Retired seven-times Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher is in ‘critical’ condition following a fall while skiing off-piste in the French Alps resort of Meribel, his agent said on Sunday.

The 44-year-old German was taken to hospital in Grenoble and placed under the care of Professor Gerard Saillant, a brain and spine injury expert.

“He suffered head trauma with coma that needed prompt neurosurgical treatment,” Schumacher’s agent said in a statement late in the evening, which a hospital official read to reporters. “He remains in a critical condition.”

A hospital official declined to give more details but said more information would be given out on Monday.

Schumacher is the most successful Formula One driver of all time with a record 91 race victories. 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. He lives in Switzerland with his wife and two children.

Reuters