Willi Weber attacked and held captive during armed robbery
Willi Weber, the former manager and longtime confidant of Formula One icon Michael Schumacher, has spoken of being left “in complete shock” after a violent armed robbery at his home in Germany that saw him beaten and held captive for more than two hours, reports BritPanorama.
The 83-year-old, who guided Schumacher through every step of a career that yielded seven world championships, was attacked at his villa in Stuttgart after being ambushed by three masked intruders. At the time of the incident, Weber was at home with his wife and a housekeeper.
All three were tied to chairs and threatened with a gun and other weapons as the robbers demanded access to a safe inside the property. When Weber initially refused to comply, the violence escalated. “They wanted the code for the safe. I refused to give it to them and then they kept punching me in the face,” Weber told Bild.
The attack left him with a black eye, bruising to his forehead, and a cut to his nose. Only after repeated blows did Weber relent and hand over the safe code.
The thieves fled with cash, jewellery, and luxury watches worth hundreds of thousands of euros, including items of significant personal value to Weber, such as a Patek Philippe Nautilus Chronograph 5980 valued at more than €100,000, a Rolex Day-Date II Platinum estimated at €50,000, and an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore worth around €25,000. Weber had previously joked about wanting a “coffin with drawers” to take the watches with him as keepsakes, underlining his attachment to the collection.
After more than two hours restrained, Weber managed to free himself and alert the police. Officers arrived quickly, and medical treatment was administered on the scene, though hospitalization was not required. Weber’s wife and the housekeeper both suffered minor bruising from being tied up.
Speaking shortly after the ordeal, Weber expressed his distress: “There were three of them. I was having dinner. The police are here and talking to me. I feel terrible. I’m in complete shock.” His daughter also rushed to the villa after hearing what had happened, saying, “She’s helping me.”
As the investigation unfolded, the scale and precision of the robbery became clear. “They knew what they were doing,” Weber remarked. “Everything is gone! Even my watches. I must have been spied on for weeks. They came in and knew everything.”
Weber dismissed suggestions that his public announcement of plans to sell his home contributed to the robbery, stating, “No! Surely it must be possible to sell a house in this country without being robbed. What kind of country do we live in if you’re no longer safe in your own home?”
German police are analysing video footage from the property and surrounding area in an effort to identify the perpetrators and trace their escape route. As investigations continue, Weber has been placed under the protection of bodyguards.
In the realm of high-stakes sport, it underscores an all-too-real reminder that life beyond the race track can be fraught with its own dangers, where the thrill of competition gives way to the shadows of unsettling reality.
