Michael Schumacher’s close friend Johnny Herbert has revealed the truth about the F1 legend’s ‘appearance’ at his daughter’s wedding.
Schumacher was reportedly ‘spotted’ in public for the first time in 11 years at his daughter Gina-Marie’s wedding earlier this year in Spain.
Schumacher’s family have been fiercely protective of his privacy after he sustained a life-changing brain injury during a skiing accident in 2013.
While the full extent of the injury has never been made public – it marked an abrupt end to Schumacher’s public life – with the Ferrari icon living in secrecy ever since, much to the concern of F1 fans around the world.
Only three close family members and a team of medics are said to have access to the 55-year-old.
It was therefore a shock when Schumacher was ‘spotted’ at the wedding between his daughter Gina-Marie, 27, and Iain Bethke in Mallorca this year.
However, Schumacher’s close friend Herbert has now rubbished those reports, describing them as ‘fake news’.
‘It will always be a closed shop,’ Herbert told Flashscore. ‘The most recent rumour was he attended his daughter’s wedding.
‘Unfortunately, from what I understand that was all A1 fake news and no truth in it.’
Schumacher has become estranged from his extended family members – most notably his brother and fellow F1 driver Ralf, 49.
Last year, Ralf revealed he was no longer in touch with his brother and wife, but said he is always there to offer support.
‘When I see his children Gina-Maria and Mick, my heart smiles,’ Ralf told German magazine Bunte.
‘If someone in the family is looking for my advice, I’m there. They go their own way.’
MORE: Mick Schumacher reveals how relationship with father Michael changed after Formula 1 icon’s accident
