Michael Schumacher has made a rare and moving gesture as he signed a crash helmet with the help of his wife Corinna.
It marks one of the stricken Formula 1 legend’s only public acts since his devastating ski accident in the French Alps back in 2013.
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The seven-time world champion, who has not been seen in public since, added his initials “M.S” to a helmet belonging to fellow F1 icon Sir Jackie Stewart, The Sun reports.
The helmet will be auctioned to raise money for Stewart’s dementia charity.
“It is wonderful that Michael could sign the helmet in this worthy cause – a disease for which there is no cure,” Stewart told The Daily Mail.
“His wife helped him, and it completed the set of every single champion still with us.”
The gesture is all the more moving given Schumacher’s long and silent absence from the public eye.
After suffering a life-threatening head injury during a skiing trip in Méribel, he was placed in a medically-induced coma and is believed to have required round-the clock care ever since.
He now lives at a $104 AUD million custom-built property on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland, where he is cared for by a dedicated team of medical staff.
Corinna, who has fiercely guarded his privacy, has created a tightly-controlled inner circle around the F1 legend, now 56.
Only a handful of trusted people are granted access, including ex-Ferrari boss Jean Todt, his former teammates Felipe Massa and Luca Badoer, as well as longtime manager Sabine Kehm.
Stewart’s white helmet, adorned with his trademark Royal Stewart tartan, will be revealed at the Bahrain Grand Prix which gets underway on Monday at 1am (AEST).
The 85-year-old will also take to the track in his 1973 championship-winning Tyrell for an exhibition lap – a tribute to both the past and his personal battle off the circuit.
The Scotsman founded Race Against Dementia after his wife Lady Helen was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in 2014 – just months after Schumacher’s accident.
In an emotional BBC interview, Stewart revealed that Lady Stewart recently failed to recognise him for the first time.
“Just the other day it was time for dinner, she’s getting up and I’m sitting close by, and she says, ‘Where’s Jackie?’ That’s the first time that’s happened and that’s only a few weeks ago,” he said.
“A bad feeling came over me.”
The helmet, now signed by every living F1 world champion, will be auctioned to fund a groundbreaking new blood test developed by Cambridge University.
It is hoped the test could detect early signs of dementia before symptoms appear.
Michael Schumacher’s rare public contribution comes after he became a granddad for the first time last month.
His daughter Gina welcomed a baby girl, Millie, announcing the news in a social media statement.
“Welcome to the world, Millie. Born on March 29th, our hearts are fuller than ever,” it read.
“We are beyond blessed to have you in our lives. #welcomeMillie.”
Gina, 28, revealed she was pregnant shortly after tying the knot to partner Iain Bethke at a villa in Majorca last year.
There was speculation at the time that her F1 champion dad attended the wedding, but no proof.
This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission.
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