Accident has revealed human side of Schumacher: journalist Formula One legend Michael Schumacher is to turn 45 on Friday while lying in a French hospital after suffering critical head injuries in a ski accident. Christian Hönicke, a sports journalist at the Berlin-based 'Tagesspiegel' newspaper, says the accident has unleashed a wave of sympathy in Schumacher's native Germany, where his personality and life away from the track have always remained a mystery. Images and soundbites.