Michael Schumacher’s wife Corinna left in ‘shock’ over trial affecting husband

Michael Schumacher’s wife Corinna has shared her surprise after the “far too lenient” sentencing of a former security guard, Yilmaz T, who was given three years in prison following his role in a £12 million blackmail plot against the Schumacher family.

A German court found three men guilty of their involvement in the blackmail case after they threatened to release 900 private photos, 600 videos, and confidential medical records unless they were paid £12.4 million.

Yilmaz’s son Daniel received a six-month suspended sentence for aiding and abetting, while another former security guard, Markus F, received a two-year suspended sentence.

Sharing her shock following the “massive breach of trust,” she released a statement saying: “We have appealed against what we consider to be a far too lenient sentence for Mr. F. In my opinion, he was the mastermind behind this. What still shocks me most is the betrayal. He should receive a punishment that deters any potential copycats.”

Her lawyer added: “We do not agree with everything the court said. You can rest assured that we will exhaust all legal possibilities at our disposal. We still don’t know where the missing hard drive is, and that remains a significant concern.”

The private medical information and footage likely include private content about Michael Schumacher, a former champion F1 driver who has not been seen in public since a catastrophic skiing accident in 2013 left him with life-changing injuries following a severe head injury.

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His family has managed to keep Michael’s treatment incredibly private but briefly discussed him in the Netflix documentary Being Michael Schumacher. Corinna said: “We are trying to carry on as a family, the way Michael liked it and still does. We live together at home. We do therapy. We do everything we can to make Michael better and to make sure he’s comfortable.

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“We are getting on with our lives, ‘private is private’ as he always said. It’s very important to me that he can continue to enjoy his private life as much as possible. Michael always protected us, now we are protecting Michael.”

Michael’s former teammate, Luca Badoer, also explained the family’s stance, telling The Sun: “Only a few people are allowed to visit. Corinna decides who is allowed to see him. The family wants to maintain a sort of secrecy about this and I respect their will. They do all this for the good of Michael.”