FORMULA 1: Michael Schumacher's friend: 'There is always hope'

There is hope. At least, a little. Not much has been heard about Michael Schumacher’s condition in recent months. Now Ross Brawn, his close friend and former boss at Benetton, Ferrari and Mercedes, has given a brief update in an interview with the Mirror.

Since suffering a terrible head injury in a skiing accident on 29 December 2013, F1 legend Schumacher has been recovering at his home in Switzerland. He was in a coma for 159 days and had treatment in a clinic in Lausanne. His wife Corinna had their house specially adapted so he was able to continue his rehabilitation at home.

Ross Brawn says he maintains contact with the Schumacher family and has been to visit Michael several times.

“I do keep in touch, but we try and keep a balance of going to see him and calling, and not being a pain.

"I’ve been to see him a few times; Corinna, his wife, calls me occasionally and keeps me updated.

"We just keep praying every day that he’ll recover. It's slow, but there's always hope."

Michael Schumacher won seven Formula One titles with Brawn – two for Benetton and five for Ferrari. His family have been keen to maintain their privacy since the accident, meaning updates on Schumacher's condition have been few and far between. Earlier this year, however, it was reported that he had begun to respond to stimuli.

At the weekend, fellow German Sebastian Vettel was asked whether he could imagine equalling Schumacher’s record of seven titles. Appearing quite emotional, he simply answered: “Michael was my childhood idol, my hero. To be honest, he still is, and in many different ways. I always had enormous respect for him, for what he achieved. Since I’ve been at Ferrari, I’ve been able to see what he did to get that success. It’s incredibly impressive.”