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Topics: Michael Schumacher, Formula 1, Charity
Michael Schumacher has signed a charity helmet in one of the only public acts we have seen from the F1 legend since his tragic skiing accident.
The German race driver is only topped by Lewis Hamilton when it comes to race wins and is widely regarded as one of the greatest in history.
However, the 56-year-old is perhaps less well known by new fans of the sport, due to him not being seen in public ever since he suffered an accident when skiing with his son in December 2013.
Schumacher cracked his safety helmet after hitting his head in the French Alps, was airlifted to hospital and placed into a medically-induced coma, where he remained until 2014.
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He has spent the best part of the last 11 years hidden away from the public view, living at home with his wife Corinna.
It has been suggested that a dedicated staff of medical staff, who work round-the-clock, also help to care for Michael alongside his family.
While the full details of his condition remain unclear, it has been confirmed that he is no longer able to walk, and his family are determined to keep his life private.
But, Schumacher wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to give something back, as he signed a crash helmet belonging to fellow F1 icon Sir Jackie Stewart, which will be sold to raise money for the 85-year-old's charity Race Against Dementia.
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With the help of his wife, the former Ferrari driver signed his initials M.S on the helmet, in a heartwarming gesture which will no doubt see the value of the helmet increase.
“It is wonderful that Michael could sign the helmet in this worthy cause – a disease for which there is no cure,” Stewart told The Daily Mail.
“His wife helped him, and it completed the set of every single champion still with us.”
Stewart founded the charity in 2014, after his wife Lady Helen was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and he revealed in a heartbreaking interview with the BBC recently that she had failed to recognise him for the first time.
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He said: “Just the other day it was time for dinner, she’s getting up and I’m sitting close by, and she says, ‘Where’s Jackie?’ That’s the first time that’s happened and that’s only a few weeks ago.
“A bad feeling came over me.”
The helmet will now be auctioned off with the aim of funding a groundbreaking new blood test developed by Cambridge University, which it is hoped will help to spot dementia symptoms before they appear.