Former F1 world champion suffered severe head injuries in late 2013
Thursday 17 December 2015 10:44, UK
Nearly two years on from his life-changing skiing accident, Michael Schumacher is "still fighting" the injuries he sustained according to Jean Todt.
Speaking recently, the FIA president and former Ferrari team boss - who was instrumental in signing Schumacher to the Scuderia - said he pays regular visits to the seven-time world champion at his home near Lake Geneva.
"Michael is a close friend, his family is very close to me, I am very close to them as well," Todt said. "I see Michael very often, and Michael is still fighting.
"We must keep him fighting for the family."
Schumacher left hospital in September 2014, nine months after he suffered severe head injuries in the accident in the French Alps.
A special medical unit has been constructed at the family home, with a staff of 15 reportedly providing Schumacher with round-the-clock medical care.
Manager Sabine Kehm has fiercely defended Schumacher's privacy since his accident, but was quoted earlier this year as saying that he was "making progress".
She added, however, that his supporters "must always keep the seriousness of his injuries in mind".
Schumacher, who drove for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari and Mercedes during his record-breaking F1 career, will turn 47 on January 3.
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: 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: 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: 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: 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: Prosecutors in France close their investigation into the crash, ruling: “No one was found to have committed any offence.”
March 12: Schumacher’s family thank fans for their support and reveal that “there sometimes are small, encouraging signs”.
April 4: A new statement from Schumacher’s family describes Michael as showing “moments of consciousness and awakening".
June 18: 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: Kehm reveals that files purported to contain Schumacher’s medical details have been stolen and offered for sale.
July 18: 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: 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: 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: Kehm says that Schumacher "is making progress" but adds that people "must always keep the seriousness of his injuries in mind".
June: 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: Jean Todt reveals that he visits Schumacher "very often" and that he is "still fighting".
