Schumacher: Was the Netflix documentary a cop-out?

We all know the established narrative on Michael Schumacher: by and large a lovely bloke out of the car, unflinching bastard when behind the wheel. The skill of a documentary maker lies in teasing out the shades of grey, and in that regard Netflix's feature length documentary, simply titled Schumacher falls a little short of greatness.

There are moments of course. Few of us would have suspected Schumacher of ever doubting himself, but according to his saint of a wife, Corinna, there were many times that Michael battled with the demons of self-doubt and, to a certain extent, paranoia and mistrust. But such was Schumacher's determination to retain his privacy and his perceived shield of indomitability that his outward visage was that of an adamantine level of self-belief and, at times, arrogance.

8

Co-directors Hanns-Bruno Kammertöns, Vanessa Nöcker, and Michael Wech seem to have found themselves pinned with a cleft stick, requiring the Schumacher family's blessing and involvement for the project, delivering what Michael's longtime manager Sabine Kehm described as “his family’s gift to their beloved husband and father.”

In that regard there was always going to be an element of the hagiography about Schumacher. It skips daintily over Michael's sporting transgressions, with Ross Brawn offering a simple “he overstepped the mark that day” rebuke after Michael unsuccessfully tried to ram Jacques Villeneuve off the track at Jerez in 1997 to claim the title for himself.

8

Schumacher's own account of the actions are reduced to monotonous PR-speak, and more of the film seems to be devoted to images of Michael dancing at parties than the indelible incidents that marred his sporting legacy. The constant skipping of subtitle copy from the bottom to the top of the screen also proves wearing after a while.

There was also little insight into what separated Schumacher as a driver from his peers. Yes, we know that he was phenomenally focused and hard working, but there was little to truly explain, either to the layman or the expert, what exactly he was doing behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car that elevated him above a very talented set of peers.

8

No stone was left unturned in the search for colourful characters to garnish the storyline. We get cameos from Bernie Ecclestone, Eddie Irvine, Flavio Briatore and Sebastian Vettel. More than anything else though, it's the aching joy and pain in the eyes of wife Corinna and her children Gina and Mick that you can't help but be moved by.

There's some lovely footage of Schumacher's early days, racing karts at Kerpen and the private footage of him goofing around at his family's Norwegian ski lodge reveals a man far removed from the guarded character most knew. The child-like delight he derived from sky-diving in Dubai also showed a character who loved the adrenaline rush of speed.

8

Just as your heart is lifted by the scenes of Michael and his family clearly loving life and considering where it would go post-F1, the scene cuts to the snow-capped mountains of the Trois Vallees in France and your own heart sinks. Because there is no happy ending to this story.

8

We quietly hope for any nugget of information that expands on what we know of Michael's condition, while at the same time guiltily acknowledging that it's not really our entitlement. It's hard to even start to understand how young Mick Schumacher, who was skiing with his father at the time, saw this superman suddenly rendered so frail, so mortal. How does a child grow and prosper burdened with the weight of that cloak of secrecy?

Maybe it's because the Schumachers are not people like us. Perhaps they can compartmentalise, focus and execute in a way that many of us will not and cannot comprehend.

8

So while morbid curiosity will remain unsated, Schumacher winds to its finale gently yet beautifully.

"I think dad and me, we would understand each other now in a different way now," Mick says, yearning for a bond that has remained unfulfilled.

“Michael is here," Corinna adds. "Different but here. He still shows me how strong he is every day.”

Different but here. And as long as he is still here, we wish him and his family all the best.

Keep fighting, Michael.

8