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As most of you might have heard, Michael Schumacher is no longer in a coma and has left the French hospital where he had been receiving treatment after being involved in a skiing accident last year. “Michael has left the CHU Grenoble to continue his long phase of rehabilitation. He is not in a coma anymore,” said a statement from spokeswoman Sabina Kehm. The former Formula One world champion has now been admitted to the University Hospital of Lausanne in western Switzerland. “He is here, he arrived this morning,” Darcy Christen, spokesman for the hospital said. Mr Christen declined to say what unit Schumacher, who lives with his family in a town between Lausanne and Geneva, he was being treated in, citing medical secrecy and family privacy. The former Formula One world champion was placed in an induced coma after undergoing two separate operations to remove blood clots from his brain following the accident on December 29th. The German, who won a record 91 Grand Prix victories and left motor racing last year after a disappointing three-year comeback, hit his head on a rock while skiing off-piste in the French Alps resort of Meribel. “For the future we ask for understanding that his further rehabilitation will take place away from the public eye,” the brief statement said of Schumacher, who turned 45 earlier this year. Schumacher initially required surgery to remove a haematoma from his brain, but despite its success, he was kept in a coma under sedation. Official reports after the initial frenzy surrounding Schumacher’s status have been few and far between, prompting a number of scare stories regarding his future. Prior to today the last update on Schumacher’s condition had been in early April, when a statement was released saying Schumacher was showing “moments of consciousness”. The time in between without any further statement, however, had again raised questions as to whether Schumacher would ever make a complete recovery. Those doubts will continue to remain, with no other information provided with regards to his health. Schumacher’s family, however, have again offered their sincere gratitude to all those who have played a part in the process over the past five and a half months. The statement added: “His family would like to explicitly thank all his treating doctors, nurses and therapists in Grenoble, as well as the first aiders at the place of the accident, who did an excellent job in those first months. “The family also wishes to thank all the people who have sent Michael all the many good wishes. We are sure it helped him. Agencies

Formula One legend Michael Schumacher suffered a head injury while skiing in the French Alps resort of Meribel, French media reported on Sunday. The seven-time world champion, who retired for the second time in 2012, has been taken to hospital, Europe 1 and RMC radio reported. Reuters could not immediately verify the reports. The German is 44 years old. Source: http://www.straitstimes.com/breaking-news/sports/story/seven-time-f1-champion-michael-schumacher-injured-skiing-accident-2013122

Fans of Formula One legend Michael Schumacher have been warned that they will "never have any good news" concerning his condition. Schumacher, 45, suffered a near-fatal head injury in a skiing accident in Meribel, France, on December 29 last year. It has been two months since the family relayed any information on the sportsman's health. Their silence has led fans and commentators to fear the worst. Gary Hartstein, a former F1 doctor, said: "I'm quite afraid (and virtually certain) we will never have any good news about Michael. At this point, I rather dread seeing that the family has put out a press release." Writing on his blog, he added: "I can conceive of no possible reason that Michael's entourage, understandably extremely protective of his and their privacy, would not tell his fans if significantly good things have happened." Roger Benoit, a respected and long-serving member of the F1 media, said: "Slowly, everybody is really worried. Grenoble and the family have been silent for weeks. Why?" Schumacher's manager, Sabine Kehm, last issued a statement on April 4. It read: "Michael is making progress on his way. He shows moments of consciousness and awakening. We are on his side during his long and difficult fight, together with the team of the hospital in Grenoble, and we keep remaining confident." She has been criticised by some for failing to release more information but in the past she has said this is what he would want. She said previously: "Michael Schumacher is in a coma and cannot decide what is reported about him. "We, of course, know how he deals with such things and try in his interest to handle these matters for him." Since these statements there has been no news. This is the longest period of silence since the accident. It will be 23 weeks ago on Sunday that Schumacher suffered his life-threatening accident while skiing in Meribel, where he owns a chalet. Doctors began the process of gradually waking him up more than 18 weeks ago. Ms Kehm has said it is "very hard" for his loved ones to comprehend how the racing car driver could have been so catastrophically injured in such a "banal situation". The accident occurred just over 14 feet from the edge of the ski run in a small, rocky off-piste area. He was skiing with his 14-year-old son when he lost control after hitting a rock. He ended up smashing his head into a boulder 34 feet further down the mountain. He is receiving round-the-clock care in intensive care in Grenoble University Hospital. Corinna, with whom he has two children Gina Marie, 16, and Mick, 14, has remained at his bedside. In February, French investigators closed the official inquiry into his accident, ruling out any criminal wrongdoing.

