Michael Schumacher in Critical Condition After Ski Accident

Michael Schumacher , the most successful in the history of Formula One driver is in critical condition after suffering " serious head injuries " in a skiing accident in the French Alps on Sunday, hospital officials .The 44 - year-old German , who by the elite race for the second and last time in 2012 retired, he fell and hit his head against a rock , the director of the station, where Schumacher skiing in Meribel said.
Schumacher was in a coma when he arrived at the University Hospital of Grenoble and needed immediate brain surgery, hospital officials said in a written statement .
Christophe Gernignon - Lecomte initially told CNN affiliate BFM TV that the injury is not "serious" , but the station later reported that it was " serious head injuries " , citing the police.
In a phone interview with CNN, Gernignon - said Lecomte the incident took place , local time, just after 11:00 clock (1000 GMT ), while Schumacher Country Skiing (unmarked outstanding) in the station Mountain Meribel between Georges and La Biche Bauduis Runway Runway .
Lecomte - . " He was alone and wearing a helmet head struck against a rock ," Gernignon said.
" He was rescued two minutes later savior. Subsequently, he was taken to a nearby hospital .
"He was conscious, but in shock when he reached the hospital. To determine the exact causes of the accident, we have to wait for a police report .
"There is an investigation underway. , We insist on the fact that Michael Schumacher was not available to off-piste skiing and his case to an avalanche. "
Spokeswoman Sabine Kehm Schumacher in a statement on the official F1 website, confirmed the accident had occurred in a "private ski trip . "
"He was taken to hospital and receives professional medical care ," he said.
"We ask for your understanding that we no continuous information about their health. Wearing a helmet and was not alone. Through his fall , no one else was involved. "
Who did not want to be mentioned as a matter of protocol - - ​​A spokesman for the rescue workers to Méribel Schumacher confirmed that the helmet , and said he was " relatively bad head injury. "
Schumacher said he had from Moutiers Hospital of Grenoble, where a trauma center transfer .
The spokesman added that the injury " not life threatening " and that Schumacher was conscious at the accident site .
The former F1 driver Olivier Panis French visited the hospital in Grenoble , but was not to see Schumacher in a position , BFM reported .
"I 'll come back tomorrow . Yeah, I'm worried," Panis BFM said.
"I know your family is there. As I sit here in Grenoble , I just said hello and to antiquity . This is a great champion and someone very dear in Formula One . "
Schumacher made ​​his F1 debut in 1991 and won seven world titles , a record at his first retirement in 2006 - five with Ferrari.
He returned to the track revived with Mercedes team in 2010 , but has struggled to repeat its glorious past .
His best result was the European Grand Prix in Valencia last year, his only podium in three seasons with the German manufacturer third.
The British journalist Kevin Garside told CNN that Schumacher was "a very good skier ," but he admitted that he was " courageous" - like most F1 drivers .
" These people do not fear like you and me to recognize . No gene in the body that they can go too slow," Garside said.
" Schumacher was a skier when he Ferrari ( 1996), but in the end it was an excellent year after year , Ferrari used up to a week , the media has in the Alps in Italy and it is always a career - . Schumacher and has always won . was a very fast skier .
"But he was always very aware of the danger around him. I approached him for an interview at the top of the slope and said I must be quick , because I wanted to check the track. This meant he wanted to s' ensure that he runs to understand inclination , even if it's just a fun race "