A legal proceeding is slated to begin over an alleged sexual assault that occurred within the highly private Swiss mansion of Formula 1 icon Michael Schumacher, though the accused driver’s current whereabouts remain uncertain ahead of the scheduled trial.
A nurse, who was part of the medical team caring for the former racing champion, accuses an Australian driver of raping her twice inside the residence in November 2019. The driver, identified as a friend of Mick Schumacher and around 40 years old, reportedly never competed in Formula 1.
The accusation, first reported by Swiss newspaper ’24 Heures’, highlights a serious criminal claim within the closely guarded property where Michael Schumacher has been receiving specialized medical care since a severe skiing accident in late 2013.
The trial for the alleged assault is set to commence this week, but it faces a potential postponement because authorities have been unable to locate the Australian driver.
The driver has offered conflicting accounts of the events. During an interrogation in Switzerland in 2024, he stated that any interaction with the nurse was consensual. However, the nurse claims he admitted to the incident in text messages exchanged the day after. He had also previously told authorities they had a “friendly relationship,” including shared kisses at a Geneva nightclub.
According to the nurse’s account, the alleged assault took place after she finished her shift and joined two colleagues and the driver in the mansion’s billiard room in November 2019. All present consumed vodka-based drinks.
She stated she began feeling unwell and eventually lay on the floor. Her colleagues and the driver then moved her to her room, located in the section reserved for night shift caregivers. They placed her on the bed, without undressing her, and left the bathroom light on.
The nurse alleges that the driver, who was staying nearby, later returned to her room and sexually assaulted her twice while she was unconscious.
The following day, the nurse initially recalled nothing but developed suspicions after finding “physical and material clues.” She subsequently exchanged text messages with the driver, who she claims admitted to the incident.
Initially, the nurse asked the driver to stay away and did not report the incident to the Schumacher family, fearing she would lose her job. She only filed a formal complaint in January 2022, after her employment was terminated. The nurse found her dismissal unusual, as it occurred shortly after the driver had again visited the mansion.
The Schumacher family remains uninvolved in the legal proceedings. Michael Schumacher suffered severe brain damage in December 2013 while skiing in the French Alps and has since been cared for at his Swiss mansion, maintained by his wife Corinna Schumacher, away from public view.