The extremely select few people permitted to see Michael Schumacher has been extended to include the girlfriend of his son, Mick.
The Formula One legend’s health status has remained unknown since the 2013 skiing accident that saw him spend 250 days in a coma.
His family, led by wife Corrina, have deliberately kept him shielded from the outside world, and even some of his closest family and friends from years gone by have been denied access to the German star.
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The same can no longer be said for Danish model Laila Hasanovic though, who, having been dating Mick Schumacher since last August, has been permitted to see Michael by the family, according to Swedish publication Expressen.
It’s understood 23-year-old Hasanovic was given the green light to see her boyfriend’s famous and very ill father late last year.
The news will come as a bitter blow to others who haven’t been afforded the same privilege despite decades of friendship with Schumacher, like his former manager, Willi Weber.
Weber last month bemoaned the fact that he has “no hope” of ever seeing his friend again, despite having been by his side for much of his iconic career.
“When I think about Michael now, unfortunately, I no longer have any hope of seeing him again. No positive news after 10 years,” Weber told German publication Cologne Express in December.
Specifics surrounding Schumacher’s dire condition are unclear, but rare insights from those closest to him suggest he can no longer communicate or move freely.
The seven-time F1 world champion’s son, Mick, said in 2021 that he “would give up everything” just to talk to him.
Weber, who managed Schumacher until the year before his accident, says he deeply regrets not making the effort to visit his former client immediately after it happened.
“Of course I regret that very much and blame myself,” he said.
“I should have visited Michael in the hospital.
“I grieved like a dog after his accident. It hit me incredibly hard, you can imagine that.
“Of course also the fact that Corinna no longer allowed any contact.
“But at some point the point came when I had to free myself from Michael and let go. The crap has to get out of my head.
“Even three or four years later, people who recognised me kept asking me, ‘you’re Schumacher’s ex-manager. How is Michael?’ Then I stopped trying to explain and thought, ‘Why doesn’t anyone ask how I’m doing?’
“For me it was clear: ‘Well, now it’s over’.”
Weber showed an air of wistful bitterness when he made headlines last year for demanding the Schumacher family be more transparent about the state of his health.
“I tried hundreds of times to contact Corinna and she didn’t answer,” he told Italian publication, La Gazetta dello Sport.
“I called (Schumacher’s closest friend) Jean Todt to ask him if I should go to the hospital and he told me to wait — ‘it’s too early’.
“They kept me out, telling me it’s too early — well, now it’s too late. It’s been nine years. Maybe they should just say it the way it is.”