Seven years ago, motor racing fans from all over the world were left shocked by news coming from France, Michael Schumacher was in coma fighting for his life after a terrible skiing accident. The F1 ace, who was on holiday with his family and a group of Friends, was planning to celebrate the New Year and his birthday in the French alps.

Schumacher, who had retired a year before after three seasons with Mercedes, said, just like in 2006, that his batteries were low again. Although many joked that he would miss the adrenaline of a F1 car pretty soon, those who knew him well assured that the chapter was finally closed. The Kaiser was looking forward to spending time with his family, doing his many other hobbies and supporting young Mick in the go kart championships. Nobody would have ever imagined that those plans would be altered in such a tremendous way.

Little is known about the German ace ever since that terrible day. After the months spent in Grenoble and in a Swiss clinic, the Schumacher family decided to take him home to recover in private surrounded by doctors and protected from malicious photographers. Schumacher’s inner circle keeps an unbreakable pact of silence and the updates about his health are always the same. He is fighting.

During these seven years, the world hasn´t stopped and a lot has changed in the sport he dominated for over a decade. His last two teams went through diametrically opposed realities.  Mercedes, the team he started to build together with Ross Brawn, took the last seven seasons by storm with Lewis Hamilton smashing every record out there, even those unbelievable 91 victories and 7 championships that Schumacher hold for more than fifteen years. Ferrari, on the contrary, seems unable to find its way back to the glory days and even Sebastian Vettel, Schumacher’s dear friend and probably greatest fan, was axed after failing to revive the mystic of the Scuderia when the German and the Italian anthem became a victory song.

Schumi used to say that records are there to be broken so that´s probably why his family presented Lewis Hamilton with Michael’s Mercedes helmet after the Britton secured his seventh crown in Turkey.

The most important sporting news to the Schumacher family came this year when Mick was announced as a Haas driver for the next season. The 21-year-old driver, who witnessed his father’s accident, secured his seat after years of hard work and winning the F2 and F3 championships. Mick who’s also in the Ferrari Driver’s academy, will face a great challenge in the highest class that had his dad as protagonist and dominating driver for decades. It is the dream of all fans to see his dad back in a track supporting him one day.