‘I prefer to remember him smiling': Flavio Briatore explains why he stays away from Michael Schumacher

Time of India

4 hours ago

More than a decade after
Michael Schumacher
's life-altering skiing crash, former Benetton team boss Flavio Briatore has offered one of the few fresh glimpses into the F1 legend's closed world. Speaking to
Italy's Corriere della Sera
, and echoed in follow-up coverage across international outlets, the 74-year-old said he still speaks with Schumacher's wife, Corinna, but chooses not to visit the seven-time world champion at their Swiss home.
His reasons shed light on both a long, private friendship and the painful reality of Schumacher's condition.
A friend who keeps his distance
'If I close my eyes, I see Michael smiling after a victory. I'd rather remember him like that than see him lying in bed,' Briatore told the paper.
Those words capture a dilemma familiar to many who have watched loved ones suffer catastrophic injury: the pull between loyalty and the wish to preserve happier memories.
Schumacher, 56, has not been seen in public since the off-piste accident in Méribel, France, on 29 December 2013, which left him with severe brain trauma.
In steady touch with Corinna
Although he stays away physically, Briatore said the lines of communication remain open. 'Corinna and I talk often,' he revealed, underscoring the mutual trust that still links Schumacher's inner circle to the man who first spotted the German's talent in the early 1990s.
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Corinna has famously guarded her husband's privacy, releasing virtually no medical detail beyond confirming that he continues rehabilitation at their Lake Geneva estate. Briatore's comment respects that secrecy while hinting at the solidarity friends maintain from a distance.
The Benetton bond that changed F1
Briatore's connection to Schumacher runs deep: as Benetton team principal he fast-tracked a 22-year-old rookie into the seat in 1991, then built the outfit around him.
Schumacher repaid that faith with back-to-back world titles in 1994 and 1995—championships that launched a career which ultimately tied Lewis Hamilton's record of seven crowns.
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That shared history explains why Briatore's words carry weight; few others were as close during the German's meteoric rise.
A guarded legacy, a public yearning
Since the accident, official updates on Schumacher have been scant. Even small gestures—like fellow great Sir Jackie Stewart carrying a helmet bearing the initials 'MS' during a Bahrain GP lap earlier this year—make headlines because information is so rare.
Briatore's decision 'not to intrude,' as some supporters interpret it, reinforces the family's stance: Michael's recovery is private, and memories of his brilliance on track remain the picture they wish the world to keep.
Why Briatore's stance matters
Fans, sponsors and former colleagues still crave news of one of motorsport's biggest icons. Yet Briatore's comments remind observers that respect sometimes means restraint. By choosing memories of a champion lifting trophies over the reality of long-term care, he signals that Schumacher's competitive spirit—not his injury—should define his story.
As the F1 paddock rolls on without the driver who once owned its record books, that perspective may be the closest thing to an update the public receives—and, Briatore suggests, perhaps the fairest way to honor a friend.
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