Michael Schumacher: Schumacher family 'remain confident' F1 champion can recover as his website returns to celebrate first title

Twenty years ago today Schumacher won his first F1 Drivers' Championship and his official website has re-launched to pay a fitting tribute

Jack de Menezes

Thursday 13 November 2014 14:24 GMT

Michael Schumacher celebrates his first F1 Drivers' Championship (Getty Images)

Michael Schumacher’s family has issued a statement thanking his fans “for facing this fight together with him and us” on the day that his official website was reactivated, 20 years to the day after he secured his first Formula One Drivers’ Championship.

Schumacher suffered a serious head injury in a skiing accident on 31 December last year after hitting his head on a rock while skiing off-piste in the exclusive ski resort of Meribel in France. After being transported to and treated at the Grenoble University Hospital where he was placed in a medically-induced coma, Schumacher was moved a hospital in Lausanne in Switzerland, before he was moved back to the family home near Geneva in September.

Issuing a short statement on the website http://www.michael-schumacher.de/, Schumacher’s family – wife Corrina, son Mick and daughter Gina – expressed their gratitude for the support worldwide that has come in for the seven-time F1 world champion.

The 10 best F1 drivers

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1/10The 10 best F1 drivers

The 10 best F1 drivers

AYRTON SENNA

The tragic death of Ayrton Senna promoted the Brazilian's status in Formula One to almost mythical status. Yet even if he hadn't died in front of a world wide audience doing what he loved, his achievements in his all too short career would still have had him jostling for the title of the greatest F1 driver of all time. Senna is now considered something of a forerunner to the modern driver, who prided himself on his fitness and understanding of the modern Grand Prix cars. When he joined forces with Alain Prost at McLaren, the young driver showed no sign of being overawed by the established champion, and in the end forced Prost to move on. On the track words such as brave, fast and daring were used to describe him - and are the attributes that took him to three world titles. When he died in May 1994 in an accident at the San Marino Grand Prix, he was trying to fend off the challenge of a young Michael Schumacher. F1 fans never got a chance to see the two duel for supremacy over an extended period - but could they have done - it would have been one of the most fascinating battles in F1 history.

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The 10 best F1 drivers

JIM CLARK

When Jim Clark joined Lotus it was a match made in heaven. Like some of the others on this list, Clark was completely dominant during his time in Formula One in the mid-60s. He was recognised for his natural ability behind the wheel. As well as winning two F1 championships he also excelled in saloon and rally races. The race for which he is often remembered is the 1963 Spa-Francorchamps Grand Prix in Belgium. In dreadful conditions, Clark lapped the entire field, effectively putting him eight miles ahead of his nearest rival in a display of supreme wet weather driving. The quiet Scotsman may well have gone on to record more Grand Prix victories and titles had he not lost his life in the pouring rain at a Formula Two race at Hockenheim in April 1968.

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MICHAEL SCHUMACHER

The seven-time World Champion was utterly dominant during his time in the sport, particularly his spell with Ferrari with whom he picked up five titles. There is no doubt surrounding his ability behind the wheel, but question marks have always been raised regarding his sportsmanship. His first title came in 1994 amid dubious circumstances in which he crashed into title rival Damon Hill, preventing the Brit winning the championship. He tried a similar tactic against Jacques Villeneuve in 1997, but on that occasion the authorities came down hard and expunged him from the records. But whatever people think of Schumacher, there is no doubting the mark he's left on Formula One.

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The 10 best F1 drivers

JACKIE STEWART

Jackie Stewart was something of a pioneer when it came to the playboy lifestyle often associated with the drivers of today. He became the sports first millionaire, dined out with royalty and spent much of his time in Monaco. But all of this wouldn't have been possible had the Scot not have been so formidable behind the wheel. Stewart was blindingly fast and drove himself to three championships. He could have gone on to record many more achievements but after the death of team-mate and close friend Francois Cevert, Stewart walked away from the sport in a stand against slack safety-standards. Many of the safety provisions in place today are thanks to his campaigning.

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FERNANDO ALONSO

There are numerous young drivers on the current grid that could stake a claim to be in the mix for the greatest driver. Lewis Hamilton has been nothing short of breathtaking since he emerged on the scene while Jenson Button showed incredible patience before guiding his Brawn to the title. Yet it is the Spaniard Fernando Alonso who makes the cut. He lifted the world title twice during his first stint at Renault, and was the driver who ended Michael Schumacher's run of five straight titles. He's now often remembered for his part in the bitter power struggle with Lewis Hamilton at McLaren, but with his return to a competitive car with Ferrari, don't bet against this undoubtedly gifted driver winning more titles. He has as much of a claim to become one of the greats as Lewis Hamilton.

