Former F1 champ Michael Schumacher out of coma, leaves hospital

Former Formula One champion Michael Schumacher had been in a coma since Dec. 29, 2013. (AP Photo/Victor Caivano)

Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher has emerged from a coma and left a French hospital where he was being treated since a skiing accident last year, reports the Associated Press.

Schumacher, 45, was injured Dec. 29, 2013, at the Meribel ski resort in the French Alps, when he fell and hit the right side of his head on a rock. He was wearing a helmet at the time and doctors put him in a coma to reduce swelling on his brain.

His manager, Sabine Kehm, said Schumacher left the hospital in Grenoble "to continue his long phase of rehabilitation," but declined to say when he was released from the hospital, or give updates on his condition.

Schumacher won seven Formula One titles before retiring in 2012 and his 91 wins are the most all-time in Formula One history.

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Schumacher's family "would like to explicitly thank all his treating doctors, nurses and therapists in Grenoble as well as the first aiders at the place of the accident, who did an excellent job in those first months," Kehm's statement said. "The family also wishes to thank all the people who have sent Michael all the many good wishes. … We are sure it helped him," it added. "For the future we ask for understanding that his further rehabilitation will take place away from the public eye," it added.