Michael Schumacher health updates are the biggest in 12 years

Schumacher veered off course and hit his head on a rock, suffering serious life-changing injuries. He was initially placed in a medically induced coma and, while he was fortunately able to survive, he's lived a life shrouded in complete and utter secrecy ever since.

There has, since then, been few details about his life.

Schumacher's family, spearheaded by his devotated wife Corinna, have worked tirelessly to ensure that Schumacher's privacy has been respected. The same way he shiedled them from the spotlight during his racing career, they're now doing the same.

Two weeks ago, however, F1 fans received the biggest updates on the stricken star ever since that fateful day in France all those years ago.

A report from the Daily Mail revealed that Schumacher was 'not bedridden'. Prior to that revelation, many fans had pictured the 57-year-old rooted to a medical bed given the serious nature of his injuries.

Instead, Schumacher is still capable of sitting up in a wheelchair. The same fight that he demonstrated during the prime years of his career remains inside of him.

An insider also said that Schumacher was able to 'understand some of the things going on around him, but probably not all of them'.

That debunked suggestions that the Ferrari icon was suffering from Locked-in Syndrome, a rare neurological condition in which a person is fully conscious and cognitively intact but almost completely unable to move or speak.

Schumacher can be pushed around his £30million estate in Majorca.

He also has a £50m residence in Gland, Switzerland.

Nurses and therapists keep a 24-watch hour watch, with Schumacher's security seen as 'paramount'. Only a few are able to visit him - including his old Ferrari boss, Jean Todt. The duo watch races together.

Another Schumacher update also emerged late last month. His former teammate Riccardo Patrese, speaking to Hochgepokert, admitted he'd heard whispers his old friend had been improving. Cautiously, however, he also made it clear that a miraculous recovery was still a long way off.

"I had this news, via a friend, that he was improving. But I never met him after the accident," the Italian said.

"I never went there, so it's only talk that he could sit, watch and look around and make contact with his eyes.

"After the first improvements, my knowledge about his health was that he was in the situation that they described this week.

"He's in his own world, but he recognises people around him, familiar faces. I am sure he does not know he is a seven-time world champion.

"Of course Michael is now living in the way that he is with a lot of effort from the family. I think in this kind of situation, it is a treasure for the person that they love.

"Even with the condition he is in, they like to have him and care for him and love him.

"He's still with us and we can only hope that he will get better. We are really hoping, every day he is doing a little bit more.

"I'm very happy to hear that Michael is improving but from what I know of this situation nothing has changed for some years."

Fans continue to pray and hope Schumacher will, one day, recover. These newest updates, certainly, paint a telling picture about his life now.