“At first I thought it was a joke.” There are few people who can tell more about the crash of Formula 1 icon Michael Schumacher (57) than Yannick Dainese. The helicopter pilot talks openly for the first time about that rescue mission thirteen years ago.
Méribel, a ski resort in the French Alps. That’s where things went wrong for seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher in December 2013. He was involved in a skiing accident. Despite wearing a helmet, the then 44-year-old Schumacher fell off the track and hit his head against a snow-covered rock. He was in a coma for months afterwards.
Little was released about the rescue operation from years ago. Helicopter pilot Yannick Dainese remained silent for years ‘out of respect for his family’, but has now joined the French L’Équipe still told his story of that dark day.
Dainese was working that day for SAF Hélicoptères, a company that specializes in mountain rescue and medical flights.
“When a rescue worker came to me with a doctor and said: ‘We’re going to get Schumacher!’, I initially thought he was joking. But when the manager ordered us to take away our microphones and GoPros, and journalists were banned from flying, I understood that it was really true.”
“Unconsciously I felt that pressure, because I knew he was worshiped like a god,” says Dainese. Schumacher was the big F1 star at that time, just like Max Verstappen is now. “But for me he was a seriously injured person like any other,” said the pilot.
Schumacher was loaded into the helicopter in a typical vacuum mattress and flown to Grenoble hospital. It reportedly soon became teeming with media from all corners of the world.
When Dainese returned to the hospital days later with another victim, he couldn’t believe his eyes. “I was in shock of what I saw. So many buses, flags and people… The hospital looked like an F1 circuit.”
Since then, the German has lived a withdrawn life. To this day, his health remains a mystery. Schumacher’s family is very fond of their private life.