On December 29, 2013, legendary Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher suffered life-changing injuries in a skiing accident from which he continues to recover today

Michael Schumacher’s condition continues to be a closely-guarded secret(Image: PACO SERINELLI/AFP via Getty Images)

A close friend of stricken Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher has predicted when we might learn “a little bit more” about the seven-time World champion’s health. However, those holding out hope of hearing official news about the German’s condition any time soon should prepare to be disappointed.

Schumacher has lived entirely out of the public eye since suffering life-changing injuries in a skiing accident on December 29, 2013. Very few details of his condition and care have emerged in the 12 years since, despite the huge amount of public interest, largely because of how devoted his wife Corinna has been to protecting her husband’s privacy.

Beyond immediate family members, only a small inner circle of implicitly trusted allies have been allowed to visit Schumacher and to know any specific details about his care. Even some of those who had a close bond with the F1 legend before his accident have been blocked from spending time with him in the years since. For example, his former manager Willi Weber has been vocally critical of the decision to keep him in the dark.

Richard Hopkins is another who has been excluded, despite his previous relationship with Schumacher. He would regularly have coffee breaks with the racer despite working for rival teams, most notably McLaren, from the early-1990s when Schumacher first burst onto the scene until 2007, the year after the seven-time champion’s first retirement from Ferrari.

It’s difficult,” Hopkins told Mirror Sport of being left in the dark. “I think all of us, and it’s just human nature, want to know. We would love to know. I guess for some people, and me included, not knowing is okay as well. Unfortunately, we create our own ideas, but we can only imagine that not a lot is being said because there’s maybe not a lot to say.

“We’re not seeing him because maybe the family don’t want him to be seen in the condition he’s in. That obviously generates your own ideas and images, and I think we all probably have a similar idea of the state that he’s in. We’re probably not too far off the mark in our assumptions of where he’s at right now.

“I haven’t really spoken to anybody closer to that inner circle about what I think. But I think we all think the same. Of course it’s a little bit frustrating that we’re kept in the dark. But I don’t think we’re that in the dark – I think our own assumptions are fairly accurate about where he’s at right now.”

The level of interest in his health, though, is no surprise to Hopkins. He added: “There are rubberneckers who love the gore and everything else, and then there are genuine people who had a lot of time for Michael, either within the paddock or watching him on TV. There’s genuine curiosity, but there are two sides to it. But I think it’s okay. Maybe the fact that questions are constantly asked isn’t a bad thing. It keeps him remembered.”

Schumacher won seven F1 titles including five in a row with Ferrari(Image: Patrick HERTZOG / AFP via Getty Images)

Schumacher is believed to reside primarily at the family’s home on Lake Geneva, cared for by a team of medical staff. Other than immediate family, only a select few people are allowed to visit. The exact list is unclear but among those known to have access are former Ferrari team principal and FIA president Jean Todt, Austrian former F1 racer Gerhard Berger and former journalist Sabine Kehm, who manages the Schumacher family.

And Hopkins expects the circle to remain small for as long as Schumacher lives. He said: “I’m sure the day that he’s no longer with us, we might be privy to a little bit more information. But all the while he’s with us, in whatever state that is, the family are respecting his privacy. I don’t think there will ever be a day while he’s alive when suddenly everything comes out. But maybe when he’s no longer with us, we’ll find out a little bit more about his life post-accident.”