2015, around two years after the accident, one of Todt’s first updates made it clear that both the German and his family were very much in a battle as Schumacher’s rehabilitation began.
“Michael is a close friend, his family is very close to me, and I’m very close to them as well,” Todt told reporters 10 years ago. “I see Michael very often, and Michael is still fighting, and we must keep fighting with the family.”
In the months and years following Todt’s comment, improvements would be seen, and a telling admission in 2021 revealed just how dedicated a friend Todt had been.
Michael Schumacher would ski with his wife (Image: Getty)
‘I see him twice a month’
Four years ago, it became quite evident that the relationship Todt and Schumacher had formed on the track – which saw them become an F1 powerhouse – had continued off of it with the former driver in an unknown state.
“I see Michael at least twice a month,” Todt told . “I don’t leave him alone. Him, Corinna, the family: we’ve had so many experiences together. The beauty of what we have experienced is part of us, and it goes on.”
A year later, Todt would come out with another statement, and this one would provide fans of the sport with a much greater sense of hope.
Schumacher raced for four teams across his F1 career, and retired from the sport in 2012 (Image: Getty)
‘I watch races with Michael’
Though the days of Todt working behind the scenes and Schumacher at the wheel have become distant memories, the Frenchman’s heartfelt admission regarding time lost three years ago also shed light on the activities the pair have shared since the accident.
“I don’t miss Michael. I see him,” Todt told in 2022, asked about interactions with his ex-colleague. “Yes, it’s true, I watch races with Michael. But sure, I guess what I miss is what we used to do together.”
Todt revealed he misses the duo’s glory days with La Scuderia, and 12 months on from such a revelation, he would be quite frank when asked about the state of his dear friend.
Todt and Schumacher won five world titles together (Image: Getty)
‘His life is different’
Though throughout his time visiting the stricken Schumacher, Todt has often opened up about the experiences shared between the two, in 2023, the 78-year-old summed up the painful situation simply.
“Michael is here, so I don’t miss him,” Todt told in 2023. “[But he] is simply not the Michael he used to be. He is different and is wonderfully guided by his wife and children who protect him.
“His life is different now, and I have the privilege of sharing moments with him. That’s all there is to say. Unfortunately, fate struck him 10 years ago. He is no longer the Michael we knew in Formula 1.”
Todt continues to visit Schumacher, and Elisabetta Gregoraci – the former partner of ex-F1 chief Flavio Briatore – has admitted that the German ‘can communicate but only through his eyes,’ meaning that perhaps such moments will be shared between both for the foreseeable future.