Corinna Schumacher has released a statement explaining her ‘shock’ over the ‘massive breach of trust’ exercised by Markus F., a former security guard involved in the blackmail case over her husband, Michael Schumacher.

In a recent trial in a German court, Markus F. was among three men convicted of trying to blackmail the Schumacher family. The suspects threatened to distribute 900 personal photos, nearly 600 videos and medical records.

The three men demanded that the Schumacher family pay £12million (€15m) to prevent the files from being leaked onto the dark web. Markus F., who was the family’s security guard, was accused of transferring the files to the other suspects for a “five-figure sum”.

After the court ruling, Yilmaz T. received a three-year prison sentence, and his son, Daniel L., was handed a six-month suspended sentence. Security guard Markus F. was given a suspended two-year prison sentence.

Schumacher’s wife, Corinna, was not content with the sentences handed out by the court and is launching an appeal for harsher terms. “We have appealed against what we consider to be the far too lenient sentence for Mr F,” she said.

“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.”

Corinna’s statement was in line with the opinions of the family’s lawyer, Thilo Damm. He said: “We do not agree with everything the court said. You can rest assured that we will exhaust all legal possibilities at our disposal.”

He added: “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.”

The seven-time world champion’s health status has been meticulously guarded by Corinna and the family’s ultra-tight inner circle. Schumacher suffered a life-changing skiing accident in 2013 and has not been seen in public since.