A manager for Michael Schumacher has revealed some good news about the condition of the injured Formula One legend, saying in a statement that Schumacher has started showing some moments of consciousness. "Michael is making progress on his way," Schumacher's manager Sabine Kehm said in the statement. "He shows moments of consciousness and awakening." Kehm added that Schumacher's family remain confident but are hesitant to disclose further details due to privacy and to ensure the medical team can work in full calmness. The latest statement is the second morsel of positive news to emerge since Schumacher’s tragic skiing accident at a French resort on December 29, 2013, where the winner of seven F1 titles sustained serious injury to the right side of his head after falling and hitting a rock. Last month, Schumacher’s family released a statement saying they saw “small, encouraging signs.” Schumacher, 45, is being treated at Grenoble University Hospital Center in France where he was put in an induced coma soon after his fall and had surgery performed to treat haemorrhaging in his brain caused by the impact of his head on the rock. Some of the clots were inoperable because they were too deeply embedded in his brain tissue. Doctors started the waking process in late January, a process that they say can take a long time and is ongoing at present.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8x5guik9g8Doctors treating F1 legend Michael Schumacher have said he remains in a critical condition and it is too early to say if he will pull through. They told journalists at a hospital in the eastern French city of Grenoble that the retired former world champion is being kept in an artificial coma. “We carried out an emergency operation to drain away intra-cranial blood clots,” said neurosurgeon, Professor Stéphan Chabardès at a news conference. “And while the post-surgery scanner showed an evacuation of the intra-cranial blood clots, it also, unfortunately, showed widespread bilateral haemorrhaegic lesions.” Schumacher, 44, was skiing with his teenage son when he fell and hit his head on a rock on Sunday morning. It happened in the French Alps resort of Meribel where he has a holiday home. He was wearing a helmet and doctors said anyone involved in such a high-speed accident without protection would have died. Schumacher’s family is by his bedside.

[extract] F1 boss, Bernie Ecclestone, feels that Michael Schumacher

Seven time world champion Michael Schumacher has announced his (second) retirement from Formula One at the end of the season. In what might be a sad news for his fans, Schumacher, while speaking to the media in Suzuka, Japan, confirmed his retirement from Formula One at the end of the season. The news comes in a week after Mercedes Petronas AMG announced the signing of Lewis Hamilton from 2013 as his replacement. He explained how he is uncertain if he can feel fully motivated and energised to continue in the future and wants to be measured by his success. However, he is happy overall with the achievements attained in F1. "I have decided to retire from Formula 1 at the end of the season, although I am still able to compete with the best drivers of the world. This is something that makes me proud, and this is part of why I never regretted my comeback. I can be happy with my performance and the fact that I was continuously raising my game during the last three years. But then, at some point it is time to say goodbye."

[extract] Ferrari's Formula One competitor for the year 2000 is hitting the auction block. This particular racer is considered a symbol for the team's domination of the sport for nearly half the decade since Y2K (Also known as the Schumacher era). Coincidentally I

The 2011 Italian Formula 1 Grand Prix was another one of those action packed races this season where Sebastian Vettel won. Yes, that chap may still be knocking the socks off the other contestants but it isn't a dull one horse race at all. He may be impervious at this moment but I don't really care because after the recent mid-season break we're actually seeing some movement from the other teams. Ferrari and McLaren seem to have gotten their form back as Jenson Button came in second for McLaren and Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari Vettel drove impeccably and even did a brilliant overtaking move against Alonso early on in the race. But what really got me extremely enthralled with the Italian Grand Prix was Michael Schumacher's ultra defensive (or aggressive

[extract] It rained during the British Formula 1 Grand Prix at Silverstone on the 10th of July. This basically meant that racing was at its finest (subjectively speaking that is). Ferrari managed to break its dry spell in this wet race with Fernando Alonso taking the win with the usual suspects, Sebastian Vettel coming in second and his Red Bull counterpart, Mark Webber taking third. It is Ferrari

