Formula One: Will Michael Schumacher Ever Recover?

It's the elephant in the room of Formula One. Will Michael Schumacher ever recover from the serious head injury he suffered
in a skiing accident six months ago?

The sport has continued its relentless rhythm unsure of what the future holds for its record-breaking former world champion, with the most recent update on his condition on the eve of June's Austrian Grand Prix travelling round the F1 community like Chinese whispers.

"Michael has left the [hospital in] Grenoble to continue his long phase of rehabilitation," read the June 16 statement from Schumacher's long-time manager and the family's spokeswoman Sabine Kehm.

"He is not in a coma anymore," added the statement, which was oblique enough to be left open to interpretation.

As the months have stretched on since the accident, so has the reluctance to openly discuss the state of Schumacher's health within the sport's inner circle.

Felipe Massa, who drove alongside Schumacher at Ferrari, has been to visit his former teammate in hospital on more than one occasion.

He found the news, as limited as it was, encouraging: "It's definitely positive that he's moved from the hospital and that he's going to another place that is specific for the recovery," the Williams driver told CNN ahead of this weekend's British Grand Prix

"I keep hoping that everything will be better and better all the time. The only thing I want is that the recovery takes as quick as possible and to see him here with us."

Red Bull's four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel has been cautious about making public statements on the health of his former mentor.

In Austria, the German broke his silence to reflect on the conflicting feelings of continuing his day job in F1 while the sport's seven-time world champion faces an even bigger challenge than the high-risk world of motor racing.

"It's been a long time and you try to follow as much as you can," Vettel told the media with an audible sigh as he searched to find the right words.

"It's very positive to hear but, like I said, it's been many, many weeks and months since the incident and obviously you find yourself busy in Formula One thinking about a lot of things.

"Sometimes it's crazy to imagine or realize that Michael is still in hospital and still fighting,

"Therefore it's good to finally have some good news and I hope that there will be more good news coming -- but I think it will still take a long time for his recovery."

In a sport of strategy, where risk and outcome are calculated in hundredths of seconds, the uncertainty and lack of knowledge about Schumacher, a global star, has hung like a pall over the sport.

Source:CNN