Michael Schumacher’s former manager, Willi Weber, has criticised the F1 legend’s daughter, Gina, for taking her husband’s surname following her wedding last month.
After the wedding, Gina changed her Facebook profile name from Gina Schumacher to Gina Bethke, while German newspaper Bild report that she also uses her new surname around friends.
But Weber, who managed Michael Schumacher throughout his F1 career, has questioned Gina’s decision to drop the Schumacher surname.
‘I don’t understand it. Giving up a name like that. It’s a brand. It’s connected to her father,’ Weber told Bild.
‘I wouldn’t have done that. But that’s her decision. That’s my opinion.’
Weber, who turned 82 this year, confirmed in a previous interview with Bild last month that he was not among the guests at Gina’s wedding.
‘I wasn’t invited, but I wouldn’t have attended the wedding even if I had been invited. My health isn’t good at the moment. I wouldn’t have wanted to fly to Majorca,’ he said.
‘I wish her the best of luck and I hope she has found the right man, that’s always important.’
Weber has not had contact with Michael Schumacher since his serious skiing accident in 2013 and the health status of the former Ferrari driver has been kept a closely guarded secret by his wife Corinna.
‘Michael was one of my best friends, more like a son that I never had,’ Weber said.
‘Nobody knows exactly what is going on with him today, so I don’t want to comment any further.’
Gina, meanwhile, has not entirely dropped her surname as she competed as ‘Gina Schumacher Bethke’ at a horse riding competition in Oklahoma last week.
She trains and breeds horses at a state-of-the-art ranch in rural Texas, which was purchased by her father Michael in 2012.
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