Michael Schumacher’s family has made the difficult and emotional decision to auction off his personal collection of luxury watches ahead of the Italian Grand Prix on May 19.
The seven-time F1 world champion’s wife Corinna is understood to have been the driving force behind the decision as she continues to care for the motorsports legend following his devastating skiing accident 11 years ago.
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Corinna has fiercely protected her husband’s privacy while he lives with a serious brain injury, with very few details of his condition every being made public.
Corinna, 55, also manages the Schumacher empire’s $970 million fortune, which is only set to grow with the sale of eight of Michael’s most valuable watches next month.
Auction house Christie’s will conduct the sale and is expecting the watch collection to rake in roughly $6 million for the family.
“Christie’s expresses sincere thanks to the Schumacher family for their trust in us and their wish to share these masterpieces of horology with other passionate collectors around the globe,” Rémi Guillemin, Christie’s Head of Watches Europe and US, said.
“We are proud to present these iconic and unique timepieces belonging to one of the most celebrated Formula 1 legends. An exceptional moment, for watch and F1 enthusiasts alike.
“We are looking forward to meeting with passionate collectors during our international exhibitions and the auction on 13 May in Geneva.”
The prized item of the collection is a unique watch that was commissioned and gifted to Schumacher by his former boss at Ferrari Jean Todt, the Platinum Vagabondage 1.
The watch, engraved with a personal 2004 Christmas message from Totd, features symbols representing the German’s world titles, his helmet design and the Ferrari Prancing Horse emblem.
It is expected to sell for between $1.8 million and $3.4 million.
A second watch, gifted to the racing legend from Todt for Christmas the previous year, is expected to sell for between $250,000 and $425,000.
The Audemars Piguet watch features a nod to his then-six F1 titles and also includes his red racing helmet from the time.
The auction looms as yet another astute financial move by Corinna, who reportedly meets with a group of four or five financial advisers about three or four times a year to make decisions about the family’s sales and investments.
Corinna has slimmed down the family’s $970 million business empire in recent years, selling prized assets such as his private jet and house in Norway.
In 2022, the Schumacher family acquired a 180,000 square metre plot of land in Majorca, Spain for $52 million.
The family is believed to spend time in Majorca as well as at their home in Gland, Switzerland.
Corinna is also one of the most successful reining experts in the world.
As the owner of the CS ranches in Switzerland and America, she has earned over $2.9 million in prize money with her horses in reining.
Corinna has been looking after Michael, 55, and their children, Mick and Gina-Maria, ever since the skiing accident turned their lives upside down.
The couple married in 1995 – and Gina-Maria is a keen equestrian just like her mum, while Mick has followed his dad’s footsteps into F1 racing.
No one outside of Schumacher’s inner circle – which has Corinna at its heart – really knows what is happening with Michael.
Close friends have claimed they’ve been banned from seeing the stricken F1 legend as a slick PR operation and team of lawyers ensured almost nothing about his condition has been shared with his fans.
Schumacher’s devoted wife has always said she is simply following Michael’s wishes – with the seven-time champ always being careful to keep his personal life private.
But it has left his millions of adoring fans desperate to know the truth as rumours swirl about the allegedly bed-bound icon.
Schumacher spoke of his love for his wife just days before his crash, telling German TV: “During all the time I was racing she was my guardian angel.”
And she has continued to watch over him ever since, reportedly being by his side from the moment he was rushed to hospital in Grenoble.
It’s reported Corinna has been kitted out their Majorca home with a mini hospital to help make the German racer comfortable.
And in a rare interview with Germany’s She magazine in 2019, Corinna revealed it is her notoriously private husband who has dictated the news blackout.
She said: “He is in the best of hands right now and we are doing everything we can to help him.
“Try to understand that we follow Michael’s desire to keep his health a secret.”
The family even waged a legal battle in 2016 after German magazine Bunte reported the racing legend “could walk”.
The court case actually led to a few small pieces of information being revealed, with Schumacher’s lawyers confirming he still couldn’t walk two years on from the crash.
Corinna also reportedly led the effort to hide a ghoulish photo of the F1 legend that was reportedly snapped and then smuggled out by a “friend”.
It is alleged to have been offered to European news outlets for a staggering $1.9 million.
German prosecutors in Offenburg later confirmed that “an unknown person” had taken “secret” snaps and were offering them for “high amounts of money”.
They called the disgusting act a “violation of his personal range of life” and breach of privacy.
Corinna reportedly demanded the cops take action, but the media outlets refused to reveal its source – and also claimed it never saw any of the images of Schumacher.
The recent news of the F1 legend report he has been driven around in sporty AMG Mercedeces to help stimulate his brain with familiar sounds of race cars.
And another update came from the driver’s younger brother Ralf who has admitted the F1 ace may never completely recover, despite receiving advanced medical treatment.
– with The Sun