[extract] If you

The Spanish Formula 1 Grand Prix in a nutshell - Deja Vu. This is what Formula 1 is all about these days. Or worse than that Formula 1 is Groundhog Day. You know that Bill Murray movie where the hero re-lives one day of his life over and over again? Well, in this 2011 Formula 1 version we get the same person winning over and over again regardless of what transpires throughout the race weekend. Yes, Sebastian Vettel wins again. This is even with Mark Webber taking pole position during qualifying (with Vettel starting from second place), with Vettel not having KERS during the later part of the race and a very on-form Lewis Hamilton breathing down his rear diffuser right till the very end of the race. Lewis Hamilton must have been pretty pleased with the setup of his McLaren as the car was basically the better one but I suppose starting in third behind Vettel (and Webber) in their very optimized Red Bull-Renaults is still an uphill climb. I suppose getting a close look at the rear of Vettel's car is all that one can do these days. I suppose Mark Webber is one of the losers in the Spanish Grand Prix. He started out first but ended up fourth. This I believe was down to bad luck, or if one believes in Groundhog Day nothing he does will make him come in ahead of his team mate. Coming out from the pits behind the slower Ferrari of Fernando Alonso is bad luck. Speaking about Ferrari, at least they're finishing in the top 5 for the last two races. They still have got to improve if they want a whiff of some trophies. And speaking of an ex-Ferrari driver, one 42 year old male adult who goes by the name of Michael Schumacher, he's doing pretty well by coming in sixth after starting in tenth. He basically came in ahead of his younger team mate Nico Rosberg who was slightly unlucky this time around with a failing rear wing (F1 cars these days seem to have failures in funny places) and a faulty radio. I suppose if you just ignore the fact that in nearly every race Sebastian Vettel wins Formula 1 is actually fun as a lot of things are indeed happening from the second position downwards. Results 01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h39:03.301 02. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 0.630 03. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 35.697 04. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 47.966 05. Alonso Ferrari + 1 lap 06. Schumacher Mercedes + 1 lap 07. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap 08. Heidfeld Renault + 1 lap 09. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap 10. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap 11. Petrov Renault + 1 lap 12. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap 13. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap 14. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 15. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 1 lap 16. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 2 laps 17. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 2 laps 18. Trulli Lotus-Renault + 2 laps 19. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 3 laps 20. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 3 laps DNF: Massa Ferrari 60 Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 49 Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 29 photo credit: planetf1

[extract] Let

The 6th of April 2011 marked the day where Team Mercedes GP Petronas held its 'Meet the Fans' session in conjunction with the Malaysian Formula 1 Grand Prix. The session, held at the Suria KLCC shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur was a packed and quite successful event with both drivers, 7 time world champion Michael Schumacher and his racing partner, Nico Rosberg spent some time answering a short Q &A as well as signing autographs at the concourse area of the shopping mall. The Mercedes Petronas GP promotional booth basically took up the whole concourse area with the team souvenirs, Petronas products and the piece de resistance, the official South East Asian public showing of the new Mercedes Benz CLS63 AMG 4 door coupe. Speaking of the CLS 63 I have to say that viewing the car in person is so much better than viewing the car in the official photographs. It looks so much better in the metal and that slightly more blunt nose actually works. If I looked at the official photographs I had the opinion that the earlier CLS had a sportier outlook but I have now changed my mind. The new and improved CLS 63 looks stunning. It has a myriad of lines that look very cohesive, must more than the earlier CLS55/63 and shows subtle aggression. I loved the little touches, especially that 'show off' badging on the front flanks

