F1: Michael Schumacher's brother 'very different now' after awful skiing accident
F1: Michael Schumacher's former team-mate has spoken out on the Ferrari icon
PA
Michael Schumacher's brother, Ralf, is now a different person ever since his sibling's skiing accident back in 2013.
That's according to Johnny Herbert, who previously raced with Schumacher at Ferrari.
The German sustained serious injuries after crashing while skiing in the French Alps back in December 2013.
The Schumacher family have opted against disclosing all the details related to his condition in the time since, with updates rarely delivered.
Ralf Schumacher is 'very different now' following his brother's tragic skiing accident in 2013
PA
The Ferrari icon, who won seven titles during his time in F1, hit his head on a rock.
Had he not been wearing a helmet he could even have died, such is the severity of the crash.
And Herbert, speaking to Grosvenor Sport, has claimed Ralf has now had to become 'more mature' since his sibling's devastating accident.
"When Ralf Schumacher was with Sky Germany we often met," he said.
"Ralf has had to do a lot of things for and with the family given what happened to Michael.
"He has matured. He is very different now to the person he was as a driver.
"He is a good human being now. He has changed a lot having had to cope with the ongoing situation with his brother."
Schumacher's close friend, Roger Benoit, recently said the German was a 'case without hope'.
"No," he told Blick when asked if he was able to provide an update on Schumacher and his condition.
"There is only one answer to this question and that is what his son Mick gave in one of his rare interviews in 2022: ‘I would give anything to talk to dad’.
"This sentence says everything about how his father has been doing for over 3500 days. A case without hope.”
Yet Herbert has taken issue with Benoit's comments while insisting it's all 'very sad'.
"There’s never any news," added the 59-year-old. "What we do know is we never hear any positive news.
"That’s the horrible thought that he is still not able to be close to the Michael that we all remember. And that is very sad."
And Herbert also said that, had Schumacher not sustained his injuries, the F1 hero would have been an excellent pundit.
He said: "He would have been outspoken. He was always very aware of what you can and can’t do.
"His character was always in your face, telling you directly if you had done something to him on the track.
"Remember Spa with David Coulthard. He would have been very good."
Herbert also said last week it was a 'shame' that F1 had lost Schumacher given his importance to the sport.
“We have lost a megastar of our sport who gave so much enjoyment to a lot of people,” Herbert said.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Michael Schumacher won seven F1 titles during his time in the sport - with five coming during his time with Ferrari
PA
“It was very sad that Mick couldn’t have his Dad around and it is sad that we as an F1 community don’t have him around the paddock.
“It is a shame. Everyone loses out on learning about the Michael Schumacher we never saw when he was in the cockpit.”