British F1 racer Dan Ticktum, who lost the lead of the championship to Shumacher has claimed it's 'interesting' that Schumacher and team-mate Robert Shwartzman are significantly quicker than the other three drivers from their team, adding that 'many people' agree with him.
'I don’t like pointing fingers at anyone but to be honest, this weekend the pace in the car was not there,' Ticktum wrote on his Instagram page, in a post he has since deleted.
Following major backlash from his comments, Ticktum was forced to issue an explanation.
'I have a huge respect for Mick who had dealt with a lot in the past few years,' he wrote. 'I am simply suggesting that it seems to have come from nowhere? I never said it was illegal. I appreciate I have lessons to learn still! I’m not denying that. You don’t know the real story because you are not at the track looking at everyone’s data.
'Unfortunately however I am fighting a losing battle as my last name is not Schumacher.'
The Schumacer family have remained incredibly tight-lipped following Michael's tragic accident in 2013.
The F1 legend suffered a head injury while skiing in the French Alps in December 2013 and has since been unable to walk or speak.
The seven-time world champion was put into a medically induced coma for six months after the incident.
Doctors operated to remove blood clots from his brain, but some were left because they were too deeply embedded.
Medics described his condition as 'extremely serious' after his admission to Grenoble Hospital, where he underwent two life-saving operations.
Schumacher, who remains immobile and cannot speak, is understood to have a 15-strong team of medics looking after him at his home in Geneva, Switzerland.
Earlier this year it was revealed that the Schumacher family were 'hoping for a medical miracle' and were receiving some form of communication from the F1 legend, German media reported.
A family friend of the race car driver claims the star is 'sending signals from his distant world' as he is cared for in their home in Geneva, Switzerland.
'Corinna and the children [Mick, 18 and Gina, 20] hope to this day that a medical miracle happens.'
In December 2016, a statement from his manager, Sabine Kehm, said: 'Michael's health is not a public issue, and so we will continue to make no comment in that regard.
'We have to protect his intimate sphere. Legally seen and in the longer term, every statement related to his health would diminish the extent of his intimate sphere.'
The statement continued: 'Michael has always been very protective of his privacy, even during the most successful times of his career.'
Mick Schumacher recently shared details of his relationship with his father in an interview with the BBC.
'My dad had a huge influence on my career,’' he said. 'He was my idol and I am following everything he did and see if I can use it myself and I am really happy with that…the goal is to win in F1, that is the aim.
'You still have to show what you can do. That’s my goal. I want to prove that I am a proper racing driver and not only show I have got the same name.'