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The 10 best F1 drivers

JUAN MANUEL FANGIO

If Ayrton Senna was the Pele of motorsport, Juan Manuel Fangio was certainly the Diego Maradona. The Argentine's incredible record seemed to defy logic. A rotund figure with powerful forearms, Fangio was also 47 when he won his last Grand Prix. He drove in only 51 Grand Prix yet started 48 of them from the front row and won almost half of them. The Argentine won five titles with four different teams in a career noted for his sporting behaviour and awesome driving ability.

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SEBASTIAN VETTEL

He's been labelled the Schumacher of his day for two reasons. One, he's German. The other, he's dominated the sport in recent years, winning the last four Drivers' Championships. Some have put his success down to the Red Bull car under him, but the fact he put his former team-mate Mark Webber in the shadows before the Australian retired, prove just what a good driver he is.

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ALBERTO ASCARI

The very name of Alberto Ascari conjures romantic images of Italian motorsport. Already a notable driver, Ascari teamed up with Enzo Ferrari in the 1950s and together they would win two Formula One titles. He was noted for his steely concentration and at times the wild, jerky corner taking that he would employ to drag the best out of the car beneath him. His career came to an abrupt end when at the 1955 Moncaco Grand Prix he careered into the harbour. Then a few days later he died at Monza during testing for Ferrari. Ascari was revered in his home country, and as the only Italian to win a title at the wheel of a Ferrari, he remains so.

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ALAIN PROST

Alain Prost's style of driving failed to win over the purists. He drove every race in exactly the same way: he didn't take risks, refused to enter any hi-jinks with other drivers and drove a considered, intelligent race. He was the antithesis of his great rival Ayrton Senna. Yet 'The Professor's' four world championships are testament to the fact that while the Frenchman may have not won many friends, he did win a lot of races.

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NELSON PIQUET

Another Brazilian driver to make the cut in out ten best list. Piquet took three titles during his Formula One career, all the more remarkable considering the likes of Alain Prost, Niki Lauda and Ayrton Senna were all competing against him at the time. Piquet was regarded as something of a serious professional with undeniable intelligence. His technical know-how helped him reach the peaks of the sport and his rivalry with Nigel Mansell when the two were team-mates at Williams is one of the most fondly cherished in the history of Formula One. The legend that Nelson Piquet Jnr had to live up to can not be underestimated.

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It added: "We remain confident and hope the best for Michael. Your strength is helping us to keep supporting him.”

There was no medical update regarding Schumacher’s condition as he continues his recovery from a serve head trauma.

What was uploaded to the site was a brief re-cap of the season-ending race in Adelaide, where Schumacher would beat Damon Hill to the 1994 Drivers’ Championship – albeit in controversial circumstances after the German caused a collision between the two that handed him the title which many have condemned as deliberate.

Schumacher ended the race in the barrier but Hill's retirement saw him crowned world champion (Getty Images)

However, the passage goes on to explain how Schumacher’s success revolutionised the modern day driver, something that simply cannot be questioned.

Written in German, the final paragraph takes in both the moments after Schumacher’s success 20 years ago, and the effect that his career has had on the sport worldwide, not just in Germany.

“’I'm not a legend,’ he [Schumacher]defends early on, ‘I'm just someone who is lucky enough to be good at something, that makes it fun.’ Behind this public shyness hides an enormous will. As a 25-year-old he already begins to shape a whole new type of Formula 1 racing driver: Analytical, fitter, more complex, which will challenge his everyday life.”

An original statement from Schumacher’s manager Sabine Kehm announced that the website would be re-launched to give his fans a “home”.

Schumacher celebrates with his mechanics after winning the 1994 world championship (Getty Images)

The statement read: "November 13, 1994, is a special day in the sporting life of Michael Schumacher – 20 years ago he was the first German to ever win the Formula One world championship title, his first of seven titles.

"To mark the 20th anniversary of his first world champion title we will reactivate Michael’s homepage. We hope to thus give the many fans from all over the world, whose sympathy is still unbroken after his accident, a home.

"The newly designed homepage features many pictures and stories of Michael’s unparalleled career, all races, data and facts. There is also a fan-area where fans can send their twitter-messages to.

Schumacher finally retired in 2012 after a stint with Mercedes (AP)

The latest medical update on Schumacher’s condition came via his manager Sabine Kehm when she confirmed that the 45-year-old had been moved to the family home two months ago.

“Henceforth, Michael’s rehabilitation will take place at his home,” said Kehm. “Considering the severe injuries he suffered, progress has been made in the past weeks and months. There is still, however, a long and difficult road ahead.

“We would like to extend our gratitude to the entire team at the CHUV Lausanne for their thorough and competent work.

“We ask that the privacy of Michael’s family continue to be respected, and that speculations about his state of health are avoided.”

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