Michael Schumacher latest update: F1 Racer said to be 'making progress'

Michael SchumacherWikipedia

It has been a year since Michael Schumacher left the hospital in Grenoble, France, six months after the skiing accident in the French Alps which left him with head injuries and fighting for his life. The F1 racer was moved to a rehabilitation clinic in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he spent three months before moving to his family home on Lake Geneva to continue recovery. 

Since then, very little news about the racer's condition has been revealed to the public. According to the Telegraph, ever since a journalist disguised himself as a priest to try and gain access to Schumacher's hospital room in the days that followed the accident, his family, particularly his wife Corinna, has been vigilant with guarding their privacy. Moreover, Schumacher's son Mick has also not spoken to the press on his debut season in Formula Four this year. 

According to Yahoo! Sports UK, Schumacher's manager, Sabine Kehm, recently gave an update saying that the F1 racer was "making progress" but other than that, there were few reports on his condition during the past 12 months. While Kelm did say that Schumacher was making progress, she did remind people to keep the seriousness of his injuries in mind and that speculations about his health should be avoided. 

There are reports that Schumacher is able to recognize his family but has yet to start speaking again. Last year, Philip Streiff, a former F1 driver who was himself paralyzed in an accident in 1989, said that Schumacher "had yet to recover the power of speech" but was "starting to recognize those close to him." 

Kehm immediately quashed Streiff's comments, saying that they are "factually wrong." 

"He is making progress appropriate to the severity of the situation," said Kehm. "We need a long time. It's going to be a long time and a hard fight."