As Formula One drivers prepare for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix next weekend, Michael Schumacher continues a very different fight far away.
There remains huge respect for the seven-time F1 champion who, more than four years after a near-fatal brain injury in a skiing accident, is still being cared for at home in the quiet Swiss town of Gland on the shores of Lake Geneva. He's been treated there since September 2014. The thick forest surrounding his castle-like home provides sanctuary from fan and media intrusion with high surrounding walls.
While his family fiercely protects his privacy, Schumacher's reputation still towers over F1, and fans of all ages continue to adore him.
"What can be said is that the family really appreciates the empathy of the fans," Schumacher's manager Sabine Kehm told The Associated Press by telephone on Friday. "The people really do see and understand (his health situation) is not to be shared in the public eye."
The current condition of the 49-year-old German's health remains closely guarded. Kehm would not comment on it when asked by the AP.
On March 18, 2012 - Schumacher began the last season of his F1 career at the Australian GP in Melbourne. He secured the last of his mammoth 155 podiums that year at the European GP in Valencia on June 24, 2012, before retiring definitively at the age of 43.
In his last race Schumacher finished seventh behind Sebastian Vettel. It felt somewhat like a changing of the guard, with Vettel growing up with posters of his German countryman on his wall.
A little more than a year later, Schumacher was fighting for his life.
Source : Associated Press
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