Okay people, the second race of the 2011 Formula 1 Grand Prix had just concluded and reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel has won the 13th Malaysian Grand Prix held on Sunday, the 10th of April 2011. Two races on and Vettel is faultless to date. After Melbourne a couple of weeks ago he has done it again. Second place went to McLaren's Jenson Button and third place to Nick Heidfield of Renault, who must have surprised some F1 pundits as he was a last minute replacement for Robert Kubica, who suffered a pre-season rally car accident that was pretty bad. The top 10 grid positions at the start was as follows: 1.Vettel, 2.Hamilton, 3.Webber, 4.Button, 5.Alonso, 6.Heidfeld, 7.Massa, 8.Petrov, 9.Rosberg and finally, 10.Kobayashi. The race started off with concerns of rain but as the lights went out everyone was moving in on everyone. Third grid spot Mark Webber had a fault with his KERS and was overtaken by quite a few people behind him till he ended up ninth. Michael Schumacher from eleventh ended up eighth. Heidfield from sixth up to second place. I suppose the amazing thing was there was no major accidents or damage towards all the participants with the exception of Rubens Barrichello who unluckily suffered an early tire puncture. One of the newer drivers, Kamui Kobayashi, driving the Sauber Ferrari drove spiritedly. I suppose this was to make up for Sauber's disqualification in Melbourne for an illegal sized rear wing. He was in a skirmish from the start. On Lap 4 to Lap10 he was involved in a scuffle for position with Mark Webber . It only ended when Webber pitted for tires. This was one of the first few tire changes of the race due to everyone predicting that it was going to rain soon. By Lap 12 just about everyone came in as there was sign of rain on the track. It did rain but those that thought it was going to be a long and heavy one were disappointed. Those that changed to intermediates or wets must have been truly disappointed as it rained lightly and it dried up quickly due to the heat on the track. It was a little chaotic but nothing really dramatic happened. I suppose some teams wanted rain to even up the playing field. That didn't happen and things were seemingly the same from this point onwards. The only piece of accident excitement that happened was when Vitaly Petrov driving the Renault went airborne after running wide and then crashing. There wasn't any real threat towards race leader Sebastian Vettel at all throughout the race. At the very best, Lewis Hamilton, who was second behind Vettel tried a push but he was at best, 6 seconds behind. This attempt was thwarted when Hamilton's car suffered problems with his left tire. Hamilton's troubles left him with a seventh placing at the end of the race. Sebastian Vettel/Red Bull had won a rain free Malaysian Grand Prix. Jenson Button finished second some 3 seconds behind with Heidfield, Webber, Massa and Alonso coming up after that. It was quite a good race that showed off a lot of Pirelli tire changes -with three to four tire changes due to the teams unsure whether it was going to rain or not and also because the tires were temperamental with some strange handling characteristics. It looks like Pirelli is still getting some slack for their tires in their first year of being the sole tire supplier in F1. Some also had problems with the DRS wings and some had KERS that decided to take a holiday instead of working on the track. But sometimes, especially during Formula 1, it is better for us viewers, fans and enthusiasts that things don't go as planned. But can I add some non-race issues to this year's Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang? The first is that if you drove there from Kuala Lumpur you'd expect a 10 minute drive from the toll booth as you exit the ELITE highway. But what I cannot fathom is how can things get so bad in the middle of nowhere (Yes, Sepang IS in the middle of nowhere) you need over an hour to park your car and it isn't close to the track. Then you add the humidity and overall temperature to the situation it gets close to unbearable. And secondly, parking during F1 events are usually expensive, but a jump from RM5 to RM50? That's a tenfold increase. And if most are aware, a successful event needs regular people to fill up an event and local Malaysians do not earn in Euro, US Dollars or even Singapore Dollars. I can bet you that the locals will stay away from next year's F1 because of these two issues. Imagine battling through the traffic jam and then reaching the parking only to find out that it costs a bomb. You already know that a cheap 'night market' standard burger will not cost RM1.50 but at least RM5-10. It may be cheap to the tourists from Europe but as I said, its the locals who actually make up most of the crowd on the hillstands and cheaper grandstands. The Malaysian man on the street who drives a normal Perodua or a Proton to Sepang isn't too happy actually. Oh, by the way, it is great to see Ol' man Schumacher still able to duke it out with the younger boys. Ninth position is pretty good in my opinion. Makes a good role model for people in their forties (which is actually just around the corner for yours truly). BUT...This isn't the end. Both Fernando Alonso of Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton of McLaren were each handed a 20 second penalty for overly aggressive driving against each other. Their jostle for third place was actually quite a jostle. Alonso's front wing made contact with Hamilton's car and forced Alonso to the pits to finish in sixth as well as forcing the stewards to slap him with the penalty. Hamilton's penalty came as a result of very aggressive defensive driving on the previous lap. But since both were given penalties, but the race results have not changed as somehow both of them had quite a buffer from the car right behind them. Look towards the end of this article for the official results. The ones below were the results at the end of the race not at the end of the race stewards final decision. Actually they shouldn't have been given any penalty as it did make the race slightly more interesting. Somehow racing as if their lives depended on it isn't allowed anymore. Race Results 01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h37:39.832 02. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 3.261 03. Heidfeld Renault + 25.075 04. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 26.384 05. Massa Ferrari + 36.958 06. Alonso Ferrari + 37.248 07. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 49.957 08. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:07.239 09. Schumacher Mercedes + 1:24.896 10. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:31.563 11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1:45.000 12. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap 13. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 14. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 15. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 1 lap 16. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps 17. Petrov Renault + 4 laps Not classified/retirements: Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 47 D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 43 Trulli Lotus-Renault 32 Perez Sauber-Ferrari 24 Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 23 Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 15 Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 9 Revised Results 01. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h37:39.832 02. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 3.261 03. Heidfeld Renault + 25.075 04. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 26.384 05. Massa Ferrari + 36.958 06. Alonso Ferrari + 57.248 07. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1:07.239 08. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 69.957 09. Schumacher Mercedes + 1:24.896 10. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1:31.563 11. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 1:45.000 12. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap 13. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 14. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap 15. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault + 1 lap 16. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 2 laps 17. Petrov Renault + 4 laps photo source: planetf1

