A family spokesperson confirmed the judgement against Funke media group, the publishers of the magazine, to news agency Reuters.

The editor of Die Aktuelle was sacked two days after the article was published, with Funke media apologising to the family.

Schumacher was placed into an induced coma after his skiing accident and was brought home in September 2014, with his medical condition since kept private by his family.

His tally of seven F1 titles, won during spells with Benetton and Ferrari, is a record jointly shared with Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton.