New York State

It was a devastating departure.

The star has not helmed a TV show since 2011.

Michael Schumacher’s wife, Corinna, has demanded a tougher sentence for her family’s former security guard who was involved in a blackmail plot which threatened to release private photos and videos showing the F1 icon’s condition.

Schumacher, 56, suffered severe head injuries in skiing accident in the French Alps in December 2013.

The seven-time Formula One world champion, who was hospitalised for nine months after the accident, has not been seen in public since, while his medical condition has been kept private.

Last week, a German court found three men guilty of trying to extort €15 million (£12.4m) from Schumacher’s family.

The alleged leader of the blackmail plot, Yilmaz T, 53, was sentenced to three years in prison for threatening to upload 900 personal photos, almost 600 videos and confidential medical records.

His son, Daniel L, 30, was given a six-month suspended prison sentence for aiding and abetting extortion.

Markus F, an ex-security guard who worked for the Schumacher family at their residence in Switzerland 18 months before the skiing accident, received a two-year suspended sentence.

He was accused of selling the images to the two blackmailers for a five-figure sum.

Lawyers for the Schumacher family have now launched an appeal calling for a harsher sentence for Markus F for his role in the blackmail plot.

‘We have appealed against what we consider to be the far too lenient sentence for Mr F,’ Corinna said in a statement.

‘In my opinion, he was the mastermind behind this. What still shocks me most is the massive breach of trust.

‘He should receive a punishment that deters any potential copycats.’

The family’s lawyer, Thilo Damm, said: ‘We do not agree with everything the court said. You can rest assured that we will exhaust all legal possibilities at our disposal.

‘We don’t know where the missing hard drive is. I don’t have a crystal ball, but there is the possibility of another threat through the backdoor.’

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