The chairman of one of Michael Schumacher's former F1 teams has revealed the 'strict' nature of the seven-time world champion's relationship with wife Corinna during his time in the sport.
Schumacher won his seven titles between 1994 and 2004, setting numerous all-time F1 records for race wins, championships and pole positions.
Though his pole and race win records have since been overtaken by Lewis Hamilton, he and Hamilton still share the record for most F1 titles.
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In 2013, a year after his second and final retirement from F1, Schumacher suffered a traumatic brain injury while skiing in the French Alps.
He was airlifted to hospital and placed in an induced coma, from which he was brought out of June 2014.
Schumacher subsequently travelled home to continue his recovery and rehabilitation alongside his family.
There have been few updates about the German since then, with his family choosing to keep his health status a closely-guarded secret.
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He is cared for a team of medical experts, it is reported, as well as wife Corinna, who he married in 1995.
The pair have two children - daughter Gina-Maria (born 1997) and Mick (born 1999), who spent two seasons in F1 between 2021 and 2022 with Haas and now competes in the World Endurance Championship.
Schumacher and Corinna began their relationship while the German was racing for Benetton, where he would win the first two of his Drivers' Championship titles.
Benetton entered F1 as a constructor in 1986 and enjoying early success, placing in third in the Constructors' Championship in two of their first five seasons.
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The Italian team, who were based in the UK, signed Schumacher midway through the 1991 season after he had debuted for Jordan as a replacement for Bertrand Gachot, who was briefly jailed, then released on appeal, over an aggravated assault of a taxi driver in London.
Benetton were chaired between 1988 and 1998 by Alessandro Benetton, during which time they collected 27 of their 28 total F1 Grand Prix wins.
The Italian businessman was able to strike up a friendship with Schumacher during those years before the German left for Ferrari at the end of 1996.
In a new interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, he revealed that they formed a connection as his girlfriend at the time spoke German - though Schumacher's response when Benetton got together with another girlfriend, he says, summed up his relationship with Corinna.
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"I had a girlfriend who spoke German, so we had a connection," he began. "From a certain point on, things changed.
"I had another girlfriend, and he seemed a little resentful, almost as if he judged me to be frivolous.
"You see, Schumi was very strict, even in his personal matters, with Corinna."
On his first meeting with Schumacher, Benetton added: "He was already a very mature boy. As I always say, he discovered himself. His talent was obviously exquisite. He was a diamond.
"Once, during a test, he set a track record. He got out of the car, looked at me with shining eyes, and said, 'You can't even imagine what you can do with a car like that'.
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"He was immediately a unifying factor: he expected the best from everyone because he always gave his all."
Topics: Michael Schumacher, Formula 1, Mick Schumacher
Ryan Smart