Michael Schumacher, seven-time Formula One World Champion, is said to be responding to voices and making eye contact, according to a new report.
Italian newspaper La Gazetta dello Sport reported Schumacher is making eye movements, while German newspaper Bild am Sonntag suggests he is also responding to voices. Adding to the promising news, Australian website Speed Week says family friend and former Formula One driver Jean Alesi says he “realized that something was beginning to change for the better.”
“First, Michael responded only to pain when he was pinched, for example,” he said. “But that can also be an unconscious reaction of the body … I felt with the family some relief, a great joy about how things were developing. It is fabulous, even though the path to life is still long.”
During this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix, Ferrari Formula One driver Felipe Massa confirmed Alesi’s observations that Schumacher was indeed making eye contact and responding to voices.
The news follows last week’s updates when Sabine Kehm, Schumacher’s spokesperson, said the 45-year-old is having “moments of consciousness and awakening.” He has remained hospitalized in Grenoble, France since Dec. 29 following a serious skiing accident in the French Alps.
