Michael Schumacher, Ex-F1 champion, Critical After Ski Fall
Todt (left) and Schumacher (right) have been close for many years after their success together at Ferrari. /BBCMICHAEL Schumacher, seven-time Formula 1 world champion, is in a critical condition after a skiing accident, says the French hospital treating him.The 44-year-old German suffered serious brain trauma, was in a coma on arrival and underwent a brain operation.
He was skiing off-piste with his son in the French Alps on Sunday when the accident occurred.
Schumacher was wearing a helmet when he fell and hit his head against a rock, his manager Sabine Kehm said.
Early reports had said his condition was not life-threatening and he reportedly walked away from the accident complaining only of feeling a bit shaken.
The accident took place in the French ski resort of Meribel on Sunday morning.
The resort's director, Christophe Gernignon-Lecomte, said Schumacher was attended to by two ski patrollers who requested helicopter evacuation to the nearby valley town of Moutiers.
He was subsequently moved to the bigger facility at Grenoble, in south-east France. His wife Corinna and two children are with him.
"Mr Schumacher was admitted to the University Hospital of Grenoble at 12:40 [11:40 GMT], following a skiing accident which occurred in Meribel in the late morning," the Grenoble hospital said in a statement.
"He suffered a severe head injury with coma on arrival, which required immediate neurosurgical intervention. He remains in a critical situation."
The hospital statement was signed by the facility's neurosurgeon, the professor in charge of its anaesthesia/revival unit, and the hospital's deputy director, reports said.
A hospital official declined to give more details and said more information would be given out on Monday, said Reuters news agency.
Experts say it is likely that his brain began to swell and the urgent surgery was required to relieve the pressure, says the BBC's Hugh Schofield in Paris.
The German F1 champ injured himself while skiing in the French ski resort of Meribel and is now in a coma. /Mirror'Like a father'
Professor Gerard Saillant, a close ally and friend of Schumacher, and his former Ferrari team boss Jean Todt are at the hospital.
Prof Saillant is an expert in brain and spine injury. He oversaw Schumacher's medical care when the German broke his leg in the 1999 British GP.
The German, who is due to turn 45 on 3 January, retired from F1 for a second time in 2012.
Schumacher won seven world championships and secured 91 race victories during his 19-year career.
He won two titles with Benetton, in 1994 and 1995, before switching to Ferrari in 1996 and going on to win five straight titles from 2000.
After the German retired in 2006, he was seriously hurt in a motorcycling accident in Spain three years later, during which he suffered neck and spine injuries.
But Schumacher managed to recover and made a comeback in F1 with Mercedes in 2010.
After three seasons which yielded just one podium finish, he quit the sport at the end of last year.
F1 drivers from around the globe have expressed their shock at the news of the accident.
British ex-racer Martin Brundle, who was Schumacher's F1 teammate at Benetton, tweeted: "Come on Michael, give us one of those race stints at pure qualifying pace to win through, like you used to. You can do it."
Brazilian driver Felipe Massa posted a picture of himself and Schumacher on Instagram, with the Portuguese message: "I'm praying for God to protect you, brother!"
BBC/ Malaysian DIgest
Doctors Unsure Whether Michael Schumacher Will Survive
One of the world's most famous and highest-paid athletes, Formula One racer Michael Schumacher, is in a medically induced coma at a hospital in Grenoble, France. Doctors there are treating him for a critical head injury suffered over the weekend when the German driver fell and hit his head while skiing.
His prognosis?
"We cannot predict the future for Michael Schumacher," chief anesthesiologist Jean-Francois Payen told reporters Monday, according to The Associated Press. "He is in a critical state in terms of cerebral resuscitation. ... We are working hour by hour."
Nothing close to this happened to Schumacher during his racing career. The AP notes that his most serious injury was a broken leg suffered in a 1999 crash. In 2009, the wire service adds, Schumacher "suffered serious neck and spine injuries after a motorcycling accident" in Spain.
During his F1 racing career, as the sport's website says, "his sheer dominance" was beyond doubt before his first retirement in 2006: "Seven times a champion, Michael Schumacher also holds nearly every scoring record in the book by a considerable margin."
The sport has made Schumacher a very wealthy man. "Before he retired the first time, Schumacher was earning $60 million to $80 million annually as one of the world's highest-paid athletes," the Los Angeles Times adds. In 2001, he topped Forbes' annual list of sporting superstars — with $59 million in earnings.
His return to racing did not lead to the type of success he previously enjoyed. As the Timessays, "after a three-year absence, Schumacher, who won five of his titles with Ferrari in consecutive years, emerged from retirement to drive again from 2010 through 2012, this time for the Mercedes team. The comeback proved disappointing, with the German driver going winless and managing only one top-three finish."
Schumacher turns 45 on Friday.
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