Family, fans and loyal supporters of legendary F1 driver and seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher are still clinging to hopes that the 46-year-old racing icon would recover from his horrible skiing accident in the French Alps in late December 2013.
This as reports surfaced that a Ferrarri FXX signed exclusively by Shumacher is up for auction, various reports said.
A report by The Telegraph said there were little details about the progress of Shumacher's recovery ever since he was lifter from a medically induced coma. His wife Corinna, has imposed a complete news blackout and is guarding the family's privacy like a hawk.
Corinna has been maintained by a heavy security presence around Schumacher's spacious property. At this stage, he is recovering at a custom-built clinic that was built on the grounds of his home overlooking Lake Geneva. Schumacher has been receiving around-the-clock care from a medical staff whose members have been required to sign confidentiality agreements.
In June, Schumacher's team manager Sabine Kehm has requested the public to respect the family's wish of privacy. "Michael always had strict rules that we worked out together," Kehm said and added, "He kept his job strictly separately from the private side, and he never deviated from that. There was never a 'home story', and no journalist ever had his phone number."
She added that Schumacher's family also has to deal with constant prying of photographers and paparazzi's who made a permanent camp outside of their home in Gland Lake Geneva where Michael was flown in September by his wife Corinna to start his long process of rehabilitation.
Kehm continued, "It is never relaxed, because this is a permanent load," Kehm said and added that some photographers have even deployed low-flying helicopters near the Schumacher's home to capture some photos.
Separately, Motor Authority reported that a Ferrari FXX 29/30 personally signed by Schumacher will be up for auction on September 26 in Berlin, Germany. The track-only model is expected to fetch at least $2.3 million. It was originally priced at $3 million when it was built in 2006. Another model was built especially for Schumacher, the FXX 30/30 that comes in black.
In August, Schumacher and Corinna celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary. A source who claimed to be a close friend of the Schumachers said the F1 champion was never interested in any other women except Corinna.
"All the models, the groupies, the...pit-stop girls never meant a thing to Michael," the source said. "They [the Schumachers] truly married their souls as well as their bodies. He doesn't know she's in the room with him in Grenoble but all the time that positive love is flowing into him. No one loves him more than Corinna. If he should not come through this, then life as she knows it will also end. She could never love again."
Schumacher has won 91 races in his storied F1 career and is listed as the wealthiest driver ever to have raced in Formula One, amassing a fortune estimated to be over $791.3 million.
But his family is also believed to be spending $152,000-a-week for his care, with the total amount spent for his rehabilitation has spiraled to more than $15.2 million.
