UPDATE (6:47 p.m. ET) : British F1 broadcaster Sky Sports is now reporting that an update from Grenoble on Michael Schumacher’s condition is set for Monday morning at 5 a.m. ET (10 a.m. in the United Kingdom).
UPDATE (5:37 p.m. ET): Jennie Gow, a presenter for Formula One coverage on BBC Radio 5 Live, has posted a series of statements from the doctors in Grenoble, Schumacher’s manager, and Schumacher’s press secretary.
UPDATE (5:05 p.m. ET): Reports from multiple outlets, including Agence France-Presse, confirm that management for Michael Schumacher and the University Hospital of Grenoble (France) has said the Formula One legend is in critical condition and that he is also in a coma which required an “immediate neurosurgical operation.”
Per the BBC, the hospital’s statement on the situation was signed by its deputy director, its neurosurgeon, and the professor in charge of its anesthesia and revival unit.
UPDATE (4:02 p.m. ET): While we await official word from Michael Schumacher’s management team on his condition, French radio station RMC is now reporting that, according to a medical source, Schumacher has suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and is now in critical condition at the hospital in Grenoble, France.
Again, we must stress that we are still waiting for an official statement from Schumacher’s group. As soon as it is released, we will pass it along to you.
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UPDATE (2:10 p.m. ET): Various reports are now saying that a further update on the condition of Michael Schumacher will be released by his management team shortly.
Initial reports had a press conference taking place at the hospital in Grenoble, France, where Schumacher was taken after he sustained a head injury this morning while skiing in the nearby town of Meribel. However, that will not be the case, apparently.
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Seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher has been injured in a skiing accident in France. According to reports from Sky and the BBC, he has suffered a minor head injury after hitting his head on a rock.
Schumacher, 44, was wearing a helmet and did not appear to lose consciousness while skiing in the town of Meribel. After the incident, he has been transported to hospital via helicopter.
Christophe Gernignon-Lecomte, director general of Meribel ski resort, did not know the severity of the incident but explained the situation to French media outlets.
“For the moment I don’t know the severity of the injury,” he said to French radio station RMC, via Sky. “The gendarmes are at the scene investigating how the accident happened. He was taken by helicopter to Grenoble Hospital. I don’t know if it happened on piste or off piste.”
Past 10:30 a.m. ET, an update from Schumacher’s PR: “Michael fell on his head..He was taken to hospital and is receiving medical attention.”
Statement from Schumacher PR: “Michael fell on his head..He was taken to hospital and is receiving medical attention” http://t.co/RtWaSkKHav
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) December 29, 2013
Schumacher has long enjoyed skiing as one of his main activities outside of driving. His first retirement from F1 came in 2006; he returned for a three-year stint with Mercedes from 2010 to 2012, with limited success.
