The family of F1 legend Michael Schumacher refuses to talk about the severely injured car racer's health condition, but former race car driver Philippe Streiff claims that his close friend will no longer recover completely.

In an exclusive interview with Daily Star Online, the 65-year-old retired racer says that it will be harder for Schumacher to walk again.

"After a neurological accident, you always have hopes. But after more than three years, it's probably more difficult," Streiff states.

Streiff might be speaking from experience, since he is also paralyzed after a tragic pre-season crash during the Formula 1's 1989 season in Rio de Janeiro.

This is not the first time that Streiff talked about the seven-time F1 champion's health condition after his fateful skiing accident at the French Alps back in December 2013. In 2014, Streiff told the French newspaper Le Parisien that Schumacher was having a hard time speaking but he can recognize the people close to him. According to the former racer, he received the information from his neurosurgeon named Gérard Saillant, who also saved his life during his own accident.

However, Schumacher's former technical head in Ferrari Ross Brawn previously said in an interview with BBC that the legendary racer is showing encouraging signs of recovery.

"There are encouraging signs and we are all praying every day that we see more of them. So it is difficult for me to say very much and respect the family's privacy," Brawn stated back in November 2016.

He also said that there are many speculations about his friend's condition, but most of them are far from truth. "Most of it's wrong and we just pray and hope every day that we continue to see some progress and that one day we can see Michael out and about and recovered from his terrible injuries."