MICHAEL SCHUMACHER 'FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE'

Doctors say former F1 world champion would not have survived accident in French Alps if he had not been wearing a helmet

Michael Schumacher remains in a critical condition and fighting for his life after sustaining serious head injuries in an off-piste skiing accident at a resort in the French Alps, French doctors have said.

Schumacher, 44, was airlifted to Grenoble after falling heavily and hitting his head while skiing on an unmarked slope at the Méribel resort with friends and his 14-year-old son.

At a press conference in Grenoble, doctors said he was in a coma when he arrived at the hospital and had to be operated on immediately. They said his condition remained "extremely serious" and he was being kept in an artificial coma, but that it was too early to give an accurate prognosis.

"We cannot predict the future for Michael Schumacher," Professor Marc Penaud, the deputy director of Grenoble clinic, said. "It's too soon to talk about."

He confirmed that the former F1 champion had arrived at the clinic at around 12:40pm on Sunday with a severe brain trauma and immediately underwent an operation.