National Multi Media reported this week that Lewis Hamilton "stormed to a provisional fifth Silverstone pole in his career" at a qualifying session for the British Grand Prix. His achievement meant that he closed within one of Michael Schumacher's 68 poles. This brings Michael to mind for F1 sports lovers, who have never quite forgotten their hero.
Regardless of what the future holds, Michael Schumacher will go down as one of the greatest pilots Formula 1 has ever had. It's been almost five years since Schumacher made his final appearance in an F1 race.
It happened at the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix when the German finished in the seventh spot.
But, the biggest news involving the former F1 champion came out of nowhere in December 2013 when he suffered a horrific accident while skiing in the French Alps. The tragic event he was involved in had a shocking part in it as Schumacher was known for his well-established skiing skills. Instead of sitting out enjoying his retirement, he ended up in a hospital bed in a coma.
It was the moment his saga gathered momentum with all of major media rushing in for further information. The picture of that medical facility in Grenoble, France was the tip of the iceberg. As updates were poor or non-existent, some inevitable things happened.
In a rush to get some viewership some people decided to fabricate alternate, untruthful stories. That led to a backlash from Schumacher's family who sued some news outlets for their behavior.
In 2016 it was reported by AdelaideNow that "Schumacher’s family is taking German magazine Bunte to court over a cover story that claimed he could walk again." Apparently, the family were also arguing for the right to privacy for Michael.
Both sides made mistakes
These days, the news and updates on Michael Schumacher's well-being are non-existent. As far as the public knows, he is in his home located somewhere outside Geneve, Switzerland where he has been receiving proper care since he left the hospital in Grenoble back in 2014. This saga saw both media and his family making some early mistakes that eventually altered the communication channel.
While his family insisted on an extended period of privacy, media didn't back off and this led to a tense environment. So far, the most reliable source has been Schumacher's manager Sabine Kehm.
The truth belongs to both sides
His family has all the right in the world to keep a fair distance from the media but on the other hand, media is where people find the information they have an interest in. Michael Schumacher remains one one the greatest characters sports has ever created. In the end. it's a hard business to reach a balance between these sides even though recently the noise began to fade away. Having seven F1 world titles under his belt, Schumacher's milestone is yet to be reached by another pilot.
