Michael Schumacher, 44, one of the most successful F1 drivers the world has ever known suffered severe head trauma after hitting his head on a rock while skiing at the Meribel Resort in the French Alps on Sunday, 29th of December.
He was already in a coma when he was brought in to the University Hospital Center of Grenoble. He needed brain surgery immediately, according to the statement released by hospital officials.
On vacation
The retired F1 legend, who was on a private ski vacation, was skiing with his son on unmarked slopes between La Biche Piste and Georges Bauduis Piste when the accident happened around 11 in the morning local time (1000 GMT).
He was alone at the time of the accident. He fell and hit his head on a rock according to reports. The impact must have been so great, as according to the same report, he was wearing a helmet.
Rescued after a few minutes
Schumacher was conscious but was in shock when rescuers arrived at 11:15 am local time, eight minutes after the accident occurred. He was immediately transported by helicopter to a nearby hospital in Moutiers, where doctors diagnosed that he had cranial trauma and was transferred to the hospital in Grenoble. It was also reported the operation was done by Gerard Saillant, the surgeon that treated him when he broke his shinbone and calf when he crashed in 1999.
Open investigation
The accident is undergoing an open investigation to determine the exact cause(s) of the accident. In the official statement released through the official F1 website by Schumacher’s spokesperson Sabine Kehm it confirmed that the accident happened; that he was skiing off-piste but his fall was not related to an avalanche. No other details have been released.
Career and accidents
Michael Schumacher had a stellar career, a record 7-time F1 champion. During the course of his outstanding career, he’s suffered several accidents, on and off the field. He damaged the bottom of his skull, a rib and a vertebra in February 2009 in a motorcycle crash in Spain. That accident caused the most long-term harm to Schumacher’s career, according to Johannes Peil, his doctor at that time. It denied him the opportunity to take Felipe Massa’s place at Ferrari.
Schumacher’s F1 debut was in 1991. When he first retired in 2006 he has already won seven world titles with five of them with Ferrari. He returned in 2010 with the Mercedes team although he was not able to repeat his earlier stellar performances, with third place being his best finish during the European Grand Prix in Valencia in 2012.
Fearless
Most Formula 1 drivers are fearless and Schumacher has that trait. It would seem that it is impossible for them to go slow at times. When he joined Ferrari in 1996, he was not even a skier, yet during the annual media week Ferrari hosts in the Italian Alps, Schumacher always won in the ski race. Kevin Garside, a British journalist who interviewed Schumacher during one of these events reported that the F1 legend was always aware of the dangers around the slopes and checks the conditions around even during a race that is staged for fun.
Further updates on his condition are expected to be released on Monday.
Photo Credit: Michael Shumacher
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