Marc Surer, who competed against Michael Schumacher in karting during their younger years and later drove in Formula 1 himself, has stated publicly what has long been the working assumption around the seven-time world champion: he cannot walk and he cannot speak.
Speaking to OLBG ahead of the release of Schumacher ’94 – The Birth of a Legend, Surer asked Corinna Schumacher to use the film to describe what her husband does still register, whether he reacts to visitors, whether he takes in a race on television.
“But I hope at least she explains the situation. If he has a reaction, if he sees a race, if he sees other people it would be nice to know about that,” Surer told OLBG.
Released on 2 October
Netflix has confirmed Schumacher ’94 – The Birth of a Legend for a worldwide release on 2 October 2026. The German-language film is directed by Christin Freitag and produced by LEONINE Documentaries.
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Corinna Schumacher plays a leading role, alongside Bernie Ecclestone, former Benetton team principal Flavio Briatore and former driver David Coulthard. The film focuses on the 1994 season, when a 25-year-old Schumacher took his first world title with Benetton in a year overshadowed by the deaths of Ayrton Senna and Roland Ratzenberger at Imola.
Twelve years of silence
Schumacher has not been seen in public since a skiing accident in the French Alps in December 2013, when he fell and struck his head on a rock in Meribel and sustained a severe brain injury. Corinna has safeguarded his privacy so tightly since that even close friends piece his status together from fragments.
Surer told OLBG he had spoken with Corinna recently, but only about horses, a hobby the two share.
He also said he does not expect the family to change course. Asked by OLBG whether the public would ever see Schumacher again, Surer said no, and added that the family would not want people to see him in his current state.
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Not a health documentary
The Netflix film is not framed as a status update on Schumacher’s condition. It is a look back at the championship-winning season, presented by the platform as the year Schumacher took the first race in Brazil, “setting the stage for an unprecedented career.”
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