Ex-teammate Johnny Herbert opens up on Michael Schumacher’s battle

Johnny Herbert, who was Michael Schumacher’s teammate for his first two world titles, has opened up on the German’s family.

Michael Schumacher and wife Corinna at the Spanish F1 Grand Prix on May 9, 2004. (Photo by Getty Images)

Michael Schumacher is credited with having 11 teammates throughout his Formula 1 career, including one that holds a special place in the German’s honour board, Johnny Herbert.

That’s because the former British driver was alongside Schumacher for his first two world titles, with Benetton in 1994 and 1995.

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Like everyone who has followed the Schumacher story, the 59-year-old Herbert is devastated by the skiing accident and tragic aftermath that has enormously impacted Michael, wife Corinna and the rest of the family over the past decade.

But Herbert, who won three F1 races in his career and finished fourth in that 1995 title race, says the family is at least carrying out Michael’s wishes in terms of living their own lives.

“I knew Corinna a little bit because she used to be with (former driver) Heinz Harald Frentzen before she met Michael,” Herbert told Grosvenor Sport.

“She has said they are trying to carry on as a family as Michael would have wanted. They are getting on with their lives, but private does mean private.

Michael Schumacher and wife Corinna at the Spanish F1 Grand Prix on May 9, 2004. (Photo by Getty Images)

“Corinna is a lovely lady. She has been around the paddock a long, long time. My wife used to sit around with her and have long chats during our time together in 1995.

“She is a very family oriented woman who was obviously very strong even at that time, dealing with all the pressures of being the wife of Michael Schumacher then bringing up the kids as well was always a big deal.

“Then the awful accident, then (son) Mick coming into karting. Corinna was always there for Mick, as he moved through F3, F2 then into F1.

“She wasn’t at every race but she was always a huge support for him.”

Schumacher’s ex-manager Willi Webber said this week he doesn’t “hold any more hope” of seeing the Formula 1 legend again.

Weber revealed he has received “no positive news” after allegedly being shut out of the racing star’s life for the last 10 years.

Weber has previously shared his grievances about being “banned” from seeing Schumacher by the seven-time world champion’s wife Corinna and has previously accused the family of telling lies about his health.

Johnny Herbert at the Adelaide Grand Prix back in 1995. Photo: News Corp

It is another sad twist just days after Schumacher’s close friend and former boss Jean Todt said the Formula 1 legend “is no longer the Michael we knew”.

December 29 will mark a decade since the racer’s tragic ski accident in the French Alps that left him in a medically-induced coma for 250 days.

Schumacher, 54, has not appeared publicly since 2013 and his condition has been a closely-guarded secret kept by his privacy-focused family.

Herbert said the tragic story is still having implications on the F1 paddock.

“There has been a huge void left since Schumacher’s crash,” he said.

“When the accident happened it was a big shock for everybody. He had been such a fixture around the paddock for so long, achieving all those wins and championships.

“He was massively respected by the flock of current drivers at the time, but actually probably by nearly all the drivers today.

“If you ask them who was the driver they looked up to and watched when you were growing up, they would say Michael.

“Michael was the one who drove them to achieve their dream of getting into Formula 1.”

Herbert wasn’t sure Schumacher would enjoy being a driver these days as a lot of control has been given to engineers in recent years.

Mick Schumacher has only had a short and unsuccessful stint in F1 to date. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images)

He is also particularly sad about the impact the accident has had on son Mick, the 24-year-old who spent two difficult F1 seasons with Haas in 2021-22.

“Mick has said he could always talk to Michael about racing before the accident,” Herbert said.

“And that is one of the saddest things for any sportsman and you get that opportunity, and you have a father who has been so successful, it would have been a very important part of his development at that time.

“But Mick never had that unfortunately. He just had that relationship up until the skiing accident.

“All the pressures were on Mick’s shoulders just because of the name that he had.

“Michael would have loved the opportunity to work with his son to try and put all his experiences into enabling Mick to be a very different character to what we have seen.

“Because he was alone in his F1 career. Michael would have been a big help and that father-son relationship would have been a very beneficial thing for Mick.”