Schumacher's family maintain silence on F1 legend's condition
Wednesday 17 February 2016 10:31, UK
Michael Schumacher's manager has declined to comment after former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said news on the F1 legend was "not good".
Speaking in Italy on Thursday, Montezemolo was quoted as saying: "I have news and unfortunately it is not good.
"Life is strange. He was a fantastic driver and only had one accident with Ferrari in 1999."
Montezemolo did not elaborate on his remarks.
Schumacher suffered serious head injuries in a skiing accident in the French Alps in December 2013 and was in a coma for six months, before returning to his home in Switzerland in September 2014 to continue his recuperation.
The German's manager Sabine Kehm declined to comment on Montezemolo's remarks when contacted by Sky Sports.
The Schumacher family have repeatedly chosen not to discuss the 47-year-old's condition in public, with Kehm's most recent official statement issued last May.
Sky Sports News HQ's Craig Slater reported: "I think it is important to have these remarks in context. On face value they do seem very alarming and upsetting.
"Montezemolo was at an event in Italy to mark the anniversary of an Italian motoring magazine and when journalists are with people who were close to Michael they tend to ask about his condition. He didn't elaborate on the remarks, but what is key to bear in mind here is that this is di Montezemolo speaking without the sanction of Schumacher's family or his management."
Montezemolo served as Ferrari's president from 1991 to 2014, which included the 10-year period when Schumacher rewrote F1's record books at Maranello.
"I think we have to be very careful with reading too much into di Montezemolo's comments," Slater added. "He is an outspoken individual, but without the context and the exact question posed at the gathering in Italy it is difficult to read too much into the words on a page.
"The management have always said they will only update us when there is a significant change."
FIA president Jean Todt, who was Schumacher's team principal at Ferrari and remains a close family friend, told media at November's Brazilian GP "Michael is still fighting".
Michael Schumacher accident timeline:
December 29 2013: Michael hits his head on rocks while skiing with friends and his 14-year-old son near the French resort of Meribel. He is transferred to Grenoble Hospital suffering "a severe head injury with coma on arrival, which required immediate neurosurgical intervention".
December 30 2013: At a press conference at Grenoble Hospital, doctors describe Schumacher's condition as being "extremely serious". A second operation, lasting two hours, is carried out in order to reduce the swelling on his brain.
December 31 2013: Kehm accuses a "journalist dressed as a priest" of attempting to gain access to his hospital room.
January 4 2014: With Schumacher remaining in a medically-induced coma, a statement from the hospital describes his condition as "critical but stable".
January 8 2014: An initial investigation into the crash concludes that speed "did not appear to be an important factor" and finds that Schumacher was around eight metres off piste when he hit his head on a rock. Schumacher's wife, Corinna, pleads with the media to "please leave our family in peace".
January 30 2014: In the first official update from Schumacher's family in almost a month, it is revealed that 'Michael's sedation is being reduced in order to allow the start of the waking up process which may take a long time'.
February 17 2014: Prosecutors in France close their investigation into the crash, ruling: "No one was found to have committed any offence."
March 12 2014: Schumacher's family thank fans for their support and reveal that "there sometimes are small, encouraging signs".
April 4 2014: A new statement from Schumacher's family describes Michael as showing "moments of consciousness and awakening".
June 18 2014: It is officially confirmed that Schumacher is no longer in a coma and has left the intensive care unit at Grenoble Hospital "to continue his long phase of rehabilitation". It is subsequently learnt that Schumacher has been transferred to the University Hospital of Lausanne in Switzerland.
June 24 2014: Kehm reveals that files purported to contain Schumacher's medical details have been stolen and offered for sale.
July 18 2014: In the programme notes for the German GP, Corinna thanks fans for their messages of support and states: "Now we are facing a phase which will presumably take a long time. We trust that time will be Michael's ally in the fight."
September 9 2014: Schumacher leaves Lausanne Hospital to continue his rehabilitation at home. "Considering the severe head injuries he suffered, progress has been made in the past weeks and months. There is still, however, a long and difficult road ahead," says Kehm.
November 13 2014: Schumacher's website is reopened to mark the 20th anniversary of his first F1 title.
April 2015: Schumacher's son Mick, 16, wins a Formula 4 race - his third car race ever - at Oschersleben.
May 2015: Kehm says that Schumacher "is making progress" but adds that people "must always keep the seriousness of his injuries in mind".
June 2015: Der Spiegel reports that photographers almost constantly hide in woods near Schumacher's home and have even attempted to catch a glimpse of him in low-flying helicopters.
November 2015: Jean Todt reveals that he visits Schumacher "very often" and that he is "still fighting".
December 2015: Kehm is forced to deny claims in a German tabloid suggesting that Schumacher had taken his first steps since his accident.