Formula 1 has a new world champion in the shape and form of Sebastian Vettel. The Red Bull driver, who seemed to have started the 2010 Formula 1 season on a high, then faltered mid-season and then making a strong comeback even with a fabulous mid-season charge by Double World Champion, Fernando Alonso. Whatever the case, Formula 1 has a new World Champion and it was decided at the last race of the 2010 calendar, in Abu Dhabi last Sunday. I'd also have to add that it must be terribly disappointing for Alonso, who entered this race as championship leader. Finishing 7th basically scuppered all hope of winning the title. It is so frustrating watching the Alonso's race as he was basically behind Renault's Petrov, who somehow managed to hold up a two time world champion for almost two-thirds of the whole race

[extract] Fernando Alonso of Ferrari wins the inaugural Korean Formula 1 Grand Prix and is ahead in the Driver

Michael Schumacher has confirmed reports he is still committed to his formula one return with Mercedes. After a three year retirement, the seven time world champion's performances this year have disappointed some, but team official Norbert Haug insists the German marque is not reconsidering its 2011 lineup. "I am still motivated to achieve my goals in the three years," Schumacher, 41, told German reporters on Wednesday. "I'm not entirely happy with the results, but I didn't expect to drive everyone into the ground. Basically, I'm feeling good and having a lot of fun," added the record winner of 91 grands prix. Schumacher admitted that qualifying is his most obvious weakness so far. "We're working on it," he said.His younger teammate Nico Rosberg backed Schumacher as "without doubt the strongest teammate I've had in F1". However, not everyone has the same perception about Michael

- Alonso rules Bore-rain So the inaugural Formula 1 race of the 2010 season at Bahrain had ended with Ferrari doing a one-two double whammy finish, making Fernando Alonso's maiden run in a Ferrari a very successful one for him. Of course the very unlucky Sebastian Vettel in the Red Bull was leading for most of the race but close to the end lost power due to the exhaust manifold suffering from a crack. Imagine that. A manifold crack automatically makes a F1 race car lose something like 20 to 30 bhp and the chances of winning a race straightaway becomes slim. I did not bother watching out for the rookie teams Lotus Racing, Virgin Racing and Hispania Racing. After noting that most of them were easily 6 seconds off the faster cars pace during Friday and Saturday I somehow knew that they would all feature at the rear and I wasn't rooting for any of them making an upset. I actually couldn't be bothered whether they finished or not because the whole race was not that interesting even when the cars started losing their fuel and gotten lighter although I was quite pleased that both Lotus' managed to finish (officially that is). The race was supposed to be an eye opener, a fabulous start to a new season filled with suspense and drama plus four world champions dueling it out. The oldest being the seven time world champion 41 year old Michael Schumacher showing that he's still competitive by grabbing sixth place. But somehow after watching the whole race I still feel that there is not enough drama in F1. The only drama that somewhat interests me was the fact that there was some controversy in some teams' double diffuser which took advantage of the small gap which was required for the team to stick the starter motor at the rear of the cars. However, the FIA will clear up all questions by the next race and things will be back to normal after this. Schummi: "It's the start and then after it is just sort of go your pace and not do mistakes," he told the BBC. The new rules now state that there shall be no refueling throughout the race and only tire changes, with everyone required to use both compounds in the race. There is also a ban on traction control whereby the driver's right foot is effectively the only traction control they have. Which is a good thing as it would separate the real drivers from the half baked ones. But when the actual race happened, I still noticed that it was still pretty hard to overtake at Bahrain and the ultra skillful drivers were passing people during the pit stops or just lapping slower cars. Now add the fact that the cars have double the fuel load, they run like bloated whales for the first 20 or 30 laps and nothing really happens till after the cars lose all those fuel in their tanks. So basically watching this year's F1 was still like last years F1, not much overtaking and not much track drama even with all the new rules. Even ESPN has called Bahrain, Bore-rain. Heck, even Michael Schumacher said it was good fun but rather boring. That's what he told the BBC post race. I wonder how things would be for the next race (Australia, 28th March). Maybe we should add 20mm Gatling guns to the side pods or get rid of the front wing and put a battering ram in its place so that things become more interesting. If you can't overtake, shoot 'em or ram 'em out of the way. Mad Max meets F1. Now there's a race that'll be mighty interesting, but rated R for excessive violence instead of a PG13 rating.