Michael Schumacher: 10 years on from skiing accident, F1 icon’s stardom still shines bright
In a five-part documentary series aired a fortnight ago exclusively in Germany, the finale to the second episode of Being Michael Schumacher encapsulated quite flawlessly the emotional hold the seven-time Formula One world champion had – and still has – on the sporting world. For we are not in Germany. Nor are we at Monza or Imola, home to Ferrari’s legendary tifosi fanbase. We are in Stavelot, Belgium, five miles away from the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit, deep in the Ardennes Forest.
The show speaks fan based in the small municipal town. Asked to reminisce about the German driver, he tells of how Schumacher fans were “more noisy in a good sense… now it’s not the same, it’s different”. Then he precedes to describe Schumacher as his “idol”, before a statement which would be impractical if the memories and records did not support it.
