Michael Schumacher's friend lifts the lid on F1 star's 'alterego' during his racing days - a week after journalist offers rare health update on racing legend'

Michael Schumacher had an 'alterego' away from the cameras – one in which he shed the arrogance often associated with Formula One stardom and became a 'great dad and husband', according to long-time friend Richard Hopkins.

Hopkins, former Red Bull Head of Operations, recently spoke about the character of the F1 legend, who has not been seen publicly since his near-fatal skiing accident in 2013.

He first met Schumacher in the early 1990s while working as a mechanic at McLaren, during the period when Schumacher was driving for Benetton.

Hopkins described the seven-time world champion as an extremely confident figure during his racing days, verging on arrogance. 

Speaking to The Sun, he said: 'When you look at all the elements that make a world champion, he had them all – even the ones that weren’t always positive.'

Yet away from the sport and the spotlight, Schumacher revealed a very different side. Hopkins noted that, like his great rival Mika Hakkinen, Schumacher had a distinct 'alterego' off the track.

'If you didn’t know Michael, and you started watching F1 in 2004 or 2005, you would probably have an opinion of him at that period without knowing the person behind that persona,' he said.

'You might see this overconfident driver who had this absolute degree of arrogance – that 100 per cent belief. You’d think he was probably a difficult person in his private life, but he certainly wasn’t. He was a great dad and a great husband.'

Since the harrowing accident during a family holiday in Meribel, France, 12 years ago, information on Schumacher’s health has remained limited.

The F1 world was shaken in 2013 by the severity of the crash. Schumacher struck his head on a rock; although his helmet absorbed much of the impact, the force was enough to crack it and fracture his skull, resulting in a traumatic brain injury.

He was placed in a coma, underwent two brain surgeries, and was only deemed stable enough to be moved in June 2014.

The 56-year-old is reportedly still unable to speak, with no public indication that he is able to walk.

In the years since, his son Mick has followed in his footsteps as a Formula One driver, while his daughter Gina welcomed a baby girl in April.

Daily Mail Sport exclusively revealed that Schumacher signed a crash helmet to raise money for Sir Jackie Stewart’s Race Against Dementia charity.

Motor racing writer Jonathan McEvoy reported that Schumacher’s wife, Corinne, guided his hand as he added his initials ‘MS’ alongside those of every other living world champion.

While updates have been rare, L'Équipe journalist Stefan L'Hermitte recently offered some insight into Schumacher’s condition.

'I would not say he is doing well, but maybe that he is doing a bit better, because fundamentally we don't know anything,' he told RTL.

'The only real news comes from his family, and that's always very important, because the news that comes from his family is the good news. The news that comes from outside is probably not worth much.

'This year he signed a helmet. It was for a charity event. Did his wife hold his hand? We don't know exactly, but it's the first time that we have had a positive sign, almost a sign of life.

'But the fact is, we still haven't seen him walk, and apparently he still can't speak. So we're still dealing with someone who is still breathing, who might have some small interactions with his family, but we can't say for sure that he's doing well.'