The German court hearing for the Michael Schumacher blackmail plot has heard that a hard drive believed to contain the seven-time world champion's 'intimate' pictures and medical files is missing.

The legendary F1 star was the victim of a £12million blackmail plot, allegedly orchestrated by the family's former security guard, 'Markus F', and two other accused collaborators.

Wuppertal District Court is now working through the trial for the case after the family's former security guard and two accomplices allegedly blackmailed the Schumacher family with the threat of leaking private videos, medical documents and even the German racer's patient file.

Schumacher has received round-the-clock care at his family home since a skiing accident left him with life-altering brain injuries in December 2013, and his condition has been kept ultra-private by his wife Corinna.

However, this privacy, which has been kept in tact for over a decade, has allegedly been threatened by Markus F and his associates. The former security guard already has two prior convictions and now faces up to 15 years in prison, if found guilty.

The data at the heart of the trial was reportedly transferred to two hard drives and four USB sticks, but one of those hard drives is still missing and is believed to be in the possession of 'Yilmaz T', a former bouncer.

Yilmaz T told police that he stored the stolen data at the homes of family and friends, but local police were only able to recover one of the hard drivers and all four USB sticks, leaving one unaccounted for.

The third suspect in the case is 'Daniel L', the son of Yilmaz T, who allegedly played a supporting role in the blackmail by creating the encrypted email account that was used to transmit files. According to Yilmaz T, however, they intended to help an unnamed nurse who worked for the Schumacher family.

"Completely honestly I didn’t see it the way it all came out," he told the German court. "Ok, it went badly, but…I was also given some pressure myself. For example, the nurse became unemployed, so she wasn’t in a good financial situation. And I was supposed to sort out money to help her out.”