Mercedes issues statement concerning Michael Schumacher accident

Seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher is reported to be in serious condition today after he was skiing with his son yesterday morning in the French Alpine resort of Meribel, when he fell and hit the right side of his head on a rock. He was wearing a helmet, but doctors said it was not enough to prevent a serious brain injury.

After he arrived at the hospital, Schumacher was in a medically induced coma and underwent brain surgery. Doctors are now focussing on future treatment. Chief anesthesiologist Jean-Francois Payen told reporters, "We cannot predict the future for Michael Schumacher. He is in a critical state in terms of cerebral resuscitation," he added. "We are working hour by hour."

The F1 champion is a brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz, and a development partner for Mercedes‑Benz Intelligent Drive which is the brand name Mercedes uses for their collective safety systems. Schumacher has been evaluating and testing the new systems on the new 2015 C-Class for Mercedes. He was answering a number of key questions like, how rapidly and for how long should the visual warning be given? How intensive should the acoustic warning be? And at what point should the automatic lane-correcting brake application intervene?

Mercedes has issued a statement to his followers and fans. “Following the serious injuries sustained by Michael Schumacher in a skiing accident yesterday in France, the thoughts and sympathies of all at Mercedes-Benz Motorsport and the MERCEDES AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team are with Michael, his family and friends.”

“We have been shocked to learn that he is in a critical condition and are closely monitoring the latest medical bulletins from Grenoble. We all know the depth of Michael's fighting spirit and send him all our strength and support in this latest battle. We sincerely hope that he will make a full recovery and can be with us again soon.”

It’s a bit ironic that Schumacher was working on crash safety for Mercedes-Benz. The central focus of Schumacher's test drives with the C-Class was on assistance systems such as the new COLLISION PREVENTION ASSIST PLUS, DISTRONIC PLUS with Steering Assist and Stop&Go Pilot, The PRE-SAFE Brake, Brake Assist PLUS with Cross-Traffic Assist, Active Blind Spot Assist, and Active Lane Keeping Assist. All these systems alert the driver to potential hazards that can potentially cause an accident and help prevent them from happening.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Michael and his family.

Image source: Mercedes-Benz