A Michael Schumacher Documentary Is Coming To Netflix

Netflix is launching a new documentary about Michael Schumacher. It’ll be available for Netflix subscribers in the UK and Ireland from 15 September, and features contributions from his family and former rivals.

Simply called ‘Schumacher’, it’ll cover his illustrious motorsport career, from his break in karting all the way through to his record seventh Formula 1 championship. It might surprise you to realise that his last championship came some 17 years ago, although he did race in F1 until 2012.

Like the Senna documentary released a few years ago, Netflix’s Schumacher documentary will feature previously unseen archive material that’s promised to show the ‘many facets of his multi-layered personality’. It’s being produced by the team who previously made Der Spieler, a documentary about tennis legend Boris Becker. “The greatest challenge for the directors was to find the balance between independent reporting and consideration for the family,” one of the film’s directors has said.

“[Michael’s wife Corinna] wanted to make an authentic film, to show Michael as he is, with all his ups and downs, without any sugarcoating. She was great and brave enough to let us do what we wanted, and so we respected and kept her boundaries.”

Contributors to the documentary will include Bernie Ecclestone, Luca di Montezemolo, Sebastian Vettel, Damon Hill and David Coulthard. Schumacher’s children, Gina and current F1 driver Mick, plus his wife and his brother Ralf will all appear in it too.

Sabine Kehm, Schumacher’s long-time manager, added that, to reach perfection, the seven-time F1 champion “spared neither himself nor his team, driving them to the greatest successes. He is admired all over the world for his leadership qualities. He found the strength for this task and the balance to recharge at home, with his family, whom he loves idolatrously.”

“He has always rigorously and consistently separated his private life from his public life. This film tells of both worlds. It is his family’s gift to their beloved husband and father.”

Little has been confirmed about Michael Schumacher since his skiing accident in 2013, although Formula 1 says he continues to recover at home.