A year after coming out from coma, F1 star racecar driver Michael Schumacher's progress remains nil, but his friends from Ferrari refuse to give up hope.
"We just keep praying every day that he'll recover. It's slow, but there's always hope," says Ross Brawn, one of the few friends the fiercely private Schumacher family has regularly kept in touch with, Yahoo Sports reports.
Brawn is not just a close family friend, but was also his old boss at Benetton, Ferrari and Mercedes. Previously, Michael Schumacher had won seven Formula One titles (two for Benetton and five for Ferrari) with Brawn. The F1 employer reiterated how important it was to keep in touch and "not be a pain," noting how the family was very careful of outside intrusions.
Another racecar peer, Sebastian Vettel was asked whether he could level up to Schumacher's record. The driver was moved and spoke simply of how Schumacher was his childhood hero, and still remains so. "I always had enormous respect for him, for what he achieved. Since I've been at Ferrari, I've been able to see what he did to get that success. It's incredibly impressive."
Not all of Schumacher's friends have been so positive. F1 Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone was quoted by the UK's Telegraph as saying "I don't want to see Michael like that," Ecclestone said. "I remember Michael as he was. That is how I want to see Michael. If he comes back, that is how I want Michael to be."
Schumacher has become an F1 hall of famer, and a name that is synonymous to Formula One. He has won seven world championships and is the only driver in Formula One history to finish in the top three in every race of a season. He also is a record holder for the most consecutive podium finishes.
But the world of the Schumacher family came to a drastic halt when the F1 racer was subjected to horrific skiing accident in the Alps. Schumacher was left in a coma and had to stay bed ridden in his own personalized medical suite in his home in Lausanne, Switzerland. The family has repeatedly said that no expense was to be spared for the betterment of the Formula One driver's condition. In 2015, Schumacher's properties were sold, including a Norwegian holiday home and a private jet, The Daily Mail reported.
