A former Formula One star has revealed that Michael Schumacher’s tragic accident has left brother Ralf ‘very different’.

The seven-time world Champion – widely regarded as the best the sport has ever seen – suffered an accident while skiing in the Alps with his family, hitting his head on a rock in 2013.

After being rushed to hospital he was put in a medically induced coma for 250 days before returning home, having suffered a near fatal brain injury.

Since then he has lived a very private life with his family in Switzerland, and few have seen or visited Schumacher, and even some friends and relatives have been kept in the dark by those closest to him in an effort to prevent leaks to the press.

Now former F1 driver Johnny Herbert – Schumacher’s team-mate at Benetton – described how Ralf has been affected by his brother’s ongoing condition.

Michael Schumacher is ‘not close’ to his old self, claims former team-mate Johnny Herbert

Herbert (pictured) raced alongside the German great for Benetton and met his brother, Ralf, while working for Sky

Ralf Schumacher has ‘matured’ and has had to ‘change a lot’ to cope with what has happened to his brother