Michael Schumacher isno longer bedriddenand can now sit in a wheelchair at his homes in Switzerland and Majorca, according to a new report on Monday that sheds rare light on the Formula 1 legend's condition 12 years after his near-fatal ski accident in the French Alps.

Schumacher suffered a severe head injury in December 2013 after falling and striking his head on a rock while skiing off-piste above Méribel. Doctors placed him in a medically induced coma, and since then his family has enforced an unusually strict shield of privacy around his treatment and day-to-day life. Public updates have been sparse, heavily controlled and often shrouded in legal threats to those who try to pierce the veil.

The latest claims, reported by the Daily Mail and picked up across international outlets, suggest the seven-time world champion is 'now sitting up in a wheelchair' and can be moved around his properties by carers. The paper attributed the details to unnamed sources said to be close to the family. None of this has been formally confirmed by Schumacher's representatives, so the picture remains incomplete and should be treated with caution.

Reports about Michael Schumacher stand in stark contrast to years of conjecture, including widely circulated rumours that he communicated only by blinking. According to a Daily Mail source, the 57-year-old is believed to display limited but present awareness of his surroundings. 'The feeling is he understands some of the things going on around him, but probably not all of them,' the insider was quoted as saying.

The remark has carried significant emotional weight for fans who have waited more than a decade for any sign of progress. It suggests a man not wholly absent and not quite returned, suspended somewhere in between. However, the account is filtered through unnamed sources rather than a medical bulletin or a family statement. Nothing in the report has been independently verified by doctors involved in his care.

Michael Schumacher's 2002 Belgian GP pole lap 🐎❤️pic.twitter.com/ysZHxfbnDB

What can be said with confidence is that Michael Schumacher's life since 2013 has been dominated by intensive, round-the-clock treatment at home. He is looked after by his wife,Corinna, whom he married in 1995, and a team of nurses and therapists reportedly maintaining a 24-hour watch. The scale and cost of that care have frequently been cited in court proceedings and media reports, but the family has never publicly discussed exact details.

Over the years, the absence of clear information has created a vacuum. Into that space have poured accounts ranging from hopeful whispers of 'miracle' therapies to bleak claims of total unresponsiveness. Some reports have said he was bedridden, while others have suggested he occasionally responded to familiar voices. The family's decision not to correct or confirm individual stories has allowed speculation to flourish almost unchecked.

The hunger for any image or scrap of information about Schumacher has not merely been intrusive but in some cases criminal. In 2025, three people were convicted of attempted blackmail against the family after threatening to upload hundreds of alleged photos and videos of the former driver to the dark web unless a multi-million-euro payment was made. The BBC reported that the material was purported to show Schumacher in his current state, although precisely what it contained has never been made public.

A year earlier, the rumour mill lurched into overdrive again with claims that Schumacher might make an appearance at hisdaughter's wedding. A family confidant pushed back on those reports, according to The Sun, but the story underlined how even intimate family milestones are routinely drawn into speculation about his health.

Source: International Business Times UK