Sport

Schumacher "still fighting" says FIA president Jean Todt

Michael Schumacher sustained severe head injuries in a skiing accident on 29 December 2013
Michael Schumacher sustained severe head injuries in a skiing accident on 29 December 2013 Michael Schumacher sustained severe head injuries in a skiing accident on 29 December 2013

MICHAEL Schumacher, the stricken seven-time Formula One champion, is "still fighting", FIA president Jean Todt has said.

It is almost two years since Schumacher sustained horrific brain injuries in a freak accident while skiing in the French Alps.

Schumacher, who won a record 91 races during his glittering grand prix career, spent nearly six months in an induced coma before he was transferred to a hospital closer to his family home in Lausanne, Switzerland.

He was released from hospital in September 2014 and now continues his rehabilitation at home, but updates on his condition have been few and far between.

"I see Michael very often and Michael is still fighting," said Todt, the team boss at Ferrari where Schumacher won five straight championships between 2000 and 2005.

"Michael is a close friend, his family is very close to me and I am very close to them as well. We must keep him fighting with the family."

Todt, who was making a rare appearance in the Formula One paddock on the sport's return to Mexico, said Lewis Hamilton's title triumph in Austin last Sunday reminded him of Schumacher's record-breaking achievements.

"It was interesting last week after Lewis was world champion for the third time, you saw the figures," he added.

"I was very proud of what Michael did and sometimes you tend to forget what he did."

Schumacher won his first championship in 1994 with Benetton before retaining his title in the ensuing campaign. The German then moved to Ferrari where he went on to dominate the sport before calling time on his career in 2006.

He returned to the grid with Mercedes in 2009 but endured a largely disappointing three-season spell with a best finish of third at the 2012 European Grand Prix in Valencia.