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Nine years on, a heartfelt thought for Michael Schumacher

Nine years ago today, tragedy struck seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher while he was on holiday with his family, skiing in the French Alps.

The retired F1 legend and his then 14-year-old son Mick were descending the 'Combe de Saulire' in Meribel when the former Ferrari driver fell and hit his head on a rock.

Even though he had been wearing a helmet at the time, Schumacher was seriously injured and airlifted to Grenoble Hospital. He underwent two emergency surgeries to stabilise his condition and save his life, and was subsequently put into a medically induced coma.

Read also: Schumacher aiming for significant contribution at Mercedes

Ever since the accident, the Schumacher family has asked for privacy, fiercely guarding all news about his condition. Former FIA president Jean Todt appears to be the only outsider who is allowed to regularly visit the great champion at his home in Switzerland, or in Spain.

But the Frenchman has always honoured his duty of confidentiality.

Michael Schumacher's absence has left a massive hole in the world of motorsport and in the heart of his family and fans.

In the 'Schumacher' documentary released earlier this year on Netflix, the extent of his father's absence were laid bare by Mick.

"Dad and me, we would understand each other now in a different way now," he said. "Simply because we speak a similar language, the language of motorsport.

"We would have so much more to talk about. That's where my head is most of the time. Thinking that it would be cool that would be.

"I would give up everything just for that."

Our thoughts on this day are with his Corinna, Mick and Michael's daughter Gina-Marie.

#KeepFightingMichael

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.