F1 legend Schumacher in 'critical condition' after ski accident

Retired Formula One legend Michael Schumacher is in “critical condition” after sustaining a severe head injury while skiing off-piste in the French Alps resort of Meribel, medical officials said late on Sunday.

He was suffering a serious brain trauma with coma on his arrival, which required an immediate neurosurgical operation," the hospital treating him said in a statement. A specialist neurosurgeon from Paris has been brought in to oversee his treatment.

The 44-year-old was airlifted to the hospital in the southeast French city of Grenoble after falling and hitting his head against a rock around 11 am on Sunday. Schumacher was wearing a helmet and was conscious after the accident, according to the Meribel ski resort director, Christophe Gernigon-Lecomte.

Schumacher, whose birthday is on Jan. 3, is the most successful Formula One driver of all time with a record 91 victories among his achievements. He won his titles with Benetton and Ferrari.

He left the sport last year after a three-year comeback with Mercedes following an earlier retirement from Ferrari at the end of 2006. The German lives in Switzerland with his wife and two children.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)