Michael Schumacher ‘my hero’ as ‘anger’ spreads over controversial decision…
Mick Schumacher has hailed his father Michael Schumacher as “my hero” after the seven-time F1 World Champion turned 56 on Friday.
It comes amid a row in Germany over the decision to deny the F1 legend an honourary citizenship in his adopted hometown of Kerpen.
Michael Schumacher ‘my hero’ as Mick Schumacher pays 56th birthday tribute
Schumacher stands as one of the most successful athletes in the history of sport, having become the first man to register seven F1 World Championship titles and 91 grand prix victories.
The former Ferrari and Mercedes driver has not been seen in public since he suffered severe brain injuries in a skiing accident in December 2013, with Schumacher’s family fiercely protective of his privacy over the last 11 years.
As his father turned 56 on Friday, Schumacher’s son Mick, who made 43 F1 starts for the Haas team across 2021/22, offered a touching tribute to the F1 icon.
The 25-year-old wrote: “Grateful for the unconditional love of my parents and celebrating my dad, my hero, on his special day!”..
Schumacher was born in Hurth, Germany, but came to be closely associated with nearby Kerpen over the course of his F1 career.
It emerged last month that Schumacher had been denied an honourary citizenship in Kerpen, with local politicians deciding on the matter in November after it was initially postponed in March 2024.
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The decision was met with a furious reaction from Schumacher’s brother Ralf, the former Williams and Toyota star, who took to social media to criticise the move.
He wrote: “That’s typical of Germany and our politics.
“Nothing surprises me any more about the SPD [Social Democratic Party of Germany]. Performance is apparently no longer important.
“When you think about what my brother has done for Kerpen through his success, I’m simply lost for words.”
Dieter Spurck, who has served as Kerpen major since 2015, defended the process by telling German newspaper Bild: “Kerpen does not have a code of honour.
“It is up to the city council to decide on the introduction of a code of honour with corresponding honorary citizenship and its criteria.
“At its council meeting on 19 March 2024, the council of the Kolping City of Kerpen unanimously decided to postpone the matter of awarding honorary citizenship to Michael Schumacher.
“The parliamentary groups and the non-attached city councillors should first reach an intergroup agreement on whether honorary citizenship should be introduced.
“To date, the city administration has not received a new application on this topic from politicians.”
Reiner Ferling, the chairman of the Michael Schumacher fanclub, has also waded into the row, accusing Kerpen of disrespecting the F1 legend.
Mr Ferling told the Kolner Stadtanzeiger newspaper: “The way Michael is treated as a person is beneath contempt. I’m really angry.
“The city can’t bring itself to appoint someone as an honorary citizen who has won seven World Championship titles for us.”
